Hi Kim! I had my surgery on 11-07-07 so I'm just about a week ahead of you...I think you're doing great weight wise...we all lose at different speeds...don't compare yourself to anyone else. As for food...I know what you mean...it's easier to just eat that soft stuff, isn't it? I had to go back to soft stuff for a bit when everything seemed to give me the foamies. Now I'm pretty much eating whatever I want just small portions and chewing really well...and of course focusing on getting in my protein. Have you tried chicken? Some people don't have very good luck with it but I've done ok lately. I make a lot of different soups...and I really like beans for their protein content and my pouch seems to like them. What about chili? Have you tried Fage? It's a Greek yogurt you can find at Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Wegmans type grocery stores...it's high in protein and low in all the stuff we don't want (you just need to make sure and buy the fat free stuff) I mix that with all kinds of stuff... What else...how about lunch meat? It's moist and high in protein. You can also do cheese, but try to stick to fat free or at least low fat. I don't like fish but it's an excellent source of protein and everyone says it "sits well" in the pouch. Have you had your blood work done since surgery? Are you taking all your vitamins? I'm concerned about your lack on energy...sounds like you might be deficient in something...I feel great...although I have found I need more sleep than I used to get pre-surgery but I think it's because I'm so much more active! I do 30-60 minutes of cardio 4-5 days a week now. When I had my blood work done at the beginning of January I was deficient in Vitamins A & D...and I'd been taking my multi and calcium as prescribed...so it's possible to be deficient even if you're taking your vitamins. There's nothing wrong with Crystal light...why can you not drink plain water? You don't like the taste or it doesn't go down right? Hope you get to feeling better...don't be so hard on yourself...this isn't that tough, relax and enjoy the process! Keep coming to the boards there is a lot of good advice and support here. If you haven't been on the main board or the RNY board I'd suggest them...they get a lot more "traffic" than this board. Heather

As of this morning, I'm down 35 pounds since surgery. And I'm finally starting to feel "normal" again.

The Ditch The Ditch is part of a story told to me by my father. My grandfather once took three men out to test them for being a buggy driver. He drove them up to a ditch and asked them to tell him how close they could drive to the ditch without going in. The first driver said he could easily drive within a yard of the ditch. The second one said he could go within about a foot of the ditch. The third one said he would not drive anywhere near the ditch and to count him out of the running. The third driver was hired. The object lesson to WLS is to stay away from The Ditch by not trying to see how much of this or that you can eat. The real key to long term weight loss through WLS seems to be the adoption of a new attitude towards food. The small size of the new stomach allows us to achieve a feeling of satiety with much less food. The trick seems to be to recognize that the smaller amount of food will be sufficient and not to tempt fate by trying to see how much we can now eat. The Flanagan Pouch Study (cottage cheese test) showed that relative pouch size, i.e., 4 oz vs 8 oz, had little to do with weight loss success. What mattered was whether both the 4 oz and 8 oz person developed new eating habits and stayed away from The Ditch. -Ray Hooks

Hi lapbanders. I get confused when I read stories from people who had bypass surgery vs. lapband so it is good to get some feed back from people who have the band. I am scheduled for surgery Feb. 27th. I go tomorrow for my xrays and psychologist visit. The doctor says I will be on medifast for 5 weeks before surgery apparently all liquid . Sounds like most of the people I read about only do the liquids for a couple weeks. He said I should lose about 25 lbs. before surgery. I have been somewhat nervous about the whole thing but realize now that it is a tool I need. I just hope it works. I say I am going to diet everyday and I give into cravings so I know I need this. I need to lose about 100 lbs. How does this happen to us and some people eat and eat and never gain. They have no idea how lucky they are. I do have a couple questions. What is the psychologist visit about and with the band how soon can you excercise. Do you have to worry about the band or port slipping? Thanks, Nancy in NY

Hi everyone! I've lost 74# since my pre-op diet started Oct. 13th. SInce surgery, I've lost 37. I'm on a stall right now (since Jan 5th). Was losing a pound every day and a half for about 2 weeks over Christmas-THAT was GREAT!! LOL Congrats to everyone! We're doing WONDERFUL!! We'll be to goal before we know it! (I still have a LONG way to go since I want to lose a tiny bit more than 200# total) MTT