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My doctor says to wait 1 hour before drinking.

As my mother would say "If you have to add anything to your coffee; you don't really like coffee." That being said I drink mine black with splendra. Long ago gave up cream but really need it to be sweet. When I said to my surgeon I'm really going to miss coffee he said "Why?" I drink one cup of caffeinated and then switch to decaf .

I'm going to get flamed for this but, No. If you want to loose weight than you need to exercise more. I do 1-2.5 hours of cardio daily. So exercising 3 days a week does not sound like enough for me. You would loose weight if you exercised more. By the way my surgeon wants a commitment from his patients of at least 30 minutes 7 days a week. The band is not meant to stop you from eating. It helps you feel satiation faster but it is not mean to be a hard stop when eating. Some people keep their bands WAY to tight in order to get that effect. Many of them end up having a band slip which is very bad because of this. I would say buy yourself a food scale and start weighing your Protein. Serve yourself 3-4 oz of low fat/cal protein. No seconds. Then eat low fat/cal veggies until full. Trust me no one gorges on plain carrots. Also, most bandsters loose their last 30 pounds VERY slowly. So you would probably loose 5 pounds at the start and then loose the last 25 very slowly. It is not going to be fast. When you read of people loosing 3-4 pounds a week it's because they are 100+ pounds over weight.

How long have you been banded? My doctor wants you to wait a year before getting pregnant.

Carbs are a bad snack period. Spikes blood sugar and won't keep you full for long. Plain chicken breast or low fat cheese sticks are a better choice.

My doctor never said to do a special diet. I ate as little as possible since they weigh you before the fill. Remember a pint weighs one pound. So even a large water will show up during your weigh in.

Never had problems with splendra either.

I second Premier shakes. They are sold at Costco and Sam's. I live alone and find the Costco membership with the money. Great prices on Greek yogurt (several brands), plain nuts (like walnuts, pecans, almonds), fruits and veggies, fiber pills and unflavored fiber powder. And the pharmacy has GREAT prices. I have no relationship to them other than having a membership.

Popcorn is a slider for me to. Also crunchy carbs are my trigger food. Kettle corn is also salty and sugary. Will it prompt you to drink liquids with calories? I could never ever keep it in my house.

Do you have a stick blender? I used mine to mince up the fruit found in Greek yogurt. Since Greek style is thicker (also has twice the protein) I added fat free milk to make it thinner. I was allowed yogurt in week 3. I also used Splendra since Greek style is sour. I bought stock instead of broth had a lot more flavor. I added Mrs Dash non salted flavorings before heating. Increased the flavor by A LOT. In my personal opinion don't bother with salt free stock/broth. You will be miserable enough without worrying about the salt in 8 oz of broth. Oh and by the way. Find one coffee cup in your collection that is actually a cup. Most mugs are twice that much. This way you won't need to measure out all the time. Also just buy name brand Jello and fat free pudding cups. They are sooo much better tasting and again you're only getting like 400 cals a day. You should at least enjoy them.

Really depends on your particular insurance. Mine fills were covered 100%. When I lost my insurance that covered the band, luckily I was at restriction. My doctor charges $200 for an appointment and $200 for the fill.

It took me 6 months to get "restriction". As mentioned previously the band does not stop me from eating anything. It helps me eat less. I am two years post op. Today was a major fat for me. I went to a college football game (my first ever) and ate in the stadium. I shared a hot sausage sandwhich with my sister (preband I would have certainly eaten a whole one); and had some french fries, at halftime had a brownie. Moral of the story I ate A LOT less than I would have preop. I also don't eat this way very often (maybe once a year). Previously I would have eaten food like that daily.

My first week of mushies were very soft mushies. Such as yogurt, cottage cheese and ricotta cheese. Week 2 of mushies was shredded chicken or canned tuna. I would agree most of your food was solids. I would step back to real mushies tomorrow.

FYI; in Europe they are requiring food show cals and fat content on the front of the food wrapper (you may notice we are now seeing this in the US as well). Well the makers of Nutella were fighting this because there statistics are soooooo baddddd. Post op I did exceptionally well. I had no gas pains, only used liquid Tylenol for pain, and was back as the gym on day 4. On day 10 I was back for post up follow up. I was sooooo hungry. At that point I was on full liquids (tomato Soup consistancy). I ask the nurse if I could move to soft mushies. Her answer? "Absolutley NOT!"

They say not to eat in front of the TV because you loose track of how much you are eating; and eat to much. Since I premeasure before I sit down there isn't excess food left for me to eat.

I was on liquids until day 15 and yes it sucks! Remember if you do have a problem it will be just you and your doctor not anyone from this site who says "my doctor let me move to solids much earlier". Yes you need to follow your doctors orders as they know how they attached the band not how some random doctor does their surgery.

My doctor orders liquids day one of either a fill or infill. If you're eating solids that could be your problem.

I was also told to avoid NSAIDs ie ibuprophen. I also have bad periods/cramps. I will say I think they are better as I've lost weight. At 42 I even had two periods this month. urggggg. In general about NSAIDs. There is research that shows correlation between high levels of NSAID usage and blood clots. I was on a perscription strength NSAID for 8 months and had a stroke at 39!!! Came totally out of left field.

Greek Yogurt is the best choice for yogurt; it has twice the Protein. For Breakfast I have a Greek yogurt (with fruit), half a scoop of Protein powder mixed in and some unflavored Fiber powder. Once you are on solids mix in some high proten Cereal (such as Kashi Go Lean) and some chopped walnuts. That keeps me for 4-5 hours. Plain grilled chicken breast or even chicken lunch meat or low fat cheese stick are good protein based Snacks.

My doctor never gave me instructions by volume. Instead I was told to measure out my Protein to 3 oz; and then eat low fat/cal/carb veggies until satisfied. Trust me you aren't going to over eat green pepper (plain no salad dressing) like you will a flavorful protein or mash potato with butter. I am 2 years post op and I still measure all protein when I am at home. When I was just banded I even measured when I went to my sister's since she has a food scale. This is a will power diet until you get restriction; and it may take you 6 months to get restriction. My doctor required therapy sessions with a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. Probably the most important thing I did preop. I acknowledged what foods triggered me to overeat. I used to have 2-3 different children cereals in my house at any time. I don't have any children! I used to eat it right out of the box. And I could eat half a box as dessert to my meal. Low fat crackers, rice cakes, chips were another problem. I no longer keep them in my house. Those reading who have a six month diet before surgery; NOW is the time to learn new food habits. There are some behaviors which in us are hard wired. Many of us have real food problems. In these instances you need to make plans on how you will deal with these issues. At Easter or Christmas I allow myself to eat high cal/fat traditional Greek foods, or homemade Cookies. I don't however eat fried foods, candy, ect on daily, weekly or even monthly basis.

A week maybe. I actually got a call from a Nurse account manager to discuss the surgery with me before I got the notice in the mail.

Who gave you the book? It's possible you need to be on liquids for a period post op and the doctor was giving you a sample food plan for when you move to solids. I was on clear liquids with protein shakes 7 days, full liquids with protein shakes 7 days, soft mushies 7 days, denser mushies 7 days, and back to solids after that.

Yes!!!!! I am a slow loser but I do know that I have never in my life stayed on a weight loss plan for four years (I started working out and dieting before being banded). REALLY IMPORTANT. This needs to be a lifestyle and mental change. Do I enjoy a homemade cookie at Christmas - Ah Yes. But I don't buy a family size package of Oreos (I live alone) and eat them all myself over the course of 3 days. The band will NEVER stop you from eating candy, ice cream, cake, or crackers. You will need to use will power. Believe it or not we all do have willpower. The band helps you feel less hungry; which allows the will power voice to out shout the carb/fat loving voice within us all.

Please remember that as with all things unhappy people are more vocal that happy people. Even on this site someone who is having problems is more like to post looking for sympathy than someone who is doing really well with their weight loss journey. Also, gall bladder problems are not a band complication. As the surgeon in that case mentioned large weight loss can lead to gall bladder problems in general. I had mine out at 19 after loosing a hundred pounds. This was years before being banded. I believe I had a genetic disposition to having gall bladder problems. All my mothers siblings (including boys) had theirs out; normally woman are more likely than men to have GB issues.

The band will never help you eat less of "slidder foods". Slidders are anything that basically "melt" in your mouth: candy, cake, crackers. In order for the band to be successful you need to eat solid foods. My doctor wants me to eat 3 oz of solid protein per meal and then low starch/fat/cal veggies until I feel satiated. For me the band does not give a hard stop. Meaning if I take one extra bite I will vomit. Some people have that. Part of the journey with the band is learning when you are no longer hungry. That is more suttle. I ask my self: Am I hungry enough to keep eating. If not I stop.