Cazzy

If the info in your profile is correct u have only just been banded, the time post op is for healing and following your doctors regime of ...so long for liquids , mushies then finally solid food again. Most people dont lose weight till they start with a few fills, some that do lose weight will be doing things like restricting their calories once they are on solid foods till the band is filled enough to 'kick in' and they start feeling satisfied / restriction. I am not a great lover of protein shakes and just prefer fresh protein, so my protein in the liquid stage came from skimmed milk mixed with greek yoghurt, my own veg soup or chicken broth etc.. i had 4 weeks of liquids had 4 weeks of mushies then onto solid food .. just take your time this isnt a fast trasck weight loss programme is a slow steady change over a period of time .. i am sure u will be ok in the longer term

Totally agree with holly .. u need to keep a close eye on things if u arent losing to find out the reasons why

I was banded when i was 56 yrs old and will be 58 yrs old in 2 weeks time .. I had tons of weight to lose .. I love cycling and either i am on my exercise bike or on my road bike, in all i cycle around 24 miles a day .. I only recently had a lot of excess skin removed which took over 11 hours of surgery 8 days ago and my recovery was better than some of the more younger patients in the ward.. i wish i had done this sooner but its never too late to do it either good luck and show some of the younger ones how its done !!

i was 4 weeks post op liquid diet too ... u just grin and bear it, you have a lifetime of not being on a liquid diet to look forward to

I am sure that most of us thought at some point in this process what the hell have i done or i am going to do but those moments for the majority dont last long Most bandsters when they start feeling some level of restriction ..( can be after 1 fill can be after 3 or 4 .. there is no definitive amounts ).. have moments when food will not pass through the banded pouch part of their stomach into their main stomach and the oesophogas where it meets the stomach thinks that u are choking and produces a slime like saliva to try and unstick/unchoke u .. it can be quite painful some stuck episodes can be due to the type of food, the speed at which u ate the food or that it wasnt chewed enough ... some people get stuck food often others rarely .. depends on how tight your band is and how carefully u eat etc ... it isnt good to get food stuck on a regular basis as this can lead to other complications with the band for a few people like erosion or slippage .. The bandster term for food sticking / burping up the saliva type slime u can produce is called PB = productive burping . Hope thats helpful .. good luck and relax eventually u will become your own expert at you and your band ..

In general most liquid stages are limitless but u should check with your own surgeon / nutritionist as to their guidelines etc.

Good luck and the worst part of this process in my mind is the waiting around so be patient and things eventually happen when they should

I lost tons off my boobs and now i am smaller than i ever was. Unfortunately age and genetics play a big part in the boob shrinkage thing, but i would rather be alive and smaller boobed than a well endowed dead person

i can only drink something very cold if its about an hour before i attempt to eat something .. the coldness seems to restrict my band quite a lot, but then i find warm drinks relax my band so sort of makes sense

Get a good sharp knife and just cut a tomato up ..

The lack of info regarding food isnt just a Dr. Chris thing believe me i researched a lot for myself and i was with an english private hospital, i think mainly its because there are a few general basics but everyone is different so they give u the do's and don'ts which apply to most people, but not all. u may find u can eat red meat, i eat it and i am fine i was never told any different, you can eat bananas according to my instructions but they are heavy duty on carbs and sugar so i never did eat them.. i dont like rice but was told i could eat a small amount if i could tolerate it... can u see the pattern here we all get told different things and none is an absolute, most of u will get to know what food will get stuck and what food to avoid as its just not worth the calories to eat it. I avoid anything that is processed and white mainly .. except dairy white then it has to be 0 fat ... i have lost tons using my common sense and sticking to what i know is healthy food ... no food will 'ruin' the band constantly getting stuck and throwing up because u are eating the wrong food for your level of restriction will cause problems in the long run, to me the simple solution is to eat what u know is good, healthy and will help your weight loss, stop eating something if it gets stuck because its just that sort of food and dont load unecessary calories by eating processed food .. if u are healthy and eating like u should your band will tend to stay healthy too .. in general ofc not always

Some people feel a lot of restriction from day 1 most need a few fills to get a good satisfaction/restriction going, common sense should tell you that the written information on any things like diet/nutrition etc can only be for the average amount of people some will be less hungry some will be more hungry it is the nature of genral guidleines which is what u have been given .. stop beating yourself up over the small things that will probably not make an ounce of difference in the long run and chill and relax and heal .. good luck and i wish you every sucess ...

Bel i would question your surgeons ability if he doesnt know many banders that can lose a lot of weight .. successful surgeons have successful patients ... but Randella makes a good suggestion ... the different sort of WLS should be more about your ability to cope with the different methods etc as most WLS weight loss seems to even out after 5 yrs post op from the stats i have read .. I admit i am my bandster hospital's biggest loser but theres plenty of other bandsters who have lost all the weight they needed

Having surgery can make u put on weight with thigs like iv fluids etc, it is very unusual to not put on weight when your body is trying to heal. The scales i believe are important to this process so make them your friend, not your enemy .. i recently had 11 hours plastic surgery and they took 9lbs of skin so how did i wake up 15 lbs heavier, its all to do with fluids can u imagine my horror to see the scales go up so much when i was at goal, but i know i am healing my day will come again when losing the weight to get back to goal is more important as i will have finished healing. Dont do anything radical just ride the healing wave untill u get some fills under your belts then u will see some movement

Hey guys good to hear u got some good restriction now nat .. its always a fine balancing act when u get close to goal now we got the nice weather get those salads going i am home and swollen like a balloon lol now i am having to wear compression all over my body .. now if u want hardship try wearing all these garments in this weather arghhhhh lol oh well last year of the suffering hopefully and praying for an indian summer so i can enjoy it after i stop the compression garments. I am around 16 lbs heavier at the minute eeeek but given how much i am swollen i do know that most of it is fluid retention.. hope u are all keeping ok and ill try and get some pics done next week for u to have a lookie at

all drains out now i had 8 of the darn things am now at home but weather is waaay to hot for me these compression garments are a nightmare lol well my hands and lower arms are swollen but worst is my upper thighs omg all the loose skin i had from the weight i lost is now filled with fluid i did read about the lymphatic system having to reroute itself after its been cut about a lot as in large tt ops and abdominoplasty stuff so i am not surprised. am just concentrating on healing for now and not worrying about the scales .. did u swell too ?

Thanks everyone for the positive thoughts Going home today so will have spent 5 nights 6 days in hospital. Am swelling up a little at the minuter but got rid of all my drains and am just in compression garments now ... arms look great but hard to see scars at the minute as i have to leave compresssion garment on for another 10 days before i see the surgeon and change it to a clean one they changed the tummy compresssion one from the normal type shorts one to a wrap around girdle type this gives me a little more control over the tightness and its easier to keep clean etc. have been on anti biotics since day 1 and all scars at present looking ok but will be monitoring closely for any leaks/changes etc well now we have a mini heat wave so am gonna be too hot lol .. will post another update soon ...

I ended up with a vertical incision too, mainly because of the same problem i needed a repair to the ab muscles i am always happy to have a neat scar rather than a wierd shaped looking abdomen .. glad u are recovering well

Hey guys just to let u know i am 4 days post op and getting ready to have my last drains removed ready for going home tomorrow yaayyyyyyy its been sore and uncomfortable but relatively low levels of pure pain, the surgeon took off 9lbs of skin lol but am swollen now so scales wont show anything for a good few weeks yet. hands and arms and legs are swollen mainly but compression garments doing their jobs ill try and post some pics when i get home for u to look at

Thats great news for you .. i hope it all goes well

i am worried this will be my outcome too, having so much surgery tomorrow to remove all this skin i know i am gonna whack on a load of fluid weight, i tell myself i am prepared for putting on weight initially but i know i will just be so disappointed when i see those scales creeping up .. I have tried to prepare by making meals for the freezer and trying to stick to what i normally eat .. but since monday when i had a 1ml removed from my band i have eaten, what has felt like, double what i normally do, i have exercised it off but i am not going to be able to do that after my op tomorrow .. i am surprised how much i can eat with only 1 mls removed .. makes 7mls out of a 14 mls band .. how quick are u going to have the band fill again ? I hope u both sort out the bumps in your recovery and hope that we can end this journey on a positive note where we all get the results we want ill post some pics after i get done tomorrow .. i will be in intensive care for a day or so because of the amount of surgery i am having so will be posting next week sometime probably.. ill try and let people know i am at least alive

You could try .. mybrainworksfine.com or writingitdown.com only joking many on here use my fitness pal or some i think are on the weight watchers scheme

Wont you be on liquids and mushies the first few weeks after surgery ? A lot of people lose weight post op for the first few weeks till they are back eating normal food. Many dont feel satisfied or restricted yet, till the fills u will eventually get start kicking in .. so give yourself a chance to heal and dont concentrate too much on what the scales say You new eating regime will come over time when u are able to start eating solid food and start feeling some restrictions

Well I am having a lot done as i need it body lift, 360 abdominoplasty and my arms .. brachyplasty will take around 6 - 7 hours I wanted to do as much as possible in one surgery and not have to go through a lot of different surgeries .. i know it will be a hard recovery .. nothing is impossible tho:)

Good luck to you and i hope all goes well and you have a speedy recovery I am under the knife at the weekend so will be joining u soon