moma

Thanks...I am a diabetic still and watch the carbs and sugar. I should have mentioned it in my post. I also can't do white meat ground turkey or chicken either because I need the fat to get the food down. I'll let you know when I make it. I already have some ideas of "filler" that are different. I love to cook. Can't wait to make it when I am back from a trip and go to the store to get supplies for it. I have family members who are allergic to garlic which is always a challenge cooking.

I three years I have given up chicken, veal, pork, turkey, steak, burgers, seafood, Pasta, bread, toast, bagels, sandwiches, wraps,all cold cuts, pizza, chinese food, no hot dogs at a stadium or sausages. I CAN eat sashimi, seared foie gras, steak tartare, most fish if in a sauce and undercooked ( not salmon unless raw or sushi grade). Very crusty French bread, crackers, good hard cheeses, brie etc. Some Indian and Tai food that is unhealthy so I kinda avoid it. I can eat berries, watermelon, canteloup, honey dew but not fresh pineapple or apples or oranges. I can eat Mexican but without the soft taco or burrito...just the insides. I can eat fish tacos but again without the "wrapping". Can eat vegetarian tortilla Soup anywhere and CPK 1/2 order chopped barbecue salad with lots of dressing so it's pretty unhealthy. I consider Qdobo, Calif. Pizza Kitchen etc. like fast food places so it is rare that I eat there or take out from them. I can eat Wendy's $.99 chile in a pinch. With me it has always been a texture type thing with foods working or not working and not my chewing them up. Crispy but not fried will work. Chilean Sea Bass always works as does Sole, Flounder and Red Snapper. I don't feel that I miss anything and no one knows that I am banded. I eat all over the world but order what I know I can eat. I love Mediterrean Fish Soup that I lived on when we were in Nice in December. No one was the wiser either. BAD NEWS---all candy, ice cream, cheesecake, gelato, and most cake like brownies never gets stuck as do all the bad snack chips. I buy everything in the 100 calorie sizes and do treat myself to them on a regular basis however, I only eat one bag and not all the bags. If I opened and purchased a big bag I would be a dead duck. I have bought regular size and measured and made my own snack size but I cheat when I can open the Zip Lock bag too easily. I have thrown away all kinds of things that my husband has brought into the house such as donuts which get STUCK and are just not a food group to be eaten. I have found for ME that the band just doesn't do the work. I have to make the RIGHT FOOD choices daily or I can gain weight. I know that there are others who can eat everything and lose. I wasn't a high BMI but I do exercise daily too. It is a struggle to maintain and hopefully get to my unrealistic goal!!!!!!! BTW, I eat a ZONE bar every day for Breakfast and travel with them in my pocket book everywhere. I also carry the Crystal Light individual packets to for Water bottles. I know that my eating habits may not be your norm but it works for me since you asked!

Habla Espanol un poco! Estare en Barcelona por una semana. I'll be back in the USA before you leave though. I have flown the French & British Concorde ( last time was July 2002) and those seats were on the smaller side pre banding. My husband thought that it would be a problem for me but it wasn't at all. Now though I have to tighten the seat belt big time I know that Paella will not work and will probably just stick to Tapas and Basque style fresh fish and always a un cristol de vino and no pan y mantequilla unless crusty but helado always works. I will hopefully not get "muy gordo". I have been listening to some tapes but really need a course at Berlitz in French and Spanish. I have a large vocabulary in Spanish but can't put together sentences in the right tense etc. However, the Spaniards that I encounter are delighted with my trying and are pretty patient. My DH is fluent in French which doesn't help in Spain. I can do a mean lisp too. :bananajump: I wouldn't count of losing as much weight as you want to prior to your trip to Cuba. You want to be able to eat and not have a problem with PB's and being to tight out of the country. Realistically, I wouldn't be in such a hurry cuz it just causes loose skin which I don't have since my journey has been soooooo slow. I am still on a few medications that have weight gain as side effects and increased appetite which sucks because of my age. The weight loss has decreased the dosage but not eliminated them from my life. Hang in there. My team ( NYU) expects to see newly banded patients every month for the first year for weighing and fills. They feel that it is like a marriage in order to be successful. Check out the newletters on the site too because there are lots of tips for eating out etc. I won't be posting for a few weeks. Good luck.

I have the same band and was told by Don Mills at Allergan (formerly Inamed) that this band is usually filled to 5cc's at the initial placement which is what my surgeon did. I didn't get any restriction until over 7cc's. I am now at 8cc's and can eat solids and lose weight. I am very close to goal but travel and am in lots of business and social situations in foreign countries and have to be able to EAT "normally". I am not going to get another fill for a few months. I have lost just under 70 pounds and am happy with my band which will be 2 years old the end of October. I wear a size 8 in J.Jill jeans too! I still PB when I don't chew well or eat fast. Lately, I have had some personal stress in my life and have had a bunch of PB episodes which I NEVER had since banding. Many surgeons are very conservative with fills and you can't change them. My team is very AGGRESSIVE with fills and my doc is banded himself!! Hang in there. You will get restriction and all of our bodies react differently to fills and amounts of saline. The numbers game just means nothing by comparison. There are people who will lose 100 pounds at 5cc's in this band and other who will have to go to the full 10cc's according to my doctors! This is a journey and not a race. Patience is really necessary and it is a lot of hard work to make the correct choices in what foods we eat. The band will not do it for you and only "help" you to control the portions and what you eat. I will look for your future posts. You have lost a lot o weight in a short time. You deserve a http://www.lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/clap2.gif I am jealous of your trip to Cuba. I am leaving for Spain next week. Check out: www.nyuweightloss.org Lots of great information about the band and this world famous team.

Question about the pumkin chile. It sounds great but why use Libby's Pumpkin Pie ( full of a ton of sugar) and just plain can of Libby's Pumpkin and add some Splenda to taste post cooking. Obviously you have made this recipe. What do you think? I would like to try it and freeze it in portions. I make a mean chicken Chile that is Ina Garten's recipe from food TV Network for several years. Everyone loves it but I can only eat it made with thigh meat as I cannot eat chicken since banding 3 years ago. Thanks for a response. I was looking for this post and couldn't find it.

Sorry folks but many of the "cheerleaders" are being quite naive about a surgeon's lack of experience. With the initial surgery, just a simple nick can lead to many complications including erosion. This has been documented in many papers check the internet. The surgeon can damage the diaphragm too and some bandsters who have subsequently been unbanded have had left shoulder pain for over a year. Pain so debilitating that they had to have their bands removed. These were patients who were the 1st -10th and even had their bands repositioned by other surgeons. These were patients who were banded in the USA by surgeons proctored by the manufacturer which is no guarantee of the expertise of the surgeon. If you are in "Timbucktoo", and have no other options I would do some more research. Erosion and other complications often do not present until after a year of banding. You are in CT which is accessible to many hospitals and famous LapBand surgeons too. I would continue to check other places out. You are the best advocate for yourself. It is your body and you want a successful band journey. I have been banded for over 3 years and am basically at goal wearing a size 8. I will not need PS either because I exercise daily and I am not spring chicken either. I feel and look fabulous but since I am in the closet with this device I post no photos anywhere or rarely post. I am a lurker on several sites but only chime in when I actually have some facts and not just an opinion about the band. I have a VG band after my 4cc band was removed two years ago when I had a BMI of 29. This will be the last time I post about this issue. I am not trying to get anyone's "bowels in an uproar" either. :confused: Good luck with your research and you can PM me anytime.

My team have done more combined and are both world famous. Dr. Christine Ren and Dr. George Fielding who has a band himself. He is a very famous Aussie band doc too and a doll. They have done over 5000 bands together. They have lots of patients from CT too. I am over 1.5 hours away too. check out: www.nyuweightloss.org and see for yourself. They are a fabulous team and repair many other surgeon's mistakes in the tri-state area too like me!!!! You can also call Don Mills at Allergan (formerly Inamed) who will tell you NOT to be the first patient. He got me to this team from my original surgeon who had done over 100 but still placed my band in the wrong position etc.

G.A.L. NUF said.........

G.A.L. NUF said.........

Drs. Christine Ren and George Fielding at NYU( New York University) in New York City. Also, go to one of there information sessions. They are both world famous and he has a band too done by Prof. O' Brien in 1998 in Australia where he had an awesome practice before coming to NYU. 212-263-3166 Check out their web site too. http://thinforlife.med.nyu.edu They have an amazing practice and often "fix/repair" many other band surgeons errors in the tri-state area.

Congratulations on chosing the band for your weight loss journey. It is a great tool when the rules are followed and if you get fills at regular intervals.

I think that the "moderators" seem to have favorites. It appears that Lisa (DeLarla) and Sue (Geezer) and a few others have the "ear" of the "moderators". This site has become really UGLY and NO FUN to post on. It is full of personal attacks and some really disgusting OT threads too (in my opinion. It has become full of negative people who have hidden agendas that are negative to successfully banded individuals who may only be a few months out or a few years out. This forum is also not the place for doctor's facilitators or Bariatric surgeons who don't even believe in this surgery. It is so unprofessional for these persons to post here. People should also realize that NOTHING is PRIVATE that is posted on the internet and keep that in mind. Obviously, there are many issues that should be addressed by a trained psychotherapist in that doctor's office and not in a forum like this. Psychothrophic drugs are not topics of discussion either or should medical advice be solicited or given as Sandy RN used to do on many sites. I am so disgusted with the tone of this site and its negative vibes cannot be helpful to anyone. It has become a FREAK show (in my opinion). If what I have said angers anyone, it should, because many people who are banded want to share their successes and failures with others who have had this surgery. I don't think that they signed up for the "soap opera" atmosphere that has been exhibited here lately. Moderators, please do you job and get your heads out of the sand. The Sunshine Sisters post was trying to do what I am trying to say as I re-read the original post. I hope that what I have to say will be thoughtfully digested before venomous comments appear.