honk

Are you referring to presurgery and post op recovery? My doctor does'nt want me drinking protein shakes after I'm recovered. For protein shakes during the periods mentioned earlier if you can drink milk look for Whey (milk based) isolate protein powder. Talk with your Nut. I'm sure they can give you some ideas.

Try low fat laughing cow cheese instead of Mayo for mixing with tuna or canned chicken. Also I put laughing cow on egg whites when I got to that point. Low/non fat cottage cheese and ricotta mixed with spaghetti sauce (smooth no meat added) is very nice. I don't really like cottage cheese but it sure tasted like heaven aftter 2 weeks of liquids.

I have no trouble with pickles. I don't eat them much anymore because of the salt content. My Nut. actually recommended them as a good snack because they are so low in calorie.

Does your new employer offer Healthcare Savings Accounts? What those do is take part of your salary (pretax) and put them in a special account. When you have a medical bill that is not covered by your insurance you use the money from this account to pay. Most now are like a credit card which you give to the doctors office and the money is deducted from you account. You can use these cards to also buy "medical supplies" at the drug store. If you look at CVS.com if an item says HSA eligible you could use your HSA funds to buy that item. I am going to start one of those with my new job as I don't think they cover bariactrics. One catch! You must use up all those funds by the end of the calendar year they do not carry over; so use or loose. Another good thing is this reduces your tax burden. If you put $500 in this account pretax; that's the equivilant of making $650 paying 30% federal tax and then being left with $500.

Are you on solids now? If so I recommend romaine lettuce leaves as a substitute for bread. Put the meat down the spine and fold the leaf over to make a wrap. Did you have mindfull eatting sessions with a therapist pre surgery? I learned in those sessions that crunchy processed carbs are my trigger foods. You mentioned toasted bread (which for me would include butter), chips, pickes; first thing I though of was the fat, calories and salt. My though would be that you should try cutting that relationship with processed carbs and try replaceing them with healthier versions.

I had surgery at 40. Surgery was later afternoon on Thursday; stayed over and left the hospital just before noon on Friday. On Sunday my mother drove me to her house for the day (hour each way) no problems. Monday I started back to the gym about 45 minutes on the treadmill slow no incline. After gym would go home and take a nap. Out of work that week and then returned to work. So including the first day after surgery (Friday) I was out of work for 6 business days and spent a total of 10 days recovering.

I don't have any info on support groups. If you have insurance I would call and ask them for a list of therapists that specialize in eating disorders. Find one that specializes in overeating. You could also call your doctors office to see if they have a therapist that you could meet with. You may have to pay out of pocket but I these sessions were really really important for me to create a new relationship with food so very worth it.

I have never been on those types of steroids. My concerns is are the steroids affecting brain chemistry? If so I don't know if tightening the band will do you any good. Make sure you tell the doctor about the steroids so he/she knows what's going on.

It does sound like you need a fill. Also you mentioned not eating as well as you should. I know it's sucks but try to kickstart your weight loss by eating low cal/fat protein and veggies. If you are on a food plan most schools now have grill where you can order chicken and veggies. Ask them to make thing with as little oil as possible and low salt flavorings.

Also before you reach restriction you will probably need to augment with veggies. If you read the LC website it says their meals are meant to be part of a healthy meal not the entire meal. They are not meant to be a full meal for a regular person.

Absolutely would do it again. Wish I had done it years earlier. One thing I have to disagree on is that you have to give up certain foods for the rest of your life. That was my problem in the past. I could go on a super restrictive diet for a year or so loose 100 pounds but then have to fight huge mental challenges. I could never have dessert again or a hamburger. My doctor wants me to be able to eat all things just is moderation. I try to live by thhe 95/5% rule. Eat really healthy 95% of the time but be able to have fun foods the other 5%. That said I don't keep my trigger foods in the house. I would eat them. No question: any processed carb that crunches. I was buying low fat versions but then eating the whole bag in one setting. This is at least a 50% mental challenge. My doctor requires therapy sessions on overeating; which helped me understand why I was over eating. If your doctor does no require such meetings; find your own therapist and have a couple sessions. You need to develope a healthy relationship with food. If you have thin friends or family watch how and what they eat. I had 7 + months between consult and surgery and I spent that time developing new foods habits.

Please don't worry about being stuck. I have had 3 stuck episodes in over a year and a half and were because I did'nt learn from past experiences. I can't eat raw carrots by themselves after hitting restriction; you'd think I'd have learned. Also cheap white bread is a no but higher quality stuff is fine. My doctor wants me to be able to eat all foods at restriction. Some people keep their bands to tight which leads to more stuck episodes.

I add benefiber non flavored powder to greek yogurt for breakfast and take Vitafusion fiber gummies in the morning and at night.

I don't eat them because they tend to be high in carbs and don't seem to have the 3oz of protein as required by my doctor.

I had an interview yesterday. As a human resources professional it bothers me when the host doesn't ask the interviewee if they prefer to use the elevator or take the stairs. You never know if someone might have joint issues, heart problems, or anything else. We are after all HR and should keep these things in mind. Okay off my soap box. I was impressed that my host asked if I would prefer the elevator to which I said no. As we turn the corner I see that the stairs are actually one long staircase that was about 3 floors high. I was really excited that I could walk up the stairs, carrying my briefcase, and holding a conversation without gasping for breath. Oh and I got the job! Hurray. I have to go shopping this weekend because some of my pants are really to big.

I take 5000 (capsul is tick tack sized); have never seen 7500. I buy my vitamins in the drug store however and not a vitamin store. They might carry have higher doses at those type of stores. Talk with your doctor though.

Where will my port be? Will you leave a fill in the band during surgery (many people who get a fill during surgery have more trouble with liquids in the first week and the doctor has to remove the fill in the end). If you have not recieved a post surgery "diet" handout ask for one. It's really nice to have your instructions in black and white. You don't want to struggle to remember what you were told when you are tired and hurting post surgery.

Swimming is a great form of exercise. Once you are allowed go to the pool; I highly recommend getting a waterproof MP3 player, check them out on Amazon. My preferred form of exercise has been swimming and since 10/08 (banded 8/10) I have lost 142 pounds. I originally chose swimming because I had horrible knee problems and could not do weight bearing exercise.

Could your doctor have put any fill in your band during surgery? Based on my doctor's plan I would only be on cottage or ricotta cheese at this point of your recovery. Could the food you are eating be too substanial? I was not allowed canned chicken until week 4. Perhaps if you try really thin mushies like cottage cheese and yogurt it will be easier to eat.

One thing I would ask is do they have a "program fee" that would be out of pocket fee thus not covered by insurance. Some doctors have a fee which is basically additional profit for them and they do not offer any additional service (Others say this fee covers fills but if your insurance covers fills you don't need this.). My first seminar they had a $400 fee that was just profit for them. I went to another hospital that had a better reputation and they had no fee.

I had surgery late on a Thursday; was off that Friday and for 5 business days. Monday after surgery I was back at the gym doing about 45 minute walking. When I went home I was pretty tired and would take a an hour nap.

Also ask your insurance what their requirements are. Often you need to have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or more; or less if you have co mobidities (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, ect). Some insurance also requires you do presurgery diet for a period of time before they will approve the surgery. I had Blue Cross and my policy did not require any waiting period.

Per my doctor if you can't go 5 hours before being hungry you need a fill. Are you eating 3 oz of Protein at each meal? While my doctor frowns on Snacks he says if you must have a snack make it protein based (chicken breast strips, low fat string cheese, carrots with hummus). Regarding doctors/nurses and exercise. I swim an hour a day seven days a week. What does my nurse practitioner say at my yearly physical "Swimming is great but you should really be doing weight bearing exercise." Jeez thanks.

Full disclosure I am not married. Okay, that said. Have you looked into what the requirements are for your insurance? Some will only cover if your BMI is above 40, less if you have comobidities. First only 5 % of people who loose significant weight keep it off. The rest regain what they lost if not more. I've done that 3 times in my life (lost 100 pounds and regained at 13,18,30). Do you think your husband will like those odds? Second have you considered either swimming or Water aerobics? I had horrific knee pain. So bad I didn't want to go or do anything it was so painful just to walk. I went to a Ortho and he just flat out told me the only way to fix my problem was to loose weight. Period. I started swimming (me and my fat lady swim dress) an hour a day, 7 days a week. The good I lost 30 pounds, the bad I still had a stroke at 39. At one of my doctors appointments I was asked if I ever considered weight loss surgery. I was really thrown because I never saw it as something would actually do. I would go on Youtube and watch a surgery. There is no blood do it isn't gross. Most people only really know about gastric bypass so they lump all weight loss surgery into one. I think it might help your husband if he watched the surgery and saw what exactly would be done. At 42 I wish I had done this years ago. NO REGRETS!