By: Sandi Henderson, From SandisBandedLiving Blog

I often reflect on where I was in 2004 as I considered having lap band surgery, where I am today on my journey, and what I have done and changed and used to get to be a full on participant in my life.  There have been many people along the way to whom I owe my undying gratitude, and there have been products I discovered along the way which made my journey just a little easier.  Some of these I heard about in support group, some of these in the gym, some of these I discovered on my own.  What each of these items have in common is that they helped me get to where I am today - acting like I'm 35 when I'm actually 62.  I have seemingly boundless energy, I am healthy, I rarely even catch a cold (knock wood), I am fighting the "ravages" of age with every tool I can find; I eat healthy food, I exercise daily, I take my supplements, I have annual checkups.  Ok, enough about me, time to talk about things that made steps along the journey a little easier.

First item to talk about is protein.  I know, we are all tired of talking about protein.  For the first 2 months after surgery I depended on liquid protein for most of my nourishment.  Then I expanded to lots of high protein solid foods in small quantities, and protein bars for those times when I wasn't close to real food but needed a meal.  For the next year after that I didn't care if I NEVER saw another can of protein.  However, somewhere along the line I began working out in earnest as the weight dropped off and found that I needed some protein in the morning before my workouts (swimming or weight training) in order to get the best results.  Also, I began traveling more and needed a quick, easy to carry protein source that I could mix with water that didn't taste bad.  (notice I wasn't looking for good, just not bad at this point).

Gavin Skill of Tangerenz Salon in Ventura, CA helped me achieve success with my lap band

Of all people, my hairdresser Gavin Skill at on Main Street in Ventura had me try a protein powder that he swore tasted good and would mix in 6 ounces of water with a spoon; that's right, a spoon not a shaker or a blender.  I tried it and it was not only ok, it actually tasted decent.  Best part of this experience, it was pure whey isolate and one scoop was 110 calories and 27 grams of protein with other good stuff.  Take a look at it, it's called ISOFLEX and my favorite flavor is chocolate peanut butter.  If you have just clicked on the product you see you can order it right there, best part, it is being ordered from Banded Living's very own Amazon Store.

In year 8 I still start my days with a cup of coffee, then have my ISOFLEX on the way to the gym. Of course, before that I take my morning supplement which since 2 weeks before my surgery has been a chewable multi-vitamin that I credit with my good health, success and continued attempts at defeating the "ravages" of age.  I have trouble taking pills so chewable vitamins with a lap band specific formulation work just right for me.  As you noticed, you can buy these directly from our very own Amazon Store as well.

If you are starting to notice a pattern here you are absolutely correct.  For those of you that use protein bars, and I was very happy to have one with me the last time I was in Washington DC, had breakfast at 7am and was "walking the hill" visiting with legislative offices until 2pm without any break for lunch.  As I watched a presentation for 15 minutes I had the opportunity to eat my peanut butter protein bar and then be primed and ready for the next legislative office visit.

At home when I can't come up with any ideas for a meal I frequently refer to one of Hungry Girl's many recipes under 300 calories for some inspiration.  It is her FaceBook page that introduced me to Shiritaki tofu noodles and allowed me to put "pasta" back in my diet.  I was tired of trying to get spaghetti squash to cook right so I could put some pasta sauce over it.  Now I use the Shiritaki tofu noodles with one link of Jennie-O spicy Italian sausage and ½ cup of Trader Joe's 45 calorie pasta sauce and 2 T of ricotta cheese to make the most amazing dinner for under 300 calories.  I have my husband eating this "pasta" as well.  What could be bad?

So, yes, we are trying to make it easier for all of you out there looking for books, food, appliances, proteins, supplements, exercise dvd's and even undergarments that are friendly to this weight loss surgery journey.  We thought that having an Amazon Store right on our Banded Living web site would make it convenient for all of you while at the same time allowing us to earn a few dollars to help support the costs of running the site.

The store has all of the same features (from security to free shipping to recognizing you when you click into it) as the Amazon store.  We have selected a limited number of products to begin with, and would love your input on other products to add to the store.  So please, let us know what products make your journey easier?

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