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Today was one of those days, super-busy and lots of running around - I actually forgot to eat Breakfast before I left the house! Ended up grabbing a lot of random stuff. Bfast: coffee and a disgusting underripe banana I bought at this fundraising stand Lunch: 1/2 a veal canneloni Snack: yogurt, cookie Snack: 1/2 muffin Dinner: other half of the veal canneloni I'll have something else before I go to bed, probably another yogurt or a Protein bar Exercise: 1.5-hr ballet lesson

@ I was a total sugarholic before my bypass surgery. It is not the reason I chose bypass but I am very glad that I did. It solved many other comorbitities very quickly post op. For me, the first 6 months following surgery I could actually eat sugar but hated the taste of it so I abstained As much as possible. I am actually allergic to sugar substitutes, they give me severe migraines so I have to use real sugar, honey or agave as sweeteners. Because of this, the only thing I drink is Water. Thankfully I broke the soda/juice/caffeine habit almost 5 years ago. I am happy drinking water or fruit infused water every day. In the last few months I have been eating more sugar than I would like to in things like pudding and even once in a while I will have a tiny serving of frozen yogurt or ice cream. For me, even eating yogurt contains real sugar. I don't have dumping syndrome so I really have to be careful and watch it so I don't get myself into a sugar habit again.

B- Chobani Greek Yogurt (lemon) L- Refried Beans w/ cheese and sour cream S- Lauging Cow cheese (1 wedge) D- eggs & Corned Beef Hash S- Protein shake

I got my UNJURY on Thursday. I have yet to mix it and try it. I have yogurt and fruit. This is where I will start. I got 10 unflavored and 4 chicken Soup to start. Surgeon said to just try them out and see what my stomach will tolerate prior to actually needing to do liquid diet. I know they promote Advantage? They have a discount code. And seemed the Vitamins on there looked doable with the flavor options and chewable.

I was a bordom snacker... Especially in the evening. Now I try to keep myself busy and I have a rule that I have to drink a 8oz glass of Water before a snack, if I'm still hungry I get a healthy snack (cheese, yogurt, Protein popsicle, etc). 95% of the time I'm not hungry after the water. PS CG/Maddy I'm telling Alex on you too......

I had to be at the hospital at 6:30 in the morning of Thursday, August 17th. I had my husband drop me off with my overnight bag, and he drove another half hour to work as he had several meetings there that day. I told him I would be fine and that he could stop by on his way back home. The surgery went well and I was back to my room by 11:00am, watching t.v. I had clear liquids and jello for lunch and then the Dr. came by and said everything went as planned and he would like me to begin walking about 6 times that day. So...I got out of bed and walked around the floor a couple of times and did my lung breathing machine to keep me from getting pnemonia. My husband showed up about 4:30 and he walked with me and then left to go home. I didn't need any pain medication the first day, but on Friday before noon and before my husband came to get me I asked for something as my port side was starting to hurt. They gave me Toradal and Motrin in my IV. That seemed to help. Getting into bed that night was terrible. That was the worst part of the whole surgery was geting in and out of bed and sitting down on the toilet and pulling my self up again. OUCH! I had to hold pressure on my port side when I walked around the house on Friday and Saturday and Sunday. Monday it was a little less sore. I was having some gas pains also during these first few days in my left shoulder area. Today is Friday and I can now get in and out of bed pretty pain free and even slept on my stomach last night. I took the Vicodin Friday and Saturday night only and Childrens Liquid extra strength Tylenol as well. I was on clear liquids from Thursday until Wednesday when the Dr.s nurse called to see how I was doing I told her I felt very weak. I told her I was having a bout of diahrrea as well and she said that was normal being on just the clear liquids. She said I could try some yogurt and Slim Fast, but not full cream soups yet. I had yougurt for dinner that night, but had those gas pains back in my shoulder area right after eating it.

Okay, so I knew I was starting this exercise challenge today, My restriction level is down to NOTHING. I took my measurements below are the results - yuck - I also compared them to the last time I measured when I was exercising all the time. I wanted to see if there was a difference with exericising and not exercising. I do see some of my measurements went up, especailly in my thigh area. My problem area is my legs. Neck - 16 Breast - 40 - I was at 39" when exericising under breast - 36 1/2 - previously was at 36" left bicep - 13 - previously at 12 3/4" forearm - 9 1/4 - waist - 34 - previously at 35" hips - 43 - same, previous 43" left thigh - 24 - prevously at 22 3/4" left calves - 15 - same, previously at 15" Weight - 181.7 - YIKES I am so bloated, we had mexican and last night I had steak, so the salt intake is making me retain a lot of water. The scales were VERY ugly today, but I know they will be dropping rapidly this week as I lose some of the "water weight". Goals today, drink water, and drink more water. I was up this morning at 4:50 am, headed to the gym and did a circuit training and focussed on upper body workout. EXERCISE - UBWO/cardio - am exercise M1 - 7:30 am egg white omlet with 2 turkey sausage links, picante sauce M2 - SF yogurt, handful of granola to give it a crunch M3 - salad with balsmic vingerette dressing/salmon M4 - 3 oz of steak and 1/2 potatoe (small potatoe) I am excited to see some good results over the next few months. I know if I stick to the program, and once I get my restriction back, I will see some results! I am so excited to go for my fill next week, I cannot wait!

I was banded on May 20, 2009 with the Realize-C Band. I researched through message boards when decided upon banding, but waited until after to join. I don't have to tell you how I got here, do I? Surely, you know. Low Calorie, Low fat, low carb, Weight Watchers...if it is out there, I have probably done it. The last thing I did was Medifast. I lost 70 pounds and found it all back and then some. (Drat) I was in Vegas with a friend in Febuary. With all the freakin' mirrors there, there was no way to deny what I had done...AGAIN. I got back home, had a good cry and decided it was time to do something permanent. I didn't want to go with the By-pass. I probably read too many on-line blogs where people had bad experiences. But, the band sounded like the right thing for me. I researched my area here in Bradenton, Florida. I decided on Sarasota Memorial's program. On with the program I went: 1. Seminar 2. Eat Healthy for Life Program 3. Psych evaluation 4. Nutritionist consultation 5. Meet with Primary care Doc for letter of necessity 6. Surgeon Consult 7. Barium Swallow (bleah), Chest x-ray 8. Blood work up 9. Pre-admission testing (EKG, more blood, pre-surgery discussion) 10. Dietician consultation Wednesday, my surgery was scheduled for 1 pm. That meant no food or drink after midnight. O-M-G!! Sooo hungry. Had to be a the hospital at 11. Talk about hurry up and wait. I had to get through 3 receptionists before going to the pre-pre-op waiting room. I had to give a urine sample for a pregnancy test! From there a nice man took me to the pre-op room. He gave me plastic bags for my clothes and the lovely hospital gown. So, I got changed and up on the bed. Waited for a few minutes and got my phone so I had something to do. My pre-op nurse came in and took my vitals and got the IV started. Got the heparin shot in the belly. (Lots of fun) Surgery was running an hour late. My anesthesiologist came in and had a follower. A very nice young man who went to the same school as my daughter. And yes, he did know her. Oh, and the anesthesiologist's son goes to the same school. Perrrrrfect. Then time went by for a while. My nurse came back and chatted for a while. This was nice as I was quite bored with the waiting. She left and I got the brilliant belated notion to turn on the TV. It took some manuvering to reach the remote with the IV in, but I prevailed! I found the end of "Sleeping with the Enemy." The anesthesiologist's techs came in and readied me for going to the OR. They were hilarious. They totally wanted to watch the end of the movie, too. We saw Julia shoot her abusive husband and then they gave me that pre-surgery shot. Things get blurry from there. I remember the bed going out of the room. I remember the brightness of the OR. I remember having the gas mask put over my face and nothing. Next thing is telling someone that I hurt and I was nauseous. I have no idea why or who. The person was saying calming things. My eyes flew open and I begged, "Please don't let me throw up!" Suddenly, I was in my hospital room. There may have been more that occurred with me interacting, but I have no memory of it. My throat was raw. My incisions really hurt. As I came the rest of the way out, my nurse came in. She was a doll. Wanted to make me as comfortable as possible. She got my computer and Sudoku book out for me. She brought me a cup of ice water. Small sips!! Finally, I realized that I needed to go to the bathroom. I called my nurse for some help. She was surprised that I hadn't gone already. I was surprised that if they wanted me to go they hadn't mentioned it. So, the put a urine catcher bowl on the toliet so they can measure your out put. Sitting down wasn't so bad as it was the upper abs that hurt, not the lower. With the IV going, There was a pretty full bowl. And not so surprisingly, I had a light period show as well. I was expecting that. I had an appendectomy when I was 15 and the same thing happened. They told me then that it isn't uncommon for that to happen when you have stomach surgery. I had the surgery as an in-patient. So, I was there for the rest of the night. I had to ask for the pain meds when I needed them. I wasn't shy about that! We found quickly that I needed the anti-nausea meds in place when I got my morphine. I was determined to stay awake that night to see who won American Idol, Kris or Adam. So I turned the TV on which was on a cool arm that swung to the bed. I was aware that the program was on and of the performances, but couldn't process more than that. I did hang on to see that Kris won. My kids texted me right away. I was out pretty much after that. That night was rough, because of the discomfort from the surgery and the need to get up to pee frequently. The night nurse came in when I needed her. I could get out of bed on my own. I was still taking small sips. She said I could suck on hard candy. My mouth was still so dry. I found later that there were lemon glycerin swabs in my "kit", but no one thought to offer me one. DH had left me a roll of his peppermints. They weren't great, but better than nothing. I broke them into small pieces and had a bit now and then. That morning, I got up and took a walk. Again, found it odd that no one had insisted that I do so. After that, I graduated from water to beef broth. It REALLY hit the spot. The day repeated itself. Meds, broth, Sleep. It was getting close to 5 and the doctor hadn't made it in yet. The nurses had warned me with out my asking that they did not know when the doc would be in. He came about 5:30. With that I got paperwork and wheelchaired out by 7. It seemed like a long day. My kids were thrilled I was home. DH left to get my prescriptions. He came back with pills. Lortab and Anti-nausea. I thought I was supposed to get elixirs, but what are you going to do at that point? Guh. Before bed, I used my pill crusher to crush the Lortab. I mixed it with a bit of yogurt. Bleah. The anti-nausea were small so I just downed that with water. Lortab wasn't as effective as the Morphine. It knocked me loopy and then out. It was not as good on the pain. I took it for 2 more days and then switched to liquid ibuprofen. Sue me. That night was rough. My neck and chest hurt, my throat still hurt and of course, my incisions hurt. It was hard to move in the bed at all. I wasn't expecting the neck pain. I assume it was gas, but no one had mentioned it going to the neck. Plus! I was in caffeine detox! That was really stupid of me not to give it up before. The headaches on day three were killer!! I was lucky to have Memorial Weekend to convalesce. DH and the kids waited on me. When taking the Lortab, I pretty much slept. I have Tivo in the bedroom and watched some shows in between naps. It is now Monday at 3:15 pm, I am feeling at about 75-80%. The incision where my port is still hurts when I move. I went to the grocery with DH and was TIRED when I got back. I feel over all pretty good. The neck, throat, and chest pain is gone. My port incision isn't hurting too much. And I am about at the end of the novel this first blog is! LOL My doctor has me on full liquids from day 2 to day 45. I have enjoyed pudding, yogurt, protein shakes, cream of tomato soup, jello, frozen, fruit juice bars, pureed cottage cheese, mashed potatoes and cream of wheat. Watching TV is awful. They had a hotdog segment on The View today that had me about ready to eat my pillow. I am one of the lucky -- who is hungry. I am looking forward to reading up on the other blogs and messages. :thumbup: I will try to not always have such diarrhea of the mouth, er, keyboard!!

I was banded on May 20, 2009 with the Realize-C Band. I researched through message boards when decided upon banding, but waited until after to join. I don't have to tell you how I got here, do I? Surely, you know. Low Calorie, Low fat, low carb, Weight Watchers...if it is out there, I have probably done it. The last thing I did was Medifast. I lost 70 pounds and found it all back and then some. (Drat) I was in Vegas with a friend in Febuary. With all the freakin' mirrors there, there was no way to deny what I had done...AGAIN. I got back home, had a good cry and decided it was time to do something permanent. I didn't want to go with the By-pass. I probably read too many on-line blogs where people had bad experiences. But, the band sounded like the right thing for me. I researched my area here in Bradenton, Florida. I decided on Sarasota Memorial's program. On with the program I went: 1. Seminar 2. Eat Healthy for Life Program 3. Psych evaluation 4. Nutritionist consultation 5. Meet with Primary care Doc for letter of necessity 6. Surgeon Consult 7. Barium Swallow (bleah), Chest x-ray 8. Blood work up 9. Pre-admission testing (EKG, more blood, pre-surgery discussion) 10. Dietician consultation Wednesday, my surgery was scheduled for 1 pm. That meant no food or drink after midnight. O-M-G!! Sooo hungry. Had to be a the hospital at 11. Talk about hurry up and wait. I had to get through 3 receptionists before going to the pre-pre-op waiting room. I had to give a urine sample for a pregnancy test! From there a nice man took me to the pre-op room. He gave me plastic bags for my clothes and the lovely hospital gown. So, I got changed and up on the bed. Waited for a few minutes and got my phone so I had something to do. My pre-op nurse came in and took my vitals and got the IV started. Got the heparin shot in the belly. (Lots of fun) Surgery was running an hour late. My anesthesiologist came in and had a follower. A very nice young man who went to the same school as my daughter. And yes, he did know her. Oh, and the anesthesiologist's son goes to the same school. Perrrrrfect. Then time went by for a while. My nurse came back and chatted for a while. This was nice as I was quite bored with the waiting. She left and I got the brilliant belated notion to turn on the TV. It took some manuvering to reach the remote with the IV in, but I prevailed! I found the end of "Sleeping with the Enemy." The anesthesiologist's techs came in and readied me for going to the OR. They were hilarious. They totally wanted to watch the end of the movie, too. We saw Julia shoot her abusive husband and then they gave me that pre-surgery shot. Things get blurry from there. I remember the bed going out of the room. I remember the brightness of the OR. I remember having the gas mask put over my face and nothing. Next thing is telling someone that I hurt and I was nauseous. I have no idea why or who. The person was saying calming things. My eyes flew open and I begged, "Please don't let me throw up!" Suddenly, I was in my hospital room. There may have been more that occurred with me interacting, but I have no memory of it. My throat was raw. My incisions really hurt. As I came the rest of the way out, my nurse came in. She was a doll. Wanted to make me as comfortable as possible. She got my computer and Sudoku book out for me. She brought me a cup of ice water. Small sips!! Finally, I realized that I needed to go to the bathroom. I called my nurse for some help. She was surprised that I hadn't gone already. I was surprised that if they wanted me to go they hadn't mentioned it. So, the put a urine catcher bowl on the toliet so they can measure your out put. Sitting down wasn't so bad as it was the upper abs that hurt, not the lower. With the IV going, There was a pretty full bowl. And not so surprisingly, I had a light period show as well. I was expecting that. I had an appendectomy when I was 15 and the same thing happened. They told me then that it isn't uncommon for that to happen when you have stomach surgery. I had the surgery as an in-patient. So, I was there for the rest of the night. I had to ask for the pain meds when I needed them. I wasn't shy about that! We found quickly that I needed the anti-nausea meds in place when I got my morphine. I was determined to stay awake that night to see who won American Idol, Kris or Adam. So I turned the TV on which was on a cool arm that swung to the bed. I was aware that the program was on and of the performances, but couldn't process more than that. I did hang on to see that Kris won. My kids texted me right away. I was out pretty much after that. That night was rough, because of the discomfort from the surgery and the need to get up to pee frequently. The night nurse came in when I needed her. I could get out of bed on my own. I was still taking small sips. She said I could suck on hard candy. My mouth was still so dry. I found later that there were lemon glycerin swabs in my "kit", but no one thought to offer me one. DH had left me a roll of his peppermints. They weren't great, but better than nothing. I broke them into small pieces and had a bit now and then. That morning, I got up and took a walk. Again, found it odd that no one had insisted that I do so. After that, I graduated from water to beef broth. It REALLY hit the spot. The day repeated itself. Meds, broth, Sleep. It was getting close to 5 and the doctor hadn't made it in yet. The nurses had warned me with out my asking that they did not know when the doc would be in. He came about 5:30. With that I got paperwork and wheelchaired out by 7. It seemed like a long day. My kids were thrilled I was home. DH left to get my prescriptions. He came back with pills. Lortab and Anti-nausea. I thought I was supposed to get elixirs, but what are you going to do at that point? Guh. Before bed, I used my pill crusher to crush the Lortab. I mixed it with a bit of yogurt. Bleah. The anti-nausea were small so I just downed that with water. Lortab wasn't as effective as the Morphine. It knocked me loopy and then out. It was not as good on the pain. I took it for 2 more days and then switched to liquid ibuprofen. Sue me. That night was rough. My neck and chest hurt, my throat still hurt and of course, my incisions hurt. It was hard to move in the bed at all. I wasn't expecting the neck pain. I assume it was gas, but no one had mentioned it going to the neck. Plus! I was in caffeine detox! That was really stupid of me not to give it up before. The headaches on day three were killer!! I was lucky to have Memorial Weekend to convalesce. DH and the kids waited on me. When taking the Lortab, I pretty much slept. I have Tivo in the bedroom and watched some shows in between naps. It is now Monday at 3:15 pm, I am feeling at about 75-80%. The incision where my port is still hurts when I move. I went to the grocery with DH and was TIRED when I got back. I feel over all pretty good. The neck, throat, and chest pain is gone. My port incision isn't hurting too much. And I am about at the end of the novel this first blog is! LOL My doctor has me on full liquids from day 2 to day 45. I have enjoyed pudding, yogurt, protein shakes, cream of tomato soup, jello, frozen, fruit juice bars, pureed cottage cheese, mashed potatoes and cream of wheat. Watching TV is awful. They had a hotdog segment on The View today that had me about ready to eat my pillow. I am one of the lucky -- who is hungry. I am looking forward to reading up on the other blogs and messages. :devil: I will try to not always have such diarrhea of the mouth, er, keyboard!!

I made my best protein shake yet today. My friend turned her nose up at first but then decided to try it, "I just want a lil' bit..I might not like it" she says as she tastes it she looks at me surprised and is like OMGOSH this is really good!!! And it's all healthy?!!??!?!" as she darts back toward the blender for more. It tastes just like a strawberry milkshake and it was delicious! The recipe I'm posting made 2 shakes.. The first time I split it with someone, the 2nd time I've just been sipping it all day... The upside it has SO much protein in it and doesn't taste like it at all. Ice (I fill the blender about a 3rd of the way) 4 tbsps Fage 0% greek style yogurt (I use the plain but you can use the vanilla) 2 scoops Designer Whey Protein Vanilla 6 frozen strawberries 1 splenda packet 1tbsp Agave Nectar (can use stevia or honey, etc...) 4-8 oz of skim milk (depending on how thick you like yours) Blend and enjoy! The 2 scoops of protein powder = 36 grams The 4 tbsps (I do heaping ones) = 20 grams The 8 oz of skim milk = 8 grams The strawberries are around 1 gram so we won't count those.. In this one mix you have 64 grams of protein. Easy, delicious and filling. It's around 500 calories for the entire blenderful, split it and it's 250... either way that's great. Protein powder 100 calories per scoop serving Skim Milk 100 calories 8 oz serving Fage 0% yogurt 120 calories per 8oz serving Strawberries 50 calories per 12 oz serving Agave Nectar 60 calories per 1tbsp serving For me that's all I've had today and a sugar free jello... and I've met my protein for the day while staying full and feeling like I have a delicious strawberry milkshake :tt2:

hi all, i was banded on the 25th and am doing pretty well. i have been walking every day but mostly just around the neighborhood. i am having no problem with taking my pills but they just take forever to go down. i got an infection in my arm from the iv so i am on antibiotics which is making me have a bit o diarrea so i need to drink more. i have times when i am really hungry. went out to vitamin cottage today and got higher protein powder so that maybe some of these liquids will stay. i have been ok with yogurt but it seems to take me a long time to eat it. i bought a bunch of different cream soups so i hope that by adding protein powder they will stay. i go back to work on thursday. glad to hear how you are all doing. anyone else besides me not weighing themselves. i threw out my scale a few years ago because i became so obsessive with it? i don't know if it is good or bad. i do know i am losing weight so that what counts! hang in there fellow september banders!:whoo:

Hi there! It's been over a week since I've last posted, and I've spent that time transitioning from liquids, to pureed food, and am now eating soft solids... but it hasn't been without it's trials... The first three days home from the hospital, my surgeon's plan calls for a pureed diet. For me, this consisted of mostly Greek yogurt, protein drinks, and some delicious pureed mushroom soup that my husband made for me. I'm sorry, but the idea of pureeing meat or fish or something just turned me off, so I didn't go there, but I feel like for those few days, I actually was doing well at getting in my protein in. Managed to get about 50 grams most days. And I have never had an issue getting my fluids in. I always get 50-64 ounces of straight fluid, not including my protein shakes. No, my big issue those first few days was with swallowing my pills. I was still having a fair amount of pain, so I was taking the Vicodin my surgeon prescribed probably twice a day, plus trying to take all of my vitamins, and the Pepcid. No matter what time I tried to take them, or what I took them with, I would inevitably get something "stuck" and end up "sliming" until I eventually vomited. More times than not, the pill itself stayed down and just water came out.... weird. This is a huge change from the pre-op me, who could swallow all 6 of my vitamins at once, and not flinch. Needless to say, I've stopped taking my vitamins in pill form, instead I got some calcium chews, and some Biotin chews (I'm very worried about losing hair), and I found these cool things at Costco that are like a Crystal Light powder that you put in your water, but they are chock-full of vitamins! I drink two of them a day in my water. So the only thing I'm still a little worried about is my Iron, but I just can't tolerate plain Iron pills, it makes me nauseous... and I've been doing enough vomiting lately without adding in anything that may upset my little tummy more! So on Post-op day 4, my surgeon's plan called for me to start trying some soft foods. On the list of soft foods allowed was soft baked fish. So my husband decided to cook dinner for us on Sunday, and made me a beautiful, tiny piece of tilapia, which he served over some soft polenta. It looked and smelled so delicious that I dug right in, and ate more than half of it without any regard to how my tiny tummy was handling it! With about one bite of food left on the plate, I realized what I had done, and knew I was in trouble. I spent the next two hours running into the bathroom. Every time I thought I was through, more would come out! It was awful, but not unexpected. I knew what I had done, and vowed to eat more slowly next time. Well, the next time turned out to be the following night, when I made what sounded like a wonderful recipe for a Ricotta cheese bake. But, yet again, it smelled and looked so good, I ate about half of the 1/4 cup portion that I had served myself way too fast, then got sick again... So, long story short, I am becoming a professional vomiter. I keep a pillow next to the sink to splint my incisions while I puke out whatever it is that I took one too many bites of. It's gotten better over the past day or two, as I've kind of learned to take one bite of something, and then wait about ten minutes to see how it will sit. If it seems to be settling well, I'll eat another two bites. But three bites of any soft or pureed texture food seems to be my limit. I've also become more severely lactose intolerant than I ever was pre-operatively. During my two week protein shake diet, I was able to enjoy at least one of the Premier chocolate shakes per day, as long as I took a lactaid pill with it. And I never had any issues with yogurt. Not the case post-operatively... I've sworn off of the Premier shakes entirely (too bad, because they pack 30 grams of protein in each one!), and as of yesterday, decided that the yogurt wasn't working either. So there went two big sources of protein. Between the vomiting, and the lactose intolerance, I've been really struggling to hit the protein goals set by my surgeon. I'm probably averaging about 40 grams/day, with a goal of 60 grams. So with all this talk about what's not working, this probably sounds like a pretty discouraging post. So let's talk about what is working! Foods that I can eat in small amounts with no issues: Eggs, refried beans, powdered protein shakes made with almond milk, and bananas. Sounds like a pretty short list, but here's the thing: I'm never hungry. Like, never. If I wasn't worried about my hair falling out, I would happily just drink my vitamin water all day and not eat at all. Once in awhile I get a craving for something, like yesterday I kept thinking about bagels, but it's never accompanied by actual hunger. It's just a craving, and it passes. Pain-wise, I haven't taken a Vicodin in three days, and prior to that I was only taking them at bedtime, and taking Tylenol during the day. Now I don't take either. I get an occasional twinge of pain under the incision on my left side (where they took the stomach out), but it goes away in a few seconds. As far as my surgical incisions go, all of my steri-strips (the little tape like things over my incisions) have fallen off, and I have to say, they look good! Three of them are completely healed over, and the last two just have tiny scabs on them. I've been putting vitamin E on them. And now... the big scale question. I have lost (drumroll please) 24 pounds since I started the pre-op diet, with 11 of those pounds having come off since surgery. So that's 11 pounds in less than two weeks, 24 pounds in less than a month. I am pretty pleased with that. And, hey, I just realized that 24 pounds is more than 10% of my starting weight, which is something I never managed to accomplish in months of sitting through meetings at Weight Watchers! The pictures below were taken yesterday. I decided after looking at someone else's before and after pictures to wear the same clothes in all of my progress pictures... I can really see a difference in how the shorts fit around my butt and thighs. My husband can't get over how much thinner my face is already. So overall, very pleased, despite all of the challenges! I have my first follow-up appointment coming up this Wednesday, and then I go out of town for 10 days, so I'll have some info to put in another update pretty soon!

Breakfast (between 7 and 9) - cup of tea to open up, but can't eat anything or have cold drinks lunch (between 11 and 1) - leftovers, today I'm having half of an Emeril's chicken apple sausage, mashed potatoes, and green Beans (usually some sort of ground meat + vegetable) Snack - I get very grumpy and shaky without a snack between 3 and 4; I usually have wheat thins and cheese. Lately I've been into that Louis Kemp imitation crab (I know, I know, it's so lame), and I'll have that with sesame sticks. dinner (between 6 and 9) - either same as lunch, or my signature dish, which is one egg scrambled with onions sauteed in olive oil and goat cheese crumbles. I'll have that with wheat thins. I always need to get something crunchy in. Snack (9 or later) - don't always need another snack if I eat late enough, but I also like to have honey nut chex with vanilla yogurt instead of milk. I will NEVER drink my meals, as the idea is simply repugnant to me. I mean, a Protein shake has like 220 calories, which is about as much as an ice cream sandwich. I've never been into sweets, but I would much rather eat something that is filling and doesn't taste like aspartame flavored cardboard. Oh, and all that nonsense about Protein Drinks filling you up is complete bullshit if you ask me. You know what fills me up? food. See, don't get me started on protein drinks again. The other thing I've changed since I just got this fill of the century is that I really need to slow way down to eat. For example, I've been eating this lunch for about half an hour, and I'm not finished yet. I start every meal with hot tea, then I take my first few bites and keep drinking tea in between them to make sure everything is going down. I usually don't drink a lot with meals other than that. Oh, and soup is bullshit, too. That goes right through the band and I'm hungry ten minutes later. Ok, I'm finished cursing for the moment. I'll post more if I think of it.

Would you say that you weigh all solids (meat, veggies, cheese,etc). And measure semi solids and edible liquids? And how much do you eat at one meal? I eat 2-3 oz of solid food at a meal. I weigh out my meat (example: chicken) and don't usually weight or measure my veggies bc I can usually only eat about a couple tsp-tbsp of veggies. If it's a semi-solid or thicker liquid, I eat about 3-4 Fluid ounces (like chili, Soup, yogurt)

Not really starving myself, having Protein shakes with greek yogurt, strawberries, pumpkin puree, carrot puree, light cranberry juice. That's only twice a day. Sent from my SM-G935P using the BariatricPal App

Small update. FOOD: So last night I has some sugar free pudding, since that's on my list, and did fine with it. Today I had some Light Greek, Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt. Had about 4 ounces in about 3 minutes and felt fine. Again I worry about this because yeah, I understand not having restriction with liquids but this? I'd think since there was/is more substance to it it would be different. Hope I'm wrong. CRAVINGS: Strange enough, can't say that I've been too hungry or starving or anything, considering I've only had liquids for like 3 weeks straight now....lol, but at times I do feel hungry. And during those times I find myself craving lots of strange things. Some of it is stuff I don't even eat like steak and liverwurst. Most of my cravings have been about meats and salads. Can't wait to have both!!! SLEEPING: A lil progress. I was able to lay flat and sleep in bed without too much pain and today I woke up feeling even better. I have been icing my stomach regularly for the last two days. Wondering if that's been helping?

My doctor requires 1 week of clear liquid. 2-3 full 3-6 puree and after 1st fill in 6wks I can do soft. My week will be up Thursday after my Dr appt. I can't wait to add some variety. I'm going to plan me a menu weekly and place on fridge so I can keep my self accountable. I love cream of wheat so I will take that for breakfast,soup for lunch and yogurts for dinner. I'm ready.

Yup really soft scrambled. I take 1 egg, whisk it really well. I then add ½tsp of greek yogurt and whisk that in. This helps keep them moist, but you can use a tiny bit of milk if you prefer. I also sprinkle just a little bit of shredded cheese. Then I either cook in a non stick pan on a low heat stirring constantly or I microwave for 1minute, stir and microwave for another 10 seconds if necessary.

This is going to sound so obvious it's stupid but please do try your best not to vomit AT ALL between now and your surgery date. If you have a slip and a lot of inflammation they may not be able to revise you to a sleeve at the same time as band removal. You need for all the swelling to go down in order to have a safe revision. Risks are already triple for a revision vs. if you never had a band. Swelling makes it much worse. Milk and yogurt? (eye roll)

It gets better. Try shrimp. My sleeve loves shrimp. Tuna salad, seafood salad, chicken salad all made "wet". Scrambled eggs with cheese. Ricotta with 1 or 2 tablespoons of marinara sauce with a layer of shredded mozzarella warmed in the microwave. Cottage cheese with salad dressing Hummus Cheese sticks. Dannon light and fit Greek yogurt. Ham and cheese roll ups. Keep trying new things. I eat something protein every 3 to 4 hours. Not much but enough for fuel. I eat to live not live to eat. Good luck.

Today I tried to do better. I feel so full and the day is not even over! Wow I'm not used to eating like this. My NUT told me today that she saw me at the gym last week and was shocked that I have the body of a 14 year old boy. She feels I've gotten too thin to say the least. I don't agree but I know I'm close. She wants me to have a carb at every meal. So I tried this: 1. Breakfast Half a bagel (going to switch to whole grain tomorrow) Light cream cheese 2 slices turkey Tomatoes 2. lunch Lettuce Parmesan cheese 1/3 can of tuna 3. Snacks banana Beef jerky Yogurt 4. dinner 2 Meatballs salad (lettuce, kale, carrots) Dressing Avocado 1/4 cup wheat Pasta Feel like I'm going to explode!! It's a process. Going to take some getting used to!!

Welcome! In general, I’d say have a little more Protein and veggies to fill up on fewer calories. 1. Breakfast: Maybe have a smaller serving of bagel and have some protein, like a hard-boiled egg white or some cottage cheese. Or have a little less Cereal and mix it with yogurt. Depending on how hungry you are, you could have some fruit, too, because it’s filling and not too high-calorie, and can tide you over. 2. Lunch: For eating out, a green salad is usually safe. You can get the dressing on the side and have grilled chicken (protein) on top, and try to order it without fatty extras like salami and mounds of cheese (a little is okay). You can also go for chicken breast and a side of veggies. 3. Snack: Protein Bars (if you like them) keep in the car. Almonds are good, as long as you keep the serving small. You could also go for pouches of tuna or canned sardines or macerel. 4: Dinner: It’s a pretty safe bet to go with a protein and a cooked veggie or side salad, plus a starch if you need more. For example, chicken, fish, or a veggie or turkey burger, plus broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, etc., plus a small amount of sweet potato or winter squash or brown rice. If you’re willing to cook a little, you can do chili or stir fry – a mixture of protein and veggies. 5. Snack: Yogurt, cottage cheese, protein pudding, fruit. Good luck!

In the evening I sometimes feel "hungry" but generally if I think about it I realize it's reflux. Once I take Prevacid it goes away. If I do take the PPI regularly, the only thing I get to tell me to eat is kind of an "empty" feeling. It's not "hunger" like I used to get, it's just a "my tank is empty" thing. Sometimes I eat all day from boredom still eg. weekends sitting around - but I track the intake and just eat a yogurt or something with protein and not too many calories.

Sounds like a stuck episode. Welcome to the club. At three weeks out what type of foods are you supposed to be eating? For me at 3 weeks I was allowed cottage cheese and yogurt. Did you move ahead to quickly on your doctors post op diet? If you ate solids when you are supposed to be on mushies that could be your problem. The more details you provide the more I can try to help.

Hey all...I've been on what they called a modified liquid diet since a week ago today. My bariatric nurse said that if I'm hungry, eat. She said to make good choices like nonfat/lowfat, which I've done. I am down 7 lbs. I've eaten strawberries, watermellon, some grilled fish and chicken. As far as the liquids, it's been protein shakes, tomato basil soup (Progresso) which is wonderful along with nonfat cottage cheese, plain fat free greek yogurt with dry sugar free jello mixed in (which is pretty good) some skim milk, sugar free pudding and pudding pops. My doc didn't require me to lose weight prior. He said it was to reduce the fat around the liver. The first couple of days of the pre op diet I was sick! I had bad headaches and sick to my stomach. I am so much better since I added a little food in there. Hang in there everyone...it'll all be worth it! We've got this!!! I will be banded next Tuesday June 5th!!!