Kathy473

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I AM GIVING UP STUFFING AND ROLLS FOR THE FIRST TIME AND I FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT! MAYBE NEXT YEAR!! XOXO'S TO ALL AND HAVE A GREAT DAY!

Finally! I have made it back into to 100's!!! I hopped on the scale this morning and it read 199!!! I was so happy I could have cried. I haven't been in the 100's since after I had my daughter in 1999. It felt great! And now with Thanksgiving tomorrow and Christmas next, I know that I can handle all the high fat and high calorie food that I am going to be around. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! :Bunny

I remembered someone asking for different recipes for Soups and I found this website that has 58 recipes. www.soup.com It will take you to the Knorr website and just type in 'soup' into the search bar. Some of the recipes are Soup recipes and a few are recipes that use a soup mix in it so just read through them. I hope this helps.

Same here...I used Dr. Spivak and I was self-pay. He is absolutely wonderful and his staff is great. If your insurance doesn't cover the surgery I would definitely go with him if you want a great experience with everything.

That is so funny but sick at the same time!

Congrats! You made it through. I had my first fill a couple of weeks ago and Dr. Spivak made it very easy. I didn't feel alot of restriction for a few days so be careful!

Try some herbal tea or coffee...it's something...better than nothing.

Don't forget to wear comfy clothes that are not tight and easy on your tummy. And take a pillow with you to hold on to when you need to cough or going over bumps in the road. It does help, I promise! I know about the bumps on Houston highways...bad traffic and always construction. Who is doing your surgery? Dr. Spivak did mine and I just love him to bits! He is wonderful and the staff is excellent! As far as the Vitamins...I started out with Flinstones and then Centrum liquid and by the grace of God....Viactiv came out with a Multi-Vitamin chocolate chew like the Calcium chews!!! Woohoo! So, I chew 1 vitamin and 1 calcium chew in the morning and 1 more calcium chew in the evening. They are great! I also drink the Soup At Hand Soups...when you can tolerated the creamy soups.

So far, so good!! It has made a big difference the past 2 1/2 months that I have had it! I feel better about myself both inside and out. The outer changes have been great! My face has cleared up, I am in my 'old, smaller' clothes that were shoved into the back of the closet! I get compliments from people on how good I look. The inner feelings are so great! I feel like I can do more, I am happier...my sex life ROCKS! Not that it didn't before but I am in the mood ALOT more lately...LOL! My husband is really loving that! My kids notice the difference and that makes me feel great! So is it all that I expected? Yes and more!!

It is worth it!! It's great that you are so positive! I have gone from a 20 to a 16 since my surgery and it feels great! I cleaned out some of my clothes the other day and it felt unreal!!

I know how you feel...I looked up the meanings and still type out everything!!! I don't even say the abbreviations when I speak to someone because THEN you have to explain it so it is just easier and more efficient to say it or type it. I think the only thing I have abbreviated on this message board is PB and that's only because the thought of having one is just so disgusting, the further away from it I am the better!!!

Mushed bananas w/FF whipped cream Frozen SF/FF yogurt w/FF whipped cream Any Soup at Hand

Welcome Back! I would have refried beans and some cheese, little sour cream and some salsa on it....I would usually make mine like a 7 layer dip. It should fill you up pretty well, just take it slow. Good luck!

I am happy to report that I was able to have Olive Garden!! Woohoo!! My husband and I work together and he wanted the salad and breadsticks and I wanted the soup for lunch yesterday. I had the Pasta Fagioli and it was great!! It stayed down and was very filling. I am very aware of my fill and take my time. I guess I chew my food very well because I ate the take-out size bowl which is actually a 16oz. size container but not filled to the top. Is that good or bad?? And I ordered 2 soups so I could have some for today and I have noticed that eating it today that I am filling up a little sooner than yesterday. Now I know that is a good sign. I miss the breadsticks but my thighs don't!! Anyways, I just wanted to share that tidbit with everyone. It was definitely a break from the ordinary.

In the morning, after going to the bathroom, wearing my lightweight pj's. Scale is right on with the docs!

***KNOCKING ON WOOD*** I have not had one yet! But, I found that if what I eat has some type of sauce or gravy on it then it goes down great! I had some salmon the other night and it was kind of dry and I had to get up and take a walk and stretch it out and then it was fine. I had my first fill last week and I can really tell when I have hit my limit. I try to make the conscious effort of not having one so I quit early or go pretty slow but keep everything pretty moist and chewed really well. Last night I had some grilled chicken and I cut it up into small, diced up pieces (baby size) and for each piece of chicken I ate it had 2 navy beans with it to make it moist. Just a little trick I figured out. I remember my doctor saying that anything with the consistency of chewed, moist cake or chewed up potato chips will go through the band so I make sure that everything I eat has that texture. Hope this helps.

I usually have just 2 scrambled eggs w/salsa or a packet of grits or oatmeal. But I did find that the 'less sugar' cereals are really good. My favorite is Fruity Pebbles. Those go down pretty well and stay put. I usually let them get a little wet before I eat them. And they are about 150 calories w/skim milk. Hope this helps.

"Surprise!!! Look at me!!!" & "Oh my God! You look great! What have you been doing!?" The one phrase you think of and the other they will be saying! Don't worry about it so much, if anything they will be happy in the end for you because you are getting healthier day by day. It's not like you meant to hurt or lie, just the opposite. I didn't tell alot of people that I was doing this and they only have questions about "it" not why I chose not to tell them. I really didn't want to make a big production of it. Good luck!

I don't know what "brand" my Lap-Band is or what size it is but as far as seeing it on the stomach, my doctor gives each patient a color picture of "your" band on "your" stomach and the picture of the barium swallow that you do after the surgery. It is very cool!

My doctor never told me to quit prior to surgery. hmmm. But then again I only smoke at night and maybe have 4-6 per day. I guess he might have thought that was enough to not have me quit totally.

My band is great and has changed my life...because I am starting to feel like myself again and my self-esteem has been recharged! The 'sexy' factor is starting to come back too! My husband loved me no matter what but I love the feeling that I feel when he tells me that he can see the weight loss in my legs and my waist and how it feels when he holds me is out of this world!

It is all trial and error. I had alot of different things on the soft food stage. Buy some fat free, sugar free frozen yogurt and add some fat free whipped cream to it...'pretend' it is a sundae, or mash up some bananas and get some fat free vanilla pudding w/whipped topping...yummy! I am a big sweet freak and this helped out alot with those sugar cravings....I became a whipped cream fanatic at night! I put it on my Jell-o too. I would also buy the less sugar cereals (Fruity Pebbles!) and let it get a little soggy and it would go down fine....sugar free popsicles and fudgsicles are great too. But as far as the meals I would have eggs, grits or oatmeal in the morning. Lunch would be tuna w/mayo and seasonings or a Soup-at-Hand...dinner i loved eating refried beans with ALL the fixings but lettuce and w/out the chips or taco shells or a gourmet soup...a soup different from lunchtime to kind of jazz it up a little or baked fish w/mashed potatos. But bread, NO WAY!!! WOOOO...that just hurts. Do not worry about the carbs so much because if you think about...exactly how much are you actually getting down? Not much....it isn't like you are eating a pizza or the never-ending pasta bowl at the Olive Garden! You are not taking in that many carbs like you might have done before...I had to get my mind wrapped around that and now I am eating carbs but not alot. Good luck!

Good luck and let us know how you are doing!!

I have done ok with sodas but I just stay away because of the sodium in them. But I have the same problem with candy but found out yesterday that if you have a Twizzler, watch out! Those can get ya! I had one from the Halloween candy bowl at home and I had a piece out of the fun size pack and I think because it is sticky and chewy that it was hard to get down....so no more of those! So I think I will stick to dark chocolate and melt-in-your mouth candies! Just not a whole bag of them!! Moderation is key!!

OUCH! I am so sorry that happened to you. I almost had a bad moment last night at dinner with my hubby and kids. They wanted Chinese and I figured I would eat the grilled salmon. Well, after my fill last week I have been eating fish but I think it was a little dry and I had to stop, get up and go to the bathroom and walk around for a bit and stretch until the pain passed and then I was fine. And it killed me not to be able to drink the large glass of water in front of me! I knew that if I did I would for sure have something come back up. So far I haven't had anything get stuck or come back up *knocking on wood*!! I have figured out that the smaller and more wet the bite is the better! Sauces and gravy are a big factor anymore, just have to watch the calories in them. And what others have said about the warm tea, even coffee or hot lemon water might help. But just watch those bite sizes!! Take care.