damalove

hi larry congrats on ur decision. the liq. diet isn't that bad. if you get bored with broths in the first week, start visiting asian restaurants -- buy wonton soup from chinese restaurant and sieve out the wontons, the broth is yummy. you can buy pho broth at vietnamese restaurants, ramen broth at japanese restaurants, etc. the variety of flavors (and not having to make them myself) was a lifesaver. whats helped me on the full liquids phase is making my own soups and having two or three in the fridge at any time, just to have some variety. protein drinks help in the morning, and anytime i want a sweet/filling snack, i have honeyed greek yogurt diluted with a little milk. the surgery itself will leave you sore but other than that, no worse for the wear. and hit up the room service at lucerna, their tlapeno broth is super tasty.

(14 days post op) Dannon drinkable yogurt 70 cal, 0 fat, 2g protein Carnation Instant Breakfast made with N/F milk: 220cal, 1g fat, 13 g protein Campbell's Soup in Hand - Creamy Tomato Parmesan Bisque: 220 cal, 7g fat, 5g protein Home-made Thai Creamy Carrot Soup: 75 cal, 1.2g fat, 3.6g protein Tropical Popsicle: 15 cal, 0g fat, 0g protein. Totals: 600 calories, 18.6g protein I know its not enough protein, but I just cant bring myself to drink more. Hope its enough for now. Last few days I depended on store-bought creamy soups and gained... so this week, I'm making my own. Hope it helps.

gained slightly, half a pound, this week bc I went on full liquids. Did this happen to anyone else? Trying not to read too deep into it....

Im not sure if you can eat eggs okay, but I like to make a crustless quiche on sundays and then once its cool, cut it into slices, wrap in foil, and just grab one on my way out. i usually just pop them in the micro once I get to work, or sometimes just have it room-temp. here's a reciepe i use, its got 200 calories, 6g carbs, and 17g protein. if you're on weight watchers, i think thats about 4 points per serving, and boy does it keep you full for a while. Don't skip the green onions, theyre a wonderful lo-cal flavor booster! Bacon Mushroom Quiche 4 slices cooked bacon, chopped (I actually prefer to use Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits, 1 serving = 1 slice of bacon, its cheaper and easier) 1 pound mushrooms, sliced 4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded 6 eggs 2 egg whites 3/4 cup fat free half and half 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon celery salt Dash pepper 4 green onions, chopped Coat a large skillet with butter flavored cooking spray and sauté the mushrooms until tender and the liquid has evaporated. Season with a little salt and pepper. Spread the cheese in a greased 9"x9" baking dish. Top with the mushrooms, then the bacon and green onions. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, half and half, salt, celery salt and a dash of pepper. Pour evenly over everything. Bake at 350º 35-40 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings (adapted from http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/bacon_mushroom_bake.html) There are millions of crustless quiche recipes out there but I've made so many variations, and this one is always my favorite. You can always reduce the cal count by subbing out more eggs for egg whites, subbing out tofu-bacon, changing the cheese, etc.

Hi fellow April bandsters - I was there a few weeks ago and they said they won't be using the Marriott b/c of construction, so you'll all most likely be staying at the Lucerna. Its really nice and the OCC menu/room service rocks! Fyi, we found the room service to be faster than service in the restaurant, like its on a different priority with the kitchen, not sure. Maybe time just flies when you're in bed with your feet propped up watching a movie! Try to remember to bring a small throw pillow with you, it will help if you are the type that sleeps on your side, as well as the van/airplane journies.. A hot water bottle will be helpful too, especially right after surgery. And finally, if you get tired of being at the hotel, you can take a cab ride for $4 around the corner to the Rio Plaza VIP Cinepolis, a movie theater that features all leather lazy boy recliners!! talk about comfort. Tickets are cheaper than here too; only $9. Just make sure you go to the VIP theater, bc there's a non VIP theater that just has the regular boring seating. Theres a great grocery store in the same complex as the movie theater, Comerica Mexicana, lots of really great stuff and killer deals on cuban rum Best wishes on your surgeries!!!

Ive always loved bread, but chose the Atkins route as my pre-op diet. It surprised me how very little I missed it. Rice turns out to be more of a comfort food for me, and I did just fine without pasta too. I don't intend to reintroduce grain carbs to my diet once I'm back on solids, just fruit and diary carbs. I hope I can still swing some steak here and there though!

Im curious... ladies, do you miss steak? I understand its something I will have to give up, if not immediately, then eventually... but its one of my true loves. My family is so steak obsessed that once a year we have a steak cook-off. We buy the best steaks we can find (dry aged, kobe, double prime, grass fed, etc) and each of us prepares our steak to the best of our ability, cajun spice rub, roasted garlic sauce, roquefort cabernet sauce, tequilla lime marinated, whatever. i always make the sides; always including my from-scratch baked mac n cheese (to which i always sneak in either butternut squash or parsnip puree)... ok anyway long story short is, steak is a tradition. dad's from texas and wouldn't have it any other way. will i be able to get by with a super tender ribeye? even a few bites?

Hi there. I am on day 11 post op, day one of full liquids For the first week, I lived off of Gatorade, coffee, chicken broth, and popsicles. I limited myself to only one popsicle a day, and even then I had sugar free popsicles. (I got the Topicals Popsicles, soooo delicious, and I generally don’t like “sugar free” stuff) I bought some of the Sobe LifeWater / Vitamin Water / Special K Protein water products but didn’t drink any of them, can’t stand the fake sugar taste. I drank either water or coffee for refreshment. I had home made chicken broth the first few days, then I experimented with some of the boullions I had purchased at Comerica Mexicana when I was in TJ, yummy. Eventually I hit up the local pho (Vietnamese soup) restaurant and they sold me a quart of their chicken pho broth for $2. Next I got wonton soup from a Chinese place and sieved that, so tasty. Next I’m going to hit up a Japanese place to buy some of their ramen broth. Basically, I got bored with basic broth so I mixed it up quite a bit. Once I could add drinkable yogurts, I enjoyed one per morning as my breakfast. I like Dannon Light n Fit drinkables, or DanActive Immunity drinks. Lunch is still broth, dinner is hot tea and more broth, with a popsicle a few hours later. Once I could add protein drinks, I started having Carnation Instant Breakfast packets. I bought the variety pack and am really enjoying that. They are tasty and really filling. I bought a small non-fat latte this past wknd when having coffee with my girlfriends and discreetly poured in a packet of Carnation instant breakfast French vanilla flavor, sooo yummy! And it kept me full for hours. Today I start full liquids. The OCC was very clear we are not to puree soups during the full liquids phase, just sieve them, so I made soup last night and sieved it. I have ten more days after today of this – woohoo, here we go. I also bought applesauce and am going to keep my eyes open for other yummy options. Miso sounds good too.

Is anyone having their fills done with Gail Altschuler in the North Bay? or with someone else in the Bay Area? I def. plan to go back to OCC for first fill, but if I need an unfil or get tired of going to TJ, a local option would be nice. Thnx - 650 bandster

Hi all! Sitting in San Diego airport, thought I'd update -- Surgery went really well. I feel fine, kinda tired, and a bit sore, but otherwise pretty good. The Lucerna was clean, comfortable and the staff was very accommodating. We ordered from the OCC menu and everything I had pre-op was delicious, hello yummy ceviche!! My sister had consistently great meals the rest of our stay. We ended up doing room service most of the time because service in the restaurant tended to be a bit slow but room service was very quick. We had no trouble with Wi-Fi, at Lucerna and at OCC. We were able to print our return-flight boarding passes from the computers in the lobby. The OCC was spotless and felt very top-of-the-line. I doubt I would have been catered to as well in the US at my neighborhood hospital. Nursing staff as well as all doctors were professional caring and uber-friendly. Btw, I did have the chicken fajitas for my last supper, with the ceviche for our appetizer, it was super delicious. Also, for anyone who's heading to Lucerna soon, consider taking a $4 cab ride in ur downtime after surgery to the Rio Plaza shopping center, theres a huge grocery store along with some shops and an awesome movie theater -- Cinepolis VIP Rio Plaza. We saw The Blind Side there -- all the seats at the VIP theater were pre-assigned leather lazyboy recliners with waiter service!! I literally got to watch a movie reclining with my feet up! Totally awesome And thanks everyone for the good advice

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOh chicken fajitas! Brutal!!! Maybe I'll have that as my 'last supper' the night before surgery Thanks all for the tips. I will post tomorrow once im an official bandster !! yahoo!!

thanks everyone. im so ready! michelle is the broth free? one person at OCC told me yes, another said 'maybe' just so i know, and wont be shocked at $8 room service broth ~dama

Im scheduled for surgery on Friday (!!) and just had a few silly questions... I'll be in TJ two nights after my surgery. Are there mini-fridges in the rooms at Lucerna? I'd like to bring my own broth my mama made, as well as juices and things and not have to pay hotel rates. Maybe some otterpops too. If I dont bring my own, what are my options for post-op diet while staying at Lucerna? Finally, for my sis, I understand the TVs at Lucerna carry mostly spanish channels. Are there DVD players in the rooms so we can bring some entertainment? Is there free wifi? I just wanna make sure to be prepared for the recovery phase... and well entertained too So far the tips Ive garnered from the boards is bring a pillow to buffer from seatbelts on teh way home and bring GasX strips to help with the post op gas. I've got Crystal Light packets, and Im going to pick up some broth concentrates from Trader Joe's tonight. Ive already ordered protein drinks from Lindora that will be arriving at my house right around the time Im coming home from TJ. I know to pack cozy pjs and a robe and slippers... Anything else I'm missing? Thanks!!!! Ur experience and advice are invaluable.

Thanks for all your encouraging words. I did feel discouraged after my phonecall with Doc but thanks to y'all I see now he just cares about me and wants the highest quality care for me. Im really excited now! I've told my three best girlfriends, my mother, my sister, and her husband. Thats it. Dad and bro are critical of everything, so they remain out of the loop. My sister is coming to TJ with me. Im flying in tomorrow afternoon, surgery on Friday, and flying home Sunday. Im young and other than the weight, healthy, so I don't expect surgery to go too poorly. Thank you all for your help and support!!!

Hi all. I've been lurking on this site for quite some time, finally decided to sign up since my surgery is uhh two days away! April 2. I'm catching my flight to San Diego tomorrow. Anyway... Ive been seeing my primary care physician for the last 18 years. He's watched me grow up, and for the last ten years, struggle with my weight. We've talked about it so many times, and there's always been some new diet for me to try. I decided to have this procedure a while ago but hadn't told him til now, 48 hours before the procedure is scheduled. He’s the “old school” sort of doctor, I was sure he wouldn’t like the idea of me having the surgery, especially in Mexico. Well, I was right. I just got off the phone with him. He’s “less than enthusiastic.” He asked me about my aftercare and I explained I had already arranged with my surgeon a fill doctor within 40 minutes of my home. He said he might prefer me to have “gastric dissection” but didn’t say which procedure. When I explained to him I was worried about complications/risks assoc. with those more aggressive surgeries, he admitted he wasn’t all that familiar with it. He told me, “God gave you a big body, you’re not morbidly obese, you’re just big. You’ve got a big father and that’s just it.” I told him, actually, according to my BMI, im just on the line of morbidly obese. I’m right there. I told him I didn’t want to wait around for my weight to cause diabetes joint problems shortness of breath or any of those things. Besides, I don’t think God decided, “Lets make Dama fat.” I think its just crappy genetics. Anyway, Doc agreed to do some research and attend a conference/dinner he was invited to about bariatrics. I told him I have the desire and commitment to lose weight, but can never get my appetite under control and this is going to be the tool to help me. Anyway, Im two days out and nervous/excited/aaaah! Just needed to vent. Thanks!

Hi all. Ive been lurking for a good long while, but finally bit the bullet and signed up. Im sched. for surgery on Friday April 2 ... which is approx. 48 hours away!!! Whoa!