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Popcorn is funny.... for me it goes down fine but I spend the next hour bringing up the skins of the kernels... But I eat it alot... Not the kind in the movie theatre... the 100 calorie bags from the store.

Love the Quest bars - I can only eat a half bar at a time just yet. the range of flavors and the density of the bar just works for me. I have bought the Protein chips and I liked them! the dusty flavor coating can be annoying like cheetos dust. But they hit the spot when I was craving a crunchy chip experience. I wouldn't eat them regularly though, they are a pretty high calorie snack. I have the Quest Peanut Butter cups in my pantry - but now I am wondering if I will try them - but I have found that people either love or hate Quest products and so far I have liked everything I bought...

Explain to me the "work" part you refer to??? Both surgeries are only designed to do one thing. Limit you intake at a single meal. Basically to keep you from endlessly stuffing yourself with too much food. The "work" part is all yours. You must choose what type of foods to eat and stick to a low calorie diet and exercise. Not try to circumvent the benefits of the meal restrictions, or sit around eating only junk food. The two surgeries just go about accomplishing those meal limits in different ways. So both surgeries will work for what they are designed to do, but having success with either one will depend on you.

I would do 3 things: 1 Call my surgeon and get another fill. Sounds like you could use one. 2 The band and exercise go hand in hand. So you must move it to lose it. Get out and walk, bike, swim at your Physical Therapy Gym. If you have Ins... You can get in and use there equipment. Thats what I do. 3X a week. Then on the off days, I walk the Dog around the block. Find what you need to help you. 3 Also do you belong to myfitnesspal.com If not sign up its free. Counts all your calories, and exercise, and keeps it in memory, and more. I also belong there. Losingintime is my UN there. So look me up...

As others have stated, it's all trial and error. How tight your band is plays a big part in it, too. I personally don't restrict carbs. I count calories, restrict fat, and make sure to get a minimum of 60g of Protein in daily, but I don't do the whole "low carb" thing so many seem to be doing. So, I eat bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes regularly without issue. If I'm going to get stuck, it's going to be on dry meat. Otherwise, I end up stuck on food not because of the type of food it is but because I simply took too big of a bite and did it to myself.

Sorry no one is answering you, I don't think this is very common. You are not going to be able to breastfeed after the anesthesia or while you are on pain pills so it will be a while. I would also be worried about being able to hold the baby comfortably against your tummy when the incisions are tender. How long do you plan to breastfeed? I breastfeed each of my 4 kids for 12 to 18 months. I would be worried about nursing a growing baby while hardly able to eat anything. Most people are living on VERY few calories for several months after the surgery. I went to my support group at the hospital where I plan to have surgery (waiting to get my date!!) There was a young mom in there who is 5 weeks out from the sleeve. She is exhausted! She can't eat much solid food yet. She is surviving on Protein shakes. She was crying because she feels like it is taking her too long to get her strength back. She naps every afternoon (her kids are in elementary school) and feels bad about it. The nurse who runs the group gave her reassurance and pointers. She will be okay. But I can't imagine taking care of a baby, especially nursing, on top of that!

I agree with you, Minerva! All I can get in is protein, and that still leaves me at 45-55 grams a day. Those Birdseye protein blends look great, but they have stuff we aren't supposed to have: corn, grains, beans, etc. Nuts are off the table too. I drink half a protein shake a day, and I want to do a full one for the extra protein, but I'm trying to make the transition to food. It's tough! I do drink half a Clear Protein drink most days, which is 10 grams of protein -- worth it to me, despite the 45 calories. If you haven't tried them, I highly recommend them. Premier Protein makes them.

I'm having surgery on my left arm on the 17th of august, and my right knee is in a brace and having PT for it and my neck which is so not good . I also am wearing a catheter due to bladder retention until september. needless to say i'm not able to do much exercise except for what I have to do for PT on my arm, knee and neck. I'm not seeing much weight loss and think I'm in a stall. i'm so afraid i'm going to stop losing weight or even worse, regain weight. I had my surgery April 13th, 2015 and have lost 50lbs so far (not complaining). Being 57 doesn't help either. I'm making sure I get at least 60-70gms of Protein a day. I'm a picky eater and so I'm concerned that is hurting me. I've had to set reminders on my phone for when i need to eat or snack (i have a brain injury and my long and short term memory is horrible.) I basically have 1 Protein Drink in a.m. with my meds (30gms protein) and then I eat a lot of light yogurt (80 cal, 7gms protein) x 6. sometimes boars head deli turkey plain, baked potato w/chilli, blueberries with almond milk, spaghetti, chicken, salmon, but on days that i don't want to cook it's mainly the Protein drinks and yogurts and maybe something i made ahead of time and froze. All in all it stays under 1000 cal. since i'm not going to be as mobile maybe I should cut back calories? how many calories do you think a couch potato burns in a day? lol cuz that's what i'm going to be for atleast 2 weeks. Has anyone had to put their exercise on hold? and what was the outcome. I think i'm going to be unable to really exercise for a couple of months. They are talking about doing neck surgery next after i've recovered a bit from my shoulder repair. I've also found the strangest thing. sometimes (usually in the afternoon) i find I can eat more than what I typically eat. a.m. is 11oz of protein drink, snack is 1 yogurt, lunch is usually 2 yogurts, my snack is a protein cookie (yuck) or yogurt and then dinner can be more traditional. I'm open to any and all feedback! Kat

I was sleeved about a month before you two and about a month ago I went through a few weeks where I was eating 1300-1400 calories a day. Scared the crap out of me! Then I just couldn't. Now I'm back down to 600-800 calories a day again. I don't know, Weird. ..

I am so glad to have my baby back. Grandma and Grandpa brought her back a little after 4pm this afternoon. I miss her so much when she is gone even for just a day. She really is the light of my life. She has started walking everywhere... finally. She was a late walker. She's been cruising since right around 12 mos. but it has taken her until now 4 months later to start really walking independently. I wasn't in a real hurry for her to walk (she's getting harder to catch ):confused: but I was gonna start worrying if it didn't happen in the next couple of months. Now I can relax and just enjoy her toddling around. Today was good. I've been really good at maintaining the house. I've used this time off from work and reorganized everything. I am at much more peace when my house is in order. Everything looks so nice. I rode my bike for 10 minutes and consumed 560 calories. Goodnight all!

I am so glad to have my baby back. Grandma and Grandpa brought her back a little after 4pm this afternoon. I miss her so much when she is gone even for just a day. She really is the light of my life. She has started walking everywhere... finally. She was a late walker. She's been cruising since right around 12 mos. but it has taken her until now 4 months later to start really walking independently. I wasn't in a real hurry for her to walk (she's getting harder to catch ):girl_hug: but I was gonna start worrying if it didn't happen in the next couple of months. Now I can relax and just enjoy her toddling around. Today was good. I've been really good at maintaining the house. I've used this time off from work and reorganized everything. I am at much more peace when my house is in order. Everything looks so nice. I rode my bike for 10 minutes and consumed 560 calories. Goodnight all!

It depends on what you are eating. Since you say you are eating soft foods, you might be getting a lot of calories in there. My dr's motto on fills is..."I'd rather have you eat a bit too much chicken then be overfilled and eat too much ice cream (mashed potatos, high fat Soups, or whatever fill in the blank)" He says being overfilled drives bad behaviors and I agree this was true in my case. He said he's seen time and again people who are overfilled who gain weight or stop losing. If you can't get at least some hard Proteins down, you are too tight and probably eating around the bad. A very small unfill might get you back to the sweet spot so you can eat what's right. Just my .02

Does anyone have any suggestions that could help me get back on track? I was banded Feb. 06 and to date have lost 80 lbs. But havent lost a thing since Thanksgiving. I have about 8cc in a 10 cc band, and for a while there, it was so tight that I had a problem eating any kind of meat, and would throw up. I didnt want to get an unfill, so I just didnt eat that much, and especially not meat. Now it seems that I can eat anything again, and too much of it! I have heard that if you are too tight for a long period of time, thats when you can have problems with erosion, or slipping, so I am not sure about another fill. Instead, does anyone have any ideas on how I can jump start my weight loss? Any food ideas would be helpful too since the Protein thing can get very boring. Also, does anyone track how many calories/carbs they eat, and what are the correct amounts. I always hear different things. ANY ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!!! :help:

they have no idea what makes people fat. None at all. Last year it was Leptin. It isn't even as easy as calories in vs calories out. They dont' even know why or how the band works. They think they know, but they are not 100% sure of why it works.

I weigh and measure all of my food and track it all with a software program at dietpower.com. You log your food and can see the breakdowns, etc. The difference with this program is that over time it learns your metabolism. You enter your goal weight and a goal date and it will tell you how many calories to eat each day to reach your goal and it will adjust itself each day based on your own personal metabolism. It takes a week or so for it to get on track and it takes 30 days for the projected weight to get in track, but if you log all of your food and your weight, it seems very accurate. As long as you follow the calorie amounts given, you will reach your goal!! I sound like an infomercial but I really do love this program. (I used to use fitday). It also gives you a place to keep track of your exercise and will consider that when it figures your metabolic rate, etc. The first week or so you have to enter a lot of new foods into the database but I've found that the longer you use it, the less time it takes to update it. I spend less than 5 minutes daily updating what I eat.

Have you ever calculated your Base Metabolic Rate (BMR)? Here is a link to do so. You plug in your height, weight and age, and it tells you how many calories you need to take in to maintain your current weight. Then, you need to calculate your caloric needs based off your activity level: Harris Benedict Equation Harris Benedict FormulaTo determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows: If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2 If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375 If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55 If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725 If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9 So, this just deals with your caloric needs. As far as the Protein, that seems to be high to me, but I am not a nutritionist or dietician. It probably would be a good idea to go back to the nutritionist that your surgeon works with and see what s/he says about your nutritional needs. Good luck!

I'm 7 months out and am terrified that the real weight loss is over! The previous month, I lost only 6 lbs. Then last month, only 3 lbs. I try to exercise every day, I try to keep the calories down, I try to keep the carbs down (below 40) and I am nowhere near goal. It is all very very very very depressing.

Almost all the ones I looked at were over 200 calories a bar. Not sure if I would want to expend a sixth of my daily allotment for that.

I would like to put some protein bars into my Daily food intake, but I'm not sure which is best for me nutritionally. There seems to be a wide variety in regards to calories and protein, does anybody have any suggestions for lower calories and higher protein and especially protein bars with not so much sugar in them. Any advise would be greatly appreciated look forward to hearing from you all.

Day 2 of full liquids complete. Still feel great. I got more than my required water in again. My kidneys and bladder are thanking me. I have huge scarring and atrophy of 1 of my kidneys, so chronic dehydration from the days that I can't get enough water in really aren't good for it. I often wish I could just schedule and appointment for an IV bag... but my doctor doesn't do that. Because I have just done 2 days clear and 2 days full liquids I feel I am much better hydrated and it feels like I just did a kidney cleans. Maybe I should do this more often LOL (No... I am not serious... but it does feel good!) Like I said in earlier posts... I usually get my 64 ounces in.... but on the days I don't it really puts me behind hydration wise so I do my best to avoid it... but heaven forbid I am at work and step away from my desk and kept away longer than I intended... by the time I get back I am feeling it! Same with if I go into a store to grab just a couple things... if I forget my water in the car... or heaven forbid run out.... I feel it. And when I do I have a hard time making up for the missed fluids. I swear I can feel myself dehydrating when I am not actively sipping fluids. I also got more than my required protein in. My goal is 60 Grams and I got 102 grams in. That almost never happens... but I had protein shakes for my 3 meals plus a greek yogurt for one of my snacks. Again... this helped me feel good all day. (And again... my nutritionist adds the yogurt to full liquids so patients get more nutrients in). Today's weight is 127.1... so again, back to within my normal maintenance fluctuation range of 124-128. I am happy here. Upping my calories yesterday helped so I didn't drop too much. And today I advance my diet. Next stage is supposed to be pureed. I will include protein shakes and greek yogurt, as that is what my nutritionist builds my pre-soft food diets around. But I will add some other puree style foods to the list. But since my weight is already so low... I might be shortening and/or modifying this stage. Haven't completely decided how I want to handle it. I would definitely like a little more time to rest my pouch.... but I have to be mindful that I don't also keep losing weight. The max I am willing to lose is 3 pounds more... but I don't NEED to lose 3 pounds more. My challenge today? I am driving to see my son who is away at college. With that... my daughter will probably eat some sort of fast food in the car on the way there. She is always hungry during the car ride. And it will probably be something that smells really good. LOL And add to that... I promised to take both of them out to dinner. And of course, I don't want to just sit there and watch them eat.... so I need to be strategic with where we go so I can eat something too. This might be one of the times I have to "modify" my puree diet stage. If I can't find something of a good puree consistency... I might go for something in the soft diet range. Of course, I can do this because I am not recovering from surgery. But I also don't want to have left overs, and I certainly can't overeat.... so this will be a challenge. Next stage is soft foods... so really I will be eating a normal diet but picking foods of a soft consistency. So, will I do 1 or 3 days (3 days is suggested) of pureed first? I don't know! Again... if I am shortening stages a bit.... pureed is the one to shorten. Soft foods allow me to have a nice balanced diet, so there really is no advantage to shortening that stage. I like a lot of nutritious foods in the soft diet. And I can get my maintenance calorie requirement in with soft foods. But pureed is less of a balanced diet.... so if I am going to shorten stages to prevent too much weight loss, that is the stage I am going to shorten. And remember... I did an extra day of clear... so if I do 1 less day of pureed My diet progression is about the same number of days, and if I shorten by 2 days, I am only shortening the true "stomach rest days" by 1 day. Not bad. I think it will have the same effects.

Just finished 48 hours on clear liquids. Feeling great and back down to 130.5 pounds. Today is day one of full liquids. Started the day with a protein shake. Hadn't had a protein shake in a really long time. Post op they made my stomach nauseous, Tolerating it fine today. Maybe I can re-incorporate into my regular diet for breakfast? That would be good! I had intended to do green smoothies, but I just don't get to it before work. I can keep a stash in my fridge at work and a stash in my fridge at home and always have it on hand for when I am ready for breakfast on the go. You know... there really is nothing wrong with my plan. My nutritionist had me do PRE-OP and then again POST-OP. I have done it two and a half times already. One and a half times before surgery.... once for many days, once for a few days.... both times guided by my nutritionist. And then of course the post-op one lasted a month also following nutritionist instructions. The nutritionist used it pre-operatively to get my weight a little lower AND to train for post-op. By now, I know what I am doing. And both hubby and I are nurses, so we both know how to watch for problems. It is also recommended by many surgeons as a pouch reset. When you start eating more than you should you stop recognizing the signals that you paid attention to the first few months post op. Does it really shrink your stomach back down? I suppose that depends on how badly you treated your stomach post operatively and for how long you abused your "new" stomach. I know I treated my new stomach VERY WELL for the first year. It is they last... up to 6 months that I believe I have pushed it beyond what I should. I believe I have a good change of shrinking it back down if I do this now. But if I chose NOT to do it now and don't get my diet under control then it will be much less likely to work as time goes on. Can I just start weighing and logging again? Sure. But I felt this was the better option for me to reset and retrain. BACK TO THE BASICS. FROM THE BEGINNING. Following my nutritionist instructions through the stages and back to lifestyle eating. Am I starving myself? Heck no! I have the extra fat to burn to sustain me through the last two days which is the only two days I am totally depriving myself of nutrients. Did I feel a little hungry now and then? Sure. But I drank a little broth or ate a little jello to get me through. Today I am going to make sure to pick the most nutritious full liquids I can. Done this before, I know how to do it. Am I lacking energy? Not really. I am pacing myself and keeping hydrated. Must have peed 50 times yesterday (exaggerating... but I was peeing very frequently yesterday). I also timed this with my vacation from work. It's Spring Break. I spent the first couple days catching up on housework. Now I am taking it easy while I get through the clear and full liquids stages. By the time I go back to work I will be on soft regular foods. I know how to do this, so I made sure to time it well. "sometimes these weird desperate extreme fixes sort of reinforce disordered eating habits". I find this statement baffling. This isn't a weird desperate extreme fix thing. This is a well established SHORT TERM diet plan that is prescribed by surgeons and nutritionist for a variety of reasons. Kick starting weight loss is one of them. I did not wait until my weight was out of control to do this. I am doing it when I am seeing a negative trend that I want to stop in it's tracks... to help me get back on track. I know my nutritionist would approve. How do I know that? We discussed this last year... when we were talking about stalls. And "reinforce disordered eating habits?" That is a lot of assuming about me. Yes, I was 100 pounds over weight... but I didn't gain weight for the same reasons everyone else may have gained weight. I didn't eat excessively large amounts of food... but I did eat like an average American. I have never been bulimic. I have never been anorexic. I have never followed unhealthy crash diets. Why did I gain weight? Well... the docs think it was triggered by many years of undiagnosed sleep apnea. And coupled with drinking a lot of calories (pepsi) and not picking the healthiest of foods. So tell me, how exactly is following a short term often medically prescribed diet followed by resuming a medically prescribed lifestyle diet going to reinforce disordered eating habits for me? It's not. This diet is not going to reinforce me drinking sugary drinks. Haven't done that for over 1 1/2 years and am not doing it during this pouch reset diet. And it is certainly not encouraging me to eat American size portions. Just the opposite. It is going to remind me what my portion sizes are going to be. And as for sweet cravings? Well... I might have them. But I am being very mindful during this and reinforcing good choices as I move through the phases. That is a good thing. And the grazing which is my actual problem right now? This is going to help me reset into a normal scheduled eating pattern with small portions which is my biggest goal. SO, will this help me accomplish my goals? YES IT WILL! As long as I stick to the plan and advance to my proper post-bariatric lifestyle diet. Again... don't need criticism. Just because you think you aren't criticizing doesn't mean it is true. Feel free to comment if you want to be supportive. Or not. Again... this was my "holding myself accountable" post. Because I know I need to hold myself accountable. Accountability is one of the keys to success. So... today and tomorrow full liquds! Which for me means mostly protein shakes and greek yogurt. Yes, my nutritionist considers greek yogurt to be a full liquid... and since it has protein and nutrients it goes nicely with my protein shakes to get me through the full liquid days.

Even 11 months out of surgery I still can't eat but a few bitesof potatoes, bread or Pasta, it just fills my stomach to much. Crispier breads are easier but I like to stay away from the extra carbs. I have been eating thin crust pizza since I was 3 months out. I never had a problem with sauce. I like these magic pop crackers their 15 calories and 4 grams of carbs each and you only need one, there perfect for humas, salsa, pb and j. I love them and their easy to digest. You should get over missing the breads soon as your able to start having regular foods. Good luck with your recovery.

Hi MamaJava, I haven't been banded very long (2 months) so I know I can't give you more helpful advise than someone who has been banded longer. I just want to say I think you should relax. Sit down and think about what you are eating. Be honest with yourself and keep a journal of everything you eat and record your exercise. If you make sure your calories, sugar, and carbs are low I don't see how you can't lose. I know you say you are not eating breads and Pasta but carbs are in a lot of other things as well and in high numbers. I keep my food and exercise journal on my computer. Anytime I pick something up to eat I go straight to my computer and type it in along with the calories, fat, carbs, sugar, and Protein it provides. If you just have to have ice cream try low fat yogurt. I eat the low fat yogurt or no sugar added ice cream but I only eat it maybe two to three times a month. I don't eat it everyday. You could also try sugar free/fat free pudding made with 1/2% milk. I love that, I sometimes mix bananas in it. Other than that just make sure you are doing everything you possibly can to lose the weight. I know I want to lose this weight so bad and I will not sabotage my success by eating things I know I shouldn't eat.

Yea I track on myfitnesspal. I'm getting 80-100 Protein a day but the rest I'd have to look up to tell you. My phone recently took a dump so I'm basing off of memory. Are you tracking everything you stick in your mouth? What is your typical carb/protein/fat/calorie count? Are you taking your measurements as well as weighing yourself? HW 312 SW 289 CW 224 I'm so frustrated at my weight loss. I've been in my 220s since 4/25 (today is 6/18, almost 2 months later). I know I wasn't getting enough Water in, but the protein was always 80-100 at least. I'm going to the gym twice a day now. Is anyone else stalled, or has stalled and broken out of it? That could be it. I'm getting about 800-900 calories a day. @@stephyr Are you losing inches? If you are going to the gym twice a day, are your calories keeping up? You can't create a huge calorie deficit and not fill it. If you are working out more you need to eat more, or your body will think it is starving.

Yes I agree, u may need to up calories if your exercise is intense. Are u pushing yourself at the gym., are u breaking into a sweat ..if not, up the intensity.