Hello all
Been really busy with work and have not been around much. Good news is that all of my paperwork has been sent off to the Insurance company this past Tuesday!!! I hope to get scheduled by mid Feb. It all just depends on when the insurance company finally comes through!

Yes there is a question coming. I have heard alot about Carbs vs Sugars. Which is it you have to watch. If something had 5 grams of sugar is that too much?

I also want to wish everyone a very very Merry Christmas and

Personally, I watch both sugars and carbs.

My nutritionist told me no more than 30 carbs in a meal as a general rule.
I have found that for me, 7 grams of sugar is my LIMIT. More than that, and I end up with the "dumping"......which for me means sweating profusely, miserable nausea, and chills (basically I end up curled up in a ball on my bed rocking back and forth-----yeah, I get it bad!).

So needless to say, I really watch what I eat pretty closely.
But EVERYONE is different!

I don't know if you have gotten your nutrition notebook yet, but BC's says avoid anything over 2 gms. of sugar and so much fat (can't remember right now).
Not a darn thing about carbs. But, if you went by all their suggested recipes, they are really high in carbs. I asked Katie, the NUT, about it and she said not to worry about the carbs!!! Well, maybe the first two weeks, I followed their recipes, (most are milk based) and then I really cut the carbs on my own. I bet most people here limit their carbs. I'm kind of loosely following the South Beach Plan, but the other day I saw one of their whole wheat tortillas for sale and the carbs were listed as 16 gm. Heck, you can get a Buena Vida low carb tortilla with fiber and it only has 6 or 7 gms of carbs. I'm not eating anything white, except milk. I know people on this site are a whole lot smarter than I am about it so hope you get some good responses. I felt I stalled for about two weeks and have picked up losing again. I set down in front of a lady at Christmas program and I said "Hi Mrs. Jones." She said Hi and then leaned over and said "Who are you?" I have sat on the same side of the church on Sundays for five years. I said "I'm Nancy J. and she said "Well, you've done something to yourself." I told her that I whacked my hair off. She said, Well, you've done something else to yourself." DH told me that my face is a lot thinner. I guess I hadn't really noticed that as much as the waffle hanging off my neck! LOL!

I'm so excited about your paperwork getting sent in finally. Let us know when you get a date.

Nancy that ROCKS!
White. . .Try to keep your sugar pretty low its different for Everyone. Carbs can set off cravings. Initially just focus on water and protein!!
I actually got in 60 oz of liquid today I'm pretty psyched!

Just to clarify--sugar is a carb. There's a difference between sugar (a simple carb, metabolized very quickly) and a stick of celery (a complex carbohydrate, metabolized very slowly)--they are both carbohydrates, but they do very different things in your body. In general, no matter what diet you're following, you're better off with complex carbs than with simple ones.

It's not info about WLS specifically (I've never gone through that), but I thought I'd clarify about carbohydrates. I wish you all the best with your upcoming WLS! I know three people in my personal life who have had it done. Two of them are doing marvelously well (the third has since gained most of his lost weight back, unfortunately...). It's a tool, and it's how you make use of your tool that counts!

If you have a lot of concerns about your nutrition post-surgery, I would encourage you to ask your doctor/a nutritionist who specializes in post-op WLS about all the specifics. It's something better not to guess about.

Woohoo on the paperwork! Boy, do I know how that goes!!! I just got approval end of Nov. and still my date isn't until Feb. I certainly don't mind waiting, this is a good thing!

About Carbs...From what I understand, the focus is...protein! protein! protein! after surgery...helps the body heal.

Last time I spoke to my Nutrionalist, she said after time I could eat carbs but to limit anything refined...white flour, sugar, pasta, even honey (though not refined really).

Your February date would mean we will be having it close together! mine is the 4th. Keep me posted on the Ins!

Angela

the rule of thumb that i was given: if it's under 15 grams of carbs, it's generally OK to eat. that's carbs in ANY form, even sugar [so, read yogurt labels VERY VERY CAREFULLY!!!!!]

at first, focus on protein and water. protein and water. the rest will be added gradually.

Regular yogurt is a pisher! I was going through peapod reading nutritional info and even the FF plain yogurt had a lot!
you can find a lot of lower carb solutions ( or better carb) My new favorite thing is garlic smashed cauliflower
Not the southbeach recipe it's my own I'll post it if you like.

yum KO I love mashed cauliflower! You have recipe?

this is not the south beach recipe but this is what I do!
1/2 cup of LF cottage cheese
Minced garlic to taste
1 16 oz bag of frozen cauliflower
Parmesan Cheese
minced onion salt and pepper to taste
Cook cauliflower according to directions
Sometimes I bring the water up to boil add the Veggies dried onion S&P and bring it back up to boil, cover it and turn off the heat. . .use your preferred method!
Toss cottage cheese and garlic into a chopper/food processor and puree
add in cauliflower per your choppers capacity mine is small. grind/chop till it looks like Mashed potatoes.
Pour into Bowl and add S&P and Parm
Usually I nuke it to get it hot again

It makes a GREAT frosting for meatloaf!!!

LOVE the idea of adding cottage cheese to this! I'm gonna try this. thanks, Kier!

I'm on this recipe! Thank you! My DH doesn't like cauliflower, so I disguise it anyway I can. I usually roast it cut up, drizzled with a little olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, garlic, and salt and pepper. He will eat it, but always asks where the cheese sauce is. I had bought the cookbook the 3FatChicks previewed on the homepage a few months ago and am trying to incorporate some of the purees into my cooking. Especially for my little carb loving grandchildren and DH.

Often wondered if we shouldn't start a thread here just for WLS recipes. I do visit the South Beach, since I'm loosely following that plan. I'm constantly trying to healthy up my old comfort food recipes and keep my DH happy and healthier. I don't think that he has suffered terribly in the food department since my WLS, but it was my choice not his and I want to cook well for him.

I haven't found anything that I have particular trouble with eating except fine whole wheat bread. I've tried it twice, both times toasted, and up it came. If I chew everything really well I don't have a problem. I wanted to try a bite of zucchini chocolate brownies this holiday, but was afraid of the dumping thing. I have a terrible habit of testing everything when I cook and have had to resort to gum and then asking everyone during the meal if it is seasoned enough. I made chocolate cannoli cake for my family this weekend and went around asking everyone if it was good! LOL! Sure can't find a way to take the sugar, carbs and fat out of that one!!!

nan - try tasting sauces with a FORK. you get the flavors, and you can adjust seasonings, and you won't be doing any damage to your program.

if you want to start a recipe thread, go right ahead, but i gotta warn you - i reserve the right to say things like "bacon is a flavoring, not a suitable protein form!!!!" [every once in a while, someone comes up with a bright idea that bacon is a good food for us].

as for South Beach, as many of us have gotten past the first couple of years, we find that we eat more SB style than anything else. others of us turn to WW. you're doing GREAT!!!!

You mean bacon is not one of the main staples for WLS!!!!! Hey the fork thing is a good idea! About the WLS recipe thread, I've notice lots of places when people do post recipes for us, I really wouldn't eat it that way because it has way too many carbs, too much fat, or such. I do pick up lots of hints, like the fork, something that I would never have thought of. So, if people would be nice and if something is posted that they don't think really would fit into the WLS lifestyle, and not get all too adamant about it, then maybe we could. I hope most people realize that some people can tolerate some foods better than other and to keep in mind that every recipe could be altered to fit their special needs.

Jiffy, do you think it would be necessary to start the thread with some rules for posting recipes or not? It is your call.

nancy, you raise some excellent points here, and i gotta tell you that i'm actually quite flexible about what people post - i'm very much a first amendment supporter!!! HOWEVER, i do have some major issues with posting recipes in WLS

1. everyone's protein needs are different
2. everyone's 'good' and 'bad' foods are different
3. people eat in different absolute amounts [like, some folks can eat 1/4 cup and others 1/2]
4. we're all supposed to eat protein first, so if it's a casserole sort of thing, what does a person do????

sooooo, how can one recipe fit all needs???? i haven't figured that out yet.

what's helped me the most has been cooking METHODS and combinations. that means that sneaking extra protein in is a GOOD thing. and i need to eat X amount of protein, Y amount of veggies, and maybe Z amount of good carbs

how do i do that???? well, it might be cooked chicken or deli turkey or roast beef rolled up in lettuce leaves with some shredded carrots, chopped tomato, and sliced peppers. put that same stuff in a sandwich, even a high protein, low carb wrap, and i might not get through that!!

for me, it's about looking at recipes, figuring out how to get rid of most of the fat, and then add LOTS of extra flavor, and then PORTION control.

sooo, i'm not quite sure what to say about a recipe thread - if people want one, then let's do it - but there are SOOOO many 'at your own risk' sorts of things that people really have to keep their eyes open for what works for THEM, not for MOI!!!