Rachel412

Mmm hmm, me too. Or I'd crop pictures so you could see my face but not my body (like in my avatar picture over there <------)

The author prefers that you buy it directly from her instead of on Amazon, but then you have to pay for shipping, and it's a heavy book.... http://jean-onthebandwagon.blogspot.com/

I can feel it any time I swallow anything, or burp. But like, right now, do I feel it? Nope!

Unfortunately it's normal, and while I have less now than I did right after surgery, I'm still way gassier now than I was before surgery Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

Before I was banded I'd go on a diet, and I'd tell myself to make better choices. So I'd go for lunch and say "tuna is a better choice than a burger" and I'd eat the tuna and feel like I chose well, but truthfully, I would have had the tuna all along. I really think that tracking EVERYTHING you eat will really help you. There are tons of different tracking sites out there!

Can you tell us what you eat in a typical day, and how much you exercise?

Honestly if I were you, I'd go back for a teeny unfill.

Hi, welcome to the forum! The answers to all of your questions are already posted on this board Check out here first: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forum/2493-lap-band-general-information/ and then start looking in the more posted in forums for people's personal experiences. I wish you good luck!

You're not sounding dense No, the problem right now is your body is tricked into thinking you need to eat MORE than you do. Our stomachs hold what, 6 cups of food at once? That is a MASSIVE amount of food and it's easy for us to get used to that quantity and think we NEED it. We don't. So while the band helps your brain to think you're "full", in reality you'll be eating much closer to the amount of food your body needs instead of just eating to fill up that stomach.

I don't think it's typical for a 350 pound bandster to eat 1,200 calories and exercise and hour a day, no Remember you're burning calories all the time, even when you're asleep, so you really don't need to try to figure out the math of how much you need to work out to burn off 1,200 a day. Maybe Reverie will chime in, she's really smart with all this exercise and calorie burning stuff, but I plugged your weight into a calorie calculator and added in some fake numbers (age and height). To maintain a weight of 350 you'd need to eat 2,578 calories a day with no exercise. If you go to 2,000 calories a day you will lose about one pound a week. Here's the calculator: have fun! http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_nutrition_guide.htm My point here is not at all that you don't need to exercise, because of course you do. I'm just saying that if you're eating 1,200 calories at your current weight, you can exercise 30 minutes a day and lose well. You don't need to stress over it!

You'll be naked under your gown, but they're not going to get anywhere near the danger zone. I didn't bother trimming... maybe I should have... but I think you're safe!

After surgery I was probably taking in 600 calories, then it went up to 800, then 1000 as what I was allowed to eat changed... now I choose to stick to around 1,200 a day, with at LEAST 60g of protein, but in reality I could eat much, much more than 1,200 calories if I let myself People argue back and forth about this, but my band does NOT keep me from over-eating. I could get that satisfied feeling but then continue to eat just as much as before if I didn't control myself. So in my opinion you don't need to worry yourself over whether you'll be malnourished after banding. YOU control what you put in your mouth, therefore you're completely in control of your own diet.

I signed up for Water aerobics at the Y, starting in a few weeks. It's 3 mornings a week, 40 minutes per class. Now, hopefully this won't offend anyone, but I definitely associate water aerobics with little old ladies in flowered swim caps I'm 32, and I have osteoarthritis in both knees. I was on antiinflammatories for them before surgery, but I stopped taking it since it was an NSAID. I was hoping by now my knees would be feeling much better, but they're not. So while I've been hitting the gym 2x weekly and doing the elliptical, it's still rough on my knees. So has anyone here done water aerobics? Is it worth it or is it going to be a waste of my time? I really want the benefits of the water to help me with joint movement and resistance but I'm worried that it's not a good choice. I just don't know!

Thanks for all the stories and support, ladies! My class starts Monday. At this point I'm in a pretty good groove of exercising 4 or 5 days a week, and my kids are used to the child watch at the Y so I'm now really looking forward to trying out water aerobics. Now all I need to do is learn the pass code to enter the women's locker room

Have you had bloodwork done? I'm wondering about your vitamin D and iron levels.

I don't have any advice, I just want to offer you some support! You said you can't get another band, have you looked into revision to a different surgery?

I had a hard time sleeping for the first couple of weeks. It wasn't because I was in pain or uncomfortable, I just couldn't sleep. I tried taking Melatonin, and Benadryl, but nothing seemed to really help until it just sort of... stopped.

No, not in the least. Those pills are TINY and if you couldn't swallow them, it'd mean your stoma was almost completely closed. That would be a VERY bad sign.

I use Splenda. I'm also sensitive to the taste of sweeteners but within a day Splenda tasted normal to me. All of the stevia, truvia, sun crystals, etc all tasted like aspartame to me!

No, I've never been stuck, though I've had some "ouch, should have chewed that better" moments. My standard lunch is a wrap made with 1 low carb wrap, 2 slices cheese, 2 slices turkey, and 1/4 c. of almonds.

If you're not taking care of anyone else, or any pets that need a lot of care, that sounds just fine!

Honestly? 10 minutes.

It's really important to know the good AND the bad so that you're aware of what might happen for you. Keep your mind and your eyes open!

Oh Jeannette, I'm so sorry My theory is that after the big loss post-surgery, your body panics and holds on to weight for a while. I just think of it as your body yelling I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT'S HAPPENING and then internally crossing her arms and stomping her feet. It WILL start up again, it sounds like you're doing everything right! Make sure you're getting enough Water in your day, and you might even want to up your fat intake a bit. Hang in there!

Good question! I think even at most fast-food places you'll find salads with grilled chicken on top. I'd always get them with dressing on the side, so you can control it yourself, and eat your chicken first. Unless you can't eat chicken? You can also always get a burger and not eat the bun, and get coleslaw as a side instead of fries. I can find a healthy option pretty much anywhere, except Popeye's Chicken