cristina

I was very nauseated for a week and a half after surgery. the doctor told me to get over the counter stuff, I got the nauzene cherry chewables. They helped me a lot. I thought the cherry taste would just make my nausea worse, but it didn't. They aren't the best tasting things, they taste like salty cherries, but I was desperate!

bandster hell is horrible, hang in there! you'll get through it & it will be well worth it!!

Most grocery stores around here carry it... it's Hormel brand. I've gotten it at HEB, Kroger, Randall's and Wal-Mart.

I just posted this on another thread, but thought I would post it here too: Hi! Here's how my days usually go: 9:00 am - Protein Smoothie - 200 calories 1/2 banana, 1/4 c. strawberries, 3oz. unsweetened almond milk, 3 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice, 2 scoops protein powder, splenda & ice 12:00 pm - Ham & Swiss roll up - 120 calories I get the deli ham and cheese so I'll enjoy my little meal more... it fills me up. About 2oz of ham wrapped in a thin slice of swiss 3:00 pm - Adkins protein shake - 160 calories I love the milk chocolate delight flavor 6:00 pm - Chicken & lowfat cheese - 140 calories I'm allergic to seafood, so I've gotten really friendly with the 4.5 oz. cans of chunk chicken. I usually drain and heat it in a little pan and make it many different ways - with a little bit of marinara topped with a grated low fat string cheese; or with lime, garlic and cumin topped with low fat shredded cheddar; or with a little pesto & parmesan... all taste great and are satisfying. Calories vary, but all of these are between 120 - 180 8:00 pm - Pizza (that's what I call it - 90 calories 10 turkey pepperoni topped with low fat string cheese (i cut one into 10 pieces) I pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to get it nice and melty 9:00 pm - SF Pudding & FF Whipped Cream - 90 calories I vary this one up, sometimes it's sugar free chocolate mousse, sometimes it's a fruit cup... just depends on how many calories I have left for the day. That's about 800 calories for the day, which is where I try to stay, I hope this helps anyone looking for some new ideas!

You're welcome! I agree about the Protein shakes, I just don't seem to get enough protein without them. If I have a few days where I'm not feeling satisfied enough throughout the day, I'll replace a shake with some real food. I love almond milk! I've never been a milk drinker, so I use almond milk wherever I can. It's made from almonds and it's usually in the health food section of the grocery store, with the soy & rice milk. (unrefrigerated) It comes sweetened & unsweetened and in original, chocolate and vanilla. I usually stick to the unsweetened original, it's 40 calories per cup and has a mild almond flavor. If I'm using it for cereal, I usually add a little splenda to sweeten it up. It's not expensive, and I love that I can keep it in my pantry until I open it, so I always have some and don't have to worry about it going bad.

Hi! Here's how my days usually go: 9:00 am - Protein smoothie - 200 calories 1/2 banana, 1/4 c. strawberries, 3oz. unsweetened almond milk, 3 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice, 2 scoops Protein Powder, splenda & ice 12:00 pm - Ham & Swiss roll up - 120 calories I get the deli ham and cheese so I'll enjoy my little meal more... it fills me up. About 2oz of ham wrapped in a thin slice of swiss 3:00 pm - Adkins Protein shake - 160 calories I love the milk chocolate delight flavor 6:00 pm - chicken & lowfat cheese - 140 calories I'm allergic to seafood, so I've gotten really friendly with the 4.5 oz. cans of chunk chicken. I usually drain and heat it in a little pan and make it many different ways - with a little bit of marinara topped with a grated low fat string cheese; or with lime, garlic and cumin topped with low fat shredded cheddar; or with a little pesto & parmesan... all taste great and are satisfying. Calories vary, but all of these are between 120 - 180 8:00 pm - pizza (that's what I call it - 90 calories 10 turkey pepperoni topped with low fat string cheese (i cut one into 10 pieces) I pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to get it nice and melty 9:00 pm - SF pudding & FF Whipped Cream - 90 calories I vary this one up, sometimes it's sugar free Chocolate mousse, sometimes it's a fruit cup... just depends on how many calories I have left for the day. That's about 800 calories for the day, which is where I try to stay, I hope this helps anyone looking for some new ideas!

Congratulations on your surgery, glad to hear that you are recovering nicely! Good luck with the next phase!

I definitely second the sugar free chocolate pudding topped with fat free reddi whip... sooo good! I also found a sugar free chocolate mousse mix that's delicious... the brand is sans sucre. Sometimes I just add a few extra splenda packets into my glass of iced tea and that satisfies the craving. Adkins has peanut butter cups out now that are really great. (disclaimer: I'm not sure how good they would have been to me before, but when I cut out sugar from my diet, the sugar-free things started to taste delicious!) There are also tons of 100 calorie packs out there that are great. I hope you find what works for you!

Congratulations, you should be proud of yourself! You've accomplished something amazing & are still going strong... I can't wait to hear from you when you reach your goal. Thanks for the inspiration!

I love that your mom threw the stamps at him and said to mail it to them... hilarious!! I can totally relate, my grandfather would always tell my mom that I had gained weight... when I was in the room. If you're going to say it, at least say it to me, old man.

And you made my day with this post on a day that I really needed it! Being on liquids was tough, my boyfriend was getting sick of going to the japanese restaurant for my soup every other day, but I got through it and you will too. And you'll love yourself for it! Good luck tomorrow, I'll be sending good thoughts your way, keep us posted!!

Today, as I was starting my daily workout on the treadmill, I was debating shortening my time because I just wasn't feeling it. Instead, I said out loud, "I'm doing this for me" and I kept on going. Thank you for this post!

I use Lose It! and I love it. It's very easy to use and enter custom foods and exercises. I did change my starting weight in the program so I could adjust my daily budget of calories, though... it had me budgeted at almost 1200, and I wanted to keep it at 1000. (although I'm pretty obsessed with staying 200 calories under budget every day for some reason) Anyways, I love having it with me all the time, being able to see how many calories I have left in the day anywhere I'm at. Good luck!

I had the same questions before surgery. I can still eat bread and Pasta with no problems, as long as I take my time and go slow. I've cut them out completely for now, but I'm glad to know I can have them in moderation down the road. Good luck with your journey!

i don't have any problems drinking beer at all. i don't do it often, though. but now i'm craving a michelada.

Have you tried the 5 day pouch test? I can't recommend it enough, it was the only thing that got the scale moving again for me. I'm sure you're probably in need of another fill, but this is a great tool I'm going to keep in my back pocket when I hit the dreaded plateau. All of the info you need for the 5 day pouch test is here. Some people think you need to order the book, but you don't, all of the details are on the website. Good luck & congrats on your amazing progress!

...because the scale is FINALLY going down and it's the best feeling!

Thanks so much for the tips! I'm definitely going to start making my lunch & snack in the morning and then that's it. It never occurred to me before, but it makes total sense. That's what I used to do when I worked in an office, and it really helps. And I'm going to keep the junk out of the house. My boyfriend doesn't have a weight problem, but he'd like to be healthier and has agreed to eat healthy with me. The only junk he's allowed to have is the stuff I don't like... that way I won't eat it and he can still have a few things. I'm also going to start cooking on Sundays for the week, at least a couple of meals, sounds like a great idea! I have a pretty structured work day even though I work from home. I'm a graphic designer and I work for an agency that has deadlines all day long, so I don't find it hard to stay in a work routine, hopefully I can apply that to my food. Unfortunately my work isn't very portable, otherwise I'd love to get out and work from other places. I find that I'm much more likely to stay on track with my food on the days that I exercise, also. Thanks again for everyone's tips, these really help!

I was banded 6 months ago and things have been very slow for me. I was very slow to recover from surgery, it took a month for me to feel comfortable again, and I was on pain meds for almost 3 weeks. (I went through 2 HUGE bottles) It's also taken a lot of fills for me to feel restricted, I have a 9cc band which is now filled to 7ccs. I've only lost 15 pounds, partly because I'm just now feeling restriction. But mostly because I'm a grazer, I snack all the time and I've unconsciously trained myself to eat around the band by eating things I know will go down easy. It's a habit I'm working hard to break. My biggest obsticle though, is that I work from home. I have access to my kitchen all day long. I'm also a stress eater, so if work gets stressful, I take the 20 steps to the kitchen and find something to snack on. Does anyone else have this problem because of working from home or staying at home? Any advice or tips? I'm new here and reading this forum has given me a huge boost that I really needed. I'm determined to turn this around. Thank you all!

I felt the same way, lots of pain. I was on pain meds for 3 weeks. I know exactly what you mean when you say you feel like your muscles are being torn apart, that's how I felt with any slight movement. Just remember that the port is sutured to the stomach muscle, so it will be painful, for some more than others. But nothing was wrong, and it did get a lot better... about a month after surgery I was feeling much, much better. It's different for everyone, I wouldn't worry too much. But always contact your doctor's office if you feel something is wrong. As far as my first fill went, the fill itself wasn't bad at all. The shot to numb me wasn't bad and after that I couldn't feel the needle at all. The girl that does my fills is also banded, so she was very careful with me. My port was a little hard to access, so I had to lift my head to tighten my stomach muscles, and that hurt, but then it was over and she helped me sit up. A few hours later I was pretty sore. I got a huge bruise the next day, and had to go back to my pain meds for the next couple of days. All the activity of the fill got the pain going again. But then I was back to normal. My doctor said it was fine but to call if the area around the incision became red or inflamed. I hope this helps, hang in there and good luck!