Veronica.N

Unfortunately I don't have the time to prepare or money to buy fresher foods Whenever I mentioned frozen foods, my dietitian always told me to drink a lot of water, so my assumption was that the water helped with the sodium intake. Taking water intake aside, I have never gone over my daily sodium intake. I know because I add everything that I eat into myfitnesspal app, including things that have no calories (like the splenda I add in my coffee for example).

Thanks so much Joanie! I'll try out Mirilax!! Hopefully it'll do the trick

OK, so first the basics. 1) My band is 7cc out of 10cc. I feel restriction with fries, breads, fiberous veggies, etc, but I could benefit from another fill 2) My husband lost his job in January, and with that lost our health insurance. We don't have the spare funds to pay for a fill out of pocket. At this point, I've lost the majority of weight from the fills and staying away from hard to eat foods like fries and breads. I still ate bad occasionally, but for the most part it was portioned. My daily intake goes like this: BREAKFAST Protein Shake 13g Protein 150 calories coffee with Splenda and portioned cup of creamer 30 calories LUNCH Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones 14 to 26g protein 230 to 300 calories SNACK (If I'm hungry) Pre-packaged Apple Slices 30 calories OR 94% Fat free popcorn 1 cup 15 calories OR Japanese Nori slices 10 calories OR Snackwell's Peanut Butter Bars (I only eat these when I'm REALLY hungry, and I don't eat them too often) 8g protein 140 calories DINNER Pre Portioned skillet meals 15-25g protein 300-400 calories DESSERT (If I'm hungry...rare) Less than a tbsp of low fat peanut butter 3.5g protein 95 calories OR a Skinny Cow icecream 3-4g protien 100-140 calories My daily intake is about 1000-1200 calories. On the weekends I usually eat what I like, but I try to be concious of what I intake. For example, if I eat out and I want a burger, I'll have my bun scooped out, and instead of fries, I'll get a side of veggies. I DO NOT eat fast food on the weekends, and still watch calorie intake, stay away from icecreams, shakes, etc. I have an extremely busy work schedule trying to make the extra income we desperately need so that's why we eat a lot of frozen foods. I drink a lot of Water to offset the salt intake (I actually don't drink anything besides water, except my Protein Shakes of course, not even on the weekends!). I also exercise 3 times a week (though I wish I had time to do more), for about 45 minutes or so, burning around 450 calories per session. I bike, which I know is not the most intense workout, but at 255, my doctor told me to help protect my knees to stick to biking or swimming. With no pool nearby, I chose the bike. Maybe I might be able to switch to another machine, but unfortunately I don't have the luxury of seeing a doctor right now. After speaking to my nutritionist (the only tool I have available to me because I prepaid for her services), she told me she had no advice to give me! She said she's used to castigating people for their bad eating habbits, but that I wasn't doing anything wrong! I don't know if I should cut out my lax eating on the weekend (though I hope I don't have to! ), but this is just crazy! I'm 226lbs and the math should be behind me in loosing this weight! Another one of my issues is in the bathroom...Sometimes I don't get the urge for 2 or 3 days. I HATE greek yogurt, which is why I have the shakes for Breakfast, so yogurt is a no-go for me. I'm also taking Calcium supplements which my doctor suggested I take which I have heard can make you constipated. What I'm hoping is that anyone reading this can give me advice to boost my weight loss again (food changes, supplements, exercise regime change) and anything I can take or eat to help me be more regular. THANK YOU!!!!!!

One of my nurses who does my fills (who also happens to be banded) suggested I buy calcium gummies from Target, because they taste great and are cheap. I buy the "Adults' gummy calcium dietary supplement" by Up&Up for $7.50 for a jar of 100 gummies. I take one in the morning and one in the evening, and I LOVE them, they taste just like candy! I used to do chalky chewables before, and now that I found these I'm never turning back!

My band is about 1/2 way filled and I can eat popcorn easily, but I do have issues eating bread and fries.

I was really scared about my band and thinking I could never eat certain foods again. I remember freaking out thinking that I'll never have another slice of pizza or a bite of some birthday cake. Well thankfully my doc put those fears to rest and told me that moderation is key. Today to Celebrate finally being able to eat solids again in a grueling month+ of healing and prep my husband, friends and I went out to Chilis. I drank Water, no appetizer, no dessert. I bought myself a mushroom cheeseburger, took out the doughy parts of the bun, and made sure to have veggies on the side instead of fries. I ate Protein first, but found that after the burger I was pretty satisfied and didn't even get to the veggies. I was thinking about having 1 meal a week to let myself just eat what I want. I've never been big on drinking anything but water, or buying Desserts. What I worry more about is the fat/calorie content of the food I'm eating, especially when I go one day to eat something fattier like Taco bell or Mcdonalds. Of course I'll make smart choices and adjust my meals accordingly when I eat out, like I did at Chilis. Luckily, living in New York, any chain of restaurants has to label all their products on menus with nutritional facts by law, so it's even easier for me to make the right choices when I eat out. Do you think it'll make a difference eating out once a week? How often do you treat yourself?

I've been having hiccups randomly as well. Never when I have recently eaten actually...And I'm 2 weeks post op so no fills yet. I also have not been having any reflux. Don't know why I'm having random hiccups, they can get annoying.

good for you girl!!

Thanks guys! Great advice! Yeah...I didn't believe doctors when they told me every ache and pain was gas, gas, gas! Seems to be the culprit though! It's probably the only thing that's been bothering me lately. Even the pain from my stitches (getting up, sitting down, moving around) has become nothing more than a quick pinching feeling. I'll have to try a heating pad!

But I called the nurse, did what she said and I'm not having those symptoms anymore. Do you think it's that serious? I feel 100 times better, no more breathing problems. I honestly think it was just the position I was laying in plus the swelling. I don't have any more coughing or phlegm in my throat and I can breathe pretty deeply on my spirometer, and it's been like that 8-9 hours already that I'm feeling great.

Hey guys thanks for the quick response. I was able to talk with one of the nurses and she told me that it sounded like I had swelling which was constraining my air when I laid down. She prescribed some children's liquid advil for me and to prop myself up with some pillows in bed (like you said Jackie). Seems to have done the job, because I feel 100% better and was able to sleep 5 1/2 hours straight with no issues (longest amount of sleep so far)! I also feel a lot better from last night/early this morning as far as pain goes. I don't know if it's because I'm drugged up on pain meds and anti inflammatory meds or if I'm finally healing faster, but I feel great!! Thanks for all the support...I was kinda freaking out this morning lol.

Oh! I'll have to call my doc and ask about that! Seems like I've been feeling the same way. I've also been having a lot of pain and stiffness in my shoulders as well as my neck. I'm so tired but I just can't sleep! It's torture! I wish I had a recliner, it might make this a lot easier D:

So I was doing really well that the hospital released me fairly quickly. I checked in at 6 AM, surgery at 8 AM and officially released at 6 PM that same day. I thought all was fine. I had some pain while laying down (besides of course the incision wounds), but it started getting better as I passed gas late that night. I didn't have the best night, I kept waking up every 2-3 hours from pain (which I took meds for) or because of some necessity (toilet, walk, etc). I thought tonight would be much better...and I am so wrong. Here I am again, up at 4:30 in the morning. This night my problem was with breathing. I've been trying to use this plastic breathing machine the hospital gave me, and just practice breathing in deeply when it's not around. Up until this point I've been more or less OK. A few hours before I started going to bed, I don't know if it was because I did a little bit too much walking today, but I started coughing as if I had some 'congestion'. I could feel/taste a little mucous in my throat as the night progressed, but since then it's stopped. Now trying to fall asleep was hard. I keep getting this pain on my right side where my incisions are, but not on them. It's almost like it on the upper part of my rib cage. It really makes it hard to get comfortable, so I've already taken a few naps on the couch where I can sometimes find that comfort. Wherever I chose to sleep though, I would always wake up from not breathing. I've never had sleep apnea in the past and I don't know what to do. Maybe a position I can try or adding more pillows to one area? I'll try calling the hospital in the morning but I'd like to avoid going if I have to, if anyone has some decent advice. See, my hospital is in Manhattan, and the usual 15-20 minute commute home Friday night to my Queens apartment was over an hour due to traffic being held up by police men checking cars. That ride was hell...Anywho, if it was bad on 9/9, I'm sure going into Manhattan on 9/11 would probably be the craziest day ever and one I'd very much like to avoid.

My diet is really strict as far as what protein shakes I can take, and the one's you mentioned are unfortunately not on my list. My doc is being pretty strict about it. I agree with you on the muscle milk by the way. The taste for me is just OK, but the after taste is what really kills me, it's like having a mouth full of stamp glue for hours. I'm pretty happy with Glucerna though, very sweet and tasty. Wow, thanks for the recipe! I'll definitely have to try it out!

It's been a bit challenging for me surfing this site because it seems that so many people have different Pre-Op diets, or none at all! Let me tell you what mine is all about - 5 shakes a day (I'm taking Glucerna or Muscle Milk Light) about 8oz per serving. - 2 cups of Veggies (I have a strict list, and no corn, peas, potatoes or beans) - 2 Tablespoons of fat free dressing - Up to 30 calories of sugar free Jello, popsicles or gum - Unlimited amount of Low Sodium broth I look forward to having my 2 cup mixed veggie salad for dinner, but throughout the day I've been pretty hungry still. Since I can have as much Soup as I want, I was thinking it would be smart to fill me self up on that. Unfortunately I can't add any salt, just some herbs (easy on the spices) and I could use some veggies from my 2 cup a day limit. I don't know what to do, or what herbs or spices I can use. My Soups just taste bland. Any ideas? recipes to share? Thanks in advance!

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Sorry for the late reply, I've been super busy prepping for Hurricane Irene. Thanks so much for all your advice guys My doc recommended too that I could take Isopure but I didn't know if I'd like it. Something about watered down drinks that grosses me out. I'm very picky with flavor. I hate diet anything, soda, lemonade, snapple, Vitamin Water, etc. They just have a gross after taste, that it's not worth drinking for me. I've never really focused on stuff like this before because I'm generally a water girl, I was never much of a soda and juice drinker, but now that I have to be on a liquid diet it's stressing me out, because I feel like gagging afterward. That Ensure High Protein sounds awesome by the way, but they said I can't have it I got to stick to my list. Good news though. As I was prepping for my hurricane supplies I stumbled upon Glucerna, which happens to be on my list of approved liquid diet drinks. I bought a pack, and they're GREAT. Really creamy, no weird after taste, just all out good. They remind me a lot of slim fast shakes, which for me is a good thing. I was so disappointed with muscle milk.....

Anyone have any recommendations for their liquid diets? I started mine today and prepped by buying Muscle Milk light in Banana Creme powder and premade Chocolate Milk. I've tried both now, and they're both OK, but they just leave this nasty after taste in your mouth that last for hours. It's taste like I've been licking a stamp all day, it just grosses me out. I don't know what else to turn to. I like Slim Fast, but I can't find the low carb version anywhere! I don't even know if their low carb ones are any good either...When I go to the slimfast website to suggestions where I can buy their low carb shakes, none of them sell it or are out of stock. *bangs head on table*

I'm getting banded *hopefully* by September 9th. Originally my insurance had requested 3 months of consecutive supervised weight loss to cover the surgery, so I got all my paper work ready and applied, only to find out that during the process they had changed their rules from 3 to 6 months. My papers weren't submitted in time for this new deadline (which I nor my hospital/weight management center was alerted about by my insurance), and even with my doctor going crazy on the phone asking the medical director of BSBS to give me a break, they wouldn't nudge. So 6 months later, here I am, I did my supervised requirement with the hospital I'm doing my surgery at. I applied as soon as I was qualified, so I won't be able to find out if I'm in the clear for surgery or not by Wednesday or Thursday. Seeing as that I have to start my liquids on Friday, time is of the essence. The funny thing is they took forever to give me an answer the first time around, I had actually done my liquids for 5 days AND my pre surgical testing (still paying that off ) thinking I was good to go and going to have my surgery, until they told me they had magically changed the requirements. Ughhh...I'm such a ball of nerves right now lol, that answer can't come soon enough.