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I was allowed dairy during the liquid stage so I would add a tablespoon or two of whole cream to the broths that I was allowed. Didn't make them thick but added a richness. And I was having such small amount the calories didn't add up.

Cortney, You say you keep gaining weight "no matter what you do", so I wonder what you are doing. Have you ever been to weight watchers? Has anyone ever taught you to count calories and write it down. Has anyone explained how to read a nutrition label on a packaged food? Has anyone shown you how to weigh or measure your food for a "normal" portion. Do you know how many calories you need to cut from your daily intake to lose one pound a week? Are you eating most of your food at home or at school? If at home, have you asked your parents to eliminate the foods that will easily add on pounds and to have healthier food choice in the house, like fruit for Snacks etc. Sometimes for SOME people, a little knowledge can be a very powerful tool to understanding portion control. Changing everything you currently eat to half the portion, can make a big difference. While you investigate if the lap band is right for you, why not try some of the above, if anything it will help you be better prepared after lap band surgery.

I think that it's like anything else with our sleeve (or an RNY or banded pouch) where we have to be careful about drinking our calories. With fruits you have to be careful about the amount of sugar in the fruit - I was amazed when making smoothies for my wife after her WLS how much strawberry it took to get the flavor into the drink! That's probably less of an issue with juicing veg, but it still pays to keep track of what's going into it. I don't mind things that are sliders as long as they are nutritionally dense relative to their calories.

Hi there I am Bobby, I live in NC and I am 28. I have always been a big man all my life. When I was in 10th grade in high school, I weighted roughly 419lbs. I lost a little weight since then, but I am still morbidly obese. I have stayed in the range from 360 to 380lbs. I have tried diets from all veggie down to 500 calorie diets, not eating just taking Vitamins and drinking Water and milk. During that process I may have lost 6 to 10lbs but then I gained 20 to 35 back. I was told about the Bariatric Surgey about 4 years ago. I was recently told about the Lapband Surgery by my new doctor her in NC. So I have been researching it for about a month. And I didn't really find anything out about the outcome of the Lapband. Some say you have an external object outside of your body, so the fills can be done. Can anyone help me figure more out about the outcome of lapband surgery? I know the weight loss out is spectacular from the photos I have seen. But if that valve(if you can/could call it that) is outside the body. I doubt this surgery is for me.. But I could also be very wrong, It maybe perfect for me. Thank you for you help and time.. P.S. I am just worried if the object is outside my body.. I will damage it in any/some way..:phanvan

Hello Everyone, I was banded in October of 2009, I have never really had restriction, got stuck alot but never that sweet spot I read about. I teach zumba 3 times a week and the only time I had great weight loss was the two week post op of liquids only. I do realize that no matter how much you excercise a bad diet or eating will not make it a difference, and this is where I fell. I was burning 5K calories a week and felt like I could eat what I wanted, I didnt gain but I didnt lose , I kep losing the same 10 lbs over the last 3 years. Last year I started getting really bad acid reflux but at first I didnt go back to the doctor because I felt like a failure in the weight loss department. Part of my issue is menopause as well, weight is the only symptom I have nothing else. Well I got sick in January and when throwing up the band was acting funny, went to the doctor and I had esophogus dialition and they had to unfill my entire band. WOW the hunger pains I felt were like are you kidding me? My first thought was take it out and I'll do it on my own with weight watchers. Then as I was talking to the physicians assistant who I trust and has been incredible during this journey told me that although my band didnt work as it was suppose to that it was still doing something, and that if I didn't revise I would probably gain 10 lbs a month until my body normalized, around 6 months, and when she said it I didn't believe her but since getting unfilled and the hunger I feel I do now. I also started weight watchers as I think its a good foundation to eating after the revision, so if I'm ahead of the ball this time the more the better. Its also helping me to lose my ten pounds before surgery. and its great espeically with the apps on my phone, and its true when you logging what you eat, you do realize when you really are hunger or just thirsty or doing something out of habit. My surgery tentatively is for May 2, I have BCBS federal and they require 3 months weight classes, well it seems that weight watchers classifies so my billing admin is going to try to submit next week since April will make 3 months going and weight watchers is weekly. \ My question is to the board, how do you feel when you awake from a revision? How are you at getting around? Whats the best Protein poweder? I have a realize band so I dont know if that makes a difference. When I had my lapband day 4 I walking 4 miles at the park, so I"m just trying to get my head around it and try and be as prepared as possible. ANy hints, info you can provide would be helpful and appreciated.

Drinking is meh for me as a post op. I like the quick buzz that occurs on very little (1/2 glass), but most of the time it wears off in about 10 minutes. Definitely stick to 1 las because 2 does nothing extra sceptic add calories. If you are still in the losing part of your journey, do be a little careful about how much you drink, even if you can drink it. drinks will not help you lose weight and often times causes stalls or gains. That said, 1-2 a month should be ok if hat is what you want. Some drink more often while others do not drink at all. It is definitely a matter of personal choice. I have been averaging about 1 a month and I has to be a good reason. My favorite is an expensive Chardonnay or a very well blended mix of spirits ( a least a Long Island). It is not worth my time or calories to wasted lesser drinks! Good luck.

I also work in an environment where this CRAP food here all the time....seriously - and not only is it just here, right next to our printer so every time I have to get something from the printer, it's staring me down..but people go out of their way to come and bring it right to my office to offer it to me (even though they see, I'm clearly not eating that type of junk). What I normally do when I feel tempted is I log in to dailyplate and look up the nutritional values of whatever it is that's tempting me.....seeing that one small cookie has 140 calories and a bunch of fat usually turns me off immediately. So looking up the calories and then figuring out what exercise I'd have to do to burn it off usually tells me whether something is worth it or not (more often than not, it's just not worth it, LOL). Hang in there....there will always be temptations, but the more you DON'T give in, the stronger in your resolve you'll become (at least that's my experience).

I do most of my work sitting but do hve to get up and walk around to get things. I am the weird one in my surgical date group (there is always one!) that is not healing as fast as others! I took 2 weeks off and I am so glad I did! At 1 1/2 week, I move slowly and I still can't bend over tp pick up things. I get tired easily and I still need to take anti-nausea meds and pain meds (both of which can make me sleepy) combine that with the sudden lack of calories and less than normal drinking habits and whew! I am so glad that I get to take my time and focus on me before returning to work!

I get nauseous when I'm not getting enuf calories, or when I'm dehydrated. Are you getting enuf calories and Fluid? Not sure birth control pills would cause that. I went back on mine a couple weeks ago after being off them for 2 mths (drs orders for my surgery). Nausea from anesthesia should be over by 5 weeks (I'm also 5 1/2 weeks out). Maybe a stomach bug? My dr said that it's so rare to get a leak after the first week that it's almost unheard of. I know theres a few people on this board that have had leaks up to 6 mths later (and I told him that) but he still sticks by his stats. It's most likely not a leak. Good luck! Make sure you're getting enuf fluid in. The day before I was to start soft foods from liquids I woke up nauseous. I was dehydrated. At 7 pm that nite I realized all I had that day was 3oz of Protein shake. So I forced myself to drink some Propel. Thats what sucks with dehydration. You're nauseous cuz you can't drink but you can't drink cuz ur nauseous. it's a vicious circle.

I drink diet soda everyday and I have since about 2 months post-op. When you're newly done with surgery the carbonation isn't great for the wound, but the reason they tell you no soda is because they don't want you drinking your calories in the regular version. Diet soda will kill you for entirely different reasons, but they have nothing to do with your sleeve. If you want something new, try Perrier or another sparkling Water with lemon or a water flavoring squeezed into it. It's almost no calories, the carbonation won't hurt you after you're healed from surgery, and it's healthier for you than diet soda.

I am 7 days out and on full liquids. I am able to do 2 ounces of "calorie" liquids per hour along with the 2 ounces of Water or water or water substitutes, but I can just keep on drinking water all the time and have no problem with getting full or vomitting. I am worried there is something wrong or that I am messing up my sleeve

wat will i tell ppl when im not eating easter bunnes on easter day... im normally into them the second i wake up? I do tell people I'm dieting (and I am!) even though I don't tell people that I've gotten the band. That way they understand and don't keep pressuring me to have something to eat. I stick like glue to my diet and don't have even a taste of something like chockolate, bread, potato etc.. Over TG & xmas (pre-band) I made sure that there was Protein for me to eat if it got to be lunch time and everyone else was having the "snack round"...I made teriyake chicken on a skewer and sprinkled with sesame seeds...no one even noticed that I didn't have all the junk that they ate! At dinner time it was much easier to just choose the protein and veggie. It was empowering at the end of the day to know I stuck to the right foods, and to think of all the terrible calorie counts that everyone else ate!

115lbs lost in 6.5 months that got me to goal weight of 148lbs at 5'2" tall. I continued to lose sporadically over the next 4 months to my current weight of 120-125lbs on any given day. I adhered to the post-op dietary guideline and saw results. It was easy for me to eat Protein first, stay within my calorie and carb guidelines to be successful. Maintenance was a little tricky because I had to add more calories and carbs for my body to stop losing weight. I've been easily maintaining for the last 4 or so months. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. No regrets, life is as normal as it could be. I eat and drink anything I want just in moderation and smaller portions. I'll add you to my friend's list, and you'll be able to review my blog that is chalked full of research articles, my journey, and my days early out for the first few months. If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact me via the private message system on this site.

Well I start my 3 week pre op diet next Monday... A lil nervous now... Idk if i can do it. Im trying to stay under my daily calories but i feel like i wanna pig out cuz soon I won't EVER be able to.... Help! ANewMe428

I hear you. When I am marathon training I experience the same thing! Adding an extra Protein shake post workout helps. Or another high protein snack-- a scoop of Protein powder in oatmeal, a Quest or power crunch bar. When I eat one of these things post workout it curbs my appetite somewhat for the rest of the day. I also find low calorie Snacks like cucumbers or snap peas to crunch on when I get the munchies. I'm lucky I'm in maintenance and can eat a bit more. Keep track of the calories you burn in your workouts so you can eat them back. That helps too!

I read once that it didn't effect the calorie content if you didn't eat the skin...l would ast your nutritionist

We were both banded about the same time (I was the 28th of May) and I understand how you feel. I think what you are going through is a major adjustment to a different life, but it can be an awesome life! This is part of bandster hell, the period between surgery where you are healing before your first fill, where it is impossible to follow all the rules. Dont let it get you down, this will get better and once you have your first fill you should start seeing more results. As for weight gain we are all going up and down as we heal, some days water weight some days a bit too many calories, but it is a learning experience and once you get it figured out you will be stronger. Hang in there you are doing great.

holy cow this sounds so good, do you know roughly how many calories are in a serving? And approximately what size serving to you use? I really want to try this lol. YUMMMM!

No, as long as you stay within your calorie range you'll still lose. Your kidneys will get rid of the extra fluids.

I started preparing for the days after surgery by cleaning house and finding products that are good tasting and on the diet plan. I found a Pacific Turkey Bone Broth with rosemary, thyme and sage. It comes in a small paper container with a twist off cap. 35 calories 9g protein 0 sugars 0 carbs. This does taste good and has saved me when I wanted something that reminds me of real food flavor. Also a Campbell's creamy chicken soup on the go. It has bits of chicken but I strain them out and eat half like a meal. Calories 65, sugar 0.5g, protein 3g and carbs 4g. This is also good. Each day I drink 2 unjury or Jay Robb whey chocolate protein shakes with skim milk and ice - makes it like slushy. I meet my 60g plus of protein. SF pudding & light yoplait yogurt (no fruit pieces) are my other snacks. It took a while but I found options and this has helped me so much.

Have you talked to your Primary Care Doc or whoever is helping you manage your diabetes? I know in the Info. Meeting I went to they said that Gastric Bypass is much more effective with Type 2 Diab. I think there probably is better results with GB, but that is because in addition to the restriction you get (like the band) you also don't absorb the fat and calories like you used to , which can be good and bad. What is your BMI? If you have a BMI over 35 with the diabetes you qualify with most insurers, but I know nothing about Medicare. Can you call them yourself and find out? Check out the Insurance section of this site and see what other Medicare users have experienced. Look online and see if you can find their policy. And talk directly with the person that deals with insurance at the office you are going to and see what they say. They are old hat at this and should be able to really help you with the process. With any bariatric procedure you are going to get out of it what you put into it. That 50% loss is an AVERAGE. Some lose less, and some lose more! So for those that only lose 10% there are also those that lose 100%. What are YOU willing to put into this to make it work? The lap band is just a tool to help you out. But if you aren't willing to do the work of changing your eating habits and exercising regularly then it won't work and you will be right where you are now, but with a bunch of scars and a useless medical device in your body. Keep us updated on what you find out.

I do regularly make smoothies for breakfast. Its a great way to get fruit in and I find fruit almost impossible to force myself to eat these days. I've never liked the sensation on my teeth of eating it (weird, I know) and now that I have a band and fruit tends to get stuck, it nauseates me to even think of eating it. So I blend it up, usually bananas and berries. I'm not much of a breakfast eater even though I'm not unable to eat it, I just dont really want it. I find now I'm back at full time work, I risk going through the day on about 200 calories if I dont get in breakfast, so a smoothie is a great way to meet Calcium needs, fruit needs and calorie needs. I thrown in some flax seeds too for the nutrients and fibre they offer. Good, worthwhile, multipurpose food if you ask me.

I am 2 months out from surgery and had my first fill a month ago. i don't feel alot of restriction but my calories are at 1,000 to 1,300, i work out 5 days a week, i can eat almost anything as long as it is slowly. I am losing weight slowly. but do i want my cals too much lower than that do i? i am sticking to the plan, doing the work, sometimes i am starving but after a cup of food i am full, and i make good choices 99% of the time, so should i wait on the second fill?

I have a 9-year-old, too (mine's a boy, though.) :thumbup: My husband is doing his through his PCP-- and basically it's just the regular "move more, eat less" sort of thing. She had him move from 1500 calorie Stouffer's lasagna at lunch to a 400 calorie Lean Cuisine- that sort of thing. And she had him start on a walking program. But I'm sure that every doctor/nutritionist has their own program. My insurance wouldn't cover my surgery since they don't recognize depression as a comorbidity of obesity. So I was self-pay and didn't have to do the official 6 month diet (though of course I've been on a diet since I was about 11 years old of one kind or another.)

I don't understand it myself and it's very frustrating to put so much effort and work into it and not see any results. It makes me break down and cry sometimes but I keep going. But I will tell you that I stick to 700-860-some calories a day. Sometimes I'll make it to 900. I write EVERYTHING that goes into my mouth in a food journal and I mean EVERYTHING. Ever since I stalled back in July I have become extremely strict with my diet and sometimes have to force myself to work out as much as I do but I get it in.You have a right to be suspicious if what I'm saying is true but let me tell you that I'm being completely honest with you and completely honest with myself. Even in the liquid phase and mushy phase of my first few months with lap band I was unable to lose weight. Back then I was eating nothing but chicken broth, cream of chicken Soup, sugar free Jello, then moved on too mushy foods such as re-fried Beans, mashed potatoes, etc and was still unable to lose a pound with that kind of diet. I kept my portions to half a cup and 1 cup. I have had my thyroid checked because my grandmother had hypothyroid as well as two of my aunts on my mother's side. My thyroid workup always comes back normal. The only thing that the doctor has told me is that I have metabolic syndrome. But a funny thing did happen one time at my doctor's office. My doctor divides his time between his private practice and the hospitals around my city and he had hired a nurse practitioner. I went one day and he wasn't there so I saw this nurse practitioner and based what I told her about not being able to lose weight she prescribed thyroid medication and I picked it up at the pharmacy and I was happy that I finally had the answer to all my weight problems, but 2 weeks later while on that medication, my doctor called all of his patients that the nurse practitioner saw during that time and asked them to come in to re-evaluate her work and he told me I wasn't even hypo thyroid according to any of my blood workups. I asked him about the nurse practitioner and he told me he had to fire her because in his absence she was diagnosing people with illnesses and conditions that they didn't even have and prescribing medications they didn't even need that could also be harmful to them. So he took me off the thyroid medication and explained my numbers to me and told me I had no thyroid problems. But maybe I should see a specialist such as an endocrinologist just in case.