kim2bhealthy

My schedule is as follows: Clear Liquids days 1-7, Full Liquids to Soft foods days 8-29, and Transition Foods (Soft Solid Diet) days 30 - 44.

Drewslou - You look great! I think I'll post some picks at my 2 months bandaversary around July 26! I've now lost 18lbs since surgery, 30 lbs since beginning the liquid diet on May 12, and 37 lbs since giving up sodas in January!:clap2: I'm trying to swim or walk every evening. I hope I keep losing at this rate for the next couple of months(but I expect it to slow drastically). I'm eating soft solid foods now (tuna, chicken, soft/small chopped veggies, ground beef,etc.) and doing great! I seem to be staying full for at least 4 hours after eating a small meal, so maybe I can go without a fill for a while! So everyone.... what is your body's signal to stop eating? I tend to experience a slight pressure in my chest area, and then I'll burp. That's when I stop. For the first couple of weeks after surgery I got a pain in my left flank(back), but that seems to have gone away. I'm sooo happy with this band! So how are your incisions looking? I have had to trim a few pieces of stitching material closer to the skin so that they will disentigrate. All but two of my scars are almost completely healed looking. My port scar is the best one, it was the quickest healing and smoothest. Continued success everyone!

Yes. I had to agree to at least six support group meetings before they would perform the surgery. My hospital offers a monthly meeting for Lap Band folks and also they have a weekly meeting that is lap band and RNY folks. The Licensed Clinical Social Worker who performs the Psych evals leads both the monthly and weekling meetings. They are really helpful. Last month's meeting had my surgeon nurse in there to answer whatever question you might have, which was really nice. I'ts always nice to meet and discuss how I am doing with people in the same boat.

Congrats and good luck to Wheetsin! I think she will be a great Moderator. Good Call Guys!

Thanks Missy! I think Gordon will be in the top 10 in the end! He's just had some bad luck lately. Nice hearing from you!

Hello Everyone! I haven't really experienced any port pain, the only pain I have is in the left side incision that Cinderella was talking about. I went in for my 4 week check up on Monday (4 days early), and the nurse said to expect some random shooting pains if you move in an awkward position or during a sudden movement, as long as the pain isn't lingering. I got released from the surgeon on Monday to exercise with the exercise physiologist, so that should start next week. I've been swimming in the evenings at home and I've really enjoyed that. I'm still having back problems(seeing a chiropractor) and my knees are creeking some (mother (57 years old)had double knee replacements in the last year due to deterioration by arthritis, and I've been unfortunate enough to inherit that little issue). I hope that I can work with the physiologist to design some low-impact workouts. The swimming is good on my knees, but they still creek and pop when I get out of the Water. I can tell that the weight loss has already made a difference and I hope my knees will be in pretty good shape with more weight loss! 3loves: Have you started solid foods yet? I start them on Monday! Never thought that I would say that I'm sick of Soups and thinned mashed potatoes, but I am! Deann - I will pray for the young girls, that is soo terrible. We had a kind of similar situation in my family.. My cousin worked at a daycare and babysat these two lovely girls that she had met there. She became their full-time nanny in the summers, and they spent a lot of time with our family. Long story short - their parents were having problems, and the dad shot and killed the mom and killed himself after sending the girls to the neighbor's house. The girls were about 5 and 9 at the time. They were fortunate enough to have loving grandparents and aunts to take care of them and raise them. They are now beautiful young women, the oldest is in school to be an orthodontist and the youngest will be graduating high school in a couple of years. I'm proud to say that we are still close to them and that they are doing great! No matter what they always had each other, and I think that made going through everything easier. Life won't always be easy for your two young friends but with the support of the folks that love and care for them,they will learn to laugh again and be happy. I'm sure they will cherish your support and care! I hope that everything works out for them and I will definitely add them to my prayer list! Good luck everyone! Keep up the good work! BTW: HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY DREWSLOU!

Okay.. You can grab Tony's butt.. I'll wait on Kasey to do something naughty and discipline him in my own special way!:biggrin1: :biggrin1:

Elisabeth, I wish you the best of luck on your weight loss so that you can get your knee replacement. My mom is 57 years old and had her left knee replaced in May of 2005 and had her right knee replaced in December of 2005. She has done wonderfully! My mother is 5' 11" tall and weighs around 220 lbs. She has always been an overly active workaholic, but for the last 3 - 4 years before her replacements, I watched in horror as she suffered from the pain of arthritis and her bones grinding together. I can't tell you how much the replacements have improved her life! She is her same old active self again! I always joked that when I was little I would have to run to keep up pace with her at the mall, then in the years that she suffered with her knees I was constantly looking for places in the mall that she could sit and rest her legs. Well guess what? Now I'm running to keep pace with her again, and its awesome!! BTW, my mom's name is Elizabeth, (except with the z instead of the s) too! I just know that you will be thrilled with the replacement! I am currently experiencing creeking and popping and some pain in my knees, and am hoping that the weight loss will help, but I know that at some point I'll probably be going through the replacements myself because its hereditary. At least I'll know what to expect! When you do have your surgery, don't hesitate to ask me questions, because I was there every step of the way with mother! Best of luck to you! I'm 4 weeks post op on Friday, and will start exercising at the hospital where I had surgery with an exercise physiologist. I haven't been doing lots of walking because of my knee issues and some back issues, but have been swimming at home some. I worry that my knees and back will slow my weight loss if I can't exercise a lot. The swimming seems to be fine, but my knees creek a lot when I get out of the Water.. I'll just have to see what the future holds!

Cloe! Congrats on the first night out and telling your friends. I've found that all of my friends and family have been very encouraging and proud of me! Glad that you didn't have any problems with the food! You go girl!

Hey 3loves! Glad you got this post bumped back up to our attention! I started looking for it the other day, but something required my attention and I never got back to it. I was glad to see Kasey win, and thrilled that my man got his first ever top 5 at Michigan! Yahoo! I hated to see that Tony got knocked out, but I gotta admit that I in no way approve of the way that he spun his car out in the garage area. He rounded that corner and in a hissy spun her around. Anyone could have been standing there. NOT COOL! I will require a couple of weeks to get past that behavior, but he's still my number two or three man. Looking forward to Sonoma!

Oh Gosh Jorjet, I'm sooo glad you liked it! You're welcome! I thought it was really cute and might go back and get one for myself. I wanted to get it to you a little early so that you could have it on display before July 4th! Enjoy! Hope everyone is having a great summer! I think Wednesday is officailly the first day of Summer, so live it up everyone and be safe!

Hey Everyone! Sent my gift out on Friday, the 16th. It's heading north and I hope the recipient likes it! Can't wait to get my gift! Happy Summer! Happy 4th of July!

I'm just under 5'7" and would be thrilled to be in the 150 - 170lb range. I'm just looking forward to when my weight starts with a 1!

Thanks Chris! Those Gas-X strips are convenient aren't they? I'll try that next time. I used the Gas-X early on, but I haven't used them lately.

Okay - Here I am... Economic Left/Right: -4.88 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.72 Hmm.. Right there with Gandhi, The Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela... a few of my friends were convinced that I would wake up a Replublican after my surgery, guess they'll be disappointed! He He!

Please recover quickly Christina! I hope to see you on here "Sarging" everyone soon! God Bless!

3loves: Thanks so much for the lists, they are very similar to mine. (Good to know that our docs are on the same page). Almost all of my soreness had gone away, but Sunday I spent the day outside "opening" my parents swimming pool (taking cover off, cleaning, etc). I think I may have overdone it, so I was really sore on Monday and Tuesday, not so much today. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. Cloe: I'm still in the full liquids/thin mushies stage, so I eat until I feel the signal that it is time to stop (light pressure in my chest). This typically occurs about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup into a bowl of pure'ed soup or thin mashed potatoes. I was told to eat every 2 hours or so during this atage and to drink while eating to avoid putting pressure on my band by food sitting in my pouch. I shoot for around 1000 calories a day and am everaging about 45 grams of protein. When I move into more solid foods after the 26th, I think I'm supposed to have about 3 oz. of protein, 1/4 green veggies, starches and stop drinking with my meals. I think quantity is different for everyone because I already feel the restriction and I'm not on solids yet. I hope to delay fills if possible. Good luck! The only probelm that I seem to be experiencing is the back pain when I eat sometimes. It is a dull throbbing pain that occurs on my life side about mid-way up. I asked my surgeon's nurse about it the other day at my support group, she said that my liquids need to be thinned a little more.. Has anyone else experienced this? Keep up the good work everyone!

Hey all! Haven't checked in here in the last few days... I'm still in the Full Liquids/Mushies stage.. soups are starting to get old. I eat a carnation instant breakfast for breakfast about 1/2 -3/4 cup of a pure'ed soup for lunch and more soup or thinned down re-fried beans for supper. I've had 1/2 cup of sherbet a couple of times as a snack, and I'm drinking my 64 ounces of water. I have lost 12 pounds since being banded and 24 since beginning the liquid diet on May 12th. I feel pretty good, still get times of soreness in my band area. I should get cleared to begain working out with my exercise physiologist on May 19th at my 4 week check up. So far, so good! Glad to see everyone is well! The worst part of my day is taking my pills. I take 2 pills for blood pressure that I have to cut in half, a pill for hypothyroidism, a diuretic that goes along with my BP meds, Prilosec, and Allegra for allergies (this pill is huge, I have to cut it into several peices). It seems like it takes forever to get those things down, and I get that feeling that they are stuck in my throat too, I hate that! Hopefully I can get rid of some of the meds with more weight loss. Keep up the good work everyone!

I'm so happy for you Leigh Ann! That is an awesome accomplishment! :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: PICS, PICS, we want PICS!

Hey Everyone! Glad you are all doing okay. Diane!! What an ordeal. I hope you will continue to feel better! I'm doing okay.. I haven't weighed in the last few days cause I started my period(a week and a half early), and figure my weight is going crazy because of that. I'm still on mushies, and puree'd soup until the 26th when I can venture into soft foods! I'm feeling better after having had my B-12 shot yesterday, but still a little light-headed.. I think I might get my iron checked ( I have Iron Anemia and my surgeons office doesn't want me taking my iron supplement until I start more solid food - afraid the iron will make me sick and vomit). What foods are really rich and iron and can be eaten in the mushies stage? I have walked some, but I need to do more exercise... Later friends!

Hey Tired! Glad to hear that your endoscopy turned out okay! I hope you soon have permenant relief from the Gastritis and Acid Reflux, I know that can be painful! Please keep us posted on LBT, you are a rarity around here: male and long-term banded. I'm sure us "newbies" can learn a lot from you and in turn offer you tremendous support in your journey. Best of luck, and feel better soon!

Cool! I love the sugar free lemonde! Heaven in a glass for only 5 calories! Great with crushed ice!

I know it seems daunting at first, but after a couple of days my body adjusted and I found that the liquids kept me pretty satisfied. All of those liquids contain a lot of protein which helps to fill you up. You can do it! I lost 12 lbs on my 2 week liquid pre-diet. It was difficult not going out to eat with family and friends, but it went by quickly! You'll see, you will succeed!

Hey! Is anytone exercising yet? I start a program through my surgery center in a week or two (supervise with exercise physiologist). In the mean-time I'm gonna try to walk.. Anyone recently banded tackled the treadmill yet?

One of the very first things that I ate when I moved into the mushy stage is pintos and cheese from Taco Bell (thinned way down with water). They were awesome! Beans are an excellent source of Fiber too! Also, Campbell's Soups makes a Bean and Bacon Soup that you add a can of Water to, heat it and Yum!(I of course, puree mine since I'm in the mushy stage). Lots of Protein and fiber which helps fill you up! Also, I had chili from Wendy's , it was good too after a go around in my Magic Bullet to get it all smoothed out and thinned down. 3loves - Will you scan you list and send to me? I have one, but it isn't very large.. I'm looking for different ideas!