ChefSaraKay

I was sleeved on 12/28/15 and have so far lost 70 something. I stalled a lot and its at random times. I know it is tempting to step on the scale everyday but if you just put the scale in the closet and focus on how you feel, and how your clothes are fitting you will be way happier. Trust me on this one. I would see my weight stay the same for days. Once I weighed the same for over a month but the way my clothes fit was changing. Besides we are not a number on a scale. I know we all had the surgery for different reasons and that is personal, but the one thing we all have in common about having the surgery is to be healthy. So enjoy the journey to a healthy life and appreciate all of the hard work that you put into it.

I had talked to a few of my doctors about weight loss on a few occasions and they documented what we talked about. Some of the appointments were in the same months so my surgeons office said they could only count one of the visits out of the ones that happened in the same months because it has to show 6 different months. I hope that answers your question. Good luck with your journey! I am almost 3 months out and 53 lbs down!

I am a Chef! I spend most of my week at my restaurant where I cook up farm to table southern comfort magic. I am also a student finishing my bachelors in hospitality management. But when I'm not a work or school, I love spending time with my husband, cheering on the St. Louis Blues (currently watching the game with the hubs!), going to the gym (an everyday must!) and playing with cosmetics. I even sometimes do freelance makeup jobs.

I plan on making grilled chicken kabobs with peppers, onions, mushrooms, and squash with a fat free tzatziki sauce, fruit and cheese plate with a sugar free cream cheese dip, and "pregnant pickles" which is a pickle spear rolled up inside a slice of low fat ham that has fat free cream cheese lightly spread on it. They are totally addicting but pack a good amount of Protein for "junk food." I know with my tiny tummy I wont get but a few bites in but I wanted to serve things I know my husband would like to munch on too. Our friends will be bringing other party foods but I know I wont be tempted. Ever since I had my surgery, I haven't had cravings for junk. My tastebuds are excited by real foods and my body is happier without all the deep fried, sugar coated, full fat junk.

I have always loved North Face jackets but I have never been able to find one I could comfortably zip and didn't want to spend $100+ on an ill fitting jacket. Thursday this week, I went to Marshall's to buy some athletic leggings and they had a rack of North Face jackets. I tried one on just to see how close it was to fitting and it zipped with ease! So I just had to buy it! I also bought my athletic leggings in a size down! My scale hasn't moved all week but I am only 5 weeks post op so I think it just might be that "3-5 week stall" Not worried though, just sticking to the plan and working through it.

I have United Healthcare but they required 6 months of medically supervised weight loss. I had talked to my primary care doctor a few times about weight loss and we tried a few things and I had talked to my endocrinologist about weight loss and I had a visit with her nutrition counselor. All that totaled to be 4 months of supervised weight loss since it was in my medical chart that it was discussed with my doctors and I was working to lose weight. During the process with my bariatric surgeon, I had to see a nutritionist 2 times and visit my primary care doctor for a check up and surgical ok along with sleep study, blood testing, and a visit with a psychologist. All this took about 3 months to do but the visits with my primary care and nutritionist counted because we discussed weight loss. I just had to make sure that i had visits in 2 different months (I was doing all of this in sept, oct, and nov) Once I completed all of my post op obligations, my surgeons office had all of the documentation needed to show 6 months of medically supervised weight loss and I was approved on the first submission to insurance. I just had my sleeve done on 12/28! I know that I wanted the surgery as soon as possible and didn't want to have to wait the months but you have so many appointments and tests that you almost need a few months to get it all done and mentally prep yourself for surgery. Hope this helps

I want to fit into all of my old concert tee shirts! I would never wear them in public, but just to be able to wear them as lounge around shirts would be fun. I feel like my personal style will stay the same. My favorite place to shop is Old Navy and they carry the same stuff for regular and plus sizes. The regular sizes are just cheaper... wayyyy cheaper. I'm looking forward to shopping at the Gap. I love the timeless look of jeans and a tee. And being able to shop at places like Loft, J Crew, and the occasional forever 21 spree lol. 90% of the time though, I wear Chef's whites. They make these cute feminine cut pants and chef jackets and I'm looking forward to wearing those instead of the shapeless unisex ones. Aside from personal style, the person I want to be is free and fun loving. When I hit my goal I want to treat myself by going to a music festival like Coachella. I know I could goto one at any size, but I would enjoy it more without all the extra weight holding me back. When you are surrounded my music, you gotta do a lot of dancing

I like the preppy style for men. It's classy and timeless.

I cannot say enough about how much I loved blackened fish! If your tummy can handle a little spice then blackening seasoning will be your best friend once you try it! You can buy pre mixed blackening seasonings (Paul Prudomme redfish magic is the best) The method is easy! In a saute pan, add a tiny bit of olive oil, just enough to lubricate the pan (don't use cooking spray, it doesnt end well if you do lol) and heat it up. Coat one or two sides of the fish depending on your spice preference. Once the pan is hot, carefully lay the fish in the pan and cook it on the one side for a few min until it can easily be lifted from the pan and it has a nice sear. (tip, if you try to flip it and it still sticking, its not seared enough) cook on the other side for a few min. The goal with a fish like salmon, is to cook it medium rare. Many people make salmon too well done and it doesn't have a good flavor when overcooked. If you can find it fresh, swordfish and trout are both lighter in flavor like salmon and can be cooked the same ways as salmon and are just as tasty and good for you.

I was just sleeved on 12/28. I told everyone I see on an everyday basis pretty much. Mainly because the people I am close with are very supportive of my journey and know my history before my sleeve. I gained a lot of weight from having a pituitary tumor and have not always been obese. My Drs thought that the sleeve would be a great tool to help me get back to pre-tumor weight since traditional diets have not worked and getting back to a healthy weight can help my endocrine system balance back out. I definitely feel the surgery was a great choice for me. It has helped me see the bigger picture. The first two days home after surgery were very rough. I kept feeling "hungry" and I was hating the limiting liquid diet. But after talking with my father in law who had the same surgery, my hunger pains were acid reflux and it was all just head hunger. So I have been taking a little extra of the liquid famotide to help with the acid and started changing up the flavor on the things I can eat. With these changes, each day gets better. I'm learning to fight the head hunger with fluids. It also helps to meet your Protein goals. The more protein I get, the better I feel. While the purpose of the surgery is to change the way we eat for life, I'm trying not to think about only food. Which is hard because I'm a professional chef in a farm to table restaurant. I've been doing my best to spend my time off of work healing to not be on pinterest looking at food, staying out of my kitchen at home, keeping the TV off. Earlier, I got an email from one of my restaurant suppliers talking about new items and it was making me have cravings so I deleted the email, moved his emails to a hidden folder, and went for a walk! Speaking of walking, walking feels amazing! It gets all of the belly gas out of your system. I've been trying to walk around my neighborhood 2 times a day. Good luck with your surgery and journey. I had to wait a little over a month between insurance approval and my surgery date and it came so fast.

I really wanted a new taste this morning so I tried Egg Beaters and cooked them like scrambled eggs. I was able to eat them no problem! I usually can't eat scrambled eggs without ketchup (a habit from when I was a kid) but I was out of ketchup so I was brave and added a tsp of mild organic salsa. Salsa did fine in my tummy too! The egg kept me satisfied longer than the yogurt I have been eating has.

My surgery was on 12/28 and today I ate... 4oz light and fit greek yogurt 8 oz Imagine Organic fat free creamy red potato soup small can of low sodium V8 juice 2oz gerber apple blueberry puree (baby food) 1 Premier Protein shake 4oz beef broth around 48oz of Water sipped here and there all for around 450 calories according to Myfitnesspal I find it a little hard to get all of the recommended water in when we have to wait so long before and after meals for drink. But I'm doing the best I can. I used to drink at least a gallon of water a day pre-op( I'm a chef an the hot kitchen makes you THIRSTY!) and 48oz makes me feel like my insides are floating. All I can think about is how I am so ready for the next stage of the diet! My Dr had me on full liquids 2 weeks prior to surgery too so tomorrow starts week 4 of only liquids. I just want to eat some substance and crunch.... AHHHHHHH!!! Anyone else feel like me? I feel like Im gonna go insane. Plus I go back to work later this week and there will be so many foods I will need to taste as I cook to make sure they are tasty enough for the guest. Guess I'll have to taste and spit lol.

I was also sleeved on Monday! Dr released me from the hospital Tuesday night. Im able to tolerate everything I have eaten so far. I do a greek yogurt cup for breakfast, soup for lunch, and soup for dinner. I try to do 2 protein shakes a day and try to get fluids in with broth and SF powerade. my goals are 60 grams of protein and 64 oz fluids. I am also having the abdomen pain you guys have but i'm off my pain meds and am able to lessen the pain with just children Tylenol. Everytime I eat, I get gas pains. I just have to take it super slow. I am having some head hunger issues. I would give anything to be able to eat a nice salad. I've heard of people who ate baby food on the full liquid stage but my Dr said to wait until I'm on the puree stage to try them. My Dr won't advance my diet untilI see her on 1/13.

Haha! A classic stock follows the 15-3-2-1 rule! 15lbs roasted bones (veal, chicken, turkey, duck..etc) 3 gallons of Water, 2lbs of mirepoix (2 parts onion, 1 part celery, 1 part carrot for stock they can be roughly chopped) and 1 Sachet d' Epices ( 15 peppercorns, a clove of garlic, a few bay leaves and parsley wrapped in cheesecloth tied to string) add all to the pot and simmer (never boil!) for 2-3 hours then strain and store. Note that roasting the bones is very important for flavor and color. To roast them just put them on a sheet tray and bake in the oven around 350 degrees until they are nice and caramelized. Never EVER add salt to a stock! You can then use your stock to make broths and Soups by adding seasonings, veggies, meats etc. When you get to the soft foods stage you can also use the stock to poach fish, chicken, turkey and duck. Its much more flavorful then baked and you don't have all the added salt that comes from canned. Thats it for today's cooking lesson I'm just now getting started on my gastric sleeve journey. I have UHC and have to do 6 months diet (non consecutive) psych, sleep study, nutrition counseling and PCP approval. I have visits with my Endo that I can count as weight loss visits so I will have met all requirements by end of October! II only have one nutrition visit and a sleep study left to go for approval. I am hoping for surgery during my Christmas break in December.