Oregondaisy

I can relate Brandy. I really didn't want my daughter to have gastric bypass. I was very against it. I have heard of people with big problems from not being able to absorb nutrients from their food. She has done very well though. She had her surgery 2 1/2 years ago, and just had a baby. If your daughter is good about taking all the Vitamins she needs, she should be fine. How old is she? If you have one of the larger bands, it is more difficult to find the sweet spot. There are a lot of people that just have trouble with the band. They are either too tight or too loose. Or too tight in the morning and too lose in the evening. Unfortunately, the band does make us diet, where as gastric bypass patients can just sit on the couch and lose weight. After the first year, that is not as true though. If I can help you in any way, please let me know!

Yes, the point of the band is to eat smaller portions, not throwing up, and not hardly being able to eat at all.

You know, you sound like you are going to lose like I did. I never once lost 2 lbs a week. I would go for weeks and weeks and not lose. Then all of a sudden I would drop 5 lbs having not done anything differently. I think our bodies get to a set point, and decide they are going to stay there for awhile. (except for Indio lol) The important thing here is not to go back to old thinking. In the past before banding, I would think " I am not losing anyway, so I might was well eat (insert any junk food) . Now I know that if I stick with my food plan and my exercise, the scale moves eventually. As for Protein shakes, again we are all different. I love them. I hate to cook and do dishes so often I will have a Protein shake for dinner. I really don't get hungry, just head hunger. I can easily drink 3 -4 protein shakes per day and not be hungry. My doctor really wants us to have at least one per day to make sure we get our protein in. However, a lot of people do get enough protein from their regular meals. For me, exercise is definitely the key. I hope you can get back into it

I stopped getting email notifications when there are new posts to the threads that I always go to. Is anyone else having this problem? I checked to make sure it's turned on and I am supposed to be getting an email notifications.

I emailed Alex about it and he said to check my junk mail folder. They aren't in there either. It's weird because I always got them until recently and all of a sudden they stopped. I hate going to subscribed threads on the left side of the board. It's easier to get the emails but I guess I am stuck doing it this way now.

A lot of people have said they really like cottage cheese with spaghetti sauce or ricotta cheese and sauce. I would imagine it's pretty good although I have never tried it. It's a good meal when you are in the mushie stage.

Yes, it's pretty normal to not get restriction after only one fill. I don't know why doctors want to sneak up on those fills. If you live close to your doctor and you still don't feel any differently after a week, I would call and see how soon you can get another one.

I am having a protein shake for dinner. I am so not into cooking. I had a protein bar for lunch and some string cheese for a snack.

Don't feel bad. I had ice cream today too. Baskin and Robbins as $1.00 cones on Tuesdays. I will probable have a Protein shake later. I'd rather get one ice cream cone that buy ice cream at the store and end up eating a much bigger portion. My daughter had RNY too. That's how I found out about banding. What are you confused about, Brandy?

That's a hard call. It sounds like if you can eat 2 pieces of pizza you really don't need an unfill. Just go over everything with your doctor, what you eat, how much, etc, and let them decide

The key is to eat Protein fruits and veggies and stay away from any type of white carbs. Unfortunately, all the junk food goes down the easiest. I would never have been able to lose all my weight without exercising almost every day too.

Yes, I can eat Pasta,(although I choose not to) and steak and pretty much anything I want to eat. Yes, the key is to take tiny bites, eat slowly and chew it up until it's liquid in your mouth.

I really don't have a problem with any food in particular. I can eat anything I want, just not very much of it. I can eat salad easily. Pretty much with any food, I chew it up until it's liquid in my mouth taking tiny bites.

Patriciann, you might need some taken out. Sometimes the band will loosen on it's own, but you will need to only eat soup and Protein shakes for a few days and see how it goes. Drinking things warm will help too. I would definitely stay away from foods that are not band friendly and mac and cheese would be one of those. Did you do the mushie diet after surgery? You need to stay on mushies and liquids when you are that tight.

Sharon when were you banded? I didn't lose quickly and my fills really had nothing to do with it. If you eat right, the lbs will come off. I think they come off more slowly for people in our age group (except for Janet but everyone can't expect to lose 2 lbs a week like they say we will. I always went on plateaus and then would suddenly drop 5 lbs without doing anything differently. It does help the weight loss to exercise too!

You can pick up a book fairly cheaply that will tell you how many carbs are in foods. Basically, to go low carb you have to eat protein and veggies. You can find it all online too. I have done Atkins since the 70's so I know how many carbs I can eat and still lose and which foods are pretty low in carbs.

Brandy you are right about the sweet spot. You don't get to keep it until after the fat is gone around your stomach. As we lose weight, we lose fat around our stomach and the band loosens. I am at my sweet spot and have been since my last fill in Dec. Before that, I was really discouraged because fills didn't seem to last.

Yeah, We Oregonians need to stick together! I have never gone to Kelly Fitzpatrick but I have heard wonderful things about her. I am lucky to live only 5 min from Dr. Tersigini and he charges the same price for fills. I am hoping to never need another one. I can eat whatever I want in small portions and I am happy with my weight loss. Every time I think I need a fill, I get something stuck and remember to chew better. I am reminded that I really do have restriction.

The sweet spot feels like getting full on a small portion of food and staying full until the next meal time. It does not take cravings away. If you let yourself eat chips and sweets, you will still crave them. Unfortunately, the junk food goes down the easiest.

We all go through periods where we are not motivated anymore. I always have to go back to the basics and watch everything I eat. If I don't a few lbs. will creep up on me in no time. If I stick with Protein veggies and fruit, I do fine. I always gain from the bad carbs too. If I eat them for a few days, I have to force myself to only eat protein for a couple of days to get the carb cravings out of my system. It helps to make a list of every reason you wanted to lose weight. Look at the list frequently. Remind yourself how happy you were when you went down a size in the clothes. Those things get me through the couple of days on protein only and get the carb cravings out of my head.

Do you know how long it took him to adjust? My dad hates the food there. He is starting to go on some of the activities, so that has been helping. I remembered my daughter had M&Ms at her house. I have been house sitting all weekend at her house. I took my dog home and remembered the M&M's and that was all I could think about. It will be good to get the carbs out of my system. I know so well from past experience how the cravings go away once I am off of them for a couple of days.

I am so glad I found this thread. BBK you look so fabulous! I am so sorry you went through so much pain! I am glad you are feeling better.

He's doing okay. He has an appointment in early July to find out why he has this spot on his lungs. He had a CT and his dr. doesn't think it's cancer so he is sending him to a specialist. He's not very happy in assisted living. It's been a big adjustment for him. At 89, he really can't live alone, so there are no other options.

I am joining in too. I was completely out of control while I was in Arizona taking care of selling my dad's things, putting his house on the market, and making sure he is happy in his assisted living place. I was planning on doing it but now this thread will be very helpful again.

I love the Atkins drinks. I drink them all the time. I had to be on liquids for a full 4 weeks after my surgery. I lost 22 lbs during that time so that made it nice. I never could stand to eat cottage cheese until I learned to mix a little bit of yogurt in with it.