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Just to present a different view, my experience is totally opposite from Sugarplum's. I eat out every week. Even with being vegetarian (which presents its own list of menu issues) I don't plan ahead and I've never gotten sick in public. I do, however, often only order an appetizer, which sometimes requires explanation to the waiter or dining companion. You have a choice as to how tight to keep your band and what lifestyle you wish to maintain while banded. Many people choose to be tighter, which means that they have to be a lot more careful about their choices, restaurants, etc. The upside is that they get a lot of control from their band in the weight loss journey. That is absolutely the right choice for some people. For me, I'd rather be a little looser and be able to eat any texture of food (even bread, though I don't often choose it). It's important to my lifestyle (I'm an attorney that takes clients out a lot, I'm single and I live in NYC so eating out is inherently part of the picture) and it hasn't interfered with my weight loss goals yet, so it's working for me. The band really dimms my head hunger, though quantity control I have to work on myself more than some, given that I chose to be looser. My point is, you have choices. Getting the band will not make you miserable. It's adjustible for a reason!

Thank you Losin' It! Very good info on that link you provided. I read that the VG band 1st fill should be 3 cc for the 1st- then in smaller increments. I talked him into giving me a 3 cc fill. Drank 3 cups of water no problem. Went down a little slower then last time. Got home and was very hungry. Made some blended black bean soup so it was liquidy. Ate about 1 1/2 cups no problem. We'll see how it goes tomorrow! Thanks for all of yoru suggestions. I really do have to work on the lean protein more since I am a a vegetarian.

I also found several choices from the vegetarian section. Low sodium vegetable broth For some reason the vegetarian section in my store has low sodium, low fat chicken and beef broth (go figure?) but it seemed much healthier than the campbell's choices and was still packed full of Protein. And good too. Chinese food restaurants have great egg drop and hot and sour Soups, but they will be high in sodium. As a matter of fact, I think I had hot and sour Soup on my liquid diet and it was just too darn salty. Of course, pre-this whole experience, it would have been perfectly salted. =P Must have Crystal Light, I even buy the generic brand and it tastes just as delicious. Let's see........Oh, I found a dry packed just add Water enchillada soup, kind of like a tortilla soup. I was allowed to eat the ingredients though, but if you were desperate for flavors you could strain out the ingredients. When I buy a soup or something now I try to stay under 500mg of sodium, that in itself is still very high, so very few that I buy have THAT much. But if you don't read the labels you may very well end up with sodium as high as 900-1200mg per serving. Browse the dry packet soup section you may find something there to your liking. Good Luck!

p.s. What I think some don't realize is his "unconventional ways" brought attention, interest, education and money to the animals he featured which no one would care about otherwise. See what he has to say about that here: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwxQyhIbhAk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwxQyhIbhAk[/ame] Steve temporarily "charged" into their habitats, but he also used his money to buy up a whole bunch of land to preserve as is in addition to restoring the land in Australia Zoo to become the animals' habitats. Steve put his money and fame where his mouth was and his heart was full of compassion for animals and wildlife. His was a minimum, temporary disturbance. Handling a snake will anger it minutes but he never harmed one and always sent it right back on its way. In exchange for that the snake's species and habitat gets massive amounts of attention it otherwise wouldn't have gotten. He has said his main goal is to take those animals made horrible by bad human PR and save them from extinction, his main passion was to show people that animals are wonderful and not to want to kill them out of fear, no matter how deadly the animal. I think that is maybe why he took so many chances. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwxQyhIbhAk][/ame] I'm an animal activist, PETA member, vegetarian. Steve did not harm the animals. Did he bug them? Yes. What did it get in exchange? Screentime and a chance for viewers to be educated and learn about that animal, which in turn can only benefit both humans and animals. Steve is probably single handedly responsible for de-mystifying crocodiles as big evil creatures. And that's the first step in conservation: people don't want to save endangered animals they think are evil predators. So is being held for five minutes and in no way being harmed physically worth the trade off of preserving a species and its habitat? Hell yes. Those that may stumble into the thread and not like Steve Irwin to consider these facts and also ask that you respect that some of us are very much effected by his death and in mourning for him, and be kind to us in that regard. I for one am still crying over it.

Hi, I haven't posted for a while because I am so saddened and truly depressed over my lack of success with this band. I have the VG 10 cc band and I have had 2 fills and I have absolutely no restriction I can eat 90% of what I ate before. The 15 pounds I lost, I have gained back 5 since the last fill. The doctor tells me it is my fault, I'm not working with the band. I really am trying to eat right, but when you eat too much of a good think, that's not gonna help you lose. I'm a vegetarian so eating enough proteins is essential and I work very hard on that. Of course, I'm not perfect, sometimes I do blow it, but for the most part, I'm pretty good. I even work out a few days a week and drink a ton of water. Nothing. I'm eating between 1100 - 1400 calories a day. Nothing. I'm thinking that I'm just one of those people that has to eat 800 or less to lose. I go for another fill on Thursday. I am going to desperately beg him to please give me a large fill. He does not do fluoro. If this fill doesn't do it again, then I am just going to fly to Mexico to have Dr. Joya give me a good strong fill. Is anyon else a failure like me? I am so jealous (but still happy for y'all) over your successes. I would love to have that feeling again of restriction I had for the 1st 2 weeks after surgery *sigh*

Kimmason, Sure. I'll give you a few typical days pre-band and post-restriction. Keep in mind I'm vegetarian, so I'll give you estimated calories so you can see the volume I'm talking about in comparison how you eat. Pre-restriction typical day: Breakfast -- two breakfast sandwiches with 2 eggs and cheese on 2 rolls ordered from the corner deli. Lots of ketchup. Probably 800 calories. (I did this 5 times a week, often). lunch -- large spinach salad (4 cups) with chick peas, feta cheese, walnuts, tomatoes, chinese noodles, FF honey mustard dressing. Plus a small bag of chips and a chocolate chip cookie the size of your face. Probably 1000 calories (but it was "salad" -- right??) Snack -- over the counter drugstore crap (candy, Cookies, chips) 500 calories. dinner -- 2 orders of nachos (they are kind of small orders by American standards) with Beans, cheese, sour cream, guac, salsa and 2 bean and cheese tortilla wraps OR a medium cheese pizza. Either way, probably 1200 calories. Wow. I've never actually faced that before. I certainly never calculated the calories before. I mean, that was really a typical day. Something like 3500-4000 calories per day. OK, now for the happier picture -- post restriction: Brekafast -- I usually forget to eat it. Sometimes I'll have 2 wedges of light Babybel cheese (70 cals total) or 1/2 c cottage cheese with a wasa cracker (75 cals) or a half packet of Protein enhanced cinnamon oatmeal (110 cals) or 1/2 a yogurt with some Kashi Cereal (100 cals). I probably forget to eat breakfast altogether 4 our of 7 days. Lunch - Small spinach salad (1.5 cups or so) with chickpeas, feta, tomatoes, mushrooms and Water chestnuts. I ditch the dressing and use balsamic vinegar, which has almost no cals. Total cals (300). Snack - low carb frozen yogurt (60 cals) or cheese wedge (35 cals) or a handful of chocolates that my evil office manager keeps around (200 cals -- even on a binge I never eat more than 8 and they're 25 cals each). So on average, 100 cals. Sometimes I forget my snack altogether, but that's only maybe 1-2 days a week. Dinner - 1/2 fillet of fish with veggies done in the wok (350) or homemade taco salad (400) or frozen fish sticks with veggies (300) or a crab cake with veggies (450) or my fave -- an egg and cheese sandwich made with one piece of wheat toast, 1 egg, 1 egg white and 1 slice of FF cheese with veggies on the side, but if I do this, I usually can't eat the whole thing because the bread fills me up too much (220). So, I usually come out between 850-1100, depending on whether I managed to stay away from the chocolate or not. I have to tell you, Kimmason, this is not hard for me. The hardest part is planning to have the healthy choices on hand. If they're actually in the house, it's easy (with restriction from the band) to choose them. I usually eat out about once a week, which ups my cals for the day substantially. Makes my weekly average come to about 1100, where, if I eat at home, it's usually well under 1000. I still eat pizza and nachos too, but they don't rule my life like they did before, and I try not to let them in the house. I have to go out for them. My advice to you is to start planning out little meals that have about 300 cals in them. You may not be able to actually eat that little until you have restriction (then again, maybe you can -- a lot of bandsters eat like a bandster even before they have restriction -- it just didn't happen for me that way), but when you do, you'll be prepared. I'm sure everyone else has some great suggestions for you too. We're all here to support you and I just KNOW you're going to come out of this a successful bandster. Just close your eyes and breathe through the next 14 days. You're going to get there!

I'm down at least 1/3 of my hair and I'm not in one camp about what causes it other than weightloss (surgical or nonsurgical -- both seem to have it) and that I don't believe it's Protein (mine has been consistent pre-post band as I'm vegetarian -- I just eat much less in carbs now). I just started taking Biotin yesterday, as well as a chewable multi Vitamin. We'll see if there's any improvement. I'm not hopeful, but I do believe I must be near the end of the shedding as I've lost so much. I'm thankful I had a lot to begin with. As for the calorie intake, I eat around 800 cals per day and it works well for me. Then once every other week or so, I eat about 1200 cals for 2 days or so (usually because I've gone out to a restaurant or had a few meals I couldn't fully control due to social obligations) and I always seem to break a plateau by eating a little more. I don't believe in starvation mode (because my surgeon and his nutritionist don't and I chose them because I trust their medical skill and advice) but I do think there's something to mixing things up with your body once and a while to make things move. Good luck! I'm sure you'll be losing in no time.

I gained the most weight (75 lbs in a year) due to eating a HUGE refried bean and rice burrito every night - i had the highest stress job -was working around the clock but made sure to get by burrito brothers every night before closing. the thing weighed 5lbs i'm sure and i know it was the concentrated carbs plus stress that packed the lbs on. I would actually rotate restaurants so they wouldn't see me every night - carbs have always packed it on me but i love em - was a vegetarian and could be easily one again - never liked meat much.

Thank you for sharing, and being so open and honest. I do find it rather odd, how you are either the "funny fat person" or the "outsider fat person." Why can't I just be Cassandra, the teacher, the vegetarian, the listener, the rocker, the one who is compassionate...? I HATE that for whatever reasons, my fat stands in my way. I have never actually had someone tell me, well you are fat so... it is almost unsaid, that is sometimes why I think that I am being unfair and I know that part of it is my own insecurities... Jodie, I totally understand what you mean though...about making friends with people and having a great time, and then they are like...well...I am going to go out now...I totally get that! What is interesting is that my very best friend is like a size zero and is Gwen Stefani look alike gorgeous and our physical differences have never gotten in the way...one of the reasons why i love her...and miss her so much now that she lives in AZ and I am in IL...:cry

Thanks for all of your posts. I'll ask about seaweed at my consultation this Friday. I'm a vegetarian, so I don't need to worry about not eating meat. I'm glad to hear some people are lucky and can eat anything, just in small amounts. That is what I want out of the band - portion control. If seaweed is off limits, I can always ask the chef to leave out the seaweed. My favorite is kamikaze sushi - seaweed, rice with avocado, friend tempura bits & spicy red sauce - yum!!!

Speaking of cravings... I have been thinking none stop about fried pickles from Razzoo's.(They are to die for) I have also been wanting bacon. The thing is I have been a vegetarian for 18 years. What is up with that?

That is awesome! I am also a vegetarian! How did you like the profession???

Buffie - I read that rice can sometimes be hard to pass through the band. Also, if there is seaweed around your sushi it might be hard to actually chew into small pieces. I'm a vegetarian, so I don't know about the raw fish...but I assume it would be quite easy to break down and would be good protein.

Just to clarify - I am supposed to drink at least 64 oz of water a day. The 1/4 cup per hour is for things other than water. I have tried to call my dietician today but she wasn't in. Maybe the 1/4 cup is a minimum and not a maximum? Hell, maybe I've got it all wrong. But I do know it says to add 25-30 g of protein a day. Well when I can't eat meat, peanut butter, cheese, or well, anything that has real protein in it I am assuming to "add" 25-30 g a day would be all the protein I am getting. I have had Carnation Instant Breakfast and hi-protein slim fast, I will definetely try the Isopure shake. I'm still thinking about trying an egg and just keeping my fingers crossed. But I think for dinner I am going to have pureed vegetarian chili and hope that is OK. Thanks for all the advice and please keep it coming!

Refried Beans are a staple of mine (I'm a vegetarian). I just head them in the microwave with salsa and a little cheese. A cup or less of that and I'm great for the evening. They are sort of high in carbs, but all the fiber and nutrients in them make them a great food, I think. Emily

Melissa, my dip stuff is vegetarian. It's made with black beans, corn, feta cheese, and onion. Pot Sal and caulifower is veggie. So is fruit...she'll have lots to choose from!

As soon as I get up, I go get a cup of hot green tea and a Slimfast Lo-Carb chocolate shake. I take them back to my bathroom. I sip the hot tea and take my morning meds. I also take 2 Fiber Choice Tablets, 2 Max Strength Antacids, and 1 Flintstone Vitamen. I then shower. I get out of the shower and start drinking my slimfast. I put on my makeup and blow dry and fix my hair. By now I am done with the slim fast and my lotion has dried. I get dressed and take my empty tea cup back to the kitchen to prepare myself a cup of oatmeal. I use the Weight Control Cinnamon with hot Water, which I thin down. I add a package of sweet-n-low to it. After eating my oatmeal, I grab a bottled water if I am headed out the door. At lunch, I usually have a Lean Cuisine Meal, or Single serving Tuna with unsweetened applesauce, Light Miracle Whip and some relish., or Non-Fat Cottage cheese with snack size Lite fruit, or Cup of Turkey Chili with a little shredded cheese, or Broccoli Cheese Soup (Like Quizno's or Panera), or 1/2 a Grilled chicken Breast and some Grilled Veggies. Mid Afternoon I eat my Yoplait Nonfat Yogurt. I usually swim for 30 minutes around 3 pm. That is my exercise! dinner - If I cook dinner I eat 1/4 cup of whatever I fix. Example: 1/4 Cup Meatloaf, 1/4 Cup Green Beans, and a 1/4 Cup of Mashed Potatoes. If I don't cook, I eat leftovers or what I usually eat for lunch. Around 8:00 pm I usually have Fiber One Cereal, Skim Milk and either strawberries or blueberries. How much I have depends on how much or little I ate during the day. I use Fitday.com to keep track of my calories, Protein and fiber intake. I eat no less then 1000 calories and no more then 1200 calories per day. My protein intake 60 grams minimum. My fiber intake 25 grams minimum. I don't worry about the carbs because I am not eating Bread or Sugar. Other things I eat sometimes: sugar free Jello with Cool Whip Free, Sugar Free pudding, Canned Spinach with sauted onions and garlic, sugar-free popsicles, deli prepared chicken salad, grilled fish, broccoli chopped and well cooked, Refried Beans, Guacamoli, Vegetarian Baked Beans, Black Beans, 1/2 Baked Potato, 1/2 or less Baked Sweet Potato, Minestrone Soup... Eating out - I ate Chinese last Wendesday. First time since banding. I ate Hot and Sour Soup. I ordered Moo Goo Gai Pan. I ate 4 small pieces of the chicken, all the mushrooms, and 4 peas. It looked like I didn't touch the plate. I took the rest home. The next day I made chicken salad out of the rest of the chicken. Mexican food I usually order one cheese or beef enchilada, small guacamole and refried beans. Other restaurants I either order a cup of soup or a potato with everything on the side. I don't eat sour cream, chives, or bacon bits. I do put a small amount of margarine sometimes and some shredded cheese. I don't even try to eat the skin and I only eat one half of the potato. I don't eat bread, sweets, or anything that is empty calories except a sugar-free jello, or sugar-free popsicle every once in a while. I drink at least 64 ounces of water a day...never with meals. Staying away from the fried foods, bread and sweets has helped most. I never have the food cravings that I use to have. I use to never eat Breakfast. No wonder my metabolism was shut down. Now eating small amounts 4 to 5 times a day really has helped!

I agree completely with this post! I love my vegetarian refried beans...plus I find them very filling! Carbonation is a "north end" problem and beans are a "south end" thing. I like that analogy!! "South end" gas won't hurt your band.

I LoVE refried beans and eat the vegetarian ones with a little salsa. Be careful because they can be pretty thick so go slow - even refried beans can get stuck!

Okay, here are some questions I have gotten and here are the answers. Wanna start looking for the special outfit for the cruise dinners??? Here are some guidelines during a cruise: *cruises include two formal nights, one smart casual night and the remainder nights casual. Casual: Sport shirts/polos and slacks for men, sundresses or pants for womenSmart Casual: ties for men, jacket optional, dresses or pantsuits for womenFormal: Suits and ties OR tuxedos for men, cocktail dresses/formal for women (I will tell you that most men wear a suit and tie and most women do the full formal wear) Tuxedos can be reserved ahead of time if you let me know you want one (cost involved). Hair/nail/spa appointments for an up-do or style can also be arranged (cost involved) During the day the dress is comfortable casual. This means a pair of shorts, shirts, sneakers, etc. RCL accommodates special needs such as, food Allergies, Gluten-free, Vegetarian (except for vegan/macrobiotic) Low-fat, Low-Sodium, Lactaid/Soy Milk, Ensure, and Kosher meals at no extra charge. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE ONE OF THESE PEOPLE NOW SO THAT IT CAN BE NOTED ON YOUR CRUISE. If it is your Anniversary or Birthday, please let me know. ATM machines are onboard the ship. ($5 surcharge) There is internet access at a cost available. It is best to buy in a package when you board and look for "specials" in your daily itinerary magazine. Medical staff: Yes, there are a minimum of two fully certified doctors and a minimum of 3 fully certified nurses on every ship. Smoking: smoking is permitted on all open air decks. Smoking is not permitted inside the ship unless it is a designated lounge area. What are the transfers? RCL meet & greet staff will meet you in the Baggage Claim Area or outside of Customs (for international flights) to direct you to your transportation between the airport and ship/ ship and airport. Hairdryers: All cabins have hairdryers. Room service? Room service is free. Just call and tell them what you want. If you would like, you may tip the steward that delivers or you may tip at the end of your cruise. Drinking water: Yes, you can drink the Water on the ship. It is all filtered and distilled. Passports? Yes, it is highly recommended that each guest has a valid passport. Due to government restrictions and new legislations it is unclear whether it will be REQUIRED at the time of your sailing, therefore the cruise lines are asking passengers to please get their passports ahead of time so as to not have confusion. When will I get my cruise documents? cruise documents are sent to you or your travel agent 20-50 days prior to sailing, assuming your reservation is finalized and your payments have been made. Can I bring my own liquor? Technically... NO and they will take it if they find it. But I do. Is there laundry? Yes, for a price. SHIPBOARD LAUNDRY SERVICE * All prices are in US. Dollars and are subject to change without notice. MEN WOMEN Shirt/T-Shirt:$2.50Blouse:$3.50Shirt (dress):$3.00Dress (wash):$5.00Underwear:$1.20Skirt:$3.50Jeans:$3.00Nightgown:$3.00Pajamas:$4.00Swimsuit:$2.00Handkerchif:$0.75Slip:$2.50Shorts:$2.50Housecoat:$3.50Bathrobe:$3.50Hosiery:$3.50Pants (wash):$3.50Slacks:$3.50Sweatshirt:$3.00 Socks:$1.00 PRESS ONLY - 50% of cleaning prices SHIPBOARD DRY CLEANING SERVICES * All prices are in US. Dollars and are subject to change without notice. MEN WOMAN Suit:$7.00Evening Gown:$8.00Pants:$4.25Dress$7.00Jacket:$4.50Silk Blouse:$5:00Sweater:$4.00Silk Dress:$8.00Coat:$7.00Skirt$4.50Tie:$2.00Suit:$7.50Shirt:$3.50Blouse:$4.00Shorts:$3.00Scarf:$2.50Vest$2.50 Silk Pajamas:$4.50 PRESS ONLY - 50% of cleaning prices Please note: We do not provide irons in the staterooms as they constitute a fire hazard. Is there an emergency number if my family needs to contact me??? Yes, Your friends and family can contact the ship by calling (888) 724-SHIP [(888) 724-7447]. Or from outside the U.S. they can call (732) 335-3285. The cost is $7.95 USD a minute, and can be charged to their American Express®, MasterCard®, Visa®, Discover® or Diners Club®. From outside the U.S. additional long distance charges will also apply. You can make ship-to-shore calls from your stateroom, 24 hours a day. The cost is $7.95 USD per minute and will be automatically charged to your SeaPassSM account.

What are your favorite convenience foods (frozen dinners, canned, etc.) I discovered Dinty Moore Beef Stew has only 240 cals per half can. l/3 can seems to be plenty. Nice and soft. I also like frozen meatballs--but they are about 100 cals each. Some of the vegetarian frozen burgers are a good choice. Cans of refried beans and a package of corn tortillas is another staple I like to have on hand. Anyone find something good out there?

I had an unfill (from 2.6 to 1.8) about 1 week ago. Prior to that I was at 2.3 and got that second fill becuz I wasn't losing and could eat a lot. I'm noticing I have pretty good restriction at 1.8 so what gives? Could it be still some swelling. I'm sure I'll need to get some more fill soon but this is strange to me. I don't think I will ever understand the band as one day at dinner out I ate bread, steak (thin, tender) and french fries and the next day I could barely eat 1 tiny piece of quesedilla (sp?). Yesterday I took an hour to micro chew a vegetarian brautwurst that ended up coming up and was on soup and protein shake last night and today. I just don't understand restriction/fill - I think this is the main reason lapband is sometimes thought to be less successful then gastric - fills don't make sense and are hard to get right!

I drink milk, and a special milk product called kefir. What it exactly is, you can see here ----> http://www.kefir.net/ Also, I eat Soup which is made out of meat and vegetables, but I do not eat the meat out of it. Some protein from the meat also end up in the soup and I also put organically grown soya sauce in it to make up for the Proteins. Its not 65g of protein a day, but vegetarians live with much less and feel fine. :biggrin1:

Thanks for the reply, gives me hope. I am hoping that since I am a vegetarian that will make things a little bit easier for me b/c I wont have to worry about digesting meat!

Try to eat some meat because it is high in protein, but there are other things. Fish is good, especially Gorton's frozen without breading and easy to fix. Beans are high in protein. I think there are vegetarian bandsters. Maybe you could put out a call to them and see what comes back at you.