Fat Frog Diary

This email begins a series sent to a friend considering bariatric surgery. I've decided to share my emails with her, since this uses some of the recipes and concepts previously expressed herein. I want to reiterate that the opinions expressed in my blog are my own. I am not a medical or nutritional professional. The information I give is based solely on my personal experience. Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV).  I promised I'd give you information on how to make the process of getting ready for bariatric surgery easier, so here goes. I'll be doing this in sections, mainly because it takes time to absorb the concepts and put them into practice. Not only that, but there's a lot of information to share! First we'll go over the boring, repetitive basics every yo-yo dieter knows. Still, this is important to remember. After all, practicing now means you avoid dumping syndrome later, and who really wants to feel nauseated, stomach cramps, weakness, shakiness, and sweating...

For those who follow my blog, you probably noticed I dropped off the face of the earth and stopped posting for three months. There were two reasons. The first was that I got a job that demanded all my time and attention for awhile. I love my new job, and I'm very happy being an appeals specialist. The second influences the nature of this blog. I had an endoscopy done after years of mysterious chest pains that were clearly not my heart. I have an ulcer and, most importantly, a "very large" hiatal hernia. I had also gained back everything I'd lost with the lap band and now weighed a shocking 290 lbs. The hernia and an enlarged liver moved my band out of place and quite literally turned it on its side. The hernia and the band must come out ASAP. I'm scheduled for surgery in early August, and as soon as four weeks later (depending on how I heal) I will be back on the operating table for a gastric sleeve. Like it or not, I'm now back on a very strict pre-surg...

My grandfather was born and raised during the Great Depression. Consequently, he was one of those incredibly frugal men who lived well below his income because he "didn't need much." He drove a POS car until it became a classic, then an antique, then he sold it for ten times what he'd bought it for. He even had his own garden until he was too old to tend it properly, but his neighbors all had gardens and felt sorry for the lonely old widower and brought him extras from their gardens for free! When he died, he left my Mom a small fortune. One thing grandpa did very well was save money on food. He rarely threw anything out. He composted his organic garbage right back into his garden, washed out his cans and took them to a steel mill that happily bought all his cans long before "recycling" was even a word. Even his soups were recycled. Grandpa kept several containers stacked neatly in his freezer. Three were for cooked meats he shaved off the bones and save...

Ever have a recipe demand you have fresh lemon or orange zest, but you end up throwing away the rest days later? Don't!! There's an easier way. Juice the fruit into a plastic freezer jar and save it too!

Our Spices Gifts & Accessories Recipes Blog Events Our Stores St. Patrick's Day the Right Way. For  real home made brined corned beef, you need to get started soon, as you need around two weeks for the brining process. St. Patrick's Day is one of our favorite holidays here in Chicago, and not just because the river is dyed green .  With our long history in the meat industry, we love any holiday that traditionally features a giant piece of slowly marinated beef.  Sure, you can get pre-made or quick-cooking corned beef, but for the real thing, you need to start with good beef and let it brine until it's perfectly flavored and meltingly tender.  Our brine recipe will give you the best corned beef, whether you eat it straight, slice it into Reubens, or make...

This girl is telling it like it is!! I refuse to reinvent the wheel. Wendy Tippens tells you the truth about banding. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKfp7aovYkM&NR=1

While several chefs and nutritionists defend butter and olive oil, I think this rates as well done. Until I can find a free clip of Alton Brown's tv show defending butter, this article will have to do. It's worth logging on to Big Tent just to see this. https://www.bigtent.com/group/news/16453409 Fact is, EVOO and Butter ARE better, all the way around. They impart flavor as well as helping food not to stick to the pan. Letting butter brown adds that nutty flavor that cannot be duplicated. This is just one of the reasons the low carb diet works for me. Cooking has become a pleasure again. Lena

(Waving to the friends at Incredible Shrinking Authors) Today I teamed with http://www.IncredibleShrinkingAuthors.com I hope the companionship and shared information will keep me on track as I make my way through the process toward better health. Lena

Just so you know what I'm talking about... *** What is diverticulitis? Diverticulitis is a condition in which diverticuli in the colon rupture. The rupture results in infection in the tissues that surround the colon. What is diverticulosis? The colon (large intestine) is a long tube-like structure that stores and then eliminates waste material. Pressure within the colon causes bulging pockets of tissue (sacs) that push out from the colonic walls as a person ages. A small bulging sac pushing outward from the colon wall is called a diverticulum. More than one bulging sac is referred to as diverticula. Diverticula can occur throughout the colon but are most common near the end of the left colon called the sigmoid colon. The condition of having these diverticula in the colon is called diverticulosis. A patient with diverticulosis may have few or no symptoms. When a diverticulum ruptures and becomes infected, the condition is called diverticulitis. A patient suffering from diverticuliti...