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Okay here's a paleo version of Shepherd's pie made with mashed cauliflower. Pictures & nutritional facts at: http://sleevers.wordpress.com/2013/11/09/paleo-low-carb-shepherds-pie/ My older son has always loved shepherd’s pie. When he was little, he’d sit on the kitchen counter and watch me make it for him. So one day, when he was about 3, I asked him how Mummy made shepherd’s pie. He thought for a bit, and then said “First you catch a shepherd and then you kill him!” Boys. Such ghouls. So I decided to try a paleo, low-carb version, which meant substituting mashed cauliflower for the potatoes. Technically this is a cottage pie, since I used ground beef. Makes 2 meals for 2 sleevers. Ingredients For the Topping: 8 oz bag of cauliflower florets, either fresh or frozen 1 tsp coconut oil/ghee salt and pepper to taste For the Pie: 1/2 lb ground beef 1/8 c chopped onion 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 1 tsp coconut oil/ghee 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 4 oz tomato sauce (can substitute 1 tbsp tomato paste) Salt & Pepper to taste 1 egg beaten Paprika Method Steam cauliflower in it’s bag for 5 mins in the microwave When done, put into bowl of food processor. Include all the water it generated as well. Add coconut oil, salt, and pepper and process until smooth and light. Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in a pan until hot. Add onions and garlic. Prepare to inhale wonderful aromas and for your spouse, kid, and dog to walk in wondering what smells so good. Brown ground beef. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, & tomato sauce. Remove from heat and let it cool for 10 minutes. Beat the egg and mix into the meat mixture Spread in a pie plate or an 8-inch square pan that has been lightly sprayed. Spread meat in an even mixture. With a light hand, spread the pureed cauliflower. Rake gently with a tine to create peaks and valleys so it looks pretty when browned. Sprinkle with paprika Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Ahhh...yes, I had those leg squeezers on too, but I had a catheter so I got to rest ~ well sorta! I too had a nausea aversion to the pain meds so they had to give me an anti nausea med to help me not want to barf. I still felt like I might so each time I pushed the pain pump, I grabbed the handy pink pail & stuck it under my mouth...just in case. Never did vomit tho ~ thankfully. I was sent home with anti nausea meds too as well as pain meds. What made my experience horrendous was that I was in the room with a crazy lady! She had the bed by the window & she screamed all night long. So nurses & techs were coming & going all night long with machines on carts & each time they passed my bed, they bumped into it, sending me jolting half out of my bed! Same with just walking back & forth, I can't tell you how many times some worker tripped on my bed, which jolted my bed again. At one point the lady started screaming to the nurses "Kill me, please Kill me!" By that point, I was ready to chirp up & say to the nurses "if you don't, I WILL!" So much for being a good Christian! OMG that lady just about killed me that night, not letting me rest for more than 10 mins at a time. So I complained to anyone & everyone who would listen to me & about 6am, they moved me to another room! I went from Hell to Heaven. They moved me into a room with the SWEETEST 92 y/o lady! I would have brought her home with me if I could. She was so concerned if her TV was too loud for me (where the other crazy one left her TV on all night at the loudest volume). Her machine kept going off & beeping if she moved her right arm for some reason & she'd be all upset that I had to hear the beeping. By that point, after what I had endured in the other room, it really didn't bother me but I did ring the nurses to ask if they could unbeep her arm (haha). One of them showed me how to do it too but I was afraid, just in case it meant something. We both nearly cried when it was time for me to be released....I hope she's doing fine but she had heart & renal problems....poor thing. Anyway, I got both the bad & the good all rolled up in one 24 hour period at the hospital! I also was assigned a nurse's assistant who had been on the job (from school) for her second day. She was the BEST assistant ever too. So gentle, so kind & so caring. Hope she will remain that way as time goes on. The nurses were abusing her ~ making her do everything while they did nothing. Then again, I don't know how hard the nurses were working with others. I can only post what I saw happening to me. So that's my story & I'm sticking to it!

Even if you get a .25 out or .10 whatever you probably need to get some out- Just so you feel better. Just want to share with you I order a product called NEW WHEY liquid protein on Health Supplements & Vitamins at FreakyNutrition.com It has 42 grams of protein 0 sugar, 0 fat. They come in shots (this is the cheapest I've found them dozen for 22.95 ) That might help you feel better/ stronger and able to cope with your day!!! It sure has helped me!!!!!

5 years, 4 months and 19 days. That is how long my friend Kim lasted after we did our kidney transplant. On May 7, the phone rang with the news of Kim's passing. Although I knew it was coming it still set me back. Kim was so young. Way to young to die now. It should have been Kim coming to my funeral rather than me going to hers. Kim's family treated us so well. Better than some of our own extended family in fact. I worry about her husband and daughter. I know that he sat with Kim every 113 days that she was in the hospital this last time. He will be so lost without her. I know that at some point in his life he will find love again, but he had better make darn sure that we all approve of his choice first or it will be hell to pay! I really miss my friend. I've wanted to pick up the phone and call so many times in this past week. I've still got her home/work/cell #'s on our phones. I can't bring my self to erase them yet. I know that at some point I will but just not now. It seems strange to realize that 300 miles away in a cemetery that several years ago I never knew of lay 3 friends. First came Cheryl, then Kim's mother, now Kim. I'm not sure if I'll be up there any more, I know that I don't need to keep butting into peoples lives, but maybe I will if nothing else to go visit their graves and sit and talk a while. I did tell Sam that the offer/promise that I made to Kim is still on. May of 2010 I'm paying for a cabin in Pigeon Forge for no less than a week. All Sam and Ashley need to do is show up. Rest in peace my friend. You were loved and will be forever missed.

It took me 10 years to come to the decision of having surgery. I would waffle between "Am I ready?" and "I'm never having surgery because I can do this myself!" Personally, it took me multiple times of real hardcore effort of losing, only to find myself regaining, to finally accept that I cannot do this on my own. It is not something to be rushed into, so take your time, do your research, give it a real honest to goodness go on your own and go from there. If you do decide to have surgery, you will know when it is time.

My doc didn't put a limit on SF popsicles or SF jell-o, but my stomach did. I wasn't able to eat much of anything for the 1st 10 days.

I have a couple of different questions. LIke others asked, Over what period of time and what are you eating? Also, and this is the most important, our bodies can be a mystery at some points. Our metabolisms don't like to lose weight this rapidly and will slow down to a crawl. That's part of why it's so important to maintain your post surgical diet for a long period of time. I eat the same things every day, I've always been that way. But some weeks I'll lose nothing, I've gone up and down but then I drop 8-10 lbs and then it levels off and then drops again. We are each different. As long as you stay with the plan, eat mostly Protein, Water, keep carbs to 15 grams or under per meal and walk walk walk, it WILL work for us. But we are technically starving our bodies of calories and it no likey so it fights back sometimes.

After todays exercise (which will be my LBWO), and tomorrows cardio session, I will have completed 2 weeks of the Body for Life Challenge - which leave me 10 week sto go or 70 days. I will complete this challenge! I'm excited about not missing any workouts, eating pretty clean for the most part. Things I need to work on - 1) Need to plan my meals better (if you don't plan, you plan to fail) 2) Need to make sure I do my carido in the am on empty stomach - burns more calories this way. 3) Need to plan my workouts so I know what I'm going to do before I go the gym - this will save some time. 4) Going to try and add 2 extra cardio session my 3rd week. 5) Will work on getting some additional supplements (Betagen - helps build muscle)

We are seeking individuals that have had the LAP-BAND®® surgery (specifically the Realize LAP-BAND®®) within the last year to participate in a clinical market study. Interviews are by telephone, can be scheduled between 9/28and 10/2, 60 minutes and participants receive $100. The purpose of this study is to understand what people think about the experience and how it can be improved. All results are reported anonymous and for he purpose of research only. Respond with interest to below contacts. Kind Regards, Jan Mallery-Groom RN Clinical Project Manager +510-922-9710 jmallery@recruitingresourcesllc.com

My doctor encouraged me to be out walking and doing any excercise I felt up to doing, as long as it wasn't something that strained the stomach muscles. Avoid lifting more than 10 pounds, don't do situps or crunches, and you should be just fine. I'm happy that you're feeling so well! Enjoy the warm weather and be active! It's great for your body.

Yep, he's done all of mine. I was just there Wednesday. He is top notch. I drive 10 hours round trip to see him when there are 3 surgeons that will see Mexican patients less than 2 hours from me. I have pics of him doing my fills.

OOPS! Typo - My surgery will be 01/24/04. Terri pre-band

Had to delete my app in order to upgrade my phone. I have reinstalled the app now and it's showing my last log was in Jan 2012??? I have lost 10 months of weekly weights and can't find it. I went to the online site and it's the same. Can anyone help??

I'm also doing optifast for a month. My surgery is May 19. I've been on it for about 2 weeks and so far I've lost 11.5 pounds. That's exactly what I'm doing.

I'm 10 weeks out and on 600 calories/70g's protein a day. I've got a craving for vegetables but 600 cals keeps me on a pretty tight budget of protein protein protein. I seem to be a slow loser. If allowed I could easily 900 cals a day

Yes, I believe your post is one of the ones I read. I ordered exactly what you indicated. Thanks! Banded 10/12/16

There are clear protein drinks like premier protein and isopure. "Better than Bouillon" broth is very good, and you can have sf jello and popsicles. On full liquids, strained soups and greek yogurts are good. A great combo is enchilada soup and some mashed avocado mixed with sour cream! My wife is 3 weeks out so I've been following along, my surgery is in 10 days. HW: 330 lb SW: TBD 6/27/2017 CW: 302 lb GW: 180 lb VSG, Dr. Jawad, Orlando, FL

I had the same concern, I felt like Water went down very easy after the first few days. I emailed my Doc/nut and was told water empties very fast, but to have no more than 4 ounces in 10 or 15 minutes, as that is about a brand new sleeve capacity. I know that each Sleeve/Surgeon/person is different, but I had to pace myself so I wouldn't drink a bottle of water too fast.

I'm going to try and make it in December. It's been kind of crazy here the last couple of months for me. Mom passed away unexpectedly 9-19-08 and I wasn't ready for that, although I knew it really could happen anytime. I was with her and that was good. We had been through a lot together the last few years....my crazy siblings. I know she's in a better place, it was just hard at first. I had to put some things "on hold" to get through things.

Xylitol doesn't seem to bother me in toothpaste or gum, but now that you mention it... there were a few times when I overate on some sugar free candy and…ummmm, let's just say it was 10 years ago and my husband still remembers that enormous gurgle sound, and the hazmat moment that lingered around afterwards. (too much information from a newbie?) I'll bet it would bother me that way again. hmmm.

Well, it was a short journey to jump through all of Tricare's hoops. I was approved my first try. Now it is a "long" wait to be banded. In comparrison to my 20 years of being heavy it is almost instantanious. I will be banded 6 months from the start of my journey...10 weeks after my approval. My doctor is so booked up. The day I turned 40 my body acted like it never had before. Everything hurt. My sleep patterns grew worse. I'd sleep in and still feel I needed more. I had SEVERE headaches that would last over a week. I had edima in my legs, arms and face. Come to find out I have Sleep Apnea and my Thyroid was 30 points low. I didn't know that your thyroid could control so much. Thankfully I heard Tricare would approve gastric banding as of 2-1-08. It was only December, so I started everything rolling with my testing, counseling, referals and research. It has paid off. Think how far into summer my surery would be if I hadn't started early.

http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/love-my-quinoa-burger/ Opened my horizons and tried quinoa this weekend - FANTASTIC!

Good luck to you. As for the pain I would say that on a scale of 1 to 5 for me the first 24 hours was about a 3.5/4. After that I went down to about a 1/2 for the next 10 days are so. I think what made it mostly painful for me was the gas. I had a hard time getting rid of the gas that they pumped into during surgery, so my body took it sweet time getting rid of that and I felt ridiculously bloated and gassy at the same time. I would say that you will probably feel some discomfort for a few days, and then after that you should be good to go. Now when I say discomfort I mean that, the bloating and gassy feeling. If you still feel like you are in unbearable pain then something went wrong and you would need to get in contact with your surgical team.