Dibley Dawn

I eat potatoes all the time....i don't really use sour cream on them, instead i use Greek yogurt because it tastes pretty much the same plus has lots of Protein in it....but to stay away from carbs 100% is just not feasible. edited to add..there is nothing wrong with using sour cream...i still use it, especially on nachos, which i eat from time to time....talk about carbs! but tasty! hope the OP has contacted their doctor and/or the pain is gone and they can get back to eating normally.

I say go for it. 260 isn't as big as you think it is. You should check the weight limits on most zip lines and most of them are 250. you could totally be under that by February. that is doable. i would go if I were you. just pre-plan the things you want to do ahead of time and read about weight limits. no big deal. i weigh more than you do now and i can still hike and climb and ride bikes be active. don't let what you 'look like' affect you having a good time.

pendulum, I don't know if this is true for every bandsters, but this has been my personal experience. I have been on every diet out there and yeah, i've lost weight on them, but gained it all back. those other diets i have been on have been diets in every since of the word. counting calories, restricting what i eat, staying away from certain trigger foods and all the while on those diets, i was STARVING. hunrgy all the time, but denying myself food. What the band has done for me is it has somehow supressed that hunger and the desire to just eat and eat and eat. I think some people have mentioned that it affects the Vagas nerve and that might be what is happening. i haven't had any fills and i'm 6 months out, so i have virtually zero restriction, but i haven't needed because the urge to eat has left me. i don't think about food 24/7 like i did. i was a bulk eater, not really a grazer, so it's true that even with no restriction i can't just sit down and eat 2 or 3 plates of food like I used to be able to do, but truthfully, i don't even want to do that. whether it's the placement of the band or some signal it is sending to my brain, i have not had obsessive thoughts about food for 6 months. i didn't realize how much food took occupied almost every waking thought i had until the thoughts kind of went away. so, long story short, unlike most bandsters, i really don't follow a diet. i try to stay away from bread, Pasta and rice, but every once in a while i might feel like eating a burger. i'll just go get a burger, eat it and then i'm satisfied and done with burgers for a while. I don't deny myself any food that i want to eat, i just eat a smaller portion of it, or enough to get the taste of it and then i'm done, no more obsessing over it. so far, even at only 6 months out, i have been more successful than any other diet i have ever been on. why? well, i'm not physically hungry. also, i don't feel like i'm cheating since i am essentially NOT dieting, but rather, eating what i think NORMAL people eat. if i go out with my skinny friends, we order stuff, i eat what i can and notice that i'm naturally stopping when they are stopping too...i don't just keep eating and then pick stuff off of their plates. also, when i eat something non-diety, i do not feel guilty. i originally got the band because i just didn't want to GAIN any more weight. i didn't know if i would be successful, but i wanted to stop eating and eating and eating. i had no idea that it would help curb my appetite and help me stop thinking about food non-stop, but it has done that for me. i have a long way to go and i may never get there, but i know that instead of thinking about what my next meal is, i'm thinking about making plans to hang out with friends, or go out in public, or try a new hobby. food isn't the center of my world any longer. when your family asks, tell them that this tool is also about supressing appetite. a diet can't do that. you can restrict yourself and eat only the right things, but you'll always be hungry and you could snap at any moment and go back to the old way of doing things. that's why diets fail. you can't stick to a 'lifestyle change' forever if you are hungry and thinking about food all of the time. you just can't. you'd be miserable. hopefully, the band will work this way for you too...give you not only the restriction (if you want it) to be able to physically not eat a lot of food, but also give you that mental willpower to be able to say no to food that you are not even hungry for. that's what it has done for me. i do not regret it one little bit. even if i never lose another pound and stay this size for the rest of my life, i know that i will not be eating and eating and eating.

Shelley, food was my 'go to' also...for everything. I'm happy-food, i'm sad-food, i'm angry-food. the band has definitely cut most of that chatter out of my brain that says i need to have food to fill voids. i have recently picked up the guitar as a means to help myself keep my mind off of mindless eating. it has helped tremendously. when i am bored, i pick up my guitar, angry-guitar, sad-guitar, etc... it might help you to find some hobby that you really enjoy that you can go to instead of food when it feels like food is all you have. good luck and you are doing great because you are 31 pounds lighter than you were, so that is something right there.

hahaha, i love those little party people. so great. hopefully the next thread i start will be my 100 pounds gone. i'm not in a hurry though, so i'll Celebrate when it happens. thanks again everyone for the encouragement. you guys are the best.

I just wanted to share with someone, anyone really, that today is my 6 month Bandiversary. Go Me! I was banded on May 4th, 2011. I have lost around 77 pounds and I feel amazing. I haven't had any fills yet and I will go in for my 6 month check up on 11/10/11, but I will most likely decline my fill at that point as well. The band is working for me exactly as I wanted it to because I am a bulk eater and not a grazer, so with the band, I can't eat non-stop like I used to, even with no fill. I still have a long journey ahead of me, but I'm not really in a rush. The day I reached Twoderville was one of the best days I could remember because I have been over 300 pounds for more than a decade. Any weight lost from here on out is icing on the cake. Anyway, since I haven't told anyone else, this is the one place I can share about these things, so I'm so glad this board is here. I have learned so much and gained so much support and advice from you guys. thanks for providing a place for people like me to come and share our experiences and stories. You guys rock.

Hi unfilled friends I am 6 months out and I have lost 79.8 pounds with no fill. Just had a doctor visit this morning and he agreed that I do not need a fill at this time and he doesn't want to see me again until after the new year unless i think i need a fill. I know that eventually, i'll probably have to get one, but for now i'm in my own personal green zone and i just don't need or want one. i hope to continue to be unfilled for as long as i have the band. that is my goal.

I just got back from the doctor's office for my 6 month check up. Official Doctor's scales put me at 79.8 pounds lost. just 20.2 pounds away from 100. Yay!!!!!

hey sparkplug, It is soooo great to hear that you are fill free after 3 years. I am still pretty far from my goal, but at the moment, that band is really doing great things for me, especially mentally. It must just be in the right place because I don't think about food constantly like I used to. I was literally hungry all of the time and now, that is not the case. I don't always make the best choices, but I do stop when i feel satisfied and I haven't had to have second helpings of anything. When i'm done eating, i'm done and i don't think about food again until several hours have passed and it's time to eat again. i used to eat and then i'd be thinking about my next meal immediately. so, the band has done something to my brain. it is a tool, that's for sure, but it has helped me tremendously with my will power. it's so much easier to say no to something if i'm not hungry for it or obsessing over it. again, so great to see that you are fill free after all this time. people in my support group have told me that eventually i am going to want a fill and i just really don't want one ever. as long as i'm not gaining, i am happy. i have my 6 month check up tomorrow morning, so i will report back and let you all know how it went.

that is a great idea. i can cook tons of things in a muffin pan. perfect portion sizes too!

Aww, thanks poodlelover....i'm glad we can inspire each other

I was banded and I live in NYC, but I'm from alabama so I just wanted to stop by and say "Hey Y'all!" soooooo....Hey Y'all! Roll Tide

i can only imagine how much will be gone at 1 year out. If i make it to 100, that would be awesome. thanks again everyone for stopping by and listening to me. you guys are awesome.

Thanks guys...and Amanda, hang in there. I know for me, the scale didn't start moving until probalby 3-4 weeks after surgery. you are still healing and once your body is out of the shock of what has just happened to it, that scale will move. just keep doing what you are doing and you will be great!

Kara Renee, I hear what you are saying and I actually agree. I didn't get the band so I would never eat another unhealthy thing ever again, and the band really doesn't work that way anyway. I still have the head monster telling me to eat that donut! I am not a diet kind of person. If i want something, or if I am craving something, I will most likely eat it (unless there is a lot of work involved in that, like say having a NY bagel. those things are monsters and I could never chew it well enough to bother..but other than that, i will and can eat it) I don't only have healthy things. Last night I had a mcdonald's cheeseburger and an order of fries. this is different from how it used to be because i would have had 2 or 3 of those burgers, maybe a chicken sandwich and a large fry, but now a regular fills me up. i don't have to eat more than one. for me, it's not about giving up things i love or crave, it's about eating less of what i love and crave WITH healthy choices mixed in. will i eat mcdonald's every day? nope. i eat plenty of salads and fish and Protein. but will i kick myself if i break down and eat a whopper? absolutely not. eating regular 'non-diet' types of foods keeps me sane. that also includes eating my almonds and other nuts.

Hey May Bandsters...it's coming up on six months for us. today is my 6 month Bandiversary and I'm down 77 pounds with no fills. report in and tell us how you are doing. and.. happy 6 month Bandiversary everyone!

Great list. I think i had one of the pills on that list after my surgery and I had to crush it because I had no choice...but i only took it for around 4 days, so I don't think any damage was done. I'm thinking long term usage would be a no-no. thanks for posting the list.

Thanks guys. I'm so glad there is less of me around to celebrate

Hi Jenn, I know I said hi to you in another thread, but here is just as good as anywhere. I didn't know if you knew about the support group for NYU people. It meets the 3rd wednesday of every month. you can find details on their website, or message me if you don't know about it and I will get you the info. I have found it to be very helpful as I haven't told anyone about my surgery, so at least i have some people i can talk to about it. just throwing that out there for you or any other NYU patient who is interested in attending. and to everyone else...HI NYC people. there are a lot of us. we should meet up one of these days and do something not revolving around food....maybe walk around central park or bike or something. just an idea.

it really depends on how strict your doctor is. my doctor told me that if i did not follow the pre-op and he cut me open and saw that my liver hadn't shrunken, he would not do the surgery. better safe than sorry, and better to call him up and be honest and maybe push the surgery off for a couple of weeks rather than a couple of months because you have to heal from the incisions from an incomplete surgery. again, it just depends on what your doctor is looking for.

that's why, as i said in your other thread, i think you should call your doctor now and tell him. it would be terrible if he cut you open and saw that your liver wasn't small enough and decided not to band you. just give him a call and be honest. if he will still do the surgery, then you are golden...but you should do this last 3 days as strictly as you can, otherwise, you should postpone until you are mentally ready for this.

were you supposed to be on the liquid only pre-op diet? if so, i would say cancel the surgery until you are ready to do it the right way. i can see slipping once or twice on the pre-op, but it sounds like you just gave up completely and just ate whatever you wanted to eat. That's not a good sign that you are ready for this change. Call your doctor and be honest and see what they suggest.

When just the sight of a New York bagel is more frightening to think about than any horror movie ever was.

I don't know if it's a name per se, but I call it my Spike Chip....after Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Spike gets a chip put in his head. Everytime he tries to bite someone, he is zapped by the chip and he can't suck anyone's blood. Everytime I try to eat too much, I am zapped by my spike chip.