Janiece

I always keep a couple of the ready-to-drink Muscle Milk Lights in the fridge. I think the chocolate and vanillas are decent and they're easy to grab on days I'm running late or if something happens at work and I know I won't get to eat lunch until later. As for powders, I use the GNC Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard double rich chocolate powder mixed with 8oz of Hood Calorie Countdown chocolate milk and a few tablespoons of instant coffee. I add ice into my GNC blender cup & shake on my way out the door! The Hood milk is low calorie, low sugar and low carb (Here's the label), but gives the shake more chocolate flavor (and adds a little more protein) and isn't as watery as skim milk. I seriously drink this like 3 days a week. I love it! Good luck finding something that works for you!

1) I am UBER jealous! I'm at 202 and I hope to join you soon! 2) Congrats! Keep up the great work!

I usually do one of two things: 1) only buy one or one serving size. If you only buy 1 candy bar or cookie, then it's all you can eat. If you buy a whole pack, the rest will be calling you until you finish them. I love that cupcakes are so popular now so I can just buy one at a shop instead of a six pack! 2) Eat really minty gum or brush your teeth after eating. If I know it's going to taste like crap, it's kinda not worth it...I'd rather wait until I can enjoy it. Good luck!

I've recently noticed this as well. Drinking ice Water at a restaurant guarantees I will get stuck. Drinking ice cold water by itself also makes me quite gurgley! My cubemate makes fun of me, so I try to drink hot tea first thing in the morning to loosen my band up, then I drink from a slightly chilled water bottle the rest of the day.

I eat 1 egg w/ a splash of water (to make it fluffier), a few oz of imitation krab and a diced stick of 2% cheddar cheese.

Every Saturday and Sunday I make a krab and cheddar omelette w/ 1 egg, a few oz of flaked krab, a 2% cheddar cheese stick diced and a splash of Water. It is SO good I wish I had time to make it every morning! I also love those garlic or sea salt flavored bagel chips found near the deli section. I cannot eat bread so I use those bagel chips with everything! Tuna salad, cheese and ham, salmon cream cheese, or anything spreadable.

My Dr gave me a prescription for these little chewable tablets (I can look up the name when I get home) to keep with me at all times (FOREVER) in case I get nauseous. My nurse flipped out when I casually mentioned I needed to get the prescription filled. She said that if I get a stomach virus or motion sick on a cruise or anything I needed to take the tablet immediately b/c the stomach violently contracts when you throw up and it can cause band slippage and ripping of the sutures holding the band in place. :biggrin:

Hey guys! I just started a meetup group for bandsters last week. I live in Herndon, but Leesburg isn't far. Perhaps we could alternate where we have meetings. Please feel free to sign up: Lapband (or other Bariatric ) Surgery Meetup (Herndon, VA) - Meetup

I used to just wear the Old Navy camis, but a few months ago I switched to wearing the Flexees fatfree tanks and they're amazing. They smooth out my back/bra fat and waist and make my clothes look great. They're not ridiculously firm like a girdle. They're nice and soft with light support. I agree with cwm that they help with being cold. It's crazy how cold I've been recently. My 150lb boyfriend is walking around the house in boxers and I have on socks, long pants and a fleece hoodie.

Oops, the link is: Lapband (or other Bariatric ) Surgery Meetup (Herndon, VA) - Meetup.com

Smiley - yes, please sign up! I'll see where most of the members live and try to pick a central location like Tyson's corner to meet. gatlingirl - Yes, my surgeon has a support group but it's at a time I can't make regular. I plan to attend next month's and see if anyone would like to meet outside of the Dr's office too. I am definitely interested in hearing about the topics your group discusses! I'll send you an email.

+1 for the dark meat unless the white meat is marinated. Also try sauces. I can scarf down saucy chicken wings, but give me a dry McDonald's chicken nugget and it will come right back up. At work I have a bottle of heinz 57, bbq sauce, and italian dressing in the fridge. If I run into some tricky chicken, I usually dip it in one and it goes down fine.

I just created a meetup group for fellow bandsters who live in Northern Virginia. I want to meetup and talk about all the things we talk about on here -- just face-to-face. They move us through the waiting room fairly quickly at my Dr's office, so I've never had a conversation with anyone else who has a band. I believe having a local support system of other people who know what I'm feeling will be beneficial to my journey and I hope to provide the same in return. Some ideas I have for the group include: Protein drink parties, grocery shopping and clothing exchanges. Please sign up if you live nearby! LAP-BAND® (or other Bariatric ) Surgery Meetup (Herndon, VA) - Meetup.com

I think it might be time for another fill. I can eat toasted bread by itself but just thinking about taking a bite of a ham sandwich makes my chest hurt. Don't get discouraged! I had a month long plauteau and after a fill, BAM, I lost 10 lbs that month! I'm really a slacker with exercising too, but I try to do weights at least twice a week and I 2nd doing leg lifts or pushups during commercial breaks! Please don't think I'm jumping up on my soapbox, but just a suggestion: I think you should clean out your kitchen and throw away things like Lucky Charms and popcorn. The week before surgery my Dr suggested that I go through and donate almost everything in our pantry. My boyfriend has one cabinet o' junk that I don't look in so I can't be tempted. I have very low willpower when I'm home also. If I buy a bag of Doritios I will eat an entire bag of Doritos. So I just don't bring those types of things home. It's easier than torturing myself everyday and then feeling bad when I eventually cave in. I'm sure you've heard this a million times before, but try to eat high density proteins first. They take up room in your pouch and you'll feel fuller faster. I try to always keep imitation Krab, tuna salad, rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and other quick fixes in the fridge. When I get home from work at 4 I'm usually starving. Instead of munching on chips like my boyfriend, I heat up a chicken leg or grab a few krab sticks. Good luck! Remember we're all here to help you and we're going through the same problems!

I gurgle all the time. It's usually when I'm drinking liquids or eating pudding type stuff.. My boyfriend won't let me drink water before bed anymore b/c when I lay down the gurgling gets worse and he can't sleep.

My doc took pictures while he was in there. I must admit, they're pretty cool to have. And it cracks me up that I have an Allergan advertisement inside my tummy! :blushing: Look at my "surgery pics" album.

If you can't eat solid foods you might need a slight unfill. A few weeks ago I was getting stuck on random foods that I've eaten a million times and having reflux so I went to the doc. He only took out 0.1ccs of Fluid but it made a huge difference. Or maybe try only liquids for a few days then slowly progressing to regular foods to give your swelling some time to go down. I get really swollen after pbing and can't do solids for at least the rest of the day. I also try to have a sauce on almost everything to help it go down. I seriously put Heinz 57 or low fat sour cream on everything! Foods to try: - tuna or chicken salad - medium rare filet mignon (any other cut is too hard for me to chew thoroughly) - any fish as long as it's not overcooked - Beans - Chipotle burrito bowl (I only eat about 1/3 at a time) - crab cakes - baked chicken There's also a recipe section of the forum that you might want to check out. Good luck!

When I drink beer at home I just do a "bad pour" from the bottle to a glass to get some of the carbonation out and I'm usually fine. At a restaurant I order a beer and an empty glass so I can do the same thing. Sometimes I get a little pain in my chest when I drink it too fast, but then I burp and I'm fine.

One of the nurses at my Dr's office has a LAP-BAND® too. I asked her something similar during my pre-op stuff, and she said once a year, when she goes on vacation, she takes tiny sips of liquid while she's eating to wash the food through the pouch so she can eat more. Yes, I'm aware that's "cheating the band" but doing it once a year or whatever on vacation isn't that bad. As long as you don't make it a habit you'll be fine.

I just got a fill on Monday and I've BARELY been able to get down 32oz a day. I can eat solid food, but it seems like the water pools up in my pouch, gurgles/bubbles around, then drains down. I've been trying to take small sips, but maybe I need a straw instead b/c it's hard to sip out of this giant mouthed water bottle.

I agree with Sue. I had surgery on 11/6 and I'm still wearing a light girdle (:thumbup:). It keeps my pants from rubbing on the port scar and helps keep the jiggling to a minimum.

I am pleasantly surprised to report that I am almost completely back to normal. I go back to work on Monday, and I'm really glad I took two weeks of STD to recover. I mostly slept and walked, but I think my body needed the break from the stress. Driving is still a little uncomfortable, but unfortunately I have a 45 minute commute. Hopefully it's not too bad. My incisions, with the except of the port one, are almost impossible to find. The port incision is the only one that still tingles occasionally. I'll post pics later this weekend. My boyfriend and I took a weekend trip to Ocean City, MD. I'm still on mushies, but l count crab legs and crab cakes as mushies! This is definitely the hardest phase for me, b/c I can rationalize that everything is a mushie (if I chew it enough). I'm scared of screwing up my surgeon's hard work though, so I'm not taking too much leeway. Question: Any lunch suggestions? I'm going to end up with mercury poisoning b/c I eat tuna, salmon, shrimp or some kind of seafood almost everyday. It's soft, and easily mushed with light mayo or italian dressing.

I am pleasantly surprised to report that I am almost completely back to normal. I go back to work on Monday, and I'm really glad I took two weeks of STD to recover. I mostly slept and walked, but I think my body needed the break from the stress. Driving is still a little uncomfortable, but unfortunately I have a 45 minute commute. Hopefully it's not too bad. My incisions, with the except of the port one, are almost impossible to find. The port incision is the only one that still tingles occasionally. I'll post pics later this weekend. My boyfriend and I took a weekend trip to Ocean City, MD. I'm still on mushies, but l count crab legs and crab cakes as mushies! This is definitely the hardest phase for me, b/c I can rationalize that everything is a mushie (if I chew it enough). I'm scared of screwing up my surgeon's hard work though, so I'm not taking too much leeway. Question: Any lunch suggestions? I'm going to end up with mercury poisoning b/c I eat tuna, salmon, shrimp or some kind of seafood almost everyday. It's soft, and easily mushed with light mayo or italian dressing.

I think we made it 4 days. I put pillows under my hips to make it a better angle so he wouldn't lean over me and rub on my port. :redface: sorry if TMI .

I had the first post-op appointment this morning and I was moved up to soft foods 5 days early! Thank God. I was SO hungry the last few days. I also received some pics from the surgery that I will post later today. Dr Pinnar reviewed the pictures with me and I'm so hungry b/c there's a large gap between my stomach and the band since it's empty and I don't have much fat around my stomach. He said my first fill in a few weeks will probably be pretty aggressive to help close that gap. I'm off to search for the best refried beans around to have for lunch! :biggrin: