donna12

you look amazing in your pics! congrats on the Large, can't wait till I get there.

OMG you guys are not going to believe it! I have to vent. First off our support meetings are once a month with our nutritionist. Let me begin with, she's very young and straight out of college, no biggie right? Well, after what was discussed tonight I'm confused more than ever!!! It was the nutritionist, myself, 2 one week post op ladies (one had her hubby with her) and 2 other new ladies that were just inquiring about surgery at this point. One of the 1 week post op ladies asked if she could eat chips and dip, I was like NO, hello, why did you have surgery. The nutritionist said, well, I don't want you to instead of saying no. The newbies to the group said I drink Coke everyday, I piped up and said well you better stop while you are ahead and get off of them now because you can't have carbonation after the band and the nutritionist interrupted and said yes you can, you can have pop, I was like WHAT, I was told no, it can cause band slippage, she then tells this woman that it causes severe gas pains in the shoulder and that is all and its empty calories well yes that is true, so yes I'm confused, and no I'm not gona start drinking my Sprites again not that I was addicted to them but I do miss the occassional one. Then she said to everyone, you can eat whatever you ate before band, I want you eating at least 1200-1400 calories a day, now on to protein, she said to eat only one serving of meat a day, I was like What again. I'm more confused than ever. It's nothing for me to eat an egg for breakfast (protein), chicken salad for lunch with ff mayo and then bake me a chicken breast for dinner, is that wrong? I don't eat like that everyday or I might have a chicken breast at my lunch and then cottage cheese for dinner, double protein. She was stressing that the one serving of meat meets the protein grams for the day. OMG. I go for a fill day after tomorrow, should I tell my surgeon this since she is new and so young and has never worked with bariatric patients before? I feel he needs to know but then again I don't want his nurse going back to her spilling the beans saying I said something, is it rude for me to ask his nurse to step out that I'd like to speak to him in private? Oh and another thing, 1 week post op lady asked can we eat spaghetti (a plate of) and the nutritionist said yes of course) I was told no pasta, no rice, and no bread so I've not eaten those things since being banded 8 mos ago. OMG what do I do. I'm so confused on how to eat after this.

you guys are cracking me up, couldn't help myself. Good luck on your journey! I'm excited for you both.

I usually share a shredded chicken/cheese quesadilla with a side of refried beans with my mom when I go and only eat 3 to 4 chips because that is all I can handle without getting sick. Don't know the nutritional value of it but that is what I like and I also make a low fat version of it here at home with low fat cheese and non stick skillet. Have fun. Sounds yummy, now I want Mexican. dang. lol.

I used GNC's brand Lean Shake in a bottle already mixed up, Swiss Choc. My GNC let me sample before I bought. 25 grams of protein. Just got some more the other day to have around when I feel tight in the mornings and when I get fills. I didn't care for the Strawberry or Vanilla.

question, not sure if it was addressed here and I did forget to ask my dr when I was in Thurs, my nutritionist said to eat meat only once a day, do you all do that? She said that was plenty of protein in that one piece of meat that we don't need anything else. Well sometimes I may have chicken salad at lunch or tuna salad then I may bake me a small chicken breast or pork chop at dinner, is that wrong? Oh by the way, I had lost 3 lbs in the month since I had last seen him. It is coming off slow for me and that's ok, weather is getting nice here in Western Kentucky so hopefully with my toe healing and being able to wear a shoe again now I will be able to get outside and walk and get some exercise and activity. I do know activity is the key.

Yep, that sums it up, I'm addicted, that's all I drink all day long, nothing else. I know about the minimal caloric intake but I can't stand plain water and really don't like lemon in water unless I have lots of splenda in it to make lemonade. Plus I'm always on the go so I do water bottles and mix Crystal Light on the go packets. Sheesh!

my addicted flav is green tea raspberry, mmmm.

I was dificient in Vit D and was feeling like that so my doc prescribed 3000 units of that vitamin a day for me.

You have Target, Walmart, Meijer, not sure what is near you, or Stein Mart and they send out coupons, I love Stein Mart. But yes consignment shops are great.

ok, so I just got home from my dr's appt with my surgeon and thank goodness I got a fill, I needed it! I did speak to him about several issues that were of concern, he's so sweet and about the food/drink issue I approached it like this: I just told him that here after 8 mos out I wasn't sure and I needed clarification on what I could and could not eat and drink i.e. soda, pasta, rice and his remarks were that there were no scientific proof out there soda is bad for the band, however, he would rather me not drink it cause of the caloric intake and I told him I don't drink it all I drink is water anyway but what about when you get sick and you want ginger ale for example, I just threw that in and he was like oh yes absolutely, I was like ok. As far as rice and pasta, he said they were ok to eat but they were carbs and they do tend to clump and sometimes wouldn't pass thru the stoma and get stuck but if I could tolerate it go ahead. With that said, I did however eat a little bit of rice yesterday with baked tilapia from Capt D's and did just fine but I barely ate much of it cause I was scared but it did taste good and I had no problems. I am glad I got all this cleared up with him. I understand all dr's are different and I will limit my intake of carbs and will definately not drink soda as all I drink is water anyway but it's nice to know if you get sick and want that sprite or ginger ale its ok according to my surgeon. That's what I found out today and I thought it went very well with him today.

looking great, congrats!

I go for a fill tomorrow which will put me back to my original cc's that I was back at the end of Nov because I had an unfill for gallbladder surgery. With that said, I had actually gone in that week for a slight unfill because I was constantly getting stuck and throwing up so I hope I'm not making a mistake getting a fill tomorrow but I don't have much restriction and I'm getting hungry and also feel like I could eat more than a cup but don't. So I feel I need it. Good luck with your situation. I will have to keep in mind about the pineapple juice trick.

Oh no, by not means do I feel I'm right or she's wrong, I'm just confused more than anything as I've read, been told so many different things that I do not know what to eat or drink at this point in my journey 8 mos out. As far as alcohol I don't drink so that is out for me. And I can assure you I will not make a big deal out of this as I don't like to cause friction between people or hurt others. I will simply talk to my surgeon tomorrow and clarify what I can and cannot eat and drink and if he asks why I'm asking then if I feel compelled or obligated at the time to say something I will as he needs to know because his medical practice depends on his success of his fellow employees and patients. Thanks for your comments.

thank you so much ladylaine for the post, I will give it a try, wow what an interesting read. Thanks Jewel for the info on the griddle, I do have a George Forman and never have thought of using it, dang, I will have to get it out of the pantry and get busy. I'm not much on hamburger meat as I don't want to chew chew chew it, it gags me. But I would like however grill a piece of fish on the GF or a chicken breast instead of baking sometimes. Be something different. Dang it, why didn't I think to get it out of the pantry...lol. Headed to the freezer right now to get a chicken breast out to thaw and cook on the Geo F. tonight. as for adding more Protein, I think I will have Beans with it!!! Thanks everyone. Donna

I guess I need to start over like day 1. I go for a fill this Thurs and I sure need the restriction as I feel like I can eat more than a cups worth but don't and I'm hungry every 4 hrs. I've gained a pound this weekend so that means I've only lost 2 lbs this past month since I've seen my surgeon last. I don't eat rice, raw bread, toast sometimes is okay with eggs, I don't eat pasta as these were things my surgeon told me to stay away from so I do. Early on in my journey I was craving chinese fried rice and tried a bit and got stuck so haven't tried any since so rice would be a no no like he said. I'm getting tired of fish, chicken and cottage cheese. Tomorrow I'm cooking a pot of beans which I like and will have around all week but that is good for only one meal as I don't want to get tired of that. I know most of you say you eat whatever you want but if that is so how do you lose weight eating pizza, pasta, rice, potatoes, mac/cheese, etc? I thought the whole idea of this was to get a new lifestyle and eat healthy and I have tried but I'm getting burned out on what I'm eating everyday. It's making me crave old foods and making me feel deprived and crazy. Today I had oatmeal, Lean Cuisine and wasn't hungry for dinner so I ate a little cottage cheese with some crackers (low fat) and then had a few bites of skinny cow ice cream oh and I had a greek yogurt. Usually what I eat is egg and piece of toast or cereal, baked chicken and veggie and then I will have a bowl of beans cooked up like I'm doing tomorrow to have on hand for dinner. That consist of my day. I'm scared of eating steak but craving it, yes a filet would be nice but scared to eat it. Oh I did bake a pork chop with fat free mushroom soup on top for gravy last night. That was a variety. Am I eating wrong? Help, anyone...

thank you all so very much for your advice. Like I said, I certainly do not want to get her fired, she and I talk, laugh at the meetings and are friendly and I hate to see her lose her job, she's very sweet and is a very good nutritionist as far as food goes but I think needs trainging in bariatrics. I must add that I've learned most of what I know from all of you and I thank you for that. My surgeon is very good but is lax (sp?) on food choices, he says eat what you want but less of it but I'd like to see you eat healthy type of attitude. I mean like most of you, I didn't do a post op diet of 2 to 4 weeks of liquid diet, I did 2 days of liquid and went into straight mushies and soft foods after that. Oh lordy, I need to go to lap band school!

OH my I don't want to get her fired, she's employed by my surgeon and by the hospital but you guys are right I do need to say something to him. I mean, I'm not sure whether it was Jean's book or on here or my surgeon can't remember, sorry, but the no no's were no bread, no pasta, no rice and no soda. I did crave chinese fried rice one day early on and tried it, got stuck, paid the price, don't do rice anymore, now I know why. Then one of the 1 week ladies turned to me and asked if I ate pizza, I was floored, I responded, I have had it twice since surgery last June, thin crust and 1 slice is all I can eat, she was like, bummer. I'm like, why in the world did you even have surgery and how in the world did you pass psych eval. I wish you guys could have been there, it was a circus. It took all I had to keep my mouth shut.

I was a major sugar-a-holic and carbs too and its not easy, your body detoxes from these things and days 3 and 4 are bad but you get thru it, we all did and you guys will too. Stay focused and remember why you are doing this and keep your mind on the end results. There are lots of brands of shakes out there to try. I still keep mine in the pantry for something quick I pop it in the frige when I know I am going to drink one and it's something quick or for the days I get a fill. Good luck.

is it strange for me to ask to speak to him privately without his nurse present after my fill?

OMG thank you. I was torn, I hate friction and hate tattling but I feel in my heart he needs to know, you know? I just didn't get anything out of tonights mtg and I feel that there needs to be someone there that is experienced in bariatric surgeries and patients.

Maegan, we had surgery a day apart!

Thank you all for everyone's comments, I will listen to all comments. One of you mentioned grill, I don't own a grill, wished I did, I miss grilling but since divorcing and moving in with my mom we just don't grill anymore and really no room for one on the patio so my options are baked or pan seared with Pam spray or Olive oil. I live in a small town with only Kroger, Walmart and food Lion options and they aren't that great for fresh seafood, with that said, Publix is in a nearby town about 30 mins away and I usually make down there once a month, they have great seafood options like salmon which I love and bake. I have really noticed in the last month that I have not had much restriction, I am still not up to the amount of Fluid in my band prior to my gallbladder surgery Dec 3rd so hopefully I will get that fluid back in this coming Thurs. when I go in as like I stated above I could eat more than a cup's worth at times I feel but choose not to. The first 6 months of my journey I was very sick with vomiting and nausea and pain in back due to gallbladder and then bam Dec 3rd I had gallbladder surgery then all of the sudden I got an infection on my big toe at the cuticle and had to have the nail removed 2 weeks ago so that has been going on for 2 months and now it is so sore that I cannot wear a shoe on that foot so exercise has been non-existent for me this entire time which I hate. My toe is on the mend and each day the soreness is easing so hopefully within a couple of weeks I can put a shoe back on, yay and start walking outside as weather is getting nice here in Kentucky, well, I say nice, 55 to 60 degrees, that's nice for me, lol. Again, thank you all so much for your insight on carbs and opening my eyes to my mistakes. Donna

I would love your breakfast quiche recipe as I love quiche and thank you for your kind words of wisdom, I take them to heart.

maybe I'm not seeing the carbs, I know the few crackers I had were carbs and the oatmeal this morning, I did count the carbs in the lean cuisine but usually day to day basis is cheerio's, yes carbs I know, baked chicken with lemon pepper and a veggie like green Beans. What else am I missing?