mendypoo

Welcome to "Bandster Hell"! this is the time to concentrate on getting better, not dieting. It's typical to gain during this time but not impossible to lose. You should be concentrating on filling up on Proteins and depending on your doctor whether or not they're solid proteins. My docter wanted me Clear liquids the first week after surgery then I could add Protein drinks the second week thru the 4th week of a liquid diet. It was hard and I can't say I didn't cheat...much. But your tummy needs to heal. You'll still be hungry until you get to your sweet spot. I'm close to mine, I have close to 8cc in a 10cc band. for my first fill Dr put in 5cc and I felt like I did right after having surgery then it went away and I was hungry again but you just have to follow the rules like it's the real thing 'cause eventually it's going to sneak up on you and you'll go "Oh NOW I SEE" and have to learn real fast how to eat all over again unless you learn now. Practice eating slowly and taking small bites it needs to become second nature. have fun with your band...learn new recipes... talk to other people in a group try not to focus on being hungry....promise you'll make it thru. You've made it this far you can make it all the way to the other side!

Since the very begining I've lost 69lbs. Since surgery its 33lbs. I'm having a great time with my band. I've had 4 fills and have hit a sweet spot. I manage two protein shakes a day (30 g each) and a sensible meal with maybe a snack in there somewhere. My meal is usually 3-4oz solid protein and veggie/fruit.

I had my surgery by Shrikanth Dec 17th '07. I started July 07 at 288, had to lose 30lbs to have surgery. Surgery day I weighed 254. Today I weigh 219. I find Dr Shrikanth very amusing and his staff is wonderful. I really only saw Shrikanth a few times before surgery and he did my first fill after surgery, since then I've had fills done by the nurse and nurse practitioner who I feel is gentler than Shrikanth at fills. My boss has had gastric by-pass. Her original surgery was done by Dr Oh when he was with Dr Fox JR. She had a terrible experience and had to have her surgery repaired by a different surgeon. She is now fine and heathly but no thanks to Oh. Shrikanth is very upfront about all of his surgeries and any corresponding deaths from lap-band..I believe it's only been two and they were results of other complications that the people had previosly and not as a relsult of surgery. The office staff is always willing to answer questions and once all my info was in I was approved in 4 days. The only complaint I had was that Shrikanth has all of his patients show up for surgery at the same time 5:30 in the morning and he does lap-bands last. I didn't have my surgery until 3 in the afternoon. Very long day but worth every minute. Recovery for me was a bit longer than most on this site...everyone is different. I have no problems with PBing or eating what I want. I have 2 protein shakes a day (30g each) and a meal of mostly protein then fruit or veggie and my servings are usually around 3-4 oz of protein. Most doctors feel that the more shakes you drink the faster you'll lose weight. The only other advice at this time is that you make your appts as early in the day as possible, Shrikanth will take a lot of time with his patients and he always fall behind schedule. Have fun with this...it's life changing and worth every struggle. If you have any questions just ask and I'll answer.

I like to take a can of the Atkins Advantage and a scoop of unjury and blend them together. Best of all worlds, low carb, high Protein and low fat and depending on your mix pretty darn tasty...my favorite Unjury/Atkins mix in chocolate and chocolate with ice blended together sometimes with a dash of cinamon. Find one that you like, you'll be having them for the rest of your life! 260 cal 9g fat 8g carb 3g sugar 35g protein

I found a mixer today that is battery operated, VitaMinder Personal Power Mixer. I found it at Rite-Aide, a local drug store here in my area of Washington. I paid $10 for it and it did a great job mixing my liquid and unjury protein powder. I was looking for something I could take to work and not have to rely on power and be fairly small. Camping or traveling will be a breeze as well. YOOHOO!!:thumbup:

I've been banded since Dec 17, 07. I eat onions ALL the time...fresh, sauted whatever way I can get them!! :party: Enjoy! Just remember to chew...

After a couple of bites my husband always asks "Are you full yet?"

What in inspration!! Thanks for doing the pics..always fun to see the before and afters...especially when the afters turn out smoken hot cuties...

"What kind of surgery did you have? By-pass? That means that you can't eat anything?" No lap band I can eat what ever I want only less... I say this atleast 3 times a day. I used to talk all the time about what I did and now I just keep my mouth shut. Still very happy that I did this for me though.

Well, I hate to say it, "But, welcome to Banster Hell". I've read this so much both the waiting and the hunger driving everyone crazy. Had my surgery on the 18th of Dec and now I'm feeling great and ready to move on. I don't have to go back to work until the 8th of Feb and I'm starting to work out at the Y. The first week after surgery...no hunger and I was losing weight like crazy. Then Christmas day I got to get back Protein and I stopped taking the narcotics and I started to get hungry. So I started adding Soups that had a lot of salt. Gained weight back. Went to the Dr and he didn't say a word about it other than my BP was too high, so I went back on my BP pills and cut out the Soup. Lost 8lbs the next to days peeing myself to death. So now I'm keeping it as low carb as possible and soft foods and since surgery date I've lost 14lbs and that I'm happy with. I aslo don't get my first fill until Feb 2, and did they tell you guys about the rules for getting fills? For my DR, its liquids 24 before the fill, nothing to eat that day and then liquids 48hrs after...sucks...but I'll do it because, dammit I'm doing this this time for good. PS... sorry this was so long but I thought I'd catch up with everyone. mendy

1/2 head of cauliflower 1/4 cup chicken broth Heat the cauliflower in the microwave for 8 min in a covered dish with a little bit of Water until very soft. Mix in food processor with chicken broth until very smooth. Tastes like mashed potatoes and no carbs.

yep, I agree...gas. try laying down then go into a sitting position bending over at the waist as you get up. your body has to learn to burp. don't worry and get used to it burping will become a way of life...have fun!!

2 years ago I'm sitting in Vegas feeling really good about myself. Here with hubby, great vacation and I've just hit the lost 70lb mark. Got into a conversation with a woman next to me at the casino and she proceeded to ask me questions about how I felt about myself and if I'd ever thought about WLS. I politely told her that I knew all about that type of surgery and that I'd just sucessfully lost some weight doing JC and I was feeling really good about myself thank you very much. I was not impressed that she approached me. I feel that that type of advertising should be left to billboards and TV. If you want to share with someone you know or a group of people that expect you to talk about WLS go for it. It really bothered me what she said. I'd worked so hard, and she belittled all the great effort I'd put into losing weight without even being aware of it.

Hasta..who is your Dr in Washington?

I love the fact that we still own "skinny someday clothes" from 9 and 10 yrs ago....I'm hoping that soon I will be sharing these stories...Dec 18th is my band date!! I certainly have a few things in my closet...

unjury.com it's only available on line. I liked the chocolate and the unflavored that you can put into broths.

Jay Robb's whey protein is made with stevia.

I regret all the cookies I ate yesterday. I regret that I couldn't stop myself from picking at my kid's dinner yesterday. I regret the huge steak I ate yesterday. I'm being banded in Dec and I really believe that it's something I won't regret.

I'm kinda glad it's so far out...gives me time to get everything done and wrap my head around the fact that I'm doing this. I've already started eating without drinking, that's the hardest for me. I've always been a long chewer and eat slowly (learned that in 6th grade while in weight watchers and for some reason always stayed with me...)there are soooo many apts to get in before surgery as well...I have to have some labs re-done before surgery because Dr. likes fresh labs, pre-opt appt. with hospt, pre-opt appt with Dr for surgey I still have to get the Dr to fill out my medical forms for work; so I have to give him a couple of weeks for that. I'm a manager at Fred Meyers and it's hard to plan days off in a short time so the long notice will work better. If I had my surgery sooner I wouldn't get paid for the time off in a timely manner. So it's all working out and I'll get Christmas off this year...my family will enjoy that. I plan I taking 4 weeks for recovery, from all that I have read I'm just not clear to how well I'll be able to lift after surgery and I walk a lot at work. Mostly I think I just want the time off.:rolleyes

Hey all! I'm booked for Dec 18th for my surgery. I'm approved with my insurance but I work retail and someone else is already out on medical. So, my xmas present to my self..Surgery! I was told when I first saw the surgen that I had to lose 30lbs before surgey so I've been working on that. I switched to a high protein with fruit and veggies and anything as natural as possible. Most of the time I do pretty well, and I'm dredding the 10 day liquid diet my doc will have me do before surgery. My goal right now is 2 lbs a week and that will get me to my 30lb weight loss. Merry losers sounds great to me!!

Weight 269. Had a pretty good eating day today. Stayed right on track. No sugar, flour, rice nothing good...No really it was a good day all around.

Weight 269. Had a pretty good eating day today. Stayed right on track. No sugar, flour, rice nothing good...No really it was a good day all around.

So, yesterday started good then went bad. I get home very hungry after having a very good eating day and then husband Kevin wants to go and try the new Alfy's Pizza in our area. Hey, it's pizza, of course I said yes. We get there and ordered a couple of pizzas; but I did start with salad bar. But still ate the pizza. Why do I do this? I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that I was really hungry and I didn't have to cook it. Then we get home and I eat some carmel popcorn from the boyscouts....damn boyscouts...and I ate some of the banna cream pie that my son made the other night. I got up this morning in a foul mood took it out on my kids and got them on the bus then came in and did a walking video that I have from Jenny Craig...it really kicked my but, I haven't done any type of excercise in awhile..But, I felt better after having done the video. I did my measurements this morning: Neck: 14 1/2 Breast: 50 Under Breast: 42 Waist: 42 1/2 Belly: 57 Butt: 55 1/2 R. Thigh: 34 R. Upper Arm: 18 weight 270

So, yesterday started good then went bad. I get home very hungry after having a very good eating day and then husband Kevin wants to go and try the new Alfy's Pizza in our area. Hey, it's pizza, of course I said yes. We get there and ordered a couple of pizzas; but I did start with salad bar. But still ate the pizza. Why do I do this? I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that I was really hungry and I didn't have to cook it. Then we get home and I eat some carmel popcorn from the boyscouts....damn boyscouts...and I ate some of the banna cream pie that my son made the other night. I got up this morning in a foul mood took it out on my kids and got them on the bus then came in and did a walking video that I have from Jenny Craig...it really kicked my but, I haven't done any type of excercise in awhile..But, I felt better after having done the video. I did my measurements this morning: Neck: 14 1/2 Breast: 50 Under Breast: 42 Waist: 42 1/2 Belly: 57 Butt: 55 1/2 R. Thigh: 34 R. Upper Arm: 18 weight 270

Yesterday was a pretty good day. Very busy at work so I had very little time to think about food. Trying out a new vitamin/protein drink, Vita Day..very green but tastes OK. Also, started on Centrum chewables. Might as well get into all the habits now. The hardest one so far is the not drinking and eating thing. Also, I'm trying to start an excercise program but dammit I have 12 hr days by the time I leave and get home from work I don't have time to go to the gymn. I get the boys ready for school in the mornings and then barely have time for me to get ready. I get home late. But I love my job. I have an hour lunch break, I'm going to have to work on using that time I guess. Eventually I won't need to eat anyway..Things I ate yesterday: Juice with protein drink cheese yogurt smoothie curry chicken nuts/seeds pork ribs I guess I forgot to add veggis and fruit to that list..I'll eat better today.