coltonwade

at 5 weeks post op you can NOT Eat "around the band " well honestly you should not be "Eating" things that you cna eat around the band anyway . If your still on Mushies or semi solid foods . YOu most likely do not have restriction so you do not have to or can you eat around the band. The first 6 weeks post op is about healing. NOW Once you have restriction things that are "soft, liquids , high in calories " Honestly things you KNOW You should not be eating are things that you can eat around the band with . If you have questions about what foods are solids, mushies ect you need to ask your doctor. Different docs have different opinions of that. For instance some docs consider ground beef " Mushies" my doc does not . So its best to ask your doc. Mindy

NO NO NO ... What I have said is and I have told you this as well... I dont count calories .. BUT if im not losing i will count for a short period to make sure im not getting too much to eat or too little. I do NOT Count DAILY !!! No need for it. But if you find yourself in a plateau or not losing the way you want , i think its good to see what your eating . Sometimes what we THINK is going in our mouth is good for us is NOT . And loging what we eat for a week helps see that. For instance smoothies at places like smoothie King ,,, ONE of those can have as many as 1500 calories. Do i count EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth every day , no . I have had to count calories twice since surgery and both times I found I was not losing due to not eating Enough . Congrats on the weight loss !!! I told ya it will come off woman !!!!! Mindy

I agree w/ everything Grace has said. I dont count calories . what is the point ? If your eating what your suppose to and not eating around the band the band pretty much does that for you is how i look at it . I dont exercise . I play Wii Fit w/ my kids and have a blast , I am more active with my kids and enjoy it . Diets, I dont see the point in dieiting ... Makes NO SENSE TO me now that we have the band. I dont get the people who get banded then say " I just joined WW's or Jenny Craig " WHY ? Like Grace said diets did not work before . Before restriction you have to have patients . You have to exercise some self control . Once the restriction gets here then its easier. the band is not a magic want that your going ot wave over your stomach and lose the weight. OR More so over your head. It will come in time BUT Sometimes you have to be patient . HTH Mindy

I believe there are Protein powders you can mix with fruit juices ? Also it does not have the MOST protein in it ,,, i am not sure if there is any dairy in the mix itself. you might try Carnation instant Breakfast mix. Anything "Whey" will have dairy in them . So careful with that. Check out "Celiac Forums" for Celiacs disease . They have to stay away from dairy . Just did a quick search and found these .. Protein from Rice, powder, Dairy Free, Vegetarian / Vegan, Hypo Allergenic, Plain - 1 lb. 5 oz. Go Dairy Free | beverages - smoothies & Mixes If you find a mix you can mix it with Lactose free milk could you not ? Can you drink that ? If you have a whole foods near you they should have tons of info or stuff. HTH mindy PS I just googled " Dairy Free Protein Mix" and came up w/ quite a bit Mindy

I think Jachuts Definition is pretty accurate. What your talking about to me is not eating around the band. Eating around the band essentially is being "lazy" Eating things you KNOW will go down easy , you KNOW yo0u should not be eating but are " Easy" for you to eat. Soft, usually higher calorie foods what ever it is that the band wont " Stop" you from eating . Also to me eating around the band can include Protein shakes, ( My doc considers this as well I believe ) drinking your calories basically . HTH Mindy

Carol did you get my email ? Mindy

YOU GO SISTER !!! My philosphy EXACTLY ... You just put it much better than I !!!! Can i copy that for future use ... ?? I"ll give ya credit LMAO Cause that is GOOD ! Mindy

ONe thing to ask is what is the docs post FILL Diet . What instructions does he have for each fill ? Some docs require liquids only 24 hours before a fill , some 6 hours before a fill. Some docs require liquids 24 hours AFTER a fill. So ask those questions . Here is a good section to look at Lap-Band Surgery Frequently Asked Questions - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum Also what is the post op diet . What is his fill "schedule " how far out do they schedule for fills and unfills ? Is someone on call in case of an emergency ? What happens if the doc is out of town ( Espieically if your doc is in a one practice office ) That's all i can think of right now But others im sure will chime in Mindy

Keep on going Irene you will do it your almost there. Seems like the "Milestones" Take FOREVER to get even when in actuality we are SO CLOSE . You will be there soon !! Mindy

ADD me to the list as of Friday im down 100 lbs in 10 months !! From a size 22/24 to a size 8 I just bought this weekend !! WHOO HOOOO Thanks Mindy

I hit the 100 lb mark on Friday ... I celebrated by buying a size 8 Short and M SLEEVELESS TOP !!! I am SO selfconscious in the top still but Its Texas and its almost 100 degrees already ! Before is at least 250 Now is 150 I have 25 more pds to goal !!

Sorry I didnt not realize that you had given it up . I was not trying to me rude and I hope I did not offend you . Mindy

congrats. I can say that quitting sodas was almost as hard as quitting smoking ! it was ROUGH ! Keep up the great work . I feel a lot better after not drinking sodas its been nearly a yr and a half for me Mindy

You realize that your putting your band in jeopardy by doing this right ? every time you throw up your risking your band to slip ! On top of risking your pouch to be stretched by the diet coke ? Im not trying to be rude , if your doc says cokes are ok that's fine , but if its causing you to throw up I would take a second thought about drinking them , because your risking a slipped band by throwing up .. Mindy

My doc says Carbonation is a BIG NO NO and its a huge no no as far as im concerned. He says it can stretch out your pouch and sure you might be ABLE to drink it but the issues comes from the pouch being stretched by the carbonation , your not going to know that or realize it until its too late and your pouch is already stretched. I dont and wont ever touch it again ! I was a HUGE soda drinker , were talking if i was drinking something it was a coke, I kicked it cold turkey before surgery . I drink caffiene in the form of tea ( I have to have some or i get migraines ) But its about 1 a day . My doc says nothing about it . Carbonation is something I wont chance !! HTH Mindy

I LOVE IT Grace . You sound like me !!! Awesome !! :tt2::thumbup: Mindy

I would be happy to help in any way I can . Here are my "stats" LOL I feel like im placing a personal add LOL Location: Texas Banded July 16,2007 Starting wt 250 Current wt 155 ( OH SO CLOSE to 100lbs ) Goal wt: 125 Marital Status:Married Sex: Female Kids : 2 (Both Boys) I would be happy to help I live outside of Austin TX if someone needs someone one on one or happy to help via email . feel free to email me . Mindy

have you found a buddy yet ? Mindy

I would say about 90% of the time I dont need but 1 snack in the afternoon . Its nice to know its "Allowed" though , Ya know ? mindy

It is hard at first to get in enough to eat. We are SO use to over eating we think we have to eat very very little. It gets better. I had a problem w/ it seemed like i was eating ALL The time and i FELT like i was and I FELT like i was over eating. But the real issue was what i was eating. I was not eating things that contained Protein so I basically was "wasting" what I ate , it was not keeping me hungry long enough . I agree with Heather O as well. I eat more veggies now than I ever have in my LIFE . I CRAVE Veggies ! I go through about 6 bell peppers a week ! LOVE THEM !! I eat Morning star Veggie Burgers ?? WHAT .. ME <<< the FAT GIRL ?? Are you kidding LMAO It does change and I would do it again in a SECOND !! LOVE MY BAND MIndy

I think its important as well to follow docs orders. Once your own solid foods 800 calories is just not enough . At least I have found. There was a period of time where i was SO HUNGRY all the time and I called my nutrionist and we went over what i was eating, I was only getting in 800 calories a day . If i drop below 1000 I WONT Lose . I am down almost 100 pds in a yr . I am allowed up to 6 meals a day . I can have 6 small meals a day or 3 meals a day and 3 Snacks. But I basically eat when im hungry and it ends up being a shake for Breakfast ( Im too tight to eat solids in the am) lunch at about 2 and sometimes a snack after lunch and then dinner around 6 . Sometimes I have a snack after dinner if i need it. I basically eat when im hungry , I just dont worry about it . I DO However make sure i AM HUNGRY and its not head hunger . But generally its 4-5 times a day . I dont think i have ever eaten 6 times a day . What does your doc recommend to the original poster. If he/she recommends only 3 meals a day try speaking to him about snacks. you may need to adjust what you eat for higher calorie foods. HOnestly I Just do not see how its possible to get in 1000 calries a day with out snacks. I am sure its possible but its hard i think . HTH Mindy

Make sure you can have ground beef on your "mushie" stage, I could not . Mindy

Getting fills and getting a doctor to take you on as a patient r are 2 different things ! There r docs that will take mexican bandsters , my doc is one of them. However, they require certain things from the patients. ANd i HIGHLY Suggest you find a doc who fill take you BEFORE you go and find out what they want from you out of Mexico . Some US docs wont touch you if you were banded but certain mexican docs ! Fill center USA will take nearly anyone from what i understand. However i believe everyone banded in Mexico or not should have after care by a doctor lined up and that can be difficult to find . Bottomline DO IT BEFORE YOU GO TO MEXICO . Mindy

Thanks Jack , One of the reasons my doc said the flintstones were not enough was because they did not have enough Calcium in them . Where did you get the Powder you were talking about ? I wonder why so many docs recommend Flintstones ? Mindy

In all honesty Childrens chewables just are not enough . Or they wont be in the long run . Really why would they be enough NOW But they were not before being banded. Im not a big fan of childrens vitamins , But that's my personal opinion . The personal trainer i was working with also was not and told me she would not recommend I stay on them long and my doc agreed ! Mindy