honk

You can also try adding unflavored benefiber to you liquids. I am fully healed and I dd it to my daily greek yogurt and I think it helps me stay regular.

I would not do weight training until you speak with the doctor or nurse practioner. I think at about day ten I moved from the treadmil to the elliptical machine. Though I had been using the elliptical presurgery, in addition to swimming (so it was'nt a shock to my system). I like the elliptical because it is easy on the knees. Some people have issues with it due to balance problems. So if you use one hold the handles (I don't) for now.

You an try saving some calories for a snack as mentioned above. I would make that snack protein based chicken breast plain (maybe mustard), or low fat cheese stick. If you are going to have carbs make them a plain veggie. Look for Mini Sweet Peppers in the produce department. I just eat them buy hand and don't bother cutting them up (great price at Costco).

Are you weighing yor protein? My doctor says 3 oz. Prepare your protein in a low fat/cal/carb manner. Eat the protein first and then eat low fat/cal veggies (I prefer raw) until full. While I can eat bread, pasta, white potatos I choose not to due to the carbs.

I quite like the chocolate. Great protein to cal. ratio. The $5 off coupon is great I bought two cases.

I have no problems eating out. I look for healthier options on the menu and am not afraid to ask for sauces on the side or for something to be made with as little butter/oil as possible. I find the healthier your food choices usually the smaller the portions. I mentally divide the plate and plan on taking half of it home. I try to focus on lower fat protein with veggies; and stay away from pasta or rice (too many carbs). I have ordered a hamburger no bun and asked if I can have a side salad or a baked potato (salsa is great instead of butter/sour cream) instead of fries. Some hamburgers come with lettuce and tomato; I've asked for low fat dressing and eaten that as a salad. Fajitas are a great option just eat the fillings with a fork and leave the wrap. I have no trouble with eggs and order egg whites and turkey bacon when having brunch (Denny's- again all about searching out heathier options).

You are loosing at 3 pounds a week. Doctors say the average is 1-2 pounds per week and you think this is too slow? This is not bypass.

My doctors office has been telling me I'm prediabetic for a while. This is the same office however that after my last physical said "Could you control your diet and exercise more to help control the Cholesterol?" They know that I have lost 140 lb and do at least an hour of cardio 7 days a week. Eye roll. Sometimes I feel like I'm just inputting data into a computer that spits out preset answers instead of dealing with real live medical professionals.

What a GREAT FRIEND!!!!! I started out swimming. If the two of you are going together Water aerobics would be a good option. You can ask the instructor for options to make the moves at first easier and later on harder. Believe me you can get a fabulous cardio work out doing WA! For lap swimming you can get a water proof MP3 player which makes time go by so much faster. Walking is great exercise but if you are very overweight (like I was at 365) walking is very difficult. When with your friend (as mentioned earlier) choose a parking spot far away from the door. A calorie burned at the gym or walking into the mall is a calorie burned! I really enjoy the elliptical machine. I have a bad knee but I was able to use that even at my heaviest.

Ask your doctor if they require meetings with a psychologist who specializes in eating disorders. If not ask for a referral and go on your own. In my first consult I said "I am the healthiest eating fat person I know!" My problem was mindless eating of my "trigger foods". I would have no less then 3 open bags of low fat crackers, chips, etc in my house at any given time (and I live alone). I would rationalize they were low fat (or low suger like reduced cal. ice cream). I would use this as an excuse to eat more since it was "reduced calorie". I would eat however half a bag of crackers or chips at a time. As for food choices if you would be embarrased for your doctor to see something don't buy it! Probably the biggest piece of advice I could give you both pre and post op is to plan your food in advance. When I don't plan is when I get into trouble. If you don't bring an apple, Protein shake, Protein Bar along you are more likely to buy unhealthy Snacks.

My doctor told me not take Vitamins for the first two weeks. I think the 1 oz per hour is so that people who don't like to drink Water get all their water. I would'nt drink less water just so you make sure to follow their schedule. For liquid calories I had 8 oz of broth (and broth has like 20 calories) and then like an hour later a Protein shake. I would drink water after that until my next "meal"

Went down like normal but I did not eat regular solids until week 5. I did not have any problems with mushies either.

Biotin, found in the vitamin dept (a B Vitamin). I get 5000 mg. Look for tick tack size gel caps. Look for buy one get one free sales. I was loosing hair. It seemed to stop once I started taking Biotin not sure if it stopped it or not. Does also help your nails.

My first fill was 3 cc's, and I think the second was 2, and from there 1, and then eventually .2-.3 at a time. I kind of wished they had done higher fills early on since it took me until 10.6 to get restriction.

I did not have regular solids until week 5. Please go back to your doctors food schedule.

I think your port incision is just hurting I don't think it means you are full. One suggestion I have is mixing yogurt with a hand blender gives it a nice texture. My doctor recommended Greek yogurt as it has twice the protein (I did add splendra as greek yogurt is sour, and by blending it the fruit gets minced.)

It took me 6 months + to get restriction. My band is nearly full at 10.9 cc's. It really boils down to as I mentioned earlier measuring out Protein (3 oz is not a whole lot. It looks really small on the plate); and choosing low fat/cal veggies. I don't keep my trigger foods in the house crackers, Cookies, rice cakes, sweet Cereal (this includes low fat versions). I also don't keep low fat ice cream in the house if you eat them several times a week they become a food habit and THAT is what got me here. Even if you feel you don't have good will power; you can see this as a chance to develop new food habits. While some thin people have terrible food habits most of them eat much healthier and smaller portions than we do. When I go shopping if I would be embarrassed for my doctor to see me buying a food item I don't buy it. I am a slow looser. Those of you having problems what is your exercising program? There is only so much weight you will lose by cutting calories alone. I do a minimum of 7 hours moderate cardio a week (sometimes 2 hours a day); but I am still losing less than 1 pound a week.

I have been very happy with my decision to be banded. In general I wish more doctors were clear with people that this is not magic. That they will be ona will powerdiet until restriciton; and that restriction can take months of fills to achieve (took me 6 months). Again my journey has been very good. I had no gas after surgery. Knock on wood have never had a productive burp; and very limited stuck episodes. I've read a lot of posts on here of unhappy bandsters whose doctors I think don't give them enough of info before surgery.

My surgery was late afternoon. I stayed overnight and left before 12 the next day. Personally I think staying overnight is good for you.

You can actually put on quite a bit of weight by drinking water. You could drink 2 liters of water (which I do in an hour of cardio); eat a large meal, wear heavy clothes and be pretty close to 12 pounds.

While I don't recommend drinking shakes for breakfast unless you physically can't eat solids; I think you should at the very least have a ready made Protein shake at breakfast. Consider at lunch you think "I did'nt have breakfast I can eat more at lunch!" . This will help you keep burning cals all day. People who eat breakfast loose more weight than those who do not. Also what kind of flavorings if any are you putting on the protein? Remember dressings, marinades, etc can be high in calories.

I recommend you buy a food scale and start measuring your solid protein (my doctor says 3 oz). Then eat low fat/cal veggies until full. Trust me after 3 oz off of protein there is only going to be so much raw sweet pepper, carrots, mushrooms you can eat. When you eat junk food french fries or mac and cheese you get head hunger. You keep eating because it TASTES good. Plain mushrooms don't taste so good you're willing to eat a whole bunch. And raw veggies are very low in calories.

My nurse specifically asked me if I was eating fruit because she felt I should! All carbs are not made equal. A piece of white bread, white potato, childrens cereal, crackers, candy, are not the same as apples, cherries, bananas, grapes. I am at restriction and can eat any fruit I want. I just eat one serving worth .