Search the Community

I start my pre-op diet on monday for surgery the 16th. I'm allowed carnation instant Breakfast, skim milk, Jello and no calorie drinks. I'm glad it's only a week! Pat

LOL your wife sounds like my kind of lady! My "motivator" is a seven month old, four legged terror. So, I feel your pain somewhat haha Good to know about the steps vs. points. The Fuelband has this silly algorithm that is supposed to be a combo of steps, calories burned, and who the heck knows what else. It does track steps, too and boyyyy getting to 10,000 is so hard somedays! Keep up the good work!!

Trina, that's great! It is a lot of money though so please read as much as you can about it to make sure you think it will be worth it to you. The price includes 3 months of the website and after that you can pay by the month but it's much cheaper if you pay for a one year's subscription which is $99. And without the website, the bugg is useless. It's helped me simply because it has broken it down into simple math and taken the guess work away. I told it I wanted to get to 199 by my birthday in mid-Sept. and it calculated for me how many calories I can eat each day and how many calories I have to expend. At the end of each day I can see how I did for that day. Right now I'm having a hard time expending all the calories I need to, but it will get easier as I get a better understanding of what it will take.

We have a place called Tropical Smoothie Cafe here, and you can ask for slenda instead of turbinado (the sugar they use). You can also get soy or whey Protein. I get a 24oz orange passion with splenda and whey protein. It has calories and 27 grams of protein. They work out well on the liquids stage and if you are out and need something, but would rather not venture into a drive thru.

My oh my - this is such a wonderful forum and folks are so open - the only advice I can offer which may be helpful - is that of my nutritionest. Consume liquids 45 mins before or after a meal Make the liquids something like crystal lite, or power aid zero (no calories) Eat ONLY 3 oz of lean Protein (actually 7 grams per oz) If your still hungry after eating the protein - eat up to 1.5 cups of cooked veggies per meal Substitute a Protein shake 2-4 times a week Shakes: http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=WP-1070 That simple advice took me down 35 lbs - don't eat till your full - eat the perscribed plan. I know its not easy, I am a comfort food eater, a grazer, and eat out of boredom. Fortunatly the surgery made me loose my appetite - I wish you the very best !

I have lived your frustration, and certainly reading about everyone's ( or at least at times it seems like everyone but you) big losses etc every day doesn't help matters. Since you don't have a NUTm let me ask. How many calories are you getting in? Protein? water? Up until 6 weeks I was taking in about 600-800 calories. At my 6 week followup, after not losing for a few weeks, my NUT told me to aim for 1000 calories. She advised I should be getting the majority of those calories and my protein from regular lean foods, not shakes/bars. (she ok'd one Protein bar or shake a day) She advised me to eat 4 or 5 times a day, small meals, about 4oz. each. I've been slow and steady since. I will lose a good chuck (sometimes 10lbs.) in one week, then nothing for two. I made my peace with it. I'm able to get in around 80- 100oz of water a day also. Do you track your food with a program like "MyFitnessPal"? This helps me a lot. Try not to be discouraged, you are doing great!

I am not sure if you are already on the diet or are just mentally preparing, but everyone is different. You dont need too many calories before or after surgery and many people dont want to eat after the surgery. If you want more, then have more Jello or popsicles. Post op is to recover from surgery and then in a few weeks you will be "practicing" eating like a bandster. This is called "bandster hell" because you are going to get hungry - but must diet on your own for a while, until you get a fill to help you eat less and be satisfied. Also my doctor said to watch out for intaking too much Protein as it can make you hang on to pounds (especialy when you are not working out for the first 8 weeks after surgery). I only say this because I used to have 2 Protein shakes a day, but when you start eating "real" food, you will likely be getting too much protein if you drink 2 shake. I am 2 months post op. and down 40 pounds... it works if you watch your calories, eat your 40-60 grams of protein a day AND you MUST drink your 60 (or more) ounces of Water a day - when I dont get enough water, i dont lose weight...not sure why but it is true (for me at least). Good Luck to you!

So, according to my surgeon, I am to have nothing but Clear liquids (Water, broth, black coffee or plain tea), sugar free popsicles and sugar free Gelatin cups. I am also suppose to drink to simple Protein drink (no fruit and no dairy). My choice of Protein Drink is Muscle Milk Light. When I add up the calories of what I take in for the day, I am left wondering if this is healthy. Muscle Milk Light: 140 cal X 2 = 280 calories Sugar Free Popsicles: 15 cal X 2 = 30 calories Sugar Free Gelatin Cups: 10 cal X 2 = 20 calories Total Calories = 330 Calories A Day????!! How can your body possibly heal with so few calories coming in? Doesn't your body start metabolizing muscle to compensate for the lack caloric intake? Or won't it just effectively go into starvation mode which is not beneficial at all? What am I doing wrong?

gotmyeyeontheprize,I have to hand it to you; if you can follow those rules you are much stronger than me. I do think 600 cal and total 15 carbs a day is nuts. Yes we have a lot of fat for our body to burn off; but the brain can't burn fat or protein. It needs carbs. Also, personally I do an hour of cardio a day. I know that I could'nt survive on that low of a calorie count and continue to 1)exercise 2)work.

Hi Guys , post op 1 week ( 2 weeks from first band which had complications and fixed a week later ) . I seem to be having problems I think with dehydration , skin on face dry , my eyes sore , headaches last couple of days , Ive stuck to my liquid diet to the letter and in my opinion I am constantly drinking plenty Water , I walk around with a bottle of mineral water all day constantly sipping throughout the day. Anyway last couple of days Ive been run down , and all the symptoms of dehydration , yesterday I drank a rehydration drink mix I got from Pharmacy and it helped last night , today though as the day progresses I feel headache and a little nauseau setting in again. Where am I going wrong , any advice ? Should I just get more of these rehydration mix packs and take them daily for now ? Do you think its perhaps lack of food .. I know my Protein levels have been very low since op , but today to try combat that I when to store and purchased a load of Low Carb, High Protein shake Mix .. 96 calories per glass which yields 18g protein . Ive only been averaging 28g protein per day last two weeks, so think 2 Protein shakes a day will supplement this up to about 60 -70g daily , I believe I should be trying to achieve 80 grams , but as Im sure you will be aware , on liquids only , getting protein levels up is very difficult. Some help and advice would be very much appreciated. Regards Nick

No problem bignik! My doctor recommended the following during the liquid diet after my surgery: At least 60g Protein per day At least 60-70 ozs of Water per day Try to stay under 1000 cals I made sure to get almost all of my protein by lunchtime and it really seemed to help curb my hunger and made it easier to get through the rest of the day. I had one morning shake with skim fat free milk (180 cals, 29g protein), one shake for lunch and that left about 600 calories for dinner and Snacks and I had already gotten all of my protein for the day. Hope this helps and Good luck!!! :sad:

I am planning on a blog post for this. Short version, I was in the same boat using TheDailyPlate for several years. My biggest gripe was that they never got the Android app to work. I have a huge backlog of foods, meals etc. but I knew it was time for a change. Bumblestich, no Android app from Livestrong... I posted on here and asked for tips and most people recommended www.myfitnesspal.com and I like it. I switched and actually made the effort of entering old data to the first of the year so I have a complete new start with all data for 2011. I am sorry that I am losing my weight, food and exercise data of the past, but if you are unhappy you need to switch - and the earlier the better. MFP is free, allows custom calorie goals (mine is 900 right now), it also allows you to set percentages for carbs, Protein and fat (and other nutrients too) and the Android app is cool. I mean, it is COOL! Or KEWL! Why you ask? Because you can actually scan your food with the camera of your phone. Scan the barcode and voila - there is your food. No searching, no picking the right one - barcode does it all. And yes, I am that much of a geek that it gets me seriously giddy to just think about it, LOL

i chew ice. or i put ice in the blender with a splash of milk and some fresh fruit. it's fast and there's not really an extra calorie intake.

I'm one week post op tomorrow too and I range between 300-400 calories normally. Today was a really good day and I got in around 650! So that was amazing. I haven't talked to my dr so I'm not sure if that's good or not but I feel fine unless I go too long without eating.

I also have a 34. Depending on the food- If it's a not so good carb laden food- I can hold a cup easy. Dense protein- just 2 or 3 oz comfortably. That said-- my doctor said to never eat more than 1/2 cup at any given meal no matter WHAT the food is. They just don't want me putting more than that in the tiny space to be sure it stays tiny and I don't take in too many calories and such.

I'm with Kalipso, you could be eating to FEW calories. When I was on weight watchers they drilled this into us, and if you walk etc you need to add more points.

Here is the Liver Shrink Diet my Surgeon and Nutritionist gave me to follow pre-op: Liver Shrink Diet Remember: Vegetables ar unlimited on this diet. (except potatoes, corn, beans, and peas. Breakfast Protein Shake or Protein Bar (You may use any shake as long as it has 220 or less calories and 10g or less fat/serving) Mid Morning Snack 1 small piece of fruit (if you have Diabetes add 4 oz low-fat yogurt) Lunch Protein Bar (220 calories of less and 10g or less of fat) or Shake Mid Afternoon Snack 1 small piece of fruit (add 4 oz low-fat yogurt if you have Diabetes) Dinner 3 oz meat (lean) - The size of a deck of cards steamed vegetables or salad with Fat-free salad dressing 6 unsalted crackers or 2 slices low calorie bread or 1 small baked potato 1/2 c fruit or 1 small piece of fruit Evening Snack 1 small piece of fruit (add 4 oz low-fat yogurt if you are Diabetic) (You may have non-caloric beverages on this diet) NO ALCOHOL!!!!!!!! Examples: Decaf. Tea, Crystal Light, Sugar-free Kool-Aid, Water Follow This 1 Day Prior To Surgery: Clear liquids only including Jello, broth, juice, and any beverages listed above. Jello can be congealed, but do not put fruit in it it. (NO RED JELLO) & NOTHING TO EAT PAST MIDNIGHT (of course). This is just what my surgeon and nutritionist gave me. Of course everyone's seems different but I just thought I would give you something to go on.

First thing you need to do is go back to your liquid diet for a fews days and give your band some rest! And call your doc. As you move to different foods in the healing stages, your restriction will change. You should have little to NO restriction on Water and other liquids. Many people are tight in the mornings and sip warm tea or broth, or just do a Protein shake until lunch. You, however, appear to be fighting stoma swelling caused by continuing to attempt to eat regular food. Switch to liquids...get those protien shakes back out...for as long as needed before you move to thicker liquids, then soft mushies, then fuller mushies, then soft foods...you get the idea. Start over. An unfill isn't an option for you. And you need calories and hydration. Give us an update soon!!!

I wish there was a pill we could take called "Stall-B-Gone"...I'm one month out from surgery and dropped 22 pounds the first three weeks. Now at the end of the fourth, I've lost none. NONE! I haven't cheated, I'm eating about 600 calories a day, and I know I'm burning something because my ketostix are still turning purple when I pee on them. I know this happens, but physiologically it seems impossible. I know I just have to wait it out, but it's soooooo frustrating! If you watch "My 600 Pound Life" you see these poor people who claims they haven't cheated, and Dr Nowzaradan rips them a new one and says "call the Nobel Committee you are creating mass from nothing". I used to watch and say "Yeah, right" but now I know that it CAN happen!

You are all so right! I need to take this all in stride...usually I can handle set backs. I leave for Las Vegas three days after this fill, which is my anxiety of being too restricted ( don't mind softer foods but I don't want to be sick like I see in these forums). Ok I said it. On the other hand my goal is the green zone. I'll continue my workouts and healthy eating and stay away from scale...limit calories and maintain portion size. Again thank you all for the encouragement.

It's been a while since I have blogged. I've been out of town and living in a hotel for the past week trying to finish up all of my clinical hours. Staying to pureed foods has been difficult, but the hotel I stayed in had a fridge and a microwave in the room, so that made things a bit easier. First couple days of being on my feet and seeing patients all day was super tiring, and I crashed as soon as I got back to the hotel. We have also had drug reps bringing us lunch every day and that has been a huge challenge. I've stayed under 1200 calories every day, averaging around 800-900, but those drug rep lunches just about killed me. I had brought my own food and everything, but I was just so darn sick of tomato soup, yogurt and jello. One day the rep brought boston market and I ended up eating a little less than a cup of stuffing (it was really soft and mushie). Some people in the clinic have noticed how small my servings are, but they accept my excuse of having been sick and trying to not eat too much to lose weight. I am going to go to the gym for the first time since before surgery today. I'll probably just try walking on the treadmill or something else easy. I can't wait to get back to spin class and to be able to ride my bike again! Still waiting to see the scale move down after my initial 15 lb loss....trying to be patient

Thursday, July 31, 2013 Hello readers from all across the globe! It's great to see that we have fat fans growing in numbers by the week! Folks from China, Russia, Latvia, Netherlands, Canada, the UK, France and a few other far away countries have stopped by the blog to catch up on my fight against flab. When it comes to the battle of the bulge, it seems the world shares in our morbid obsession with thinness. We all speak the same language ... Fat-lish. On to the news of the week. I went for second post-op doctor visit on Monday. As usual, I checked in right on time knowing full well that I would be lingering in the lobby of the Center for Fatassiness well past my scheduled appointment time. So I settled in to one of the fat ass chairs in the waiting room. I immediately noticed that I occupied far less space in this overly ample seat. Yes, my ass has shrunk. I'm guessing by about a half a foot. I kinda feel like a little kid sitting in grandpa's chair. If you recall, Mondays are Dr. X's office days. He sees both pre-op and post-op patients during this time. That is why I just can't help myself but to look around the waiting area and see what the doctor has scheduled for today. Over to the far left, I spy an elephantine teen boy nervously sitting next to who I presume to be his mom. Obvious pre-op material. I'm thinking "Don't fret dude. It will be worth it. I wish they had this when I was your age." Looking far right I see a fleshy female with her nose buried in a book. Hmmmm. I'm guessing follow up. Then the extra wide doors fly open and a smiling 30 something man in clothes at least two sizes to big saunters out. Definitely a post-opper! I was called in a few minutes after a Rascal bound lady. When I went in and sat at the first nurses’ station, I saw no sight of scooter. She must be in the pre-op room waiting for the sales pitch from Dr. X. On cue, he walks towards the closed door with his plastic stomach model. The same one he used for my initiation. "Close that deal Doc!" I quipped. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. He gave me a wry smile, a thumb up and went in to the room with a nervously awaiting prospect and a Rascal. Easy sale. It was now time for me to get my vitals. No temperature. BP 117/77 (That went down about 6 or 7 points on both ends. The nurse asked me if I was 18!) Now to the scale. Off with the loafers, step on to the massive industrial scale ..... AND..... 97.2 Kilos! It kinda kills the drama when the kilo measure comes up. Especially because I can't do the math that fast in my head. "How much have I lost since my first visit?" I asked. "Oh, I don’t have that file here." she answers. "How many files do I have?" I inquired. "I'm not sure. Ask the doctor." she tells me. Must be some kind of union thing. Maybe she's only allowed to carry one file to avoid a workplace injury. After my vitals check, I was deposited in another room. I know the drill now. First a visit from the bubbly Ms. K, my nutritionist, then the syringe wielding Dr. X will make his appearance. This room has both a fat ass chair and a fat ass recliner in addition to the exam table. Wonder why? Maybe it's for the portly patient and his pleasingly plump pal. Whatever ... just seems strange to me. The door bursts open and an extra bubbly Ms. K enters and has a seat at the desk next me. "Wow. You look like you're doing great!" she spouts. "I think I'm doing Ok." I reply sheepishly. "Let's look at your progress." she says. "Awesome! You have lost 8 pounds since last visit and 41 pounds total! You get a gold star!" That made my day. I thought I was doing OK. But what do I know? I think I'm 22 and gorgeous. Just because I think it doesn't make it so. So her validation was excitedly welcomed. We proceeded to go over my average daily food intake. I told her I was doing the 1200 calorie a day deal. I showed her my FitBit Flex and the MyFitnessPal app and how they sync up. She was impressed and green lighted me to continue what I'm doing because it's working. That's cool with me. We exchanged the usual farewell pleasantries and I was back to waiting for the main attraction. Without further ado, Dr. X gregariously enters. "I hear you’re a rock star." He opens up with. "I'm just trying to stay focused." I say. "Well, you're doing great. 8 pounds since last month is great." I think I was beaming like a new father. People rarely get this kind of validation from others, especially from their fatoligist. We discussed my progress, my hunger level and my ability to get food down and keep it down. "So you're not really felling any restriction?" he asks. "Nope. I think I could swallow a live fish if I had to.” I replied. “We don’t want it to come to that. Let’s give you a little tune up.” I laid down and a few seconds later I had one more c.c. of saline restriction. Dr. X gave me a few warnings about staying on liquids that night and pureed foods the next. After a few more words of encouragement, he was off to the next case. Needless to say, my second fill appointment was a success. I’m glad the bubbly Ms. K and Dr. X are pleased with my progress. As great as all the back slaps and accolades are, I can’t lose sight of the fact that I am not even half way home yet. There is still a lot of work to be done. I have definitely noticed that every pound is harder to lose than when I started. And I know they will be even harder as lose more. So, yea, I’m happy with the visit. But no, I am in now overconfident in my success. As I was leaving the exam room, I spotted that Rascal sitting unguarded in the hall. For a fleeting second I had thought of nabbing it, throwing on a fat ass chair and making a break for the parking lot. But my new reality set in. I don’t need the fat ass chair anymore. But I sure could have a blast on that Rascal! Bye for now. Johnny Hey you! Stop by my blog! You can enter your email and get my posts automatically! TheDeconstructionOfJohnny.blogspot.com

It really depends on whether or not you want to lose faster. If you are losing at a good clip and don't feel deprived I would stay there. If you feel like you are eating too much then I would go in for a fill. I eat around 1k calories a day so your calorie intake will definitely drop with a fill. Good luck.

I considered myself a slow loser until I found out that my band is unlocked. I will have it fixed soon but what I want to say is if what you are doing is not working for you, then try something else. I was only losing after fills as well, with being on liquids for two days after one. The band is not GBP and we are actually supposed to lose slowly ( 1 to 2 pounds a week and you are right on that track) but we are all impatient when it comes to losing weight. Have you tried varying your intake? Your body can adapt and learn to maintain itself when you reduce the calorie intake, it will just train itself to maintain on that lower intake. Try having a larger portion for one meal or two a week and that day, exercise a little longer. Mix things up a bit and I think it might help. Don;t forget the less you weigh the less food it takes to maintain that new lower weight as well. You don;t have to track calories every day, but if you do for a day or two, you'll have an idea of how many you are consuming. Maybe too much, maybe it's too little. I have a a high fiber Cereal for b'fast and a couple Fiber one bars a week to help with constipation. A piece of whole wheat toast can help, as well as lots of fluids, like flavored Water or crystal lite, if you don;' like plain water. I think you've done very well.

I spent one week at a stand still with my weight. It bounced back and forth between 224 and 226 for a week with me doing nothing different. While it was my TOM, it still worried me. Finally Saturday it started going down. I am back to dropping about a half pound a day. Such a motivation when that scale drops. This weekend I had two of my 16 year old nephews. They are awesome boys and they love to come stay with my husband and I. Of course with 2 growing boys I was always fixing food, but I stayed on track. We went out to dinner with them and I got the grilled chicken and broccoli - didn't eat all the broccoli, but the chicken was awesome and I didn't leave filling horrible and stuffed. One night I fixed burgers for the hubs and the kids, but instead of having the bun I put my burger (extra tender and lean) with low cal cheese, home made pickles on my plate and ate it with a fork. The kids looked at me like I was nuts, but it was good and saved 200 calories from what I would have normally eaten. This morning when I took them home I stopped at McDonalds to get them a biscuit from breakfast and I didn't get anything, I had eaten my half a cup of cherrios before leaving. Feeling proud of myself for making postive choices. While I do find myself missing some of the foods I use to love, I am really enjoying how I feel not eating them. I like feeling satisfied and not stuffed. Feeling this good and being proud of my self for making the good choices really is motivating me to make even better ones and continue this path. Thanks for all those who sent messages of encouragement while I was worried. It really helps to have others who understand supporting you. Banders Rule!!