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When people fall in love they are head over heels with each other. They can't get enough of each other and decide we are in this for the long haul. As time goes on life changes and that in love feeling changes to a new love. People have to work at it because if it goes stale then the only thing that happens is either divorce or break up. People don't stay married for 50 or 60 years because it was always easy. Work, children, stress and everything in between come in to play and if you give up then you are giving in. When you choose to have weight loss surgery you are entering in a new relationship. In the beginning you are all gung ho over the band, bypass, or sleeve because you are getting results. Then your weight loss starts to deminish, it goes slow and that feeling of giving up plagues many. That in love feeling with your band becomes stale and sometimes obsolete. To keep your love alive with your band you must make an effort to have a healthy relationship with it, not give in because the going gets rough or you're not losing as fast as you want too. You have to change up your diet and not give in to eating the same old boring foods day in and day out. If you don't work with it or for it, it won't work for you. We had a good relationship with food before the surgery so you now have to have a good relationship with food now that you have the band. The only way that you are going to let this make you or break you, is your determination that your relationship with the band is going to be ever lasting. We don't give up on our children because they don't behave well, we don't give up on our jobs because they stress us, we don't give up on our loved ones because they are ill and we can't give up on our bands just because at the moment the scale won't move or we are having a hard time in life, stressed, dealing with things that we don't want too that would make us eat before. Our relationship now is different. It will in time give you life, health and happiness if you are willing to stay married to it for the long haul. If you want the band to work, then develop a loving healthy relationship with it. Don't let it get stale. Keep your momentum alive and think about why you did this. It is only up to you and you alone to make this relationship work. If you don't then you will be right back where you started. It's not always easy to have a new relationship but it's not impossible to have a healthy relationship with food. Love yourself enough to make this work because the benefits are priceless. If you ever doubt that you can't or won't succeed then its up to you to know that you are worth more then that.

Update: 4-26-3013: It's still amazing to see what and how much comes out of me, considering how little I am eating. Most of the time, it feels like I am passing jagged rocks and it comes out looking like a pile of marbles. Then there are times like today, where this monstrous poo python emerges. And I'm thinking, "Where the hell did that come from? I just pooped yesterday and I haven't changed my eating habits or eaten extra food." Is there some storage area in the intestines I don't know about? Are my guts becoming some kind of Dooms Day Prepper? Some kind of "just in case we need it" secret poo stash? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? I was visited by the infamous 3rd week stall. I didn't lose any more weight for about 5 days. Hit a 2nd wall on week 5, same thing. It takes me 4 - 6 days to start losing again. It helps speed up the process when I walk a little more than normal. But I've learned that part of the stall is tied to bowel movements. Post-Op, I only go every other day or every 3rd day depending on how much fiber/carbs I take in. You might want to consider how much waste your body is holding onto. My bathroom visits aren't steady at this point, sometimes I'll go twice on the same day. I'll be thinking, "Where the hell did that come from? I know I haven't eaten that much!" Sometimes I'll be over a pound lighter after a monster poop! My record is 2 lbs.

Now, this is an obvious generalization, so please bear with me. There are two types of people on this forum, Moms and Dads...And it has nothing to do with gender. Moms are the empaths, sympathizing with the hurts and bruises of the people here, taking into account their feelings when they give their advice. Patting them on the back as they are bent over the toilet puking their guts out because they tried to test their band. Dads are the authoritarians, telling people who ate a cheeseburger and fries on the way home from post-op "WTF did you do that for, are you stupid?" and "I was able to work my band, what the hell is wrong with you"? The friction I see on the site comes many times from the Moms and Dads fighting over the best way to help the kids, when in reality, both types of advice and help are necessary for the people who come here. We need to stop beating each other up, and start realizing that we NEED both types of people. So, in the words of that great wise man Rodney King, "Why can't we all just get along"? BTW, as I said at the start this is a generalization and the reality is not quite so clear, I personally relate more to the "Dads" on the board, but my heart also weeps for those who are struggling getting the band to work for them, especially when it has been so easy for me.

Today was my 3 week post op appointment. I am doing incredibily well, all incisions are healing nicely, no side effects, no problems. I can drink all the liquid I need to, and am getting all my protein. I have been cleared to slowly and carefully start adding in other foods. And best of all I have lost 19 lbs since surgery and 43 total since I started the pre-op diet. 43!!! That is only 7 lbs less than I lost the entire 2 years I had the lap band. For anyone who is trying to decide between the lap band and the sleeve, or anyone considering converting from the lap band to the sleeve. I cannot say strongly enough...Go For The Sleeve!!! The difference is night and day. With the band I could eat very little, but I was always hungry (still had my whole stomach) with the sleeve, I can eat very little and I can honestly say I am full. For example at lunch today I had 4 oz of cottage cheese and 2 oz of imitation crab, and I couldn't finish it. Not only oould I physically not finish it, but I was honestly full! Whoot Whoot!!! Before the sleeve, I told my husband I never felt full until I was stuffed (which might explain my obesity I am so glad I did this!!! My husband says I'm melting before his eyes! Heaviest Weight: 281 3/6/13 Surgery: 257 (-24) 3/13/13: 251 (-6) 3/20/13: 245 (-6) 3/28/13: 238 (-7)

You should do your own research of course but it will take a full day and a half or longer for food you consume to go from "in" to "out". In other words, the poop you poop today is food you ate possibly yesterday or even the day before. Everyone is different though. This is an average.

That was true and super. I have missed your wonderful thoughts and education. Hope everything is well with you and hub. Be well and keep them coming. Arlene

Hi all... So, I am now 2 weeks out from surgery! I am down 13lb since surgery and 33lb total. I am really starting to feel good. I have become addicted to watching The Biggest Looser,on hulu and it is motivating me to work out more. I have a feeling that I have the potential to become one of those work out obsessed people. I am so excited about that! I have always wanted to be like that. I want to start lifting weights and toning up in the next week or two. So far I am walking about 3 miles 5 times a week. I have a personal goal of doing a 5K in a few months so I going to start training for that soon. I figure, If i can walk a 5K just fine I can run it by the end of summer! As for what I am eating, I think I am doing really well. I have been mostly drinking shakes, eating greek yogurt and cottage cheese. I am starting to work in scrambled eggs, cream of wheat and little bits of chicken. I noticed that even though I can do a full 9-11 oz shake in about 1/2 hour I can only get in a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and only about 2 oz of chicken. Its crazy how the more dense the food the less you can eat. I am going to try the cream of wheat this morning and see how that works out I want to give a little shout out to my friend TTL... Way to go with surgery this week! I'm glad everything is going so well for you! Keep up the good work Have a great week everyone! Happy Passover to everyone, (or Happy Easter ) Amber

Ok, so I posted last night all upset because I gained 2 lbs in 5 days. I went to bed weighing 251. I woke up this morning and weighed myself again, and I weighed 244. I have no idea how it is possible to lose 7 lbs in my sleep. I do feel better though, knowing that I am moving in the right direction. Maybe it was punishment for not waiting a full week to weigh myself like I said I was going to.

Okay, so you know how sometimes you're ambling (or sashaying) through your life when all of a sudden something comes out of left field and blindsides you and you're left sitting on your butt with cartoon tweety birds flying around your head? Yeah, that's me. I realized something today. I am legitimately scared of being skinny. Weird, isn't it? Now don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic about how far I've come in 11 months. This is so NOT a complaint. Yet at the same time I realized that I'm only 30 itty bitty pounds away from my goal. I've wanted to be skinny and healthy for over a decade....and it's practically here. And I am scared out of my ever lovin' mind about that! I was talking to my mom and I made some off-hand joke about being plumptuous...and she said that I didn't qualify anymore. I wasn't 'chubby', 'thick', 'plump' or anything else. You could have knocked me over with a feather I was so surprised. I look at me and I still see a muffin top...apparently other people look at me and see someone who looks normal. I really think that 2/3 of the battle after this surgery isn't actually the weight loss...it's the mind/body disconnect that occurs. Just when I feel like I've finally gotten a handle on it, I'm hit again with how things are different. Again, this is NOT a complaint, merely an observation. I feel...well, uncomfortable isn't the right word. Perhaps uneasy? Restless? A conglomeration of all of the above words? Maybe 'growing pains' (no pun intended. Maybe I should call it 'shrinking pains'?) would be best. I'm finally coming out of my shell and slowly building the life that I want to live. At the same time there was something so easy about being able to blame my weight for the lack that I felt in my life. Now I have no security blanket and it's time to grow up and pull on my (stylishly awesome) big girl panties and kick a little butt. I feel so much is changing and I have the feeling that I'm standing on the edge of a precipice and that the next year is going to be wild, crazy, and will dramatically shift the direction of my life. Scared? Yes. Excited? HELL yes. Nervous? Well...a lady has to keep some secrets, yes? *wicked grin*