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IF---------and that is a big IF-----you are on a regular diet now, not on mushies or liquids, then nothing will happen if you eat it. This is not bypass surgery with dumping issues. Small bites, chewed well----and you should be fine. Most suggest the lower calorie as it speeds up weight loss!! Avoiding refined sugars and flours is recommended, but if you are asking will it physically hurt you, or your band, or make you "dump" the answer is no! One of the benefits and yet drawback at the same time to the band! You can eat it, but you will get the same calories and fat out of it you would have pre band. The difference is, with the band, once you get some restriction, 1 cookie will be enough, not the entire plate she brought!!! Welcome to LBT! Kat

I think I'd schedule an appt with the nutritionist that works with your doctor, because that IS confusing to not be allowed milk, yet non fat cottage cheese is allowed? The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the doctor is trying to steer you away from liquid calories. Yet a serving or two of non fat milk per day is often OK with other doctors to help us get our Calcium in. Every single bariatric doctor is going to have slightly different ideas on how their patients should eat post-op. And not all plans will work with all patients. Seriously I'd go back and get clarification. Good Luck. Glad you're getting to move to more solid food soon. I was back on regular food by two weeks. I can't imagine doing liquids for a month.

For whatever it's worth.... My surgeon said that not having to count calories is the beauty of the band and that those that aren't bothered by that, stick to it better. Obsessing over calories, fat grams, protien grams, carbs, calories, etc. can get boring, irritating and a royal pain in the ass. It's not necessary. It was one of the reasons I was attracted to the band. I looked up the calories of things my first week, got a good idea of where I stand on that, and chucked the rest of it. It's so nice to not have to worry about it. My little band watches out for me. So I just relax and enjoy my new life. You instinctively KNOW when you're eating to much. If you don't, your band will tell you. You know the rules. Relax.

So far 4.5 months out and 68 pounds lighter I haven't been counting calories, but wonder if I should start. Since lately I feel like I might be plateuing. Then again a few times in the past I thought I was hitting a wall and then all at once I lost a few pounds. Maybe I should stop weighing myself everyday? Sorry to ramble

I am not a calorie counter per say. I am more of a guesstimator on my calorie intake. I just make the right choices and don't go over board.

Two week liquids, two weeks mushies, two weeks semi solids, then time for a fill. After the fill, I think 3 days liquids, 3 days mushies, 3 days semi solids. Count your calories. Don't eat or drink any empty calories. Eat Low Sugar, Only Good Carbs, High Protein, Fruits and Vegies. Drink your Water. Exercise. All this will spell SUCCESS!

Here's some examples of a typical meal for me pre lap band: EX1 1qt Beef Fried rice 10 chicken wings 2 egg rolls 2 cans soda EX2 1 medium sausage, pepperoni and Canadian bacon pizza 5 bread sticks with 4oz of marinara EX3 2/3 lb pasta 1 cup Alfredo sauce 1/2 lb chicken breast 3 slices garlic toast Needless to say that was excessive with that Alfredo clocking in at over 3000 calories. I only really ate once per day, but it was still 3000 calories. So now that I haven't been getting very many calories in a day my weight has been plummeting. But that's going from 3000cal/day to almost nothing, so obviously the huge change will do that. For you, your body is used to weight watchers and has adjusted it's metabolism to receiving that 1200cal/day. You'll still lose the weight. Slowly, but it will go away. Just up your exercise and even 300cal per day will make a big difference in your weight loss plan.

I waited until I was about 4 months out (my doc said 3-6 months). I drink pretty much whatever I want, obviously in moderation. I've had beer, wine, mixed drinks, etc. The carbonation in beer can cause a little discomfort, I usually drink a wheat beer like blue moon that isn't highly carbonated and I always drink out of a glass. Alcohol (especially mixed with high-calorie mixers like fruit juices) is TOTAL empty calories, so most surgeons warn against drinking during the weight loss phase. It can also lead to crossover addictions, so be cautious. I'm a social drinker and haven't noticed that it has impacted my weight loss at all (I don't even bother tracking/logging my drinking on MFP) so each person may have different experiences with it.

I should say too that 600 calories a day sounds really little to me - is that until you get where you want to be or just for the first few weeks?

well lets see, i'm going into my 3rd year and i'd say i eat anywhere from 1000- 1400 calories per day. For example: Breakfast : 1 - 2 slices of toast and butter and coffee (always coffee); Lunch: kids hormel complete ready to eat meal (6 oz) ; dinner: spa lean cuisine; snacks: whatever the heck strikes me that day, be it M*M's; wheat thins; fruit; whatever. . . of course I still drink my alcohol every weekend; eat the occasional bakery goodie (i'm not into bakery goodies too much though) whatever. . . I reached my doctors goal and even surpassed it by 12 lbs. . . i've been maintaining my weight between 210 - 215lb ever since and at 6' tall it looks pretty healthy on me. . . . good luck and I hope this helped a bit

I'm nearly 19 months out and I eat like a normal person. I consume around 1200 calories a day of whatever I feel like eating. I aim for 90+ grams of Protein and an equal amount of carbohydrates. Now, I did have my metabolism tested and for me, this range of calories is suitable as I could expect to gain on anything over 1300 calories without stepping up my exercise. I didn't get to the point where I could even dream of consuming more than 1000 calories a day until one year post op, though. For much of the first year I was hardly able to consume 800 calories a day, and it was a real chore to do that much. I don't exactly graze but I do think I eat more like six tiny meals than three regular ones. I'm happy with that. Since hitting goal I haven't needed to record my food yet as I never see more than a pound and a half +/- on the scale. I'm happy where I'm at and I feel normal. I do eat half a sandwich and feel satisfied. If I push myself, I can eat a half cup of Soup with the sandwich, too, provided the sandwich is grilled cheese or something else without meat. Cake bores me post op, so I don't even need the whole slice - just a bite or two and I'm good. There is only one food that I want to eat by the bucket and it's popcorn. And honestly, after about 2-3 cups of it I'm done eating it, anyway. It's the only food I want to eat 2-3 cups of, though! My feeling is that if you do the head work as your body is losing the weight you'll get to goal and find you have a healthy relationship with food. I started out post op really restricting carbs and calories and found that just like prior to surgery food was ruling my life. I was thinking about it all the time and making myself crazy. Once I got to the realization that the diet mentality had to end and accepted that I'd lose weight more slowly than I had imagined prior to surgery, I was able to slowly but happily drop the rest of the weight over the course of 17 months. I feel that part of the reason to choose such a drastic surgery is to drop the diet mentality forever. I wanted a diet I could live with, and I sacrificed getting to goal in nine months to have that. I still got to goal and trust me, it's just as fabulous as it would have been had I done it in half the time. For those of us that don't feel hunger and have huge restriction it's more of a challenge to eat than you think. I still rely heavily on Protein shakes or I'd never reach my protein goals. I still have a hard time eating more than 2-3 ounces of protein in one sitting, or anything more than one scrambled egg with some cheese. ~Cheri

Lot to cover here, from my view. I'm year out but almost at maintenance so I think I can qualify for answering from my perspective. I'm about 1200-1500 calories per day and I exercise regularly, although somewhat competitively. I could have pretty much anything I want but I've changed my lifestyle and I'm pretty religious in choosing a healthly lifestyle so I don't want anything to do with my old lifestyle. I still can only eat small amounts and I'm really used to asking for 'to-go' boxes or 'doggie bags'. I can eat socially with friends but I just don't focus on the food so much. All of my friends are very supportive and question what and how I'm doing it so it's not much of a problem. I also snack occassionally but again, because I cna only eat a small amount, it never really gets out of hand. I'm changing from a protein diet to a slightly higher carbohydrate diet because I'm running half marathons and doing triathlons on nearly a monthly/six week basis so I can achieve better results but at age 55, that will change at some point and I'll go back to a higher protein diet for weight maintenance. Does that help?

I've had wine and champagne. Just some sips, not the whole glass. Also, I was at least 4 1/2, maybe 5 months out. I've only done it a few times on special occations. Oh, last weekend I had a chocolate martini! ... well, about three sips of one! But it was good! It was at a comedy club! I don't really want the emply calories and I've never been much of a drinker so If it turned out I could not have any alcohol at all, I would be fine with it. As long as I get my sleeve!!! :-)

The petites are only "petite" compared to the regular size.. How big are the regular ones?????OMG can you say HORSE PILL? I find the petites go down much better if I just swallow them whole rather than make them all jagged by cutting them.. They are also fine to crush so you can crush them into a powder and add to a drink... just crush them really well into a powder using a spice grinder and you can just add to a drink.. they have no real flavor. Alternately there are some powdered calcium supplements out there provided by some of the bariatric Vitamin companies that you can try. Bariatric Advantage also has the wafers you can get and they come in flavors like orange, berry or cinnamon. The chews taste yummy but they're expensive and might be adding more calories than you might like

I had a run in with combos in January I cut them out totally, yes there's protein in them but not enough to justify the calories, fat, and carbs

It sounds like you are way too tight. Contrary to popular belief tighter isn't better. It can lead to both weight gain and slips. You are clearly exhibiting "soft calorie" syndrome because you're too tight. Please read this article, it will help considerably: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/page/index.html/_/support/post-op-support/tighter-isnt-always-better-r118

Thanks. You have a great ideas. This is why I made it back to the site. But I have a question. How are you getting in that many calories a day? What does your meal(s) consists of. I normally have a Protein shake or Cereal in the morning, lunch is meat, salad or veggies; at times garlic bread and dinner probably the same as lunch or I'm badly snacking. I love Lipton peach tea and lately I have been making lemonade with fresh lemons; craving this everyday. Water is truly not a friend of mine. But I read a site today at www.bariatricchoice.com on water and it really helped me to understand the meaning of and why it is needed. Sooooo, lol, beginning tomorrow I am going to try and a bottle (16oz) every one 1/2hours. This will surely help in the snack area that is driving my weight not to go down.

Hi everyone I was a low bmi too. I started at 210, 203 on the day of surgery. I am 6 weeks post op (01/17/14) and I have lost 31 pounds (10 before the surgery on pre op diet). I have a question has anyone else stalled in their progress. I stayed in the low 180's for a week and a half and now stuck at 179. I am extremely conscious of my calorie intake and am "exercising" (walking per dr's orders) at least 3 times a week. I am consuming 800-1000 calories (as suggested in the surgery manual) and getting my protein targets. Has anyone experience something similar or is there something I am doing wrong? Thanks for all of your help.

The water thing is a super goal to pursue! I do drink loads of water every day, at least two liters. But I can't drink it plain, it just won't go down well, so I add Mio or Crystal Lite or any kind of SF flavouring to it, always. And a bit more diluted than it calls for, as it is sometimes too sweet. But yeah, drink a ton of water, it is great for you and it keeps your tummy full as well. I have been on full food (except raw fruit and veg) from four days post-op, they do things a bit differently at my clinic. So I've been eating food all along. AND I never lost my hunger at all. For me that is a very good thing. It makes it like pre-op: I get hungry, I eat till I'm full, I stop. And my plan calls for three meals and three Snacks per day, so that makes it easy to get protein in every few hours, since I've never used Protein shakes and had to get all my protein from food. The other thing I do is really keep my diet quite varied. It would be easy to get in a real rut with this surgery and always eat X for Breakfast, Y for lunch and Z for dinner. But I eat all sorts of different things, so my stomach doesn't make the decisions for me (if that makes sense). There are very few things I can't eat well (aside from things I already didn't like pre-op LOL). But as far as advice, my three favorite are: drink more (you're already on this one), cut out white carbs (bread, Pasta, garlic bread lol, etc.) and keep your meals/snacks to planned times and contents. ETA two more haha: Don't drink calories (ie, sodas or drinks with sugar/calories in) and always track everything you eat -- I use myfitnesspal for this. Keeps you well-informed about what you're eating, where your calories are coming from, etc. Good luck, you can do this!!

Sleeved 12/31/2012 High weight: 303 Surgery weight: 297 First month: - 31lbs Second month: - 11 lbs Third month: - 13 lbs Fourth month: - 10 lbs Fifth month: - 10 lbs Current weight: 227.8 Total lost: - 75.2 lbs Average Calories: 1000-1100 per day. May upload a pic if anyone wants to see.

If you're walking that much, you might have to actually increase your calories by 100 - 200 calories. Talk to your doctor or dietitian about it. Sometimes they don't want you to increase calories, but sometimes they do depending on activity level because your body could just be holding onto whatever you have. One lady on my surgeon's support group said she was having a hard time and the surgeon told her to go up a little for a day & then back down, like do one day at 800 & one day at 900 and back and forth like that & it worked for her. You might need to play with calories a little to find the right mix for you.

Are you taking blood pressure medicine for any reason? I am not a medical person, but I'd think your body would have replaced the blood volume by two weeks post op unless you aren't getting enough fluid/calories to do that. I think I'd call the doctor's office back and mention your concerns. Maybe the nurse can alleviate your fears. I'm shocked that he let you leave without a clearer understanding of what you can do to help yourself, if anything. At the very least, he should have told you to expect to be weak or light-headed for a certain amount of time and when to worry if the issue hasn't cleared by a certain date. Good luck. I'm interested in hearing what the doctor's response to further questions may be.

about how many daily calories are you getting now that you're sleeved? Or do you count them at all?

At my last appt. The nutritionist was looking over my food journal and I was getting around 85 g protein and around 800 calories..she told me to drop my protein down some...she recommends 65g....i wish I would have asked more questions..she did say you can get too much protien but for the life of me I can't remember what she said too much can do....today when I looked at my totals I had 112g protien and about 1000 cal...wow I've never had that much...i should have skipped the protein bar I had for a snack (20g)...

Banded 1/7/13, 1/2 cup at a time is all Mistress Band will allow me to eat. Lasts me 3-4 hours easy. I was worried that I wasn't getting enough calories, so my NUT told me not to eat more at one time, but to add a 4th 1/2 cup meal, which is working quite well for me. Everyone is different.