Elisabethsew

I average between 1000-1200 calories a day. The lowest my surgeon will allow is 800-900 calories a day and more than 1200 is discouraged. Remember, if you're exercising you can take in more calories.

That's a VERY impressive NSV. Congratualtions.

Melody, I'm glad to hear you're doing better and ended that awful cycle. Because I have only achieved proper restriction these past 12 days, I am just learning how to chew my food thoroughly and am also finding I have problems with some foods (like chicken). I have vomitted food twice and then gone back to fluid for 24 hours as my surgeon advises. For me, breakfast and lunch are no problem. It's dinner that gives me trouble as that's when I have my main meal. I'm finding it takes a full 30 minutes (if not more) to finish my food.

Hi Vince, I'm on Coumadin also and have blood levels done every 2 to 4 weeks. The banding has not interfered with that medication at all. As far as the foods go, definitely talk with your surgeon about adding more food choices or advancing you to a soft diet. Everyone is individual in their rate of healing and rate of loss and he'll likely advance you. You're doing great.

With those burns you'll need to be VERY careful of infection.

Two weeks of full fluids and clear liquids the day before surgery... nothing for the bowels... thank God.

Congratulations to all 3 expectant moms. Wonderful news!

Is your surgeon OK with you being so tight you can only get fluids down? If you've lost 20 pounds in 2 weeks, you're likely in ketosis. I was told "proper" restriction allows you to eat small amounts of solid Proteins (chicken, beef, etc) without pain.

I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better. Take it easy until your throat feels better and the swelling subsides.

Congratulations on your wonderful success. Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? Do you feel good? If yes, you're at your optimal weight.

You're supposed to be able to eat solid protein (chicken, beef, etc) cut into small pieces and chewed well with NO problems. Definitely get to your surgeon ASAP for an unfill. When you're as tight as you describe, I don't really think warm fluids is going to do much to help. I'm at 6.5 cc's and have to be VERY careful to really chew the food and take my time eating or I get that horrible chest pain and end up running to the bathroom to toss it. I hope you feel better after tomorrow's unfill.

Here's an article comparing different kinds of low fat, low calorie icecreams. What's you favorite? Is there anything more satisfying in the summer than ice cream? Cool, decadent, delicious, indulgent — the list of adjectives could go on forever. But, if you’re watching your weight, satisfying the ice cream crave can carry a tiny — to enormous — burden of dietary guilt. The good news for your conscience is that ice cream manufacturers have begun to roll out lines of diet-friendly ice creams to attract consumers watching their waistlines. Low-carb, low-fat, Weight Watchers – there's an ice cream that claims to fit into your diet, no matter what that might be. But does choosing a lighter ice cream really make a difference to your diet? It is, after all, still ice cream. Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, and American Dietetic Association spokesperson, says, "Yes." “Generally speaking, a 1/2-cup serving of regular ice cream has about 270 calories and 18 grams of fat, whereas a lighter version may only have about 100 calories and anywhere from 0 to 3.5 grams of fat,” she says. That’s a huge difference when you’re counting calories. What’s the key to finding the right one? Blatner stressed the importance of reading labels. Here’s how to decode diet ice cream speak: “Low Calorie” means it has 40 calories or less per serving. “Low Fat” contains 3 grams of fat or less per serving. “No Sugar Added” signals a reduction in calories from sugar only, not from fat, Protein or other carbohydrates. The interchangeble labels “Lite” and “Light” are a little more complicated as they can signify being light on either fat or calories — or both. The FDA says that to be “Light” the fat must be reduced by at least half from the original and the calories reduced by at least one-third. Of course none of the nutritional stuff really matters if it it doesn’t satisfy your taste buds. When we want ice cream we want, well, ice cream. We want a treat and nothing else will do. So how do the top diet ice creams measure up? Here’s the scoop on how good — and good for you — they are. Edy’s Slow-Churned Light vanilla chocolate: Weighing in at half the fat and one-third the calories of its regular counterpart, it was a very convincing decadent alternative. "It tastes like full-fat," said Natalie. "Delicious." Mark agreed, saying, "It tastes like real ice cream." The flavor was mild, but creamy and satisfying, with just the right amount of sweetness. For me, the flaw was in its texture: It was a little too liquidy. I didn’t get that frosty feeling in my mouth –no chance of brain-freeze with this brand! But that was a minor problem I was willing to overlook. Generally speaking, it tasted great, and will only cost you 100 calories — the lowest calorie count of the bunch. Plus, it has only a modest amount of fat, containing 3.5 grams per serving (1/2-cup). Grade: A- Starbucks No Sugar Added coffee Fudge Brownie: The camp was divided on this one. The word "weird" was used more than once. Rich said that it felt, "powdery" while Dori declared that "it was over-compensating." Upon first tasting it, I felt a strong appreciation for both the chewy fudge and the intense coffee flavors. A couple of other tasters agreed with me. But after a second bite, I reconsidered. The Splenda was too present. Jennifer nailed it when she said, "It’s creamy and rich, but it has a diet taste." Trevor, who liked the flavor, admitted that he only liked it because the super-sweetness was "masked by the coffee." It was similarly masked by the fudge chunks and ultimately left a long-lived and funny aftertaste. And while there are only 4 grams of sugar, there’s a whopping (for diet food) 11 grams of fat and 190 calories. But I still kind of liked it. Grade: B Breyer’s CarbSmart Vanilla: This flavor was a resounding failure during our taste test. Trevor said, "It tastes fake." Annabelle added (I thought very aptly), that the ice cream felt and tasted like cotton. "Fake, fake, fake," said Dori. "The Pamela Anderson of ice cream," she said. I found it plain, like a dumbed-down version of real ice cream — or even real vanilla. It was the frostiest one, but in the battle between frost and taste, I take taste. And Breyer’s loses on that count. While it does contain only 10 grams of carbohydrates, and 110 calories, the fat count is unimpressive at 8 grams per serving. Grade: Grade: D Häagen-Dazs Light Dulce de Leche Caramel: This ice cream took the prize. It was light and fluffy; sweet but not overly so. The caramel was amazing. This was the consensus: Jennifer called it "Delicious." Annabelle gushed, "It’s not too strong and not too sweet." Mark designated it the best on the spot. I thought it was almost too creamy: the extra smoothness betrayed it as light. I know –such a nitpick, right? My nutritional nitpick: This ice cream is really not that light. A 1/2-cup serving size is loaded with 220 calories and 8 grams of fat. It also boasts the biggest sugar count of them all — 25 grams! This is decadent and wonderful, and, sure, I recommend it. But don’t think of it as guilt-free: At most, it’s guilt-light. Grade: A- Ice Cream Bars: Left to our own devices, we’ll probably eat ice cream in much higher quantities than the recommended 1/2-cup serving size. But Latner had this suggestion for ice cream lovers worried about their weight: "Purchase individually portion-controlled treats that contain 150 calories or less each," she said. That way, the measuring is done for you, she says. In light of this sage and, let's face it, perceptive advice, we looked at two options on the classic incarnation of single-serve ice cream: the ice cream bar. Skinny Cow Low Fat Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Bar: I love Skinny Cow. I have long loved them in their low-carb form and I now have had the opportunity to appreciate them under the mantle of low-fat. The strength of Skinny Cow is in the texture. It’s smooth and thick. It feels like you’re eating dessert. I also happen to love the little pebbly flecks of chocolate cookie in the vanilla. Dori agreed with me: "Nice and light," she said. "Satisfying." But it wasn’t a universal success. "It’s got a weird aftertaste," said Rich. "Like you just inhaled really strong perfume." Trevor said it tasted as fake as the Breyer’s. In general, most seemed to enjoy it but were underwhelmed. It is, however, genuinely low fat: only 1.5 grams. And it only sets you back 120 calories. However, if you’re counting carbs, note that it contains 23 grams per serving. But if you’re going for a low-fat diet, this is the option for you. Grade: B+ Weight Watchers Giant Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream Bar</STRONG>: If you’re on Weight Watchers, or any diet for that matter, and can’t find the much tastier Skinny Cow ice cream bars, then I reluctantly say, go for this. After all, it’s only 1 point in Weight Watchers speak. But, I found it flavorless and unsatisfying. It tasted more like an alien’s poorly conceived idea of chocolate than actual chocolate. I barely remembered that I had tasted it at all and it certainly didn’t give any illusion of a real dessert. The texture was mushy. "It’s like baby food," Rich said. "It has a fake after-taste," said Dori. Yeah, it’s low in fat: 1 gram. But it’s not going to satisfy any cravings and it’s going to saddle you with 25 grams of carbohydrates. It’s also pretty average among this group’s calorie count: 110. The verdict: Not worth it. Grade: D

Carbs and protein have 4 calories per gram, alcohol has 7, fat has 9. Alcohol is also an appetite stimulant. If you want to drink, I would suggest budgeting those calories into your daily menu.

With severe arthritis and a total knee replacement in my very near future, I can't do the full gym work-outs that others do. I have increased my walking and do low impact exercises such as swimming. Housework, gardening, etc. ARE forms of exercise so don't discount them. A pound translates to 3500 calories (some say 3700). If you're taking in less calories than your body needs, you'll lose weight. Exericse will help build muscle, tone you, and aid in weight loss.

I only get that feeling with the lemonade. The others go down just fine with no adverse feelings.

You need to ask these questions to a surgeon. A forceful blow to the abdominal area MIGHT injure your port so I would check it out with your surgeon and see what restrictions, if any, are imposed. I have a male friend who was banded on July 1, 2005. He was 350 pounds and now weighs 180 and is 43 years old. Men lose faster than women and heaven knows this guy did NOT do a lot in the way of exercise. Look at ALL forms of weight loss surgery and choose the one that's right for you.

Two drugs that help stones turn to sludge are actigal and urso.

Drink LOTS of water to move the food down. Heartburn is caused by a reflux of gastric acids back up into the esophagus. Try eating 6 small meals a day instead of three and drink lots of water after and inbetween eating. Your MD should put you on an H2 blocker (nexium, previcid, etc.) for a trial period. Feel better!

I was told I could swim 2 weeks after surgery and do any kind of strenous exercise 4 weeks post-op. The only limit was not lifting anything over 25 pounds for 6 weeks.

While an inconvenience, having your period at the time of surgery won't interfere with a thing. On the pre-op instructions it should say no tampons.

I got "proper" restriction with the 3rd fill and am now at 6.5 cc's. I am not hungry inbetween meals.

OK, I've heard that vinegar kills the grass that grows inbetween bricks (and doesn't harm pets) and it worked when I tried it. Now THIS is something new to me. Before anyone goes on the offensive, I drink products with aspartame but found this interesting (and yes, a bit distressing). I plan on giving it a try outside the house where I saw carpenter ants. From the June 2006 Idaho Observer: http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20060612.htm</B> Aspartame - The World's Best Ant Poison contributed by Jan Jensen of WELLthy Choices We live in the woods and carpenter ants are a huge problem. We have spent thousands of dollars with Orkin and on ant poisons trying to keep them under control but nothing has helped. So when I read somewhere that aspartame (Nutrasweet) was actually developed as an ant poison and only changed to being considered non-poisonous after it was realized that a lot more money could be made on it as a sweetener than as an ant poison, I decided to give it a try. I opened two packets of aspartame sweetener, and dumped one in a corner of each of our bathrooms. That was about 2 years ago and I have not seen any carpenter ants for about 9 to 12 months. It works better than the most deadly poisons I have tried. Any time they show up again, I simply dump another package of Nutrasweet in a corner, and they will be gone for a year or so again. Since posting this information I have had many people tell me of their success solving ant problems with this substance, when nothing else worked. We found later that small black ants would not eat the aspartame. It was determined that if you mixed it with apple juice, they would quickly take it back to the nest, and all would be dead within 24 hours, usually. I have found that sometimes it will kill them, and sometimes it does not. Not sure why, may be slightly different species of ants or something. Fire Ants: We got our first fire ant hill about 2 weeks ago. Poison did not work. We tried aspartame and the ants ignored it until we got a light rain. It was just a sprinkle, enough to moisten the Nutrasweet and ground, but not enough to wash it away. They went crazy, hundreds of them grabbing it and taking it back into the mound. When I checked the mound 2 days later, there was no sign of the fire ants. I even dug the mound up some, and still saw none of them. How does it Work: Aspartame is a neuropoison. It most likely kills the ants by interfering with their nervous system. It could be direct, like stopping their heart, or something more subtle like killing their sense of taste so they can't figure out what is eatable, or smell, so they can't follow their trails, or mis-identify their colonies members, so they start fighting each other. Not sure what causes them to end up dying, just know that for many species of ants it will kill them quickly and effectively. As with any poison I recommend wearing gloves and washing any skin areas that come in contact with this poison, and avoid getting it in your mouth, despite anything the labeling may indicate. I suspect it will work for other insects such as yellow jackets as well, but have not tested that yet. More information on this fantastic poison can be found at: http://www.dorway.com/</B>

My surgeon required an endoscopy before surgery and it seems like more and more are. I was not allowed to eat or drink after midnight the night before the endoscopy. On the morning of the procedure, I went into the room and an anesthesiologist started an IV. He gave me a medication called propofol through the IV and I woke up a few minutes later in the recovery area and then went home. The whole thing took about an hour.

I was told that the hospitalization would be overnight. I went to the hospital at 2 PM, was in surgery at 4 PM and was in my room at 8 PM. In the AM, I had an esphagram and then was seen by the surgeon and discharged at 11 AM. In the hospital I was at, all lapbanding patients are observed on a telemetry floor for the night. My advice is to not rush things and follow whatever your surgeon thinks is best for you.

I've used the salt and it DOES work well. LOL.