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Is it egg itself or the texture? Maybe you could make an egg custard? Or mix ricotta and some no sugar pudding powder? Also the Bariatric Eating (bariatriceating.com) website had a slew of great recipes. Also Pinterest.

Yes, I too would question that calorie count. Honestly most Bariatric teams don't even allow you to focus on calories until you are closer to a year out. To your point, I don't even know how you eat 1500 calories at your stage. I am nearly out 2 years RNY and my maintenance goal is 1300. If I go above that I gain weight. The focus should be on Protein, Water and Vitamins. Making sure you get at least 64 oz. of water and 1gram of protein for every inch you are tall. Keep your carbs to veggies and limited whole fruits. Stay away from Pasta, rice, potatoes, bread and sweets. If you follow that, you will start to lose weight. Now, that being said there are times when we will all stall and a stall means you have not lost anything for several weeks (not days). If a stall goes on for more than a few weeks you might have to increase your daily food intake to tell your body you are not starving it. Usually it 100 protein and cood carbs like veggies. It helps the body see that you are changing things up and usually will start things moving again. I had to do that every couple of months during weight loss. For me to lose I can eat no more than 1000 calories, I have to be under 90 grams of carbs and 70 grams of protein. If I go up in intake to 1200 - 1300 I maintain, anything over that I gain. I learned this by tracking everything in my fitness pal which shows me my weight loss history along with my intake.

I really, really hate to be treated like I am stupid; one of my "buttons" so to speak. So here I am on Rants and Raves asking for your help. I had gastric sleeve surgery a year ago. I have told no one that I had surgery. So posting this is my way of reaching out to someone besides my husband. After the surgery, my surgeon told my husband that everything went very smoothly. After a few hours my blood pressure was dropping below 70/30, the nurse called "a staff assist." About ten people suddenly yet calmly came into my room, surrounding my bed, attaching equipment etc. I was rushed back into another 2 and 1/2 hours of surgery. My husband and I were told that the surgeon checked and re-checked everything and never could find the cause of my internal bleeding. "It happens," we were told. We accepted that I was one of the few who have complications with gastric sleeve surgery. I was sent home on a step one, liquid diet for three weeks, gradually progressing to full liquids then mushies and so on. I was hospitalized about two weeks after my surgery when I experienced syncope, i.e. I passed out. I was taken off my bp meds. The hospitalist visited me in my room and casually mentioned that he'd been there when I went into surgery the second time. He said that he'd never seen anyone squirt blood like I did and that they used all the factor X coagulant on hand during my surgery. A year passes. I never see the surgeon again. I've been having follow-up visits and lab work at the bariatric center every three months. I recently went to my general practitioner to update my status with her as I haven't seen her since my gastric sleeve surgery. She calls up my surgical records on the computer and there I see what I expect with one big surprise - "Repair Perf Duod/gast ulc- wnd/inj." I was reading the computer screen, over her shoulder, at an angle and it didn't register clearly while I was sitting there. Wait! My duodenum is the beginning third of my small intestine. Gastric sleeve surgery shouldn't involve that part of my body. No wonder I was on a liquid diet for so long. My husband and I had directly asked both the surgeon and the PA why I needed the second surgery. Both told us the same thing, i.e. that I had unexplained internal bleeding. I haven't been back to this bariatric center of excellence since discovering the new information. Now I've poked around and found my online summaries of each follow-up visit. They bear little resemblance to what actually happened at the visits. We did not discuss mal-absorption, nor did I have Vitamin B-12 or Vitamin D deficiencies etc. It looks like "cut and paste" notes to us. So now I know more about what really happened. What should I do with this knowledge? Thank God that the surgeon was able to save my life and just move on? Stay silent, keep up my bariatric exams, while relying on my GP for my real medical care? Call them on it and change doctors? (The PA always responds to my questions with a blank look and then a smile when I have questions. She usually has no answer and never offers to find out anything.) I live in a remote rural part of the state and would have to travel many hours to see another bariatric doctor. This bariatric center of excellence is the life blood of this small hospital as it is nearly empty otherwise. They ran every possible test that insurance would pay for including echo cardiogram and a scan of my gallbladder. There were no babies in the nursery and only a few patients hospitalized. When I was hospitalized with syncope, they sent my nurse home for lack of work when I checked out a day early. She was NOT happy with me and commented that it was a good thing her husband was the primary breadwinner. I know I need to keep up my lab work for the rest of my life. Perhaps my GP cannot order those tests. She seemed really reluctant to be involved in any potential dispute with the bariatric center. Thank you for reading this. Any constructive suggestions?

I am in my early 20s and just got the band. I was similarly concerned about how it would change my social life. I am only a few days into being banded, but I think the real changes for me on this topic came about a month ago, before I had the band. The truth is, you can have fun in moderation. I am a big drinker and social eater and often plan outings surrounding these things. The thing I have found out from being on my preop diet and being restricted in eating and not drinking is that people don't really care if I am eating fatty foods or drinking alcohol with them. As long as they can do those things, and I am not making my not-participation the focus of what is going on, then no one really minds. The bigger change will not come from your friends, but from you. You will have to learn to be fun and jolly and entertain yourself without the food/alcohol. No one is going to care if you order a Soup instead of a Pasta dish, or if you have a cranberry juice instead of a vodka tonic if you are still being fun and normal. Your friends like you for you, not for how much you can drink or eat. It is a hard transition though. I have added other things to my social life too, like doing-non drinking activities, like seeing a movie or going kayaking with a friend or going shopping, as a replacement to some of drinking/eating related things. I also went to a BBQ at my friends house where people could bring food but I provided food that I knew I would be able to eat without feeling deprived (I brough lots of grilled veggies, veggie burger and crab stuffed mushrooms and propel zero-- no one cared what I was eating or that I wasn't drinking and it was a ton of fun. I enjoyed myself way more not feeling guilty about over eating or worrying if someone counted how many chips I had had and was judging me and I felt the need to drink less). It will be different for every person though. These life changes are good ones. The sooner you start the sooner you get the band you will be able to have control of your life, feel good about yourself, and show other people how confident you are. Being able to have fun without alcohol is an awesome skill, and being able to having conversations and socialize without using food as a crutch will only make you a better friend. I just work hard not to make my new eating habits or band anyone else's problem. It requires planning and has changed my life, but for the better. I have had to really look at what is available on menus before getting to a restaurant and I always carry something that will curb my appetite in a pinch (although there are some fast food options that aren't awful, just look at nutrition and do your best to stay high, Protein and low carb). These things aren't hard though. I think it is good you are asking these questions and if you aren't ready to make some changes inside yourself with how you cope with social situations (not drinking or eating your way through them) then it probably isn't the time for you to get banded. It would be worse, in my opinion, to get banded now and feel like you are failing then to wait until you are mentally ready to give up some of the social comfort and let your friends still have it. The band won't be a cure for any of your bad habits or mental reasons for eating, so those changes need to either come first or you need to be prepared enough to fight them when the cravings come. Doing the 6 month preop nutritionist consults, meeting fellow bariatric surgery patients, being on this site, watching youtube videos, reading blogs and meeting with a therapist have all helped me realize that I don't use food in a normal way and in some ways that hinders my social life more than it helps. This is all just me though. I don't know if it relates to you, but as a young 20 something, the sooner you are happy, the better. It just might take more work mentally if you don't want to change your lifestyle 180 degrees, because the triggers and reasons to eat will still be there after the band. Good luck deciding and feel free to message if you have more questions.

I had my surgery done in Mexico. My follow-up care is performed by Dr. Vafa Shayani. He is a pioneer in gastric banding surgery. He started performing LAP-BAND surgery soon after its FDA approval in 2001, making him one of the first surgeons in the United States to perform this procedure. Dr. Shayani’s extensive experience and successful outcomes led to his status as a Proctor for the LAP-BAND. He has been approved by ASMBS as an Individual Surgeon with Bariatric Center of Excellence designation. Additionally, Dr. Shayani held the rank of Associate Professor of Surgery and the Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery Program at Loyola. I trust my MD implicitly. Just because he does things a bit differently than some other physicians doesnt mean he is doing them wrong.

I got banded last month at Hollywood Regional Hospital in South Florida which is a Bariatric Center of Excellence. I was pleased to use the office of Surgical Consultants of Hollywood, which is actually in a wing of the hospital. What was nice was that all my tests, etc. were able to be run right at the hospital. I'm 63. They have informational group seminars quite often right at the hospital.

It seems like everything has simply stalled for me and as a result I have lost focus..lost my mind..lost my excitement. I have been eating like I have a bottomless pit for a stomach. I do have see the bariatric surgeon again until the middle of next month and the sleep study the week after. I keep telling myself that I will get back on track tomorrow and find myself sidetracked. Work has been very stressful and co-workers and I have been going out for drinks and as a result have found myself the next morning trying to eat down hangovers the next morning or working through breakfast or lunch because it is so busy then going overboard at the next meal. Just picking up alot of the bad habits that got me to where I am today. The little bit of wieght I lost I am sure I have gained back and I feel my distractions have come easier because I am not moving along in the process to getting the surgery at the initial pace which seemed to have me doing something once a week when I first started my journey. One of the other concerns I have is making sure I have the money I will need for the psych and nutritionist appts that will cost me close to $500. With my oldest daughter in college and my youngest starting high school in a couple of weeks, my husband wanting to complete home improvement projects and no overtime at work my money is very "funny". So in a sense, the delay is somewhat of a blessing since it gives me some time to save but at this point and pace, I don't see myself getting a date until the end of the year or beginning of next year. From the beginning I have told myself if it is meant to be, everything that I need will be available when I need it and I will be just fine. My faith is all I have. So its another Sunday, and again I promise myself to get back on the horse of developing more positive habits, that will simply get me prepared for what I will eventually have to make a permanent part of my life.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 5, 2011 - DAY 3 OF PRE OP DIET - WELL I SLEPT IN UNTIL 8:30 AM TODAY. A LITTLE RESTLESS LAST NIGHT DUE TO MY 9 AM APPT. WITH DR. MARLEY RE: PRE OP SURGERY. I LOST 5 MORE LBS. FOR A TOTAL OF 10 LBS. LOST SO FAR IN MY JOURNEY. NOT BAD CONSIDERING I THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE GAINED WT. OVER THE HOLIDAYS. YEH ME! I HAD LABS DONE AND AN EKG. I GOT TO TALK WITH THE ANESTHESIOLOGIST RE: MY SURGERY. HE ASSURED ME THAT I SHOULD HAVE NO PROBLEMS IN RECOVERY DUE TO MY SLEEP APNEA. DR. MARLEY HAD ME SWITCH TO THE BARIATRIC ADVANTAGE PROTEIN SHAKES 3 TIMES A DAY ALONG WITH 2 CONTROL BARS. (INSTEAD OF THE CARNATIONS DRINKS AND LEAN CUSINE DINNERS) SO THAT I WILL GET MORE PROTEIN AND LESS CALORIES. I WAS NOT AT ALL HAPPY ABOUT THAT! I THINK THEY TASTE TERRIBLE. YUK! I LOVED THE LEAN CUISINE DINNERS AND SOME OF THEM WERE LESS THAN 200 CALORIES. GO FIGURE??? OH WELL. I HAVE TO COMPLY I GUESS. I AM SCHEDULED FOR AN EGD DUE TO HAVING GERD FOR OVER 5 YRS. AND BEING ON MEDICINE FOR IT. IT IS NEXT TUESDAY. HOPE ALL GOES WELL. CAN'T WAIT TO HAVE EVERYTHING OVER AND DONE WITH AND BACK TO NORMAL AGAIN. ENJOYED MY CAFFEINE FREE HOT TEA THIS AM AND AGAIN TONIGHT. ALSO WENT FOR A WALK WITH MY HUSBAND OUTSIDE THIS AFTERNOON. WE WALKED 2 BLOCKS AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD AGAIN. IT SEEMS TO GET EASIER EACH DAY. I WAS THINKING ABOUT TRYING TO DO THIS TWICE A DAY MAYBE STARTING TOMORROW. WE'LL SEE!

OMG I am so sorry for you. I was sleeved on the 3rd of December and slipped into atrial fibrillation as well. Totally feel your frustration at being a bariatric patient with cardiac complications (my heart rate pegged at 200 every time I got out of bed). 4 days after starting afib I converted back to normal rhythm. Hang in there....I can't answer the vomiting question as I only did it a couple of times...although one was after the swallow test.

Exactly why I'm not telling anyone. Double edge sword for you - on the one hand at least you work with people with a medical background so they understand (well, many I'm sure) why somebody would look at bariatric surgery in the first place. On the other hand they see outcomes, good and bad, and focus on the bad outcomes (as most people would do). There's nobody I know that would think anything but what most typically think - 'it's the easy way out, why don't you just eat less and exercise more'. Even if I were to tell people how much I've struggled with my weight most of my life, they wouldn't get it - how many things I haven't done because of my weight, how many things I regret because of it, how many missed photos there've been (my older kids' high school grads, university grads, any kind of special occasion). My mom passed away recently - I hadn't flown home to see her in 2 years because seeing everyone - family and friends - was just too embarrassing for me. In the end, I had to go back for her funeral and of course saw family anyway. We miss way too much when we feel bad about ourselves. But people who don't suffer from being overweight or obese don't and can't see this. (What sort of bad outcomes are your co-workers referring to btw?)

Just (hopefully) cancelled my order via email. I can wait no longer for my calcium chewy bites as I've been out for over a week and the order I placed with Bariatric Pal store was placed 11/30. Too long to wait even with a discount.

**Update!!! 1) Leg cramps are gone! Feeling great again. Loaded up on black beans & nuts this wknd & they totally went away within 24 hours!?! Wow that was fast! 2)My bariatrics office called me, they got my labs back and they looked good the Dr said! Just a little short on magnesium! So, yes that was the leg cramps. I’m otherwise doing well there. Wheew! Thank you all!!🙏🏼🙏🏼😍 Jen

Dr.Fox has retired and I'm now looking for a new surgeon for follow up appointments, may I ask who you used and if you liked the progress w/ that Dr.? My records were transferred to Dallas Bariatric Center, but if I have to pick a new Dr., I'd prefer they be closer to Arlington.

Thanks to those who responded kindly and respectfully. I should have been more clear: I was not looking for medical advice here, but rather to know if different plans allowed different things. The bariatric community seems to be a large one and there are always differences in plans. My question was if this was one where everyone agreed or were there some of you out there who had a different approach given by your doctors before approaching my dr/nut with my question. Obviously I'd never dream of harming myself by not following medical orders. But reading these responses I see there is no point in even giving them a call, bec there seems to be a unanimous approach to this in the greater community. Thanks, all.

I had the sleeve done 6/29/15... I also work at a bariatric sugary center and know the majority of the hold up is the insurance. Not many want to cover and the ones that do ask for a lot of information and clearances.

The following recipe for Chunky Winter Soup is one of my favourites for lunch on a cold winter day.Chunky Winter SoupMakes 4 cupsOil spray½ onion1 small or ½ large leek, thinly sliced2 cups salt reduced chicken stock1 small or ½ large zucchini, diced1 small or ½ large carrot, diced1 cup no added salt, chopped tinned tomatoes½ teaspoon curry powder1 tablespoon no added salt tomato pasteFreshly ground black pepper2 tablespoons macaroni1 cup cooked red kidney beansHeat a saucepan that has been sprayed with oil. Add onion and leek and cook until they are starting to soften. Add the stock, carrot, zucchini, tomatoes, curry powder, tomato paste and season with pepper. Bring to the boil then simmer for 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Add macaroni and kidney beans and simmer for a further 15-20 minutes until the macaroni is cooked.

I found this on a bariatric for lapband website for your info i'll erase this soup recipe if it is bothering you so much you smart ass b***h!

I can't argue with the cost issue - I think it is usual here for insurance to include lapband and VSG, but not everyone is insured, and then public hospital waiting times are long for things like this. A great many things in life are a trade off between cost and safety or cost and comfort, sadly. I have previously asked my surgeon why he keeps his patients in hospital so long (although i was personally v pleased to have it done that way) and his reply was (in part) that Gastrectomy is done for lots of reasons, not just weight loss - cancer/tumours and ulcers on the fundus can lead to an op that is a lot like VSG. It is standard to keep patients for those ops in hospital for 3-10 days... And I have seen those same times quoted on US websites too. He went on to say that many VSG patients have higher blood pressure, sleep apnea or other issues that put them in a higher risk category than the average person and he prefers more conservative treatment. And finally that it reduces the risk of complications and increases patient comfort. All very sound reasons to me. Someone said earlier in this post that the OP should discuss with her dr and be sure she is comfortable with his reasons for discharging her on day 1... Specifically why he thinks this is right for her, not just "right"... And then the OP can decide what she needs to feel comfortable undergoing the op. I think that's good advice. It's worth shopping around too, as longer days in hospital don't always mean greater cost - well where I live they don't. Every clinic I spoke to charged the same "out of pocket " cost - Insurance companies in Australia can only insure up to 85% of of a govt determined cost for a particular service - the doctor can charge more (and most do) and the "gap" between the insurance payout and the cost gets bigger... and the patient has to pay. Bariatric surgery is very competitive these days, and you too may find doctors are charging similar end costs to ensure their share of the market If you pay the same and get less care and follow up the doctor is pocketing the difference as profit. More care and follow up and he's investing in your health. It's always worth asking around.

After the first night dr asked if I wanted to stay another night and I chose to stay. I was not getting out of bed too well and did not feel that I could handle all of my care at home. Is it being done in a outpatient facility? Or a hospital? My dr was a bariatric surgeon of excellence and so was the hospital. I had terrible pain that did not improve significantly for a week. But everyone is so different. You read about some going back to work in a week. You still have time to research him. Best of luck.

First of all, you look FANTASTIC! I think we all stray from the plan, but we do have each other to get us back on track! I know it says that I have only been sleeved for 6 weeks, but I have been working with a Bariatric surgery tool for over 5 years!!! Look up a "pouch reset" to help you mentally get back on track and aim for 3 "protein rich" meals per day with purposeful fasting in between. This has been the biggest difference in head "hunger" and boredom eating for me. Don't let the scale get you down...70 lbs is beyond amazing! I saw someone in another post with an idea about writing messages to yourself daily on your bathroom mirrors with dry erase markers! I'm going to start doing this too! My weight has been a lifelong struggle and I am 100 lbs down with 90ish to go! We can make it through this! Banded 2010 weight:327 Sleeved 12/28/16 weight:253 CW: 228 GW: 155 Heather in Texas

Hey everyone, I just wanted to write a little update. I am so not a blog writing person, but I think writing helps me stay accountable and then I am able to go back and read what I wrote. Ok.. so for the stats. I am three weeks post op, I had my surgery on Jan26th (self pay). My starting weight a week before surgery was 220 and then my weight day of surgery was 211 (I think the first scale was a little heavy because I was not required to do a pre-op). And I weighed myself today (without clothes) and I was around 203. That’s only about a 7/8 pound lost from the day of surgery in 3 weeks. I am little disappointment but I know I have cheated a couple of times and I am not very strict about the protein and liquids. I know I need to get it together!! But I am glad that at least I am following my progress so that I can implement some changes and see results. I dont know if I told you all... but my short term goal is to lose a lot of weight by my 30th bday on June 30th. That leaves around 4 1/2 months to lose weight. I want to lose around 30 pounds. I would absolutely love to be 170 something by my 30th b-day. lol. You wont be able to tell me I am not cute. hahaha. OK so back to the stats. I've been on mushies for around 3 weeks. I was lucky in that my dr did not require 2 weeks of full liquids but instead wanted us to do mushies for week 2-4. I can do that. I went to the 2 week nutrition class last week and it was good. I told the nurse that I was only getting about 40 grams of protein a day and she warned that my hair may fall out if I dont get the 60-70. Ouch,, I dont want that. So while I have beefed it up.. I am not where I need to be. So starting today I am taking a renewed effort in getting my protein. I just cant seem to find any vitamins or calcium that taste good.. eeew, the chewables are soo nasty; they taste like chald. Am I the only one that misses eating. OMG.. I knew I was a emotional and mental eater but I never knew it was this bad. I just miss the social aspect of eating. Like now.. Im like well what’s the point of going to the mall or to eat if I cant eat anything good. I guess I am saving money...but I sure do miss eating. I have my first restaurant outing tonight with a girlfriend...hopefully that works. Because I haven’t told her about my surgery and I want to just act like normal. My mushi stage includes fish... so I think I will just get fish and mash potatoes or a veggie. That seems to work good for me. But eating with people..I notice that people eat so fast and just slurp their food up. My gosh... I never knew how much we as a people dont stop to really enjoy and taste our food. Speaking of not telling people.. I just told my BF about the surgery. Ouch. I was really nervous about it. He lives in a different state so I was able to hide it from him but since he was coming down for Valentines day I knew I had to say something. Surprisingly he reacted alot better than I expected. His main thing was that he wish I would have told him so that he could of been here to help me. I asked him would he have tried to talk me out of it..he said yes cause he doesn’t think I needed hte surgery. And I told him..see thats why I didnt tell him. He was really helpful while he was here.. He is a Chef..so he made me lots of soft food and even ate the same foods as me. It was nice. OK.. so I need to focus on a couple of things. I think I have gotten kinda complacent with the surgery already. I need to make sure I take all my vitamins, calcium citrate and water and protein. AND exercise (well I still can only walk until next week) and make better choices of food. Right now.. I am eating any soft thing that I can and not really paying attention to caloric or sugar or fat contents. And I am sure that is the reason for the lack of weight loss. So starting today I am going to get it together. I have my 4 week appointment next week and I want to record some weight loss. I also need to stop cheating . Right now the biggest cheat for me is candy. It my twisted little reasoning.. I was like hmm if I can have chewable vitamins then I can have something like sweet-tarts or smarties. And they go done just fine. Argh, I need to stop eating them. So.. like I said I go for my 4 week appointment next week and for some reason they are combining my 4 and 6 weeks appointments and will be giving me my fill then. I didn’t think anything of it initially but now that I think if it...it seems a little soon for a fill. The good thing is that I wont have the bandster hell that everyone talks about but then I wont really get to enjoy regular food. Because right before I hit the 4 week mark I will have the fill and have to back on liquids for a bit. Has this happen to anyone? Should I ask the dr for a fill later than 4 weeks. OK thats enough for now... I should write more frequently so I wont have as much to say. I think I am going to take progress pics tonight so see if I notice a difference. That should be fun. I know I have a NSV... I was able to button up a coat and not have has much pull as it used to have. it was great. now I don’t have to use a scarf to cover up the snug button. Have a good day everyone.

This support group is for the KC area LGBT community offer support for bariatric surgery patients. This is a safe place to share motivation, encouragement, recipes, and exercise tips. kclgbtbariatric@yahoo.com . We’re on FACEBOOK! 2-20-10 11:00 to 12:30 Meeting place: Antioch Library 8700 Shawnee Mission PKWY Merriam, Kan. 66202

Good for you for taking control of your health at an early age! All the evidence suggests that it's incredibly unlikely for people to successfully lose weight on their own - no more than 5% of those who lose weight with diets are able to maintain that loss longterm. The stats for bariatric surgery is about 50% success which is dramatically higher. As you say - you're an adult and you can make your own decisions. I wish this surgery was an option for me when I was your age. Wishing you the best in your journey, and hoping you can find people to support you.

I have blue cross of CA (now known as Anthem of CA). I had no problem getting the prior-auth. And as soon as I was done with all the pre-op tests and evals, it just took a couple days for my auth to go through and get approved. You just really need to do your research and find a Dr. who is in-network, and uses a facility that is one of Blue Cross' "Center Of Excellence" (COE). The Blue Cross COE standard is probably the most important if you want to go through insurance. I went through several surgeons before I found one that was up front and honest about their facility. Eventually I just started calling bariatric surgery centers and hospitals in the area to find out if they were a BXCOE and then asked which Dr. did their bariatric surgerys. Thats how I found Dr. Billy. He was also recomended on the lap-band web site. Otherwise Blue Cross will not pay anything. And Blue Cross of CA is terrible about paying for the after care. My Dr. just charged me a "fee" and that covers all the follow-up care for my procedure.

I'm not sure if the lapband is the right answer for you. You are considered a "healthy size" right now. Most, if not all, surgeons require a person to be 100 lbs overweight, with an extensive history of being overweight. Most require your BMI to be 40 or higher. They will do it with a BMI of 35, but you have to have co-morbidities (sleep apnea, hypertension, etc..) I work in a doctors office that does a lot of bariatric referrals and we have had several patients be "denied" surgery because the didn't pass the psych evaluation. Labpand is a physical tool, and it sounds to me like you might need to talk to someone. IMHO.