EdmontonGal

2 weeks today. WOW! Seems like yesterday but also seems like 6 months ago. The pain is minimal. Still a little tender here and there and definately burping allot more, but other than that I am back to the ups and downs of everyday reality. 10 lbs down since surgery and 50 LBS since I started all of this! SUPER STOKED! I had only taken 6 days off of work and it seemed to be good timing for me. I finished my 2 weeks of pot-op liquid diet like a champ and am moving on to getting back to my 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. Yesterday I cooked up some lowfat mac and cheese with 20g protien per serving AND some shepards pie with sweet potatoe crust. I baked them in muffin tins for me and bread pans for the hubby. When they were frozen, threw them in to a tupperware in the freezer. TAH DAH! Lunch and Suppers if I happen to have one of "those" days at work. I knew going in to this that being prepared would be my biggest weapon against my caving to cravings. I am constantly on the road for work and drive-thu windows are the easiest fix for this. Not the easiest fix however for the ever increasing size of my ass. I have been working on this specifically over the last year or so and do well most of the time but really had to bunker down for after surgery. I feel like I am ready to take on anything! I have been walking, and walking and walking since surgery. Its a balmy -33 celcius today and has been since the weekend so took in a few laps at Ikea and the mall - not so good on the wallet. Today started out at -27. BORING!!!! Oh Canada - youre lucky you have the mountains (and free health care) out here or I would be GONE! So, I called my nurse and got the green light to rekindle my love/hate relationship with my elliptical. I love that I can still work out when it is this cold but I hate that I am stuck in my basement moving yet going nowhere! I am dying to get moving again and was on a 40 mins 4 days a week schedule for the winter so far... start slow, take it easy and build it back up! Ive set my goal to be back to where I was by April. I can do this! Then summer, glorious summer. Dog Parks, Mountains, Camping, Hiking... sun, warmth.... CAN NOT WAIT! Anyhoot - GOOD LUCK ALL!

I think my post op days 4 and 5 blog was the first time I actually slept in bed. I slept sitting up for the first few days. We have a really high bed and one night at 2am I had to wake the hubby to pull me out. My stomach muscles were too weak and sore. First good nights sleep I got was day 6 or 7 when I actually slept on my side. ROSEY: MAC AND CHEESE: 1 1/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese 1c ff milk 2/3 no fat cottage cheese 1Tbsp each pepper, paprika and minced onion 2 1/2 c whole wheat shells or elbow macaroni. Blend all ingredients except pasta in a blender until smooth. Add to pasta in a bowl. Mix well. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. (I found an hour to be REALLY too long. Half or 40mins should do it) This made one bread pan and 6 "muffins". You could also add tuna to this for more flavour and protein if you like hot tuna. Shepards Pie 1lb gr. sirloin OR ground turkey. 1/2 c carrot chopped 1/2 c celery chopped 1/2 c corn 1/2 c peas 1/2 c onion 2 cloves garlic 2 sweet potatoes 1 c reduced sodium broth of choice (i used veggie) Peel and cube sweet potatoes. While these are boiling, brown off meat in large skillet, add all veggies except peas and cook until veggies are tender. When cooked, add 3 Tbsp flour. Sprinkle slowly and stir. Brown 5 more minutes. Add stock and peas and let simmer without covering for 5 minutes until liquid has reduced a little bit. Drain and mash sweet potatoes until smooth (ish). Add a little bit of salt and pepper or whatever you like personally. Spray no stick spray on pan (or muffin tin) and pour in meat mixture. Smooth potatoes overtop. I baked this for half an hour at 350. It was delicious!

My tips would include: 1. food JOURNAL!!!!! All the time. If you miss one, jump back on the next day! They dont care if they are 100% or not. They only care what you are doing so that they can help. Dont cheat - you only cheat yourself AND from experience... When you committ to not cheating, you force yourself to be accountable and who wants to write down a 1/2 chocolate cake? So you tend to not eat things if you remind yourself that you have to put it down. ALSO - This was my hardest thing to maintain!!!! I saw no value in it until a year later when I went back and compared old habits to new and saw the huge difference, when I didnt even think there was that big of a change. 2. Dont cancel anything: meetings, modules, appointments. This is frowned upon. 3. Ask about the support groups they offer. I met some GREAT friends! 4. BUY IN! If you arent bought in to all of it, it isnt the route for you. I am always open for questions!!! Keep it up! Its a long road but SO SO worth it! Jen

I too was feeling a little low the first few days. Being dependant is hard! Watching life fly by while you still splint your tummy on a car ride around the block is difficult! I think there are some reasons having to do with the surgery itself that contribute to depression. Im sure my nurse told me that at the hospital... I forget though, the morphine was pretty good! Hang in there! I know your that kind of gal! XO Jen

I use "SILK" brand chocolate soy milk - Im not sure if you have that in the US. IT is the one and only choc soy milk that I use as others were not even close to as good! Low fat - high flavour and with 3g protien per half cup, not too shabby. Even just ice mixed with the soy milk and a little protien powder is DELICOUS!

Hi Rachel! Glad to hear you are looking past the first few days!!! It seems like I woke up day 4 and felt pretty great. Hang in there! As for the gas... I got a wheat bag heating pad for my left shoulder. That helped. Again, day 6 post-op, I thought the gas pain in that shoulder would kill me. I almost cried. It was about a 15 minute episode where I thought I might actually die... and then. POOF! That was the last of it. I havent had it since. I am guessing that it really had to make its exit be known. Keep up the good attitude and this too shall pass!

Sorry to hear. Im 1 week post-op and I hope things will be smooth for me! All the best!

1 week since surgery. I SLEPT ON MY SIDE LASTNIGHT FOR 8 HOURS STRAIGHT! Can you imagine?!?!?!? Yes, it was that good! The gas pains in my left shoulder are almost unmanagable but who cares? I SLEPT ON MY SIDE LASTNIGHT!!!!! The liquid diet is getting easier to manage too. The protien minimum my dietician wants me hitting daily is 67g. I had not complied until yesterday and it was my first day back to work. Here's the food journal: 0700 - 1/2 c oatmeal protien smoothie w. soy milk and skim milk powder. 0800 - 1.2 c water 0900 - 1.2 c peppermint tea 1000 - 1400 EVERY HOUR - 1/2 c split pea soup w. soy milk and 2 Tbsp skim milk powder (in my coffee travel mug 1 c at a time) 1500 - 1/2 c water 1600 - 1//2 c veggie chili w. tomatoe juice 1645 - 1/2 c veggie chili w. tomatoe juice 1800 - 1/2 c greek yogurt w. 3 TBSP blueberry puree 1900 - 1/2 c peppermint tea 2000 - 1/2 c water 2100 - 1/2 c water 2200 - 1/2 c greek yogurt w. pear puree. HELLS YES! Not so bad huh? I didnt slosh at all. My eyeballs werent floating. Maybe because you wouldnt consider these things to be liquids.... Well, I dont really care what YOU (not really you) think! It worked for me! The first 6 days of post-op were spent forcing myself to eat these liquids that were full of protien but sickeningly sweet or actually kind of tasty without even 0.2 g of the magical stuff. I did discover GREEK YOGURT - with 14.7 g of protien per 1/2 delightfully sour cup and a little bit of fruit puree on top - ITS BETTER THAN ICECREAM!! Also, had an appointment with Dr. Love lastnight. Lol. It had been way too long! Perhaps the appointment is the only reason for my fantastic attitude? I dont care... whatever it is, Im holding on tight and ready to keep movin on! KEEP ON TRUCKIN!

Hiya Living! I just sent you a fb message! I guess this answers the sushi question. lol. Settling for wonton broth huh? Im already eyeing out fantastic wardrobe ideas for summer but Ive never been a big shopper, nor do I have much fashion sense! Maybe you can give this Canadian TomBoy some tips ya lil hottie! Dr. Love is my fav Doctor! lol. No baby making here either until at least summer 2012! I have my 30th Bday that June and want to P-A-R-T-Y like its 1999! xoxo

Sophinator; I think everyone is scared! Scared of a major surgery and the risks but scared to change the one constant realtionship we've all had too!!! That little fling with food and break-up with exercise! It is scarey, it is serious but the thing is - YOU DESERVE IT! You will find allot of women on here are Moms, teachers, nurses, along with many many more hats and continue to give give give to everyone surrounding them. I didnt take care of myself at all until the day I quit nursing. (NOT KNOCKING ANYONE) I was so exhausted emotionally from taking care of everyone else and physically too from those 12 hour shifts 6 days a week that there was nothing left for me. Not even enough energy to cook a decent dinner once in a blue moon. YOU DESERVE a little TLC too! GOOD LUCK!

CONGRATS! Thinking of you!

Hi Nicky; Thanks for the add. I got in to the weight wise clinic and started my modules in September 09. I just has my band surgery last week. So in total: 16 months from start to finish. All good things come to those who wait right? It is frustrating but in my case, I may not had made the decision to be banded had it been offered any sooner OR the band may not have worked for me had I not been so far in to the changes in my lifestyle. Maybe it wont despite! Who knows. I just have to keep to the plan Stan! Be patient, appreciate your team at the clinic (all are fantastic) and committ to change more than you have committed to the love of your life! Sounds silly but its all you girl! Feel free to keep in touch. I haven't met anyone else from Edmonton on here yet but have a great group of gals that I stay in touch with from the program! None of them have had surgery yet either and some of them have chosen not to.

I love chicken and fish but have never been a fan of pork and beef as an adult. I think I just had too much when I was a kid growing up on a farm. I am going to try though... not so tough during the liquids stage. I may miss my chicken but I could survive on fish! I hope!

YOU ARE HILARIOUS! Please write more! I think I broke off some more durabond laughing! THANK YOU!

Im 5 days post op. Today I has some blended vegetarian chili thinned with tomatoe juice and run through the bullet. I only had a 1/2 cup and ate it VERY slowly! I didnt have any negative reaction either! Friday night (me and the Mr eat out EVERY Friday night, its our night) was the first Friday since surgery. He got a 1.2 roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy and veggies. I could have eaten those potatoes!!!! But I got a chicken noodle soup and drained out all of the veg, noddles and chicken. The broth was so warm and salty!!! It sure hit the spot. I am not a huge protien fan and getting my intake has been really difficult. I was sick of the sweet and creamy protien shakes by day 2. The yogurt was even too sweet. So granted, the broth wasnt a great choice for protien but I needed the break! I also blended a condensed split pea soup mixed with soy milk and had a 1.2 cup at a time this morning for breakfast! 2Tbsp of skim milk powder upped the protien. For salty and savoury over sweet folks, it is tough!

Surgery was Tuesday. I got home from hospital Wednesday. By Friday I was drove nutty. My lady friends MamaG and Bestie were available Friday night. MamaG was home alone with hubby away at work and Bestie had gone over to the GTeam Headquarters to help get the 2 babes to bed so that the three of us gals could have a movie night. It sounded wonderful! This was the first time I had a chance to recount the whole surgery experience with my ladies and let me tell you, NO conversation EVER has ANY holds barred! We didnt even get to the movie. The ladies made me laugh way too much and way too hard but it was great to be out and catching up and feeling normal! I shared all the gritty details of my surgery, my worries about the surgery, thier worries about it and EVERYTHING else. I got home at MIDNIGHT and snuggled in to bed, sore but in fantastic spirits. Thank Goodness for friends! Today was my Grandfather's 90th Birthday party. We drove the 2 hours each way to my hometown to be there. There was about 90 people present including all of my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Siblings, Nieces and Nephews. Without ANY intention, I fessed up to most of the very important people in my life. I couldn't stay all day, it was a little too much for me 4 days after surgery but I did my best to soak up every minute with them all. I felt badly for not being able to stay the whole day and it just came out, naturally. I had been so nervous about telling anyone really except for the 5 most important people in my life. I was determined not to tell them and open myself up to judgement and feedback of anyone. EVERY response was positive. Everyone had noticed how much hard work I had done in the last year to get to where I was before surgery and EVERYONE congratulated me on my past success and my future success. I left feeling tired, but so much stronger without the weight of keeping something so huge in my life from these people who were such a huge part of my life! All in all, a great day 4 and 5. I'm still experiencing gas pains in my shoulders, my incisions are tender from all of the ghing over the last few days and I am having a super hard time getting my protein quota in daily BUT it will only get better! Take care all! Celebrate all successes BIG AND SMALL!

THANKS ROSEY! Its not easy, but then nothing great ever is huh!? KEEP ON TRUCKIN!

Thanks for sharing Swirl... and all others! I agree with those who appreciate the honesty from either side of the fence. I too am new to being a bandster - 3 days to be exact and was told that it may not work for me by my surgeon during my entire journey. I decided on the band as I am not concentrating on weight loss. I am concentrating on changing my lifestyle and my relationship with food so that I am not at risk of developing diabetes and the other weight related diseases that run in my family. I spent a year and a half working on this before I decided the band was the right choice for me along with a team of professionals. If I hadnt had the team, I would have thrown down the money looking for a fix and at that time, I wouldnt have been ready. I am still not 100% that the band will work for me and wont be sure for a while but I have to trust myself and the skills I have strengthened this past year to help me in this process. My band may not work, I may have hit my natural plateau or it could be a great addition to my bag of tools?! Who knows? Whatever the outcome is, it will be something that only I will have to deal with on a daily basis and hope that I can still rely on this site for the support from thsoe who have been there and done that. Some of the posts on this thread make me doubt that. Differences in opinion is a spice in life. Lets not forget that. GOOD LUCK all!