trish151

I haven't noticed so much that my band is tighter in the morning because I get up and drink a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning but I have definitely noticed that it is a lot tighter when I get done working out. I'm kind of using that to my advantage. If I know I am going to be tempted to eat a meal that my family is having that I know will be good then I work out before supper and have a couple of pickles before I eat what I want. Then I only eat a couple of bites and am satisfied. Isn't it funny how you can work your band and trick yourself? I sure love this thing.

Maybe it was just meant to be on your list of things to have for after surgery, I have some and also bought some coctail forks. It's really hard to shovel in food with a coctail fork or a baby spoon just because you can't put much on them. I have been using mine since surgery nearly 2 months ago and have never had a stuck episode. Also, now when I reach for a regular size spoon or fork, they seem so big. My baby spoon is about the size of my thumbnail and it really helps to keep me from over eating or eating too fast. I have discovered that one spoonful can mean the difference from comfortable and thanksgiving full.

Woo Hoo, alright!

Woo Hoo, I just got done with daily workout and feel great. When I started this process, I did like the doctor asked and said I would be committed to at least 30 minutes of exercise. I have stuck to that every day except a few. I am just amazed at how much more I can do and how much I am actually enjoying it. This is so weird but so cool at the same time. Today I did 20 minutes on my stair stepper (had to wipe the dust off of it), 20 minutes on recumbant bike, 20 minutes on eliptical, and then jogged 20 minutes on treadmill. Then worked out both arms with some small hand weights. I feel that runners high people talk about and it feels great.

Oh, thank you for sharing. I never get tired of seeing success.....................

Yep, that's what I did. I could drink water real well the first day and by the second day, I felt like I had to burp like a truck driver but only a tiny amount of air came out. I think it was about the third or 4th day before I felt any hunger. I sipped on a musle milk and it took the hunger away. I think it took me an hour to drink it. It got better quickly.

I ordered it online. The ban was lifted several years ago.

I ordered it online. The ban was lifted several years ago.

I was just thinking about that yesterday that it was time for another picture. I remember back 2 months ago before my surgery that looking at the before and after pictures of people who have gone before me really did give me hope that I could do it too. I want to be able to give someone else that hope some day. I have lost 28 lbs and it may not totally be visable in pictures yet but when I am done, I hope that other's who are contemplating surgery can see that it may look like it took some time for me to see big changes but every little bit contributes to the final goal.

I have a big mouth and I have told everyone I know and asked for their support and prayers. I'm 40 years old and have struggled all of my life with my weight. I thank God that it is a 40 year weight loss struggle and not a 40 year cancer struggle or something worse. I was so excited when I even found out about the band that i talked everyone's ear off that would listen. I agree with the other posters, I don't care what other people think. I needed the help and thank God I got it. People who have a problem about it, would find something to complain about anyways. There are those who judged me for being fat, and I know in advance that those who will judge me when I get skinny....................fact of life. Apparently, not many people in my town have had the surgery and most of my family members have never heard of it. My excitement about it has caused so many to ask questions and two people I love and care about are seriously considering it for themselves as they see me progress and change. What a blessing I am being in giving them some hope. My mom used to have a saying that was "people who are going nowhere don't want to see you succeed, but those who are, cheer you on." I have gotten really good over the years of telling the difference. Those who want to get on my band wagon are more than welcome to, and the rest can stay where they are until they decide to jump on board too. I even posted my surgery date and results on my facebook page. Some of my friends on there who had not seen me in years didn't even know that I needed any help but they sure do keep in touch and ask how it's going. Their faith in me that I can do it just helps me all the more.

I agree with Elfepoo. I was one of those people. I don't process carbs very well but my body still craved them like mad. I could go a couple of days and be fine without them but then it is like my mind would search them out like an addict and then i would binge on them to make up for what I had been without for the past few days. For me, I started doing research on the internet and started looking on forums for what other people had tried. I tried all different kinds of vitamins and minerals and visited my Dr. I found out that I had a thyroid converstion problem but I was also severely deficient in vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to some depression. After I got all of that fixed, I was still craving the carbs. I did some more research and ran across an amino acid that a lot of people were trying called tryptophan. I was determined that I was going to try what ever it took until I found the answers I was looking for. I have been on the tryptophan for a few weeks and it has gotten rid of my depression completely. I have to take it in the morning before I take in any protein. Listen to your body and go from there. You may benefit also from some counseling. Trust yourself in where you are. Be your own physician as well. We know ourselves better than we think we do, it's just hard to look inside sometimes, especially if we expect that a doctor is the only person who can heal us. Every person that you go to can give you a different answer. I would suggest doing some of your own research. I had to do that with my thyroid. I actually had a converstion problem, which meant that I was making the thyroid hormones that I was supposed to but my body stopped converting them and using them the way they were supposed to. I had a low body temp, was tired all the time, had depression, craved carbs, didn't sweet when I worked out. Each time I would go to a doctor, they would draw blood and tell me everything was normal. I just kept looking and searching for answers and finally found the right doctor who would listen to my symptoms and not just the lab results. I also did a lot of research on the internet about my particular symptoms and had to work with her to help find out what was wrong. If you feel you could benefit from counseling, by all means, give it a try. Good luck sunshine. We are cheering for your best progress.

Throw your scales in the closet..........................giggle. I say that because I had to do the same thing. There are all kinds of reasons we can get down on ourselves and sometimes we get defeated in our minds before we ever step on the scales. Get up and do the I got my band wiggle, I'm on my way down, and nothing can stop me dance. I am a firm believer that if you change your mindset, you can change your life. I had gotten in a pattern of looking at every situation as hopeless and I prayed about my surgery relentlessly beforehand. I have stalled out for the past 2 weeks on loosing anything so I just walk around my house feeling good. I put my scales away and I'm doing my exercise like I am supposed to and eating right as best I can. We have to remember every day that we have to have FAITH that we are going to reach our goal and faith comes by hearing. I put up words of affirmation all over my house and I say them out loud each and every day out loud. I also recall my favorite scriptures that say I am the head and not the tail, everything I lay my hands to shall prosper.If faith comes by hearing the word of God, then I have to say the positive words out loud so I can hear them and the faith quickly follows. I know 7 lbs lost sucks when you think of where you want to be. That's why I set my goal every day just one pound under where I am today. When I reach it, I celebrate. I don't celebrate with food like I did before, I celebrate by doing my "happy" dance. Then I declare out loud "I did it! One more pound gone that is not coming back" We can only be defeated if we believe we can just as we can only succeed if we believe we can. I have also had other victories besides just my weight loss. My skin is shrinking with my weight loss and I "choose" to believe it will continue. When I started out walking, I could only walk 2 mph on my treadmill. The day before, I was jogging on my treadmill at 2.7 mph. That's a huge increase for me................time again for the happy dance. I also used to hate to exercise. It was boring and all I did was watch the clock to see when I could stop. Now, I find myself looking forward to that runner's high feeling I am getting. I just put on my favorite music and tune out the rest of the world and let myself feel good. And, when I am done......................time again for the happy dance because I did it another day. I gave up a 24 year Mt. Dew addiction and have not had one in 7 weeks......................another happy dance...........................I am eating vegetables that I never thought I would like..............another happy dance. I'm allowing myself to feel good, despite what is going on around me.......................another happy dance. I block out anything negative anyone says to me and ...............do the happy dance. I hope you will find some peace today in where you are and do the happy dance with me. We are banded now, which means we got the help we all prayed for. I thank God each and every day for the help and remember that I may not be where I want to be but Thank God I am not where I started either. I had to start somewhere and so does everyone else. Thank God that we are on the journey and may peace be with you as you find the happy dance in your heart and celebrate your ride. God bless you girl.

I was reading in my lap band book the other day (the one they gave me before my surgery that was written by the inventor of the lap band), and it said something to the effect that you would know when you hit the right spot by recalling how you had restriction in the days following surgery. The day of my surgery, I could drink water easily but a few days later when my stomach was swollen, it was a little harder. Then I can remember how I could eat just the perfect amount of food and I wasn't thinking about food all of the time. That is the feeling the book said you should be searching for. I have 3 cc's in my 10 cc band and while I think I am almost at my perfect spot, I am not there just yet. I just keep remembering what that feeling was like right after surgery so I will know when I get there. I just keep remembering to listen to my body and trust the process...................and to enjoy where I am and where I am going. It's not always easy, especially if I weigh and the scale hasn't moved. That's when I shove the stupid thing back in the cabinet and just concentrate on doing my happy dance. I've stalled out but I'm not defeated. The scale shall move again and we will find the sweet spot.

I haven't had that happen yet but my Dr. told me to get some papaya extract incase it does. I went to the health food store and they had some. The doctor's office said to take and chew four of the pills if I had a stuck episode and that should get it moving. Sorry I can't help much. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

I have had the same thing. I worked as a reporter from home but I started having carb binge cravings after my mother died. I had some traumatic things happen that seamed to make my body go weird. I could work out hard for an hour and never sweat. After working with my doctor for 3 years we discovered that I had a problem converting my thyroid hormones and we finally got that all worked out. I thought the weight I gained would just fall off. It didn't and the carb cravings seemed to intensify. Every doctor I had ever been to tried putting me on antidepressants after I would tell them about some of the emotional trauma I had been through. I started really researching depression and knew I had some but thought the circumstances kind of warranted it. Long story short, I am not on any antidepressants but found out about an amino acid called tryptophan. I started taking it before my surgery and had amazing results with it. I was not depressed at all and it really helped with the carb cravings. I just didn't have them any more. I stopped taking them a weak prior to my surgery and have been ok until this week when I just started feeling a little blue. I opened one of the capsules yesterday and put it in juice and within 30 minutes I felt amazingly good again. I would recomend that you do some research on it but I would not recommend that you take it if you are already on an SSRI. Tryptophan is the amino acid found in a lot of meat and it helps your body make serotonin. Even though it is found in meat, it is said to compete with other Proteins to get across the blood brain barrier so when I take mine, I take it first thing in the morning and then wait at least an hour before having other Protein. I have been amazed at how much it helps.

Great Post! I only experienced the grief of loss of my comfort in food one time. I am about 6 weeks post op and had my first fill about 2 weeks ago. One day we got a new grill and my husband requested that we make some good hamburgers. He formed and shapped them and I cooked them. He made me my own little pattie which was quite a bit smaller than theirs. Then he made him and my son each 2 big ones. As I was putting their condiments on their bread and looking at how much bigger their portions where than mine, I felt really great about how far I had come in my own eating. My husband and son are both pretty tall and naturally thin. I'm 5'1". As I fixed my own burger, I left off the bread and smeared a small amount of mayo and mustard, a tomatoe, and 2 dill pickles on my burger. When I sat down to eat, the taste was so good. That was the first time I had not had mushies or a Protein shake, but some real solid food. I had been so happy with my band preventing me from eating much but as I ate on my burger, I took a few bites and was full. Eating the muchies was fine and gave me pleasure in my new found ability to be satisfied on such a small amount but when I tasted how good the burger was, I realized how I just wanted to keep taking one more little bite to savor the flavor. That was probably the only time I have grieved over not being able to eat as much. I realized that I really miss chewing and the zone I used to get into when I ate. That is when I kind of took my break from the world and really let my self go to enjoy something. We watched a movie shortly after supper so my grief was brief but it was still there. Yesterday I was kind of depressed and couldn't really put my finger on it. There had been a big dog lose in the neighborhood and I couldn't get out for my morning walk. My husband was home sleeping during the day so I didn't want to go to our work out room and walk on my treadmill because I didn't want to wake him up. I kind of just walked around the house depressed and when he finally woke up and I went in to walk on the treadmill finally, I realized that I had gotten so used to walking every day that that was my time to let go of everything in my world and just enjoy the music and walking. It's during that time now that I enjoy being sort of out of reality and that is really strange for me because I have never liked to exercise. How great it feels to be aware of the changes that occuring in me besides just the weight loss. I love the awareness I feel in how good I am feeling, even if I am having to give up some of the things I thought I could not live without and am replacing them with things I never thought I would do. Thank you for sharing your journey as well.

Jachut, I just really feel the need to tell you thank you for all of your posts. I have been reading about some of the issues you are going through and you are a true insperation. God love and bless you girl. You may never really know how many people you touch and inspire by sharing your story. May we all be as couragious to reach out and share what we have been through and are going through with such a positive additude. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for all you share.

I am a month post op and still having problems with energy level. Fortunately I am not working right now so I get up and go walk an hour each day, come home and take a shower and usually end up taking a 3 hour nap. I don't like it but I know I have to slow down some and heal. I have never been a sit around person but I over did it about 2 weeks ago and ended up having some pulling at my incision sight which caused a lot of pain. It was a quick reminder to take it easy. I am down 28 lbs today and am so happy for each pound gone but have to remember that the tiredness is only temporary and I am ready for my energy level to come back.

I've had the same problem so I have had to put my water on a sort of schedule like my eating. I know that once I start drinking that it will make any food in my band go down faster so I have sort of made my water schedule a little closer to my meals. In the morning, I will try and have my coffee and a full bottle of water before I eat breakfast. Then once I eat, I will wait an hour and then start sipping on my next bottle of water and try to finish it and have another bottle before lunch. Then after lunch, I wait the hour, if I can or I will take small sips. Then as it gets closer to supper, I will start increasing and try to get two full bottles in before supper. After supper, I try to wait the hour and then get in another bottle before bed. This also seems to help keep me from snacking as I know I have to get the water in and it fills me up to compensate for any hunger between my meals because I really want to still eat with my family and I know that if I don't wait that I will be to full to sit down with them and eat when they do. Then I fill left out.

That is why it is so great to have this forum to share our success with people who understand. The other day I went walking on the walking trail here in town. I was about a mile in a half in and moving as quick as I could when I came upon a woman and a man walking a dog. As I passed, the girl looked at the man and made this cheep smirky grin and said did you see that? The woman was dressed pretty nice and her hair and make-up were nearly perfect as well, unlike me, with my hair thrown up in a pony tail out trying to work part of my butt off. The comment hurt because I knew that she was making fun of me for being overweight out there on the trail. It's kind of the same experience when you go to the gym and all of the perfectly shaped people make you feel like you don't belong. When I got home, I was nearly in tears because that woman did not know about the journey I have been on or that I had surgery a little over a month ago to try and change what she saw only on the outside. When I got home, I told my husband what happened. I figured the woman must have been on a date with the way she was dressed and the man she was with must not have liked heavy women. The sad part was that she was not in the best shape herself, but making fun of me must have made her feel better about herself. I just want to take a moment to say that I am proud of all of us on here who made a decision to have this surgery. This morning I am down 28 lbs and I have taken time to Celebrate each one. No matter if you have only lost 1 lb or if you have even stepped backwards a bit and may have gained a few, Stand proud and don't shrink and feel bad about yourself because of comments other people make. At first I prayed that girl had to walk a mile in my shoes. My mom committed suicide a few years ago, my first husband divorced me over it. I had a brother who was in a car wreck and broke his neck. I had 2 grandfather's and a grandmother pass away. Both of my sister's were diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and just a few months ago, my high school sweetheart and my father's son was murdered. After I thought about it for a little while, I said, no, I hope no-one ever has to walk the path I have had to walk. I read stories on here all of the time where life has beat so many of us up. Please, Please, Please, celebrate your band and your progress and your hope. This is our beauty for ashes. It's about time for a little blessing, even if we had to have a surgery. It may not be the easy way, but for me, it is an easier way and I believe it is about time. God bless all of us that we stand tall on our journey and don't shrink and give up or in to the voice of nay sayers who have no idea where we have been, or where we are going. We are all in the same boat....................our side is just rising a little higher in the Water. Woo Hoo, GO us!

I am not a gastric bypasser but I am a bandster who looked at both options. I was banded on Feb 23 of this year. My decision to go with the band was because my mother had gastric bypass 20+ years ago and ended up gaining all of her weight back plus she had several nutritional problems. For one, she became anemic and had to take B12 shots every day. The bypass surgery didn't allow her to make adjustments when she over ate and eventually she had a larger stomach again. My best friend's mom also had gastric bypass and she ended up gaining all of her weight back over 12 years and she had complications from being potassium deficient and died last year. She ended up weighing 150 lbs more than before she had her surgery. For me, the choice to go with be band was because the band is adjustable. As long as I don't over eat and stretch out my band, I can always fill and unfil as needed to meet my weight loss needs. It also did not cut anything out of me so I don't forsee having any nutritional problems. So far with my band, I have lost 24 lbs in a few days over a month. I had my first fill 2 days ago and right now it is perfect. My surgery down time was minimal and I have so much hope for the first time that I will be able to not only reach my goal, but maintain it. I have lost many times in the past but as soon as I would hit the goal, I would start eating like I did before the latest "diet" and eventually I would gain it all back. With my band, it's like having a little tender angel sitting on my shoulder telling me when to stop.

I went and saw my surgeion today for my first follow up visit. I had surgery on Feb 23 and have lost a total of 17 lbs. He has done over 4000 surgeries and said it was normal for people to lose for the first two weeks, stall out the third, and then gain a pound or two the 4th week. I lost 14 lbs the first two weeks, stalled for 8 days and then lost 3 pounds. To keep from getting frustrated, I just hid my scales and kept on keeping on. It is moving again but I would much rather not weigh and just judge by my clothes than to be disappointed from checking every day. That is where I got in trouble loosing weight before I was banded.........grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I was banded the same day and lost 10 lbs and hit a plateau for 6 days without loosing anything. I was only getting about 600 calories a day because I just wasn't hungry. I upped my calories to 1200 and started loosing again. Sucks now you have to worry about not getting enough calories in.

I am only on week two but for supper tonight I was craving black eyed peas. I put a can in a pan and added some tyson chicken that comes precooked in a bag. After it was hot, I put it in my blender and added a little bit of salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons of salsa. then I poured some in a little bowl I eat out of that is about the size of a baby food container and I added a couple of dashes of hot sauce and a pinch of sharp shredded cheese. I feel like I am in heaven it is so good.

I've never been on it but I have tried for the past few days. I just figured I didn't have the right flash player version.