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SouthBeach Diet Tips and Guides The SouthBeach Diet is different from the Atkins diet in that it is not a low carbohydrate diet. Regardless of which phase you are currently in, you should follow these recommendations: Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water, decaffeinated beverages such as club soda, tea, coffee, or decaffeinated sugar-free soda every day Limit your intake of caffeine-containing beverages to 1 cup each day Take one multivitamin and mineral supplement daily Take 500 mg of calcium for both men and women under the age of 50, and 1,000 mg for women over the age of 50, each day Eating can be both pleasurable and healthy as long as you eat the proper foods. All the meals in the SouthBeach Diet consist of healthy combinations of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Dishes can be made by anyone and the ingredients can be found in most grocery stores. These foods will satisfy your hunger without depriving your system of the low-quality starches and sugars that caused problems with your blood chemistry in the first place. The SouthBeach Diet does not involve counting calories, fat grams, or portion sizes. This plan was designed to be simplistic and will help you understand the principles of metabolism and put it to work for your own body. A major key to success with the South Beach Diet is the Glycemic index (GI), which ranks carbohydrate foods based on the effect on blood sugar levels. When you start adding foods back into your diet in Phase 2, keep your focus on low-GI foods such as apples, berries, grapefruit, high-fiber cereal, and whole grain breads. Preparing For The Rest Of Your Life Mindset Change for South Beach Diet You have learned what the South Beach Diet is, how it works, and what to eat. Now, you need to get prepared to change the way you eat, for life. Start by accepting that the first couple of weeks will be a big change but one you will not regret. The first morning of this diet, you will eat a breakfast that may consist of a two-egg omelet with two slices of Canadian bacon, cooked in either spray canola or olive oil. In your old life, you may have toasted bread or a bagel and had fresh fruit or fruit juice to go along with your omelet. However, with the South Beach Diet, the bread will have to wait. Most people have been conditioned their entire life to add bread to meals. You have toast with breakfast, sandwiches on bread for lunch, dinner rolls with dinner, and cake, cookies, or pie for dessert. However, during Phase 1, you will have to forget about the bread. It may take a few days to leave old habits behind but keep in mind that it is during this time that your body’s inability to process sugars and starches is being reversed. After trying numerous diets, most leave you feeling hungry, is one of the most difficult aspects of any diet. A common denominator seen with overweight people is that most of them skip eating breakfast. When this happens, blood sugar drops, which then increases the desire for bad carbohydrates to escalate until lunch when the entire meal is blown. Planning for South Beach Diet Planning will help you stay away from snacking or substituting things that are not healthy and could cause weight gain. Remember that once you start into Phase 2, carbohydrates will start being introduced back into your diet along with fruits. You also need to remember to eat your mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, even if you do not feel like it. Some of the greatest low-fats foods to incorporate into your planning include cheese and yogurt to replace the fats since they have no bad carbohydrates. In addition, the sugar is found in the lactose, milk sugar, is one of the things you can have with the South Beach Diet. The South Beach Diet is a lifetime change, lifetime commitment, and a lifetime of health and vitality! How Does The South Beach Diet Work? As mentioned, the South Beach Diet is unique, successful, easy, and works in a three-phase process. Unlike many other so-called diets, with the South Beach Diet, simply substitutes your bad carbohydrates and fats for good ones. After trying this, you will be amazed by how well and quickly it works. South Beach Diet Phase 1 South Beach Diet Phase 1 lasts for two weeks. During this first phase, you will eat normal meals of chicken, beef, turkey, fish, and shellfish, lots of vegetables, eggs, cheese, nuts, and garden salads using 100% olive oil for your salad dressing. Each day for 14 days, you will eat three, well-balanced meals. While eating until your hunger is satisfied may go against most diets, with the South Beach Diet, it is part of the plan. Trying to lose weight and become healthy by depriving the body of food makes no sense. In addition to the three meals each day, you will also eat a snack between breakfast and lunch, and then again between lunch and dinner. Even if you do not feel like eating these snacks, for the South Beach Diet to work, you need to, and after dinner, you will even have dessert. Additionally, during this phase, you can drink all the coffee and tea you want and be sure to drink lots of water. You may be thinking that this is a lot of food - it is! With most diets, you deprive your body, eating only small portions of foods that are unappealing. The change you will make during this phase is that you will cut out all bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, baked goods, fruit, candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, or sugar. Keep in mind that these eliminated foods will be added back into your diet, starting in Phase 2. In addition to taking these foods out of your diet temporarily, you will also need to avoid beer, or any kind of alcohol. Once you start Phase 2, reasonable amounts of wine can be added back in. Instead of feeling overwhelmed about the foods that will be taken out of your diet during the first two weeks, stop and think about this for a minute. To achieve a life of health and lose unwanted weight, two weeks is a small investment to make. After all, you are worth it! The first two or three days will be somewhat challenging, but breaking any bad habit starts out a little bumpy. Once you pass this small hurdle, the rest of the time will go by quicker than you think. When you see the results that these changes bring, you will be glad you did not give up!

My hubby has this too and sausage, red meat, bacon and alcohol break him out bad. He eats/drinks cherries/juice.. and takes meds for the inflamation...

Wellbutrin, I take that , have for a while every since I was thrown into depression when Surgeon#1 up and refused to perform my surgery. I did not want to live, no not active enough to kill myself, I was willing to sit apathetic and decline, if I ate is was fast food, not going to intervene enough to actually cook.I take 100 mg of the SR formulation 3 times a day, and it has No Bad Effect on my RNY pouch. I am out of the deep blue almost black pit of depression, having my surgery went a long way towards my cute. Approached my PCP about cutting down or eliminating it since I am 9 months out, hasn't happened yet. Maybe never will? Yes hormones do have an effect, and what really is a Royal Bummer for you and myself, as you go into ketosis and your fat layer starts to melt, all the stirred chemicals including hormones get released and you can become a Storming Norma, a Weeping Wilds or Freddy Kruegers little sister. Let's see if I remember the sequence another Bari-Pal told me Puberty... but you aren't covered with zits Pregnancy ...but you don't get a cute baby with it Menopause except that finally ends and you're not certain this will but you either have not flashes or freeze to Death. But life does go on ,it does resolve, usually with time. And tho yet feel stuck permanently in dark clouds and rain, there is still a Sun that will shine for you. I'll close with something from a Motivation App Anxiety is worrying and being fearful about almost every thing . Depression blunts and smothers all the joy in your life. And if you have both, at the same time, it is a Living Hell! Yes I have been through it, doing much better,but like an alcoholic, even in recovery, is still internally an alcoholic I will always have the tendency toward depression. All I can do is live well to the best of my ability, and if I get to the point of needing therapy again, to not be Too Proud to ask! I'm almost always on or near Bariatric Pal, PM me anytime, I will Talk The Talk because I also have Walked the Walk. And although you may not feel it now, you are an incredibly STRONG woman to have come THIS FAR.😝👍🍀

This isnt really right. Tricking your body into satiety like a band does doesnt negate the fact that you're underfeeding it. It still has to learn to be VERY efficient with what it is fed. Starvation mode is a contentious issue, and not everyone agrees it exits, but for some people super duper low calories dont result in much weight lost - although over time it HAS to. But the sad fact is for ALL of us who have lost weight, they dont remove the band at the end because in the process of losing we have all taught our bodies to become remarkably efficient and most of us can probably never again eat the calories that a person of our weight who had never been fat could eat. We will always have to undereat to maintain our losses. It may not be by much, but even an excess of 100 calories a day does result in a lot of weight over say a decade. Moderate calories and slower weight loss is better. Most women cant really achieve adequate nutrition under 1000 calories a day and honestly, a band that restricts you to 700 or so is probably too tight (apart from in the post op phase). If you eat too little, you will lose a lot of lean body tissue as well as fat and that compounds the metabolism slowing problem doubly - since muscle is metabolically active and the more of it you have, the more you can eat. I had a good example of this the other day. As a 5ft 10 150lb woman, who is very fit, I can eat quite normally - about 1800 calories a day to maintain my weight. That's fantastic. But to do that, I have to run for an hour most days and do some good honest heavy strength training on a regular basis. My pals at uni were incredulous, being 20 somethings who had never been fat - most of them ate much more calories than me - because being that age, there was a fair bit of alcohol and fast food in there - and never exercised. They stay THINNER than I am and were generally much smaller too (I'm very tall) so the calorie disparity is really obvious. I dont care, 1800 a day to me is generous, satisfying and allows for a very normal diet. But it illustrates a point.

Avoiding problems with strippers, alcohol, and the like.... Thanks for clarifying that you use this as a blog....a one way conversation....instead of for change. I'll just sit back and read about your life and be part of your audience. Entertain us, girl!

Actually, just last night i had a professor comment on one of the girls in my classes weight. She had taken him in a previous semester. She walked in late and the worst thing in the world happened, he said "Hello Ms. Ramos, glad to see your holidays went well, I see you drank a lot of alcohol and ate plenty of holiday food." OMG I could have died because I weigh a good 60 lbs more than she does, so I automatically began to think, "What is he gonna say about me?" I need this class, there is no dropping it. Also, my college doesnt have too many big girls, and if they do, they are just that, big girls, not obese or MO or anything. A little overweight or just plain overweight, mostly all under 200lbs. You dont see many that are obese or MO, I think I have seen like 3 or 4 MO, and a little more than that obese all year. ITS very discriminatory in my classes, the way you look. I am blond hair green eyed, "fat" girl. you know God wasted his time on my looks because he put me in a horrible body! Im not ugly by far, I know that, not to sound cocky, but I wanted you guys to know that I dont think that. Ive always been told how it was a waste for me to be so pretty and be so big. I sit in my classes, I am the ONLY blond! PERIOD! The only one out of 30-50 people, ONE BLOND. That is this semester, there were a few more last semester. I get it for that. However if I was Blonde and Thin, think of all the attention I would get in that field. No I dont have to be the center of attention, mainly because I dont know what that feels like, so I guess not. Im not loud and overbearing whatsoever, remember, they apparently dont hear me speaking. I was asked to leave conversation A, because it did not have anything to do with me, a friend of mine was trying to talk to a boy she liked and vise versa, I had no place in that conversation, it was definately a 2 person relationship. The other one I had no business in because it was the guy's best friend and my friend, and they were discussing something private between those two....it was none of my business whatsoever.....just felt weird, although i had no place in either conversation. I miss all the attention i got from going to the club....I dont go any more because of some drama, and school started back. Im probably going tomorro night tho. I love the way the gay guys compliment me and pay attention to me! Give me stuff and be so nice to me. The girls there dont even hit on me, they know I am straight, and they arent all judgemental on my weight NeWay. I feel comfortable there, hell i practically work there lol! I just want to find that one special guy that can soften my heart. Put up with my crazy antics. Listen to what I say. But put me in my place when I am wrong. A real man will stand up to me, but not be mean or rude, just stand up for themselves. I dunno??? I cant afford counseling by the way, my psychiatrist lives about 8-9 hours away and shes the only one I could ever trust with my head....Not to mention we cant afford it anymore anyways. Guys Im not depressed, i have a good time, i am happy with life, i just wish i was happier with life.....

I was a fan of fruity drinks and Long Island Ice Teas. However, as I did keto WOL for so long before surgery, I went to having an occasional diet coke and rum (technically keto friendly), HOWEVER, this was more of a once or twice a month thing before surgery. For me, since I"m only 8 weeks out and I'm in my THIRD stall AND I am a very very very slow loser even sticking to my dr's plan 100%, while I have had brief temptations, I know I'm 1) Not Ready to try this 2) Unsure if I should ever try it 3) Not willing to add something else into the confusing equation of why I am stalled yet again All this being said, I will not lie and say that I feel 100% confident that I will never have another drink. We are going on a Christmas cruise with my 89 year old MIL as she wanted the whole family to be together at Christmas and wanted it to be on a cruise...so we are all going. I have wondered about the possibility of having a drink at this time.. Unfortunately I will be only 5 months out at this time. I wish it was more like 1 year. I'm also unsure if I want to try my 1st drink, if I even do, on a ship with my whole family around...have no idea if it goes awry, how fast I could get to a place of privacy....you know? I have wondered what in the heck I would 'mix' any alcohol with and my eldest pointed out that my Premier Clear Protein Tropical Punch drinks would probably work...I was like "yeah, thanks for pointing that out...and now it is in my head". Only thing I know for sure is that for today, I choose not to drink alcohol.

Unless the person is someone close to me and I can tell they really were sincere and meant well with the statement, I don't engage. In my case, I'm a food addict - it's like telling an alcoholic to just stop drinking. No 💩 Sherlock 🙄

1st let me say I am glad to have found this Forum. I found it yesterday after google 'ing bariatric support groups at the suggestion of my nutritionist. Along with a list of "what to start doing to get used to it" items she said I should find a support group for obvious reasons. I have very little knowledge on the subject bariatric surgery other than what I have learned from my visits with my surgeon and his group so far and what very little i learned from my brother having lap-band several years ago. Well gotta figure no better way to learn than to ask those that have gone through or are going through what I plan to. I've been reading topics here since yesterday and have come across some things I didn't know or even think about. So I figured I'd give details of my current situation and see if others have anything in common and if they could give me some ideas of what to expect. It's been just over a month since I first saw my surgeon and came to the decision to go through with the sleeve surgery. I did not initially go to see him for it though. His name was on a list I received from my primary care doc after she told me the lump on my belly button was an umbilical hernia. When I went to see him he said he could repair the hernia but there was a high chance of either it reopening or another opening somewhere else due to my weight and big ass gut (not his words). After his, what I 1st felt was a sales pitch, He showed me some videos gave me some info to read and suggested I take some time to think about it and talk it over with my wife. We read, I showed her the video, we talked about it and decided it was probably the smart thing to do. Over the past few years I've put on a significant amount of weight and it seems every time I try to diet it off, I pack more on. A little bit of medical history for ya...... According the old trusty BMI system I've been heavy since my late teens early 20's but that is because of my height. I was pretty fit and muscular back then. Stayed pretty fit but did gain weight heading into my 30's and put on more the older I got. I've had back issues since my late teens due to a vehicle accident but it was never anything more than a good cracking my back couldn't relieve. My line of work has always been very physical, so along with getting older and the weight gain my back issues became worse. Now about to hit my mid 40s I've been out of work for going on 3 years due to osteoarthritis, slipped/herniated disks and sciatica. I have very limited movement and seem to be stuck in my "snowball". Also because of the weight I am on blood pressure, cholesterol and get happy meds. I do not take pain killers other than occasional 800mg ibuprofen. I have an addictive nature and am terrified of getting hooked. Speaking of which I am an "alcoholic". On the wagon and have it under control but still might as well mention it. Damn I am one F***ed up specimen. Well, I'll leave it at that and hope for any feedback, experience or suggestions/advice that any of you care to give. Thanks so much in advance for reading and feedback. Sorry this turned out so LONG. J

I am able to take NSAIDS and I have not had any problems with them it is a DR's preference on the use of them. Some say it is ok following surgery some say not to use them DRs will vary their treatments just like some say alcohol is ok some say never use it. you can read a wide range of differences on here from pre-op and post op diets to the do's and don'ts from many different Doctors. all treatments will vary from doctor to doctor

Yep that's more than 10lbs a month which is fantastic. I agree with Jessiquoi. We need measurable data. You also should consider curbing any alcohol for awhile. Reason being that it is carby and when your body burns, it will burn the alcohol before it burns any fat. Our rule is always Protein first. If you're sticking to that, you should be fine. Your loss is GREAT. I know it's hard but try not to compare yourself to others, especially because a person losing 70 lbs in 5 months may have started MUCH heavier than you did and therefore they have more to lose. Eventually EVERYONE slows down... there's no race, so do it right, not fast!

Green: You've outed me. I love, love, love ice cream. It is my drug of choice. I am about ice cream, as an alcoholic is about booze. It is of course somewhat a head issue, but I believe that it is a chemical issue as well. I just feel too good inside and I get too elated (high?) when I consume ice cream. That's a tough row to hoe. But I do know that I have to get to it and git 'er done! I do not crave volumes of food and that's a good thing because I can't really eat massive quantities anyway. You'd think I'd lose weight since I am not eating quite a few of the dense calories and white foods that I ate before banding. I guess I will try again this week. My doc is very conservative with the fills. I reckon that's why I've had so many but still haven't reached nirvana yet. :cry Gosh I hope your bloodwork abnormality is nothing to worry about. It always pays to check things out though. I hope you will keep me informed because I really do care about you, grrl!

I have to agree. I may not want to drink alcohol again ever. I know I won't drink beer as I gave it up about 2 weeks before surgery due to the carbonation. I tried white wine. Acid reflux city. I really wasn't a wine person anyway. I really liked vodka and light rum with juices or cyrstal light. That will be my next try but I am waiting a couple of months. If that is a no go then alcohol will be eliminated from the diet.

Omeprazole won't work the day you take it. The absolute minimum amount of time is 24 hours before you even begin to see a difference. It can take a few weeks before it kicks in but you should be noticing a difference reasonably soon. BJean is correct, you do need to cut out a lot of excess acid causing foods, raise your bed, don't eat before bedtime, no alcohol, etc. This does need to be treated so it does not cause "forever" esophageal problems such as cancer, scarring, stricture, etc. The surgical fix for this is pretty amazing. When you wake up in recovery you'll already notice a difference. It's an immediate cure. But it is very similar to banding. The nerve that gets irritated and makes your shoulder hurt will really kick in after this procedure. But the recovery is pretty much the same as banding but ... NO POST OP DIET! Yippeeee!

Okay, I hope I don't sound like a lush but how soon after surgery did you try alcohol? I was going to try in 2 weeks (4 weeks out from surgery) a little glass of wine. As I have posted before, I am going to work in Africa in July and will be socializing also. I will be working in the country's government offices and the embassy so it will be dress up /suits type stuff. From what I've seen other places, the after work drink is still popular in that type of an environment. Will I be able to tolerate a glass of wine at the 6 week mark?

Yeah, it seems normal to me that you're second guessing this, as it is a major decision. What I will say is that I really haven't had to give up much of anything. I can't eat as much as I used to be able to, of course, but I don't stop myself from having something if I REALLY want it. If I want chocolate, I have a small piece. If I want pancakes, I have half of one, which ends up being more than enough....I could go on. No, I don't eat these things all day, every day, but I do let myself have them occasionally. I do drink coffee everyday; I do better with the cold brew variety, as it's less acidic, and I use a non-sugary flavoring with stevia for sweetener, so I'm not adding a bunch of calories or carbs, but I DO get my caffeine fix daily. I wasn't able to have it for a while, while I was healing, but I'm now 7 months post-op and can enjoy my glass a day. I also drink alcohol now. Do I do it a lot? No. But I do allow myself to drink occasionally. I don't keep liquor at the house, because I don't need it that often, but when I go out with friends, I may have a drink. I do vodka and water, and I bring Mio to but in it, so I'm still getting a yummy drink, without adding calories and carbs. I really wasn't a soda or sparkling water drinker before, so I don't miss that. I'm 32, and I wish that I would have done the surgery when I was your age, instead of waiting.

I understand what you are going through and everyone has a different experience but for me, my only regret is that I waited until I was 44 to do it. Yes, there is a lifestyle change but it may not have to be as drastic as you think. About 6 Month post op, I started drinking alcohol again, carrfeine, carbonated beverages. The biggest challenge is just learning to adapt to the new way your body tolerates your intake. Best of luck to you!

This past week seems so focused on the $10million question.. do I need a fill?? I've posted the link to this list in other threads, but thought I'd just go ahead and put the whole thing here for those of us who need reminding. I hope that all of us who are questioning the need for more (or less) restriction will take a few minutes and go thru this list of questions, answering each honestly, and then make an educated decision rather than just walking in to the Dr.'s office and letting them decide for us based on only a tiny bit of the entire picture. Here ya go: Adjustments How to Tell When You Are Perfectly Adjusted You are losing 1-2 pounds per week. If you are not losing 1-2 pounds per week: A. You may need an eating adjustment 1. Are you eating 60 grams of Protein a day 2. Are you eating 25 grams of Fiber 3. Are you avoiding all liquid calories a. Soup can be sign of “soft calorie syndrome” b. Alcohol contains a lot of calories – 7 calories per gram (1) It’s also a stomach irritant c. fruit juice is just sugar Water 4. Are you making healthy food choices from a wide variety of foods? a. Are you avoiding soft foods b. You can’t just eat what’s easy c. cheese is glorified fat 5. Are you drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day between meals 6. Are you eating too much junk a. chips, chocolate, nuts, ice cream, Cookies and other highly processed junk foods are too calorically dense to be regular parts of a healthy diet. But don’t avoid them completely to the point where you feel deprived. b. Stay out of fast food places 7. Are you getting in two servings of Calcium daily 8. Do you always eat the protein first 9. Then the vegetables or fruits a. Five servings a day b. Potatoes are NOT a vegetable 10. Is your portion size appropriate? a. meat or fish (1) 3 ounces – the size of a deck of cards b. Vegetables (1) ½ cup – the size of your fist c. Starch (1) If you eat the protein and the vegetables first you don’t need much (2) Avoid: rice, potatoes, Pasta 11. You might try avoiding artificial sweeteners a. Some people think that artificial sweeteners stimulate the appetite b. They are HUNDREDS of times sweeter than sugar c. They teach you to like things too sweet d. There is no evidence that people who use them are any thinner than people who don’t 12. Avoid most diet foods a. Real food usually tastes better b. Real food is more satisfying than low calorie substitutes c. When you are only eating a tiny bit the caloric savings is not that great (1) Use a teaspoon of real butter instead of a tablespoon of diet margarine (2) The body has no way to break down artificial fats a. They may go into permanent storage b. Some people think liposuction is the only way to remove hydrolyzed fats from the body B. You may need a behavior adjustment 1. Are you eating only when you are hungry? a. If you’re not sure drink 8 ounces of water and wait. 2. Are you eating three meals a day? a. With maybe 1 or 2 small Snacks 3. Are you sitting down to eat? 4. Are you eating consciously? a. No distractions, turn off the TV, put the book or newspaper away, pay attention to your food and your companions 5. Are you eating slowly? a. Put the fork down between bites b. Take 20 to 30 minutes to finish a meal c. Taking longer might cause the pouch to begin emptying 6. Are you taking small bites? a. Tiny spoon, chopsticks, cocktail fork 7. Are you chewing well? 8. Are you drinking with your meals or too soon after your meals? a. Practice water loading between meals b. You won’t be thirsty if you are well hydrated before the meal 9. Are you stopping at the first sign of fullness? a. Sometimes it’s a whisper: not hungry, had enough b. Hard stop versus soft stop 10. Do not eat between meals. Stop grazing. 11. Do not eat when you are not hungry C. You may need an activity adjustment 1. Are you getting in 30 minutes of physical activity at least 3 times a week? a. Over and above what you would do in the usual course of your day b. Could you make it 4 or 5 times a week? c. Could you make it 45 or 60 minutes? 2. Are you taking advantage of opportunities to increase your physical activity? a. Taking the stairs instead of the elevators or escalators b. Walking on the escalators instead of riding c. Parking your car further away from the entrance d. Getting out of the car instead of using the drive through e. Getting off the bus one stop before your destination f. Washing you car by hand instead of the car wash g. Playing with your kids D. You may need an attitude adjustment 1. Are you committed to your weight loss journey? 2. Are you totally honest with yourself about how much you are eating and exercising? a. Log your food and activity on ww.fitday.com for 3 days 3. Are you using food inappropriately to deal with emotional issues? a. Have you identified what the emotions are that drive your eating? b. Can you think of more appropriate ways to deal with those emotions? c. Are you willing to seek help from a qualified counselor? 4. Are you attending and participating in support group meetings? 5. Have you drummed up some support from your family and friends? 6. Have you dealt with saboteurs realistically? 7. Do you have realistic expectations about the weight loss journey? 8. Are you still obsessing about food, weight, dieting, eating? a. Obsessive – compulsive thoughts (1) Obsess about something else b. Perfectionism (1) All or none, black and white thinking c. Patience with the pace of healthy weight loss 9. Are you acknowledging your successes with non-food rewards? 10. Have you learned how to take a compliment? 11. Are you giving up diet mentality? a. Stop weighing yourself several times a day or every day b. Stop dieting c. Stop depriving yourself d. Stop defining food as “good” and “bad” e. Stop rewarding and punishing yourself with food 12. How do you feel about all the changes taking place? E. You may need a band adjustment 1. You feel like you are making healthy food choices in appropriate portion sizes but getting hungry between meals? 2. You can still eat white bread, fibrous vegetables and large portions. 3. You are having to struggle to lose 4. You are gaining weight in spite of eating right, exercising and having a good mind set. F. You may need your band loosened 1. There are times when you can’t get fluids down 2. You are vomiting too much a. How much is too much? 3. Do you have frequent reflux or heartburn at night? a. Do not lie flat or bend over soon after eating b. Do not eat late at night or just before bedtime c. Rinse your pouch with a glass or water an hour before bedtime d. Certain foods or drinks are more likely to cause reflux: (1) Rich, spicy, fatty and fried foods (2) Chocolate (3) Caffeine (4) Alcohol (5) Some fruits and vegetables a. Oranges, lemons, tomatoes, peppers (6) Peppermint a. Baking soda toothpaste (7) Carbonated drinks e. Eat slowly and do not eat big meals f. If you smoke, quit smoking g. Reduce stress h. Exercise promotes digestion i. Raise the head of your bed j. Wear loose fitting clothing around your waist k. Stress increases reflux l. Take estrogen containing medications in the morning m. Avoid aspirin, Aleve and ibuprofen at bedtime (1) Tylenol is OK n. Take an antacid (Pepcid complete) before retiring o. Try other over-the-counter heartburn medications p. See your health care provider 4. See your health care provider immediately (or call 911) if a. You have a squeezing, tightness or heaviness in your chest, especially if the discomfort spreads to your shoulder, arm or jaw or is accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating, irregular or fast heartbeat or nausea. These could be symptoms of a heart attack. b. If your symptoms are triggered by exercise. c. If your pain localizes to your right side, especially if you also have nausea or fever d. If you throw up vomit that looks like black sand or coffee grounds. Or if your stool is black, deep red or looks like it has tar in it. These are symptoms of bleeding and need immediate attention. (Note: Pepto-Bismol or other medications with bismuth will turn your stool black. Iron supplements can also make the stool tarry.) e. If your pain is severe

Some of you know my story and others of you may be reading my blog for the first time. So I will summarize my pre-surgery eating habits so that you may understand the title for my entry. Before Hernia Repair and Lap Band surgery, I had a VERY limited diet. I was in pain when I was hungry and in pain when I ate. I also had a habit of regurgitating food in my sleep. Nausea, cramps, burning/stabbing pain all symptoms I was used to on a regular basis. Food getting stuck....yea that is an understatement. You name it I had it. Most foods agitated my condition, the list looking something like the following: carbonated/ caffeinated/alcoholic beverages, fruit, fruit juices (not even orange juice), products with tomato paste (spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, etc), raw vegetables, soup of the non creamy variety, cakes, pies, brownies, cookies, candy bars, and so forth. You are probably asking yourself the following: WHAT ON EARTH COULD YOU EAT? Well that's simple: starch mostly. Rice, pasta, bread, potato, oatmeal, ice cream, pudding, jello, mushy veggies, and most meats. My life was a daily chore of figuring out what food to eat that would cause me the lease amount of pain. Yes, I had meds but it was like taking sugar pills: no effect. Well, Life has changed for me in more ways than one since then. I sleep better, I experience no pain outside of hunger and the occasional gas/air dilemma (burping hiccupping etc). MOST IMPORTANTLY: I EAT WITH NO PAIN. For the first time in THREE years, I had a few bites of lasagna and a few bites of salad. Everything stayed down and hours later I was still pain free. My mom and I almost cried. These two food items alone would have caused me several hours of pain in my pre surgery days. It took this experience to show me just how SICK I've been for many years. What you EAT and DO NOT (OR IN MY CASE CAN NOT) EAT greatly effects how well your body operates. I feel better, I sleep better, and hopefully I will experience fewer illnesses in the future. I have a new lease on life because I am now able to eat a healthier diet. BUT it is still a struggle. I not only have to learn how to eat, I also have to retrain my mind not to fear pain when I eat. In many ways, It makes me feel like an outcast in most lap band groups. While many are fighting their way to portion control and healthy eating, I am fighting my way through fear and years of a non healthy but very restrictive diet. This is the true reason, I share all of my experiences. I know I cannot be the only one with this journey. It also the reason, why it is painful to me when others beat themselves up about eating food (healthy or junk wise). If you only knew what it was like to go so many years without being able to eat. It is not something I would wish on my worst enemy. Anyways, I am on my way to a better/ healthier life and I can't wait to see where it takes me. I wish the best to all of you. May your journey be one full of success and happiness.

So I finally had the fill of fills. You know, the one where you can no longer eat the crap you're not supposed to be eating anyway without it all coming back up? It's actually kind of great because I'm eating a lot less and I'm not hungry very often. However...my brain has started to panic over the fact that it can't have "the crap" and subsequently all I do is walk the halls in a desperate search for food that I don't/won't eat. I'm like an alcoholic looking for the bottle of vodka I hid from my family. Yikes. :thumbup: (For the record, when I say "crap" I mean things like crackers, Very Thin wheat toast, Pasta. I don't even care about chips or cupcakes anymore. Well, maybe a little.)

I think it's more the thought. I smell the alcohol and get dizzy. Lol

Oh but a wonderful non traditional was to treat my nausea that my recovery nurse did, was put an alcohol pad on my nose, so as i could sniff it! Worked wonders!!!

Thank you, I needed to hear that. I felt really badly, not because a few bites of pizza are so terrible but because it is like an alcoholic just taking a sip, you know?

I just tried the pure protein bars the other and they are very good. My concern now is how it says that it has sugar alcohol in them, but very low sugar. I'm just so confused with the whole sugar alcohol and what to think of that when it says (ie 15g) . So can someone please tell me if I should avoid the sugar alcohol all together or is it not as bad as I think?

I've only told about 6 people....trusted people. Sometimes I wish I hadn't even told them. When people ask if I joined WW....or how am I doing "it"....I just say that I've cut out anything white, no bread, sugar or alcohol.