Catch-up

Hi! Remember me?

I thought of 101 blog posts I can do but somehow just haven’t taken the time to make it happen. I have some specific posts I want to work on so there’s at least that hope of that. 🙂

Last summer my gallbladder went south, after occasional (several times a year) gallstone attacks for the last 8-ish years. After about a week of not feeling good (burping, oh, the burping!) after an attack, I concluded that it was time to pursue having it removed.  After I figured out what was going on, I went on a strict low-fat diet. The symptoms went away immediately.

This strict diet made eating out very difficult. The few times we went out for dinner, they were accommodating in grilling my meat with little-to-no oil. And leaving the butter off of the veggies. Yes, it is possible to eat a baked potato with nothing on it but salt and pepper. Yes, you can eat a burrito bowl from Surcheros (local chain similar to Chipotles) without cheese, guacamole, sour cream or sauces. I already had been fairly conservative with what I ate but I went full on

The surgeon I chose did an ultrasound of the gall bladder and affirmed my suspicions that it was time for it to come out. From that time to the surgery date was about 8 weeks. I did a lot of Pinterest searches for non-fat or low-fat foods. It felt like there weren’t many because most people are going for the keto/low-carb track which was the opposite of what I needed.

I did find some delicious recipes and tweaked some others. I’m planning to share them here so that in case you find yourself in the same spot, you can have options and inspiration as well.

Thankfully, since my surgery, I can eat pretty much whatever I want. I do, however, try to be conservative on how much fat I consume. I can make (or reheat) food at work and do that frequently. I avoid eating out on a steady basis because I don’t need and at this point even want, the sodium and fat that so much food has. Plus, I think homemade food is better, most of the time. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy a meal out! I haven’t lost my love for french fries, unfortunately.

What my diet included before surgery: turkey (made my own turkey sausage), chicken, occasional small amount of lean beef, any veggies, any starches. I did eat a little avocado here and there.

Some low/non-fat foods I found that I hope to blog about: huli-huli chicken w/rice; braising meats/veggies in broth instead of sauteeing; low-fat peanut butter granola; chocolate cake with icing(!); baked “fried” pickles.

Since this post needs at least one photo, I’ll skip the photos they gave me of my gallbladder when they were removing it and post this sunset picture of a sunset from Jekyll Island a few weeks ago.

I saw my gallstones after the surgery was still too groggy to remember what they looked like. 🙂 The surgeon told me at my 1-week follow up appt that they removed a 4 cm stone, which was why my one incision (laparoscopic) was bigger than it would’ve normally been. No wonder I was having issues. That’s about the size of a golf ball! Thankfully the pathology report came back normal.

8 thoughts on “Catch-up

  1. Betty

    Glad that’s behind you! I should have had your recipes some years ago. A week after I was diagnosed with a blood clot and put on cumadin I had a severe gall bladder attack. Because of being on a blood thinner I had to wait 6 months for surgery. Fat free for six months…meant less of me. ?

    1. Marylou Hershberger

      Oh, wow! That’s a lot to go through at the same time! Fat free for 1.5 months meant less of me as well!

    1. Marylou Hershberger

      Thank you! The surgery made all of the difference for me! I’ve had little to no issues since then. I’m so thankful!

  2. Ruth Hochstetler

    Nice to hear from you again, Mary Lou. I’m looking forward to reading your blogs. I am dealing with heart and diabetes issues, so am looking forward to your recipes. Cooking is very difficult for me since I lost my husband. I need motivation. Thanks.

    1. Marylou Hershberger

      I’m sorry you’re dealing with all of that, on top of a loss of a spouse! I know my mom went through the same thing of not feeling motivated to cook when there was no one besides her to cook for. For me, getting outside and walking (nearly) everyday is a good moral booster. We also try to cook extra when we do cook and freeze meals or have leftovers. I also like fry/grill extra meat like chicken breast, ground turkey, etc, and keep it in the freezer to pull out for a quick addition to a meal. The more prepped food I have around, the more likely I am to stay away from junk food. Hope this helps!

  3. Stephanie Darnell

    Can u eat jasmine rice and grits? Bc I have gallstones very bad but since I have no insurance I can’t get surgery until I’m pretty much on my death bed.

    1. Marylou Hershberger

      I’m so sorry you are not feeling well! I pray you get relief soon! I have no blood sugar issues and was fine eating jasmine rice and grits. I added no fat like butter, cheese, etc. Grits with just salt and pepper isn’t very exciting but neither is gallstone pain, at least not in a good way! Adding herbs and seasonings to things can add some interest without adding fat. For me, the pain and nausea motivated me to eat strictly. Thankfully, when I stayed the course, the pain was gone. I’ll try to get more recipes posted since I know the low fat recipes are harder to find right now.

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