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I need my mojo back to make it to the gym. I want to be like I used to be, where I got up at 5am and went to the gym, everyday! I've lost that "loving feeling" since my knee surgery last August. I really need to get it back! My eating has been good, if I could just make it to the gym. I have a busy night tonight, we have our bible/book study tonight and its at my house and its goody night, so everyone will stay late to eat, so by the time everyone leaves, it will be after 9 or 9:30. I will be too tired to make it to they gym. I am going to focus on going Thursday. I really wish I could get up in the am. I just can't seem to drag my butt out of bed in the mornings. I really need to work on this! Here is my menu today Bfast - Light Frapacino from Starbucks (200 cal), 1/2 cup of watermellon. Lunch - 3 oz of tuna, 3 crackers Dinner - grilled chicken 3 oz, spinach salad. snack - No sugar added yogurt with a handfull of granola. wt 177.9 - I know I said I wasn't going to get on the scales, but I did weigh this morning. I will continue to try and not get on them daily -

Early out I used two Protein drinks per day to get enough protein in. One for Breakfast, then a couple ounces of protein at lunch and dinner, and one before bed. Greek yogurt is a great protein source too. Lynda

Have you tried the strained Greek yogurts that are popping up in grocery stores lately? The two brands I can find out here in WA are Fage and Oikos - they each have ~20g Protein per half cup, are pretty low in carbs, and their texture is quite different from typical yogurt. I like the 0% Fage, but their 2% variety isn't much higher in fat and I've heard it has a better texture. There's another brand in our area - I think it's Greek Gods? - but it doesn't have the high protein so I haven't tried it yet. I like mine mixed half and half with Kashi GoLean and/or Fiber One Cereal and a little honey.

dont know for sure but i put a yogurt in the freezer and it had the same texture of frozen yogurt and tasted the same too,it was awsome

I was only on liquids for 3 days, then mushy food (oatmeal, yogurt, ricotta cheese, tuna), for 4 days then fish/chicken/ chopped meat.

what some of us have to do is up our calories which results in weight loss..... perhaps eat some yogurt and or sf pudding, sf jello, peanuts, protein shakes...... Do what you need to do so that you do get your nutrition in. are you taking your vitamins? All these things are really important...............

Day 6 post op and I am feeling like I am never going to be able to eat again. I have to be on a full liquid diet until the 30th and I am starting to struggle. I know there is no way I am eating enough and when I try things like yogurt or pudding I get full real fast. I try my best to drink alot of water but that makes me full. I walk all the time as that has been easy for me...I just wish I could eat!!! uggggg

I am like many of you on here, struggling with my lapband. I had my first surgery in 2006. I was a low BMI bandster, and lost all of my excess weight within 9 months. After about 6 months, though, the problems started - getting stuck, not being able to eat any "healthy" foods at all, etc. I had so many bad "stuck" experiences, even with a totally empty band, that I ended up getting a revision to the AP band in 2008. I had no slip, but did have a large hiatal hernia that was repaired at that tim. I have had pretty much the same issues with this band, but unfortunately have gained back most of what i had lost, too. I can barely eat, can never find a sweet spot with fills/unfills, and find myself turning to frozen yogurt and "easy" foods. I still band-throw-up almost every day, even when I don't have a ton of Fluid. My band is so inconsistent - some days I can eat a "normal" meal, but most days, I can't get down anything. I find myself always making sure that I have Soup, oatmeal, Cereal, or Protein shakes on hand because that's pretty much all that I can eat. I am trying to tell myself that this is not my fault, but I do feel like a failure. I am now seriously considering revision to a sleeve, but of course I have a ton of fears and anxiety. My insurance will only cover band removal, so I will have to self-pay for the sleeve (my BMI isn't that high, around 29 or so). I am scared to death that I'll have some major complication, or that it won't work again. If there were some major complication, I'd wonder to myself why I can't just be okay with being overweight. If it doesn't work and I don't lose, or worse, gain weight, I'll wonder why I spent $15,000 on this. On top of all that, I would like to start trying to get pregnant in the next 6 months. Have any of you gone through pregnancy with the sleeve? How long after revision would I need to wait before getting pregnant? I am going to see a surgeon here in Austin to further discuss all my questions, but just wanted to see what other thoughts are out there. This is a big, scary step.

Last Tuesday I had my second fill - another 1ml. I have felt really good restriction all week but have felt a little easing off today but I'm not hungry as such just when I eat I dont feel as restricted. I'm back down to 101kg which is what I was a week after surgery. I am booked infor another fill next Tuesday and I'm hoping for another fill. My doctor said I will probaby need at least 3ml. Today is Mothers Day: I ate: Coffee Sm bowl yogurt Coffee 1 Glass of Champagne Chicken & Avocado entre Fish and salad - only ate 2/3 Nudie ice block 2 glasses champagne

Last Tuesday I had my second fill - another 1ml. I have felt really good restriction all week but have felt a little easing off today but I'm not hungry as such just when I eat I dont feel as restricted. I'm back down to 101kg which is what I was a week after surgery. I am booked infor another fill next Tuesday and I'm hoping for another fill. My doctor said I will probaby need at least 3ml. Today is Mothers Day: I ate: Coffee Sm bowl yogurt Coffee 1 Glass of Champagne Chicken & Avocado entre Fish and salad - only ate 2/3 Nudie ice block 2 glasses champagne

Am I lieing to myself? I have generally always considered my weight struggle a hormone problem. I don't eat perfectly but I don't think I eat worse than the people I'm surrounded by who are thin and not struggling. We go out to dinner - they clean their plates - and they order feasts - and I nibble on salads. I cook for them once a week and they don't gain weight off of my food - but I do. I watch them eat desert night after night after night while I don't eat desert all that often. Not because I am holding myself back - but because I generally don't like sweet things. I HATE chocolate. I HATE ice cream. I dislike cake unless it's a very specific kind of cake with a very specific kind of frosting. I only like about three pies known to man. And in most cases, I don't bake them nor do I order them when we eat out. My one weakness for desert is creme brulee but I rarely end up in restaurants that offer it so would say I eat the stuff about three or four times a year. I don't generally eat bread except for with sandwiches. I don't go crazy with grazing throughout the day, in fact I eat three meals and one afternoon snack. Breakfast is a fruit smoothie with nonfat plain yogurt. Lunch is a turkey sandwich on wheat bread with a smidge of mayo. And dinner varies - during the week it's generally leftovers and on weekends is when I cook. It can range from pot roast to roasted chicken to sushi at our favorite sushi bar to Vietnamese grilled beef vermicelli to grilled fish... So am I lieing to myself? Is food my problem? Am I food addict and I don't know it? I'm not perfect. I don't pretend to be. I DO eat out probably too much. But I also think I order wise things, for the most part. I'm not big on fried food - although on occasion some fried chicken IS good. Am I lieing to myself? Have the six nutritionists I've seen over the years been wrong when they said "your food is not your problem?" I've had TSH tests run on me multiple times just to find out I have HYPER-thyroidism. THAT does not make sense so no one treats it. I have had my metabolism measured a few times just to find out I have a fast metabolism. And yet the weight packs on. So am I lieing to myself? I swim, walk, lift weights three or four times a week. Swimming in the summer, walking otherwise. I garden - that burns calories when you are out there pulling out all those weeds with all the built up frustration you don't know you have. I am like a ping-pong ball when my husband and I TRY to sit down and watch a movie. I'm up every fifteen minutes to do this or that. My dog used to get so mad at me...he'd get all curled up and cozy and then ping, I'm off again. He thinks he has to follow me everywhere but by the time he was about three years old or so, he said 'forget it, do whatcha gotta do and I'll be here when you get back'. He has now found solace in the fact that my husband gets irritated by this, too. Just curls up with my husband if need be and they sit idly by watching me ping and pong about. So am I lieing to myself? Am I setting myself up for failure here? If I'm not lieing to myself - will this work for me? Can it help me? It almost seems like if I am lieing to myself, then yay. I can fix that!

Am I lieing to myself? I have generally always considered my weight struggle a hormone problem. I don't eat perfectly but I don't think I eat worse than the people I'm surrounded by who are thin and not struggling. We go out to dinner - they clean their plates - and they order feasts - and I nibble on salads. I cook for them once a week and they don't gain weight off of my food - but I do. I watch them eat desert night after night after night while I don't eat desert all that often. Not because I am holding myself back - but because I generally don't like sweet things. I HATE chocolate. I HATE ice cream. I dislike cake unless it's a very specific kind of cake with a very specific kind of frosting. I only like about three pies known to man. And in most cases, I don't bake them nor do I order them when we eat out. My one weakness for desert is creme brulee but I rarely end up in restaurants that offer it so would say I eat the stuff about three or four times a year. I don't generally eat bread except for with sandwiches. I don't go crazy with grazing throughout the day, in fact I eat three meals and one afternoon snack. Breakfast is a fruit smoothie with nonfat plain yogurt. Lunch is a turkey sandwich on wheat bread with a smidge of mayo. And dinner varies - during the week it's generally leftovers and on weekends is when I cook. It can range from pot roast to roasted chicken to sushi at our favorite sushi bar to Vietnamese grilled beef vermicelli to grilled fish... So am I lieing to myself? Is food my problem? Am I food addict and I don't know it? I'm not perfect. I don't pretend to be. I DO eat out probably too much. But I also think I order wise things, for the most part. I'm not big on fried food - although on occasion some fried chicken IS good. Am I lieing to myself? Have the six nutritionists I've seen over the years been wrong when they said "your food is not your problem?" I've had TSH tests run on me multiple times just to find out I have HYPER-thyroidism. THAT does not make sense so no one treats it. I have had my metabolism measured a few times just to find out I have a fast metabolism. And yet the weight packs on. So am I lieing to myself? I swim, walk, lift weights three or four times a week. Swimming in the summer, walking otherwise. I garden - that burns calories when you are out there pulling out all those weeds with all the built up frustration you don't know you have. I am like a ping-pong ball when my husband and I TRY to sit down and watch a movie. I'm up every fifteen minutes to do this or that. My dog used to get so mad at me...he'd get all curled up and cozy and then ping, I'm off again. He thinks he has to follow me everywhere but by the time he was about three years old or so, he said 'forget it, do whatcha gotta do and I'll be here when you get back'. He has now found solace in the fact that my husband gets irritated by this, too. Just curls up with my husband if need be and they sit idly by watching me ping and pong about. So am I lieing to myself? Am I setting myself up for failure here? If I'm not lieing to myself - will this work for me? Can it help me? It almost seems like if I am lieing to myself, then yay. I can fix that!

i once had one that went on forever. the only thing that finally killed it so it wouldn't come back was a prescription vaginal cream. i don't remember the name because it was a while ago, but that did it. i had tried the yogurt, vinegar and garlic. i think these things are good to do once its gone, to ward off a reoccurance. but to kill a really stubborn one sometimes you need a prescription cream like i did. good luck, i know that it's a torture when that itch is down there.

Thanks for the suggestions. I would have never thought to apply yogurt in that place to help out with yeast. I just hope I don't get another UTI. So far so good, but I just finished my antibiotics.

I learned about a new breakfast treat yesterday. Take a small container of greek yogurt with the fruit flavor of your choice. Add one packet of instant oatmeat meal stir then let sit over night. The oats absorb the liquid and it turns into a thick frosting consistancy. Was very suprised at how delicious it turned out. Fiber, protein and only 160 calories. Very filling.

Hi I dont know if I am doing this right??? I am hungry, well think I am! or might be wind. So far today I have had: 50ml Water 50ml sugar free yogurt 50ml water 50ml sugar free yougurt this has been since 4.30am and its now4.22pm is this right? please help me someone?

I'm so sorry to read about what you're going through. I think if would be scared also. I guess it all depends on how bad you want to lose weight. I was willing to do just about anything. In hindsight, if I really knew how hard the liquid diet before and after the operations would be, I think I would have thought about it a little more. Hang in there, the 30th is only four more days away. You can to do it. With my liquid meals I also had pudding, yogurt and some fruit. Only the day before was I on clear liquids like broth, jello, juices and crystal light water. It goes fast. Sending all my good thoughts and prayers to you.

I am still on liquids so they wont let me have yogurt. I dont think im hungry at least it doesnt feel like it. I feel better now not as nauseous but now my port is bothering me and last night ibwas picking stuff up off the floor and dont know if that has anything to do with any of this.

Yes, for weeks 2 and 3 I can have thin yogurt,sugar free pudding and also fat free frozen yogurt. On my sheet it says full liquids should be the consistency you can drink through a straw without using the straw. Suzanne

I was back at the radiologist's practice this morning. I'm seeing him all too often. Two weeks ago I was on his table, getting fill number three injected into my lapband. I sensed immediate restriction but figured the tightness would settle down over time. It didn't. Not only did it not loosen up enough for me to eat comfortably, last weekend, while I was riding my bike all alone in the woods, possibly kilometer 13-14 or so, I started having these intense spasms/pain in the middle of my breastbone. I had experienced this type of pain after my initial surgery and immediately went to my doctor to rule out a cardiac incident, since the pain mimics one symptom of a heart attack. At that time my surgeon suggested it was due to a loose band kind of bobbing up and down, creating irritation to my lower esophogeus, and assured me once I had some fill that the spasms would go away. He also put me on Nexium. I stopped spasming, but always doubted his diagnosis. Turns out I was correct to doubt Mr. 150-euros-a-visit-and-don't-bother-to-ta ke-your-coat-off because I had identical spasms with an overfilled band. Esophegal spasms are a sign that one's band is too tight. Some bandsters seek a too-tight band, thinking it will help them lose weight quickly since they are limited to liquids. But that thinking may backfire because Bandsters Cannot Live On Liquids Forever. What happens when your band is too tight? You get Soft Calorie Syndrome. To avoid the pain which happens when you try to eat solid foods, you rely on foods that will slide through a too-tight band, just 'cause you are hungry. But Soft Calorie Syndrome and the foods that compose it will never provoke satiety. So you end up eating way too much, and perhaps even gaining weight. Ice cream, milkshakes, even soup and yogurts---all soft calories which don't promote a feeling of fullness. I knew my band was not settling well after this last fill when a small fingernail-sized of biscotte (a type of breakfast toast like Melba toast) got stuck in my band and made me feel like I had swallowed a huge golf ball. Pain that lasted at least an hour. Also, I was unable to eat any solid food until dinnertime, when my band would open up and allow me to eat some fish or chicken. And still, even with small bites of that type of food, I was taking one hour to eat a couple of ounces of protein. This was no fun, and no way to live! I was in a very bad mood, and coming to the table started being scary. I wasn't sure which food was going to set off my band/pain cycle. So this morning I went back and got to drink some more barium and have more xrays and needles and injections of saline. The radiologist took out .5cc so I'm now at 6cc in a 10cc band. I immediately felt the pressure that had been in my chest for two weeks dissipate. Oh sweet Lord...it feels so much better. I'm at the point in my band restriction where it is now more art than science. I'm extremely tuned into my band and know how to eat and at what pace. I also know myself and know that I would not be happy with overrestriction. Even with the nice drop in weight it creates, that honeymoon period would not have lasted long with me. My goal with my band is to eat like a at-goal weight person, and selective anorexia is not part of my plan.

Happygirl, Relax, you're doing fine!! The difference between sugar-free and fat-free ice cream doesn't add up to much if you're not diabetic. It's a matter of personal taste. When I indulge in ice cream/frozen yogurt (which I do, almost daily), I usually get SOMETHING with reduced calories, but whether it's sugar- or fat-free is not something I worry about. No matter how you slice it, it's better than the large sundae with premium ice cream and three toppings! Now, as far as shrimp and salad goes, only you can tell whether you can handle those things so soon after surgery. You probably won't have any trouble at all if you have no fill yet; this actually a great time to go on vacation. Do NOT worry about "blowing" what you've accomplished in the last three weeks!! You are just now embarking on a life-long journey of weight loss and control, and a few pounds at this stage of the game simply will not matter in the long run. As you get adjustments and your restriction increases, you'll have no trouble dropping bread and other nutritionless foods from your routine. For now, eat and enjoy, trying to concentrate on eating the Protein first. This is a habit that will become increasingly important as time goes on so now is a great time to start. And last, I'm not going to criticize you for weighing every day; I do it too. But you CAN'T let that number on the scale dictate how you're going to feel about yourself that day! I use the information the scale gives me as information, not as a measure of success or failure. If that's not the way it works for you, it might indeed be a good idea to step away from the scale for a while. Have a great vacation!! :)

I know that I can have strained Cream of Chicken soup, but what about tomato soup or cream of broccoli soup? The cream of broccoli looked like it just had the small pieces of broccoli - if I were to put it in a blender to make sure it was mush, is that acceptable or should I hold off? I don't want to cause damage to my sleeve (I am 6 days out) but I am looking for more variety than my pudding, yogurt and protein shakes.

If you blend it anything is probably going to be tolerated. The sugar free ice cream still might have too many calories to be a good choice, I think it's something like 70 calories for 2g of Protein per service. A yogurt smoothie might work well for you. The tuna blend looks fine, keep an eye on the amount of mayo and relish you add since those are just extra calories. Ricotta cheese and cottage cheese are also really good for the pureed stage. There's a recipe floating around for a ricotta bake which is basically a lasagna without noodles that I mostly lived off of during the pureed stage.

PB2 is amazing! I make a shake with PB2, honey, strawberries, banana, double scoop of whey, almond milk and Greek yogurt. So much protein and vitamins and then I freeze it to be “ice cream”

All, Here is what I ate yesterday: Breakfast: Coffee, CarbMaster Peach Cottage Cheese Snack: PowerCrunch bar Lunch: Leftover Pot Roast (3 oz) and one small red potato Snack: Two Good low fat, low sugar yogurt Dinner: Leftover bean/beef casserole (1/2 serving) Snack: CarbSmart Vanilla Ice Cream Nutrition: 1,188 calories, 85g Protein, 56g Carbs, 17g Fiber, 67g Fat My program has me targeting 1,200 calories per day. I weigh pretty much everything that isn't packaged and track it all in MyFitnessPal. How does this compare to a typical day? I am 8 weeks out and have been on "normal food" for the last 3 weeks. It is sometimes a struggle to get in near 1,200 calories, that is why i spread everything out in 5 "meals". My weight loss has really slowed, but I am doing very well staying in the guidelines so I think it will pick back up.