B-52

I have not had a slid breakfast in over 9 months now. I have my coffee, then a high Protein smoothie. I can eat eggs, etc if I wait 2-3 hrs after I wake up. On vacations, I will go to the gym first, then can have breakfast with my wife a few hours after.

It's up to your Dr. Mine turned me loose after 1 week, but not to overdue it all at once. But I was doing cardio and lifting after 1 week, no problems.

I have had it all different ways......my first fill, I never felt anything until my second fill. My second fill, I felt something before I left the Dr.s office, and it got tighter a week later, only to subside to almost nothing a few weeks later. My third fill....felt it immediately, got tighter as the days went on, then subsided but remained tight. A lot depends on how big ids the adjustment, how much have you had prior, etc, etc. I have heard stories where some Dr.s only give a 1/2 cc per fill, and the patient feels nothing even after their 6-7th fill.

My last fill was .5cc. I was doing fine, in the Green Zone since last May, but being close to my goal I plateaued for 3 months. So, my Dr. gave me 1/2cc just to see what would happen. It really put me over the top. Tightest I have ever been. It took me a good 3 weeks for things to settle in, and I adapted to it. BTW, it did kick me out the plateau I was stuck in, and dropped me over 10 lbs in about a month. Also, I don't mind depriving myself, as call it. I call it it eating considerably less than what I used to when I was a fat pig, eating non stop and everything in site! Now I eat like a skinny person......

Like others have said, for someone who had been banded since 2010, you sure do have a lot of questions. I also see that you just joined here less than a day ago. Have you completely been on your own since surgery?? Most people start their education prior to surgery, then get support and learn as they go. Within a year their primary journey is complete.

Could be many things. Is it getting tight or distended? In my case, I have been eating considerably less than I did a year ago, plus I have been doing much exercising including abdominal crunches. So, from eating less my stomach is shrinking, and from exercise it is getting more muscular. Not to mention no more fat!

Is this your pre surgery diet? I know all Dr.'s have different protocols for the pre surgery diet. All my Dr told me was that I MUST loose X lbs before surgery or he will have to postpone. The hospital had a policy about foods 24 hrs prior to surgery,but that is in general to all major surgeries. My Dr did not care how I lost the weight, as long as I did. liquid shake Meal Replacements just so happen to work the best! But in my case, I did not have to beat myself up if I ate sold foods from time to time. My surgery was a Monday, I had my last wigh in with the Dr on the Friday prior.

Mine is right below the 1/4" layer of skin. It sticks out like a big lump! Like there is a golf ball there. I can rub my finger around it and feel every nook and cranny, including the tube. But that's what happens when all the fat on your belly disappears, and your stomach gets rock hard.

I don't see much Protein there! Protein can curb hunger most of the day. Without it, your body starts to scream for something (cravings) and you try to satisfy it with junk food, which only makes it scream out all the more. I start the day with about 1/2 of my required daily protein, 45gms, and that, along with the band curbing appetite, seems to take care of binging on junk food. Also, I am not so up tight that I cannot enjoy my favorite junk foods Snacks either. I still have Cookies, chips etc. It's just not overwhelm me anymore. I now eat and think the same way a skinny person does. I know plenty of skinny people who eat junk food. They are just not pigs about it.

congratulations indeed!!!! 1 year seem s to be a good milestone for a lot of people. it was for me. It's amazing what changing one's eating habits and addictions to food can do for somebody in 12 months.

I am not recommending this to anyone, you should follow your Dr.'s directions. But: I have not counted calories, or concerned myself about portion sizes since last May. Reason: My band is tight enough, and I have enough restriction,that even if I wanted to I cannot overeat. My portions are automatically controlled by the band. Plus, I am rarely hungry the majority of the time. So, if my portions and appetite are set, all I need to do is make wise food choices. I don't need to refer to a chart or labels to know what is good to eat, low cal, high Protein, and what is not. I cannot eat anything solid first thing for breakfast in the morning, so I have a high protein smoothie for 40-45 gm of protein. Not hard to make up the difference for the rest of the day. To me, that s being in the "Groove"' "Sweet Spot" "Green Zone" etc. I live a normal day to day life, not worrying about being on diets, and loosing weight without even trying.

What makes you feel you will have trouble getting anything down? How many fills have you had?

Only you can answer that question base upon your own experience on what you can or cannot eat. I always attempt to play it safe when dining out, having been stuck too many times at a public restaurant I have learned the hard way. But what I cannot eat, you may be able too and vice versa based upon how much restriction you may or may not have. When I first came off liquids to solids, there was nothing I could not eat because I had zero restriction. It was all about dieting and had nothing to do with the band.

I have noticed many people say they cannot talk while eating....I wonder why. I take so much time between bites and swallows, that If I did not have something to do between swallows, I would go nuts! I drive my wife crazy. She's trying to eat and I keep putting my fork down and talking all the time. Whats does everybody else do between bites/swallows, stare out the window? Read a newspaper? I find talking is the best way to slow down my eating, so not to eat too fast and pay the consequences.

I cannot eat anything in the morning, and have not been able to for many months now. I always have a high Protein home made smoothie for Breakfast, about 40gm of protein. I also cannot eat any red meat any longer, including pork. chicken has to be very tender, not over cooked. I don't like cold food. It's not that I can't eat eat it, it is because my tastes have changed and it no longer appeals to me. May last fill, I was extremely tight. First time I ever considered calling the Dr and perhaps getting it removed. But I stuck it out, took a few weeks for me to adjust to it. I'm glad I did. It kicked me out of that 3 month plateau I was in, and I am still loosing, although very slowly because I am already at my goal. I have 7.5 in a 10cc band. This weekend, I though maybe I was over eating, and the band felt "Loose" I think I am going to go all liquids today and see what happens come Monday.

I chose not to tell anybody, other than those very close to me, about my surgery. However, I am one of those that cannot, and will not lie to people. It just bothers the heck out of me and I cannot do it. And I would not want people lieing to me either. I took a week off work, vacation time to "take care of some personal things" People ask me everyday how did I loose so much weight. I still don't lie, I just don't tell them everything. I tell them things like "Dr.'s Orders" or "I just don't eat as much as I used to" and "Lots of protein, including protein shakes everyday"

Setting goals and deadlines are very important to a lot of people. Myself, personally, it is too much like dieting, as though I need to do something more than I already am to reach those goals. I try to live a normal day to day life, letting the band naturally control my food intake, and get as much exercise as possible. I know of a support group that has been setting monthly 10lb goals since the day they were banded. That may be all well and good, "white-knuckling" it as though it was Jenny Craig or something. They go to their Dr. and are told they are doing a good job and don't need any fills. Then they complain that the band is not working and worry they will never reach the green zone. Catch 22!

All that just from Ice Cream? I don't count calories, or measure portions. I eat just about anything I want, or the band will allow. The reason I still lost weight is because, looking at the big picture, I eat a fraction of what I used to on any given day. If I were to start gaining weight, it would simply be that I am eating more that I should. I'm not addicted to Ice Cream, but I have it 2-3 times a week. I also snack on potato chips, etc. But again, if you add it all up for a given day, it is still nothing compared to the pig I used to be. In other words, because of the band, I eat like a skinny person does. Skinny people eat ice cream too.

Do like I do and let them all get covered with chest and belly hair!!!!

Happens to me all the time, at least once or twice a month. I normally have good restriction, can feel the band with every swallow most of the time. Then all of a sudden I realize I am eating larger portions more easily. What I do is stay away from solid foods for a day or two and stay with shakes, Soups, etc, then a day of very soft foods. I believe this gives everything it a rest, perhaps shrinks the pouch, but in any case it does work for me. Some also refer to the 5 day band test, which is someone's clever way of setting up a schedule for 5 days producing the same results.

Treat the illness the same as you would if you weren't banded.

It is good to hear from other people about not being obsessed with food or eating. I have been on other websites where all they do is talk about food, share recipes, etc. I told them how, if I am busy, I can go all day and forget about eating at all! I might as well have told them I had 2 heads! They could not understand and thought I was very strange. And when I asked them what's up with all the discussions about food, well the arrows started flying! Let's face it...food is not my friend. It has gotten me in more trouble than I can think of. Since the day I was banded I began to push food way down on list of things I need to concern myself about.

I should take a picture of the pills I take every morning. Some of them very large liquid filled capsules that cannot be crushed. Bu I don't need to crush anything. I just take one pill at a time, with a drink not food, and I do just fine. I should add I have a very tight band.

I don't understand...why are you afraid to drink anything? Is it because you're afraid you might gain weight? Everybody looses weight from the post surgery diet. How can you not. After 4 weeks, I went back on regular food, and I gained weight. After that period, you are all healed, and back to NORMAL, just as you were before the surgery. You may have the band now, but it is not doing anything yet. It can take a few fills before the band gets adjusted properly and starts to do what it was supposed to do. So right now you are dieting just as though you do not have a band at all. I don't know about you, but I stink at dieting. Failed every time. If I was good at dieting, I would not have needed to get this surgey! In spite of all that, I met my weight loss goal in 13 months. So don't get discouraged this early in the game.

I have not had any bread products in almost a year. Bread, biscuits, pizza, Pasta, donuts, bagels....you name it. When you have restriction, the passage to your stomach is smaller. You need to find out for yourself, by getting stuck, what you can and cannot have. You also have to adapt to a new way of eating...like a skinny person, not a human vacuum. There are plenty of foods I no longer eat, because no hard I try or how carefully I am, they are just too risky. One of the characteristics of being in the green zone, is hat your appetite is held in check. It's not lways a feeling of being full. For me, it is a lack of interest when it comes to eating. The band sends a signal to your brain that you are full, you don't need to,eat anymore, but physically you are not full. You may not have eaten all day! This lack of interest, combined with your selection of foods, IMO, is what it is all about! You'll have to give up some foods, but you won't care because the weight will start melting off.