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Weight Loss Surgery Friendly Food Porn


For my visual peeps check out this link for a fun new way to view the blog.

It's food-porn-o-rama!

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Obesityhelp Magazine

If you subscribe to ObesityHelp OH magazine be sure to check out page 48 of the March/April 2011 issue. I'm honored to have an article included...

Here's a sneak peek...

Not a subscriber? Link to solve that.

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Eggface Egg Bites: Taste of New York

In honor of my upcoming NYC trip. I made these for lunch today! A New York classic: Pastrami & Swiss on Rye. Soooo good. Of course I had to have them with some Kosher Dill Pickles. A little taste of Katz's Deli. Remember "When Harry Met Sally" that infamous scene... "I'll have what she's having." That's Katz's. I was transported.

Weight Loss Surgery Bariatric Recipes Healthy Cooking Shelly's NY Bites (aka Pastrami & Swiss on Rye Bites)

1 Yellow Onion, diced
1/4 lb. (about 4 slices) Pastrami, chopped
1/4 cup Swiss Cheese, shredded
5 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon Prepared Spicy Brown Mustard
1/2 teaspoon Caraway Seed
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Saute onion till golden. Set aside to cool. When cool mix all ingredients together. Spoon into lightly greased (Pam works great) mini muffin tins.

Healthy Weight Loss Low Carb Bariatric Surgery RecipesBake for 30 minutes at 350. Makes 24.

Healthy Weight Loss Weightloss Bariatric Surgery RecipesGreat appetizer for a party, dinner, lunch, or grab & go breakfast. They store several days in the fridge. Reheat in oven or toaster oven for best results. They also freeze well. Defrost in fridge for a few hours before reheating.

Other Eggface Bites (crustless quiches)

NYC = You & Me

Looks like I'm headed back to New York. April 14-15, I'll be joining some of my fellow blogging pals in New York City for an event sponsored by Ethicon Endo-Surgery and the Obesity Action Coalition.

Topics being covered...

*This event is sponsored by Ethicion Endo-Surgery and the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC), and my expenses for this trip have been covered in full. Thank you. I am looking forward to participating in the forum and sharing the info we cover.

The event itself is by invitation only but a few of us are getting together Friday, April 15th. If you are in the area and would like to join us. Please come hang out! Plans to follow but we are all poor bloggers so I'm certain it will be casual & as cheap as NYC can be.

When: Friday, April 15 at 6:00pm till ?
Location start: Lobby of the Mondrian SOHO Hotel
9 Crosby St, New York, NY 10013
I will tweet our locations periodically throughout the night if you miss us at the gathering point.


View Larger Map

I also am hoping to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge (time permitting) while I'm in NYC. Because now I CAN! Happy to have company on that too. I'll post more details closer to the date for that.

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A day in my pouch

My post weight loss surgery yesterday in food...

Breakfast: A couple of my Sausage Blueberry Pancake Bites with SF Maple Syrup. They reheat perfectly by the way, toaster oven till warm again.

Lunch: Filled my super cool bento box and ate it as I worked on a computer project.

Pink Box (top left): Boar's Head Lower Sodium Oven Roasted Chicken Cold Cut Roll-ups
Green Box (top right): Mini Brie Cheese
Blue Box (bottom left): a Cutie Mandarin Orange and a hunk of a Supreme Protein Bar - Peanut Butter & Jelly flavor
Orange Box (bottom right): Sliced Cucumber (I spread the Brie on these)

Dinner: Remember those great baby Patty Pan squashes I scored at the Farmer's Market this weekend...

They became a terrific side dish with this High Liner Sea Cuisine Basil Pesto Tilapia. A really great Costco find.

Super yummy. Great lunch or dinner with a veggie or broken up on a salad. 14 minutes in the oven on a foil lined baking sheet (clean-up is a breeze) at 425°

Nutritional Information:
Serving Size 3.6 Oz (about 1 Fillet)
Servings Per Container 9
Calories 120
Total Fat 5 g
Total Carbohydrate 1 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 18 g

$12.69/2 lb. box. at Costco (perhaps email the company for additional locations)

Verdict: Definitely adding them to my Eggface Pantry Essentials List. Makes a great protein packed quick dinner on days I need to get in and out of the kitchen. Shoot even the clean-up was easy. Perfect.

I served the Tilapia with a side of Stuffed Baby Patty Pan Squash. Soooo good.

Shelly's Stuffed Baby Patty Pan Squash

7 Baby Patty Pan Squash (zucchini or yellow crookneck would work fine too)
1 Yellow Onion, diced
2 Mushrooms, diced
1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
A few twists of Black Pepper
1 Egg, beaten
1/4 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled (I used Tomato Basil Feta)

Hollow out baby squash (I used a melon baller and it was super easy). Place in a Pam sprayed Pyrex baking dish and set aside.

Chop up the squash "guts" you remove in the hollowing out process. Saute onion, mushroom and those squash "guts" till golden. Add seasonings and cook 1 minute more. Set aside to cool slightly.

Add beaten egg and feta to slightly cooled veggies. Spoon into hollowed out squashes.

Bake for 45 minutes at 400° till fork tender.

You may have a little more filling or a little less depending on the size of your squash. For a little more: place in a small oven safe dish and cook along side. For a little less: just fill them less full.

Snacks: Finished the stuff in my bento box, oodles of coffee including an afternoon Sugar Free Cinnamon Dolce (no whip, no foam, extra hot) Soy Latte from Starbucks where they tried to torture me by playing insanely loud French versions of American songs. I sat there as long as I could thinking how people sitting in Starbuck's in Paris better be listening to insanely loud Justin Bieber songs for this ear assault to be anywhere near fair. I eventually had to leave. Had there been a baguette around I might have started whacking the speakers with it.

Other than the Starbuck's experience the day was great. Hope yours was too.

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Heads Up: Silk Coupon


Just a heads up for fellow Soy Milk drinkers. If you sign up on Silk's website (or sign in if you have already registered) you can score a 75¢/1 half-gallon coupon but if you take a short survey (it's 4 or 5 questions) you can score a $2 off of 1 half-gallon coupon. Just click the get a coupon logo/start the challenge link on their page.

Please note: The page says $.75 off coupon but once you log in/register it'll give you the option for the survey to get the $2 coupon! Not sure how long the offer will last so get on it. I heart saving $$$.

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P.S. If you aren't a Soy girl like me (I use it in my Protein Ice Cream and Protein Smoothies & Shakes) the coupon is also good for Silk Almond or Coconut Milk.

Weight Loss Surgery Twitter Group


It's been awhile since I mentioned our WLS Twitter Twibe. Thought it was time for a shoutout. What the heck is a twibe? A Twibe is basically a place where people with common interests (who are using Twitter) can find each other. Explained in depth here. Twitter is a great social networking medium but unless you combine it with Twibes it's just you talking to cyber space. A Twibe is like a cyber party of your similar interest pals, a place to meet up and learn about each other. By the way there are Twibes for everything you can imagine from football to knitting to scuba diving to thrift store shopping.

If you are on Twitter and want to find other WLSers (all surgery types, all stages, pre-ops, post-ops, & everyone in between) be sure to add your twitter name to The Weight Loss Surgery Twibe. Once you have added your name to our Twibe roster other members know about you and can add you to their twitter stream. We often tag tweets with the hashtag #WLS. We have quite a large group now (800+ members), so someone is always around 24/7 to chat, share their experiences, offer support or a kick in the toosh when needed. Awesome tweeps!

So if you are tweeting be sure to become a WLS Twiber too. Click here to join us.

Here's a little interview about why I created the WLS Twibe.

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Weekend Wrap Up

The weather is sketchy. Rained a bit yesterday and we're supposed to get a big storm later on today. I hate when it rains on Farmer's Market day. They are open rain or shine, a bunch of troopers, but the customers are not as plentiful. A few sprinkles didn't stop this ex-New Yorker.

Scored some great stuff... 3 baskets of huge, sweet Strawberries (thinking Strawberry Cannoli, Strawberry Fluff Stuff, a freeze some for Protein Shakes), Onions, Garlic, Avocados (made a yummy bento lunch yesterday), Apples, Pears (thinking Apple Pear Crumb) and yay! the Patty Pan Squash have started. Not sure what I'm gonna do with them yet. Maybe this casserole, maybe something else.

The weather cleared by the afternoon and I was able to pack up my super cool bento box and walk to the park.

Pink Box (top left): Shelly's Avocado Brie Cold Cut Roll-up
Green Box (top right): some of the super sweet Strawberries
Blue Box (bottom left): Just the Cheese Crunchy Cheese - White Cheddar Cheese flavor
Orange Box (bottom right): Storebought Pineapple Cottage Cheese

Shelly's Avocado Brie Cold Cut Roll-up

Take a slice of any cold cut. I used Boar's Head Lower Sodium Oven Roasted Chicken. Roast Beef, Ham, Turkey are all yummy. Place a slice or two of Avocado and a little hunk of Brie. Roll-up. Eat as is or I heated them in a Non-stick Pam-sprayed Pan till golden.

Sunday is starting out nice despite the gray skies. As I'm typing this I'm watching 2 doves eating birdseed that spilled onto the patio from my bird feeder. They are eating breakfast and I am too. I made a version of my Pancake Bites. I've made Sausage, Bacon, Fruity ones in the past. These are a combo of the two. Blueberry & Sausage. Yum.

Shelly's Sausage & Blueberry Pancake Bites

1/2 cup Multigrain Pancake Mix, dry
1/3 cup Soy Milk (any milk would do)
1/4 cup Torani Sugar Free Caramel Syrup
1/3 cup Cooked Sausage Crumbles
2 Tablespoons of Frozen Blueberries

Mix pancake mix, milk, syrup together till thoroughly combined. Pour batter into a 12 cup mini muffin tin that has been sprayed with Pam. Fill about 3/4 way up.

Top each muffin with a few sausage crumbles (or sliced leftovers of cooked sausage would work great too) and a few frozen blueberries (you could use fresh too.) Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until golden. Serve with SF Maple syrup for dipping.

Going to vacuum and steam clean the floors, do the laundry, all that boring stuff. I have a little cooking to do too. Call my sister. That should fill up most of my day and woot it's The Amazing Race tonight (my favorite show.)

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

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WLS Friendly St. Patrick's Day

Top of the Mornin' to ya! Hope everyone has the luck of the Irish today. I have felt lucky every day since having weight loss surgery for my second chance. I'm celebrating this St. Patrick's Day with this Weight Loss Surgery Friendly menu.

Starting my day with Shelly's Shamrock Protein Shake...

and this is lunch...

Shelly's Corned Beef & Cabbage Bites

1/2 Yellow Onion, diced
1/2 cup Corned Beef leftovers, chopped fine
1/2 cup Cabbage leftovers, chopped fine
5 eggs
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Saute onion till golden. Set aside to cool. When onions are cool mix all ingredients together. Spoon into a lightly greased (Pam works great) mini muffin tin.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350. Makes 24.

Other Eggface St. Patty's Day favorites:

Shelly's Corned Beef Bites (version 1, more Reuben-ish)
Shelly's Pots o' Gold
Shelly's Rainbow 5 Minute Cakes
Shelly's Leprechaun Pancakes
Shelly's Mint Chocolate Chip Protein Ice Cream Cakelettes
Shelly's Mini Pistachio Protein Muffins
Shelly's Pesto Deviled Eggs
Shelly's Margarita Mango Fluff Stuff
Shelly's Irish Cream Mochachinno
Shelly's Irish Cream Custard Crumble Cups
Shelly's Turkey Cabbage Casserole
Shelly's Spinach Crustless Quiche
Shelly's Potato-less Potato Pancakes
Shelly's Shepherd's Pie (potato-less)
Shelly's Irish Tortilla Pizza

"May the sunshine all day long, everything go right and nothing wrong. May those you love bring love back to you, and may all the wishes you wish come true!" ~Irish Blessing

♧ Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Bento Weekend

It was a beautiful weekend here, sunny 70's and I spent most of it outside. It's hard to imagine just on the other side of the world there is so much devastation caused by the massive 8.9/9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami. I was getting obsessive watching coverage and getting so sad I needed to break away from it. Twice I walked over to the park near my house, fed the ducks and last night with the time change I brought my super cool bento box on the patio and enjoyed the longer daylight hours, said a few prayers on the stars for our Japanese friends.

In tragedies like this I would love to be a doctor or search & rescue worker and fly over and help but since I'm neither I did the only thing someone sitting at home thousands of miles away can do I text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 (goes on your cell bill.) I encourage you to do it. It's an easy way we can help. We all spent more on a pre weight loss surgery trip through the drive-thru.

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one." ~Mother Teresa

I love that quote, helps me feel less helpless.

Well here's some of the yummy stuff from this weekend...

Bento #1:

Pink Box (top left): Shelly's Lemon Poppy Seed Mini Protein Muffins
Green Box (top right): Tomato, Mozzarella Cheesestick, Pesto Salad
Blue Box (bottom left): Naked Chicken Nuggets with Greek Yogurt & Salsa for dipping (in little blue container)
Orange Box (bottom right): Shelly's Peanut Butter and Jelly Trail Mix (Peanuts, fruit juice sweetened Cranberries, Raisins)

Shelly's Lemon Poppy Seed Mini Protein Muffins

1 Egg, beaten
3 Tablespoons Milk
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Vanilla Torani Syrup (or Sugar Free Lemon)
1 Tablespoons Canola Oil
3 Tablespoons Multigrain Pancake Mix
2 Tablespoons Almond Meal
1 teaspoon Poppy Seeds
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Jello Lemon Pudding Mix, dry
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
Pinch salt

In a measuring cup mix egg, milk, syrup, and oil and combine thoroughly. In a separate bowl, mix pancake mix, almond meal, pudding mix, poppy seeds, protein powder and salt. Tip dry into wet and stir till combined.

Pour into a non stick mini muffin pan that has been sprayed with Pam.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, until knife inserted comes out clean. Makes 12.

Bento #2:

Pink Box (top left): Leftover Salmon Salad (Lettuce, Cucumber, Salmon)
Green Box (top right): Green Grapes
Blue Box (bottom left): Just the Cheese Crunchy Cheese - Grilled Cheese flavor
Orange Box (bottom right): Shelly's Pesto Yogurt Dipping Sauce (in little blue container)

Bento #3:

Pink Box (top left): Shelly's Lemon Poppy Seed Mini Protein Muffins
Orange Box (top right): Cucumber and Baby Carrots
Blue Box (bottom left): Hardboiled Egg
Green Box (bottom right): Salt & Pepper Packets for Egg & Shelly's Pesto Yogurt Dipping Sauce (in little blue container)

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Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

My day in post weight loss surgery eating...

Breakfast: Made this yummy protein shake. Reminded me of those Linzer Tart Cookies you know the ones with the heart-shaped cut out and jam.


Shelly's Linzer Cookie Protein Shake

8 oz. Vanilla Soy Milk
1 scoop of Vanilla Protein Powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Almond Torani Syrup
1 1/2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Raspberry Torani Syrup
3-4 Ice Cubes

Blend on high.

Lunch: Took my laptop, my super cool bento box packed with lunch and some snacks to the park. It was sunny & 79 degrees and nothing was going to keep me inside. Finished a project I was working on. Enjoyed the sun and fresh air. For all the good it did me. When I went home I planned on mowing the lawn and pulling weeds but I started to feel achy and blah. I sneezed like a million times too. Thought I might be getting sick. I was right. Woke up this AM with a head cold :(



Pink Box (top left): Shelly's Tuna, Lentil & Edamame Salad
Green Box (top right): hunk of an ISS Oh Yeah Peanut Butter Caramel Protein Bar
Blue Box (bottom left): Just the Cheese Crunchy Cheese - Grilled Cheese flavor
Orange Box (bottom right): Shelly's Chocolate Peanut Power Yogurt

Shelly's Tuna, Lentil & Edamame Salad

1 bag (12 oz.) frozen shelled Edamame, cooked & cooled
1 1/2 cups cooked Lentils
1 Cucumber, chopped
1 can Tuna Fillets, packed in Olive Oil, drained
1 Tablespoon Lemon Infused Olive Oil
(or Regular Olive Oil w/juice of 1/2 a lemon)
1 Tablespoon of some Fruity Vinegar (Citrusy, Lemon, Champagne)
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
Kosher Salt to taste
a few twists of Black Pepper

Cook edamame (boil in salted water for 5 minutes, drain.) Edamame (young soybeans are found in the frozen bagged veggie section) Cool them in the fridge. When cool combine will all other ingredients and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

I used pre-cooked lentils from Trader Joe's (find in the refrigerator section) but you could just soak dry ones and cook then chill.

Shelly's Chocolate Peanut Power Yogurt

3 oz. Greek Yogurt (I used Fage Plain 2%)
2 Tablespoons Chocolate Protein Powder
2 heaping Tablespoons Powdered Peanut Butter (aka PB2, Peanut Flour, defatted peanut butter)
2 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Vanilla)
Optional: 1 Tablespoon Chopped Peanuts

Whiz everything together in a mini food processor till smooth. Top with some chopped peanuts

Eat on its own or dip sliced Apples, Pears, Celery, Fruit Skewers, Cucumber, Strawberries, Banana Chunks.

Dinner: Made a veggie frittata out of bits and bobs I had in the fridge. Eggs, sauteed onion and hunk of red pepper, a few leaves of spinach that needed using, a cheese stick chopped up, some Parmesan. Cook like an omelet then put under the broiler for a few minutes to brown.

Snacks: way too much coffee, stuff from my bento lunch and a big scoop of my Fluff Stuff (an Orange Mango version) during American Idol. Are you watching this season? Last night I liked Casey Abrams and James Durbin. Not really feeling any of the girls yet.

So that was my day. Yum.

Join the fight!

If you are a reader of The World According to Eggface I'm guessing you or someone you love has been affected by obesity.

The Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) does GOOD THINGS for our community (education, nationwide advocacy, support group information, helping people who have been denied surgery, etc.) Please consider helping by becoming a member. They are the good guys, fighting the good fight for us and those we ❤

It's a few bucks and you get a groovy magazine, a newsletter, and if you tell them my pal *Beth Sheldon-Badore, Plymouth, MA (aka Melting Mama) sent you (put her name in the recruited by box) you'll score a chance to WIN a super cool prize from her blog. Good karma & prizes. Now that is winning ;)

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Ramblings of a Weight Loss Surgery Post-op

My blog entry the other day where I mentioned my not eating pasta, rice, bread, white potatoes, crackers and chips post weight loss surgery (my choice) elicited a bunch of emails asking how to stave off the white carb cravings. I wish I had words of wisdom on this one but I'll just say this, it is much easier to detox if you never tox to begin with. I rarely have cravings for my pre-op demon foods because my body isn't fighting me, it makes it easier to keep the willpower part up. Here's a great article explains the science behind it. The day I signed on the dotted line for weight loss surgery I agreed in my mind to ax a few things. Those select foods (and really there aren't many) are just not an option for me anymore. Physically could I eat them? Sure, I don't doubt I could. That's the scary part.

Some people can do the moderation thing, I can for some foods, for others, errr not so much. If I had the occasional piece of bread from the bread basket, it wouldn't end there, I know me... the occasional would become the weekly, daily, with every meal again. Maybe some people are stronger than I am and can do it. Maybe they know a secret or are more enlightened since surgery. A lot of people claim to know the secrets and will sell you them in their e-books. Maybe they are fooling themselves, we addicts often do. Maybe they are still in the early stages when a bite or two feels like a buffet and they're thinking how can a few bites do any harm?! In the first year the pouch can only handle so much so those "just a bites" satisfy but sooner than you think you'll be able to eat more. Will you be able to stop at "just a bite?" that's something you need to answer for yourself. I am of the school that you can't continue the same behavior and expect a different result. So *my answer* is not to open the door on a few foods. At family gatherings or parties or on a restaurant menu I look for the foods I can have versus those I can't. At home I adapt favorites. It's surprisingly a lot of great stuff. So great in fact, that I often find the post-op adapted versions are better than the pre-op ones.

This is how *my journey* needs to be.


Just the 2.5 cents (inflation) of another post-op trying to make it in this world.

Weekend Wrap Up - Pistachio Protein Mini Muffins

Saturday was crazy busy but a mixture of work and fun. Hit the Farmer's Market and picked up some yummy things for the week. Bought a huge bag of pink lady apples (thinking an apple crumb), onions (I've got a casserole in mind), avocados (bought some crab for my California Roll Salad this week), and strawberries (my Fluff Stuff addiction is in full force again.)

The weather has been terrific so I packed up lunch in my super cool bento box and ate it at the park. A pal of mine (owns a catering company) called and needed some help so it was off to that. I don't think I sat down all day but at least it was mostly all outside, fresh air, and sunshine. I had a bunch of errands on my to-do list yesterday and all of those got done too. I'm still amazed at what a difference life is post weight loss surgery, physically I NEVER would have been able to do 1/4 of what I did yesterday. I do ache a bit but it is a good ache. So today I'm thinking... a walk (gotta get that exercise in), another picnic, some kitchen experiments, maybe a movie. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

Blog Bariatric Gastric Bypass Sugar Free Healthy

Pink Box (top left): Shelly's Broccoli Beef Bites
Orange Box (top right): Sliced Cucumber (I spread the Brie on these)
Blue Box (bottom left): Shelly's Pistachio Protein Muffins
Green Box (bottom right): Trader Joe's Mini Brie


Gastric Bypass Healthy Weight Loss Surgery Friendly Fitness Food BlogShelly's Mini Pistachio Protein Muffins

1 Egg, beaten
3 Tablespoons Milk
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Vanilla Torani Syrup
1 Tablespoons Canola Oil
3 Tablespoons Multigrain Pancake Mix
2 Tablespoons Almond Meal
1 Tablespoon Sugar-Free Jello Pistachio Pudding Mix, dry
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
Pinch salt
a few chopped Pistachios for the top

In a measuring cup mix egg, milk, syrup, and oil (applesauce or cottage cheese can sub for oil but 1 T divided between 12 muffins is really not a lot) and combine thoroughly. In a separate bowl, mix pancake mix, almond meal, pudding mix, protein powder, and salt. Tip dry into wet and stir till combined. Pour into a non-stick mini muffin pan that has been sprayed with Pam.

Healthy Desserts Breakfast Recipes Ideas Gastric Bypass VSG RNY WLSfoodOptional: Place a few pieces of pistachio on top of each muffin. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, until knife inserted comes out clean. Makes 12.

Eggface Recipes Sugarfree Gastric Bypass Bariatric VSG WLS Weight Loss Surgery Food Blog You have to make these Pistachio Mini Protein Muffins. Soooo good! Great on-to-go breakfast paired with my Shamrock Protein Shake or toss a couple in a snack sized Ziploc baggie and when you're meeting friends for coffee at Starbuck's you'll have something yummy you can have too.

My Before & After - Weight Loss Surgery

-158 lbs
Size 28 to 4 (8 before plastics)
All co-morbidities resolved (GERD, severe sleep apnea, high blood pressure)
Off all 8 medications I was on pre-op

*Weight Loss Surgery is not a solution for everyone* but it was the right one for me. It was the HEAD START I needed to change my life and I want to stress it goes hand in hand with HEALTHY EATING, DAILY EXERCISE and MOST IMPORTANTLY (and the hardest part IMHO) working on the HEAD stuff, the why's of why I got fat. This is a lifelong war versus obesity and having surgery was just one battle... everyday I wake up and fight.

Just 'cause I got the monkey off my back doesn't mean the circus has left town. The FIGHT is FOREVER!

My wish for all those new on this journey: that you will soon feel the same way I do about having weight loss surgery that it was the BEST GIFT I ever gave myself.

xo To all the fellow fighters!