5.0junkie

I use MIO and love it. Tons of flavors and options to mix and match. Does not contain aspartame (that I can find anyway)

We find out today if the 7 year old blonde haired blue eyed angel will be available to us. We found out yesterday that she has a brother. DHS may want to try and place them together but they have not been together for about 3 years so we are not sure how that is going to turn out. Fingers crossed!

I am self employed and have employees. If one of my employees were to ever feel that they could not tell me something or confide in me I would be crushed. It is my job as an employer and manager to promote confidence and support my staff. The worst thing a boss could ever do is have employees that dont trust them. I think having support from your employer or manager is crucial for lap band success. Its not just the time for surgery that you will need off but follow up vistis and fill appoinments. Be open. Be honest. They may not understand all the reasons that you have made the decision for WLS but they should at least be happy they are going to have a more energetic and positive employee.

The process is completely different for everybody but if you find yourself struggling or just not satisfied dont be afraid to call your surgeon and see if you could start to introduce some other soft foods. Some people I'm sure will disagree with me but this process should not be a struggle. There are way too many options to make it an enjoyable and exciting experience. You just have to find what works for you.

I'm not as worried about weight as I am volume. I've been released to do as I please but I'm still doing my shakes. There's just no solid food in any amount that can provide me with everything my shakes do. When I do eat soft foods, its anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. Just depends on what I'm eating. I try and get just enough to fill my pouch and not worry about whether I'm full or not. My experience so far has been that I don't feel satisfied when I eat soft food until about 30 minutes after I'm finished with my pouch size portion. Vida my personal opinion is take it slow but do not deprive your body. Test the waters some. Just cause you were given a general guideline that is handed out to hundreds of people does not mean that its right for you. Listen to your body. It will tell you what it needs. Biggest thing is dont ever over do it in one sitting. Eat. If you are not satisfied an hour or two later, choose a healthy snack like a protein bar or Greek yogurt. This is your journey and its up to you to find what works for you. Just be sure to your protein in. I would suggest to somewhat keep a log of the foods you take in. That way you can look back and determine what satisfies you the most for the longest period. Give it to your surgeon as well so they can help determine your fill ratios based on what you've been doing.

Pureed I considered to be like thin mashed potatoes or the consistency of refried beans. Just me though. Congrats on the new size. You should have a lot of those new size moments in your very near future. Keep it up!

Thank you for the info. I'm always looking for new info on the band. I may be one of the lucky few but the main reason I was asking was to make sure I wasn't feeling something wrong and that fills were a requirement.

Just out of curiosity, what information do you have to support this? Not saying its not true but I have read several successful stories of people that never had a fill. I have yet to have a fill and don't have one planned either. I just have a hard time believing that the ban does not work until you start the fill process.

Just me but I consider soup to be a slider food. I think it's like drinking and eating. I know a lot of people do it but I would say try and have as much solid and as little broth as possible. Measure out the right amount of solid and add a little broth to it is my thought.

Gatorade is great, make sure its the G2, water with MIO, crystal light or sugar free Kool Aid, diet snapple, decaf tea. After a couple more days you should be able to add a little skim milk. Not much though. Also, 100% fruit juice, apple or white grape.

I should add that our journey has not been easy. While dealing with DHS had not been bad for us (I've heard some horror stories), bringing someone else into our home has had it's difficult moments. This little girl came from a situation where she literally had to "zone out" to survive so when she moved in with us and she knew she had done something wrong, she would just be dead to the world for hours. There were several issues she had when she first came to us but in the short amount time she has been with us, she has overcome 90% of them. Which is another reason I find inspiration in her, she just continues to move mountains in her life. As of today, I now have a new dilemma with our adoption situation that my wife and I are praying about. There is another little girl. She's 7. Blonde hair blue eyed angel. Her father has lost his rights and mother will be losing her rights next month and this girl needs a permanent home. I would do and go through everything I went through a hundred times over for my 5 year old but we are trying to decide if we are being called to this 7 year old or if its just our soft hearts and an understanding of what a child has endured that makes us feel drawn to her. Please keep fingers crossed and this blue eyed angel in your prayers.

Sincerely, thank you all for the kind words. I met this little girl last year at Halloween. She was 4 at the time. A big group of us friends all showed up to a neighborhood to take the kids door to door and she was a new kiddoe to the group. As soon as they told me who she was and what her story was I instantly fell in love with her and knew she just had to be mine and added to our family. Well, we made some phone calls and she ended up moving in with us in April. She is 5 years old now and amazes me everyday. She has overcome so much adversity and survived a walk through the gates of hell. Her passion for life and desire to unconditionally love another person is truly inspiring.

Debbie, what organization sets such measures of perfection that you are comparing yourself to? Is there a table or scale out there that has been created? Just wonder if there's some set form of measure we should all aspire to meet...... Don't you dare say society either!!!!! lol

Do women ever reach a point where they are comfortable in their own skin?

I have to agree with Georgia on the feelings comment. I ask though, why are women so hard on themselves? I may never understand that.

If you are using the app there should be a little plus sign next to the send button. Click on that and it will allow you to add pics.

How much protein are you getting in?

Seems like the Lap Band Surgery Talk Lounge would be the place to post about off topic stuff. As far as the ticket goes, if you're using your phone or tablet and an app there's no place to control that stuff yet. Have to be on a computer and its in your profile editor. Just go to profile overview and you should be able to find it from there.

What are you eating?

I was on a flight to Detroit a few years back and the entire plane loaded. Every seat was filled on the plane except the one next to mine. I'm a big guy so I was ecstatic and happy that no one had to sit next to me. After a few minutes of sitting there a guy boarded the plane. I took one look at this guy, looked at the seat next to me, looked back at the guy, looked back at the seat knowing it was the only empty seat and thought to myself, holy cow. This was a big guy. I mean big. He made me look skinny. He was coming right for me and I was pissed that I had to sit next to this guy. I was already crowding the seat but now I was squished. As soon as the guy sat down he apologized for being fat and that I had to sit next to him. My heart broke right then and there because I understood his sentiment. Turns out, he was one of the best and coolest strangers I ever had the chance of meeting. The guy had an awesome career and one hell of a life story. We laughed until we cried the entire flight. It was one of the best flight experiences I ever had and it was all thanks to the fat guy that anyone else would have asked to change seats. The point of this long story is this. Next time something mortifying happens, don't be mortified. Don't let them think it bothered you. They don't know you, they don't know your story. Don't be shy and share your life with a stranger. You might just change their mind like my mind was changed. I can honestly say it was one of the most life changing events I've experienced. I learned to give people a chance before I place opinions.

Personally I think a little chocolate every now and then is ok. The band is supposed to limit our choices but it is up to us to make better choices. Instead of getting the king size Twix or Milky Way, choose a dark chocolate in a sensible amount. The dark chocolate Hersheys Kisses are a great choice. Small and sensible. Here's the thing, the liquid diet and all is supposed to help us detox. When you start reintroducing complicated sugars and processed sugars your body will start to crave them. It literally becomes no different than an addict needing another fix. It's not your fault you need the sugar fix its just the way you've treated your body. Dont ruin your detox time and have to start over. Simple, natural sugars are not addicting, well not as addicting, however. That's why you technically don't get addicted to healthy protein bars!!! They dont have all the processed sugars. So keep it simple, keep it natural. Breads are the same way. Tons of proceeded sugars. Keep it natural. When was the last time you craved a corn tortilla? As long as we are putting natural, whole foods into our bodies there should be no cravings, only hunger. Of course all of this is my opinion and in NO way clinically based:)

Took this at docs office so I would know what I was getting myself into. Not too big and no bigger than an IV needle it looked like.

Vida, I asked my doc about it cause I kinda had the same thing. He told me I may be consuming too much. Turned out I was making my shakes too thick but it caused pressure on my diaphragm and was having relative pain in the shoulder. He told me not to worry but to thin things up.

Oh Steph that's easy. Cushion!!!! Leave the skin and bones for the dogs:) I gotta have some junk in the trunk.... Besides, real women have curves. I know all guys are different but when I think of the perfect body I think 8 to 12. 10-12 always seems to be my preference.