hiddnstar

Yes! A little piece of info that can really make my day! Wow 37% is great! ~hiddn

Hi I prefer coconut milk over almond, personally. I can't have the carmel corn cakes because I can't have corn, either that's been a hard one for me. I have found making thai curry dishes are easy and flavorful. I use canned coconut milk for that. Sometimes I get thai curry with chicken at a local restaurant and then put it in my ninja blender to make it into a wonderful soup! I love that! Ive been making 3-egg omelettes, lately, and cutting them in half. It's a good way to sneak in some vegetables (which Im not so good at eating). We all have to be creative! ~hiddn

HI Im totally gluten free and feel much better. I have not had problems with gluten free food and the band. Do you like eggs? There are gluten free protein powders and drinks, also, for when you get a fill. A snack I Iike is some crunchy rice crackers and almond butter --- but I watch the rice crackers because they turn to sugar in my body, and just a few. I eat a fair amount of meat that I cook myself. Be careful with switching out gluten free snacks and treats. I fell into doing that, so excited to have found gluten free foods ----but I found the wrong ones! cookies, cakes, ice cream, bread--which required BUTTER to go down. Dont do that! I fix green smoothies and add protein powder. Going gluten free can help one go low carb since mostly what you have to avoid are the gluten containing foods that are also carbohydrates (like bread). I drink coconut milk that comes in a carton in the refrig section (not the canned ones). It contains 50% more calcium than dairy milk. I hope this helps. I also hope you feel a lot better going strictly Gluten Free! ~hiddn

YAY!!!!!!!!!

HI! I don't have any answers, either, but my surgeon has told me that my body is still programmed to store fat. He said if I eat carbs (which turn to glucose and glucogen), my body will burn those for energy. But if I eat a low carb diet, my body will start buring fat for energy. He has shared a new cookbook called, Primal Cravings, which has some wonderful recipes in it! and bacon! I had a delicious side salad, tonight, of baby kale rubbed with garlic, massaged with olive oil, sprinkled with a little parmesan cheese. Boy was that good! Here is a link where you can find a whole bunch of recipes that will focus your body to burn fat: http://www.health-bent.com/blog/primalcravings With the Lap Band, I know there are some foods that give people problems, either digestive or swallowing. So each individual will have to listen to their own body to decide what might be helpful and what will not. Hope this helps some! ~hiddn

Hi Kathy Thank you for sharing your experience! Im so sorry you had that frustrating and scary experience. What a relief that you were able to get resolution by taking the band out. I appreciate that you wrote so clearly of your own experience and stressed quality of life. So very important. ~hiddn

HI! Are you feeling some restriction now? Looking back, one thing I wish I had different is to eat as though I am dieting regardless of the band. I did very well for 5 months, but then discovered I could eat cookie dough (while making Christmas cookies) with no ill effect. It's best to just stay very focused and don't "try" too much off course. I eat mostly organic and love green smoothies as a way to get lots of healthy green vegetables in. I found I could not eat salad or brocolli -- so blending up baby spinach and kale in a smoothie was perfect and easily digestible. Just watch the amount of fruit you put in. Too much will undercut the health benefit. I hope you are feeling good and have been able to increase your daily activity! Best wishes! ~hiddn

Actually, here is what might be a better link. It has the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen! http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php

HI! Here is a link to the "the 12 foods to eat organic", which might help. You might be able to eat non-organic in general, but eat these foods only if they are organic. It could put less of a load on your filtering organs. I hope this helps! ~hiddn http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Dirty-Dozen-Foods#slide-1

Try this link for low carb recipes and the cookbook, Primal Cravings. http://www.health-bent.com/ The desserts look great, too, but from my own experience once I started having yummy desserts it was a slipper slope right back to old habits. So, just stick with the high protein meals and the salads! I ordered the cook book, yesterday, so I can't give a review yet -- but it got fantastic reviews from others including my surgeon and his nutritionist. ~hiddn

lunch suggestions. Be sure to scroll all the way down the page for a list of variations! I have just now ordered the new cook book, Primal Cravings - which is where the lunch suggestions come from. They are low carb and gluten free. There are lots of recipes and information on their website, too. http://www.health-bent.com/ I hope this is helpful! ~hiddn

http://www.healthystepsinfo.com/2013/07/vegetable-cooking-cheat-sheet This link is from Healthy Steps and is a chart with cooking/steaming times. Hope it's helpful! ~hiddn

I wasn't sure where to post this info, but here it is in case anyone is interested: "The Doctors" features Metabolic Surgery On Thursday, September 26, NBC's TV show "The Doctors" includes two segments on Obesity and Metabolic surgery. The show will feature a married couple that lost a total of 270 pounds - and now no longer have diabetes. "The Doctors" will include a satellite interview with former ASMBS President and Cleveland Clinic Bariatric and Metabolic Institute (BMI) Director Philip Schauer, MD. View the show summary online. ASMBS is proud to see mainstream media outlets providing education and information about the disease of obesity. Research has conclusively shown that metabolic surgery can treat and cure Type 2 Diabetes, and finding ways to share this information with the public is vital. We encourage featuring the real-world impact of our members' hard work. Check your local listings for your region's air times and stations. This is a great opportunity to share information about obesity and metabolic surgery with friends and family members!

This is a PS to what I just wrote: The smoothie will be too much food for you to have at once!!!!!! Just have a little bit at a time. I had my lap band removed, so I do not have restriction like you do. Try 1/4 cup and see how it feels ~hiddn

Smooth Move tea worked for me. You drink a cup before bed and in the morning all is well. Once you're eating soft foods, you can make a smoothie (if you have a good blender like a Ninja) and add baby spinach or kale to give you some digestable roughage. Today I made a smoothie with watered down apple juice, 1/2 frozen banana, 1/2 avocado, a big handful of baby spinach, and a scoop of protein powder. Delicious, filling, and healthy! Be creative and enjoy the weight coming off. Your constipation will go away and the pain from the surgery will ease up and disipate. Also, my surgeon told me to walk 5 times a day. So I set my timer for every 2 hours. I walk about 10 minutes each time. But even if you just walk 5 minutes, doing so every 2 hours is very good for you. I hope this is helpful! ~hiddn

Try Smooth Move tea! I just had surgery and was in the same boat, but a friend gave me a box of Smooth Move and voila! You drink a cup before bed. ~hiddn

HI! Was that a Woodbury seminar? If so, I went to one a couple months ago. So very informative! Good luck and best wishes! ~hiddn

Im sorry the company has an exclusion. How very frustrating and plain not fair. While you're deciding what to do, you might look into weightloss by way of diet and looking at metabolics. www.healthysteps.com is one place that offers a lot of options (including weightloss surgeries) and they are having huge success with using a modified meditteranean diet and exercise. Their patients do this in preparing for weightloss surgery and then lose so much that they no longer need the surgery! I also hear they are not hungry on the diet, either. Healthy Steps also delves into individuals metabolics and what is best for them according to how they metabolize. I have not participated, myself, so I don't have more direct info to give you. My surgeon (who removed my Lap Band) is the director, though, so once Im recovered I'll be using what they offer as part of my weightloss plan. Hang in there! ~hiddn

Wow, I didn't realize some ports are that deep!. I wonder why. Mine was very cloes to the surface, which was a little freaky to me. It just seemed so BIG. I'm glad to hear so many people are very successful with the band. Losing a significant amount of weight will change one's life! Some of us apparently are just not made to support the band. My new surgeon told me I needed a lot more fill in mine in order for it to provide the right amount of restriction---and my body simply could not handle any more fill in it. So it would never have worked for me. I guess there is no way to tell ahead of time. My band is now OUT and I'll be finding another way to reach my weight loss goal! I've got 40 to go. ~hiddn

No. Just having the Lap Band removed. I don't remember if I responded to your note, earlier! It's so nice to have it gone. It had been very uncomfortable for a couple of years. I've lost 6 pounds since it was removed! Im also more active already because, even though Im sore from surgery, I feel so much better than when I had the band in. ~hiddn

HI! Im sorry to hear you are having problems. I recently had my lap band removed by a general surgeon who does lots of weight loss surgery. However, he is a different surgeon than the one who put it IN. I believe, in your case, it may be a medical necessity to have it removed (according to what your doctor said), so any ethical surgeon SHOULD agree to remove it. I had some trouble with my original surgeon. I had some significant and puzzling complications that he claimed were not caused by the band, so he would not investigate. I went so several other doctors (gastrointerologist, ear, nose, and throat, ETC) trying to figure out what was going on. I had many tests. I finally sent all my history to a surgeon who has his own general surgery practice as well as being the director of a weight loss center. He considered it as medically necessary to take it out -- forget about all the other unfortunate treatment from the other surgeon. So this second surgeon removed it. I hope this helps you to settle down and to make your decision. Hopefully there are good general surgeons in your area---or ask the doctor who said it should come out for the name of a good surgeon. I personally would NOT return to the surgeon who put your band in. ~hiddn

It's been 6 days since I had my lap band removed. I feel a lot better, though sore. The soreness feels like it might feel the day after I've done 100 sit-ups. I had some pain when I sneezed a few times. I'm still eating soft foods. A lot of scrambled eggs. I'm eating easy to digest mushy rice with mush vegetables. Tapioca pudding has been a real treat. I've been taking 5 10-minute walks each day. All in all, it's been an easy recovery. I don't regret having the band implanted and I don't regret having it taken out. I'll be on soft foods another week or so (maybe less) and then I'll start a mix of the Mediterranean Diet and Ketogenic Diet. Thats my update! ~hiddn

Thank you! Did you have some complications? How are you doing, now? ~hiddn

HI! Isnt it amazing to have major surgery and such little pain? My recovery is so much better this time. Im walking 5 times a day (for about 10 minutes each time so far), per instructions from my surgeon. Im glad you are feeling good and the decision you made for yourself has worked out! We all know our own bodies and can get a sense of what will work and what won't. I'm glad to have the Lap Band out. I love that it helped me lose a lot of weight and I love that I could have it taken out when it no longer served me. Thanks for writing! Keep up the great progress!! ~hiddn

Thank you! Today I was pretty sore, but got all my walks in. My body is starting to move things on thru again. Im so grateful to have the throat symptoms gone! ~hiddn