GwSoccermom

I too struggled with the idea of not drinking while eating, it is not only a habit, it is part of the dining experience. Who wants to eat and have a dry mouth? I tried it at first and found that certain foods drove me crazy without a drink (like salty foods). What I do is I wait until I am almost done before I start, but I eat yogurt AFTER I have eaten my protein and most everything else so it cant run through, it has to stay on top. I find that Yoplait Whips are best for this because they are airy not liquidy so I think it should be ok. Just be careful, some of them are addicting. Their new Vanilla Creame' whips are OMG so good and bad. They are not that good since the protien to calories is not what they recommend. I stick to the Fry's carbmasters in the morning (12 protein for oly 80 calories). I figure one of those in the morning should help me satisfy my thirst and keep me satisfied during mid morning, but after dinner I go for the whips, they are mostly air, so they dont wash through the pouch, but sadly, they are 160 calories for 5 grams of protein But they are sooooooooooo yummy. The strawberry are very good to. The chocolate are okish, not worth the calories. Hope that helps XOXO

Hi Mom2cjpx4, Vitamins make me crampy and nauseous if I take them on an empty stomach, always have. If you are taking them on an empty stomach, that could be your problem. Also, Sams Club and Costco sell liquid vitamin, it doesn't taste terrible, but it is gentle on the stomach and very high in all the elements, more-so than most vitamins.

Howdy, I was banded Nov 21, 2009. I would like to join you the Notorious Novemberers. I haven't been doing well and am hoping with support I will start losing again. I had a problem a while back and gained some weight, then some more, and ended up with 5 more than before I got banded. I am determined to make it work, I just need help in making it happen. Thanks

I have bc through the city and even thought they originally turned me down, my other doctor got together with my surgeon and got me approved. The first three months were free, then I just have to pay the $20 copay. Of course, all plans are different even within the same company. Good luck

I take medications for a type of brain tumor that I have that causes major headaches, and I have to take the medicine with some kind of food, so even on liquids, I need a little something. I start with "whips" by yoplait. They have improved them from when they first came out, and the strawberry is very good and the new Vanilla Creme' is to die for. The next best friend as I gradually go to semi solid foods is cottage cheese small curd, applesauce, and then I discovered refried beans. I had a bad month where everthing seemed to get stuck, and I ate fat free refried beans with a small amount of 2% mexican blend cheese and mild taco sauce (the kind that is in a bottle with no chuncks, not the jars of salsa.) I also have tried eating a baked potato cooked very soft, and like the beans, it was heaven! These are not foods that I normally would have liked a whole lot before. I hope that helps. If you can not eat the things I suggested, then I would agree with the ppl saying you might be overfilled. I was once, and every bite got stuck in the middle of my chest and I would just cry waiting for it to go down,and finally gave in to get some fluid out. I had tried too long to tough it out hoping I would get used to it, and all I did was make my husband mad that I was too stubborn to get an unfill. Good Luck. Feel free to email me if you want to talk. I am by no means an expert, I am struggling to lose weight because when I was too tight, I was eating things I knew not to, but I was hungry and they went down and felt good (like pudding and ice cream) and ended up doing it for more than a month, and ended up gaining more weight than before my surgery, and seem to be stuck there.

Hi there, I needed alot more info, I felt like I was going in uneducated circles and went to amazon and searched lap band books. Most of them were for bypass patients. I got a few cookbooks, but the only one I liked was "Eating well after weight loss surgery" by Patt Levine & Michelle Bontempo -Saray, the author has a band, so it feels like her info is more suited to us. A great book for info that I am learning alot from and loving is "Ultimate Lapband Success" by Dr. Duc C. Vuong, a lapand surgeon. His book is full of good information (not a cookbook) but really has already taught me a few things. I know I have alot to learn. I wish a successful bandster would write a book saying this is what I did, how I did it, what I ate, what exercice I did, and was honest about it so we could just follow what they did.

Hello, I never know what to eat. I have no support and have gained weight because after some mistakes, I got really swollen and started only eating the wrong things that did not hurt like pudding, applesauce and the ultimate bad, ice cream, but after an hour of being stuck, ice cream felt good. Even though it was low fat and sugar free, it was still bad. I initially lost 20 lbs, but now have found them and 10 MORE, my new skinnier clothes don't fit and I just dont have any ideas for daily meals. Please help. Or, if you have a list of diet ideas, please email me. I would really appreciate input from you all. It has been a year and I am fatter, and everyone is noticing. I want to get on track but need ideas for day to day meals. I also am looking for a warm drink to open things up in the morning but do not drink coffee or tea, any ideas?

Thanks again everyone. I got my books today, one of them is really good, and some not so much. At least I got one good one (trying to be positive). The good one is written by someone who has a band "Eating Well after weight loss surgery" Take care! XOXO

Oh BTW, I forgot to mention for those like me that need warm liquid in the AM and use hot cocoa. My mom is diabetic and realized by comparing that fat free is actually less calories and carbs than sugar free. Have a nice night :smile2:

Thank you all for your suggestions, your help and the books I got from Amzon today should help! :smile2: I am a year past and gained back the 20lbs. I lost and found it again with 5 more. I am always looking for ideas of how to plan meals that will work for everyone (with this economy it is hard to make a separate dish for me). Before bed is my worst time, as I stay up late and we eat dinner early, and I want chocolate! LOL

Thank you for your replies. I am eating the right size portions, but also hungry between meals. And I do not have any ideas for weekly menu/meal planning. I can never figure out how to plan and we only shop once per week. I need some ideas for all meals during the week. I also snack once in the afternoon (fruit or yogurt) and I cant lose my after dinner sweet tooth and always want something for an evening desert.

Betrthnever, Thanks for your encouragement. Have you had "non-fills" as well? I am thinking that I must have had about 4 fills that did not make it to the band if I was so low on fluid when he checked it. Is this common? I am having problems figuring what to eat for day to day menus. If you have any ideas, I would love your input.

Please see my post on Dr. Simpson. Simpson's staff did not care to get be approved, but Blackstone's did. I had Blackstone's partner Dr Sprunger for my surgery. He has not been very nice to me, but got the job done. One fill appointment I went to when I had not lost enough weight, where we thought I had almost all my fills, he was being very mean, rude, condescending, etc. Then he pulled all the fluid out and found out I only had half of what we thought was in there. Then his tune changed and he was a little nicer. I don't know where that other fill fluid went and feel like I should get my next few appointments with no copay since they charged me for fills that did not go in (or I fear to think if it has a leak) but I have not been doing well and have been afraid to go back because he was so mean to me before and I have gained weight not lost it. I'm having issues and do not have anyone to talk to because he was so rude to me, I don't want to see him.

Dr. S was really nice to me, said he would help me get approved for a medical reason, but his staff could not care less and were not even willing to bother with me. I was 2 pts too low on BMI but had 4 letters of medical necessity and the doc said yes, but the insurance lady didn't care at all and said no way to bad. I called the insurance since I really wanted it and asked if any doctor's office had actually worked for their patient to get them approved and they said Dr Blackstone in Scottsdale, and guess what? Their office cared and got me approved. The staff is who you deal with alot, so that is a factor in deciding on who to go with. The after care has not been too great though, so win some, lose some, I guess.

When and where is that group of 50? What part of town and what days are the meetings? pm me please

I'm in NW Phoenix/Glendale border and my doc and their support group is way over in Scottsdale and meet at night. I have another medical condition that gets worse at night, and with my meds I can not drive that far on a weeknight. I would love a group nearby. Please let me know if you get going, and I would love to join! rrr87@hotmail.com please put lap band board or something like that in the subject so I know it is not spam. Thanks!

I have never been able to "throw up" in my life, until the band, only had 3 times in my life, no matter how badly I wanted to at times when I was younger. Since I can't, I spend close to an hour with the frothing and coughing a tiny piece at a time, wishing I could throw up, with no luck. I have tried everything said above, with no luck, no finger down the throat worked, nothing. I finally found that if I drink some grape juice like three big gulps, which do hurt going down, I can then throw up a good amount and the episode ends. I think it is because the grape juice is so heavy and thick, it is hard to get down, but once it comes back up feels so much better. After spending countless times having made the mistake of getting stuck and spending an hour stuck wishing, crying, with the stringy rubber cement spit, the grape juice becomes by best friend. (And yes, be by the toilet or have a bucket ready).