Banded April 15- any advice appreciated!! =)

[tryingtolose24 45]

Hi all,

My name is Sage and I was recently banded on April 15, 2011. So far, I have lost about 14 pounds. I am recovering pretty well, but it still hurts where (I'm guessing) the port is.

One thing that is bothering me. Since I started drinking thicker liquids (my doctor had me on Clear Liquids the first week, thicker liquids the second week-which i am almost done with- and purees and so on the following weeks) I haven't been able to lose weight. In fact, I actually GAINED two pounds between yesterday and today!

Has this happened to anyone else? Does anyone know of any thicker liquids or something that is still healthy that I will still lose? Or is there something else I can do? I'm not supposed to do heavy exercise yet.

Thanks to anyone for any words of encouragement or tips they might have!!! I am 23 and live alone, also, so it's hard to really have some support. I also am moving from North Carolina to Kansas to go to Grad School (Go Jayhawks), so I know this will be a pretty hard and lonely journey to my goal of losing 150 lbs!

Thanks again!

[mynewbeginning29 0]

This really helped me, because I to was banded on April 15th and I have lost 22lbs so far,.... went to the doc yesterday and I had gained 5 lbs from last week, and doing nothing really different...... uhgggg so I am glad to know that gaining does happen and its not only me!!!!! I get my first fill on May 23rd!!! I feel totally awesome to btw. Like I hadnt even had surgery!!!!! I am just so ready for my first fill and to begin to loose this weight !!! but boy am I staying hungry lol.. also I cant do the Protein shakes... they make me so sick.. I have a very weak stomach for certain stuff......

[tryingtolose24 45]

The first six weeks post op is not about losing its about healing and yes you can gain instead of losing. What kind of thickened liquids are you drinking because they should be Protein shakes. Going from Clear Liquids to full liquids is a calorie increase so gaining weight is totally normal. I would stay off the scale for now.

I've been going the Soup route, I probably have not been getting enough Protein, I will definitely start doing more shakes. Thank you for letting me know that I don't need to think about losing right now. Haha it's hard to not think about it!

[tryingtolose24 45]

This really helped me, because I to was banded on April 15th and I have lost 22lbs so far,.... went to the doc yesterday and I had gained 5 lbs from last week, and doing nothing really different...... uhgggg so I am glad to know that gaining does happen and its not only me!!!!! I get my first fill on May 23rd!!! I feel totally awesome to btw. Like I hadnt even had surgery!!!!! I am just so ready for my first fill and to begin to loose this weight !!! but boy am I staying hungry lol.. also I cant do the Protein shakes... they make me so sick.. I have a very weak stomach for certain stuff......

Wow 22 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats awesome!!! Congrats!!! Thank goodness for the post above this, because now we know its nothing to worry about if we gain weight!!I Are you able to move on to pureed food today? Haha I am, and I'm eating some pureed beef, and i gotta tell you..it looks like dog food.< /p>

[Rachel412 116]

In the full liquids stage I had to have 3 Protein Drinks a day, then low fat cream Soups so I had cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, cream of celery, miso soup... but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Are you tracking your calories every day? It might help you just keep an eye on what you're eating, which will help when you go in for your first fill and they try to figure out how much you'll need. Good luck! I was banded a few days before you and the weight fell off for the first 10 days or so, but then stalled even though I've been journaling and I only have 800-1000 calories per day. Your body is concentrating on healing right now, not losing weight. It'll come!

[hopefully soon 13]

Try this.....a cup of skim milk, 1 scoop of chocolate Protein Powder (my is fusion chocolate mousse), 1/2 banana, 1 TBS of smooth Peanut Butter, and a couple ice cubes.....mix in blender or smootie maker.......I found this once I was ready for mushies (go figure) but it has been my "go to" Breakfast for the past 10 days or so......very yummy and easy to tolerate. I HATED the Protein Shakes too and struggled to get even one a day down. Once I started with these, the scale started to move again because they have about 40 grams of Protein (27 from the protein powder, plus the milk and peanut butter). Best of luck!

[mynewbeginning29 0]

My Dr. actually allowed me to move to pureed foods 6 days after surgery!!!!! which was a godsent lol..... now I am like bring it on lol.... I move to regular diet foods in about a week and 1/2 .. so excited for that... but now I have scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes....chicken noodle Soup with the noodles .. I can have diluted juices and all that good stuff.... so it hasnt been bad like the liquids.... and I havent drank the Protein shakes.. makes me wanna puke if i drink them so I try to get all the Proteins I can ..... my dr. office gave me a book called the Bariactric(sp?) Bible and it has helped me with what I can and cant eat

Wow 22 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats awesome!!! Congrats!!! Thank goodness for the post above this, because now we know its nothing to worry about if we gain weight!!I Are you able to move on to pureed food today? Haha I am, and I'm eating some pureed beef, and i gotta tell you..it looks like dog food.< /p>

[tryingtolose24 45]

In the full liquids stage I had to have 3 Protein drinks a day, then low fat cream Soups so I had cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, cream of celery, miso soup... but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Are you tracking your calories every day? It might help you just keep an eye on what you're eating, which will help when you go in for your first fill and they try to figure out how much you'll need. Good luck! I was banded a few days before you and the weight fell off for the first 10 days or so, but then stalled even though I've been journaling and I only have 800-1000 calories per day. Your body is concentrating on healing right now, not losing weight. It'll come!

Thanks for the encouraging words. I have not been tracking my calories, I will start doing that today. Wow you have lost 27 lbs!? That's awesome!!!! I had been eating potato Soup (that had been blended), egg drop soup, and sweet potato soup. I was eating 4 oz at a time, but probably more often than I should be. I'm just so so so so so so hungry!! And being around friends who can eat does not help!

Thanks! Let me know if you have any other advice, or need some encouragement!

Sage

[tryingtolose24 45]

Try this.....a cup of skim milk, 1 scoop of chocolate Protein powder (my is fusion chocolate mousse), 1/2 banana, 1 TBS of smooth Peanut Butter, and a couple ice cubes.....mix in blender or smootie maker.......I found this once I was ready for mushies (go figure) but it has been my "go to" Breakfast for the past 10 days or so......very yummy and easy to tolerate. I HATED the Protein shakes too and struggled to get even one a day down. Once I started with these, the scale started to move again because they have about 40 grams of protein (27 from the Protein Powder, plus the milk and peanut butter). Best of luck!

That sounds delicious! I will hit the store tonight and make that!