voiceomt2002

I've pasted the original recipe below for Mock Mashed Potatoes. I do a Deluxe version where I add softened cream cheese and give it a whirl in the food processor. I swear, it's so close to the mashed potatoes I serve at holiday time, I didn't miss the carb-loaded real thing.

Looks like it did! Congratulations!

Several folks have asked me to post more mushie recipes. I'm cool with that, but let's get the rules straight. This is what my doc allowed, so you know where I'm coming from. 1. All of the foods from the clear liquids and full liquids stages. 2. Baked (not fried) fish, chicken, or turkey. No skins. Cut in very small pieces. 3. Lean ground beef finely crushed 4. Dried bans, peas, and lentils-- well cooked. 5. Canned or well-cooked vegetables 6. LOW carb! 30g total maximum carbs per day. No bread, pasta, potatoes, or rice allowed, ever. 7. Cottage cheese and non-processed cheeses are permitted, as long as daily carb maximum is not exceeded. 8. Salads-- egg salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, or turkey salad must be mixed well. Use low calorie mixes, if you must use commercial products. 9. Scrambled or boiled eggs. No fried eggs. 10. Stop drinking all liquids 10 minutes before meals and wait 30 minutes after meals. Leave your drink in another room so you aren't tempted. Now look at all those lovely choices. Yum! I can hardly wait to share with you all the recipes.

I'm happy to help, sfrench1124. I love to cook, and I look on my new life as a bandster as a challenge to my cooking skills. In fact, I can say that my new life has actually been improved significantly by removing pasta, potatoes and rice from my meal plans. My meals are yummier by far without them!

I know I'm really big! I weigh more than my 6'1" ex-football player roommate. It's humiliating. As a joke, he dressed up as a woman for Halloween one year, wearing my clothes, and they were loose on him. I tried to crawl under the floor in mortification.

Hooray!! I stepped on the bathroom scales this morning and beheld a sight I've not had in years -- 249 lbs. First time I've been below 250 lbs since early in this decade, like 2002. My next goal is ambitious. I'm going to try for 225 lbs by June. That's a little over 1.5 pounds per week for 16 weeks. June is my birthday month, and my DH will be out of training before then. I'm hoping he'll earn at least as much or more than what he earned at his old job. We haven't been able to celebrate birthdays in recent years. I'd like to do so, even if it means going to the steakhouse and eating a teeny bit off DH's plate. (grin) That's celebration, just to go out. I think I'll set my goals like this all the time. Every 3 months, I'll shoot for a reasonable goal that will keep me working toward that someday of looking like that picture in gold again. (sigh)

Finding a program that works can be challenging. I'm doing anything I can because my job is so sedentary. Sitting on my butt in this chair definitely isn't helping me lose the blubber. My surgery went great! I had to stay overnight because I have such severe sleep apnea, but I was ready to go the next morning! I took maybe a couple of doses of liquid Tylenol, and that's been it for pain. I was on liquids for about two weeks, and then mushies for a week or so, then solids. I may be one of the lucky ones who end up with the doc already having found my "sweet spot." Even though I'm on solids, I still can't eat more than three ounces, tops. Today is my first "fill day" at the doc's office, and I'm not sure he needs to put anything in! I'm dropping weight at a good but healthy rate, and my DH gets his giggles by running up behind me and yanking my jeans off my hips! Needless to say, I've a large pile of clothes to be altered down. Good thing I can sew! Well, the family's awakening. Guess I'd better hurry up with this pile of emails! Hugs and much love!

Thanks Michelle!

Several folks have asked me to post more mushie recipes. I'm cool with that, but let's get the rules straight. This is what my doc allowed, so you know where I'm coming from. 1. All of the foods from the clear liquids and full liquids stages. 2. Baked (not fried) fish, chicken, or turkey. No skins. Cut in very small pieces. 3. Lean ground beef finely crushed 4. Dried bans, peas, and lentils-- well cooked. 5. Canned or well-cooked vegetables 6. LOW carb! 30g total maximum carbs per day. No bread, pasta, potatoes, or rice allowed, ever. 7. Cottage cheese and non-processed cheeses are permitted, as long as daily carb maximum is not exceeded. 8. Salads-- egg salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, or turkey salad must be mixed well. Use low calorie mixes, if you must use commercial products. 9. Scrambled or boiled eggs. No fried eggs. 10. Stop drinking all liquids 10 minutes before meals and wait 30 minutes after meals. Leave your drink in another room so you aren't tempted. Now look at all those lovely choices. Yum! I can hardly wait to share with you all the recipes.

Good for you, FA!! Go out and get what you want! Woot!

Thanks, Charlie! I'm enjoying my band so very much! Even the occasional problems are actually re-training me away from bad habits and into good ones.

1. Go to www.tickerfactory.com 2. Choose weight loss ticker. Click Next. 3. Select your ruler. Take your time. There are many designs. Click Next 4. Select your slider. Again, take your time. Click Next 5. Enter your info like your preferred password or PIN, weight measurements, BMI info, etc. Clicking Next saves the ticker and creates it. 6. Cut and paste the bbCode. 7. Return to www.LapBandTalk.com in another window. Keep the ticker factory window up just in case you need to cut and paste another code. (I had to do this three times to figure out which code to use for my blogspot blog.) 8. Click on UserCP at the top 9. Click on Edit Signature from the left side bar 10. Paste the code into the "Edit Signature" box in the position you want. 11. Scroll down and click on the orange "Save Signature" box. 12. Leave UserCP area, then return and go back to "Edit Signature" to see if the ticker appears. If it does, you're done.

I don't know why Lyndi is going for a fill so early. It's been a little over a month for me, and I'm not sure I need a fill. There are still some things not going down at all well, like some of the meats. Plus, I'm still losing weight at the comfortable rate of 2-3 pounds a week.:tongue: For example, I had a terrible evening last night over the rare Marco Polo Steak I served. I measured a small 3 oz portion, cut it up into tiny bits, and tried to eat slowly. All my efforts were in vain. It got stuck anyway, and I spent a miserable hour until all the meat passed the stoma. What a relief when it did! :cursing: Like Theresa, Dr. Baptista has put me on Miralax. (Happy sigh) What a relief-- literally. My wallet may dislike the cost, but I refuse to do without my morning dose in my coffee now. For those on mushies who need a change, if you can handle semi-solids like well-cooked veggies and ground meat, go look on my blog here. I posted a recipe called Sausage and Egg Cups. You can change out the meat, veggies, and cheeses to get some variety, and by making several at once you can freeze what you can't eat. I made a batch this past Sunday, and I'm still munching my way through the collection. It's a great "grab and go" sort of meal. I plan on making a version with salmon, asparagus bits, and a white cheese mix leftover from another recipe this weekend.

Thanks, BG! In my job, you have to break down the goals or you'll be overwhelmed. Just ask anyone who ever tried to write the Great American Novel. LOL!

Oh, I hear you on that one IowaMom! A healthy weight seems so far away, doesn't it? See if this idea works for you-- Don't focus on the far away goals, but instead on something closer. Losing 5-10 pounds before your surgery would be a decent accomplishment. I'd suggest taking up walking, but I'd imagine that would be darned uncomfortable right now. Maybe in a few months.

I go for my first fill this Thursday too, Lyndi. I'm darn near shaking in my shoes, but I'm determined to see this through.

Hooray!! I stepped on the bathroom scales this morning and beheld a sight I've not had in years -- 249 lbs. First time I've been below 250 lbs since early in this decade, like 2002. My next goal is ambitious. I'm going to try for 225 lbs by June. That's a little over 1.5 pounds per week for 16 weeks. June is my birthday month, and my DH will be out of training before then. I'm hoping he'll earn at least as much or more than what he earned at his old job. We haven't been able to celebrate birthdays in recent years. I'd like to do so, even if it means going to the steakhouse and eating a teeny bit off DH's plate. (grin) That's celebration, just to go out. I think I'll set my goals like this all the time. Every 3 months, I'll shoot for a reasonable goal that will keep me working toward that someday of looking like that picture in gold again. (sigh)

I don't know if "not hungry" is exactly correct. While you do get full A LOT faster, you do still occasionally get hungry. It's just not as overwhelming. (Patting my band area) Your band is your partner in self-control, IMHO. You can easily get around the restriction. After all, ice cream could easily pass the stoma! It's up to you to change and exercise your will power into "won't power." Everything you're learning now is the preparation for the big event. It's like warming up before you run a marathon. You don't stretch those muscles, you're likely to falter and possibly even fall. Don't expect perfection. You're learning. Everything you do now is for your benefit. You'll do better on the liver-reduction pre-surgery diet, and when the big day finally comes, you'll be ready to sail smoothly through the liquids, the mushies, and straight on to steady, permanent weight loss.

I count my calories, Sarge. I understand. I'll see what I can dig up, okay?

Good name, Chocolate Snaps!

Giving credit where credit is due, South Beach has provided me with some excellent recipes to supplement the others I get from SavingDinner.com. I so needed a "quickie" breakfast I could eat and run with, though I filled 12 muffin pan cups instead of six. Twelve servings worked a whole lot better for me, since about 2-3 oz is all I can manage. It freezes well in individual ziploc bags, and warms back up on "Defrost" in the microwave very well. Sausage-and-Cheese Breakfast Cups (Phase 1) Makes 6 servings Description These egg "muffins" make a hearty breakfast that can be eaten on the run. Make them ahead and warm them in the microwave for a fast and slimming breakfast treat. Ingredients 4 ounces turkey sausage or crumbled turkey bacon 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped 1/4 onion, chopped 6 large eggs, beaten 1 can (12 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese Instructions Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 6-cup nonstick muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups. In a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage, pepper, and onion for 5 minutes, or until the sausage is no longer pink. Spoon the mixture into a bowl and cool slightly. Stir in the eggs and mushrooms. Evenly divide the mixture among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the egg is set. Nutritional information 140 calories 9 total fat (3 g sat) 195 mg cholesterol 4 g carbohydrate 12 g protein 1 g fiber 400 mg sodium

My pleasure. My next batch, I'm playing with my food and switching out the pepper for some broccoli or something. Maybe some parmesan and spinach for a Florentine style. Depends on what I have lingering around in the fridge.

Giving credit where credit is due, South Beach has provided me with some excellent recipes to supplement the others I get from SavingDinner.com. I so needed a "quickie" breakfast I could eat and run with, though I filled 12 muffin pan cups instead of six. Twelve servings worked a whole lot better for me, since about 2-3 oz is all I can manage. It freezes well in individual ziploc bags, and warms back up on "Defrost" in the microwave very well. Sausage-and-Cheese Breakfast Cups (Phase 1) Makes 6 servings Description These egg "muffins" make a hearty breakfast that can be eaten on the run. Make them ahead and warm them in the microwave for a fast and slimming breakfast treat. Ingredients 4 ounces turkey sausage or crumbled turkey bacon 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped 1/4 onion, chopped 6 large eggs, beaten 1 can (12 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese Instructions Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 6-cup nonstick muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups. In a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage, pepper, and onion for 5 minutes, or until the sausage is no longer pink. Spoon the mixture into a bowl and cool slightly. Stir in the eggs and mushrooms. Evenly divide the mixture among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the egg is set. Nutritional information 140 calories 9 total fat (3 g sat) 195 mg cholesterol 4 g carbohydrate 12 g protein 1 g fiber 400 mg sodium