Texgirly

I didn't realize the rest of the world called the food Network porn - since day 1 my husband and I have referred to it that way. hehehehe! Winegoddess - I had the same concern. Here is what I have found to be perfect. When ever you hit mushy stage, make an outing to Chili's. They have a great chicken Tortilla Soup that will make you feel like to ate Mexican food. I used my fork to pull out the bigger pieces and then with a spoon I went to town. My husband also made me some avocado soup. Yum! Think like you are going to make guacamole, but add a low fat milk or cream and blend in the blender. It was great but had to eaten on the first day. Day 2 it was not worthy. Once I moved closer to solid foods (maybe week 4 after band) my co-workers and I popped into one of our favorite Mexican food places. It is called Ventura's Tamales. Naturally I took a stab at a tamale and it was perfect. I also was able to eat some of the Beans. But forget the rice. And now my big confession to all of you - I have had steak! I am a fan of the filet. Can't help myself. I even secretly think I married DH because of his talents behind the grill. He grilled one for me last weekend. It was soooo good. He seared the outside and left the inside deliciously red and juicy. It was one of the easiest things I have eaten (still can't eat a chicken breast but who cares if I can eat beef!) Also, it was about a 7.5 oz filet, so I got 2 meals out of that bad boy. Life is good!

Georgia Girl - sorry to hear about the infection - bummer! Whoya - what are you talking about "don't want to walk the whole thing" I have seen your posts and heard about your running and workouts - I have complete faith that you don't walk any of it. You're an animal. Good luck!! Walked 35 minutes Thursday and headed back to the gym tonight for 35 more. Planning walks on both Sat and Sun as well. Next week I get to move back into the running phase of my life. Can't wait. Hope everyone has a gerat weekend and really Whosya - have a gerat time. We know you will do well.

Sorry to be so silent. I had mom medical issues that I had to tend to last week I did make my workouts. Even with out of town doc visits I got in 3 walks of 30 minutes Last week. This week I walked Monday for 1.5 miles. Then Tuesday I made it to yoga. being 5 weeks post op I feel like I did pretty well. I only modified a few moves and made the entire class. I followed it with another 1.5 miles walk. Took a day of rest today and will head back to the gym in the AM. Great to see everyone doing so well! Keep it up.

Hey all. As of yesterday I am 5 weeks post op and starting to flirt with solid foods. I went for Ceviche first and it was SOOOO good. Being in South Texas I realize not everyone knows what that is. Think salsa with fish "cooked" in citrus juice, not heat. We took whole wheat tortillas and backed them for chips. I basically got 4 means out of it and still left some for DH. For a great recipe try the South Beach one. food Network also has about 50 different recipes.

Foodie here. Like the earlier posts, I find myself going for quality. I use butter, I use full strength everything, just not a ton of it. My husband is also a foodie and the main cook. He took this whole banding thing on as a challenge. He has made me all kinds of homemade soups and the most delicious apple sauce I have ever eaten.

Hey there. My person workout playlist range from Guns & Roses "Welcome to the Jungle" to The Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive" to Alan's Jackson "Are you Washed in The Blood" and "I'll Fly Away" Looks like some country is needed here. Try "If You're Going Through Hell" by Rodney Atkins. - good power song if you have an Ipod. Another good one is Big & Rich - "Comin' to your City" I know - eclectic.

I was banded on 3/4 - I was sent home on full liquids and my list (every list is different it seems) included potato soup. There is a great, really smooth one very available - Campbell's Velvety Potato in the soup in hand containers. It is made to drink on the go. There are a few small bits of potato and I made sure to mush them further with my tongue. It definitely made me feel like was eating something. I am hanging on to it for after my first fill. I hear I may need the full liquid and/or mushie stuff then.

Hey all. I am in too. I have been going strong since surgery. For April, I will walk 6 days/week until April 17th (6 weeks post op visit and possible 1st fill.) At that point I hope to get the OK to start running, again. If that happens, I will re-start the Couch to 5K program with walking or elliptical in between, maintain 6 days/week.

Hey LA girl - I am 4 weeks post op tomorrow and I have been cruising between 800 and 1000 calories. Like you I have tracked everything and pretty consistently hit 70 to 90 grams of Protein. My fat has been a little higher than yours, but I am not using protein shakes at this point. I was wondering the same thing about 2 weeks ago. At this point I have lost almost 20 lbs, so I am pretty happy all around. I have also found by staying up around 70-90 grams of Protein I have not had a ton of hunger other than at actual meal times. As for energy at both the 700 range and the 900 range, I seem to have a truck load of the stuff. I have been hitting the gym at 5 am and going strong all day. My co-workers are all wondering what happened - they all thought I would be dragging. I really feel a ton better. I think it has to so with getting rid of the sugar and replacing it with more nutritious foods.

As of tomorrow I will be 4 weeks post op and doing really well. This morning around 10:30 or so, like a moron, I thought I would chew a piece of gum. The moron part is that I ALWAYS manage to swallow the stuff. I was thinking about the gum, enjoying the mint mojito flavor when some folks walked into my office and we started working on some details of work. While mid-sentence, I swallowed the gum. It is 3:45 pm or so and I had no issue. Ate Chilk-Fil-a Soup for lunch, have had about 2 cups of Water and nothing. Did I get lucky and dodge a bullet this time or will I hear back from my friendly piece of gum later? And yes - lesson learned and I will NOT be tempting fate again. I am a by the book kind of girl and can't believe I did this in the first place.

I am 4 weeks out and had about 1/2 glass of wine on Friday. It worked fine for me. Beer is so carbonated I don't know that I would go there.

I can't believe some folks can't burp. I have to watch it or I could embarrass myself. I have always been able to burp really well. Now the burps have changed a bit. It's like they are deeper and frankly last a really long time.

There is another thread about the effect of Protein shakes on some of us. I am guaranteed a BM no more than 30 minutes after I start drinking an Ensure Plus. I have no idea what is in it but it works like a charm. Last night was my first without Ensure. Maybe it will help but then everyone is different.

As a Texan it does sadden me that tortillas are off the menu. However, as a Breakfast taco addict, I suspect they are part of how I got to where I was pre-surgery. After almost three weeks I have thought about them but no way. I have heard to many horror stories about white bread and tortillas. I can live without them. I did eat a little nice in some Soup and it worked well, but it was super moist. However, I tried couscous. Thinking "hey, it's tiny. I bet it will be easy to eat." I couldn't have been more wrong. About 3 bites in it would feel like I have a cinder block on my chest. YUCK! I tossed the left overs and moved on.

WOW! WOW! Whosya - you too are a Rock Star! Under 300. That is a testament to your hard work. You are a great example to follow. As always when I check in on all of you I am amazed!! I have been plugging away at my walking. Had a check up and this week and doc is happy with what he sees. Look like I am in for a fill on 4/17 - my next check up. Hopefully by then I can pick up the pace some. You guys keep moving!

Hey Steve - sounds like you had a pretty big adventure. From the sound of it you have been out of the hospital only a few days? I was banded 3/4 and my first 5 days were tough with Water specifically. I could sip on 100% fruit juice pretty successfully, but water was tough. I also tried the new G2 loe sugar Gatorade and it went down well. To help with water, we bought little 8 oz bottles of water. They stay cooler which seemed to help and a tiny bottle like that is not overwhelming. Also very easy to measure. I would say that by day 7 after surgery I was drinking water regularly. Today, a little more than 2 weeks post-op I am nearly back at pre-surgery water consumption. (I am big water drinker.) Hope that helps. Good luck!!

One last thing I remembered that may make you feel better about the 6 month thing. I certainly had a month or 2 where there were no scale differences and the reaction from the doc's office was nothing scary. It was not like they were questioning my commitment or anything. They were very kind and gentle just offering suggestions for the next month. I was so worried about it that I hesitated to check in the first month when there was no scale movement. But the fact that I quit Diet Cokes was reason for them to cheer. Apparently that was as huge as dropping 20 lbs!

Hey yall. I thought all the itching was healing. As soon as the strips came off, little welts were there. Within hours of the strips being off the welts and itching were gone. I can't believe I have this "allergy" too. AS I get older the list just grows and grows! Glad to know I am not alone - sorry to hear you are suffering too.

WOOHOO - surgery set for March 4th. My approval came pretty fast after a 6 month diet/waiting period. Now I am set. Can't wait. No pre-op diet. How about you? From what I have been reading here, I thought they were pretty much required.

Hey Amanda - I read it on some thread. Sorry I can't remember where. I was amazed. I think the thread was something like I cheated or tripped or something.

I tried some tiny couscous and my little stomach said - No No No! Yes - It felt like there was a cinder block on my chest. Not good. It has been the first food that did not work as expected. If you are on mushies or about to start mushies - stay away. Tiny couscous is no mushy! Bad feeling. What amazes me is some folks who were banded the same day as many of us have tried stuff like DONUTS! First I think why? Now tat I had the cinder block moment, I really questioning it - I mean what the heck are they thinking? Yuck.

I am pretty sure they call it Ensure because it will ensure a BM. I love the taste of the Strawberry and the 13 g of protein, but 30 minutes after I start one I am guaranteed a healthy bathroom visit. It is not exactly diahrea (sp?) for me, so I drink one about every other day.

I have an example of each for you. My sister told no one. I mean only her close 5 people knew she had it done. 3 years and 75 pounds later - I am the only family member who knows. When she showed up much lighter and family asked about it and how she did it (we are all chubby and everyone wanted in on her success) she just said she as watching her portion sizes - she was completely truthful. I however am a terrible liar, so I have hid it from almost no one. Even my friends in Junior League know. The support has been amazing. All of my co-workers and friends have been curious and supportive. Co-workers even tried to not heat up foods at work during my one week at work on liquids. I am blessed. Like my sister, I am not telling my stepmom and step sister - they are judgmental and would discount the work of the weight loss. No need dragging that into my happy little life. I live in a different town, so it will be easy not telling them. That said, with Soups and juices, I think it would be pretty easy to keep it your own business. In fact, because it is just cheaper eating like this, you could use saving money and eating healthier. Good luck.

TRN - I had a 6 month insurance required period as well. My BMI started at 42 and I have high chol, so there was not a huge chance I would have "undone" my opportunity to do the band. But the things that I worked on with my doc's office were all very band related. I saw the nutritionist and started making some of the necessary changes. I gave up diet coke, started (OK- tried) sipping Water, practiced eating my Proteins first, not drinking during meals, etc. I also stepped up my exercise program. I lost 10 pounds in that 6 months. But it really set me up for what was to come. I felt way more prepared for the surgery and the changes to come. I also feel like I did "sow some wild oats" and got it our of my system. I have jumped on the band-wagon with both feet and never looked back. No cheating on foods that I should not eat, following the new doc diet to a T, etc. I am glad I had the 6 month thing; in truth, I would not have been ready for the band without it. I like the other suggestion of asking about the insurance co. Also your doc's office/nurse may be able to shed light on it as well. It may serve you as a prep period as well. I would also ask the doc's office for a goal - what do they want to see you do. Some folks have pre-op diets for liver reasons and such.