FLORIDAYS

Breakfast was a sugar free carnation instant made with skim milk. I am not much of a breakfast person on weekday morning so I find this to be the easiest!!! Mid morning I had a small banana. Now for lunch I am sitting at my desk eating 2 oz of tuna sparked with fat free cesear dressing, garlic powder and minced onion, no fat cottage cheese and 5 organic wheat crackers finishes up my 131 calorie meal. I will have a reduced sodium V-8 and fat free pudding for a snack and dinner tonight will be a Boca burger (meatless flame broiled variety) and some sort of veggtable. I tend to go simple during the week.... its just easier for me.

Its the little things.

I understand..... this last week in counting down to my first fill tomorrow I have been STARVING. Being accountable to myself and using my new food scale and writing down everything that goes in my mouth has help more than I can tell you. Actually I have an AP on my Droid phone which tracks it for me so I feel very "with It" LOL

Are you drinking enough Water? Are you eating the right foods? I am in no way an expert.... but are you writing down everything you are eating? This helped me stay on track and have a decent loss thus far. My Dr suggests 1000 calories per day is the max I should be consuming to see a steady loss. Remember during this time you have very little restriction so you may be overeating and not realize it. If it were me I would call and make an appoinment sooner that 1/18! If they cannot get you in... call the dietician who can better advise you. This is just a bump in the road.... you'll be losing in no time. Best of luck!

I havent had the problem but My Dr told me hairloss is due to a lack of Protein. Also I have heard you can take Biotin tablets... but I would suggest you speak to your Dr. to be sure that is right for your situation.

I never paid attention to salt... since I didnt ever add any to my cooking or food. However I do now and boy was I shocked! Now I use the V-8 juice in the low sodium variety. Also use the chicken broth which is reduced salt.

My first mushie meal was on Christmas Day! It was 1oz mashed potatoes and 2oz no fat cottage cheese. I was SO stuffed! Pretty boring it seems after reading all these yummy posts. LOL My first "real food" meal was on New Year's Day! 2 oz broiled mahi mahi (local fish), 1 whole steamed carrot and 4 cucumber slices (seeds picked out)! Since then I have eaten steak, chicken, and tuna and veggie burgers on whole wheat deli rounds... really trying to be careful to diet and not to overeat as this past week I have noticed very little restriction. Tomorrow is my first fill and the band can start doing its job.

I was devestated at my 1 week post op appointment I had only lost 1 lb since my surgery the week before. My Dr explained that the body goes into protective mode and it happens to alot of people and I should see results if I keep doing what I am supposed to. Tommorow is my one month post op appointment.... my scale says I am down 47 lbs which is 25 lbs for the first month after being banded.! So stick with it... you WILL drop the weight!

I live in Plant City and work in Tampa. I am 1 month post op and anxious for my first fill next week!

I am worried my Dr will say I am losing too much and he wont give me my first fill on Tuesday..... does that happen? I am 45 lbs down..23 of those are post op (1 month)

thanks for the feedback... I want to use it to grow my hair faster and make my nails stronger... they say it works. we'll see!

I havent had the hair loss issue which the Dr , dietician and my hairdresser say is due to a lack of protein.... but I have a question about Biotin... is it a gel cap? And if so how does one swallow it?

My 6'1" hubby (who doesnt have a weight problem more than the 10 lb middle age spread men seem to accumulate) is supportive of me... but I also am keenly aware that he was not happy with all the years of yo yo diets and the gaining and losing of weight... either was I thus my journey with the band. And does he like me thinner? Yes...why wouldnt he? Its healthier, more pleasing to the eye and I sure like me better thinner! I seem to recall I was thin for a minute in the early 90s... at age 30 I lost 150 lbs on Jenny Craig and weighed 168 and wore a size 10. I am almost 5'10. I was happy as a clam. We married 5 years later when I was 210 to which I still think I "looked" thin. LOL Fast forward 16 years of bliss and I gained and lost that 150 lbs 20 times! Thus my Quest to end the madness with the band!!! Why dont you bring wifey with you the next time you visit your doctor and discuss it? The Dr can give you a healthy range for your height and bone structure whcih should end the discussion. Just a thought.

I am scheduled for my 4 week post op and hopefully first fill on Tuesday. In eating solids this week I have found they are filling me up better than the mushies were towards the end of the week. My Dr requires I eat steak and chicken before my first fill so last night I measured out 3 oz of a rib eye steak, 2 oz of green Beans and 1 oz of baked potato. I made myself eat the beans but couldnt finish the steak and potato (left an ounce of steak un touched)!! I love salad but am avoiding it for a while since everything I read says it may be hard to digest. I actually think I wouldnt have any trouble now...but after my fill I am not so sure.

OMG... isnt this the best?? I have been keeping a journal since my surgery but just found the calorie counter ap over the holidays and I am SO hooked!!!! It makes it so easy to track eating. And using when eating out is a godsend. I wanted oysters on New Years at a fav seafood spot and I just looked it up and was able to get all the info I needed. I am like you...completely facinated by this ap. LOL

Congrats on the victory....I had a similar one on NYE.... since I am not drinking these days I was the DD driver. Normally when I climb into my hubby's truck I stop to tilt the steering wheel into the highest position before getting in. I forgot for some reason and while driving I realized that I didnt need the extra room as I fit with the wheel in the lowest position! I was SO excited. LOL As for your gagging problem... maybe try taking smaller bites so you arent chewing as much food... just a thought. I too used to drink while eating and that has been a huge struggle to stop. But with the smaller bites it seems to have helped.

My Dr suggests Adult Gummies which he directed me to take after the first week post-op. They taste just like candy and I just chew them up and swallow.

This may or may not be your situation but my Dr said for the first month or so avoid very cold food... because it may cause sharp gas pains. I was banded on 12/9 and haven't had a popsicle yet... but on week 3 I did have water with ice (I was out with friends and just forgot) and I was uncomfortable for a few minutes after the first few sips. Hopefully it wsa just that but because of the sweating and nauseous you described I would let your Dr know!

On Thursday I will be 4 weeks post op. I never had serious pain... just discomfort after surgery. It took me about 2 weeks to feel normal. I am struggling with getting enough calories in.... but I noticed that this week I have more of an appetite which considering I go for my first fill next week is most likely a good thing! From what you wrote it sounds like you have the flu or maybe you arent getting enough calories.... but I would contact your Dr if I were you just to double check to see if there isnt any more to it. Best of luck!

I agree with that.... I think there is some scare tactic involved. But it worked. LOL

Chewable Gummies for Adults.... I have the Target brand which is a generic of Centrium I think. My Dr also has his patients on a chewable calcium supplement. I have the Target generic of Viactiv. It tastes like candy.

I am not a Dr or an expert. I can only tell you about my personal experience. This wont be the popular reply but it is honest. I smoke about 1/2 pack a day. I was scared that my Dr would suggest or even make me quit before my surgery in December. He did not. I was honest with him and told him I just didnt feel I could tackle both at the same time. He said he didnt like it but he understood. When I was in pre-op I was asked if I smoked and again I was honest. I got the lecture from the Anesthesiologist and I told him the same thing.... one thing at a time. I asked him if there would be any complications and he said that there wouldnt be since I was honest with him. He is a scientist and scientists do best with facts. But he added that its in my best interest to quit which of course I know. Now I am almost month post op and as I am losing weight I am have started to walk for some exercise which doesnt make me want to smoke... so I believe that the more successful I am with my weightloss it will lessen the need or desire for me to smoke. And some day I will be ready to give it up all together... just like I did with Diet coke and pizza! I didnt have a single complication due to my smoking. So just be honest with your Dr in a rational way and you should be fine.

My Dr. told me having any carbonated beverage was forbidden..... as a former Diet Coke addict I will tell you giving it up was harder than the liquid part of this diet! But I am committed to success and his logic makes sense. When you drink carbonation the stomach inflates. When the gas escapes the stomach deflates. Do that repeatedly and it can alter the band's placement. Maybe it only happens in some cases but since I am not anxious to have any problems... I am not wiling to take the risk.

My journey started the day before Thanksgiving when I started the 2 week liquid diet. I was banded on 12/9 by Dr Aquilla in Tampa. To date I have lost 44 lbs and should be getting my first fill next week. My husband and I live in Plant CIty but I work in Tampa. I have a long way to go but I am very happy with the results thus far and I am not even sure it has anything to do with the band yet... considering I havent been filled. My biggest concern is that I am not able to eat all of the 1000 calories my Dr is recommending. I am taking my vitamin and calcium supplement and what food I am eating is a balance of the food groups. I have a feeling its just not enough.