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I just read a great article about Easter; it can be found here: http://www.dailybreeze.com/opinion/articles/6877872.html?page=1&c=y Here's a cut and paste: Evidence of faith, cause for hope Here are ten reasons why the resurrection of Jesus Christ remains the most important occurrence in history. By Paul Viggiano Hope Orthodox Presbyterian Church Charles Hodge, the renowned 19th century Princeton theologian, penned these words concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ: "It may be safely asserted that the resurrection of Christ is at once the most important, and the best authenticated, fact in the history of the world." Hodge buttressed this assertion with 10 arguments. Nine of these arguments would pass muster vis-à-vis any other notable historical event. The 10th is undeniable: 1. It was predicted in the Old Testament. The Christian faith began at the dawn of man with God making a promise to redeem mankind through the death and resurrection of the Christ. The Old Testament was a widespread and well-known document. 2. It was foretold by Christ himself. People have twisted the Scriptures from the very beginning. For those who doubted the promise of the Messiah, or were inclined to bend the Scriptures to their own agenda, Jesus re-announced that he would die and rise again. 3. It was an easily verified event. The Resurrection wasn't a matter of secret knowledge. It was a physical resurrection. There was no faith required to observe the risen Christ. 4. It was substantiated by abundant, suitable and frequently repeated evidence. Jesus was a threat to the religion of the Jews and the authority of Rome. They wanted Christianity to end. All they had to do to achieve this was produce the dead body of Jesus. This would never happen. 5. There were numerous, competent witnesses of the event.The Resurrection didn't happen in a vacuum where only the devout or those skilled in piety could observe. Jesus was a public figure followed by hundreds and seen by thousands for 40 days after his resurrection and before his ascension. 6. The conviction of the witnesses was testified by their willingness to suffer even to the point of death. The Christian faith grew dramatically after the ascension of Jesus, due to the spirit-inspired testimony of the apostles who all (but one) were put to death for their faith. It can be argued that people have been known to die for a lie, but it is a much harder argument to make that people will die for something they know to be a lie. 7. God confirmed the testimony of those who witnessed the Resurrection by signs and wonders seen by entire communities. Jesus conferred the power to perform signs and wonder to his apostles; this continued for years. The authorities certainly had the time and occasion to expose these apostles if they weren't genuine. 8. The fact of the Resurrection has been commemorated by a religious observance of the first day of the week from the time it happened until this present time. The regularity of millions (now billions) of people meeting on a weekly basis for thousands of years speaks toward the reliability of the data. 9. The effects produced by the Gospel admit of no other rational solution than the truth of Christ's death and subsequent resurrection. The Christian church is his monument. All believers are his witnesses. The tome of literary, archeological and historical evidence of the Resurrection is simply unmatched. Unbiased observers have taken historical events as fact with much less evidence. The truth of the Gospel, the Resurrection, in fact all of Scripture can, and always has, passed every legitimate method of scrutiny. The real question is, "How legitimate are the methods?" Using man-made disciplines and evidences to determine the authenticity of Scripture would be like using my Casio to determine the accuracy of the atomic clock. Add this to the fact that man has a propensity to interpret facts through his own grid. For example, if someone's grid doesn't allow for miracles, he won't believe the event was a miracle no matter how much evidence he is given; he'll just wait for some new explanation. Besides, it would be foolish to think that God has left us at the mercy of our own ability to do research in order to know the truth, let alone be saved. This brings us to Hodge's last point. 10. Simply put, we know the Resurrection truly took place. Jesus said that his words are sufficient to judge us -- words which we still have in the Bible. The testimony of God's word is self-evident and undeniable. When people deny the Scriptures, they are denying something they know to be true in the depth of their heart. Man's accountability to God is not capricious; it is based in something men know. And what a glorious thing God has revealed to us -- that there is hope beyond the grave. Jesus is called the first fruits of the Resurrection because those who trust in him will be resurrected as well -- this is what the Bible calls the good news. He is risen indeed!

Note to Admins -- I took a look at the food & Nutrition section and did not see a thread like the one i am writing here. This section has more views & replies, so I am hoping to keep this thread here despite .. Hi Folks, Coming into VSG surgery, my doctor told me that my relationship with food will change. Via the pre-op psycho analysis visit to his colleague psychiatristpizza place that has pizza by the slice, and we used to get a slice of cheese pizza each and sit down and eat them before driving back home .. nowadays, even if I cut the slice in 1/2 or 1/3 -- the taste isn't there anymore. I can't describe why .. I simply do not enjoy eating this food, though my memory of enjoying this food is still there. You can apply that to EVERY single kind of food and dishes that I used to eat -- the TASTE relationship is not the same. And I've come to the conclusion that what I need to do, is to expand the horizon on foods and get into eating different dishes, ones that I don't used to eat, very often, or never tried before .. Now, to be fair -- I'll go first to offer up a recipe I discovered on the internet that is a "new" dish for me, in the fact that at least -- I never used to eat it as a meal at home. This recipe came about about the first week of going from a semi-liquid diet into solid foods, and all the foods I was eating was very boring or didn't taste good . On this day -- I felt like eating salmon, but not raw as Japanese food but cooked. I knew I needed a nice and tasty sauce, so I found this recipe: *** Pan fried salmon with cream dill sauce *** - Fresh raw salmon fillet (180 grams or less, if too large -- VSG'ers can't finish this) - 1 small lemon/lime - Fresh dill - 1/2 cup cream - 1 table spoon Philadelphia Chive & Chive Cream Cheese - 2 table spoon virgin olive oil - 1/2 table spoon salt - Ground black pepper Pan fry salmon fillet with olive oil for 5~10 minutes pending your fire and temperature until cooked. Separate sauce pan, pour in cream and mix in the cream cheese and stir until the cream cheese has melted and blended into the sauce body. Chop the dill and add it to the sauce, let the dill cook a bit to get the flavor into the cream sauce. When the sauce is done, pour it over the cooked salmon fillet in a serving plate. Slice a piece of lemon or lime and put it on top of the salmon. Done .. quick and dirty. I ate this dish for a while, until I burnt out on it .. now, I'm looking for more recipes to re-vitalize my daily meal agenda .. anybody have any good recipes which you are currently enjoying, which you have tested out yourself and know that it will work for VSG'ers ?? Feel free to jump in and make your contribution. I'm waiting to try out some new dishes.

I usually have the same Premier Protein shake for breakfast every morning. It holds me over to lunch time. I guess my problem is with portions, still. I just had my 4th fill on 10/1 and I'm now at 7cc in my 10cc band. I think I'm really close to my sweet spot, but I still feel like I have to watch my portions so I don't overeat. Sometimes, after my 1/2 cup meal, I might still be hungry, which boggles my mind.

Thank you for asking. A 2-inch “thing” is growing in my lung, they finally found out on 10/24/21. It wasn’t visible on July 12; that was when I had a fever from something, possibly severe allergies. I am preparing for a needle biopsy at MD Anderson. I eliminated almost all animal products starting Tuesday. Now eating organic fruits, veg’s and eggs. No soy as it is all sprayed with Roundup; hard to find non-US soy. I will start on organic buckwheat & blue corneal tomorrow combining eggs & EVOO to make pancakes with treat of 3 berries and maple syrup.

Yeah work it!! You ARE a cutie pie! And wow I can really see a difference in a major way already!!! Good job!!! As for me and my workout, right now I can't sprinkle in my running that I oh so love. I have to settle for walking. Due to this I don't feel like I burn enough calories, so I have given myself a challenge to walk/or cycle 300 miles by Halloween. That's still not that much, and so far I've already got in 41 Miles. No, I haven't updated my ticker - I do that only once a day and I plan to do some in the early AM tomorrow. So really this is what I'm doing, give or take something here and there. And its usually more than what I'll say I'll do... but that's just because I'm a workout nut. Sunday: Cycling 10 Miles Monday: OFF DAY (however I still walked 3 Miles) Tuesday: Walking/Elliptical 5 Miles Wednesday: Walking/Elliptical 5 Miles Thursday: Walking/Elliptical 5 Miles Friday: Walking 2.5 Miles and Cycling 7.5 Miles Saturday: Cycling 10 Miles Good luck to you! The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

I had the same feeling and my doctor said he put a deep suture through my muscle. He said it takes 3 months to recover. He said that is we're they go in and cut through a huge muscle, so they put a deep suture in. I was sleeved 4/10, I'm 6 weeks

My surgery has been scheduled for Jun 8th. I must admit that after years of wishing for this I am a bit nervous. My question is this. If you could change anythingyou did or didn't do to prepare for you surgery, what would it be?

Yay! I got my surgery date today! I have to go in for my pre-op appointment next Monday and my surgery is scheduled for Thursday, July 19. I am so happy that they were able to schedule a date so soon. I want to be off of my modified liquids diet before I go back to school (work). I will be 4 weeks post-op by then, and 12 weeks post-op by my brother-in-law's wedding. I can't wait for my body on the outside to match my personality on the inside. I am so excited! I am motivated to get as much weight as I can off before the wedding. Wahoo!

My 10 day (week 3) stall is finally over. I have lost .2 the last two days. I think it is the start of something good! I am happy to be under 40 BMI!

We were told Clear liquids for 10 days, then cloudy liquids for 10 additional days, then mushy stuff the next 10 days, then introduce.....chicken but chew chew chew small small small bites almost to a liquid. I am just into my 2nd ten days so am gonna try some cream Soup tonight after work.

Everything I've heard and read is that Dr Cirangle is the best in San Francisco. I so wish I was close but I am in Ohio. I don't believe he is that expensive but people say his expertise is worth every penny. He has been doing the sleeve for 10 years or longer, a lot more than most in the eastern US. His success rate is very good so I have read. I called his nurse a few months ago and was willing to travel out there and stay for awhile but my insurance would pay nothing. Something about not living in Ca. Look him up and he also has a video of a sleeve that he did from beginning to end.

Hi Everyone, I have been asked so many times on this board about what Protein drinks are good and some sample meals that I used during the first month and things I did after the 1st month. These are very valid questions and I know when I first started out I had all the same questions. Again this is long so please print this out if you would like. Protein Drinks. My all-time favorite is: Premier Protein Drink. It comes in 11 oz. drink boxes already mixed. There are 30 grams of protein in each box, 160 calories per box, 1 gram of sugar and 5 grams of carbs. The flavor I buy is Chocolate—that is all I can find at costco. I get mine at Costco and I understand that you can get them at Sam’s Club too. You can order these on line at Costco and Sam’s club. They are also available at this Web Site. http://www.premiernutrition.com/product.html I pay about $25.00 for a carton of 18 drink boxes at Costco in the city where I live. I drink one of these every morning for my Breakfast and nothing else and it has been almost 3 years since my “sleeve surgery.” The next Protein Drink that I have tried is called: Matrix 2.0 Mint Cookies made by Syntrax. You can check this out on this Web Site. http://www26.netrition.com/syntrax_matrix_page.html The cost for 2.16 lbs. is $22.99 plus postage. Item # 39-0963 My next Protein Drink that I have tried and like is: nectar, variety pack, you get 13 single servings in a variety pack. The cost is $22.95. This is the Web Site and they are made by Syntrax also. http://www6.netrition.com/syntrax_nectar_page.html There is one other Protein Drink that I found on Obesity Help.com that was rated really high by 188 people. I have never had it, but you might want to check it out. The name of the protein drink is: Carb Solution High Protein Power—it comes in more than one flavor. They also have cans of it already mixed. The Protein Powers cost $12.99. It has 110 calories, 1 gram of sugar, 4 carbs, and 20 grams of protein. This is the Web Site for Carb Solution at Wal-Mart. http://www.buycheapr.com/us/result.jsp?q=Carb+Solution&qs=ti&ga=us7&ts=go On www.ObesityHelp.com they have a lot of different information about Protein Drinks and they list so many different brands and people have rated the ones they really like check this site out. It has a lot of information about almost all the protein drinks that we find out there. http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/nutrition/a,prodsearch/searchtype,1/criteria,11/ I hate Isopure. It does NOT taste good to me—I know that some people like it. I call it Isopuke, and it reminds me of pond scum. I have been told if you buy it at a GNC and don’t like it and still have your receipt they will refund your money if it hasn’t been more than 30 days since you purchased it from them. I guess they will do that with protein powers too—ask before you buy what their policy is about returning something if you don’t like it. So if you want to try it remember this. There always seems to be a GNC in most Malls. This 1st month after weight loss surgery is going to be the hardest one to do. You just get tired of what they want you to do. It is for a reason—the doctors know what they are doing. You need to let your new stomach heal from a major surgery, so that is why you have to do these things the 1st month. You should try to keep your calories at 800 per day and no more than 20 carbs a day if you want to lose weight. The 1st month you really don’t eat a lot. So in the following months keep track of everything you are putting in your mouth. You can track what you eat on this site. I found it to be very helpful to write down EVERYTHING I was putting into my body. If I didn’t write it down I was going over 800 calories per day and would not know I was. It does take time to keep track of it—you are worth the effort, but once you get the hang of it you will know what 800 calories really are. When you exercise this site helps you figure out the number of calories you have burned and that allows you to eat more than 800 calories. It is an easy site to use and it if FREE. http://www.livestrong.com/ The 1st 10 days for me had to be clear liquids—you had to be able to see through them. 1. broth. I used and love “Better Than Bouillon.” It comes in a jar and it is like a paste. I like it because it tastes great and you can make single servings. It is located with bouillon cubes and Soups in the grocery store. I had chicken and beef. I also made some home chicken Soup and strained everything out of it and just had the chicken broth. I would try to have ¼ of a cup of it for part of my meal, but sometimes it was just too much for me. Remember you have a new smaller stomach and it is swollen and can only hold about as much as the size of your thumb. 2. Jello-- sugar free. I might have 2 tablespoons of Jello. That was something I had fixed and ready when I got home from the hospital. 3. I tried to drink 64 oz. of Water and sometimes I could get it in and sometimes I couldn’t. Do the best you can, and just sip it all day long. I would add Crystal Light to the water—it made water taste a whole lot better. 4. Apple juice, white grape juice, sugar free sports drinks, decaf hot tea, also decaf ice tea. 5. Veggie broth or the broth from French Onion soup. 6. Sugar Free Popsicles if my stomach was upset this really seemed to help. The 2nd 10 days. This was much easier to do. If I didn’t mention it, it was difficult for me to swallow my medication so I would crush the medication up and mix it with about 1 tablespoon of applesauce and some Equal and mix my meds in the applesauce and take my medication that way. You will have creamy foods the next 10 days 1. I loved so many of the creamy soups. I used regular Campbell’s creamy soups that they had. I was only having about ¼ cup or maybe a few tablespoons of soup. 2. Jello was still good for me. 3. Sugar Free pudding, maybe 2 tablespoons full. 4. Yogurt a few tablespoons of it. 5. Frozen yogurt. 6. Applesauce a couple tablespoons. 7. A little cream cheese. 8. Sugar Free Fudge Cycles. 9. Premier Protein chocolate Drink mixed in blender with about 4 ice cubes and 1 cap full of Miralax. When you have a lot of protein you get constipated and Miralax works for that. It is tasteless and blends really great in the blender with the protein drink. I use the Miralx daily and it is NOT habit forming. 10. Soft boiled eggs or soft scrambled eggs—eggs didn’t work that well for me. 11. Low fat Chocolate milk. 12. Cottage Cheese. 13. Sugar Free Popsicles 14. Creamy Peanut Butter. The 3rd 10 days and final part of the first month. Yeah the 1st month is almost over. I could eat mushy food. This was more of a challenge than I thought it would be. 1. Mashed sweet potato or mashed yams with a small amount of butter on it. 2. Mashed up chicken noodle soup. 3. Mashed up homemade veggie soup. 4. Eggs that were soft boiled or soft scrambled. 5. Applesauce. 6. Cottage cheese. 7. Premier Protein Drink with miralax blended in the blender with 4 ice cubes. 8. Mashed up steamed carrots 9. Mashed up and blended a little tuna with a small amount of mayo. 10. Blended chicken breast with no skin on it. 11. Ham blended with a small amount of mayo. 12. Water with Crystal Light 13. Jello with fat free cool whip. 14. Yogurt and frozen yogurt. 15. Sugar free pudding. 16. Protein Bars chewed up really well—I could never eat a whole one—just a few bites. 17. Mashed potatoes and cream cheese mixed in with them. 18. Mashed black Beans they have a lot of protein in them. I would have about 1/4 the a cup and that is about 9 grams of protein 19. Sugar Free Popsicles 20. Hard Boiled eggs made into egg salad. If I went out to eat I found that a cup of soup was about the best thing I found that I could eat. I also felt like I was on display sometimes because family and friends would watch me eat. It used to bother me, but not anymore. I watched them eat and I thought to myself. “Oh my gosh they inhale their food and they hardly chew it.” I was always the last one to finish eating. That is OK too. At first I actually mourned the loss of food. Later on I was thrilled that I had the restriction of a sleeve because I was losing weight. I found that chicken and fish were easier to chew and I liked them a lot more than red meat. I said that chicken was one of the main sources of protein for me. I found Kirkland (Costco brand) grilled Chicken breast strips. It is already cooked and I would put one bag (1 pound) in the freezer and use the other (1 pound bag later.) It is really handy to have around and a quick meal to fix if the chicken is already cooked. We also ate more fish. I would buy Halibut or Sole—a mild fish. I would marinate it in OJ or crushed strawberries or blueberries all day. I would also marinate it in law calories Italian Salad Dressing all day. I would cook it in a pan with Pam spray and put garlic or rosemary in the pan when I was cooking it. I don’t eat a lot of red meat and I used to be a real red meat lover. For me it took too much chewing and it just didn’t taste as good as it used to. I will now have a small hamburger and only eat 1/3 to ½ because it just is too much food for me. Ham was something that worked well for me too. I found I could get a large think slice of from the grocery story deli and I would have it for a protein—I would slice off about 2 oz. of the ham. I also enjoy a Taco Salad and I make mine with chicken instead of beef. I love Shrimp and lobster too, so those are my treats that I reward myself with. A typical meal I ate starting the 2nd month after WLS. Breakfast: Premier Protein Drink with Miralax and 4 ice cubes in the blender. Lunch: 2 oz. of chicken or ham with a small amount of cheese melted over it. I would have a bean salad—it has 4 different beans in it. Snack: I would have about 10 dry roasted almonds and maybe 10 dried cherries Dinner: 2 oz. of Chicken or Fish, steamed veggies of some kind. Sometimes my husband and I would split a small baked potato I put a teaspoon of butter and sour cream on it. Snack: Some type of fresh fruit or a Protein Bar. Carbs and what to eat and what NOT to eat About the 3rd month after WLS I would add a little bread in my diet—I could only eat about ½ a slice of bread or ½ of a hamburger bun and they are the “thin” buns that they have out now. They also make a thin bagel. You just have to look when you are shopping in your local grocery store for these things. Try to find Whole Grain carb products and if you can’t the do the whole wheat. Try to stay away from WHITE carbs. They are white refined carbs and that is how we got fat eating a lot of them. Rice should be brown rice and only a small amount—NO white rice. Pasta comes is Spinach or Whole Wheat and you can have only small amounts of it. banana – Medium size has 27 Grams of carbs—I stay away from the banana, and I love them, but I just don’t want to spend all my carbs for the day on a banana. I use a Mexican soft flour shell made of spinach or sun dried tomatoes for making a small sandwich too—you know they call them wraps. Beverage: They do not want you to drink something when you eat—you need the room for the food so that you can get your protein in firsts. During the day I would have water or decaf tea for my liquid after I ate or all during the day. As I said the Crystal Light Individual packs and different flavors worked well in a bottle of water. It seems like it took me forever to eat and drink all the things I was supposed to be eating and drinking. I was always sipping on the protein drink and water. supplements you should take. It is important that you take a multi-Vitamin. I had a difficult time trying to swallowing large pills. Look for an Adult Chewable multi-vitamin. I also have the Chocolate Chewable Calcium that I buy at Costco. As time goes on it will get easier to swallow larger pills. Do NOT take the multi-vitamin on an empty stomach, it may make you sick. My Primary Care doctor was very helpful and after I had been home 2 weeks from WLS, she had me come into for an office visit. She ran a full blood panel and made sure all my levels were ok. I knew my potassium was low when I left Dr. Aceves in Mexicali—they ran my blood test before I left and gave me a very detailed report about my surgery to give to my doctor here in the US. Dr. Aceves told me to have it watched when I got home. I now take a potassium tablet prescribed by my doctor and work on eating food high in potassium. Starting the 3rd month I started to eat more salads about here. I had a favorite and still eat it. It is Fresh Spinach, with slices of almonds, feta cheese, dried cherries, or fresh strawberries, a tablespoon of bacon and Paul Newman’s Light Raspberry & Walnut dressing on it. I sometimes add some of my Kirkland (Costco) Grilled Chicken breast strips to it and then it is an entire meal in one bowl. Chef’s Salad is a great one meal in a bowl thing to have and I just use any kind of dressing I want on it. This salad has lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sliced hard boiled eggs, turkey or chicken, and some ham sliced on it with some cheese. REMEMBER make this in a much smaller bowl than the normal Chef’s salad comes in. Sometimes I will add a small amount of Whole Grain dinner roll or some bread with it. Stir Fry is a great way to get meat and veggies all in one meal too. I have a pan that works great on the BBQ grill and I do a stir fry on the BBQ in the summer time. Have a sense of adventure and take some of your old recipes and see if you can convert them into a healthier recipe. Use veggies that you have never tried. Try some “rubs” on you meat located in the spice section or the grocery store and try to marinate some of your meats all day before cooking them—it really changes the taste of them. Desert I don’t want you to feel deprived. I learned that sometime just a bite or two of a desert really satisfied my need for it. Instead of the WHOLE piece of cake or pie, just a sliver of it worked for me to satisfy my need for it. When you want a cookie have just one small cookie and not the entire bag OK. Sugar free pudding with a small amount of Fat Free Cool Whip is good too. Use Splendia to make a desert that you like. So everything in moderation works. Exercise I was never a fan of exercise until I started to walk and I found out how much I benefited from it. Now I try to exercise 5 days a week. Find some form of exercise that works for you and do it. Start slow and then add more until you are comfortable with it. I am sure I have missed a few things, and I will write those down as I think of them and make a Vol. 2 if I needed too. These are just my suggestions, spice them up and make your food interesting and don’t get in a rut. This is not a diet, you will learn to adapt it and find things that work for you and that you like eating. This is a LIFESTYLE change. Make it work for you. You have the tool of restriction now use your new tool to your advantage. The fat doesn’t just melt off of you. It does require work and effort on your part. Stalls—No weight loss for a period of days. Be prepared you may have periods where you lose NO weight. We call those “Stalls.” You will panic and think for sure that you are the “one person this is NOT going to work on.” I know I was sure that was me. NOT true at all. Our bodies just do this. Mine lasted for 9 days—no weight loss at all. Just keep doing what you are doing and the weight will start coming off again I promise you. I can tell you not to panic but most of you will anyway—that is pretty normal too. Hugs, Suzanne Sleeved 10/21/2008 Lost 105 pounds.

Is it normal to stalll 1 week out? I am 10 days out and have been stalled since day 7. Getting in almost 60 ounces of water daily but need to step up the protein

Cubby - I was banded on the 5TH. Had no preop diet, and liquids only for 1 week. My second week (Until Saturday) is mushies - I love eggs! I cannot wait until Saturday to have a bit of ground beef or Turkey!!! Congrats on your weight loss! Banded 3/5/10 Starting Weight 350 Current Weight 330

All that liquid, just wondering if it caused problems for folks, ie "the runs". I have to work! Can't be running to the bathroom every 10 minutes. I doubt after the surgery running anywhere will be easy.

I chose this surgery so I would not fall off the wagon. Falling off for me wasn't just a meal or a day, it was a month and wasn't just a few pounds but 10-15. I was so tired of the yo-yo dieting and weight gain/weight loss. No matter what restrictive surgery you choose, you will still have to watch what you eat (more quality than quantity) and exercise.

I was banded sept. 25th and I now have 6cc in a 10 cc band. I was finding I was still hungry after I ate most of the time but knew I could'nt eat another bite. I asked my doctor and she did say it would take a few months but that would go away! I'm still waiting lol, but find if I keep most of my meal protien, I do not feel as hungry. Good luck with everything!!!!

Hey All! I was sleeved on 3/18/19 and have had a really rough recovery. I’m only able to get down about 8oz of liquid a day. I figured out that reflux meds help, but only enough to help me get maybe 12oz of liquids down a day. Protein20, Premier Protein all upsets my stomach. I can get down small sips of water and a popsicle if I eat it slow. I’m post op day 5 and ALLLLL FOOD LOOKS DELICIOUS!! I haven’t had more than a total of 4oz of protein in one day, (today actually), since Sunday, 3/17/19, the last day of pre-op. I talked to my doc today because I was worried about malnutrition and hydration. He just asked me to keep working on clear liquids and would check on me Monday and if I’m still having issues, he would have me in. Has anyone been through this where only water will go down easy? I feel like I just want to eat something!!!! Ugh :(

I went from 262 to about 175 in less than 1 year, gained 10 back and stayed planted there for years. Now I barely diet (and my band is quite loose) and maintain. I would love to get from where I am now (185) to 162. I probably look best at 150/155 but I am 44 so a little weight looks better now AND I just like the fact I would be 100 pounds less. Such a beautiful, round number! Should I get the band tightened again? I am so hesitant as I feel like I went through that already and my surgery was years ago. Has anyone done this years after the surgery?

I bought the book "[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Surgery-Dummies-Marina-Kurian/dp/0764584472/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275236132&sr=8-1]Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies[/ame]" LOL and it is actually really helpful about how to make the transition into solid foods and there are recipes in it too. It has lots of good info in general. (ooh and in looking it up to link to it I just saw they also have a whole [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Loss-Surgery-Cookbook-Dummies/dp/0470640189/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275236132&sr=8-2]recipe book[/ame] available!) I'm still quite a ways from getting on solid food myself so I can't help too much personally, but there are some great blogs of post WLS people who share recipes and examples of what they eat. My fave is The World According to Eggface - she is 3 1/2 years out though so you can't eat as much as her right away of course! Here's what I do know from all my research and from the nutrition classes at my surgeons office. High Protein, low carb. For the first 3 months you're supposed to eat 90% protein and only 10% complex carbs (fruits and veggies), no simple carbs (bread, Pasta, etc) ... after that time frame, 75% protein and 25% complex carbs. I have purchased some diabetic cookbooks - I am not diabetic but the recipes seems to be up the right alley as far as high protein low carb. Another tip that I've been getting is, the denser the protein, the longer you will stay full. Meaning, choose chicken over cottage cheese. It takes longer to digest and leave your stomach so you will feel full longer. In our nutrition class we also learned about this little protein math to do. You want your protein sources to be under 15 calories per gram. For example if a serving of something has 200 calories and 20 grams of protein, it is 10 calories per gram. Most of your protein should come from lean sources such as meats. The middle ones are things like cheese and other diary, and the higher ones (which you should have the least of) are things like bacon, nuts etc which are higher in fat. I hope this helps!!

Your initial couple weeks or so of loss includes a lot of water weight, as you body gets used to the large caloric deficit and struggles to get used to operating on so little (that initial loss is primarily glycogen - stored carbohydrate - which comes off quickly and includes a lot of water that keeps it in solution. Once that has burned off and the body gets the idea that you are serious about this caloric deficit thing, it finally decides that it needs to get serious and start drawing on your fat stores, which comes off more slowly. So, yes, it is normal to lose a lot the first couple of weeks, and also to stall a bit and not lose anything for a week or so, and then start losing again, but more slowly. Long to intermediate term, figure on 1-2 lb per week (5-10 lb per month) as a good sustainable loss rate, with some weeks or months being above or below trend. For instance, my loss, starting from a bit under 300 lb, was 32 lb the first month, followed by 15, 15, 10, 10, 10, by which time I was within about 10 lb of goal weight and started ramping up my calories to slow things down. Also, figure on your loss rate declining over time - it simply takes fewer calories to move your body around 24/7 when you weigh 250 vs. 350. This trips up some people, particularly if they increase their intake after a few months - increasing intake meets declining calorie burn and you reach stability, whether you are at goal or not.. So try to maintain a fairly low intake at least until you are within sight of your goal weight. Good luck!

I have uhc through my job, I work for the city i live in. I had to wait 6 months, and have been approved to have the surgery. We scheduled it for 10/26, hopefully nothing changes. I am also getting cigna (I'll be double covered) through my husband's job, but his plan says cigna doesn't do bariatric. That's why I'm keeping my uhc coverage. Anyway, I'm still so nervous that somehow uhc isn't going to cover it even though I was told it was approved.... I guess it's just jitters, this is my first time having any kind of surgery, other than a cesarean section...

Can anyone recommend a reputable consignment store where I can take the clothes I've "under-grown" in Southern California, specifically in the Orange County area? I have 10 bags of new (most still with the tags on them) 3X 26/28 clothes that I would like to sell. I gave away 21 bags of clothes for donation and it felt wonderful! Thank you! Deann

Hello, I'm on day 4 of soft foods and just want to get some input, since some of you report very small stomach capacity. I know there is a bit of a learning curve here. For Breakfast the last couple days I have been having egg salad. 1 - 1/2 eggs (1 yoke) and 1 ts of light mayo. It makes about 3.5 ounces of egg salad. When I finish, I'm just starting to get the "Pressure" just under my ribcage that was described to me as full. for lunch and dinner I have been having about 2 ounces of lean hamburg meat, a little broccoli (maybe 4-5 small pieces) , and maybe a bite or two of re-fried Beans. There was one time where I had that constant pressure under my ribcage, it disapated after about 10-15 minutes when the food started moving. I just want to know from everybody whom as been through the mush stage what they think cause I really don't want to start any bad habits.. I am feeling hunger, but it's quickly gone as soon as I eat something. I am sticking to 3 small meals a day, no Snacks. When I drink fluids I can pretty much drink unrestricted.

I am only 10 days post open and my family wants to go swimming. Think it would be safe for me to go? Seems my incisions are closed up but scared to take a chance