Melissannde

Also try some hot tea before your meals. Hot coffee or warm Water with lemon also works. The warm Fluid tends to loosen the band a bit.

If you're having pain with eating dense but tender Protein, you are probably too tight. I'd back off to liquids and/or soft (mushie) foods for a few days then try the dense/tender protein again. IF then you are still having pain, call your doctor for a small unfill. Something as little as .2cc's can do wonders. I had to have .2 removed in May and it helped immensely..in fact, I had to push fluids for a little while to get past hunger that that much removal did. But I really needed the unfill.. I was hurting too much with food. One trick I found to work for me while I was waiting for the unfill was to drink hot tea right before each meal. I've even been known to sip hot tea DURING the meal when too tight. I know it's not recommended, but you do what you gotta do when you're hurting. Hope you feel better soon.

I ate things like refried Beans, mashed potatoes, chunky Soups (at first I ran soups through the blender, then as I got more comfy & brave.. I didn't). Didn't your doctor or dietitian or nutritionist give you any guidance? Healthy Snacks that I eat are: organic apple & weight watcher's string cheese. Wasa Cracker & laughing cow cheese. Non Fat greek yogurt & blueberries. non or low fat cottage cheese & strawberries. boiled egg. PB2 on a Wasa.

I agree with what IndioGirl says. You really need to cut out the junk food or at the very least cut waaaaayyyy back on it. I'd really try to cut it out completely. I do understand the desire for it.. I have to fight it every day with two teens in this house who eat tortilla chips in front of me. It can be torture. You might benefit from the book "The Beck Diet Solution" by Judith Beck. Ignore the word diet in the title.. it's really about how to make yourself stronger against sabotaging behaviors. I just finished lunch and I still want to eat, even though I'm not hungry. I often chew sugar-free gum to help with the desire to eat. I'd also give the doctor one more chance at getting you tight enough for appetite dimming. But if s/he's one of those that think you have to lose weight to "earn" a fill, I'd start looking for another doctor. 30lbs over 5 months averages out to 6lbs a month, about 1.5 lbs a week.. right on target for the 1 to 2lbs a week loss that is our goal. But if you keep on with the junque food, you won't maintain that rate of loss. Just curious.. what are you defining as junk?

You're very welcome. However, I've gone back over and over what I wrote to you and can't see where I suggested that you "try a little something". I thought I suggested staying away from white carbs as long as you can. :thumbup: It aint easy and I didn't cut them completely out of my eating immediately post-op....but then again, my doc didn't require a preop diet, so I didn't come off of them cold turkey like many have to do. Thank you for starting this thread. Because of this subject I've done some online reading about Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load to refresh my memory..and have learned some things I didn't know.. or had conveniently forgotten. Have a good one.

my doctor says 3oz of Protein and 1/2 cup of veggies. If you don't have a scale to weigh out the protein, you can visualize it by comparing it to a deck of cards.. height, width & depth. 1/2 cup of veggies can be compared to a tennis ball. Tasty meal, cards & ball.. LOL I actually use a small digital scale that I bought on ebay years ago to weigh packages when I was ebaying fairly regularly. It's not 100% accurate, but it's close enough. I love it, wouldn't take for it. Call your doc's office and ASK. That's what we pay them the big $$ for. Oh.. and the wanting to eat all the time is pretty normal before you get enough fill to dim your appetite. Drink lots between meals (of course after waiting at least 30 min after eating..), Water loading will help a bit. Cold liquids will help contract the band a little.. hang in there.

I dunno why you're doing that to yourself, but you're not the only one. At the gym I go to, there's a bank of televisions in front of the treadmills and one guy comes in to run and watches food network while he's doing it. Drives me NUTS.. LOL. But maybe you could try something like that.. only let yourself watch if you exercise while watching. Wouldn't have to be a treadmil.. could get dumbbells (or even big cans of veggies) and do bicep curls.

I hope you're also eating some low carb veggies, such as broccoli, squash, green beans. We need good carbs in our food plan. Not only are they candidates for getting stuck, these are also high glycemic foods. Foods high on the Glycemic list have the property of spiking the blood sugar up quickly and then allowing for a drastic fall.. making us HUNGRIER sooner. Not a good thing when we're trying to control hunger. They also have a role in insulin resistance, but I don't have a good enough understanding of that to talk about it and not sound like an idiot. ::grin:: Everyone is different.. but since you are only a little ways out from surgery and probably don't have much saline in your band.. if any at all.. you're less likely to get "stuck" now than later on after you start getting fills. I still think it would be best to avoid pasta if at all possible. Along with the stuck and glycemic issues, you're in a prime time to create new habits right now. Not eating white carbs is a good habit to develop. :thumbup: There are alternatives/substitutes: shiratake or miracle noodles, grated zucchini, spaghetti squash or if you absolutely must have real pasta: dreamfield pasta (reduced carb pasta). Or whole wheat pasta. cook it al dente.. and strictly control the serving amount. I'm having some rice tonight with my beef & broccoli.. but only 2 tablespoons.. and it's brown rice, and no butter. eating it very very slowly, about 2 or 3 grains at a time. I don't eat sticky white rice any longer.. there are better choices. Congratulations on your banding!!

What does your bariatric surgeon have to say? I think I'd be consulting them rather than my PCP. Go back and have your fill level evaluated, perhaps get some more saline, and start attending support meetings again. You're taking the right steps by going back to the rules, going to the gym, etc. Hang in there

May I suggest that during this plateau that you take your measurements (neck, arm, forearm, bust, waist, hips, thigh, calf) and record them somewhere. Then in 2, 3 or 4 weeks take them again and see if you haven't reshaped a little. I started taking my measurements in May when the scale started slowing waaaaayyy down and indeed I am reshaping even if my loss is slow. :wub:

Depends on what you mean by "snack". Yes, I snack, but it's healthy things (by and large..not perfect...yet.. LOL). I eat lunch around noon or 1pm. Supper usually isn't till 6 or 7. So.. around 3 or 4 I'll be hungry and have a "snack" of Protein & produce... string cheese & apple for example. I think you're referring to things like tortilla chips, popcorn, etc. as Snacks and those I try (mainly successfully, but I have 3 others living in this household who aren't banded..sigh) to avoid.

It's probably the combo of weather changes, sinuses, TOM and poor food choice. Take it easy today and try drinking something warm (tea, coffee or even warm Water with lemon) before your meals..especially Breakfast. The warm liquids help to clear mucus and relax your band just a tad. If you find you need to drink the warm stuff WITH your food for ALL meals, not just breakfast, to let it go down, you might indeed be too tight. hope this helps

I eat an hour before my workouts. My fav. thing to eat to fuel me is non fat plain greek yogurt (protein), Bob's Red Mill Muesli (carbs) and some berries (bue or red, ie strawberries). This amounts to just about 200 calories and holds me from 7am till noon. I do a minimum of 90 minutes (30 min stretching and 60 of pretty intense cardio) on this breakfast.. up to 3 hours ( 1 hr weights and 2 hours cardio). How long has it been since your last fill? If eating some breakfast doesn't take care of the hunger after workout issue, I'd schedule an appt to go in and talk about more fill.

If you're talking about the White chicken Chili at Bariatric Eating.. here ya go: White Chicken Chili It's very good. First time I made it my son (who is NOT banded) was mad that I didn't make a double batch!! I'm like.. gee son, we've never had this before, do you think I'm going to risk making huge amount of something we might not like?? ROFL

I eat steak, but I make sure it's very tender and not overcooked. The little bacon wrapped fillets that you can buy in the grocery store are a BIG plenty.. sometimes I get two meals out of them.

I drain and rinse beans to cut back on the sodium. I also use low sodium taco seasoning. Not only is this more healthy (IMO) my husband has issues with hypertension. I've tried buying the no salt versions of beans, I don't like them as well. My nutritionist wanted me to cut the corn out completely. I'm compromising by cutting back. It's such a versatile and forgiving recipe. I take the basic recipe and tweak it a bit and make taco flavored meatloaf. Wonderful too.

Sure.. it's very easy. 1 lb grnd turkey (try to use 90/10 or better. not all ground turkey is lean.. read the labels!) 1 bag Kroger frozen onions & peppers (or use fresh onions & bell peppers..The bag is 10oz, so I would guess 1/2 cup each of fresh) 2 cans Pinto Beans, drained & rinsed (approx 15 oz) 1 can black beans, drained & rinsed (approx 15 oz) 2 cans rotel tomatoes (approx 10 oz) (aka tomatoes with green chilies) 1 cup frozen cut corn (OPTIONAL) 1 pkg taco seasoning 1 pkg ranch dressing mix Water as needed. Brown turkey and frozen onions/peppers together. Drain. Return to pot. Add remainder of ingredients. Simmer as long as you can stand it. You will need to add a little water as it is very thick. Serve as is or with a dollop of sour cream (for those w/o a weight issue) or non fat s. cream or non fat plain greek yogurt for those who are being careful of calories. The corn does add some high glycemic carbs, but w/o it the soup looses some color appeal. Original recipe called for a whole can of creamed corn.. I backed it down to healthier frozen corn and only 1 cup. Very forgiving recipe.. you can make all kinds of adjustments according to your needs and it still seems to work. When I first started cooking with turkey, I added beef bouillon.. now we don't as we have adjusted to the milder taste. Enjoy! Also BariatricEating.com has a recipe for a marvelous White chicken Chili. yum yum

home made turkey taco soup

I've never crushed pills. I did have to go from regular calcium to chewables, regular ones hurt going down. Other large pills don't bother me at all.

Sorry, but I think that dietician is NUTS!! Fire her and find another one with more realistic expectations. I lost about 20lbs the first 6 weeks after surgery and my nurses almost wouldn't give me a fill because of that rate of loss.

Easy one: 1 package chicken of the sea smoked salmon. 3 wasa crisp & light crackers (purple box) 1 packet philadelphia mini cream cheese, reduced fat small tomato or apple or maybe some steamed broccoli? I know you said you were avoiding bread,Pasta & such, but the wasa crackers are very light and good Fiber. But maybe you could spread the cream cheese & salmon on cucumber slices instead?

it also shows up under your ticker. It's some kind of email/message coding. I tried googling it and it brought up every single message you've posted here. yikes!

Yes, drainage will definitely make you tighter. Try drinking hot tea with lemon in the morning.. that will clear some of the drainage and may loosen your band enough that you can eat. I drink coffee with non fat dry milk and sugar free torani or DaVinci syrup every morning with my Vitamins.. then 30 min to an hour later I eat. Many people don't have as much time as I do.. or don't want to get up that early.. in that case I'd do a Protein drink (shake?.. I've never understood why they're called shakes). I like muscle milk LIGHT and the Syntrax Nectars and unjury. Others might be good too.. those are the ones I've tried and liked.

Try ditching the baked potato for something less high glycemic. White carbs (potatoes, rice, bread, pasta) are usually high glycemic and while not forbidden, are suggested to avoid. Eat broccoli or some other vegetable instead.

If I'm in a huge rush... Muscle Milk LIGHT ready to drink in a box. vanilla & strawberry are good, the chocolate is nasty. No time to cook rush... Non fat greek yogurt with 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Muesli. Good carbs that won't spike your bld sugar. OR 1/2 cup low fat/no fat cottage cheese and Blueberries or strawberries. I prefer to avoid the instant oatmeal packages. I try to eat steelcut oatmeal made in my crockpot over night. (find a bowl that will fit inside your crockpot. Spray it with a non-stick spray ~not totally necessary, but makes clean up easier~. Measure 1/4 cup steelcut oats and a tad more than 1 cup of Water into bowl. Place bowl in crockpot, and place lid on crockpot. Turn on low and leave for 6 to 8 hours. I use a Soup bowl with a handle.. makes it easier to pick up when warm. enjoy) Add 1 tablespoon non fat dry milk, 1/2 organic apple chopped up, cinnamon, allspice, 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts. Splenda, pinch of salt. VERY good.