SeattleSweetie

I totally wish you all the best, I think you'll really love him and his whole team!

Hi there, I'll keep this short, but if you're in the Seattle area looking for a WL surgeon, I highly recommend doctor McMahon. He's my surgeon, and he and his whole team are fantastic. He's got a dedicated insurance specialist, dedicated bariatric nutritionist, and a whole team of support people, nurses, even therapists and psychologists. The ladies who do his fills are super supportive and always available to help you out, answer questions, provide guidance and emotional support, and more. I say all that to point out that if you're a patient of Doctor McMahon, you have tons of support, and are never without someone who can help you. If anyone has any questions, feel free to PM me, I'll be happy to answer!

My first time posting a pic! Only 150 lbs to go!!! LOL

I feel for you! It's horrible being stuck. And being in a public place the first time it happens - horrifying! I felt like I was going to die my first time. The pain is just excruciating. I can tell when I'm about to throw up, cause for the few seconds before, I completely lose the ability to breathe. I try to inhale, and I can't, and then I throw up. Just wretched! Thank God I've figured out how to eat without getting stuck, but it happened a few times before I learned to be really careful. Learn from your first time and be super careful about everything you eat. Hopefully you won't have to go through it again!!! ((((hugs!)))

How to shrink your liver (and increase ST weight loss) – the low-carb, pre-op diet Hope this helps!

I'm glad you guys like the site! It's been fun to make because it gives me incentive to try cooking new things. I'll be posting some crockpot cranberry pork ribs soon that I made tonight! YUM I'm lucky, Pasta still agrees with me at this point, but it has to be fresh-cooked. When I make larger pasta dishes, everything that's not eaten in the first meal becomes lunches and leftovers for hubby. Re-heated pasta just hates me. But it saves me from having to prepare/shop for/cook/think of lunches for him, so it works out well. The one leftover pasta thing I was able to eat was the chicken-yogurt-pesto-pasta that I made. I'm not sure if it was doable because of the creamy yogurt, or cause I cold-rinsed it right away after cooking ro whatever, but that's the one thing that still seems to agree with me. As for bread - it normally doesn't go down real well, but TOAST is still great for me. :biggrin: Also, if you like my site, you'll love this one even better: FoodWishes It's not mine, but it's a site I found quite a while back and really, really enjoy. This has really been the hardest thing for me too. SO MANY TIMES I walk into the kitchen cause I just feel like I need to be eating something. Anything. I want something sweet, I want something salty, I want some carbs, I want some milk or juice. It's horrible. I talked to my PA about it when I went back to get another fill` last week, cause I've really been struggling with wanting to consume everything around me, and she put me back on diet journaling. When I was pre-op, I was journaling everything I ate because I had to be uber-strict about my carbs so I could drastically reduce the size of my liver. After surgey though, I stopped. She thought that if I wrote down every single things I put in my mouth and kept strict count of my calories, it would be easier to motivate myself as well as watch out for my problem areas. I realized I have a strong desire to graze at night after dinner more than any other time. It's like I don't want to go to bed feeling even the tiniest bit hungry or empty. Now that I've realized that, I've started a "process", sort of, to help control it. After dinner, I portion out any leftovers into individual meal tupperware containers for lunches and dinners the next day so that I don't have a big pot or casserolle dish that I can just munch out of. Also, I've started being super-concious about the snack-type foods I have around. I no longer keep bread in the house, and all my snack things are relatively low-calorie easy things, like applesauce, low-fat yogurt, string cheese, etc. It helps having something to go to for a last-minute snack before bed that's only going to run 50-100 calories at most. I get my fix without trashing my 'diet'.

After what everyone else posted... if it still doesn't get better pretty soon, you should consider going to your doctor for a small unfill. Don't worry about 'not having any Fluid in the band'. The goal isn't to have a lot of fluid, the goal is to have the right amount (or non at all) to get you to comfortable restriction. If Water hurts going down and it doesn't get better soon, see your doc, that's not normal or desireable. If it is stress-related tightness or something, you can always get a new fill later when things get less stressful.

I asked this question of my nutritionist not too long ago, and she said to eat soups and cereal as you wish, but just to not drink the leftover liquid after the solids are gone. She said the liquid that mixes in with each bite is fine, it's just guzzling the milk or broth left in the bowl that will help wash things down too quickly.

Yeah, I agree, it doesn't sound quite right. Like Restless said, the doctor shouldn't be "pumping you up" for a surgery, but they shouldn't be trying to nudge you toward one that's more dangerous, a far bigger change to your system, and has a much higher risk of complications, if that's not what you went there for. I agree it sounds like he's got a bias toward GB for some reason. If it's that he's more experienced or feels more comfortable with that surgery, you'd probably be better off finding a doctor who's comfortable and supportive of the surgery you want to have. I would hate to chance going into surgery with someone who doesn't really want to do that particular surgery, and having their mindset lead to some sort of problem...

I also am just cooking for two. When I cook, I make about 4 servings of whatever I’m making. That covers dinner for us both at night, as well as leftovers for lunch the next day. This helps me cut way down on my food bill since I’m not going out for lunch or buying extra, specific lunch-type items at the grocery store. (shameless promotion here: check out my lapband recipe blog. It’s got pictures, nutrition info and hopefully some ideas that you can adapt to your own situation) I cook what you could consider “normal” meals. They always include a good Protein (in a texture I can eat – such as meat cooked in the crockpot, boiled, or baked only till done but still juicy), as well as veggies or fruit and a starch-type side dish for hubby. Typically if I make a side dish of something like boxed Stovetop stuffing or boxed scalloped potatoes, they will actually last for two days – through the next day’s lunch, dinner, and then the following lunch – since I’m not eating them. It works out to a nice two-days worth of side dishes and cuts down on the amount of work to prepare dinner the second night as well. I really never prepare special foods for myself for dinner (just for Snacks and whatnot), I just make sure that some components of my meals are healthy for me to eat. Hubby has absolutely no problem eating like a cow around me sometimes! :thumbup: I just sit and chew slowly while he mauls through a whole plate, and we both finish about the same time and both feel satisfied. It works out well for us. As for friends feeling bad to eat around me though, or eating too much, it’s really not that bad for me. While they eat a lot of food, I just take a few bites of the various things they’re eating. I stay within a reasonable amount of food, but I still get to try everything they’re having and be satisfied in the end. Sometimes it’s hard, but in general, being able to eat the same TYPES of food, if not the same amount, really helps me feel good about it. Of course, this isn’t something I do on a regular basis, so when I go out with friends, it’s not a big deal if I splurge just a tiny bit.

:cursing: Congratulations!!!!

Just be careful with what you eat and make sure you get back on track before surgery. I went into surgery after a two-week pre-op diet (I didn't really do too well on it :cursing:) and my liver was too big for my doctor to properly place the band, so they closed me back up and made me go home and do a 6-week low-carb diet to shrink my liver and then I had to have a second surgery to actually get the band in. It's super-hard to stick to something like this, but just try to remember that this little bit of "suffering" now is going to help make it possible for you to get through the rest of your life in good shape and (hopefully!) happiness.

This isn't a weight-loss specific site, but it's a blog I've been reading for about a year or so now, and I just love it. The guy who runs it (Chef John) is a professional chef down in California and he does short online videos of all his recipes (He's also an about.com food guide and a foodbuzz featured publisher). It's great especially for people who may not be the best cooks cause you can kindof get a better idea for the technique of things by watching. Also, Chef John is rather funny, so the videos are not only informational, but entertaining as well. chicken.html" rel="external nofollow">some-good-frickin-paprika-chicken chicken-chili-or-chile-verde chicken-caesar-springrolls-ultimate-low-carb-wrap getting-under-skin-for-great-big-juicy-breasts turkey-chili-mooooooove-over-chuck garlic-fennel-and-orange-grilled chicken-breasts-with-herbs-de-provence budget-beef-merlot-succulent-beef roasted-pork-tenderloin-with-fresh-plum roast-pork-tenderloin-with-apple-dijon italian-meatballs-lets-get-rolling i-have-met-enemy-and-he-is-me-please black-pepper-crusted-pork-tenderloin Hope you enjoy!!