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Hello...I too was banded March 2...i am on a full liquid diet, I eat mashed up homemade soups and yogurt. This morning I has a hard boiled egg (chopped up very thin) and it went down good, no problems. I am a sweet person and love dessert, a few timed i have had a spoonful of vanilla ice cream...the coldness feel really good after my 1/2 cup of dinner...in 2 more week i will be moving into soft foods, and then a week after that i have an appt for my first fill.....Good luck on your adventure!!!

food! I dont take any Protein "supplement" in the form of shakes or bars etc. These days I'm really loving vegetarian sources like chickpeas and lentils, but I do eat red meat. I love lamb, we eat lamb in some form twice a week or so. I struggle with fish, I only eat it because I know its good for me.

For those that I have seen have lost like 60 ,70 even more in a year, did you lose quick since day one? Or did it just kick in one day? I am one week post tomorrow which I know is still really really, but I'm only down 1lb. I've seen several others who are already down 10+ by now. Just wondering if this is an indication I'll be a slow loser.

I don't feel like I've lost fast but I've lost pretty consistently over the last 10 months. Just this morning, I went through my journal from the date of surgery to present. I noticed that I didn't lose that much the first week. The second week, I had a pretty strong weight loss and then week 3 - 6, I hit that 3 week stall and everything shut down. I remember at my 6 week visit, the doctor was concerned that I hadn't lost as much as they expected. From then on, my weight loss has been pretty steady. I agree with previous posters that you have IV fluids in you and not to mention that pain meds can shut down business in the bathroom. All sorts of factors there. These early weeks are no indication of how you will lose long term.

I have BCBS in NY (government). I was approved within a week after meeting all of my requirements. Good luck.

Hello all, I am new to the board, not getting banded until April 2010, but am already starting to stress about details! My family is supportive of my journey, but I've made the decision to keep the surgery private from my work. I work in a medical office with approximately 30 staff members. I will be taking a week off from work to recover from the surgery. My surgeon's post op diet plan requires 3 weeks of liquids followed by 3 weeks of mushies. The idea of this doesn't exactly bother me but I'm wondering how obvious this will look to everyone around me - we usually all eat lunch in one big lunchroom together. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to remain discreet while on a liquid diet? I think I have some ideas how to make mushies look less obvious, but I have no idea how I'm going to explain away 2 oz of Protein shake every 2 hrs. Suggestions? Help! Natalie HW/CW/GW 235/210/140

Oh good luck on that pure liquid pre diet! I luckily don't have any special diet prior to the surgery! Good Luck!! A week away!!

Hello Everyone, I am scheduled for surgery on 6/3. My Pre Op visit to the doctors was on the 21st of May. The dietician instructed me to begin liquids on 5/22. However, I have eaten a little on Memorial day (just a piece of steak and about 3 diced potatoes). I am starting straight liquids today 5/26 until the date of my surgery. Not eating anything on Memorial Day was a great challenge. Is a week prior to my scheduled surgery enough time to do straight liquids? Please advise me of whether this will pose an hinderance on my surgery. Getting cold feet, as I have read several posts about perhaps making a bad decision to have the surgery -- these thoughts occurred in these individuals after surgery, during Post Opt. Scares me as there is no turning back!!! Thoughts?

It all is helpful thank you!! I'm supposed to be on puréed foods but am thinking about going back to just full liquids.. My doctor is in Mexico so I haven't yet reached out to him. I feel like its bad but not that bad? I don't know.. The other big problem is that I am a waitress at a really busy place. Yesterday at work I nearly fainted and had to leave while they were crazy busy, I felt so bad!! I am gonna take the rest of this week off though I feel like I've no energy and especially not enough to be running around on my feet for 5 hours.. Today I had maybe 1/4 of a salmon patty blended and since then have had cramps and been in the bathroom all day.. Guess its back to full liquids

I took 2 weeks off and am now taking a third, I'm not ready. But as I said I think I'm having issues most don't so, I don't know I guess it just depends, sorry I can't help more...

i am 6 months out and my nutrionist told me that i should be eating 1500 calories a day ( according to my metabolism test which showed that i have a fast metabolism and if i keep my calories between 1567 and 1987 calories i will lose) ive been trying to keep track of my calories but sometimes its hard to. somedays i know that i am eating good and my calories are probably in range but im still not losing. i exercise 5 days a week also. my goal starting tomorrow is to go back to the basics as much as i can. more protein and less carbs. when i first had surgery i ate 1200 calories a day and exercised 1/2 an hour three times a week and would lose 6 pounds. now that i am exercising for 45 min 5 days a week im not budging at all. it sounds like a no brainer to go back and eating 1200 calories a day but thats hard once you get used to eating just about anything. andrea

I went to see my dietician today 2 weeks post op. I've followed the food plan to the ounce and was so proud of myself. She added up a days "food" (drink) and said I was up to almost 700 calories, and really should only be at about 500 at this point. Since I only had what the plan says, I was shocked. Also shocked at her statement. I know enough about calories to know that the bare minimum is supposed to be 1000. I'm not sedentary, I've been walking and active since the day I came home, was back to work at 1 week, back on the treadmill after 3 days. It seems to me that there should not be a set amount of calories "for this stage" as some people are not as active as me. She suggested lower calorie protein shakes, which I went along with, but after thinking about it, I am going to listen to my own body. I feel great. I see no reason to cut my calorie intake by such a big percentage. Did anyone else have such an experience with a dietician? I'm not big on counting calories at this point myself, just following their menu and food lists and portion sizes. I'm sugar free, fat free, and never consume more then 1/4 cup total. I get in all my protein, and have lost 3 pounds since surgery day, and I've been told not to even worry about that at this point (though she pointed it out as in "well, you DID lose a couple of pounds, but...") I have to say I was just shocked at the whole visit. How can I be critisized for following their plan? And how can 700 calories a day for someone who works 8 hours, does housework and exercises every day be too much? I'm just curious, though, if any of you have another take on this. I am open minded, I actually CAN cut calories if the consensus is that I should.

Hi MoRan I had a sensation a few days out from my banding where it felt like I had a 'lump' in my throat; it was extemely annoying and I couldn't stop fixating on it. It came to the point where I rang my surgeon in a hysterical state and insisted that I needed to see him. His advice was that it is a sensation that some (but not all) people get and that it will generally subside with time; the fact that I was getting liquids down indicated to him that he did not believe there was a physical obtruction and it was potentially caused by some swelling. He asked me if I could be brave and tough it out a little longer to see how it went, I did this and it eventually went away - took about a week. Hang in there, and if you're really worried, call your surgeon - that's why they're earning the big bucks!

I agree with the other posts - too much too soon. I started very mild exercise about one month after surgery - walking for 1/2 hour at a slow to moderate pace on the treadmill. And I think I took a week to build up. At six weeks I added in strength training and found that I would have dizzy spells if I pushed it too hard. Now, at 4+ months I can do more. On such restricted intake you really have to go slowly and learn what your body will allow. Good luck, and way to commit to your new lifestyle!

Get an unfill!! I made myself suffer for 2 months and never thought I would do that. I thought it would get better. I went in two days ago, had .4cc taken out and what a difference it is! I was at a stand still on losing weight for the last 3 weeks, and in 2 days, b/c I am eating again, I've lost 3 lbs! You should never be miserable during this journey!!

My doctor says to try for 70 grams of protein and 30 grams of carbs but ismuch more concerned about just getting in at least 48 oz of fluids for the first few weeks.

The info I have read is that people who do a lot of physical labor should take 3 weeks to recover. At my two week post op appointment my doctor said there was no restriction on how much I could lift. On the third week I was lifting printers and computers with no problem, and like normal don't lift anything more than one person can handle. But, I'm not doing it all day long like you would be.

I have always had troubles "going" but after being banded I was going 2 weeks or more without "going". I have tried lots of things, some work some dont. For the last few weeks I have been taking the fruit and nut mix to work to pick at...about 2 days after I started that I started "going". I couldnt believe it. Sultanas, raisons, almonds, walnuts, unsalted raw nuts, apricot and a few other bits and pieces have made a huge difference. Give it a go!

2 weeks is plenty, you do not need to take online courses............I was back after a week and sit at a desk, you will be fine at school.

I'm coming up on 6 months and I've only lost 30 pounds. That would be great, except the first 20 came off in the first 2 months and the next 5 came off in month 3 and 4. I haven't lost a pound in two months. I work out five days a week. I take in about 1200 calories a day. Every week I try to break things up by having a cheat day. I'll also try to have days where I only take in about 900 to 1000 calories to see if I can make the scale budge (I weigh every morning before I eat). Inches were coming off at first, but now even those have slowed drastically. This week I didn't lose any inches at all (I measure waist, bust, hips, tummy, arms, and legs every Friday morning). I started at 231 and am about 201 (on a weekly basis my weight fluctuates between 205 and 201). I'm so tired and frustrated and worried that I'm going to be stuck here forever. Has anyone experienced this kind of stall? If so, how did you break it? My nut hasn't been particularly helpful.

As I consider the lap band, I am wondering about recovery time. I am a firefighter/paramedic, and strenuous lifting/bending is part of my job description. Am I doomed to weeks and weeks out of work? Audrey

I'm fixing to hit my 3rd week. The only pain is where my pain pump was and it's nothing bad, the dr just told me to massage that area. Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App

Sorry everyone, I haven't checked this forum as often as I should have. Since coming back I have been swamped by people on facebook asking questions lol here are the answers to your questions you asked Robbdtn... I have not heard of anyone have a bad or negative experience at anytime down there in Juarez and I have talked to A LOT of people. I even talked to a lady that went their the week after I cam home and talked her through every experience she had. She had lots of pain (more than I had) but we never could figure out why. The pre-op diet I was on lasted for 2 weeks. I started 3 days early just to give myself a chance to get used to it in case I slipped up. I thought I would totally blow it, but I never did. Come to find out, even if you do mess up on the diet, the Dr. Rod will still go ahead with the surgery. I was told by my facilitator that they have never turned anyone away, pre-op diet or not. The diet is just to help shrink your liver so there is less bleeding, but they are experienced enough to deal with a fatty bleeding liver though. Try to stick to the diet as best as possible though, the pre-op diet is easy peasy anyway, just gotta set your mind to do it. Lots of Water, lots of meat. That's about it lol if you love steak, it's the best diet ever! After surgery, I got nauseous twice in the hospital but as long as you keep a cottonball soaked in rubbing alcohol nearby to sniff when your mouth waters, you'll be fine. As far as pain goes. It was absolutely manageable with pain medicine. Even if you don't feel pain, if the nurses offer it...take it. Better safe than sorry lol as soon as you can stand up and walk, WALK. They want you to walk twice and hour, but I walked once ever few hours because I liked sleeping more. The breathing treatments hurt at first, but you have to keep blowing that damn tiny tuba until your diaphragm resets itself. But honestly, for me....at no point in time was the pain unbearable. Towards the end, the only pain I really complained about was my headache from sleeping too much. I am a full time student and don't work, but I returned to class exactly 5 days after surgery (3 days home) and just took it easy and wore loose fitting clothes and kept a small pillow with me for my back. Today marks 3 weeks after my surgery and I have lost 22 pounds since then. It's not a whole lot, but in the past 3 weeks my double chin is now gone. I have not been doing any exercising other than a few minutes of walking a day. My clothes are more loose and I can see considerable shrinkage all over. Remember, with all the Protein we take in, we are building muscle right now so weight loss might be slow, but we are still losing inches! The only thing I would do differently is packed lighter and not taken a bus across Texas LOL. All you really need to pack is pajamas, toiletries, cell phone/charger. You can go home in the clothes you came in as long as you don't sweat profusely! If you need anything else, feel free to message me directly Lastly, Mattr2...cute profile pic

I am told mainly liquids week 1-2 with 1-2 TBL of yogurt or cottage cheese per "meal". Starting week 3, the tablespoons become 1/3-1/2 c. I believe starting week 7 I can move out of solely the mooshies.

:help:Does anyone else have the "Easy" band? I had one fitted in Manchester in March & at first completley lost my appetite resulting in a weight loss around 14 lbs. My appetite then returned, as predicted because it seems to be caused purely by the operation, & I found I had almost no restriction. After the requisite 8 week wait I was reduced from the open state of 29mm to 25mm under x-ray. Still I had little restriction & actually gained 2lbs! Last adjustment to 23.8mm & although I have slight restriction with some foods especially bread & I do eat slowly I could still eat a largish meal. Ok, I do realise one has to "work" with the band & I have to admit I haven't always managed my 10,000 daily steps but has anyone else had this experiance? At what point I wonder will this famous "sweet spot" be reached? As I understand it the easy band can only close to 20mm so I've not got far to go although I'm told only small adjustments are safe at this point. I also notice fizzy drinks don't have any adverse effects? I've also had a few strange chest pains, anyone else? Come on you "easy company" bandsters, this may be brilliant technology but does this thing really ever work?