2muchfun

Most people are on a strict liquids only routine for 2 weeks. No solid food at all.

Nervous? Just think, this time tomorrow you'll be on a journey that will change your life for the better and forever. Exciting aint it?

LOL You're not going to like this but......Your pre-op plan is one of the more generous plans I've heard of. Congrats on taking the plunge and congrats on being able to actually eat real food pre-op Relax, it does get much easier once you're banded. You won't be as hungry as you are now. How long do you have to stay on this protocol?

Try chewing on small ice chips. The ice slowly melts and the cold may help reduce some of the swelling and allow the melted ice water to drip through.

Ummm! I'm 2.5 years post-op and I had chicken bruschetta tonight. It was incredible. Chicken tenderloins with a basil/garlic/Tuscan seasoning marinated in olive oil and spread over the chicken and fire roasted tomatoes. Served over a bed of spaghetti squash with a splash of balsamic vinegar. Very healthy and delicious. Tomorrow night it will be baked salmon with Cajun seasoning and asparagus. Saturday it will be Hamburger patties grilled with a little cheese and green chilis. Side salad or some vegetable if they look incredible at the market. Oh yeah, I had huevos rancheros for Breakfast. No tortilla, refried black Beans with an egg on the beans smothered in a low fat homemade green chili stew and a splash of cheese. Love the band. Rock on!!

No, I can't eat anything. I've gained tons of weight and I eat huge meals jk Of course we can. Did you think all the success stories on this forum are fake? Sure, each of us have that food or four that we have trouble eating but for the most part, we eat healthy, nutritious and satisfying food.

Yeah, what are your pre-op choices?

For me alcohol is about 3X more potent after being banded. So, I drink much less. Maybe one beer or one glass of wine. Rarely any hard liquor mixed drinks. The calories are empty so there's really no use for the stuff other than a stress reliever. You have to be very careful with alcohol once being banded. You can't afford to over-indulge and get hungover or throw up. Throwing up with the band is one of the main causes of slips. I've never smoked and agree with Catfish but I've read of many on this forum who say most docs won't do surgery unless the patient stops smoking. Recovery can be diminished for people who smoke. Something to do with slow healing. Best to just quit altogether.

Laughing out loud now. My, you're a Chatty Cathy today? Congratulations on your super success. Looking forward to new pics btw.

Clever post and very inspiring!

Yeah, I agree with Prettythick1. Are you working out? Here's a couple of reasons why we sometimes stall soon after surgery: http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html#.UqP7uBLn-Uk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozt-V0PPJaw

Why not call his office?

Couldn't help my inner Trekie voice: Month 1: Kirk: Scottie, shields up now!! Scottie: (in my best Scottish accent) But Captain, the shields are weak and only at 50% power Month 2: Kirk: Scottie, Scottie...More shields, decks 3, 4 and 5 are heavily damaged! Scottie: Captain, I'm doin all I can. The shields seem to be wavering but still holding captain! Month 3: Kirk: Gawddamitt Scottie, where are those shields? Eminent doom on screen now!! Scottie: Captain, give me just one more minute? Shields only at 10% power. The Polyvinyl filled dome is being re-inflated as I speak. Today: Kirk: Scottie, no more surprises or you'll be sent to planet I'msofat in the blobular galaxy, got it? Scottie, Aye captain, I think we've got it all under control now. What's not so funny is that Scottie did enter the planet I'msofat and you can choose the disease that finally killed him, Parkinsons, Alzheimers, diabetes mellitus, pulmonary fibrosis or obesity(which one came first?) Still a fine man and WW2 veteran to be admired. Sorry for the rant/ramble.

Well said Mikee. I read comments here nearly every day from bandsters who haven't been back to their surgeon or had a consult with a "Bariatric" nutritionist. So many seem to be winging it and that just won't fly with the band. Very few may luck out and have just the right amount of restriction and happen to love healthy, nutritious, unprocessed foods and find success with the band. But most of us are hard wired to eat the bad stuff. Success with the band is an integration of just the right restriction for each of us, knowledge of what constitutes healthy foods that stimulate satiety, Great aftercare, satiety signal awareness, eating and chewing etiquette, nutrition knowledge(carbs, calories, slider foods, liquids), and as someone said yesterday, the willingness to be a different person(foodwise) than before surgery. That's a lot for a newbie or pre-surg patient to absorb till months after surgery. tmf

I know there's a band to sleeve forum and maybe a band to bypass forum too? Found it: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/775-band-to-gastric-bypass-revisions/

Now that's a great NSV, and one of the more peculiar ones I've read. You must be on top of the world?

Are you a single mom?

Very inspirational!! Keep posting!

Jean McMillan is a magazine contributor here and is the author of "The Bandwagon". She also has a cookbook you might be interested in? Go here: http://jean-onthebandwagon.blogspot.com/

You might want to fill out your profile so we know your height, weight, age, profession? Hard to know how many calories you need without this info? Most of the women here shoot for 900-1200 though. What's a fat bomb and what is it's purpose?

B-52 has a very good point. "Because of the band, I had to become a different person". I mirror that statement. Look at your eating habits? Are you still trying to eat the same foods at the same pace? I had to make a 180° shift in what I ate, how fast I ate and how much I chewed. I still have small stuck episode with minor PBing but I won't let that deter me. I find that being filled too tight just won't work with my lifestyle so I'm about .25-.5 CCs from being too tight. I have to look real hard for satiety signals and then act on them. I find that as long as I eat healthy foods, natural foods, unprocessed foods, in the right combination I can lose or maintain my weight. I'd suggest you have .25-.5 taken out and eat healthy nutritious food. Look for the satiety signals, the soft stops and obey them. Unfortunately, some banders never feel those stops. I hope you're not one of them. This band/tool takes a lot more cerebral involvement than we were led to believe. Hang in there and look for the right band adjustment that can help you succeed? tmf

When we suggest nutritionist, we mean a bariatric nutritionist and preferably combined with a consult with a bariatric doc so you can start getting the aftercare you need. Consuming your calories via liquids is not a viable long term strategy. It's OK for Breakfast since many of us are too tight in the mornings, but to do it for nearly every meal isn't how this is designed to work. 1200 calories is on the high end of what you should be consuming but if you don't track every calorie that goes in your body with this type of diet, you can't be sure it's only 1200? No offense Ms Jones but you don't seem to have a clue how the band works and how to eat the proper foods to get the best results? Please take the time to watch this series of videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa3Lwt6ElIs&list=UL Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4jYJipQ7vc part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbdhf44ZweI&feature=relmfu Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF3TCKUn3YI Part 4

Anything you drink is a slider food. With the diet you're on you won't get anything from your tool/band. Most of us were banded so that we wouldn't have to diet. We can eat good healthy food, just not very much of it. Solid Protein helps our band give us the satiety we need to keep from being hungry. It helps to assuage our cravings and snacking binges. Drinking your meals is no way to live your life. Eating healthy, nutritious food for a lifetime is why I chose the band. You might want to sit down to a consult with your nutritionist? Sample daily meal for me: Breakfast: One egg omelette/egg beaters(sometimes) with turkey sausage, sprinkle of cheese and a little salsa sometimes? Lunch: 1 orowheat flatbread with 2 slices of deli turkey, slice of cheese and slice of red pepper. Mustard and lite mayo. Dinner: 6 ozs of salmon or beef patty or chicken breast. salad or broccoli or asparagus. Sometimes a small apple or 1 oz of Jerky as a snack. About 1600 calories a day for me.

I was asked to nt eat 4 hours before

"He said starving won't keep your body from loosing" & "I honestly eat well" Sorry, but I'm trying to figure out what you're saying here? The first one I don't get at all(he really believes you can't lose weight if you starve yourself) and the eating well? What do you mean you eat well? Apparently you've thrown in the towel so you may not answer these questions but I have to ask? Do you track calories and how many a day? Puking? Real puking or PBing? What are you eating that you have to puke? Do you chew a lot, eat slowly and take very small bites? Are you following the rules we all have to follow or do you eat lots of slider foods? tmf