Lisa99

A great mushy is any kind of mild fish or canned chicken mashed up really fine and then topped with a fat free alfredo sauce recipe that I have. Once you get to regular food the alfredo sauce is great over just about everything! My current favorite is to have a small bed of brown rice, a piece of broiled tilapia on top of that and then the alfredo sauce with tomato, onion, mushroom and spinach added to the sauce..YUMMY!! Here is the recipe: Quick Creamy Alfredo Sauce 1 c evaporated skim milk 1/4 c liquid butter buds 1/4 c flour 4 tsps fat free chicken broth (broth, not the crystals) 1/4 c fat free parmesan cheese 1/4 tsp minced garlic salt and pepper to taste In a small saucepan over low heat, blend flour, butter buds, skim milk and chicken broth. Add garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until sauce thickens. Stir in parmesan cheese and serve immediately over anything you want! I often leave out the parmesan cheese and garlic and use the base as a basic white sauce. I then can add reduced fat cheese if I want a cheddar cheese sauce. I don't have problems with Pasta, so this cheese sauce makes a killer mac and cheese...not as tasty as the real thing, but a darn good substitute if you're really watching fat and calories. The recipe as written makes 1 3/4 cups of sauce and has 63 calories.

I'm at good restriction and have no problems drinking water the same way I used to. The only difference is that early in the morning the water sometimes "gurgles" through the band so I have to drink a bit more slowly then.

It can take several fills to get to restriction. My first fill worked for about a month, my second fill was the same and I even have one of the smaller bands that holds 4ccs of Fluid. My third fill has finally hit the right spot and I've been able to eat 1/2 cup or less at each meal since then. Also, my 3rd fill was in mid-February and it is still working just as well today. Hang in there, once you find the right spot you'll know it :-)

Hi Sleepyjean, Based on my knowing that I have a small frame and comparing it to the chart it is accurate. I'm 5'6 and have a 6" wrist which puts me in the small frame category.

I have no problems with nuts or grapes (or oranges even) later in the day, but early in the day none of these work.

3 little pieces of melba toast with either laughing cow cheese or "natural fruit" jam spread on...depending on whether I'm wanting sweet or salty. The melba toat I buy is "twice toasted" so it is incredibly crunchy and while I have a pretty tight band and can't eat normal breads, melba toast goes down as long as I take small bites and chew a lot.

Don't waste your money. Both he and the book is a joke. He's not a doctor of any kind and je even spend time in prison for fraud several years back....he blames his stint in prison on the government persecuting him for telling the truth :faint:

Yes, but the online service is only about $15 per month.

You can also do cardio and weights together. After every set do a fast run around the gym. It should take about the same amount of time to do the run as a "normal rest between sets" would take. Will definitely get the heart rate up!

Very good and very enlightening! If you missed it, hopefully it will repeat because it is a must see. The name was "Fat: What no one is telling you". The storyline was about how doctors have mapped more than 400 genes that can contribute to obesity and because of the complexity of the physiology and psychology involved no one really knows why some people eat and gain while others eat and don't gain. The doctors studying obesity are finally acknowledging that it is a complex topic and that telling people "eat less and move more" doesn't begin to scratch the surface of what is really going on. It was also very good because it explained to several "normal size" family members who had obese loved ones as part of the documentary why they would likely never lose weight and keep it off long term! ..... it brought to mind several discussions I've seen on this board about pre-bandsters (and some bandsters) having loved ones say "why can't you just eat less!!".....having them watch this show might stop that misconception. One last thing, there were segments on lapband and gastric bypass which were fascinating (gastric bypass doesn't work for the reason that it was originally thought)....anyway...hope you got to watch it too and if not, I hope it repeats so you can!!

It depends on the day and often the time of day In the morning, never, later in the day sometimes. But pizza crust, regardless of how thin is a no go.

Just a question: is someone who has had "weight loss surgery" allowed to enter? My husband and I have been following this since year 1, so if you enter be sure to let me know and we'll root for you!! :clap2: Good luck! Lisa

very few that I could think of. My doc didn't have a restriction on anything in the mushy stage as far as carbs go. He didn't get serious about doing high protein/low carbs until I was eating solid food again.

Fish for me is great, steak and chicken breast no longer go down after my last fill. But I've found an incredible substitute. Chicken thighs boiled...remove the skin and chop the meat into little tiny pieces. Top with a bit of picante sauce and a splash of fat free ranch dressing...yummy! Just like a chicken enchilada without the tortilla (which doesn't go down BTW)

it depends on the physiology of the person. Some people feel awful when they eat primarily Protein, others (like me) feel weird when they eat too many carbs (even good carbs) and not enough protein. Once you have restriction, it might be difficult to eat bread, Pasta, pizza crust, rice...basically anything sticky, so the amt of those types of carbs may be self-limiting. But the most important thing to do is stay away from junk carbs...ice cream, Cookies, chips, etc.

Any Whey is also good. 17 grams of protein, no fat and 70 calories in one scoop. I mix it into sugar free koolaid and have one about an hour after lunch every day....really keeps my blood sugar stable.

I was on clear liquids for the first five days - no Protein drinks were allowed. I felt very tired and had no energy and was even light-headed at times. I know it feels like an eternity right now, but it is really important to follow your doctor's instructions. Once you can move to Protein Drinks and then onto more solid food the memory of your pain right now will pass, I promise :-)

I have no problems with fruit. I'm pretty restricted and don't eat solids until about noon, but regularly eat grapes without peeling and oranges go down fine. Now if we were talking about steak or dry chicken breast that would be a different story...they have left my life for good. :think

My BMI was 32 and my doctor is in Dallas. I was self-pay. My doc's opinion was that the 35 BMI floor is an arbitrary limit and that if he felt surgery would help, he would do it. I had surgery last September and have never regretted it. Good luck!

For those who haven't had surgery yet, just wanted to give a different opinion about the pain related to the surgery. For me it was a non-event, but I do understand the point. Take it seriously and use the tool we've been given.

dissolvable stitches on the inside and steri strips on the outside, but part of the dissovable stitch was on the outside of the skin and felt like fishing line. About 8 weeks after surgery I was tired of it poking out so I took tweezers and pulled it out!! My husband had to do the exact same thing. (of course we both called the doc first to make sure it was ok)

If you'll use tiny forks and spoons it's hard to take too big of a bite. We use seafood forks and tiny espresso spoons for meals eaten at home. And the amount of chewing depends on the time of day. Mornings it's sometimes hard to get a Protein shake to go down, but by evening I can eat way too much food and don't have to chew to liquid.

After the 3rd fill recently, no bread, no pizza crust, not even fritoes with my chili! All a good thing probably...I can still eat Protein, non-fibrous veggies and grapes...so I'm good for now :-)

Right now I'm probably averaging less than 600/day. My first fill was last October and had lost about 30 pounds from surgery date. Then I had to have rotator cuff surgery so had to have a complete unfill just before Xmas....bad idea. I was making up for lost eating time, so no telling the calorie count!! Got another fill in ealy January did nothing! I could still eat anything I wanted and way too much of it. Got another fill mid-February and finally hit the exact right spot. I eat tiny amounts 3x per day and am never hungry. Probably around 600 calories / day. I've started losing again...about 15 pounds since my last fill....hooray!!!

Hi there, Congrats on surgery! I was lucky and was first up that day. Was at the surgery center at 5:30am, was in pre-op by 6, was in recovery by 7:30 and was released to go home at about 10:30am. Was a wonderfully uneventful experience so was in and out in a flash :clap2: Good luck on Monday!