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Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your replies and give a little update. You all had great suggestions and I've been trying them over the past couple weeks to see what works and what doesn't. I am now taking more slider/convenience foods with me to work and taking sort of a grazing approach to eating my work meals. A lot of yogurt, crackers and cheese, Protein shakes, etc instead of actual meals. I do still keep a couple lean cuisines in the work freezer or run to the cafeteria for a salad if we're slow and I have time for dinner. Thank God summer is over so we seem to be slowing down some now that motorcycles, ATV's, boats, etc are being put away for the year! My hospital also has a contract with WW and nearly everyone I work with signed up at some point over the past year and has been following the plan. I resisted for as long as possible thinking my band would be enough, but maybe it's not. I still have to learn to eat healthy and stick to a proper diet, right? So I signed up for that yeterday and will actually start next week after I see my doc for my apt on Monday. I talked it over with her beforehand and she wants to take some points away and tailor the program a bit to fit my band. Hopefully I can also talk her into a fill because I'm in desperate need of some restriction!!! As far as excercising goes...special thanks to Lori Ann for understanding where I'm coming from since it seems we live a similar lifestyle. I too have decided to stop the insanity and just accept my limitations. No more trying to work out on my weeks on, then being stressed if it doesn't work out right, then beating myself up about it. ENOUGH! In a perfect world, I'd be working out everyday for an hour or so reguardless of what else was going on. Turns out we don't live in a perfect world, and understanding that has made my life so much easier and less stressful! That being said, I have teamed up with some people I work with and am doing the couch to 5k program...as time and my schedule permits...and am shooting for our local Icebreaker 5k at the end of April. It'll be my first one and I'm super excited...if not a little terrified...about it! Also, another coworker and I have gotten into the Zumba craze and ordered the dvd's online. That starts next week when she gets back from Portland. Hopefully the combination of all these things will help. I've been super frustrated lately with the fact that although people keep noticing and commenting on my weightloss, my scale is still stalled and I haven't been able to move down a clothes size yet. (in jeans anyway) Soon though, hopefully very soon!

I need some help here! :eek: I am not looking for sympathy, coddling, lectures or criticism, only serious ideas/suggestions that I can apply to my life to get me back on track. I've seen from reading the boards that a lot of ladies on here are nurses so they can probably best understand my situation and give me solid feedback because I'm sure they've been there, but I'm open to all ideas, from everyone. This may be somewhat scattered, so please bear with me... I'm having several problems adjusting the band to fit my lifestyle right now due to my schedule/job. So I guess a little background first would be good... I work in a busy ER. I work 12 hour night shifts 7pm-7am. I work a stretch of 7 days on, 7 days off. Which equals out to roughly 84 hours in one week, give or take. I am not a nurse (yet...working on that part now) but the Unit Secretary (or HUC depending on where you work). Which means I'm pretty much chained to my desk my entire shift, save for the times I volunteer to run errands in an attempt to get in some movement :biggrin: and my ten minutes sometime between midnight and 3 am where I grab my dinner out of them fridge, heat it up and use the restroom while I'm waiting. I'm probably making this sound horrible, but in reality, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my job. :sneaky: My weeks off are fine. I've got a good routine going and feel like a normal human. Most my weightloss happens during this time. :biggrin: My weeks on are a completely different story...:biggrin: Working out is a challenge. When I work out in the morning, it amps me up and I have a horrible time winding back down to be able to go to sleep...which is already hard enough during the day. Trying to wake up to work out in the afternoon and get to work on time is craziness because I'm exhausted from poor sleep quality/fried nerves/stress/etc (especially towards the end of my week), my mornings are everyone else's evenings so the gym is packed, traffic is horrible, etc. (Sounds like a lot of empty excuses, even as I'm typing it, but please bear with me here, because it's my reality). :biggrin: As I've stated before, I try to get up and move around as much as possible...answering call lights, running errands ( getting ffp from lab, running paper work to registration, getting the charts from our fast track instead of waiting for them to be dropped off, etc.), asking to go on walks on the rare occasions we're not busy or I'm not needed, etc. but a lot of times we're too busy and I simply don't have time or am not able to leave the desk because everyone else is busy and I'm the only one at the nurse's station. I'm also wondering how people manage to chew properly that have jobs such as mine. :blushing: My phone rings constantly and my desk is always covered in charts, so if I don't make quick work of getting my food in my belly and out of my mouth/off my desk, it becomes a problem rather quickly. As a result, I'm inhaling food and getting overfull. I spend the majority of the last few hours of my night feel nauseous and have come dangerously close to PBing several times. This isn't a huge problem now as I haven't had a fill yet, but I know it will be once I do and I'd rather just get things figured out and form good habits now. Maybe sticking to soft foods such as yogurt/soup? Or just having a Protein shake for my work meal? I'm just worried about relying too heavily on slider foods because as those of you who work in these enviroments know, there's a constant supply of candy/snacks/other unhealthy garbage available for grazing to keep energy up and keep you awake since no one knows when/if they may get the chance to stop and eat and I don't want to not feel full enough and fall back into that bad, bad habit. :biggrin: Also, since I pretty much do nothing but work and sleep during my week on, I basically have 12 hours to get in all my protein and Water...which are all spent at work. Water is not as hard. I don't always manage to get it all in, but I bring 2 1 liter bottles with me everyday and sip constantly; the protein is much tougher. The way I have been structuring my day goes something like this: 5pm-6pm (depending on when I feel awake enough to get up) Breakfast 12am-3am (depending on when I get time to eat at work) lunch 7:45am-8:30am (depending on when I get home for the day) Dinner Then immediately after that, bed. Repeat x7 days...well 6 because on my last day I stay up until roughly 7pm (or whenever I pass out from sheer exhaustion, but it's usually about 24 hours) to reset myself so I can be awake during the day and function like a normal person on my week off. :cursing: I'm pretty sure this is not the greatest approach.:biggrin: (The eating right before bed thing, not the staying up...that, I can live with. lol) So that's where I am. Have to say I'm not loving it. Love my job, my life is great, just a little (ok, incredibly) frustrated when I don't see the scale move for 2 weeks out of the month because of my schedule. Would greatly appreciate useful feedback on how to make this band work for me amidst the chaos.

bummer about the shoulder pain - i have a lil bit of that. my heating pad is my friend :thumbup: i feel hungry, nauseous and bloated all at once. my belly is making crazy gurgling noises that startle my dogs lol. doc gave me liquid tylenol 3 (pretty yucky tasting) so i haven't been taking it a lot. thankfully, the pain level is tolerable. trying to keep up on my liquids. looking forward to tomorrow (skim milk & yogurt - yay!) take care!

:thumbup:My team says I am doing great. Starting weight shortly before surgery was 293 and I am now at 277.... 16 lbs so far. My incisions have all healed, I have had no gas pains, nausea or any of the other uncomfortable complications I have read about here. Stayed on full liquids day 2-10 and still incorporate a lot of full liquids such as yogurt, cream of wheat and protein water into my daily diet. In fact you could say I am on full liquids all day, eating whatever else will go down comfortably for dinner, keeping an eye on my own personal nutritional goals. I was doing this for awhile before surgery anyways, and has now bwcome habit. I worry about progressing too fast with the diet. I asked my doctor if I ate something wrong, would it cause any problems with the band, such as slipping? He assured me that might have been true in the “old days” but that he now ties the lapband in securely by bringing up some of the lower stomach and stitching it around the band. The band will not slip by eating something wrong. He did say if I had a prolonged bout of throwing there was a slight chance of slippage, but unlikely. He also said that before the first banding the stomach pouch will not stretch as there is little restriction, any excess food just slips through to the lower stomach. His said I would be limited in what I eat by what felt comfortable “slipping through” and could gage how much swelling is remaining from the surgery by what size goes down OK. I would learn from trial and error what I could eat and what would be not be nice to me. So I have tried out various other foods to see how they feel, being sure to chew very well. This is very much feedback trial and error, as if I forget and do not chew well it does not feel good going down. I have the best luck on foods that are on the soft slippery type, like fish(scallops, red snapper), noodles, eggs and various oatmeals, even soggy morning cereal. All with no problems. No gas, bloating nausea or any other complications that I can feel. All went down just fine. Rice, flour tortillas and anything fibrous that can’t be chewed into pieces get “stuck” and I have to wait for it to clear before eating more. Not painful, just annoying. My nutritionist did say to avoid coffee as that has tannic acid which could cause ulcers on the band. I wonder if that applies to tomato products, such as spaghetti sauce, as tomatoes have tannic acid, as does wine, I think. I will need to verify that with her. I am thinking it may be the daily prolonged use of coffee that could cause an ulcer, but for now I just say no. The temptation is to keep pushing the limit, such as gobbling down a Burger King Steakburger ( I did not even though I probably could if chewed well), but I had better have enough self discipline to not do that or I have wasted my life, time and money on a procedure I do not respect. I log everything on FITDAY.com (have done this for years) and keep a careful eye on my calories, cards, proteins, etc. When I was on full liquids I was taking in about 800 calories and usually met the 60 protein goal. I am looking now at keeping my calories around 1200, so that I will continue to lose weight. My doctor has taken me off the high blood pressure med as I now test in the normal range. I have reduced my glyburide by 50%, and am slowly reducing my 24 hour insulin. I am experiencing fasting glucose of 120, which is about 100 points lower than pre lapband. So far I am very happy with my lapband.

I mentioned how desperate I was right…. Well, yesterday I drank two cups of a laxative tea called Smooth Move (one in the morning and one on my way home from work). My husband, bless his soul, also went to the store and bought me a drink called Simply Apple (amazing what an apple can do!). Now I don’t know which one did it or if it was a combo of the two but things got moving! Now I am all better. I knew there would be some difficulty going since I wasn’t putting all that much in my system to begin with, especially the weekend after my surgery. I knew I was slightly dehydrated and that would slow things down. But the bloating and pressure was getting way too uncomfortable. 10 days is a VERY long time to go without having a BM. Now I can get back to my diet plan and hopefully stay moving. I’m thinking of adding some Activia yogurt to my daily diet plan to stop this from happening again. But a little fiber in my protein shake every morning sounds like a plan too and cheaper I’m sure. I can’t tell you all how much I love this place. Everyone is so wonderful and helpful. And yes, for sure we are all a family! I wish I would have found this site sooner… Thanks to all! You guys rock! P.S. I don’t know if I’d ever recommend the above combo to anyone for relief. Even though I feel much better now, it was a desperate measure and it was painful. For me it was worth it as I finally feel normal. Plus now I can feel that I lost weight - NO MORE BLOATED TUMMY! I’m going to be sure to add something to my daily diet so that I never have to go through that again! XOXO -D :sneaky:

I am about 2.5 weeks post-op and started 'mushies' this past week - scrambled egg chopped up, tuna salad chopped up, tilapia chopped up, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese, yogurt (plain or vanilla), sugar free or fat free pudding, creamed soups, creamed spinach, baby pastina, cream of farina, ricotta cheese... They told me to put whatever I was eating in a 4 oz dixie cup and then dump it on the plate to eat. I barely finish 1/2 of it but most is staying down...

Have you tried EAS AdvantEdge RTD? They are not as thick as some others. strawberry reminds me of strawberry Quik chocolate Fudge is like YooHoo Cafe Caramel tastes like iced coffee. Just keep trying different shakes till you find what you like, everyone's tastes are different. What about Dannon Light & Fit Greek yogurt? Yogurt counted as a liquid on my program, or even Protein puddings. Where can I find these? I had someone in my support group say the same thing, but I have been unable to find these in shake form (I can only find the protein powder.) I get them in Walmart, which has the best price here, or Shoprite.

It normal but I hope your drinking protein shakes?! You will get sick f your only eating a yogurt.

Plain Water - have no idea why, but it's like swallowing liquid sandpaper. Greek yogurt - I wasn't a huge fan prior to surgery, but I can't stand the texture. I can have a dollop, like on top of my Mexican bake instead of sour cream, but to eat a sweet Greek Yogurt out of the container, I can't do it. Other than that, I have been able to tolerate anything I've thrown at my sleeve.

So I’m officially one week post op. I haven’t posted until now because I’m just really trying to take it all in and enjoy this very special experience. Here’s a small recap of what I’ve been through thus far. My first seminar was on 6/11/09 I weighed 250. I met with the dietician on 6/20/09 and weighed 245. The day of my surgery is 7/7/09 and I weighed 237. Today I’m one week post op (7/14/09) and I weigh 228. I feel really good about that, and I can’t wait to see more weight melt away. Tuesday 7/7/09 Today is the date of my surgery and I weighed in at weighed in at 237 lbs. I’m really impressed with myself because that means I’ve lost 13 pounds since my first seminar on June 11th. Everyone at the hospital was great. I’m not going to fake it, I was nervous about having this surgery. I kept thinking did I rush this decision, could I truly have done this on my own, isn’t this a drastic measure, etc, etc. I could think of a million other things that I would rather be doing than having surgery, but this surgery was my one opportunity to truly change my life. I knew that then, and I know that now. How wonderfully exciting it is! My surgery was scheduled at 11:30 a.m. and everything started on time. By 1 p.m. I was wheeled into my room, and the rooms were new and very nice. Surprisingly I was not in very much pain. I couldn’t have any water or broth until 6 p.m. so they started having me walk a little after five, before I started the liquids. The first time I got up, I felt very warm and a bit nauseas. So I sat on the chair and waited a while until I took my first journey down the hall with my lovely IV. The gown that I had on was so big and long that my lovely husband went out and bought me a shorter gown and light robe (I don’t know why I didn’t bring one on my own) 6:15 p.m. until midnight that night I took in a total of 6.5 ounces of water/broth. They would allow me 15 ml’s every 15 minutes. I also walked roughly an hour that night (they even showed me a longer path) that way I wouldn’t have to keep turning around. That first day I didn’t nap or anything like they. I remember them waking me up just a little before midnight, at four the next morning, and at eight the next morning. Overall I got some decent sleep. The majority of my time in the hospital was spent seating in the hospital chairs. When I was in the bed I felt like a patient, when I was in the chair I felt like a visitor. I’m such a freak. Wednesday 7/8/09 So today I feel pretty good. I’m not hungry but I am a little thirsty. Again I could only have 15 mls of water/broth per 15 minutes and I ended up consuming roughly 16.5 ounces. Again the pain is under control and I’m just not in nearly as much pain as I anticipated. Thursday 7/9/09 Today is the first day I’m feeling some hunger. I can’t wait until tomorrow when I can have a protein shake. I spoke with my friend who had her Lap Band surgery a little over two years ago. She’s one heck of a mentor and an amazing example of how successful you can be with this Band. She has went from 243 pounds (a size 24) and is now 127 pounds (and a size 2/4). I told her that I am going through a small bout of buyer’s remorse. I know that a protein shake will help suppress my hunger, but I can’t wait until I get some normal food. I’m just excited at the thought of eating cottage cheese, yogurt, roasted veggies, cheese, and chicken, yum. This time I can tell that I’m having true physical hunger, not just head hunger. I walked with my husband and Adrie (our black Lab) around the block. Halfway through it my stomach had a lot of pain. The pain is near the incision where the port its. That’s where all my pain is, nowhere else. Today I’ve had 21 ounces of water and 4 ounces of light Tropicana Orange Juice (super delicious) for a total of 25 fluid ounces. Friday 7/10/09 Today I woke up hungry and I was glad to know that I could have a protein shake, thank goodness. My mom came down to see me today. She said that she was impressed that I was in regular clothes, and not all slouched out in pj’s. J Yes I get up every day I take a shower, put on some make up, and do my hair. I’m not a girly girl, but by doing so that way I feel better which I hope will help the whole process. I went with my mom and hubby to the bookstore. Instead of the “typical” lunch we had unsweetened tea and enjoyed an hour of reading magazines and books. I looked all over for a book on weight loss surgery. There was one book (besides two separate recipe books) called, Before & After: Living & Eating Well after Weight Loss Surgery by Susan Maria Leach. I really liked what she had to say and I could find myself relating to her story. Granted we had two separate weight loss procedures, but we’re both fighting the same battle. Today I had water, 4 ounces of prune juice, green tea, ½ cup of soup, and 1 ½ Bariatric Shakes. That’s a total of 37 ounces for today. Saturday 7/11/09 I woke up early and I decided that I was going to find a couple of garage sales to attend to. I found this one exceptional garage sale and I was in bargain heaven. J I drove by the farmers market, and I told myself that I could stop on over there next week (when I could actually purchase some veggies and fruits for the next stage of my post op diet). I had a total of 43 ounces today, mostly water, 4 ounces of OJ, 8 ounces of a Bariatric Shake, and ¼ cup soup. I feel asleep at 7 p.m. and didn’t wake up until 8 a.m. on Sunday. Now that’s so good sleep! Sunday 7/12/09 Today was the first day where I didn’t much hunger. I love that feeling. I feel so good not having food at the forefront of my mind, I have this new sense of peace and hope in my life. It’s an amazing feeling. My sleep is improving and I’m finally not waking up in the middle of the night. I’ve been having quite a bit of pain today and yesterday with the area around my port. I don’t like taking the liquid pain medicine, because it makes me feel a nauseous and I’m worried that it will make me vomit (and I haven’t done so yet, and I’m a bit scared). I went with my hubby and my little brother to watch Bruno. I had this scheduled for quite some time, but I told them that we would have to wait until Sunday before we could see the movie (I just didn’t think I could sit through a whole movie until then). The movie was totally out of control, but very funny and I laughed the whole time. Going to the movies now is a totally different experience. I didn’t have my diet coke, with popcorn, and sour gummy worms. Nope, this time I had water and I was completely satisfied. Instead of the movie experience being about the food, it was being with my family and just enjoying ourselves, with food not included. What a first. I had 2: 8 ounce protein shakes, 52 ounces of water, 4 ounces of OJ, for a total of 74 ounces of liquids. Monday 7/13/09 So this may be TMI, but I haven’t been having any bowel movements, and I’m thinking that’s why my lower belly is still so swollen. I miss my old bowel movements; I had worked my way into one bowel movement a day. Now they are pretty much non-existent. Is anyone else having any problems with their stomach looking very swollen? I’ve noticed it in my lower stomach, and I’m thinking that its gas related. I wonder when it will go away. Even though I’ve lost 21 pounds, I can still only get one of my pairs of jeans to button. I’d figured that I could wear some old pants that were too tight, but it looks like I’ll have to wait until the swelling goes down. I’m having some strange cravings, grilled cheese (because I’m thoroughly convinced I won’t be able to tolerate bread) and Mexican food, more specifically chips and salsa and corn tortillas. Today I had one protein shake, water, OJ, 4 ounces of prune juice, ½ cup of soup, and one serving of jello. I’ve had a total of 40 ounces of today.

Hey there sleevers. I am 2 weeks post op and the first two weeks were ok. Now I'm sick of the soups, pudding, jello, yogurt and protein shakes. I gross out just looking at them, and eventually gag. I'd rather starve than eat anymore of this crap. I cant stand the cream soups either. Any tips on what i can eat..I start puree stuff on sunday. I have also had these horrible eppisodes of the hicupps, Is this common..Please help!:thumbup:

I wish I had discovered this website before my surgery. I've been wanting a way to document this process . . .journey if you will and now I have it. So, here goes. I had my surgery on february 13th, 2009. I weighed 372 lbs and had a BMI over 50. I'm 5'11 so my height tempers some of my weight. I'm 29 years old and felt that I needed to do something before I turned 30. Weightloss surgery had been on my mind for the last 6 or 7 years. Though heavy - I've always felt good. It wasn't until I was about 25. I had lost 65 lbs on the low carb diet. Within a year and a half I had gained it all back plus some. After experiencing what it was like to be smaller and have more energy made it very hard. I felt every pound now. Saw how more difficult it was to get around. I've been miserable for the last 2 years or so as the weight has packed on even more. I knew I had to do something. So, fast forward the whole first visit to the doctor, approval process, preop appointments, etc. etc. THE SURGERY Of course I was nervous about the surgery. My biggest fear was that I would fail. The surgery that was to take 1hr ended up taking 3 due to some scar tissue I had. My doctor told me he had to place the band a little deeper than usual due to the scar tissue. I was in recovery for about an hour and whisked home. I live about 2 hrs from the surgery center - I slept all the way home. All I remember was that it had snowed earlier in the day so as we were going through the mountains I would wake up and see how beautiful it all looked but need to immediately close my eyes because I was so nauseous. POST OP The first day I slept. All I ate that evening was a popsicle and some water with my meds. I didn't have an appetite. By the second day I was in a little pain but decided to go off of my meds so that I wouldn't be so loopy. Took some alleve instead. My stomach hurt all the time that first 3 days and I couldn't figure out why. Turns out it was gas. One day I let out a big burp and felt relief. That same day I picked up some gas x, and stopped eating the sugar free pudding and popsicles and haven't had a problem since. The first 3-5 days were the hardest. I lived off of broth, soup at hand, pudding, and yogurt (mostly yogurt). I didn't really have an appetite. The first 3 days was clear liquids - I tended to be hungry all the time and questions whether this was working because I thought the point was this would make you feel full - I later realized this was because my band was open and all liquids just went straight through. I was so scared to take a big gulp of water because I thought it would instantly fill and stretch my pouch. I moved on to full liquids for 1 week. I had a protien shake that contains about 35 grams per serving that I drank with milik. I made it through the liquid phase by living on yogurt whick I would slowly eat for 30 mins. I often didn't even get through 1/2 of the 6oz container. After the first week I moved on to the soft diet phase. Srambled eggs were my saving grace. I could also eat pureed foods - I pureed some chicken soup that had noodles and chicken. I ate a couple of bites but just couldn't do it. I decided to forego the pureed foods and just stuck to yogurt, cream of wheat, and soup.Occasionally I threw in things like cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes - which went down very well. When I got to to 4th week I was ready to do solid foods. For 4 days in a row atleast one of my meals was Broiled Salmon, brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, and a salad. I ate it all on a small plate and had a lot left on my plate. I was however surprise at how much I could eat. I've felt like this is what a normal person would eat. Another thing I was surprised about was how consumed with food I was. Every activity in my life revolved around FOOD. "We're going over Mom's house tonight - Let's pick up something to eat", "Let's pick up a movie - And order a pizza too", Let's stay in - grab some snacks". I would open my mouth to say these things and realize I can't do that anymore. I physically can't. I didn't make the experience any less though. My first real "come to Jesus" moment was when at a work conference I was confronted by a buffet about 5 weeks after being banded. As I stood in line I found it amusing because usually when present with a buffet my thoughts would be "how do I put as much food as possible on my plate without people noticing how high my plate is stacked". I would look at other people's plates to see if anyone else was eating a lot. As I would eat I would think about seconds, or dessert, or thirds, or what I couldn't fit on my plate. This time I had to think about how do I get to enjoy the BEST things in the buffet in the little amount of food I could actually eat. It was a sandwich bar - so I opted for HALF a sandwich instead of a whole. Didn't SAMPLE all the salads there but just took a small spoonful of what I thought I'd enjoy most. For dessest - 1 cookie - not a handful. I ended up splitting the cookie with a friend. It was that moment that I knew the lap band and I were gonna be good friends. It wasn't just a physical change - its was changing the way I thought mentally and my approach to food. WEIGHT LOSS At my first post op appt 2 wks after my surgery I had lost 10 lbs. 4 weeks - I had lost 20 (Was supposed to get banded but couldn't - see my next post) 6 weeks still at 20 (My doctor said it was because my band was still open - got filled this week)

I take 5,000 mg of Biotin per day. I get it at Trader Joe's (don't know if they have stores all over the country). It helps, but I'm not certain that it helps with the reason we lose hair with WLS. So far, at about 8 weeks out, I haven't noticed any hair loss. Like you, my hair is already very fine, and I don't have an abundance of it. I can't AFFORD to lose any!! So far, so good. But I DO get in all of my Protein, and I keep my calories to 1,000/day. I think not letting calories drop below this number helps a great deal. Donna - are you eating protein rich foods at every meal? Then, maybe some Greek yogurt for a snack? I also hate the Protein shakes, and now most days I'm able to get in a good 70-80 grams of protein with real food. One of my favorite lunches is 1/2 can of Kirkland tuna (from Costco), made with Hellman's lowfat mayo. The tuna is 24 grams of protein, and is GREAT with the low fat mayo; VERY satisfying. Greek yogurt is another 13 grams of protein (I eat some most every day), and adding in some sort of meat/chicken/fish for dinner, and eggs for Breakfast.....I'm there! If you're having a difficult time meeting your protein requirements from food alone, are you using up a lot of calories with low protein carbs? The good news (if there is any) about WLS related hair loss, is that it grows back (so I hear). I hope that I don't go through it. I have a hair appointment on Friday, and my hairdresser will tell me if she sees thinning.

My first bite syndrome is that the first thing I eat when I wake up will get stuck easily. I can get around it by drinking a hot cup of tea or coffee first and having something like a bite of yogurt or something soft first, waiting a while, and then eating. You ususally dont get this until you get to tight restriction.

hi tara, i too will will be sleeved next week (wed jan 19) like you i've always been overweight, lost/gained/gained more, and i too first considered WLS years ago and considered lap-band as well until recently. i beleive it'll be better for me (more permanent and restrictive than with the band without the continuous adjustments BUT permanent enough without having my intestins re-routed - that was pretty scary to me). anyway, i'm happy for u and the only advice i could give you is once you're comfortable with your decision (as to which surgery) then pray over it and be confident in that decision. i've known ppl who have done lap band and bybass so i'll be the 1st sleeve...but hey diversity, that's what makes the world go round right now as far as the pre-op diet...IT IS KILLING ME TOO, but if i can admit...iv'e cheated...my doctor's office dietician puts EVERYONE on an ALL liquid diet for 2 weeks...no lean meats, no nothing but the shakes yogurt Jello and broth...though i've cheated, tomorrow markes my 1 week until surgery so i plan on being 90% good...GOOD LUCK to you and i wish you ALL THE BEST! ~nicole

My favorite is plain Greek yogurt with a dash of vanilla extract, one Equal and some blueberries . YUMMY!!

Hi all, Only a few things taste different for me. Only artificial sweetener I can tolerate is Splenda. Whatever is in sugar free pudding didn't used to bother me but now I can taste it big time. Someone recommended using sugar free pudding mix with the greek yogurt. Yuck! And I'm losing my taste for Spaghetti Sauce because it gives me heartburn. Also less prone to go nuts on sweets or fats for more than one day running because I feel crappy the next day (not to mention the weight gain!). Lynda

Just want to echo grimlin's thoughts. I'm guessing too much sugar which is causing an insulin reaction and a bit O'Diarrhea. Perhaps try the greek yogurt and switch out your Protein shake. I am a big fan of Premier shakes. Get them at costco or Sam's Club.

I made my shakes with water and still couldn't handle them! I am able to eat yogurt pretty easily. Guess I will try the shakes again in a few days.

Yester day, August 30th I went to the surgeons office. When I was weighed I had lost 24 pounds. The nurse was very excited about that. When the Doctor came in he started to look at my chart and said do you know how much you have lost? I told him yes, but that I did lose some of the weight prior to surgery as I had cut back on my carbs and had been walking 2 miles on my treadmill. I probably had lost 10 pounds from May until my August 17th surgery. While I was there he took off my steri strips that had been covering my incisions. He said I was healing very well. I am happy anyway for the 24# loss. I am scheduled to go back to him on Sept. 12. He told me I could eat anything you would feed a baby. So I had a cup of clam chowder last evening. Yogurt fro breakfast as usual.

Congrats on your upcoming surgery. I am 5 days post-op. I had to do a 7 day full liquid diet which was hell for me. Full liquid consist of the following: *broth Soups *Cream Based Soups *Protein Powder/Shakes (muscle milk, carnation, slimfast, etc) My surgeon and dietitian required the shakes to be at least 20 grams of protien and 180 calories or less. *sugar-free Yogurt/Pudding * 100% fruit juice *Water *Crystal light juice Good luck!

I did yogurt with a small amount of soft fruit like peaches, cottage cheese, hummus, ricotta made up like the filling for stuffed shells. I never did mashed potatoes but I did grits with a little protein powder added. I tried to make sure everything I had contained some protein.

Each physician has their own diet plan pre and post op. My physician had me on Clear liquids (broth, sf Jello, sf popcicles, low cal juice) plus the Optifast for two weeks prior to banding. My banding was on Dec. 29th. I have followed a clear liquid diet since the banding with no Optifast. Tomorrow I have my first post op visit. I will then be able to eat creamed Soups, sf pudding, low fat yogurt, cream of wheat, and vegetable juices. One thing that was very helpful....I have a small ice cream freezer (one that sits on the counter). I freeze the container so it's aways ready. Put the vanilla Optifast in and blend for about 10 minutes. The result tastes just like a Wendy's Frosty. It is delicious. That was my treat every evening. I have two cases of the Optifast left and will not use it. If you are interested, or know anyone interested, I would be glad to give a good deal. (Case vanilla + case chocolate). Good luck with you new way of life.

Hi! I was banded on July 1st, and have lost about 100 lbs so far....hang in there, YOU CAN DO THIS!! more importantly..you NEED TO DO THIS...the pre op liquid diet is to shrink your liver, and make your surgery safer..the post op is to let your body heal...seriously...it aint pretty, but you need to do this...birighter days are coming! so... I do basically 2 shakes...(still) I like the EAS shakes..great Protein, low carb, you can get them at bjs... now I get the choc. ones, but I really like the strawberry.. I also do te EAS Protein powder... so for the choc ones, I use a shake a scoop of powder, a half banana, and a scoop of pbutter...(yum) I also do a berry variation a scoop of vanilla powder, a splash of v8 splash, some frozen berries, and a few scoops of greek yogurt, or an eas shake...you can mix it up by changing the flavors, but make sure to keep it hi protein..it will keep you fuller longer..... I would do this again in a heartbeat...it aint perfect, but its the best option out there!

I eat 3x a day...was told not to snack. Breakfast: dannon light & fit greek yogurt. Lunch: 2 oz turkey lunchmeat & 1 oz cheeze Dinner: 2 oz tilapia/2 small pcs broccoli. I still need 1 Protein shake (30g) per day to supplement so I drink that at some point between meals.