♥LovetheNewMe♥

You rock! I do understand what your saying, everyday people always want to comment about how I look and i am just not use to all the attention. But looking in the mirror the person who looks back at me is foreign and only a 1/3 of the person I used to be. So proud of your continued success, you look amazing.

You can add me also, I am on maintenance so I eat a little more these days. LovetheNewMe of MFP also. And you are correct about needing to eat to lose, I found that I lost more weight I had to eat more to continue to lose, in the beginning I was eating well below a 1000 calories and this worked for me but as I got closer to goal I just stopped losing for over 7 months and finally started to lose once I increased Protein to over 90 gms and increased my calorie intake to 1000-1200. Good luck to you.

OK count me in, my current time for a 10K is 50 minutes (I know that sucks, I am a run/walker ) So I will try to beat my time, how is that Minimi?

I lived on antacids and Prilosec the first year and a half after banding. I had bad reflux before banding and I tried to back off my meds several times in the early months but was not able to. I would check with your doctor and tell him your symptoms some times there are prescription meds that work better than OTC meds. I don't think your band has slipped unless you have been doing an extreme amount of vomiting or over eating, this is what ususally causes the band to slip. good luck

I may be of a differing opinion but sometimes by day 3 or 4 you may still be able to only do liquids after a fill. My last fill was probably my most difficult, it took me a week before I was able to resume normal eating. I had no vomiting or reflux it was just difficult to get 3 ozs of solid protein down within the 20 minute period. If you can not pass liguids and you are having reflux than yes you probably need an unfill. But some people are more sensative to the fills and the swelling and irritation can last a little longer than 3 days.

I use MFP for two years now, and have not heard of Lose it, but will check it out and compare differences. Always open to new apps and aids to help with this process. What do you like better?

Nerves are so normal, keep strong and believe and it will happen soon enough. Good luck to you!

Awesome progress, keep up the good work!

Jojo and Cassie, I had a lot of nausea post op, I pretty much lived on Gas-x and RX Nausea medication supplied by my doctor. In the days when I could only have liquids I was only able to tolerate 2 ozs or so every 2-3 hours. I felt like that was all I did and I did feel pretty week. I was banded on a Thursday and went back to work on a Monday. I thought because I worked in an office I would be fine but that first week back was really hard and I felt pretty week. My suggestion is make sure you are always sipping on some sort of SF drink in the beginning and do remember that these early days are more about healing than losing weight, that will come after your first fill. I used a lot of creamed soups and once I felt better and had less nausea I added a little unflavored protein powder to help me go a little longer between meals. I also ate a lot of thinned grits and mashed potato's and when I say thin I mean pretty watery. I was so hungry one day I decided to try a saltine cracker because they dissolve well in your mouth, wasn't a good experience for me. Just know the these early days are very hard, you have no real help from your band and you are so excited and eager to start your journey and so frustrated that you are hungry. Know that all of these feelings are normal and you are doing nothing wrong, and Cassie is correct this is the part that is referred to as "bandster hell". You also will eat and drink things during this stage that you later will consider sliders, protein drinks, yogurt, etc. I just encourage you to stay away from high calorie foods now and learn to not bring them around because unfortunately these are the foods that when nothing else goes down they always do. Good luck to both of you and I know you both will do very well.

Amy pre-op diet does suck and evenings are always the worst even after banding. I am one of those banded persons who always saved some sort of a very small snack for after dinner. Not sure if it was a physical need or just a mental need but it worked for me. May have been something as simple as a SF Popsicle or SF pudding but it worked to calm my need for eating. As for fruit after surgery, yes you should be able to eat after surgery, I struggled my first year with fruit, it was one of those foods I never seemed to have room for in my pouch and I worried about not eating a balanced diet. Since that time I have learned to eat apples, but now I have to peel them, I can eat some of a banana, I love the "Cuties"(perfect size for us) but you have to be careful with fruits with membranes they are the hardest to macerate and membrane can get stuck.(Berries, like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries work well with the band for most) Of course there is always the purred fruits but chewing is much more satisfying. You will just have to experiment once banded and once allowed regular diet again. They say shrimp and nuts are hard for banded persons but I had not problem with them but chicken and eggs were difficult. Sounds like you are doing very well with your pre-op and learning to discipline your self, this will help you through your pre fill days after surgery. Good luck next week, hope all goes well and please let us know how we can support you through your journey.

Awesome job, congratulations on your success to date!

I love my fitbit, it also made me realize what I slug I was. My daily goals are greater than 10,000 steps and take the stairs. I was amazed that once I started weeing this how competitive I became with just my self. lol

I agree with suggestion on tracking food, it will help you undrstand what you are really eating, everyone has a different opinion on this but it has worked for me. You will have stalls along the way, your body has to adjust. How much protein are you eating, for good weight loss with the band protein is very important to the weight loss. Good luck I am alo on MFP same name as on here.

It gets better, hang in there. The emotional roller coaster is very normal in the beginning, you are changing your life, your relationship with food and this is hard. Just be strong and true to yourself, believe in your self and you can succeed.

Sweet potatos are better than white, leave off the butter and brown sugar (in the south the love them as sweet as possible) I find them nice just they way they are and a great source of fiber.

Normal, gas is a big problem post op, try some gas x it may relieve some of the pressure.

It is very likely this will happen but it is temporay. The statistics say you lose less with Lapband than you do with gastric bypass but it still happens, I take bioten from GNC even at 2 years post op, I had a fast weight loss in the beginning and mine seemed to thin quickly but the biotin helped. Just google the amount to take for hair loss. I chew two a day.

Congratulations on losing 18 lbs, it is not expected that you will lose a significant amount of weight during the first 4-6 weeks after surgery. You have not had a fill yet so you do not have the benefits that the band gives you with making you feel less hungry and satisfied.. I caution you to not become discouraged this early in your journey with not losing every day or every week, this takes time and a lot of hard work. It took me 2 years to reach my goal and I had many "stuck" periods along this journey even doing the right thing. Your question is not stupid, no question ever is. Patience is my advice, I know we all want quick results but remember none of us became obese over night so the weight will not fall off over night. As far as eating to lose this is correct, it you have a large amount to lose 100-150 plus pounds during the early days if you eat 1000 or less you may lose weight, but it is very difficult to maintain a healthy body on that few calories and also very difficult to get in all the protein that your body needs. I stayed between 1000-1200 calories for my entire journey, I occasionally ate below 1000 but only on days when I was not hungry or when my band was adjusted. I will say the closer I got to goal the harder it was to lose weight, I had to eat more and exercise more for those last 30 lbs and it took me 7 months to lose. My advice is focus on getting your protein in, drinking your water and exercising. I wish you much success.

It does get better and you have to work up to the amount of water they want you to drink. I keep a bottle with me at all times. Everything comes with time.

Hi B-52 good to see you are doing so well, good luck with continued success.

This is a hard journey, even though they gave us the band they did not give us a new brain or whisk away all of the old behaviors and this is the hardest part of this journey changing us. You have a good start, you have lost 31 lbs and luckily you have not gained. Agree with above statements, go back to band basics, weigh, measure, write it all down until you make it a habit. Even at 2 years post op I have bad weeks, I have weeks where I do not eat as well as I should and I have to slap myself silly and say, "What are you doing?' Change is very hard and even when you get all that you wanted from the band you still have to work on maintaining it. It is better to develop these habits Early so you have them for the long haul, this is a life style and not a diet as I am sure you are realizing and the hardest challenge we have all faced. Good luck, just know you can do it, you made a decision and a commitment when you had the surgery. You may also want to discuss your issues with your WLS and nutritionist, maybe your band needs adjusted, if it is really working the way it should it is easier to make healthy choices.

Good luck!

Some doctors do put some fluid in at the time of surgery but most do not. Cheznoel is correct you need to relax and another bit of advice do not get all caught up in how much fluid is in your band, focus more on how you respond to the band. Everyone is different on the amount of fluid needed to reach their personal greenzone. Good luck.

I do see where he is coming from, but any surgery that requires you to be put to sleep is major. I have also reached goal and do not consider myself skinny but I would be upset to give up my band. i have very little restriction and do monitor my intake and what I eat because this is how I eat. But why tempt fate unnecessarily. You need to do what is best for you and not allow the physician to sway your decision. Good luck!

First Alex, thank you for starting LBT. I was one of those individuals 2 years ago looking for answers and searching the web and trying to figure out how I was going to make WLS work for me. I have learned a lot from the forums and the blogs, using both examples of success and failures to guide my journey. As my WLS surgeon says, I am a WLS lap band success. I have been successful using the LB as a tool to guide my journey and change my behavior and relationship with food. Your statement is right on, if you do not modify your behavior and change your relationship with food you will never be successful longterm with any WL program or surgery. I had a F/U appointment today with my WLS and I will have another in 6 months, or sooner if I need him. I am also one of the members who visits the site daily and I will tell you that this site has been a very valuable tool and is also part of my success. Tracking my journey through this site, helps. It helps to see how others cope and don't cope because we all have a very common thread, "Morbid Obesity". Thank you and your team for the dedication and time you spend maintaining the site and making it better everyday. How does an obese person learn best, "From other obese people" We can identify\fy with each other, empathize with issues and also dream that we may also be successful one day in this journey. Today when I followed up with my WLS I was honest with my feelings on how important I feel physiological follow up and being active in support groups is to long term success. You can not succeed in what you do not give your all too! Everyone measures success differently, some in scales, some in health issues but the key is measuring the success and celebrating the milestones along the journey. Losing weight and maintaining the WL is not easy but it is duable to all if only you put your heart and sole into the process. You have to believe in your self in order to succeed. LovetheNewMe