Fit4Me

I would suggest you eat more. Its great that you are starting the diet ahead of schedule, but I would eat more nutrient meals. Although, we no longer eat as much as we used to; we still have to eat 5 small meals a day. Honestly, I dont think I eat 5 small meals but I definitely eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I suggest you eat a good healthy breakfast like oatmeal or eggs with fruit and your Protein shake for a snack. Eat a high protein lunch and a low carb dinner. Snack on fruit and nuts is the right path. Good luck on your surgery!

Good luck and enjoy the meds! LOLIt will be the fastest45 mins ever.

Another great source of water is lemons and ginger or apples and cinnamon.

Congrats! Keep it up!

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I prefer almond butter over Peanut Butter because it is a healthier nut. I usually only eat almond butter as a snack with crackers, on fruit, or in my Protein shakes. 1-2 spoon fulls are more than enough for daily intake. Almond butter is way more expensive, but investing in our health is important. I purchase my almond butter from the organic store for about $8.99. It lasts forever! Here are some fun facts. Which ever you decide, make sure it is all natural unsalted. GOOD FATS Monounsaturated fat Polyunsaturated fat Olive oil Canola oil Sunflower oil Peanut oil Sesame oil Avocados Olives Nuts (almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews) Peanut butter Soybean oil Corn oil Safflower oil Walnuts Sunflower, sesame, and pumpkin seeds Flaxseed Fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, trout, sardines) Soymilk Tofu

I love salads. It took a long time before I could really enjoy a salad but now I eat them almost daily. The trick I use to be able to enjoy a salad is ripping/cutting the lettuce into shreds. I rip it to little pieces and make sure I have enough dressing on it. I add eggs, cucumber, Beans, broccoli and so many other veggies so I'm not eating all lettuce. The more heavy veggies kind of help push the lettuce down. If that makes sense? Also, another trick is that salads are not my first meal of the day since the first meal is usually the hardest for me.

When you feel full, your body will definitely know it. The fullness feeling is no longer on the lower part of your belly. That old feeling of laying on the couch with your pant button unbutton and your stomach hanging out. Now, is more of a satisfied feeling before you are even done eating or a pain on the top of your stomach where the band is. When I was first getting used to eating and felt like I was having a "good" day by being able to eat more, I would get a sharp pain around my band and feels like a square passing through a circle and I would much rather stand up than sit down. But once it passes, it feels like a ballon popped and you can relax. But it doesnt mean to stuff yourself again!

I'm sorry to hear you are having complications. I've been banded 4 years and I have good days and bad days. I have to admit it took me years to finally understand the way my band works. There were days I wanted my band tight to lose more weight and days I wanted to take my band off so I can pig out on some food. But that the old me!! We cant depend on the lap band to work magic! Although I know the old bands had a lot more complications, before we ALL had surgery, we were explained the pros and cons and still decided the risk was greater if we did not decide to have surgery. I know no one really knew what to expect post op, and how our lives would really change for the better. We all have been discouraged, experience pain, and discomfort. But, all gastric procedures are the same. They all have cons and we experience them at some point, some worse than others. To say you were getting sick when in the sweet spot must mean you never really were. To say you weigh the same as the day you had surgery, I'm sorry, but thats YOUR own fault. After 9 years, you should be at a different state of mind and not let the food control you or depend on the band to work miracles. We all knew that with the band, it is a much slower weight lose than other procedures and its reversable. Which are the 2 reasons I choice the band. I only loss 50lbs my first year but each person is different. I also did not weigh as much as others weighing 250lbs. Its been 4 years and I'm down to 150 and I've worked my ass off for it. I havent had a fill in 2 years and nowhere near gaining my weight back. Deciding to have any bariatric surgery is a life commitment to yourself and none of them will work if you do not put in time and effort to change you old routines that got you to the point where we needed surgery to lose weight. I dont love my band at times, but I love what I have accomplished with my band. And I've learned and listened to my body when my stomach acts up and have learned to not repeat the same mistakes. Good luck on your sleeve. Just know that we all can gain our weight back and more with any procedure if we choose to not change our lifestyles.

Hiccups and burps are a sign I need to slow down or stop eating. After you start eating and have been with the band a while, you will realize how helpful burps are. At first, when I eat too much and felt I was going to be sick, I would just let it come up. But now that I know my stomach, I can burp and burp and somehow the food passes just fine. My BF already knows the signs too...lol

I can only drink warm liquids in the morning and then move onto something soft before lunch. I do not have a problem eating after 8pm, unless I took a nap. lol

I sent you both a private message.

I was banded 4 years ago too and I know how you feel. I have never gained more than 6-8lbs but its easy to lose focus. Remember that this is our life commitment to ourselves. We took control of our life the day we had surgery. Having a great support system is the best! My family and friends are so supportive and I could not have made it as far as I have without them. We are here for you, because we've needed a friend at times too. I have created a 90 day challenge for me and my friends if you would like to join us. We start Aug 5th, and I'm still finishing some last touches to the meal plan and the exercise plan. Email me if you are interested and I will let you know what to do. Don't worry, its a private group.

Thats pretty much my life too. Sucks for me because breakfast was my favorite meal of the day.

I love greek yogurt but even that takes a while to pass if I eat it too soon.

So after 4 years, I still cannot not eat Breakfast when I get up. I usually have to wait a couple of hours and have coffee hours before. For some reason, drinking something warm in the morning sets my stomach to be able to eat a couple hours later. I have never (since 2009) been able to wake up and meet friends for breakfast and enjoy my food. So its annoying to just order coffee. I try to trick my stomach by drinking coffee or tea as I get ready to meet up for breakfast, or wake up hours earlier but its now to the point where I just rather meet up for lunch. After a couple of hours in the morning, I can eat whatever. I get to work at 6:30am but dont eat until 9am. For some reason, I also think my stomach prefers room temp food. Anyone else have this problem? Any one elses stomach as weird as mine?

Eggs are tricky for me too. I can eat eggs any way one day, and then can't the next. Its annoying! lol

By the way I live in Maryland. Have a nice family reunion.

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I was drinking protein shakes the next day too and still live on my protein shakes. Protein and vitamins are two items we learn to live with. But I love my protein shakes!! I also take Greens which are 8 servings of fruit & veggies a day as a supplement. You will realize that we need supplements since we do not get all the nutrients from food anymore. The first 6 months was the roughest for me trying to figure out what I can and cannot eat. For my "bad" days where I could not eat much, protein shakes saved my life.

I pretty much gave up meat because of health issues and because it was so hard for me to eat; especially red meat. Now, I just eat seafood & veggies. Meals in the crockpot or casseroles were pretty good since its usually saucy.

Since you were just banded in April, I'm sure you are scared to venture out to some old foods like I was. Especially, since reheated food bothered me for a long time. Good snack/lunches for me were: cheese sticks yogurt soups applesauce chicken salad frozen lean cuisines in sauce sweet potato, mashed potatoes tilapia smoothies/protein shakes Pretty much anything soft and not too dry was ok for the first year (for me).

I still have to chew chew chew, especially when eating breads, eggs, or any of the food they warn us about. Chewing is a way of life now and when I dont chew properly (even after 4 years), the food comes up. I've learned my body/stomach now, so I can tell when I dont feel good. The burps are a way of life too...lol No more lady like...lol

Yeah! I noticed a lot of water helps too. But it is funny because that the first thing I thought that my pee smelled like Cheerios...lol