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Hi there, Here is my list of things I stocked up on prior to surgery: Sugar-free/fat free pre-made pudding cups Non-fat dry milk (to add to the pudding/milk for extra protein) LOTS of Organic skim milk (smile) Sugar-free applesauce Canned tomato and chicken noodle Soup EAS/AdvantEDGE Carb Control shakes - these are YUMMY and have the lowest calorie/highest Protein of any pre-made shake Carnation Instant Breakfast ready-to-drink shakes Crystal light drink mix Tropicana sugar free lemonade and orange drink in 2-liter bottles Nestle Quick Sugar Free chocolate mix for milk I wish you the best of luck to you! You will do GREAT! -Shannon

Depends on what your doctor wants. Fruit juices were a no for us as they have calories and can be pretty acidic. Only sugar free drinks were allowed, along with skim milk and Water. For liquids (and I had to do 6 weeks of them!), I did this: I had 3 CIB drinks a day. Each is 20 grams of Protein and 230 calories. What I did was: 1 packet of Carnation Instant Breakfast (get the blue box -- no-sugar added) 1 cup skim milk 1/3 cup powdered milk. Mix it all up and drink! I would have 1/2 of one every 2-3 hours during the day, for a total of 60 grams of protein, 690 calories. Since we can have more calories than that, I also had Soups, koolaid (sugar free), whatever.

Hello...I am struggling with choosing the sleeve or plication. Is the plication as effective? Can you lose 100% of excess weight? Is it safe to eat less than 1200 calories a day? How many should you aim for with plication to have optimum results. (we'll assume excerise is regular and no sweets or too much carbs) Tx.

Just two week, first few days I barely ate as my stomach was really sensitive and I just had no apetite, today I got in at least 300 calories which is insanely low

Try to relax about it for now. This period of time is for healing, not weight loss. Until you get a fill, you'll probably be able to eat just as you did before you were banded. But that doesn't mean you should. Go ahead and eat more if you're hungry, but eat hard Proteins that will help keep you full longer while helping your weightloss. chicken, fish fillets, tuna, roast beef, steak.. all of these are excellent sources of Protein. If you're on solids now you should be able to eat any of these if they are cooked in a way that doesn't dry them out. Take a good look at what you're eating. If its most soft carb type foods, that could be why you are feeling so hungry. Serve your food in a very small container. About a cup in size. Don't drink any fluids just before, during, or for an hour after your meal. If you are still hungry after doing all of this, then accept that you need more and eat again, following the same suggestions I just gave ya. And finally, you say you can eat so much now. Can you really? Or does it just seem that way to you in comparison to how you have been able to eat over the last month? To get a better perspective, think back on what you were eating before banding. Now compare that to what you eat now. Big difference huh? We aren't supposed to starve ourselves. You should be eating between 800-1,000 calories per day with a minimum of 60grams of protein and losing about 1 to 2 pounds per week. (Yep, I said per week - not per day!) I'm kind of muzzy-headed today so I hope that all made sense and didn't just sound like mindless ramblings. *laughs*

How many calories and protein do you consume in a day? Do you also exercise?

Another week of the weight yo yo for me. I am back to drinking shakes to get enough protein in, and taking biotin to help with the hair loss. I still love my sleeve but not loving me or the choices I have made in the past few days. For every action there is a reaction and so that cookie or ice cream cone adds weight on. Better choices this week for that sweet tooth that has managed to show it's ugly head again. I found those Fiber one brownies are really good and only 90 calories so that is my choice for this week. I wasn't going to write every week because it was getting hard to put feelings on page, then I thought about it more and am going to continue to write every week. This is the only place I have to put down in words what I am feeling and how having the sleeve is effecting me. I love that I am getting smaller and changing shape, the down side clothes are expensive , I think I can live with that as a side effect heheheheheh sleeveshakes.doc

hmmm ... not sure what exactly is up with the journals, but that's ok ... hopefully this will save. yup, i am down 61 1/2 pounds. of course that is going to go up i think because i ate MUCHO sweets tonight - like about 1000+ cals worth of them ... i know i shouldnt have but i did and i know i will pay for it tomorrow when i weigh in. i have started a kick boxing class - oh dear lord it is kicking my ass so hard. my sides hurt so much but it was FUN! add the fact that i burn over 1300 calories in about 57 minutes ... SOLD!!! i really am tired and need to go to bed. happy new year everyone and i truly hope I see less of you guys and gals **grin**

I'm getting bored with my foods. I seem to get up and eat the same stuff day in an day out. example boiled egg minus the yolk, 1oz reduced fat cheddar tuna for lunch plain cottage cheese, or string cheese for snack then fish with a few broccoli stem but this is working for my weight loss so far but if any of yall have any suggestions hey let me know i don't eat over 800 calories but usually around 600

The term starvation mode is misleading and people use the term to describe totally different things. When relating to eating very low calorie diets I think a better description is that it creates a dysfunctional or depressed metabolism. As auntielle indicated, someone with a depressed metabolism can't rely on calculations by programs such as MFP or FitDay because they just aren't accurate. Their bodies have slowed down and their metabolism is depressed to the point they don't burn anywhere near the calories those programs calculate. (Another arbitrary calculation are the ones from fitness equipment - they are in some cases not even close to a ballpark figure) ... The way to fight against a depressed metabolism is to increase activities - especially dedicated exercise, while at the same time slowly increasing caloric intake. It's like taking a turbine from a slow lethargic revolution and adding the jet fuel to it. There seems to be the lack of LBT posters who indicate "I lost 100% of my excess body fat while eating 1000 calories a day with no exercise and wow is my skin tight and firm." Kinda sounds like a lot of infomercials that are too good to be true - and that's because it is. As far as Anorexic's, lets not confuse people who are having difficulty losing fat to people who are typically already underweight and force their body to remain in a catabolic state. People with Anorexia Nervosa are on the extreme side of calorie restriction, but in addition have a high incidence of comorbidities which complicate their situation. Anerexia also has a mental illness component so it's comparing apples to oranges. Brad

I agree with much of what Jacqui said. No doubt your body doesn't recognize intake/export based on our schedule. There is no midnight reset button. And in the grand scheme of things it does boil down to calories in versus calories out. Thats the macro issue but there certainly are many micro issues that stem from that. Not every calorie is equal in the sense of hormonal response. 100 calories of chicken breast is not going to generate the same insulin response as 100 calories of white sugar. Hence the term we are what we eat... No two people have the same genetic makeup, metabolism, or activity level. Those are what determine how many calories you should be eating in order to lose fat. Ideally, we want to be able to consume a cornicopia of nutrients to nourish our bodies - so ideally we want to consume as many calories and food choices as we can - while still achieving adequate fat loss. That requires an in-tune optimized metabolism - and that won't be achieved eating less than 1000 calories and not exercising. Brad

I have been using MFP since last April when I started my 6 month supervised diet. I lost 46 pounds pre-op following MFP's guidelines. After my surger in October, my doctor told me I should be eating 1000-1200 cals a day for good weight loss. However, MFP and a lot of members tell me that I need to be netting about 1600-1700 cals to be healthy and lose weight. When I tell them I net around 1200, they tell me it's not enough to keep my body functioning. So, who is right? Will I still lose weight if I eat so little? Right now, I'm not in the green zone, I've been going purely on self-control. I usually end up netting around 1200 cals most days, but as of late, I've stalled. I even gained a pound this morning. I calculated my BMR and TDEE. My BMR is 1867 and my TDEE is 2240 for a sedentary lifestyle. I exercise 4-5 days a week for 45-60 minutes. That would put my TDEE at 2887. If I only eat 1200 cals a day, is that really healthy? I would think eating 1000 cals less than my TDEE would be great for weight loss, which would put my cals at 1887 per day!!! That's more food than I can eat... So, which is it?

I'm so surprised they told you that. My doctor and dietitian have me on a liquid diet for two weeks after surgery. All I can have is sugar free Jello, popsicles, yogurt with no seeds, sugar free natural applesauce, Soup with no chunks of any kind or strained, broth, crystal light and slim fast. They told me that this liquid diet was required at first because of the swellling after surgery. It gives your stomach a chance to heal and prevents the pouch from stretching. They told me that any solid food early on could stretch the band or cause slippage of the band. The third week I can start a soft food diet. If you have any discomfort at all I would go to a liquid diet for a few days. Maybe ask your surgeon or dietitian to clarify what you can eat. I know that different offices have different rules and mine is the Realize band so maybe that makes a difference. Good luck with everything. Don't worry about failing. You are just beginning and it's a learning process. You may be feeling down due to decreased calories giving you a low energy level but you have to give yourself more time to recover.

hey, I was banded on may 6th, 2008, i was 21 at the time. the pre-procedures where a ECG "eco-cardio grahm" A complete blood count. the psych evaluation is quick and easy fo me. it is just to see if a person has any body image issues and unrealistic goals...like weighing 50 lbs or something like that. the band was the best thing i eve did....for real. i lost 87lbs in 8 months....my first month....i lost 30lbs....a pound a day. i weighed 380 im down to 293...i wore a tight size 52 jeans now roomy 44. i was wearing 5xl-4xl tee', now im down to 2xl's. i workout 4-5 times a week, but diet is the most important thing! it is important to stick to the diet and eat consistantly. i had probs with portion control.....i loved food more than myself...now....i have trouble eating a 2000 calorie diet. like i said its the best thing iever did. STAY STRONG, STAY MOTIVATED, AND STAY TRUE TO YOUR SELF. if you ever wana talk, I am more than willing to help."if the road is easy, the destination is not worth the walk" -FURIOUS ABYSS

Doesnt look like a lot to me, I think you're doing fine. I lost easily and well on about 1500 calories a day and I maintain on about 1800 so my daily list would look HUGE to most people. But I firmly believe that a) I was a bit lucky, with the amount I ate, to only get to a BMI of 35, I must have a pretty good metabolism, and because I eat well, varied and enough and I run daily, I have kept my body's furnace going rather than slowing down and have absolutely no need to exist on puny amounts like 800 calories a day. People have said to me, oh, you eat almost normally (I eat like a normal person with a smallish appetite) why do you need a band. The band keeps me from wanting to eat 3000 calories a day, which is about where I was at - AND that was mainly healthy food, so you can imagine what sort of volume it was. My dinner plate used to be a large sized plate piled high.

I use myfitnesspal.com and it also has a free andriod app. It will even scan barcodes instead of searching or adding stuff to my log (if i ate something packaged). I keep count of calories, protein, and carbs, as well as fluid intake. I have been pretty consistent with this since the start of my 2 week preop diet. It holds me accountable and i have been warned by my surgeon, "no diary = no fill". I keep calories below 1000, protein between 60-80 gms, and carbs under 100. So far it is working and it isnt that hard once you get in the groove.

I'm six months out and was having a hard time with dehydration and hunger so I started to make sure I was drinking 64oz of water a day at least per my Dr. So now that I'm drinking I figured it would help with some of my hunger between meals. I feel like I need to eat like every 2 hours. I'm trying to have healthy snacks with protein. I'm just afraid I'm over eating. Does anyone have this problem or any suggestions. I'm also wondering how many calories should we have a day?

I agree with Misty. Please make sure you are getting between 1000-1200 calories per day. Any less than that and your body goes into starvation mode and holds on to every bit of fat it can. Stop worrying about letting other people down. Give yourself a break. The worrying will only make you feel worse. If you can, get some extra walks or other forms of exercise in. It will make you feel better emotionally and physically. That being said, you may need another fill, but please do check your calorie intake. Also, make sure you are getting enough fluids each day. I find that is the hardest thing to do. Keep us updated and good luck! And remember, STOP BEING SO HARD ON YOURSELF! Even if you feel you aren't doing well, you HAVE lost weight, so that is a move in the right direction.:thumbup:

Calories in vs out is science. There are many on lbt (and in general) who like to debate it (at which point I remove myself from the conversation...I can deal with a lot, but not enabling...I hate it). I count calories anally and make sure i'm at a significant deficit everyday and I lose weight steadily. When I'm not at a deficit I don't. It's a super simple formular - everyone should follow it (like really follow it...the snacks at the supermarket and the tastes of food while you're cooking count as part of your daily calorie intake). Good thread!

I use Livestrong.com's the daily plate function to count calories, it's great. I'm 15 days post op, and Im 16 lbs down, I'm trying to watch what I eat, and staying under 1200 calories. Yes, the band does give you more willpower, that's for sure!

YES!!!! I agree with everything you just said!!! I went to www.Room42.com and did my calculations there. It said that at my current weight, I need to eat 1600 calories a day to maintain my weight, 1400 to lose, but no less than 1200 to have safe and healthy weight loss. It even told me how much I can expect to lose over how many days (I forgot to write it down) AND I did the calculation for my calorie intake at my goal weight. To maintain my goal weight I need 1400 calories a day, 1200 to lose but no less than 1000 (I think it said). So the 1400 clories a day I'm eating now will make me lose weight, but if I don't decrease it down the road, I'll simply maintain it. So, anyhow, I will slowly be eating less and less in order to lose weight. The more I lose, the less I need to eat in order to lose more (like that's a surprise). Anyhow, I thought that was interesting. Last time I checked my body fat (about a year ago at around 235 pounds) it was 43%. Uggg!! I wonder wonder wonder what it is now? Ya'll make me want to know!!

My doctor says 3 oz by weight of solid protein and then veggies/fruits. I use a digital scale and use a "lunch/sandwich" plate. I refuse to use baby silverware. Until you hit restriction this is a diet. Once you are on solids eat the perscribed amounts and then stop. While my Nut does'nt want me to get in the habit of snacks; she does approve having one between lunch and dinner. Since I go to the gym in between it can be a longggg time between the two for me. If you are having a snack I would recommend either veggies (no dip), greek yoghurt (excellent source of portein for the calories), low fat cheese stick.

I am sure I am the plateau queen! I have been losing and putting on the same weight for nearly 3 months now. I can shift some, but it returns. I have now returned to playing netball after a 4 week hiatus, so that might help start to shift the weight again. But although I am not seeing it in the scales, I am seeing it in my clothes. I know I have lost bulk, but not the weight. Go figure! I am hoping with this new fill (I had 1.1ml put in last night and have to have some taken out as I can't tolerate liquids very well) will set me on the path to losing lots of weight consistently!!! Hang in there. I tried breaking the plateau by having all high calorie stuff for a few days - and low and behold I now have chocolate issues....

I am in the process of trying to find a shake that I like. I have never liked chocolate milk or milk for that matter. I am waiting for my surgery date and will need to do my preop diet which includes shakes, then I need them after my surgery. So far I have tried premier protein (strawberry cream) I can only drink about half before it makes me want to barf. jay Robb (strawberry flavor) is just yucky. I got the unjury in sorbet and chicken soup flavor I just haven't tried it yet. I need something that will taste fruity. Can I add frozen or fresh fruits to my shake? Won't that increase the sugar and calories? HELP? Any advice is much appreciated.

Hi Everyone, I decided that I would make a list of things for new people who are thinking about having WLS that might be helpful to them. This is long so please PRINT THIS OUT TO READ if you don’t want to read it all at one time. This is my point of view after having surgery with Dr. Aceves , in Mexicali, Mexico. First thing is to start asking people on the board you are on all kinds of questions—make of list of things you want to ask and keep coming back and ask more questions as time goes on. The more questions that ask the more you educate yourself about WLS and the process and what doctor they liked. Don’t rely on just one source of information. It is really normal to have all kind of feeling and emotions when trying to decide if you want to have Weight Loss Surgery. I must have talked myself in and out of doing this at least 50 times during my 6 months of research. My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. This is a big step. But if diet and exercise worked for us then we still wouldn’t be fat and would have lost the weight a long time ago and never regained it. It takes a lot of courage to have Weight Loss Surgery. I am very proud of you for looking into this. Don’t give any more days of your life being overweight, and your body hurting along with being unhealthy. WLS really is your answer. How do you select your surgeon? First of all this is NOT a time to price shop for the cheapest doctor to do your WLS—that is just the wrong way to go at this. There are a lot of doctors who advertise on the Internet doing sleeve surgery for a lot less than some other doctors. I found one posting from a person who had the following concerns after having surgery in Tijuana, Mexico. (a) They put NO name band on her to be able to ID her when giving medications or anything else. ( NO one asked if she had any allergies to foods or medications—thank goodness this person didn’t have any. ( The lab did NOT label tubes of blood with the person’s name on it—very dangerous. © Day after surgery they gave this person ice chips, tea and apple juice. The next day (day 2) they gave this person NOTHING so this person asked why and the nurse said this person wasn’t allowed to eat anything. Well, this person then said I had Clear liquids the day before and they wanted to know WHO gave it to this person?? (d) This person was told that they would get a copy of the operative report on their discharge to take home with them—This person has not received it yet and that was about 2 weeks ago. So make sure have positive feedback about the Surgeon and Staff and Hospital that you choose. There are some good doctors out there and there are so NOT so good doctors out there. My choice after 6 months of research was Dr. Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico. What I can tell you in my opinion is that he is the very best you will ever find to do your surgery. I can only speak about my experience and my research that I did before I made him my choice for a surgeon. I am sure there are other people out there that feel the very same way about their doctor too. Pack lightly for your WLS. So many of us have gone to Mexico, so you want a small suitcase with wheels, a laptop & a cell phone. The clothing that you wear to Mexico are the same ones you can wear home—slip on shoes work great too. Make sure that the clothing is loose fitting. Something just comfortable for your ride home. While in Mexico—that is if you go to Mexico for WLS make sure you take GAS-X. They have nothing in Mexico that they give your for gas, and the use gas in your abdominal area during surgery. It is painful after the surgery, so GAS-X STRIPS are easy to use by just placing them on your tongue. Take a couple of boxes with you—you will be glad you did. If you are going to use a credit card make sure you tell your credit card company and your Bank if you use your debit card or credit card. Sometimes if you DO NOT let these companies know you are outside of the US they block your charges. Use a credit card or debit card vs cash it is much easier to use. Take small amounts of cash for tips—I took $45.00 in 1’s for tip money for various things. If you go to any hospital anywhere leave ALL jewelry at home –just a watch and no rings or other jewelry. I never had any problems at all leaving my purse and computer& cell phone in my room while I was in surgery, but they recommend that you leave all jewelry at home. If you are a lady please remove all nail polish—they need it removed to see your nail beds during surgery. The first month you do after surgery is the HARDEST month you will ever have to do. You do 10 days of nothing but clear liquids to start with—that means you have to be able to see through the liquid. Do not panic if you can not get the Protein they want you to have the 1st 10 days—I couldn’t find anything I liked that was clear during the 1st 10 days. They want you to try to drink 64 oz each day, and I don’t think I could ever get that much Water drank—just do the best you can. Your new stomach has just had major surgery and it is swollen and will only hold something about the size of your thumb. The next 10 days gets much better—you are now on creamy liquids for these 10 days. You can now have some creamy Soups, yogurt, and pudding—sugar free and find a Protein Drink that you like. For me it is Premier Protein Drink and I get mine at costco. When looking for a protein drink, make sure they are low in calories, high in Protein—Premier has 30 grams of protein in each drink box and make sure you have low carbs too. I know there are a lot of other Protein drinks out there that people like. When it comes to carbs I tried to keep mine at no more than 20 carbs per day. Ask others what kind of Protein drinks they liked and where they get them. The last 10 days are mushy foods. So this is a bit of a challenge. How many foods can I make mushy? I even considered using some baby foods. Start thinking about what will work as mushy foods for you. Starting the 2nd month is quite an adventure. You can eat regular food. Here is where the relearning process takes place. You now will take tiny BABY BITES of food and chew each bit about 30 times or until it is like a liquid. From here on out you will need to take small bites of food and chew and chew and chew. I found out that chicken and fish were a lot easier to chew up. I don’t eat much red meat—your tastes will change and things you didn’t like a lot might taste good and something that you used to love don’t taste that great anymore. Keep track of what you are eating and keep your calories at about 800 calories per day and no more than 20 carbs per day—whole grain carbs are the best to have—NO white or refined carbs. I highly suggest that you keep track by writing them down or using some of the Internet sites that offers you this. I suggest this site it works great there are other sites to use this is just a suggestion. hair 3 or 4 months after having WLS. I would find a lot of hair in the shower after washing my hair. That is pretty normal for a lot of us—this does not happen to everyone. There is no magical cure for hair loss—some people use different shampoo’s or take Biotin. It happens and you live with it. YES, it will grow back. For me I had pencil straight hair and mine grew back natural curly and I love it now. I already had thin hair so for me, I got some cute wigs and wore them for about 9 months until my hair looked a lot better. It was worth the hair loss to lose 105 pounds. Because we eat a lot of protein we suffer from constipation. You need to have at least 70 grams of protein EACH day. So I mix my protein drink each morning with MIRALAX. It is NOT habit forming and is tasteless and it is just a good way to start off the day. I put the protein and a cap full of Miralax in the blender with about 5 small ice cubes and that is my Breakfast. 3 years later I still have this for breakfast and nothing else, it just works for me. You may have periods where you have what we call STALLS. You may be doing everything right and eating and exercising and you have NO weight loss for a week or more. This is normal—mine lasted 9 days. Don’t panic the weight loss will start up again, just keep doing what you are doing. Our heads play games with us sometimes it is ugly what our brain tried to convince us of—We call these “Head Games” and they really are tough times to work though, but you can do it. Your head is still thinking with your old brain and way of thinking that you have been doing for most of your life. You now are eating VERY small amount of food, but your head is used to you eating LARGE amounts of food and that is what your brain wants—so it tries to tell you the you should be eating more—NOT true at all. So you need to have a talk with yourself. Do I just WAN T to eat or do I really NEED to eat? You are not on a diet, but you are making a LIFESTYLE change and that is good because you can do this for the rest of your life. You will NEVER be able to eat like you used to. That is good because that is how we got fat. You will morn the loss of food—you will look around and see others inhaling all this food and you think to yourself—I used to eat like that. You will notice how fast people eat and inhale their food and talk and hardly chew what they are eating. That is pretty normal feeling to have—because you are now eating such small amounts of food and chewing and chewing. You will never be able to guzzle a bottle of water again—that is OK too. These are all good things. In time you will look at all the food people are eating and thinking to yourself oh my gosh I could never eat that much again—it is way too much food. When you have issues or problems come back to the board and ask others who have already done this. We are here to help and support you. Give or exchange all your fat clothes away. You will never need them again after they become too big for you. This weight loss is something you will be able to maintain for the rest of your life. You have earned the right to have new clothes. Make sure you have the VERY best doctor that has had a lot of experience with sleeve surgery and check his success rates out. Check the doctor for HIGH patient reviews from the people who have gone to him or her. I can NOT STRESSS this enough. Make sure that your surgery is being done in a hospital NOT a Clinic. One clue that it is a clinic is if they send you to a hotel room to recover—that is why they cost less, this is also dangerous too. YOU are worth the extra money that it cost to have this WLS in a Hospital and by the best Doctor you can have. You want to have a happy and GREAT life and having the RIGHT Doctor and Hospital are the key to this. Sorry if this is long, but it is intended to have as a reference and answer a lot of your questions that you might have. For some of you, you are very lucky because your health insurance is now starting to pay for Weight Loss Surgery. For many of us, we did not have your luck, so we are self pay patients. There are companies that loan money for this surgery—be aware that their interest rate is high. Once you pick your doctor ask them about these companies that give loans for surgery if you are a self pay patient. You know we never think twice about making car payments. If you have to borrow the money for this surgery just look at this as “body payment.” It will be the best money you have ever borrowed. Please PRINT this out to read later. If you have any questions for me please feel free to contact me. I had surgery almost 4 years ago, so I do have quite a bit of experience. I really am here to help you along your journey. It took me 14 months to lose this weight and I was 63 when I had the surgery, so it is NEVER too late in life to do this.