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My version of the Unjury peautbutter protein ball recipe.  Very tasty, and sticks with you for a while.   A little high in calories for a snack, I admit, but it does have 10 protein grams if you're running low for the day.

3/4 low fat creamy peanut butter (I used Kroger brand)
3 scoops Unjury chocolate protein powder
1/4 cups Quaker regular oats, "chopped" to make smaller bits
1/4 chopped toasted pecans
2 Tbsp Splenda brown sugar blend

Mix peanut butter with protein powder, one scoop at a time, until blended.  This is rather hard to mix, and final product will be very dry and crumbly but comes together easily when pressed into balls..  Mix in remaining ingredients.  (Working it through with your fingers makes the job much easier.)

Divide mixture into 12 balls, about the size of walnuts.  Pack tightly.  Store balls in airtight container in refrigerator or freezer.

Nutritional info per ball: (as calculated by thedailyplate.com)
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Food Item	Servings	Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein
Peanutbutter Protein Balls	0.0833333333333	154	8g	0mg	114mg	11g	4g	1g	10g	x

Wow... 3 months!   I'm doing really well, and I believe I'm actually getting the hang of this.  I think I could possibly use another very small fill, but I'm going to stay where I am for a while until I know for certain.  I"m doing ok by having a snack in the afternoon and sometimes a small one in the evening.  But whatever I'm doing must be working okay, I've lost 45 pounds to date!  People are noticing and commenting, and that's both exciting and unsettling.  It's just a little weird getting all that attention about my weight.  But on the other hand, I'm really glad to have a reason for them to notice!

Currently in size 20 pants and 1X tops, down 2 sizes in both.  So cool.

So glad I got my band!

I've been frustrated the past couple weeks.  I had my first fill under fluoro on July 6th, 3.5cc's.  To tell the truth, I couldn't tell much difference  - and I had thought that if I got a big fill like that I'd probably not even be able to eat that meager little 4-oz meal.  WRONG.  I called the P.A. at my physician's office after I'd been on solids for a week, the amount of time they suggested I try it, and she told me to come in for another "little" fill and see if that helped.  So 2 weeks later, July 20th, I got another .6cc's.  Hmmm.... STILL NO DIFFERENCE.  For 2 weeks I gained and lost the same dang 1.2 lbs over and over, and I thought, "WELL GREAT.  I guess this is where I'm just gonna be stuck, because obviously this isn't working for me".  Well, I called the dr. office again and they said to come back and we'd look into doing a little more.    Yesterday I went in for my third fill.  The P.A.  had me drink cold water after she put in 1cc, and point where I felt it "staying", and then when I felt it going on down.  Based on what I told her, she said she thought we'd be good leaving it there.  So now I have a total of 5.1cc's.  I have to tell you, I felt an immediate difference in my  stomach where the band is, like I could physically feel the band whereas I haven't ever felt that feeling before.  I have renewed hope that I'm normal like everyone else, and that it just takes some tweaking to get there.  I guess I'll know this time next week after I've been back on solids for a few days, but I really do think this fill is going to make a difference.

I took out my "lap band bible"  last night and was re-reading sections just to refresh my memory about all the "rules".  I know that I can't keep eating after I've gotten in that 1/2 cup meal, and that I need to slow down more.   I'm sure that my band will remind me of the slowing down part now that I've gotten more restriction.

OH YEAH... I stepped on the scales this morning and I finally broke the 40-pound mark!  I'm down a total of 40.6 pounds.  Now THAT sounds like progress!

I can't believe it's been 2 months since my surgery! 

I went in today for my 2nd fill.  I got my first one 2 weeks under fluoro, 3.5cc's.  I'm fairly tight in the mornings, but by dinner time and in the evening I'm starving, even if I have a protein snack in the afternoon.  So I got an additional .6cc's.  The PA didn't want to be too aggressive, especially after I told her I was still a little freaked out about being too tight (I still have memories of post-surgery swelling!).  She said after I have been on solids for about a week we'll regroup and see if I still need a little more.  I hope I'll be good for a while though, cause I have to admit that needle hurt like a son of a gun today!  I'd had 2 unfills (from my primed band) and one fill since surgery, and I never, EVER felt the needle.  Today, that was not the case.

My weight loss to date is almost 35 lbs.  I'm a little bummed that it's not more, since I had lost 27 as of my 1-month anniversary.  But, that included 12 lbs. lost pre-op.  So that means just under 2 lbs. a week in the past month, and that's right in there with what they said my expectations should be.  SO... I"ll take it!  Hopefully with a little more restriction I won't be eating as much and can lose a little more quickly.

The hubs took pics of me this morning to mark the grand occasion, and I'll get those posted soon.  I look at my undressed self in the mirror and I know that I've lost, but I guess you sort of forget what you looked like before and can't appreciate the changes as much by just looking in the mirror.  I reminded myself this morning of what my WLS Guru Jean said recently, "Mirrors lie.  Scales don't."  She's exactly right.  (That's why she's the Guru!) 

My size 22 pants are getting very saggy so I'll be shopping for 20's very soon.  The 2X tops are still working ok, though some of them are a little loose.  I think I'll be comfortably in a 1X in another 10-15 lbs.  (I'm trying not to focus only on the final result, but enjoy the little victories along the way!)

I am so glad I had this surgery!

Today is officially my last day of vacation, and tomorrow I will be back to reality.  It's going to be a wild day, since my last day of work was June 18th.  I haven't signed into my work email the entire time I've been off, so I should have about 200 emails to sort through.  But vacation was so wonderful, more than 2 weeks of freedom!  We covered a lot of ground, saw a lot of family and friends, and just enjoyed having together time outside of our usual routines.  Oh!  We also stopped by Neely's BBQ in Memphis (of "Downhome with the Neely's on Food Network fame) for lunch on our way through.  That was cool!  I had a pulled pork bbq sandwich, without the bun.  Fabulous!

Also, tomorrow is my date for my first fill.  I'm a little nervous about it... not the actual procedure itself (fluoro) but what might result a couple days later.  Will I have swelling like I did a couple days after surgery?  I pray not, because that was pure misery and resulted in dehydration.  I can't miss any more time from work, especially after just returning from vacation.   I will be saying a lot of prayers about it.

As of my weigh-in this morning I have gained about one pound in the past 2+ weeks.  I am quite happy about that, I was afraid it would be a little more.  I've been good for the most part, but I have eaten a good bit of sugar and other stuff I know I should have stayed around from, but just got caught up in the flurry of things.  So now I have to recover, once again, from the sugar situation.  But it's all good, and my head is in the right place for it.

So... in both instances... the end of my vacation and the end of my time with an empty band, the party's over.  Tomorrow it's down to business!

My one-month bandiversary passed on June 21st and I didn't get a chance to write about it in my blog.  So here it is, a few days late.

I last weighed on June 19th, the morning we left for vacation.  I was down 29.6 lbs.  I can hardly believe it, because I feel like I don't have a band most of the time.  But maybe just following band rules helped (just in larger portions).  Now as far as maintaining that while I'm on this 2-week+ vacation, time will tell!  I was at my niece's wedding reception this past Saturday, and I was good with everything except the cake.  There was an entire tier of it left, which we brought back to my brother's house, and needless to say I didn't stop at the one piece from the reception.  Reckon why it is that I can't eat bread but I can easily eat cake?  That's just wrong!  : )  But to tell the truth, I am not stressing about any of it while I'm on vacation.  I will be "good" for 80% of the time, and when I get home an get my first fill, I will get down to business again.

Reflecting on changes I've gone through since starting my 2-week preop diet a little more than 6 weeks ago, I have lost nearly 30 pounds, gone from pants size 24 to a loose 22, blouses from size 3x to 2x, lost 3" inches from my waist, and 2.5" from my hips.  I need to shop for new bras, the ones I last bought slide up my back because they're too loose, even on the tighest hook.  (I look forward to having droopy drawers too, but my biggest "ass"et isn't small enough for that to happen yet.)  I can cross my legs now, and because I've been walking at least 5 days a week I can walk longer and faster without giving out and can "scale" hilly walkways without feeling like I'm going to fall out.  (I actually look forward to my walks, they're good for my body AND my mind.)  My BMI is down to 44, and I really look forward to being below 40 so I'm no longer considered "morbidly obese".

I still feel a bit like a "poser" because I don't feel like I have a band at all until I get something stuck from eating too quickly, or discovering something new that I realize will be on my "no no list" from now on, but I'm happy with what I've accomplished so far.

I'm off now to enjoy more of my relaxing vacation, and as one of my OH friends put it, enjoy those dense proteins that I might not be able to manage after my fill!  : )  (I'm here in the midwest for the duration of my vacation, where the beef is plentiful!)

Let me begin by saying that yesterday my dr. cleared me for eating solid food, anything I can "cut with a knife" as long as it's tender and not too dry, including beef tenderloin, pork, chicken, etc..  I have tolerated everything very well this past week and really feel like I have no restriction.

Well, now I know that just because you don't feel as though you have any restriction, doesn't mean you don't!  I sat down to dinner, with a piece of very tender pork tenderloin (thanks to the hubs), creamy rice, and cooked carrots.  Looked and smelled divine.  Took about three bites (one bite of each, chewing well) and all of a sudden I had this clenching sensation in my chest that radiated up into my throat in hard pulses.  It hurt like hell.  Then I started burping like a croaking bullfrog.  My son kept saying "are you alright?"... and I nodded yes, telling him something just didn't go down quite right.  I excused myself from the table and went out on the porch where I continued to loudly burp, almost panicing at the pain in my chest.  And then when I burped something would come up that was very reminiscent of that bad cold I had back in February.  It happened like 3 or 4 times and was completely involuntary (glad I went outside!)   Eww... what the hell was THAT?!?  Is that what they call "sliming"? 

So much for being cocky and thinking I can eat whatever I want, if I want.  I don't know if I didn't chew something well enough, or swallowed too much at once, or what.  But I'd sure like to know, cause I don't want that happening again anytime soon!

If anyone is reading this and has experience with what I've described, could you please leave a comment and let me know if I should do anything special - like only liquids for a while or whatever?

Thank you!


Update:  Out of nothing more than sheer hunger I tried a few more bites of dinner.  Carrots?  check  Porkloin?  check  Rice?  Uh.... NO!  Got that feeling in my chest again after one small bite, chewed to a bloody pulp.  So, rice is now on the no-no list!! 

My 2-week post-op anniversary doesn't really click over til tomorrow, but since the Dr. was unavailable tomorrow, I went in for my follow-up visit this afternoon.

I'm doing great now.  Unfortunately I'm also feeling hungry now!  I've been making what I believe are wise choices, and logging every bite into thedailyplate.com, but I need to work this plan out so that I'm not as hungry (and I'm not just talking in-between meals, I'm talking 10 seconds after my meal is done...).  The dr. told me to throw the yogurt out the window, I should only be eating solid, dense food right now.  Something that needs to be cut with a knife into little squares.  Nothing soft.  (Boy how things have changed from last week!)  String cheese is ok, but a couple ounces of baked chicken is better.

We talked about my first fill, and he said I should make an appointment to come back in two weeks.  I mentioned that I was leaving that week for a 2 1/2 week vacation (which I think my son is about to screw up for us anyway by having to go to summer school... but that's a different story altogether!).  He said that we would need to wait, then, until after I get back.  Yikes, that is kinda scarey.  Right now I can literally eat anything, and could eat as much of it as I want.  I have been very diligent not to eat more than a cup full at a time, as he recommended, but I know that I could easily eat more than that.  I feel like I don't have any restriction at all.  I expressed my anxiety to the dr. and he told me "this is a marathon, not a sprint.  You may not lose any weight in the coming weeks until your fill, but don't let that get you down".  Yeah, right.  In my mind I'm thinking, that's a least 10 lbs. I could get out of the way during that time!   It's funny how depressing it is to me right now to hear my weight loss dr. telling me not to worry about losing any weight in the next month.   I told him I know it's silly but in my mind I'm afraid of this 20+ lb. loss coming back on during that month!  Which I know is ridiculous, unless I start pigging out on babyback ribs and cheesecake.  (does sound kinda good though, huh?  lol)  So I think what I need to do is to just suck it up and follow Weight Watchers Core diet plan.  I've done well on that in the past, though I didn't ever maintain the loss.   But for the coming month, it should help me through at least without gaining.  In fact I might accidentally lose a few lbs.

And speaking of lbs.... I weighed in at the dr. and again the minute I got home, just to check my scales compared to his.  For the second time, mine weigh 5 lbs. heavy.  So, I'm going to record my weight on my scales tomorrow morning, less 5 lbs., as my official weight for my 2-week anniversary.  (Especially since my weight this evening was 3.5 lbs. heavier than it was this morning - I'm sure not using that!  LOL)  That means' I've lost 24 lbs since starting my preop diet, and 26 since first meeting with the nutritionist. 

So, that's about it for my 2 week post-op story.   I'm feeling fine and several people (even ones who don't know I"ve had surgery) have commented that they can tell I've lost weight.  I like that!  I can tell too, my pants are all baggy and I bought a couple new tops in 2X instead of 3X and they fit perfectly.  Yeaa!

I can't believe I had my surgery a week ago today.  This past week has been so different than what I had expected.

I went back to work today and made it til just after 2:00.  I started feeling kinda tired and wanted to come home and take a rest in the recliner.  I managed to get in 2 10-minute walks while I was at work.  Wasn't able to walk as fast or quite as far as I normally do, but I was pleased to get moving again. 

I had a protein shake (still can't stand sweet... yuk!), a cup of blenderized potato soup and about half a cup of apple juice today as well as some water.  I can't wait until I can actually drink more water, because I really miss it.  I had worked up to 5 16.9 oz bottles a day and I really liked the way it made me feel.  I am not having that feeling that I need to throw up or anything today but I have a lot of burping and what feels like heartburn and my throat feels tight.  I'm hoping that tightness goes away soon. 

Also, I'm finally starting to feel hungry.  Not head hunger, but stomach growling, give me some food NOW please hunger.  I am officially cleared to start "mushies" tomorrow.  But on my way home from work I stopped in at our local grocer and picked up some chicken salad.  I ate a couple Tbsp, mushing it with the fork and chewing VERY very well.  It was so delish.  I'm wondering (or maybe hoping) that if I try eating some food instead of just drinking I will get some strength back and stop feeling so crappy.  I guess we'll soon see!  If this chicken salad settles in I'm going to have a little more.  God bless Ukrop's chicken salad!

While I'm thinking about it, I had an interesting conversation with my Dr. yesterday about my complete unfill.  I'm leaving for a 2 1/2 week vacation in 3 weeks, and I was wondering what my appetite is going to be like with no (or very little) restriction by then.  He said not to be too concerned with that, we'd talk about a fill when I got back from vacation.   I said yeah, but... I'm going to be starving with just three 4-oz. portions and maybe a snack a day.  Then he told me not to worry, that I could eat a cup per meal instead, just not to go overboard.  I asked wouldn't that stretch my pouch too much, and he said no, not if there was no restriction.  SO... I guess I won't be planning on any sort of dramatic weight loss until after that's all over.  I hope I don't get "lazy" and eat too much! 

I'm off for now, and thinking I might go scoop me up a little more chicken salad.  hehe

Towards the end of the day yesterday, it became painfully obvious the 1.4cc unfill I had yesterday wasn't enough.  Two more episodes of frothing & heaving last night, and the second one lasted a good 15 minutes.  My chest felt like a 500 lb elephant was sitting on me and I was in so much misery.  I seriously considered going to the hospital ER, but it did calm down after I laid down on the bed for a while. 

Paged the on-call dr. first thing this morning, which luckily was my own dr., and told him about what was still happening.  I told him I was fearful that I had a slip.  He told me he was absolutely certain I did not, and to meet him at the office as soon as they opened this morning.   He removed the remainder of the saline in my band, so now it's empty.  But because of swelling, I still have restriction.  I am very aware when I swallow too fast or too much.  But I haven't felt the need to purge again... yet, anyway.  I drank about 4 oz water and hung out in the dr. office to make sure it went down ok.  Then the dr. sent me over to the hospital where I got "juiced up" with 2 liters of IV fluid.  I was quite dehydrated and feel a lot better now.   Also had 4 oz of apple juice while sitting there getting my IV.   That's all I've had today.   I have no appetite whatsoever (so bizarre for me!).  But that will probably change when the swelling starts going down.

I plan to stay on clear liquids for the rest of the day, and try some full liquids tomorrow.  I can officially go to mushies on Friday, but I'm gonna play that one by ear.  

One thing is for sure, I do not know or understand this new body.  I guess it's going to be trial and error figuring it out.