WLS Recipes...and photos of each...

 I'm a WLS post op of almost 6 years...been a member here from the beginning, but went away for awhile.  I'm glad I'm back!!  Used to post recipes here a lot...things have really changed!

I've been creating pouch-worthy recipes for several years and taking photos of them - love it!  Just started adding them to a blog...I hope you find inspiration there!

click >>  EATING WELL...LIVING THIN

I am so gonna try that chicken crepe pot pie.  Yummmmm. 

Ohhh yum! thank you for sharing! i will be visiting your site often!!

Love the blog!!! So excited to try every single recipe out!! I mean everyone!! I wish you were here to cook for me!! Ever thought about publishing a cook book for us WLS peeps? I would buy it.

Thanks so much for sharing. It is a fab site and I will so be using these recipes.

Linda, I'm glad I came to the recipe forum today.  I had your blog in my favorites and completely forgot about it.  Your recipes look amazing, I'll definitely be trying some soon.

Hello, I am considering the surgery; lapband.  However, like most I guess, I love food.  Sometimes that is the highlight of my day.  Now that you've had a couple of years between your body and the actual surgery,  Are you able to eat anything, only in a reasonable (tiny, not often) amount?  I have no desire to give up my brother's homemade fudge forever.  I only see him every year or so anyway.  And of course, I couldn't eat but a bite but that would not be total deprivation and yes, I do  believe I could do this.  Also, can you eat a bite of real ice cream ever?

 I am ABLE to eat anything - it's what I CHOOSE to eat that counts, in the long run!  But you know that, too!

Yes...I will eat a bite or two of a fabulous food - as long as it's pouch-worthy (tastes so good it's definitely worth going off plan for 3 bites!) - and not feel guilty about it.  I find that if I tell myself "absolutely not, never again, EVER", that is where the problem comes in for me.  It's all I obsess about and can't think of another thing until I finally binge and make myself sick.

So, I give myself permission to eat a couple bites and be done.  I've satisfied the need/want for a taste, and usually quieted the demons!  

I also find that when I give myself the green light, I might take the taste...might not.  Suddenly it doesn't matter one way or another to me.  I can take it or leave it. 

This is just what works for me, and you may find that if you take that first bite and it leads to a binge of monumental proportions, then you'll be super careful in the future.  You may find that only a certain food will do this...or you may not have a problem at all.

I do believe in skewing my meals to be mostly protein, with some veggies thrown in.  I will have a couple bites of pasta or bread with a meal...but I don't do potatoes - dumped SO bad on those, it cured me!!

For me, it's how I eat 90% of the time that will make my success or failure.  If during that time I am eating high-protein, low-carb then I can have those bites of my favorite food 10% of the time with no troubles.

It takes a long time to change our habits...we are very controlled by our food, or we wouldn't be MO...at least I was.  If you don't expect to be perfect (which can set you up for massive let-downs!), but instead work towards being BETTER and BETTER, you'll do great!!

sometimes i feel like i am eating too much. i hear that taking about 3 bites is enough but most of the time i can eat a few more than 3 bites. should i only eat 3 bites and stop. how big is a bite considered? a baby spoon, a regular spoon? i am 3 months post op.

Congratulations on your surgery - you are in for a great year, punkin!!

With most foods we should eat until we are satisfied - not over-full or stuffed, but to where we don't care if we have another bite or not.  

Three bites may be fine if you are eating chicken, fish, scrambled eggs...things that are more dense.  With these foods the pouch will feel full faster and you may only be able to eat a little bit.

But yogurt, cottage cheese, soups/chili/chowders, egg salad, cheese stick - things that chew down to nothing  - we will be able to eat more of.  They slide through the pouch quicker than dense chicken and you CAN get more in there!

In the beginning - and sometimes still - I always measured less dense food by calories because I felt I COULD eat more than I was supposed to.  So I measured out yogurts and the other soft foods I mentioned above, just so I knew I wasn't getting in more than I needed.

I found that if I ate at a slower pace - not excruciatingly slow! - and when I was about 3/4 of the way done with my meal, I took more time between bites and waited a minute.  If I started thinking about other things...losing my interest in the food...then I knew I was satisfied and would stop.  If I wanted that next bite and felt I could hold it, then I would have one more and then wait for a minute.  This way I learned what it felt like to be satisfied, and I hadn't accidentally eaten too much and became uncomfortable.  You will be able to 'eyeball' it as you get further out and understand your limits with practice.

You'll do fine.  Listen to your pouch...your body.  Eat until you are comfortably satisfied of dense foods, and measure out softer things by calories.  I say calories because you may be able to eat and fit in your pouch 1 1/2 cups of soup for 180 calories, but you could get in 2 pieces of one of my cheesecakes for 400!!   

Good luck, doll!