HeavyHeartland

Thanks everyone! Some of my clothes are definitely fitting a but looser, but all the clothes sitting in my closet that were too small are still too small. Personally I don't think there's a huge difference yet (or I would have posted pix), but a lot of people at work have been telling me I look different, especially in the face.

I moved to real food last week as well. Since my wife is banded as well she has warned me about some of her trouble foods, so I've been avoiding things like bread and salad and anything that's made her puke (might as well learn the easy way). I guess we're kind of in a limbo stage now -- solid foods, but no restriction. I get a fill in two more weeks and I think things will change then. Right now I'm able to eat quite a bit, although like someone else said, not as much as I used to.

Hey Chris, congratulations -- you look great! You can really see a difference. With all the money we are saving on food, you ladies will have to buy a stick to start beating away all the guys!

As others have said, hang in there. I had some residual shoulder pain from the surgery gas, but as others have said it all goes away soon enough. A week after surgery I was back at work feeling basically normal, and two weeks out I wasn't sore at all. The worst part for me was getting in and out of bed -- I really felt those stomach muscles then -- but I'm a month out now and sleep on my stomach regularly now. Time is a great healer.

Thanksgiving Day, I weighed 388. I was banded on 12/3. As of this morning, I hit 338. 50 pounds in basically a month. I'm walking (on average) three times a week, drinking basically only Water, and eating normal, soft foods (scrambled eggs, Soups, you know the drill). I know the next 50 will go slower, but I'm still looking forward to it. My journey has begun with a bang.

I know it's not a popular opinion, but I'm with Roberta. I'm amazed at by how many people (and not just in this thread) admit to cheating, and so early in their post-op diets. I just went to a follow-up support group and met two women who have managed to gain weight since their surgery. They haven't been exercising and they've been eating plenty of holiday treats as well. It's a frame of mind I have a hard time relating to.

My doctor said no caffiene so no more for me. Starbucks does have a caffiene-free latte and you can get about five different sugar-free flavors as well (cinnamon, vanilla, caramel, etc.) I miss caffiene a little but I don't miss being fat (or as fat as I was.)

Don't forget about sugar-free popcicles. Although they count as a liquid, that chewing sensation can really help you get full. My doctor said I could have as many as I wanted and I helped myself to them. They are cheap at Wal-Mart.

Five days out, I was still having protein drinks.

Missy and I were just talking about this in her blog. For the first few days let's face it, there's simply nothing there to come out. If all you're taking in are liquids, that's all that's going to come out. When I was having all my shoulder pain, one of the things my doctor said was that I probably needed to poop. I eventually took some Milk of Magnesia (per my wife's insistance) and that helped things along. I took a regular, adult-sized dose. Although I am not a doctor, the only thing I would say is that if you do this you need to make sure you are taking in plenty of liquids, since that's probably what will be coming out as well.

My doctor told me the same thing. I took my first shower the day after my surgery. Over the next few days the bandages eventually began peeling away. I have been scrubbing my incisions with soap for the past week or so now (band date 12/3) with no problems. I don't take baths daily but I do enjoy my regular "Sunday soak" and am looking forward to that again.

Last night was my mother-in-law's 60th birthday party, which they had at a local steak house. As I am just starting my fourth week (soft foods) so I knew steak was out. The restaurant's menu was really limited -- although in their defense, it IS a steak house. Pretty much my options were steak, steak, and more steak. They had no soup (my primary choice when eating out right now) and no mashed potatoes (my backup plan). Near the bottom of the menu I found their very small seafood selection; shrimp, or salmon. I remember reading or hearing that shrimp qualifies as a soft food, so that's what I ordered. After choosing the shrimp, the waitress wanted to know what side items I wanted. The shrimp came with rice (which I couldn't eat) and I had my choice of a baked potato (can't have), french fries (can't have), or green beans (maybe). I picked green beans. Then the waitress wanted to know what kind of salad I wanted. Finally, I levelled with her. "Look, I can only eat soft foods or liquids right now. Do you have mashed potatoes, or soup maybe?" No, of course not. And what options did she give me? I could sub the rice for green beans, and the salad for more green beans. I couldn't imagine eating three servings of green beans so I told her I would just pass on the salad. Eventually dinner came and I got my shrimp, green beans, rice and toast. The rice was easy enough to avoid and I gave the toast away to my son. That left me with the shrimp and the green beans. I popped the first shrimp into my mouth and -- WOW -- it was terrific! I barely chewed the first one and popped a second one into my mouth. Then I had a few bites of green beans. And then I felt it; the green beans weren't going down. They were sitting there in my throat. Oh, SHIT. My first meal in public, and I was going to puke. I got up with a panicked look and quickly walked outside. Walking helped, apparently. When I got outside, I felt the shrimp slide down, followed by the green beans. Thank goodness! I really wasn't looking forward to puking in the restaurant's parking lot. I returned to the table and everyone was concerned. I told them everything was fine, something just didn't go down the right way. I can tell you what, I chewed the HELL out of the rest of that shrimp. I mean, I chewed them until they were little tiny shrimpy bits. I think I made four bites out of each one, and then chewed those tiny bites to bits. I've been able to put down lots and lots of liquid and pureed foods. I was under the impression that my band was not doing anything for me currently. Last night, I was proved wrong!

Last night was my mother-in-law's 60th birthday party, which they had at a local steak house. As I am just starting my fourth week (soft foods) so I knew steak was out. The restaurant's menu was really limited -- although in their defense, it IS a steak house. Pretty much my options were steak, steak, and more steak. They had no soup (my primary choice when eating out right now) and no mashed potatoes (my backup plan). Near the bottom of the menu I found their very small seafood selection; shrimp, or salmon. I remember reading or hearing that shrimp qualifies as a soft food, so that's what I ordered. After choosing the shrimp, the waitress wanted to know what side items I wanted. The shrimp came with rice (which I couldn't eat) and I had my choice of a baked potato (can't have), french fries (can't have), or green beans (maybe). I picked green beans. Then the waitress wanted to know what kind of salad I wanted. Finally, I levelled with her. "Look, I can only eat soft foods or liquids right now. Do you have mashed potatoes, or soup maybe?" No, of course not. And what options did she give me? I could sub the rice for green beans, and the salad for more green beans. I couldn't imagine eating three servings of green beans so I told her I would just pass on the salad. Eventually dinner came and I got my shrimp, green beans, rice and toast. The rice was easy enough to avoid and I gave the toast away to my son. That left me with the shrimp and the green beans. I popped the first shrimp into my mouth and -- WOW -- it was terrific! I barely chewed the first one and popped a second one into my mouth. Then I had a few bites of green beans. And then I felt it; the green beans weren't going down. They were sitting there in my throat. Oh, SHIT. My first meal in public, and I was going to puke. I got up with a panicked look and quickly walked outside. Walking helped, apparently. When I got outside, I felt the shrimp slide down, followed by the green beans. Thank goodness! I really wasn't looking forward to puking in the restaurant's parking lot. I returned to the table and everyone was concerned. I told them everything was fine, something just didn't go down the right way. I can tell you what, I chewed the HELL out of the rest of that shrimp. I mean, I chewed them until they were little tiny shrimpy bits. I think I made four bites out of each one, and then chewed those tiny bites to bits. I've been able to put down lots and lots of liquid and pureed foods. I was under the impression that my band was not doing anything for me currently. Last night, I was proved wrong!

Wowee, what a hottie -- you look great! Whatever you are doing, KEEP IT UP! I'm totally stealing that Reese's recipe. I am missing me some peanut butter and chocolate.

Three words, sister: Milk of Magnesia. I had the exact same problem and in fact my doctor suspected some of my shoulder pain was because of the lack of a bowel movement. A little MoM will get things "flowing" so-to-speak and back on the right track.

Last week was supposed to be pureed foods, but I ended up doing liquids most of the week before moving to mushies a few days early. Let's face it, getting pureed food is pretty difficult while travelling on the road, but mushies are a little easier to come by. While probably not the greatest choices, I had some mashed potatoes from KFC and an order of pintos and cheese (mushed beans with cheese on top) from Taco Bell. And man oh man did they taste good compared to the steady stream of protein drinks I've been gulping down over the past 20 days. I've noticed that with soft foods, I can eat way more than I expected to be able to. This morning I had two scrambled eggs and was barely full. For lunch I had a serving of mashed potatoes, followed by some leftover egg from breakfast. It was tough to cheat on the liquids (everything was measured), but when it comes to solids it seems like, at least right now, eating too much is easy to do. My first official follow up meeting with my doctor is December 28th (next Friday). I suspect at that time he'll schedule a fill for me. Then, things will begin to kick in.

Last week was supposed to be pureed foods, but I ended up doing liquids most of the week before moving to mushies a few days early. Let's face it, getting pureed food is pretty difficult while travelling on the road, but mushies are a little easier to come by. While probably not the greatest choices, I had some mashed potatoes from KFC and an order of pintos and cheese (mushed beans with cheese on top) from Taco Bell. And man oh man did they taste good compared to the steady stream of protein drinks I've been gulping down over the past 20 days. I've noticed that with soft foods, I can eat way more than I expected to be able to. This morning I had two scrambled eggs and was barely full. For lunch I had a serving of mashed potatoes, followed by some leftover egg from breakfast. It was tough to cheat on the liquids (everything was measured), but when it comes to solids it seems like, at least right now, eating too much is easy to do. My first official follow up meeting with my doctor is December 28th (next Friday). I suspect at that time he'll schedule a fill for me. Then, things will begin to kick in.

Congrats, man. I found the recovery to be fairly swift. Other than the nagging shoulder pain I had for a week or so, everything else went really fast. I pulled all my bandages off last week and have been scrubbing them vigorously to get all the leftover "dirty glue" off.

I guess I am lucky, as my wife is banded as well. The kids though, that's another story. They're still chomping on left over Halloween candy and oh, the smell of cereal in the morning, it smells so good ...

Well Chris I have a confession ... I moved to mushies a few days early. I've been on a week long trip and kind of got pushed into it. It's easy to do Protein drinks when you're home, but when you're driving for 12 hours it becomes more difficult. I know I'm supposed to wait until Monday but I ended up having a cup of Pintos and cheese from Taco Bell and some mashed potatoes from KFC while on the road. And yes, they were DELISH! YUM.

If you're still hungry, don't forget about Jell-O and sugar-free popcicles. Those are fair game during the liquid portion and can really help you feel full in between meals.

I'm on the road this week for work. I'm also on Week 3 of my post-op diet. Weeks 1 and 2 were liquids only -- Week 3 was supposed to be "pureed foods." After two weeks of protein drinks, Jell-O and pudding I was really looking forward to pureed foods, but it turns out, it's pretty hard to eat pureed foods while you're on the road. Have you ever tried ordering baby food or mashed bananas from a drive-thru? Not simple. I stopped in a convenient store during my road trip in search of something to eat. Nothing. I couldn't even find skim or low fat milk there. Oh well. I've got plenty of powdered goods to last me throughout the week, so I guess I'll just keep on doing that for the time being. Boy, I sure was looking forward to those pureed foods.

I'm on the road this week for work. I'm also on Week 3 of my post-op diet. Weeks 1 and 2 were liquids only -- Week 3 was supposed to be "pureed foods." After two weeks of protein drinks, Jell-O and pudding I was really looking forward to pureed foods, but it turns out, it's pretty hard to eat pureed foods while you're on the road. Have you ever tried ordering baby food or mashed bananas from a drive-thru? Not simple. I stopped in a convenient store during my road trip in search of something to eat. Nothing. I couldn't even find skim or low fat milk there. Oh well. I've got plenty of powdered goods to last me throughout the week, so I guess I'll just keep on doing that for the time being. Boy, I sure was looking forward to those pureed foods.

Better. Wednesday night while sitting in my recliner right before bed, my arm was okay. When I went to bed and laid down it instantly started hurting really bad. I went back and slept in the recliner and it felt better all night. I slept in the recliner Thursday night as well and it really seemed to help. Today, the pain is essentially gone. I can feel where it "was", but it doesn't really hurt today. I tried every remedy and I'm not sure if any of them worked or if the pain/gas just worked itself out. Either way, I seem to be over it!

Wow, I don't have my post-op meeting until 12/28 (I was banded on 12/3), and I'm not sure how long after that I'll get a fill. My wife got free fills for a year but I only get them for 90 days, so I hope my Dr. is a bit more aggressive on finding that sweet spot.