Brianne

I work nights, and have been doing the following: - if I have a sandwich for lunch (chicken or turkey, low fat mayo, on toasted whole wheat bread) I have a salad for dinner. - if I have a salad for lunch, I have a South Beach microwave meal for dinner. My salads have been the following: 2 shredded lettuce leaves, 4 grape tomatoes (cut into quarters), some sort of meat (chicken, steak, crab, or tuna), and 2 tbsp. of a low-fat no carb vinegrette. It fills me up and is pretty tasty, and only takes about 5-10 minutes to prepare (I cook up my chicken and steak on Sunday evenings and store them in tupperware in the fridge for the week).

My doc instructed me to do chewables while I was on liquids. Once I switched over to regular food, I have to take a good multivitamin, so I tke this: http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2279316&cp=2618597

Howdy folks, figured I'd pop my head in here. Live in Wayne, was banded on 4/9 by Dr. Gritsus out of Chilton. Just started on solid food again this week, and boy, did I miss chewing! XD Anyway, thought I'd say hi to my fellow Jerseyans! ^^)/

Just wanted to post that today is my first day out of my 3 weeks of liquid hell since getting the band on. Let me tell you, eggs have never tasted so good! We did measurements yesterday, and while my weight hasn't moved since last Thursday, I have lost (since the surgery) 2 inches in my bust, waist, and arms, 2.5 inches in my thighs, and 3 inches in my hips! I celebrated by buying some new clothes that actually fit me (and don't hang off me like a homess person) for work. I went down a size in pants and tops as well, from 24 to 22 (at Old Navy anyway, which is pretty much the only place I shop). My intermediate goal is size 18 by summer... and I'm feeling pretty confident I can do it! I'm ramping up my exercise a bit now though, to make up for the higher calorie intake now. Instead of 15-20 min on the treadmill and that's it, I did 20 min on the treadmill, 15 min on the bike, and 20 arm dips (go away, fat upper arms). Was feeling pretty good after, too. Was anyone else nervous to switch to regular food? I'm almost afraid to eat because I don't want to PB (I know it will happen eventually though). I'm just eating super slow and chewing the hell out of everything. Though, it's hard to tell when I'm "full", which is a little... frustrating?

My scars have been itching like crazy- especially the ones on my left side where my port incision is. The skin around them looked a bit dry, so this weekend I picked up some Aveeno moisturizer that's itch-soothing (I have chronically itchy legs during the winter, I use the same stuff for them). Today's the first day I used it and so far... no itching. :lunch: I'm gonna bug my fiance at dinner to take a pic of my scars- I still have some small scabs, but they're mostly healed. One question- I have some scar treatment stuff I picked up, should I wait until my scabs and such are 100% healed before I use it? I don't want to make a bad situation worse.

And here I was beating myself for the ONE Hershey Kiss I had last night. My doctor's instructions were low fat/low sugar/high Protein pre-op, Clear Liquids 24 hours before surgery, and 3 weeks of liquids (protein shakes ok) post-op, then I can move onto regular foods. I'm a little nervous about moving to real food again (though trust me, I can't wait. Getting tired of nothing but these things for meals). I only have 4 days of liquids left, and I've been craving real food like crazy (specifically grilled cheese sandwiches and a Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme :faint:) but I've been forcing myself to be good! I put far too much money and time into this to screw it up by not doing what my surgeon instructed me to. :phanvan

Pre-op (a month before surgery) my doc recommended a high protien, low fat, low sugar diet. I pretty much stuck to that (except for the Thursday before surgery when I went out for a Japanese hibachi meal :3 ).

Howdy all, I got banded on April 9 and thought I'd pop in and say hi. ^^)/ I'm on my last few days of my 3 weeks of post-op liquids... I can't wait to have something other than a chocolate shake. (._.') I'm starting to notice I am getting mildly obsessed with food... anyone else have that problem? As of today I've lost 24 pounds so far- all my clothes are hanging off me! I know it's going to slow down once I move to real food... but still, I am quite pleased with my results thus far!

I'm getting ready to move back to real food next week, and a little iffy about what I will and won't be able to eat. I know a lot of people I've talked with have said they've had a problem with rice, and I'm REALLY hoping I'm not one of them as I'm really excited to only have to eat 1 rolls of sushi to fill me up instead of 3! I even found a sushi restaurant that offers the healthier option of brown rice sushi. That's all still a ways away for me though, as my doctor reccomends staying away from rice until 8 weeks post-op. I have no qualms about having sashimi instead though. My nutritionist said I can still keep a similar diet to what I was doing before- eggs for Breakfast (1 yolk, 2 whites and some low-fat cheese), and sandwich for lunch, and a Lean Cuisine/Slmi Fast microwave meal that has at LEAST 20 grams of Protein (I work nights, so I either have to eat one of those if I want a hot meal, or bring my own salad). My mother and I were arguing how "hard" the bread needs to be- I was under the assumption that if it's lightly toasted it might be okay, but she says it needs to be seriously, toasted and hard. : I'm not a fan of wraps, but I think I can do a whole-grain pita if I have to. I'm mostly scared a bit of learning where my limits are and the chance of "PB"'ing. I've been on liquids since the surgery, and I've never had a "full" feeling, just not being hungry after I drink a shake or some Water. :

Howdy all, my name's Brianne and I was banded on April 9, 2007 in Chilton Memorial Hospital by Dr. Vadim Gritsus. The insurance was a huge struggle for me (apparently every doctor in NJ hates Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield), but 2 weeks post-surgery I got my letter that they will be paying for some portion of it. Which is good because I had to take out a loan to pay for everything preliminarily. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure by my GP in January, and he put on fairly serious meds for it. I've been overweight and struggling with my weight since around 2000/2001, and am happy to possibly see a light at the end of the tunnel! I got engaged in December, and am getting married on March 15, 2008, so that's a huge part of my motivation, aside from just general healthiness. As of yesterday I've lost 18 pounds since the surgery! I'm feeling pretty good (aside from some problems sleeping), and I can already see and feel the difference. Next Monday I can go back onto solid foods... which is good because the liquids are starting to drive me batty! No fills yet, but I'm doing good so far! Nice to meet you all and happy to find a place to discuss all things band-related!

I've been drinking GNC 100% Soy powder at home- but I can only drink the chocolate flavor as I can't STAND the vanilla (it has a vitamin-y type after taste for me). For work I've been drinking chocolate fudge EAS Advantage shakes- I have to say they're quite good. I also have Atkins' Vanilla shakes, but I haven't tried them yet (though I have heard they're quite good). For the record the EAS Advantage have 17 g of Protein, and the Atkins' has 15g. Needless to say, this is my last week of strict liquids. I am very much looking forward to having my shakes me supplementary and not the be all, end all of everything I tend to ingest.