February 2007 bandsters!

[babygrl1234 6]

I have never been thin. I am 26 and I must have lost about 500 pounds dieting. I did not want to spend the next 26 years of my life doing the same thing. This time it is going to be gone for good. My only regret is not doing it sooner.

[Success in lapband 0]

I just got home from my 2 week post op appt. and I was shocked to find out that I have lost 19lbs since my surgery day of 2/28!!!! My Dr. looked at it and asked if he was seeing the chart right!!! He was very happy and said that obviously the tiny bit of Fluid that he put in my band on surgery day helped out a lot. He also said that I wouldnt be needing a fill anytime soon since I obviously had some restriction. I am soooo happy with this band!!

Kathy

Kathy:

Congrats!!!!!! WOW!!!

Do you feel restriction? What are you eating in a typical day?

[Success in lapband 0]

Teacher, I know that every Dr. and Nutritionist have differant ideas. Mine tells me to drink 1 cup of a high-protein supplement between each meal and another before bed (3 cups total). Choose a Protein supplement with 15-20 g of protein per serving and 100-150 calories (Carb Solutions, Edge Body for Life, Atkins shake, or Slim Fast High Protein. And to stay well hydrated, sip Water or a calorie-free beverage (crystal light or sugar-free tea) between meals, after your protein supplement. Try to consume 30 ounces a day of water at one sip a minute. I am new to this so I have been consuming my Protein Shakes but I know that some of the others that had their surgery by Dr. Kirshenbaum don't follow this. I think for now it is helping me get my protein in. I cannot sip it slowly nor can I sip water every minute all day! So i just do the best I can getting my fluids in. I think the protein shakes will help keep hunger down between meals, I'm not sure what I will do as time goes on?!?! I did find that I like the Body For Life shakes and they have 17g protein and 110 calories. Sunnysea

So with this being said, what are you eating for your meals? I get my protein from protein supplement shakes and I think that is a fabulous idea, and they are very tasty, and I like that he suggested to spread them out throughout the day, because that way my protein needs are always met. But what are you "eating" as your meals?

Thank you for sharing~!

[Success in lapband 0]

I need to know if anyone has the lap band VG placed. It's the largest of the 3 sizes and I don't feel any restrictions at all. I do get full quicker, but can eat anything. bread included. I've had nothing stick at all,and can even gulp fluids. Why? I'm having to use alot of self control until my first fill April 10th. I was banded in 2/28. My fills are 2cc at a time since my band holds 10cc total. I kinda blocked this part of the seminar out thinking that it did not pretain to me and now here I am, does anyone know anything else?

CVADEN:

Yes! I was banded 3/1 and I have that same band, and I am exactly like you I can eat anything and everything and I can even gulp fluids, I can eat bread and nothing sticks, nothing een close to sticking. I know he placed the band, because I saw an xray but that is the ONLY reason I think I am banded. I don't think I have experienced "full". I have experienced "not hungry anymore" after eating a smaller amount than usual, but don't know if that is all "mental".

[kathyy68 0]

Kathy:

Congrats!!!!!! WOW!!!

Do you feel restriction? What are you eating in a typical day?

I do have a little restriction. I can only eat small portions. Usually about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food. Right now I am eating grits, crab cakes, cottage cheese, egg salad, tuna salad (both in majic bullet), blended Soup, pudding, and drinking crystal light and Water. I usually have milk at least once a day and have a very hard time with the Protein Drinks. I am going to try baked fish sometime this week. I do not snack at all and once I get the tiniest sensation of being full I stop.

Kathy

[sunnysea 1]

So with this being said, what are you eating for your meals? I get my Protein from protein supplement shakes and I think that is a fabulous idea, and they are very tasty, and I like that he suggested to spread them out throughout the day, because that way my protein needs are always met. But what are you "eating" as your meals?

Thank you for sharing~!

Hi, I just started eating some regular foods this last week, before that I was on the creamy Soup stage. I've been eating regular foods like fish,sweet potatos,manderine oranges,oatmeal,string cheese, dinty moore, the other day I had'nt had much to eat so I did have a Filet-o-fish and a small shake from McDonalds (some habits die hard) I took off half the bun and no frys. My nutr. said to eat 3 healthy meals a day, selecting foods from all the food groups. I don't know I am so new to this, that I am also reading everyones posts to see what works for them. :eek: Sunnysea

[teacher 1]

WOW Kathy!! You are doing great!! You are having some awesome willpower!!! Congrats!!! Keep up the good work. We started at about the same weight but you have passed me up on the going down side. Thanks for the motivation!!!

Sunnysea, I went to McDonald's when I first started eating mushy foods,too. I ordered the fish filet with no bread. I was mad when I opened the box because the cheese was slapped on the bottom and stuck to the box. I guess I looked pretty stupid trying to eat the cheese off the bottom of the box!! (hope no one was looking). Then, a few days later I talked to the nutritionist. She wanted to know what I was eating . When I told her about the fish...she said, "oh, I hope you took the crust off " hahahahahah

I told her," oh of course I did, I knew not to eat that crust" ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????? What's do you have if you don't eat the crust????

So...I'm just going to stay away from filet of fish....box and all!!!

michele

[kathyy68 0]

I am really not sure I have what you call "willpower" but I am scared to death that something will get stuck...thats why I have followed the rules so closely. I have not tried many real foods....the worst thing I have had is crab cakes and a sweet potatoe. I have been tempted to lick the cheese off of some nachos but I havent!!! LOL I think I will be daring by the end of the week and actually try something. bread scares me and so does pretty much anything not blended up in my majic bullet...I know I have to eventually get over this fear.

Kathy

[Zannie 6]

When I asked the “if we stop for fast food” question, my dietician suggested Taco Bell's Pintos-n-Cheese as the best fast food choice.

I'm not a hot-n-spicy kind of girl:flame:so I order Pintos-n-Cheese without red sauce and, occasionally, with sour cream. It comes in a 1/2 cup serving size. When I initially started mushies on Feb 28th, I was only able to eat half of that (1/4 c). But we made a run for the border Mar 18<SUP>th</SUP> & I ate 2 bites shy of the whole dish before getting that “satisfied” feeling. (I say that’s a far cry better than the “Gordita Supreme w/o tomatoes & Bean Burrito w/ sour cream” that used to be my norm!)

I’m glad you mentioned breading/crust as an issue (in addition to the obvious bun), because ads for the new Double Filet-o-Fish were tempting me! I thought the fish(no bun) might be an okay choice at many fast food places, once I’ve moved onto solids. :doh: Ya can't get a bowl of refried Beans everywhere, after all!

I will admit to sharing with my DH (over the course of 2 days) a single Mickey D's minty green Shamrock Shake in honor of St. Paddy's Day. (Yumm-o!) But other than that, when having Fast Food I've been sticking to (and enjoying!) Pintos-n-Cheese from Taco Bell. :hungry:

:help: Other than Taco Bell & salads, did anybody else get a good suggestion for fast food?

[ARMKAM 0]

Hi Michele , I was getting to where my weight was stalled also. I was banded a week after you on 2/21. Since last Thurs. , I've tried to eat just a little more, adding protien between my 3 meals. Usually yogurt or really thinly sliced ham and I've begun losing about 1 lb a day. As of today I've lost 32 lbs. We ate out a few times this week-end and I ordered off of the kids menu. The only place that hassled me was Bob Evans - they charge you $2 more for being an adult even if it is a kids item. I couldn't even eat half of what they brought me. The places also gave me a hard time about not wanting a drink. Oh well, even with eating out , this week-end went well w/losing. Singing is getting easier now that I'm healing up and school is keeping me busy. Other than work I haven't started doing much exercise yet. After spring break , I will be dancing with my students every day to get ready for our spring concert. Have a Great day !

[Zannie 6]

I am really not sure I have what you call "willpower" but I am scared to death that something will get stuck...thats why I have followed the rules so closely. I have not tried many real foods....the worst thing I have had is crab cakes and a sweet potatoe. I have been tempted to lick the cheese off of some nachos but I havent!!! LOL I think I will be daring by the end of the week and actually try something. bread scares me and so does pretty much anything not blended up in my majic bullet...I know I have to eventually get over this fear.

Kathy

I agree with you, Kathy! I was “allowed” to slowly begin introducing flaky solids like salmon filet to my mushy diet as of…4 days ago. But SOLIDS?!? Are you kidding me?? I’m too unsure of myself yet for regular food!! If it doesn’t come mushy or can’t still be yummy out of the Cuisinart, I just haven’t gone there! Fear is a great motivator for me! Heck, fear for my future was the reason I got the band in the 1st place! And I’m not making rapid enough progress (down 24 lbs at a month post-op) to start fooling around with things that might get stuck or cause other issues! Oh, I’ve made a few(3) conscious choices to eat sweets I should avoid (a bit of ice cream at a birthday party; some of a Shamrock shake for St. Paddy’s; and a whole 12oz Crystal Light Slurpee when I was craving something yummy after a bad day - which turned out to have more carbs than I thought it would ), but I have not tried bread or anything otherwise “threatening” at all! The "what if" factors of that freak me out!!

[cvaden 0]

That really sucks for us, because we have to use some serios self control. When do you go for your first fill- I go on the 10th of April for my first fill and am counting down the days. Good luck and keep in touch. Do you know anyone else with the VG? Your the only one I've heard from and that makes me feel alot better. I lost 17 LBs Pre op and don't want to gain it back.

[travelgirl 3]

Beware! If you stay on mushy foods past when the doc recommends it, you could be setting yourself up for a stall or plateau (or worse, weight regain)! The mushy foods are for the healing stage, and then you should be on to more solid foods. Mind you, you should still probably avoid anything tough or chewy, and go easy on the carbs. Just my 2 cents...

[travelgirl 3]

Ok, after reading my last post here, I realize that I might have come off as a little "holier than thou", so I'm going to make a confession here. :kiss I did something really stupid today at lunch, and I totally regret it right now. I was in a rush, so I decided to try one of the McDonald's snack wraps. I pulled in the drive thru, and only saw the crispy ones listed. I've never had one before, so I didn't know how big they were.....idiot me, I ordered TWO, one honey-mustard and one ranch, since I didn't know which one I'd like.:embarassed: So I'm sitting there, eating the first one slowly, chewing very well....taking small bites,:rolleyes and it all goes down pretty well....and instead of telling myself that I'm not hungry anymore (which was TRUE) and calling it good, I sat there and I ATE THE SECOND ONE!!!:omg: And then I went to enter in my faux pa (sp?) into Fitday, and I'm looking at McDonald's website, and realize that they DO have grilled snack wraps,:tired and that I would have been much better off if I'd ordered just ONE of them (not two, and NOT breaded)....:think

And now I'm kicking myself, wondering if I've set myself back a week (I know I haven't, not over one stupid mistake), but I can't help feeling like such a heel. Just because I CAN eat that stuff doesn't mean I SHOULD.:faint:

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. (((hugs)))

[TracyinKS 7]

Travel Girl: Don't beat yourself up!!!!!!!!!!! right now I could eat two snack wraps a LARGE fry and suck down a shake........ Live and Learn!

To think of other fast food choices I've come up with:

Burgers/ Grilled chicken NO bun

Wendys: Yogurt, Chili, Salads, Chicken salad

McD's: Yogurt, salad,

KFC, PopEyes, Boston Market: Broasted Chicken

Can't think of anything else right now.