honk

Even though I have lost over 100 pounds I am still Morbidly Obese. I have a hard time knowing what fits by looking and have to try things on. It would probably help my body image if my clothes fit. I work from home so I have'nt bothered buy many clothes. In some ways it's hard to tell how much I've lost because I look pretty frumpy.

How long ago was your fill. It sounds to me like you may need a slight until; it should'nt hurt to eat. I was banded the same day and did not start to get restriction until my 5 th fill which took me to 9.4. Today I got an additional .6. Still on liquids so it's hard to tell.

I would try to find alternatives to what your craving. If it's chocolate perhaps sugar free hot chocolate or pudding cups. I sometimes have salted shelled peanuts. It gives me a salty crunch but I have to take them out of the shell which slows me down. Also I have to stand over the garbage to eat them. If I was sitting down I would eat lots more.

I don't feel guilty because I've done those diets and exercise and lost weight. Three times in my life I lost over a hundred pounds and gained it back. This time I lost 50 pounds before surgery and felt enpowered because I was'nt going to gain it back. Personally I think someone who gained a lot of weight because of an illness or accident or emotional trauma has a greater chance to keep weight off after a major diet (basically they were a thin person who gained weight) There's a reason only 5% maintain a major loss. Where are these people going to be in 3 years? The band is a medical device. People who have pacemakers do we say they took the easy way out? No. I go to the gym 7 days a week. I choose healthy foods; and watch my portion size. It's not like I put an order in for a thin body and will be back in 6 months to pick it up.

I can still eat bread if I wanted and I am nearing the "sweet spot". I just choose not to. Were you at a work function over the weekend? For future reference if you need to be on liquids or mushies after a fill your employer must make allowances for medical conditions. If your doctor writes a note that you either need to bring your own food or be supplied appropriate foods; your employer must comply.

Are you on clear liquids or full? If on clears try stock it is better than broth. If full I really liked Pacific Sweet Red Pepper soup. I added Mrs. Dash non salt chicken flavored spice. If you doctor has you on liquids it's to allow your stomach to heal. I was not allowed to move to solids for FOUR weeks. I tried to move to mushies 2 days early (two weeks out) and that was VETOED. Call you doctor's office an see if they will advance you. If not follow their orders, they really are for a reason.

Not to be a downer but are you supposed to be on Clear Liquids? If so you need to cope with stock for now. Sorry but you don't want to cause damage to your band/stomach. I would recommend stock vs broth it has more flavor. Also try adding Mrs Dash non salt spice mix. It really adds flavor. If you can have full liquids try a tomato or Sweet Red Pepper soup. Still not crunchy but this will pass.

If it makes you feel any better I had two periods this month; with a two week break! I would'nt say I was hugely hungry but I had serious cravings that I did'nt really give into but I did eat quite a few pistachio's (at least they were in the shell so I had to take the time to deshell them.). Basically I was looking for something crunch and salty; and did'nt understand why because I had just had a period. Grrrrr. A few years ago I read an article based on a medical journal piece that noted women burn up to 500 additional calories during ovulation. I'll take any help I can get.

Okay disclosure I am not married. But I think there is a fine line between being considerate and being a doormat. Your whole life should not center around his eating. Is it bad for you to share basically the sames meals because they are healthy? No. But that should'nt mean you have to give up everything you want to eat because he can't. At some point it does boil down to his will power. Just becuaes it's in the house does'nt mean he has to eat it. Perhaps you can have a cupboard which is yours, where you keep non band related food. I remember Mom telling Dad "you can have all the candy you want just hide it". One time he hid it in her old school hair dryer (the ones you put on the table and sat under!). Truely he was'nt being mean just clueless. It was out of sight right? If you want to bake for people at work or for church, so what! I made my nephew a care package with Cookies. I ate one and mailed the rest. Does he go to he grocery store or anywhere that foods is not limited for him (work, church)? I was shopping the other day and I saw this huge display of Dorittos. I had this scene in my head where cookie monster would gobble a whole plate of cookies with half of them landing on the floor. That's how I felt at that moment about those Dorittos. But I did'nt buy them as much as I wanted to! He needs to set his own personal boundries instead of imposing them on you.

I've tried muscle milk lite chocolate and it was fine. Do you have a Costco? They carry premier Ready to Drink chocolate and vanilla (new) 160 cal 30 g protein. I have no connection to either company. Yesterday at Costco they were giving out samples because of the new flavor. Go try a sample and decide whether you like them. I keep a case on hand for the days after fills when you are on liquids; and for busy mornings for breakfast.

When I had surgery the doctor discovered a small hernia that he fixed. My mother was really excited because she could tell my aunts (her sisters) that she was staying with me because of the hernia operation. I am not telling the whole world becuase I don't think it's their business. My aunts can be pretty pushy and my mother just does not have it in her to lie so it was a great answer as to why she was staying with me for a week.

Some doctors approve sugar free CIB made with fat free milk. The milk will add Protein but you will still only be at 13 g protein for 150 cal. Many doctors feel it does not have enough protein. Considering CIB contains splendra (sucralose) to make is sweet, you might as well get whey Isolate powder and add enough splendra or other add ins (Sugar/fat free pudding powder, Davinchi sugar free syrups found in the coffee isle, sugar free chocolate syrup) to make it acceptable. Sorry for the run on sentance. Gold Standard Whey Isolate (most doctors require Isolate as it is a "better" protein which your body can disgest more easily); has 120 cal, 1 g fat, 3 g carb, 24 g protein. Add milk and you add 80 cal, 10 g protein. So for 200 cal you get 34 g protein. CIB is 150 cal, 13 g protein. I buy my protein at Vitamin Shoppe prices are WAY better than GNC. Do you have a costco near you? If so I highly recommend joining. They now carry both vanilla and chocolate ready to drink Premier Protein Shakes; 160 cal 30g Protein! They have powdered protein as well. They also carry a store brand version of Splendra which is much cheaper; and have carried Pacific Brand Sweet Red Pepper/Tomato Soup which is great for the full liquid stage (Half the price of the grocery store and since most people do a week of full liquids you will be drinking a lot of soup.) Depending on your doctors post op diet you may not be allowed fruit during the first couple weeks! Even Blended! Most doctors require 1 week of broth and Protein shakes. No fruit allowed as they don't want you stomach churning to digest. For mushie stage I had Chobani fat free greek yoghurt with fruit (add splendra because it is sour); that I mixed with a hand blender. Greek yoghurt is very high in protein 14 g for 6 oz. There are several brands but chobani is my favorite. Now that I am on solids I add 1/2 scoop of vanilla isolate, splendra, and 10 g of kashi Cereal for breakfast, 220 cal for 24 g of protein.

When I told my Nut. that I often have long periods of time between lunch and dinner; and that work out in the middle she approved having a low carb/fat/cal protein shake. So sometimes I have a premier ready to drink shake before working out; it has 160 cal, for 30 g of protein.

I agree it's hard to tell without specific food amounts. I hate to open the tempest in the teapot about eggs. I know recently there has been more discussion about egg yolks not being that bad when eating WITH egg whites. I don't eat egg yokes 1)fat, 2)cholesterol. Keep in mind one egg yolk has 7 g fat. So 2 scrambled eggs is 14 g fat, 180 cal, 12.6 g Protein. Yes I understand fat makes you feel full longer. Egg white (one egg) 17 cal 3.6 g protein. So 4 eggs whites 68 cal., 14.4 g protein, no fat. Do you live in Europe? Your vocab suggests that you might. Not sure if you can buy what we call Egg beaters, containers of just egg whites in the refrigerated section. Also do you have a digital food scale? My doctor says 3 oz of protein per meal. I have to weigh because I know I would eat more than 3 oz. I Really suggest that you invest in one if you have'nt already.

MaineJackie, I totally get your comment about parents and food. My mother is widowed and finally lives alone (now that my nephew has moved out!). From my Dad I got low blood suger issues so I have to eat 3 meals a day. When Mom is here I feel like I need to provide protein, veggie, carb. But living alone she now eats 2 meals a day and lives fast and loose with the four food groups.

Even though I had been exercising everyday for 9 months and somewhat watching what I ate I had a mini stroke at 39. I starting eating better and continuing to exercise. During my MANY doctors visits after where they tried to figure out what had caused the stroke one of my doctors' asked "Have you ever considered WLS". I was so angry and hurt. Well a few weeks later I started to research the band. I knew right away that I did not want gastric bypass. Though later my surgeon said that he could'nt perform it on me anyway becuase the high risk of causing another blood clot. I had to postpone my surgery once because my neurolgist said the bloodclot had not been sufficiently resolved. While I was devistated this gave me more time to learn new eating habits. I would find the fatality rates for common surgeries like gall bladder removal, hip replacements and compare them to the band. If you needed one of those surgeries would you refuse? Is it the risk or is it the stigma? Where will you be in 20-30 years if you don't take a stand now. Do I wish now that I had looked into surgery before having a stroke? YES. I would ask your surgeons office for their mortality rates; because those figures are more important than general statistics. One thing to consider as previously posted that someone who dies within 6 months of surgery for any reason is counted against the band.

I also have the personal Hamilton Beach Blender. The Mixing cup is also a travel mug. It works GREAT with ice cubes. I've had mine for a year now no problems. I like the fact the fact that I don't have to dirty a second cup. Again $15 at Walmart/Target. If I had been working out of the house I would have bought one for work. Great for the price!

I would review the type of calories before lowering them. I would'nt call myself a low carber but then I don't eat bread or crackers, and very little starches. How may grams of protein are you getting per day?

I do eat corn on the cob, but never canned corn. One of my go to fast food places is KFC. I buy grilled chicken breast and get corn as the side. I never eat bread anymore so I think having corn once or twice a month is the least of my worries.

Pre-surgery I always had a drink with meals. When out at a restaurant I esp. needed to have a drink. I don't know if it was because I ate to fast or the food was to salty; but I was always dying of thirst. Now I really don't miss drinking with meals. The only time I have ever REALLY wanted something to drink was at a party when my best protein choice was Greek sausage which was really salty.

I think kids need to eat what their parents eat. Unless the parents are on a fad diet that's not healthy everyone in the family needs to eat the same food. When I was a kid if we complained about dinner my mother would say "eat rocks". Boy did that annoy us! But looking back there was nothing wrong with the food she made. In fact she cooked what they call today the "Mediterranean Diet".

I don't think there is anything wrong with crystal light. The one thing that I take into consideration is how much clear water my kidneys have had for the day. Your body does need to filter out anything added to water. I kind of think of it as cleaning out the filter when I drink water.

I really know nothing about kidney stone. One question I would ask the doctor is do certain kinds of protein have higher likelihood of causing stones. The reason I ask is that not all protein powder is created equal. For example Whey Protein powder comes in several "kinds", and I dont mean flavor. My doctor required whey isolate which is a higher quality of protein that your body digests easier. Isolate costs more than other types of Whey protein.

You need to ask you doctor how they handle weight loss esp if you are near 40 and your insurance says you have to be over 40 BMI to have surgery. I was so far above 40 that I still qualified even though I lost 50 pounds between first consult and surgery. These 6 months are the time to start learning new food and eating habits. Start eating like a naturally thin person. To me this means eating healthy foods most of the time. Have a grilled chicken sandwich instead of fried. Stop eating french fries and have a baked potato. Stop having "a few bites" here and there. They add up! And you always eat more than you think. Getting the Lap Band is only half of the battle. You need to rewire you brain. I thought I was making good food choices but I was'nt. I would buy baked lays and crackers thinking they were low fat. My problem was I would eat half a bag at a time.

Do you keep patients over night? (Personally I think it's a good idea) Which brand band do you use? Why? What is your philosophy regarding fills: how agressive are they? Do they give a fill during surgery? (Most of the times I've read that some got a fill during surgery they've had side affects that cause them to have trouble swallowing post op.)