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Hi. Restless is so right....and so smart. Right after surgery, you just need to make sure you get plenty of liquids and take good care of yourself. Focus on healing. When you get into real foods, you will have to have that 60 grams of protein each day (or whatever your doctor tells you - it is 60 for me). With a protein shake each morning (15 grams) and the protein I eat for my other 2 meals, I usually hit it or come very close. If I need more by the end of the day, I put a scoop of unflavored Whey Protein Powder from GNC into my yogurt. It has 21 grams of protein, doesn't change the flavor of the yogurt, and puts me well over my 60 grams. I was very worried about getting it in too, but it is much easier than it sounds. I use thedailyplate.com to keep track of my meals, calories, protein, etc. Good luck to you!!! Becky

What I eat varies, normally. In the morning I may eat a fried egg, because for some unknown reason, scrambled eggs don't work well for me. Many times I will get a Chick-fil-A chicken biscuit and eat 1/2 of it. I am a teacher and don't have much time for lunch, so I drink a Campbell's Soup at hand, and then a couple hours later I will eat a Protein added chewy bar. dinner is whatever we cook...spaghetti, pastalya, red Beans, grilled chicken, jambalaya, pork chops, pizza...I think you get the idea. Also, most days I drink my modified Starbucks drink. I have reduced the pumps of mocha and it has 220 calories and 17 grams of protein in my venti drink. I consume at least 60 g of protein a day and consume normallly 1200-1500 calories per day. Main point, I am not so restricted that there are a lot of foods that are off limits. I just eat a lot less of the foods than I used to.

an increased sense of restriction when you finish exercising? I am only using the treadmill for cardio and to burn calories, since I am only three weeks post-op. When I get done with my 40 or 45 minutes on the treadmil I feel as though water will make me sick, my stomach just feels so tight. Not an adversion to water, just that's usuall what I drink during/after aworkout. I have never been able to eat anything right after a workout since being banded. Anyone else get thatt way.:hungry:

That's great! I'm down 29 since surgery. I'm on soft, not pureed now. So I've been able to chew meat and cooked veggies, but can only get in about 7 small bites before I'm full. Then I get hungry about 2.5 hour later, but I try to only eat every 3.5 to 4 hours. Getting in 1 shake and 3 "meals" a day. About 4 to 500 calories. Still kind of weak, especially after walking. Not sure how to increase without it hurting. Water is hard, but I get it in, barely.

Thank you. I think right now I am at about 600 calories but each day is getting better, so hope to be up to 800 soon.

Hello all! My lunch date went great. Very cool Parents, I kept my meal simple and had a quiche with Soup... Before I started my liquid diet I was around 275... This morning I was 268.8. Sugar cravings still hit. I ate 10 smarties (Canadian) worth 50 calories today . I am only human! At least it wasn't an entire box right? I'm still feeling pretty tired... Hoping this passes soon and energy starts increasing again. How's everyone else doing this week?

I'm sure they'd be fine to eat....but wouldn't you want to use your calories on fresh foods that aren't processed? I quit eatting micro meals a while back because they simply have way too much sodium in them. In an emergency, sure...but everyday? I just think there are better things out there.

Unfortunatly my blister still bloody hurts!! Today all i have had is a coffee 1/2 cup soup and a few sips of another coffee, only cos i made it way to strong, and some pineapple juice from a can that the parents had with their tea. Maybe 400 cals at the most. Can you imagine how bad we would both be this time last week with only eating that!!!! I didnt walk today cos i needed to help mum make a casserole for the C.W.A chrissie breakup. I wasnt tempted to eat the chicken while deboning it or even try the curry sauce!! Massive change. Oh C.W.A is country womens association they do craft bake cakes and lamingtons and the best scones ever!!!!!! In the morning im leaving to go back home, yey freedom cos i live alone, and i will get a steamer calorie book and kitchen scales oh and better do a food shop now that we can have real food!!! How long are you on fluids for? Dad has relunctly given me some of his fish that he caught, i think it broke his heart! Are you having cravings or missing any foods and have you decided your plan of attack for chrissie? Im off to be now. Have a great night!

I am only a few days in to pre-op, everything is going fine, my walks I do are making more tired of normal. I'm sure it is because I don't even enough calories. But I try to keep going

I'm just realizing how few calories my MD's diet consists of- between 400-500 calories a day! I've had to buy some calorie free drinks with potassium to help with the leg cramps. Using MFP daily now.

I am 7cc in a 14 cc band, i eat around 3 oz protein and a good portion of 2 green veg, i dont get hungry in between meals as the veg and protein last me around 4 hours. I lost around 14lbs a month with eating around 1000 calories a day and exercising every day, including cycling around 6 miles a day. Its been hard work to keep exercising but i have to otherwise i just dont lose weight .

Hi all> I was banded Feb. 19 by Dr. Earl Fox in Richland, WA. He and his staff are great! Only issues since banding have been that I am not pain-free as soon as I wanted to be (wanted to wake up next day without pain) and even consumming less than 600 calories a day, still no weight loss. Doctor and friends tell me to be patient but it is tough.

Also are you consuming the right number of calories?

Wow your plan is massive!! On the forum of food and nutrition someone has a written a thread on snacks for 100 cals. Im still trying to finish my book but were they put the band is at the top of the stomach so there isnt even a pouch like the first time i had it. I suppose thats why we cant have snacks or more than 3 meals. I took my dressings off and they all are healing well. And the best thing for them is fresh air so top off except my bra that presses on 1 cut and holds up one boob so its relaxing laying on the couch with the fan on. I just did the shopping and i brought eggs, a choice of large or large! I was even tempted to go down the chocie isle. If you have an android or iphone search for calorie king and it has the cals fat and entre weight or amount, much cheaper than buying the book! I brought a steamer and also a microwave 3 egg cooker in the shape of a chicken, most cute!! Tommorrow is going to be 37 degrees so i have mushie apples already in the fridge to have if im hungry in the morning. Have a lovely night, you guys have winter there? And also guess what we both finally made it through a week of fluids!!!!!! Cya

If you are losing without a fill then I would say wait it out. I am 11 months out and have not had a fill yet and I am pretty happy with my progress so far. I too dont have any problems with any foods...but there are things I dont eat because they are not worth the calories/fat. good luck with whatever decision you make.

Hi everyone I was sleevedon 11/22 and so far I lost 38 pounds,everything has been fine except a pain I have around the belly button are which comes and goes and is more when I move to a certain side...Feels muscular... besides that I feel great and I am still on liquid diet and a few pieces of cheese, i dont think I am eating more that 500 calories I dont know how to add more food to my diet and shakes I can digest any more. Congrats to all and best of luck in the New Year

@Sandyd- I haven't drank Water since surgery. For about a week. as suggested by my surgeon, I switched to the full calorie Gatorade to get my calories up. That eliminated the nausea (after stopping CPAP). Now I am back to Powerade Zero, Sobe 0, milk etc. My Protein, calories and fluids are going up slowly everyday. Thanks for checking on me. @minaleigh- It was very odd to go down to 16 ounces of fluids a day from 62! I had a barium swallow test done and everything is fine. My surgeon suspected my CPAP and he was right! I get full from liquids too. I think it is plain water that goes right through. Other Clear Liquids hang around a little longer (according to a fast research done yesterday). I will ask my surgeon about taking meds twice a day to completely control my mild reflux. @Sonja- How AWESOME!!! I am happy for you! (Except for the glass of wine ) @Juli- It is a lot of work! I think it will become easier as time goes by. However look for answers in regards to still being tired and slightly nauseous a month out. I kept calling my surgeon, nurse and NUT until we figured out what was causing my nausea. Good luck!

I've been scoping out Protein powders and all sorts of stuff for a few weeks now. I was in Whole Foods the other day and found tera's whey (Protein powder. I bought pomegranate cranberry and blueberry. The Nutrition Facts for (pomegranate cranberry) are as follows: Serving Size (30g) Calories 100 Calories from fat 0 Total Fat 1g No Saturated or Trans Fats Cholesterol 15mg Sodium 90mg Potassium 160mg Total Carb 5g Dietary Fiber 0g Sugars 2g Protein 22g Any thoughts?! I am trying to prepare for my surgery on 8/30 with a variety of goodies :party:

Welcome!! And what great progress you have made so far! A stall since November must really be frustrating. How many calories / Protein grams / carb grams / fat grams are you having daily? Have you contacted your NUT to see if they can help? It seems most folks either realize they have been grazing, taking in too many carbs or just need to actually up their protein to kick it in to gear. Also I have seen people try liquids (protein shakes) for a few days to kick the stall out. Give us a better idea of what you are doing currently and maybe we can help.

I was reading and saw the remarks on how we eat less than the skinnies, well, I just believe our bodies are so much more efficient that if we could sell our secret to the car companies we'd probably get a car with 100MPG. It sure does not seem fair having these efficient bodies that can gain weight on 1200 calories. And adjust when we take in even less! SO GOES THE BATTLE, SO MUCH BETTER WHEN WE WIN AS THE FIGHT IS A TOUGH ONE! To each and all, best of luck and may our bodies take on the metabolism of a GAS GUZZLER>:scared2:

I have heard from family acquaintances comments to the affect of "she took the easy way out" referring to the surgery. Well I am here to tell them that it is certainly not the easy way. Sure - I have been successful but the band is only a tool, not the fix all. I am speaking ONLY on behalf of myself and my opinions, and of my own personal experiences. I too am eating only 800 - 900 calories a day. I have now had 3 fills - the last being one week ago; for the first time I have the restriction that I have been expecting all this time. I have been very, very hungry, but have chosen to limit my intake to achieve my goals. Sure, I have slipped once in a while - but the vigilance, and hunger has paid off. For myself, I find the Protein shakes (and consuming a minimum of 50 grams of protein a day) helps me keep the hunger-shakey feeling away - even though it felt many times like my stomach was going to eat my backbone.

All of my attempts at weight loss have been in good faith and with, what I thought, was a fairly educated mind about how to do it - yet I always failed. What I didn't do, until I was getting ready for WLS, is to address the emotional part of HOW I GOT to 330 pounds. I mean, how does that happen to someone? How can I be college educated, seemingly successful in other areas of my life and be squarly on a path to an early grave at my "own doing"? I had never really let go of my ego. I always had that bargaining voice in my head that rationalized and minimized dieting and weight loss. What this site did was to help me see that I AM NOT ALONE! There was power in that for me. I can't explain why, it just was. My parents are both alcoholics. My mom has 30+ years of sobriety and has dedicated her adult life to helping others with addiction. My dad has never gotten free from his addiction. I was exposed to the tennant of AA and the 12 steps a long time ago. As a teen, the foundations were laid but I NEVER really embraced the concept of accountability. I think this surgery MAKES me be accountable. It also gives me a control I have never experienced. That concept of "control" is one major difference between food and alcohol addiction. It is not a one size fits all. It's not like there is a perfect recipe for how to be successful in this BUT there are similarities of how people become successful. For an alcoholic, you don't go to bars, you don't take the first sip. For a food addict, it's not as simple. But there are lifestyle changes that support my goals. Again, I had NEVER, EVER considered the emotional side of weight loss (except for attending one, solitary OA meeting at age 23 in which I was so full of shame I could never go back). This time, at 45 and in a very different place in life, I was able to say "I am a food addict and the data (weighing 325+ pounds) supports that. I can't run from it." And all of that self realization brought a huge amount of shame in the beginning. I am coming up on my one year anniversary for my first doctor appointment (mid August). It's gotten easier to think about my failures in the past without shame. It's still there but it's less and less. I do know that if I get too far away from this site, the voices in my brain that tell me "it's okay to cheat today" start to creep back. This site, belonging to a community, helps me stay focused and accountable. I am far from perfect (I ate a half piece of cake yesterday) but I have come so far. People tell me how great I look and I minimize it. Not because I am not proud of myself, but because it doens't support success. When I say I have so far to go, they say "but you've come so far you should be proud". I have started explaining to people that I can't "celebrate" in the same sense of before. Celebrating tells my brain that it's ok to reward myself with an extra calorie or two or two hundred. It's a slippery slope and always will be. I still have a LONG way to go to get to a goal of "normal". The hardest work lies ahead. It scares me but I have some tools for success and I am going to keep coming back here checking in and being accountable. Thanks to all who commented - it helps keep us going!

I had my surgery on Nov. 21 and I am so glad I did this! The first three days are uncomfortable but not awful and def so worth it! Def was in pain when I woke up until the nurse finally gave me Dilaudid rather than morphine. I don't know what the difference is as they are in the same class. But it made a big difference. I was able to get up several times and walk during that first night in the hospital.I dry heaved several times while in the hospital basically any time I tried to take in any fluids.. but for very short periods, it resolved itself quickly. I never throught I would get through the contrast swallow test which I needed to pass in order to get sprung from the hospital, but the yucky solution went right down! I barfed it up afterward. But again, quickly and it was over. Honestly, the hospital stay could have been so much worse. No prolonged nausea or significant pain to speak of. I was only nauseated when I tried to take in fluids orally. When I was in the hospital, I really didn't want visitors. I just wanted to be alone to sleep and just deal. The challenge was managing both nausea and pain when I got home which I really was able to do with Zorthran (for nausea) and Tramadol (for pain). It was very difficult to get down fluids and I think the most stressful part of this period was trying to get fluids down to avoid dehydration. Because you can take in very little. And I felt like I needed to get up and walk around everytime I took a few sips, to get things moving. You would have to be up all day and all night and not sleep to get down the 64 ounces they say is required. I probably got down 36 ounces (if that) for the first 24 hours home. But I was peeing a lot so I guess the hospital sent me home pretty well hydrated. I had the surgery on Friday. On Monday I was able to start to take in watered down juice and nibble on some sugar free Jello. On Tuesday, I was able to add Propel Water and chicken broth. Hard to keep your energy level up with so few calories. I spend all of my time in bed. Until Monday, I was just sleeping. Didn't even watch TV. But on Monday I started watching TV and got back on my laptop but I still slept most of the day. On Tuesday, I stayed awake most of the day. I see my doctor today for my one week -- because of the holiday it is early. The two issues of concern I will raise with him are: no BM since before the surgery -- however my gas pains are not bad; I have a rash on my belly which I believe is due to the polyester binder they place on you post surgery; and please please please can I move on to thickened liquids? I am getting hunger pains!

i can't eat eggs....ever. they are really rubbery and many bandsters can't eat them. i don't eat breakfast per say....when i get up i just start drinking my Water, and usually don't eat for a few hours, as the water keeps me full--i find once i start eating i don't quit:) i think its okay to wait to eat for awhile. i find if i do that, its ends up being around lunch time, and i can eat normally then. its true, i usually end up only eating 2 meals and a snack, but i am about at goal so i won't fuss with what's working:)P because my band is more open at night, i prefer to have saved calories for then--good luck! jessica 181-120- 115 11-09-04

Don't be discouraged. First of all, you're still in the healing phase. Your upper stomach has to heal where the band was attached. There will be some swelling which will go down after a couple weeks. Your surgeon probably didn't put any Fluid in the band or if so maybe only 1 cc or possibly 2. I was banded 1/11/11 and after about 2 1/2 weeks, I suddenly noticed that I didn't feel satisifed after eating what was on my "list of approved foods" for that time period. I freaked out too thinking I had made a huge mistake! the swelling had gone down so I had less restriction. I got a fill on 2/23 but didn't really notice a huge difference except if I ate too fast or swallowed too big of a bite. I'm going in again next Weds but based on my weight loss, they may not do another fill yet. I hope it shows up on the scale. My clothes are so loose but I still like to see a lower number on the scale. I am keeping a food journal because it really makes me accountable and am trying to keep my calories around 1100 and get in 60-70 grams of Protein. I know for myself, I'm going to have to follow a diet to reach my weight loss goals. The band is helping me eat less at each meal BUT I still have to control what I eat. I'm focusing on making good choices of lean Proteins and veggies. I still get head hungry but I do think it's less than the cravings I had before the band. It might be just my imagination or wishful thinking but I do feel like I have more control. Hang in there! Shelley