donna12

I've just been going by the rule of thumb of not over a cup of food, that is what my dr said, he didn't really put an ounce on what I should eat. I go Thurs so I will ask him.

thanks honk! I will purchase a scale and start that.

how much Protein am I supposed to be eating? I ordered off of the kids menu at Cracker Barrel and ate 3 chicken tenders (grilled) that's all I could eat, yes I had a side but I had all I wanted in one meal. And for dinner I had a small slice of ham with green Beans, I thought I was getting adequate protein, am I not?

I ate chicken for lunch and ham for dinner, that's protein isn't it?

You have been such an inspiration to me. I pray for a speedy recovery and hope you can enjoy the Holidays some. Many hugs to you.

congrats and a speedy recovery! Don't forget to walk to get that gas out of there and sip sip sip, stay hydrated.

I am so hungry right now I think I could eat this computer! My stomach is growling! I've had plenty today: breakfast I had a fiber one bar, lunch, Cracker Barrel childrens plate of 3 grilled chicken tenders and dressing (don't judge, its what I wanted), lol, and dinner was a small piece of Honey Baked ham and 1/4 cup of green beans and dessert was a greek yogurt, sheesh, that's enough! I had 2cc's taken out almost 3 wks ago for gallbladder surgery 2 wks ago and I am to get a fill this Thurs, oh boy it cannot come soon enough! I need some restriction...

OMG yes I did. I called my surgeon and he instructed me to eat a protein bar or a hard boiled egg so I did. It passed. This was in the first few days, guess when your body is going thru withdrawals of sugar and carbs, it was awful. I felt horrible but after about day 3 or 4 it passed and I was okay. Hope you feel better.

Guess I should add, my head hunger was getting to me last night and I was missing "food items". I will be thankful for my brother and his wife coming in and of course my mom whom I live with, she is 73. However I will always miss my dad, he's been gone 10 yrs due to a massive heart attack and years of obesity until his latter yrs, he died weighing 135, he lost the weight on his own, something I wasn't able to do but now with lap band I can achieve.

I live with my mom heck! And family is coming in but she is my accountability, she's my food police, lol.

My mom's famous punch, yes it has Ginger Ale in it so with the carbonation, I'm out! Oh well. She did say she would set some aside for me and let some Ginger Ale go flat so that I could have some of it but it's loaded with calories so I think I will pass. She is making some of my brother's favs that I'm not a fan of so for me I will eat Heavenly Ham, veggies to go along with it that my mom said she would cook for me, of course I will help. One of our family's traditions is a dish called a cheese loaf, yummy, I will have to partake in a small piece of that. She asked me today if I wanted her to make Chex Party Mix and I said nope, don't want it around and she was good with that. She said I had come too far to put a couple of lbs on during Chistmas. I will miss the punch tho. Bahumbug...on the punch.

that was supposed to have been a smiley face not an uh-oh look. sheesh.

oh you guys, its awful, I could eat a horse! Yes I ate a small 2 x 2 piece of fruitcake, couldn't stop myself. Tonight I ate light, cottage cheese and now, well now I'm hungry. The power of prayer! Gona pray about it! )

Oh Mimi, if you only knew how guilty I really feel for eating bread and a few bites of fruit cake, oh lordy.

I had 2cc's removed for gallbladder surgery 2 weeks ago and thankfully I see my surgeon this next week for a fill. I swear, I could eat a house! I'm staying full but when I eat I don't feel satisfied, it's awful. 3 days ago I lost 2 lbs now I gained a pound back, grrrr. I'm able to eat bread which before I wasn't and yes I will admit I am enjoy it, not eating a lot of it but like yesterday I ate a plain piece of toast for breakfast with a little honey on it hoping not to aggravate my intestines from gallbladder surgery and get diarrhea. but gosh, I'm craving everything under the sun and just not satisfied when I eat my one cup. Thurs. can't get here fast enough!!!

oh no, I had the good stuff. Didn't need it around the clock but was good to know that I had it. Good luck.

first off congrats and welcome to band land. I can't answer your question about straining because I'm fairly new but I do know that the pain meds and your anesthesia is probably relaxing things and making it hard for you to feel the urge to go. Please keep hydrated well, drink drink drink all you can, sip it though, slowly but keep hydrated.

I like a handful of frozen grapes every now and then. I love dried fruit too like apricots or pineapple.

I'm 5'2" and started out at 294 so if I remember correctly my BMI was 52. I sought my surgeon out for the simple fact that he did only lap band and that I knew that I wanted that surgery only. For me it wasn't a choice of surgeries, I knew I didn't want my intestines rerouted or my stomach cut on, I wanted something safe and cancer runs in my immediate family so if I ever had stomach cancer I knew I had my entire stomach not some little pouch that I was left with. I know that sounds harsh but this surgery saved my life, it has given me my life back. Yes I'm just starting out, only 6 mos post op but I don't intend on failing. I have changed my eating habits and it feels great to fit into chairs at dr's offices etc. I want to be able to do things recreational some day that I've never been able to do as an adult. I've always been overweight. The lap band allows me to monitor my food intake and now I make food choices that are better for me. Hopefully soon I will be able to exercise and feel like since these last 6 months have been hard on me, I have been sick for the most part due to a really diseased gallbladder and just had surgery for that almost 2 wks ago. So, here's to positive vibes going your way to whatever surgery you choose and good luck.

Oh, I would never go up to anyone and say anything, it just crosses my mind nowadays more than it ever did now that I've had surgery. I'm not sure how I would have reacted if someone had come up to me when I weighed 294 and shared with me about WLS, I mean I knew about it, yes, had a friend that had gastric a few yrs back and I had even gone to lap band seminar in '08 but wasn't ready back then but prior to June I was just eating my way to a slow death and getting bigger and bigger and loved ones noticed but didn't say anything. Then one day I woke up and said that was it, enough, went to a seminar and next thing I knew I was having surgery. Like I said, it's been rough, still learning my band and ways of eating but I love my band. It saved my life.

It's been a rough, and I mean a rough 6 months post op, I've been sick for the most part off and on due to a diseased gallbladder and didn't know it and then a week and half ago I had to have my gallbladder removed so to say the least I've had my share of surgeries in the last 6 months! But with that said, I'm proud to say I'm down 48 lbs and lovin my band. Today I was parked at a restaurant getting ready to go in and place a to go order to share with my mom and take it home and I spotted an overweight sad looking woman walking out and I thought to myself "that used to be me". Yes I'm still obese and not skinny by no means and have a long ways to go and skinny isn't even why I did the surgery, I did because I wanted to get my health back but I just felt sad for her and wanted to share my story with her and tell her that there was help for her. I just felt like shouting to the world. I find myself looking at other heavy people, men and women when I'm out, whether it be in a grocery, shopping, or eating out and want to just share share share because the band has saved me. I thank God every day for giving me another chance at life. I have high hopes for my future. Now if I could just figure out how to live with this absent gallbladder and running to the bathroom everytime I eat, sheesh, and I thought constipation was bad! Just had to share my story.

I agree with above, loose fitting clothing for ride home, sweats or lounge pants and a tee if you are in warm weather. Magazine maybe but like above you will be up walking and the more you can walk the better off you are, moving that gas around and out of you so that you don't have pain later. Mine was same day surgery, I was at the hospital at 5:30 am and came home by 1:00 that day, needless to say I layed around for the most part that afternoon but by night I was up walking as much as I could to prevent blood clots. Oh, and sip sip sip on water and ice chips, got to keep hydrated. I'm so excited for you and your new journey. Good luck.

Marketingdude, thanks for your kind words. Randi, glad you're feeling better, I pray I get to that point! Honk you are so right, I wondered the same thing but two different surgeries in there...

ok, here is what I had to do: 2 weeks of protein shakes, the ones I found that I could tolerate were GNC's brand Lean Shake Swiss Choc. If you have one near you they will most likely let you taste one before you buy. I also bought IsoPure in grape for a clear protein drink, it had an after taste but I tolerated it. I did this 3 times a day. Make sure you have protein shakes packed with protein so you don't get hungry. In between meals I was allowed sugar free jello, sf popsicles, broth, oh and I ate that broth like it was my last meal let me tell ya. The first 3 days were pure hell, excuse my language, but it was. Your body is detoxing from sugar and carbs and all the fatty foods its used to eating. I got dizzy, headache, almost passed out, thought I was going to die, litterally, but I did it. And if I can do it anyone can, believe me! After about the 4 day it gets easier. I would sit down with my mom at the dinner table with my cup or bowl of broth and have that as she ate and knew that in the long run I was doing this for my health and well being and this was short lived. And before you know it day 14 came and I headed to the hospital that morning and boy was I a ready camper. To this day I still keep the GNC protein shakes around for something quick or after a fill. I'm 6 months post op and a week and half post op with gallbladder. You can do it. The purpose of doing it is to shrink the fat around your liver so that your surgeon can work around in there easily.

gallstones are caused by cholesterol is what I was told with that said, I always had good cholesterol, go figure, when he got in there mine was FULL of gallstones. And to answer your question above, yes rapid weight loss does cause you to sometimes have your gallbladder removed or most likely or so I was told again and in my case it happened. I'm having a hard time healing from gallbladder surgery because mine had grown to my liver and he had to cut it away and I bled profusely and now I am having non-stop diarrhea and low grade fever so not sure if I have some kind of infection. Going tomorrow for some test.