Kelly: I hope you enjoy this soup. I developed this recipe for the holidays to feed about 24 people - so you can make the full recipe and freeze for future use or just divide and scale back on the ingredients. If you do scale back, just keep the ratio of salt to water 1/2 TBSP salt for each quart of water and err on the side of more chicken. Here it goes: 6 Q****er 4 Chickens (I like to by pre-quatered ones, but often use the cheaper packages of all drum sticks or thighs with the same result if there aren't enough cut up chickens in the store at a decent price. The parts make it easier to fit everything into the pot.) 4 medium to large onions peeled. Put cold water, chicken and onions in a big soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil then simmer for at least an hour. Then to make sure all of the other stuff fits in, I take the chicken & onions out of the pot and put in: A bag of baby carrots (we serve them with the soup so I find these easy - no pealing etc. You can use the cooked ones for a puree or carrot soup later.) 3-4 celery stalks 1 celery root. (These need to be peeled with a knife to get the dirt out of the cracks and crevices.) 3 parsnips with greens 3 leeks - cut up and washed very well. (I soak in cold water while the chicken & onions are simmering and check each leaf.) 4 trunips - peeled. 2 bunch dill ****ep the bunches tied up so they are easy to remove later.) 2 bunch parsley****ep the bunches tied up so they are easy to remove later.) 3 Tablespoon salt Fresh pepper to taste. Once all of this is in the pot, I add the chicken and onions back in to weigh it all back down under the water. I bring it back to a boil covered then reduce heat to simmer for another hour or so. There is no magic on the time, but give it at least an hour. Remove chicken and veggies and let broth cool. Strain to make it truely a clear liquid. (I don't usually do this, but for our purposes I did.) It is easier to skim the fat off after the soup is chilled in the fridge or freezer. For post-op, I measured out 6 oz portions into freezer bags. You can also use an ice cube tray to make small portion sizes to use for cooking or adding moisture to protiens later on. I also found two other broth recipes that I haven't tied yet so I can't vouch for the taste, but will make them soon. One is Calcium-Rich Broth and the other is Iron-Rich Broth. Seeing that we need all of the extra nutrients we can get, they caught my eye. This is from a cookbook I have called "Mommy Made (and Daddy too!) Home Cooking for a Healthy Baby and Toddler" by Martha and David Kimmel: For each you start with cold water, bring to a boil, simmer for an hour covered, remove veggies and strain. They make 3 cups each: Calcim Rich Broth: 1 qt cold water 2 broccoli brances wased and cut into 1/4 inch rounds 1/2 cup collard or dendellion greens, rinsed well and roughly chopped 1/2 cup well-rinsed, roughly chopped kale 3 carrots,scrubbed, trimmed and cut into 1/4 in rounds Iron-Rich Broth: 1 qt cold water 1/2 cup shelled fresh or frozen peas 1/2 cup well-rinsed roughly chopped beet greens 1/2 cup endive or escarole, rinsed well and roughly chopped 1 large sweet potato, peeled and quartered I hope you find these helpful and I wish you an easy time! Regards, Suzanne

We had the surgery the same day. After the first 3 days I am now doing great... feeling so much better and not hungry really at all. I wish you well. I haven't gotten on the scale yet. Took my bandages off today and the incisions look great! I am very happy about that! Good luck with your wait loss!

Hi Suz, I am getting the lapband tomorrow. I didn't think I would be nervous but I am. I will be glad when I am home and recuperating. Good Luck! Robin

I am having the band done tomorrow. (Oh my gosh that is soon) I also like the fact that the band in adjustable and reversible. I do know people that have had the bypass and are doing great. Everyone has to do what they feel comfortable with and what works for them. I need to lose about 100 pounds and this board is so inspiring. I love it! Thanks everyone for helping me make the decision to have this done. Robin

Hi Chris, Congratulations. I'm just home from surgery too. I finished about 20 laps around our house for my first recommended 10 min walk of 8 a day. The sipping propel for me is what I'm trying to get the hang of. I'm a little nervous--but a lot of that is due to the big doings on the news today. I work for American Airlines. I'm on medical leave just now, but when return our normal routes are back and forth to Heathrow from LAX, as well as flights to Japan and Hawaii. Its a little deja vu sadness I guess--mixed in with the wobblies of just getting home again. Bravo again on your triumph! Keep up the good work. Lisa in Ramona, CA