Leepers

Meijers has a good selection. They sell the EAS at Kroger also. Target's selection wasn't very good.

I loved the Ensure high protein. If you like a lighter texture, the EAS Advantage are good. I liked the strawberry especially.

I like the Strawberry EAS Advantage. Tastes just like Strawberry Quick to me. I also like the Ensure High Protien shakes. They are bigger than others. 14oz. Made me feel more full, plus more protein. They are definitely expensive so watch for sales if you want to try them.

Fat fills out your wrinkles for sure. The lines in my face get deeper with every pound I lose. lol. But I do agree that you are able to dress more stylishly and usually after a big weight loss, take more interest in your appearance. That would make one look younger.

Last week I was losing weight like crazy. This week the weight loss slowed to a crawl and hit a speed bump. I did keep up with my exercise. And I faithfully, brutally honestly, kept up with entries in My Fitness Pal. I am eating soooo much better than I used to. No fast food, no sodas. Lots of healthy food. This week though, I ate out 3 times and went to gatherings at a friend's house twice this weekend. Wednesday I went to lunch at Chuy's (a mexican restaurant). I felt I made a really good choice with my meal. Lot's of protein, not much carbs. Didn't even finish it. Only ate about 5 chips from the basket of never ending chips. Later that night the hubby and I went to dinner with his parents at Texas Roadhouse. The thought of it mortified me.That place seems so unhealthy. I looked at the menu online before I went so I would already know what I wanted. I had Grilled Shrimp with rice and broccoli. I only ate about 1/4 cup of the rice and all 10 shrimp. I had 10 peanuts so that I would stay away from the bread but I did pinch off a small piece of the bread and dip it in that delicious cinnamon butter. Thursday I worked my butt off at work and picked up Chinese for dinner. I've really been trying to stay away from the carbs but I'll allow myself some rice every now and then. I ate leftovers for lunch the next day on Friday. Friday I had a long exhausting day at work. Some friends had invited us over to see their new house. We had appetizers and I drank an entire bottle of wine! Oh boy! 615 calories worth of wine down the hatch! Plus appetizers. I didn't go crazy over them, but it was hard not too. I had about 8 meatballs and a couple of spring rolls. And it was the first time I have gone over my daily calorie limit on My Fitness Pal. The next day I was up a pound. Of course. I am a daily weigher. I know some people think you shouldn't but I'm a rational person. I know weight goes up and down. I like though, that that one pound makes me say, hey! don't eat so much today. That night, Saturday night, we unexpectedly went over to a friend's house for her birthday. And again. Appetizers and wine. This time I didn't drink a whole bottle, but I had a few glasses. My Fitness Pal almost reached out and slapped me in the face. And...I was up another 1/2 pound. I really haven't eaten out since I had my surgery, then all of a sudden it was like everyday. It made me feel a little out of control. Though I can guesstimate calories on My Fitness Pal, you don't really know how that food is being prepared behind the scenes. Bobby the cook could be a little heavy handed with the butter. Oh and the wine. Whine whine. I love my wine. I don't drink all the time. Maybe an average of two to three times a month, but when I do, I like to catch a good buzz. But the calories!!! I guess I will really have to watch my meals a lot better on those days. I'm looking forward to my first fill this Tuesday to help with the between meals hunger. And this week all meals will be made at home. No wine for a while. No whine for a while.

Please be careful about removing the capsules from your meds. If it says XR or ER or anything about extended release after the name, you could be dosing yourself too much. If they said you were allowed to take them, then I'm sure you will be just fine with the capsules on. You may already know all this, just the nurse in me had to say something. Best wishes for your surgery!

Yeah, one time the week after, I thought I was just gonna toot and well....you know. They were liquidy for a while. Then like the second week I couldn't go at all. I recommend adding benefiber to your food or drinks (you can't even tell its there). Or take a chewable laxative. Best wishes!

Probably just a check up for your incisions. I was supposed to get my first fill at four weeks, which was last week, but my doc was out of town. So Tuesday is the day. Can't wait!

My doc says he usually only puts the 14cc band in larger size men.

Thanks for sharing your story. Post your pic. I know how you feel. I've missed out on so many pictures in the past due to self consciousness. This is the place you can be open. We are all in the same boat. Best wishes to you on your journey.

I agree with Bandista. That is not a usual complaint. Check with your doc.

I don't know if I could be so patient with the tiny fills. At least you didn't gain! My hubby joined us up to a gym down the road. I went for a tour for the first time earlier this week. I don't think I'll be going back. It's the kind of place that just makes me feel bad about myself. I was by far the fattest person there and everyone was really....bouncy. I think I'm gonna stick to the treadmill and the park. Lol.

Is there any way to have your husband be responsible for the meals? It would be hard to cook when you can't have it. I found after three days, I stopped being quite as hungry. You can do it! Best wishes!

Do you think that this is because the narrower opening doesn't allow the gas to rise and escape as a burp, so it all gets pushed through and comes out as toots? I was always a gassy person anyway, now it's just ridiculous.

Tuna salad with 8 Melba Snack crackers. I eat this almost every day. My tuna salad is one can tuna, 1 hard boiled egg, 3 tbs light mayo and dill weed for flavor.

Hi B52. I was wondering, how long after you got your band did it take you to reach your goal? Also, with as little as you eat, are you still losing or are you maintaining?

I think it was Cybil. But Sible will do!

I have a very physical job and always turn into a hot sweaty mess. It's so embarrassing. Already, I can feel the difference. I don't seem to be sweating as much. I can't wait to be freezing!

Your body is a Onederland! (Haha, a pun on a John Mayer song). Congrats!!

Thank you for your wonderful, inspiring story!

Popcorn was off my list due to the hard kernels. They could get stuck in the nooks and crannies of the pouch and cause irritation. I did have a couple of bites of popcorn when I went to the movies with my husband but I ate the poofy part off the kernel. lol.

I was totally nervous before my surgery. It was my first time ever having surgery. I think as far as the preop diet goes, just eat the things on the list. You can do it. In the whole scheme of time it is just a blip on the radar. This is the time to prove to yourself that you CAN do it. After about the third day, your body will adjust and you won't feel so hungry. Some people say that cheating can stop your body from adjusting. Most of the time, the purpose of the preop diet is to deplete your glycogen stores and thereby lose weight off of your liver. This will make the surgery easier for the surgeon. Don't take the chance. Find your zen. Remember, hunger is just a sensation. Like being touched or pinched. It's a feeling. If you can just ignore it, it eventually goes away. You'll be fine!

It seems that a lot of the foods you are eating are not solid foods. My surgeon wants me to eat three meals of solid food every day. He basically wants me off of protein shakes as they really just go straight through the band. And soup has liquid. that goes through quickly too. Did your surgeon give you drinking restrictions with meals? Mine wants me to not drink liquids 1/2 hour before and 1 hour after a meal. I am still adjusting to that as sometimes I forget. It may help you. Having said that, my typical day of eating 4 weeks post op is: Breakfast- Oatmeal or 2 hard boiled eggs Lunch- Tuna salad with Melba Toast Dinner- Chicken or Fish with a Vegetable Sometimes for lunch or dinner I have Morningstar Spicy Black Bean Burger with a little hummus on top and a side of cottage cheese. Yummy. I do not last the desired 4-5 hours post meal with no hunger. Hoping my first fill will help with that.

Catfish, what is the alternative to "blindly or the can water go through method?" I think my surgeon uses the water method. My first fill is next week.

Today I would like to talk about exercise. First, I would like to say that if your doctor or bariatric team has set an activity plan for you, you should do your best to follow their plan. This blog entry is more about those who are out there who have not started exercising and have no plan. Maybe you have never had an exercise regimen in your life, maybe you have tried exercise before but hated it and couldn't stick with it. This is just one girl's opinion and it probably goes against anything a personal trainer would want you to do. The thing is, I'm talking about starting from ZERO. So many times, the people who are telling us where, how, and how long to exercise are probably not people who have started from zero. They may have never been overweight. They may not know what it's like to be obese and have very little activiity and very little muscle. Now, you may look at my profile and say, where does this girl get off, just four weeks after surgery, weighing 270 pounds, acting like she knows something about exercise? Well, O.K., I'm not a personal trainer. I did, however, lose about 70 pounds 12 years ago. I got up to the point where I could jog 3 miles! I had never even jogged a mile in my entire life. This blog entry is to let you know how I did it back then. How I found what worked for me. And how I am pretty much approaching exercise the same way this time too. About 12 years ago, I found myself at what was then my heaviest weight ever (250). I decided that I had to do something. Being a young single woman, I just wasn't ready to go on a food diet because I had done those before. I decided I would try exercise. (Watching what I ate came later after I was seeing the success of exercise.) Don't try that with WLS. Please, watch what you eat! I thought about what had kept me from being a successful exerciser over the years. A few things came to mind: being the fattest, slowest, person at the gym; starting out gung ho and having sore muscles that made me not want to exercise the next few days and therefore falling of the wagon; doing things I didn't enjoy. I decided that I was just going to get out and walk. I didn't have a length of time. I didn't have a set distance. I wasn't going to be concerned with how fast I was walking. I wasn't going to be concerned if I got my heart rate up. I didn't need to have exercise outfits. I was just going to walk around the neighborhood. I was going to take a stroll. Look at the houses. Check out the neighbors. Get away by myself and give myself time to think. Time to work out my issues. It was wonderful. I didn't go home exhausted. I went home happy. I was happy that I did SOMETHING. I kept doing this for a few weeks. Eventually, when I was ready, I decided to walk a little faster. If I got tired, I slowed down. I didn't push myself. I was new to exercise. I wasn't gonna be Florence Griffith Joyner. I reeaaallllly eased myself into exercise. And every now and then, I upped the pace. After a few months, I measured out a mile around the neighborhood and I walked the full mile. And so on. Until miraculously, about 9 months later, I could jog 3 miles! Why do we feel impelled to push ourselves so hard, only to fail? I'm sorry, but C25K (Couch to Five Kilometers) is not for people who were really laying around on the couch. Unless those people were not overweight and had underlying muscle tone. Find something you enjoy. Don't feel like you have to spend money on a gym membership that you might not use. Walking is free. Hiking is free. Riding a bike is free (if you have one). Spend just a little bit to join the Y. They have a pool. Do a little swimming. Dancing to music in your house is free. Some cable companies have cardio and yoga sessions on demand. Hell, youtube has everything you could ever possibly want. Start in the privacy of your own home if you're worried about being embarassed about coordination. And if you can only do that video for 10 minutes....that's fine! Only do that video for 10 minutes for the next two weeks. Then up it a bit. Another thing I did, early on, was focus on my breathing. A lot of people who don't exercise are very shallow breathers. While you are walking or even lying in bed at night, practice filling your lungs to capacity when you breathe in. Feel not just your chest inflate, but your abdomen too. Increasing your lung capacity will help you get that vital oxygen to your muscles when you decide to up the activity. I also focused on breathing with a rythm. Sounds funny, but it really helped me keep from getting out of breath. I would inhale with so many steps and exhale with so many steps. It really made a difference to me. You'll have good days and bad days. But it will start to get easier and maybe, hopefully start to be enjoyable. That satisfaction from having done SOMETHING. You feel good about yourself. It shifts your mindset. You don't have to push yourself so hard. You're already worried enough about WLS and changing your eating habits. Just find SOMETHING that works for you. Do it at least three days a week. Plan it and do it. Your self esteem will love you for it.