honk

I will say I think some people don't think about the tone of their statements on this board. When some says " I'm 5'4" and I am so tired of looking like a cow at 220 pounds!"; to me it is mean spirited. After loosing about 160 pounds weighing 219 today was a huge victory for me. Am I still over weight sure. But when someone says they are a cow at 219 how do you think that makes me feel? Does that make them any better than someone on the street saying the same thing to me? No. Do I envy these bandster no. I hope I am bit more mature than that at my age. I just wish people thought before they spoke/wrote.

I did not really get restriction until 10.6 CC's in 11 CC band. Are you exercising? If not I highly recommend swimming or water aerobics. If I can put on a fat lady swimdress at 365 pounds anyone can. Once you are in the water no one can see you anyway. Are you weighing your protein? Digital food scales can be found at walmart or target for about $20 bucks. I don't neccesarily count calories but perhaps that would be a good start for you.

This is what is meant by bandster hell. You stomach has healed from surgery. The band is empty and you can eat like you used to. Becasue you can does'nt mean you should. At week three I was allowed smooth soups (tomato, squash) and cottage cheese or ricotta (non fat) and sugar free jello. In the evening I would have 8 oz soup and an hour later the cottage cheese, later when I was hungry I would have jello. Make sure you are measuring out your protein (3 or 4 oz) when it gone stop eating.

I second that Premier ready to drink is quite good. For ones you make at home I made "ice cubes" out of sugar free flavored selzer and blended the shake which gave it a nice icy frappe like texture. I also added sugar/fat free pudding powder which helped with the flavor.

What are the orders from your particular doctor? Are you only allowed 3 shakes a day or can you have shakes and jello or broth? If you are allowed multiple things eat one and then wait a hour. Even though you will stop eating when you are still hungry you will have the next meal to look forward to in an hour. Otherwise you will eat a meal still be hungry but have to wait another 5 hours to eat again.

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Have you tried looking for store brands? I've found it at Walgreens.

Personally I don't think I would tell your friends. I have only told my immediate family and a very few close friends. In my opinion the issue is you can't untell them. I am 41 and the last thing I need in life is the food police. I am harder on myself then someone else would ever be so if I've decided to eat something I don't need someone elses opinion (I am very conservative about what I eat and follow the 95/5% rule. Eat super healthy 95% of the time and you can have some fun the other 5% of the time.) It does'nt matter that I have grilled chicken and raw veggies for lunch every day for months; you can bet the thing your friends will remember is you having a piece of cake on your birthday. Once you've healed from surgery no one needs to know. My coworkers just see that I eat normal sized meals. Knock on wood I've never had to vomit or a productive burp.

You mentioned buying protein powder. What kind of diet has he put you on? How many times a day are you to have protein shakes and for how long? If you can't do this diet for the rest of your life don't start. People are'nt meant to live long term on a liquid only diet. That's why slim fast does'nt work. You WON'T live on liquids for the rest of your life. Yes you will need to develop a new relationship with food. The lap band is not magic. The key here is that new relationship. I had 8 months from time of consult to surgery and that time was really important to my learning new eating habits.

Yes

Considering the aftercare; going to the doctors office every 3 weeks or so for several months (took me 6 months of fills to get restriction); I would take that into consideration when choosing a doctor. I chose not to go to Mass General because I knew I did'nt want to deal with shlepping to Boston (Oh the traffic) and paying 20 bucks for parking.

Look for Chicken Stock it has more flavor than broth. By day 6 I was straining chicken noodle soup because it tasted so much better than the chicken stock. FYI my doctor said no vitamins for 2 weeks so ask yours. Have a couch pillow for when you drive home from the hospital. It really helps having a cushion between you and the seat belt. You might want to have some ready to drink protein shakes on hand. I really like Premier brand from Costco.

My guess is they were referring to Jello powder not a prepared jello. Pre and post op I added fat/sugar free pudding powder to my shakes to improve the flavor. Also I made "ice cubes" out of sugar free fruit flavored selzer. I would add that to the shake which gave more of a frappe consistancy. Hamilton Beach Individual Serving Blender worked great on the ice ($15 at Walmart/Target); it uses a travel mug as a mixing container. Super convenient.

Never heard of clean vs dirty either. My doctor did require Whey Isolate. Note not all Whey is created equal. Isolate is purer and easier for the body to digest. When reading the ingrediants look for Isolate.

I think my mother was relieved when they told her about my hernia repair because then she could give a concrete reason to my aunts for my surgery. I chose not to tell anyone outside my extended family about being banded. ] Also having the hernia repair explains why you can't eat normally for several weeks.

I was an independent contractor and did'nt get sick time. I told my boss I was taking a week off for a medical procedure.

If you are exercising you are burning more calories. So if you aren't eating more calories you have a greater calorie deficit. How long after eating do you have these episodes. You could be having extremely low blood sugar.

When I ask for single incision my surgeon said I was too heavy for that procedure. So depending on your weight you may not qualify. That being said I was very happy with Dr. Brams at Lahey Clinic in Burlington. You could call and see if they do single incision in general and if so see if you qualify or not. To be truthfull my 4 small insisions are less than 1/4 inch and my port scar is thinner and lighter than my gallbladder scar which is 22 years old.

For breakfast I have non fat Chobani Greek Yogurt (with fruit) with the following add ins: 1/2 scoop vanilla whey isolate protein powder, 1 tsp unflavored Benefiber, Splendra (mix in powders), add about 1/3 cup Kashi Go Lean High Protein.

I second that the Premier brand ready to drink protein shakes from Costco are really good 160 cal. for 30 g or protein.

I can eat shrimp c***tail with no problems.

First fill did nothing. As the fills came the better it got; but it took 6 months to get restriction.

Was the peanut butter on bread or eaten on a spoon? If it was on bread the bread could have swollen and now you are just really full.

I am at restriction and don't vomit. People who vomit after eating are too tight. There are those on this site who keep their bands wayyyy to tight and thus have a lot of trouble eating things like bread, rice, pasta. I CAN eat all those things but choose not to make them a regular part of my eating habits.

I think people don't want to comment about weight loss because they feel it brings attention to the fact that you are overweight in general. I kind of prefer people not saying anything to those who want to know how much you've lost and won't take a vague answer. They want a NUMBER.