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Wow Reggie, good for you! Being our own advocate is so important, I'm proud of you! There's really not much to prepare for this appt, just be under goal and make sure you have your test completed from your binder! Is your weight current--305.6? You've got another week to get a little more of a buffer so you're not sweating it on the day of your appt, that'll be a relief! I was really close to goal weight too and was kinda nervous but everything was fine.

Hi everyone! I was banded on 4/6 and am on mushies/pureed food starting today. This forum has been so interesting to read and I thought I'd start posting my food journal. Look forward to meeting you all! b-tall decaf vanilla latte l-1/3 cup mashed potates w/ 1 tbsp cheese and 1tbsp sour cream d-1/4 cup ricotta bake--ricotta, spaghetti sauce and mozz cheese

Oh and yeah, Robin is calling me tomorrow and I'm sure she'll advance me to mushies. I'm excited cuz it means I'm just THAT much closer to being on soft foods in a couple weeks! I can't wait to be "normal" again! :crying:

Tina, the incision that's next to my port is a little lump too but the nurse and Dr. Baggs said it's just from the glue and after the glue comes off it'll get flat. (They said it'll look like a little scar in about 2 months). How do you know there's puss under the lump? Can you see it? Pus usually is not a good thing, right? I'm just glad you're going in tomorrow to get checked out. You'll feel better after you have it looked at I'm sure. BTW--I asked Dr. Baggs if I could put a heating pad on my tummy and he said yes, BUT only for 1/2 an hour at a time and NO LONGER. Just an FYI that he gave me. So, since you've had a bandage on there and have been showering is the bandage all wet?

Tina, I didn't have any bandages covering my incisions, just glue on all 5 of them! Why did they cover yours up? It doesn't look bad, just longer than the rest...I hope everything is okay with it tomorrow. You might want to make another appt with your PCP for 2-3 weeks out like Liz told us to do. It's a long enough wait for them to see the incisions and make sure they're healing well and to check on your weight and blood pressure.

I'll totally be there on Saturday and am really looking forward to it! Tina I hope you can come too, I'm dying to see you! I lost 8 lbs from surgery Monday to last Monday (1 week) and the weight loss has slowed down some since then and I lost 4.5 last week, still not too shabby! It's weird though, I thought I'd keep losing at a pretty pace for the first few weeks since we're barely eating any calories, but I guess our bodies can also go into a defense or hibernation mode when it thinks we're not going to nourish it. I've read so many posts on this board where people lose NOTHING or even gain in the first month before getting a fill, so I'm gonna be happy with ANY loss! Also, I just started my period yesterday so maybe I'll drop a little bit more after that's done and I'm not retaining any Water. Tina, it's funny you mentioned feeling the water trickle past the band...I feel it too! It's the weirdest thing and the only time I ever "feel" my band. I LOVE my band too! How are you doing getting all your water in for the day? I'm doing pretty good and am consistently getting about 50-70 oz but MAN!!! I'm LITERALLY drinking all day long unless it's time to eat and then of course I don't, but...It's kinda tough when you can't just chug a 16.9 oz bottle in a minute or two! LOL Hope to see you all on Saturday!

Crazy news about your surgery Tina, no wonder you had such a hard time! I hope everything is okay with your incisions, keep us posted tomorrow after you get them looked at. You're doing great! How are you feeling today? My one week was the first day that I felt semi-normal and was a HUGE turning point for me. I just felt better and better every day after that!

Holy crap Riley! You're freaking melting!!! I guess that fill did the trick to get you back up to speed. That's incredible, you're down almost 30 lbs in 2 months! I hope my weight loss is that quick. I had my 2 week appt today and everything went great. I'm down 12.5 lbs since surgery and my blood pressure was only 110/67, lower than my doc has EVER seen in my chart! I was glad about that. My incisions are healing great and she said I had good color in my cheeks for being only 2 weeks out. We talked about weight loss goals and she said she's love to see me at 210 for my first goal, only 35 lbs away. Then for my ultimate goal she said she's be happy with me anywhere from 155-175. She has me, my mom, and my 4 sisters for her patients so she knows our bodies and said that since we all weigh more than we look (3 of my sisters are 160, 170 and 200 but wear 8, 10 and 12's, they look smaller than they weigh) that she thinks I'll look great at that range and that 144 (my BMI target weight) I would look too skinny...imagine that!?!?! So, that's good news to me, just means I don't have to lose as much but will still look awesome. So, my original ticker will stay the same with a goal of 175. Then when I get there I'll probably change it to 155 and try to get down to that...we'll see. I can't even imagine being under 200 right now! Anyway, that was my day. I'm feeling great, my only "pain" just feels how a sideache feels but in the front left part of my stomach (under my left boob). I haven't had to take Tylenol for 3 days now, I think I'm done with it. OH! ALSO--totally girly TMI, but I started my period yesterday at 32 days (I've ALWAYS been a 32 day girl before gaining weight) and that's the first time I've been on time in YEARS. Every month since starting to lose weight in November my periods have gotten closer together--50 days, 45, 40, 36, and NOW I'm getting back to normal! I've never been so excited to start a period, lol. Have a great day everyone!

That sounds about how I felt. My worst days were 2,3 and 4 and on day 5 I finally started to feel better. Just try to rest alot and take lots of LITTLE walks (5-10 minutes at a slow pace). It WILL get better, I promise! On day 7 I felt almost normal with my pain being maybe a 1 or 2 and was only taking Tylenol. You just had major surgery! You'll feel better soon though, I promise.

Thanks LingLing!

Thanks for all the info Riley. It's really interesting to get an idea of what our daily meals can look like once we're back to "normal", or what I call my "new normal". :sneaky: You eat SUPER healthy! I don't know if I'll be able to be that strict with myself...no-cal, no-carb dressing, soy milk, you're a stronger woman than me! haha

That's so great, Riley! I can't wait to be where you are eating normal food while getting full on not very much. I bet that feels so good. Can you give me more examples of what your meals are like now? I'm very curious what and how much of stuff you can eat. Now go change that ticker! LOL I hope you girls are all taking pictures as you go along this journey, it was very inspiring to look at before and after pics last night!

I just realized you can click on the pics to see them bigger. Cool.

I took a new 50 lbs loss pic today and then found a before pic and wanted to post them. I think we should all post before and now pics!

Here are my before and now pics 50 lbs down!

50.5 lbs down FINALLY!!!!!!! What a great day! AND---I slept on my side for 1/2 the night and it was heaven!

Hey girl! Got your text tonight...I'm doing so good! Yesterday was one week post-op and I felt about 90%...today about 95%! I just have a little soreness on the left side of my tummy like I got punched in the gut. I'm SO sick of laying on my back to sleep (I'm a side sleeper) but I'm still a little sore to lay on my side. I've tried...it'll happen soon and then I'll get much better sleep. My energy is so much better in the last few days, I think my body is getting used to having only about 200-300 cals a day for now. I'm still totally full on 1/4-1/3 cup per meal. I have about 2 meals that are 1/4 and then one meal that's about 1/3. I'm afraid to take it up to 1/2 cup because I want to get full on the LEAST amount as possible for as long as possible. REGGIE! Call me asap when you get weighed and are at goal. I'm dying to know when your cm appt will be! I hope hope hope you're there. Are you gonna go weigh in tomorrow? Just wear the lightest thing possible and take socks with you so you don't have to weigh in shoes! My best tips for ya. Call me!

I'll be on mushies at 2 weeks 1 day, so I'm finishing up fulls between now and next Sunday, thank goodness! So sometime between MY now and next Monday is where you were having it. Maybe I'm not so naughty after all, I'll stop feeling guilty about last night now.

I'm feeling REALLY good, yesterday was my best day ever! I feel 90% back to normal so that kinda made me do more than normal and I think I might have over done it a bit cuz I'm kinda sore today. I just took some tylenol and am feeling better, I just feel like I got punched on the left side of my tummy. I'm gonna take it easier today, I want to keep feeling better and not go backwards! I'm taking Sophie to her gymnastics class today and then going to hang out at my best friend's house and let our girls play, should be pretty relaxed and I know she won't let me over do it! One week was the MAJOR turning point for me! Sunday night I cried and felt horrible and Monday morning I felt almost normal...crazy how fast our bodies can heal!

Hey Riley, real quick---when did you eat the pintos n cheese? How far out?

That sucks about not being able to have beans til Stage 5! I was SO excited about being able to have them next week in mushies, everyone talks about how yummy refried beans with melted cheese and taco sauce is on Lapbandtalk during THEIR mushy stage. Kaiser Richmond is just SO conservative, it kinda makes me nuts!

This bean conversation is cracking me up because ALL I've been craving is BEANS!!! I don't know, maybe my body is just dying for fiber and protein but I finally broke down last night and got pintos and cheese from TB but with NO CHEESE--only beans and a little of the red sauce. OMG OMG OMG it was the best thing ever. Those beans are runnier than my cream of wheat and I didn't eat any of the specks of beans (there are no whole beans in them). I used the back of the spoon and just kind of dipped it in and licked the back of it where no specks of beans would stick to it...trying to keep to the rules of FULL LIQUIDS with no chunks. I felt so full all evening, only even ate about 1/3 of it (less than 1/4 cup) but I did feel a little bit gassy last night so right before bed I took a Gas-X strip...Riley, did you use those? I emailed Dr. Baggs yesterday and asked him about stool softeners and he said that if I'm still having a constipation problem I can swallow those and just buy over the counter instead of that nasty booty suppository I had to use on Sunday. He also said that if I get heartburn I can have Pepcid chewable for relief. I was glad to hear that, Donna told me that the SSF patients are TOLD to take a Pepcid PILL twice a day for 3 MONTHS to prevent heartburn but Richmond doesn't even MENTION it!!! Pisses me off...

LOL, how are you posting this? You crack me up!

YAY!!!! I'm so glad it all went well. We're all so excited to hear all about it when you're feeling up to it! Rest up and feel better soon. I'm a week out today and feel about 90% normal! It WILL get better.

That's a bummer Riley, but I'm glad that you cleared the ham quickly and it didn't last for hours. I've read in lots of other threads that pork/ham is one of the hardest meats to get down so don't feel too bad. Also, even though you may have eaten more than a cup of food you didn't many calories AT ALL. A 3 oz slice of ham is only 140 calories and 10 pieces of asparagus is only about 35 calories! That was an Easter dinner that was only 175 calories! Asparagus is another thing that listed as a really difficult thing to get down and that usually we can only eat the tips, so you did good only getting a tiny bit stuck once! LOL