Zannie

Not that I follow my own advice , but on your non-gym days you could try stretching/bands or yoga at home...something soothing rather than punishing. I'm right with your other post in that after my workouts I could just go to sleep! :tired So much for exercise getting the blood pumping. :bored Perhaps as I move from UNFIT to ACTIVE that will change... And hopefully the accountablity of this challenge will spur my tuchus along!

Count me in, too, for whatever the final challenge looks like! I'm in need of some major proding on the 3 big fronts: Protien(70g min), Water(64oz) & Exercise(6 days-ugh)! I'm doing fine with food, but then I've always been good -very good- at sticking to a "diet" for about 3 months. It's this whole "lifestyle change" thing that's a problem! Heh!

One thing that I’ve read about pre-op diets is that some insurance companies require them. I was self-pay, so that wasn’t a factor (darn exclusion clause!). More importantly (I hope) is that my pre-op blood work all came back fine, so I didn’t have a pre-op diet to follow either. All I was told was to start my Vitamins as soon as possible, eat “take it easy meals” (Soup & salad, etc.) the day prior to surgery & no food after 10pm, no drink after 12am. Easy as that. Everybody’s clinic seems different, so be sure to get a handle on what your doc wants. I think that’s the most important part. Their protocol is prepared for their surgical situations. Good luck to you!

My kids are 1-1/2 and 4. Obviously, our baby girl has no clue about the candy involved in this holiday. But my son is aware of Easter treats in general & the pre-filled baskets are everywhere. And he's a very observant kid, so he's seen "the stuff" when we're out & on TV, too (darn that Dora). He even remembers jelly beans & peeps from his basket last year (shocked me). They're young kids, so our baskets are very small anyhow. I'll probably just cruise our dollar store for holiday toys. I do plan to buy holiday themed individual candy this year, so as not to have leftovers. A new PEZ guy was always in our baskets as kids & that won't hang around either... And I was thinking a frisbee (for him) & bubbles would fill up their baskets well, too. Plus a small stuffed animal. That is so much less than the abundance of my childhood baskets, which my mother (a converted Jew) delighted in making for us! I feel a bit guilty to be giving them "less" than my own traditions. But they're little -- and I'm making changes on all sorts of fronts -- time to change my Easter celebrating, too. I really was surprised at his memory of the candy from last year...it's not even like he ate much of it!!! We'd just bought the stuff DH & I like, divvied it up into the 2 baskets from the Easter Bunny, and then recombined it into the "junk bowl" that night. I don't usually let him have "candy" (& she never gets it) in the 1st place, but the exception to that rule is holidays. My problem is that I adore Easter candy! :hungry: Fruit flavored & full of sugar -- that's the way I like my junk food! So while other people fret about winter holiday weight gain, baked goodies can't compare to the temptations of the Easter Basket in my book! I guess that just means I face my big challenge early. Once(if) I make it now, it's all down hill!!! :biggrin1: <O:p

Happy Birthday, Andrea! :happybday: And congrats on the 50 pounds, too!!! Wahoo! :cheer2: I'm sorry about those cabbage leaves though! Yikes! Isn't body composition funny... My starting BMI was 58.5, since I weighed 320 at 5'2". I also wore a size 32W. I've lost 30# in 6-weeks, but my clothing size hasn't changed at all!!! You've given me some hope that by 50#, I'll be fitting into my old jeans again! Though FIFTY POUNDS does seem a long way off...

Wow…you’re having a really hard time, Kurn! You've lost as much in 2 weeks as I lost in 5 weeks, so that ought to make you feel good (I'm 5'2" & started with a BMI of 58.5). Hang in there!! My advice is to regroup & fall back to the basics!! Of course every clinic has its own post-op diet, but at your stage in the game, I was just being advanced from full liquids (soup, pudding, jell-o, and 2 Protein Shakes a day) to mushies (egg, chicken & tuna salads, refried beans-n-cheese). Take it one day at a time – and stop eating solids if that's not on your plan yet!!! You’ll only undermine the extraordinary task you’ve signed on for…and self-sabotage won’t help you reach your goals. I guess one of the hard things about having surgery in a different country must be lack of local support. Maybe you can start there? My clinic offers a monthly support group, which is open to all Bandsters (even those banded elsewhere). Try calling a local doc to see if there are support groups in your area! If there is no local support group, perhaps the clinic can recommend a counselor familiar with WLS to help you through the difficulties you’re obviously having adjusting to life with the band. And a trick I use when I’ve got a case of “mental hunger” is to log on here! I find myself motivated by the efforts everyone else is putting forth! Even if I have nothing to contribute, I’ll surf the forum until I shake the head-hunger! Perhaps that would help you, too. Those first 2 weeks were my hardest, and you’ve just hit that mark. Time to regroup & recommit yourself to your Band. And that's the great thing about the Band -- it's a tool that's always handy. You can do this!!!

I was banded on Feb 15th, and I'd been loosing at a nice clip – even if my rate wasn’t as fast as some of you. But now…and I knew it would happen eventually…I’m loosing even slower! Oh, I’m still loosing (thankfully) but I didn’t expect the slow-down to come on so soon… I didn’t have any pre-op diet to follow at all, so all my loss is Banded. At 6-weeks post-op, my progress looks like this: 2/15/07 – 320.0 - Weight at surgery 2/21/07 - ? ?? ? – Didn’t weigh-in @1-week 2/28/07 – 306.0 – down 14 lbs @2-week check-up 3/07/07 – 300.0 – down 6 lbs 3/15/07 – 295.5 – down 4.5 lbs 3/21/07 – 291.5 – down 4 lbs 3/28/07 – 289.5 – down 2 lbs ... 30 lbs total My doc seems perfectly satisfied, but I can’t help being disappointed that I’ve slowed down to “2 pounds a week” after only loosing 30 pounds in 6 weeks! Is this a plateau coming? What happened to the “honeymoon period” I heard about!?! I haven’t even gone down a size yet! Is my honeymoon really over already? Or am/was I just expecting too much…? Panic, panic, panic! I try to be mindful of the rules when I eat (focus on protein, avoid carb-only foods, and SF everything else). It seems I’m one of the few Febs with any restriction this far out, but a hard boiled egg actually does fill me up for about 2-1/2 hours! I can eat more than that at a time, but I try only to serve up the right portion size – and I feel contented physically (if not always mentally). I say wahoo to that! I have not had my 1st fill, in fact it’s been postponed because I’m not having issues (yet) with hunger-after-meals at the amount of food being recommended. I’m by no means a food-saint, but I have kept real cheating to a minimum by just not having junk in the house now. (Easter Baskets will be rather sparse here… Normally, I’d have already polished off 2 bags of Brach's® Jelly Beans myself. But the Easter Bunny will be oddly stingy this year!) Aside from my juice craving (thanks for your tips), I'm doing pretty good with my Band! Did anyone else experience a slow-down in their weight loss? Those of you who did & have had fills, did your weight loss pick back up afterward?

Brilliant idea, Stacy! I'm game for a challenge. This'd be my 1st. My kids & I caught a bug 2 weeks ago & I stopped treadmilling while we were all sick. (It's a word, really, like golfing!! :bolt: Or it ought to be!!) Everyone's finally better, but I'm out of my grove. I need to get off my tuchus & get back on the treadmill, so an exercise challenge for April might be motivational. Or, as we're all newbies to the band, perhaps a protein challenge? I don't know if anybody else is having trouble meeting that goal (75g for me), but I'm finding it hard to get in all that protein now that I'm on solids & not relying on shakes alone! I'm up for any challenge at this point!

I've been banded 5-1/2 weeks now & have yet to PB or slime (knock on wood). I'm sure it's only a matter of time, since I've only just started real solids & I have not had my 1st fill. But so far so good!

Thanks, Mike, for reminding me about the ready-to-drink Isopure. I tried one of those right after getting banded & it gave me such indigestion! Oh, the pain!!! I'd forgotten about those since then, but ought to give it another try. (Isopure is actually my protein powder of choice, which I neglected to mention at 1st.)

Wahoo!! What a NSV that is! :clap2: Oh, to leave my 32's behind (and my Size 32W behind) & fit into my 28's again! At last check, I'm down twenty-eight pounds since my surgery, and I've yet to have a single non-scale victory... Way to go!!!!

Juice! I want juice!! I crave juice!!! I need juice!!!! My dietician made a big deal about juice being a no-no. And I hear that loud & clear. But I so love a large, cold glass of orange juice before bed! I know. It’s sip-sip-sip with the Band, no more large glasses of anything. Okay. I got that, too. This isn’t about what-not-to or how-to drink with LapBand so much as it is a plea for a safe, tasty “juice” drink. What I’m really hoping for is a delicious, non-aspartame, high-protein juice replacement. Any recommendations? (I’m cross-posting this in desperation!) :help: So far I’ve tried: Syntrax Nectar (Fuzzy Naval - Splenda) Bari-15 Cold Drinks (Grape, Grapefruit, Wildberry Passion, Orange Pineapple - aspartame) Bari-15 Cold Drinks (Orange - aspartame-free) Only the Bari-15 Wildberry Passion & Grape were worth drinking. (The Wildberry Passion is actually pretty good.) But they both have aspartame, and I’m one of those unlucky people with adverse reactions to aspartame. I use Isopure powders for my protein shakes, but they’re creamy not “juice like” even in the fruit flavors. And so my quest for an aspartame-free, high-protein juice replacement continues…

Juice! I want juice!! I crave juice!!! I need juice!!!! My dietician made a big deal about juice being a no-no. And I hear that loud & clear. But I so love a large, cold glass of orange juice before bed! I know. It’s sip-sip-sip with the Band, no more large glasses of anything. Okay. I got that, too. This isn’t about what-not-to or how-to drink with LapBand so much as it is a plea for a safe, tasty “juice” drink. What I’m really hoping for is a delicious, non-aspartame, high-protein juice replacement. Any recommendations? (I’m cross-posting this in desperation!):help: So far I’ve tried: Syntrax Nectar (Fuzzy Naval - Splenda) Bari-15 Cold Drinks (Grape, Grapefruit, Wildberry Passion, Orange Pineapple - aspartame) Bari-15 Cold Drinks (Orange - aspartame-free) Only the Bari-15 Wildberry Passion & Grape were worth drinking. (The Wildberry Passion is actually pretty good.) But they both have aspartame, and I’m one of those unlucky people with adverse reactions to aspartame. I use Isopure powders for my protein shakes, but they’re creamy not “juice like” even in the fruit flavors.<O:p</O:p And so my quest for an aspartame-free, high-protein juice replacement continues… <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Mmmmm… Chinese food! My favorite Chinese place makes a delicious Cashew Chicken with diced carrots & zucchini as the veggies in brown sauce over rice. (Of course, I have no clue as to the cal/fat makeup of this dish.) I’ve been thinking that this might be a good meal with the band…minus the rice, naturally. Protein with the tender chicken & nuts, and small, soft veggies – it sounds like the perfect WLS meal. I can almost taste it…:hungry: But I'm too scared to actually try some! :nervous Have any of you with “filled restriction” ventured into nuts yet & how did it go?

I’m sure there are others who have had it done open. But when I asked my surgeon what the odds were that at my BMI (58.5 at surgery) the procedure would switch to open, he said, “LapBand is done laparoscopically. If I can’t get the band in that way, we’ll close you up & regroup because this wouldn’t be the best procedure for your anatomy. Your BMI has very little to do with placing the band.” He said that in the clinic’s history, they’d only aborted LapBand plans twice due to internal anatomy. Like I said, I’m sure there are docs who do switch from lap to open on the table, but mine was not concerned at all that my high BMI would present that problem. (And everything went well!) Every clinic is different though, as you’ll learn while you poke around here. Pre-op diets, post-op diets, fill schedules…it all varies from clinic to clinic. Welcome to LBT & good luck to you!

I agree with you, Kathy! I was “allowed” to slowly begin introducing flaky solids like salmon filet to my mushy diet as of…4 days ago. But SOLIDS?!? Are you kidding me?? I’m too unsure of myself yet for regular food!! If it doesn’t come mushy or can’t still be yummy out of the Cuisinart, I just haven’t gone there! Fear is a great motivator for me! Heck, fear for my future was the reason I got the band in the 1st place! And I’m not making rapid enough progress (down 24 lbs at a month post-op) to start fooling around with things that might get stuck or cause other issues! Oh, I’ve made a few(3) conscious choices to eat sweets I should avoid (a bit of ice cream at a birthday party; some of a Shamrock Shake for St. Paddy’s; and a whole 12oz Crystal Light Slurpee when I was craving something yummy after a bad day - which turned out to have more carbs than I thought it would ), but I have not tried bread or anything otherwise “threatening” at all! The "what if" factors of that freak me out!!

When I asked the “if we stop for fast food” question, my dietician suggested Taco Bell's Pintos-n-Cheese as the best fast food choice. I'm not a hot-n-spicy kind of girl:flame:so I order Pintos-n-Cheese without red sauce and, occasionally, with sour cream. It comes in a 1/2 cup serving size. When I initially started mushies on Feb 28th, I was only able to eat half of that (1/4 c). But we made a run for the border Mar 18<SUP>th</SUP> & I ate 2 bites shy of the whole dish before getting that “satisfied” feeling. (I say that’s a far cry better than the “Gordita Supreme w/o tomatoes & Bean Burrito w/ sour cream” that used to be my norm!) I’m glad you mentioned breading/crust as an issue (in addition to the obvious bun), because ads for the new Double Filet-o-Fish were tempting me! I thought the fish(no bun) might be an okay choice at many fast food places, once I’ve moved onto solids. :doh: Ya can't get a bowl of refried beans everywhere, after all! I will admit to sharing with my DH (over the course of 2 days) a single Mickey D's minty green Shamrock Shake in honor of St. Paddy's Day. (Yumm-o!) But other than that, when having Fast Food I've been sticking to (and enjoying!) Pintos-n-Cheese from Taco Bell. :hungry: :help: Other than Taco Bell & salads, did anybody else get a good suggestion for fast food?

I’ve never really had any difficulty completing that bathroom task of tasks (unless in a tight stall-ugh!). Even after my c-sections, cleansing properly wasn’t an issue. So while reading all the “tong” posts awhile back I didn’t think the advice would pertain to me post-op. Oh, I grimaced & sympathized, but I did not heed the warning. Boy, was I wrong! Lucky for me, I'd brougt along the squirt bottle they give you for postpartum perineal care -- just in case! Pre-ops: There is going to be quite a bit of pain the first several days when you bend over to do anything! Anything! It was 3 days before I could wipe well without bringing tears to my eyes! I felt just great after my surgery, except when it came to bending or stretching – and then the 2 incisions near my port were really aggravated! :omg: (My other 3 incisions never hurt at all!) A word of caution, however. I have 2 kids in diapers. The standard baby wipes can clog up your pipes. They are NOT meant to flush (according to 1st hand knowledge & the packaging). So if you are on septic, grinder pump, or otherwise have sensitive plumbing…! I suggest “Kandoo” potty-training wipes or “Always” feminine wipes, both of which are fine to flush.

Tracy, After the incision pains went away, I continued (still do) have what I describe as “port pain”… But it is NOT an incision pain. It is halfway between my port incision & another little incision. It is a “youch” twinge when I do something too much (twist, stretch, lift, cough hard, guffaw). I freaked a wee bit after reading posts from Susannah about her port flip, thinking maybe that was what I was feeling. My doctor said the pain I feel is where the port is actually attached to my abdominal muscle, and that pain THERE could go on for about 2 months (but that some people never have any port pain at all). Once I irritate it, it is easier to 'reproduce' the pain. But now, for example, I can't cause it at all. Other than this occsional so-called port pain, I have healed up very well at one month out from surgery. I don’t know if this is what you are experiencing. Maybe your stumble gave you just enough of a jolt to bother the abdominal muscle where your port is attached…? I would call again Monday just to be on the safe side, however! Hope you're feeling better!!

At last somebody else NOT hungry!! I thought I was the only one… :paranoid I struggle every day to eat the 3 meals required, never mind suck down my water & daily protein shake (also Isopure, though I can't say I love the shakes or the bottled drinks). My 1<SUP>st</SUP> fill is supposed to be on March 29<SUP>th</SUP>, but they will hold off if I am still feeling satiated after a 1/4 to 1/3 cup serving size. I do have my moments of mental hunger, but I cannot imagine more restriction at meals than I have now – unfilled! :fear: I’m exactly 1-month out from my surgery. Still, I only lost 24 pounds in the 29 days since getting my band. That’s great on one hand, but disheartening compared to the progress of some other Feb.Bandsters here!! I’ve only eaten things approved by my doc & WLS dietician (with the exception of a bit of ice cream at a party last weekend). I’m drinking water & protein shakes, but not with my meals. I’m taking my vitamins. All in all, I’ve been a good girl. So, why's it coming off so slowly? :noidea: And I’m exhausted, too! :tired I feel great, physically (aside from some occasional port pain, which I was told is normal). I’m able to take care of my babies and exercise on our treadmill. At the end of the day though, I'm done - wiped! And I’ve got no pep. Even less pep than I had prior to the surgery that was supposed to be my tool to get back my pep & some vinegar, too! :-P But remember, we’re post-op here!! It’s not like we each didn’t have major abdominal surgery! It will take some time. And in that time, we’re loosing weight, which ought to make the “all better” state that much more refreshing when it finally comes! (Right???) Hang in there everyone… We’re each going though our own thing with our bands, but we’re going though it together. That makes all the difference. I can’t tell y’all how much I look forward to reading new posts here… I’m adrift on a sea of protein shakes and LapBandTalk is my lifeline!

I was banded on the 15th & am so glad my hubby gave in to the Taco Bell craving he had 2 nights ago! Pintos-n-Cheese (no red sauce, plus sour cream) is about the only thing I've eaten on the mushies diet that does not make me feel awful! I've eaten 1/2 a serving two nights in a row & plan more for lunch today. I'm also still having trouble getting in enough fluids, but I've always been one to drink with meals not sip all day...this is a big change for me! Are you doing protein shakes, too? That was what really kept me full in the 1st 2 weeks. I added decaf instant coffee mix to the shakes & I forced myself to drink a shake for breakfast until it was finished. And then I'd have a "treat meal" of soup or SF pudding or SF jell-o around 4pm before blending up my next shake for dinner, which I drank exclusively until that was done. And then I'd have another "treat meal" at around 10pm. I made it a "challenge with reward" thing... It worked for me. Hang in there! You can do this!

Emmy! We share the same band date & I'm in Williamsburg. I have the opposite problem though. I can’t seem to eat real foods at all! :noidea: It makes more sense though that you are able to eat whenever & whatever you want, because, frankly the swelling is going down & the band isn’t filled! But remember the whole reason you did this…the trek you made to Mexico, the rollercoaster of emotions as you made your choice to have surgery, the years of yo-yo dieting…I’m sure you have a ton of personal reasons that brought you to this point! Stay focused on the goal ahead: a healthier you! When do you go for your 1st fill, and where will it be done? As for me, I was advanced from the “protein shakes & soup” liquid stage to mushies on Feb 28th. Since then I’ve tried mashed potatoes, pureed chicken salad, pureed tuna salad, scrambled eggs with cheese, and Taco Bell Pintos-n-Cheese. Everything seems to upset me intestinally, though I am only eating ¼-cup of food at a time. And usually only 5 or 6 baby-spoonfuls are enough to make me push my saucer-sized plate away, with pressure in my chest. I’m not having any nausea or vomiting or even the dreaded sliming or productive burps. I just feel a pressure at the top of my cleavage & don’t want to eat another bite. And then, after about a ½ hour, I’m urgently off to the bathroom. My mental appetite is back after about 1-½ or 2 hours, but I try to only eat every 3-4 hours & sip on water or the 1 protein shake I nurse down daily. I have not been filled yet (1st fill will be Mar 29th), and I already feel like I could never eat real food again! If this is how it is with the band fully deflated, what on earth is filling it going to be like! Ahhhh! It’s not even like I’m loosing weight as rapidly as other people, either – just about a pound a day, according to my weekly weigh-in. I meet with the staff nutritionist on Wednesday, March 7th to map out a plan for introducing solids along with mushies on March 14th, which I can’t even imagine!

I had my Band on the 15th & my doc took off the last of the steri-strips on the 28th. 3 of my 5 sites are puffy, and the long port incision does 'stick out' more than the other 2. I've also had a reaction to the strips themselves, being fair with sensitive skin. Ouch - these things itch & look mad red, but I'm told all is well! I continue to have 'port pain' when I stretch, twist, bend, or lift, but I'm also told that is a common pain to have post-op. The port site is the only spot that hurts now, unless I scratch one of the others :eek:, but it is much improved from right after the surgery. In fact, I have found myself waking up on my tummy 3 mornings in a row now! :notagree Wahoo!!!

I'm right with you, Susannah! Basically, I’m going a little stir-crazy here. I want to experiment with the new food freedoms I was just granted on the 28th (advanced to mushies @ 13 days post-op), but I’m afraid to do so. I’m not really worried about eating too much – that will come later after the mushy stage is over. I’m more concerned with slowing down what little progress I’ve made on shakes alone! I have not had any mushy foods today – just my protein shakes. Both Wed & Thurs I did have mashed potatoes for lunch & pureed chicken salad for dinner. The potatoes went down well enough, but the chicken seemed lodged in my chest unless I took tiny sips of water between bites. And we're not supposed to live on potatoes, nor are we to drink while eating! The day is officially done—and I have yet to do anything but DRINK MY FOOD! The last of the potatoes & chicken salad sit untouched in the fridge, just as I left them yesterday. I don’t even want to think about eating! I fully intend to begin again tomorrow with the mushy transition (tuna perhaps), but I can’t bring myself to face it tonight…

Congrats on the loss! :clap2: I was banded on the 15<SUP>th</SUP> and have my 2-week follow-up Wednesday. My home scale would say I’ve lost about a pound a day on average, but I don’t know that I can actually trust its calibration! I can’t wait to step on the scale tomorrow!! Who’d’ve ever thought I’d be saying THAT?