girlie2shooz

Wow, Camp Darby, Aviano??? Lucky you!! You can ask all the questions you want and get a myriad of responses. Good for you for making the jump to a healthier lifestyle. I was banded 3/5/08 and loving every minute of it, pm if you want and I will be happy to help. g2s

my port does protude slightly, but i have always had a very fat free abdomen and it barely shows. it is not unsightly or heinous, it is just there and i don't mind a bit if it shows. i am secure with my decision and don't care if the world knows. to each his own. g2s

yah those are hard habits to break, i find myslef wanting to make something quick and usually history repeats itself. fast typically wasn't good for me, so now i make sure i make what i need no matter how tired/stretched/bull headed i am. it gets easier, you will be fine. g2s

prior to surgery i lived for coffee, starbucks was my favorite place to be, and just coffee with cream, no foofoo drinks. if i could have mainlined it i would have. well since surgery i can't handle any coffee weak or strong. i have to mix a tblspn of instant with sf hot chocolate. now my surgeon steers patients away from coffeee due to it being so acidic, but it really is what you can handle, if too acidic you will know. g2s

5 eggs? i think maybe you ate too much not that you ate semi mushie food. i don't say this to be disrespectful, but 5 eggs is way to much to put in your tiny pouch. you may want to cut back on the volume and try smaller portions when you add new foods.............you may have less discomfort. g2s

a wise old italian lady told me once upon a time..............men vent to their women to hear their women tell them everything is okay and they are still the Alpha Male. Women vent to their men just to vent, they don't want answers or solutions. i think she was right. g2s

Veruca, one of the greatest movies ever made. way to go lise. back to the topic, walk walk walk, it really does help, and it does eventually go away. g2s

i think i posted this somewhere else, but it is a vicious cycle. i hated not being in control of my eating and then i would eat more as a punishment for not being able to control my hunger. now is that crazy or what? i have a friend who does the same thing with work. he never feels that he has done enough and then he does more and then hates himself for not letting go and enjoying some time for him. the mind is boggling sometimes. so now i try to minimize eating as a highlight of my day and realize it is fuel and it serves one purpose. sometimes are easier than others, but hey, no one is perfect. g2s

you mean day to day eating habits prior to opting to have WLS? Me.... a typical day was 2 hardboiled eggs, 2-3-4 pieces of toast with jam, lunch was usually out with some kind of tuna salad sandwich or a chicken fiesta salad or some crap like that at Chili's. then if there was food to graze on between lunch and dinner i did. dinner was a big piece of meat, vegetables and baked potatoe with butter. dessert was a "Jethro" size bowl of cereal. so realistically what i ate, aside from the cereal wasn't too bad, but the volume is what kicked my a$$. i now eat 1 fried egg with cheese and a piece of toast for breakfast, a yogurt snack between bfast and lunch. lunch is typically 6-8 oz of chili, or jalapeno refried beans, or tuna salad, and dinner is 4 oz meat and 4 oz of vegetables. yogurt for dessert or an otter pop. does that help? i can eat whatever i want, i just eat it in a much much smaller portion. i have added a bit of each food that i like to see how i react, i can tell you that 4 skittles was not for me. i have great respect for my band and don't ever want to pb or slime so i am pretty careful to keep to the old 8 oz max rule. i am so glad i was banded, i wouldn't change it for the world. and LiseSeattle has a great blog you may wanna read for day to day life after surgery. g2s

...........and i was happy to sit in the bath tub this morning and not have my hips touch both sides of the tub, woo hoo!! even tried and it wouldn't happen, yeah!!! g2s

okay i will ask the obvious................what is your caffeine intake? before band I could drink Starbucks any time of day, now I can handle one cup of coffee a day! Whoa, stock in Starbucks dives to all time low!! maybe your metabolism has changes prompted from eating/exercise/stress/hormones. keep a log each day and see what may be different that you can change yourself. just a thought......g2s.

Just a thought.............you're not gaining correct? your health is good correct? You have lost a considerable amount already correct? Well be mad, rant and rave get it out and take the time to do it! this is part of realizing we have to give ourselves the time and attention we need. call your surgeon and explain just what you went thru, remember she only heard half the story from the fill doc, and see if you can come in and have HER do the fill. don't get down on yourself, you did nothing wrong, just keep things in perspective and stick to the facts. IMHO you have done a great job with your weight loss. slow down is realistic, and until others walk in your shoes.......well your get the gist. g2s

schweeeeeeeet!! happy band day!! i am 44 as well and banded 3/5/08. love it wouldn't trade it for the world. I truly believe, and have prior to surgery, that my 40's have been the best years of my life. i have even had some pretty hard knocks in my 40's and they are still the best. so go gettem, and live healthy and happy!!! g2s

a scoop of instant coffee will get rid of that caffeine headache. g2s

i was banded 3/5 and yes I feel your pain. there are times when i hiccup and i can just feel it go from in my shoulder up thru my neck. it hurts so dang bad, i could scream. it is appearing to subside a little as i return to more solid food. it is really bad if i am hungry, my shoulder lets me know when it is time to eat. go figure, oh excuse me i need to eat my shoulder is hungry. hahah g2s

Very nice of you to share. your mom is always with you, you can talk to her anytime you want and just look for those little signs that YOU will know are part of her. you are on your way and you deserve to be healthy and happy. love yourself first and it will be that much easier to love others. your child is very lucky to have a mother who cares. go gettem! g2s

yah same here in reno. well that gives us all day to go out and burn some calories. enjoy..........g2s if you wanna share some food creations, just lemme know, i am always open to new food preps.

that is one of my faves, make sure you use a really good cheese, parmesano reggiano, asiago is a little more salty but not as sharp, or a romano. if you have a can of diced tomatoes, a few of those with some chopped italian parsely. another fave is italian sausage out of the casing mixed with some cottage cheese, garlic and italian parsley. cook the sausage and then heat all of these togther. beat an egg really thin, pour into a hot pan. once it is the consistency of a crepe, spoon in the meat filling and roll as you would a crepe. voila, you have a meal that covers all our bases. you can make the fill mix in advance for as many meals as you would like to make. just make sure you cook the sausage seperate and add to cottage cheese once the meat cools. If you want a little variation, try using ricotta cheese, it has a little different flavor and texture. g2s

non carb, minimal carb mushies would include ground beef, pork, fish, refried beans, cottage cheese. i did the maltomeal for breakfast and that tasted great but seemed to slow me down, literally. cottage cheese with ground beef, chopped garlic and a really good parmesan cheese is like a little slice of lasagna. stuffed bell peppers are great, but cook them really well and peel them. you get your protein first and then the veggie. i have tried to be as creative as possible and actually the more time i spend in the kitchen the more creative i become. ground beef and cottage cheese seems to be a base i start with for each meal. spicy italian sausage out of the casing is a great touch for some more flavor as well. g2s

I am with you Lise, the mushies kinda put the brakes on so I am trying just non carb mushies. Ok here is something I am dealing with........if I don't eat when my body thinks i should, my shoulder aches. Aches clear up into my neck. typically as soon as i eat the pain goes away, anyone else with this "reminder?" thanks g2s

i sure hope you do, because we really are fortunate to have this tool, and who wants to feel crappy about something so wonderful!!! You have done really well with your weightloss, have you noticed health improvements? my BP went from 143/93 to 128/72. some one told me a long time ago, "our lives are what we make them, we can dwell in the negative or bask in the positive." sometimes that is hard, but look for the good that has come from your band, and the good that is still to come. just think about if you didn't have your health, that is one thing that is not replaceable. You deserve to be healthy and happy! g2s

i took a long look at my fascination with food, and low and behold it was my way to deal with stress. if i ate a lot it made me tired and put me to sleep. after getting up after a good nights sleep it made everything look less overwhelming. so..........i have learned to deal with what i can deal with and let others deal with their **crap.** Is it alwasy easy, no, does it make me feel better, yes. Have my eating habits changed because of that realization, yes. Plus i am totally respectful of what overeating can do to me physically with having the band. No I do not want to experience PBing, sliming, horrible painful gas. I just will not do it, i do not handle pain, so that is a great motivator. but that's me. g2s

Hi All, I was banded on 3/5/08 and I feel like a million bucks and change!! i think the biggest change i have seen so far is the diffference that Vitamins make in how I feel. My first few days I was satisfied with liquids, then the next 3 days I had pureed Soups, and now i am on with the cottage cheese and scrambled eggs, yogurt, and even a 1/4 of an italian sausage chewed really really well. I feel good and I feel satisfied. My only negative is it is hard to not drink Water like i used to. I was a huge water drinker, now that has to be regulated. Other than that, best choice I have ever made!!! Oh yah, had some watery mashed potatoes..........they put me right to sleep!!! carbs + me = bad news! hahaha. g2s

i have had it, i know what you mean. i am 2 weeks post op and i know when i need to eat because my shoulder and neck on the side starts to ache. i have read somewhere on this board about the relation of nerves that react from the esophagus/stomach. i wish i could recall where it was, but it was very informative. it listed examples of what can trigger the pain and it really made sense, if anyone else knows please point us in the right direction. you may be able to google it as well. g2s

I totally agree, stay away from the negative, be aware of it but don't cwell on it. Just curious, have you been taking a liquid vitamin? That really helped me, made a difference in just one day. I use centrum and i will probabaly continue even after i can have chewables. it made such a difference in my energy level and clear thinking. best wishes. g2s