annalise

I live alone so I keep frozen meals around. I'm pretty filled so I actually don't even need much real food. The Smart Ones from Weight Watchers makes a salisbury steak with asparagus and it's under 9grams fat and at 200 calories. It's my number one choice. No starches except maybe fillers in the meat. I work in an office where the team eats together every day. I feel a need to eat real food at that time instead of just a shake.

Go for the fill. Turkey, especially Thanksgiving type, is tough to eat. Sweet potatoes can be tough too. It was a incident related to the type of food. If you don't get stuck on your everyday type choices, get the fill.

You can eat around the band, especially in the early stages before you have alot of restriction. If you are going in for the Band with the idea that it's a way to lose weight but still have all those foods, don't get the Band. It won't work for you. You will come to hate it. You will either not get the fills on time so you can eat or get fills and be mad you can't eat. If you don't follow the plan, you will not lose weight and then hate the fact you aren't losing weight and still can't eat alot. I chose LapBand not because I could still eat fun foods, but because I didn't want to Dump. I had IBS for a year before it cleared up and I didn't want to live with those intestinal side effects for the rest of my life as a result of Bypass. Really look at why you are choosing the Band.

You've got to get the basic protein in and basic calories or your body doesn't have enough to use to heal you. Call your Nutritionist. Get some good protein powder and at least have that. You may have to remind yourself to eat.

My port apparently shifted after surgery plus it's at a bit of a wonky angle. It makes fills tricky and longer than average. It's a good thing I'm not squimish or hearing my Doc jab around with the needle on plastic till he finds the hole would freak me out. Now before anyone wonders if my Doc isn't good, that isn't it. I tend to be weird and I'm not surprised this happened. Plus, for my summer job I wear steal bonded corsets and bodices for ten hours a day. I probably shifted the darn thing.

I have the opposite issue. I always knew how horrible I looked before surgery. I've lost 50/55lbs and have about 75 to 100 to go to goal. Now I forget I still have so much more to go. At home I know but when I'm dressed in suits and such for work, I am surprised to see myself in the mirror and not be looking as trim as I feel. In my mind's eye I'm much trimmer than I am. I suppose it has to do with the fact my legs look nice and I have actual ankles. I forget about the tummy pooch, big butt, and second set up boobs on my chest.

The more restriction the less likely bread or breading is to go down. Be careful. If things get stuck bad you'll want to drink water and that will sort of cure it, by making it ALL come up, and fast.

My port moved on it's own and now sits on one of my ribs. The doc did not put it there. It's also turned a bit so my poor doc has to jab around to find the opening. Very weird sound hearing the needle hit plastic. I only feel anything if I lean hard onto a counter. Where I thought the port was after surgery was wrong.

I have a good restriction level. Pasta is a no. I can have a bite but thats all. Corn is ok if chewed well. It's hard to chew corn well enough. Seriously, why eat salad when you only have a small space to fill and you need to get your Protein in? I pretty much eat no salad. I choose veggies that have Fiber and bulk but also Vitamins. Salad is filler and has no value. Try green Beans.

I am a horseback rider too and I've cleaned many a stall. My boy passed away a year before my surgery. I had my surgery in Feb 2010 and I can't imagine cleaning stalls until about four months or five months out. Maybe pick them out but not heavy cleaning in the cold with frozen bedding. Get a temporary kid to clean stalls. I would advise you to lunge your horse to get the energy out. I understand when they pull their head and jerk around and you can't always expect it, just wear him out a bit. You are doing great and are active. Just take it easy. About a month out of surgery I had a fight with my mom about me not "doing enough" and I got mad and decided I'd show her. I moved a bunch of boxes that were too heavy. I moved them too fast too. I thought I gave myself a hernia and kept poking at this bit of flesh I thought was distended. I just bruised myself and had lost weight and looked different. Keep in mind, the doc cut through alot of tissue and muscle, easy does it. Even in August of this last year, though I could bend better, I had to be careful.

nectar Sweets has really good shake powders and that same company makes fruit based shakes that are usually good. I like the Crystal Sky one, it's white but when mixed turns blue. Sort of tastes like those blue popsicles in the plastic tube. Check Vitamin Shoppe if you have one. http://m.vitaminshoppe.com/aHR0cDovL3d3dy52aXRhbWluc2hvcHBlLmNvbS9zdG9yZS9lbi9icm93c2Uvc2t1X2RldGFpbC5qc3A/aWQ9SU8tMTAzMQ%3D%3D http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&q=nectar+crystal+sky&oe=utf-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=2265927250768426270&ei=BQQxTYjbK4ycgQf0l7nQCw&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=image&resnum=3&ved=0CD4Q8gIwAg#

The lower stomach will stay hungry sometimes until it has something in it. I sometimes have a thick soup to help with that. That way I eat less.

Skim, 1/2% or 1% milk is what I have every day, twice a day with my nectar Sweets Protein. The Nectar Sweets is only 100 cals a scoop for over 25grams of protein. You need calcium and vit D. Never choc milk, whole or 2%.

I eat/drink a protein shake every morning made with milk. I notice that if I eat real food in the morning, as in when I'm on vacation and with other people, I'm more likely to eat or try to eat more food later in the day. Without the condensed protein the shake gives, I crave protein and eat more than I should. I think my body is so used to the protein it is looking for it and the solid food takes too long to process and give my body what it wants. I've started having a shake when I come home from work and before dinner. It really lessens how much I feel like I want. Stops the cravings and eating extra at night when I'm alone.

I choose the small cans and in low salt version. Watch how many you drink, not just for calories but fiber.

Oh, I forgot, I buy california dried dates now. High in natural sugar but has fiber and low calorie. Three of them only about 100 cal. I get a sweet fix and fiber.

sugar free candy, watch the calories on coffee Nips though. I drink tea with splenda or truvia.

I'm at a good fill point right now after almost a year out of surgery. I strive for 3/4 to 1 cup food at lunch only. I can't eat food in the morning before my shake and sometimes not at night. Only when I've been moving around for a while in the day. The type of food makes a difference too. Some days are different. I've had days that the only thing that would go down is a Protein Shake. I've gone over the amount of 1cup but rarely. Usually with things like popcorn or pork rinds. You can't really easily measure pork rinds since they melt down in your mouth.

You most likely won't experience sliming until you can eat solid hard foods and has a few fills done. I am nearly a year out and on my fourth fill. My last two fills got me to the point of sliming issues. When you eat too much too fast, you don't chew, or the food is too dry or fiberous, your pouch rejects it. The lower stomach has the normal stomach acid. Your pouch only has excess spit sitting in it. Sliming happens when the ratio gets messed up in the pouch. That's my way of thinking about it. I ate cold beef in the summer. I didn't chew perfect and the meat had gotten cold. I swallowed and then the pouch couldn't empty to the stomach. Too much meat, too much spit, not enough room. Meat came up with alot of spit along the way. I throw up and slime occasionally if I eat and then drink liquid. The ratio gets messed up and it all comes up. Only once have I gotten sick enough to throw up and notice that there could have been some stomach acid involved. But I did throw up six to seven times in a row instead of once. Sometimes you have warning and sometimes you throw up in your napkin.

You're going to hurt and feel stiff. It took over three weeks for me to be able to walk normal and not like I was 95 years old. Then one day I could walk and stand up straight. I took naps for weeks, maybe months after surgery. I went back to work too early. I was on meds so I don't remember much. I know I slept at my desk each afternoon for the first week for an hour after lunch time. I really did lay my head down on my desk and slept. My cubemate would wake me up. They only cared a warm body was there to deal with stuff. I do social work. The gas is what is really hurting. Plus my stomach hurt and grumbled because it was empty and MAD. Took weeks for my stomach to shrink and not grumble all day. Hang in there.