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I think I must a Protein bar SNOB. . . there are so many I could NOT eat I found these at Sam's Club "Think Thin Protein Bar"; there is a variety pack and they are awesome. The white chocolate ones taste just like a zero candy bar. Here is the nutritional information: Chunky Peanut Butter Brownie Crunch White Chocolate Deliciously natural nutrition 0g sugar 20g protein Gluten free Kosher dairy I also like the Nature Valley® Protein Bars -- 10 grams of protein.

On December 31st at 10 am I underwent weight loss surgery. This is something that had been weighing on my mind for about 3 years and I finally took a leap of faith and jumped. My first day was very pain filled but luckily I had some great nurses. Day two was a little better and I walked at least every two hours so the soreness and gas pains really started easing up. That evening my doctor visited me and said he didn't see why I couldn't go home. It was so nice to be able to sleep in a bed that wasn't in a hospital. Day three my soreness was a lot better and now here we are on day 4. I actually have eased up on my pain meds and took a small walk outside down the sidewalk. The fresh air was amazing. I'm still stirring up gas when I drink but I'm hoping that will pass with time.. I also weighed my self on the scale and it said I've already lost 10 pounds!!

You are my twin. I've lost over 100lbs and all I've bought is 2 dresses that were on sale for under $10 and a bathing suit for the beach this summer. Other than gym clothes & underwear I don't need to buy anything. My sibling calls my spare room "The Store". I've taken 10 bags to Goodwill, and given away 2 bags of clothing. I still have more to go! Selling is a pain in the rear, although I'm thinking of trying ThredUp for some of the really nice designer stuff I have.

Josiebies-- Thanks for replying. Interesting. My band MD said they would take out some fill but maybe the PS will decide differently. So in your case, you may have gotten a weight loss boast both from the removal of tissue and less food intake for 10 days. Are there others who will let me know there experience of this?

I know 6 months is tough, but it could be worse. It will go by quickly, just do what you need to do, and wait it out. I had to do the 6 month wait 3 times! It took me 10 years to have my surgery. Long story, lots of issues. But I stuck with it, and am so glad I did. Sure, I wish I could have had it done 10 years ago, and didn't have to go thru insurance approval and the 6 month wait 3 times, but in the end I am just thankful I was able to have the surgery. Better late than never.

Wow I did not know that! Very helpful. I was still stuck on trying to get 25 gms a day because that's what is recommended, wondering how the heck I was ever going to do that. I'm eating between 600-700 so I need about 10 gms, which is totally doable once I can eat normally. Thank you for sharing that!

Anyone here that knows what kind of complications are common long term after bypass? I'm talking about 5, 10+ year veteran's? I'm so scared about having this surgery and it being great at the beginning but then later on down the road having a bunch of stuff going wrong.

I felt the same thing the first few days I was home, I'm 10 days post op now and its gone away. Was really weird, I actually asked my surgeon if it was normal and he said yes, just keep drinking...lol Sent from my SM-G925T using the BariatricPal App

I don't buy into this whole "pouch reset" business. It's not a piece of hardware that needs to be reset. Just resume the routine that worked for you in the beginning. Make a plan - work the plan. Sure, if you want to drop 10 lbs quickly and more importantly flush/cleanse your body then do a 7-10 liquid/protein diet but there is no "reset button". You have a tool and that tool is only as good as the craftsman wielding it. Just my .02

As a kid, teenager and young adult I was very active. I did a lot of sports, track and field, figure skating, ballet and basketball. I even trained juniors in basketball. I had a lot of injuries, that finally led to the sad conclusion that I had to stop training so hard. I started gaining weight, not too much in the beginning, but it added up. My Mom shows her love with food and sweets. I don't blame her, her Mom was the same way. My Mom still has no idea I had wls, because she hates any kind of surgery and I only told a few people. My hubby and Dad are supportive, so that's all I need. I will tell my Dads wife on Thursday, since we will be spending xmas with them. I met my hubby when I was 21, so he has seen all my ups and downs, I'm a textbook example of a yo-yo dieter. I know what to do to lose weight, I just never mastered the maintenance phase. I worked hard in my dream profession, I was an aviation specialist and very good at my job. It all came to a bitter end when I was 34. My arm stopped working in the middle of a phone call with an air traffic controller in Russia. I'm now on early retirement at 42. I had 2 surgeries on both shoulders, because they were too loose. I regained mobility, but never really got my full strength back. 2 years later I was diagnosed with a rare syndrome, EDS, and found myself to be a part time wheelchair user. Try keeping your weight at a healthy level when your mobility is minimal? So I had a 9 month private pity party. Smart, right? I was mourning the loss of my former life and had to find my new path. Today I counsel other patients, lecture about my syndrome and related issues and have an active role in my patient organization. I live my life happy. Still travel, go to concerts, do most things I want. My manual wheelchair is pink and my electric wheelchair is decorated for xmas, lights and all! A year ago a went to see a nutritionist. I lost some weight again on a very strict diet on mostly frankenfoods. Yay! But when I started going back on real foods, my weight turned back up. This summer my nut asked if I have considered wls, that I would be a good candidate. Nope, never thought about it other than watching some shows on tv. I wanted some time to do research and told her that I would give her an answer the next time I saw her. So sep 14th I said yes please and she said she would send my papers forward. That day I put myself on a 1300 cal low carb, high Protein diet. When I got my surgery date of nov 21st, I lowered my calories to 1200 cal. I also did a 4 week pre-op diet that was very similar, but more frankenfood and an 800 cal limit. I had rny on nov 21st, as scheduled. I was wheeled to recovery to wait for my turn, second wls that day. I started having second thoughts... Do I really want to put my body thru this? Am i really sure i can't do it on my own? I didn't get very far with my thinking before they took me in. I remember that my last thought on the table was that I can still change my mind. When I woke up in recovery I had the worst gas pain I ever experienced. Horrible! The meds didn't work for it at all! I regretted my desicion instantly. But when they asked if I wanted to go to the bathroom I was so happy to realize that all the stories of moving around to get rid of gas were true. I had to stay 3 nights in the hospital due to drinking issues. I never had any other pain than gas pain, but boy was it painful before I was able to move around. In total I had pain and took meds for about a week. Now, 13 days post-op, only a tiny bit of discomfort when laying down. And today I'm happy to report that my drinking issues seem to have gone away slightly! My surgery weight was 228.8 lbs and today I'm 222.0 lbs (hw his summer was around 255 lbs, that I recall). I have been in a stall for 4 days now and I hope that the increase in liquids will help a lot with moving forward. The only real post-op complication I had was that the heparin shots were too much for me. I was supposed to do them for 10 days at home, but had to stop half way thru. I started bleeding from my nose and other parts... I called the hospital and they agreed, no more heparin for me. The bleeding stopped the very next day. My post-op diet allows food quite fast, I'm on soft foods right now. But the only solids, other than dairy products and puddings, have been cottage cheese and meatballs. I have tolerated everything I have tried, with the exeption of mashed potatoes. I got a 15 min dumping episode... But I have not thrown up even once and the regret went out the window the second I was able to stand up in recovery. I average 400 cal per day for now. I will be posting more on this thread as time goes by, as a small journal to myself. I hope everyone has as an easy journey as I have had with my wls, I think it's totally worth it. Just waiting for my stall to break... Happy holidays to you all! Nilla

Everyone's body is different. Stay away from carbs completely. The noodles probably got stuck in your stomach. Also chicken has fibers in it that break down in your stomach weird. Try tomato soup with u flavored protein powder, sugar free pudding, yogurt with less than 10 grams of sugar. Stay as far away as possible from carbs. They will make you sick and you won't loose as much weight.

I'm 10 days post op and have literally lost a pound a day since surgery! I had lost I had lost 23 lbs pre op.

Hey Everyone I'm new to the discussion board but, I am one of the first teens in the USA to get the lapband. I was part of a clinical trial out of Chicago giving hope to morbid obese teens. I came to the program 300+ lbs and in a SIZE 28 ( u can all imagine the ridicule i endured by my peers. I was banded July 2009 and in a year lost nearly 90 lbs. I graduated high school in a SIZE 12 and runner up homecoming queen! I went to college where i finally had a normal happy healthy life! I have had a love hate relationship with my band being in college 5 hours away from any dr. who knows how to deal with the band has been hard and caused me to get an a 7cc taken out of my 10 cc band. I put on my freshmen 15+ and now as a senior in college have to recommit myself to my band. It has been an up and down battle as i have NEVER been in the sweet spot. I'm always too tight or too loose. I just wonder if any of my fellow teens or those banded at a young age have and of the same issues? Being 21 and have the lapband nearly twice as long as many others i meet is hard and i always get lots of questions. Any advice on being an new healthy bandster would be great too!!

Hi there. I haven't posted in a really long time -- I usually just see what everyone else is talking about. But this weight issue is something I think I can help out with. I, too, have put on a considerable amount of weight -- 40 lbs and I'm at 34 weeks. I talked to my OB about it and she told me this: how much weight you gain is not as important as how big the baby is. If the baby is right on target growth-wise, she doesn't care how much weight I gain. If I gain too much and the baby starts to get too big, then that's a problem. So far, my belly has been measuring dead-on for where I am gestation-wise, so my doctor said nothing when I gained almost 10 lbs in two weeks. She also explained weight gain like this -- a pregnant woman has little control over how much weight she will gain during pregnancy. The body is going to adjust your metabolism to gain the amount of weight it wants to. And so even if you're really counting calories and eating super-clean, your body may want to just put on additional weight for whatever reason. Of course, there are the extremes like certain celebraties who used their pregnancies as an excuse to eat nothing but donuts. Obviously, their bodies could only do one thing, which was to gain excessive weight. And so a certain amount of self-control is necessary. But craving milk, juice, fruit, and such is not a bad thing. Additionally, a friend of mine who is a raw vegan gained 60 pounds with her daughter. That really put things into perspective for me. I had a hard time believing that someone who only ate plants could even eat enough to gain 60 pounds -- but it's another example of how the body is going to do what it wants to do. Finally, there has been research that shows that women who lose a significant amount of weight and then get pregnant soon thereafter will tend to gain more than average during pregnancy. This is because the body uses the pregnancy as a way to store up what it needs. You really do not have any control over this. For me, I saw so many stories of banded women gaining 10 or 15 pounds during their entire pregnancies, and so I got it into my head that I was only going to gain 20 lbs. Well, I've doubled that. God-willing, I will be able to breastfeed and that will help with weight loss. Nevertheless, I just had to give up control on this issue and accept the fact that I was going to gain more than the average (25-35 lbs). Of course, I am 6 ft. tall and the doctor also told me that someone of my height and stature is going to gain more anyway. Hope that helps.

When I got my first fill last week (1/27), I was told I could have another fill in two weeks if I still felt I was in the yellow zone (hungry between meals, eating large portions, etc.). They just told me to wait one week to see how I feel first and then I could call and schedule the next fill for the next week. Yesterday, I was crazy hungry all day... may have something to do w/starting back at Jazzercise. So, I called this morning to schedule my second fill (thinking it would probably take them at least another two weeks to get me in). Well, I was very pleasantly surprised that they can do my fill next Wednesday, 2/10 (so exactly 2 weeks after my first). Yay!!! Its funny, when I tell my friends how I get stuck w/a needle and aren't supposed to eat for 72 hours after, they figure I would want to postpone as long as possible between fills. And, personally, I was a teensy weensy bit tempted to schedule this fill AFTER Valentine's Day since DH and I have reservations for a very nice dinner out. But, above anything else, I just want to get this show on the road. And, ultimately, this will be my life. I can still enjoy our V-Day dinner out, but savoring a small amount of food (maybe just getting an appetizer for my meal) rather than stuffing myself w/a 4 course meal. I am ready!!! I've been so happy w/what the band has done for me already, but I am eager to get it working to its full potential. :smile2:

Hey all, I've had my band now for 3 1/2 yrs and have been very successful. Lost 104 lbs in 2 yrs and was 9 lbs from my goal of 135 last year. Then 10 mths ago, I had a minor slip. One that an unfill relieved my severe reflux, but also leaving me with less (much less) restriction. I still have 6cc in my 14 cc band. 1 more cc and it causes reflux. So my drs leaving me alone since I no longer have reflux. I've been going back and forth with: 1. I live with the less-than-optimal restriction, watch calories, diet (which I swore I'd never do after getting the lapband) and do it the old fashioned way. Leaving it alone. Living with a contraption inside of me that works about 75%. 2. Demand my dr fix it. I can either have it replaced, replaced with plication, or convert to a sleeve My ?: Medicare paid for my surgery, as my BMI was 42 and I had hypertension. Do they cover a 2nd surgery because of a complication even tho my BMI is now 27.5. Do they go by what my original BMI was or current? Will they cover adding the plication or just go for what it originally was? Not sure that I want to start fresh again, with surgery, 4 weeks of liquids, and many trips (6 hr roundtrip) to get my adjustments until they are good. So, does Medicare cover revision of my band only or can I add plication too? Thanks! Marci

I was banded by Dr. Ali on 4/22/10. He did a great job -- I had absolutely ZERO pain. Very small scars. He's also a very kind and compassionate person, with great bedside manner. And unlike some surgeons I've read about on this forum, he is patient and understanding during the "bandster hell" time, when you don't have good restriction yet. He has always been very supportive and positive. He give nice generous fills: my first was 5.5 CCs and the second was 1.5. This has put me at perfect restriction. I am thrilled with my band and would recommend Dr. Ali to anybody.

how about cooking? if you're lazy like me... or on the run a lot... you can either cook in large batches and then freeze (not much different than frozen tv dinners), or you can do what I do and prep many types of ingredients at once. FOR EXAMPLE! I love and have always loved egg omelets. Back when I was healthy, I used to crack 10 eggs EVERYDAY, split them so i get 8 whites and 2 whole eggs, then dice some onions, green peppers, and bacon bits and make a good omelet. Now this takes a little bit of time... so nowadays, i'll buy a couple onions, green (or various color) peppers and I'll dice them all at once. I'll mix them in a BIG tupperware and put it straight in the fridge. Instead of cracking eggs, I buy 'break-free' eggs in milk cartons that you can just pour out. I checked out the Nutritional Facts and they seem better then real eggs. For more texture, I'd get half a pound of ground turkey breast and then just go ahead and cook them up and store them in the fridge. Each morning, I'll just scoop out a couple big spoonfuls of the diced veges and grilled them until the onions get well caramelized... then i'll scoop a little ground turkey and then pour the eggs. I'll make it big enough to get two portions... I'll eat half for Breakfast...save the other half and eat for lunch/dinner. You just need to get creative with your food choices.

Update! After all of my fill was taken out all of the reflux symptoms disappeared, which has been very nice. Obviously I was overfilled. I was at about 7.25 out of a large 10 cc band. The reflux started when I went up to 7. So anyway, yesterday I had another upper GI. The band went back into place!!!! No surgery needed!! My doc refilled me up to 4 and said we won't go as high as 5 or 6.

I started this journey at 245. I am now 155 and 5 pounds from what I thought would be my dream weight. I had a closet full of clothes that I JUST WANTED TO GET INTO again... that was my focus and goal. I was happy at that size, I felt healthy etc... (all thoughts I had prior to surgery and thus the determination to get surgery) All those clothes were size 14's and 16's. I am now wearing a 12 and can squeeze into 10's. I think if I loose anymore weight, I will be too thin. If I were to loose another 10 to 15 pounds I would honestly look sick. Does anyone else have any thoughts on WEIGHT and scale numbers? With the whole Keirsty Alley announcement, and dealing with my own perception, I am confused. Oprah says she weighs 150. Her goal weight. I weigh 155 and am much smaller then she is. We are both 5'4 to 5'5. Is it possible my bones actually weighs more? My organs? What?! I remember telling my doctor I just wanted to get to 150 to get into my size 14/16's and his reply was no, size 8. I remember thinking he was off his rocker at the time, and I still think so today. I would be too thin and feel frail all the time. My sister is a size 2, and she was wearing 18/20's when she had her surgery (she had RNY) and she is TOO thin. But with her surgery, she will gain back a little. (hopfully) Any thoughts anyone?

Haha T I am just like you!!!!! I am tired of trying to get situated in bed...waking up from pain when I try to do my usual turn over. I can't stretch like I want to....small stuff but I know it will be over before I know it. I can't seem to get enough protein either because the shakes that I loved so much before almost make me gag now...might be all in my head but I try. So I've done some carnation instant breakfast with milk which tastes great and depending on the mil has about 10-13 g of protein. Prolly not the best option, but better than nothing. I too am used to just stopping by somewhere, getting a burger and coca-cola (my fave I'm gonna miss it!) and keeping driving. But yes, planning is overall better. Remember this is for our health ladies!! It will be worth this mini-torture in the end! lol

Isopure Dutch chocolate low carb from GNC. I used to prefer Slim Fast low carb, but the Isopure is actually better. A bit thinner but without the aftertaste. Best of all it has 40 gm Protein vs the 10 in Slim Fast. Imagine drinking 4 12oz cans of slim fast after the surgery just to get the same amount of protein. :confused: .

I'm not so restricted that I can't eat, but I do get full faster. I can still eat more than I probably should be able to, but I don't let myself eat more than a visual cup full at a time. I'm tracking calories approximately through fitday but not exactly. My weightloss has REALLY come to a creeping stop, and I'm figuring my calroies probably has something to do with it... or it could just be my body "recalibrating" after losing so much so quickly, but in the last 6 - 7 weeks I've lost 5#. I'd love to know if I'm eating wrong... anything to get the weight moving off again while staying as healthy as I can be, so tell me what you think, here's what I ate yesterday and what I've eaten so far today: Breakfast: Protein drink made w/ fat free Carb Countdown milk, with a tbl of low fat/low carb Peanut Butter and a bit (about 1/5) of banana blended in. Lunch: about 40% of a medium chicken breast with a little bit of sauce made with chopped tomatoes, asiago cheese & garlic roasted garlic... and about 2 spoons of mashed potatoes. Snack: Protein Drink made w/ fat free Carb Countdown milk, with 4 oz light OJ. Dinner: Microwaved turkey pepperoni (cook the fat out, has lots of protein) and cottage cheese, about 20 pepperoni and about 1/2 C cottage cheese. Breakfast: 1/2 protein drink w/ low fat/low carb peanut butter blended in. Lunch: 3 grilled chicken tenders, about 2 tsp mashed potatoes, and 1 bite of applesauce (that's the applesauce that prompted my post) Snack: will be the other half of my protein drink. Dinner: Will likely be leftover from lunch yesterday. A typical day might look like this: Breakfast: protein drink with something blended in it, either PB or SF DaVinci, or maybe just a few berries. Lunch: Chipotle chicken bol with just a few black Beans, no rice, green chile salsa, just a bit of sour cream, no cheese. I'll eat half. Dinner: The other half of the chicken bol. Snack: Protein drink (more to make sure I get enough protein than because I'm hungry), or if I'm hungry I'll make 10 microwaved turkey pepperonis.

I was banded last Thursday, and won't go back until next Monday...so about 10 days for me.

I will throw my two cents in. I have a vague goal of 150 (I am 5; 4 1/2"). HOWEVER, I do believe the scale is such a small part of my goal. I want to look good in my clothes, not even sure what size I want them to be. What I don't want, is to struggle to be a certain weight and fight that battle vigorously. I guess when my body says "this is good" then I will do my best to accept that. Finally, I have a friend who wears a size 8 and I can honestly tell you that she is chubby. I have another friend who wears a 10 and she looks lean and trim. Go figure!