MaybeBanding26

good luck to everyone having their surgery today!! i went in for my pre-op testing today and it went swimmingly. my ekg was perfect, they took some blood and i talked to the anesthesiologist! it made everything so real...next tuesday is the big day. im scared and excited and sick to death of this liquid diet! lol plus, ive lost about 10 pounds since last month. my surgeon tried again to push the gastric bypass...he does it nicely, just saying, "are you sure you want the band? band, not bypass?" and smiling while he says it. yes, sir. i am sure! the dietician was asking me as well, and i told her, look...i have a high bmi, BUT i am perfectly healthy! she said, "you knwo you'll only lose 1-2 pounds a week right" like thats the most horrific fate one could face! im like, i am totally okay with that! there is no emergency here, i dont need to drop hundreds of pounds in a few weeks....slow and steady is fine by me.

oooh, thanks for the recommendation. i dont have kroger near me, i may need to order it online...

i hope im not posting too much and annoying everyone! if so, you can tell me...i swear i can take it, and i'll totally stop! meanwhile, just tried another sample and it was really good! very interesting sample pack. this newest one is Dymatize Nutrition (brand) Elite Fusion 7. the flavor is cookies n' cream. it was absolutely delicious! tasted very much like cookies n cream ice cream and even had little crunchy "cookie" bits in it! 190 calories 50 calories from fat 6g fat 11g carbs 5g fiber 1g sugar 23g protein

Newest sample tried is MET-Rx Protein Plus powder in Chocolate. Not a fan. its really two servings in this "single serving" packet....the directions say mix it with 16oz of milk or water. its 220 calories and 46g of protein for those two servings. 7 carbs. anyway, it just doesnt taste good to me. i was reluctant to do all these chocolate shakes because im just not a huge fan of chocolate. so, i know that a chocolate shake is gonna have to be REALLY good for me to be a fan. the flavor was weird and the texture was kinda chalky. i didnt drink it....i poured it out and grabbed an atkins shake! lol if youre a real big chocolate fan, you may like it. i thought it was kinda gross.

So, I know that keeping track of your food intake is super important, but I have ALWAYS been terrible at consistently keeping a food journal. I often find old ones that I wrote in for 8 days or sometimes even less! But those days are sooooo over for me! I recently joined the ranks of the smart phoners and have found a couple of AWESOME weight management type apps (all for free, cuz im allergic to paying for stuff!) that make food journaling easy AND fun! One is by spark people and if youre already a member of the site, you are able to sync things up. The one I use is called Calorie Counter. The most fun part of this for me is that when you are entering what youre eating (or, in my case, drinking!) you can search for it, enter the nutritional label information by hand, or (and this is the fun part) scan the barcode label on the product!! yes, I AM rather easily amused! In addition to food diaries, you can also keep track of your exercise, monitor your weight and I think it even calculates weight watchers points for you (although, I havent done this part yet) I just wanted to share my new favorite toy! http://www.ehow.com/how_5547061_track-calories-motorola-droid.html

look! i was totally wrong!!! http://tech.fortune....ndroids-future/

good luck, melzie! i think i have to go clear liquids two days before my surgery. im barely making it through now!! lol...see you on the other side!

well, this day has certainly been filled with highs and lows! my shake for this morning was fantastic. the one i had for lunch....*barf* *hurl* *spew* its called New Whey Liquid Protein and it comes in this 3.8 FL OZ tube. its just about two shots of pure evil! the flavor is fruit punch...in theory. the actual flavor is difficult to describe, mostly because i was so traumatized by it that ive blocked out that 10 minutes of my life! it came in my netrition sampler. it was friggin awful. i was literally having to keep myself from vomitting at the bowling alley! its got 42g of protein, so added to my morning shake, i got in 80g today. but this was hardly worth it! its got no sugar, no fat, 180 calories and 2 carbs. it was the worst thing that happened to me today. lol

I have a new love to report!! One of the samples in my Netrition sample basket is called. Nutrex Research (i think thats the brand) Pro Gram Performance Super Protein and the flavor is Chocolate Mousse. Oh. Em. Gee! It is absolutely delicious!! there is no proteiny taste, there's no unusual aftertaste. its like having a frostee at Wendy's! i mixed the packet with 8oz of 1% milk and it was fabulous. then i added some davinci's sugar free syrup in Peppermint Paddi....it tastes like a grasshopper!! which is one of my most favorite adult beverages, by the way.....like mint chocolate chip ice cream. or those andes mint chocolates you get after dinner at some restaurants. this definitely goes in my "gotta have it" column. here is the info: 171 calories 28 calories from fat 5g carbs 30g protein and for those of us worried about hair loss....it also has 116mcg of Biotin, which is about 35% of the RDV. i love it!

yeah, i would pop that in the blender in a hot second! when youre dealing with the ready-to-drink stuff, i think its less of an issue. but when youre working with powder, mix it however you need to and then eat/drink it soon after to get the nutrients youre aiming for.

the thing about protein powders (if i understand this correctly) is that the minute you add them to anything, they start breaking down. this is why most people advise us NOT to pre-mix our protein shakes. if you do that and leave it in the fridge for a few hours, by the time youre ready to drink it, that 24g of protein you were expecting will be greatly diminished....

im getting banded at TUH in about 10 days....anyone ever check this thread anymore?

yay!!! im super psyched for you! we're are getting banded on the same day! lucky you, with only one week of pre-op liquid dieting! im on day five right now...

i thought i was the only one!! i am reluctant to tell people about this, not because im embarassed or whatever, but because i have serious doubts that its even gonna happen!

i have to second this emotion! i havent tried the jay robb whey protein yet, but if its anything like the egg white protein, i am SOLD! i bought this strawberry flavored egg white Protein powder a while back and hadnt used it yet. i am amazed at this flavor! its delicious! i did it simple: 1% milk and a scoop of powder. fantastic without even having to doctor it up! i tried the isopure in Alpine Punch yesterday....its actually much better than the grape! and again, the colder it is, the better it tastes. you can have it "on the rocks" too. they are a bit pricey...i wouldnt base an entire liquid diet around them...but they are good for when you get sick of that shake consistency and just want something lighter while still getting protein. and 40g of protein continues to amaze me! lol at my surgeon's office they gave me a sample of unjury plain...i havent used it yet, but i suppose i should try it out. as for medifast. that is an expensive habit! but the hot cocoas are truly delicious. i cannot tolerate the shakes right now. there is something in the smell of the powder and the aftertaste that makes me nauseous. however...the cocoa is great! at work, we have a coffee machine that dispenses hot water for tea, so i dont even have to microwave like the directions suggest. i just put it in the cup, pour on the 8 oz of hot water and mix it up. it does take some pretty vigorous stirring to get it all mixed together. i havent attempted to use my shaker ball cup for that yet....but i dont mind stirring. and they are currently the only thing offered by medifast (besides the brownies) that i LOVE. other things i can tolerate and the rest i cannot tolerate. lol the other thing i like to do, if im in need of some energy, is to add hot coffee to the cocoa powder mix. i dont do it often but it really does its job when i do! i know im going to have to stop doing that after the band because of the caffeine, but im not a coffee drinker regularly and have never had a caffeine addiction, so its no biggie.

Super helpful thread! Where did you get your samples? I think thats another excellent thing for us to share with each other! I got samples from netrition.com and I will begin trying them out tomorrow. (The package arrived today!) So, I'll be back with reviews on those. My current favorites are... Atkins Advantage RTD shakes in strawberry Creme. Ive been a fan of these for a long time. I just really like the flavor and the convenience. I plan to try the chocolate ones as well because they were on sale at Walmart. These are best when they are ice cold and are almost like strawberry milk, but not as sweet. Isopure. Just tried this today. Im drinking Grape flavor right now. Its good! The only thing is its an odd consistency. I mean, its a liquid you can see through, like a juice but it just has this weird thickness to it. its hard to describe. And also, it has an odd aftertaste. But it doesnt stay with you at all, so I can deal with that. plus its 40 grams of protein! Im going to try the berry flavor tomorrow. Medifast. I didnt buy this stuff specifically for my pre-op diet, but they are coming in handy! I have tons of extra shakes if anyone would like me to send them some. My favorite thing to drink is the hot cocoa....its perfectly flavored and very filling. Plus its so cold right now in the north east, it REALLY hits the spot! I also have a few Soups. I'm a fan of the cream of chicken soup. Just needs a little salt and Im good to go! I havent yet come across anything I dont like, but I'll be sure to pop in and let you guys know. Im planning to try Jay Robb Protein Powder, the nectar shakes and whatever is in my sample basket (cuz i've forgotten!)

hilarious!

I bought a couple of these today! i got grape and alpine punch...couldnt find orange. But youre right, they are pretty good! There is a weird aftertaste, but it passes pretty quickly and really diminishes the colder the drink is. I think I might check a different GNC and see if they have anymore variety....there was a blue one too. have you tried that?

if youre pre-op you can put fruits in your shake....my surgeon wants me to NOT add fruit to my shakes once im post-op, until im on a solid foods diet again. what ive seen people do is make shakes with fruits and whatnot and then pour it through a strainer before they drink it! i think thats pretty brilliant.

ooooh! ive been wondering about the isopure drinks! im gonna try them out!

so, happy to see someone else as easliy amused as i am, floridays!!! i dont have an iphone, i have a motorola droid x....i wouldnt hold my breath on iphone coming to verizon. they signed an exclusivity contract with at&t. the barcode scanner is a constant source of amusement for me! i get bored and start collecting things around the house that have barcodes on them and then scan it to see what pops up! mind you, ive already purchased and most likely used these products. its just so much fun!

congrats on your loss!! im on day three and i woke up with a horrendous headache! im feeling better now and also feeling lighter too....i dont weigh, so i dont know if ive lost pounds. and it will most certainly be worth it! my first couple of days on the liquid diet were away from home at a conference and my my, was that difficult! on the last day, we had a meeting...with pizza! oy! i definitely have to admit that ive been using coffee as an appetite suppresant. its been working really well too! i put in skim milk and some artificial sweetener and drink 'er down! today was my first headache. oh man! that super sucks!!! im sorry youre having to deal with all the drama and hoop jumping i'll keep my fingers crossed that you get what you need in february!

im a psychologist and from the description you gave, i cant even figure out what test they gave you! my psych eval was literally a conversation with the psychologist. i had heard that people were given the MMPI (personality test) and other things of that nature. so, i had to disclose that i am a psychologist and those things wont work on me! i was pleasantly surprised at how my psych eval went.... i will be interested to hear your guy's explanation for why all those questions were necessary!

i thought i heard that the realize band has been pulled off the market. is that true?

some insurance companies require you to go through 3 or 6 months of medically supervised weight loss and get all the testing and consults before you can even submit for pre-authorization. once youve jumped through all the hoops, actually getting approved is usually pretty quick. it was about 6 days between my info being submitted and my doctors receiving my approval.