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You will be okay, you must focus on the positive! Start w/ small goals for the soda, just cut down by 1 a day and maintain that for a mth. Cutting out soda won't be about the calories or carbonation, but it will be about breaking the habit.

Hi -- Glad things are going good for you. I just got out of the 190's myself (187.8 this morning), so we're right there together. This was my third fill and it made a lot of difference in my hunger, although I'm pleased that I'm not "strangulated" either. My first two fills were fairly shortlived, but that was okay by me.

I don't have problems getting my protein in. I think it's important for a while to track your protein grams, along with calories. You need to get at least 60 in, depending upon your activity level, up to 80ish. My protein during the day consists of egg whites and cheese in the morning, FF refried beans, tuna, almonds, and then at night, fish, chicken, or turkey. If I'm short (like on mushy days right after a fill), I'll have my super protein whey shot, which has 26 grams of protein!! Holy moly - I love that it has so much. But I only do that when I need that big boost of protein.

Good luck to you!!

I'm a HUGE peanut butter fan - I've actually found a really yummy substitute that doesn't have anywhere near the calories or fat...it's called PB2 (ordered it online)....it's basically a peanut butter powder, you can mix it with water to make it spreadable like PB (haven't tried that) OR you can add it to recipes...I put it in my shakes - so yummy. It has like 50 (something) calories for 2 TBS, just under 2 gms of fat, and like 5 g protein...I only use 1 TBS in my shakes, since it really gives it enough of the PB flavor. But seriously - crackers sound awesome right now...really anything other than liquid does...can't wait for cottage cheese (how crazy is that?)

Hi Amanda! I'm so glad your recovery is going well! I'm doing really well! It is funny to think that in a few months you will look like a completely new, hotter version of yourself. I've been overweight my whole life as well. I'm excited to really participate in life. I've always been very active but now I want to do things I was too embarrassed to do before because of looking ridiculous...parasailing, zip lining, who knows...maybe bungee jumping or skydiving! I've had a few setbacks with "brain hunger" and a bit of PMS diet cheating, but I got advise from others on here. Each day is a new day to do it right!!! I make myself hit the gym when I don't feel like it and I see results (my size 16 jeans are getting loose!) I don't see a difference, but the compliments keep coming from friends and I am eating it right up (0 calories and no carbs!!!) Good for us!

Don't stress. I barely lost anything before my surgery (and I had been trying) but they went through with it anyway. You'll be fine. But yeah, try not to gain anything!! I'm feeling great. I've officially lost 45lbs and I can't wait until I reach the 50lb lost mark. That's a lot of weight!! It hasn't been easy but I've gotten used to eating the new way (kinda) and living with the band. And adding exercise. What I like the most is weight training. I've never "lifted" weights before, but it's important because toning muscle is good. Muscle burns more calories faster. So dont just concentrate on cardio. Who is your surgeon? Honestly, contact me about anything! The first couple of weeks on liquid diet after surgery is hard. Dont be hard on yourself. Once you can eat "real" food again, you'll feel so much better!! Good lucka nd keep in touch!

I know what you mean. I was going up and down in a 2 week time period until finally it cracked and I've gone past the hump this week. I went to the dietician and she told me to stay under 800 calories a day & only 6 oz of food per meal. I had definately been going over that amount. She said my stomach could stretch having more than that. I'm now being very cautious and measuring.

awe thank you! hehe. youre doing great to miss thing!!! to pressure yourself, dont count calories, just eat a 1/2 of cup of your breakfast, lunch & dinner. its weird for me i cant eat anything until about 2pm, so i usually just drink my calories, with sugar free juice or something, & eat a larger lunch...then drink something at night... once you get your 2nd fill the weight will start falling off! trust me. what were your stats?

mine were, weight= 360, bmi= 57

now im 265 & 42.3 bmi.

dont feel bad. ive had my band for 7mo. now and have lost 56lbs. i dont use calorie. i cup potion control of 1cup per meal. i take a protein drink 4 breakfast. i really look at the sugar intake. i try to keep it 2g. which is hard cause all drinks are about 40g. lol. dilute drinks with water. Hope this helps. Good Luck!!! dont get discourage. ive been losing weight slow. in 10lbs. periodically. and im down 56lbs.

I have a 2 week diet too. I have 4 protein shakes 64 oz of calorie free liquid and for dinner 3-4 oz of grilled chicken, tuna, or pork loin, 2 cups of raw greens and 1 tomato. I start my pre-op diet on the 4th. I am evenly distributed too. I would not like 4 weeks of liquid only.

It is rare that I eat bread, not that it gets stuck..it just fills me up too fast and I can't get my protein in.

Exercise: I walk and exercise in my pool daily. This helps tremendously. I know when it rains for days I can really feel it.

For my meals..As I said I eat everything but I eat very small portions..never more than a cup but usually about 3/4 of a cup per meal. The only thing I really splurge on is the popsicles..probably 4-5 a day. I have a 3 year old and we eat them all afternoon/evening.

If I have a cravining I found that if I satisfy the craving instead of trying everying to avoid it I realized that I only wanted maybe 2 bites of the craving and I was satisified. If I tried to avoid it I ate everything in the house and still ended up eating the craving..just think of all the wasted calories!

Another thing when I eat is that I eat until I am satisified not until I am full.

I hope this has helped!! Take care!

Hi everyone! I am doing well! I have minimal pain! Thank goodness! I have virtually no gas pains just some pain and soreness where the port is. I haven't slept well because it is difficult to sleep on my side from the pain but I doze. Overall this is a walk in the park compared to my 3 previous c-sections! I have been moving around as much as possible. I have been sipping my water and had only 1 protein shake today. I am NOT hungry at all. I am unsure if I am supposed to eat (drink) if I am not hungry. I know my body needs the calories to help heal but just a little confused about that. Any ideas?

shibalover I dont think I over did anything. I work out a few times a week and get my heart pumping for an hour at a time and before I had restriction I dieted and watched my calories but now I have restriction and am eating whatever I make my family but I just cant eat very much of it LOL. Ive come to relize I want to do this for life not like a diet. I dont get all my protein in most days but I try and I eat everything but the band helps with the amount. The only tip I have thats a for sure thing is DONT snack because the band wont help with that. I could eat a whole bag of reese cups if I want. so I stay far far away LOL I try not to have that junk in the house. It really is an awesome tool

Today is 3 days post op. I am not sure about the restriction but I know I am not having any problem staying within calorie restriction to loose weight. That is night.

Hi, I'm Sarah. We have surgery scheduled for the same day. 8/9/10! I'm not on a pre-op diet yet. For one week prior to surgery I'll be on 2 protein shakes and a Lean cuisine/ day calories not to exceed 873. They want me to lose 5-10 pounds that week mostly to shrink my liver. I will do my pre-op labs and EKG this week.

Best of luck to you!

Thanks Debra, I love your site! Thanks for sharing the recipes, that does help in meal planning and calorie counting as well. A lot of folks after the band, just don't know what to eat. Have a wonderful and blessed day.

I am in now day 6 of my post op but let me update where I came from since Monday.

When they did my Barium swallow just a drop or 2 of contrast went thru. They assumed the Dr. would pull the primer fluid from the band before I left the hospital. did not happen. He assumed that the swelling would go down and I would be fine. Didn't happen couldn't get hardly a thing in my body. Called the Dr. and they said to come back to the office the next morning and they would draw out any fluid in the band. Easy for them to say, I lived 3 hours from the hospital. Got there at 10:30 on Friday morning. They took the fill syringe and went in thru the cut where the port was placed. Hurt like heck. Pulled 3cc of fluid and it was like the dam broke and I open up and felt it immediatly. They gave me a cup of water and it went down and oh what a relief it was. I am now consuming about 500 calories a day. No nausea or reflux and getting about 48 ounce of water and my strength is coming back.

Thank you so much for the feed back. I only work out maybe 2x per week. I am eating around the same amount of calories, but I know the key is to step up my workouts. Girl, you are such an inspiration to me, and I really appreciate you taking the time out to support me. May God continue to bless you on this journey! Again, Amazing!

OMG! Congrats on graduating!! I have one more year to go..smh...oh well im getting there.

A typical day for me would be a slim fast shake. (they have a high protein one 20g with 2g of carbs) Those are wayy cheaper than the other protein shakes. So its the shake for bfast then a small snack a couple hours later..maybe a banana or strawberries. For lunch I almost always eat a lean Cuisine..the steak tips with veggies! its soo good..with only 160 calories. A few hours later another snack..some yogurt or another shake..I always go to the gym after work..My PT has me doing resistance every other day and cardio on those other days. Then when my bf gets home I cook dinner always under 500 calories but it varies what it is...Thats my day...sounds healthy right?? Yea still not working..lol

NO I haven't been working out girl. I am planning on just walking. But my regular doctor explained that b/c I am eating so few calories, when I work out I am really burning muscle. And I don't want that. I think I'll only workout when I am stuck. The whole "burning muscles" scares me to death!

Sorry you're lean cuisine wasn't any good. boo! :cursing: But good news is you get to fit into two pairs of pants. haha I love going shoppin' in my closet for old things that I haven't worn in a long time.

Glad you're day is gong well though. I am just cleaning house for my mom--she pays me. I am trying to earn some extra money for Spring Break. whoo hoo!!! :tt2:

Hi Pete!

Happy New Year. Have you had a fill yet? If so how was it? I do not get my first fill until 1/28 my dr. likes to wait a full 6 weeks after surgery. I lost 23 lbs. but now I have not lost at all in 3 weeks and I am excersicing, drinkig water, eating less than 1500 calories per day etc....so this is frustrating but even my dr told me not to expect to lose after my two week visit and my first fill he said 23 lbs was a lot for my size and that my body would have to adjust.................

any thoughts?

Thanks,

Angie

Ok so I went to Costco, and well the shakes that my dietitian recommended are the best they had. They are called PREMIER PROTEIN. They have 30g of protein, 1g sugar, 130 or so calories, and all kinds of good vitamins. They are Chocolate and are yummy, easily carried around. I have not gotten tired of them yet. A lot of the other drinks and shakes had a ton of calories, and a crap load of sugar.

Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

I had a hiatal hernia too. You already had a fill? My first fill will be the last week in March. When I went to my 2 week post op on 2/24 I was down 15 pounds since surgery. They told me not to expect any more weightloss until my first fill UNLESS I only eat 1/2 cup each meal. Then I may lose more. Well, I can eat normal now so half cup just isn't enough. But I have been eating low calorie, low fat, sugar free foods and doing the treadmill so I at least won't gain weight. I've been very lucky not to have acid refulx anymore. No more sleeping sitting up! But since I have been eating normal I haven't lost any more weight. I'm just trying to be patient until my next fill and keep myself motivated to stay active and smart eating. I'm curious as to how you are doing now as well. It seems everything changes weekly, doesn't it? How are your incisions? Mine are almost gone. I'll have a scar from my liver one because it did get infected for a day.

On inauguration day I went to a party and probably ate 1700 calories! Then yesterday I only had about 700. Most days I try to eat about 1100.

So I'm eating what I want but just in small amounts. Some days I get in 50 grams of protein, some days I get in 80. I am not super strict with myself because I like to eat and want to be able to eat what I want. I feel like it works for me. What I do NOT do (but did for awhile) is eat a lot of food in one sitting, just because I can. I really limit all my intake to about 1/2 cup of food, no more than a cup. If I'm still wanting more after that, I just stop. Besides, I might PB, so I don't want to eat too much.

I hope this was helpful. Email again if you want!

Jessica

Hey there, how's your weight loss coming along? Its so hard to give pointers these days since I havent lost a pound in a couple of months now (think I need a fill). The best advice I can give is to make sure you are working out at least 3-4 times a week (I was doing 5-6 times in the beginning) and make conscious decisions of what you are eating. The band does limit the amount of food you can eat, but it doesnt always limit what you are eating. Heavy starches like bread, certain pasta, rice, gives me a hard time but i can live without. Chips on the other hand, is my weakness and it does not limit that for me really. So just beware. Count your calories. Know of what it takes to burn those calories off and you may think twice before making a bad decision. 30 minutes on the elliptical at a pretty steady pace burns about 350 for me and that's pretty hard work. So some times when I go for that bag of chips and thats 280 cals, it doesnt seem worth it.