Leepers

I drink the Ensure High Protein shakes. They say, "suitable for lactose intolerance" but one of the ingredients is milk protein. They're really good. And larger than other shakes, so a little more to drink.

I don't think you should worry about calories until you're on regular food. Some people don't worry about calories ever. I do use MyFitnessPal, as it helps keep me in line. What I worried about most during mushies was trying not to start eating crappy carbs again. Like mashed potatoes, Mac n cheese, etc..

I wish I had the answer for you. 95% of the time, I'm doing great. But recently, I have been fighting a lot of cravings and head hunger. It is a real mental battle. The band is not going to ever stop us from eating crappy foods. That's the reality. I try to focus on my goal. Like, I'm a few pounds away from 250. And if I give in and eat that extra stuff, I'm gonna have to wait that much longer to get there. Some people go ahead and have a small amount of whatever it is they're craving and then move on. I'm too scared right now to do that. I'm really trying to stay low carb and sweets free. But, I do look for alternatives and a lot of the time they help. I'm nearing that TOM, and I've been having really bad sweets cravings. Someone had Krispy Kreme donuts at work and it took all of my willpower to pass them up. So when I got home, I ate a banana and a glass of pure O.J. The natural sugars in the fruit and juice really went a long way in helping my cravings. Have you had much weight loss yet? To me, seeing that weight come off is the biggest motivator of all. There is a quote on here a lot, "NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS THIN FEELS." Best wishes.

I guess because I've been doing so well with my weight loss. And we discussed the fact that I could tolerate almost all foods except bread and that it would be nice to stay that way. The band definitely makes me eat slower. So we decided to wait. I think the issues I'm having now don't really have much to do with the band. I'm having head hunger and strong desires to eat junk. I don't know if this is a fight that will ever go away. I can only hope...

Not that I can tell. But some people say they do.

I drink about every other weekend. I prob waited at least 4 weeks. Since we are encouraged to stay away from carbonation, I don't drink beer. I drink wine or I drink vodka. Vodka is the lowest in calories. I try to be careful because with liquor it is really easy to take in a lot of empty calories. And I make sure I don't drink and throw up! Lol. My fave drink these days is vodka and Water over ice with a Lime. It's nice and refreshing. No soda, no juice, and it has water! I love my wine too. But in a social situation, I can down a whole bottle and that's like 650 calories. If you're worried, you should ask your surgeon. They may say not to drink at all, but....

I love to eat out. It helps me feel somewhat normal on this journey. But.... you're right, it's impossible to know what is really in the food you are getting. We eat a lot of Chinese food. But there is no precise nutritional info. When I do eat out, I feel like my weight loss slows. So I try to make sure I'm really strict the rest of the day or the next day.

Hi Kim, We might be living the same life right now. I was going to make a post about this exact same thing until I saw yours. I was banded on Dec 18th. I had a fill on Jan 21st that didn't do much for me. I definitely have to eat slower, but it doesn't help control my hunger. I went for another fill yesterday and...no fill. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I was on the fence as to wether or not I needed one. Physically, do I think I'm in the green zone? No. Mentally? Yes, for the most part. But like you, I'm nearing that TOM, and my cravings are out of control. Downright obsessive. So far, I've been able to hold out, but it makes that fear creep back in. That fear of just completely falling off of the wagon and not being able to get back on. All that I work I did to free myself of carb and sugar cravings might go down the drain at any minute. White Castles and Baskin Robbins may ruin me. My surgeon was thrilled with my weight loss, exercise, and mental involvement. He said I was a model patient. And that feels great. And most of the time, I'm OK with hunger. I've learned to ignore it. But, yes, like you, I feel like I've just been dieting. I try to see it as a lifestyle change. This is something me and the hubby are doing together. But it is soooo hard some days. I'm thinking that may never change. The difficutly in making good choices. Or, maybe we haven't given ourslves enough time for it to really become habit. Which is what really makes a successful bander isn't it? Eating right, becomes habit. The permanent diet. And the band just helps us along the way? And, first fill was supposed to be at 4 weeks but was really at 5 weeks b/c my surgeon was out of town. My second fill was five weeks from that. Yesterday, after my no-fill, he said come back in six weeks. I'm unnerved by that long period of time. I feel like Papa Bear is pushin this Baby Bear out the door. But, I'm trying to see it as a good thing. And especially since we are friends on MyFitnessPal, I want to let you know that a lot of days that it looks like I ate really well and exercised....that a lot of suffering and mental anguish went into some of those days. lol. Anyway, sorry for the rambling...I just wanted to say that you are not alone!

Omigosh! You look fantastic! You should be confident. You don't look like you need to lose that much more!

I agree, Terry, I knew how to say no all too easily. I let my weight and anxiety keep me from doing so many things. Have you ever seen the movie, Yes Man, with Jim Carrey? It's kind of silly but he has to start saying yes to everything. That's how I want to start living my life now. Note to Emily: I understand about saying no when you're giving too much of your time and energy to people who will suck the life out of you. That is good to learn to say no. Best wishes!

Best wishes to you! You will do great, I'm sure. My hubby did my one week preop diet with me. It was great. It was the beginning of a total lifestyle change for us. Does your hubby need to lose weight too, or is he just being helpful?

It's so cute! We need a pic of you on it.

My surgeon has never said anything about it to me. I take Meloxicam every day for my feet. Can't barely walk without it. I'm thinking I'll ask him about it Monday, jic.

I named her Brunhilde. I saw someone else who named theirs Donnie Wahlberg. Lol.

I randomly have one big hiccup about 4 times a day. They take me by surprise and are really loud. lol. Usually I haven't eaten in a while.

I am not proud of this. It sucked, big time! I was not thinking. I finished an exhausting 12 hour shift at the hospital, hadn't eaten since 1100am. It was 730pm and I stopped and got me and the hub some Chinese food. Went home, sat on the couch and proceeded to shovel 5 or 6 bites of food into my pie hole without even chewing well. And then I felt it. That oh no feeling. And without thinking, again, I picked up my water and took a drink thinking it would help it go down. Oh no. Uh oh. This isn't good! I've had plenty of stuck episodes that I was able to work through, but I immediately knew there was no working through this one. I jumped up, ran in the kitchen, leaned over the sink, and...bye, bye, Chinese food. Even after that out took me a good 10 minutes to get back to normal. I took some super small sips of hot tea. Eventually I was able to eat again, but you bet your a$$, I was chewin the life out of that food. Ever since my first fill, I've been tighter in the morning, but by dinner I can eat almost like I used to. That, combined with being tired and starving.... Thank you Brunhilde (my band's name) for reminding me you are there. Lesson learned. You can only take so much. I love you and promise to treat you better in the future.

I eat hard boiled eggs every day for breakfast. Beans are high protein. Peas, Broccoli, and spinach have good amounts of protein too. I love the Morning Star Farms Spicy Black Bean burgers. I spread a little hummus on them. Yummy.

Since they don't actually cut your stomach for a Lap Band, I wouldn't think absorption would be an issue. Some people have problems with the size of the pills and have to cut them down. Some pills are extended release and can't be cut. This is something you could discuss with your pharmacist. I take a huge Metformin pill and have not had any problems so far.

Yes! My husband had started walking a lot a few months before my surgery and when I decided to get the band he said he would do my liquid preop diet with me. Well, he did, and I was amazed that he stuck to it. I was prepared to do this alone. I planned on eating better but not necessarily making huge changes and I thought eventually I would exercise. Well, together, we became obsessed with changing our eating habits. And we go to the gym together 4 days a week. He's lost 50 and I've lost 40. It has been so great for our relationship. And it's nice to have someone I can talk to all the time about choices. Also, we keep each other on track during hard times with cravings. Lovin it!

That's awful! Get better and stay strong!

Wow, Bandista. Impressive! Lol.

I had pains from the gas for almost two weeks. Two of those days were almost unbearable. Sometimes I think it just has to work itself out. Best wishes darlin!

I have heard of other weight loss challenges excluding those who have had WLS. I don't think other people understand the hard work some banders put into their weight loss. But I do think it gives you an edge. I would discuss it with whoever is running the contest.

I had three great NSV's today! The first: I was on second call and I generally never get called in but I did get called in around ten am today. I ran downstairs to get dressed and tried to decide what to throw on. I saw some old scrubs that I had recently gotten out of storage. I haven't fit in them for like four years. I put them on, expecting them to fit very snug like they did before I outgrew them, but they were actually loose and very comfy! Woot! The second: As some of you may know, my hubby, though he did not get a lapband, has changed his diet and started exercising along with me. He had lost a little bit before I got banded and so far has lost about 50 pounds. Today, I bought him 2 pairs of exercise shorts and 2 exercise shirts from the clearance rack at Macy's. So awesome that he fits in the normal guy section of clothes! Even more awesome, the total was $34! He used to have to go to the Big and Tall store where each item would have been $40! This is kinda his NSV, but since I like to buy him clothes every now and then, it's an NSV for my wallet too! The third: I was always such a slave to food convienience. Fast food. Carry out. I have really been cooking so much more! I noticed that the amount of groceries I buy for the two of us is so much less. Today, I did our weekly grocery shop with one of the small carts. Healthy food is sometimes more expensive, but when you're eating a lot less of it.....Plus, I still am not spending as much as I did on all of the convienient stuff. And then here's the thorn in my side: What is up? Does no one think that fat people want to exercise? I find it close to impossible to find women's plus size exercise clothing!! I live in fairly large city. This is ridiculous. It makes me angry. D**k's (the website censored this word, but it is the name of a sporting goods store) apparently only thinks skinny people are exercising. Lane Bryant might have a couple of jogging suits, but they're all hussied up with doily crap. They had some sort of track suit thing at macy's but it was not attractive. Target didn't have anything. WalMart's stuff was borderline Grandma lookin. Plus, I'm tall. I need length. As soon as I wash something, the legs draw up. I'm not crazy about online shopping because I'm so picky about the way things look on me, but I guess I'm going to have to try. Does anyone have any suggestions? I really want a pair of snug fitting, yoga type pants, black, that I could walk/run on the treadmill in. And I carry all of my weight on my tummy, so I'm still wearing like a 24 or a 3x. I might be very close to a 22 or 2x. Even, if I can find pants, it's hard to find sports bras, tight tanks to help hold the ladies down, and some sort of sporty sleeveless shirt to go over it all. Any suggestions would be appreciated!