sldeems

Actually, it's 318 turns in 11 miles.... In Florida we have a saying: Tail of the Dragon is 318 turns in 11 miles, Tail of Florida is 318 miles and 11 turns.... LOL Sandy in FLorida

With pureed stage, these things don't have to be liquified, they just have to be mushed enough so that you don't have big chunks, or have anything stringy or chunky that might cause problems. You can eat egg salad almost as is if you chop the eggs very finely, tuna salad is also good in a bullet, blender or food processor. I've just entered this phase, and took a lot of hints from folks who had already been through it. What I do is add all the ingredients I would normally do for tuna, ham or egg salad, then whir together until it's a smooth consistency with no lumps of meat or egg, but not to the point of liquified -- it still has some definition and I can tell what it is. Other ideas for the mushy stage are hummus, fat free refried Beans, or laughing cow light cheese, mac and cheese (just mushed slightly, because you are going to mush further by chewing it), applesauce, cottage cheese, thinned oatmeal, grits, etc. You can take a soft fish filet, poach it, and mash it up with a fork, etc. Crackers (not whole grain, but the kinds like ritz, etc.) are actually mushy foods because they have no Fiber, so you can use a couple of crackers with your 'pate' that you've created, you just have to count in the total size you're allowed to have. The idea earlier about the pumpkin pie sounds great, as does the cauliflower. Just some thoughts... Sandy in FLorida

I have him too, tell me what you thought of him. I go in Monday for surgery as long as insurance approves, I'm still waiting on final approval.... done all the previsits and labwork, just the damned approval hanging me up.

WOHOO! I've got my date! April 24th, so I guess it makes me an April Avenger! 4 weeks from today!

Actually, I got a kick out of watching Top Chef on Bravo because when they serve the dishes they create for judging, they are 'bandster sized' portions. I was watching the other night, and Max even commented on it... so quality over quantity can still be done being a 'foodie'...

I'm May 5 as well...cinco de mayo, baby!

Bizzy Bee and Kamicola - I met my husband on line as well. He IM'd me looking for dive buddy in the area, turns out we were both divemasters, and had been diving off of the same boat in Boynton Beach for a few years but had never talked... go figure. We met the next night, have been together ever since, we met in person on 9/28 and got married 19 days later underwater in Key Largo on 10/17/99.... haven't looked back! I'm Sandy, I'm 55 the end of April, I was 2 lbs when I was born (my twin brother was 3 lbs), and small for my age until the age of 8, then I ballooned for some reason, and I've struggled with it ever since.... My date is set for 5 May, so I'm a cinco de mayo bandster... I've done the psychiatric, the nutritionist, the exercise physiologist, will do the rest of the consults and tests after I get back from my business trip on the 17th of April. I'm 5'0" and 240, my BMI is somewhere around 45ish (maybe 47). I'm looking forward to the changes... Sandy

Hey all, I've moved over here from the April group. I had April 21 as my date, but I'm going to be out of town for 2 wks on business and can't get the final round of consults, labs, etc. scheduled in time, so she moved me to May 5th... Can't wait, I'll be the first one of the day, so that's better anyway! I'll be having it done in Melbourne FL with Dr. Fusco... Sandy

Can you take me off the spreadsheet? I had to move my date to 5 May because I will be out of town for the next two weeks and can't complete the pre-surgery visits... oh, well... Anyway, good luck to all the April Avengers! Sandy

Hey, you and I have the same date, we can be nervous together! Sandy

DUHHH! I just realized that my date is April 21st and I put April 24th on the thread..... what a duffus! So I guess I'm not having it the same day as you April 24thers... Sandy

I added myself, then found that you had me in there as well, so I don't know how to delete the other one... but, hey, I'm in there!!!

Your sugars are high, I know that can cause dizzy spells and blurry vision, don't know about the other medication. GOod that you're going to see your Endo, she/he can make sure you have it controlled for the surgery. Good luck on the surgery, mine's on the 24th... Sandy

Melbourne FL with Dr. Fusco

Mine requires only a 3 day prep. 2 days to eat 2 clearliquid meals and 1 regular meal each day. Day before surgery, Clear liquids until midnight, nothing to eat or drink after midnight the night before surgery... ...guess i get off a little eaiser than some... :wink: Sandy

ooops, meant the 21st!

April 1--Bunky1965, April 2--MissLady, Natasha April 3--GiGiRN, ebowling, alicia99, p3photogal,BigBandFan(Amy), April 4--magic 1127, ColoradoChick, cheercoach08 April 5--southerngirltx April 6-- April 7--davisd, Lizb88, Susanbee April 8--Carol422, CinniMae08, carol4784, Cori in WA April 9--bft33, lizalee, moosey52 April 10-Turler, , cadencemarch, dreamsize8, Denise (from Canada), VegasJen April 11-Lynne (countingthedays), tatt2, LisaB411,Susan{livn4jesus} April 12- April 13- April 14-DaNieLLe (Dshea8285) April 15-Chilly April 16-nurse7263, Bea1128, Hunee B, yarddog, Andy (RedDirt) April 17-Johnst027 April 18-Astrid(scarlettbegonia), JennyLynn, April 19 April 20 April 21-Marisa (dancinglamb), Kris (kalipso2), sldeems April 22-Pat (Tricia1105), CTCUTIE, April 23 April 24-Savedbygrace,KatieBelle, Blund, April 25-bling April 26 April 27 April 28-bigdaddy:thumbup: , ImWkgOnMe April 29 April 30

Hey, all, I'm almost a Bandster, just waiting on the ins. approval, which the dr.'s insurance specialist said should come through quickly... I ride a HD Heritage softail, just wondering, after surgery, when were you guys up to road trips? Believe I will be in during April, we're planning a 2 wk road trip end of June --- do you think it will be "do-able"??? Also, how do you guys handle long trips? I assume sttop frequently to drink, eat my protein and stuff like I would at home, take water on the bike, etc... but, are there any issues you've encountered on the road that I should watch out for? Sandy

I was kind of hoping that I transfer my addiction over to scrapbooking and sewing rather than gambling or something else...LOL Seriously, I was thinking the same thing, but I'm actually hoping that eating becomes such an annoyance that I find a suitable 'passion' to fill the void. After I started researching this, I realized that I take huge bites, eat very fast, and tend to eat a large volume of food compared to otherpeople. So I started watching people. I have a friend who always leaves most of her food on her plate. I've watched my mother eat, and often wondered why she didn't just blow away she eats so little normally, and she takes small bites, puts her fork down between each bite, takes forever to eat. Where I would make a large sandwich with some chips and some sort of side like coleslaw or something, she'll make a small half sandwich and she's happy. I'm hoping that the behavior modification changes I have to make for this will actually teach me to eat like her! Turns out, she eats about the volume of what I'm eventually going to be eating after surgery, so I figure if I make her my role model, I might actually be able to use this tool to modify my behavior... I'm hoping that it's a relatively easy adjustment if I go into this with the right attitude... Sandy

JBFlorida, where are you from? I live in Melbourne, will be having my surgery wtih Dr. Fusco at LifeShape Bariatrics... talked to them today, submittal goes to insurance today, she said my BC/BS of IL turns it around really fast, so I'm hoping to get a date scheduled here soon! Sandy