sleepyone405

welcome back to solid food natalie. can't wait to know how your new recipes go.. share the good ones! I'm really struggling, though i dont think its related to my lapband. However, struggling without comfort food is HARD. of course, comfort food is one of the reasons i got the band.. my depression leads to eating, which leads to me gaining more weight when my depression gets real severe (which it is right now), which leads to health problems and more depression. I'm trying hard to break this cycle.

Eye.. salad was fine for me, I tried it this week. I was scared too. Had shredded pork last night. it was nice for a change from chicken and fish. I'm too scared to try anything related to bread, except out of desperation i did try a tortilla. That went down without a hitch. I really miss salsa, especially since my friend makes the best homemade... I have been wondering how to eat that and have it healthy, since chips apparently are out of the question.. I'm too new to eating fish that I can't imagine salsa with that, even though mango peach sounds heavenly.. Natalie.. how's the hunger since your fill. You seem to be surviving on your liquid diet okay.. but I knew you were soooo hungry before the fill.. Details Woman! hehehehe

The depression is more likely grieving for the foods you are craving, especially comfort foods. Try to focus on the reasons you got the band. Sooner than you realize, you will be able to eat most foods again, just in a healthier portion size. Even now, I look at my husband's plate when he is eating and I think "gosh, how can he eat so much". I look at my plate and I think "I'm proud that I only need to eat this much". I really see now how unhealthy I was eating. Even if I ate healthy, I ate way too much so in essence it was not a healthy dinner. I save so much money now too! My weight continues to drop each week and that has been my motivation to keep with it. Once you heal more and are able to get your fills in your band and see the weight loss, its a big motivator! We've all been through the doubts. You are not alone. You will get past it! You WILL be healthy!

Does anyone have experience with flying? Just wondering if the air pressure affects the band? Or even if higher elevations would affect it in anyway...

Bamabander.. did you have a problem?

Congrats! glad you are seeing results! I am going to start my work out this weekend. I think I'm finally healed enough. Welcome back!

there are a lot of recipes on lapband.com I also think there's a thread on the main forum on this site with some links to recipes.

glad your fill went well. hopefully it will take your hunger away! have you had a fill yet mom?

Working out is the key!

Salad is a good filler food. I had some yesterday at the food day! I was a tad worried about eating it, but it went down just fine! I was so glad I did so well at the food day too. I took your advice earlier, when you had that family function, and took something I knew I could eat-chicken salad. I had some healthy sides to go with it, and did not feel tempted nor deprived. I am so proud of myself for surviving the food day! My next test will be eating out, and to think that the one meal and leftovers will feed me for two days is exciting. Breakfast-4 oz chicken salad and 10 crackers Lunch-2 oz chicken salad, 1 tsp hummus, garlic flavored (another first) 5 crackers and 2 strawberries, 1/4 cup salad Dinner-1 cup salad and 3 oz tuna (made with plain yogurt and light Miracle Whip Walked 10 min In a way the food day was a bit easier, I think because I knew people would be watching to see what and how much I ate. Positive peer pressure! Eating out is a bit more worrisome for me. Eating such a small portion that the waitress may wonder what is going on... I figure who cares, I am paying for it whether I eat it or take it home. Let me know how the fill goes!

soon as i dare try bread, i will try that pizza

Natalie, I have no intention to wean myself. I like being here. I like the support and I want the support. As for your fear of needles, just don't look. I heard its painless anyway, so the IV you got for the surgery will be worse than the fill. Hang in there, you'll see. Mom, you are doing great! I'm too scared to try bread or pizza! Keep up the good work you two! My day: Breakfast: Scrambled egg w/cheese and sausage Lunch: 5 oz greek yogurt Dinner: Tuna salad w 10 crackers Snack: SF pudding Walked for 10 min, twice-still having some soreness with my return to work Monday

Welcome home natalie. You are right, things have been very quiet here. I figured now that everyone has pretty much healed, they have gone on with their lives and left us. This makes me sad as I still come to check on how everyone is doing and to ask questions of course. I'm doing good though. Still not hungry or full, but eating healthy and making good choices. I haven't gotten stuck or over ate, so I call that a big victory. Back to work yesterday and boy was it hard. I was so tired when I got home. I figure the first day is the worst and each one will get better. Boy I sure miss the boredom I was feeling during my time off though! Glad you are back and that you did well on your cruise! I can't imagine how hard that was, but it sounds like you made good choices just the same. Your once a day treats didn't seem too bad. I get a test Wednesday at a food day at work. I'm sure I'll do fine though. I'm going to make that white chili so I have something I can eat and avoid the rest of the things I can't, focusing on how freeing it is to not eat those foods, feel so full afterwards and knowing I ate healthy, instead of feeling deprived. Its my new secret weapon! I'm changing my thinking pattern and it does help a lot. Since most of you were banded early in the month, when is your first fill? Are you anxious for it? Afraid of it? what's your thoughts ladies?

air bubbles in your chest? bubbles you can't burp out? I'm having trouble cuz I never feel hungry and never feel full. I try to eat three times a day, so I get my Protein in. I know I should be thankful about not being hungry, but I sure would like to know when I'm full. What does hunger and full feel to you?

Welcome newcomers, nice to have you aboard!

I am doing much better. I finally turned the corner yesterday, about 10 days post op. It was a long ten days though! My band is empty, as my surgeon won't add fluid till July 5, which works fine for me. Right now I don't know what hungry feels like (other than head hunger), so I'm not eating much. For that matter, I'm not sure what full feels like either! I just keep meals around 1/2 cup and most time don't finish that. I'm pushing protein though and still drinking the shakes. That is helping me regain my strength. I go back to work Monday, so I have two more days to get some stamina back! In the meantime, I'm just going to enjoy not being hungry and not even worrying about food. Something VERY new to me! Figure each day with little to no appetite means more weight sliding off

lalaj: exercise is the key, do something even if its only for 15-20 minutes. would your children participate in a walk or bike ride? If the Kinect is too sensitive for your children to participate, what about a regular DVD workout? The best way to start an exercise program is just to start

I'm treadmilling it or walking around the lake that has a 1 mile track around it. That worked for me before my surgery, hoping that continues. I am even looking into buying a used treadmill that I can use at home. Cheaper than the gym in the long run, and I think I'd do it longer or more than once a day if it was more convenient.

Welcome Jenbass! How has your post surgery life been so far? I was banded on 5/29, so you are ahead of me!

carolina girl, congrats and welcome to the beginning of the rest of your life. I too had been thinking about you. Even checked your blog today to see if you posted there. Glad you got to stay in the hospital overnight. That had to help. Regarding the shoulder pain, my nurse practitioner said to avoid drinking cold drinks, as that seems to make it worse. For me, it was very true. dlitefull, where your name is in the upper left corner, click on the down arrow, click on my ticker and follow the directions.

Thanks Mom, I will put that on my shopping list. I'm afraid to eat meat yet, but fish is rather soft, so I figured no time like the present to try it. Just because its been awhile since I had meat, it might just taste good! Breakfast 1/4 cup cream of wheat Lunch 3/4 cup homemade veg barley soup (I put it in the blender since the veggies scared me) Dinner 5 oz greek yogurt (now I see why ya'll eat a lot of yogurt!) Dont think I hit 60 oz of fluid, and calorie intake is still low, but I can't be sure whether or not I"m hungry or full. Wanted to try to get some chicken in after dinner, but I just can't do it. I really never believed such small portions would satisfy, especially after that pre op diet when I felt like I was starving. I LOVE that 5 oz of yogurt really fills me up for quite awhile!

I was banded on 5/29 and today I have been bored and restless. I started mushies yesterday, so I think the added Protein is indeed helping. I had a LOT of gas difficulties, so I was a bit slower to get back on my feet than most. I still tire easy, so I'm glad I don't have to go back until Monday. Hopefully by then I will be pretty much back to normal. The surgeon's office told me one week off work, so I think I got it in my head that recovery would be easy. Duh, we had surgery.. SURGERY, and added a bit of hardware to our bodies. I'm glad I was able to take an additional week. Since this procedure involved the stomach and our future eating, I am being darn sure not to overdo or push things.

WTG! I think the NSV are more important than the scale! Congrats

I think part of the post op diet, liquid, mushy, real food... is to teach your new stomach how to process food all over again and to help teach you how to eat with the new band. I just moved to mushies and I really didn't want to nor was I craving real food, but I know I have to eat sometimes. The May group I am in has an accountability thread, in which they post what they ate for the day. When I seen the small amounts of food that was filling them up, I decided to try. Its amazing that if you listen to your body just how little you really need to feel satisfied. Just like when you went to mushy. I would suggest calling your dietician and telling her of your concerns and follow her guidelines, rather than waiting another four weeks. Keep us posted!

Whymomwhy.. is haddock fishy? I know I need to start eating fish, but I'm not big on fishy tasting fish. It has to be very mild for me to tolerate. I was going to experiment with different types of fish, but do not even know where to start.