Search the Community

I can eat pasta, rice, bread, and salad. I just don't like pasta and rice enough to eat them. Bread I don't eat because of the calories. If I am at a dinner party and there is nice/high quality bread I will eat it. I've only had problems with low quality restaurant rolls.

I need a good online calorie counter - anyone know of one?:smile:

My orders are to mix water with gatorade or 100% fruit juice after surgery, for one week, before I move to protein shakes/full liquids. A week of zero calories would be a hot mess.

I don't know how MFP works, but in Lose It you can add recipes. So if I were having homemade Sweet and Sour chicken, I would enter all the ingredients and create a recipe. Lose It will then tell me how many calories, Protein, fat, etc. are in each serving. I do this a lot for dishes I cook regularly because once they're entered they're in the databse for next time. Maybe MFP has something similar?

The Lap Band is not a miracle fixer. You didnt get where you are over night. Yes I have heard that you can gain your weight back, but that's what fills are for, watching your calorie intake, making sure you exercise, and sticking to your guns and not over indulging in the things that got you to this weight to begin with. The band is a tool.. its not going to work unless you use it right.

It’s not surprising that you are not dumping eating sugar. My Dr suggested the sleeve because I am a type one diabetic. Less chances of dumping with the sleeve. My instructions are to drink watered down juice to bring my glucose back up (when they are in the 30 to 60 range on my glucose meter) All surgeons/dieticians’ plans are different. Juice is not on my plan for weight loss because its empty calories. It’s choice on how you want to fuel your body. Eating/drinking empty calories. or hitting your protein/nutrition goals with the foods you eat/drink or I can tolerate anything. Just because I can eat/drink it does not mean I have to eat/drink it.

My Nutritionist told me to avoid fruit juice like the plague because it’s full of sugar and may cause dumping. My surgeon told me that during the liquid phase I could have a little fruit juice because I’m not getting many calories elsewhere, and long as my sleeve can tolerate it. Well so far my sleeve has not had a problem with 100% fruit juice! I’m about to start soft food phase so I will have to watch caloric intake of fruit juice. I’m so happy I didn’t experience dumping because I don’t like sugar free drinks! I don’t like artificial sweeteners. I’m hoping a little treat of juice once a day won’t hurt me or am I being a rebel lol?

I have an app (myplate) on my phone that a person can set for the number of calories (mine is 1000). I track everything I eat. For instance, one I enter the premier shake by scanning the bar code, it can find it and substract from my total. Then, I track my lunch and dinner and anything in between. Also, my fitness tracker is connected so it automatically add my exercise. In this manner, I know everything I have eaten and can stay on track. Hope this helps.

A testimonial from the website of the hospital I will be banded..... insipires me whenever I feel like I need a pick-me-up... just wanted to share. I have found that there are certain "stones" that you must claim as your own and use with almost religious zeal to keep the tool of bariatric surgery sharp and effective. I think every person who has this surgery builds their own cairn out of the stones that they discover work best to encourage them. So here are a few of mine. Stone #1—Quiet Reflection This one takes different forms for different people—prayer and meditation, transcendental sauntering, yoga, sitting quietly, being. Take your pick, but this is an important discipline as it keeps the bariatric patient in touch with the one thing that our weight and former dependence on food distanced us from—our feelings. You must think about how you feel, stay aware of how you feel and set your compass each and every day to make all of the choices that keep you feeling good, feeling lean, and feeling in control. Stone #2—Meaningful Movement Do something. For me the compliance to this particular "stone" is profoundly personal and it took me almost four years to figure out that I would exercise far more consistently if I would work out early in the morning versus in the evening when I almost always had a conflict or flagging motivation. Committing to a time that no person or event could challenge and making it virtually impenetrable from interlopers made this one of the most significant assurances for me. If I start with this stone on the cairn—even if it is just a 45 minute energetic walk—everything else seems to fall in place. Put simply, if I even reluctantly walk over and pick up this stone (no matter how heavy) and carry it to my weight loss cairn each morning, I know that I will virtually run and, with little effort, pick up the rest of the stones that day and stack them on the monument of the day's success. Make this stone anything you like—for me it is walking, rowing, dancing, or maybe a touch of light weightlifting that I should actually do more often. Stone #3—Liturgical Vitamin Ceremonies My vitamin consumption has become an almost holy symbol of my intent to honor the body this surgery gave me. I bought a tea box (a wooden box with 12 square compartments) that sits next to my favorite chair. Every morning and night I open it up to behold the vitamin selection that assures my good health. There they all are—the multi vitamin, the Co-Q10, the calcium, the Colace (still needed from time to time). I take vitamins several times a day, and each time I take one, I whisper "I am good to me." Stone #4—The Security of Staples Always, always, always have the staples you need to stay the course for good health. This takes discipline and a list (laminated and always with you). For me, the staples are hard boiled eggs, fat free cottage cheese, Montreal steak spice, Lite Havarti cheese, apples, blueberries, fat-free yogurt, and Crystal Light. These must be in my reach at almost all times or I will most assuredly make the same bad choices that caused my weight gain. Make your own list and carry a small cooler in your car everyday if you must—and I have—so that you have no excuse. Never, never go home without knowing that you have the staples you need there. I do better without too much choice. An important related "stone" to this one was a hard one for me to acknowledge and eventually convince the rest of my family to join me in honoring. I cannot have any food in my house that is not desirable for a weight-loss patient to consume. Once that first year of no appetite passes and hunger makes its inevitable return, the same temptations you once knew will be back. Even though you will feel rotten if you succumb, it is just too tempting. I find the de-temptation of the home environment and replacing it with staples (symbols of on-going health) is critical for me. Any family member frustrated by this strategy can find plenty of excuses to sneak out of the house for a non-healthy treat. Stone #5—Surround Yourself with Stone Masons This has to do with the ongoing support we all need in life to achieve any of the goals we set before us, particularly the goal of good health after weight-loss surgery. For some, this may mean participating in support groups. I have had a mixed reaction to formal groups for bariatric patients. Prior to surgery, I found the groups to be absolutely inspiring with so many stories of success transformation. They were a remarkable source of hope during a time of despair. However, not long after my surgery, I found that most support groups were negative. The participants focused on what wasn't working, what they couldn't eat, or what they didn't like. Since I had been totally prepared for the changes that my surgery was intended to bring, I did not find what I wanted in a group. Look intentionally for a support group that absolutely encourages the excitement (and yes, reality) of a body that has been readjusted completely to bring about a transformation. Yes, our cups may now be literally half full, but our lives and futures are virtually overflowing. Surround yourself with people who see it that way and, do as I did, select your own personal support team. The people on that team are your stone masons who will help you set the stones you choose in place and secure them for life. Stone #6—Celebrate and Play At least once a quarter, take a day to do nothing but celebrate. Keep a list of the things that you always said that you would do when you lost the weight—take a hike, ride a horse, go to a concert, climb a mountain, go sit on the beach and watch a sunset, shop, etc. Write down everything you can imagine and, like a bucket list, do them one by one. Plan these important days, give them to yourself and review the stones in your weight-loss structure. If you can, take the day off on your surgery anniversary and honor your good health. Stone #7—Share the Joy Take some of the new energy of life that is most certainly one of the extraordinary benefits of weight-loss surgery and give it away to somebody who needs it. Do this in whatever way the world calls you to give something back. People carry "weight" in very many ways and I think we end up with an obligation once ours is gone, to help others carry their own or lose it as the case may be. Stone #8—Lighten Up and Face the Facts The reality of my numbers is as follows. The last time I weighed prior to surgery, I was a precious but substantial 327 pounds. I would lose a total of 167 pounds, 18 of which have found their way back. Of course, this predictable weight gain is a fact that strikes sheer terror in the heart of any person who has struggled with weight loss and knows how easy and devious the return of pounds can be. However, using the stone stacking method described here, I have discovered how to maintain my weight within about a two-pound fluctuation over the past year. Put simply, the balance of stones and habits for me that I have in place right now will accommodate maintenance. What I also know is that if I want to be as lean as I have been (which I very much would), I will have to exercise a bit more and trim some additional calories out of my diet to create that outcome. These are facts, not magic and not a failure of the surgery. Just a reminder that I will have to continue to use my stones in different ways everyday for the rest of my life to sharpen the tool of my surgery and create the monument to good health that I want my cairn to be .

Pj .. that is still awesome weight loss! I should also include that I do try to get some exercise in, I have a desk job but I walk on my breaks and lunch so I can just burn some extra calories! And I have an almost one year that keeps me super busy it sounds like you are doing everything exactly right, it will keep coming off for sure!

Dear Lordservnt, Why do you think that you can NEVER have some of your favorite foods again? I think the whole key to making a success of this "new life style" is moderation in everything! When my husband was diagnosed with diabetes he said "Well, I can NEVER have pie or ice cream or cake again!" I tried to tell him that he could, IN MODERATION! He just can't see it that way though, and he binges on sweets, and then when his doctor yells at him about his lousy A1C (lab test indicating his long term blood sugar control, or lack thereof) he clamps down and doesn't have any sweets till he gets tired of that and binges again! It is an up and down thing, and he never does either in moderation. (And THAT is HORRIBLE for his diabetes!!!) My doctor told me there was nothing I HAD to give up forever, except overeating. He said eventually I could eat everything I wanted to, but I HAD to eat it in moderation! And I couldn't make a life style of eating high carb, empty calorie foods. He stressed to me over and over, MODERATION! I know from experience that when I have dieted in the past, if I wasn't supposed to eat one certain thing, THAT was the thing I CRAVED till it almost drove me crazy, and I would end up eating tons of that one item! So in talking with my surgeon, and thinking long and hard about this subject, I have decided to track what I eat, and allow myself an OCCASIONAL treat, to reward myself for doing so well with my new life style! I bought an Ipad recently, and one of the apps for it is a food tracker (actually it is the Weight Watchers food tracker app), and I enter everything I eat and approximate amounts. This helps me to review my day or my week and when I weigh, I can look back and see, "yep, I did good this week, I can have a little treat tonight." I started doing this on my pre-op diet, so although I am only about three weeks out, I have established this habit, and am trying hard to stick to it. Anyway, BEST wishes to you on your new beginning! So far, I have found it to be a huge adventure, and I can't wait to see what is around the next curve in the road I am traveling!

My pre-op is !000 calories a day with the emphasis being on high protein low carb. What I am doing is having 2xprotein drinks and a small meal plus a snack of fruit. This runs for 2 weeks before surgery. My doctor also requires that I take milk thistle during this time and omerprazole. Also no alchohol.

Leena, I too went through this about 9mths ago. I am just over 2 yrs out and I had a horrible time getting in enough calories. I would consume about 600-700 calories a day and I was so weak but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't force myself to eat. My situation lasted for about 4.5 months and I was withering down to nothing. I went and talked to my surgeon and he referred me to the nutritionist and removed about half of the fill I had. At the time I had 6cc's in a 10 cc band, I never threw up and nothing really got stuck I just couldn't eat, no appetite. I too felt like an anorexic, and that was NOT the reason I got the band. So my suggestion to you is to see your doctor and have some Fluid removed. Maybe go see a nutritionist to make up a daily eating plan for you if the fear of gaining weight back is a serious concern, it was for me. Since I started seeing the nutritionist I have since regained control over food and feel great. I have even had fluid added back to my band and have since maintained a healthy weight for myself. I hope this helps and good luck!

I really believe it all comes down to calories ingested. Have you been counting yours?

Ah Bandster Hell I wondered what that was and now I know! I am 10 days post op and just the same. Not eating yet but panicking about every calorie. Weighing myself almost every hour and throughly stressed. Bring on the first fill. I think I have another 5 weeks to wait aarrgghh.

The stuff I just looked at does not, but check back with your doc, and make sure that they are OK with it. I can't see why not, but just check to be sure. Also, if you are getting 5 calories from the crystal light, then you must be using the bottled version (I assume) as my powdered version has 0 calories. My doc stated to stay with 0 calorie beverages ONLY. Again, ask your doc, and do as he says. P

BBGirl you lost $144.00?? Hee Hee - i know where it is!!! you had WLS june 2011 - benefit of the doubt - you might have lost the 144 lbs in 14 months or so???? bringing us to about september, october 2012? this is an awful long stall - and i can't imagine how bad you must feel I hate to say it but "maybe" your body has adjusted to where your weight is now it (your body) might be saying ............... "hey bud you've lost 144 lbs - maybe thats where we're gonna stop) but maybe its not saying that gotta cover my a ssssssssss you are eating sooo little at 2 years PO you are physically unable to eat more than 5 or so bites??? I agree maybe upping your calories a bit would help congrats on your amazing weight loss of 144 lbs (not $'s LOL) good luck kathy

I've decided that by focusing too much on my lap band and the diet and what I'm eating and when I'm eating and what I shouldn't be eating is sabotaging anything that the lap band can or will do for me. I'm going to stop worrying about it and live a "normal" life! If that means I lose weight great if it doesn't so be it. I will exercise for health reasons as it helps with depression and diabetes. I will try to be more active just for the pleasure in it. When I focus on my "diet" I always end up screwing it up and feeling like I'm depriving myself and then I do anything to add those extra calories. It's totally wrong and I'm not going to do it anymore. It's an added pressure I put on myself and it backfires and has backfired most of my life unless assisted with the aid of illegal diet pills or cigarettes and I don't want to take them anymore either. I will focus on loving myself and building my self esteem rather than knocking myself for being fat and not worthy of a life because of what the numbers say on the "GD" scale:cursing:. If I feel my band is too tight to accomplish this in a normal manner I will get some or all of my fill removed. Thanks for listening, brandyII:smile:

Use Stevia (not from Walmart) but from a health food store only if you want to sweeten things. It is natural. Comes in Liquid in which you use just a few drops or little packets also! Again..has to come from a health food store,,,anywhere else it is chemically modified sweetners such as splenda, sun crystals etc which are not good for you, they are low in calories but actually make you crave more sugar.

You would think I would be upset, but I'm really not. I had an ok week. Didn't get to exercise as much as the week before, but still got in 5 hours worth. Using my calories in and calories burned record I should have lost 2-3lbs, but the scale shows nothing. I would be really frustrated, but since I know exactly where I'm at, I know it is just water weight changes making the scale not move. I can tell, I'm now starting to need a little fill again. I'm doing good, but my daily calorie intake is up about 100-200. Next week will be one month since my last fill, so it will be time for a fill anyway. I hope to get 10-15 hours of exercise in again next week, and see a nice loss for the week.

So I start my pre-op diet tomorrow and it's an extended pre-op diet because I have such a high BMI and fatty liver syndrome. So it's twenty days of these specially formulated Protein shakes from Minogue Medical, and a maximum of 250 calories worth of low glycemic vegetables a day. Up until this point, I have spent so much time doing research, picking up ideas on foods to make after my surgery and getting myself as familiar as I can with everything, but now that I'm the day before my pre-op diet, I'm starting to think... "this is actually happening" and I'm getting exceptionally nervous. I know this pre-op diet is going to be really hard, but I also know that I can do it. It's just now I realize that I'm less than three weeks away from getting on a plane and flying to Mississauga, where I'll have my surgery and it's making me incredibly anxious. Does anyone have any tips or tricks on how to deal with pre-op nerves? Maybe any tips on how to stay focused and not "cheat" while on the pre-op diet? Any help would be great. Thanks, Rachel

Hello everyone. I'm a month post op and need some info/help. I have read many posts about the 3 week stalls and stalling in general, but I'm getting very defeated. My first week I lost 18lbs, now only an additional 3.5. Hit a stall week 2 for a week and a half. I asked my Dr what calorie intake I should be following, was advised don't worry about it and focus on 100 grams protein and 40-60 Oz water. Been hitting the goal every day, but mostly with shakes. Wondering if the issue is I'm not consuming enough calories? I would appreciate any help/input. My Dr's office is not very informative besides saying to follow my book (paperwork) which I have been. Thank you!!

Do you track your calories and protein? Do you weigh and measure your food? Are you resorting to softer foods because you have to chew more solid food too much? when I stall in weight loss, if I track calories for a few days, the problems begin to expose themselves and the answer for why I didn;t lose is usually evident. however sometimes there are just plateaus ( a rest your body needs form continued weight loss) that happen.

So I stumbled upon this yesterday. I've never tried it but if it's good then this would be awesome! It's allegedly calorie free Peanut Butter as well as flavored peanut butter spreads. The company also has other calorie-free items as well. https://www.waldenfarms.com/products/spread_peanut.html

I am so sorry that you are struggling. I can totally relate! In June I had major spine surgery, November another spine surgery and in February shoulder surgery. Of course this all began happening while in the sweet spot (under 1 year) for my surgery. My doctors put me on meds that cause you to gain weight and of course my ability to exercise has been impacted greatly. I was still able to get to goal although it took me a lot longer and I really had to be careful on my diet. I did have to limit my carb intake greatly although I have always eaten whole fruit. Not everyday but just about every other day. Someone mentioned fruit being empty calories. That is not true. There is huge benefit to eating the whole fruit and fruit is a part of a balanced diet. My nutritionist has required that I eat fruit, even in the puréed stage. So many nuts have different plans. Anyway, I just wanted to wish you the best of luck, hopefully your stall will break soon. My longest was 28 days and that was when they put me on steroids following spine surgery. Hopefully just changing some things up in your diet will help break the stall and you will be back on track! You can and will do this, just keep working with your nut. Good luck!