Big-D

I read this in a book, so it must be true. To all mouth breathers: STOP breathing that way! Everyone should breathe through your nose. Why? Because that's how your body gets nitric oxide. Why is that important? Because nitric oxide will cleanse your body and improve circulation (plus other benefits). Couldn't you get nitric oxide by breathing through the mouth? No. Why? Because there are specialized cells in the nose that produce nitric oxide. Where did I read this? On pages 228 through 233 of the book, "YOU: Staying Young" by Michael F. Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-9256-6, ISBN-10: 0-7432-9256-1, October 2007 Read the book to know more as they make several claims as to why nitric oxide is important. Why am I sharing this with you? Because no one ever told me why breathing through the nose was important and since I know a lot of overweight people breathe through their mouth, like me, then this might be a good place to let you know about this important little tip that costs you nothing but some behavior modification. <breathing through the nose> -- Danny

I don't understand why we are restricted to 2 oz. per hour of food? Is this the lap band diet? Or is this necessary to shrink the stomach? Or if you eat more, will it cause the upper stomach to be larger than 2 oz.? I'm trying to understand because I just measured out 2 oz. of cheese Soup and it is hardly anything. Just enough to barely coat the bottom of the pot I'm using to heat it up. Heck, I'll probably evaporate 1/2 an oz. heating it.

Was your surgery at Presby?

I've eaten some yogurt (not a full 6 oz. cup, just about a third) since I first started this thread. I covered the Slim-Fast and put it back in the fridge. I'm hungry right now. I last ate about 30 minutes ago. I usually squelch the hunger with Water, so I'm not concerned that I want to eat right now.

I guess you can add me to this list.

Well, apparently I can't have Slim-Fast. I just spoke to the dietitian and she said that I can only have 2 oz. every hour so the Slim-Fast could only be consumed over a 5 1/2 hour time period. Even though it is 15 grams of Protein, she said it is a poor way to get the 70 grams that I need every day. She said I need to consume the high-protein powders with my meals. Boy that sucks! I tried 8 oz. of Scitec Nutrition's Protein Delite just prior to my surgery and could hardly stomach it. I had a sick sweet coconut smell. I mixed with Water, but half-way through I had to mix some milk with it. How can people do this??

I'm 4 days post-op and I was last told to only eat 2 oz. every hour, but I think that's too little. I mean, right now I'm drinking High Protein Slim-Fast 11 oz. drink, so am I violating the rules? I don't think I'm getting enough protein, so I think I need this.

It sounds like there is a lot of leeway with the dieting. My doc had me on phase I, the clear liquid phase for 3 days after surgery. Now I'm in phase II, which means I should be doing liquid protein. I don't think I'm getting enough protein, but I know I'm losing weight quickly. I too have a hard time with the taste of the high protein drinks. Phase II will last for 5 weeks, so after the first week of February, I'll graduate to phase III which basically means I'll be back to "normal" eating except my capacity to gorge will be greatly limited. By that time, I will have had my first fill. So that's what my doctor requires.

So you have been dieting before you surgery, right? It looks like you made a lot of progress. How long have you been dieting?

Well, I had potato soup tonight and had more than 2 oz. My wife got mad at me and said that I'm ruining this weight loss surgery. Yes, I had more than 2 oz. Maybe it was 6 oz. or 8 oz., but I don't think I've wrecked my surgery. I will be successful.

THIS IS UNOFFICIAL, but... According to my home scale which I don't know how it compares to the doctor's scale, I now weigh 336 lbs. which means I've lost 14 lbs. (4% reduction)! Tada!

Taco Bell Cheesy Gordita Crunch! Looks yummy and deadly.

I forgot, I had a really bad sore throat. That lasted a day or two. Right now, I'm fine (3 days out).

Should Congress ban fast food commercials from TV just like tobacco and liquor ads have been?

Just saw a TV ad for Church's. 6 boneless chicken wings plus fries for $2.99 or 4 honey-butter biscuits and 9 pieces (legs & thighs) for $6.99 The commercial looked tempting, but I find Church's chicken to be nasty. I like Popeye's or KFC.

Yoinks! Now that I'm restricted on what I can eat, I'm really noticing all the food commercials on TV and food references/stories on the news. Of course, with the news, January is all about dieting, so that explains the increased attention on food. I guess January could explain all the fast food deals. Let's see, I've seen commercials for pizza Hut, KFC, Sonic, Dairy Queen, Wendy's, McDonald's, Jack-in-the-Box. The KFC deal looks tempting. 2 pc meal on Monday and then a chicken fried steak on Wednesday, both just $1.99. Pizza Hut is pushing a new pizza that looks quite appetizing. Then the other day, the Paradise Bakery sent a full color catalog to the house of everything they offer. Man, all those baked goods and sandwiches look good. What's a man to do? Stay Strong, Danny

When did the good doc do yours? It looks like you're doing well based on your ticker.

I just started my phase II, liquid Protein diet. I had some cheese Soup. I feel fine, but did I violate some Liquid Protein laws? It has 9 grams of protein. That's good, right? No solid chunks of anything. It tasted good, but at this point, anything is good. Especially better than those high-Protein drinks.

Dr. Hamn has done good by me. The process has been easy. Had surgery on Monday and I'm doing good. We didn't talk about pain management, but he went ahead and install a pain pump. I don't know if that made a difference, but I can honestly say that my pain was minimal throughout my recovery. Granted, I'm only 3 days post-op. I might feel differently in a week or two about the pain, but for now, I'm good. I recommend Dr. Hamn if you live in Plano, TX. His partner is Dr. Cribbons. I don't know about him, but I hear the women love his looks. He checked me during rounds and he looks like a handsome guy, better than his online picture. Personally, I don't care what the doc looks like, as long as they are experienced and Dr. Hamn is.

I had so problem, except for some pain around my ribs. You'll hear things first before your eyes open. I just kept saying ow, my ribs. But it wasn't a sharp, hard pain. Just like I had bruised ribs. Now my ribs may not have been bruised. It just felt that way. Today, I'm 3 days post-op and I feel fine. Best of luck to you.

Good luck on your surgery. Remember to keep a positive attitude no matter what. I expected the surgery to go well and it did. Today, I removed the pain pump and I'm still doing good. All systems go!

Yeah, I remember my dog playing with the cicadas around our house. We had tons of them and their song was deafening. I haven't heard them that loud since those summers back home in Seguin.

I had to do it 3 days prior to surgery. It was the second phase of the doc's three phase diet. Basically, a Liquid Protein diet. Since I wasn't banded, I ate more than what I eat now (3 days post-op). I looked at it like a preview of coming attractions. Needless to say, it made my apprehensive about committing to WLS. At this point, I'm doing fine, so maybe this wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Thanks, it feels great to be part of a group even though I don't know you. Heck, you probably know about me than I know of you.

I'm an idiot. I just noticed today that you were banded earlier in December. I thought you were just going. Looks like you are off to a good start. Are you feeling positive about your lap band experience?