TakingABreak

Matt you know I can tell you who it is... I've taught you the trick

I'm cutting mine this weekend, I think. My hair is down to the middle of my back, I think i'll start off by going to my shoulders. Hopefully thicken it up.

thanks for the tips! I'm going to get over my guilt one day... and probably get hooked.

Can you believe that I found 3 of the flavors at Walmart, and I bought them... and *still* haven't tried them. Its been almost 2 weeks of them being in my pantry. But for some reason, I feel guilty about eating them. I know it is irrational, but it reminds me of those microwavable cake desserts. Ugh, my brain!

As I did my meal prep for this week, I thought to myself, this is what has changed the most for me. I shop weekly for the freshest fruits and veggies. I meal prep every Sunday and some Wednesday/Thursday’s. Would it help to start a challenge for those who want to develop good habits before surgery? We could do a running post and share our food prep victories. I get so much pride looking at my island with all my Tupperware and baggies filled with nutritional foods for the week. Let me know if anyone’s interested! Next Sunday I’ll take my pic of my food prep in all its glory!

I'm trying this new green bean salad next week. I get a lot of my recipes from Kayln's Kitchen... this one looks delicious! Green Bean Salad with Hearts of Palm, Olives, Red Pepper, and Feta Yield: 4-6 servings Total Time: 27 minutes Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 7 minutes This Green Bean Salad with Hearts of Palm, Olives, Red Pepper, and Feta is a great side dish for a summer picnic. Ingredients: Ingredients: 1 lb. fresh green beans, preferably French green beans 1-2 cups sliced hearts of palm 3/4 cup Kalamata olives or black olives, drained and sliced in half 1 cup roasted red bell pepper from a jar, diced in pieces about 3/8 inch square (You could use the whole jar if it’s a small jar.) 1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese fresh ground black pepper to taste Dressing Ingredients: 1 T balsamic vinegar 2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice 1/3 cup olive oil 1 tsp. lemon zest (probably optional, but good) 1-2 T chopped fresh oregano (or use small amount dried oregano) 1-2 T chopped fresh basil (I would omit basil if I only had dried basil) Directions: Trim ends from green beans. (I do this by gathering a handful, then standing them up on the cutting board while holding loosely so the beans all line up, then trimming the ends. Turn over and repeat with the other end.) Cut beans into pieces about 2 inches long. Steam beans using a steamer insert in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid or an electric vegetable steamer until they’re barely tender-crisp. I steamed mine 7 minutes; I would check at that point to see if they’re as done as you prefer as I like to keep the beans quite crisp. When beans are as tender as you’d like them, remove from steamer and plunge immediately into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Remove beans to colander and let them cool and drain about 15 minutes, then spread beans out on paper towels and blot dry. While beans cook, drain and slice the hearts of palm, drain and chop red peppers, drain olives and cut in half, and measure out the Feta. Combine balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, lemon zest, chopped fresh oregano and chopped fresh basil and process until herbs are very finely chopped and dressing is mixed well. (I did this in the small bowl chopper attachment of my immersion blender with a bowl attachment, which worked great but you can also use a food processor.) To assemble the salad, combine the drained beans with sliced hearts of palm, olive halves, and chopped red pepper. Add as much dressing as needed to moisten salad and combine gently. (You may not need all the dressing.) Add feta cheese and stir enough to barely mix in feta. Grind over some black pepper and serve immediately. This will keep for several days in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving the leftovers. This recipe created by Kalyn. All images and text ©Kalyn Denny for Kalyn's Kitchen.

I could probably post a link to about 5 different threads that they've debated the topic, if needed LOL Sorry, I'm not trying to make fun of the situation just hate to risk the exit of two very knowledgeable people because one conversation went too far. everyone has their limits.

There are two things that always get heated between Creek and Fluffy... keto and Dr. Atkins... it's best that it stops before someone's feelings get hurt beyond repair. There are plenty of people who can speak to the love of Keto.

Fair point, but its interesting. My weight loss actually increased (I lost 40lbs pre-op and 100lbs post op) but my proteinuria didn't stop until after my diet leveled out.

All I can say is that prior to this, I was eating very well balanced meals. I was also obese and needed to cut carbs to generate a quick change for surgery. I wasn't necessarily eating more than 74grams on purpose. But I was eating less than 20 carbs per day and I still had severe proteinuria. All I'm saying, is that it *can* happen to people. Its not something you can just dismiss. And what I meant by the liver shrinking diet being more extreme than Keto.... in Keto you still get carbs from lactose, more so than the liver shrinking diet. I couldn't eat cheese or yogurt on my liver shrinking diet, but it is OK in a Keto diet.

Same way for me at your stage. All I can say, is that things change significantly as time goes on. Never give up on a food.

I will do that when I get home tonight and your welcome!

You will be surprised once you start reading the ingredients. I just looked at a yogurt the other day. I thought the sugar was from the strawberries, but no, it had "cane sugar" listed. There is so much added sugar in everything. It's ridiculous.

I can take a picture of my packet, if that would help? I had awesome hand-outs that gave amounts and approved food.

I did edit my post to say this....

That's good that you are taking those steps! That's all you can do. Time will tell if hiccups is your sign. Until then, just remember that fluids aren't restricting or filling (in my opinion). At the liquid stages, I drank 3-4 oz 6-8 times per day. I measured it out and kept by that number. If you don't go over the recommended food amount, you should be OK and assured you aren't overeating.

Not exactly Baloney for everyone. I went on a protein strict diet prior to surgery and almost couldn't have surgery because I had temporary proteinuria. It didn't level back out until I started a more balanced diet. The kidney doctor told me specifically that an increase in protein, or heavy protein diet can cause temporary---leading to permanent kidney disease or damage. This happened to me. My doctor told me this. I should say, that this isn't the case for everyone I'm sure. And we all know that pre op diets and liver shrinking diets in general, are the extreme version of "Keto".

Yeah, for some reason, quoting and tagging is disabled for me on this post. Anyway.... it could very well be that hiccups are your warning sign. However, hiccups can also be a sign of too much air or eating too fast. So just be mindful of those things.

This is exactly the same for me. I can eat plenty of fruit, which we know has tons of natural sugar. It's the added sugar that makes me sick. I stick with the 5 gram rule as well.

For some reason, I can't quote or tag you Mckenzie. However, you asked if there are any signs? This is such a GREAT question. I have signs, well before I feel full. My nose starts running when I am full. I've heard some people start to sneeze. It can be hard to identify these when you don't know what to look for. Hope this helps!

I don't have loose skin on my feet, but I've dropped a whole shoe size. I don't think it was necessarily the length of my feet that has changed, rather than this "bulk" you refer to. My feet are less wide and fat, thus, smaller shoe size.

Looks yummy! Keep sticking to low carb fruits. Well on your way!

I really feel like with this post, you have arrived. Arrived to your destined life and beautiful future. Wish you the best success and happiness.

Started filling my cart today. I usually shop online for my groceries, so I go online throughout the week as I think of things I'd like to buy. I think I'm going to make some buffalo Brussels Sprouts next week! Someone gave me a their recipe in another post, and it has been on my mind. What will be on your menu?

@Tealael mine too