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I agree I am shocked they recommended Slimfast. Carbs and sugers don't keep you full for very long. You want a shake that is higher in protein. If you really want a ready to drink I'd recommend Premier Brand from Costco they come in both Chocolate and vanilla 160 cal 30 g protein.

Are you a student? Do you have a job where you need to lift things? If you have a sedentary job or go to school full time I don't think you will have a problem. When I had my gall bladder out (regular incision) I could not work for the rest of the semester because I was an industrial janitor and had to lift heavy things. I had the best GPA of my college career because I got to concentrate on school instead of working! I am a corporate recruiter which is lots of sitting. I had surgery on a Thursday. Went back to work the next Monday. So nine days after surgery. Even if you are not working or standng a lot the port incision will still hurt after 10 days but it's not bad.

Don't really have an anwer for you. I would however think the standing tanning booths would be better since you are 6-8 inches away from the bulbs.

You doctor might not get fills for now because as you loose weight it could be coming off your stomach and he's waiting until he feels the band needs to be tightened around the stomach. I don't neccesarily agree with this theory. To be perfectly blunt with you if you eat like you did before the band you will gain weight before you see him next. For one your body has been denied it's normal amount of food for 3 weeks and it is making up for lost time. Ever notice when you get the flu you loose 5 pounds and then within days you've gained it back? Until you have fills (and that's multiple) the band won't do anything. You will be able to eat exactly the same as you did presurgery. Also the band does not have the power to prevent you eating high fat/cal/carb foods. I think I am lucky that I don't have trouble eating particular foods. I try to make good food choices and then the band helps me to only eat small portions of less healthy foods. This is going to be all about will power. Possibly for months (six months for me). I highly recommend buying a digital scale. I measure out the Protein and sometimes veggies. When the foods gone I stop eating.

Call your doctor before changing your diet! You are lucky if you can have cream of wheat. I was on clear liquids for one week and full liquids for another week, week three I could have cottage cheese. No eggs until week 4! You can do SERIOUS damage to your stomach if it is churning and POPS the stiches holding your band in place. Do you want to risk that? Personally I would add additional servings of the food you are allowed; and or spread out your the items that you are eating. I would have soup and/or broth and an hour later have the protein shake. At my two week check up I asked if I could move to the next stage 3 days early. The nurse said "Absolutely NOT".

I did not see any restriction until 9.4 CC and may be in restriction at 10 CC. There are some who are in their sweet spot when they are eating and no longer feel hungry vs feeling full. Which is what happens for me. You may want to keep that in mind while you evalute whether you are at restriction. The goal is not to be so tight that you can't eat certain foods. You should be able to a variety of foods but have smaller portions. There are posters who say they are in the "sweet spot" but then say they can't eat most solids (keep in mind it is normal to be tighter in the morning).

As previous poster mentioned it could take a while to get restriction. Not trying to be a downer just expressing my own experience. On the upside I usually lose a couple pounds post fill! I highly recommend buying a electronic food scale that allows you to zero out the plate. I use mine for lunch and dinner everyday. My doctor calls for 3 oz of solid protein. It's very hard to eyeball 3oz. You could very well be getting twice as much meat if you are'nt measuring. I measure out the meat and that's it no seconds.

I have been lucky in that I don't have trouble eating particular foods. I've only ever gotten stuck when not chewing baby carrots well enough. Go figure. I think I may be at restriction (took 6 months). I tend to get a no longer hungry feeling rather than feeling full. I wish I did get a full feeling.

I have been lucky in that I don't have trouble eating particular foods. I've only ever gotten stuck when not chewing baby carrots well enough. Go figure. I think I may be at restriction (took 6 months). I tend to get a no longer hungry feeling rather than feeling full. I wish I did get a full feeling.

I also noticed hair loss at about 5 months. My sugeons' office does'nt think it's due to weight loss since I'm a slow looser. In my last blood panel done by my GP they said my thyroid was low and to recheck in a month. The surgeons office said low thyroid could cause hair loss and perhaps explain why I am a slow looser. I need to go back for the thyroid blood test soon. I've been taking Bioten for about 3 weeks can't say I've seen a reduction in hair loss.

You'll have to talk with your surgeon. I can say that a couple weeks before surgery while working a log splitter; when I cut an enoumous piece of wood (like 4 ft in diameter) half the log fell off the platform and hit my leg. It did break the skin but not a lot. I did however get an enourmous bruise; about 6 inches in diameter. I was on blood thinners so that could have helped. The bruise was quite visible when I put on the johnny but no one said a word about it.

How many days post op are you? It sounds like you are on a cross between liquids and solids. My doctor says once you are on solids to only do solids. Liquids slide right through the band. Though I do have greek yoghurt augmented with protein powder and Kashi for breakfast. My doctor does'nt really have me count calories. The Nut however said to shoot for 1200 daily.

How many days post op are you? Are you supposed to be on solids? I might go to liquids for a day. You could be swollen from over eating.

When I was 18 I lost about 100 pounds and stopped having my period for months. Looking back I had an eating disorder but even then I still only got down to a size 14! After sugery my issue has been very irregular periods. I was on like a rolling 24 day schedule. Then last month I had 2 periods. I have to schedule my yearly Gyn. appointment this month. The weigh loss office does'nt think the period issues are weight loss related because I am not a fast looser. Shrug

I would call your doctors office. My doctor did'nt weigh you after the blood test, and presurgery counseling two weeks before surgery.

My concern about Lean Cusine is that they tend to be high in carbs and have limited protein. You might want to pick out the meat and weight it. You should be getting 3 oz of protein. If you're not getting enough protein add enough chicken breast to get to 3 oz. I once read on LC web site that their meals should be part of a "healthy meal". Meaning they are not ment to be a complete meal and that you should have additional veggies. So even the manufacturer does'nt consider them a real meal! That's not to say I did'nt eat them pre band. I did tend to by the larger size that they sell in a couple flavors because it was more like a real meal.

I'm pretty lazy in the morning. I have my chewible: multi vitamin, calcium, fiber gummies. Then my one cup of high test coffee for the day! Later I have Chobani Greek Fat Free Yoghurt with fruit with the follow add ins: Half scoop whey isolate protein powder, splendra, benefiber, 1 protein scoop Kashi go Crunch. About 26 g protein, appr. 220 cal.

My state does'nt have a weight listed. My picture however does'nt look a lot like me. Also the day the picture was taken it was like 90 degrees in the DMV; in fact a woman in front of me passed out and they had to call an ambulance! So my face is bright red in the picture!

I add benefiber to my breakfast yoghurt every day. I have always been a daily person and about 5 months out from surgery I started to have some issues. I am continuing benefiber, sometimes also adding it to drinks. I had been taking 2 gummy fiber chews with my vitamins but have increased it to 3 in the morning and 3 at night.

In a word yes. Luckily for me it passes in a couple minutes. Very uncomfortalbe.

You are still very much in recovery. Mine is more toward the side and at 2 weeks I was still getting jabbed when I stood up or bent over. Give it another 3 weeks.

How big of a piece of food can get stuck in the belt. I know we aren't supposed to eat rice but could something the size of a grain of rice get stuck? I have no trouble eating any food. The only thing that has ever gotten stuck? Baby carrots. I was really hungry and ate them to fast. I disagree that being stuck is not painful. I thought it was very painful. But unlink others it pasted within a couple minutes not hours. When I sip Water how long do I have to wait in between sips? How much liquid qualifies as a sip? If I take too big of a sip what will happen? After you're healed from surgery you can drink water as fast as you want. I am nearly at restriction and even now I just get a slight slowness in the water going down like a stuck drain. And that's if I chug water. I have been practicing chewing and my jaw is so sore. Will that stop eventually? I would'nt bother practicing a million chews. I find cutting my food up into small pieces is fine. If the food is in a small piece you don't have to chew for 30 seconds. Most of us are used to taking huge bites. If you stop doing that you should be fine. If I bump my port on something will it hurt? After you've healed you don't even notice it's there. What are some ideas for bevarages to get my water intake but still have flavor? Chrystal Light, Diet decaf Ice tea, Morning cup regular coffee (no milk no suger I use splendra) decaf rest of the day. What are some good tasting Protein drinks or recipies for them? I use Dymatize Elite vanilla 114 cal Protein 24 g and Gold Standard double chocolate 120 cal 24 Protein 24 g. I find pricingt at Vitamin Shoppe to be better than GNC (even with their buy one get one free sales). They will also exchange if you don't like the powder you bought. Run a google search for Protein shake recipes and look for ones written for weight loss surgery. PreOp most doctors don't want you adding bananas or other fruit or Peanut Butter because of the calories. I highly recommend a Hamilton Beach personal blender. I freeze Milk cubes and add ice cubes to give the shake a frosty texture. Other things I add include Suger/fat free pudding powder, Davinchi suger free syrups, splendra (people like Carnation Instant Breakfast because of the Splendra so you might as well add it to real protein powder so it tastes good). Premier Brand from costco is really good 160 cal 30 g Protein.

Reg. Muscle Milk is high in calories compared to other Protein powders. Reg Muscle Milk 250 cal 32 g protein: http://www.drugstore.com/qxp158245/cytosport/muscle_milk_powder_vanilla_creme.htm?fromsrch=muscle+milk+powder+vanilla Muscle Milk Light http://www.amazon.com/Cytosport-Muscle-Light-Vanilla-powder/dp/B000OP1TS8 195 cal 25 g protein. Personally I think there are much better choices that offer just as much protein for A LOT less calories. Esp. If you are going to use fat free milk which does bring an extra 10 g of protein for it's 90 calories. I use Dynatize Elite Vanilla 114 cal 24 g Protein, Gold Standard Double chocolate 120 cal 24 g protein, Premier ready to drink 160 cal 30 g of protein. My doctor also requires Whey isolate. Which is a more refined protein that your body can burn more effectively. Whey concentrates are a mixture of different types of protein. Isolates are more expensive but are better for your body.

I had a fill this week and can now move to solids (now at 10CC's). I definately think that a few minutes after I stop eating that I get the sensation of being full. My doctor's office says the sweet spot is when you can go 5 hours before you need to eat again. I would'nt say that I really WANT to wait that long between meals but can force my self to. How long do you go between meals? By this I mean having Breakfast or lunch and then waiting till the next meal with no Snacks. My doctor says to have 3 oz of Protein but does'nt really get specific about how much vegetables. Do you measure by weight or by measuring cup? Thanks

Did you drink enough water? Are you having daily BM's? Could any of your food choices have been higher in salt than normal?