DetChatt

It took me a long time to notice it on myself, but others saw it in my face first. I think it shows up fairly quickly, because you lose a lot of weight usually right away.

Try sipping a lot of liquids, especially to hold off the hunger. Water is best, of course, but something with flavor like Crystal Lite will at least help trick your mind that you're getting something tasty. If you can have it, cottage cheese is also a good filler food (fat free). Low calories, high protein, and you won't need to eat much!

I struggle with lots of veggies and salad, but I need more nutrition anyway. Lots of FF cheese and cottage cheese (both high in protein, low in calories). I add protein powder to yogurt (lite). I do try to eat one serving of fish or chicken daily or tuna but can't always manage it. Muscle Milk lite is awesome but I'm trying not to rely on them, which I tend to do. I honestly eat more cheese and cottage cheese than anything else.

Try to drink as much as you can to help you feel full and bridge those gaps. The time will pass quickly, and you'll move on to a new stage and forget this awful hunger feeling. It really does pass. I promise !!

I'm freezing all the time now, too, but considering a lost an entire person in body weight, it doesn't surprise me. I'll take cold and healthy anyday.

When it happens, I would definitely go on liquids for a day or two and not try to force any solids. Then if it's still happening, call your doctor! I went through this a lot, some in my head, some food related. I found that if I got irritated from an episode even a little bit that it would take a day or two for things to settle down in there and be able to get solids back in. I think some of us just have more sensitive systems than others.

On road trips, I take a little cooler with protein shakes and fat free cheese. I'm not much of a snacker, so road trips are a challenge for me. I mostly do shakes to keep my energy up for driving. We often make a 10-hour drive to our home state, and my 21-year-old son is really good at watching over me and reminding me to eat when I need to. (Whose the parent?)

I have trouble eating often, but I've worked through it and found it's mostly in my head. You never could have convinced me of that a year ago though. I was sure it was the band and problems. Even now still, if I let those thoughts creep into my head as I sit down to eat, I can experience problems. I just feel full and like I'll be sick if I try to eat anything. It helps if I try to relax and breathe deep and get "out of my head" about eating and just tackle it like something I need to do like brushing my teeth. Look for any consistencies in symptoms or habits when this happens to try to figure out what's causing it. If you have a really bad spell at a meal, don't try to force it. Drink a protein shake instead and just move on to the next meal.

Follow the instruction sheet for fills that you should have from your doctor. No need to panic unless you can't sip any clear liquids (and keep them down). You won't know if you're too tight for a few days (unless you're obviously in danger if you can't get liquids in today).

Drinking while eating. Not taking time to eat at regular intervals and then over-eating one big meal. Carbs; a thing of the past.

Maybe I'm crazy, but being self pay definitely kept me on track. Of all the reasons I've had success, the first thought I have is that I didn't pay all this money to fail. LOL Try to stick to the plan, especially early on when your body is healing. You'll be glad you did to avoid any complications. Good luck!!

I don't personally tolerate beef well post banding, but I've never been a big beef eater to begin with. I will on rare occasion eat a bit of chopped steak at a restaurant, but the dry texture is a problem for me. If you mean a HAMBURGER hamburger with bun and the whole 9 yards, no way, nah uh, not happening. I don't do bread at all, and I can't see the point in all the fat and calories.

There is definitely no shame in the truth. They don't call it emotional eating for nothing, and probably most of us have been there (and are still there). I think accountability is hard to come by. You've gotten some great advice above. If life situations are keeping you from reaching personal accountability, then find another resource from your doctor, another professional, or a friend (IRL or here). There's no shame in needing and asking for a little help and a shoulder to lean on.

I'm in the Crystal Lite camp (cheaper Walmart version), but I also drink a lot of plain water. It does take a while to build up the ability to get all that water in. I drink at least 2 L a day, sometimes more. But I still have to sip and not gulp, even 2 years later or I sound like one of those water dispensers gurgling away and people start to look at you funny. Just like diet and exercise, with regards to water and what to add, find what works best for you. It gets easier.

Popcicles were a lifesaver for me for the first 2 days postop. I couldn't get a thing down besides popcicles.

I personally find it's not important WHAT you do but just that you do SOMEthing. Once you find an activity you enjoy enough to keep doing, stick with it. What good is exercise if you hate it so much that you don't do it? Doesn't work for me.

Congrats on taking such an important step. We've all obviously been where you are and I hope you find the support and advice you need here. Good luck!~

Wow, you're doing great! Try to not get hung up on the numbers, or you'll make yourself crazy. Sometimes the body does just what it wants to do no matter how hard we work at it. I can lose 9 pounds one month and nothing the next doing the same exact thing. As long as you keep moving in the right direction, it's all good.

Everyone is definitely different. I choose to not push the envelope (or the band in this case) and gave up all bread, rice, pasta, and basically "white food." Dry meat definitely causes me problems, but I find 9 times out of 10 it's mind over matter with me.

Way to go!!!

keep in mind that once you start working out, your body will change even if the numbers don't. Maybe take measurements now and measure monthly. I do that, and it helps keep me on track (and not freak out about pounds). Muscle weighs more!! Also, I'm a total gym rat, but I found that to push through a plateau takes getting outside for walking or hiking. I lose weight much more quickly than on an elliptical. Weirdness. Good luck !!

Oh that just makes me burn. That guy isn't worth another second of your time!! I know how hard it is to change the thinking as the body changes. I don't know that I'll ever get the fat girl image out of my head when I look in the mirror or at pictures. If it's any consolation, I haven't been on a date in FIVE YEARS. Men will talk to me now, and I don't trust them at all, wondering if they would have talked to me the same before my banding journey. Until I'm ready to deal with that and trust, I know I'm not ready for dating. I swear, I think the mental part is harder than the body part of this process!

I'm in the poached eggs only group, too. Two years out, and I still can't eat in the morning. After some coffee and time, I can get in some yogurt with my vitamins, but my first real meal of the day isn't until lunch. I think being tight in the morning is pretty normal. I'm used to it, and it doesn't bother me. I just know to power down protein shake(s) if I'm off to do something super physical like a day hike.

I lost so much hair the first year, it's no wonder I'm not bald. It really frightened me, because I've always had such thick healthy hair. My research showed that it's related to rapid weight loss, not necessarily the WLS itself. The good news is that my hair DID grow back. It took a long time. (I'm 2 years out now from banding.) I took a multivitamin, ate plenty of protein, took the biotin supplement (Hair, Skin Nails), and still lost probably half the hair on my head. Very scary.

You look beautiful! Congratulations on the great success so far. Our own body image is so hard to deal with. I still struggle with that every day. I think that's where the support comes in, and we need to get that from groups like this who are living it and "get it."