Oy I've fallen down on the job here. School started last week with kids coming back on Tuesday, and I'm exhausted. Our school is starting PBS, and we had training all last week. Specialists had to go behind the classroom teachers and review/reteach each lesson. Kids will be coming to us this week, so that will be a good thing. :) Time to get rockin' and rollin' on making some art!
At my second school, I am team teaching with a very experienced (34yrs) art teacher who is just about as opposite of me in personality as she can be, LOL. She is very easy to get along with so far, and I'm looking forward to learning a ton from her. I've already snatched some organizational ideas of hers and put them to use in my home base classroom.
I think I will make the Soy-Mustard Glazed Beef recipe from the Eating Well cookbook sometime this week. Taking lunch has thus far been a TOTAL drag. :( Got to figure out what I can take that I will actually LIKE to eat. I'm not a huge fan of leftovers, and can't have sandwiches any more.
Have lost 25.2 pounds since June 3. I am NOT a happy camper, however, because I went for my post-op visit with surgeon on Thursday and he refuses to give me a fill until the first week of November. That'll be TWELVE WEEKS post-op, which is twice as long as any other patient I've ever heard of having to wait for the first fill.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Support Group Meeting
The support group for bariatric patients of my surgeon's practice meets every third Thursday night, so we went to group tonight. The nurse who usually leads the group is out of town, so a psychologist led the group tonight. It was quite interesting, in that even though I am only two weeks out from surgery, I can answer questions from newbies already. Also interesting, not many people in attendance are more than 2 years out from surgery. I guess the more "experienced" folks are too busy running around with all their newly discovered energy to attend group, LOL. :)
Have discovered that reheated meat is hard to eat. :( This is not what Martha would call a "good thing", 'cuz we have a habit of cooking once or twice a week and reheating on other nights.
Watching Chris Rock! He's a hoot.
Have discovered that reheated meat is hard to eat. :( This is not what Martha would call a "good thing", 'cuz we have a habit of cooking once or twice a week and reheating on other nights.
Watching Chris Rock! He's a hoot.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Greek Style Lamb Burgers
Tonight's dinner: Greek STyle Lamb Burgers from the _Eating Well_ cookbook. I found a place that sells local lamb, and got a boneless leg and some burger. The recipe is teriffic; unfortunately my lamb was not as good quality as I would have ground myself. Consequently, my leg o' lamb may become burger - or at least part of it, anyway. Ginny won't eat lamb, so anything I cook, I'll have to eat, one way or another. ;)
Overall, the lamb I mixed with beef tenderloin hamburger was the best; the tenderloin brought the meat to fat ratio back to the bearable range. :)
L
Overall, the lamb I mixed with beef tenderloin hamburger was the best; the tenderloin brought the meat to fat ratio back to the bearable range. :)
L
Vertical Chicken Roaster
Okeydokey, here is a picture of my vertical chicken roaster. it looks basically like one of those ring holders, but there are walls that form a dish to catch the fat from the bird as it melts. I usually put the innards in the dish part to cook for the dog.
Directions:
1. Season your bird however you like - I have been known to slide rosemary springs between the skin and meat, along with some garlic slices - mmmmmm good!
2. Place chicken on the roaster such that the spike goes up inside the bird.
3. Pull the neck skin up and flap it over the neck hole, so the moisture stays in there and steams into the meat.
4. Put your oven rack down low and put the bird inside UNCOVERED. Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for at least an hour - I usually go an hour and 15 min or 1:30 to be sure it's done through. The skin will be crispy, the fat will have drained off into the bowl part of the dish, and the meat will be falling off the bone and moistmoistmoist! :)
5. If you have the type of roaster with a cup to hold liquid, step number 3 is very important, and don't forget to ADD the liquid before you put the chicken down over it. You can also add herbs to the liquid.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Turkey for Dinner
Not much to report today. Leanne and I went up to the orchard to get some peaches. On the way, I stopped at the little gas station nearby because A. I needed cash and B. the sign outside says something about fresh lamb and I LOVE lamb, so I had to check it out. Turns out that the owners of the store also own a farm just down the road, and they've switched from raising pork to raising lamb for butchering. The butchering is being done locally, and it looked really good, so I got a boneless leg and a couple pounds of ground. Can't WAIT to try it - that might be tomorrow's dinner, because I do believe there's a recipe in the _Eating Well_ cookbook for lamb.
Yesterday we went to Earth Fare, which is almost always a disaster for me because I love the place and I always spend more there than I should. I love everything about it - the layout, the super cool products, the cheese selection, and their meats are just beautiful. The problem is that everything in the place is just SO expensive compared to a regular grocery store. This is another one of those situations where taking something OUT of a product (in this case, pesticides or whatever else makes a food NOT organic) makes said product more expensive.. Anyway, in the meat case yesterday were these sesame crusted turkey breasts. I asked the kid behind the counter how to cook it, and he tried ever so hard to look at me while reading from the card behind the counter, LOL. Directions: Wrap in foil and bake about 40 minutes.
So, I wrapped in foil and baked about 40 minutes. The meat was just done through, but talk about dry! That's not something I'll be buying again. BUT - I did eat mine (cut in half and shared with Ginny) - and it stayed down, prolly because I chewed it into submission. ;)
Oh drat, I forgot to do the cauliflower thing.... Maybe we'll have that with the lamb.
Yesterday we went to Earth Fare, which is almost always a disaster for me because I love the place and I always spend more there than I should. I love everything about it - the layout, the super cool products, the cheese selection, and their meats are just beautiful. The problem is that everything in the place is just SO expensive compared to a regular grocery store. This is another one of those situations where taking something OUT of a product (in this case, pesticides or whatever else makes a food NOT organic) makes said product more expensive.
So, I wrapped in foil and baked about 40 minutes. The meat was just done through, but talk about dry! That's not something I'll be buying again. BUT - I did eat mine (cut in half and shared with Ginny) - and it stayed down, prolly because I chewed it into submission. ;)
Oh drat, I forgot to do the cauliflower thing.... Maybe we'll have that with the lamb.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Asian Marinated Scallops
Today's dinner is Asian Marinated Scallops from the _Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery_ cookbook. I cut the recipe in half, because I seriously don't like leftover fish. Yes, I know that's weird, but whatever...
Scallops are expensive, and have a delicate flavor which is easily overpowered by strong seasonings. That is the problem with this recipe; it has about 4 times too much soy sauce - a half cup to a pound of scallops. It would have been better with less soy sauce and a bit of fish sauce and maybe some white wine. The recipe is easy enough for my non-cooking 5th grade nephew to make, were he so inclined, but I won't be making it again. Poor little soy-smothered scallops....
Next up, I'll be making one of the cauliflower side dishes, so stay tuned...
Scallops are expensive, and have a delicate flavor which is easily overpowered by strong seasonings. That is the problem with this recipe; it has about 4 times too much soy sauce - a half cup to a pound of scallops. It would have been better with less soy sauce and a bit of fish sauce and maybe some white wine. The recipe is easy enough for my non-cooking 5th grade nephew to make, were he so inclined, but I won't be making it again. Poor little soy-smothered scallops....
Next up, I'll be making one of the cauliflower side dishes, so stay tuned...
Getting Ready for School
Teachers go back to school in 4 days, so we went down to my room today to get some setup stuff done. Ginny built a tabletop to replace the cardboard box I've had covering the water fountain; I need all the storage space I can lay hands on, and the water fountain was covered because the kids want to splash the water all over the place instead of drinking it. What I REALLY need is a sink there, instead of the water fountain, but the maintenance guys won't change it out for me. So, now I have an extended tabletop. :)
I tried to make some signs to tape on each table, and it turns out that the new printer won't print in color! I'm the ART TEACHER for cripesake, and they took away a perfectly good color printer and replaced it with black and white! How does this make sense?
For lunch we went to Vallarta and I had Ceviche. It seems that fish has a LOT of protein in it, about 7g per ounce, so it looks like we're going to be big fish eaters from now on, which won't hurt my feelings at all. For dinner I'm making one of the Scallop recipes from _Eating Well_.
I tried to make some signs to tape on each table, and it turns out that the new printer won't print in color! I'm the ART TEACHER for cripesake, and they took away a perfectly good color printer and replaced it with black and white! How does this make sense?
For lunch we went to Vallarta and I had Ceviche. It seems that fish has a LOT of protein in it, about 7g per ounce, so it looks like we're going to be big fish eaters from now on, which won't hurt my feelings at all. For dinner I'm making one of the Scallop recipes from _Eating Well_.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Food at Last! :)
So my post op diet has been all liquids for 2 weeks, and then supposed to ease into regular food. Well, it's been 13 days. My MIL came down unexpectedly for the day, so we ended up going out to Olive Garden for lunch. They do have soups, but I decided to order the Parmesan Tilapia. I was going to get the salmon, but Ginny was afraid for me to eat broccoli as my first vegetable, so I ended up with angel hair instead. Of course, I din't eat the angel hair, but I had a few bites of salad and most of a slice of roma tomato, and then I tasted Ginny's soup, and the rest of my meal was the tilapia. Y U M! And no problems at all!
I had thought that solid food would last longer and I might get to go more than 3 hours between feedings, but no such luck. Had a protein smoothie about 3 hrs. later.
For supper: Spanakopita. Yum again!
I had thought that solid food would last longer and I might get to go more than 3 hours between feedings, but no such luck. Had a protein smoothie about 3 hrs. later.
For supper: Spanakopita. Yum again!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Chicken Mousse
No, this is not about the Hair Club for Hens. I took the aforementioned "Tuna Mousse" recipe (see previous post for details) and made it with chicken instead of fish. I tried it with salmon yesterday (YUM) too. Next I'm going to try some deli roast beef or corned beef, I think. Should be TDF. ;)
Have developed a bruised feeling just below my xyphoid process. I think it's caused by the incredibly strong hiccups I get when I take one bite too many. One of the things I still have to learn is how to tell where the "stopping point" is...how many bites are just enough and how many are too many.
Scale victory for the week: Four more pounds down the tubes! :)
Have developed a bruised feeling just below my xyphoid process. I think it's caused by the incredibly strong hiccups I get when I take one bite too many. One of the things I still have to learn is how to tell where the "stopping point" is...how many bites are just enough and how many are too many.
Scale victory for the week: Four more pounds down the tubes! :)
Julie and Julia
Just got back from seeing Julie & Julia, and it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. Just the sets alone are worth the price of admission, and the food!!! Wonder where I can find a duck to debone??? LOL. Ducks are hideously fatty though...will a chicken do?
We just about died laughing at the lobster scene... That's one thing I've never done and don't know that I COULD do - boil lobsters alive. I might have to cheat and buy lobster meat from a fishmonger...if we HAD a fishmonger.
The movie does make a point that is very true - Blogs are all about their author - me, me, me. Egocentric, so to speak. Hadn't thought about that before, but is true.
We just about died laughing at the lobster scene... That's one thing I've never done and don't know that I COULD do - boil lobsters alive. I might have to cheat and buy lobster meat from a fishmonger...if we HAD a fishmonger.
The movie does make a point that is very true - Blogs are all about their author - me, me, me. Egocentric, so to speak. Hadn't thought about that before, but is true.
I just got this information from a friend of mine:
Imagine this : You are attacked at gunpoint in the presence of your two children, ages 3 and 5. Your attacker threatens to assault one of your children if you do not comply with his wishes. You have given him your wallet and begged him to leave you and your children alone. You are raped in front of your children.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Soup o' the Day
I have discovered a new YUMMMMMmmmmmmmmmy soup. Now, the name of the soup is off-putting to me, because I totally despise squash, so I was a little skeptical, but it turns out that Butternut Squash is more like a pumpkin than a squash. Who knew? O man this stuff is good. I used the recipe for Curried Butternut Squash Soup by Robin Miller, WITH the lime crema, and man o man is it good. Here are a couple variations that I did:
1. I put half a head of garlic in foil with olive oil and put it in the pan with the squash when I roasted it. I used 3 cloves in the soup instead of the garlic powder.
2. I used a pre-packaged cut up squash from the grocery store instead of buying my own and doing all the clean-out and peeling.
3. I put about 1/3 cup finely chopped onion instead of onion powder, simply b/c I din't have the onion powder.
4. I used chicken stock instead of veg stock.
DEEEEEEELISH!!!!! And, very band friendly. :) I was full on about a half cup.
1. I put half a head of garlic in foil with olive oil and put it in the pan with the squash when I roasted it. I used 3 cloves in the soup instead of the garlic powder.
2. I used a pre-packaged cut up squash from the grocery store instead of buying my own and doing all the clean-out and peeling.
3. I put about 1/3 cup finely chopped onion instead of onion powder, simply b/c I din't have the onion powder.
4. I used chicken stock instead of veg stock.
DEEEEEEELISH!!!!! And, very band friendly. :) I was full on about a half cup.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
No new soup today....
Ok, I lied. Well, not lied exactly, it's just that we have two batches of soup already made and there's only so much I can eat of it, so it's silly to make more until this is gone. :) Never fear, I will be making the next recipe soon.
Meanwhile back in Bandlandia, for the last 3 days, every time I eat (no matter what I eat,) I get THE worst pain under my ribs. Went walking, since I've been told that walking is the best way to get rid of these pains, which are caused by gas, not to be too graphic... anyway, it din't work. Still there. Imagine, if you will, the pain you get when you are running and get a "stitch" in your side. Now enlarge the area of the pain to the size of a baseball, and put it RIGHT UNDER your left ribs, and magnify said pain times two. Yep, that's about it. Man o man. Theories proffered by fellow Bandlandians are, one, that I'm swallowing air when I eat (which is really drinking, since I'm on the liquid phase right now...), and two, that air bubbles that would have come up easily pre-band are now trapped below the band and causing this problem. :( Now I have a question. If I'm swallowing air, how do I STOP doing that, if I don't know I'm doing it? And no, I'm not using a straw....
Meanwhile back in Bandlandia, for the last 3 days, every time I eat (no matter what I eat,) I get THE worst pain under my ribs. Went walking, since I've been told that walking is the best way to get rid of these pains, which are caused by gas, not to be too graphic... anyway, it din't work. Still there. Imagine, if you will, the pain you get when you are running and get a "stitch" in your side. Now enlarge the area of the pain to the size of a baseball, and put it RIGHT UNDER your left ribs, and magnify said pain times two. Yep, that's about it. Man o man. Theories proffered by fellow Bandlandians are, one, that I'm swallowing air when I eat (which is really drinking, since I'm on the liquid phase right now...), and two, that air bubbles that would have come up easily pre-band are now trapped below the band and causing this problem. :( Now I have a question. If I'm swallowing air, how do I STOP doing that, if I don't know I'm doing it? And no, I'm not using a straw....
What, no dog walking?
Hey, I was supposed to go dog walking with Leanne today but she hasn't called yet. Guess I'll have to go to the gym instead.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Tuna Mousse? Say WHAT?
Ok lemme just say this up front: The word "mousse" should only be used for hair products and desserts. The idea of making "mousse" with meat is just plain weird to me, but I just could not resist making the recipe on page 135 of Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery, simply because it sounded so friggin' strange. I did cut the recipe in half, because DW flat out refused to even try it, so I knew if I didn't like it, I din't wanna waste the ingredients, which are: canned tuna, mayo, sour cream, cream cheese, salt/pepper and celery seeds. The recipe calls for fat free versions of the cream cheese and sour cream, and low fat mayo. This is a good place for a rant:
RANT MODE ON: I don't care if it slows down the whole weight loss process; I am NOT using fat free anything. Any product that says "fat free" has had the fat replaced with a boatload of crap like high fructose corn syrup and guar gum. What the hell is a guar anyway? Sunday I went to the store and bought the stuff for the red and yellow pepper soup, one item of which is "heavy cream". Well, since I'm trying to avoid fat when possible, I decided to check out the possibility of either light cream, or half and half, so I pull 'em out of the fridge case and check the label. Fat free half and half is loaded with that high fructose corn syrup and a bunch of other junk in place of the fat. Light cream contains milk and cream and I think vitamin D or something like that. Plus, most of the time, "fat free" means "costs more". As the mobsters say, "f'getaboudit". I din't do this so I could eat fake food. So, I'll eat "reduced fat" stuff, like skim milk and reduced fat sour cream, but fat free? Not me. [rant mode off]
I started out draining the tuna and putting it in the Cuisinart. I'm using a small one (marketed as a mini-chopper) that was inherited from my mom. It works a treat! I zapped the tuna basically to dust, then added everything else and zapped to blend.
Believe it or not, Tuna Mousse is not bad. Not something I'd make every week, but it definitely has potential. For example, I might switch it up with one of those foil packets of salmon, or a can of chicken instead of tuna. With the tuna, it has the consistency of hummus - that kind of grainy mouth feel - but creamier. Prolly really good for a party dip, with some garlic and hot pepper thrown in! :)
Tomorrow's recipe: Chicken and Mushroom Soup, page 38.
RANT MODE ON: I don't care if it slows down the whole weight loss process; I am NOT using fat free anything. Any product that says "fat free" has had the fat replaced with a boatload of crap like high fructose corn syrup and guar gum. What the hell is a guar anyway? Sunday I went to the store and bought the stuff for the red and yellow pepper soup, one item of which is "heavy cream". Well, since I'm trying to avoid fat when possible, I decided to check out the possibility of either light cream, or half and half, so I pull 'em out of the fridge case and check the label. Fat free half and half is loaded with that high fructose corn syrup and a bunch of other junk in place of the fat. Light cream contains milk and cream and I think vitamin D or something like that. Plus, most of the time, "fat free" means "costs more". As the mobsters say, "f'getaboudit". I din't do this so I could eat fake food. So, I'll eat "reduced fat" stuff, like skim milk and reduced fat sour cream, but fat free? Not me. [rant mode off]
I started out draining the tuna and putting it in the Cuisinart. I'm using a small one (marketed as a mini-chopper) that was inherited from my mom. It works a treat! I zapped the tuna basically to dust, then added everything else and zapped to blend.
Believe it or not, Tuna Mousse is not bad. Not something I'd make every week, but it definitely has potential. For example, I might switch it up with one of those foil packets of salmon, or a can of chicken instead of tuna. With the tuna, it has the consistency of hummus - that kind of grainy mouth feel - but creamier. Prolly really good for a party dip, with some garlic and hot pepper thrown in! :)
Tomorrow's recipe: Chicken and Mushroom Soup, page 38.
Cookbook: Eating Well After Bariatric Surgery
One of the things that's kind of nerve wracking when you're considering bariatric surgery is the idea that you can't eat whatever you wanna any more. I've read or skimmed five different books by or about people who've had WLS, and I really like this one. It has "over 140" different recipes in all the usual categeories, including dessert, and all the ones I've read so far look really promising.
At the bottom of each recipe, there are serving portion suggestions listed for each type of surgery, based on where you are in the "process". Since I'm in the middle of the first two weeks, I'm still on liquids, so I started with the first soup recipe in the book (page 37 in the paperback edition): Bengali Chicken and Vegetable Soup.
I won't reprint the recipe here, since I'm not up for being sued for copyright infringement, but the soup calls for onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, herbs, chicken, chicken stock, cauliflower, broccoli and coconut milk. The recipe says for weeks 1-4 on the band, to puree half a cup. So, I added a little more water and zapped away with my hand blender. (If you don't have one of those, you've GOT to get one; it rocks!) Can you say YUM!? :) Really good, even pureed. I changed the recipe just a smidge, using chicken thigh meat instead of breast, and cilantro instead of parsley. Between the cilantro and the broccoli, the puree was NOT a particularly happy shade of green, but it WAS good. Yum!
At the bottom of each recipe, there are serving portion suggestions listed for each type of surgery, based on where you are in the "process". Since I'm in the middle of the first two weeks, I'm still on liquids, so I started with the first soup recipe in the book (page 37 in the paperback edition): Bengali Chicken and Vegetable Soup.
I won't reprint the recipe here, since I'm not up for being sued for copyright infringement, but the soup calls for onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, herbs, chicken, chicken stock, cauliflower, broccoli and coconut milk. The recipe says for weeks 1-4 on the band, to puree half a cup. So, I added a little more water and zapped away with my hand blender. (If you don't have one of those, you've GOT to get one; it rocks!) Can you say YUM!? :) Really good, even pureed. I changed the recipe just a smidge, using chicken thigh meat instead of breast, and cilantro instead of parsley. Between the cilantro and the broccoli, the puree was NOT a particularly happy shade of green, but it WAS good. Yum!
Everybody needs a pookie like mine!
Everybody should be as lucky as I am. :) I have THE #1 most fabulous partner in the history of partners. She did the two-week pre-surgery diet with me and lost 6 pounds herself. She took a week off work to stay home with moi. Good thing, 'cuz I couldn't even sit up in the dang bed by myself (well, unless I ENJOYED excruciating pain, which I do not) until about Friday. I still can't pick up anything below my knees or load the bottom rack of the dishwasher without pain, and I tire out very quickly. So far, she is keeping her promise NOT to be the food police, but she IS, or was until she went back to work today, preparing most of my food, so it's kind of a moot point, LOL.
I'm a participant on Smartbandsters, a Yahoo group for folks who have, or are considering, an adjustable gastric band, regardless of brand. If you're thinking about getting a band, or have one and need extra support, I highly recommend it. There are other band lists, but I like this one best. The moderators do a good job of keeping out harassing folks, and one of the list founders is a Band Genius - she's had her band for 10 years now, and is a nurse who works in a bariatric practice. She's really good about answering folks' questions quickly and in a no-nonsense way. My favorite quote so far: "You will always be able to eat way more than you should. DON'T DO THAT."
I'm a participant on Smartbandsters, a Yahoo group for folks who have, or are considering, an adjustable gastric band, regardless of brand. If you're thinking about getting a band, or have one and need extra support, I highly recommend it. There are other band lists, but I like this one best. The moderators do a good job of keeping out harassing folks, and one of the list founders is a Band Genius - she's had her band for 10 years now, and is a nurse who works in a bariatric practice. She's really good about answering folks' questions quickly and in a no-nonsense way. My favorite quote so far: "You will always be able to eat way more than you should. DON'T DO THAT."
Okay, so I was talking about the pre-surgery diet. I can tell you from listening to other lap band patients that every surgeon's approach to diet is different. Generally speaking, the pre-surgery diet lasts for 2 weeks and then you have the surgery. Some patients relate that they have had full-liquid diets pre-surgery, some have protein-supplement-only liquid diets. As previously noted, I was expecting the latter, and was pleasantly surprised, considering the situation, to find that my nutritionist's idea of a pre-surgery diet goes like this:
Breakfast - protein shake*
Lunch - 4-5oz lean protein, 1/2 cup green veg + 2 cups salad greens
Snack - protein shake
Dinner - repeat lunch
Snack - protein shake
Also allowed are jello, popsicles, and water-based veggies like cucumber and celery, as well as calorie-free beverages.
So I've had 2 weeks of that, then surgery, where I had NOTHING to eat but water from midnight Sunday until mid-morning Tuesday, and then only about 2oz of Atkins Advantage. Post surgery, I'm on full liquids for 2 weeks. I'm a week post surgery - can you say BORED with protein supplements? OMG. And I love me some egg drop soup, but I'm afraid all the cornstarch required to make it thick is loading me up on the carbs (to say nothing of the fat content), so I din't wanna go there, or at least, not very often, so I set out on a quest to find some decent, meaning flavorful and satisfying, full-liquid soups. "Liquid" meaning "can be consumed by use of a straw".
As usual, I started out at FoodTV where I found this recipe by Emeril Lagasse for Roasted Red and Yellow Pepper Soups. Here are some changes I made:
1. In the yellow pepper soup, I used light cream to cut the fat.
2. In the red pepper soup, I used beef stock, 'cuz that's what I had.
3. In the red pepper soup, I added about 10 dashes of Marie Sharpe's gold label.
4. I used the Cuisinart to do all the chopping, so the pieces were small to start with. By the time I used the hand blender, I didn't feel it needed to be sieved, so I din't do it.
The Verdict: Good Stuff!!! The only downside is, red and yellow peppers, do they come from Mars? Because they're freakin' THREE DOLLARS EACH!!! If the idea of green soup wasn't just horrifying, I'd have gone with the green peppers - the flavor isn't that different to justify the price difference. I'll definitely make this again, because I'll have to be on liquids for one or two days after a fill.
I've decided that this is Soup Week, and I'm starting with the very first recipe in the Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery book. More on that later - it's on the cooktop now, and it smells FABOO...
*protein shake = any approved liquid protein supplement, not necessarily a "shake", per se.
Breakfast - protein shake*
Lunch - 4-5oz lean protein, 1/2 cup green veg + 2 cups salad greens
Snack - protein shake
Dinner - repeat lunch
Snack - protein shake
Also allowed are jello, popsicles, and water-based veggies like cucumber and celery, as well as calorie-free beverages.
So I've had 2 weeks of that, then surgery, where I had NOTHING to eat but water from midnight Sunday until mid-morning Tuesday, and then only about 2oz of Atkins Advantage. Post surgery, I'm on full liquids for 2 weeks. I'm a week post surgery - can you say BORED with protein supplements? OMG. And I love me some egg drop soup, but I'm afraid all the cornstarch required to make it thick is loading me up on the carbs (to say nothing of the fat content), so I din't wanna go there, or at least, not very often, so I set out on a quest to find some decent, meaning flavorful and satisfying, full-liquid soups. "Liquid" meaning "can be consumed by use of a straw".
As usual, I started out at FoodTV where I found this recipe by Emeril Lagasse for Roasted Red and Yellow Pepper Soups. Here are some changes I made:
1. In the yellow pepper soup, I used light cream to cut the fat.
2. In the red pepper soup, I used beef stock, 'cuz that's what I had.
3. In the red pepper soup, I added about 10 dashes of Marie Sharpe's gold label.
4. I used the Cuisinart to do all the chopping, so the pieces were small to start with. By the time I used the hand blender, I didn't feel it needed to be sieved, so I din't do it.
The Verdict: Good Stuff!!! The only downside is, red and yellow peppers, do they come from Mars? Because they're freakin' THREE DOLLARS EACH!!! If the idea of green soup wasn't just horrifying, I'd have gone with the green peppers - the flavor isn't that different to justify the price difference. I'll definitely make this again, because I'll have to be on liquids for one or two days after a fill.
I've decided that this is Soup Week, and I'm starting with the very first recipe in the Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery book. More on that later - it's on the cooktop now, and it smells FABOO...
*protein shake = any approved liquid protein supplement, not necessarily a "shake", per se.
The path to enLIGHTENment is paved with protein shakes
There are a LOT of hoops to jump through before you can have WLS, whether you're self-pay or you have insurance. You have to pass a psychological exam, go to a nutritionist, and have a lot of medical testing done to be sure you're physically able to have the surgery in the first place. This stuff takes FOREVER, so if you're considering WLS, and have a "goal date" like I did (I wanted to have the surgery over and done with during the summer so I wouldn't have to take off work after school started,) you need to get started early. I was lucky - I went to the first support group meeting the end of April and had my surgery August 3 - roughly 3.5 months from first meeting to recovery room. This was possible, in part, because I'd already had several of the required tests done (because of the aforementioned munchkin-borne viral infections), and also because I pushed forward like a steamroller. The only reason for this is the time constraint of being a teacher with only the summer off.....if you don't have a situation like that, you prolly wouldn't need or want to push so hard. Anyway, I'm told it usually takes 4 - 6 months or more to get all the testing, paperwork, doctors' appointments and approvals done, so like I said, I was lucky. I am now 7 days post-op.
Having any kind of WLS requires a LIFESTYLE CHANGE, not just a change of eating habits. What does that mean? It means I gotta get up off my behind and exercise (woo hoo!), and quit snacking myself to death at night. It means I gotta join the gym. (Oy!)
I hate exercise - I'm pretty sure it was invented by the Nazis as a method of torture somewhat akin to waterboarding. I hate being hot, and I really hate being sweaty. I don't play sports of any kind, and the last time I tried to take an aerobics class I was a freshman in college (1994). I had to drop the course after one class, because my back cramped up so badly the instructor made me leave! Therefore, the only exercise I'm even REMOTELY interested in, is water aerobics. There is only one gym on my side of Greensboro that has a pool, and that is The Rush, so I joined the end of June and started going to classes. Also, in preparation for surgery, Dr. Newman told me to start whatever diet had been "successful" for me in the past, so I started South Beach on June 26 and lost 6lbs before it was time to start the pre-surgery modified fast, two weeks before surgery.
The pre-surgery diet wasn't as horrible as I'd thought it would be, but I was dreading it big time, because of the protein "shakes" that were a large part of the diet (3x/day!). I have a hair-trigger gag reflex, and I hate artificial sweeteners. Every readily available (as in, buy it at WalMart or the grocery store), ready to drink protein supplement is chocolate, vanilla or strawberry flavored.
RANT MODE ON: What's THAT about? Hello? Some people who are fat actually are not that big on sweets! Give me the choice of (almost) any dessert and McDonald's fries, I'm choosin' the fries EVERY time. So why aren't there more savory flavored protein supplements? And good LORD the aftertaste of the protein stuff, both liquid and "bars" - I'm not on this path so I can eat/drink a bunch of nasty food and chemicals!
It took a bribe from my sweetie to get me to even TRY an Atkins Advantage shake ("Just taste it. Stick your tounge in it, and I'll give you $20."), and I can say with confidence that even though compared to most protein supplements, the protein count is low (15g per serving), the taste is WAY better - just like drinking chocolate milk. They are available at any grocery store, but WalMart has better prices.
Anyway, I'm getting ahead... Following my first meeting with the nutritionist after getting approved for surgery, we went to the Vitamin Shoppe to hunt for vitamins and protein supplements that I wouldn't puke over. Walked in the door and the sales person is this SERIOUS muscle guy, looked like contestant on the WWE or something. He was really nice though, and I told him what I was up to. He recommended protein shots and some other things to try.
Lemme just say this: DO NOT TRY THE PROTEIN SHOTS. Step AWAY from the protein shots. We got the ones with (only) 42g protein per test-tube-looking-container. They are NASTY AS HELL. They are very viscous and overly sweetened, and even after diluting with water, I don't know how anybody can drink those things. How do these companies stay in business?
Other things to avoid like the plague:
"Oh Yeah!" brand liquid protein supplement, chocolate milk flavor. Tastes great going down, but the aftertaste is like you tried to swallow a chunk of a Dow chemical plant.
Isopure, any flavor - these are really odd flavors, and they taste ok on the front end, but the protein in them, or something in them, leaves your mouth chapped dry - it's VERY weird, even diluted with Crystal Light.
Pretty much anything with the word "power" in the title. Yech.
Here's a list of some of the good things I've found in the protein supplement department:
"Oh Yeah!" brand BARS. They have two kinds; you want the ones that look like a candy bar, with nuts and caramel covered in chocolate. I could give you that thing and not tell you what it was, and you'd NEVER know you were eating a protein supplement. Seriously. You can trust me; food is too serious to lie about, and protein supplements are too expensive to waste time on ones that are gross, so pay attention.
Atkins Advantage Shakes - Chocolate or vanilla. Have not tried the other flavors. The chocolate is like chocolate milk, and the vanilla is like the milk left over in the bottom of your cereal bowl. Put 'em in the freezer a few minutes and as Rachael Ray says, YUM-O!!! These are available at the grocery store or Walmart has them for $1.00 less in my area.
Bari-Wise soups (available at Bariatric Choice). I have tried the beef bouillon, chicken with pasta, and cream of broccoli; they're all excellent, and you can't tell they're protein supplements.
Unjury protein supplement powders, in chocolate, chicken soup, and plain (http://www.unjury.com). Here's the thing: Unjury uses what they call "medical quality" protein. I don't know what that means, but what they do is, they use whey protein, which is derived from milk, and then they put in a spot of soy stuff to mask the protein aftertaste. I don't know why or how it works, but it does.
The Unjury chocolate can be eaten hot* or cold, but is reallllly good, and the plain can be added to anything else (i.e. other soups, V8 juice, applesauce, yogurt, etc.) and escape detection. The Unjury chicken soup is excellent, BUT you don't want it if you are watching sodium intake, because each scoop of powder (1 serving, 20g protein) contains a whopping 780mg of sodium. The Bari-Wise brand is just as good and only 180mg sodium.
*"hot", in the case of protein supplements, is relative. If you exceed 130 degrees Farenheit, you run the risk that the protein will separate from the liquid in a globby mess that you can't fix, so use a thermometer when making protein supplement soups and keep it down to 129 degrees. ;)
Having any kind of WLS requires a LIFESTYLE CHANGE, not just a change of eating habits. What does that mean? It means I gotta get up off my behind and exercise (woo hoo!), and quit snacking myself to death at night. It means I gotta join the gym. (Oy!)
I hate exercise - I'm pretty sure it was invented by the Nazis as a method of torture somewhat akin to waterboarding. I hate being hot, and I really hate being sweaty. I don't play sports of any kind, and the last time I tried to take an aerobics class I was a freshman in college (1994). I had to drop the course after one class, because my back cramped up so badly the instructor made me leave! Therefore, the only exercise I'm even REMOTELY interested in, is water aerobics. There is only one gym on my side of Greensboro that has a pool, and that is The Rush, so I joined the end of June and started going to classes. Also, in preparation for surgery, Dr. Newman told me to start whatever diet had been "successful" for me in the past, so I started South Beach on June 26 and lost 6lbs before it was time to start the pre-surgery modified fast, two weeks before surgery.
The pre-surgery diet wasn't as horrible as I'd thought it would be, but I was dreading it big time, because of the protein "shakes" that were a large part of the diet (3x/day!). I have a hair-trigger gag reflex, and I hate artificial sweeteners. Every readily available (as in, buy it at WalMart or the grocery store), ready to drink protein supplement is chocolate, vanilla or strawberry flavored.
RANT MODE ON: What's THAT about? Hello? Some people who are fat actually are not that big on sweets! Give me the choice of (almost) any dessert and McDonald's fries, I'm choosin' the fries EVERY time. So why aren't there more savory flavored protein supplements? And good LORD the aftertaste of the protein stuff, both liquid and "bars" - I'm not on this path so I can eat/drink a bunch of nasty food and chemicals!
It took a bribe from my sweetie to get me to even TRY an Atkins Advantage shake ("Just taste it. Stick your tounge in it, and I'll give you $20."), and I can say with confidence that even though compared to most protein supplements, the protein count is low (15g per serving), the taste is WAY better - just like drinking chocolate milk. They are available at any grocery store, but WalMart has better prices.
Anyway, I'm getting ahead... Following my first meeting with the nutritionist after getting approved for surgery, we went to the Vitamin Shoppe to hunt for vitamins and protein supplements that I wouldn't puke over. Walked in the door and the sales person is this SERIOUS muscle guy, looked like contestant on the WWE or something. He was really nice though, and I told him what I was up to. He recommended protein shots and some other things to try.
Lemme just say this: DO NOT TRY THE PROTEIN SHOTS. Step AWAY from the protein shots. We got the ones with (only) 42g protein per test-tube-looking-container. They are NASTY AS HELL. They are very viscous and overly sweetened, and even after diluting with water, I don't know how anybody can drink those things. How do these companies stay in business?
Other things to avoid like the plague:
"Oh Yeah!" brand liquid protein supplement, chocolate milk flavor. Tastes great going down, but the aftertaste is like you tried to swallow a chunk of a Dow chemical plant.
Isopure, any flavor - these are really odd flavors, and they taste ok on the front end, but the protein in them, or something in them, leaves your mouth chapped dry - it's VERY weird, even diluted with Crystal Light.
Pretty much anything with the word "power" in the title. Yech.
Here's a list of some of the good things I've found in the protein supplement department:
"Oh Yeah!" brand BARS. They have two kinds; you want the ones that look like a candy bar, with nuts and caramel covered in chocolate. I could give you that thing and not tell you what it was, and you'd NEVER know you were eating a protein supplement. Seriously. You can trust me; food is too serious to lie about, and protein supplements are too expensive to waste time on ones that are gross, so pay attention.
Atkins Advantage Shakes - Chocolate or vanilla. Have not tried the other flavors. The chocolate is like chocolate milk, and the vanilla is like the milk left over in the bottom of your cereal bowl. Put 'em in the freezer a few minutes and as Rachael Ray says, YUM-O!!! These are available at the grocery store or Walmart has them for $1.00 less in my area.
Bari-Wise soups (available at Bariatric Choice). I have tried the beef bouillon, chicken with pasta, and cream of broccoli; they're all excellent, and you can't tell they're protein supplements.
Unjury protein supplement powders, in chocolate, chicken soup, and plain (http://www.unjury.com). Here's the thing: Unjury uses what they call "medical quality" protein. I don't know what that means, but what they do is, they use whey protein, which is derived from milk, and then they put in a spot of soy stuff to mask the protein aftertaste. I don't know why or how it works, but it does.
The Unjury chocolate can be eaten hot* or cold, but is reallllly good, and the plain can be added to anything else (i.e. other soups, V8 juice, applesauce, yogurt, etc.) and escape detection. The Unjury chicken soup is excellent, BUT you don't want it if you are watching sodium intake, because each scoop of powder (1 serving, 20g protein) contains a whopping 780mg of sodium. The Bari-Wise brand is just as good and only 180mg sodium.
*"hot", in the case of protein supplements, is relative. If you exceed 130 degrees Farenheit, you run the risk that the protein will separate from the liquid in a globby mess that you can't fix, so use a thermometer when making protein supplement soups and keep it down to 129 degrees. ;)
I wanna be Julie...
I'm betting I'm not the only person out there who's following in the footsteps of the title character in "Julie/Julia", cooking her way through a cookbook (in this case Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery by Patt Levine and Michele Bontempo-Saray.) I decided to do this yesterday, and my friend Leanne told me I should blog it, as well. Here's a little background on the situation - it's a little long, so go get yourself a cold beverage before you start:
I am 42 years old, and last fall, I weighed 301lbs on a 5'6" frame. OMG I just said that "out loud" in public!!! I had no idea I weighed that much; we do own a scale but it's been out in the studio for years, and we don't use it. I've been overweight most of my life, so it wasn't something I had paid a lot of attention to, except in the most general way (like when buying or making clothes, or trying to get into a restaurant booth). Oh wait, that's fodder for a rant:
RANT MODE ON:
WHY is it that the designers of clothing patterns think that if one is big enough around to wear a size larger than 16, one is automatically built like an Amazon? What is that about??? Yeah, I'm overweight, but I do not have the shoulders of Troy Aikman. Also, why can't all the clothing manufacturers get together and agree to have the same dang sizing formula? Is that too much to ask? I'm just sayin'... [rant mode off]
So anyway, when the nurse said 301, I was surprised. Fortunately for me, I'd just landed a job as an elementary school art teacher, and 3 days a week I had to do a LOT of walking all over campus, taking kids back to their classrooms after art class. (My room is a mobile unit back behind the main building.) Just from doing all that walking and being more active, by spring, I was down to 285.
As I said, I've always been overweight, but for years now I have been threatening to have weight loss surgery. I mean, I've tried everything else, right? Here's a (partial) list:
Weight Watchers Formu3 Physicians' Weight Loss Scarsdale
Atkins SouthBeach Happy Hunter (don't ask) Protein Power Plan
Immune Power Diet
Once, I quit drinking sodas (switched to seltzer water instead) and lost 40 pounds with no other diet changes at all. On any of these diets, I'd lose 30 - 40lbs, and then get bored, and gain it all back.
Being fat has serious drawbacks that have nothing to do with health:
1. It's expensive. As I mentioned above, when I make clothing, which I hadn't done in awhile until recently, it takes a ton of fabric to make a garment. Unlike when I was sewing before I left home, sewing now is expensive! A "cheap" fabric (and I mean that both ways) is $4/yard. When I started sewing umpteen years ago, one could make a whole outfit for what it cost to buy a shirt in the store. Now you pay more for just the PATTERN than you'd pay to buy a shirt at WalMart. (No, we will not be debating Big Box Stores vs. The World here. One shops where one can afford to do so; get over it.)
2. It's expensive. I can't just go to Target or Kmart to buy my clothes, and forget trendy places like GAP or Old Navy or whatever. WalMart carries one line of tops that runs big enough (assuming the styles don't look just plain stupid), but that's it. I have to buy my clothes online, which means higher prices b/c they've got you over a barrel, and then you have to pay a ridiculous price for shipping, AND they stick at least a pound of advertising in with the clothes when they're delivered, so that makes shipping cost more, damn their eyes anyway!
3. Did I mention it's expensive? I'm a foodie, so I like to cook - A LOT - and I mostly shop the perimeter of the grocery store, so let's not even DISCUSS the grocery bill.
4. Movie theater seats - what the hell? The last movie I went to was in an old-fashioned movie theater with individual seats with arms on each side instead of the newer kind where you can raise the arm rest. These seats are/were made for people no larger than size 12. I'm just sayin'. If you wear your cell phone on your waistband, and you don't put on the keyboard lock before you sit down, you're dialing China for 2 hours....
5. The idiot who invented the restaurant booth seats where the SEAT part is two feet deep should be shot. What person less than 6' tall can be comfortable in a seat that deep? If you sit so your feet can touch the floor, your back is not against the seat at all, or you have to slouch down. Getting INTO a booth like that is its own form of dance move, and baby, sometimes it just ain't that smooth.
6. Social/professional stigma. Let's face it, we all do this. Even fat people do it to other fat people - make assumptions about a person based on their size. Pick any movie that's out now - even Harry Potter. If there's a character in the movie that's dumb or slow, there's at least an 85% chance that character is also fat (and of Southern extraction, but that's another rant for another day...) Employers hire at least in part on the basis of looks. It's the nature of the beast. :(
Believe it or not, in my entire life not one doctor has ever said a word to me directly about my weight. I do realize that docs have a fine line to walk - on one hand, they don't want to piss anybody off by ragging on the weight issue, because there are so many doctors out there, the patient can just go to a different doc next time one is needed. On the other hand, doctors are supposed to be helping people have good health..... Anyway, not one had ever said a word to me, until May 2008 when I went to the GYN and had to see the actual M.D. instead of his P.A. This guy met me like 5 minutes before, and the first thing out of his mouth was literally, "You need to go have bariatric surgery." and he proceeded to write down the names of two surgeons of whose work he approves.
This was a surprise to me, first because he didn't know me and it was the first thing he talked about, and second because I didn't think "regular" docs really approved of weight loss surgery. I said this to the doc, and he said that in recent years, weight loss surgery has become much more widely accepted by "mainstream" physicians. It's being used and studied more because of the possible benefits in a population where obesity and its inherent health risks are running rampant. Well, that was nice for him to say and all, but I had checked into it awhile back, and without insurance to help pay, weight loss surgery of any kind costs at least $17,000 here in N.C., and I'm not about to go to a doctor I can't get to immediately in case of emergency. Since I didn't have insurance, I couldn't get the surgery then, but decided that the next time I had insurance, I would look into it.
Now here we are back at the point where I got a job as an elementary art teacher last fall, which is how I came to be at the doctor's office in the first place, having contracted whatever munchkin-borne viral attack was going around. I decided that since I had a shiny new insurance card, and decent coverage, it was time to think about weight loss surgery. Unfortunately for me, that was just the FIRST munchkin-borne illness I contracted. I spent most of the fall and on into February being sick and running around trying to keep my head above water as a first-year teacher, so I didn't get around to checking out the weight loss surgery (WLS) until April.
I decided a few years ago when I first heard about the Lap Band that if I ever DID get to have WLS, I was going to have a Lap Band. Reasons for this decision include:
1. Our family knew a woman who had "stomach stapling" way back in the day, and she never did lose her weight. She also had many other health issues that were related to that surgery.
Because of her example, I've always been leery of any WLS procedure that involves "cutting and pasting" any body parts. Too much room for error there for my comfort level, and the side effects of those type surgeries (now a procedure called gastric bypass) are not for me.
2. An adjustable gastric band is just that - adjustable - and if something goes wrong, it can be removed. Gastric bypass is a permanent rerouting of the stomach and intestine.
So, in April, I went to my first bariatric surgery support group meeting at Wesley Long hospital in Greensboro, where I found out that I'd lost 15 pounds from all that running around with kids.
Long story short, I had my lap band installed at Wesley Long hospital by Dr. David Newman of Central Carolina Surgery on August 3.
I am 42 years old, and last fall, I weighed 301lbs on a 5'6" frame. OMG I just said that "out loud" in public!!! I had no idea I weighed that much; we do own a scale but it's been out in the studio for years, and we don't use it. I've been overweight most of my life, so it wasn't something I had paid a lot of attention to, except in the most general way (like when buying or making clothes, or trying to get into a restaurant booth). Oh wait, that's fodder for a rant:
RANT MODE ON:
WHY is it that the designers of clothing patterns think that if one is big enough around to wear a size larger than 16, one is automatically built like an Amazon? What is that about??? Yeah, I'm overweight, but I do not have the shoulders of Troy Aikman. Also, why can't all the clothing manufacturers get together and agree to have the same dang sizing formula? Is that too much to ask? I'm just sayin'... [rant mode off]
As I said, I've always been overweight, but for years now I have been threatening to have weight loss surgery. I mean, I've tried everything else, right? Here's a (partial) list:
Weight Watchers Formu3 Physicians' Weight Loss Scarsdale
Atkins SouthBeach Happy Hunter (don't ask) Protein Power Plan
Immune Power Diet
Once, I quit drinking sodas (switched to seltzer water instead) and lost 40 pounds with no other diet changes at all. On any of these diets, I'd lose 30 - 40lbs, and then get bored, and gain it all back.
Being fat has serious drawbacks that have nothing to do with health:
1. It's expensive. As I mentioned above, when I make clothing, which I hadn't done in awhile until recently, it takes a ton of fabric to make a garment. Unlike when I was sewing before I left home, sewing now is expensive! A "cheap" fabric (and I mean that both ways) is $4/yard. When I started sewing umpteen years ago, one could make a whole outfit for what it cost to buy a shirt in the store. Now you pay more for just the PATTERN than you'd pay to buy a shirt at WalMart
2. It's expensive. I can't just go to Target or Kmart to buy my clothes, and forget trendy places like GAP or Old Navy or whatever. WalMart carries one line of tops that runs big enough (assuming the styles don't look just plain stupid), but that's it. I have to buy my clothes online, which means higher prices b/c they've got you over a barrel, and then you have to pay a ridiculous price for shipping, AND they stick at least a pound of advertising in with the clothes when they're delivered, so that makes shipping cost more, damn their eyes anyway!
3. Did I mention it's expensive? I'm a foodie, so I like to cook - A LOT - and I mostly shop the perimeter of the grocery store, so let's not even DISCUSS the grocery bill.
4. Movie theater seats - what the hell? The last movie I went to was in an old-fashioned movie theater with individual seats with arms on each side instead of the newer kind where you can raise the arm rest. These seats are/were made for people no larger than size 12. I'm just sayin'. If you wear your cell phone on your waistband, and you don't put on the keyboard lock before you sit down, you're dialing China for 2 hours....
5. The idiot who invented the restaurant booth seats where the SEAT part is two feet deep should be shot. What person less than 6' tall can be comfortable in a seat that deep? If you sit so your feet can touch the floor, your back is not against the seat at all, or you have to slouch down. Getting INTO a booth like that is its own form of dance move, and baby, sometimes it just ain't that smooth.
6. Social/professional stigma. Let's face it, we all do this. Even fat people do it to other fat people - make assumptions about a person based on their size. Pick any movie that's out now - even Harry Potter. If there's a character in the movie that's dumb or slow, there's at least an 85% chance that character is also fat (and of Southern extraction, but that's another rant for another day...) Employers hire at least in part on the basis of looks. It's the nature of the beast. :(
Believe it or not, in my entire life not one doctor has ever said a word to me directly about my weight. I do realize that docs have a fine line to walk - on one hand, they don't want to piss anybody off by ragging on the weight issue, because there are so many doctors out there, the patient can just go to a different doc next time one is needed. On the other hand, doctors are supposed to be helping people have good health..... Anyway, not one had ever said a word to me, until May 2008 when I went to the GYN and had to see the actual M.D. instead of his P.A. This guy met me like 5 minutes before, and the first thing out of his mouth was literally, "You need to go have bariatric surgery." and he proceeded to write down the names of two surgeons of whose work he approves.
This was a surprise to me, first because he didn't know me and it was the first thing he talked about, and second because I didn't think "regular" docs really approved of weight loss surgery. I said this to the doc, and he said that in recent years, weight loss surgery has become much more widely accepted by "mainstream" physicians. It's being used and studied more because of the possible benefits in a population where obesity and its inherent health risks are running rampant. Well, that was nice for him to say and all, but I had checked into it awhile back, and without insurance to help pay, weight loss surgery of any kind costs at least $17,000 here in N.C., and I'm not about to go to a doctor I can't get to immediately in case of emergency. Since I didn't have insurance, I couldn't get the surgery then, but decided that the next time I had insurance, I would look into it.
Now here we are back at the point where I got a job as an elementary art teacher last fall, which is how I came to be at the doctor's office in the first place, having contracted whatever munchkin-borne viral attack was going around. I decided that since I had a shiny new insurance card, and decent coverage, it was time to think about weight loss surgery. Unfortunately for me, that was just the FIRST munchkin-borne illness I contracted. I spent most of the fall and on into February being sick and running around trying to keep my head above water as a first-year teacher, so I didn't get around to checking out the weight loss surgery (WLS) until April.
I decided a few years ago when I first heard about the Lap Band that if I ever DID get to have WLS, I was going to have a Lap Band. Reasons for this decision include:
1. Our family knew a woman who had "stomach stapling" way back in the day, and she never did lose her weight. She also had many other health issues that were related to that surgery.
Because of her example, I've always been leery of any WLS procedure that involves "cutting and pasting" any body parts. Too much room for error there for my comfort level, and the side effects of those type surgeries (now a procedure called gastric bypass) are not for me.
2. An adjustable gastric band is just that - adjustable - and if something goes wrong, it can be removed. Gastric bypass is a permanent rerouting of the stomach and intestine.
So, in April, I went to my first bariatric surgery support group meeting at Wesley Long hospital in Greensboro, where I found out that I'd lost 15 pounds from all that running around with kids.
Long story short, I had my lap band installed at Wesley Long hospital by Dr. David Newman of Central Carolina Surgery on August 3.
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