Jim1967

Just remember the gas pain is from the gas they used to inflate you to perform the actual surgery. It is not the same kind of gas one may experience if they ate a certain trigger food. This is quite normal and we all go through it and some react differently to it. I had a good 4 days of agony with it but walking made a big difference. I know walking after just having surgery can be difficult but the sooner you start walking a bit the better you will feel.

Yes this is great advice. Walking is the best thing you can do after surgery to get rid of the gas. My gas pain lasted about 4 days. It was not pleasant.

I am at 9cc's in a 11cc band as well. Just remember even .5 cc's can make a big difference. I've been told not to worry about how much is in there. I am in the green zone currently.

I've lost about 9 pounds in the two weeks I've been doing it. On low carb days I tend to stick around 30 to 35g and on high carb days I am around 120 - 140g.

A few of us have been discussing something similar in this thread. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/159669-carb-cycling-an-experiment-gone-right/ We have been seeing some success following Chris Powells Carb Cycle Solution. Alternating low carb and high carb days.

Hang in there!! Fact that you realize this is bandster hell is good. Like others have said it will get better but how long that takes is based on the individual. Some few are lucky and get restriction right away without a fill then there are people like me who took 5 fills and 6 months to get in to the zone. I will admit I had my ups and downs and often times I wondered if I would have been better off with gastric bypass. You see I was 488lbs when I started this journey. I stuck with the folks on this site and attended support meetings and that got me through some difficult times. You're not alone but I promise you if you follow through and use the guidelines and resources it can be worth it. I have much weight to lose yet but I am living proof this can work but you cannot expect the band to do all the work. If this comes across as lecturing it is not my intent. State of mind plays a big factor in how successful you will be. All the best,, Jim

So I have had a CPAP machine going on about 3 years and actually enjoy sleeping with it until recently. I got a new hose and it is stiff and still has bends in it. I tried soaking in warm Water and let it hang and stretch from a door and still it is no better. I wish I really hadn't thrown the original away as it was very light and flexible. Anyone know where I can get a good flexible, light tube. I did some searching and found some that claimed to be just that however when you read the reviews users say the opposite. thanks

They probably would but it is the second time I have had them replace it and the one I get is just as bad as the first. I have the Philips System One RemStar Pro

This is precisely how I was instructed to eat as well. tmf thanks for posting that video. Very helpful and a nice refresher!

Here is a side by side comparison of the two. http://www.wlshelp.com/lap-band-vs-realize-band.html I have the Realize band and I really chose it because it was my Doctors preference. I decided long ago I wanted him as my Surgeon and I trusted him. So I went with what he was more comfortable with and what he thought was best for me. I was banded April 2012 and everything was smooth sailing. No difficulties during the surgery or post surgery.

That date is for the soft cover release. Hard cover and Kindle edition have been out for a while.

You can also go to the Band manufacture website and do a search by zipcode.

Here try this site and see if it helps. I do not have any familiarity but based on your location this is what I found. http://patients.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/bariatric.html I agree with what Cheznoel said above. Try and find a place that has everything under one roof. Sometimes they are referred as 'Total Care'

Only time I ever had an issue with Steak was when I ate as a left over the next day. It was too dry and it got stuck.

I still use mine nightly but I still have a long way to go in my journey. Maybe when the next 100lbs are gone I will get retested. I have gotten so used it now that it is not a priority to be rid of it. I sleep so much better with it on.

Where about in NH? I am from Salem, NH but my Surgeon is based in Lowell, MA.

So I weighed in today and was really hoping for a better showing on the scale. I am only down 1 pound from my lowest but when I started this I was bloated and was up to 357. Today I am 352 which isn't horrible in the grand scheme of things. I did not go crazy at all for Thanksgiving and everyone was buzzing about my energy level. I took a lot of work of my wife's plate the last two days and my sister was able to relax. My Wife and I entertained 14 this year. All in all I am happy with my progress and if anything I think this kicked my metabolism a bit which is what I wanted. I am 2lbs shy of my 350 goal which I set for Christmas. It will also be the 100lb mark since Surgery in April. I hope you are all doing well and didn't get thrown off track too much by the holiday. If you did though remember not to sweat it too much. Get back in the game!!

Manage to get my fat down slightly this being day 3. I was also able to get my protein up on high carb days. Still more tweaking needed I think. I am finally getting my calories up as well. I have been struggling with that for a while.

That works!! Thanksgiving was one of the reasons I waited to start Sunday rather then mid week last week. It is a high carb day for me as well. Oddly enough the only thing I am looking forward to is Stuffing. Last time I had it I had a stuck episode. Might do a small sliver of apple pie but honestly I have no real cravings for anything and I am not looking forward to actual Thanksgiving dinner like I used to in years past...

What I do is I have 2 slices of whole wheat bread on high carb days and then on a low carb day I have just 1 slice of Pepperidge Farm Carb Style Soft 100% whole wheat. 1 slice is 60 calories, 8 carb, 2 fat and 5 protein. Having two types of bread in the house is a pain but it helps keep the content under control. Plus my Wife is diabetic and eats mostly lower carb bread.

I had only drank my protein shake on low carb day. Today is day 3 which is high carb. I might do a shake today as my first high carb day I came in a little low on Protein. Right now as far as long term I am not sure what I will do. I did Atkins for a year and half and I got good at it but as soon as I stopped I slowly gained all my weight back. I can see this being something I could do long term if I wanted as I am not depriving myself of anything like I did with Atkins.

I use the snipping tools built into Windows 7. It is under accessories. I snipped the header and then snipped the totals and pasted and lined them up in paint. Saved it and uploaded it. I was a little discouraged with Lose It. It seems there database of food is not as good or should I say accurate as myfitnesspal and when you add foods it has to go through an approval process. I do like the reporting options better in Lose It but for me I would rather have the accuracy of MFP.

Yes, low carb days are hard for me as well calorie wise. I do find low carb days easier to manage then I do high carb days. I feel like I eat like a pig on high carb days. Funny I thought when I started this I would look forward to high carb days but I don't. Band has not just changed my body. It has changed my mind...