isaviolinist

My heart was breaking reading this. I am sending so many positive thoughts to you and your little one. You should be so proud of yourself for continuing to take care of yourself through this ordeal. Its wonderful because you need to be healthy yourself so you can be all there for your daughter. Good for you :thumbup: Even though you don't know me, know that I am sending many wonderful thought toward you and your family.

Yay! That is so great! You should be proud of yourself! :thumbup: are you gonna do anything as a reward for reaching that goal?

Well I'm about a year and a half out from surgery so it may be different, but we do a lot of jumping in our cross training class but so far it doesn't seem to be affecting my port at all. I don't know if your place wiLl do this, but at our place the trainers will modify exercises to suit individual needs. So maybe tell them that the jumping is tricky and see if they can suggest an alternative exercise?

Hey good luck with your fill! And nice job with your loss this week! This morning I was at 214. A 3.6 pound loss from last week. It also happens to be my Thanksgiving goal :thumbup: hoping to take off 3-4 more before Turkey Day so ill be in good shape for my New Year's goal (onederland!!).

I didn't have any doubt in the beginning because I knew that I wouldn't have any restriction after surgery. There are only a few lucky people that have some sense of restriction before having an adjustment. I wasn't one of them, but I wasn't surprised. I eat a balanced diet (when I say diet, I'm not talking about 'dieting'). Generally, I end up a 33%/33%/33% for my macronutrients. I eat anywhere between 60-90g of Protein, about 20-25g of fat per day, and my carbs vary. I don't do any fad dieting or anything (i.e. no carbs, no fat, or whatever is popular these days). For me, maintaining a lifestyle is not about dieting. I read a study that there is something like a 98% failure rate with the fad diets that are advertised. I eat things that I like (luckily, the majority of those 'things' are nutritious but I don't deprive myself of little treats...I just budget my calories so I can include them) and I track my calories like a crazy person (everything that enters my mouth, including the little sample I get at the super market, or the taste I take while I'm cooking....everything). I use fitday.com, and I really like it. There are other sites too. And most importantly, I do high intensity exercise 6 days a week, and something low intensity on the 7th day. I average about 10 pounds a month. In September, my body fat percentage was around 46%. Now its around 35% and dropping steadily :thumbup:

Lots of luck and wishes for a speedy recovery!!! Congrats on your surgery today :thumbup:

Well I don't really have mini meals - I have lunch at noon which is a protein shake (I don't breakfast...I hate eating in the morning). And then I have little snacks (like half an ounce of cheese, yogurt, some little sample of something at Whole Foods etc.) and then sometime between 6-8PM we have dinner. After dinner I usually have some kind of dessert (usually a weight watchers ice cream or a slim fast bar). I log all of my food (even the little sample I get at the market) and so I know what my budget is. And if I know I'm going to have a higher calorie dinner, I plan for it and budget my calories. This works best for me - I'm never tired, I have energy at my workouts, and I don't feel hungry generally (head hunger is a different story, however).

I wasn't doing mushies over Thanksgiving, but I think there is a lot of stuff you can eat (just don't go overboard). Mashed potatoes (just mush up the lumpy potatoes or pick them out), any kind of soup (pumpkin, squash...if its chicken, just pick out the non mushy stuff), squash souffle. You can probably have some pumpkin pie - just don't eat the crust. I'm not a fan of pureeing certain things (I don't eat poultry, red meat, or pork...just seafood - the thought of pureeing either is gross to me so I never did it) but you could certainly puree some turkey with gravy or cranberry sauce or something like that if you like that.

You need to go get an unfill ASAP. You will become dehydrated and starvation is not the way to lose weight (you won't be able to starve yourself forever, and you'll gain it back...plus you will royally screw up your metabolism if you do it for an extended period of time...then you'll REALLY have issues losing). Your mindset seems like an eating disorder mindset. You've really done wonderfully well with your weightloss, and it sounds like you've persevered despite complications. Be proud of that, and continue on losing weight in a healthy manner. You should page your doctor and get in for an unfill first thing tomorrow.

At 10 days, I was feeling more like myself. The day of surgery I was walking around, so at 10 days I was pretty much able to get around on my own (except my surgeon said no driving for 2-3 weeks after). The only thing that was still pretty painful was my port. That stayed sore for awhile (5 weeks maybe?). I guess I'm wondering what your post-op diet is like? For 3-4 days after surgery I was on clear liquid (so broth basically). And then for 2 weeks after that (which is where you are right now at 10 days) I was on full liquids only (so Protein Shakes, SF FF Jello, milk, etc). For 2 weeks after that I was on mushies (anything with a mashed potato consistency basically), and then after that I went slowly to solids. I guess I'm just thinking that at 10 days out its too early to be eating solid foods like eggs. The reason is that when you eat food, your stomach churns to digest the food (even if its just a little bit of food, or something that you think is easy to go down). With the band so newly in place, its not a great idea for the stomach muscles to be moving that way. Perhaps this could be contributing to your issues with stomach pain. What is your post-op plan from your surgeon for eating?

Yay! Welcome:)

Sometimes when I get sandwich craving, I use Tumaro's low carb tortilla and toast it with tuna and cheese, and its like a tuna melt. For me, if I toast it and eat it in the evening the tortilla doesn't get stuck, and there's only 50 calories per tortilla and they're very low carb (5 net carbs, 6 g of Fiber which I need), plus 5g of Protein per tortilla: Tumaro's Gourmet Tortillas - Low Carb Tortillas, Healthy Flour Tortillas and Wraps, Organic Tortillas, Flavored Tortillas, food Service Tortillas, Soy-Full Heart Flatbread Tortillas). Last night, I cut two slices of tomatoes and put them next to each other with a little salt and pepper, put some shredded lettuce on top, then tuna, then a 1/4 cup reduced fat cheese. And toasted it all in the toaster oven. Didn't even miss the bread/tortilla!

The thing about MM Lite (ready to drink shake) is that yes, it is has far fewer calories, but it is a much smaller serving than regular MM ready to drink (8.5 oz vs 11 oz). There are about 19 (18.85, actually) calories per ounce in Muscle Milk Light. There are 20 calories per ounce in Muscle Milk. So the "Lite" part is, for the most part, a result of the smaller portion. You can lose weight eating anything - its a simple matter of calories in vs calories out. It doesn't matter if you drink MM, MM Lite, some other whey Protein, or you just eat your protein (or if you dont, for that matter...calories can come from protein, fat or carbs...regardless of where they come from, if you eat more than you burn, you'll gain...if you eat less, you'll lose...and please, no one launch into the "I feel like I can't function if I'm eating carbs...so calories in ARE NOT just calories in to me"...you're talking about something different, you're not talking about the simple equation of calories in vs out). If you feel like you want to budget a MM into your daily calorie goal (and that goal is less than you are burning), then you will lose weight. Also, I bought the Premier Protein shakes (160 calories, 30 g of protein) and they are delicious. I'm phasing out the MM and moving to the Premier Protein Shakes. I love them

Well even though you don't know exactly what you'll look like thin, know that you're going to look great!!! Congrats on your surgery date! How exciting Stick around on LBT - lots of great information and also its a great way to keep yourself accountable! food logging has also been invaluable to me (I always say, when I'm not logging my food, its because I don't want to think about what I'm eating ). I use fitday.com to track my food - check it out! Good luck with everything!

Hey everyone - Im blogging as well. Its about my journey with the band and its also half food blog - I post a lot of recipes. I'm a passionate cook I love seeing how many calories I can reduce in recipes while still making delicious flavors. If you're looking for some band friendly food ideas (or just want to read about my journey with my band), check it out! Here is the address: Violinist With A Band

I love pickles and I always have them in my fridge for low calorie snacking. I eat them regularly These are my favorite kind: McClure's Pickles

I don't think you'll have last supper syndrome to be honest. I defintely had a "last supper" before I started my preop diet (I don't even remember what it was...that's how great it must've been ) but honestly there isn't really much that I can't eat currently. I don't do carbonated beverages but I don't miss them. Sushi/maki can be hard for me depending upon what it is, but that is also not a big deal and I don't really miss it (and I used to be a BIG sushi eater...4 or 5 times a week). But as far as most other things, I can eat them, just not nearly as much. And if there is something that I want that is typically really high calorie, I get creative with the recipe to reduce calories and eat an appropriate portion. Whatever it was that I had for my last supper, I can still eat it so it wasn't really like a last supper. I wish that was something I would've understood before I got banded. But save yourself stress (and maybe lots of calories too) - you don't need to do the last supper as you'll be able to taste most of your favorite foods again (and won't it be so nice to be able to stop after a small amount?).

I also cook for my family (usually my fiance and I, but when I'm home, my entire family). I'm really passionate about it actually (I post a lot of recipes on my blog if you're looking for ideas...theres also a great cooking section on LBT). Cooking for your family actually becomes a really awesome thing because you can cook them healthy and delicious meals and you can all eat better together (whether your family is thin or not, everyone can benefit from eating healthier foods!).

I don't eat breakfast usually (eating anything too early makes me nauseous). My first meal is usually around noon and it's a protein shake. But every now and again I have 1 egg that I crack in a coffee cup that I spray with non stick spray. I microwave it and that's that. I don't have any enthusiasm for morning meals (but on the contrary, I'm passionate about my dinners and cooking and creating new flavors and dishes is a huge part of my life). So if I eat in the morning, it's pretty blah.

There are really no calories in Vitamins. It's not the cause of your slowed weightloss. If youre 4 weeks post op, are you on to mushy foods? What are you eating and how much? What is your daily calorie intake? Has your doc cleared you to exercise? If yes, what is your exercise like? Those are some of the factors that could be accountable for slowed (or speedy, for that matter) weightloss. Also, the first 6 weeks after surgery are really for healing, so I wouldn't worry about it too too much.

I dont really miss anything in the way that I'm like longing for it everyday, but I kind of miss the fun of going for sushi/maki. I'm not entirely sure if it's the rice or seaweed but I just have a hard time with it. There are some places that will leave the rice and seaweed out and just wrap the maki in a thin piece of cucumber (the cucumber takes the place of the seaweed and rice) so I can still eat it if I go to a place that will do it. I make Korean soft tofu stew. It's traditionally eaten with rice. I can eat the rice if I put it on the spoon then put some of the stew on the spoon so it saturates the rice, but I choose not to. Sometimes I do miss the yummy taste of the rice with the stew but it's something I can live without so I do. I have so few calories to spend during the day, so I cut things where I can. For the most part, I am satisfied with what I can eat and don't really mourn the loss of any food in particular.

Congrats! That is amazing - you should be so proud of yourself !

My last real meal is usually sometime between 6 and 730 depending on the day. However I do eat Snacks, sometimes right before bed. They are never huge- usually a weight watchers ice cream bar or a piece of cheese (or a pickle...I love pickles:P). I don't think it's good to eat large meals right before bed - I think there is a higher risk for heart related issues (like a heart attack maybe). So as long as you don't go to bed at 830 and it's not giving you heart burn or other uncomfortable issues while you're sleeping, you're probably fine.

Mel- I LOVE PB2!!!! Sadly, I basically am out of it and I was really surprised that there isn't a retailer near where I live currently that sells it. However there is a small health food store near my parents house and since we'll be there next week for thanksgiving I figured I'd just wait until we got there instead of ordering. But I am missing my PB2! I love it! I used to drink unjury a lot (these days I drink ready to go shakes like premier protein) and I always mixed it in with chocolate unjury, fat free milk and a little ice. Chocolate peanut butter icy Protein shake - so yummy (I'm not even joking- it tasted like a milkshake. I totally looked forward to that protein shake:tongue2: ) Thanks so much for the tip about davinci syrup! I've never heard of it but I'm such a peanut butter fanatic I'm always looking for yummy peanut butter options! Definitely will be checking it out, thanks!!