TexasFire

I can't recall if I posted this here or on another thread. Anyhow, I have a protien powder that tastes great! (And I'm super picky!) It comes in vanilla or chocolate and provides 27g of Protein. You can mix it with Water or milk, but I don't see the point of adding the extra calories of the milk. It is called EAS PREMIUM PROTEIN, 3-Stage Extended Release Protein Blend and it comes in a purple and silver 6 pound resealable bag. I got it at costco for about $30 or so. The vanilla has 140 calories and the chocolate has 150 calories. It's great to just throw a scoop in my Magic Bullet with 8 oz. of water and a few ice cubes and let it go...takes just a minute and I'm out the door with my breakfast in hand. Much healthier than my old breakfast consisting of only coffee! :ranger:

It worked! Did it myself! Now they aren't driving me nuts anymore. It was kind of creepy, had to tug a little, but they came right out.

Ha Ha! I thought the same thing! I have two of my little incisions where the "fishing line" is sticking out a little. I finally got tired of being bugged by them and tried pulling them just a little. One came out and the other just extended outside the skin, so I cut it very close to the skin. I thought they should have been desolved by now, also. I wonder why they haven't? They don't even show any signs of deteriorating one bit. Let me know if you get an answer about this, because it is driving me a little batty!

I have to agree that the bruising, redness and swelling are red flags. I can definitely feel my port, being a lump barely about the size of a quarter. However the incision is healed, the bruising was gone at two to three weeks out, and there is no pain but only the fact that I know it is there and can feel it in general. In fact, at two to three weeks it was barely noticeable. It's just a thin line on my stomach. I would definitely have that checked out again, and be insistent on finding out why it is like that and what to do to correct it. I hope you get the answers you need to make that all better very soon! You've been dealing with that quite a while!

OMG...have any of y'all had pizza yet? I didn't think we could eat that! But I have found that I really have a hard time with bread of any kind, so I probably couldn't eat it anyhow. I would LOVE to have a slice of thin crust pepperoni and double cheese! YUM! Those Tropicana drinks sound like they are worth investigating. As for me, I love Crystal Light. There must be over a dozen flavors and I have most of them. The Raspberry Ice, Raspberry Lemonade and Cherry Pomegranate are my faves. The Cherry Pomegranate is the best, I think. The Orange Sunshine is really good, too. Reminds me of drinking Tang when I was a kid. Has anyone else made their second fill appointment? I'm wondering how that is going to go. I'm still having a hard time getting used to chewing right and I really pay for it. My second fill is in three weeks and I know I will need to have improved my chewing habits before then. Kind of scary for me.

Well, I made my appointment for my second fill. I will have it on July 30th. I know I'm still adjusting to the first one (I PB-ed again last night...so gross), but I don't want to have to wait two weeks if I am ready for it. I actually could have made it for July 23rd, but I didn't want to push it by having two fills in the first six weeks after banding. Tell me if you think this is odd: It seems there are no "Fill Police". I think I could make a fill appointment every week if I wanted to. They just ask your name and book it! HMMMMMM...dunno if that is good or bad.

Sorry you hurt! Yes, they are great! Did you ask for pictures? They will print them for you right there while you are on the table! No, I was on liquids the day of the fill, soft foods the next and back to regular as tolerated. I'm doing fine with most anything now as long as I CHEW WELL. As far as which band you have, I think my doc said that location uses the AP Band exclusively, but do check with your doc to be sure. I have the small AP band from there, and mine took 3cc's to get to pencil size. (I'm calling tomorrow to see if I can schedule a second fill for the six week mark!)

Like you said, lean deli meats is good, and is the easiest to grab and run and also for those three bites in between meals to stave off hunger. My favorite of course is the canned chicken, flaked real well, with a little mayo mixed in to keep it moist. I don't have much time to cook, so I try to do a lot at one time, divide it out into portions and freeze them. If you like fish, that is fast if you broil it. I try to stay away from cheese, but I love it. It just makes me so constipated no matter how much I drink. It never did this to me before being banded. Tuna is good to keep mixed up in the fridge for a couple bites at a time. I stay away from the RTD protien drinks and the protien bars...check the labels...scary! Tonight I took two thick cut pork chops, cut them in half, wrapped them in a foil pouch with some cauliflower and a dollop of tomato soup and baked for an hour and a half, then put four meals into the fridge/freezer for later. If I didn't prepare in advance, I KNOW I would be eating horribly! I have rambled, sorry! I have a list from my NP that I will send you when I get back to the house. Good luck!

THANK YOU!

Another site for tracking what you eat is MyCalorieCounter.com, which I use faithfully...and it has a completely free version you can use forever, or you can pay for the premium service which isn't much at all. I use the premium version and LOVE IT. It also has great forums, you can create your own blog site, and it tracks and charts everything you can imagine. Okay...sorry for asking again, but I missed the answer last time I asked last week. What is PB-ing and Sliming?

And good luck with your fill tomorrow! I just noticed you are out of the Hurst office, as well. So you have Amy for your NP, too? Let me know what you think of your first fill! And don't forget to ask how much they put in your band after the fact like I did! LOL

Oh, yeah...I could eat anything before my fill with no issues. And I was hungry when I grabbed that slice of turkey and just ate normally, which is a huge NO-NO. I guess I'm not invincable after all, huh? :biggrin1: By the way...(and this may have been said or you all may already know, but I didn't and I haven't seen it here)...my NP said and my paperwork said that the most successful patients she has seen have been the ones who stick to protien then veggies, of course. (No carbs) The somewhat surprising part of what she said was that if you get hungry, it's too late. Do not ever let yourself get hungry. Have your three meals a day, stopping in plenty of time before you get full, and every two hours at least, have three bites of some lean protein. This "excercises" your metabolism and keeps it burning at full pace. Makes sense to me! I love my doc and NP! :clap2: And yes, I do like my fill. I don't notice as much of a difference as I would like, but it is apparently common to not notice any difference at all in the first one to three fills...so I'm happy to feel some difference. The opening is about the size of a pencil now. So my goodness! How small will that opening get with fill after fill?!?!? We are in for quite a ride, ladies and gents! And I'm looking forward to every moment of it, good and bad. I already know the end result is going to be fantastic!

Happy 4th of July to all June Bandsters! It's still raining here, but it's a great day and will only get better! Enjoy your family and friends today and remember how lucky we are to have the freedoms that we have!

Oh boy, did I ever get my first lesson in chewing well today! I had my first fill yesterday and was doing just fine, but I grabbed a half a slice of deli turkey today, and it got stuck in my band! OMG that was horrible! It just wouldn't let loose! Finally, it all just came back up (sorry to be gross...couldn't think of a nice way to say it) and I felt a little better, but was nauseous for the rest of the day. I just sipped on Crystal Light for the rest of the day until about 9pm when I tried a little soup. That did the trick...I feel 100% better now. I will NEVER eat too fast or not chew well enough again! For those who have yet to get their first fill, don't let this initial period make you overconfident! CHEW, CHEW, CHEW!

And my fill went very much the same today, except I received nothing to deaden the area. It was amazing how much pressure she put on that needle! But just a little stinging was all. Then I had to drink barium and they took pictures, and I got copies again. I think I'm going to start a weight loss journey scrapbook! LOL I received 3 CC's in my band also. I'm ready for the next fill! :whoo:

I thought I would start a thread to ask for suggestions. I originally put this in the main forum, but maybe I can double my chances of replies if I put it here, too! I want to load up my Ipod with songs that are fast, upbeat, happy...for when I start excercising. What are your favorite songs for exercising (sp)? I want to get lost in the music and just GO! Thanks, folks! Stef

I need a vocabulary lesson! What is "PB" and "Slime"? I've heard it forever, and even asked once long ago, but I forgot. (My sis had GBP in 2005) I'm sure they are things I would want to avoid with my fill coming up.

Hello, everybody! I feel like I haven't been here for ages, though it's only been two or three days! LOL Just wanted to give a shout out and let everyone know that I was thinking of them and I hope all are doing well. Tomorrow is Friday...WOO-HOO! My hubby comes home tomorrow and I'm excited! (He works offshore) This will be his first visit home since I was banded...I was banded after he left. So I guess when we go out to eat this weekend he will just have to share, which he says he doesn't mind at all, but he's a big 'ole boy! He will be going to my first fill appointment with me on Monday and I can't wait. I was losing phenomenally well until the end of last week and now I'm grinding to a halt. Do they ever put more than 3CC's in a fill? Have a great weekend, folks! Stef

NEW FORUM?!?!? :confused:

Congratulations to all June Bandsters for making this wonderful, life-changing decision! :Banane49: We have just a few days left this month...who is left to cross over? Good luck and thank you all for being such a wonderfully supportive group! I love it here! Stef

Hey, speaking of needing small food containers...have y'all seen the Lock n' Lock line? They have fantastic containers (I think they are better than Tupperware) and they have several that are great for bandsters to take their food on the go. There is a round 3 oz. size, a rectangular 6 oz. size, and an indispensable one that is 12 oz. with two 6 oz. inserts in it! I use the twelve ounce to take chicken salad in one side and fruit in the other and it is so small that I can just throw it in my purse and go! (YES! I LOVE the canned chicken, also! Tyson is the brand I buy here. YUM!) If you can't find the containers in your area, the best place I've found online to get them is at Heritage Mint where they seem to have the most variety and the prices are good, too. Happy Tuesday, y'all! Stef

Wow, I get those, too! And you are right...they're weird! They catch me at the oddest moments, too. I can be in the middle of a sentence and one will hit. Glad it's not just me!

Quote: Originally Posted by Annie Okay, so I'm ticker challenged. LOL! I created one, and tried to copy it and paste it where it says to upload, and it tells me invalid file. I can't figure it out! What am I doing wrong. urrghh! Hello, Annie! I'm sorry this ticker-thing is giving you fits! They did for me, too, when I first tried them. It can be frustrating, to be sure! The upload function is for uploading your picture to create your own avatar. Also, there are several types of codes for the same ticker. Which one you use depends on where you are using it. This site uses bbCode, so use that one. (On TickerFactory.com, it says "bbCode: (Message Boards code, FertilityFriend.com's boards, phpBB based boards, Invision Power Board, vBulletin...".) Here's how you do it here: Go to UserCP, Edit Signature, Paste the code directly into the text box and Save. If you have any more trouble, gimme a holler! Good luck! Stef

Me? Hungry? I think I could eat my coffee table I'm so hungry! I was banded two days after you, and the hunger set in about a week ago. I have lost a little less than you so far. I'm doing pretty good about staying under 600 calories most days, and always under 800, but the weight loss has definitely slowed in the last week. I can't wait for my fill on the 2nd! I never was an emotional eater, in fact eating was a bother and a time-waster for me most all day. Then night would come (probably around 7pm on average) and I'm not so busy and I would EAT! I'm having the same problems now. Now I make myself eat during and throughout the day like I should, but I still fight the night time cravings for a bowl of Cereal, a sandwich, whatever. I need to learn to go to bed before midnight! :notagree LOL

Wow! I actually typed the web address to those two sites and what you see below is how is came out! Anyhow, they are TickerFactory.com and TickerCentral.com