coltonwade

There are some ideas under the food section . But here are some of my favorites. Refried Beans layered with guacamole, ff sour cream, melted cheese whiz, and picante sauce "juice" It is SO YUMMY . Sort of a 7 layer dip minues a few layers and the chips LOL Crust less pizza: pizza Sauce, mozzarella cheese, ground beef( if your allowed it) pureed , cooked veggies of your choice , layer all this with each layer covered with sauce. It tastes just like a pizza. Bake in oven until cheese is melted. Noodless Lasagna : Same premise as above, tomato sauce mozzarella, ricotta cheese, pureed ground beef or turkey layered and baked in oven until cheese is melted. There are some good ideas in the food section as well that will help you . HTH Mindy

Not only can PCOS cause weight gain it can make it nearly impossible to lose weight ,, hence why we are all here ! Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Symptoms this is just one site but google PCOS and read the symptoms , treatments, ect about it I bet you have more symptoms than you realize. Just an FYI never take one docs "answer" or Opinon about anything. docs are like everyone else , they have their own Opinions , beliefs and ideas on everything including diseases and treatments. at the very least If i find out something about my health I will go home and verify it on the net some how. I NEVER take a docs word along . Mindy

you need a new doctor. preferably a female. I know that sounds feminist but in general male docs have been shown to NOT believe in PCOS. Because there is no defienative test for PCOS some docs ( including woman) do not "believe" in PCOS. I have had several of them over the yrs. Also PCOS does not always mean you will have cysts. I can go at one ultrasound and have 50 cysts in one ovary and the next time go and have none. So FIND A NEW DOC who knows about pcos and treats woman with PCOS . Mindy

PCOS is symptomatic, if you have the symptoms you have PCOS. There is not an exact test that can be given to test for it . there are tests to test to see if certain hormone levels and such are elevated. for the most part its a matter of elimination and symptoms. Your right all they do is treat the symptoms. But it wont go away if you loose weight, the symptoms will go away or lessen, i had PCOS when i was thin as well. but things like excess hair, misses periods ect were less . Bascially PCOS is managed. HTH Mindy

Vicki email me your email . Also i will post on here as well . We will try to do something a week or so after thanksgiving ? Mindy

Even if you eat several small meals a day you will STILL Loose. I eat what i want when i want, except i stay away from carbs ( except veggies) as much as possible because of the pcos you WILL STILL LOOSE. I eat about every 4 hours. about 5 meals a day . My doc says its ok and as you can see by my sig line im loosing just fine . About 2.5 pds a week. If your eating solids and your getting stuck or PBing You NEED AN UNFILL . the slightest of unfills will make the biggest of difference. An unfill does not mean gaining weight. I just had an unfill . I am loosing weight again now . I prety much eat when im hungry which averages every 3-4 hours HTH Mindy

LMAO My friend who lives in Henly drove out to my house tonight so we could walk tonight. We never get to see each other and im always messing with her about how much time she spends with her boyfriend. So she said " OK I'll come out and walk with you tonight" we had a good time . Normally when someone walks with me they are not use to walking so they walk at a stroll and I am not getting the work out I need. I walk pretty quick and hard. My friend works out quite a bit and walked a lot to loose weight last yr so she walks at the same pace as I do , so that was nice That would be good if ya'll can meet to walk . I like walking with someone better than alone Mindy

Thanks. I was prepared for slow loss. I have to admit im pleasantly surprised so far with the loss. I am going to work really hard to meet my goal but if I dont im ok with that too Mindy

My post fill diet is similar . People say im CRAZY for having him as a doc but it works. I have 3 days of clears, 3 of liquids, 3 of mushies, 3 of semi solids. But its better safe than sorry . Mindy

I understand that , But what im talking about are the people who seem to know they are too tight and have chosen to continue to eat soft foods to eat around their bands and continue to PB. I understand forgetting the rules I PBd from drinking right after eating , we are all human , But keeping yourself tight and PBing so you can eat soft foods, THAT is dangerous Mindy

I just want to mention one thing that since a few people on here have said they pb often I think need to be reminded of . PBing often CAN CAUSE YOUR BAND TO SLIP OR ERODE , so if your PBing GET UNFILLED. your doing NOTHING for yourself by keeping your band so tight that you can not eat solids and your Pbing , even going to soft foods, and staying on them! what is the point ? Im sorry but I dont get it ? WHY ON EARTH would you go through the pain of surgery and make this life altering change and then keep your band so tight that its essentially USELESS ???? If your band is so tight you can not eat solids GET UNFILLED ! Your saving youself A LOT Of pain and possible damage later on ! Im really not trying to judge but doing this can be dangerous and we all I think got banded to save your lives?? Mindy

Well I think that is the problem .... I heard some where that we need to think of food as what it is ... NUTRITION Nothing more. We need food to live , food technically isnt to be "enjoyed" , sure you should like the food you eat. But its not entertainment. We need food to LIVE nothing else. SO you eat the food to live , not for it to be enjoyed. If that makes sense ? I eat A LOT OF stuff I dont particularly care for , but i Do it because i know its good for me , we have to eat as part of this process, if we dont what's the point ? Yes I do skip one meal a day but if your skipping multiple meals , often or consuming liquids to get your calories A LOT , i think thats a problem and frankly not the point of the band. That's just my opinion . Mindy

Hi everyone, I am Mindy I have had PCOS for many yrs. Unfortunately most of the meds they have to treat PCOS I can not take because they give me migraines. So i went untreated for many many years. I was not sure about getting banded. I thought " I cant lose weight now because of PCOS what makes me think i can lose it with the band" My doc assured me that I COULD Lose the weight . He said it might come off slow but it will come off. I have lost 44.6 pounds Since July 16th . I consider that Quick weight loss. Im averaging about 3 lbs a week . I do know that I HAVE To exersice in order for the weight to keep coming off. Even if that is just walking. I did not walk at all for 2 weeks this past few weeks and NOTHING Came off for the first time since surgery . HOWEVER I did not gain either. I want to try to be under 200 by thanksgiving. I dont know if I will make it or not ? Glad to see everyone. Mindy

Yep , do it as well. I usually drink a Protein shake for Breakfast because im not a breakfast person and its just too much trouble to fix something. Also sometimes what i fix for the kids and hubby isnt "band Friendly " ( although i try to only fix one meal) so I will drink one for dinner . I try REALLY hard not to do this. This weekend we went out to eat for my sisters bday , I REALLY wanted shrimp but i had not tried shrimp yet since being banded, I REALLY did not want to get stuck at a restaurant so i just went with a bunless hamburger since i knew it was safe. Really have to think about food a lot more now Mindy

I agree with everyone else sounds like you need to commit to yourself , commit to taking care of yourself. And honestly I dont think a doc closer to you has ANYTHING to do with it . I think its an excuse you have told yourself. But if you think it will help then do it. But NOTHING Is going to help if you dont want this for YOURSELF. I would suggest counseling though . It sounds like a good idea. Good luck Mindy

LOL I Live In Buda so we are all not to far from each other. Laura if you send me your email i will send you an email about support group meetings Mindy

I was self pay , wanted to stay in the US . My surgeon was Dr Jorge Rincon in San Antonio TX . his price is $12,000 includes fills/aftercare for the first yr. Price includes everything except pre op testing which runs about $600 . Cliick on my Sig line ( my fill info ) and it will take you to his website. Dr Rincon is AWESOME. I Highly Recommend him . Mindy

Could be . I am not sure if all docs who do liquids sell that kind of stuff or not ? It would be interesting to see though ? Mindy

I agree with you. I knew sodas and smoking were going to be REALLY hard to quit. I gave both of them up nearly a YEAR before surgery . I thought I was going to have surgery at one point in time ( even then i gave smoking and sodas up what what have been close to 6 months before surgery ) and ended up having surgery the following yr , this yr . I did not want to be worried about either of them anywhere near surgery . And I think your docs answer is probably the reason for most pre op diets, to shrink the liver and "test" your level of commitment . Mindy

I agree , I dont see the point in it either. Im glad my doc did not require it. one of the reasons I chose him . It sort of proves for those of us who go on low carb high protein diets to shrink the liver and the ones that go on liquids , when the livers are shrank the same , that its not needed. Personally I think the docs do it to see if we will comply post op . Which if that's the case I understand but say that ! Mindy

totally agree with Gayle, You will feel like you can eat " normal" food and normal portions. Like she said , Just because you can doesnt mean you SHOULD Mindy

Well, I agree w/ you to a point, I think it depends on where your at in the process maybe . At the time pre op SURE seemed hard. and a lot of people seem to have ( in my opinion ) a hard time sticking to pre op diets. I do agree with you about restricting caloric intake, I find it SOOO GOOFY for people who are banded and then say " Im on the Atkins diet or some form on diet" What is the point of getting a band if your going on a diet or restricting your intake ? I dont watch my caloric intake other than making sure i get ENOUGH calories in . My doc is good about being flexible with my post fill diet and was with my pre op diet, i wouldnt have gone with someone who wasnt so , I agree with you as well on that , she should talk to her doc about something that is doable for HER. So I think im agreeing with you LOL Mindy

I kept thinking that too I didnt have to do a liquid only diet i had to do a low carb high Protein diet and I was really hungry on that, so i cant imagine doing all liquids. Although I do have to do 6 days liquids post fills, something i would NEVER Think i could do . I was VERY Worried about my liver and i cheated twice in 2 weeks. nothing major just one meal . So 48 hours before surgery i went on all liquids instead of 24 hours. My doc said my liver was fine. It does get easier and I agree with Happy Camper, mix it up with something else , if you can have Soups do that, soup for some reason makes me feel more like im "eating food" Mindy

A lot of it is head hunger. Look into what others have been able to do as "liquids " and what your doc allows. KEEP DRINKING keep fluids in you that helps A LOT . Post op is easier, its not that its not hard at times however, i wont lie to you . It gets hard , but you also have the fear of not wanting to mess things up . Also keep in mine post op you have NO RESTRICTION until you have a fill, so dont fool your self into thinking " I will have the band to help me right after surgery " that's not really true, you have to be realistic. Drink the optifast as often as you can . if you can have other Protein drinks such as boost or add Protein powder to drinks do that. Drinking Water all the time helps. Things like Spaghetti sauce is considered "Liquid" for my doc. you CAN DO THIS . It gets easier keep your eye on the prize mindy

Sorry I dont think this is fair. We all know pre op diets are harder than post op , or at least they are for MOST of the people on this board from what I have read. I dont think that statement was fair to say . Does she need to know NOT To do this post op YES. Does she needs to know it gets a little easier after surgery becasue the fear of screwing things up are there YES . Just my input Mindy