Sistersue

Try making your own shakes. GNC has unflavored protein powder. You can add fruit and yogurt with crystal light in a blender. I can't drink the prepared shakes or muscle milk. Another thing to try is freeze some decaf coffee in an ice cube tray. Mix the rest of the cold coffee with unflavored PP in the blender with a little milk and the sweetener of your choice and blend with the ice cubes you created tastes like a frappacino from Starbucks. Get creative, try using the sugar free flavored syrups. I even added the protein powder to broth and blended it. Not as good but it works.

Don't push it too much. You might feel okay pain wise but you may be weak still. If you get tired or shaky, take it easy.

I remember having a dream about pureed chicken salad in the second week of clear liquids. I almost cried when my doc said I could go to mushies 2 days early.

I think everyone does this. As far as I can tell water has a lot to do with in and gaining muscle.

Hi Maria, stay on this site. You will learn a lot about banding really means. It is truly wonderful thing you can do for yourself.

Hi all don't forget tonkeep sugar free jello and Popsicles on hand to help with cravings. I know don't keep all cravings away but they help.

My suggestion is to walk, even if you don't feel like it.

Do you feel satisfied for 3 to 4 hours after you eat, if not you may not have reached you sweet spot, especially if you can still the same amount.

It sounds like you should do more research on the band before you have the surgery. It isn't a quick fix and it is automatic. If you aren't willing to change how you eat and to exercise it may not work for you. Did I hurt after surgery, yes I did but to me it was worth it. For me the surgery saved my life. I would do it again any day. I've lost 50 lbs so far, 38 since surgery in march. You BMI is 41, if your weight hasn't effected your health it will at some point. I think the surgery is the best thing I've done but if you aren't willing to work at it, it won't work for you. The pain is nothing to me, because there isn't much at this point and because it's worth it. You have to learn to eat all over again, but that's good I don't miss fast food. I eat great tasting food now. I feel better than I have in years.

PBing is worse. But don't worry think of it as incentive to chew , chew, chew.

It's disgusting, that's what it is. When you get stuck your saliva goes into hyper drive and you start sliming. Not a good thing to do with company.

Huggles, my guess is you are replacing fat with muscle and that weighs more. Make you you are getting enough calories, 1000 is my docs orders. When I eat too little I stall. And keep your protein up. But reallyyou are doing great.

If I am really tired I sometimes put the meat in a blender to grind it up. I usually do this with beef or chicken. With the beef I add a little taco seasoning and cheese and with the chicken fat free mayo and dill relish. Otherwise I get stuck. If I'm not tired then I cut it all up really small, put my fork down between bites and if I feel something I get up and walk a bit.

If you don't like the muscle milk try others. I use unflavored protein powder with crystal light, plain yogurt and fruit blended. It's the same consistency of a regular shake and tastes wonderful. I started this because my calorie count was too low, around 500 cal. Measure what you put in so you are aware of the calorie count. I usually keep mine around 300 cal.

I got 4ccsin mine for the first fill. I figure thats pretty good, you will reach restriction faster. You might be pretty tight though for a few days.

Congratulations! I think just having the experience you've had with weight and weightless will make you a more upstanding and helpful doctor. FYI, they make instant retried beans. They are flakes and you add water. Canned chicken and tuna I think ate great idea.

I know, it's weird but some people are going to feel threatened by our weight loss. I actually feel guilty that I'll be smaller than my sister, how screwed up is that. Sometimes I think that they are afraid we will dump them if they are the big one now. Which isn't always wrong, it's happened to me. The people I really can't stand though are the ones who all of sudden start talking to you when you lose weight, like before I was beneath them.

I am having a garage sale on Saturday in prt to try to make some money to buy a few new clothes and to get rid of my old things. I will donate what I don't sell. All my PJs are outrageously big, I need new ones. I feel great but my blood sugar went back up so I had to go back to taking that med. But I have to remember that I am down to one pill once a day instead of a 12 pills a day. Not too bad. I am down 47 lbs. I was down 48 but I put on water weight. The sad thing I am disappointed it isn't 50 yet. It's only been 8 weeks. I lost 18 lbs preop so 29 post op is 3.5 lbs a week. I need to keep it in perspective. And I need to accept it when people tell me I look great and not discount it in my head.

GNC has unflavored protein powder. I use that to make my shakes. You add a small banana or other fruit along with yogurt to make it thicker. Blend very well or the texture is weird. Also if you freeze the crystal light in an ice cube tray and throw that into the blender it's yummy. You can also use decaf coffee in place of the crystal light and make a frappacino.

Susan checking in down 2 lbs to 232. What sucks is I was down 4 but then hormones struck, damn.

Sweetsheri1, the foods they didn't want you to eat were because you stomach was healing. Are you getting enough protein? At least 70gms a day? Are you drinking 64 oz of water a day? Be sure you eat 3-4 oz of lean protein to star every meal, then veggies or fruit, have some low calorie snacks around like sugar free pudding, cottage cheese, sugar free Popsicles that kind of thing. The higher protein options work best but you can add protein powder to pudding or yogurt to make those more filling. BTW this is what they call bandaged hell. It will get better when you get some restriction. Just keep making good food choices, baked chicken is a good food choice.

Coffee isn't the issue it's caffeine. Caffeine thins the lining of your stomach. This can decrease restriction and cause ulcers. I have a banded friend who loves soda so much, diet soda, she let's it sit open and go flat. I am now addicted to water so I don't miss soda. Water is better for hydration anyway. My doc also says no lettuce because it takes up space and has little to nutritional value.

I pureed ground beef with a little stock and added taco seasoning. That with some cheese melted on top and some salsa is almost like a taco. You could add avocado slices too. I still have a hard time getting eggs down, it gets stuck. Humus is good too, and greek yogurt. I still have to have a shake in the morning.

2 mos out and I still burp a lot. Try mixing it up with your shake routine. Get clever with a blender. Adding a banana or an apple to a shake. I like to freeze strawberries and add powdered protein mix, whatever flavor I want or unflavored with a banana and some plain yogurt and crystal light. Siing might be making you gassy.

Thanks y'all