crackedpepper

be careful with sugar-free stuff, a lot of times they have sugar substitutes, which are dangerous. i do believe fudgesicle makes "no sugar added" ones, which might not have sugar substitutes, but i'm not sure. can you just have a treat every once in a while, or would that be a slippery slope? i find a lot of natural things that i love as sweet Snacks. right now is peach season - i just bought a huge bag at 79¢/lb. beware, sometimes the skin is hard for banders to get past... but you can peel it off... hm, what else? have you tried different flavors of tea? adagio.com is a great site for tea. i also like stash tea. adagio customers are able to send $5 gift certificate referrals, so if you wanted to try, i could send you one. not sure how fulfilling it would be, but i love me some tea! what about making popsicles out of stuff? my mom makes iced coffee popsicles. and they're sort of creamy, because of the milk...

updegraffyou are not alone -- for some reason, a lot of americans do not know cheese from socks (though some good cheese should smell like socks =])!! I would tell you to go to a good cheese shoppe and ask lots of questions. Processed cheese is a lot of the stuff you will find in a grocery store... a lot of the mainstream cheddar, and like 2911plans said, velveeta and "american" --aptly named-- cheese are not really even cheese, but "cheese product" - kinda like the stuff you'd get out of a can. a lot of good cheese is brought here by other countries, and in more recent years, you can find really great cheeses made in the US -- especially from Vermont. I try to buy cheese that I know isn't made from factory farmed animals (animals kept in horribly tight spaces and not treated right, to say the least) and also ones without rennet, which is an animal product, but you can get vegetable rennet... but I am a vegetarian which is why I don't want to eat rennet... Also, if you get cheese made by animals who are treated right, from a smaller farm, it's going to taste much better... You can get non-processed cheeses in a lot of grocery stores, but I recommend going to a cheese shoppe at least to learn about them. There are endless amounts of cheese - from cheddar, to gouda, to bleu, to ...it's endless. Enjoy your learning! P.S. - as a general rule, it's much healthier for you to eat non-processed foods of any kind... start with whole foods (not the store, just whole ingredients) and make your own wonderful foods, or if going to a restaurant, a place that is real food - not fast food (and also fast food is really bad because of all of the red meat - red meat causes colon cancer among other things)... oh one other thing -- these days there are a lot more pre-made foods that ARE healthy... like things from Kashi

how come you're eating bacon? not only is it horrible for you, i'm sure i don't have to lecture you, you know that -- i eat bad stuff too sometimes.... but i'm sure the crispyness could impact going down... not sure how you cooked it...

call your doctor and tell them exactly what you said here. you have to be honest with them. also, the whole feeling the band being tight thing that you and sandy beach said makes me worried - you have to sooth a too tight band? it shouldn't actually put so much pressure i don't think - i can't feel the band, so to feel it being too tight around the top of the stomach, that's scary -- call your doc asap

why so much spam on lbt?

spammer...

it really depends on the product and what the stamp is itself. sometimes food (non-meat) is ok past the date - and what is the date - a sell by, or expiration? but with animal flesh, such as chicken, you have to be more careful. better safe than sorry - either eat it before it expires or throw it out... i don't like to waste either (and i'm a vegetarian, so i don't eat meat anyway) but with meat you have to be even more careful.

hi guys - don't be scared. i was as well, and pearly girl makes a point that i once made -- if we were so in control of what we eat, we wouldn't be getting the surgery. be creative in what you make -- i lived on Water, ensure, Soups, and yogurt & fruit smoothies. another thing that might help you through it is that you can't think of this like the end of eating. when i was on my liquid diet, and on the days before i started it, i felt like... oh my god, this is it.. i had better eat everything i want to before the surgery... but you'll get to eat stuff after the surgery. the only thing i'd say to get in if you're really in love with it are big bready things and maybe some sticky rice dishes. though, before your first fill, you'll probably be able to eat a lot with no problem. everyone is different. good luck!

definitely try the slow-down eating techniques i mentioned. eating socially and even when not, putting down the fork in between, or if it is hand food, putting down the sandwich, helps soooo much. I used to have something in my hand and just didn't put it down till there was nothin else to put down.

Ok, so I thought instead of starting 20 threads, I'd ask many questions in one I'm around 330, 5'6 or so, and 25 years old. Is anyone like me, if so, what is your experience with the band? Is there anything physical you shouldn't do, that could like, cause slippage? How can I maximize my weight loss, I'd like to lose at least 200, and frankly I don't want to wait 5 years. Anyone who has had optimal success, what did you do during to make it go so fast (I saw someone here say they lost 200 in 18 mos or something)? If I'm all hot and sweaty, sometimes I'll just down a big glass of Water -- will I still be able to do that? If something gets stuck, how do I get it to release? Any other newbie tips would be much appreciated!! Thanks!!

diane - that's weird, my doc says it is supposed to be completely loose with no restriction after surgery. citygirl - i didn't mean to lead you astray with the crispy - i haven't tried anything like bagel chips, i guess i wouldn't even consider that bread, because it is so completely crisped. i ate pizza the other day and had to take TINY TINY TINY bites. Like, this big. well, i guess that's gonna depend on your screen.

i was banded the 8th, and have not lost as much as you. also my doc says it should take 45 mins to eat a meal

songinmysoul - of course it's insanely hard -- but all the times i keep getting stuck... well, it's helping me. the bites' size depend on what you're eating -- you'll get used to it. i was only banded a little bit ago. some tricks are to cut up your food all at once, put down your fork inbetween bites and give the food time to process... talk and do other stuff... watch tv... whatever... you'll get used to not wolfing it down

i lost nothing my first month. i am now almost 2 months out and have lost around 8 lbs.

crispy bread is better than doughy bread. eat tiny tiny even tinier than you think pieces, and chew a lot and moisten it with your spit. don't eat plain bread... you don't need light or anything like that, but just don't eat it plain.

i have stuff get stuck - i don't exactly get what people mean by pbing... i've heard it explained but still haven't experienced it. i have had to force myself to throw up a few times when liquid got stuck on top of food... you need to talk to your doctor about the things you're feeling and experiencing - that's what they base how much more to fill on... communication is key. my doctor after fills makes me drink water and last time (i've only had 2 fills) told me to go eat yogurt and tell me how it felt... i described it to him in great detail and he said to come back and he took out half a cc.

imb - i hear you, i hadn't lost much weight and now i've only lost around 10 lbs, and that fluctuates. don't feel discouraged, once you get going with it (mine has only been filled 1 cc, and i had it done on the 8th of jan), i'm sure, just as i'm sure mine will, yours will start working. message me if you need any encouragement - plus there are plenty of othe rpeople here if i don't respond (i hadn't signed in until now since around the time of surgery).

chrisann - the ensure is ok - chock full of Protein. i think ithas 6g of fat. besides, right now i'm more worried about liquid than fat -- once i can eat regular food i can worry about lower fat. i do have whole foods, but i make my own broth... much better tasting. i'd wager the guess that they still call it chicken broth because it is made to taste like chicken brother rather than vegetable broth.

seajules - that worries me a lot!! do NOT put the new skin over your incisions!! they are better off with air, and the newskin is ok for a scrape but not for big wounds let alone surgical punches!! :-

tuszak - cream soups are very fattening -- of course liquids are all you have to worry about right now, but once you are trying to lose weight, they will hold you back. julie - no, i am not keeping a diary, yes, i am getting enough calories. today was better, until night time and my port site started hurting very badly, so i took some percocet. it's kicking in and i'm about to go to bed. thanks for caring - how was work?

seajules - babyfood can be yucky, but if you make your own pureed Soups you can do it the way you would cook it and they are good! I've made tomato Soup w/ garlic & shallots, red pepper soup w/ the same, mushroom stock, regular mirepoix stock, etc... i'm sick of soup but they are good! (i also peeled things like the peppers and tomatoes first. but as always, ask your doc. as for the other side of my mind, i might start a new thread, because i'm not feeling so hot post op. my port is a big bump and it hurts, and i'm sick of not being able to eat, and i just dunno...

Oh my god, I had (still sort of have) that terrible shoulder pain! My doctor didn't say it was gas... could it have been? My doc though that it was from the muscle spasms/clenching/everything you get with anesthesia. My shoulder is JUST starting to calm down - at times it was worse than my port pain!

if you feel like someone was sitting on your chest you need to go to your doctor...

i'd like to hear if they're on clear or not... i have been very creative with my diets, and i am a vegetarian, so will not eat meat broths. i have been making a lot of stocks and soups from scratch (veggie broth is easy to make, as are a lot of soups). I've also been doing lots of smoothies and drinking ensure, and having popsicles and juices and soymilk...

hey jules, also jan 8 here. my doc doesn't want me adding anything besides what can be sucked through a straw for 2 weeks post op. i really like ensure (i've only had the vanilla, but it's excellent). yogurt shakes/smoothies, hm, what else, soymilk, some juices (watered down a lot of the time, juices are very sugary). is optifast all you've been drinking?