miranda robinson

Week two to three: · Remember to chew all food well in fact from now on it is chew, chew, chew. · If there are any problems i.e. a feeling of sever tightness in the throat, pain or productive burping (small salivary vomit) · Stop eating when you feel comfortably full · Only eat what you feel you can tolerate and do not struggle to eat if you are not hungry Transition to solids and thickened liquids It Is suggested that these food can include sloppy porridge, eggs (poached, scrambled and omelettes), mashed baked beans, fruit smoothes, low fat yogurts, well cooked mashed vegetables, bananas, tinned fruit, blended soups. During this time it is, in my mind , important to begin to make each mouthful count, concentrating on flavour and the integrity of the food you are eating i.e. the freshest and the best. It is hard to cook for the family at the same time during this time but if you prepare some of the things suggested in the recipes then one can free one or two ½ cup portions for future. Add · ¼ cup browned mince to any pureed vegetable soup. Brown 250gms altogether and use for the next stage · finely diced neck meat saved from the stock making stage · cooked grated or finely chopped carrot · finely chopped skinned and seeded tomato and finely chopped chives · 1 tbsp yoghurt, 1 tsp lemon juice, ½ tsp powdered cumin Lamb Brown 250gms of lamb mince but gently so that it remains soft and does not form little bullets will be hard to chew Add · 1 onion finely diced and I grated carrot and divide in ¼ cup amounts in small plastic pottles · soft mashed potatoes and a tbsp squashed thawed frozen peas · 1 cup of tinned tomatoes, 1tsp Tuscan seasoning which can be used as a topping for pasta a little later Lamb with Swedish dill sauce Fish and crustations Add to fish stock · 50gms finely chopped fine white fish and 1 tbsp pea puree · Small balls of finely chopped prawns, spring onion and chopped coriander · Fish pie 50gms of Smoked salmon is soft and a delicious lunch option served with 1 tsp dill mayonnaise and a squeeze of lime Mushrooms with ham dumplings Sweetcorn soup with poached egg and ham Frittata Pea and avocado sauce Ham and salami chips Poor mans cavier Mushroom soup thickened with toasted almond sauce

I am wondering how many people cook when they are going through the process of adjusting to having a band. I am putting together a little booklet of suggestion for each part of the journey. ie liquids, adding a little more mush, early solids and food for the future. but this requires some cooking and preparation to make sure you get the right nutrients. would this be of any help.

i am from New Zealand so I have no idea about the criteria for insurance as most of our banding is done self pay. all I can say to you is it is the best thing I have ever done. my stats are similar to yours and after four months I have lost 21gks (dont know what that is in pounds) but I have my dignity back and my self esteme is growing by the day. my husband and I scrimpted and saved and it has been worth every penny, it is not a cure all and one has to work hard with the band but by this stage one learns what you can eat and you also realise how small those portions have become especially when you look at the amount other people eat. good luck

i have also watched some very abusive exchanges on the chat line which have perturbed me at times. I have also seen some quick obscene exchanges. Weight lose has a different psycological and emotional profile of everyone and only you know how you feel about your body image and you future ability to control your weight. I found that the weight was slowly creeping up on me as I was getting older, although my BMI was 32 I know that it would be 40 in ten years time. WLS has given me new confidence and control of my own destiny. stay away from the chat room, and dont buy into any negative attitudes, this is the greatest step forward to weight lose and contol so far in this decade.

I am having a week from hell, the 'head hunger' is driving me mad, almost given up the will to live. although I have logged everything I have eaten since my preop diet on dec 3rd it might just help to log on this site each day as well. B 1 egg with 50g soft cheese and small tomato L 1/2 cup bircher muslie with tsp yogurt D 100g baked bean 2 very thin slices bacon miranda

I dont usually reply to posts but you sound so blue and some how you touched my heart. being in New Zealand my comments seems of so little help as I feel so far away but here goes. We carry so much emotional baggage with our weight and it makes the whole food addicition thing much harder for us to accept. We should equate it more to alcoholism but much worse because we HAVE to eat to stay alive. I have been struggling with a rice pudding which I made as I had left over milk....why I did this I have not idea...but I have just taken it out and fed it to the chickens. It is so depressing and I try to remember what my alcoholic daughter says to me 'mother if I have one drink I will die' and i suppose if we hadnt had the LB and went on putting on weight we would die too. So what I am trying to say is that at least we have the tools to be able to lose but it is a struggle. In NZ we have to have regular check-ins with a psycologist to aid us with the baggage that we carry and it is a help, sometimes.

I have found friends and family very judgemental, not another diet, whats the point you'll only put it back it back on, we like you just the way you are, well this time I wont. I used the hernia excuse which also covers the different eating habits which come with a lapband. I was banded on the 14 January and have lost 14kgs (cant do lbs) and each day my clothes get loser and each day I get a little more energy. it is hard work and I nearly eloped with a bowl of chocolate pudding at a party last night!!!!!!!!

i feel so sad that this has not been a success for you. Have you stuck to the half cup rule? putting hard protein first, I it is so little food I dont understand how it cannot work, even with a band as a tool?

I was meant to be banded dec 18 but they went in and there were too any adhesions. banding was achieved on 14 Jan 09. so I have 5 weeks pre op. it has always been my belief that you could eat anything you wanted three times a day but you had to keep to the 1/2 cup rule and not drink before, with and for an hour after your meals. my surgeon also said it exercise was only 15% of the weight loss process. I have a lovely little white china bowl and a tiny sliver spoon and I eat very, very slowly. sometimes when we think we are hungry we are really thirsty. the cost of the operation keeps me motivated and I think.....chocolate.....$20.000 and go and do the ironing. I chart everthing on FITDAY and try and stay below 700 calories. I have not had a fill yet and yes sometimes the hunger is unberable but nobody said this would be easy.

i have a very upset tummy and everything that goes in seems to come out, thus I am feeling very week and not able to do alot. wanted to go for a walk and catch up on the washing but just cant.

am 5 days into this as well and it is quite a journey. I have palpatations which worry me and part of anxiety attacks. I was given the mildest valium to cope with the anxiety before banding and i am finding that it is helping now too. i am worried because my calorie count is so low. I ate from very small bowls with very small teaspoons brfore the banding and now I dont seem to be able to get enough in. 200-300 calories. there is no restriction but I dont want to get out of control the main source of pain has been where the port has been placed and it really stings.

the surgery cost $20.000 and I know it is going to be worth every penny. I have several friends who have had it done and ALL of them have done really well. you really have to stick to the program and be really strick with yourself, which is like that eternal diet round about but one doesnot put on the weight. I lost 8kgs before surgery. I have 22kgs to lose which is not alot compared with some of the weights I have seen on the forum. I have found the forum invaluable and have learnt so much about the pros and cons of this operation. Have you got a copy of the lapband book? I found making the decision harder than wether I should get married or not. as one of the threads said it is better to live with a band than die trying to lose weight the other way. How much do you have to lose? I will help as much as I can and it is the kind input of strangers that has got me so far. I have been charting EVERYTHING that I have eaten on FITDAY for the last 6 weeks and it really was eye opening. My email address is miranda@mbr.co.nz if you would like to communicate by email.

i had my surgery two days ago and feel a little fragile but the band is in and I intend to work with it to lose the weight I want. like you I have really researched using this online link but now at home i wish i had prepared a little better for the liquid post op phase as I have very little stuff in the house and cant get out to get what I need.

I think your idea of predetermining ones calorie intake is a 'light bulb' moment for me and I am going to set up a menu plan for the week instead of just grabbing what I feel like at a wim. this should also help to plan the necessary protein intake....brillent and so logical. Not being sarcastic I really mean it.

as one post pointed out,the problem if needing to be banded is due to addiction to food and with all addiction the emotion part of learning to quit the eating behaviours that landed us in this position is deniel of that addiction. the brain plays a huge component part in any addictive behaviour and some find this harder than others to beat it. the difference between alcoholism and overeating is that we have to eat to live and this makes thing emotionally so much more difficult to conquer the desire to eat the things that make us feel happy and contented. the knowledge that this is also a brain disorder needs to be adresses as well and it is not just an issue of stupidity.

although this reply is to a log in over a year ago I am curious about how you have managed over the last year. You give a couple of good hints for food and I need that badly. I am due to be banded on 14th Jan.

I am wondering if there is anyone out there in NZ who has been or is about to be banded. From what I am reading on the other threads the rules and requirements are different here. I am due to be banded on 14 Jan and would love to talk to anyone......anyone in this neck of the woods.

I live in new zealand and we do not have refried beans infact I am not sure what they are even to try and emulate them. I am keem to get interesting ideas for 'mushies' as I get very bored with eating the same thing all the time.

I am in NZ and it is nice to see postings from this end of the world!!! although banding seems well established in Aus it is a realtivly new penominum here and I dont know any one who has had it done so I feel a little isolated. I think that attitudes to food are different down here and there is not such a dependence on convenience foods with most having vegetable gardens and even chickens in there back gardens. the Organic/green movment is very strong here and it certalinly makes a difference.

i am wondering about losing alot of weight whether one face wrinkles. the adipose tissue under the skin goes and must cause some problems. I am always being told how young I look but it is really that the wrinkles are flushed out with fat. is this a problem for any one or does the face cope because the wieght lose is slow. I know I sound shallow as it is the health benefits that are important but......

is there any research in regard to the rate of weight loss for those over 60. My surgeon told me to concentrate on good food choices and the exercise only contributes to 15% of weight lost after 50. what sort of 'mushies' do people eat, interesting ideas please.

i am beginning to take the oposite view and gain as much knowledge and interest as I can as I plunge towards the Banding on 14th January. I log everything I eat every day, good bad or indifferent. I know so much about banding and the use of it as a tool I could do the operation myself and set up a nutrition clinic. knowledge is strength. I had a bad day yesterday, too hot (I live in New Zealand)too much traffic etc and I wanted a meat pie the NZ icon, so I bought the pie, thought of the angry feelings that had made me want the pie and tried to learn from the experience. Insidentially i smelt it lovingly and threw it away, would have made the days calorie count look terrible!!!! I dont want to die fat but will cope with the feelings of thinness as they come and they had better!!! one person said that the feelings creep up slowly so it is easy to cope with them. but do explore some of your emotional baggage as well if you can bare to.

i keep harping on about the emotional issues in regard to weight and the reasons why we hang onto it. when I told friend what I was doing she said 'I like you just the way you are' what is it with people, how could they, I dont. friends seem to feel threatened when you begin to look good and dont seem to want you to be normal (as such) I think they like to feel superior some how. although your family may not appreciate what you have acheived those who struggle with weight issues every day understand the strength and courage that you under take every day, it is hard but keep on going but your confidence will grow and 'sod them all'.

i am wondering how much of the reluctance to give up ones weight is emotional and that it is emotionally safer to have a covering from the outside world. my surgeon insists on a psycologists report before he will operate and I know I have a real fear of how I will cope with the ultimate challenge of being thin again. (this is the ultimate aim of banding after all). I have been opened on 18th december but he was unable to band me but hopefully this will occure on 14 January so I have had to cope with 6 weeks of pre op dieting.

this happened to me as well and i have my second op on 14 Jan but at least you have the band now and the future is briight. the idea is to lose weight and keep it off, scars fade and they are under cover anyway. I have done so much preperation I think i could do the operation myself and set up a post op clinic. I am tryiing to keep my calorie count between 600 -800 while I wait. it has been a good time to practice eating tiny bites, chewing and not drinking with meals. I have learnt so much from this site and feel that although i have a lowish BMI 30 it is a permenant solution from the continual yo yo dieting that I have done for the past 30 years.