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Did you say you are bitchy and crabby right now? We didn't notice!!! We have all gone through it--someone said the other day that her COUCH started looking good enough to eat--desperation was our middle name during that time (the first four weeks)!! Honestly, my doctor gives fills every six weeks--no sooner--and so I've had two and am not totally restricted--so I have to warn you, much of this first amount of time is you working with the band. You may have to limit the amount of food you are taking in yourself--you measure it out for yourself and when it's gone, it's gone, m'dear. Tell your doctor about your hunger--I would think that by Friday (two weeks post-op) you may be able to start having some mushies (yogurt, cottage cheese, refried beans) but again, that's going to be his call. Hang tight, it's going to be over before you know it!!! :hungry:

I started last March and had the same six-month nutritionist visits as you, so we both had a long time to study the band and what our future lives would be. Was I apprehensive? Doggone right I was. Did I have doubts? Absolutely--NOTHING has EVER worked for me. Did I think it was "just another diet product?" No, I totally realized that it was a tool--and that it would take ME to use it properly. And am I happy? M'dear, I am GLORIOUSLY happy!!! Yep, like Julie, I am a slow loser but I feel full all the time and I have SO MUCH pep and energy! I just picked up all the blown down limbs / sticks in our yard, which would have killed me before, and I feel like I could go do it again!! (AND I worked out at the YMCA today!!!) You will have to make your own decision, but my experience was wonderful...

It's so funny because everyone is SO different! I DO use the unjury unflavored protein in sugarfree, fatfree instant pudding (I double up on the protein, so I get 15 grams per 1/3 cup serving). But I am still sold on the belgian chocolate whey protein isolate powder I get from amazon.com (with free shipping). Mixed in just WATER, it just tastes terrific at 21 grams of protein per scoop in 6 ounces of water. (and sometimes I'll add 1 1/2 scoops if I've been unable to get all my protein in during the day) One shake mid-morning and one mid-evening do a body good!! Now, if you want to talk nasty, I really have yet to find a canned shake that doesn't tast tinny--yuck! BUT CONVENIENT, I'll grant you!

I'm not going to admonish you because you KNOW what you are doing wrong. You are placing a lot of blame on the band, when we all know going into this that the band is just a tool to be used--and right now you aren't using that tool. When I gained 2# over Thanksgiving, I kept a food log for three weeks to see where I was and what I could do differently: Carbs -- 45 - 69 a day Proteins - 60 - 97 a day My suggestion is to start a food log and keep an honest one. If you need to know carbs and proteins in foods, I use Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis – NutritionData.com where you just put in the food and it gives you a nutrition label. Good luck...

Hey Thin, nice ticker!!!!!

Hey Thin, nice ticker!!!!!!!!

Mid-evening (7:30 - 8:00) I have a Protein shake--it really DOES take the hunger away! I am EXACTLY like you--when I don't have a Protein shake, I am ravenous, looking into the cupboards and refrigerator for anything to snack on (old habits are so-o-o hard to break, eh?!)-- So try the protein shake and then head to bed early!!!

Your surgeon is the one who can best answer those questions--but it was five weeks until I was allowed to lift more than 10# (and I went back to Curves). At seven weeks, I went back to the YMCA three times and that was way too soon--I was a hurting puppy for about three weeks and certain it was a hernia. (Turns out, it was my port giving me grief!) So I'm going back to the YMCA again this Wednesday, which is three months after surgery (probably you could go back in 8 - 9 weeks). I was anxious too--but the port is attached to muscle and everything takes time to HEAL, so we just have to be patient, bud...

I was banded 10/9/07 with a 10 cc. band and also have had two fills, totalling 1.5 cc. I know we have a lot longer to go with our fills... But I restrict myself to 1/4 cup oatmeal for Breakfast, 1/2 can of tuna for lunch, and then 1/2 cup of whatever for dinner. I DO have a Protein shake mid-morning and mid-evening (just about the time I'm starting to get hungry again) and generally tomato juice or sugar free fat free pudding in the afternoon (with unflavored protein added). I really find once I have the Protein Shake, I am totally satisfied for a long time. I don't go for another fill until February 1st--hopefully you'll get 1 cc on Wednesday!

I went to the seminar thinking I had a BMI of 39 (thought I was 5'2"--turns out I'm only 5'0"--BMI of 41!!). But I had no clue how many other people would be there or what they would look like (and didn't care). Like you, I was one of the smaller in the room--and there were many people in wheelchairs, with walkers, etc. But here's the comforting thought for you--family and friends were allowed to attend the seminar, too, so there were plenty of thinner people--and you didn't know who was there looking into the surgery and who was just family and friends. Had probably 50 people in the room-- And the information you will get will fill you up with knowledge about your future life, so enjoy...!

My hubby and I love perch--he dabs it with butter and bakes it for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven and it IS good! (I'm not a seafood fan either, and tuna is the extent of my fish knowledge, honestly! ) I DID also find out that I hate tilapia--and slathered it in cocktail sauce then at a few bites---------OMG, I have never BURNED so badly all the way down! Yep, they are right about spicy foods! :biggrin1:

I KNOW we're supposed to have Protein for every meal but I LOVE OATMEAL and I HATE EGGS!!! Yuck! Two weeks post op I was allowed to have "Baby Oatmeal" and I bought a box------oouuooouuoooouuoooooo, nasty! So I went straight to my quick oats and haven't stopped since! I do 1/8 cup quick oats to 1/4 cup Water miked for 40 seconds BUT then I add one teaspoon of brown sugar!! For as little carbs as I take in the rest of the day (and as many Proteins shakes as I do) I feel I can treat ME the first thing in the morning! YUMMY! :hungry:

Sorry, I only mentioned the powdered protein--you can buy the shakes in a can which generally have the same number of Proteins (20-24) as the powder--but you give up taste for convenience! Slim Fast Lo Carb (NOT Ultima) shakes aren't too bad but I did find a canned shake at Amazon.com called "Zoic", which has 100 calories to 180 in a can of Slim Fast and it also has less carbs, much less fat, and more protein--but the taste is thinner, if you know what I mean! And that's all I'm going to say about canned shakes--convenience in a can... :biggrin1:

There are so many threads on this subject and I usually put my "two cents worth" in on every one, so here goes for you, Jocelin: Try whey Protein isolate because it is pure and mixes up with a spoon or a shaker. (Do not get whey protein concentrate--unless you want to be bothered with a blender--it is also filled with lactose as a filler and I am lactose intolerant :nervous ) My absolute all-time favorite flavors are belgian chocolate and chocolate malt, which I buy from Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, books, DVDs & more (and I make sure I get free shipping too)--they honestly taste GREAT in Water, so less calories--but you could mix them in skim milk. Another website a lot of people use is Welcome to the unjury Homepage -- they even have chicken broth flavored protein, as well as unflavored (to add to puddings/jellos/mashed potatoes, etc), vanilla, and chocolate and they offer a box of sample packets to try (at a price natch) Keep trying all of the different flavors (if you check amazon.com you will find every flavor in the world!) until you find one that's right for you. It really is almost impossible for us to get our 60 - 80 grams of protein only from our food and you've already experienced a side effect of the lack of protein. You are certainly on the right road, now that you've made your decision to do what's right for your body. Good luck to you...

With a surgery scheduled within 36 hours, maybe you should make that phone call now...

Ditto from me--Cookie's exactly right. My Bariatric Center's Pre-Op and Post-Op instructions specifically said no Carnation Instant Breakfast, Boost, or Ensure because of all of the carbs. Sorry again!

It's so funny you write this, Beka, because Jackie just started a thread too, entitled "Feeling Down", with the same topic~! I responded to Jackie by relating what I've done over the last 6 weeks--examine everything I'm doing with regard to eating, liquids, exercising, and logging everything to see where I have flaws. And it's worked--I saw exactly where I was falling down! Best wishes to both of you--we're all going to be okay!!

At mealtime, being "full" is being satiated for me. Now that doesn't mean that (mostly in the evening) my MIND doesn't say, "Hey, your hubby has some potato chips out in the cupboard"!! The question is do I follow my MIND or my BODY? Believe me, Bandy, once the weight starts coming off, you have more than enough incentive to keep on the right track!

At the seminar, my Bariatric Center said a girl would be calling with my 7 appointments-- I almost freaked!! Yep, 3 hospital tests, psych eval with psychiatrist, two visits to the pulmonologist, one to the cardiologist (plus the stress test back at the hospital!)--then I had to schedule my six monthly visits to the nutritionist my insurance company required. Mix in two visits to my PCP trying to get my letter, and then another complete battery of tests at the hospital before surgery. Your story, as Jack so aptly stated, is OUR story. And yes, the co-pays (PTL for insurance) were wretched--in a year when gasoline is at a premium, the Bariatric Center is 50 miles from home, with the majority of the doctors at least that. And yet none of it will be enough to claim on the income tax... :think My final words to you are: IT IS SO WORTH IT!!!

Okay, so here's some questions for you: Do you drink with your meals--and I mean even sip?? 45 minutes is not too long to wait until after the meal to drink. Do you keep yourself to 1/2 cup of food for each meal? I just put out 1/4 or 1/2 cup of food and when it's done, I'm done... Have you been exercising? Curves is one of the easiest programs to do but you can even do exercise at home, 20 - 30 minutes a day. Have you kept a Food Log? It's a great idea--because it shows you where you may be having problems. Be sure you are keeping your carbs down, your Proteins up, and your calories down. Are you doing junk food? Yes, I know from personal experience that chocolate goes down easily--as well as other sweets--but that is something we all have to stay away from. The reason I'm asking YOU these questions is that I gained 2 # over Thanksgiving and went through all of these on myself. It took me a week to lose those two pounds, and so over Christmas I just gained .6 pounds--I certainly didn't want to go through that again. Just find your weak points and try to correct them, girlfriend--

Try laying on your back and then bringing your head up (as if you were going to do a sit-up). It should push your port up towards the skin and you could at least feel it. (It's the only way I can feel mine). I was just four weeks prior to you and I've had two fills already--so get hopping, girl!

When I began working out at the YMCA at seven weeks, I suddenly had such pain in my side--but kept on working anyway. Then I felt a hard ball when I sneezed and was absolutely positive I had a hernia. Fast forward to eleven weeks in the surgeon's office getting my second fill and I had him check it out--he just said "Silly--that is your port!!" Going back to the YMCA this week again--but adjusting the two exercises that were the cause of my port pain. As was said, it's a foreign item attached to muscle--it may cause us pain from time to time! (Yes, took about a month after surgery for the port pain to subside...)

Tracy, I'm sorry but shakes are the easiest way to get your protein in or as angelsoft said, add unflavored whey protein to other items. Honestly, you should get samples of as many flavors as you can and try each one--in water and in skim milk because this is forever! You certainly can TRY to get in your 60 - 80 grams a day, but it's going to be very very tough. I can't believe you are trying to eat Gorton's fish at 9 days post-op--can your pouch handle the digestion of that????? Try refried beans with cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese, eggs (eggbeaters is best), tuna salad, egg salad, canned chicken--they are all high in protein.

I buy whey Protein isolate in belgian chocolate and chocolate malt flavors from Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, books, DVDs & more (with free shipping!). But I can see that you are making a few mistakes: first, the protein supplements I use taste GREAT just mixed in Water, so there's no added calories of skim milk--and trust me, they really DO taste good! Secondly, I have a protein shake mid-morning and mid-evening (just about the time I'm beginning to get hungry again) and I only mix it in with 6 ounces of water. So if you're making large shakes, you're defeating the purpose. Sorry... By the way, although the Slim Fast Lo Carb is an okay shake, I found another one at the above website called "Zoic" which only has 100 calories, much less fat, less carbs, and more protein. It isn't quite as rich, but a canned shake is a canned shake--good for convenience only! Good luck to you...

I work out four days a week - two at Curves (1/2 hour each) and two at the YMCA (1 hour each)--but I have worked out since 1983. I do find now, though, that I have to adjust certain exercises at the Y to work around my port (leg presses and overhead curls in particular). What I love the most about working out is the fantastic high you get when you walk out of the gym, having all the stress and worries of the day totally washed out of you!! There is no other feeling like it! :bounce: