kabeerah

Opps sorry to intrude, I didn't realise this was a local board! Are most Aussie bandsters using the Swedish Band?

Is that all you are eating in a day? I'm almost 3 weeks post op and on a liquid diet for 4 weeks (one more to go). My typical day is: *17oz Myoplex shake (42g Protein 310 calories) (half for Breakfast half for dinner) *Either a slimfast optima (10g protein 110 calories) or CIB w/Supermilk (15g protein) for lunch *cup of Soup for snack (sometimes 2x a day) I drink lots of Water and rarely anything else. I'm nursing my almost one year old and do not know how this will effect my weight lost because nursing moms should be taking in at least 1500-1800 calories and 65-80g protien a day.

Wow Halla! I have been banded for almost 3 weeks. I would be so scared to go back to the States for fear of doing exactly what you did. OMG...REAL pizza! chicken Wings! Gyros (not shawamas)! breyers Icecream (even though they started selling it here a week before I was banded). I know how you feel about the support. Message boards are my only support. What kind of band do you have? Have you had any fills? Please share with me (us) your band experience.

-17lbs 1 week out -10lbs 2 week out

-17lbs 1 week out -10lbs 2 week out

Oh yeah, I live in Saudi. You should see how shapely the women are here and they all know how to Belly Dance. My good friend is Labanese and is thick but in all the right places and owes it all to Belly Dancing. She says it's in their genes.

I don't know, I guess I'm picturing myself sucking it in and the band slipping around it...Probably highly unlikely for someone my size, but it made me think.

ok Guys and Gals, thanks for all the ideas. I made a califlower and cottage cheese soup. It was great, even my kids ate it!

I was checking myself out today, my tummy has gone down ALOT. I caught myself about to suck it in while imaging future weight lost. I usually suck it in while excercising too (but I haven't since banded). Does anyone know if it causes any damage to suck in your belly?

Yes Jack I agree, did you see my other post about liquid Stevia? I'm a herbal tea, habicus loving, lemonade drinking gal. How much liquid stevia to a pitcher? I'm leaving that Chyrstal light alone!

Why didn't you ask these questions BEFORE you ate them? I guess at five weeks out you are allowed to eat these foods, if your doc said so, but you sound like you are testing your band. Take it easy. Try things out but do so in moderation. The tone of your post scares me.

Oh Kimi, I don't know what to say. I feel so bad for you. Honestly I know how you feel. My original Surgeon kept delaying my date every two weeks. I was at wits end when he told me it should be in about two weeks and when I went to the hospital for another matter found out he was on vacation for a month! I was like how do I have surgury in two weeks and he is on vacation. I automactically went into depression. I felt like you said you did, "I can't even begin to describe the absolute devastation and dissapointment of getting so close to changing your whole life and have it all taken away so easily." Well after a few days of not even knowing how I could get thru another day, I started calling around for another doc and had my band placed about two weeks later! When i look back at things, i think about how god has always protected me from certain situations and I honestly feel that by not going with my original surgeon I am much better off. Look around and find someone who will band you and use all the records and test you have done. Don't let everything that you did be in vain. My daughter is calling me rfrom the potty, she's finished, so I gotta go

My doc has me on full liquids for 4 weeks. I asked him (just to ask) if that was a hard rule and he said no that I could advance if I like to mushies but that it would slow my weight loss. Not once did he mention healing. I knew when I decided to get the band done here (Saudi Arabia) that I would just be using their excellent surgeons to install the device, but I knew that I would pretty much have to educate myself on how to work this band. I asked him if he was going to send me to a nutritionist (just asking cuz I knew that they probably to not have a WLS nutritionist here and especially a band friendly one). He said, "I am your nutritionist, your pyschologist, and your surgeon" and then gave me his mobile number to contact him whenever I need him...lol! I love my surgeon, but I do not believe everything he says. If it's any encouargement to you I plan on sticking out the four weeks of liquids.

Water has always been and probably always will be my favorite drink. I have CIB drink with Smart Milk (10g protien in milk 5g in CIB)or a Slim Fast Optimum (10g protein) for Breakfast, half of my 17oz Myoplex shake (42g protein) for lunch and the other half for dinner. I drink on water all day long. At night once the kids are sleep I have my 'me' time, which usually is me online on reading a book. Online has been my eating time in the past. I eat and surf. I use to pull out my secret stash and get busy, now I have a cup of Soup. Last night I noticed that I wanted something else but it was not hunger...I think I just wanted taste. So I had two glasses or Chystal Light and it did the trick. 1. The stuff is too sweet 2. It has a horrible after taste 3. It dehydrates me so bad! 3 is what I am relly complaining about. It is 11:30 am about 12 hours after I drank the stuff last night and a gazillion ounces of water later and I still have dry mouth with white tongue. I was fine until I drank that crap! Has anyone else experienced this?

I hear that a weight gain after your liquid stage beforer your first fill (or sweet spot) is to be expected. Could you guys please tell me how much you lost and regained in this transition?

Thanks everyone for such great ideas, but I still have over two weeks to go before my mushie stage. I was kinda looking for some liquid ideas before the cottage cheese (gross!) expires. Hey Jack, I see you are a liquid stevia user. I recently oredered some Optimum Liquid Stevia. I would like to make some Lemonade and/or Habiscus (I hate Crystal light). How many drops for a pitcher?

Wheetsin. I was horrified after reading your fill experience. Sometimes I feel like I have become a needle cushion after 3 c secs (with gestational diabetes so checking blood 5x a day!), gall blader removed and now this band. My tolerance for pain has increased but the way you described your pain scares me. Congrats on your weight loss. I know stalling can be a bummer (it is what usually makes me give up on a diet), but it is much better than seeing the scale go up (which is amazing that you haven't gaiined any since moving on to solids).

Yes, Kathy i live on Protein drinks. I buy the Myoplex from GNC. It is RTD and 17fl oz with 42g protein. I drink half in the morning and half at night and it really kills the hunger pains. I also sometimes have a slimfast optimum or a cup of CIB regular, but they do not do as muchfor my hunger as the Myoplex shakes. Besides my Shakes I have a cup of soup a day too. I drink Water mostly. if I feel my milk is not coming out good (I'm nusring) I will have a cup of apple juice. I am really looking forward to the mushie stage. My doc has me on a 4 week liquid diet and has not mentioned anything about healing. Funny thing is he says the oppoosite of what I have come to learn...he claims the liquid stage is to maxamize weight loss but gave me the go ahead to move on if I want. I think I will stay on liquids for as long as I can. I really have no hunger issues. I get hungry..I eat (drink)...problem solved. I want my stomach to heal and I want maximum weight lost!

Dana, I started off weighing close to your start off. I have been banded for less than two weeks and have lost about 25lbs. I have no idea what it will be like a year from now but if you are happy and content with a 30lb weight loss in a year, i pretty much think that you can reach that...God Willing.

Have you heard of Maloukia? It is a green but it is made chopped up very fine (diced) and boiled with meat and spices. I am still on liquids and was missing vegatables so I made it as a soup today. It is very nutritious. It's usually served as a sauce over rice in most middle eastern and african nations.

Hello Everyone, I really need some ideas on what I can do with some cottage cheese I bought. I have never eaten it before and thought it looked gross, all of my life, but I bought it a few days ago in preparation for my mushie stage (I live in Saudi it is hard to find so when I saw it I bought it). Only thing is I am on a 4 weeks post op liquid diet and still have over 2 weeks to go! I'm afriad it will go bad. i don't want to waste it. Any ideas?

For some reason nobody knows what galbladder pain is when they are having it, most people usually assume it's something else. In my case I was pregnant and kept having attacks all thruoghout my pregnancy. I woul; keep going in and nobody thought once to check gallbladder. Mind you I was having ultrasounds. I end up delivering my baby 3 weeks early after an attack. I think the people thought I was crazy cuz they were like you are not in labor and were tired of admittinng me to the hospital. It wasn't until my daughter was 2 months old that I was diagonoised and had my gallbladder removed. I'm glad you figured out the problem and got it solved.

Pray! That's what I did and thank God, I have had no problems (I was sent home with no pain meds).

Pray! That's what I did and thank God, I have had no problems (I was sent home with no pain

That's what I thought...lol!