jre1974

No not really. I've just been eating what I'm supposed to and staying away from the junk...I haven't even started exercising yet. I think my success so far at the weight-loss is only due to my failures before surgery; if you know what I mean :redface: I weighed in at 403lbs before surgery, so I have quite a bit to lose.

I'm 8 weeks out and 67lbs down.

I have 4cc right now, so I'm not at optimum restriction yet, but so far, i haven't found anything that I can't eat. As long as i take small bites and chew it very well, I'm fine.

I also gained a bit the first week i was on normal foods... I think this is somewhat normal. The good news was that the following week i had a pretty good loss, so i just chalked it up to a change in my diet that my body reacted to. Its hard i know; but just give it time. Once your body gets back in "sync" you will start dropping again...good luck...

Walmart has a protein powder that has 52 gram of protein in one shake (double scoop). I usually have one of those for breakfast and then i don't really have to worry about my protein intake for the rest of the day. I average around 80-95 grams a day.

I was told that if you can get it through a straw, its a liquid.

My wife, who is NOT banded, has been using one for about 2 months now and she really likes hers. She's lost about 10-15lbs by using it...I think it would be very helpful in helping you track your activity and food intake...

This is pretty common for people who are losing weight and burning a lot of calories...here's a link I just found on the topic.. Bad Breath, Oral Health and Weight Loss

I would suggest trying a Protein shake over Ritz crackers or eggs. They seem harmless, but there is a reason why the doc put you on liquids. You have to give your stomach time to heal. If you're going to cheat, at least cheat with some liquids. I guess everyone is different, but I was having trouble swallowing Water for the first 4 days, let alone trying to suck down a Ritz Cracker...:biggrin: I am now almost 7 weeks post op and I can tell you that the protein shakes, as well as some Soups, are what I've been living on up until two weeks ago and i started eating soft foods. It sucked at times, no doubt; but it has paid off like a charm. I've lost 57lbs since surgery and every time I get hungry I just try to think about the pay off...Its worth it.

I am also a stomach sleeper, that's why I went out and paid a fortune for a real nice recliner before surgery, and planned to use it as my bed for a few weeks; but that didn't work out...I woke up the first night and my butt was asleep and I had to get up. I finally ended up sleeping in bed by the end of my first night and haven't looked back. I had absolutely no pain after my surgery, so it wasn't a big deal. The only "pain" I had was when I tried to lay on my side, I could feel the weight from my stomach fat, pulling down on some of my incisions...so I grabbed a large body pillow and sort of cuddled up with it and this took the stress off my stomach and I was able to sleep very well....The second night i said screw it and slept on my stomach anyway...other than a slight "tender" feeling when I first laid down, it was fine. That went away after a few minutes and i was sleeping on my stomach from then on...

I'm not a breakfast person either and I am usually headed out the door in a hurry; so i just grab a slim fast shake on the way out the door. That normally holds me over until late morning and I may eat a protein bar or something small to hold me over until lunch. This way I'm sure to get plenty of protein in for the day and i get it in before I start eating actual food. This way i can eat pretty much whatever I want (within reason, you know what I mean) and I'm not worrying about how much protein it has.

I don't think there are any ways to cheat in a healthy way. I can also say that most of your hunger is probably in your head. The best thing that I have found to do is that I just keep moving...My wife loved it when I was going through my pre-op diet because I was constantly up and cleaning the garage, or organizing the storage closet, or weeding the flower beds....The point is that I kept myself busy and that kept my mind on something other than food. If I was sitting around watching TV, I felt like I needed to have something in my hands to eat. So thank God for DVR...I recorded a bunch of my favorite shows and watched them all after surgery when I was laid up. I have also done the liquid diets and was very successful in losing the weight...unfortunately I gained it all back after the diet was over. What i found while i was on the diet however, was that if I got hungry I'd simply drink another shake. The Optifast only has what, 180calories? The important thing is to not cheat with regular food. Even if it is something that you THINK is healthy. As I said, there is no such thing as HEALTHY cheating, but if you absolutely feel like you need something or you're going to eat; drink another shake...The point right now is to drop the weight before surgery and to prepare yourself for what's to come. Good luck