♥LovetheNewMe♥

Jim, you just can't fix stupid! Big hug!

You look awesome and should be so proud of your self, keep up the good work!

You may not have actually stretched your pouch but your band may have lost fluid. i am also not a doctor but you may want to try the 5-day pouch test and go back to basics. The only thing I caution you about is, if you really have stretched your pouch than you are at risk for your band to slip and this can be very dangerous. After the pouch test, you have to start measuring your food again and only take in a cup of food at a time, if you are hungry sooner than 3 hours you need a fill and need to follow up with your physician.

When i was still losing steadily, I took in 800-1200 calories perday. Everyday was different. This was ok for me until I got down to the last 30 lbs and I stalled again. I was told to eat more and that took me time to learn to do. My trainer increased my calories to 1250 daily and it took me about 2 weeks before I was able to achieve this but once I did I was able to lose weight again. Since being at goal I have struggled with eating over 1200 calories. I am suppose to eat 1400-1600 calories now and I still only average between 1100-1200 calories aday, thus I continue to lose weight. I have to eat constantly during the day, at least 3 snacks in order to get all my calories in. If you are losing weight, and are not hungry and healthy do not worry about the additional calories as long as you are getting your protein in. If not have a shake.

I am very happy with my band and have had little to no complications. I have been banded since October 2010 and have been at or below goal since September 2012.I started this journey in a size 24 W(very tight) and I am now wear a size 2 or 4 skinny jeans. And yes I am really that skinny and no I do not have a lot of excess skin. I have a personal trainer that I have been working out with since March 2012 and with hard work he has helped me lose my last 30 lbs and drop from a size 12 to my current size. I have been on this site long before I had surgery and this is what I learned. The negativity has always been here but instead of getting worked up over the negative comments and all the issues I chose to watch and learn from others mistakes. This is what I learned when I was new to the forums, take what you want from the postings and leave the rest. Learn from both the successful people and the unsuccessful people. This is not a diet and you have to learn to eat healthy to be healthy. If you want to be skinny you have to think and eat like a skinny person. You have to make it a way of life and not just a vacation from the old life. Why do I love my lap band: LB has helped me accomplish what I could not with a diet. LB has helped me improve my health, I no longer take 4 medications for my blood pressure or have difficulty with my asthma, have sleep apnea or joint pain so bad in my knees that I cried. LB has allowed me to exercise. LB has allowed me to have more energy to enjoy my grandchildren. LB gave me back my life that I thought I would never get back. Honestly I thought I would die just like my brother of a stroke due to my morbid obesity or I would have diabetes before I hit 60. As i have stated before and many may not agree but I am an addict! I am a food addict, food was my drug of choice and my coping mechinism. I have been successful with lap band because I gave up my drug of choice and now make healthy choices. My behavior no longer controls me, I control my behavior and how I deal with stress and all issues that are placed before me. Food was not the enemy, I was. So I encourage all of you to embrace the change and really look deep inside and figure out who is in control, YOU or FOOD! I LovetheNewMe!

Sorry you have had so many complications, just glad they have all been minimal and fixable. You are doing great and have such a wonderful attitude and insite. I wish you the best and hope this is over soon, you are going to look amazing this summer. Jealious! I still have a little giggle in my belly but I think I will keep it, I am chicken!!!!!!!

Unfortunately what you are experiencing is normal and many on the forums refer to this period as Bandster Hell. The time when you have no fluid in your band and are basically on your own. Just focus on learning portion control, a lot of people do not normally lose during this period. Good luck and all I can say is that it does get better. Oh and one more thing, just because you can eat certain foods now it is better if you start making those hard decisions sooner than later. Good luck to you.

I purchase mine from CVS or GNC. I like the fruit chewables, they remind me of Starburst fruit chews. I have taken vitamins since being banded.

If you can eat donuts and pizza you need a fill. When i was 30 lbs from goal I could eat pretty much anything and there were days that I did and the scale never moved. Well I finally went back and had a fill and I started losing again. Physician's and web sites will tell you that lap band will only help you to lose about 60-80% of your over all weight needed to be lost. The last 30-40lbs is the hardest and you really have to buckle down and be strict and eat clean all the time. You have to drop the processed sugars and high glycemic processed foods. Sugar is like an addiction, once you allow the things you gave up back in your life they have a mind of your own, the cloud your judgement and your body starts to crave them again. You don't need us to kick your butt, you have already done it and you know what you need to do. If you really want those last pounds off, knock it off. Throw the junk away and go cold turkey. You are going to feel like crap for a a week or so but once you have rid your body of all the bad toxins again you will be able to remain focused. Good luck and stop beating your self up and use that energy to move in the right direction.

Yes it is normal, move around walk, take gas-x and about 2ozs was all I cold tolerate in the beginning. It gets better in a day or so, the gas is the worst.

Nessa, I am 2 years post op and last year when I got really constipated and had to call my surgeon and ask him what to take. If normal methods are not working you may be impacted and it will require something stronger to help work out the problem. It is not a good idea to continue to do this without medical advice. I really hope you feel better because I know how miserable you are feeling.

Suggestions: Start a food diary, you may be surprised at how everything adds up. Even when we are eating healthy we can occasionally throughout the day snack on a bite here and there and those calories add up. Exercise- you need to make sure when exercising that you are reaching your target heart rate for your age and weight. You can goggle this and find out how to calculate. Take your measurements, when losing weight you sometimes will have NSV. Taking your measurements will help you not to become frustrated. When we do start losing our bodies have to adjust to every drop in weight, Protein, you need to be eating at least 60-70gms of protein a day. Your meals should consist of no more than a one cup volume serving at a time. Meals, they tell us to only eat 3 meals a day and we should not be hungry for 3-4 hours between meals. I have found that it is difficult to get the calories and amount of protein needed to lose weight almost impossible for me by eating only 3 meals a day with out planned Snacks, My snacks are complex carbohydrates like a banana and a tablespoon of Peanut Butter. Time for eating, also as important as your food choices are where you eat and how much time you spend eating. You should be eating for 15 to 20 minutes and than stop, it you can clean your plate in 10 minutes your band is to lose, if it takes you longer than 20-30 minutes to eat your food your band is to tight. Do you always clean your plate and are you satisfied after eating? How long do you stay satisfied and when do you feel like you need to eat again, is it because you are hungry or is your head telling you to eat. When you say that you think the problem may be that the band is not full enough, what do you mean? The band will never prevent you from eating certain foods, now it may make it more difficult to eat certain foods but honestly the easiest food for a lap band person to eat is junk. The reason junk is easier to eat is that it requires little chewing. You are only 4 months post op and I know you want to hurry up and lose your weight but it takes time, go back to your doctor, talk to a nutritionist and really exam what you are eating. Good luck!

I agree, this is one of the hardest things for me also, I just stopped pouring myself a drink for dinner.

Some people have pressure from the band when they lay down at night. This can cause you to have reflux and aspirate gastric fluid into your lungs. I this continues I would go back to my doctor and again discuss the issue. I have had my band for 2 years and most days I do not know I even have a band except when i eat. You should not feel this sort of pressure when you lay down. Please let us know how you do.

Positive, compassionate, accepting and ready to embrace this healthy life and the changes it brings. Love the quote, also a favorite of mine.

Throwing up once or twice will not hurt you or your band it is when you throw up consistantly day after day. Just a suggestion but since you had the fill on Tuesday and you had a stuck episode today you may want to go back to full liquids for 24 hours. I had problems after my last fill and it took me longer than it normally did to be able to really eat like we are suppose to be able to eat. On monday if you are not better call the doctor, if you get to a point you can not even take in liquids this weekend either call the doctor or go to your ER or where ever your physician told you to go in an emergency. I hope it gets better for you!

I say you do what works for you, we are all different and who cares how silly or ridiculious it is. I still eat off a small plate, use a smaller fork, time my meals I still measure and weigh my food and I am two years out and at goal. I plan to stay thin and it it works it works.

Gotta get your head in the game also, band can't do this alone!

Protein shakes, will carry you further than soups,

Now just add some expresso powder and crank it up a notch and I may try it, I am such a coffee snob,

The only beer I can tolerate is Guinness and than I can only tolerate one that takes me about 2 hours to drink. I did not try a beer until after I was over a year post op, yes I know we are not to have carbonation or empty calories but this is life and I do enjoy a drink. I do also have wine and an occasional martini, but I also counted every single calorie I drank. This is my life with lap band and I am not perfect but it is my life and I have chosen to find a way to live with lap band. Is drinking on a regular basis good for weight loss the answer would be no with or without lap band. Alcohol is empty calories and no i am not the lapband police just my personal opnion.

I used a couple of sites that were WLS surgery friendly. I used the lapband.com website. It breaks down the receipes byt he stages you may me in, liguid, soft mushies etc. Also bandedliving is another site written by two lapband people who have been successful and are 4-5 yeats post op. I ate a lot of greek yogurt with added unflavored protein, cottage cheese. I was one of those lapband patients who did not do well with chicken and eggs in the beginning. It took me many months to be able to tolerate certain foods. My best advice is to google lapband friendly recipes and look for recipes that sound appealing to you. You are correct planning is key to eating the correct foods.

Finally time, I know you want this weight to just fall off, i wish I could tell you that you will lose 2 plus pounds a week because you are doing everything right, But................... I can't. To help you from becoming discouraged maybe you need to do a few things that will help you have some none scale victories. Have you take your measurements? If not I encourage you to do this. It took me 2 years to reach my goal. I had multiple months of not losing and sometimes losing inches and never seeing the scale move. As long as you are following the plan and making healthy choices the weight will slowly start to come off. As for exercise, in order for exercise to really have meaning you need to be exercising 30 minutes a day and you must be in your target heart zone in order for the exercise to really help you burn fat. In the beginning exercise is the hardest for all of us, we have joint pain, shortness of breath and honestly it is just plain down hard to motivate ourselves to get off the couch. Exercise was the hardest for me, I had very band knees and kept injuring myself and yes it was frustrating as heck to do everything right and not get the instant gratification of seeing that little number change. I used to weigh myself on a Wii, I used to pull it out morning and night to the point I was driving my family crazy and I would cry because the scale would not move. I was convinced that I would never lose the weight. At the end of one year I was still obese, not morbidly obese but obese. It was very frustrating. Do not become a slave to your scale, the numbers will start to move, you are young in your journey and this process takes time, unlike gastric bypass patients we do not lose as fast. I wish I could say I lost an average of 2 lbs a week but honestly the average is more like less than a pound of week. Some months I lost big and some I stayed the same but I never gave up. Stay positive, and know many of us have been where you are.