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Long time no post...Reason, no weight loss and very busy. Yup. A little frustrated on the no weight losss but pretty excited about the NO WEIGHT gain!!!! Yeah it sounds weird but it's true. I am very excited about another thing. I found a few new snack that are great tasting as well as healthy and full of productive calories not empty ones. My husband and I found Whole Food's Supermarkets. Ok, I would of never went into this place a few months back because it just didn't interest me. plus, I never understood what it was about. Well, guess what... I love it now!!!! i found some Soy rice cakes, some honey roasted soy nuts, dried/baked veggies that really taste yummy. Even my kids loved it. I am so pleased that my kids loved it because no we can all enjoy a healthier lifestyle together!!! I also went to Trader Joe's (also another supermarket) and found some dried fruits and fruit snack that taste like fruit roll ups and only 70 calories!!!! HOLY SH... I can fill my sweet tooth!!!! So a heads up to all those sweet tooths out there...there are other healthier and "allowed" sweets out there, we just need to look for them in the right place!!!!!

hi, i was banded july 16. you will eventually be able to eat nuts and cheese again. i do. i have to follow a special diet anyway exclusive of lap band and i practically live on them. high in Protein butyes you have to watch the calories. i never buy a can of nuts or a block of cheese. i only purchase the single serving at convenience store (99 cents usually) and the cheddar cheese that is usually sold by the fruit. i live on that stuff and you will be full on just a normal serving. but it will be awhile . i only started back to eating nuts about 2 months ago. crushing pills shouldnt change anything except how fast it gets in the bloodstream but not the amount absorbed. call your pharmacist to be sure on that. quote=barelovers;775260]Hello everyone. Why is it that we are not supposed to have cheese and nuts. Is it due to the fat or calorie content or is there another reason? Also before the surgery I used to take Fish oil, coq10 and Gluchosime chondrotine. Is anyone currently taking these and if so how? Whole pill form, cut, crushed or liquid. By changing the form (cutting or crushing) should we take less because it is absorbed quicker into our bodies. If anyone has any info I sure we would all like to know. Thank you in advance for all your help

no 89 proof vodka has 65 calories per ounce. Considering bandsters are cheap dates you might not even make it to a ounce.

ladybird - check out this forum to get an idea of what people are eating: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/share-ideas-what-did-you-eat-today-36828/index84.html#post961558 i eat a bit more than a half a cup of food at a time & have at least one snack. i think you have to might play around w/your quantities/calories to find a balance & what works for you to lose weight.

Totally with you on that. Don't have a date yet. I see the NUT and social worker again on the 4th and then will get the referral to surgeon. I have lost 9 lbs since seeing them on the 13 of Aug and they told me that I had to show a loss. A good piece of advice was to pretend that I had the surgery already with regards to eating. I know sounds severe, but have been eating healthy choice meals since then for a calorie count if about 1100 a day. Seems to be working. Am concentrating on eating slowly and that seems to be helping too. I think I might be addicted to Water now too!

Well I went for some curried chicken well cooked but moist at a Chinese restaraunt. I have been eating thinly sliced smoked ham the last few days with a slice of cheese. Sleeved in Mexico without much of a diet plan so I looked up several on the Internet from a link someone provided on this forum. So far no sickness so far. Was up on my feet thirty minutes after surgery and felt pretty good. Get lists of fluids but simply tired of pretein drinks. Perhaps I should have brought the meal home and puréed it but I haven't puréed anything yet. But I am sure I will with some thing I may want. Running between 700 and 1000 calories a day.

Good luck Jim, it does seem like a lot to lose when u first start out but just follow the rules, keep your calories burned more than calories eaten i am sure you will be fine. Hell i managed it

I am happy with my decision to have the surgery and I am pretty happy with the total amount of lbs/inches I have lost. However, I am very frustrated with my current rate of loss. I had a teeny little mini-stall at 2 weeks postop and broke on through it within about 4 days (so I'm not sure I could really call it a stall). Now I am 5 weeks out and haven't lost (actually have gained) ANYTHING in almost 2 weeks. Maybe this is more my stall than the first one was? I am working really hard to get in my calories and protein and getting in all my fluids. I go to the gym every morning at 530 for 45 minutes to an hour. I know this is probably my body adjusting and getting used to the new lifestyle but it is so disheartening. Can some of you tell me what a typical day's food is like for you as well as exercise? I'm trying so hard and have just gotten started - I didn't think it would get this difficult to take off the lbs. this soon....would love any tips or encouragement!

I read all your post and find some peace... I have been eating my 3 meals a day, proteins and produce. I do not drink my calories but I do not feel like I am getting anywhere. My weight loss has staled, I exercise frequently. My doc didn't feel me still which is fine because for the most part I am not hungry. Some days I have trouble getting my protein and somedays my calories in general. How do I get back on the losing side of this... I feel like it is never gonna get going... I have lost 18 lbs since my surgery in june but my doc said she expects me to lose 8 lbs by my next appt in sept and the scale isn't moving...

I never drank anything other than diet dr pepper pre-op (a 2 liter a day at least). I am 3 1/2 months post-op and I will admit to a sip or two but it's just too sweet now and doesn't have that same zing to me any more. For at least 8 weeks pre-op, I WANTED one, no NEEDED one, every day but I didn't give in. Now, I no longer want them. Yeah!!! I drink Water, crystal light, propel zero, fuze slenderize, water with a splash of tea. Good luck! Don't give in. It's the best thing you can do for yourself. Experiment with the zero or very low calorie drinks that are water based and find things you like.

I love diet snapple and propel!! Nice icy cold glass and I'm a happy girl. I'm nine months post-op and tonight at dinner I thought about having a little glass of orange soda- until I read the nutrition label!! 12 oz = 190 calories and 50 carbs!!!!!! Reality check!!

Thanks. I am usually getting around 80 for Protein. I am worried about the whole starvation thing. That's why I am asking about it. I feel like I do need more calories than I am getting.

sunnykim - me toooooooo! 1 Protein shake 1 taco salad - yes the whole thing AND from taco bell - those aren't small! 5 chicken tenders and mashed potatoes and gravy - count them, FIVE 2 weight watchers toffee ice cream bars UGH!!! Total calories???? A LOT! Calling the fill clinic tomorrow! What the heck?

Thanks to everyone who has offered advice!!!! I've actually LOST a few pounds. I think I was eating TOO MUCH! Since I've started keeping track of my food and exercise (fitday.com), I've come to find I was taking in too many calories for the activities I was doing. Not to mention- my husband likes to eat burgers and bad food every weekend so I think that was doing me in too! This weekend I told him to only go where I can get something healthy. Threw a wrench in his plans, but he's always telling me to increase my workouts so I can eat what I want- nevermind that that is what he does and he has high cholesterol and high uric acid. No thanks! Anyhow, I am increasing my workouts to 5 days from 3, staying at 30 minutes, but I'll be doing the treadclimber Tues/Thurs and the stationary bike M/W/F. PLUS watching my food intake- I think I will start dropping much faster very soon. I DEFINITELY need another fill! They are wanting me to eat 3oz. of meat and I am still easily at 6 oz. This is much smaller than before the band but still too much. I can still eat quite a bit. Anyhow- I will give you all another update in about a week! Thank you all so much again for your great advice!!!!

I'm a little more than 1 year out. My eating plan is 3 meals plus 1 snack a day with nothing in between. I'm below goal so I'm clearly doing something right regarding caloric intake. My problem is that I get sleepy after eating. I don't eat so much that I feel sick but I often want to take a nap. Does this mean that I'm eating too much? Does this happen to anyone else? If it does mean I'm eating too much, I'll probably have to go to 3 meals 2 snacks in order to keep my calories up. Wow, I never thought I'd ever say that!

What are you eating? Calories? Carbs?

My name is Jenn and I'm 30 years old. I'm 5'1" and I weigh 226lbs. I'm scheduled for the sleeve on Feb 9th at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, NJ. I wasn't always overweight, but I have been for about the past 10 years. When I started college it was easier to stop at fast food places in between classes than it was to go home and eat. I didn't think it would be a problem as I never really had a problem being overweight. WRONG! I didn't know that I had an underlying thyroid condition until I really started gaining. Once I got my thyroid levels under control I thought that it would be easy to take the weight off...WRONG again! The past few years have been the worst with my weight. I've tried WW, low carb, low fat, counting calories, meds, and I even went to the Center for Medical Weight Loss. I was always able to lose the weight, but I'd be killing myself in the process. I'd wake up really early to exercise and follow the diets and by the time work was over I was ready to crash. I felt like I had to work 10x as ha d to lose half the weight a normal person would lose. I started thinking about WLS and was going to get the band, but then my sister who is a nurse came to a seminar with me. She said that if she was going to do surgery she would do the sleeve. I began doing more research and decided this was best for me. I had my first consult on Dec 11th. I've done all my required things for ins and was approved on Jan 6th. I have to do pre-admission testing within the next week or two. I'm scheduled for Feb 9th and I can't wait to get my life back! I have the best support system. My mom is excited for me, my boyfriend although very nervous couldn't be more supportive, and people who I thought would be negative surprisingly weren't. That definitely made this wait til surgery even easier.

Yes, I'm sorry I snapped, it gets rather tiresome that a huge number of posters on this board tend to forget there's an entire world out there outside their own country that approaches things differently. so.... a bit of friendly debate? Re the second article, its actually a good illustration of what I'm trying to say: Dangers of excessive Protein, defined as when protein constitutes > 35% of total energy intake, include hyperaminoacidemia, hyperammonemia, hyperinsulinemia nausea, diarrhea, and even death (the “rabbit starvation syndrome”). The three different measures of defining protein intake, which should be viewed together are: absolute intake (g/d), intake related to body weight (g ∙ kg-1 ∙ d-1) and intake as a fraction of total energy (percent energy). A suggested maximum protein intake based on bodily needs, weight control evidence, and avoiding protein toxicity would be approximately of 25% of energy requirements at approximately 2 to 2.5 g ∙ kg-1 ∙ d-1, corresponding to 176 g protein per day for an 80 kg individual on a 12,000kJ/d diet. This is well below the theoretical maximum safe intake range for an 80 kg person (285 to 365 g/d). 176 grams a day for an 80kg individual on a 12000 kilojoule (almost 4000 calories) diet. Ok.....ay. So WHO eats that much? I'd have been 400kgs if I'd consumed anything like that. And your 176 grams of protein is spread amongst a vast number of kilojoules from other nutrient sources - the PERCENTAGE of protein in the diet should not exceed 35% and should in fact be around 25% as the article says. So there's many people here who eat more than 25% of their diet as protein and even IF the liver can handle that 176 grams, if you eat say 100 to 120 grams of protein a day on a 1000 calorie diet instead of a 4000 calorie diet, you've completely mucked up the balance, and you're almost certainly going short of many other nutrients. Its just not as simple as the liver can handle this much so I can eat it. But people read that and think Oh, YES! Irrefutable proof that lots of protein is not bad for you. Interestingly, Shane Bilsborough has books still in current publication in Australia anyway, that advocate the high carb, low fat way of eating and exercising before Breakfast on an empty stomach to burn more fat! He's not above publishing for the masses. This bit is intriguing too, it kind of backs up my feeling that going to the gym five times a week does not make you a world class athlete with special nutritional needs. "High protein diets and popular “fad-diets” that claim to be “high protein, low carbohydrate,” recommend intakes between 71 to 162 grams of protein per day also fuel interest in increased consumption of protein. This is despite the fact that no studies have evaluated the upper limit of amino acid intake , and no formal risk assessment paradigm for intakes of amino acids that are in significant excess of physiological requirements have been established . This should be a concern for any health professional advocating a high protein diet." It also alarms me that the article states outright that soy protein isolates are a good form of nourishment for humans. Yes...... but a shake every single day? There's loads and loads of evidence out there that overconsumption of soy might be dangerous, and what about the artificial sweeteners and all the rest of the muck those shakes can come packaged with? I just think, yes, there's credible evidence that a high-er protein diet might have weight loss benefits, particularly for some people over others. It does seem to dampen appatite too. But that doesnt translate into this crazy obsession, for example, that all you need is Protein Shakes during your liquid diet phase, as long as you get your protein you'll be fine. Ah, no, you wont. You need lots of other things too. And the biggie - supplementing fibre. If you need to do that, its a sure fire sign that you're not eating enough fruit and veg, even if you choose to avoid the grains. If you cant fit them in, then perhaps a little LESS protein and little MORE fruit and veg might be beneficial to you OVERALL? I guess I believe in moderation and I tend to observe the protein push as a bit obsessive, and not moderate. But yeah, sorry I got cross.

Everyone is different, some can process only 20g, people like bodybuilders may eat hundreds of grams per meal. Good news is that excess Protein will not damage your kidneys, that's a myth. It also doesn't make you gain weight as it's low calorie and it takes almost half the calories for your body to process it. Excess protein is eliminated via your digestive tract and you know when you have way too much because, for lack of a better term, you have really stinky farts. It's better to have a bit too much than too little. It won't hurt you. Best is to split it up over the course of a day, especially if your gas can clear the room. Protein, more than anything else, will make you feel full longer and overall less hungry.

Well, there isn't really a specific diet - but getting enough Protein and keeping the calories down would certainly be beneficial. There are some financing companies that will give you a loan for this procedure - at least in the states. If you could afford to make a payment, you could check that out - but I know that it's similar to car finance. If you can't afford to buy a car for the cost of the surgery - then you probably can't swing the band financing. Just to be sure, you might want to check out the Inamed website... http://www.inamed.com/products/obesity/international/patient/patient.html You can request info to see if there are any financing agencies doing loans in Canada. (((HUGS)))

I'm having a very similar experience as well. At just 3 1/2 weeks Post-Op, I've hit a stall in actual weight loss. Pre-Op Weight (6/24/13) 298 lbs Week 1 (7/1/13) 294.5 lbs Week 2 (7/8/13) 289.5 lbs Week 3 (7/15/13) 287.5 lbs However, my clothes are definitely fitting differently. I haven't been measuring to see about inches, but think I will start doing that to keep myself encouraged. Nutritionally, I've fluctuated some, but not significantly. Avg Daily Calories 500 Avg Daily Protein 38 Avg Daily Carbs 45 I'm using My Fitness Pal to monitor EVERYTHING I'm ingesting, weigh ins, and the little exercise I'm able to do. I'm trying not to get too distressed about the lack of weight loss and I want to get down to only weighing in once per week. Curiosity seems to get the best of me though!

No, I just weigh it before I pack it and/or bring portion controlled, single-serving items (I am very guilty of eating Lunchables and leaving the crackers behind in a pinch LOL). I actually pack both my breakfast AND lunch AND snacks when I go into the office, a 10 hr day that starts at 6:30 AM once a week. The way I figure it I need to take care of Future Me's needs so I don't feel tempted to go poking around in the vending machine. My lunch usually looks like this (I am 18m post op and am in maintenance, but my calories are low because I am a small person): Breakfast: Zero sugar Chobani, 1/4 oz of chopped walnuts or pecans, Super Coffee protein shake as a mid morning snack. (all in, about 200 calories and 25g of protein) Lunch: Veggies, some kind of dip (if you aren't making dips with greek yogurt what are you doing with your life?), usually a couple of "lunchmeat roll ups" that are each one slice of deli meat and half a slice of cheese, another 1/4 oz of nuts (usually pistachios this time), a couple pickle slices (usually somewhere around 250-ish calories and another 25g of protein) Snacks: Options include Babybel light and a couple triscuits, Campbell's Well Yes sippable soups, protein shakes, or half a protein bar (I usually end up with leftovers)(any of these would give another 10g or so of protein). I eat dinner at home with my husband on these days and it's usually something protein-heavy

I understand "testing the waters", but with all the warnings and rules about drinking, I would be very careful so early out. I too challenge compliance in most areas of my life, but want to lose my 100 in a timely manner without regret or accidental alcoholism or any other transfer addictions either... Even Grey goose has calories, and three of them have about 189, 2/3rds of you daily at two weeks....

Let me preface this story with the fact that I know that my current relationship with alcohol is and will be different than it was before surgery. What i'm basically saying is, "INB4 outrage & judgement" Before surgery, I was an avid and enthusiastic party girl. I have an extremely stressful full-time, 24x7 boys'-club, mind-numbing soul-crushing (albeit high-paying) career, filled to the brim with heavy drinkers. More than once a week, I find myself out after work either enjoying cocktails with co-workers or going to vendor/customer dinners, where it's not uncommon to have drinks at the restaurant bar before, wine throughout dinner, scotch after, followed by drinks at the bar after to close the night. I don't consider myself an alcoholic - for the 2 weeks in preparation to surgery and for the 2 weeks after, I haven't had a drink, and it's not like I got the DT's or anything. I have however been very concerned and curious about what was going to happen when I did have my first cocktail. I was worried I would be drunk after one sip, or my new stomach would reject it and I would vomit uncontrollably at the table, or worse - I would never be able to have a drink again... All kinds of horrific scenarios went through my head. So I called my best and most trusted friend last night and told him that I was feeling back to normal (for the most part), and interested in testing the waters. We went to my local low-key boozer, sat at a booth. I responsibly ordered my low-calorie standby: Grey Goose & Soda (single tall), and sipped apprehensively while watching jealously as he took long pulls from his Heineken. (I was a beer drinker in my past life - I'm pretty sure it's responsible for 50 of the 100 lbs I'm trying to lose.) My first cocktail went down very slowly - it took about 45 minutes to get it all the way down. I definitely felt it about halfway in, but i felt well within normal operating limits. I could feel my body processing it a little differently, but no big deal. Even though the drink includes soda Water, there is very little carbonation in the drink, so I felt good about my order, and didn't get the burps or anything. Over the course of 3 hours, I had 3 cocktails and a glass of water. I got home feeling like a solid 4.5 out of 10. I finished my Protein drink and took a big bottle of evian to bed, and sipped on it while watching tv. I woke up this morning feeling fine, a little bit of a headache and pretty thirsty, but other than that, I felt great. Although, I have to say, I am feeling my first pangs of hunger since before the surgery, so that's new... I'm not sure if that's related to drinking last night or if my stomach is just healing up properly. I'm going to go and make myself some grits!

I am six months into this journey with just about 50% of my excess weight lost. I am finally at my sweet spot with 8.5 cc in a 10 cc band. Since this last fill I am eating VERy small amounts, typical day like yesterday was: b: 1/2 cup oatmeal and large cup of coffee l: 1/2 diced chicken breast with egg, etc from the salad bar d: 1/2 cup of soup and a small spring roll 3-4 cups of water (I know I need more) and no drinks containing calories. I am just starting week two of the couch to 5 k running program so I am exercising about 45 minutes, 3 times per week. I expected to start dropping the pounds - but nothing. I have stayed the same. Wondering: Is the new found exercise causing me to 'build muscle' and thus the scale is not moving? For you runners out there, did you experience anything similar? Are my calories too low? If so, not sure how I can get around this restriction and eat more? Is protein a real requirement to lose weight? I am not getting 50+ grams a day but pretty close? Thanks for your help an guidance - I appreciate your support