Dibley Dawn

Also....another little tip. I live in NYC, so I don't really have a set schedule. I ALWAYS keep an emergency bar with me just in case I can't get home in time to eat or if I running late and don't really have time for lunch. I discovered the Cliff Builder bars. they are 20g of Protein and about 270 calories...but they are Meal Replacement bars and not meant for a snack. I only thought of it because I didn't have time to leave my desk at lunch today and was glad I had this little guy in my desk drawer for just such an emergency. I got more protein than if I would have ordered delivery from some local restaurant and I was perfectly satisfied. They have several flavors but my favorite is the mint one. You can save a little money by buying them from Sam's Club (or probably Costco) they have chocolate and Peanut Butter flavor at Sam's.

it is truly life changing! give it a try. totally makes the brownie taste even better.

1. I never had any kind of burping or gas pains after surgery, so i can't speak to this 2. It's been almost a year for me and I DO drink from straws. I haven't had any fills, so that may be the reason it's not an issue for me, but I drink relatively fast and using straws and have never had a problem. 3. you CAN eat around the band, eat the wrong foods. if you eat slowly enough, you can eat almost anything. The band isn't a magic wand that makes you stop eating. It will help with the head hunger eventually (at least it has for me) and you won't be able to take big huge bites of anything without chewing it for ages and ages, but you can still eat foods that are high in calories or with poor nutrition. see the post above regarding chocolate. There are slider foods that melt/disolve/ go down easily and they aren't always the best choice. stick to Protein first, then veggies, then if you have to have it carbs or sweets...in that order...and you will be ok. allow yourself to "cheat" every once in a while and not feel guilty, but do your best to stay on track and you will have more success. good luck to you.

What a great topic. my ideas are more snacky since i now tend to snack when i can't cook a whole meal. Greek Yogurt- I add the plain Greek Yogurt to my baked potato and use it in place of sour cream to add Protein. I haven't had sour cream in over a year and I don't miss it. Pretzel Thins- something like 20 of them is a serving and 120 calories and I dip them in humus. Love Humus...plus I only eat about 10 before I'm satisfied. Almonds- i usually grab a low calorie cheese stick and with each bite of cheese, I'll eat an almond or two. the cheese lubricates it and gives me protein, plus keeps me full. One cheese stick and maybe 15 or 20 almonds is a perfect mid morning snack for me. Snap Pea crisps- little baked edamame in a bag. (also, veggie stick chips, same type of thing w/ different taste) I found them at walmart. 22 pieces per serving for around 120 calories. these are great if you are a snacker and like potato chips. you get the feeling of eating chips out of the bag without all of the greasy chippiness. they are delicious! Flat Out bread- this stuff is also at walmart in the deli/ bread section. it's flat bread that is low calorie and high in protein. i believe it has 7 - 9 grams of protein. i bake it in the oven with low fat/low calorie cheese and pizza toppings for a wonderful low calorie/ high protein pizza that is beyond filling and so, so delicious. http://www.flatoutbread.com/ their website has other great ideas, but i only like thin crunchy breads now, so i bake it or toast it. Fiber One Brownies- Holy cow, these have saved my life. they are 90 calories each. I pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds, add a dollop of low cal/fat free whipped cream and eat it with a fork. It's an amazing after dinner dessert that feels opulent but is actually good for you. The trick is eating it with a fork when it's nice and warm and not just eating it like a brownie out of your hand. It feels more like a reward than an afterthought and you can really spend time enjoying it. HIGHLY recommended. also kills that chocolate craving so I don't feel deprived. I'm sure i'll think of more...

I went through that stage. Man, the week before I started my pre-op liquid diet i probably gained 10 pounds just on my "goodbye food" tour. I had no idea what i would or wouldn't be able to eat. I remember sitting in McDonalds a year ago, eating a bacon egg and cheese McGriddle with tears streaming down my face as I mentally said goodbye to bacon egg and cheese McGriddles FOREVER. well, almost a year has passed, about 11 months actually, since my surgery and I am down about 90 pounds with NO FILLS and I can eat any type of food that I want to eat. the thing that has changed is the head hunger. I just don't feel it the way I did before surgery. before, food consumed pretty much every waking moment of my day. what will i eat next? what will i eat after that? what is the next meal? when is the next meal? i can honestly say i do not think that way any more. it's like a switch was turned off in my head and it really quieted that voice. sometimes i don't even think about food until my stomach makes a noise and i realize that i haven't eaten and i need to eat! can you imagine??? i certainly couldn't have imagined that *gasp* i wouldn't want to eat unless i was actually feeling hunger. so, although i can eat any type of food i want to eat, including bacon, egg, and cheese McGriddles, i rarely eat things that aren't serving a purpose. that means, i eat proteins first, as they fill me up, then veggies, then if i have it whatever starches there are. i can eat bread, but i don't eat a lot of it. every once in a while i will have a mcdonald's (or wendy's or burger king) hamburger with the bun...the difference is, I don't have the whopper or the big mac, i just have the regular size and it really is enough. i get the taste of whatever i am craving and then i move on with my day. if i have fries, i order the small instead of the super size. i also wait the 20 minutes after eating a meal to take a drink (like my doctor suggested) i still eat chocolate and cookies and cakes and sweets and things that aren't super duper healthy, but i don't have them every day. i usually have a cheat day or a special event that i save those things for. really, i don't think about sweets and starch and stuff like that in the way that i used to anyway. Holidays are really the only time where i indulge in sweets. can you say Cadbury eggs??? I'm so glad Easter is over and they have stopped selling these little eggs of evil anywho, i said all of that to say that what you are feeling is perfectly normal, at least it was for me. do what you need to do to mourn, but also know that if you chew long enough you can eat pretty much anything. the good thing about chewing is that once something spends a lot of time in your mouth and you really taste it for the first time, you realize that it wasn't a fantastic taste in the first place and you don't really want to eat it again. really, things don't taste the same to me anymore and i've lost the desire to have a lot of things that i once thought i loved. do i miss taking huge bites of delicious huge burgers? yes i do. sometimes, usually when it's that time of the month, but for the most part, i have competely changed my eating habits. i don't count calories or weigh foods or do any of that stuff. i think that now i eat like a normal person would eat. I have been watching my co-workers (who are all thin) and their eating habits this past year and i have discovered that we tend to now get hungry at the same time of day and eat roughly the same amount of foods and be full with the same serving size. this has given me joy to know that for the first time in my life there is something normal about me. i am eating like a normal person. not vacuuming the food down, not eating until i feel pain, not stuffing myself silly with supersized portions, but really eating and enjoying the tastes of food, all kinds of food. this band has actually opened up a world of food choices for me. i have discovered new flavors that i never knew existed or never paid attention to because i used to just bypass the chew stage. in the mouth and down the throat it went. no longer. now i spend time with food and since i'm spending time with food in my mouth, i want only delicious tasting things to go into my mouth. anyway, i could go on and on and on and on, but i will stop there and just say good luck to you and maybe give you hope that this isn't the end. you will be able to eat foods you like and love and you will be able to enjoy eating. just take it one day at a time and don't be discouraged. you will be just fine.

congrats on reaching 3 years. I am just under a month away from my 1 year bandiversary and I can say that I too am thrilled with my decision to have this procedure. it has changed my life and only hope that i can continue to lose. i am really really far away from my ultimate goal, but i am taking it one day at a time and enjoying life to the fullest. i'm glad that at 3 years out you are still happy with your decision. congrats again!

I haven't been on this site in months, but just wanted to chime in again for Mihela's sake and let her and well, all of you know that I'm just under a year out and still no fill. The loss has definitely slowed down, but i'm down about 90 pounds with no fill, so i'm very proud of that. I am hoping to lose another 10 pounds by my 1 year bandiversary, so fingers crossed. I can eat any type of food that i want to eat but the hunger monster in my head is still quiet. i don't constantly think about food and i rarely eat more than i should. (usually only that time of the month, sorry if that's tmi ) i still don't work out as much as i need to and while the weight loss has stalled, i haven't gained anything. i am still fat but I am so happy where i am that i'm honestly ok if i stay here for a while. it took me 30+ years to gain all of this weight, so i know it won't disappear over night i do have a lot of energy and i can walk everywhere without tiring or falling out of breath. life has really changed for me in the past 11 months. so, that's my no fill story so far. i hope it continues that way as I don't want to get a fill ever if i can help it.

there are trolls on every message board. don't give out more information than you want to give out, but don't let a few bad apples ruin the bunch. otherwise, you should stay out of public message boards for good.

i know, right? if you would have told me that i would no longer be obsessing over food 6 months ago, i would have told you were crazy. obsessing over my next meal is what i do. but i really don't do it any more. or at least i haven't in 6 months. i don't know if it is that way for everyone, but it is certainly that way for me. i primarily went into the band thinking i would have to say goodbye to food forever. i even had a two week mourning period where i ate everything in sight. i don't suggest doing that, but i just didn't know then that i would be able to eat things. i DO think a lot of it is due to the fact that I have not had a fill. i don't know when i'll get one and i honestly hope i never do have to get one. life has really opened up for me, especially foodwise. i think you will definintely be in the moment with food, as you really don't have much of a choice. if you don't chew it, it gets stuck, so you have to make friends with whatever is in your mouth good luck with whatever you decide and keep us posted on your journey. we love updates.

I know i've said this on the boards somewhere before, but I'll say it again, and again, it's only my personal experience and may not be what other banders have experienced. i am (or was) a bulk eater. i'm not a picker or grazer, but if a plate is in front of me i will eat everything on that plate, then go back for 2nds, maybe 3rds and when i'm done, i'll be planning what is going to be eaten at the next meal. since getting the band, the food monster has silenced in my brain. i am not constantly thinking about food, my next meal, what's for dinner, what's for Breakfast, what kind of snack i can have. i just don't think about it. i might go 4 or 5 hours between meals and then i might only eat because my stomach is growling or i'm nauseated. (i have found that i don't feel hunger when i'm hungry, i actually get a little bit nauseated. took a while to figure that one out, but that's how i know) i don't have any fills, ergo no restriction, but i haven't needed it because i am in what i consider to be a green zone. i'm not constantly thinking about food. this was a major deal for me. even when i do eat, i can't eat plates and plates that i used to eat. i can eat maybe 2 cups of food, like a piece of fish, maybe half a crab cake or a piece of grilled chicken and a little bit of spaghetti squash. i can't physically eat more than that because it will get uncomfortable. i haven't tried to push it to see how much i can eat, i just eat what i think is a normal amount of food for me and then i'm done. i don't know how to explain how it feels to suddenly go from constantly thinking about food to just thinking about it when it's time to eat. i feel like i have gained so much of my life back. i'm not planning my day around a meal time. and since you are a foodie, a culinary person, i think you will be pleasantly suprised by how much more you will actually enjoy food once you are banded. pre-band, i was a vacuum. i sucked food down. didn't chew, didn't take the time to taste anything, just open and swallow. post band, i can't do that. i have to chew everything. i have discovered new tastes and i've even discovered that foods i once thought i loved, after chewing them to oblivion, i don't really care for them any longer. the band for me isn't about not eating things i love, it is about portion control and eating just the right amount of foods i love. so far, i have been successful. i can eat any type of food if i chew it long enough and i am satisfied on just a small amount of food. i couldn't have done this pre-band. i was hungry all of the time. so the number 1 thing that band has done for me is cut out my hunger...that driving hunger monster that just constantly talked to me and told me to eat, eat, eat. hopefully, it will do that for you. a regular diet won't work because while you may cut calories and cut back on food, you'll still be hungry. eventually, you will break down and eat everything in sight. with the band, hunger is kept at bay and you can live a normal life. that is what it has done for me.

it is perfectly normal. i was scared to death myself...not of the band, but of the surgery itself. i was convinced that i would die. I got all of my affairs in order and everything. I had to walk into the surgical theatre and when i saw all of the people in scrubs busying themselves, getting ready for my surgery I tried to turn around and leave, but the nurse grabbed my hand and said "you can do this, now get your butt in there"...and that's what I did. i walked in, they drugged me up and the next thing i knew i was waking up in recovery. you will be fine, you've got this.

that's great news. so glad you are doing so well. congrats to all the may bandsters for coming this far.

I told my husband and 1 close friend. nobody else knows. that's how i plan to keep it for as long as i can. it's nobody's business how i've lost weight. i don't feel that i'm robbing anyone of the chance to hear pros/cons from a wls patient because the only people who have even noticed that i've lost weight are all thin and don't need surgery. my plus sized friends are anti wls, so no need to tell them. either. it's not that i'm not proud that i'm banded, it's that it's a personal decision and if and when i'm ready to spread the word, i'll spread the word. if i'm never ready to do that, then i never will. i didn't want the added pressure of people watching every little thing that i put in my mouth and asking things like "are you supposed to be eating that???" again, not their business. we each have to do what is right for us. there is no right or wrong answer. good luck on your journey.

I went through about 2 weeks of mourning myself...i literally sat at the table and ate pizza from my favourite pizza place and just cried as i said 'goodbye' to the slice 'forever'. i did that with burgers, Pasta, mexican, etc, etc, etc... well, i'm here to tell you that at 6 months out, i can eat anything i want to eat. i can't eat in the same quantities, but i can eat it. i would say that it's up to you if you feel you need to go through the mourning stage, to eat whatever it is that you want to eat. you really won't be able to eat real food for about a month or so anyway, especially if you have to do the 2 week pre-op liquid diet followed by 2-3 weeks post surgery of liquids and then 1 week or so of mushies...so if you feel that you want to eat things, then go ahead and eat them. but don't say goodbye just yet. you'll still be able to eat things like Cookies, pie, brownines, cake, pizza (if it's thin crust or if you don't have fill that is too tight) really, if you have time to chew, chew, chew, you can eat anything. about the only thing i don't really eat is steak and bread rolls because i just get so tired of chewing. i don't really miss them all that much anyway. anyway, mourn if you need to, but mourn the QUANTITY you'll be eating. you won't even want to attempt to eat a huge amount of stuff after you are banded. you'll be satisfied and satiated. bulk eating will be a thing of the past. edited to say...i'm not saying 'go out and eat everything in sight', especially if you are on a monitored diet. but, rather, if there is a particular food that you just really want to have, go ahead and have it, don't feel guilty. you'll probably be able to eat your favourite things again, but just not any time soon. i wouldn't go looking to eat foods that i haven't really had just because you think you'll never have them ever again when it's not necessary. nobody told me this before surgery, and i ate everything in sight...and GAINED a few pounds before my pre-op diet. so, anyway, sorry for the ramble, but do what you feel you need to do to prepare.

Good luck on your surgery tomorrow. I don't want to shatter your image of what is going to happen when you get that band around you, but, it's not a magic wand. it's not going take away the desire to eat things that aren't the best choices for you and for me personally, that's a good thing. you are not going to NEVER eat junk food ever again. i don't think anyone here can say that they have gone more than 1 year or 2 without eating a piece of chocolate, or a slice of pie, or a cookie. you can't live like that for long. i was afraid before I got the band that i would have to say goodbye to all my favorite foods and, well, that hasn't happened. what i did say goodbye to was the quantity of the foods i was eating and the constant eating of foods. i don't have to do that anymore and i don't feel compelled to just eat and eat and eat. i don't think about food all day long and i don't obsess over what my next meal might be. that being said, when i am hungry, i don't just stick to salads and fish. i eat a lot of salads and fish, but i branch out and eat tacos, chicken courdon bleu, fast food, lasagne, etc, etc, etc, i don't really look at food as good or bad, but rather, better choices than others. sure, i could eat a hamburger every day, but do i want to? no, i don't. am i going to kick myself if i have a burger once a month? absolutely not. most diets are giving up things so that you can get smaller, and some people view the band as a way to do that (and I guess it is) but for me personally, it wasn't for me to give up all foods. it was to help me with my portion sizes and it has done that beautifully. like i said, i don't want to burst your bubble, but you should look at the band a little bit more realistically. i wish someone would have told me this before banding and i wouldn't have gone through the 'goodbye food' phase where i ate foods i thought i would miss for 2 weeks solid before my liquid diet. ...and consequently gained 5 pounds ...... anyway, if nothing else, i actually enjoy food more now than before because i actually take the time to chew it and taste it, rather than vacuum it down and not remember eating it. it has opened up a new world of taste for me. foods i used to like, now that i have to spend time chewing them, i no longer care for. you'll find that things are different, but some things are the same. don't judge the food and make the food feel bad for being delicious....just try to watch your portions and please allow yourself to make bad choices every once in a while and be forgiving. you'll be happier for it and more successful with the band. again, good luck on your journey.

i kinda look at it this way....i must have gained 60 pounds in about 2 years time but i didn't change clothing sizes. that's probably why i didn't really notice how much weight i had gained...i just knew that i felt bad and getting around was more difficult. a lot of weight can go into the upper sizes and a person who weighs 300 pounds might be able to wear the same size shirt as a person who weighs 250. i think if you just concentrate on losing and hang on to those old big clothes until they are falling off of you, then when you buy, you will be able to buy 2 or 4 sizes down. i don't want to blow a ton of money on a new wardrobe that i know i will be changing eventually, so i'm kinda happy at the moment that most of the old clothes are still fitting me. except for my pants...but dresses and shirts are still fitting like a dream.

i was over 10 pounds when i was born, so yes, i have been overweight my entire life i am only 6 months into my journey, but already i'm am at a weight that i haven't been in over a decade. i hope that by the time i've been at this for a year i will be the close to the size i was in college...still fat, but not morbidly obese . haha....

exactly...i'm pretty sure i squeezed as much as i could into my clothing just so i didn't have to go up to a number that was ugly and hey, we were banded one day apart and we seem to be in the same place in our weight loss...cool

in the pants department, my changes started happening a little faster than in the shirt department. i can still wear the same size shirts, but my pants won't stay up without a belt. i bought a new pair of jeans 2 weeks ago 2 sizes down and they were snug...today they fit loosly. but still in a big top. i'm hoping that my top and bottom find some common ground. i would hate to be just a belly walking around on skinny legs.

Heck, I've lost 80 pounds and I can still wear some of my big clothes...granted, they are very roomy, and I guess i have officially only dropped a couple of sizes. If i confess the truth, my clothes were probably really tight on me when i was wearing them pre-weight loss and I suspect i was actually a size or so larger than i thought i was, sooooo i don't know what to tell you. it will change eventually, just hang in there, 26 pounds is awesome.

there are very few times that I actually drink Protein shakes.....if i'm in a hurry in the morning and don't have time for Breakfast, if i'm too tired when i get home to cook anything and just need the protein, but not necissarly wanting to eat, or if i'm away from home all day and don't know when i'll have access to food. i usually keep an emergency protein shake or bar in my bag for those just-in-case times. other than that, i eat my protein. my doctor wants me to eat them and not to substitue too many shakes. i do find that sometimes i am just plain tired of chewing and only a protein shake will do. The Glucerna shakes are almost like a treat, so i might have one once a month or so. so delicious.

honey, i am bigger than 260 and I'm still going on a cruise in january and i'm wearing my swim suit, and i'm gonna have a great time because it's my vacation . what someone else thinks about me on my vacation means nothing to me. at a size 22, you should have no problems fitting in an airplane seat and you shouldn't need an extender. i was able to fit in an airplane seat and go without a seatbelt by the time i finally hit twoderville...i was around a size 26 still but had no problems. don't let something like a number on a scale hold you back. go, enjoy yourself and have a great time. you might regret NOT going, but you won't regret going.