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Meals consist of 3-4 oz of protein and 1/4 cup veggies. I do supplement with shakes between meals but i do this only on weight training days because on those days I need 100 plus gms of protein and I can not eat enough to do this. My shakes are only 120-130 cal with 25 gms protein mixed in 4oz's water. I am curious as to why you are eating so many soups and stews. While soups and stews are ok they are in the slider food groups and do not keep you satisfied as long. I suggest, lean protein at meals. Chewing food makes you feel more satisfied and stays with you longer and that is the bands purpose. Good luck.

NoMorejellyBelly, There is a book the last 30 lbs written by a doctor, I posted on one of my blogs earlier this year that is pretty good reading. It is not uncommon to stall the less you have to lose. I am curious why you are eating baby food for protein. It is very important to get that 60=70gms of protein from real food. Lean protein at every meal. I do supplement with shakes because I work out and need additional protein to build muscle. In Jan this year I was still about 40 lbs over weight, I had to eat more and exercise more in order to get me off myplateauu. I had been the same weight for over 7 months. I used to eat 900-1000 calories a day, I now never eat below 1200 and try to eat around 1500-1600 and I still lose weight if I am not careful. But the foods I eat are all healthy foods and very little of processed foods. Yes I have anoccasionall treat but only after I have made sure I take in all mynecessaryy protein and healthyvegetabless. I leave carbs to the end and only if I have room and they are healthy carbs that are low in calorie. I would suggest you write down your foods for a week and really exam what you are eating, sometimes we are not eating as well as we think we are, also meeting with a nutritionist is helpful.

No WLS surgery is not the easy way but I know without the surgery I would not be at goal and able to maintain for 2 months. I know I would not have changed my cheating behavior with out the gentle reminder of my band. My journey has had it's ups and downs and I did go through a lot of emotional feelings with my relationship with food. I honestly did not realize before surgery how much I used food to cope with many issues in my life. The first few times I was faced with obstacles in my life after WLS I was angry and frustrated but learning to deal with what makes us eat and behavioral modification is a huge part of this journey and probably the hardest. Great post Kime. Success with Lap Band is possible, I am living proof, I ate what I was suppose to, I took my supplements and I exercised my butt off (literally). Today no one would ever know I was obese 2 years ago. Today when people say, you are so tiny, I say well I used to be morbidly obese two years ago and I had WLS. I get asked all the time, Do you regret it? Now think about that question, would you rather be a size 24 instead of a 4. I don't think so. People are so curious about what I can eat, I can eat what ever I want, but I choice to eat what is good for my body. I do always warn people thought that WLS is not the easy way out and it is not a guarantee, you get out of this what your willing to put into it. Wishing you continued success.

I am 2 years post op and I do take my vitamins daily and I use the chew-ables. This is what I do; every morning I place all of my daily supplements in a snack bag and take it to work with me and keep it in my pocket or lay it on my desk by my computer. This way I have them with me all day, I take half after breakfast and half after lunch. It is hard to remember if they sit in the cabinet and are not in front of you. As far as protein, for good weight loss with lap band it is key to get your protein in or you will not lose weight steadily and you will lean muscle instead of the fat we want to lose. I eat around 100gms of protein aday and yes it is hard. I do supplement with a shake on the days I can not get enough protein in just to make sure I get all the needed protein. Fish is a good protein choice because it has more protein than other meat sources by volume. I also add egg whites to shakes and my oatmeal and sometimes if I really need extra protein I add unflavored to my soups or other dishes that I cook. I try very hard to get 20 gms per meal, it is hard but with planning it is possible. They do make liquid calcium but it is nasty, I have found the chew-able, gummy vitamins to be the best.

Congratulations on surgery and glad it is going well. Keep us informed.

I picked a size. I wanted to be a size 10. (I started at a size 24) My body had differnt ideas, I am a size 4. I though I would look old and wrinkled this small but instead I look tiny and petite. Honestly, you have to just give it time. My doctors goal for me was 132, I weigh 130. My goal for me was 150's.

I bet his partner is short also! People are cruel, their jealious and mean, especially when they realize someone else is chosing to take ownership and control of their lives. Maybe your partner should take a good long look in the mirror. But think of it like this, you can fix your problem with WLS he will always be an ass and probably always has been, now you just know it.

Dear Kelly, I have been banded for 2 years and I do understand what you are saying. As a banded person, there are certain things that most of us really can't eat and anything with a bun is one of them. I tell people all the time that the one thing I miss more than anything is a big juicy hamburger. But when I look in the mirror or put on my clothes that in it self is enough reward for me and makes the hamburger less desirable. I agree with New Dawn's statements on keeping a dairy to make yourself more aware of what you eat. The other thing you have to do for long term success is figure out why you eat, and what your triggers are that make you crave currtain foods. I no none of us wants to admit this but we are addicts and like all addict it is easy to fall back in to addictive behavior. As a formally morbidly obese person, I know I can never forget I am a food addict and have to be very conscious of all my food choices. My suggestion is consoling,we are what we eat and if we do not figure out why we eat than we will not have long term success. Your unhappiness with the life you have chosen with lap band is just a symptom of a deeper issues. Good luck

Before your first fill there really is little difference. My physician explained all this to me and they also discuss this on the main lap band site. Have you listened to all the videos on the lap band site, they are very informational and can be of help in the beginning of what to expect before a fill and how you should fill after a fill. I wish doctors would better prepare people for the initial phase of this surgery. So many people think they should start losing weight immediately and should not be hungry and sadly that is not the case and than sits in the frustration with the band. Hang in there it does get better, the first 6 weeks are pretty hard for some people. Try to work on your portion control and drink plenty of Water.

Never heard of 3 days liquids prior to fill, my surgeon makes me be NPO for 4 hours prior to fill and a very light breakfast, protein shake. Then post fill I am on liquids clear and protein shakes for 48 hours. 3 days prior to fill would be 72 hours prior to the day of fill, post fill you start counting from the time of fill and than 72 hours post fill. It is sometimes just easier to say I am getting a fill on Wednesday and Son, Mon and Tues I will be on liquids and Wed-Thurs and Friday I will be on liquids and I yeah I get to eat on Saturday. Sorry, not sure this is what you wanted to hear.

Medication should clear it up by then but I would make sure your MD knows you have or had this incase he wants to premedicate you prior to surgery. If you do have the surgery and the infection is not in the area of your surgey you will need to be careful with cross contamination in your incisions. Good hand washing is key.

Congratulations on your 1 year bandiversary. You are exactly where I was at one year and I agree it does feel fantastic. Keep up the good work, I can say as each year goes buy the emotional battle with food does get better as new habits and behaviors are developed and fine tuned. Good luck with the remainder of your journey.

I understand your view Jean and I do have some basic knowledge of how the health care world works being a health care worker for 33 years. I also am one who does not regret getting a band but I do have personal concerns about the long term side effects of lap band. But lap band in the medical community is no different than any other implanted medical device, there are side effects and risks and benefits. The benefits have greatly out weighed the risks for me and many others on this site. My WLS surgeon has stopped placing the band in his patients and is promoting the vertical sleeve in his practice. His patients have not had the success with lap band and several have been converted to the sleeve or had their bands removed totally. I hope I can keep my band and I do what I can to protect it, but if I have to have it removed, like you, I hope I am in a place that I can maintain my weight loss without the band. You see if my band fails I will not have another weight loss surgery, that is why the emotional side of this journey is so important to me. I want to really understand, why I eat and why I react the way I do to everything. I am not only trying to lose weight I am trying to fix the total me in the process. Wish me luck because I still have a lot of work to do. As usual thanks for the great post.

Sounds like you are very tight. Lettuce is hard to digest because it is difficult to chew it fine enough not to have pieces slide through and get stuck. Burping is common but excessive burping and hiccuping can happen when you are tight. My question to you is this, can you eat what you are suppose to, 3-4 ozs of Protein and 1/4 or 1/2 cup veggies at lunch and dinner. If you can not eat a cup of food at each meal than you are to tight. If you think you will lose faster because you are eating less, yes you will lose weight but you risk the chance of losing valuable lean muscle mass if your body does not get adequate nutrition. Remember your heart is a muscle also. Your WLS surgeon and their staff are always the best alternative when you are concerned if your band is working right, give them a call, nothing is worth risking your health or your band.

They make chew-able, I take them. You can purchase at CVS, GNC and Target. I am sure there are more places but those I know about. I take all my vitamins as chew ables, calcium, biotin, multi and Omega 3's. My Omega 3's are citrus flavored not my favorite but tolerable.

As stated, there is not set guideline or rule, everyone is different. It is not uncommon in the first few weeks to feel hungry. In the first few weeks after surgery I ate more freguent small full liguid meals. It took me several weeks before I was actually able to eat a cup of foods. I honestly did not know in the beginning how I was ever going to be able to eat all they wanted me to. But on the other hand I read on hear everyday about people who are starving and never feel full. Let your body be your guide and if you have issues call your doctor do not struggle, that is why they are there.

Missy is correct on counting calories, I record everything i eat and I measure and weigh all my food. A lot of people do not want to do all of this but if you look on this site the majority do count calories. There are some who have been successful by eating anything they want but it is a sippery slope and I feel it is better to change behavior and develop new healthy choices.

The spoon of peanut butter is yummy! It is 5 gms of Protein and I feel like it is a treat, I eat it with a small banana every afternoon. As far as protein everyone has their personal perference. Some like unjury (you have to order it) I like Pure Protein, chocolate and vanilla. I mix mine with Water not milk and i only mix mine with 4-6 ozs of water. I hate premixed, most are two sweet for me and I can;t get past the smell. There are several places like GNC, CVS, Unjury, the Vitamin Store who have individual serving packets so purchase a couple and try some before you purchase a large amount. As far as my diet, I basically follow a weight training diet these days. I enjoy what I eat and I eat pretty clean, very little processed foods, little to no dairy and take supplements to cover the vitaman D and C.

Honestly you probably are not doing anything thing actually wrong! I plateaued at about 7-8 months out and stayed at the same weight losing maybe 5- 6 lbs for about 7 months. I did lose some inches during that time because I dropped from a size 14 to a 12 but weight stayed steady at 175 to 172. I did exercise during that time but was limited due to hurting my knee, exercising. My goal weight was 132 so I still had a ways to go. This is what I did: I changed my entire routine and how I was eating and I joined a gym and hired a personal trainer. My first consult with the trainer was tuff, he told me I was not eating enough. I argued and said but I have a lap band I can not eat that much. He told me I need to increase my Protein, decrease my carbs and increase my calories. i walked out a little discouraged and thought to my self, well I thought that was why I had surgery so I didn't;t need to do all this crap. So, I sucked it up and started his high protein low carb way of eating, did cardio 5 days a week and weight training 3 days a week. I hate to admit it but he was right, I started dropping weight again the second week and within 7 months I reached goal. I use to eat 60-70 gms of protein aday and around 900-1000 calories, with the trainer I ate 90-120 gms of protein and 1200-1400 calories a day. i still eat my 1 cup portions but I do supplement with Protein Bars and shakes between meals to get all my protein in. I never ate fruit before and I eat a banana or apple every day now, I eat 1 tablespoon of Peanut Butter daily, I drink 2 Protein Shakes, i eat oatmeal, lean meats and veggies. I only have carbs for breakfast and lunch. No carbs after 3pm in the evening. i eat more protein on training days. I am in maintenance now and i have struggled with not losing additional weight, my first month I lost an additional 5 lbs, so now I am up to 1580 calories a day and I have cut back to training and cardio to 2 and 3 days a week. Mainly do not get frustrated, try instead to analyze what you are doing and see what you can do different to get you off the plateau. good luck

Yes there are ways to avoid most of the complications. As you have read everyone is different on how the react to the band and some people have more extreme problems than others. I have been banded for two years and in my early days when first banded I did have heart burn and some reflux for several months. My physician had me on reflux medication and I seemed to live on Gas-X in the first 6 months, everything seemed to give me gas. As for the throwing up, slimming, PBing (Puck Back) it should be minimal and really only happens if we; one eat to fast, two eat something we really shouldn't or we fail to chew or try to drink and eat at the same time. I am around your age, actually I am older, I am 57 and have lost 122 lbs and I am at goal. My results are not typical, I have worked hard to lose all my weight. The usually only expect you to lose 40-50% of your weight by the literature. As far as the blogs and the forums, In the early days I took the positive comments and situations and tried to make them work for me and all the negative; I tried to learn from them also, as things I may want to avoid. This is a web site which allows all of us to vent our frustrations, brag about our successes and not feel like we will be judged or ridiculed for anything we say or do. The band does require commitment and honestly it is hard, losing weight is hard, even with the band it is a lot of work. I wish you success in your journey but walk into this with your eyes wide open and realize that it will be work and it is not going to do it on it;s own. You are the only one who has control of what you put in your body: NOT the BAND! PS: one thing I forgot, be ready for honesty, when you ask the opinion of the people on this site they will be honest and sometimes it may hurt but they or we don't pull punches because we all need to be held accountable for our actions. Some of the conversations can get a little heated sometimes but everyone is in a different place and the feel very passionate about this process and their personal journey. Again, Good Luck!

Jean is so right on target. I had set a goal to be at goal by one year and guess what I did not make it. Was it a realistic goal, NO! I lost very good in the beginning and I rarely ate anything that i was not suppose to but my weight lose stalled some where between 8-9 months and I sat at the same weight for several months. This was when I really got serious about the exercise, I like you would do good one week and not so good the next and I started writing everything down I ate and taking with me to see my doctor and dietitian. This helped me to really focus on making healthier choices and knowing exactly where I needed to do better. It took me 2 years to get to my goal and the last 30 lbs were the hardest and took me the longest. This is a life style change and a journey, just stay focused and make healthy choices and you will reach goal.

I have to chuckle, people say to me. WOW, I do not remember you being that (long pregnant pause) and I add "FAT"! Then they always say, no you weren't fat just bigger. Oh come on let's face it I was "FAT". and they were just too kind. I know I was fat, so I know they did. The main thing I get asked now is how did you lose all your weight and I smile and say, I eat healthy! What I really think is funny is the people who never say a word or turn around and walk off when people compliment me.