Wheetsin

Hi Reyna, and welcome. I've not had any trouble sticking to mushies. There are a lot of things that fit into that category! I think the first 6 weeks will be the easy part, it's post-fill that I'm concerned about. BTW, where in San Diego? I was born & raised there, grew up in Tierrasanta, within eyesight of the stadium. I try to visit at least once a year... wish houses weren't so expense. I miss it terribly. :cry

Up until day 4 was liquids. Days 4 - 7 were thicker liquids (yogurt, cream soups). Weeks 2 & 3 were mushies. Weeks 4 & 5 semi-solids. Weeks 6 and beyond, trial & error. Disclaimer - that's off the top of my head, and I may have omitted something.

I'll tell you my goals for eating right now, and then how I manage. My goals "loosen up" progressively, but this is for the current stage. Goals: 500 - 1000 calries per day. Right now I'm at the low end of that. 65 - 70 gm Protein per day, at least 20 of which comes from food. <15 gm carb per day. <10 gm fat per day. >80 oz Water per day. Fish at least 1x daily (ti's so darned good for you). Veggies at least 1x daily. Multivitamin every day. K daily. 1600+ mg Ca daily. The calories right now are easy, because I'm in my 4th week post-op and still have no appetite. I have to work to get the 500 calories in, and manage mostly thanks to the low carb orange juice I'll mix in my Breakfast Protein shake. For protein, I'm still doing shakes for about 40gm/day. The rest I find I can get in 1 decent sized fish filet, or a creative combination of tuna, tofu, Beans, or chicken. Those are still my staples. In a few weeks I hope to have some appetite back and be down to 1 shake a day. Carbs & fat - I just pay attention to what I eat. Generally if you shop around the perimeter of the grocery store, where the "whole" foods are, you're pretty safe in this area. Minus dairy, of course, and I just substitue fat-free alternatives. Water is easy for me b/c pre-op I was 120+ oz per day. I drink pretty much constantly when I'm able to based on my surgeon's up to & after food guidelines. Even when driving I always have at least one bottle of water in the car. Fish is not my favorite food but few other things can give you as much "goodness" per ounce, so I'm experimenting with different seasonings and such to find the most palattable. I try to cook about 12 fillets at a time, which will give me & DH dinner, plus enough leftovers that he can have it for lunch the next day if he wants, and I have enough for about 4 lunches (which means I throw a lot of it away) Tuna is a non-fillet option, but doesn't have quite as much "goodness" -- but I love albacore, so sometimes I compromise. Veggies - I always try to have one serving of fresh steamed veggies with dinner. Throughout the rest of the day, or if I don't make veggies, I will drink low sodium, low cal V-8. IMO there are things in veggies you just can't adequately replace with pills. Ca, K, and multivitamin are really non-optional for me. I take a multivitamin and 1 of 3 Ca chewables every morning. At lunch I will have another Ca, and at dinner I will have the last and my K. When I eat any kind of "low carb" diet I have to have supplemental K or my muscle cramps will be out of control. Hopefully I can get off the K supplements as I introduce more fruits & veggies into my diet. Here are some general tips I would suggest: Use www.fitday.com or similar to track not only your meals, but all progress. Don't pay that much attention to the scale. The scale represents the total weight of your body's mass, which includes your skin & everything in it. It will never give you a true indication of how much fat you've lost, especially if you're excercising (and also especially if you're not). Instead, I would recommend that you measure yourself every week or two and record your measurements, and use them to track your progress. Better yet, if you have access to a BFA, use it. The scale is quick & easy, but you have to be aware of what it's really measuring and always, always take it with a grain of salt. If you do weigh, wear the same outfit (nekkid is best, if you're at home) and weigh at the same time of day... for example, if you decide you're going to weigh every 2 weeks, don't weigh at 8pm one time and 6am the next. Take pictures, nekkid if it won't bother you. Often there's a mental block where we just can't see the changes in our body that others can, or that our numbers tell us have to be there. Being able to do a before/after is one of the best ways to see that yes - we are making progress!

Assuming you're banded, and have some fill, can you eat any of the foods below? These are things I've heard very mixed things about. I know they may still be for me, but just wondering if any of you can eat these things, and also if you notice a difference in your ability to eat wheat vs. white. - Tortillas (white, wheat, corn?) - salad (what kind of lettuce can you eat?) - Hard breads (pretzels, crackers, melba, etc.) - "Fluffy" breads (pancakes, waffles, muffins) - Ground meants (turkey, chuck, sirloin...) - Shellfish/crustaceans (scallops, shrimp, crab, lobster, mussels...) - Hard Cereal (grape nuts, oat bran, etc.) - Hard cheeses

Holy crap, you're tiny! My goal size is probably around 14/16.

I'm going on my 5th week post-op and have not had any hunger sensations since 2 days pre-op. I keep waiting for it to return... scheduled for a fill on the 7th so maybe it'll just stay gone for good. I wouldn't worry, and you're not a pain. That's what this place is for.

Houston do we have a problem?

My newest recipe - some kind of protein I bought at WM, coms in a silver/geay container. Bought it in vanilla. Mix with Carb Countdown FF milk, DaVinci SF "Kahlua" flavoring, and ice. Tastes similar to a mudslide.

I'm just in my 4th weekpost-op so I still have some food restrictions, and still have not gotten back my appetite, but here's what I might eat instead of your foods: KFC - 5 peices (one of each part and then an extra!) - 1 or 2 baked or grilled chicken tenderloin pieces w/ fat free sauce. BK- Double whopper w/cheese supersized meal - Not eating red meat, sorry. Subway-Footlong sub meal deal - Meat from a 6" tuna sub. Pizza- half of a large - Few slices of turkey pepperoni and string cheese (mozzarella), maybe dip pepperoni in a bit of sugar free/low carb pizza sauze. Rotisserie Chicken- half (on Atkins induction I could eat the whole thing) - About 1/3 C rotisserie chicken, blotted dry w/ paper towels. Ramen noodles- two packs - I'm avoiding pastas so I'm not sure I have something comparable for this one. Mcdonalds- 9 peice Chicken nuggets Biggie size meal - I'm not allowing fast food in my diet, sorry - no comparison meal. Breakfast- 4 scrambled eggs, 4 pancakes - 1 egg over easy cooked w/ nonfat butter substitute.

Now there's a nice thing to say. :yell: Look at the items the person has bought. Vacations, imported leather bags... I don't feel too bad for him/her in their story that they can't afford the procedure.

You know - I have a really bad habit of losing threads. I just now saw the recipe request. It's not a formal recipe, more something I watched my mom make (also without a recipe) enough times that you just do it... I guess like farm wives and their apple pies. Were heading out now but I will do my best to translate the recipe on paper and post it. It's yummy!

Just keep in mind that at some point, even the most seasoned of bariatric surgeons had a number 13.

PBs are also caused by eating foods you cannot get through your and, e.g. things that get gummy, or by eating too much. Generally used "PB" refers to two different things: 1. When food gets stuck, but is eventually able to get through. 2. When food backs up in the pouch for whatever reason (filled it too fast, pieces can't get through...) and cannot get through, and your body expels it. Not everyone feels a PB the same way. For me, it was severe pain on either side of my waist, and in my spine area right betwen my shoulderblades. Some describe it as "golf ball tightness" or "presure" around the area of the band. Others have no pain, and say it's just as though the needed to cough and oops, up comes some food. You gotta love the inconsistencies.

Sorry, just saw the question. I'm not a huge fish fan but it's so high in protein, easy to eat, etc. -- enough seasonings make it work. I usually use a cajun seasoning as a base, and then top it with some kind of a blend or garlic seasoning.

Babyjane, you are going to shine! I'm down just over 50 lbs. Judging from how my pants fit, I'd guess 30-ish of that to be fat. I wish I had the presence of mind to take measurements and nekkid pics the night before surgery, but I fell asleep -- with a lot of stuff undone that I had planned to get to. I plan to shop this weekend for a body fat analyzer.

I use Isopure Perfect Zero Carb in Dutch chocolate flavor. I mix it in fat free, Carb Countdown milk and Water, and add a blob (less than a tbl) of carb Countdown Peanut Butter. It's quite yummy. Keep in mind one "batch" (1C milk, 1/2 - 1 C water, 2 scoops Protein powder, >1tbl peanut butter) yields 2 servings... and I don't have the bottles in front of me so this is best-guess: 190 calories 3g fat 3.5g carbs 28.5g protein And it tastes (IMO) darn good. I couldn't stomach the protein powder in water, so this was my "sensible" alternative.

I'm just past 3 weeks banded and have no fill yet, and no more restriction from swelling. I'm still taking ownership, though, so here's my average day: Breakfast: Protein drink or low carb yogurt or 1 over easy egg. Lunch: Some combination of the following totalling about a cup... fat fee refried beans; tuna or chicken salad, meat & mayo only; deli turkey; deli chicken; egg salad; tomato "broth", as removed from vegetable soup. Dinner: 1 small fish fillet (talapia, pollock, cod) with fat free refriend Beans or mashed potatoes, and a few bites of applesauce or Water melon or pears. After dinner (we eat early) - Protein Drink. If I get hungry between those meals which is RARE, I have a protein drink.

Are you amazed? I'm amazed at how easy the transition was for me. I assumed I had restriction from day 1 and have eaten accordingly, even now into my 4th week of being banded. I'm also amazed by how little food I need to be OK if I really take the time to eat slowly and listen to what my body is telling me, in terms of hunger queues. I have no fil and my swelling has subsided but on my biggest eating day so far I still only needed about a cup of food (and that was my biggest meal of the day) to feel that I was no longer hungry. Part of what helps, I think, is that my Protein shakes fill me up. Are you disappointed? I have no reason to be disappointed in the band. I never thought going into this that the band would do it for me. I knew about 70% or more of it was on my shoulders. I also would never have expected significant results without so much as a fill. I mean -- a soggy cast doesn't help mend broken bones, so why would an unfilled band lead to weightloss? In terms of personal disappointment, my biggest challenge is the drinking -- not drinking after meals. I can do this about 70% of the time. The other 30% I just can't stand it, so I put enouogh Water on my tongue to get the sensation of drinking, but hopefully little enough that it is absorbed in my throat before it gets to my esophagus. I wish I was better about this aspect. Are you tickled pink? I'm thrilled so far. Like I said - IMO - it's unrealistic to expect weightloss from the band before you have any fill, let alone the right fill. My scale shows a 45 lb loss it's also that time of the month for me to be retaining water, so the loss-on-scale could be accurate, or it could be about 8 lbs low. I know that whatever percentage of that number can be equated to fat loss is mostly my doing through making good choices, telling myself to stop eating, joining the gym, etc. Almost 50 lbs in less than a month - I'm thrilled! Are you mourning food? No, but I think emotional eaters are the most prone to do this. My overeating was behavioral, so for me it was more a matter of breaking habits (e.g. eating when I do this, getting fast food for convenience during business travel, eating late at night, etc.) I never saw food as a friend, or a crutch to get me through a situation, so it had no presence in my life to "mourn", so to speak. There are things I know I will eventually crave, but right now the only thing I'm craving is carbonation. Not soda, just the carbonation itself... weird!

Gunner Beetchoo Ok, so you may have to sound it out a few times. It loses something in written translation.

I just straight up talked to her about it during the weekend. I told her that whatever course of action she decides on, the money is there. She said she knows it wouldn't hurt us financially, and she'll keep it in mind. I respect that she is her own person and needs to find her own way to do things, and the best thing I can do is be there for her when she gets there, wherever "there" may be. If she has questions I will answer them. If she asks for help, I'll be there before the question is out of her mouth. Thanks for all your suggestions. They're not wasted - there's still a lot of thinking for her to do, and many ways left for me to help her that might benefit from a little kick of creativity.

Not my cup of tea, see below.

I was banded 3 weeks ago. It's going very well. What do I think about what? There's a lot of room for interpretation here.

I watched this show last night for the first time ever. Well, watched is an overstatement - it was on in the background while I was doing work. I had to go to the website and look at the contestant pictures to know who you were talking about. I thought that Chris was the best guy and Mandisa was the best girl. I thought Bucky and Taylor were horrible. Perhaps an off night? My parents watch this show and talking about Simon telling someone she was too fat, and then apologizing. Was that Mandisa? Does the show have a male winner and a female winner? Or just one winner?

Right now I'm focusing on getting my Protein through the food I eat, and I have been drinking low sodium V8 to get the veggies. The guideline I was given to follow was 80/20, so roughly for every 4 bites of protein, you would take 1 bite of veggie. (not a rule, just my application of the guideline I was given) I've been trying not to worry about it, and make it easy, so I smear my mashed potatoes on my chicken, or serve the chicken on the Beans... so each bite has the 80/20 breakdown automatically. I wouldn't worry about getting your carb category eaten, specifically... your body does need carbs but they will come through the vegetables.

It doesn't sound crazy at all. We're all working & striving to hit that next century. It's all progress, baby!