Melissannde

you might also look into When Your Body Gets the Blues It might be a helpful addition to other therapies.

One more.. DaVinci also makes a s/f Peanut Butter syrup. I'm having a cup of coffee with some in it right now. oh so good. Sometimes I'll have coffee with s/f chocolate & s/f pnut butter syrup.. tastes like I'm drinking a reeses cup. Again, if you can't find local.. netrition.com to the rescue. Amazon also carries some s/f syrups, but I think netrition probably has better deals once you factor in the shipping.

Have you discovered PB2? It's peanut butter that has had all the oil removed.. comes as powder and you reconstitute it to the thickness that you prefer with Water. With all the oil removed a HUGE amount of the calories are gone.. instead of 190 cal in 2 tbpns.. there's like 45 or so. Protein is reduced a small amount (5 g instead of 7) but I think it's a worthwhile trade off. If you can't find it in a local health food store, you can order it from netrition.com. It comes in regular and chocolate. Love it.

flax seed has omega-3's.. not sure how much you'd need to use to get the equivalent of the supplement. You DO need to grind flax seed (coffee grinder works great for this) and use it within 15 minutes of the grinding for the maximum benefit. I like it added to things like yogurt, cottage cheese.. etc. Cold pressed flax seed oil is also usable, but it's messy. I'd prefer the seeds.

I recognize that recipe!! (posted it some time ago..lol) I have to be careful with that soup.. I like it too much and can easily over do it. I've talked to our nutritionist about eating soup....and she advised 1) do thick soups 2) eat any "broth" part of the soup first. When at home, I make our soups thick, and serve my portion with a slotted spoon. I made black bean and pumpkin soup this week.. it was very good.

Option 1: leftover turkey taco meatloaf muffin (3oz) (my recipe) & whatever veggie I find appealing. About 180 calories & 17 gram protein Option 2: 3oz Smoked Salmon, 1 wedge WW or laughing cow cheese, veggie of choice. about 180 calories, 26 gram protein Option 3: Simply Gourmet Turkey Mignon, veggies. about 220 calories, 33 gram protein Option 4: Lean hamburger patty, mixed low carb veg. 182 cal, 17 gram protein. Option 5: John Soules sliced chicken breast fajitas & non fat refried Beans, 2% cheese, tomatoes: 122 calories, 18 protein Option 6: Rotisserie Chicken, broccoli. 190 calories, 19 gram protein Hope this helps.

Totally agree with the above.

I hope you don't mind if I answer here too. I've never had pain with my band.. once I got over the immediate post-op period. I do have a weird stretching/pulling sensation at times in my back, but it's not pain. No one knows why I feel this and I can't relate it to eating, exercising, or any behavior. I've had an upper GI to make sure the band is in good position.. it looks fine on xray. Just my anatomy I guess. I guess the stretchy/pulling sensation is the only way I "feel" it. Most of the time I could almost forget it's there. Port area isn't painful, again, once past immediate post-op stage. It is the area that is usually the most tender and usually takes the longest to return to normal. My first fill was a bit of an ouch because I was still tender. Since then they've been pretty much a breeze. I lie down, they swipe the area with an alcohol wipe, quick stick.. sometimes I have to do a mini "crunch" .. inject Fluid, remove needle, sit up, drink Water. At the beginning before I lost so much weight, they used an ultra-sound machine to help locate the port. I know some doc's use flouroscopy.. which can be bad & good. I personally don't want that much extra radiation or expense. As I understand what the sweet spot is.. is where your appetite is satisfied on a small meal and you stay satisfied for a reasonable amount of time (3 hours or longer). I think it's probably the same as or very similar to the "green zone" that you'll see on the lapband site. Hope this helps some.

With only 3cc's, it's very understandable that you're struggling. I came out of surgery with approx. 3cc's. I have pretty good control at 5.5, but it took a long time to get here.. a half cc at a time. Yes, everyone is different and some people have good control of their appetite at 3cc's, but usually it takes a bit more. If you have a 10cc lapband, I believe the average to get satiety on small amounts of food is around 4 to 5 cc's. The realize band I think I read somewhere it was about 7cc's. Since they're taking you up slowly, I would think you probably have the 10cc lapband. Or you could even have the 4cc band (don't know the name of it). But if you had the 4cc band, you really should be pretty good at a 3cc fill, so I'm thinking 10cc Lap. Just observations, not definitive. It really doesn't matter what band or how much fill.. it's whether or not your getting appetite dimming. Glad you're getting regular fills. It will get better.

Depends on what you call Snacks and how you deal with them. I allow myself healthy snacks.. such as an apple and a stick of string cheese, or a small container of cottage cheese with 1 tbspn bacon bits (sounds weird, but tastes good) or a package of 100 calorie almonds (emerald brand makes them.. can find at Walmart). I try to make sure there's Protein in whatever I snack on.. and under 200 calories. Prefer 100 to 150. I know others who use the Chewy bites of Calcium as a snack. IF you can control how much you have.. chocolate, esp. dark chocolate is not a bad choice. The problem is the amount and frequency. :thumbup: Hershey's dark chocolate kisses are only 20 calories each. If you can portion yourself out a few.. you could have a little bit before bedtime (unless you find that eating before bed makes you gain.. then you'd want to do something different). Another strategy is to practice delaying tactics. Tell yourself.. I didn't plan for that item (chocolate, chips, bread.. whatever it is that's haunting you) today in my food plan. I'll have it tomorrow. When tomorrow gets here.. put it off one more day. Last suggestion: Figure out the amount of calories in the item that you want to have. Then make yourself exercise AT LEAST long enough to work those calories off. I did that to get over my craving for McD's sausage biscuits. After I had spent 40 minutes on the treadmill.. my legs were telling my mouth "It just aint worth it!" I'm sure someone else will come along with other ideas. If you are a book person, look at Judith Beck's "The Beck Diet Solution". It's not about a diet.. it's how to deal with all the negative behaviors we have and how to change them. She also has a website & I think a newsletter. Best of luck to you.. Just finishing the last of my morning Water so now I can go eat lunch (late start today..)

I basically lost nothing (2lbs) during liquids & soft foods. Once I got back on solids.. I dropped 20lbs in 9 days. Hang in there.. it will happen.

keep going back for fills. I was going almost every month for the first year. Also, I know you said you could eat more than a cup.. and I hear that you're not doing this all the time, that you said that just as an example.. but let me encourage you to keep to your small portions, whatever your doctor recommends. Mine suggests 3oz of Protein and 1/2 cup low carb veggies. Avoid the high glycemic carbs (white bread, anything made with white flour, white potatos, white rice, any color of corn, white pasta), substitute whole grains if you must have some. I do better to keep them out of my food plan, UNLESS I'm going to exercise. Eat your portion, then move away from the table and do something else. If you're still genuinely hungry in 20 minutes.. have some more veggies. Get as much of your fluids in as possible. I try to drink 64oz of just Water a day.. this does not include anything else (coffee, crystal light, Powerade zero) that I might drink. 32 oz tween breakfst & lunch and 32oz between lunch & dinner. And call for that fill. The band works best when you have the proper amt of Fluid in it for YOU. Can't go by what is a good fill level for someone else...

Donna, I noticed you're in Athens, TX.. not all that far from me. Where did you go to have yours done? Locally or did you travel to the big D? I've heard some good things about a doc in D...

Today for lunch I'm having a "Simply Gourmet Turkey Mignon". I buy them at WM, 3.78 for a box of two. I bake them with some sliced squash or zucchini.. wonderful. each mignon is 3oz, 170 cal and 21 gram Protein (i think.. don't have the box in front of me). They are a tiny bit high in sodium, but unless you're hypertensive.. they're fine. Very tender and flavorful. I too find dry chicken to be an issue.. so I don't do grilled any more. But baked chicken... if I bake it covered.. is just fine. Last night I had turkey taco meatloaf.. with 1 tablespoon of Butler's Texas Gold BBQ sauce on it (could use ketchup if you like it.. I don't). Don't be afraid to use small amounts of things like ketchup, bbq sauce, mustard, dijonnaise to help things get past the band. You do want to read labels and avoid things with lots of sugar or HFCS.. I'm doing low-fat and no "bready or potato" type carbs. I don't count vegetable carbs at all. Low fat as I have gall-stones and don't want surgery and besides.. I just don't need to search for fat. It finds me!! I think it stalks me. ;D

could you try saute'ing the spinach? I love spinach & mushrooms thrown in the skillet and heated until they're wilted....

Do a search for an ad-blocker for whatever browser you use.. ie, firefox, etc. I have one and I do not see 99% of ads. :crying: Love it. I was one of the lucky ones who did not have to do a pre-op diet. I had absolutely no trouble adjusting to less food after surgery. The swelling from surgery (and therefore lack of hunger) is the same for most of us. I've observed that we all lose at about the same rate.. but those who have to do the pre-op diet lose a good percentage before surgery and then are often frustrated when it doesn't continue at the same rate afterwards. Those who don't have to do pre-op, lose the same percentage-wise after the surgery. I've asked a nurse I know who works in the bariatric field if this is a true observation.. and she says she sees these types of results too (she works for more than one doctor). Not an official report.. just an unscientific observation. Good luck on your pre-op. Your sense of humor should serve you well.

Have you looked at all the sugar in Lucky Charms? 42% sugar. None for me thank you. Percentage Of Sugar In Common Foods

I hear ya on that. Since being banded I've lost most of my anxiety symptoms. Weird that eating less could affect anxiety, but I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth!

One of my favorite bandsters says food addiction is really hard to deal with. If you're addicted to alcohol or tobacco or drugs, you can put the tiger in the cage and leave it there. With food addiction you have to take the tiger on a walk at least 3 x a day. I will copy what I just wrote to another person considering being banded: I would try very hard to give up the cokes. I was a diet coke lover. I had one every morning when I woke up instead of coffee.. and diet coke was all I drank all day long. I've only had sips of it since I was banded 20 months ago, and really I don't miss them all that much. I occasionally miss the tingle at the back of the throat.. and a sip every 8 months or so satisfies me and I can go on without more. There are some surgeons who say that carbonation isn't a problem, etc. but most of them say that carbonation can lead to dilation of the pouch and over time to possibly a band slip. I just don't think it's worth the risk myself. It's like giving up any other addiction.. you give them up one step at a time, one day at a time, sometimes one hour at a time. :crying: There's lots of other good things to drink besides DC. Water, crystal light, tea, water, coffee, Powerade zero (my current fav), Vitamin water zero, water, fuze slenderize (in moderation..has 20 cal. a bottle), Diet V-8 Splash (moderation), water, Diet oceanspray drinks (in moderation). If you want something in a can so you don't feel left out when others are drinking out of a can.. I've found sugar free lemonade and s/f tea in cans... both non carbonated. You can do it!! Just keep thinking.. what do I want more.. smaller jeans or a diet coke? Smaller jeans usually wins for me. :w00t: I didn't give up white foods right away after banding, but I have slowly phased them out of my life. There are awesome substitutes/replacements for most things. It is a bit scary to think about making such major changes in our lives.. but what have we got to lose ? except weight.

I would try very hard to give up the cokes. I was a diet coke lover. I had one every morning when I woke up instead of coffee.. and diet coke was all I drank all day long. I've only had sips of it since I was banded 20 months ago, and really I don't miss them all that much. Alien is right, there are some surgeons who say that carbonation isn't a problem, etc. but most of them say that carbonation can lead to dilation of the pouch and over time to possibly a band slip. I just don't think it's worth the risk myself. It's like giving up any other addiction.. you give them up one step at a time, one day at a time, sometimes one hour at a time. There's lots of other good things to drink besides DC. Water, crystal light, tea, water, coffee, Powerade zero (my current fav), Vitamin water zero, water, fuze slenderize (in moderation..has 20 cal. a bottle), Diet V-8 Splash (moderation), water, Diet oceanspray drinks (in moderation). If you want something in a can so you don't feel left out when others are drinking out of a can.. I've found sugar free lemonade and s/f tea in cans... both non carbonated. You can do it!! Just keep thinking.. what do I want more.. smaller jeans or a diet coke? Smaller jeans usually wins for me. :crying: I don't know about the medicare question. I do know someone who is having their surgery under medicare and they are having to do a 3month supervised "diet" before their surgery, but I don't know if they could've started it before getting on MC or not. One step at a time.

Thanks for posting this question & pics. I'm in the over 50 group too and the more weight I lose, the unhappier I am with the extra stuff on my belly...so I think I'm headed for plastics too.

One thing you could consider is to go ahead and have the band put in.. and then you don't have to get fills until you are ready to work it. Not the usual choice people make.. but it is a choice. The no white foods isn't an absolute "written in stone" rule.. but it does help to drop weight faster if they are eliminated or cut way way back. Again, it is a choice. The diabetes, hypertension & cholesterol issues will not go away on their own. And there are worse things that can visit us via obesity. It was cancer that came to me ...and made me finally do something about my weight. Talk to us some more.

You should introduce her to Jessie Ahroni, a nurse educator who works in Bariatrics.. who's been banded with the same band.. never replaced.. for 13 years now. Jessie has also written a book on banding that's very good. I like the idea of telling your friend "Thank you for your concern, but this is what I've decided is best for me".

Actually, my surgeon says that the Gastric Bypass (or RNY) is reversible. It's an involved surgery, not often done, but it is possible to undo it and return the patient to almost presurgery status. The sleeve truly is irreversible. At least in it's current form. If the Gastric plication turns out to be effective, then the sleeve could possibly be reversible too.

Just makes me VERY glad that I chose a surgeon who did not require a pre-op diet at all.