HeatherinCA

60+ grams of protein a day, I'd usually drank 3 or 4 a day. I know the 35g ones sound good, but maybe do 3 or 4 20g ones, so you can space it out better? Just try not to focus on it, the first few weeks are hard.

I don't have any hunger, my band is about half full.. i can go like 5 hours with out needing a meal. Do I still want food? Yes. Can I eat it? Yes. It's all mental, our battle with food addiction. Yea, the band doesn't stop me from eating. I can't eat like TONS of food, but I can certainly overeat by quite a bit if I chose to.

Yea I lose about 1-2lbs a week, if I had to do liquids for some reason it goes up a little bit. But generally no more than that. Just make sure you eat around 1200 calories a day and exercise, thats all.

I'm at 260 today, so down 6 pounds, dunno if i'll reach my goal, but I'm pretty happy with this so far!

mine is about 6 inches up from my belly button, kinda under my breast bone.

Yea maybe start over with liquids.. mushies..etc and just get focused on your goal! But I would go check and make sure all is well with your band with a doctor since it's been so long.

It does curb your appetite! It depends on your doctor though. My first fill was 5.5ccs which is a lot apparently.. a lot of doctors go 0.5ccs, or 1cc at a time, in which case it'll take longer to curb your hunger.. I'm at a point I can go 5 hours without eating. I'm not sure if I will need more, I'm thinking maybe a tad more in the future. It takes a few weeks for the fill to take full effect. I think if you get very little Fluid in your fills then you go every few weeks.

The Isopure fruit flavor bottles they have at GNC are pretty good if you get tired of chocolate. Just throw in a packet of SF Kool Aid or Crystal Lite to make it taste better

The fullness feeling is different. I'm just not stuffed like I would be before surgery. Exactly the thanksgiving analogy.. it doesn't feel like that generally. Like when I stand up after dinner I can feel the food and it feels good, but it's just not overstuffed. It's more about being satisfied. You don't exactly feel full, you just "don't want anymore" it's hard to explain. 1/2 a cup maybe enough food, but it's not satisfying. Realistically you eat about 1-1/2 cups of food in the long run. I have like a 3oz piece of chicken, and maybe a 1/4 cup of a side dish for a general meal, or for Breakfast I'll have about a cup, cup and a half of oatmeal. To start off when you are healing it's about half that.

Yea, Center of Excellence. Have it at a hospital not a surgery center. Ultimately, I'd just make sure you feel comfortable with your surgeon. It's a fairly simple procedure.. You want bariatric surgery to be their main practice. So they know what to expect, how to do fills properly, they know about nutriton etc...

heating pad was my best friend! Walking helps the gas pain, and sip lots of Water. Just keep hydrated. Also when you have to move, like to get up from a chair or lay down take a deep breath, that helps the pain as you move. The pain sucks for the first few days. Make sure you fill the prescriptions for pain meds.

I wouldn't worry too much, it's probably more to prepare you for what's to come... I just had liquids for a week. i didn't have any other diet. Just don't cheat on the liquids!! That is to prepare and shrink your liver for surgery But after surgery you have to watch everything you eat and watch your calories and make sure it's 1200 everyday, or you won't lose any weight. So it's good practice.

I think the way the band is portrayed by the media and such is wrong... it's way different that I expected. I think people are looking to feel full (like full to a regular non banded person would feel after eating a meal), with very very small amounts of food. But that simply doesn't happen with the band. Maybe it does with the sleeve because your stomach is physically smaller? For me the band controls hunger, that's it. But half the battle with food addiction is it's all in my head, I just eat for the sake of eating, not because I'm hungry.

It keeps me from being hungry, I can go 5 hours without eating. But as said in other posts, it doesn't stop me from eating, it doesn't stop me from wanting food, it doesn't stop me from over eating (granted I can't eat as much food as before, I could still eat enough to sabotage myself, and gain weight), it doesn't exercise for me. I think a lot of people believe that you will eat a 1/2 cup of food and be stuffed! That's just not true. Then they wonder why? Then they get 10 fills.. then everything gets stuck haha. I'm not hungry, so I don't ever really feel deprived, but it's not the satisfying feeling of being really full. Me personally, I can eat anything, I haven't had trouble with any food going down (I eat rice, bread..etc). Some people do have problems.. either because their band is too tight, they aren't careful, or sometimes it just doesn't agree with their body. A lot of this battle is mental, we are all addicted to food. It takes time for me to learn to just not want it. Even if I'm not hungry.

I do it occasionally. But yea, like everyone said it's just not filling because it slides. Sometimes I'll do chili or something thick as a meal.

I chew it, not too often, I'm just scared I might die if I swallow it LOL! It doesn't seem to give me gas problems either.

It was disgusting and looked like dog food haha (and every meal looked the same). Also it's stupid because on top of what's in the box that you paid $400 for, you had to eat a fruit, and a salad, and a veggie with each meal.. it was very expensive. Eat real food it tastes good ahha.

If you are on pureed food you can have it but not for liquids. If you are eating mashed potatoes I assume you could have cream of wheat

Well they blow your stomach up with air during surgery, I know that is what initially causes the gas.

Follow the rules or you won't lose weight. Don't drink with in 30 minutes before and after meals or you will wash the food down causing you not to be full for as long as you need to be. Just start getting in the habit of doing that. I don't take teeny tiny bites and I'm ok, but I do try to slow down and chew my food. When your band gets tight, then it's more critical. But don't "test it". The band is a tool it won't stop you from eating, or stop your bad habits.

I can eat sushi... I wouldn't exactly say i'm "tight" though, I haven't had any problems with any food getting stuck. It's just hard to eat sushi since you can't eat it in one bite. Kinds loses the appeal when you have to cut it up haha. I'm not disgusted I would say... I'm just amazed at the calories in food! But I do like eating out, it's cheaper now haha I had El Pollo Loco for lunch I had one little chicken roll up for lunch, it was $2 ahha, before I'd have to get the whole big meal with 2 sides and tortillas and a soda. I like that most chains have the calories on the menus now, makes it easier to decide, but I hate the restaurants that don't have an at least some what healthy option!

Same here. 4 to 5 hours without hunger, and you should be good. I'm never hungry to be honest, unless something happens and I'm way off my regular schedule. I still get head hunger all the time, I always want food, but it is easier to say no because I'm not physically hungry. I'm starting to unravel my old habits of eating all the time, hungry or not. I'm not at the point like the other posters said about not wanting food... I don't think I need or want to be at that point, that almost says to me I'm scared to eat because it might get stuck. I don't have any stuck issues now, I can eat a wide variety of food. I have 5.5ccs in an 11cc band.

It could.. but I feel like that is cheating. Because you aren't losing weight properly. I know some people do the 5 day pouch test, basically 1 liquid, 1 mushies, 1 soft.. etc something like that, if you google it you can find instructions. I'd just try cutting back, take a look at what you are eating, and track calories for a few days, and how much you are exercising and find out why you aren't going down.

Aww! you can't have soup? or chicken broth? The first month sucks, it's just life... but after you heal it gets better . Just follow the diet and exercise and don't expect the band to do all the work for you. The band will help your hunger, that is it's job remember that! But it's up to you what goes in your mouth the band won't stop you from eating.

I buy clothes, just less. Pretty much I shop the same, I just don't buy a lot of jeans, I have some in all different sizes, they all still "fit" for the most part... I mean shirts will still fit even if I drop a size or two. My hoodies and tees are a little big, but it doesn't really bother me.