Support group

On Wednesday I went to my first Bariatric Surgery Support Group meeting since I had my operation.  We had a presentation about drinking sufficient fluids.  Then we were encouraged to mingle and those of us who were post-op were able to share experiences with pre-op patients.  It was good to hear from some of the post-ops who were several years out and had tremendous success.  I also got some hints about sneaking extra protein in my diet.

I don't know why I had only thought of drinking the protein supplements.  Sprinkle a scoop or two of protein powder in with some instant sugar-free pudding.  DOH!  How easy is that?  Last night I added a scoop with fresh ricotta cheese and a little sugar free apricot jam.  I felt like I was eating cheesecake!!

We were given some samples of True Lemon and encouraged to put it in a bottle of water.  It was pretty good.  I'm a little concerned because the second ingredient is "evaporated cane juice"  which sounds to me like SUGAR.  However, I tried it and didn't have any unpleasant side effects (like dumping syndrome which can happen after eating sugar).  It was also suggested sprinkling it on chicken or fish.  Not a bad idea.

The meeting was held at the Dept. of Surgery waiting area.  I went in to the OFFICIAL scale and the new total is 45 lbs lost!  YAY!!!

Best wishes to everyone.  If you are considering the surgery I would like to say that I am thrilled that I did this.  I was really ready and committed.  If you need a little more time to decide that's ok.  You want to be sure.

Love,
Marlena of Mohegan.