angelnurse

cj ole, I use Isopure from GNC mixed with water to get my water in but also it adds protein so that I can go longer without a meal. You might want to try this. They come in a 20 ounce bottle that has 40 grams of protein. They don't have any carbs in them and come in lots of flavors. I put 5 ounces of the Isopure and 15 ounces of water in a 20 ounce bottle. I drink 4 a day between meals. I like the Apple Melon flavor, but don't like it undiluted without the water (too strong tasting and it "coats" the tongue).

Deanna, You should be so proud of yourself for getting a 3.9 GPA. That's excellent. The only time I got that high of a GPA was during summer semester with only 1 or 2 classes. Not that I didn't get at least a 3.0 GPA throughout Nursing School, of course I was much younger.

ONLY 3 more semesters left, I'm sure you'll be glad when it's finally over. I wouldn't want to go back to school for anything. I put my time in over 20 years ago and don't think I could "hack it" in school at my age. Guess what? I got back on my bike for the first time yesterday. I was a little afraid and made sure that I didn't "accidently" shift gears. I also decided to skip the treadmill at the gym and went right for the elliptical and did 1/2 a mile. Had to lower my weights a little on the lower body, but I felt real good. I'm going to go for a ride this evening after it cools down a little. I'm bound and determined to lose these last 40 or 50 pounds this year!

areellady, I actually live in Spokane, Washington. I had my surgery in Post Falls, Idaho. Where in southern Idaho do you live? I went to Nursing school in southern Idaho. Did my Clinical in Idaho Falls and Blackfoot.

Nothing broken but my budget. Got the bill from my insurance company and after they pay their portion, I owe $670. Ouch! I was not racing, the bike I got @ Wally-World has the shifting mechanism on the handlebar grips, no thumb index shifters. I think that I accidently shifted both handlebars as I was going onto the sidewalk and I biffed it. It happened so fast, I'm not sure what really happened. After the crash, I looked at my bike and the chain was half on and half off of one of the gears. I purposely got that model of bike because it didn't have the thumb index shifters, I thought it would be less likely to break off the shifters. I'm re-thinking this and will have to be careful of this when I get back in the saddle. Thanks for your concern.

I too bought a bike this year and have enjoyed biking. That is until 2 weeks ago, I had an accident and ended up with 16 stitches in my left knee. I was so bummed, I was just starting to enjoy it. I'm not ready to get back on my bike yet. I'm going to start on the treadmill tomorrow at my gym, then I'll "graduate" to the stationary bike and see how it goes from there. I'm looking forward to getting on the open road again. I guess this is just a little bump in the road.

I like the Twisted protein bars from Premier Nutrition. You can get them in a box of 24 bars, three flavors: Chocolate, peanut butter and vanilla, at Costco for around $20. They have caramel, nougat and pretzels in them. I love the crunch of the pretzels. They have 15 gm of protein, 190 calories.

Add benefiber to your protein shakes and that will help with the constipation. There are also fiber tablets you can take that are sugar-free. Hopefully this will help you.

I used to wear a 9W and now I can wear an 8 or 81/2B. My balance is about the same, I think.

Vixie, I weighed 321 pre-op and went on Optifast for 5 weeks and lost 35 pounds before my surgery, so I know it's possible. With the Optifast, I had 5 shakes a day, that was 800 calories per day. I really wasn't hungry as I had a shake every 3 hours during the day. I also made sure to get at least 80 ounces of water a day. I know you can do it, it's not easy, but you can do it. Good Luck!

thisisforme, I had surgery exactly 18 months ago today. I still drink at least one protein shake daily. I use Optimal Nutrition 100% Whey gold standard in vanilla ice cream or double rich chocolate. I get in at GNC. I add SF pudding to thicken it and SF syrups to add flavor. Some of my favs are: choc. with toasted marshmallow syrup; choc. with raspberry syrup; choc. with Almond Roca syrup; choc. with peanut butter syrup; vanilla with banana cream pudding, pineapple and coconut syrup; vanilla with pistachio pudding; the combinations are endless. You can get SF syrups in so many flavors. Hope this helps you.

Mamota Good Luck! Your surgery date is my 18 month Bandiversary. You are doing the right thing, my only regret is that I didn't do this sooner. I have been morbidly obese all of my adult life and this is the first time in my life that I feel "normal", whatever normal is. I walk in a room and don't feel like everyone is looking at me and thinking "WHAT A FAT PIG!" I never want to feel like that again. I'm glad that you're not scared, it means this is the right thing for you, in my opinion. Good luck again with your surgery.

I add a tablespoon or so of sugar-free jello pudding to my shakes and that thickens them. It comes in lots of flavors and I like pistachio in my vanilla protein powder, it thickens and flavors.

They say the first place you put on weight is usually the last place you take it off. I always put on weight in my abdomen and of course it's the last place that it comes off. I've been there done that with the baggy-butt and legs look. Hopefully, I lose the gut and I'm planning on a belt lipectomy 6 months to a year down the road. Thank goodness for plastic surgery!

My Doctor wanted me to take off 3 weeks. I'm a Pediatric Home Health Nurse and I work nights, so was very hard enough to get the 2 weeks off, let alone 3. I was very glad that I took those 2 weeks off, to recover and settle in to my new routine.

I was able to go completely off my CPAP after 6 months and -94.5 pounds. Don't know if that's the "norm" but my Doctor thinks most people with sleep apnea can get of their CPAP machines with significant weight loss.

One of the reasons that you feel depressed after surgery is because of the anesthesia. Anesthesia is a Central Nervous System Depressant. It takes 3 to 4 weeks, on average, for the anesthesia to "wear-off". Give yourself time for this to happen.

Got my first fill of 1ml at 6 months post-op. My Doctor says if you are still losing 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per week, there is no reason for a fill. I'm almost 18 months post-op and have had 2.6ml in my band for 6 months. I'm going in for my 18 month check-up on 6/19 and am considering a slight fill, maybe to 3ml? I've hit a plateau and having a hard time shedding these last 40 pounds.

WASaBubbleButt is right about only being able to process 25 grams of protein at one time, plus it's hard on your liver and kidneys if you take in more than your body can utilize at one time. You usually need to wait 2 to 4 hours between the protein, whether in shake or solid form. You need to find the protein source that you like and it can change after surgery, so you'll have to experiment and find out what works with you and your taste buds. Good Luck!

My Dietician wants me to get a minimum of 80 grams of protein per day. There is a quick equation to figure out daily protein requirements: weight divided by 2.2=grams of protein per day. Also bare minimum requirement for basal metabolic functions you need 48 oz. of water per day. You should try to get @ least 64 ounces a day. I feel better when I get more. Hope this helps!

My support group meets once a week. I'm very lucky, most groups meet only once a month. In my opinion, going to a support group is so important, you learn so much. Our "Leader" had gastric bypass surgery herself, so she really knows what she's talking about, having gone through it herself. Our support group is with our surgeon and it includes patients that have had lapband as well as gastric bypass. We learn so much from each other and it gives me something to look forward to each week.

Wenjea, I used to take antibiotics 3-4 times every winter for Chronic Bronchitis and never had a yeast infection orally or vaginally until I got Pneumonia and they ended up changing the antibiotic 3 times. I was able to prevent this by taking acidolphilis every time I started antiobiotics. You can get this at your local Health Food Store in either liquid or capsules. You can also get milk at the grocery store with acidolphilis added. There is also the yogurt but you have to make sure that it has "live" cultures in it or it won't work. I'm a Pediatric Home Health Nurse and have a client that does the same thing, every time he starts antibiotics, we give him liquid acidolphilis 4 times/day. It works for him and certainly worked for me.

I found out when I went in for a fill and my Doctor tried 3 times, to acess my port in his office and about 10 more times under fluoroscopy. I didn't know that it had flipped, it wasn't noticeable to me. It didn't hurt until my Doctor had poked me a dozen times and in the process prodded and manipulated my port. Of course it was sore again after surgery but it healed without any problems. My wallet hurt more than anything!

How many grams of protein are you getting per day? How much sleep? How much water? I'm a Nurse, that's why I'm asking all these questions.

My recipe is as follows: For 4 oz fillet, I mix 2 Tablespoons of Parmesan cheese with a little garlic powder and 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried parsley. Heat the skillet and add some olive oil mixed with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to the pan. Add the fillet and cook for about 2-3 minutes each side. Then put half of the cheese mixture over the fillet, then flip the cheese covered side over and cook for about 1 minute. Put the remaining cheese mixture on the other side of the fillet and cook an additional minute. The cheese mixture forms a crust and the fish remains moist inside. I really enjoy this and the cheese adds flavor, texture, protein and very little fat.