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I found the mushie stage to be extremely hard to continue dropping lbs after the liquid phase. I realized quickly I needed low calorie snacks like yogurt and string cheese. Otherwise the mushies are very carb or calorie heavy. I also reincorporated my protein shakes back in. Def get an app for your phone. I use tap and track on the iPhone. If I stay between 1200 - 1400 calories a day, the scale goes down. Losing weight is like snowflakes... no two people are alike.

I had my first fill on Tuesday (exactly one month after my surgery) and I was terrified, but in the end it was no biggie. They laid me down, did a quick ultra sound, numbed the area, put the needle in (tiny pinch)... here's where things got a little weird... had me sit up (needle still in - you don't feel a thing) and drink while they filled me and then backed it out when I felt the water stop moving. They ended up putting in about 1.7cc's. Last night I ate mushies and could only eat 4 bites of ricotta bake. It's working, but I can see that it will back off once the swelling goes down, etc.

I was banded 3/25/11 and I know exactly how you feel... as I am back on liquids after my first fill the other day. Here's the painful reality check, you go two horrible weeks on liquids, then two slightly better weeks on mushies (which for me was harder as mushies tend to be carb or calorie heavy) then I had 4 glorious days of eating solids then BAM back to liquids and mushies until Saturday. I think the liquids and mushies are a nature of this beast. I find it so much easier to just grab a shake for a meal than have to think about chew, chew, chew! Good luck!! Stay strong, we've all been there.

I don't know about the rest of you, but every day I have questions, ups and downs and fears. I come to this wonderful forum (pretty much on a daily basis) and get all the answers, support and good juju a person could want after beginning this journey. I thank you all for your honesty and your willingness to share your experiences with the rest of us who are just starting out or having fears about even going through with the surgery. I need you guys everyday to help me get through this. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I wouldn't risk it, especially if you don't want people to know. The liquid only diet is hard enough to explain for two weeks. The first 48 hours are the worst with the gas pains and settling tremors. The pain medication I was given didn't even help with most of it. Getting in and out of bed is like torture. You also don't want to risk messing up your port with all that bending and such. Watching TV is really the only option while you wait for the pain to subside. Everyone's recovery is different. My recovery took two weeks until I woke up and there was absolutely no pain anywhere (gas, suture, etc.). Good luck!

I agree with Reverie. I also keep a food journal and I am religious about it. Even though when I cheat I don't want to put it in there, but if you are going to figure out what the culprits are, you have to keep a log of the calories. Also somewhere during the liquid diet, your body goes into starvation mode and you are comsuming less than 800 calories a day and gaining weight! At least that's how it was for me. I'm now eating 1200-1400 calories a day and the weight is coming off steadily (if I go below 1200 the weight loss stops). I do however use the shakes (Atkins because they have the lowest sugar content) as an afternoon snack to keep my energy up or for breakfast or a meal on the go. They are great to have around for that. Hope this was helpful.

I had all the same fears and then some! Now that I'm 4 weeks out I can look back and say "no biggie," but if you read my blogs... I suffered. Actually the first two weeks aren't as hard as you think, as there is a lot of bloating and stress about having it in there that makes you not want to eat at all (at least for me). I def thought about food, but it was head hunger. I very rarely feel hunger now. I have to stay on top of myself to eat. Even with no fill, it's working. In the scheme of things what is a month to 6 weeks of your life? It's a small price to pay for happiness!

So, Friday is it! Back to solid foods! These mushies are ridiculous. To find anything good and sensible in a mush, you have to be on Top Chef Masters. I have spent the last 2 weeks eating pureed soup (gross), ricotta bake (this is a must) and mashed potatoes. And my doctor keeps trying to get me to eat meat out of a can… meat out of a can! I'm not a cat!! I mean tuna is ok every once in a while, but not every day or you turn into Jeremy Piven and can't go to work due to mercury poisoning. Let's move on to the hiccups. I hiccup twice when I'm hungry and once when I'm full. Insane. I hiccupped walking down the booze aisle (which was also the bottled water aisle) at the market and this guy looked at me and I just shrugged and said, "I should really stop drinking during the day." How else am I going to explain these random hiccups? People are going to start thinking I'm a high functioning alcoholic! Now on to the nitty gritty. The weird slime that creeps up every once in a while. I haven't gotten anything stuck nor have I had any pain. It's just this weird little bits of slime I have to spit out (I'm not a spitter by nature, in fact it horrifies me). All that said, I'm looking forward to vegetables and salads again. It's been so long, I actually miss them. Just more lap band insanity. See you all on the other side! p.s. dirty little secret, during the mushie stage I ate frosting out of a can. Shame on me. But it was gooooood :-)

After losing 20lbs in the last 4 weeks I feel amazing, but honestly who am I kidding? I’m ready to be at my destination, pass go, collect $200, spend it on a bikini! Seriously, I’m just beginning the mushie stage and it’s not that much different than full liquids. And then half the time I’m stressed about if I’m causing damage to myself by eating! Was that a lump? Chew, chew, chew until your teeth fall out!! For those of you who have lost so much weight, I commend you! You are the Gods of this site. You know the ins and outs of this crazy journey. I can’t wait until I’m one of those people who is like “it goes by so fast, you totally forget about it. It’s no big deal.” Well, I’m here now and this experience is burning holes in my memory. The weight loss is awesome, but when you’re in the newbie stage there’s so many foreign pains and weird things happening to your body (like being a teenager). And the worst part is, you don’t have your best friends (pizza and pop tarts) holding your hand. It’s like someone dropped me off in the middle of nowhere and I’m not sure how to get home. So many of you out there have the map and are sure of the course, but I’ve lost my GPS and just hoping I find the way. As I was writing this, I took a drink before waiting the allotted one hour after eating. Now I’m worried my stomach might explode because I messed up again! The humanity!!

Wow, you sound like you have the mushie thing handled!! Good for you. I'm just not creative. I'm keeping a calorie counter on my iPhone and slowly increasing my intake so I don't gain weight, but my body lets go of starvation mode. I'm not sure if I feel satisfied, but I definitely feel different than before the band after I eat.

I just got banded a few weeks ago (I am in the mushie stage) and I had all the same thoughts you did about not having the foods I want. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I had the regrets after my surgery. After going through the liquid stage and into mushies, I find my self not really caring about food most of the time. I crave pizza and then I think, go eat a yogurt or Protein shake if your hungry and suddenly I'm not hungry anymore. It's a very surreal experience, but I think everyone has said it best, once you have a bad experience by eating too much too fast you will learn from it, like the Pavlovian effect. As for Water, I gulp it all the time. I haven't had anything but water and tea since my surgery. No more sodas (I drank like 3 a day) and I'm ok with it. I think it should be catagorized as Lap Band Zen.

Mushies are hard because they are either blended up grossness (blended chili is the worst), high calorie, carbs or canned meat!! Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled I get to eat something, but I'm not at all impressed with the extensivness of the choices. I have kind of gone back to the protein shakes (I know that sounds insane) and I mix in some mushies like yogurt and banana and the baked ricotta. I'm looking forward to baked chicked and veggies so I can eat AND keep the weight off. I've sacrificed so much to lose the 20lbs I've already lost and I don't want to pack them back on with oatmeal and potatoes. So I'm back on the shakes for breakfast and dinner and eating mushies in between. Plus, like you said, it's hard getting that protein in without the shakes or some kind of meat! Protein powder goes in the HURL catagory! YES on the digestive pains, but they are getting less painful with time. I hiccup once every 10 minutes when I'm hungry and then twice when I'm full. I think people think I'm drinking during the day!! How are you doing on the mushies?

I'm in my third week and what a blessing to have made it the whole 2 weeks of liquid! I'm now in my mushie stage and I feel great. Even my suture pain is going away. I'm sad that it's not as easy losing weight on the mushies, but it's not as if we can eat chicken and veggies (unless we put them in the blender... gross). I think getting back to solid food will help the weight loss process. I am finding mushies are kinda high calorie or carbs. I'm drinking the protein shakes several times a day to try and lose a few more lbs. My first fill is April 26 and I'm looking forward to seeing what that feels like.

I had a bit of a stuffy nose the day before surgery. I bought some Afrin and used it in the morning and had no problems.

I had my surgery about two weeks ago and I was in a complete panic. Turns out the worst part of the day was getting weighed!! The anesthesiologist even numbed my vein before putting the IV in. Then he gave me "happy time" drugs and I woke up about an hour later in recovery. Bring lip balm to the surgery. I put mine in the bag with my clothes. Your mouth is super dry inside and out. Honestly, if I can do it, anyone can :-) You will do great!

I was banded 3-35-11. I went to see my doctor today and he gave me the thumbs up and told me everything was healing nicely and that I can stop stressing so much! Oh and he told me I could have rice with my sushi when I reach my goal weight! I can't believe I have to wait until 2013 for a grain of rice... welcome to the lap band experience :-) I'm so over the liquids!!! And yes we can do it! We are doing it!!

Husbands are dangerous! I call my husband Benedict Arnold as he is constantly in the kitchen or going out to eat when he promised to be in solidarity with me. I managed to lose the pre-op weight and not cheat during the post-op liquids (which is MUCH HARDER) by avoiding my husband and his eating habits. It's only natural to eat together as I'm sure you've done for years, but I've had to seperate myself from him and his meals. Send your husband out by himself or be in another room when he's eating. Eventully, you will be able to join him again :-) Stay strong!

I was banded 3-25-11 and I had all of the above, plus pain when I breathed (residual gas pain), plus painful stomach spasms and grumblings. I was freaking out over every little thing and now it's all gone. I still hiccup when I'm hungry and when I'm full, but there is no pain involved. I still have a twinge of the gas pain in my side, but it's on and off. I have been eating mushies for a few days now and I feel like a human again! It does get better!! Keep drinking those protein shakes and walk a lot!

After the gnarliest two weeks EVER, I get to start my mushie phase today! I'm waiting until I get home for work so nothing awful happens and I'm not at home. So I'm excited!! That said, it does look so much easier on paper and I think it's because of the excitment of the future and losing weight. Once the surgery is done, it's like OUCH! where's my comfort food when I need it most? And even though I'm moving on to mushies, I still feel as though I'm not through the woods yet. So far, I don't feel any restriction and have no idea if I had a passive fill or not. My first post-op doc visit is next week. And now that I've been on the message boards, I have a lot of questions. I thank God every day I found this message board so have people who can relate to what I am going through :-)

I was banded two weeks ago and I had the exact same thing. Like contractions or spasms. I had them for the first week and then they went away. I think it's just the body's way of settling and getting used to a foreign object!

It’s that time!!! I’m finally graduating from bottles to Gerbers tomorrow. I’m actually waiting until tomorrow for my first trip to the grocery store as I don’t want to tempt myself too much. I’m thinking mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, sloppy Joe with no bun, yogurt, pudding, cream of wheat, tuna with soft avocado and a Ricotta cheese baked dish (there’s a yummy looking recipe somewhere in the forums). Not all in one day, of course! I can’t believe I made it this far. I literally thought, what the French did I do when I came home from the hospital and now it’s like ok, what’s the next step? This is definitely a journey like no other in my life. I’ve been reading the forums and seeing how people felt just like me after surgery. Regret, pain, anxiety about losing my favorite foods, just to name a few feelings. The bottom line is, we’re here. Decision made. We can’t go back, I mean we can, but then our insurance companies would have a fit and dump us. There are only the possibilities of tomorrow so I need to let any regrets go. I’m a bit nervous about eating for the first time. Will there be new pain? All mushie ideas and recipes welcome!!

You are not the only one struggling. I was ready to kill someone last week for a bite of food. I am just at the end of my two week liquid stage and it has been beyond a struggle. Mood swings and hunger pangs are the worst. Everyone says, "drink a shake." I'm literally about to throw all my shakes out of a moving car! I was fortunate enough to make it through without cheating (even though I wanted to every minute of every day), but I get it. Next step is mushies which again seems limited, but at least it's better than those damn shakes!

Oh, Michele! I feel for you. I had the surgery about two weeks ago and I definitely felt the same way. I'm surprised your doctor didn't give you a nutritional plan. Here's what my doctor told me. Two weeks post surgery should be a liquid diet only. Today you should stick with broths and clearer liquids. I was able to graduate to full liquids (Protein shakes and cream Soups by day 2). There is not a ton to eat, but you can have popsicles, soups (strained if there is anything in them, Miso and chichen broth are easy and good), any kind of Protein shake (I prefer Atkins as it has very little sugar and carbs). My big treat has been flavored ice. Here's the deal, there's really no going back right now. It's all onwards and upwards (and downwards on the scale)! You made it to the other side. I'm still recovering in terms of sutures and some stomach digestive grumblings, but it gets better before you realize it. I hope this has been helpful. Good luck!

Wow! You sound prepared! I had to send my husband out for everything after I got home. The one thing I really needed was help getting in and out of bed, so make sure you have someone with you. I've read about people who slept in their lazy boys so they could get up. I never realized how much I used my stomach muscles for everything until now. I felt the exact same way before I had it, excited and scared. I'm just about done with my liquid phase. Mushies start Friday. Good luck with your surgery!

I’m on day 10 and I’m starting to feel like I’m on “Survivor” – please vote me off the island! At least they get rice and beans between challenges. This liquid diet is a killer. Week one was great because the weight was pouring off, now I feel like I have to diet on my diet just to take off more weight. I know I shouldn’t be stressed as it adds more stress to be stressed. All I can think about is food right now. And is it just me, or is food everywhere you look? Work is impossible. Even watching my favorite shows has lost its lackluster without a good meal. Walking and drinking, walking and drinking… I’m a lap band zombie! On my way to work this morning, I saw a woman with a McDonalds bag (I don’t even really like McDonalds) and I was ready to hop out of my car and jump her for her Egg McMuffin! The Cadburry bunny has become number one on my hit list. I’m ready to shoot a cute little bunny carrying chocolate. That is what it has come to. So “mushies” begin on Saturday, which is going to be more exciting than Christmas! I can’t get ahead of myself since it is only Monday. Any mushie suggestions would be amazing. Oh guess what? Time for a walk and a shake!