kadoane8

I have more energy than I know what to do with. After about 4 days post op, and with maybe 2 afternoons where I needed a nap, I have had an abundance of energy. Way more than I had prior to surgery. I feel like this is the best think I have ever done for myself!

I feel ya. For some reason I didn't have my normal indicators that it was coming, and I was SO hungry the first two days before then when I started, it made sense. I wanted to eat EVERYTHING! It was not head hunger either. No advice, just wanted to let you know you aren't alone!

My chewable Bariatric Advantage VitaBand vitamins have 300 mcg of biotin for two tablets. I got the lemon cream flavor which was pretty gross at first, but I have totally got used to them. I chew one in the morning and one at night.

I think I will totally throat punch someone if they say that I took the easy way out. I used to think that before I had surgery about people too. Boy do I know different now! Hang in there.

Kids food should be smaller portions of adult food, instead of nuggets and such. My family eats whatever I am cooking. This week I made an egg bake and they ate that also, just more than I did. The loved it. I am lucky though. My kids are adventurous eaters. We have what I call "Experimental Dinner Night". This time I made a cottage cheese loaf (vegetarian meatloaf) that had eggs, cottage cheese, onion, bran flakes and walnuts. While we decided we won't make it again, we all tried it and ate it. The rule on EDN is that if you take at least 4 'no thank you' bites and are still hungry, you can cook yourself a can of (healthy) soup. If your kid has been on processed food for a while, just make small changes like someone else mentioned, and replace with a better alternative. Also, be excited and act like it is a privilege they are getting to try new special things, instead of "you have to" or " you need to eat healthier". Just remember, they won't starve.

We have Dance Central and Fitness Evolved. I didn't know Dance Central had a workout mode. Sweet! I start FE tomorrow, as my two weeks of walking only are up. I did already set up my profile and played some of the gym games. Totally fun. I love the Kinect!!

I was just told not to have a heavy dinner the night before. I didn't have to do any pre-op diet. I enjoyed my favorite place for lunch knowing that rice may be one of the things that I may not be able to tolerate after surgery. Just find a happy medium!

That is awesome!!!! I can't wait to shop in the Misses section instead of the Woman's section. As a newby, was does NSV stand for?

Caffeine had always suppressed my appetite. I have been putting my protein powder in it and counting it as a protein shake. I put about a tablespoon of the So Delicious Coconut milk creamer that has 10 calories and 1 gram sugar per tablespoon. The french vanilla flavor has 20 calories and 4 g sugar. I only have one cup a day, at the most two, so I am going to keep it in my diet and see how it goes.

Why do I see many people giving up caffeine? Is is just the diuretic effects? I thought they showed that you still get like 90% or something of the water out of a cup of coffee. Are there other reasons for giving up caffeine I am not aware of?

I buy the protein shots and add them to my water. They do have calories, but at least I am upping my protein while I am getting my water in between meals. We live in Vegas though, and I am a little worried about summer and not being able to chug water anymore. I also add chocolate protein powder to my coffee to make a poor man's mocha (although now maybe it should be called LB Mocha!)

No, but that can be very hard on your teeth. I am trying to be addicted to my purple protein water though!

My husband came up with one that really satisfied me and tasted great. He mixed the unflavored Protein powder in with some tomato Soup and it was really good. I also like to put something spicy in my broth (which also has the Protein Powder in it), like curry, just to give it some more bite. I only had to be on liquids for 3 days and now I am on soft solids until the 31st. Today wasn't so bad. I was really hungry yesterday. I don't go back to the doctor until Feb 5th and then they will determine if I get a fill or not yet. I hope so because I am getting my 90 grams of protein a day and I am hungry about two hours after my meal. I find I do better if I wait at least 1/2 after I eat before I drink anything, but it is hard. I tried gum and that was NOT the right thing. It pumped me full of air! I got some vegetable charcoal stuff for the gas and it seemed to work. About the laxative, have you tried the chia seeds for Fiber and whatnot? I guess not, since you are on liquids, but I made a chia gel and I take a swig of it and it seems to quell some of the hunger pangs between meals. I also have been trying this accupressure point thing I read about where you pinch that little tab above your earlobs with your thumbs and forefingers and hold it for one minute. I have also been sniffing peppermint oil, and rubbing some "Appetite Control" oil from Natures Inventory. I don't know if any of it works, but at least it is keeping my hands busy! I also just keep telling myself, hunger is only temporary. The next nourishment is just around the corner.

Thank you all. It is better today, but I waited a little too long before my cottage cheese lunch today. Still trying to get the eating down and still have a life! I do the Isopure Natural vanilla and Natural chocolate, plus the unflavored for Soups and my coffee. The do not have that weird artificial flavor to them. I do the Isopure drinks and dilute them and add the New whey Protein shots to my Water throughout the day. Last night I felt like I need something in my stomach, so I made some chicken broth, put some of the unflavored Isopure in and some curry and sipped it. It was really tasty. Oh, and I do the Pure for my tea.

Oh, I do have pudding and I can add Protein powder to it and not feel bad about eating it! I am in the mushy stage and so ready to crunch something! Oh, poo-poo on the hubby. He got up because he couldn't sleep and ate ice cream. Good thing I love him.

Today was the first day I went to the grocery store since I was banded on Jan 7th. It was so hard. I was excited to see, however, that the commissary had the isopure and some protein shots so that will save some money, and I am looking forward to trying those. I cried when I got home after my son didn't eat the rest of the left over spaghetti that I have been wanting to scarf for a couple of days now. My husband was very supportive and understanding-polished it off before I could and did the dishes (and hugs and kisses of course). I thought I was getting myself a treat by getting myself some magazines, and I bought the wrong ones because they all have FOOD everywhere in them! I did have my daughter give me a hug, because now she is able to fit her arms around me and touch her fingers, but I am still JONESIN' for FOOD!! I had three wedges of light Laughing Cow. I guess if that is as much as I have binged so far, then that is ok, right?

They told me any tablet bigger than an aspirin to cut in half, and capsules are no problem. I was able to take my happy pills and sleepy pills the next day. The metformin I used to take back in the day couldn't be crushed either because it was extended release and had some other capsule inside the tablet. I have some herbal supplements I like to take that are capsules, but I have been scared to do it.

The info they gave me said LB patients have a risk of being deficient in B12, folate, and thiamine. I got a liquid one at Whole Foods that has all three in it, Well, I think all three. It has folic acid and from what I can tell, folate and folic acid are the same, they just come from different sources.

The gas does go away. I wasn't able to burb until about a week after and it felt so good. I passed gas, but just make sure it is gas ('nough said). Did they give you a breathing thing to help clear your lungs? I had to suck in 10 times every hour and it helped. They also gave me a pillow to used as a splint to hold on my stomach when I coughed the stuff up and that helped. I used a hot Water bottle for the gas pains and walked. Walking really does help to get things moving and out of your system. I am 9 days post op and I feel great. I did take my pain medicine for the gas pain, although I don't know if it works for that, but it put me to sleep for a few hours so at least that was a break! You will get through it, and what you are going through will be a memory.

I got the Fitness Evolved game for the XBOX kinect and I love it. I am trying to just keep track of my protein on the fridge, like a running total so I make sure I get enough. I don't want to focus on food all day. I feel like a recovering addict. But it has been motivation. I am tricking myself into thinking I am indulging right now. I made this egg bake that is so savory that I am just relishing each pinkie sized bite!

At first I didn't want to tell anyone because I was embarrassed and felt like a failure. Then I realized that it takes a brave person to admit they need help and ask for it. I had a few friends who were like "oh just come work out with me..." blah blah blah, and finally I said to them, "I really just need you to be my friend and support me." That helped a lot. I knew I would be cranky through this whole process and my husband was supportive from the get go, but he can be pretty whiny and get his feelings hurt easily so I asked him if he was going to be able to handle my being a total b!tch, and he said he could. Well, he didn't even make it through the first day. I had a total meltdown and then he finally realized what I was actually going through. He just didn't understand, and now that he does he is a lot more understanding. And he is not talking about steak anymore (seriously, I could almost smell it!). Now that I have had it I am pretty open about it, and people ask a lot of questions and that is ok. I am glad I waited to tell people until after, though, because then there is nothing they can talk you out of. If your husband is not fully on board, rethink it. You don't need the extra stress to worry about. Good luck to you!

I am new, and I have been reading as many posts as I can, and I am sure there is something here about this but I can't find it so here goes. I see all different kinds of ways to measure what you eat. Has anyone changed from one way to another and had better results? I am supposed to eat 3 meals consisting of 3 oz by weight of Protein and 1 oz of something else, a Protein shake, and Water. I am supposed to aim for 90 grams of protein a day and 64 oz of water. No mention of calories other than stay away from empty calories, but I was not told to keep track of calories. I see people here counting calories, eating 1 cup of food, etc. Anyone else weigh their food? I do keep running total of how much protein I have had for the day, but that is all I am tracking.

My doctor told us that many doctors in MX are using the first generation band, the one that caused the erosions. Just one more thing to check out.

http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-surgery-support-science/regulation-of-appetite-and-fat-storage/regulation-of-appetite-and-fat-storage.html I found this article last week, and it really helped explain to me the why and how of things. I didn't listen to the video, but maybe knowing the why of how it works may help. IDK, just trying to be supportive!

It was the morning of surgery while they were doing check in, so no fluids or anything. 2 weeks or so before surgery I was 4 lbs heavier than my morning of surgery weight but some of that was PMS weight. It was a different scale from the surgery day to today, but the same scale as a week before surgery if that makes sense. I was wearing about the same amount of clothes, I can believe maybe 8 or 9, but 15 just seems absurd, but like you all have said, "Take it!" The conspiracy theorist in me swore they adjusted the scale for post op people. All I could think of was Ben Stiller from Dodge Ball telling his assistant to add 5 lbs to the woman's scale, and I was wondering if the scale I used today was calibrated differently. I have too much time on my hands! They are used to smoking or snacking and those are both out!