I just found out my surgery will be in July (granted my pre-op testing goes okay) SOOOOOOOOO

Here's a thread for everyone getting banded in July 07!

Does anyone have any good ideas for a neat name we could call ourselves?

Candace

Sounds good to me. #is 734-904-8616. I don't know yet if I'll be up there. Daughter hasn't let me know. SIL was sposed to ask his mother to help with the kids. I'll let you know as soon as I know anything. maybe I can talk hubby into taking a little drive. It's about two and a half hours from here. If not going, maybe when you head home.

MIKE - LISTEN TO JANET. SHE DOES KNOW WHAT SHE IS TALKING ABOUT. SHE'S OUR FOOD COP.

I was craving something. I don't know what........but I wanted it. And It wasn't in my house.

I hate when that happens. :smile: I sometimes try to zero in on it. Do I want something sweet or savory? Do I want something hot or cold? Crunchy or chewy? Of course it helps if you have an answer to these questions. Sometimes I don't. :w00t: Then I have to take the longer route and start eliminating the things I know I DON'T want. At times I'll share my frustrations with hubby and state "I'm hungry for something but I don't know what it is. You tell me." This gives me a chance to consider things he may think it could be. It also gives me a chance to blame someone else for me being frustrated when he doesn't have any answers.

hi having surgery on 7/31 just made it. im in my 5th day of slimfast i binged yesterday i have to tighten up has anyone else succombed to a binge i mean i ate a porkroll and cheese sandwhich a cheese steak p-nut butter and jelly with a couple cookies and big glass of milk in the course of about 40 mins

I read that list of food and thought to myself "How on earth could anyone eat all that?:scared2:" And then I remembered that a year ago it would have sounded appetizing and I could have easily worked my way through it. :scared2: If you get nothing else from mistakenly coming to this thread, I hope you can at least take away with you the fact that we have all been in the shoes you're standing in today; a total lack of will power and an inability to see a light at the end of a very dark tunnel that is obesity. I remember thinking at times that I'll never be able to do this even with the band in place. I'll never be able to not feel hungry. I'll never be able to lose the weight I need to. I'll never be able to exercise, eat right, etc. It's hard work. But there are rewards for hard work. I didn't know it would be as hard as it is at times, but I also didn't know how great I would feel at seeing not only my own results, but the results of my new found family and friends here.

If you feel yourself slipping, slip small. Stop yourself after the pork roll. There's nothing to be gained (except weight and guilt) from continuing to eat until you can't fit another bite in your mouth. Don't promise to start fresh again tomorrow. Promise to start fresh again the moment you've had your indiscretion. Try to stay strong Mike. If you can't do it on your own, find a support system that will share the burden with you. I have my friends here in this thread to help. Perhaps the July 2008 band group is better suited to you because you'll all be going through the process together, but know that we never turn away a fresh face wanting some advice and support. You can come back in here any time. Our bark is far worse than our bite. :biggrin:

Hey gang - I am very tired tonite - up at 4 - won't go into that one... Well one word and you will understand "teenager - summer" well that's 2 words but you know what I mean..

Went to the gym - was not my best work out - infact he had us doing more weights and harder stuff.. But my heart wasn't really into it - for the 1st time in 4 months it was sorta chore... I don't like that feeling..

I will be busy at work for the next 3 days trying to get it all done before I leave on Friday - Wish me luck ... Got my Mamo on Wed.. This will put me even more behind - I gotta go get dog food - don't know when - maybe lunch tomorrow..

I wish my plane wasn't leaving at 6 a.m - I gotta be at the airport by 4:45 5 at the latest (thankfully ps airport isn't super busy) so that means leaving the house by 4:15 - so that means up by 3:15 - to say the least I may zonk out early friday - this is why I suggested the 4 days - cuz 3 would not have been enought time when you take travel time into consideration...

Ok My dinner is done.... it's 8:17 - I have washed - taken out the trash - clean the kitchen emptied the dish washer - cooked - gym and been up since for 4 ... So I will talk to you all tomorrow...

Hugs kisses Sweet dreams...

Hi ladies! Whew!!! Whatta day! I'll tell more about that in a few. I just wanted to talk about all your advice.

Amazing, but all those answers came to me today. This morning, while I was drinking my protein and feeling fine, I was sure I was over reacting and just needed to give it time. I can drink. Then I asked dh for one bite of his muffin and pain smack dab in my chest. I need to go get something done about this. He agreed. It was crazy. I needed to be able to eat food. Then of course, it was muffin, what did I expect it to do, slide right through? So for lunch I ordered a roast beef sandwich and picked off the thin shaved beef very slowly and ate itty bitty bites and was fine. So I told myself I just wasn't eating small enough bites and following the rules. Then about an hour later I tried to drink some water and there it sat. Had some papaya and it all trickled on through. Wasn't really hungry for dinner but ate anyways because we were out with friends and I couldn't just sit there. Picked at three bites or so, had some of the tomatoes off the salad because they were soft, and was content to come home. Drank some warm stuff (okay, it was cocoa) on the way home (ducking for cover....listen to my excuse first!!!!) because the store was out of coffee and it was the ONLY warm thing they had. It went down fine as well as a Fuze (because I needed the vitamins). Had some sunflower seeds on the drive and they were no problem.

Okay....so after reading your replies I think you all have valid points. I think you are all a little right. I am going to work really hard on small slow bites. I have NOT been doing that. I am going to make sure I get two protein drinks in a day to supplement for now. I will try drinking a cup of coffee or tea the half hour before I eat and see if that helps loosen up a bit. Today, sliming was as bad as it got. I kept the papaya by my side and did eat quite a few of them. The other thing that has been a Godsend is pineapple juice. I'm going to give it until after the trip. If by next Tuesday when I get home it isn't better I will drive from Williston straight to Bismarck. I have my pa's number in my phone and will call her from Minneapolis if I have to.

Thank you all for your advice. I had a long day in the car today. Drove about 600 miles round trip. Left at 10am and got back at 10pm. I'm tired. However it did give me a lot of time to think about what was going on in my band world. I went over everything that I had been told, everything I had read. I thought about the slipping issue. I know in my heart that my problem is that I'm not doing this right. I am not taking fingernail size bites. I am not chewing 20 times. I am not taking a bite, letting it sit for a minute and then taking another one. I am indulging my old habits. I might be eating better food, but I'm not eating better. I have been doing other things while I eat and not paying attention to the food and what my body is telling me. I am so glad that you guys all chimed in. I hope you don't feel like I didn't listen to you. I heard every word and was so excited that I had gone through the same discussions with myself. Maybe I have learned something.

There are other things I want to say about what you all said, but I'm too tired to respond now. I will quote you all tomorrow and talk to you then. I'm promising myself 1 hour tomorrow to just sit and be kind to myself...which means come here....the last three days have been way to crazy.

Sweet dreams ladies. I'll talk to you all tomorrow.

Steph,

I agree with everything you said. I know I have better restriction than I've ever had before since my fill last week. And that means having to be really strict with myself about the "RULES"... I, too, have not been careful enough about SMALL bites, taking my time and eating VERY slowly. Today has been a much better day. Smaller portions, too. Had deviled egg for breakfast, 1 1/2. Then had 1/2 of my Mexican leftovers from yesterday. Tonight... I requested Iron Grill Mongolian (stir fry) for my one year celebration dinner. DD & SIL went with us. They won't let you take home leftovers, (remember this is the place I argued with about that last summer!!) so I told them I wanted to do "takeout". I picked all my stuff, had it stir fried and then they put it in a takeout box for me... it took some persuading on my part, but I think she understood that if she told me "NO", five people were walking back out the door (little foster girl was with us). So I took almost all seafood, some rice noodles & veggie noodles, ate until I started to feel "full" and quit. So, I've done a lot of burping today, but no sliming, no PBing.

Candace

Sounds good to me. #is 734-904-8616. I don't know yet if I'll be up there. Daughter hasn't let me know. SIL was sposed to ask his mother to help with the kids. I'll let you know as soon as I know anything. maybe I can talk hubby into taking a little drive. It's about two and a half hours from here. If not going, maybe when you head home.

MIKE - LISTEN TO JANET. SHE DOES KNOW WHAT SHE IS TALKING ABOUT. SHE'S OUR food COP.

I'll give you a call Thursday while I'm driving(I'll pull over first) and see if our scheme works, if not I'll call you for sure on my drive home Monday/Tues of next week... PLUS I'll not have any time constraints on the way home...don't have to be at work until Wed. 30th...:eek:

I got to the gym this morning and there was someone using my treadmill. To make matters worse, there were bodies on the other 2 treadmills. :w00t: :eek: So I had to get on the elliptical. This used to be my favorite piece of gym equipment. After my surgery I just never took it up again; opting for, and falling in love with, the treadmill. Today's workout was tough. In a good way though. It made me sweat more and work harder. I think I'll continue with the elliptical every other day. On the days that I don't do weights, I'll work a little harder on the cardio. It's good that I can work harder without putting added pressure on my knee. :biggrin2:

Steph and Phyl, glad you two are working out your food issues. :thumbup:

I would say that it is imperative that you eat real foods. Being too tight can cause slippage problems. One of the ladies on the PS threads was too tight for about 2 weeks and ended up having emergency surgery because her band slipped. Her doc told here that it was a life threatening situation. I think a 10 hour round trip is definetly worth saving your band or your life! I totally get the hell that it is when you live so far away from your doc. My round trip is 12 hours and over a mountain pass. I have ALWAYS believed that you should be loose enough to be able to eat real foods. That is what your body is meant to be fueled by and that is what is going to keep you fuller longer. I know it is bad timing but at least you don't have 13 feet of snow in the mountains like I did when I was so tight.

By the way... my papaya enzymes say 4 times per day. But honestly you can't OD on them. It is a natural substance extracted from the papaya. Personally I have never heard of anyone getting sick from eating too mucyh papaya!:tt2:

Try laying on a bed with your head and stomach laying off the edge of the bed. When I got WASA crackers stuck for over 2 hours this is what I finally resorted to and it seemed to work .

Okay...I so respect your opinion. I keep thinking about the time you couldn't eat anything but popcorn. I'm not THAT tight. I promise that I will head in to the pa if that starts happening. I'll go asap! I will promise not to od on papaya. I'm going to do some research on that. And tell me more about wasa crackers. I've heard you talk about them but I've never heard of them.

Phyl and Steph, try a couple of days on the mushies stage (think baby food) and see if you can progress from there.

I indulged myself with breakfast yesterday. Just because I wanted to. It wasn't a treat, it wasn't a cheat, it was an indulgence. I had a bear claw with my morning coffee out on the patio, communing with nature. I enjoyed every moment and every mouthful and didn't feel in the least bit guilty about it. Yes I broke the eating and drinking rule. It's an indiscretion I can live with because it's not going to become a habit.

The scale is moving downwards again. YAY. I bought 3 new bras yesterday. The woman there convinced me to buy a 40G. My hubby insisted 2 of the others were 38H. The 40G SO doesn't fit in spite of her telling me yesterday it was perfect. The cup isn't too bad, but the bandeau is just far too big. When I tried it on this morning on the tightest fitting and sort of pushed my arms tight against my sides, the bra poked out about an inch away from my body. :thumbup: So back to get a smaller bandeau. My hubby kept telling me in the store "You're a 38H!" but I didn't listen to him. :eek: I took the "expert" opinion over his. That'll teach me. :tt2: He enjoyed making the "I told you so." comments this morning.

I'm going to try the mushies. I'm working on kashi that has been soaking for awhile. I have some kashi oatmeal too. It's warm so that should help too. I'm going very very slowly and going to get it down nicely. I have faith! You're doing great though. Good for you! And you should listen to dh when it comes to the girls....they know them much better than we do even though we think we know them best.....not the case:tongue_smilie:

Steph - I forgot to mention.... I tried that chicken salad recipe of yours and it was delicious. :w00t: I didn't have any celery (I haven't eaten it since banding) but I had everything else. You get a tiny surprise in every mouthful. I liked it a lot!

I absolutely LOVE that recipe. And it's mushie!!! It's so much better than plain old chicken salad!!!!!

STEPHANIE- I have been pb'ing quite a bit myeslf lately. In fact, there are times I think I'm becoming bullimic. I think, it's time for a fill, and then I PB. GOD SMACK!! I even chew really good so I find it hard to believe. I finally figured out it isn't how well I chew, but how big a bite I take. Could that be your problem?

Now, I have had a rough week end. I was craving something. I don't know what........but I wanted it. And It wasn't in my house. I was going crazy. Anyway, DH wanted to go shopping todAY but he didn't want to wait till afternoon so I could go to the gym, So, I skipped the gym, walked Meijers, instead of using a cart and doubled my pedaling for the day.

I really think the chewing thing is my problem. I just don't seem to be doing it right. I tell myself twenty chews and even while I'm counting I'm swallowing. What's up with that???? And I have NOT been doing small bites. I'm lucky I'm not pb'ing more often. I honestly should be. I think now that I have TRUE restriction I'm going to be forced to follow the rules!

As for the cravings. That drives me nuts. The crazy cravings I have aren't for salty or sweet....more like cravings for chewy or crunchy.....texture is more my issue. And then the things I'm craving are always bad for me!!! I hope you found your vice.

Steph,

I agree with everything you said. I know I have better restriction than I've ever had before since my fill last week. And that means having to be really strict with myself about the "RULES"... I, too, have not been careful enough about SMALL bites, taking my time and eating VERY slowly. Today has been a much better day. Smaller portions, too. Had deviled egg for breakfast, 1 1/2. Then had 1/2 of my Mexican leftovers from yesterday. Tonight... I requested Iron Grill Mongolian (stir fry) for my one year celebration dinner. DD & SIL went with us. They won't let you take home leftovers, (remember this is the place I argued with about that last summer!!) so I told them I wanted to do "takeout". I picked all my stuff, had it stir fried and then they put it in a takeout box for me... it took some persuading on my part, but I think she understood that if she told me "NO", five people were walking back out the door (little foster girl was with us). So I took almost all seafood, some rice noodles & veggie noodles, ate until I started to feel "full" and quit. So, I've done a lot of burping today, but no sliming, no PBing.

No leftovers???? You paid for it didn't you? What the heck is up with THAT????? Insane I say. I love the takeout idea though. Good for you. And you did take it out....of the box!!! I laughed and laughed!!!

We will have to help each other along on the trip. Between the both of us we might be able to order one meal the whole time and eat like royalty the whole time!!!!

I'm calling Homewood Suites today to see if we can drop our luggage early Friday morning so that we don't have to haul it around. I'm hoping they won't give me a hard time about it. But if they do, do you have ideas?

Okay. I've gotta get going. I have a ton to do while the kiddos are at daycare today!

Have a great day ladies. I'll see you tonight! Or later this afternoon while I'm taking a break!!!

Okay...I so respect your opinion. I keep thinking about the time you couldn't eat anything but popcorn. I'm not THAT tight. I promise that I will head in to the pa if that starts happening. I'll go asap! I will promise not to od on papaya. I'm going to do some research on that. And tell me more about wasa crackers. I've heard you talk about them but I've never heard of them.

I'm going to try the mushies. I'm working on kashi that has been soaking for awhile. I have some kashi oatmeal too. It's warm so that should help too. I'm going very very slowly and going to get it down nicely. I have faith! You're doing great though. Good for you! And you should listen to dh when it comes to the girls....they know them much better than we do even though we think we know them best.....not the case:tongue_smilie:

I absolutely LOVE that recipe. And it's mushie!!! It's so much better than plain old chicken salad!!!!!

I really think the chewing thing is my problem. I just don't seem to be doing it right. I tell myself twenty chews and even while I'm counting I'm swallowing. What's up with that???? And I have NOT been doing small bites. I'm lucky I'm not pb'ing more often. I honestly should be. I think now that I have TRUE restriction I'm going to be forced to follow the rules!

As for the cravings. That drives me nuts. The crazy cravings I have aren't for salty or sweet....more like cravings for chewy or crunchy.....texture is more my issue. And then the things I'm craving are always bad for me!!! I hope you found your vice.

No leftovers???? You paid for it didn't you? What the heck is up with THAT????? Insane I say. I love the takeout idea though. Good for you. And you did take it out....of the box!!! I laughed and laughed!!!

We will have to help each other along on the trip. Between the both of us we might be able to order one meal the whole time and eat like royalty the whole time!!!!

I'm calling Homewood Suites today to see if we can drop our luggage early Friday morning so that we don't have to haul it around. I'm hoping they won't give me a hard time about it. But if they do, do you have ideas?

Okay. I've gotta get going. I have a ton to do while the kiddos are at daycare today!

Have a great day ladies. I'll see you tonight! Or later this afternoon while I'm taking a break!!!:eek:

Bft: Eat O+Home made Old Fashioned Oats. Boil for 10 min kind. I make it thick... 2/1 2 cups water/1 cup oats..... then I sometimes add raisins, chopped walnuts and sugar free syrup and skim milk...

This is warm and solid in your tummy... even when I've not been able to drink a shake the oatmeal is perfect???

Lunch: SOLID Protien, leftover chicken breast from last night, steamed veggies, then Rice or whole wheat pasta(but only if you have ROOM) with the solid Protien 3oz and 1/2 cup of veggies you'll probably be full... I usually am.

Supper: SOLID Protien, beef steak, pork chop, Fish or Scallops(Janet's fav) , more steamed veggies or salad, then carb serveing if you have room...

SMACKs for even trying to eat a Muffin, or crackers.... they are big Sticker(as in Stuck) items for me...

o.k. Snacks that are o.k. Raw almonds 10, chew REALLY well.

Yogurt FF/SF, Sugar free Fudgecycles, Turkey BItes(kinda a pepperoni)

HUMMUS, with Whole WHeat PITA chips or raw veggies... again watch the chewing...

I sometime chew 30 time per mouthful, let your mouthful mix well WITH saliva BEFORE swallowing.... then pace your swallows..

between each mouthful, put DOWN your fork, chew,chew,chew mix with spit, swallow and THEN pick up your fork again..

It is painfully slow, but it is how we are to eat banded - also push your food around on your plate A lot...(like you are being picky) this works for me when I am eating with REGULAR people who just shovle their food in and eat quickly.

Hope I havn't ticked you off , but these are a few things I've had to learn the hard way:cool:

Ticked off!!! Pashaw!!!!

Nope. Can't tick me off for telling what I'm supposed to do. Like I said, I know the rules, I just have gotten very lax at following them. Until this week I really thought I understood restriction....nope....had no clue!

today for breakfast, kashi and banana. Let it soak very well. 1/2 cup if that and I was full. Protein Shake after about 45 mins just to get in the protein....maybe 1/2 a cup.

lunch I had sliced roast beef, sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions, mozz. cheese. It was a sand but removed the bread. Ate about half of it plus some tomatoes. Brought the rest home.

Besides that I have had 1 c coffee and 16 oz ice tea. I need more fluids in. I won't have an afternoon snack for sure. I'm super full. Not stuck, just full.

Don't know what to make for dinner. Having a hard time with that when I'm not hungry. I'll figure something out. I have to cook tonight and tomorrow since I won't be here after that.

Okay...gotta run. Just got on to check my accounts and still haven't made it there.

Thanks for the advice. I will chew chew chew. It's really something I am bad at....and I don't even realize when I swallow. I noticed that today at lunch.

Later ladies!!!

If you can't follow the pre diet for two weeks or however long your doctor has you on it, how do you expect to be compliant with the rest of your life? As Janet said you have to be compliant especially right after the surgery as it can cause you to have complications and ruin your surgery.

Ticked off!!! Pashaw!!!!

Nope. Can't tick me off for telling what I'm supposed to do. Like I said, I know the rules, I just have gotten very lax at following them. Until this week I really thought I understood restriction....nope....had no clue!

today for breakfast, kashi and banana. Let it soak very well. 1/2 cup if that and I was full. Protein shake after about 45 mins just to get in the protein....maybe 1/2 a cup.

lunch I had sliced roast beef, sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions, mozz. cheese. It was a sand but removed the bread. Ate about half of it plus some tomatoes. Brought the rest home.

Besides that I have had 1 c coffee and 16 oz ice tea. I need more fluids in. I won't have an afternoon snack for sure. I'm super full. Not stuck, just full.

Don't know what to make for dinner. Having a hard time with that when I'm not hungry. I'll figure something out. I have to cook tonight and tomorrow since I won't be here after that.

Okay...gotta run. Just got on to check my accounts and still haven't made it there.

Thanks for the advice. I will chew chew chew. It's really something I am bad at....and I don't even realize when I swallow. I noticed that today at lunch. Later ladies!!!

Chuckling here!! I"m with ya, kid! You & I are in the same boat! DH is not understanding. Plus he's in this mode of... we HAVE to eat this stuff because we're going to be gone for three weeks! He loaded up my omelet with too much cheese this morning. I am being very careful, eating only until I feel full, and then that feeling is staying with me for HOURS. So I'm not drinking enough because I am feeling full all the time. Maybe we can share some meals at M of A!! One time we were out for Chinese food & I thought DH's eyes were going to bug out of his head... I looked at everything on the menu & didn't see anything that looked appropriate or that didn't look like too much food. So I ordered this appetizer sampler! It was mostly meat... I shared the things that weren't & some of the things that were with whomever wanted some... there were about 6 of us. SO, no big deal! I ate right! It looked kind of overwhelming when they put this big two tiered lazy susan thing in front of me, but it was really OKAY!! You have to think "out of the box" when looking at a menu to see what will work.

Good work Steph and Phyl.

I have Liptons chicken Noodle Cup-A-Soup on hand for the times when I'm not hungry enough for dinner or lunch and will just fix myself one of those. I also use them for a snack when I feel like my appetite is getting a little out of control.

I hardly ever order a meal for myself when we go out for dinner. I eat so little that I usually forage of my hubby's and/or my son's plate. On the occasions that I do feel hungry, I will order off the kid's menu and my son will order from the adult. Typically though we'll bring leftovers home.

I also have problems eating out. I feel obliged to eat more quickly simply because I don't like people waiting for me. A meal that I will typically take me an hour to eat, I try to get down in 20 minutes. :seeya: I don't know why I do that. It's not a horse race. :ihih: Sometimes I feel bad that my plate looks like it's barely touched and the wait staff think there's something wrong with it. :crying: Especially if I've gone too fast and had to make a dash for the washroom. :thumbup: So that's why I've stopped ordering and told the wait staff to bring an extra plate so I can sample off the other orders.

I'm a cheap date these days. :thumbup:

This is the Soup I usually have on hand:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Uz9GVPGcL._SL500_AA280_PIbundle-12,TopRight,0,0_AA280_SH20_.jpg

It only has 45 calories in it so it's a decent snack to try and curb the appetite at times.

Good work Steph and Phyl.

I have Liptons Chicken Noodle Cup-A-Soup on hand for the times when I'm not hungry enough for dinner or lunch and will just fix myself one of those. I also use them for a snack when I feel like my appetite is getting a little out of control.

I hardly ever order a meal for myself when we go out for dinner. I eat so little that I usually forage of my hubby's and/or my son's plate. On the occasions that I do feel hungry, I will order off the kid's menu and my son will order from the adult. Typically though we'll bring leftovers home.

I also have problems eating out. I feel obliged to eat more quickly simply because I don't like people waiting for me. A meal that I will typically take me an hour to eat, I try to get down in 20 minutes. :seeya: I don't know why I do that. It's not a horse race. :ihih: Sometimes I feel bad that my plate looks like it's barely touched and the wait staff think there's something wrong with it. :crying: Especially if I've gone too fast and had to make a dash for the washroom. :thumbup: So that's why I've stopped ordering and told the wait staff to bring an extra plate so I can sample off the other orders.

I'm a cheap date these days. :thumbup:

That is so so so funny! Cheap date! I am a really cheap date. Especially when we go out for coctails....hehehe....I'm plowed in 45 minutes and need to go home and be put to bed:w00t:

I don't know if I've said this before. Why is there only CRAP on the kids menu. I know they will let me order from the children's but there is usually nothing good to eat there. That's so very frustrating. Sso I don't order from there, I order from the big people's menu and waste a LOT of food. DH eats bad for you stuff when we go out, so sharing his is never an option. Oh well. It could be worse.

Something about taking an hour to eat. My dr. said that I should only be eating for 20 - 30 minutes. If I haven't eaten it in that time I should not. Just what she said. I don't know what other's advice has been. Just wondering what others shave heard.

Okay. Trying to pack but having a really hard time getting little enough stuff so I have room to pack buyings. I just don't know. Will be back later ladies. I'm off to try to figure out the clothes thing. And computer thing. I don't want to leave it here but I don't want to carry it all over either...grrr....what a dilemna!