Unforgettable

I'm eating 3/4 cup of food at a time and have no problems getting my protein in without the liquid shakes. For Breakfast I typically do greek yogurt - 4 oz has 15gm protein. lunch is usually fish like tuna or salmon, both of which have high amount of protein. For dinner I have a boca burger sometimes which has around 15gm of protein. I try for each meal to get 15-20 gm of protein per meal. Then I usually have one snack at some point. A lot of times I have the greek yogurt as a snack as well. It's definitely doable. You just have to pick foods high in protein and eat those first. My doctor doesn't have a problem with drinking my protein - he wants me to get most of it in through solid food but if I need to supplement that's fine. If at the end of the day I don't think I got the amount of protein I should, I will do a shake every now and then. And like someone else mentioned, I also make sure to eat well-balanced meal with veggies, fruits, etc

How long is your phase 3 supposed to last?

What were your discharge instructions given to you by the doctor? Every doctor has a different schedule and it's really important you stick with the one your doctor recommends. When was your surgery?

That's great news! Just don't overdo it - right now you probably are still are feeling some subconscious effects of the anesthesia that's making you feel good. I felt amazing on Day 1, it was as if I didn't have surgery at all but just did a million situps. Day 2 hit me like a ton of breaks. I mean overall it still wasn't bad, but compared to day 1 it was a big difference.

Yea I do the Fage yogurt. Make sure you do a low-fat one. I do the Fage Total 0% which has no fat, but they also have a 2% one. Fage tends to be thicker than the other brands, but I like the consistency more.

Please make sure you are able to et in at least 64oz of fluid! I know we all want and at times are impatient for weight loss - I'm guilty of it too - but we need to be safe. If you don't get enough calories, your body might go into starvation mode and hang on to every last one which will actually make you not lose any weight. Also there are links between being too tight and band slippage.

Yes V8 and a lot of other juices, even "healthier" ones like Naked, etc have lots of sugar in them. Sugars themselves, however, aren't bad and I wouldn't agree that "sugars, in any form, are bad" and you shouldn't have them. It's when you overindulge that you run into the problem. I think everything is fine in moderation.

Agreed. Sometimes we get so focused on the band, that we think every symptom is related to it. If the surgeon, who is an expert with the band, doesn't think it's related to the band, then I would suggest going to your primary doctor and having it checked out. Getting blood work always helps too.

CantB2noty - I hope you didn't think my posts were chastising you for drinking soda, because that definitely wasn't my intention! I know a lot of docs that will allow it, heck mine will allow it. I was just saying that before the band I never craved pop, and now I do and I think it's because I know I'm not allowed to have it right now. And I still say it's pop lol

Plain had some great advice. And I think you've nailed it on the head, you know what you should and could do but you just don't do it. Throw away all the excuses, because let's be honest that's what they are. And who cares what your doctor thinks...I'm sure he'd much rather you came in for help than do what you're doing now. If you don't feel comfortable going to him then go to someone else. Do what you need to do to get back on track. Do you at least have good restriction to where you are eating smaller portions? I know college is hard as far as eating healthier, but just try starting off making the healthier choices. Don't go clothes shopping or party on the weekend and use that money to buy some healthier options. Like plain had suggested, chicken is a great option. Cook it ahead of time, package it into portioned sizes and grab it when you need it. I also know time is an issue to. I work full time and am in school for my masters degree, but I still make time to exercise. Because let's be honest, we say we don't have the time but usually we really do. Just try to remind yourself of your motivation to get the surgery in the first place. Remember your goals, the things you wanted to accomplish, and focus on those. Do your hardest and you'll see it pay off. Good luck!

It's not my cup of tea, but whatever floats her boat Isn't that what we are here for - support?

Have you been eating right, do you have good restriction or do you need a fill, have you been exercising?

The general guideline I was given is 60-80gm/day for women and 80-100 for men. Now that I'm able to eat regular food, I find myself naturally falling into the middle of that range. If I'm a little low, I might supplement but otherwise am able to get it from food. Every doctor and dietician have different guidelines. For instance, one of my dieticians doesn't like to focus on calories that much, she likes to focus more on protein and carbs and only focus on calories if I'm having problems.

You'll be so glad now that that is out of the way!!! I'm sure you did great, hopefully the computer cut off at 75 questions

Walking around is a great way to get your bowels moving. As far as the meds, I'd just advise to talk to your doctor about it, especially if you're taking any other meds - prescription or over the counter. A lot of over the counter meds interact with prescription meds even though most of us think as over the counter meds being "safe" meds.

I take the chocolate flavored Viactiv for calcium. For my multivitamin, I take the bariatric advantage brand. Once I go through this bottle I'm going to go back to a pill. My dietician said after researching for a paper she published, she found that many of the common vitamins, including one-a-days, only had an absorption rate of less than 40%...meaning that you only get 40% or less of the amount of vitamins actually listed. Yikes! She said the bariatric advantage and one other brand that I can't remember showed an absorption rate of 70%. Crazy

thedailyplate.com has a nice one. I've also heard sparkpeople.com does as well

Just to clarify, I'm not talking about it being on my side like my flank or anything like that, just off center some. I have pictures in my profile of my incisions, the largest being the port one. I'm surprised your doc hasn't heard of it, it seems fairly common. I've heard more people who have their ports off centered some than I've heard of those that have it dead center. It's weird how every doc has their own techniques!

If your doc does it under fluoroscopy, you'll have to drink barium solution. There are different kinds, flavors, etc. The one that I drank smelled like vanilla, and it honestly didn't taste half bad at all it actually matched the smell pretty well. That's not always the case. Plus I only had to take 2 drinks. If you don't have it done under fluoro I think they just require water.

Thanks! It was a pain in the ass to jump through insurance hoops but definitely worth it.

Each day it just gets worse and worse. Journaling is definitely not my thing. I've tried both the online versions and pen and paper versions. I decided to stop doing it because I was at the point where I was doing it for the dietician, not myself. I write down what I eat and when I eat but if I don't have the nutrition info, too bad. Like I said, IF (hopefully never) I start to slow down or plateau then I'll go back to doing it for a few weeks for another trend. Otherwise I want to be free from all former diet trends that I have done!

yea each surgeon has a different protocol. The main thing is low carb/sugar. I had to follow a low carb low fat high protein diet using medifast liquid products, not tasty at all!

I went to my seminar and started the 6 month supervised back in September. My insurance changed its mine twice about whether it would be required or not which delayed thigns. I got approved in April, was going to get scheduled for May or June but between already scheduled trips and unable to get off of work, I decided to pick a July date. And here I am :sad: