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Hello everyone! thought I would give an update as to how things have gone for me. I had my pre op visit with Dr. Johnell in Greeley Co. I got on the scale and to my suprise I had lost 8 lbs prior to surgery My surgery was on Oct. 5th at about 1:00 p.m. but went very 'routinely' I woke up later in the day and looked at my tummy and thought "well....I can't change my mind now!" lol. I lay in my bed for a bit longer then began walking the halls, I read the sooner your up and moving the better, I believe it is a true statement. After 3 'walks' I was sitting in my room and a lady I didn't recognize came in with a bouquet of flowers, at first I thought she may have the wrong room but soon learned that it was Hopeful1! (denise) what a sweet heart to bring me flowers! so what do two people from lapband.com do when they first meet? well I raised my gown and showed her my incision! lol It was so great meeting her and visiting face to face. The next morning after going in and swallowing the barium solution to make sure that my band was allowing liquid to flow through properly I was able to eat 1oz. portions every 15 min. of Jello, juice, decaf coffee, broth. The ride home (5 hrs) was fine and I only snoozed slightly, I was glad to be going home. The first 2 days were ok, I slowly sipped Water and drank my protien drink mostly for Breakfast and ate about 2 tablespoons of mashed potatos for lunch and a protien drink or Soup for supper. Now the 3rd day through the 7th was very rocky for me and I wondered if I had done the right thing by doing this surgery! I was in pain mostly at night (sore, felt dehydrated, TIRED,) had gas badly! so chomped down a few GasX and that worked very well. When I had gone in for my first week checkup I had lost another 13 lbs! I am now 3 weeks out and can truthfully say I am very happy that I have had the surgery.... Every day seems a little different as I am getting to know my band. After my first visit I was told I couldn't have a fill for 5 weeks due to healing process, I won't lie, I have been one starving women! after your fleet, broth and protien drinks and hardly any restriction....... I feel like the 'old' me is back, then all of a sudden, I get a little restriction and I remember what it feels like and can't wait to get my first fill or two. I will admit I didn't stick to the 'diet' as well as was directed. I eat what taste and feels good, by that I mean chicken fixed in my pressure cooker, fish, a few veggies and very little fruit, yogurt, potatos, Soups. I have to talk to myself to stay with smaller portions but have realized the quanity I am eating is about 1/2 of my 'old' ways with out trying to hard to hold back. I went out for breakfast the other morning and ordered a meal from the senior menu, showed them my lapband card, and the waitress said oh, ok sure. I was happy with myself for not being embarrassed to show my card and explain my situation. She come back out with a full meal instead of half, and said "sorry we didn't have a half meal back there". I looked at her and said please bring me a box....now,and I would love some more decaf coffee. My take home box was back at our table lickety split, I was determined that if she didn't bring it right away I wasn't leaving a tip. I wondered if I could stop at half the meal, I was scared I might be able to eat the whole thing! Nice to report that I ate my protien first, ( 1 egg, maybe half chicken fried steak chewed thoroughly!!!!! with some gravy) and never touched my hash browns, put it all in the box and wasn't hungry all day! didn't even think about the box sitting in the fridge! my son ate it the next morning for breakfast. I know I should be eating pureed foods but I am cutting very, very small bite sized bites, I have found I needed something to 'chew' on I had enough liquids! I seem to be staying fuller longer than pureeing my meat, I do believe the doctors ask you to stay as close to the recomended diet as possible so as not to irritate your band or tummy while it goes through the healing stage and I quite agree as I had an experience I won't soon forget! I popped a normal size bite into my mouth without thinking about it and chewed slightly and swallowed but it was to late! it hit my stomach like a ton of bricks! felt like it was lodged between the band and stomach, also felt like your having a heart attack! wouldn't recomend that experience right off the bat to anyone! So now whenever I chew my meat I CHEW and CHEW my meat!. Not sure if I have lost any weight since my first week post op visit, I was told I was on my own and had to have some will power and not to be upset if I didn't lose any or maybe gained a lb or two, I decided I would try a little test with myself, to not weigh in until my first fill Nov.18th. I wanted to try and 'feel' my weight loss if any, so far I have begun walking and trying a little bit of aerobics, no stomach exercises yet, still abit sore, maybe more afraid lol, and smaller portions of food. What I am finding is some of my more 'fatty' spots are trimming away, under my arms, my hips, legs, could be more toning from the walks than losing but I wanted to learn to not get all hung up on the scale, and realize I will have those times where I am going to be plateauing and my body is catching up. I asked my 15 year old son "Hey, can you tell that I have lost any in my tummy yet?" he looked at me for a second and smiled and said " mom! your face looks alot thinner already!" LOLOL I know I have written a book but wanted to catch you all up on my new life adventure! To all wondering and waiting on surgery, just my opinion, I am so happy I made the decision....... takin' baby steps! Maurine Maurine

Breakfast: Quaker Healthy Weight Maple & Brown Sugar oatmeal Snack: banana Creme Pie Low Fat Yogurt Lunch: Tuna & Crackers Dinner: Scrambled egg whites & Jennie O Turkey Bacon (yummy) If I have the urge for a snack after dinner I will have maybe a small banana, apple, SF pudding, or SF Blue Bunny fudgesicle. Have a great day!

if you can eat chicken salad you will ba able to eat chili and stew. I also liked yogurt, apple sauce, oatmeal just remember when u try new things to go very slowly

People all vary and so do the diets required by Dr's. I lost about 15 to 20 pre-op by following low cal/low fat for two weeks and then doing one week of two protein shakes, two Greek yogurts, and one protein bar daily. I did cheat occasionally on the liquid portion as my Dr only required low fat diet. I also started exercise, as I had read of people who lost little in the first couple months and wanted to at least get some weight off if I was going to fall in that category.

306lbs., 09/11/14. 175 lbs., 03/11/16. yea! but, i current exhibit what seems like "morning sickness" all day until i can pass all the gas and clear the bowels. i am having difficulty drinking Water, and the mere sight of any food makes me want to puke. i'm also fatigued, lack much strength, suffer from depression. i found a frozen fruit/veggie bar (strawberry/rhubarb) that i can tolerate, half at a time; or a dollop of yogurt with slice banana/strawberry is of comfort. anyone else have anything like this?

banana, Soup, low-fat cheese, couple ounces of no-bean chili mixed with a bit of low-fat cheddar, few slices of lean deli meat, and fairlife milk either hot with sugar-free cocoa mix or cold with sugarfree strawberry syrup. Those are the only things I've had over the past month that didn't make me feel sick or doubled over in pain. Even yogurt became really off-putting to me (everything is suddenly too sweet!) Protein shakes make me ill. Even my pain meds make me ill. My sleeve hates almost everything, lol. Down 43 lbs, but it's pretty miserable not being able to eat anything. I think I'll feel better when I start work and school again (three more days, Jesus!)

I think the biggest thing to remember is that the band is literally connected to living tissue. And living tissue whose main function is moving around and twisting. My restriction does change depending on the TOM, weather, stress. Most doctors say that at restriction you may not be able to eat solids at Breakfast. If you are having trouble eating solids at breakfast (and it is super early before work) that does'nt shock me. I have Greek yogurt with half a scoop whey isolate and 1/3 cup Kashi Go lean high Protein Cereal and some walnuts for breakfast. The Protein powder and cruncies make for a very thick mushie. I do have a cup of coffee before to loosen things up. As the day goes by my band does get looser. I would strive for being able to eat solid protein at lunch (3 oz) and about 1/2 cup veggies and then some fruit (couple grapes or cherries). If you can go 4.5-5 hours before being hungry you are at restriction. Then at dinner measure out your food and don't eat anymore even if you feel you are hungry. Though if you are at restriction you probably really wont be physically hungry; more of a head hunger. Some people do keep their bands WAY to tight. Can't tell you how many times I've read "I need a fill because I can still eat bread!" I'm at restriction and can eat bread. I just choose not to. Some of this is still about will power. Thin people like to eat junk food. They choose not to.

I've heard several people on the board talk about DaVinci Gourmet sugar free Syrup and I finally found some yesterday. This stuff has no calories, no carbs, no fat...just 10 mg of sodium per 2 tbsp. I got the vanilla and kahlua flavors. I used some in my coffee this morning and it was pretty good. Just wondering if anyone could share some creative ways to use it, other than coffee. In greek yogurt maybe?

I am now two weeks post op and just started with the mushies in the last couple of days. I am still starting my day off with a Protein shake. I think it helps me to control any hunger pangs I might get before lunchtime. I've been able to tolerate most soups, but only in small quantities. I tried some homemade mac and cheese and that did okay for me, but I should have stopped about to two spoons before I actually did. Sometimes it feels like there is a rock sitting right between my breasts in my chest. Cottage cheese with a little salt and pepper is very filling, as is the Yoplait 100 calorie yogurts. If I am still hungry or just want to eat, I either have a sugar free popsicle or sugar free Jello. I've printed out several crock pot recipes that I'd like to try this week, but I'm really just scared to eat. It feels like the band is stopping me from eating too much, but since I haven't had a fill yet, I wonder how much of it is real and how much of it is just in my head.

I always tried to keep my breakfast low carb and high protein, like the rest of my meals. Just because it's breakfast doesn't mean I need to eat a bunch of crappy carb-laden food. Now that I'm free to eat raw veggies I usually make a salad with about 3 ounces of steak and one ounce of raw baby spinach leaves. It is a great breakfast! Back when I was on soft foods I often had something like a poached egg over a piece of turkey sausage or slice of light spam; or Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with a spoonful of peanut butter or almond butter stirred in. No grains!

Thanks for answering back. I have only been walking on the treadmill. I feel weak and want to start machines for some strength again. Im glad im not the only one who cant eat a cup of yogurt. The doctors pushed me to eat pureed foods earlier then recommend bc I was losing weight to fast. Anyone have any suggestions on how to increase liquids im lucky if I can consume 30 ounces. Yesterday was only 22

I agree with Tiffykins on the eating plan. Although I do eat a few carbs, if I feel hungry between meals, I eat Protein. I eat low fat version of things like cheese sticks, lunchmeat, and salami and no-fat greek yogurt to get more in with less calories. Also I use Splenda instead of sugar. If you are still losing well even though you get a few more calories in, maybe you are just so active at work that you need a few more calories? i haven't had the hunger issue, but I have seen others saying that upping or changing their PPI helped. Lynda

I followed it 100%. I actually followed it for a month instead of the two weeks my doctor prescribed. I was to drink 2 Protein shakes a day, have one piece of fruit, one cup of Greek yogurt, and one meal of a 4oz serving of a lean protein and veggies. I was working out heavily during my preop, and I felt weak, so I called my surgeon who gave me permission to add another 2-4 oz of lean protein a day.

Your doctor really should have given you some more guidelines! My doctor's definition of mushy includes: Yogurt Cottage cheese Mashed canned salmon or tuna Mashed tofu Ricotta cheese Very soft cooked egg whites Nonfat refried Beans Hummus Mashed potatoes or yams sugar-free pudding pureed Soups Applesauce (add Protein if desired) Pureed fruit Cream of wheat type cereals (including oatmeal) Soggy dry Cereal (no nuts, seeds, dried fruit) I was advised to keep my portion sizes should be 4 oz or less, so 4 of your oz cups. I found it convenient to use those little Pyrex custard cups from the grocery store - the small ones hold 6 oz and the larger ones hold 10 oz, so I could judge my portion sizes easily. I know that I was up to 6 oz servings by the end of two weeks on mushies, but then I got to start solids and went back to smaller portions. It's hard to get enough protein (for me, 60 grams) when you're eating mushies, so I typically have a 20-30g Protein shake for a snack, also. To help with hunger, pay attention to the protein content of your mushy foods. There are yogurts with 3 g protein and yogurt with 20g protein - the latter (Fage, Oikos) will keep you feeling full longer. There are oatmeals with more protein, like Kashi. Mashed fish will have more protein than applesauce, etc. My favorite mushy is cottage cheese with chives - after days or weeks on Protein shakes I'm dying for something that's not sweet. My next favorite is baked ricotta - mix 1/4 cup (2 of your little cups) ricotta with an ounce each of eggbeaters and shredded mozzarella cheese, top with 1-2 oz of pasta/pizza sauce and sprinkle with a little parmesan. Microwave for 1-2 minutes. I hope that helps - best of luck with your journey!

Once you can eat yogurt, you can mix it with sugar-free syrups and maybe some PB2 (powdered peanut butter that you can find online). It tastes sort of like pudding but has lots of protein and is very filling and satisfying.

My surgery was on Monday 4/26 and i was only on clear liquids 1 day. Once i went home doc told me i could do full liquids so sugar free sherbert is great to have and yogurt!...i also am doing the sugar free jello and ice pops and i use the whey protein and make my own protein shake with the protein and sherbert..it tastes great :thumbup:

How did you gain weight before? Honestly I would stay away from soda. I know the causes of soda is a big debate but I would do it for the lack of nutrition. I would eat full fat things. Cheese, milk, yogurt. Red meats. Raise your carbs. Maybe a little more bread. Add some cheesecake once a week. Stay away from things just loaded with sugar. Maybe some creatin? That stuff muscle builders drink to help them bulk up? Good luck and I can't wait to have this problem so I can do all the things I just stated above.

Okay! Here it goes. I had surgery on the 17th of Feb. Today marks 2 weeks post op. Surgery went well. Spent 3 days and 2 nights in the hospital. The 1st day I accidentally ate an orange and almost died. The 1st week I did well. Protein shake and Oikos yogurts and pain pills. The doctor told me to increase my Water intake but I just can't drink two bottles a day. This week I felt hungry. I was starving. The Protein shakes weren't cutting it. I decided to start soft food earlier. He's the confession. I would chew the food and spit it out. I had some meatballs, and fish, and food I know I shouldn't be eating. I told myself that because I'm not actually swallowing it then I should be fine. Today I feel horrible. I know that habit is a bad one and I should stop before it gets out of hand. I decided to start this week over and go back to full liquids. Today I restocked on protein, yogurt, Jello and water. I'm going to do it the right way this time.

I asked same thing about yogurt etched because it's so thick and dr told me it's all still liquid stage so just make sure that your taking 30-40 min for meals (yogurt or soup) then I drink my other liquids all day just slow up when I know I'm going to eat do that I am not too full.

I'm about 3 1/2 months post surgery and I have noticed that I wake up feeling kind of angry and put out at inconveniences and I was never like that before. Well, I was probably so drugged with food and carbs that I didn't notice it. I've been taking Probiotics since surgery which I thought would help but this negative attitude is interfering with work relationships not being as happy go lucky as I was. i've read lots of articles that changing the biology of your gut changes your mood and that kind of thing and I was just wondering if anyone else had noticed that since surgery and if so what might be a good cure other than yogurt and probiotics. According to this article, among many others taking probiotics seems to be a good idea for mood, maybe I just need more. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/06/gut-bacteria-on-the-brain/395918/?utm_source=SFFB

Yes I have same question...I am 4 days shy from my 3 weeks out... and idk what to eat exactly..or if I'm eating to much or too little.. I'm kinda all over...sometimes I'm starving. and can maybe eat half cup soup and a cup of sf jello pudding and drink 20oz of protein shake and a yogurt. lol and some day can only drink 20z of protein and sip on vitamin water through out the day...

Thank you everyone!! I went and saw my surgeon and he told me to just walk for now esp. since one of my incisions got infected :/ I started to take ensure with 13G of Protein but I think the calories are too much. I'm going to try the low fat Greek yogurt with the Protein powder, skim milk and fat free carnations with OJ that someone said Hopefully that will taste a lot better!! -THANK YOU!! I have another question (sorry for asking so much!) I've been getting really thirsty from the hot weather and I want to chug Water. I'm afraid because I was told small sips but I don't feel like it's enough and it's REALLY hot. What can I do? Just suck it up and continue with the sips or is it okay to drink water normally?

I'm about 10 weeks out, and I'm still eating lots of greek yogurt, chicken breast, and Protein bars, and a daily Protein shake. I have eaten nuts a few times but they don't seem to sit well with me. I've also tried salads, and that was a terrible mistake. I'm SO tired of the SAME things every day. I do not like any kind of fish/seafood, so chicken it is, I guess. Even though I can eat more, I'm still not getting in the required amount of protein. I'm seriously struggling and need any advice or suggestions you may have!

My doctor has me on a 2 week diet and oh my its hard! I can have juice, gatorade, powerade-limit 2 a day Regular Jello, fruit flavored regular popsicles, or no sugar added fudgsicles- 3 or less a day Milk, light yogurt, cottage cheese-less than 3 servings a day Low carb protien shake-2 servings a day and thats all they have on my list....i hope i can make it!!!! If anyone else has any suggestions....PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!

No I am not eating solids. Only soft mushy food like cream of wheat,grits,tuna with low fat mayo, steamed tilapia, eggs greek yogurt etc. Ok glad to see I am on track.