Hey i tho i would post up a thread for us all to talk in.....hope this is ok :confused:

So start chatting away everyone...as for the herald sun here is a link to read

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21059191-661,00.html

Hi All,

Off to the shops tomorrow for post op diet food, I know we discussed something about this way back when, but can someone advise on things I will need to get i.e custard?? yogurt?? etc you get my drift I haven't spoken to a dietician yet and I am a bit lost on the whole thing. Alos did you all continue your optifast after the op and do clear fluids mean say french onion soup?? I know these may sound dumb but I thinl all my brain cells have gone on a holiday!!!

Sussanah, how are you going??

Bronnie - not long now

Lorettea when are you getting done again??

Hi Dionne, Liquid phase, you can have custard, icecream ( The little weight watchers tubs are good, with yummy flavours) Vitamized fruits, such as peaches, pears, apricots etc. Fruit smoothies with yoghurt and bananas,peaches etc. Vitamized soups like velish, you can add baked beans or other canned beans. Suprisingly veg and baked bean soup is yummy.

You can have a variety of fruit juices such as pineapple, and V8 vegie juice.

The main thing is that you have to be able to suck any liquids up through a straw. That is the consistency you are looking for. You can also have Jarrah chocolait 99% fat free hot chocolate as a treat.

It makes a change from the Optifast!:mad:

Susannah

Dionne, You start first day with clear liquids such as chicken broth with no visable meat in it, or beef broth, then you start on nutritional fluids like I have described above.

Anybody else got any more ideas for D?

Susannah

Dionne, Forgot to say that you are not allowed to have custard, fruit juices, and icecream anymore once the liquid stage is finished. The liquids that you have after that have to be zero calorie. So enjoy em while you can!:mad: I only have one little weight watchers icecream tub a day. Susannah

Hi all... well i did it....

Day 1 on OPTIFAST and didnt cheat. Ive tried to start OPTIFAST previously but never lasted a day. Maybe the motivation and determination has clicked in.

Hey Bron, That is terrific!:mad: You can do this. I did 3 weeks of it without cheating a single time. I wanted to be able to show that I could stick to something for once in my life. Susannah

Well i'll be a total of 3 weeks and 1 day OPTIFAST pre-op. im going to do my very best to stick to it. Although i wasnt told that i needed to go on OPTIFAST, i think it will help and prepare me for the adjustment to a liquid diet. Never know... if i drop a few kilo's i might fly thru the Respiratory function tests. I didnt feel really short of breath until i got heavier than about 92kg,

Bronnie thats so great. Once you get past the first couple of days of optifast, the rest will be a breeze. I did it for 2 weeks and I will admit, I did cheat in the end part. I had a little bite of pizza a couple of days before surgery and I felt incredibly guilty. It didn't satisfy me in any way, so all it did was make me feel crappy for being "weak". If you do feel the desire to "cheat" remind yourself of why you are going through all of this and if you need encouragement and support we are all here (I wish I had you all when I was doing it!). You will probably loose a few kilos while on optifast (I lost 7 in 2 weeks) so it will be a great head start for you!!

Hi Sussanah,

Thanks for all that info, a few ideas there that I didn't think of. Did u still do the optifast at all after as they have asked me to bring it into the hospital with me. How are you feeling? Back to work soon aren't you?? When does your photo go on? I am going to get my pic taken over the w/end.

Hi Bronnie,

Good on you, I won't even go into my pre-op diet suffice to say I really struggled, I admire all of you that stuck to your guns.

Meridith - when did you have your firts fill and with the subsequent fills did you decide or did your doc???

Dionne,

All my fill details are in my signature block below :mad: I had my first fill less than a month after my surgery on the 18 Dec. My surgery date was 22 Nov. Pretty much each time I have been for a fill I have a chat with my Dr about how much and how often I am eating. The last time I went, he put more in that is "normal" because I told him I was exercising and when he weighed me he said I was obviously commited to my band so he put in 1.5 mls rather than 1ml, which is what he normally does. Each time you go, the Dr will put in a little less, until you reach the fill amount that works for you. I'm going back next Wednesday for my 4th fill cos I have been a hungry hungry hippo this past 2 weeks! :hungry: I've been eating the most since I have been banded, which isn't really how its supposed to work!

Hey Bronnie

you can improve the taste of the optifast a bit with additional favors. a couple of drops of orange or peppermint essence in the choc, coconut, banana in the vanilla. I also quite liked a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg in the vanilla- Doesn't add any extra calories and gave me a bit more variety

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Thanks Karen.... will definately try different things with the OPTIFAST.

3 weeks today for me :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

I was talking to someone yesterday and mentioned that im going to be banded... they said ... really such and such has had that done.

The person they were referring to is a lady about 170cm tall and i would say about 55kg. I never saw this woman obese and i cant even visualize it. She looks absolutely amazing. Apparently her start weight was around the 150kg . Everyone knows someone that has been banded..... getting very popular it is.

Hi All, I started the mushies phase today. I had one weet bix with lots of physical low fat milk. Another milestone. I am on mushies for the next two weeks. You might see me in the baby food aisle at the supermarket.

One thing I hate about telling people about the banding is when they say,"Oh that's the easy way to lose weight":rolleyes:

Oh right, getting cut open and going through all the pain is really easy. Not!!!!!

Susannah

It is SO not the easy way! There is no just eating anything, chewing 3 times and swallowing any more. There is limitations on the food we can eat. We have be ever attentive of our band and how we treat it and we have to look after ourselves by exercising and taking vitamins every day for the rest of our lives. We have to careful about the medications we take. AND the band is only a tool! I know that phrase gets thrown around a lot, but damn it its true! A person who is unwilling to work with their band will have VERY slow or minimal weight loss. They will PB and feel sick and run down and in poor health. We have the band to HELP us limit our food intake because our natural chemical controllers are all haywire and don't do that for us!

It annoys me to no end that people make this judgement of us after we have gone through the rigourous pre op testing and consultations and the decision to operate is made by A TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS based on our weight histories. *Most* bandsters have tried every diet and every possible way of losing weight that they can physically manage. And the band is a last resort. Its the end of the road. Its not easy and I HATE (yes its a strong word) that people think its the easy way out. I don't know about you guys but I laboured over my final decision to be banded because I knew it wasn't going to be easy. This thing is in my body for the rest of my life, and I am 28, that a long time (hopefully even longer now I have my band!).

All of that said though, and dispite it not being easy, my band is the best investment I have ever made in myself.

*gets down off soap box*