Anyway my biggest concern for my journey was that I have chosen never, ever, to eat or drink anything using any type of sugar free substitutes. I hate it. YUCK!

I feel even if I am a slow loser, I will be ok with my decision.

When I met with the dietitian I shared my concerns, she said I do not see a problem, if I was to have the Gastric Bypass I would have to have sugar free for the rest of my life for "dumping". But not a concern with the lapband.

Also I am a huge ice tea addict. Just ice tea from a tea bag, ice, and a squeeze of lemon.

Since being home I have had regular popsicles, regular Jello, and broths. Then went to full liquids having regular fudgcicles, and puddings and custards, and yogurts and coco wheats. I am however having fat free cream Soups.

So I went to the hospital weighing 266 I crested at my highest from the IV's at 271. I am now officially 5 days post op and I am down 15 lbs at 256.:clap2:

So here is my thought.....you have surgery, your body is in complete shock, then you recover by being told to have only sugar free products and broth. I think that you throw your body into a survival starvation mode. I feel that you need some sugar and calories to stabilize your system. My thought may come back and bite me in the tush, but I am not convinced sugar free with the chemicals is the best. I would love your thoughts ,I think :nervous. Yikes!

Here is a rumor I heard, for every hour that you are under sadation, that is how many days you will feel foggy from the anestitia(SP)?

I am feeling much better.

Good luck to everyone having surgery next week.

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I think you should stick to what your surgeon says.. if he says you can have sugar.. then that's fine. They have created this whole pre op/post op diet plan.. and apparently it is the best way for your body to heal. Ask your surgeon if you're thinking about making changes to your post op diet... just to be safe. Goodluck Janine!!!!!

In my nursing classes they told us that the artificial sweeteners are no better for us than the sugar. Our body doesn’t know how to process the fake sugar so it converts it right into fat. The artificial sweeteners are great for people with blood sugar problems but for those without the problems i was told that plain sugar is the best. I learned this in both my Anatomy and physiology class as well as my Pathophysiology class.

I don't really eat anything fat-free or sugar free. I eat so little anymore, that what I do eat is going to be full-flavored. I still want a little bit of pleasure out of eating.

In my nursing classes they told us that the artificial sweeteners are no better for us than the sugar. Our body doesn’t know how to process the fake sugar so it converts it right into fat. The artificial sweeteners are great for people with blood sugar problems but for those without the problems i was told that plain sugar is the best. I learned this in both my Anatomy and physiology class as well as my Pathophysiology class.

I can't remember if it was my anethesiologist or my surgeon who came into my room before my surgery and mentioned that they had just read a study the showed artificial sweetners actually contribute to weight gain. Interesting.

OK, there's one in every crowd, I'll be the one for this one, I love my Splenda, have it every day in my coffee, and I use the Crystal Lite packets for my Water.

It's just not that big a thing to me. We're lucky to have so many choices, and that's what they are, choices we chose to make....with or without it's your choice .

I'm with you on the suger free stuff, It taste so yucky. I just dont drink anything but water, id rather have water the crystal light and stuff. I do like to have tea at a resteraunt,and add sweet and low but it taste good. I do like the healthy choice no sugar added choc. ice cream bars. They do not have that yucky taste. They still have some sugar , just not as much.The no sugar added is not the same as sugar free.

I've never been a huge fan of sugar, or any other sweetener. I use any of it as little as possible, but that said, I use Spenda in my coffee (a recent change, after 25 years of Sweet N Low). I was always concerned about the amount of aspartame I took in due to my Diet Pepsi habit, so I'm glad that's no longer an issue for me.

Other than in my coffee, and whatever foods I eat that already have it, I don't go out of my way to add sugar or sweetner to many foods/drinks.

But if I had to add something, it would be sugar.

Susan I agree, about taste too.

If I am going to eat just a couple ounces of somthing I would rather enjoy it

and be satisfied then eating chemicals.

Steve, I actually like stevia.

Thanks to everyone that had input.

I was just watching tivod The View, they were talking about how bad having fat around your stomach is.

I am only 5 days out but I AM SO GLAD I had this done.

I just had it done as well. Im a couple days post surgery and I have been eating mushy real food. The pre diet I never did the low fat anything. Was good w/ liquids, but ate pudding and jello and icecream. I know ALOT of people on here say stick to what the diet says, especially after surgery. Well I have not. It bothered me once when I ate to much I could feel the food just sitting over the band. But besided protein drinks I have had mashed potatos and Red Beans and Rice from Popeye's. DAMN it's good. Me personally, I can take this food and it's not hurting me. I would stick w/ moderete food you can take and just work up from there. I don't feel the liquid diet is completley needed for 2 weeks afterwards. Just try stuff a little at a time and see what your body can take. I would be loosing my mind right now if I was still only drinking liquids. But to each his own.

Man, jubjub--you are a brave one! I'm so afraid of causing the band to slip by eating anything other than what the doc says that I make myself crazy. I'm self-pay and my husband and I decided we could take enough money from our retirement for the surgery but we have been very worried about having to take more for complications. My doctor feels that by following his recommendations you are at a much lower risk for slippage, and his stats seem to bear that out. So....here I am just barely on mushies today but feeling like I'm doing all I can to let my stomach heal and get used to it's new partner. But, as you say, "to each his own!" Good luck!

Jubjub, I think you're taking a chance eating what you "think" is ok, just because it goes down, does not mean it may not be causing complications. You're still healing at this point. I'm like momlamber, I respect my band, and the early stage is the most important time to listen to your doctor.

Why would you want to take those chances, it makes me wonder why you got the band if you're not going to listen to your doctor, what's the point?

Don't mean to be harsh, but think about it, please.

I third these opinions. jubjub, you really need to think long and hard about why you got the band. If you're not going to follow rules that were set up based on research and success and failure rates, then why bother having surgery?

I don't know if you read any posts about how the band is placed, or watched any videos of placements, but I encourage you to go and watch this one, the surgeons doing it explain the whole procedure VERY well.

http://www.or-live.com/tgh/1593

Your lower stomach is sutured up over your band and the more you make your stomach digest foods with residue in them, the longer it will take for those sutures to heal. Remember those stitches are in a warm, wet enviroment, anything stitched in conditions like that is going to take much longer to "set" in place. The stomach is very muscular and the contractions you are causing it to do by eating are moving those sutures around and risking popping them.

Seriously man, stop and consider what the bleep you are doing and why?

We want you to be successful, I would assume you want that, too.

Janine, congrats on being banded, may I ask where you went?

And I am not a fan of the artificial stuff, either. I use Stevia a lot.

im a big HONEY FAN!!!!

Way before the band i used to use splenda a LOT and my husband and boys still do. I gave up white sugar completely whenever possible, and if i can get low sugar or no added sugar i will, but i LOVE honey with my tea and in oatmeal. I use it as a glaze too. I am aware of the calories in honey, thats not the issue, its how its digested, and the other benefits of it that i love, plus the taste is luxuriant!

plus i only use a teaspoon per cup o tea, (three a day roughly) and it goes a long way.

I play with fitday.com when i notice big changes in my diet to try to keep myself accountable. First time i popped in HONEY it gave me the caloric content of one cup of honey! (dont eat a cup of honey or you are done for the whole day)

theres my two cents and tablespoon of honey.

Hi Faith,

I had the procedure done at central michigan community hospital in Mt. Pleasant.

Dr. Sabir did the surgery while teaching Dr. Pilkington. Dr. Sabir came from Providence hospital in Southfield, and did his residency out east.

I am very happy.

I would love to see a lapband group form though around here.