"No Fat?"

Absolutely "no fat." None! Nada! This is what I recently heard from the surgeon who will be performing my gall bladder surgery in September. Yicks! When I heard this all I could think of what doesn't have fat these days? Well, obviously fruits and vegetables, but what else?

Let's back up a short time to when I ended up in St. Marys ER with severe chest pain, etc. The first thought of doctors, Clint and me, too, was heart attack. No heart attack! The pain was caused by a gall bladder attack. Seems my gall bladder is full of nasty stones and sludge - yup, sludge. The gall bladder is a small, pearshaped organ in the abdomen. Its job is to store and release bile, a fluid made by the liver. Bile helps break down FATS in the food you eat. If one eats too much fat, stones and sludge form & the gall bladder isn't very happy and passes this message rather harshly via an attack. If you've ever had an attack, you will do anything to avoid another one, ie. few or no fats.

So here I am attempting to eat no fats at least until my surgery. This change in my diet has actually been good as I'm more aware of what I eat (it only took me almost 70 years ~ what can I say?). I'm reading labels more intently, including foods like eggbeaters, more grains, chicken and fish, no burgers or steaks (darn), and lots of fruits & vegetables. The only sweet I've found without fat is sherbet and it does satisfy me. By the way, I've lost over 30 pounds although some of the loss occured after my knee surgery in May. Am I Smiling? But of course! Who wouldn't when their clothing size changes? (see my Goodwill story :})

So the moral of this story is to eat a healthy diet of good foods; less fat and sugar so that you can possibly avoid a gall bladder attack and surgery. Plus, your heart will be healthy, and your knees will last longer due to the fact they aren't being worn out by attempting to support a ton of fat.