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I used them pre-op during my two weeks liquid diet. After surgery (10/1), they were too sweet to tolerate and the protein isn't enough.

In 9 days I'm leaving for Europe on a trip with my daughter. We are going to Germany, Poland, and Czech Republic. We will be there for 10 days. I'm really worried about meeting my protein goals each day. We will be with a tour group of approximately 40 people. I don't feel like we will have a lot of flexibility in where our when we eat. Does anyone have any tips or advice on how to make sure I still meet all my nutritional goals while traveling?

I've tried cottage cheese, but still can't get past the texture. I do OK with chicken salad, but seems like just about everything else, sits like a rock. I take small bites, wait 10 minutes between. Thank you for all the feedback. Guess it'll be chicken salad and Protein shakes a little while longer Sent from my HTC One A9 using the BariatricPal App

I finally got the nerve to tell my mother in law...against my husband's advice. Well the first thing she said was "Why can't you take Dexatrim"...."I have to watch my weight all the time, if I can do you, you should be able to do it." I was nice but I told her "Giving yourself an enima or taking laxatives everyday is NOT a HEALTHY DIET". I told her you told me you could NEVER SEE ME SKINNY because I have a pretty face...do you know how much that hurt me? She said, well I can't see you skinny and you do have a pretty face. She said, it's funny "MOST FAT GIRLS DO HAVE A PRETTY FACE". Then she went on to tell me about the people that she knows that have failed at WLS. I finally started to cry and told her you have NO IDEA! I told her I just wanted to let her know what I was doing but I am going through with it for my HEALTH...my LIFE! She said ok and changed the subject. My HUSBAND was SO RIGHT about her! I told him I told her and he said that was the WRONG person to tell it was NONE of her business. I didn't tell him her reaction and I'm not going to. He was be MAD! About 10 minutes later she asked if my Husband was going to take off of work for my surgery. I WANTED TO YELL by now but said OF COURSE HE IS!! Never in a MILLION years would I let her know he wasn't OK with this surgery at first! My oldest daughter told me today on the way to Church to just ignore her she doesn't have a clue. Everyone deals with this issue in a different way BUT if she CARES ANYTHING about me she will call the night before I go in but if she doesn't not to worry about it. She also said, MOM in FIVE years what will it matter...do you really have to worry about something that won't matter in five years. Do what is BEST for YOU and your HEALTH and don't worry about what OTHERS THINK! I LOVE when my daughter shows me a different way to view things. THANKS all for listening and I hope I can help someone that is going through the same thing with family or friends!! BE STRONG and BE TRUE TO YOURSELF!!!

And I'm alive to live to tell about it.as everyone knows I've had my highs and lows on what this entire experience has done to me and I was made a vowel to myself that I wouldn't make it more or less what what it was. To say the least I regret it. I am almost repulsed with stepping on a scale everyday. I look at a scale and want to run out of the house. Started the journey back on December 20,212 and thought it was the best decision I have ever made. Fast forward to 7 weeks post op and I've had 2 additional surgeries ave hospitalized for the last 10 days. Better days are ahead I can feel. I'm working with a world glass team and they know they're stuff. I'm eating drinking and having urinations and bowel movements. Had tomato bisque with cranberry juice and sorbet for dinner. It was yummy. Within about 10 minutes of that was off to restroom letting it all out. My stent is set to come out this upcoming Tuesday and I'm so glad for that! Hopefully this is the beginning of the new sleeve for me. Some stats; SW: 256 CW: 209 GE: 140 Almost out of the 200s. Would not have been able to do that in 7 weeks. Good bye 46 pounds!

Keep us updated! I hope it's not that for you too! A problem with my gallbladder is now my newest biggest fear. I'm so worried it's gonna cause me problems and I'm gonna need to get it out. I was abruptly taken off of the medication the Surgeon prescribes to lessen the risk of gallstones a few days ago. I may be allergic to it. Soooooooooo now I wait and see if I miraculously pull thru without problems or not. I hear that if you pass the 9-12 month mark without any gallbladder issues, that you're most likely in the clear. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong) So I have 7-10 months to wait and see!

Thanks everyone for the support. Tomorrow is the surgery - I will get this done. I am so nervous I want to cry. Since I started my liquid diet on 10/7 I lost almost 30 pounds. I feel better already, I cannot imagine what it will feel like to lose 100 plus. Please keep supporting me, my god the nerves are killing me.

I am 31 years old and have basically done whatever I wanted (within reason) whenever I wanted since mid-college. I'm self-employed in the financial industry so I have been able to take off on a vacation, golf, or whatever reasonably easy (since I didn't have to ask my employer first.) This do whatever, whenever is partly why I'm in the shape I'm in, I love to eat... and eat good. One of the things that I'm most worried about is the possibility that I won't be able to drink carbonated beverages such as beer or things that mix with alcohol after surgery. I'm not an alcoholic by any means, but, I have a lot of fun. And drinking on the golf course or during a cocktail hour in business settings has been a big part of my life over the past 10 years. Not to mention, most of my friends like to kick back and drink on the weekends. I'm confused because I have read many things that a lot of folks aren't able to handle alcohol or drink carbonated beverages at all... Yet, I have a good friend who had the surgery and in some ways, I wouldn't hardly notice a difference in his eating/drinking unless he had told me. He still drinks a few beers, drinks a ton of wine, and some mixes and seems to be fine. The main area I can see a difference is that he seems to get drunker quicker. What are your experiences? What is the norm? Is it just that this surgery affects everyone differently? I mean, I am obviously willing to give up some of this for my health for my family... But, I'm just trying to figure out what to expect. Any input is appreciated. Oh, and my surgery is scheduled for this coming Monday. Thanks.

I had my second fill on Monday, tolerated liquids well during the day and went to bed. I had a lot of reflux during the night which turned into more of a slimy PB in the morning. The next day I only had tea for Breakfast, a small shake at noon, and only Water after that. Got a good night's sleep. I ate very little yesterday--a hard boiled egg and some cheese--no problem. I went to bed at 10 pm and have PB-ed probably every half hour since then. It is now 4 am. I am fine sitting here at the computer, but as soon as I lay down it will start up again. I know I could call my doctor, but the problem is that my insurance wouldn't cover the surgery so I was banded in Mexico and found a local doctor who agreed to do the fills here. When I went in on Monday the office manager informed me that this doctor no longer wants to do fills for Mexican patients--she gave me a song and dance about how expensive Malpractice is. They are going to increase the charge for my fills big time, and I can't afford to just go in and have a little taken out unless it's an emergency. So far I feel fine--no dehydration or anything as I am able to eat and drink during the day. But I don't know how long I can go without sleep! I'm thinking that I may have a hiatal hernia? I just don't know.

1. Metabolife 2. Trimspa 3. Stacker 2 4. Lipozene 5. Jillian Michaels cleanse 6. Raspberry Ketone 7. Garcinia Cambogia 8. Hip Hop Abs (feels good, but hard on my knees) 9. Rebounding 10. Cardio Glide 11. Gazelle (which I still own and LOVE!) 12. Thighmaster 13. Nutrisystem (20 lb loss in 8 mos, 40 lb gain) I know there's a few others I've tried. Terrible!

I did the same ting only I was driving and my son didn't want his cheeseburger. so use to eating what they wont, here was a perfectly untouched cheeseburger. Took two bites. feel odd. then for some crazy reason took two more. Thought I was going to die and tried to wash it down. Even worse. Finally coughed it up into my hand on the PA turnpike. Not my best momment. Yesturday, after haivng my first fill last week, was talked into going to an new asian buffet by my kids. No wise. I was somewhat good. Mostly because I got stuck on my first bite of meat. had to wait a good fifteen mintues to try to eat anything else. End up eating the kids unwanted items again. Have to get over the "don't waste food" monolog going on in my brain. Still only ate about 1/2 a plate of food, more then I should have, felt ill afterward too. The kids did ate really well and more then made up for the fact that I didn't eat my $10 worth. But don't think we will be doing that again.

You look great. I feel the same way when I look in the mirror. I never noticed I was putting on 5, 10, 15, etc pounds but I look and expect to notice when I have lost 2! Others say I look much smaller but I still don't see a HUGE change. Keep up the good work, you DO look smaller!

@@dlappjr, Nutritionally, you can speed muscle recovery and glycogen (fuel) replenishment if you take in some nutrients within 15 to 60 minutes after finishing your workout. The goal is 4 grams of carbs for every gram of Protein. If it’s just a snack, you can aim for about 10 grams of protein plus 40 grams of carbs. For a meal, you can go for about 80 grams of carbs and 20 grams of protein. You could have Peanut Butter and whole grain toast, or whole grain cereal/oatmeal with milk, or a shake with Protein powder and fruit, or a sweet potato and Greek yogurt… As for the actual workouts: if you’re super sore, it could mean you worked super hard. Soreness peaks at 48 hours (2 days) post workout, so if you’re aiming to work the same muscles two days later, you’re probably still going to be sore. What you could do is switch up the muscle groups and workouts, so you’re not hitting the same muscles as hard until they’ve recovered more. You could also do cardio on your off days to get the blood flowing (and burn calories). Another thought is that you could be overtraining. If you’re really that sore, maybe your body just isn’t used to those kinds of workouts yet. That would mean either be patient until your body gets used to them (like take the extra day of recovery if you need it), or scale back on the workouts until your body is ready to hit it that hard without needing so much recovery. Anyway, good for you for working so hard! You will see great results if you keep it up!

I looked through the Fitness and Exercise posts for something specific but didn't find any info. I am wondering about Post-Workout Recovery. Specifically, how to maximize the recovery, efficiently. If I do something that makes many muscles sore for 2-3 days, I am looking for a way to shorten that time down to 2 days or less. In this specific case, I am not lifting weights, so I can't lesson the lift, or the reps. It was a group workout doing things like bosu ball pushups and bosu ball plank jacks, mountain climbers, assisted pull-ups, russian twists with 10# med balls, one legged squats and a bunch of boxing bag punching. I waited the usually day before working out again, but my fri morning workout suffered because I wasn't 100% from wednesdays workout. Any ideas? I am looking into adding amino acids. I already get about 110g Protein throughout the day.

Happy2Lose, Thanks for your reply. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one losing in spurts. I see many posts that people lose 2 pounds per week, and I wonder if that's an average, or they lose steadily!?! Lately I have the bad habit of weighing often. I think your advice of weighing less frequently is exactly right! I'll have to work on that :thumbup: I also figured that approximately 10 lbs per month is my goal, but it just scares me sometimes when the scale stops moving for 2 weeks. Having been overweight for so long, it's devastating. I guess I have to try and calm down, and just keep going with it! So far I've lost an average of 10 per month, so I'm doing well. I just don't want it to stop until I"m closer to goal! Lisa

I was banded with a large (15cc) band on 11/30/09. I have lost 13lbs which 10 of it was all preop. I have had 2 fills and cant seem to get in sooner to my doctor cause he overbooks and INSISTS on doing the fills himself. I have a total of 8.5ccs in and have no restriction, I mean I can eat like I did before the surgery. I went a couple weeks ago for another fill and my doctor and after waiting 2 hours to be seen, I had to go without getting the fill because I had a babysitter waiting. The next time he can get me in is May. BASICALLY - I am lost, I have had no diet instruction, no understanding, no information on my diet plan. I know they say eat right and exercise blah blah, well if it was that easy I would have been skinny ages ago and not needed a surgery to help me do this. I am slipping into this horrible depression thinking I fought for over a year to have this surgery and get no where. He wont give me my medical paperwork to take to another surgeon to do fills either. So I guess I am curious, how do i get educated, how do i know if the next fill is going to work, how do i get motivated?

Last summer I got a couple of things on clearance that I thought I might be able to wear this summer. I got some 10/12 and now this summer they fit perfect. Although the 12s are a little big, but still wearable. I did the same thing for the winter stuff. So I should be pretty set come fall. Congrats!!

I was going to say the same as @@James Marusek. Bypass will really help you with maintenance. You will just need to be sure to work continually with a NUT and may have to increase your calories faster than some. For what it's worth, I have never lost 30 pounds a month or any of the other crazy numbers people quote. I lost fairly steadily at 12-15 pounds the first few months and then 10ish pounds per month. I am 10 1/2 months post-op and down 110 pounds since surgery. You will just get to goal and move on to maintenance quicker than most of us are able to.

I'm 12 days post-op, and wanted you to know surgery was not bad. I had absolutely no nausea afterwards. They put Zofran in my iv and I was fine. I was driving and going out in a week. I've not had to take anything for nausea since I've been home either. You'll be fine! Keep us posted. 17 lbs gone in 10 days for me...

I don't know if i'm doing this right but here it goes. It's 2/17/10 surgery is at 9:45 I have to be there at 7:45. I'm still nervous but not hungry. I lost 3 lbs on the liquid diet, so it's starting already. I should be back home around 5 ish see ya later.:crying:

Hi name name is Gloria and I was banded 2/6/06, 10 days post-op. I am new to the forum and I'm so glad I found this site. Is there any advise you can give me on what slides down easy. For example I know applesause, scrambled egg, soup and mashed potatoes go down very easy, can anyone give any more ideas? I'm bad at trying to be creative so I need major help. I'd appreciate any responses and like I said before I'm sooo glad I found this site. :biggrin1:

Was, Thanks for posting! I looked into the sleeve and it seems like a great idea, but I am really young, 19 and thats why i wanted the band, i might want kids in the future and I know with the band they can un-fill and then refill later on. With the sleeve, its very permanent. Also, im not sure i fully understand what the sleeve is. they staple your stomach into a small pouch and remove the upper portion. Is this right?

A little disappointing (from a run perspecetive), but here are my race results Jerseyman Triathlon Place: 135/195 Swim Place: 78 23:13; T1: 4:08; Bike Place:104 1:14:56 MPH 15.6; T2: 1:19 Run Place: 178 35:17 Pace: 11:23 Total Time: 2:18:51 Age Group Place: 19/22 M35-39 Male Racers Place: 95/122. Race Day – Got up at 5:00 and onsite by 6:00. I had a cereal bar, sugar free red-bull, clif bar, and Gatorade by 7:00. Lots of room in transition, and it was not crowded at all. “Pool” opened at 7 for pre-race warm-up. Water temp was 74, but it was still a shock at first. I could not breathe at all for my first few strokes. Finally got my face into the water more and got a decent rhythm going. This was, by far, the best decision I made all day - to do the practice swim. I got out of the water at 7:15, as the race was supposed to be at 7:30, and there was supposed to be a pre-race briefing. Neither happened. At 7:30, I got back in the water, as it was apparent we were not swimming for awhile, and I wanted to get reacclimated. Out again at 7:45 (not a lot of swimming…just bobbing and getting used to the water). Around 8 we did a wade in start and somehow I ended up front and center. This did not bother me at all, other than thinking, “how did I get here, when I intentionally went to the right of everyone?” The moment was lightened, when a little girl yelled out, “Don’t stop swimming daddy!!” Great advice, huh? Swimming went pretty well, other than the occasional stop for those who swam in front of me and cut me off. One additional nag point was I guess the volunteers drove a boat close to us, and our glass flat lake had sudden rollers in it. I thought a storm (it was raining) had suddenly hit us or something. It was a bit disconcerting, but it went away quickly. I did get a good feeling once, when I realized I was swimming fast enough for someone to draft off me. This one guy stayed glued to me for at least ½ the race, but I lost him after the final buoy, when I turned it up a little. I was shocked, as I exited the water and my watch said 22 minutes and change. I thought for sure I had swam faster than that. I’d say the course distance was off, but a 22 YO woman from Philadelphia finished in 15:57…that’s just unbelievably fast to me. I guess my extra minute or so on the official time was running to the timing mat. I had a good 75-100 yard sandy run to the sidewalk, then decided to walk a little to transition, as it was still a ways away. The crowd was pretty supportive with us too. I did pretty well in the “changing” part of transition, and most of my time was running/walking into and out of transition. I did run my bike to the mount point though, even in my bike shoes, as I realized before the race it was all grass, and the cleats would not be so unwieldy on grass. Oh, and the weather was 65 and humid, when it wasn’t raining. I had planned on putting on another shirt (was wearing sleeveless compression shirt under wetsuit on swim) in T1, but left it there, as I was plenty warm enough. Wetsuit came off easy enough too. Onto the bike. Oh, those first few miles were hell. I had a splitting headache (back of head), and I did not feel like riding hard at all. In fact, I felt woozy and lightheaded for the rest of the day after the race. I got some Gu into me (powdered mix in water), and I started to feel a bit better. Steady rain started falling, and taking turns and downhills fast was a bit freaky. Some downhills, which I knew were straight I hammered at full speed, and others I braked quite a bit. About halfway into the ride I started to feel good, and I steadily increased the pace. I stopped to help another athlete who had a flat (gave him my spare), but that only cost me 20-30 seconds, and I knew I wasn’t winning any medals anyway. I was hammering the last few miles, as I felt strong, and I knew the end was near. I got into an easier gear about a mile out and started spinning, to get the legs ready for the run. I got to the dismount area, jumped off really nice, and ran my bike to T2 – the run to T2 felt great. Got into T2, and thought I made awesome time. I had already put my race belt on in T1, so T2 consisted of: run in, rack bike, change shoes, run out. Nothing too special. About 50 feet into my 5k run, my mind told me, “This is going to suck.” Now remember, my run off the bike into T2, felt great, legs were not beat up or anything, or so I thought. I jogged/shuffled for the first 1.5 miles, then started to walk/run for a minute each at a time. My hips were killing me, which is not a pain I have experienced before in training. I felt like I had nothing left, and my run time definitely suffered. If it hadn’t been a race or if I did not keep on getting support from other runners, I may have bagged it, had it just been training. Wrong thing to do, I know, but I was not doing well physically or mentally on the run. Summary: Swim Goal: 20 minutes; Actual 23:13 – not too worried about this, as distance could have been off (that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. J ), and I was firmly MOP for this – expected result. Transition Times: < 6 minutes total; Actual 5:27 – I could have made T1 a little faster, but I could not have done much better on T2 Bike Goal: 75 Minutes; Actual 1:14:56. Hmm...I think I knew how fast I was going to go, huh? J Considering the weather and how I felt in the beginning, I’m pretty satisfied with this. Run Goal: Sub 30 minute; actual 35:17 – What can be said? This time sucks, and I know it. Time for lots of running this winter. Goals for next year – keep on training, keep on having fun, keep on getting better at running.

Hi there...I was recently banded on Halloween and I suffer from depression and panic disorder. I take an anti-depressant and an anti-anxiety pill. I have had no trouble with thaking the pills since surgery. Thank god there is no malabsorption issues with the band or else who knows what dose I would be on lol. I have to tell you that I cried for 2 days straight after surgery. I thought OMG what have I done...get this band out of me I just want to eat and all these other emotions. I don't know if it was a side effect of the anesthesia or what but I was a mess. I can tell you that I got thru it and it will get better. I hope you don't have to go thru that after your surgery but if you do just know that it will pass!!!!!! If I can do this ANYONE can i'm telling you each day has gotten better!!!! I hope to one day be off of these meds, but if I can't, I can't. Good luck with your surgery and remember it gets BETTER everyday. I literally had to take it 10 mins at a time for the first few days. Keep us posted. This site is the best and wicked supportive!!!!

My doctor has done over 4000 and says it is made out of the same stuff that surgical implants are made of, silicone and something else. They don't have to replace there stuff too often, like heart valves, knees, etc. I would be happy to replace it in 10-20 years if I had too. For the first time, I was a slave to food and my appetite/obession with food/dieting and now I am FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!