john47

We have local charities here in the UK that post plastic bags through your front door letter box requesting old clothing. So mine all goes to a good cause

Just think of it as a slider food. It wont do you any harm but will add calories, so should be kept to a minimum. I am 3 months now from geting my band and have not had a single drink. I am so looking forward to a few beers with my mates over the christmas holiday season.

It is a urban myth, enjoy a ocasional soda or beer just watch the calories. I have had 3 diet cokes since being banded in September but have not had a night out with the lads on the beer yet which I intend to do over the Christmas holiday. Everything in moderation is my new motto for life.

lol - well done ! Same here, I have just become overweight and am no longer obese. Its great isn't it? I love the band

The group that placed my band publishes its complication results online: http://gravitas-ltd.co.uk/index/cms-filesystem-action/results/complication_rates.pdf and is proud they out perform 5 star facilities in the United states. My diet sheet says I can have the occasional coke or beer. I was banded on the 15th Sept and have lost nearly 55 pounds. At first I though they were starving me, but now I know their advice is best. I think I will listen to them for this advice because they seem to know what they are talking about. If they say a beer and coke is ok now and again that is fine with me.

Tell her you know that you are fat but on the other hand she is a wrinkled up old and ugly cow. The main difference being that you will soon be thin, whereas she is stuck with that face for the rest of her life :biggrin::biggrin:

Well I never did the liquid stage and went straight on to pureed food and that was ok, but I dont think your stomach would like to go to work so soon after surgery on normal food. It would probably do it some damage.

I had my first fill yesterday and got no restriction. 2cc in a 9cc band. The doctor assured me I would and it would remove some of the hunger. I had 3 normal meals today and nothing :Yawn: Hungry, no restriction and no further appoinment for another 4 weeks:mad:

The children have just stopped knocking here in the UK. Its 8.30pm and Simon Cowells UK show is on called the X factor which is a must see, so it has just gone quiet. My daughter and son have just come in with a Big bag of goodies and it is so tempting not to sneak a few sweets. Noooooooooo, I will be strong:smile:

The DW just cooked me some lovely juicy chicken that went down without any problems. Basically she got some kitchen foil, and made what I can only describe as a little foil tent for the chicken to go into. She covered the chicken with foil making sure it was fully sealed inside, but left loads of room around it so it looks like the chicken was sitting inside its own little foil tent. This then went into the oven for 20 minutes on a medium/high heat and it cooked in its own steam without any moisture escaping. This kept all the juices inside and stopped it drying out. When served, it was nice and juicy and went down a treat (Still chew lots though !!!) without any problems. I enjoyed it so much I wanted to share with you guys.

Mine is in between my ribs in the middle of my chest. Not the usual place for sure :cursing:

I mean this post op diet is ridiculous. I am on the soft food stage and do not see the doctor for a fill for another 2 weeks. The diet they have me on means for a meal I can have say 2 tablespoons of a soft meat/fish and 2 tablespoons of a vegtable and maybe a small potato. Really? I am 20 stone for christ sake, and am used to having very large meals so am struggling big time with this. I calculate that I am eating 600 -800 cals a day in total. All the medical advice on the internet says it is not safe to drop below 1200 cals a day. The first 2 weeks after surgery was fine, the swelling meant I had no hunger, but now the hunger is on my mind 24/7. I woke this morning at 3.30am dreaming of food. I am losing lots of weight, 33 pound over the last 7 weeks but I feel I am wasting away and do not have the energy to even climb the stairs. Arn't we supposed to be losing weight at a slower pace than this? Is this diet safe? I drove to the hospital last week and walked in without a appointment and waited outside the dietitians office and she just told me stick with it until the doctor tells me otherwise. I have stuck to it, but cannot last much longer. I need to eat food ! I need to see my doctor. I am due for my first fill on the 30th Oct so need him to remove this hunger through a fill or let me increase my food intake. I should be enjoying this weight loss, everybody is saying how well I look but it's a nightmare to me at the moment. I suppose this is what is called bandsters hell? lets hope it gets better. Sorry for the rant, needed to get it off my chest.

lol- Also what size cup is standard? A standard tea cup? I never know this. I bet there are some big cups knocking about. In fact I am sure my kids bought me a big "best dad" cup a few years back which can take about two pints. Now I suppose that would be cheating, lol :biggrin:

Thanks for all the helpfull advice guys, it is really appreciated, and I mean that from my heart. I went to see my local GP, general practitionar (local doctor) today who is not connected to the weight loss team and she was angry with them. According to the diet sheet I have, I can eat normal food after 4 weeks which is on Wednesday.However, I am still supposed to follow this stupid 4 tablespoons rule even after that. Anyway the local doctor was really angry today and told me I had to eat more, and that if the surgeon complained when I see him in 2 weeks to tell him to refer to her. She told me that the dramatic weight loss will not have done me any harm but I should be losing at a slower rate, and this should be done through the fills and a balanced diet and I should not be as tired or lethargic as I have been feeling. She just told me to take it easy and stop if I was starting to feel full. I had a extra 4 oz piece of juicy chicken tonight and it fell like heaven. I have also had some low fat custard and it feels like I have just finished Christmas dinner. I swear, I am sitting here with a big smirk on my face like a cat who has just got the cream.:lol: I tell you what, after we all get to a normal weight, I bet we never put ourselves through this again. Thanks for the all the support and kind words.

Thanks for the support, yes there is loads of nice soft food choices, but the dietitian who works along side my surgeon has all his patients on the same lapband diet. It was great to start with because it misses out the liquid stage. After surgery it was 2 weeks of pureed food, now 2 weeks of soft food then on to normal food. The problem is this 2 tablespoons worth of food requirement. When I went over to see her she insisted I stick to it until I see the doctor on the 30th Oct. So all I can eat is 2 spoons of mince/fish with 2 spoons of veg and a small potato !!!!! I should be the happiest guy on earth, the weight is dropping off me but I am in starving and do not have any energy at all. I was not joking when I said I hardly have the energy to climb the stairs. I will stick this out until I see the doctor but I am convinced this cannot be the right way to lose weight or healthy for me.

Yes, I never did the liquid stage. I was banded on 15th Sept and was on pureed food from day 1 for 2 weeks. Now I am on soft food for a further 2 weeks before going on to normal food. However, I would phone you doctor and get his go-ahead before altering your diet just in case things go wrong and you mess up all your hard work. Well done for getting this far

Just wondering because after speaking to my surgeon, he told me that the way all bands are fitted these days is that after the band has been placed, a section of the stomach is stiched over the band to stop slippage. This he said is the way mine has been done. I know by abusing your band the poach can expand, but can the band still slip somehow?

Thanks for the advice Kiz, it's another 3 weeks to my first fill so I will try to hang on. The hunger was not as bad today. I think weekends are the worse when I am not in work. Too busy during the working week to think about food. If the hunger get too bad and I don't think I can last I will follow your great advice and give the doctor a call. Its great having these boards to talk things through with people who have been through what you have

Thanks for the great advice, the reason I asked was I am having a really bad hunger day. My hunger is big today but I have stuck to my post op diet. I agree, we have to take the best care possible of our bands.

Especially if the pockets are full of coins and other heavy objects

Great news and well done. I hope I do as well as you. I got banded on the 15th Sept and sound about the same size and weight as you. 300 pound, size 42 jeans. I just hope I can lose the pounds over the next few months. I don 't get my first fill for another 4 weeks so I will have to be patient.

Following getting banded on Tuesday, I went straight on to liquidised food rather than a liquid diet. Each “meal” consists of 2 liquidised table spoons worth of fish/chicken etc and two liquidised table spoons worth of veg/ potato etc I am a big guy who was eating about 3000 - 4000 calories a day prior to my pre surgery diet. Now I estimate I am eating about 600 -700. Yesterday was Bad! I never suffered from hunger pains because my stomach is still swollen, but I was so tired and lethargic and kept having to take half hour sleeps throughout the day. I am due back at work on Monday and am worried I just will not have the energy to concentrate or work properly. Like all businesses at the moment my company is suffering in the recession and has been laying people off, so I never even requested time off for illness but just took a week’s holiday entitlement instead and never told anyone about my surgery. I know the stomach needs time to heal but this low calorie intake is insane. The tiredness only really kicked in yesterday. Is this normal? Do you get used to it? Do you get over it? Any ideas how I can boost my energy levels and get through this so I will be able to work properly? Thanks John

Thanks for the information, I am back at work tomorrow so will follow that advice while at my desk.

Thanks for all the advice guys, I will take it all on board. Its a hard journey, but I can truly say that without the advice I have recieved from the folks on this board it would have been a lot harder. Once again, thanks for the help. John

I would like to know this as well, my circumstances are identical to yours. I was banded on the 15th, and am allowed onto the mushie stage right away. However, for the first 2 weeks I have to follow a very strict diet and when I have added the calories up, it only comes to about 600 a day. The diet gives me alternative menus for each day and whichever one I choose only get about the 600 calorie mark. This is fine for now because I have no hunger with the swelling, but like you, I do not get a fill for 6 weeks and I am sure the hunger will return.