xavier

Any diet that causes you to lose weight will shrink your liver. Doesnt have to be liquids. Good luck to all!

Oh I feel for you, this can be soooo confusing and sometimes it seems like these visits to these specialists like the dietician are just hoops to jump through with out any real meaning. Here's my advice for what its worth: Lose at least ten pounds if you can before your surgery to shrink your liver and make the procedure easier and your recovery faster.This will be very tough with the holidays. Just try to reduce portions and try to make some better food choices. If a food has a lot of fat, some of it goes to your liver. Go for some walks if you can. When I was preop my doc told me to lose ten pounds (I lost 8) by any reasonably healthy means. I looked at it as the last diet of my life and it was! Be nice to yourself and dont get too drawn in by all these ridiculous rules and procedures...

Shelly, very well said!

Those things dont work and you cant exercise your skin! There are many people on here who believe otherwise and they are just plain wrong. I now have a bit of a saggy wrinkly stomach and its not pretty but its flat! I have no gut to suck in when zipping a size 6 jeans...it was all worth it!

Go! No one but you cares what you look like in a swimsuit! You will always be more likely to regret the things you didnt do than the things you did! Go and have a fantastic time...you deserve it!

I buy the Oikos plain and use it as sour cream like on refried beans. I just dont like to just eat yogurt. I dont think the brand or the exact nutritional info matters...

really good advice not to be too harsh with yourself as these holidays are going to come up for the rest of your life. Even if you do gain a few you will lose it later and probably not even remember how you agonized over every pound up or down on the scale. Jachut is always a voice of reason here...she always reminds us that this is lifelong not a race and that has worked for her for the long haul. Exactly how much you lost and how fast and how perfectly you adhered to 'the rules' is actually not going on your permanent record! It seems trivial once you have adjusted to the lifestyle...eat some good food and have some fun!

Dear Justin, Yes its totally normal but it really sucks! The hardest time with the band is called Bandster Hell and it is the several months after you have recovered from the surgery and you have no restriction as if you didnt get a band at all.If your doc is cheap with fills it can go on for months and yes, you can gain some weight! My doc says if your band is half full or less (5ccs in a 10cc band) you just dont have a band doing you any good! Calm down, be good to yourself and be patient!

This might not be great medical advice but I got it from a fellow bander and I like it. I eat at least a couple of those no sugar (fake sugar I guess) Russell Stover chocolates every day and they keep things moving. I eat SOOOO much less food these days I still dont go very often but those fake sugars are 'natural' laxatives...

How did the NP know for sure it slipped and wasnt just really irritated/inflamed? This would not be diagnosed by just her doing a history and physical. Did you have an EGD, a barium swallow, or a CT scan? I dont mean to be rude but the DOCTOR needs to diagnose you. In any case, liquids and maybe mushies are probably right and an unfill seems reasonable too. Did you know that we or our insurances get charged the same whether we see a real doctor or not? Might be good to ask to see a doctor. Well good luck to you...I am keeping my fingers crossed that it wasnt a true slip requiring a second surgery. Was your band stitched into place or do you know if it was? Mine was and my doc says he hasnt had a slip yet.

A french dip here in the states is a roast beef sandwich on a fairly hard bread roll shaped like a submarine. The dip part is a little dish of what is called "au jus" which looks to me like meat broth and you dip the sandwich in there to sog it up otherwise you can barely bite into it! I dont eat meat but if I could eat something like that I'd go for a fill!

I like hearing everyone's opinions here and its certainly ok to disagree! Theres no way anything is right for everyone! The other worry I had about the sleeve is what if I lost a certain amount of weight but not to normal BMI (I kept getting fills till I got there) then what do I do to lose the rest? Diet and exercise? Yeah, right!

This post-op time where you dont have restriction just sucks and it can go on for a few months especially if your doc is cheap with fills. My doc says if your band is half full or less (5ccs in a 10cc band) you just dont really have the band helping you and until you get there you just suffer! I am an old bander cruising along easily in maintenance but I remember those days well. These days I have great restriction and I am happily plateaued in the normal BMI range. Here is good restriction for me: Before noon I usually have a protein drink or maybe some cheese because solid food just wont really go down. At lunch I can eat probably a half a sandwich on regular bread that you have at home. I might rip the crusts off because they are a bit dry. I could probably eat a third of a Subway sandwich and not even all the bread from that..I pick some of it away, I have a snack whenever I am hungry (around 3pm) of whatever I want or can find and its about a half cup.If I ate 4 oreo cookies (bad, I know) I will be stuffed like on Thanksgiving! Same at dinner around 6pm or so I have a half or 3/4 cup of whatever we are having and I feel stuffed. My band is loosest in that evil after dinner time when I am usually watching TV and I do have to exert some discipline not to snack. A glass or two of wine keeps me off the snacking and also I will wake up with bad heartburn (which I guess I deserve!) if I eat anything after about 7:30... I hope this helps!! PS I also eat lots of things that are not so healthy and yes, of course I do eat when I am just not hungry! But my band gives me a bitchslap if I try to eat too much at any one time!

I have intermittently had that too where fluid went through with much greater difficulty than solids...weird! I never figured it out! That being said, if you can eat a french dip you need a fill! You may have a hard job ahead getting enough fluid but if I could eat a french dip I would still be obese! Of course you shouldnt be eating that but if we could consistently only eat what we are supposed to why would we need weight loss surgery! I would just ask for a cc or a half cc and ask if you can just see how it goes. Get it on a monday so if you really cant get fluids down you can have it removed...just my opinion!

You are on your way, dont sweat it and be nice to yourself...its not a race and you are on the right track!

My green zone (perfect restriction and slow, steady, easy weight loss) came and went a few times as I lost weight. Each time I lost it I think the band loosens up as we lose actual on-the-stomach fat under the band, I just hit a very long plateau and my weight stayed exactly the same. Eventually I got a new fill doc closer to home and she fills me while I am sitting upright and drinking a cup of water, and she has gotten me perfect both times. Now I have plateaued again and this particular plateau is called maintenance (5 pounds below the normal BMI weight, size 6 jeans)and I am loving it! The exact fill details are in my signature below.

You can use cooked quinoa in place of rice to make rice pudding...its really good.

Rest your tummy by progressing through the stages again carefully. Start with liquids, then mushies etc..we have all done this and the gut gets unhappy. Not a big deal but give your gut a rest from meat for a while.

I dont use it anymore but when I did I got GNC brand at GNC. It is unflavored and I never did taste it when I put it in soups or whatever.

I havent given up anything since I got my band! I still drink coffee, alcohol, and whatever else I want that I used to have! I do focus more on protein than I used to but otherwise I just eat less of the same stuff.

Glad to hear it!

Your manager broke the law in telling the coworkers...glad you can put a positive light on it!

I think people who criticize the idea of WLS have their own issues about food, eating, and their weight! I dont think it has anything to do with us who have the Band or the risks etc. I think the quote above in Skinny's post says it all. Their issues are their issues and not for us to worry about. PLEASE dont engage in discussions with these negative people...they are not helping you at all.

Good information. Lap Band, which does not involve rerouting the digestive tract or cutting away the stomach seems like it would do nothing but good for your liver disease.Best of luck!