Acadia

Keep track of your food using some sort of food diary like The Daily Plate ($50/year for a completely private account - other sites get full access to use your data as they see fit - images too). Get something like The FitBit ($99) to track your movement. It will tell you how sedentary or active you're being. Those two things together will tell you what you need to do - eat less or move more.

Breakfast: 12 oz soy milk with Chai tea for flavor (I'm too tight in the morning to eat but this gives me Protein, sugar, and calories to get me thruogh). If I'm not too tight (or it's later in the morning but not really early afternoon), oatmeal (Trader Joe's blueberry flax with 1 tsp dried blueberries and 8 almonds crushed). Lunch: I won't eat at work because I'm way too far away from a bathroom to make it worthwhile. But I keep Protein shakes and Isopure handy and always have some Soup if I need it. Generally though I am not hungry at work so it's not a problem. Dinner: usually 1.5-2 cups of food including: 2 vegetarian tacos (1-2 tbsp soy burger with seasoning, tomatoes, lettuce, shredded sharp cheese, taco sauce, light sour cream or greek yogurt) - OR - tilapia, green Beans, brown rice - OR - angel hair Pasta, broccoli, garlic, pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes - OR - soup - OR - salad - OR - a tofu wrap (tortilla, tofu chunks, veggies, balsamic dressing, feta cheese)

Unless you accidentally slip and jam one of those instruments in your abdomen - you'll be fine.

You don't have to tell anyone. If you eat slowly - who cares. Have you ever asked someone who eats slowly with you if they've had surgery? Chances are you haven't. Running to the rest room - don't eat foods you know will cause problems. Stick to light fare and eat smaller bites. For the scar, again, it's none of their business. Until you are totally comfortable with the person - they do not need to know and you do not need to tell them. You are who you are today. It's no one's business what you do or don't do. What you did or didn't do in the past. Also - try making your dates about activity - not food. Go to a bookstore, art gallery, the zoo, etc. Don't go for lunch or dinner - and avoid Breakfast regardless of the stage of your relationship as most banded people can't eat in the morning. And as your relationship continues to form, eat the foods you know are safe like Soup, salad, etc. Once you tell the person you should be at the point where they know you and enjoy you and don't care.

When you were intubated they may have gotten caught on tissue at the back of your throat and - as gross as this sounds - your mucus, snot, etc. could be pooling there. This happened to me when I was younger, and is still a problem decades later - and it always will be. It's quite gross, but that could be what's going on with you. If you're able to cough up what ever is there, then that's likely the issue. If you're not able to cough up then you could be too tight and food could actually be getting caught up (a tiny bit of food can feel like a rock) - and you can be too tight without an office visit fill as a lot of surgeons do a fill at surgery (active or passive).

As you continue to get fills you'll find many foods you once enjoyed - can't be enjoyed. They may be able to be eaten, but not always without consequence. Though I can eat pizza, I don't because while a tiny bite might be fine, it builds up. And some days you'll have no issue with a food, then the next you can barely eat anything. Every one is different and every fill will change what you can and can't eat.

A quarter cup or half cup is too small for a meal. As Heather said, expect to eat between 1-2 cups of food per meal depending what you're eating. Pasta may only be 1 cup; fish, veggies, and rice may be 1.5 cups; and Soup may be 2 cups. Expecting to only eat 1/4-1/2 cup of food per meal is ridiculous. Here's something to think about - I have an overweight cat and she only gets 1/2 c food per day (~150 calories) and she's 14 lbs. If you're 250 lbs, 1/2 c food, three times a day is around 450 calories (if you're eating healthy foods). That's starvation. Whereas 3-6 cups of food a day is approximately 900-1,800 calories a day (depending what you eat). You'll notice that some days you can eat more, some days less. It should all even out to between 1,200-1,500 / day over the week or month and 0.75-1.5 c of food a day will not get you there. There are days when I can't eat Breakfast or lunch, but can drink some Protein. I don't "make up" for it at dinner, instead I eat a small meal at dinner because the band just won't accommodate more. Then there are days I feel like I am eating like I did before the band, when in reality I'm eating around 1,500 calories those days. Ultimately it evens out.

Weight loss is simple math. Calories In - Calories Out. An athlete who works out every day may indeed need 2,400-7,000 calories a day to maintain or lose weight while gaining muscle because their metabolism is much higher all the time. You don't function like that - yet. So, since you're currently still overweight your goal should be to use some of your built in calories - your fat - to burn rather than eating additional calories. Keep your intake the same that it is now. Monitor how hungry you are during the days you work out. Monitor your measurements and weight loss. If you're losing more than 4 lbs a week, eat more calories. Losing that much is nice but will cause issues (skin, organs, hair etc.). Aim for 1-3 lbs per week. Your weight loss rate will tell you what you need.

I have the Omron, $67. Omron Full Body Sensor Body Fat and Body Composition Monitor It keeps a 90 day history for up to four people and does your: weight, BMI, body fat percentage, skeletal muscle percentage, metabolic requirement (number of calories required to maintain your weight), age based on your stats, and your visceral fat (the fat around your organs). It's perfectly accurate when weight with and without weights (how I test scales) and weighs to the tenth of a pound. I strongly recommend it so you can make sure you're losing fat and gaining muscle and losing visceral fat. Plus it's a damn huge shock to the system to see your body's age based on your combined stats.

Unless you have long term first hand experience about the Canadian system don't bash it. If someone has life threatening cancer they are treated immediately.

Are you keeping a food diary? What are you eating and how much? Are you exercising?

Don't expect restriction on your first fill. Few people get to their green zone at fill 1. Plus, it can take up to four weeks to feel the full effects of the fill. You may be fine today, but in another week you may find that you're only able to eat 1 cup of proper healthy food at a time. You could be at your green zone and not know it. What foods are you eating? And what amounts?

When in doubt go to YouTube and watch the surgery videos. See what was actually done. That will give you perspective on why your body needs four to six weeks to heal from this major abdominal surgery.

Dry crunchy food goes down so easily because it doesn't bind together. Foods like Pasta, potatoes, some veggies, egg, meat, etc. will clump together if compressed. Grab a handful of tortilla chips and squeeze them hard, they'll crumble. Now grab some pasta (cooked) and squeeze - several pieces will stick together. Which is why, with pasta, you have to grease it up to stop the starch from sticking together. But, when you eat it, that coating is dissolved and the pasta sticks together - especially as it's forced through a small hole. Same goes for potatoes, etc. If you can't keep solid food down for three days, chances are you're eating sliders to get some food in you - hence the weight gain. Keep a food diary and you'll see what you're eating and why you're gaining.

Kettlebells offer a great workout. Especially the Kettlebell Swing - a single exercise that works your entire body. To buy more kettlebells look at http://www.kettlebellsusa.com/ I buy all of mine from there and they are excellent. There's free shipping on several, but I've found the men's medium set to be the best purchase: http://www.kettlebellsusa.com/metrixx_3_pack_12_16_20_KG_e_coat_kettlebell_kit_military_grade_chip_resistant_finish.html It will work for you now through to when you're super buff Kettlebells also keep their resale value.

Look on the back of your insurance card, chances are it says something like Behavioral Health and a number. Call it. They'll be able to recommend an eating disorder psychiatrist or therapist.

At two weeks I was able to do my normal heavy weights workout (body builder workout). Crunches were the only thing that I couldn't do easily for about 3 weeks. Your first week stick to walking and things like leg lifts (when standing) - low impact, non core exercises.

Something you all may want to keep in mind - you're not cleared to drive as long as you're on pain medication. So even if you feel great two days later, if you're on pain meds - do not drive. That includes basic pain meds. I had surgery on Friday, was working from home the next day, was done with pain meds on Sunday, worked from home Monday-Wednesday and was back at the office on Thursday after being cleared to drive (and that was my one week post op visit). By two weeks out I was able to work out with heavy weights without issues. I had a non-complicated, easy recovery. But was still so sore the first three days (Fri-Sun) that there was no way I could have returned to work on Monday, even for a desk job. Getting up hurt. Gas pain hurt. Shoulder pain hurt. My abdomen hurt and I needed a towel rolled up to provide pressure. Don't rush your recovery.

That's a good idea with the melting ice.

Any time you use a blender product you'll get a lot of air in your shake. There's no way around it. However, you can make a couple of changes with how you blend your shake - and what you're using in it. To reduce the air, blend the peaches and ice first and blend well, then add the Protein powder and milk and blend for 5-10 seconds. The ingredients you're using in your shake are also much higher in calories than is necessary. With two small changes you can decrease the calories of your shake by 33% and increase the percentage of protein in that meal by 20%. YOUR SHAKE NOW 110 calories - 1 scoop of Jay Robb (25 g protein) 100 calories - 1/2 c canned sliced peaches (0.6 g protein) 102 calories - 1 cup 1% milk (8 g protein) --------------------------------------- 312 calories - that's 26% of your daily intake (33.6 g protein - 43% protein). Fine for now, but may derail you later. FRESH FRUIT AND SKIM MILK 110 calories - 1 scoop of Jay Robb (25 g protein) 38 calories - 1 whole peach cut up (skin too, it's beneficial) (1 g protein) 82 calories - 1 cup skim milk (8.5 g protein) ----------------------------------------- 230 calories - 19% of your daily intake (34.5 g protein - 60% protein), and more protein FRESH FRUIT AND SOY MILK 110 calories - 1 scoop of Jay Robb (25 g protein) 38 calories - 1 whole peach cut up (skin too, it's beneficial) (1 g protein) 60 calories - 1 cup light Soy Milk (6 g protein) ----------------------------------------- 208 calories - 17% of your daily intake (32 g protein - 62% protein).

An unfill of 0.25-0.50 cc can make the difference between you losing weight by eating healthy food and damaging your band and stomach by throwing up and getting stuck all the time.

Keep your calories between 1,200-1,500. Some days you may want to increase your intake to 1,800 calories to help stir your body up a little and get you burning more calories (yes - eat more calories one day every week or every other week to burn more calories). And don't bother with small weights. They're useless. You don't carry your groceries into the house one item at a time do you? If you can carry a watermelon (10-15 lbs), or a jug of laundry detergent (8-24 lbs), or 1 gallon of Water (8 lbs) then you should be using those weights at a minimum when you work out. Lift the heaviest weight you can that will allow you to do 8-10 reps. You will not get huge, but you will burn more fat, build more muscle, and will reduce the chance of having a lot of loose skin. Body weight workouts are really ideal: pushups, situps, crunches, jack knives, jumping jacks, squats, lunges, step ups, etc.

An unfill of 0.25-0.50 cc can make all the difference in the world from eating sliders because they're the only thing that will stay down to being able to eat and enjoy healthy food.

Do what feels comfortable. As others have said, you'll know when you've done something your body doesn't like. Straws are totally fine and can help you drink more - they'll prevent you from gulping but you'll still be able to get a lot of Fluid fast if that's what feels good to you (I know it's the best thing after I've been outside in 90 degree heat or when I've just worked out - sipping would just not do in those situations!) Just be really careful about drinking during or after you eat. During makes food go down faster, and can cause you to PB because you will basically be adding fluid to an already almost full vessel. Drinking quickly after eating can do the same thing. If you're already full or almost full you'll overfill your pouch and it will come back up.

You don't need a prescription for Nexium, just go to the drugstore and get Prilosec OTC - it's a standard suggestion from most surgeons to take it for 6 months after surgery. It helps retrain your stomach to create less acid. You'll feel relief within 24 hours. In the meantime suck on a couple of tums to help.