Hello Hello Hello

Hi everyone, I just wanted to thank everyone for their prayers and their concern.  I am doing well.  My brother is the same, no worse...no better. I am still looking for a new job (boss is out for EVERYONE, not just me lol) and I am doing well with the weightloss. I am down from 291 (day of surgery) to 228 today.  I stalled a few times because I just didn't have energy to walk/workout....but I've walked 4x this week and hope I can pick up the momentum like I did when I first had surgery. I have a question.  I have been really afraid to incorporate fruits into my diet and would like to start as of tomorrow.  Would canned fruit be a good choice to start with?  And what fresh fruits should I start with? I keep reading bananas are good to try as well as berries since they are naturally low in sugar. Can someone advise me?  I have my 3 mont post op this coming Friday and I can ask the nut. then, but I am really craving fruit and don't want to wait. Thanks everyone and I miss all of you.

Dolores- It is so good to see you post!  I was really concerned for you and kept you in my thoughts.  You sound like you are doing really well with the weight loss, so Congrats on that !!!  I hope all stays well with your brother and your family.   ((BIG HUGS)) Much luv! Laura

SO glad to hear from you. You are doing well considering all of the stress you have had in your life. Hope to see you around more often. - Katie

Hey Dolores!  It's great to see you back again.   Great news on the weight loss.  Fresh fruit is best, but if you try canned, read the lables and make sure they aren't adding sugar.  There are canned fruits out there by a popular brand name (can't remember which one...maybe Del Monte??) called Carb conscious or something along those lines.  I can usually find them in peaches and pears, but there might be others.  Bananas are good, but be careful because they can sit hard in the pouch.  I am almost two years out and I still can't eat a whole one.  I had a lot of problems with them early out and still have to be very careful, but they are good in a protein shake.  Yep, berries are  a great choice.  Blueberries and strawberries are my favorite.  I am finding myself eating a lot more fruit this summer, but I have to be careful or I will get sick if I eat too much at once.  I got sick on cantalope yesterday, but today, I was fine.   Heather G

Dolores, Glad to see you posting darling.  We've missed you. Fruits - I eat just about anything along the fruit lines and have not had a problem.  I love watermelon (it does have natural sugars, so try just a few pieces of cut up first, and be careful of pits) as it is mostly water anyway.  I also eat a LOT of berries.   Definately be careful of the canned stuff - I think Heather is right with the Del Monte brand.  Or, look for labels that say "In natural juices" or "no sugar added" and make sure you read those labels. Dr. P will tell you no more than 2 servings of fruit a day. Welcome back and congrats on all your successing thus far! Pam

Hi Delores...glad to see you.  I use Del Monte canned fruit ****tail and their peaches packed in water but sweetened with Splenda.  That's the only canned fruit I use. Everything else is fresh, watermelon, honeydew, grapes...bananas are a little heavy for me.  I will PM you about the job hunt.

Hey D, Glad to see you back and wishing the best for your brother and the family. I'm with Heather G and Pam on the fruit info. I used watermelon for the summer when I was 3 months out. Seedless variety, I cubed and chilled them to not quite frozen. I also would pre-freeze bananas or no sugar added strawberries or blueberries and add them to protein powder, skim milk, some ice and a pack of slpenda for a morning shake.  Hope to see you soon at a meeting.  Take care, Dennis

Fruit is okay but if you stall out, you may be carb sensitive to it.  Dr. Marymor told me that yogurt and fruit and pretzels would slow down weight loss.  I believe the lowest impact fruit would be fresh watermelon (basically converts to water).  Keep an eye on the scale .. if your weight loss slows or stalls then stick with protein and just a little green leafy veggies.  I know a lot of people use fruit and yogurt as part of their daily routine ... but keep in mind ... these same people don't have as much weight to lose.  Speaking from experience ... Dr. Marymor is correct. 

Let me be the first to ***** at you about not staying faithful to your fitness regimen. :) Staying active increases your energy, so your "no energy" excuse doesn't hold a lot of water. Keep at it, it WILL pay you dividends!

Hey Dolores - glad you're back and feeling well! I'm about 4 months out and just started fresh fruit- melon works very well but I'm not good with some berries because of the seeds and nothing with skin (grapes, tomatoes) - for some reason they're really hard for me to digest. If I cut up a banana in with some watermelon and strawberries and other fruit I can tolerate them better. Just take it slow and experiment (at home!). Good luck! Kathy