MawMaw

I drink Adkins choc drink for breakfast or make a high protein smoothie using frozen berries, protein powder, a splash of juice and ice. For lunch it's usually some homemade soup or chili that has been blended unflavored protein powder followed with 1/2 c. of homemade yogurt and 3 or 4 berries. Supper is whatever I'm hungry for: tuna salad, 2 oz of filet mignon, hot dog, bar-b-que, quacamole, enchildas, whatever. If I eat out the meal is halved into the takeout box before I ever get started. Sometimes I put 3/4 of the meal in the box if it's from a restaurant that serves big portions (Chipolte, Red Lobster, Chili's). Things I avoid completely because they cause me band problems: soda, lettuce, most bread (doughnuts, croissants, muffins, etc.), pie, cake, hamburgers, cabbage) Things I eat all lot of: Guacamole, queso, enchiladas, refried beans, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, yogurt, cheesecake without topping, potato soup, tomato basil soup, tortilla soup, chicken, fish, shrimp, crystal lite, limeade. I treat myself to one chocolate mini candy bar every week. I walk 10,000 steps a day, drink two or more bottles of water, eat a lot of ice, and sleep 8 hours. To date I have lost 81 pounds and have had a total of 4 fills.

If you like cappacino flavored things, Slim Fast Optima has a new flavor out.

Myloplex Original protein drinks are available at Wal-Mart. They have 42 g protein and the French Vanilla is great. I'm usually a chocolate person, but I tried these and was pleasantly surprised. In Houston they are 4 for $11.

I got banded on Friday and went back to work on Monday. I am a teacher and wanted to keep it quiet so I didn't take offf work. Most of Monday I sat at my desk or made short trips across the room. By the end of school I was wiped out. The next day I could do almost everything except pick up something off the floor. By Wednesday, I was back up to speed. Turning over in bed was the most painful, but now 10 days out, that is fine.

GasX sheets (2 at a time) disolve on your tongue and give you a good dose of simethecone which acts like fabric softner on bubbles created from too much detergent. I believe I read somewhere that gas created from digestion will be an ongoing result for a long time. I hardly have any now, but I've de-sugared my diet and lean heavily on liquid protein and eggs.

Gas X Strips are great and the relief is almost instaneous!

You need between 45 and 60 grams of protein a day. Adkins is almost universally available. That drink has 5 g sugar and 20 g protein, plus it slides right through. I don't do protein bars because I'm only 8 days out of banding. When you can have thicker soups, try adding dried milk to boost the protein of a soup like potato.

I dropped broth for stock, a more robust flavor. The doc okayed it, just reminded me to drink more water. I am still doing the sucking ice thing, mostly to have the "mouth feel" of something at regular mealtimes. Jello is just so, so. I switched protein drinks to Adkins because it has less sugar and actually tastes a little better. Made it through just two sips of Gatorade and gave it to the neighbor's kids - I would rather have water, ice, etc. that something "sticky" tasting. Juice is okay, but frozen cranberry pops and frozen apple juice pops are the best. I'm not hungry and having to be reminded to eat is a WHOLE new world! Tomorrow is my one week check and I expect to graduate to potato soup and nice, thick vegetable soup blended with baby food meat. I can't stand the smell of the stuff straight out of the jar, but I figured it would do its job just fine if it was blended into vegetable soup. One of my daughter-in-laws suggested putting extra dried milk in potato soup to boost the protein, so I'll see how that goes. Just think, refried beans blended with beef stock to a nice thick paste, topped with a few shreds of cheese - ah, MEX heaven!!

Hey folks, I got banded at University General Hospital on 1/19 and went back to work on 1/22. The pain meds were only used for a couple of days, but turning over at night is still a "wake-up" experience. I was #4 on Dr. Spiegel's list and was back in my room by 11 a.m. My son went to work in downtown Houston and took a nap before coming to get me at 7 p.m. so we wouldn't be spending lots of time hung up in traffic. broth is okay, but Emeril's stock is a lot more satisfying. I found it at HEB. I drank a few Protein shakes I had on hand from costco until I compared the label to the Adkins shake and found out what a big difference in carbs there was. Now it's Adkins all the way. The steri-strips have fallen off all the incisions except one, so that should be about it. Of course, the bruising looks like I was in a car wreck, but that too will fade. I have not had any nausea or vomiting, but then I have sucked ice non stop since the surgery. It's not unusual for me to empty 2 30oz. cups of ice in the morning and another couple in the afternoon. juice just doesn't do it for me and Jello is just so, so. Tomorrow I'm on to refried Beans, thinned with stock and topped with a few strands of cheese - a Mex fix at last! From there it's on to homemade potato soup, a little broccoli cheese soup, and then -- yes, mashed potatoes whipped with milk and butter and thinned to thick soup! The only thing I'm really missing is fajita, but that to will come back my way in a few weeks. Hello sizzling onions and bell peppers! Whizzing them up in the Magic Bullet for soup, just isn't the same. Good luck on your journey!

I got banded 1/19 and went back to work on 1/22. Of course, that night I hit the bed within 30 minutes of walking in the door. Now four days of work later, I'm fine.

I keep reading about "PBing". What are folks referring to?

I like the baby food (Gerber) fruits and vegetables, but the meat leaves me gagging. I have a magic bullet that I plan to mix stock and meat bits in to boost the protein. It just looks like brown grunge, but the taste is great - like thick gravy.

French Onion Soup (bread tossed and cheese on the side), make your own mashed (baked potato with condiments on the side), spinach artichoke dip with a spoon, broccoli cheese soup, refried beans with a few threads of cheese on the top (for the Mex restaurant trip), enchilada soup at Chili's have been my gourmet fare when eating out at the once-a-week-teacher meetings. No one has commented except something about how I sure do take a lot of leftovers home.

January 19th - Pre Op Weight 265 Thanks to the advances in medical science, I have a new opportunity to make my eating habits conform with accepted medical research. My stomach got banded this morning and, except for the CO2 pain in my upper chest, I feel like I have some major help in getting my weight under control which will, hopefully, prolong my life -- taking advantage of my "long life" genes from the Ryan side of my family.:clap2: January 20th Lots of stiffness but good pain meds made the day manageable. Walked back and forth on the road (about 1000 feet one way) two roundtrips and then went to watch grandaughter Cassady's basketball game. Needed strong arm to push up off of the bleacher, but that's what sons and grandsons are all about. No hunger except for ice chips. The chocolate protein drink was not tempting, but sipped on it all day anyway. Slept in the bed for two hours, but went back to the recliner. January 21st Planned meds and naps so that I could drive from Magnolia back to Port Arthur to go back to work tomorrow. All I have to do is breath slowly and everything will be manageable. A body is all that is needed in my classroom tomorrow and that's about all they will get! Slept in the bed in two hour stretches. Had to get up and walk around and then lay down again, turning over is too painful. January 22nd The night was miserable - resolve to take pain meds for a few more days longer - must have more rest. Vegetable stock is very soothing to the palette. Finally able to drink a full can of protein drink. After work, felt bloated so laid down for a nap. Two-and-a-half hours later, much better. I putted around the apartment, loaded the dishwasher, did a load of laundry and then went back to bed for the night. January 23rd - Weight: 257 Much better night! Took pain meds just before retiring last night and then again about 1 a.m. this morning. Got up with more energy and less depression. Thank goodness I'm just doing TAKS test relief - I will get plenty of walking around in short spurts. Who would believe that less than 2 ozs. of cream of potato soup watered down with chicken broth would serve as a filling lunch? I was amazed at how happy I was with just a few bites. Got lot of confusing information about protein needs from the Internet, so I guess I continue to drink Adkins shakes every day. I will need a short rest period when I get home, but not as much as yesterday. January 24th I had a long restful night - 6:30 to 5:45 with about 2 hours awake at 11 p.m. The meds are being tapered off and my morning strength is improving. The "Bloated" feeling from the abdominal swelling still occurs after lunch but it is less than it was before. The first of the steri-strips came off of the "port" incision. The new blood pressure medicine seems to be too strong. Guess I'm not getting enough protein. Mixing the crushed pill with the protein shake seems to work best - the water and juice cause it to clump and the after-taste is beyond gross. Sure wish I could have a soft scrambled egg, but opened another protein drink instread. Ice off and on all morning helped keep my mind off of no solid food. January 25th Good night last night - only problem was I drank a cup of coffee about 5:30 and could not go to sleep until after 10. It's hard to believe that I broke the coffee/tea/diet coke habit in just the pre-op and post-op time frame. Weight up a little this morning, guess I need to concentrate on water and walking. Drank Adkins for breakfast and then blended refried pintos with lots of beef broth to make some super runny brown grunge that tasted heavenly. My MEX fix worked. I'm not the least been hungry and it only took 1/4 to satisfy me. Had a cup of vanilla milk at 3 p.m. Didn't even know they made the stuff, picked up the wrong container in the cafeteria. Water and Adkins for supper. January 26th Hit the snooze and opened a bottle of water. Lay in bed and drank it slowly, hitting snooze a couple of times. Up for a shower and off to work, no pain meds needed last night or this morning. Adkins for breakfast and another bottle of water around 10. Doctor's office called and rescheduled 1 week check-up until Monday. Planning to eat with the "girls" tonight at Jason's Deli. French Onion Soup without the bread and the cheese on the side ought to do the trick.

January 19th - Pre Op Weight 265 Thanks to the advances in medical science, I have a new opportunity to make my eating habits conform with accepted medical research. My stomach got banded this morning and, except for the CO2 pain in my upper chest, I feel like I have some major help in getting my weight under control which will, hopefully, prolong my life -- taking advantage of my "long life" genes from the Ryan side of my family.:clap2: January 20th Lots of stiffness but good pain meds made the day manageable. Walked back and forth on the road (about 1000 feet one way) two roundtrips and then went to watch grandaughter Cassady's basketball game. Needed strong arm to push up off of the bleacher, but that's what sons and grandsons are all about. No hunger except for ice chips. The chocolate protein drink was not tempting, but sipped on it all day anyway. Slept in the bed for two hours, but went back to the recliner. January 21st Planned meds and naps so that I could drive from Magnolia back to Port Arthur to go back to work tomorrow. All I have to do is breath slowly and everything will be manageable. A body is all that is needed in my classroom tomorrow and that's about all they will get! Slept in the bed in two hour stretches. Had to get up and walk around and then lay down again, turning over is too painful. January 22nd The night was miserable - resolve to take pain meds for a few more days longer - must have more rest. Vegetable stock is very soothing to the palette. Finally able to drink a full can of protein drink. After work, felt bloated so laid down for a nap. Two-and-a-half hours later, much better. I putted around the apartment, loaded the dishwasher, did a load of laundry and then went back to bed for the night. January 23rd - Weight: 257 Much better night! Took pain meds just before retiring last night and then again about 1 a.m. this morning. Got up with more energy and less depression. Thank goodness I'm just doing TAKS test relief - I will get plenty of walking around in short spurts. Who would believe that less than 2 ozs. of cream of potato soup watered down with chicken broth would serve as a filling lunch? I was amazed at how happy I was with just a few bites. Got lot of confusing information about protein needs from the Internet, so I guess I continue to drink Adkins shakes every day. I will need a short rest period when I get home, but not as much as yesterday. January 24th I had a long restful night - 6:30 to 5:45 with about 2 hours awake at 11 p.m. The meds are being tapered off and my morning strength is improving. The "Bloated" feeling from the abdominal swelling still occurs after lunch but it is less than it was before. The first of the steri-strips came off of the "port" incision. The new blood pressure medicine seems to be too strong. Guess I'm not getting enough protein. Mixing the crushed pill with the protein shake seems to work best - the water and juice cause it to clump and the after-taste is beyond gross. Sure wish I could have a soft scrambled egg, but opened another protein drink instread. Ice off and on all morning helped keep my mind off of no solid food. January 25th Good night last night - only problem was I drank a cup of coffee about 5:30 and could not go to sleep until after 10. It's hard to believe that I broke the coffee/tea/diet coke habit in just the pre-op and post-op time frame. Weight up a little this morning, guess I need to concentrate on water and walking. Drank Adkins for breakfast and then blended refried pintos with lots of beef broth to make some super runny brown grunge that tasted heavenly. My MEX fix worked. I'm not the least been hungry and it only took 1/4 to satisfy me. Had a cup of vanilla milk at 3 p.m. Didn't even know they made the stuff, picked up the wrong container in the cafeteria. Water and Adkins for supper. January 26th Hit the snooze and opened a bottle of water. Lay in bed and drank it slowly, hitting snooze a couple of times. Up for a shower and off to work, no pain meds needed last night or this morning. Adkins for breakfast and another bottle of water around 10. Doctor's office called and rescheduled 1 week check-up until Monday. Planning to eat with the "girls" tonight at Jason's Deli. French Onion Soup without the bread and the cheese on the side ought to do the trick.