New Beginnings...

NEW BEGINNINGS…

Oh god…not another food blog. Ah but this one is going to be different, with us discussing more than just food. On November 29, I underwent bariatric surgery. At the time, I was 260 lbs with BP of about 150/100. Scary eh? After researching my options and dieting longer than the Internet has been around, I made a serious decision to get my health under control. I waited until the technology caught up with the times, since I did not see myself being filleted like a fish. Once that happened, I went through the steps of being approved and here we are, on the other side of surgery, getting my bearings back while on stage three of food consumption.

Let’s start with the different stages.

Stage one: clear liquids. I was on this from the hospital until about two weeks into December. Nothing happening here, since my selection was very limited.

Stage two: Added to the broth was egg whites, cottage cheese, refried beans, and yogurt. Still not much going, since I was limited to this menu options.

STAGE THREE: this is in caps because the menu has greatly expanded and I can’t wait. At this point, we are allowed to eat mostly soft foods; though some things are still we are not allowed to eat. If it requires me to use a knife or has crunch…no go. Crockpot and I are going to be best friends. This is fine for me. With Christmas two days away, this opens up a whole new world for me that I can’t wait to explore. At this point, we are experimenting with herbs, seasonings, everything to see what we can or can’t eat. That is the reason I’m starting this blog. At this point, it’s going to be fun cooking again and trying things out.

Stage four: Solids. That means everything else. I’m excited about this step, but nervous as well. At this point, we’ll be eating everything else and testing things out. This is when it can dicey, so we’ll have to move slow at this point. That day comes January 12, 2011.

I’m starting this blog for other people who are going through what I am. I’ve gone through a lot of food blogs and while they have specialty diets, they are not necessarily geared towards the bariatric patient. I’m not vegan nor do I want to. I don’t have an aversion to whey or wheat and I have to have meals with at least 70% protein. Yup…that’s right.

Not everyone that has had WLS is going to be on the same plan as me. Some Dr’s have different standards and that’s fine. A lot of the guidelines are the same and most everyone will be able to follow along, with a couple of exceptions. For those of you in the know, my surgeon is Dr. Michael Snyder. Great surgeon and wonderful staff. If you’re in CO, look him up. I will be occasionally having some advice from the dieticians at the office, but not always. That means if you decided to follow the recipes, please check with your Dr. and make sure you can do it. If not, change it.
For those of you who find this the easy way out and disagree with my decisions to do this…that’s nice. Don’t follow the blog and please don’t leave comments about it. I’m not all that nice of a person and I will respond in kind. This was the right decision for me and my health and I’m proud of it. It might not be right for others and that’s fine. I support them in whatever I do and I would never try to tell them what is right or wrong. I expect the same for my decisions.

With all that said, let’s get on to the meat of things. We are going to make Christmas Eve dinner, of which I will only be able to have about…1 oz of anything.
Good times.