B-52

It's happened to me, when I was learning.....breaking old eating habits can be tough, I had to learn the hard way I can no longer eat the way, and in some cases the things I used to eat. Also had to learn to take it slow..give it time to pass through the band and not over fil too much to fast........learned to "Listen" to my band whenever I eat....and still do.... But then it was my old habits that made me Obese and getting the band is/was supposed to change my lifestyle..... Also, once I would get stuck, I had to learn to give it a rest because it is irritated...continuing to try to eat only dominoed and never got better until Water would not stay down... You mentioned pork...In my case I gave up all meats because they were just too risky...besides, It was a good health move IMO....

It is normal from use, just as the stomach is...same tissue makeup... being at my optimal weight, I will go all liquids for a day or 2 about once a month.....I can tell when my pouch is stretched and how much, just by my portion control and restriction feedback.... Most Dr.'s will Rx full liquids....if it is severe, or the patient is non compliant, then he/she will do a complete un-fill to give it a rest and let it return to normal..... I try to be careful not to let it get that far.....also this is generally not for people just starting out, but more for those with a good amount of restriction, IMO....

it happens....I will buy food, sometimes in the cafeteria at work...then realize it is not band friendly, knowing it will not go down easily and I would get stuck trying, so I wind up throwing it out... But sometimes the food just looks so good!!! I will get subway, when there is nothing else around, throw away the bread and lettuce, and snack on the other stuff....still throw most of that away...

Why do we get fills? To STOP or CURVE or eating... I got stuck a lot during that learning phase because for years I ate poorly, and then, with the band I continued to eat poorly...let's face it, we simply have no concept of what eating properly is like....The way I eat now, like a bird the expression goes...I would never have imagined myself eating this way...thought it would not be possible, and thought it had to be unhealthy....all bad habits I learned growing up... Many people count calories, keep a food journal.....for me, that screwed my head up....so now, I do not count calories. Stopped doing so 2-3 months after surgery... What i did do is let the band be in control...I learned to "Listen to the Band" I do not worry about how much I eat, whether I am getting enough calories or not....all I worry about is getting my Protein and Water...and when I do eat, I make sure I make good food choices....healthy food, high in protein. I do everything I can to be active...go to the gym 5 days a week....why? To burn calories.... Loosing weight has always been about calories consumed versus calories burned...... I have friends who have never been fat in their life.....real health nuts....I pace myself when I am with them...these people NEVER want to eat....and they sure as heck don't count calories! But they are ALL into something physically....one of them is a Professional Cyclist....competing all over the country.... This is a bit of an exaggeration...but i sometimes have images of P.O.W.'s, and how thin and sickly they looked in those pictures....can count every bone in their body....now imagine those same poor men, and how they would look if they had all the protein, water, and Vitamins they wanted? In a way, that's how I feel....I have all the protein, water and vitamins I need.....and eating does not interest me, and is certainly not an obsession....

And THAT is how the band works....Too often I read posts where IMO people are selling the band short....but that is their choice....... just be careful getting tattoos....

I have no idea....I don't count calories...I just make good food choices, and a lot less often than what I used to.

It is a fine line between being too tight and not eating properly.... The band is designed to alter our old eating habits that made us fat in the first place....what we may think is too tight may be eating wrong...or then again, maybe not... I know many people who thought they were too tight, got an un fill, then regretted it and wanted another fill a few weeks later..... I know people who got a slight un-fill and they found that perfect balance..... It took me a full month after my last fill to adjust to it...I could have said I was too tight...but I knew if I took a step back, that would put me where I was...always hungry and not loosing weight........but I am glad I did not because it has made all the difference ever since...that was 20 months ago, and I have not been stuck in over a year... But that i me...only you can tell if you're where you want to be or not...

I very rarely get hungry, and when I do it is different than before being banded...hard to explain, I have no interest in food...my mind tells me I don't need it...I believe it's the band telling my brain I'm full, even though I'm not full, and may not have eaten in over 18 hours......If I am busy, so at work or out traveling around, I forget to eat altogether...my poor wife has to remind me.... Now, because it's winter I spend more time indoors, in front of the TV all day on Saturdays watching sports......I do tend to graze all day on different Snacks, but not because I am hungry.......but when I do do that, I will do not have any meals...the only thing I eat that day is what I have been grazing on.....so it all evens out.... BTW, as far as will power....No..it all comes quite naturally, as a permanent lifestyle Before banded, I was addicted to food...could not get enough...I would be driving in my car, see a fast food restaurant and go in a get something, whether I needed to or not...I could think about a particular food item, and have to run out and get it.....and this was besides my normal (?) meals.... would also eta a large sandwich or something just before bedtime.... All that is behind me....even if I wanted to, I CANNOT overeat..... Last cruise we were on, I threw out all the rules...told myself I was going to test this surgery, and eat whatever and whenever I wanted....I Lost 5 lbs!! The band worked.....did exactly what it does everyday...where I am and what is offered to me makes no difference!

Imitation crab meat comes from the Monk Fish.....I woulld eat it if you paid me,band or no band.....

I love your little avatar in your signature....blast from the past..."Don't Mean S***" and "Keep on Truk'in" Had all the comic books....

To say I can't eat certain foods is not entirley true....i can eat anything...it's just that some foods are more riskier and difficult than others...like tip-toeing through a mine field... early on, there were foods that I had extreme difficulty with, so I found it easier to write them off all together....like pizza...I could eat a slice, would take me 20 minutes, and would probably get stuck along the way..so why bother...all that trouble for something that's not that good for me in the first place.... having said all that...I stay away from anything made from flour, the more doughy the worst...breads, Pasta, pizza, donuts, cake and Desserts....etc, etc... Rice does not sit good with me either..... Globs of melted cheese...no matter how well you chew, it's still a glob! Shrimp&lobster...again, no matter how well you chew, just does not break down well enough....but these I will not give up....just extra careful and not much... And of course...RED meat...ALL RED MEAT..steaks, chops, fillets, hot dogs, sausages, hamburger - ground beef, ....again, I probably could if I tried hard enough, but I feel so much better since I stopped, 2 years now, and my cardiologist is THRILLED! Funny, the foods that I find difficult and have put on my "No" list, are all foods that are not that good for me in the first place.....so why push it? Go with the flow and eat healthy! Also, the band will not only change you hunger and desire for food, but it will definitleychange your taste buds for foods....foods I used to love, like salads...I no longer have a taste for...and cannot (choose not) care for salds anymore...there are many foods like that... As far as spicey foods....I used to be one that put hot sauce on EVERYTHING.....but I was also one that had issues with reflux from the band....that has gone away since I toned back on the spicey foods...... I should add, that along with this learning curve, I have not been stuck or slimed in a long, long time,,,close, but can listen to the warnings.....and yet I have a tight band, comfortable in the Green Zone.....

I have never felt full with the band...perhaps someone can explain the feeling..... Feeling satisfied is closer, but still not accurate for me..... What I experience is being "Not Hungry"...and it is not just between meals...it is there 24/7 just as the band is there 24/7.... It's more of a mental thing than a physical thing for me, that's why the terms "Full" or "satisfied" don't describe it for me.... I am simnply not hungry...I do not feel the need to eat, therefore I do not have an interest in eating, or food for that matter.... I have to remind myself to eat, and have to create eating habits and schedules purely for nutritional benefits....not because I am hungry... Yes, there is head hunger...when you see something and then desire it..perhaps from past experiences.....but even then, one bite or 2 and I realize I really did not want it....and I ask myself what am I eating this for? As you can see from the chart...the Green Zone states "Not Hungry"...does not mention feeling "Full" or "Satisfied"..... Although the word "satisfied" is used...but that is referring to "patient satisfaction"...if all the above is working for you, how can you not be "satisfied" or Happy, or Pleased, and Thrilled, etc, etc...in nother words you have no complaints and could not ask for more.....

For me...it's all about the band....first, I don't experience hunger all tat much...2nd, if I should start to eat because of "Head Hunger" or perhaps "emotional Eating"...the band will stop me from eating too much at any given time without paying the consequences..... Even if there is crap foods around the house ot the office, like donuts....how much can I eat? One bite of a donut and I better spit it our because I know what will come next.... My concern has always been why is the band not doing what it should be doing.....thankfully, I am, and have been at that place where it is doing everything I can ask........

It has been my experience, that they did not teach these things as though they were strict rules you mus abide by....they teach us these rules as "techniques" that you may, or may not have to use once you get to that place of restriction..... I remember when I was first banded, going through the motions of all these (silly) little rules about size of bite, how many ties I must chew, time between bites..a timer was mentioned. Same held true for measuring your portion sizes...NONE of it made ant sense as to why I needed to do it, because I could get away without doing it.... Then one day, after my final fill....BAM....I needed to follow these rules OR ELSE....suddenly I needed to take tine bites, and CHEW, Suddenly I NEEDED to put the fork down between swallows and wait OR ELSE....It all began to fall into place, and fortunately I had all these little techniques stored away in my memory,,,to survive.... I still don't follow the rules to the letter of the law, but I have adapted my own way eating based upon these rules and my comfort zone with the band....including automatic portion sizes....

Welcome to "Bandster Hell" You just had surgery....what do you expect to happen??? Lap band surgery means the band is meant to be adjusted to get it to where it functions properly...not many people hitthe ground running....it took me 4-5 months, then another 1-2 to figure out what was going on with all tat restriction, food deprivation, etc...... It does take time, time for US to adjust as the band is adjusted....imagine if everyone had this surgery with 7cc before we woke up? what a disaster that would be..... yet, I am now at 7cc, HAVE to eat a certain way, HAVE to eat certain foods, and cannot possibly overeat no matter what.....not to mention no more hunger!!

without getting too scientific, I have always believed that I want to burn energy from all that stored fat I have been hoarding for all these years, and that eating to exercise defeated the purpose....otherwise I would be burning what I just ate.... Granted, yo do need some energy to work out...but how much is up to you.... I run 5 miles, 5 days a week, at 5-6am on a empty stomach....I will have my morning coffee, a shot of Protein (15gm) and of course plenty of Water.... After a workout I have had periods of extreme hunger...My body wants to be replenished....I never give in...force it to turn to the stored fat.... I will have something, usually a high protein recovery shake that satisfies that craving..... I now have a very low body fat % index, Dr. says I have no fat left to burn...so I find i do need to fuel my body more than before....but not to extremes....don't want to make a pig of myself after all.....(not that the band would let me)

Everyday.....I don't worry about it anymore...just accept it...the days I don't eat make up for those other days.... I have gone entire days without eating at all.....no huger, no interest,........ just concern myself about Protein, Water and Vitamins........have to look at the big picture...I eat a whole lot less than I did before I had this WLS...to me, that is what it is all about....eating less and staying healthy and fit....and returning to a normal weight....

Never understood the gum thing...My Dr. never told me no, and I don't get the "air" thing and pouch correlation at all....but, does not matter what I think, only matters what the consequences are for each individual.... I read things here every day that makes me scratch my head.....is it something people just hear? or is it it some things that people actually experience....I go by experience....and I have often learned the hard way.....

It is my belief, that as exciting as it may be to most people, that weight drop everyone experiences ids not REAL weight loss....everyone drops that initially on every type of diet.....but the genuine, permanent stuff is yet to come! Also, everyone initial weight loss amounts vary...depending on how much one has to loose....

First, your Dr. should have given you some instructions.....but I would think that if the dilation was severe enough for a complete un-fill, then it was done to give everything a rest or break in an attempt to let things get back to normal again....eating, IMO would be counter productive.... Most people I know, when this happens, including myself, would first go all liquids for a few days to let the pouch return to normal state, and that some Dr.'s would give a un-fill if they feel the patient cannot adhere to advice of all liquids...... Also, you need to ask yourself, what was the cause of this pouch dilation....I have ;learned the key to my success is to "Listen" to my band.....and not to fight it...

Not a one......don't even think about the band on most days.... Have not got stuck or sllmed in over a year....it all has become a very natural, common part of me...as the same if I would have had total knee surgery 2 years ago....first came the post surgery, then the rehab, then life back to normal, even though it has changed, but it is the "New Normal" better than the old?? BTW, it is my view that the majority of people o this forum are here to complain or seek help...the successful ones have long moved on....people I looked to advice are no longer here.....I belong to one private group in particular, where they have all once been members here and refuse to come back stating it is too negative......

I waited about 6 months...wanted to be sure I was concentrating on getting things working right...once I hit that Green Zone and found my "Groove"...I learned I was able to do all sorts of things properly without disrupting this new lifestyle.......but within that initial adjustment stage I didn't mess around all that much....

Well, speaking for myself....I did away with all those over the counter (and Rx) weight loss drugs (and diet fads) when I had WLS.....TV commercials are loaded with them.... But then if that's what works for you....and I'm sure there are people here still into that stuff....

I had many questions right after surgery also...especially those gas pains under my rib cage and eventually in my shoulder....among other things... I simply called the office, and any one of the girls there was happy to answer my questions....they do this everyday..... Call you Dr.'s office with anything, and don't panic...I'm sure someone will be happy to answer your questions.... (if not, they have no business being in healthcare)

Yes, mine did....what does your Dr. say???