Venus de Milo

I cannot tell you all how relieved I am to hear I'm not the only one in this situation. I've lost 7 pounds, gained back 2, was banded on 5/7. I can eat anything I want, and I have been eating anything, including peanut M&Ms and Chickfila sandwiches.... (there, I said it!). I do get full more quickly. I have the Realize band, and there is absolutely nothing in it. However, I have found that I can't eat baked chicken very well. Isn't that ironic? The Chickfila chicken slides down quite easily!! :-) All this is just to say, hey, I've eaten what I've wanted lately and haven't really gained back weight, and I certainly wasn't losing anything on the crazy shake and mushies diet. I'm waiting for my first fill! I am also walking extensively every day up and down big hills, so I am sure that helps.... We'll get there, right?!

We've resumed sex, and I do feel the port sometimes. In fact, I have a rather sharp pain where my port is if I'm in the wrong position or he is (and we've tried a few!) I just worry about the port coming free from its anchoring. I have the Realize Band. Do any of you have that one?

I had my surgery on May 7th and am now sitting here at my computer (May 8th) and am feeling pretty good. The gas pains were the worst part of my recovery. I still have them and I have lots of bloat, but I seem to do better after taking 4 of the little Gas-X melt-in-your-mouth tabs. Does anyone have any other suggestions for getting rid of the abdominal gas? I have walked around a lot, did the dishes, did a load of laundry. I'm determined not to be sedentary! Also, I had the realize band. Although I haven't tried, I feel like I could actually eat real food. My doc wants me to be on liquids for 2 weeks, so I'm being faithful to that. I'd love to know any suggestions for liquid foods that you guys are finding appealing. Do you think it'd be okay to eat clam chowder soup if I strained out the good stuff (chunks)? I'm looking forward to losing w/you all!! Weight on surgery day: 204 BMI: 34.5 Height: 5'5" Goal Weight: 150 Age: 44 Surgery: Dr. Manuel Castro in Dallas (New Beginnings Surgical Group)

In Texas, we have GoodWill Stores, and they're great! They sell second-hand clothing and "rejects" from stores like T. J. Maxx, Goody's, etc. I already shop at GoodWill because I resent these size 18 clothes!!! I definitely plan to shop there for all my intermediate sizes. I'll go back to Dillard's and Gap and such when I get into those size 10's!!!!!

I was banded with the Realize band on May 7, 2009 by Dr. Manuel Castro in Dallas, Texas. We used Trinity Medical Center. Surgery went beautifully. I had a bit of pain, for sure, but today I feel really good. It has been 5 days since surgery. I'm going to use this blog to chart my weight loss, my diet notes, and my general commentary as this process continues. Right now, I feel a bit restricted but not too much. I do feel full after eating a rather small meal, and that's great. If I drink too quickly, I feel uncomfortable--like there is a deep "burp" that needs to be released. Today, I had: Bfast: tapioca pudding, lemon pudding 10:00: cream of wheat w/protein powder and skim milk Starting Weight: 205 Today's Weight: 199

I was banded with the Realize band on May 7, 2009 by Dr. Manuel Castro in Dallas, Texas. We used Trinity Medical Center. Surgery went beautifully. I had a bit of pain, for sure, but today I feel really good. It has been 5 days since surgery. I'm going to use this blog to chart my weight loss, my diet notes, and my general commentary as this process continues. Right now, I feel a bit restricted but not too much. I do feel full after eating a rather small meal, and that's great. If I drink too quickly, I feel uncomfortable--like there is a deep "burp" that needs to be released. Today, I had: Bfast: tapioca pudding, lemon pudding 10:00: cream of wheat w/protein powder and skim milk Starting Weight: 205 Today's Weight: 199

Hi Everybody! I love having a group of people who are exactly where I am. I had surgery May 7th, too. It was the easiest surgery and recovery I've had, all except for one thing. I couldn't pee for anything. That kept me in the hospital until 7 pm (and my surgery was at 11:30 am). Turns out that I was so dehydrated, all my fluids (3 bags of IV Fluid and lots of drinks) were going to my tissues and not my bladder. I took a diuretic, and managed to pee a bit, so I was ready to go home at that point. The only real pain has been gas pain, and it is sometimes so painful that I take my prescription narcotic (Loertab liquid) to take the edge off. I also take Prilosec otc and GasX tabs (dissolve on your mouth type), and they keep the pain under control. Ah, and one more TMI piece of info: I was constipated, so I take Miralax and it really helped. I hated the idea of straining with these stitches in me. I woke up this morning with very little pain though. Everybody says that a full week after surgery you do notice a difference, and since we're coming up on Thursday, maybe that's why I feel better. A friend of mine had the sleeve on the same day, and she feels like a truck ran over her. It was laparoscopic, but we just all respond differently to pain. Here's a good thing to think about: if you're in pain, you're probably not hungry. If you're not hungry, you're probably losing weight!!!! I have been hungry, unfortunately. I developed a disgust for those milky Protein shakes, so I went to GNC yesterday and bought PROSlam Energy bullet thingies. They taste like concentrated syrup, so I filled a glass with ice, poured in the drink, then added Water. Stirred up, and it tasted like grape coolaid!!! It was a wonderful way to get 40 g of protein. Another cool food idea: this morning I felt starved, so I cooked some cream of wheat (3 T of Cereal to 1 c water--Tried milk first, but it scalded and was gross). I then put the cooked cereal in a bowl and added 1/2 scoop of protein powder--vanilla flavor. I added splenda, a bit of heart smart promise butter (or whatever they call that stuff) and enough skim milk to make it all liquid. It was UNBELIEVABLY GOOD! :mad2: It was so good, that I actually prefer it to the way I usually eat Cream of Wheat (thick). One more good food idea to try. My mom made me some delicious beef broth. She cooked a roast, drained off the juice, took off the fat, added some wine and seasonings and salt. Man, it tasted like liquid roast! Then I made some instant mashed potatoes. I put them in a bowl and poured some broth over them. I'd stir a little potato and broth together until they were liquid consistency. Very, very good!!! :tt1:I think I can survive 2 weeks on liquids now that I've found these foods. Btw, I have the Realize band. I've read that it doesn't have any fill in it when it's implanted. I think that's why I'm so hungry. Do any of you others have that band? One more thing: if you want some before and after pics for inspiration, go to obesityhelp.com and you can find a section of pics. They're incredible!!! Hang in there, May friends! --Lisa (aka, Venus)

I am so glad to hear I'm not the only one who can eat some regular food right after banding! I got the Realize band on May 7th, and I feel like I could eat pretty much anything. I'm a still restricting myself to drinks and very mushy foods (like Chicken Stars soup). I'll look forward to reading more of your postings!

I was banded w/the Realize band on May 7th (yesterday!) I have found that I can drink quite easily and could probably eat chunky soups like Clam Chowder if I tried. However, my doc recommended 2 weeks of liquid diet. Are there any others out there who have figured out what to eat in these next 2 weeks? I'm fine w/staying on liquids, but I sure would like to have some watery Cream of Wheat or chunkless soup..... Ideas?

I'm going to buy some of those Campbell's Soup at Hand. And I am actually going to try some baby food! I know that sounds crazy, but it's very liquidy and may taste good. Another thing I thought about is whipped cream with jello. I'll get the lowest sugar/fat type of Coolwhip and see how that goes. another thing that sounds good is cheese soup. I'm going to just cruise through Walmart this afternoon and see what I can find!

Hi, friends! Where do you live? central Texas How old are you? 44 Are you married, dating, significant other, partnered? I'm happily married. Any children? Yes, ages 15, 14, and 9. (Whew!) Grandchildren? none Pets? 3 wonderful cats and one ragamuffin dog Currant Health Morbidities? high blood pressure What are your greatest Fears? dying and leaving my children; a fear that I will never be able to control my weight. What is your weight loss short term goals and Long term goals? I'd love to be in the 140s. I haven't been since high school, and even then it was a struggle. I want to lose about 65 points, and although I've lost the much before, this time, I want to KEEP IT OFF! That's why I chose the band. List at least one thing you want to do/wear/eat/buy when you reach your goal? I want to wear one of those "little black dresses" that you see in magazines and go somewhere fancy. I also want to be able to buy cute clothes at thrift shops. If you're skinny, it's easy to do that! But not if you're 16/18 like I am. (And I've been up to 22/24). I am a college English teacher. My real love is science (as in geological science, biology, nutrition, etc.) I'd love to build a green house and live off the grid someday. I want to retire as soon as I can so that I can stop grading papers. Whew, what a sad activity!!! :-)

Hi, Hallelujah Girl. Your stats are similar to mine... I want to lose about the same amount. My family thought I was crazy because they didn't think I was "big" enough. But I've struggled with gaining and losing (and I'm talking 50-60 pound gains and losses), and I am ready for a PERMANENT solution! I'm not in too much pain right now, but the gas pain is still there. I'm enjoying the pain meds a little too much, I must say. I get to escape the hubby and 3 kids and go lie down in my peaceful, toasty bed. :-) This has all been good so far!!! What are you "eating" in these post op days?