chica

Penny (aka Rugman), Thanks for telling us about the support group forks -- it reminded me that I received some beautiful little cake forks (like seafood forks) as a wedding present, and I don't think we've ever even used them! So I pulled one out and am using it along with my tiny espresso spoons. Fenton, Thanks for all the wonderful descriptions of your food adventures, but I swear I thought I might drool on my keyboard from your description of the cookies! Hurray for you being able to toss what you did. :cursing: Thanks to everybody else for keeping the thread alive and well...

Here's a tip from my doctor's office on dealing with craving sweets: If you like pudding as a snack, buy the instant sugar-free, fat-free kind and add a scoop or two of protein powder (surely I'm not the only one with lots of this in my house now...) to the milk before mixing in the pudding. You can have this with some Cool Whip Lite, and it's not only a great way to satisfy that sweet-tooth need, but since you're getting protein in too, it helps you in a big way! :bolt:

I know it's been said before, but really, until we start getting fills (unless you're one of those lucky people who got some saline during surgery:wink2: or poor Evelas!), any weight loss beyond the liquid phase is just icing on the proverbial cake. (Ooh, what kind of cake??? :biggrin:) I think it's hard to look at everyone's weight tickers sometimes because it's easy to assume that the starting weight on it is from the date of surgery. Usually, it's not. That's something to keep in mind...

And to think this man saw you naked and didn't even buy you dinner first!

We had rain here too yesterday, and I made the bold decision to go mall-walking! I felt like I needed to go buy a matching velour running suit and go for my weekly wash'n'set at the salon to fit in with the other mall-walkers. :wink_smile: But in the end, I got a mile and a half of good-paced walking in with my MP3 player blasting good tunes!

My surgeon found a small hernia that the barium swallow missed, and he fixed it with a couple of stitches. (Showed me the pictures too.) The good news is that perhaps insurance will now pay something toward the surgery, because up till now, I had to self-pay it all! :thumbup:

I'm so glad we're back! :tt2: I missed you guys. It was like a cruel April Fool's joke... not funny. One more week of mushies left for me. So here's my question for those of who are in or past this stage: What's your favorite mushy food? I'm looking for ideas.. :thumbup:

... is anyone else having trouble reading the March 2008 Master Thread? I keep getting this weird error that says the controller can't be found or something like that.

Wow, SpecialK, you're awesome!

YUM! Will you at least tell me how to make satay sauce? Please??? :thumbup:

Full liquids you should be able to drink with a straw... mushies should need a spoon (or possibly a fork). :thumbup:

Ooh, good to know. I'll definitely add more water next time!:thumbup:

Last year, I broke my wrist and needed surgery (plate & screws), and I was told that I couldn't donate blood for 3 months afterward. I'm surprised some people are not turned down when they're one month out of surgery...:confused2: I used to do automated blood collection all the time (if I could pass the dreaded iron test), so I'm curious to see if I can still do this. It takes a lot longer than whole blood donation, but I guess since it's one of my few do-gooder deeds, I should try when I get 3 months out. :crying:

I know this was part of my marriage vows! :crying: Did y'all forget to include that?

Okay, dish now, Fenton. What's the name of your book?!

Oh no! I will have to try this. I lived on Coffee Coolatta's for the better part of a year until someone pointed out that I was not addicted to the coffee -- it was the sugar! :thumbup: Oh, but how I loved them. :w00t:

Do you know why your doc says no applesauce? Just curious...

Fenton, you're too funny. Unfortunately, that's my doc instructions on scrambled eggs as well, and I thought I'd try it last night. Frankly, your two horrifying options would be better! I'm not going to have scrambled eggs again till I'm back to real foods.

When I started mushies, I called to ask about this, and our patient coordinator said that on mushies, not only do you have to blenderize scrambled eggs after cooking, but that even after being over a year out, she still has trouble with simple scrambled eggs. So, please be careful...

Thanks for posting this recipe, Becky. I'm not a big mayo fan, so this was a great way to have my mushy tuna and have it warm, too! :thumbup:

I'm very interested to hear how this plays out because I had the exact same experience (although my doc showed me pics of the hernia before and after in my 1st post-op visit). And I like your idea of getting some of the other fees too. Do let us know what happens! If I hear from my insurance company first, I'll do the same.

Fenton, I'm just starting mushies and I was warned not to freak out if I gain a few pounds during this stage. :thumbup: Our bodies have been getting mostly just Protein, very limited carbs and fat, on the liquid stage, so it's a big adjustment going into mushies. We tend to get much more in the way of carbs and fat, in particular. Plus, this is a period where we're unrestricted other than texture... By the way, have you tried your yogurt smoothie for protein in the morning? Just checking to see if it gave you an energy boost. Me, I've always been a Breakfast girl, just now it's in the form of protein shakes!

I use Unjury chocolate plus skim milk and some ice with my peanut butter. This is so good, my 8 yo son asks for one after school every day!

Oh, I forgot about pudding with protein powder -- I wasn't allowed that on till now. YUMMY!

Gosh, Grace! You've done amazingly well! Congrats