hi everyone, it is now day six after my surgery, and man this is hard, i am on a clear liquid diet, and i just can not seem to find anything that makes me happy to eat, i thought maybe if i wrote to all of you, you could maybe help me out on find more things i can eat, the foods i am eating now is (Water,tea,coffee,broth,Jello,sherbet,popcycles,skin milk,juice, i can have yogurt for my protien, but i have to make sure it is watered down.) i dont get hungry much, but when i am, i just dont even want to eat any of thoses things because they are so plain, and i have had those for so long now and it is driving me nuts, so i have just been really drinking water, and stuff, because i dont find energy thought wise to get up to make more stuff i will not like.

i am telling all of you, it is driving me nuts, i am a mother of four and making them dinner and stuff like that, and i can not have anything the smell alone drives me nuts,but i can tell you i have not cheated, and i will not because i know it is important not to, that is why i am writing in here, everything else is fine, i am still a little sore, but that is normal, i am doing more things now, but i really need all of your help as in maybe telling me more things i can have, for the next week so i dont go nuts anymore.

i am going to call the doctors office to maybe ask the nutrientist what else she can maybe help me with as well.

the other question i have is, when i did start to do some house work i got real tired and i got more sore then i was, and i was just wondering if anyone else also had this problem.

thank you all for listening.

Hi Brighteyes,

You and I started at the same weight & have practically the same goal. I am not banded yet but have you thought about a thinned out protein shake?? Like boost. I know if you blend them & add afew ice cubes it makes them frothy. I wish I knew more to help. Your doind incredible by the way nice weight loss so far. Yahooooo!

You are doing so good! And cooking for others when you can't eat is tough! But you are so wise to be sticking to your liquids. Your body will heal properly and it sounds like you have the willpower and determination to be a very successful bandster. How long do you stay on clear liquids? Have you tried gatorade, crystal light, propel water for some variety? Warm decaffeniated teas are very soothing, add a little lemon and honey. There are several different types available. Full liquids will give you quite a bit more variety. Great weight loss and it will only get better! Hang in there! This is the toughest part, but it's temporary and the end results are well worth it...for you and your family!

When I was in the liquid stage it drove me crazy too...there isn't much you can do but really take it one moment at a time. Looking back, it really was one of the hardest things about having surgery.

I remember a terrible taste in my mouth all the time while I was on liquids. I thought it was from all the artificial sweetners I was eating in Jello and stuff like that- but really it was ketosis and now I LOVE it when I have that taste because I know I'm loosing weight.

If you can have full liquids- try drinking milk. I do that now when I get swollen or PB and it really seems to turn my hunger off.

Hang in there- and don't eat anything until you are supposed to no matter what. It's a short term pain for long term gain at this point. Later you'll take comfort that your band is well healed into place.

Megan

There's just not that much you can do with clear liquids. But like everyone else says, hang in there. It will be worth it. One thing about being banded is that you find out how strong you really are. You are a strong, brave woman. Hang in there. It gets better.

Nancy

I guess I was lucky, my doctor told me anything that would go through a straw, so I used cream based soups. Good Luck

Just remember, Brighteyes, you will NOT starve. We all have more than enough storage on board, even if we didn't eat for weeks. It is dehydration that you are focused on at this time. Drink, drink, drink. Learn to take a walk while your family is eating. Call a friend, take a bath, anything to keep you from feeling deprived. Can your husband do the cooking for the interim? It is very tough cooking meals that you can't partake in, for sure. I don't envy you, but Megan is right, the reward of weight loss is worth it. Soon, you'll get to move on to slushy/mushy foods and you'll then complain that you're gaining. lol, it's all part of the process and this too shall pass. Keep up the good work!! You're going to make it through this!

It is tough on liquids and I know about being around the kids -I have three. You must stay on the diet you are told to . No matter what you must let yourself heal with the banding site. I liked Soup at hand, I suffered through many protein drinks and settled on my old favorite Slim FAst even though it is not a protein it was the only one I liked. I tried to keep drinking or rather sipping to keep hydrated on water, tea, and broth. It will be worth it we were all there where you are right now. I was no fun to be around during this time . Good luck.

I was able to go straight to full liquids and skip the clear liquids after surgery because my surgeon said the stomach and liver looked so good when he got through. But all surgeons have different requirements. If you can do full liquids, Campbells Soup at Hand were my life savers. I loved the velvet potato, creamy tomato, and the vegetable one. I bought the little sugar free jello cups and added a couple of spoons of Cool Whip Free and mixed those up. The sugar free puddings were good with Cool Whip Free too. Campbells has a new Cream of Onion that is good with a little milk in it. I also loved the EAS Coffee House protein shakes.......I add a little bit of Non dairy flavored creamer to all of those protein shakesl.......they are so delicious that way. It's no wonder you get tired when cleaning, you probably don't have much energy because of the lack of nutrients.

Hope you feel better soon. It will all be over before you know it. Then to the real stuff!!!

Becki

I hear you Brighteyes,

I'm 6 days post band and I KNOW what you mean about cooking for others. I've got 4 kids (all under age 10) and cooking for them, then having to sit at the table with them is NOT fun. Last night I blended some chicken soup and strained it and waited until they sat down and ate when they did. That helped a little bit.

I'm not as good as you are, I'm not getting enough Water, and my stomach growls at least every 1 1/2 hours after I eat.

But here's the most wonderful thought....My 10 year old daughter told me she's been hanging around with few new girls.. and my thought was that I won't have to feel uncomfortable anymore when she has friends over... I won't have to worry soon about whether she will be embarrassed having a "fat" mom. That alone gave me the most exhilirating feeling!

WE can do this, every one of us!!

Pati

Hi Brighteyes. I sympathise because I remember these feelings only too well. I just wanted to say congratulations on sticking to your Doctor's orders. I read so many stories on the web from Bandsters that say they've started on solids after a few days. It's crazy to waste this chance the band has given us - for me the band and surgery were and are the last resort. I for one won't be jeopardising it's success in the first few weeks of the journey. I managed to stick religiously to 4 weeks of a liquid diet - not because I have great willpower (It's blatantly clear I don't have that!) but because I so want this to work. Having said that, my Doc also said "anything that'll go through a straw" so I made my own soups (using a liquidiser and then straining through a seive). It made me feel so much better that I was getting the goodness of chicken and vegetables, etc. even though the soup wasn't thick and filling.

My suggestion to you is, rather than give in to temptation.. call your surgeon, explain your predicament and ask for some suggestions from him.

Anyway, once again, congratulations for doing it properly so far and rest assured that this phase will be over soon.

xxxx