BetsyB

I agree that for most people, it is a calories in/calories out thing. I'm not 'most people,' I've found. I've tracked my intake on fitday for years, and when all other things are equal, I lose better on less carb and more Protein. It defies logic, drives me bonkers, and for years I rebelled against it...much to the detriment of my midsection and butt. But it is what it is---and I've learned I just have to accept it and work with it. I would never tell anyone else they had to do it in order to have success. But I do.

The Protein in the protein shots is not as bioavailable as whey protein isolate. I really like the Inspire shakes at bariatriceating.com. If you're sick of sweet shakes, their PURE unflavored whey protein isolate powder is undetectable in broth, soup, Greek yogurt, and so on.

I wonder whether sipping a warm liquid OTHER than coffee might be a good option? Coffee can be pretty irritating to the stomach, and if yours is already irritated, it might be making a bad situation worse.

I am more comfortable with the least-invasive route possible. That was my primary reason for choosing the band. I think the sleeve is an interesting procedure, and will be interested in watching its long-term success/complication rate; it's still considered experimental. Which brings me to the second reason I chose the band: it's not experimental. And that leads directly to the third reason: my insurance won't cover experimental procedures! If, for some reason, I encounter difficulties down the road, I would consider revision to the sleeve if it turns out to be as promising as it seems. But I am confident in my decision to go with the band, at this point, and have no reason to think I will have problems.

I do exactly the same thing! So many things have become totally un-pouchworthy.

It may not be practical for you as a preop option, but Bariatric Eating (BariatricEating.com - BE, Inc. The number one bariatric website for protein, vitamins, and success.) has EXCELLENT proteins. I really love the Inspire line...Dutch chocolate cake + unsweetened almond milk is heavenly.

It gets easier! When your liver starts releasing its glycogen stores, you'll feel lots better :biggrin:

Welcome, Melissa :biggrin:

Welcome, Belinda! The timing of surgery depends on your insurance and your doctor's schedule. I, too, had a three-month nutrition supervision. After that, it took about 3 weeks for insurance approval; it was near the holidays, or I suspect it would have been faster. The holidays also pushed back my surgery date a bit; from first appointment to OR, it took just over 5 months. Your mileage may vary, though!

I'm an RN, too--so I understand your reluctance to make a mountain out of a molehill. (This is what can make us VERY bad patients!) I'd ask the doc to call in an antibiotic. If you do it tomorrow, maybe things will be cleared up enough for your fill on Thursday. And I'd lose the dressing, pronto, unless there is so much drainage that you're concerned it will get on your clothes. Otherwise, I think you're doing all the right things--keeping it clean, using Bacitracin, etc.

Even without perfect restriction, your stomach capacity is significantly smaller. Your smaller stomach gets full---but because there's less-than-optimal restriction, empties faster than ideal. I don't know anyone whose hunger stays at bay for 6-7 hours, though. I'm not sure that's a realistic goal. I'll be ecstatic with 4.

I can't diagnose what's going on, but agree that it's important that your doctor do so. Please call him tomorrow.

The liver stores carbohydrate in the form of glycogen. When carbohydrate is restricted, the body draws on this store for energy. Yes, fat is also lost with weight loss. But that's not what the preop diet is all about. It's about depleting glycogen stores.

Elcee, I do think there is more emphasis on low-carb here---but only among a handful of physicians, and (it seems) only during the weight loss phase. You know, when we already have enough energy stores plastered on our thighs and bums to sustain us for a decade! I don't think that, for most people, going low-carb is a necessity. For many, it's purely an energy in-energy out thing. For some of us (and I am among them), there is a degree of metabolic resistance that responds better to paring down on carbs. Not the good stuff (veggies, legumes, etc.). Just the junkier stuff that we're all better off without. I suspect that the U.S. has more of the garbage-y stuff, more readily available, than Australia, but I may be wrong. I think my surgeon's primary rationale for promoting low-carb eating is that he really wants his patients to restructure the way they eat. Committing to eating this way for the first year gives us adequate time to get a good handle on the weight loss, and reframe our relationship with food. It's not the low-carb regimen, per se, that gives his patients a higher success rate than is most often achieved in this country. It's the overhaul of eating habits, in general. If you rethink your relationship with food quite thoroughly, you're less apt to slide (no pun intended) back into bed with the junky stuff that goes down easily. It's not a bad approach, though it IS quite restrictive. With the band, however, it is not difficult--as long as you approach it with the understanding that life is life, and there will be occasions when you do deviate from the plan. And that's okay.

This sounds great! For those of us who count carbs, I looked up the nutritional information, and found that it has 30 g carb/4 g fiber.

Bandwife, I'm sorry for your husband's difficulties. Like fourme mentioned, you might want to start a thread so that you get more responses--I think your topic might get buried here. You can get a LOT of great feedback. It might not always be what you want to hear, but you will get good alternative perspectives that can help you formulate your own plan. Why don't you start a thread and tell us a little more about what is going on with your husband. When was he banded? How much fill does he have? What does he typically eat in a day, and in what quantity? How much has he lost? It sounds as though he might need a little unfill. Many of us do have foods we cannot tolerate--though your husband seems to have many, and lots of them are things one might expect to be able to eat after 2 years. How long has it been since he's seen his surgeon? Does his surgeon do fills under fluoroscopy? Once he's at a good fill level, he may be far happier with the band. No, it's not guaranteed. There are people who have difficulties on an ongoing basis. And the odds of this being the case increase the longer a problem remains unaddressed. PLEASE encourage him to see his doctor---rule out problems like erosion, slippage, etc., then hit a good fill level. It may take some time and tweaking, but it may make all the difference in the world for him. Even then, he may still have foods, like steak, that he cannot tolerate. And he may have to reluctantly accept that--and accept that his family can still eat it. But that will be far easier for him to tolerate if he's not struggling with everything he eats. (It's also perfectly reasonable for you to remind him that soothing himself with "treats" after a stuck episode works against his band and increases his dissatisfaction with it; in this respect, he is not exercising appropriate personal responsibility. It's understandable, and I certainly am not judging. But his body would benefit more if he were to choose liquids or mushies that have nutritional benefit.)

Welcome, 2GoodDogs--I'm a dog lover, too :smile2: Bob, I think we can pretty much direct our attitudes. It really does help things go more smoothly, as long as we're not squashing important emotions that need to be felt. (I say this only because I am the queen of repression--which explains every.single.extra.pound on my body.) I have been experiencing orthostatic hypotension, too--time to have the BP checked, I think. Hummingbird, bowling sounds fun! Gloria, I'm glad you had a lovely dinner. We've been having gorgeous weather, too. Truman and I have been walking at least once--usually twice--a day to soak up the sun. I love this area (Chicago-ish), but miss the Texas sun. I may have to go down to visit my daughter once she returns to school. (A little Houston humidity will make me grateful, again, for my wimpier sunrays.) My personal trainer is giving me the stinkeye and pacing--I'd better lace up my shoes and find his leash. Have a great day, everyone!

It's pretty par for the course---though difficult to deal with at times. I found that timing meals for when I was at home worked best for me---if I could stick around the house for a half hour or so after eating, I could usually avoid gross bathrooms.

What do you eat for your meal? Is it made up of just lean Protein and nonstarchy veggies? If not, I'd try going that route---so that you don't trigger cravings for starchy stuff like the rice that bit you last night. You HAVE to stick with it--it's really important. That means cleaning out your kitchen so that foods that are not appropriate aren't THERE. It means that, if nighttime is hard for you, pack it in early and go to bed. Seriously. It DOES get easier after a few days. Your liver will start to release its glycogen stores, and you will feel LOTS better, physically. The head hunger will persist, and is hard to fight. YOU HAVE TO DO IT. Each starchy thing you eat postpones your body's natural response--which is to rid your liver of glycogen so that it is smaller and easier to move around during surgery. You don't want this.

Unless it's been diagnosed as yeast/fungal, I wouldn't use an OTC antifungal--they can be VERY irritating to already-irritated skin. If it's not a yeast infection, it can make things much worse. Skinfolds are moist and warm and the prime site for what moms used to call prickly heat--and that's how these rashes usually start. They can become infected---or they can simply be a terrible, painful nuisance. For me, the one thing that has worked really well is Aveeno Active Naturals Anti-Itch concentrated lotion. I actually don't experience any itching from my rash, but this soothes the irritation and--more importantly--forms a nice skin barrier that protects against moisture. If you plan on having reconstructive surgery at goal, it's a good idea to photograph the rash and/or darkening left by the rash (can't believe your doctor didn't know what this was---might be time for a new doctor!) periodically. Also keep all receipts for any skin protective lotions, prescription creams/ointments, etc. When it gets bad, return to the doctor for documentation. Over and over....establishing a record of medical treatment for skin breakdown will help get at least partial coverage for plastics.

Denise, I'm sorry you're still feeling cruddy. But it makes me doubly impressed that you've lost another pound. We'll have to have a cyber-celebration 4 pounds from now! Give Butters a kiss--I love a faithful canine personal trainer, you know. :smile: You might wind up pleasantly surprised at your MIL's recovery once at home. Being in a hospital is tremendously stressful, and while window washing and throwing parties might be more than most of us think ...well, sane...it might be just what the proverbial doctor ordered for her. When independence is held so dear, its loss can actually cause health deterioration. Maintaining it may boost her quite a bit. Bob, I'm so glad you're recovering so well. Your attitude must have a ton to do with it. I thought mine was good, but you put me to shame! You spared me having to say something snarky about men and maturity :smile2: My son is seriously afflicted with Peanut Brain Syndrome. (When I used the acronym yesterday, my daughter asked if it meant Pain in the Butt Syndrome; that fits, too.) Everyone always says that girls are so much harder to raise, but I'm reserving judgment for several more years. So far, she's waaaay in the lead. Gloria--Happy belated anniversary. It's wonderful that your husband's adored you through thick and thin. I am intrigued with the changes that weight loss brings to relationships--very interested to see what it does with mine. Speaking of which, Mark is feeling "fine." Which means, actually, cruddy--but status quo cruddy. Huge improvement! He sees the transplant guys on Monday; I am very nervous about this. More that they will say, "Nope, sorry--it's not time yet" or "Nope, sorry--too late!" than that they will say, "Yes, it's time." Jen--your coworker story cracked me up. Because God really wants people to promise to stop eating for Lent, only to continue to do so, by stealing others' food! My big excitement is that at just about two months out, I can now add vegetables to my repertoire. Seriously, I haven't been as excited about anything else in a long, long time! Who would have thought that lettuce could cause my heart to flutter?! :smile2:

Leaks are a possibility, but I wonder whether something else is at work. When you say you have no resistance, does that mean you don't have restriction? And that's been for the last month only? Has the weight gain you've experienced as a result been in the last month? What else has changed during that time? Was the loss of restriction gradual or abrupt? Sorry to pepper you with so many questions! In all likelihood, it's probably something more easily remedied than a like. You may simply need another fill---that need can arise even after a long period of good restriction. In your shoes, I'd schedule an appointment with my surgeon.

I am the only person in WW history, I think, who GAINED weight on the program, following it to a T---you know, all the Healthy Guidelines, etc. It was only when they introduced the CORE plan---when I could eat well BELOW the point range they always insisted we must meet, lest we experience "starvation mode" that I was able to lose. I think that ultimately, that will be the way I eat, long-term: mostly Protein and nonstarchy veggies, with the addition of legumes and occasional WHOLE grains. But for now, when losing, it's protein, protein, protein!

The rationale is that, for tissue growth, maintenance, and healing, protein---from an external source---is required. Carbohydrate provides energy---but our bodies have ample, ample supplies of stored energy. Therefore, we don't really need it from an external source during the weight loss phase. (During maintenance, this changes.) It is tricky to find easy-to-grab foods. This is probably why my doctor--who does recommend a higher-protein, lower carb approach--is a 3-meals-a-day guy. Aside from discouraging grazing (the path to destruction for some of us), it's just easier to stick to this sort of plan if you don't have to do as much thinking! I do eat this way. I don't always adhere to the three-meals-a day thing; sometimes I really need a snack. For those, I do use Protein supplements sometimes--primarily because they are easy, low in calories, and a good protein source. But usually, I grab a string cheese or a Babybel. Nonstarchy veggies are another alternative, if you've added them back in to your repertoire. Really, it's just a matter of practice. I pared out most carbs pretty substantially a couple of years before banding, and keep my carbs around 25-35 most days (and never more than 50)---after a while, you find that you don't really miss them. It's just a matter of identifying the alternatives.