Oregondaisy

You're right about that. My dr. gave me a printed list of what I could have in the mushy stage. It had all the usual stuff that people talk about, plus the others that I mentioned. I wouldn't eat mashed potatoes though. The whole goal is protein and there's no protein in mashed potatoes. They may fill you up though.

Foxy, My bmi was about the same as yours when I got banded. I am sure you;ll do fine. My weight loss has been slow, but my dr says it's because I am 54. I still think it's worth it, because I would have gained more weight by now. It's nice to have lost weight, even if it's not as much as I would like.

Chrispy, I am so sorry to hear about your friend. That's so sad. You're right though. I went through a lot when my boyfriend had stomach cancer and it was so hard to see him suffer. She is at peace now. Good luck with the guy you've been talking to. I am with you. I think you're right about meeting as soon as possible being best. I have talked to so many guys on the phone that sounded great, and they turned out completely different after meeting.

Oh I am sure you will. After three fills, that's when the pb and the slime started for me. That is only if I don't chew something until it's liquid. The slime is what your body produces when it's trying to get something through your band. You know how your mouth waters when you are about to puke? Pb stands for productive burp but it's just a polite way of saying throwing up. Sometimes, it's like a burp and food will come with it. Sometimes, it's more like regular puking.

There is a recipe section somewhere on this board. You can have egg salad, tuna or chicken salad, breast of turkey deli meat, and string cheese. These were all on my list of mushy foods I got from my dr. Just remember mushy is just another word for soft foods. Just remember to chew everything until it's liquid.

I will let you know if it helps. If I drink only protein drinks, it has to help, because the calories will be much less. If I do the Atkins protein drinks, they are 160 per can. If I mix powder with water, it's only 120 per drink. I can get by with 4 per day and not be hungry. I don't know if I can give up my sugar free fudgesicle though. It's only 40 calories. Plus I did an hour of cardio today.

Yes! Your stomach is not supposed to be digesting food. The stomach moves during the digestion process. The band needs to heal properly on the stomach so you don't have a slip a few years from now. You can have soup. That seemed to fill me up better than protein drinks. Put it in a blender so there aren't any chunks in the soup.

If you have lost 62 lbs, you are doing great. My dr. said weight loss would be slow for me because I started at 212 and weight loss is slower for people with a starting BMI of under 40. I lost 22 the first 4 weeks when I was on the liquid diet, and it's taken me 5 months to lose 20 more. I am doing all liquids this week in hopes of breaking through this plateau.

Did anyone see that show Big Medicine? It's about weight loss surgery. The last one was about a girl that got down to goal weight after having RNY. Then she had plastic surgery and she looked great. She is 30 years old and has never been out on a date. She says she doesn't know how to act around men. She still has very low self esteem from being overweight her whole life. It was pretty interesting.

Where do you get this stuff?

I went to the dr. today and he said I was doing very well because I lost 5 lbs in the last 6 weeks. That does not make me happy. It seems crazy to me that I lost 22 lbs the first 4 weeks on the liquid diet and 20 lbs in the next 5 months. If I was not following the rules, that would be different. I had the resting metabolic test taken, and he said he has never seen a slower metabolism than mine. That was not the least bit encouraging.

I notice that my face looks saggy too, especially around my neck. I really haven't even lost all that much weight. I have lost 40 lbs and I would like to lose 25 more but at the rate I am going, it's going to take another year. I lost 22 on the liquid stage the first 4 weeks, and it has taken me 5 months to lose 20 more.

There is a recipe forum somewhere on here. For the mushie stage you can have string cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, refried beans, soft deli meat like turkey breast, etc. Anything that is soft.

I watch every bite I put in my mouth and I exercise 6 days a week. I had a resting metabolic test taken and i have a very slow metabolism . It's maddening. I have gone back on the liquid diet this week to see if that makes any difference.

I love that show. I am glad they finally showed someone getting banded.

Popsicle makes a pineapple flavor that I like. I have never seen the walmart brand in Walmart. I like the sugar free creamsicles too.

When you eat mostly protein, the cravings for sweets for the most part go away. I do a lot of different things for protein. I use ground turkey because it's lower in fat, and cook it with taco spices and make taco salad. I buy the chicken breast in a package because it's already cooked and moist. I think the brand is hormel. I put mix that in with spinach leaves and use Walmart fat free dressing that's 10 calories for two tablespoons. Sometimes I buy the South Beach frozen meal that's chicken with some sort of spaghetti sauce over it with broccoli. It's really good. sometimes I buy lean lunch meat and roll it up with low fat cream cheese in the middle. There is a recipe section somewhere on this board.

I never had the full feeling until my last fill. I just ate what they told me to eat because I was worried about stretching the pouch. Now, I put what I think I should be able to eat on my plate, and if I eat it all, I am way too full. It takes about 2 hours for that way too full feeling to go away, so I have learned to eat way less. Bubble, I am so glad to hear that there is some mediation that's helping you!

I paid $10,000.00

My problem is pants. I am in between sizes. The plus size 18's are way too big and the regular 18's are tight. I desperately need to find some pants that will fit right.

The left shoulder pain has to do with the band and the diaphram. I am not sure why that is. I hope someone can answer that. All I know is a lot of bandsters talk about left shoulder pain. You might want to go in and have a slight unfill.

I was banded at 8am and home by 11 am. I am very happy I didn't have to stay anywhere. If you live far away from where you're having the surgery, that's a different story. I am also glad I never had any of the pain people talk about. I know everyone is different, and I feel badly that some people talk about being in so much pain from the surgery. I just felt like I had done some stomach crunches or sits ups.

If your food is getting stuck, you are not chewing enough and you are taking too big of bites. That is not the sweet spot. The sweet spot is getting full on a small amount of food and staying full for a few hours. After a fill, you are supposed to be on liquids for 24 hours.

Everyone thinks "oh it went down fine so it must be okay" You have no idea what's going to happen a few years down the road, from the band not healing properly on the stomach during the first 4 weeks. Just remember if you have erosion or a slip, you'll have to pay to have your band removed.

My daughter tried those vials and said they were nasty. My favorite snack is BBQ soy crisps. They have Protein in them, yet they taste like BBQ potato chips. What is Any whey and where do you get it?