peaches9

Avocado Hummus 2 (15oz.) cans chick peas 3 cloves garlic, finely minced 3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice 3 tbsp Tahini 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cumin 1/8 tsp garam masala (optional) 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt 1 ripe avocado Fat: 8.1gCarbohydrates: 32.5gCalories:227.9Protein: 8.3g Drain Beans and rinse in a colander until Water runs clear. Puree beans with garlic in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and blend until thick and smooth. Add more salt or lemon juice if desired. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill until ready to serve. Number of Servings: 8

Hummus 2 15 ounce cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed juice of 1 small lemon (seeds removed, pulp optional) 1 tablespoon good olive oil 1 tablespoon tahini (sesame paste, you can find it in the "international" aisle in the grocery store or more cheaply in a middle eastern specialty shop) 2 small or one large clove of garlic, finely grated Water to adjust consistancy Sweet hungarian paprika to garnish A strong blender or food processor. Fat: 2.0gCarbohydrates: 9.6gCalories:70.7Protein: 3.2g 1. Drain and wash the chickpeas, add to blender or food processor. 2. Add grated garlic, olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, and about 2 tablespoons of water. 3. Puree until there are no whole chickpeas, and the hummus is a thick paste. 4. Remove from bowl of mixer and garnish with a sprinkle of paprika. You could drizzle some olive oil and toss some chopped tomatoes on top of it if you desire. Serve with pita bread. This dish makes a lovely addition to a middle eastern appetizer platter, the centerpiece for a tray of veggies, or an amazingly filling snack. You can add all sorts of things to your hummus (see the variety of different pre-made hummus in the grocery store for inspiration!) Number of Servings: 14

Good walking record..!!! Now about the fills and tightness. If I understand, you have only had 1 fill to date... so you havn't aceived proper restriction yet... This is why you were able to Eat and Eat those nasty little chicken wings... Once you have proper restriction 2 or 3 (sometimes 4 fills) you'll only be able to eat 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of food(total) at a meal. And you will steadily lose weight. I too have trouble making 'good" food choices.. Instead of the Chicken wings, why not try chicken thighs w/o the skin.?? the meat is nice and moist and lots of protien, without the fat calories from the skin. Are you eating veggies with your meals? Icecream sundae, oh I hear yah there GF, I had a slip this week too with choc. icecream... I only did it once, but had a stern talking tomyself.. Hummm, is this a $16,000 tub of choc icecream??? NAH!! So I threw the rest in the trash. The next nicht when I was having a Chocolate attack I baked up some BLACK BEAN BROWNIES, I got the recipe off of the Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople web site, they have marvelous receipe selection and also a place where you can build-in your OWN family favourites so that you can tweek them with Splenda, lower fat marg. etc.. add more fibre... yada,yada.. this way you can have an old family favourite but work it out just a bit healthier so that you can incorporate it into your new lifestyle. Also on Sparkpeople you can input and track your food, calouries, protien grams, fibre etc... its totally awesome.. play around with it for free... costs YOU nothing.

DARR; Now your thinking!!! Getting creative while on the MUSHIE Phase is what its all about... we'd soon tire of scrambled eggs and baby food right? Good luck, you are on your way

Unfortunately, its two medications that I will have to take for life. One pill is an anti-depressant and the other med is an anti-epileptic medication which is also used to control Manic episodes. Bi-polar meaning TWO.. UP and DOWN. It is not caused by feeling poorly about ones self, but rather is a chemical imbalance in the brain, usually hereditary. My father, my father's mother (Gramma) and my daughter have it as well. Left untreated it can be quite devastating to the individual and the family. I was diagnosed at 34 and am now 52... life is much more on an even keel when taking meds. so I don't mind. Much better than the alternative right? Also, the combination I am on causes very few side-effects so I am very, very lucky in that regard.

This is a great thread for support and encouragement.... From time to time WE will ALL need it.... so don't feel badly about whinning.... There will be lots of days when there will be something to BRAG about ie. Lynette's getting to ONE_dr-land.... that is so close!!! Kathy, glad you had a loss of 2#'s even while traveling... that is an accomplishment in and of itself. Me, I am hanging in with my too tight in the morning band. I have a fill (#3) scheduled Wed. 26th, but I am wondering if I should have 1/4 of a cc removed... I am torn with what to do. I am getting in 1000 cals per day (give or take) and I've been behaving better with my food choices. I also think having a slight de-fill will help me get my "8 pills" down easier too. I was in the habit of downing all my meds first thing in the morning, then I'd not have to remember it later or if I was out of the house... etc. Well, now I can't swallow breaky very easily let alone Pills!! I dont' take them until around 11 a.m. now, and then only 1/2 of them.. Anybody else having medication issues???

howare u doing todau have u eaten yet

G'day Mate! Wow are you ever lucky that your BANDING is covered so well by insurance there... very progressive. I don't know why we have to suffer so much here and then to be denied the operation that will SAVE hEALTH CARE $$'s in the long run anyways... How much is spent on Heart Disease, Diabetes, Arthritis, Knee Replacements, Hip Replacements.... OOur politicians are pretty short sighted !! Actually my surgeon went to YOUR country to learn how to do the Lap Band;, now he has done 1000's in Canada... but he charges a heafty fee.

Hi Lianna; I am so happy for you. Sounds like you are sailing thru your 1st day. Keep you fluids up and get some Pedialyte if you get headachie or weak feeling.

Are you sure its not "head hunger"???? I have had 1000 cals. today, 3 meals + snack. But for the last hour I have been thinking about eating something else... hummm chocolate... but am i hungry? in my stomach??? NO not really... is it growling??? NOPE So I am sipping crystal light and keeping my hands busy and OUT of the KITCHEN. Then I'm going to bed. :notagree

Thanks, but its o.k. that all you Canadian folks know me... but I was lurking and posting on a BIG board and I felt funny having my picture up... so I took it down. Perhaps I'll post it again sometime... I dunno.. Not a good food day today... feeling REALLY Full , only had 400 cals its all I could do to get it down... Oh well, off to work now... se you later gators!!

I can tell you are excited!! That's great. Keep a pad of paper with you at all times... Jot down all your questions as they occur to you between now and your consult. Don't think that ANY of your questions are silly... THEY ARE NOT! Ask about where your 'port' will be placed and "why" that location was chosen. A lot of variation occurs apparently. Dr. C seems to put them in the abdomen deep under the flesh, while my surgion *Dr. Yau, TBLC places them just under the skin... Some in the abdomen a few inches down from the breast bone, or mine is below my navel 1 1'2" to the left. I dont' know if this is what they call the 'bikini' area or not... but I am o.k. with its location. Fills have been super easy!! and completely pain free. (don't know what I was thinking!) Ask how long your pre=surgery diet will be... 1 wk, 2 wks etc. what does it consist of. Whatever happens be patient, post surg until your first fill will probably be 6 weeks... that seems like an eternity when you are awaiting that first fill... but the time is for your body to HEAL inside... and this time is critical to over all success. Good luck to you and welcome to bandster land!!

Hi Donna; What and how much are you eating at breakfast? What time of morning are you able to eat breakfast.? Should I just give in and have a pro shake for my 1st meal of the day? DH was away this week, and I've had a couple of poor food choices!! Last night I had 3 chicken fingers, which brought my cal for the day to 1200... the night before though I had 1900!! Stupid! :faint:

I went back to pg 1 and read everything. You are amazing to have taken all those candid shots. 10 Years ago I had a Breast Reduction too... your scars brought me back. I am pleased to tell you that ALL of my scars are WHITE and very light coloured. If I was on a topless beach no one would notice them.... Unless I swim in COLD Water then they are a little purplish for a few minutes. I did not find the pain from the BR that bad. I was back to work in a week and no one was the wiser.. I DIDN"T TELL ANYBODY.. Breast SENSATION questions... no worries there.... because my surgeon did NOT remove my nipple stem, the blood supply is not cut off during surgery. They reshape the nipple smaller to proportionally size it to the 'new' breast but you retain sensation... I remember in my room after recovery lifting off one bandage to 'peek' at my new boobs... as soon as the cool air hit my nipple... it stood up to attention!! Whew was I happy. My neck and Back have been much better because I had this surgery.. As well, it make shopping for bathingsuits, bras tremendously easier. Presurg. I was a 40EE, today I am a 38D cup... still lots to love! But as my lapband does its job and I lose more weight I'll probably end up a 36 C.... I am waiting to see if I'll need a tummy tuck once I've gotten to goal weight. Right now, I am girdling it LOL

It is a Woman's Body - pure and simple. I beleive that "the child" should be considered a HUMAN LIFE once it is at a stage in the pregnancy where IT could survive without the BODY of the MOTHER to sustain it... With modern technology etc I will assume that this is around 20 wks. ( and I am not a Medical specialist) Between conception and 12 or 14 wks it should be a WOMANS choice if she wants to "grow" some cells inside of her. I beleive that with better education BIRTH CONTROL is still the best option and that abortions be as minimal as possible. I certainly don't want to go back to the days where desperate women were forced to go underground to find back-street coathanger weilding hackers.

10 days since my 2nd fill. This band is so finicky! Yest I was able to eat 1500 cals. ( 400 too many, poor choices) Now this morning I was resolved to eat more healthily... I am eating 2 scrambled eggs. ANd they are having trouble going down... weird!!! Burping... I did the gym at 7:15 a.m. hoping that would loosen me up prior to breaky. Guess I'll just have to wait it out. Eggs aren't stuck, just dosn't feel right. Am I just Full??? this is such a learning curve.

I am a low BMI person too, I was heavier, then lost a bit and it put me under the Qualifying limit for Gastric Bypass... So I considered LapBand Problem being in my country LapBand is NOT covered by any Provincial Health Plan.. So I drove to Toronto (2/12 hr drive) and got the band there by one of the Pioneer Dr's who brought the band to Canada. It cost me $16k but I took out a loan and my payments are $169/month. I probably save that in groceries.. Plus, like you I was sick and tired of losing/gaining/losing/gaining MORE!! syndrome... Its a tough decision, but I do not regret mine. Good luck, a happy Canuck!

You have great incisions... those look really good.. dosn't look like you'll have much bruising either. I hope you are taking care of yourself and walking lots to get ride of the 'gas' pains. :clap2:

Hi there, I am reading and just butting in here. I was not a candidate for Bypass as my BMI was not high enough to qualify me for surgery. That's when I started considering LapBand surg. I had to borrow the money over 10 years, but it is so worth it (I feel) I took a part time job to pay my loan and I HAVE NOT REGRETED MY DECISION. My health is worth every penny.. and my knees are thanking me too.

Oh I am glad that you were able to Cut down on your BP medication. That is awesome! Unfortunately the med I was referring to is for my BiPolar disorder so I have to take it for life... or at least as long as I have a brain ha,ha,ha...

I am in Wasaga Beach

Did something REALLY stupid tonight. I've eaten Icecream, now I feel really bloated and gross. Don't know what got into me!!! I've been doing so well with the BAND... Argh!!!

You've already lost 11 lbs PreOP... Good for you! You are gonna do great on this band. GOODLUCK tomorrow, we'll all be rootin' for you!!! Let us know how you are doing

Far out ! Congratulations... 22 lbs gone forever!!! :heh:

Keep eating the SOFT food, making sure that you get all your Protein in. You;ll be a bit looser with each passing day. It took me 7 days until I could comfortably eat solids. I tried Steak yest. I cut it into TINY pieces and chewed 30 times... it went down.. but was it worth the effort? Hummmm I don't know... I do very well with FISH and chicken Thighs. Today I tried Ceasar salad (small one) and Chick Quesadilla... it was delicious but I could only eat 1/4 of the Quesadilla.. My G.Frends that took me out for lunch were going "WOW you have really cut down in your eating habits!!!" .... I havn't told them about the LB, plus I didn't want to PB in front of them in a restaurant... so I was really careful with each mouthfull. BUT it was a NSV for me... to go out and Eat with REAL (LOL) people and be undetected as a BANDSTER.... They did notice my weight loss though :whoo: