heartfire

Since you don't have a fill and you are on liquids, you don't have to worry much about stretching your pouch. Since you are drinking thicker liquids, you don't want to drink too fast but the liquid will go through to the big stomach, just a little slower than, say, Water. You will know it when you get full. I had the same question and let me tell you, a few days later, I figured it out! Bad thing was I did it 2 nights in a row and was so full for so long, I was miserable! All it took was one spoonful too much. I wasn't hungry anymore and knew I should stop but wanted that last bite. It's hard, but I will never do that again, if I can help it!! Keep track of how much of the Soup you are drinking. Maybe drink 1/4-1/2 a cup and see how you feel. If you're not hungry, put the rest away for later. Even if you get hungry again in an hour or 2, then you can go back for more. My surgeon actually forbids soups b/c they are so full of calories and little Protein and you get much more of it down. Although what I do is the bean/lentil soups, and blended them. Now I don't have to blend them. But they have LOTS of protein for a 1 cup serving (6-8 grams, depending). I like Amy's Organic, she has low fat and low sodium varieties too! Back to the full-feeling. Trust me, you'll figure it out! Just be "listening" to your body so you don't get so full you PB!

Nena, I'm so sorry that you're having to go through all of that. Good news about your house! Now! STOP EATING!!! Go take a walk or something. Get back on track and use this time to your advantage. Make lists of what needs to be done when you get back home. Go to a nearby park and walk the paths. Find something to keep you busy so you aren't thinking of food all the time. If possible, your doctor's office is already thinking about it's patients so try not to stress on that. Besides, there isn't a thing you can do about it so no use wasting energy on it! Take good care of yourself. Best wishes!!

Dad's side of the family was all big. A few beanpoles but they were the minority. Mom's side, the women struggle while the men don't. Of my family of 4 (mom, dad, me and little sis) I was always the smallest and actually weighed normal but thought I was just the smallest fat one! Talk about warped sense of self!! I graduated HS weighing in about 120 or so. Got married a year and half later and started gaining. Don't know that it's genetics so much as wrong choices, being hungry all the time and eating WAY too much. Hormone issues didn't help and I put a lot of weight on due to that as well. DD was adopted and we know nothing about her birthfather but her birthmother gave us a detailed medical/family history and she should be okay, on the birthmother's side anyway. She's really active and loves to "do" things so I'm encouraging all of that, even at 2!!

Yep, gained exactly 7lbs! Down to the stupid ounce!!! Took me a week and half to lose it too. I don't add it to my total WL but maybe I should! Since then, I've lost about more 7lbs, according to my scale this AM. (It's not official til Friday though.) Oh and I'm 3 1/2 weeks out from surgery.

I am so glad you're in a better place for yourself!! WTG on the clothes!! How fun! I just tried on a pair of jeans yesterday that used to be tight the last time I wore them (back in April, 30lbs ago). Thought, "okay, we'll see how they feel with all the swelling I still have," and low and behold, they not only fit but they're baggy all over too!! Even with more afternoon swelling, I still had plenty of room! It's a great feeling! Keep up to great work! And get on that last wall. I still have a "last wall" from 2 yrs ago. DH still hasn't moved everything off that wall to finish painting it!!! LOL!!

Sometimes you just have to do what you need to do. I agree with you. I know what it's like to not have help. Although for surgery I was blessed that my mom took off from work and came down to help when DH needed to be at work. I can't afford anyone either and we don't have family close by to help. I get stuck with appts and no sitter all the time. DD either goes with me (like Tues.) or I try to schedule when DH is home. Not always easy or possible! DD and I are on our own at this point but I'm 3 1/2 weeks out from surgery. She's handling it well and likes to help mama! Thank goodness!! LOL!!

Jaime, it sounds like you've got it all worked out! That's wonderful! The way you've got it all planned you should be totally fine if not a little tired and that's normal for anyone hosting a family dinner! I like the tradition of things but I also thinks it puts a lot of pressure on the new couple. I could understand the 2nd year but not the first! EEEK! I'm really glad you called your surgeon. I'm sure that made things better for you too. Don't stress, it'll be great! And you HAVE to let us know how it all goes!! Best wishes!!

Which just proves my point! Plain is sooo NOT honey!!! He's neither smooth nor sweet!!! LOL!!! Sorry Plain. I just can't help myself sometimes. :thumbup:

Thanks Snowbird!! Since I really only eat these once, maybe twice a year, I was kinda hoping I could still do it. I will be very careful. Thank you! I'm missing the veggies and fruit right now the most. We get everything organic from a local farm and I just look at them all so longingly!!! LOL!!

I was banded 8/25 and I'm STILL having a hard time getting my Water in! Before surgery I was using a marked pitcher in the fridge to make sure I got all of my 64oz in a day. The other day I filled it up and put it back in the fridge. It's getting better. I've almost finished it 2 days in a row! BUT still not getting it all in. I just can't seem to do it. Before surgery there were days when I'd have that pitcher empty by mid-afternoon! Now it can be 10PM and I still have a couple of glasses to drink! I just can't do it! I'm still working on it though. It's at least making me pay more attention to how much I'm drinking. I just get so full so fast! I think I'm still swollen and just can't hold that much anymore! Keep trying is all I can say. Maybe a long-timer can tell us if it gets easier.

I'm 3 weeks out. My surgeon said nothing more than 10lbs for 6 weeks! I also have toddler who is pushing 30lbs. Until yesterday we'd had help. But now we're on our own. DH is a fireman and works a 72hr shift so it's just the 2 of us Monday AM til Thursday AM. We're managing. I'm glad I had my mom here when DH was gone the last couple of shifts. I did have to help DD out of something yesterday when she got stuck! It was okay but I did feel it. Just hoping I didn't do any damage. Nothing hurt, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything! I had planned for everything else, (diapers, carseat, getting in and out of the car, grocery shopping, laundry, etc) but hadn't thought about what might happen if she falls or gets stuck! You need to check with your surgeon to see what his requirements are.

Counseling

Honey is goopy, sticky and makes a HUGE mess when it gets all over everything! It's sooo hard to clean up! <sigh>

Yep, day of surgery!! I do NOT want to repeat that!!! It's my biggest fear! Surgeon had me drinking a NASTY Optisource shake. I had to get down 2oz before he'd release me. Well I heard him say it and thought, heck it's liquid, shouldn't be too bad. I wasn't drinking too quickly to begin with but it was still too fast for this shake. It was horrible! It was really thick and it totally coated the inside of my mouth! Made me actually feel like I had cotton mouth! Anyway, went down too fast, came back up! Then I had to wait another hour before he'd let me try another ounce and I really took my time with that one. I was getting the heck outta there!! LOL!! Haven't done it since but admittedly I've been on liquids or soft foods til today when I could start seafood and Beans. Going slow though!

Brandy, Please don't let your "mom" get you down. I'm sorry but if she wouldn't protect you when you needed her to the most, she can't say jack about what you are doing now AND as an adult, no less! Actually, I'm not sorry at all! I think your pics are beautiful and VERY tasteful! (I've also voted a couple of times too!) I might be able to understand her "concern" if she was talking about the woman's pic above yours. Now that's risque!! Anyway, I agree with the others who say to tell her thanks but no thanks. Move on and ignore her. Oh! And I don't think you're anorexic and I'm sure your DOCTOR agrees! Sheesh! Like you're not being supervised by the medical community and someone, somehow, missed that! Sheesh!! You really need to remember where the "concern" is coming from before you get all wound up! It's hard, I know. I'm also sorry about all your stress. I'm also sorry about your grandma-in-law. I hope the news turns out better than it's looking. Take care. HUGS!!

You REALLY need to think about getting this away from your house. Your husband needs to tell his family that you two aren't ready to host a family meal. If he won't do it, then hire someone to come in to clean the house. Start cooking the week before and freeze everything. I like the idea of cooking the turkey early and keeping it sliced up in broth to stay moist (you can also put it and some of the broth into a large roaster and reheat covered with tin foil on low temp). At 3 weeks out, you physically aren't going to be able to do this on your own. I have a 10lb lifting restriction for 6 weeks. I'm 3 weeks out right now. No way could I do the work needed to host a big family meal here right now. I am still swollen and I get really tired, really fast. Can you maybe host Christmas instead? Or pony up for t-day next year! I'd go with the hernia story and leave it at that, if you MUST tell them something. I'm also not telling many people. That may change as time goes on but it really IS no one's business but my own. Support or not, my ENTIRE family (and believe me, there are A LOT of them) does NOT need to know about my surgery! My DH, mom, mil and fil know and that's it as far as family. My own sister doesn't even know b/c I don't want to "hear it" from her DH! Other than that, only a few friends know. It's totally up to you who you tell and who you don't. One possible advantage to hosting it at your house, other than being able to have more side dishes that you can handle (although you'll only be eating a few ounces total) is that running around and being so busy, people won't really be paying attention to whether you're eating or not. AND if someone does say something, you can say you did eat! Or you're just not hungry after working so hard all day! LOL! Best wishes and let us know how you and DH handle this.

I'm still swollen from surgery. I'm hungry but only if it's been awhile since I last ate. I have my first fill on the 7th and I'm sure by then I'll be wanting to eat everything in site. Well, I do now but only b/c I just plain want food, not b/c I'm hungry! LOL! I'm finding that creamy Peanut Butter is holding me over for a really long time! I think it's becoming a staple for me. My surgeon told me last week to make sure I don't gain ANY weight before he see's me next, on the 7th! UGH! Talk about pressure! From what I've heard from long-time bandsters is that we're pretty much dieting right now til we start getting our fills and get proper restriction. Best wishes!!

BiPro (google it) has a Whey Protein Isolate that is tasteless and you can add it to anything for 20 grams of protein per scoop (add 1 scoop per 8oz of liquid). That might help.

Nina, do you like creamy Peanut Butter? I buy the Reese's Creamy Peanut Butter and it only has 3 grams of sugar but 7 grams of Protein for 2T. It holds me over for a really long time. I just take a large spoonful and slowly eat it. I'll do the 2T in a day. Sometimes I can do it in a sitting but it takes a long time and I'm stuffed for HOURS after! I agree that pureed meat is just not right. UGH!

I agree that you need to let your surgeon know that she is undermining him and his patients. Both he and his patients at this point understand the process (I hope!) and it is up to him and his patients as to the procedure they are going to be doing. NOT her! I would be madder than hell!

I plan on it. I'm still on the post-op diet levels so it'll start getting easier this next week. I can now add beans/legumes and seafood. Tonight DH and DD had chopped BBQ chicken sandwiches and squash while I had 1/2 of an individual Trader Joe's Mexican Quiche. Tomorrow night we're planning salmon filets and I can't wait! Snowbird, question for you! I saw that you had a Brat at the BBQ. How does your stomach handle that? We have an Oktoberfest dinner at church (German Lutheran!) on 10/4 and I'll be coming off of my post-op diet that week. By then I'll be eating all foods. I'm nervous about the brats. Hot German Potato salad might be okay, tho it has vinegar in it and the Red Cabbage might give me some problems but I was really curious about the brats. I only get them once a year (at this dinner) so it's kind of a treat. Thanks.

At almost 3 wks out, I'm still swollen. And I swell even more if I've been up and about too long. It's crazy. I'm hoping it goes away soon. Sorry, I'm no help!

I wanted to go and at the time didn't think I'd even have surgery yet. I tried to work it out but it would have cost me about $1,000 just in travel and hotel expenses and there is no one I can leave my 2yr old with. It's still fire season in October and my DH may or may not be home at any given time so I couldn't count that he'd be able to be with our DD. In fact we have a fire right now on the other side of the mountain from us (we're not in any danger) and he's on days off but we're expecting the phone to ring to call him back to work. Anyway, yes, I really wanted to go! :wink_smile:

keisha, sounds like you're figuring things out! Everyone has some great ideas! I think if you do the better carbs such as the whole wheat pastas and breads, they fill you up for less and taste SOOOOO much better and are so much better nutrition-wise. We aren't really to be eating much of that anyway but if you are going to eat it, get the most out of it as possible. Like the others said, get your Protein first. And creamy Peanut Butter on toast is soooo yummy! Before surgery I'd put it on a frozen whole grain cinnamon waffle for breakfast! It'll also fill you up for a long time. I can't have toast yet but I'll have a spoonful of peanut butter and not be hungry for hours! I really like greek yogurt! I can hardly stand regular yogurt so this is a nice alternative for me. I also found some individual egg quiches in the freezer section at Trader Joe's, I can't wait to try those. That would make a nice breakfast a couple of mornings (it'd probably be 2 or 3 servings for us even tho it's a single serving size!). Take care and have fun trying to find different things for breakfast!

Congratulations! 1. I haven't been measuring but I ned to put my pitcher back in the fridge with my daily 64oz in it. I'm not even getting half of that right now. It's hard. 2. Not much but it was gas. Nothing to do with water. 3. Took almost a week before the rumblings started. Everyone is different. 4. I was laying down with one extra pillow (to prop me up more) the night of surgery. I went to bed and worked it out for myself. I got rid of the extra pillow pretty early b/c it was just too uncomfortable. I'm weird about my sleeping and CAN'T sleep anywhere! I have ended up on my belly a couple of mornings lately and it's only uncomfortable when I try to move! LOL!! 5. I have a supplement regimen that I was on before surgery. I've since found liquid or chewable replacements for all of them except the acidolphilis (sp?), it's very small and I had a new bottle so I'm not worrying about that one. The only thing I forgot was the iron and I need to work on that. I don't know if there is a liquid/chewable for iron. I'll have to check with my natural Vitamin store. The multi-vit and calcium chews I'm taking twice a day to get my totals in. My fish oil, Biotin and acidolphilis (sp?) is in the AM with one multi and calcium. The other mulit and calcium is later in the afternoon, usually by dinner-time.