vlp1968

My doc. said liquids for one week, mushies for one week and then solid food. I had no problems. I ate a lot of cottage cheese and apple sauce when I was on mushies. Mashed potatoes and refried Beans are ideas too. My suggestions have lots of carbs, but now is the time for healing, not weight loss. Once your on solids I highly reccomend a low carb diet. Congrats on your surgery!

Are you excersising? If not, I highly reccomend you start. It has so many benefits, just one being weight loss. Start out slow and gradually increase your intensity/duration. It is a huge piece of the puzzle. I think doing shakes and one meal is a great way to get back on track, I do that sometimes. Be sure it is a low carb/lowfat shake. I swear by a diet low in carbs and fat and high in protien. I lost 107 pounds in about 10 months. Good luck!

I agree with above, a protien shake seems to be working for you. When I had my band tighter and was loosing, I couldn't eat in the morning either. I did a protien shake for breakfast every morning for almost a year.

Glad you got a fill and it's working. I think dropping a pant size by Aug. is a realistic goal. Especially if you are excersising and eating lowcarb/lowfat/high protien. Sounds like your back on track, good for you! Keep up the good work.

Hi again, I just did a BMI calculater with your height and doc's goal weight. It puts you at 25- healthy weight is between 18-24.9. Of course you need to do what's best for you, BMI is just a guideline. You want to reach a weight you can maintain. You are right, set small goals along the way. Reward yourself (not with food of course) for hitting those goals. Good luck!

I think you want to get yourself into a healthy BMI (body mass index). You can find a calculater online- just google it. You put in your height and weight and it gives a BMI. I would put in the 174 and see what it comes up with. I think loosing about 125 with the band is doable- I lost 107. It takes work (good food choices, excersise) but it can be done.

My doctor did fills once a month, even sooner if I wanted one. I would go to your doc. and explain how much your eating and how hungry you are. You might even want to keep a journal. With all that data, he may just be willing to give you a fill.

That is awsome! I remember how excited I was to get off my meds. Congratulations and keep up the good work!

Awsome! Fitting in too smaller clothes is just the best feeling. I think it's even better, or at least as good as, seeing the scale move. Keep up the good work!

I have a few thoughts. The first one is too get rid of the junk in your house. If it's not there you can't pick at it. Another is to start excersising if you haven't already. Not only is it helpfull for weight loss there is something about it that helps with food choices. You have come so far, don't stop now!

My 2 cents is to get into a regular excersisie routine. It is a huge piece of the puzzle. There are so many benefits, just one being weight loss. Start out slow and gradually increase your duration/intensity. You can do it! Best wishes.

I was on protein shakes right away after surgery. Every doctor seems to do things a little differently. I had no problems.

I think you are very lucky your body responds so well to weights. Can you afford to hire a personal trainer? Even if it's just for a couple weeks they could give you some help in toning muscle, but not bulking up. I would think if you lighten the weights you are using you will be happier with the results, but I am no proffesional in weight training. Hope this helps and best wishes.

Lifting weights would be great. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism. How about the treadmill and/or the bike. Since your already doing machines I assume you belong to a gym. You could think about a personal trainer for weights. It's pricey but so worth it. I love mine. It really keeps me accountable and motivated. She makes sure I am doing the proper form and knows when to increase the weight. Keep up the good work, you are doing great.

As stated above, it does get easier after the first few days. It's really important to stick to the preop diet- it's meant to shrink your liver. If your liver is too large they don't have enough room to work. It will result in you not getting banded. Of course you don't want that to happen. You can do it!

One thing I would do, is be sure not to go there hungry. It may be tempting to cut back all day, in preperation for extra calories at the shower. I think this will probably work against you. I would also set aside a time to eat, and then be done. Tell yourself eating more is just not an option. Focus on the friends and family you are spending time with. Hope this helps and have a great weekend!

Congrats on your surgery! As stated above, everyone is different. I think anywhere from 3 days to a week seems common. For me it was about 4 days that I had a surpressed appetite. I then reached some restriction after 3 fills- about 2 and a half months postop. Hope you are healing well, keep us posted on how your doing.

I have been banded 18 months. I swear by a lowcarb/lowfat/high Protein diet. It's tough until you get restriction. Hang in there, you are probably close I would think. In the meantime, I suggest you concentrate on eating the right foods, even if the quantities are larger than they will be once you have restriction. The other piece of the puzzle is excersise. It's got so many benefits, just one being weight loss. Start out slow and gradually increase your intensity/jduration. I started out with a medium paced walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes. I now jog for 30. I have consistently worked at increasing my speed or duration. I just increased my speed so I went from 40 min. to 30. Over the next week or 2 I will work on getting back up to the 40. If you can afford it, a good trainer is money well spent. I do weights with one 4 days a week. Not only does she make sure I am doing the moves correctly and know when to increase the weight, it really holds me accountable. Even if I don't feel like going, I do because I spent the money. Also, there is something about working out that helps with food choices. You can do it!

I have been maintaining a 107 pound weight loss for the past 10 months or so. I have found my days have been either really good or really bad as far as my eating. I am doing great with the excersise. I gained 5 pounds I cannot seem to drop. My question for those maintaining, how do you handle foods not on your typical eating plan. Do you have "treats" at all? Do you just have a little once in a while? I find once I eat something "bad" I say my day is blown so I might as well eat all the things I've been craving. Then I cut back severly for the next few days, sometimes just doing protien shakes for a day or 2. I know it's not the healthiest way to be, but I can't seem to get out of this pattern. Any ideas are wecome. Thanks!

Thanks so much, your plan sounds very similar to what I am trying to do. All the responses were helpfull. I think for now I am going to work on maintaining where I am and not worry about the 5 pounds. I hope this gets me out of the deprivation/bingeing mode I've been in. Thanks again.

That's awsome. I too found compliments increased when I had new outfits that fit. Goes to show you, if you wear baggy clothes you don't look quite as small as you are. Keep up the good work!

Typical day while I was loosing: Breakfast- a protien shake. I was too tight for solids in the morning. Lunch- a lean protien like fish/chicken/porkloin and non-starchy veggie. Snack- 1/4 cup nuts and 2 pieces of low fat strick cheese. Dinner- like lunch, lean protien and veggie.

You did get some great responses, glad they helped. I can't say enough about how important excersise is. It has so many benefits, just one being weight loss. I think there is something about it that helps with food choices as well. It's so tough to start, but it will become a matter of routine. It took me 3-4 months to join a gym. I think your wii would be a fantastic start! As well, I don't think you should be ashamed to go into a gym, I see people of all shapes and sizes at my la fitness. You should go in with your head held high and know you are working on your issues. As others have said, 40 pounds is great, you are not a failure by any means. As far as counting calories, I did it for the first 3-4 months post op. It started to feel too much like a diet and I was into a routine interms of my meals and snacks. I suggest you try it, at least for a little while. Who knows, it may just make you realize that Mcdonalds is just not work the calories lol. Wish you the best and keep us posted. You can do it!

I swear by a lowcrarb diet. When I was loosing I ate 20 or so carbs a day. No bread, pasta, rice, potatoe or even fruit. Fruit has a lot of sugar, natural sugar, but still sugar. I would have a lowcarb shake for breakfast, too tight in the morning for solids. I stuck to a lean protien (chicken breat, fish, port loin) and non-starchy veggies for lunch and dinner. I would have a planned snack of 1/4cnuts and 2 lowfat cheese sticks for a snack. Now that I am maintaining, I eat "good carbs" like whole wheat pasta and bread, fruit, sweet potatoes, brown rice. I lost 107 pounds in about 10 months and have kept it off since Sept. Good luck!

I agree, the chicken may be to dry. I like perdue perfect portions. They are marinated so they have some moisture. Might be worth a try. Keep up the good work! Your weight loss is great.