legnarevocrednu

Ha ummm...welll....I believe I did state in my original post that I may be getting ahead of myself as I haven't finished my last stage yet. I stated that I may not even lose 7 pounds. I am staying realistic about that. However, I've heard many people on this site say that they haven't had ANY fills and are still able to lose weight. I know that's not the norm, but it IS possible. Not everyone needs to receive 6 fills. Also, I never said I was decreasing the amount of calories I was taking in. As a matter fact, I specifically said I INCREASED them. I haven't been able to eat very much and will eventually (when I'm able) be able to get up to the recommended 1200. And of course I will be discussing this with my doctor on January 3rd. I just wanted to get everyone's input. Thanks for your response!

I have been using my fitness pal for months. I'm sooo excited! I was able to push my calorie intake up to 875 yesterday (just by having my 3 small, healthy meals and adding a protein drink) and I've lost 2 pounds since then! It's amazing! I also exceeded my protein goal for the first time! Things are looking up!

LMBO...I just noticed this topic was posted 3 weeks ago! You can forget everything I just said!! haha...ssooo funny.

It's hard to believe that people who are banded NEVER drink alcohol. My doctor did not tell me I could never have it, just that it's best to wait about 6 months. The same goes for pasta and bread. They suggest that time frame to allow the tummy to heal. I do think 2 weeks is a bit early. I'm out two weeks as of yesterday, and I'm just now entering soft foods. That means my tummy hasn't healed all the way yet. I couldn't imagine drinking alcohol right now as I haven't even returned to normal food as of yet. Alcohol may also cause acid indigestion which I've heard is intensified with the band. Proceed with caution! You never know how you are going to react to the alcohol, and being in a public place when trying something new can be embarassing and uncomfortable. So my opinion is it's okay to drink alcohol in moderation as long as you are completely healed. I do not believe that you are completely healed within 2 weeks.

It DOES get easier! It takes about 3 days, but it will become bareable. Just make sure you have a protein drink you like...or at least, can stand. I had one that was starting to make me sick so I had to switch. Good luck! Just think of the future!!

Today is my last day on pureed, tomorrow I start on soft food. I picked up some tuna and chicken in a can and plan on adding that into my diet. Does anyone else have suggestions? It's supposed to be any food that's easily flaked with a fork. I thought meatballs would be good, but I've heard that theyre not. Any ideas would be appreciated!

I was told 4 to 6 weeks. I would get clearance from your doctor before you start doing anymore than walking.

Well I haven't gone through it (yet) but I have heard that it's not all that uncommon. Especially considering we are not getting in as much food as before. If you can't handle the protein shakes, I suggest sticking to protein heavy food and SF Carnation Instant Breakfast (they are super yummy!). If you mix it with skim milk, you get like 13 grams of protein. Maybe eat some more eggs? And definitely take your vitamins...I heard Biotin works as well. Maybe talk to your hair stylist and she if she can suggest a shampoo that might help. I've heard Nexus maybe but that's expensive. The good thing is that I've ALSO heard that hair loss is temporary. This has been worrying me as well which is why I've been trying to focus on getting all my protein in and taking my vitamins. Good luck! I'm sure it will get better soon!

Hey there. I had surgery the day before you. I will not get my first fill until January 3rd (if I need it...I'm hoping I don't!) so I don't think the amount of time you have to wait is abnormal. I do not find myself hungry in between meals. My advice to you is to focus on protein at this point. Protein keeps me satisfied between meals so I don't snack. Also, watch your serving sizes. Stay within the serving size guidelines and track your calories, fat, carbs, and protein. Just for some ideas, I'll list what I typically eat and the schedule I eat it on. Breakfast (8:30): Yogurt or SF Carnation Instant Breakfast. You could also have a scrambled egg with some cheese on top. Lunch (12:30 or 1:30): A serving size of FF refried beans (which is about 1/2 a cup), mixed with FF cheese, Low skim ricota cheese, and FF sour cream. It is VERY filling and VERY yummy. Plus, lots of protein! Dinner (5:30 or 6:30): If I did not have my SF Carnation Instant for breakfast, I'd have it for dinner. If I did, I'll have another serving of my FF refried beans. Sometimes I'll have a SF popsycle. I am still in the mushy stage (progressing to soft foods tomorrow). Starting tomorrow I plan on incorporating Tuna and Chicken salad with Low Fat mayo. Well, hope this helps in some way! I suggest making sure you get AT LEAST 50 grams of protein in. It should help with the hunger. Good luck!!

I know some doctors put in a little bit at the time of surgery. Mine did. I DO think it's weird your doctor doesn't want to see you again for 3 months. I had my follow up appointment a week after surgery and he scheduled my next appointment 6 weeks from surgery. I thought it was the norm to go in every 4 to 6 weeks until you get good restriction. I don't know. I would probably make an appointment to see him sooner if I were you. Or wait and see how you are losing. If you are losing about 2 pounds a week, you are good and probably do not need an adjustment. Good luck!

After surgery, I was on 2 days of clear liquids, 4 days of full liquid, and now I'm currently on a week of pureed food. My doctor then has a week of "soft food". They define this as food that can be easily broken or flaked with a fork. I start this stage on Tuesday. I am planning on adding tuna, chicken, and meat balls to my diet. Has anyone else gone through this particular stage? Are there other things that I could possibly add? Thanks!

I was recently banded on the 21st of November. The past three days, I've noticed some backpain throughout the day. I can't pin point the cause of it. Is this because of the lap band? Before the band, I would only experience back pain every once in a while. Now it's every day. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this. It may be totally unrelated. Thanks!

The first few days ARE difficult! If you continue to be sick by day 4, consider changing your protein drink (if you are allowed). I WASN'T allowed, but did anyway. Sugar Free Carnation Instant Breakfast was my life saver. I still lost 14 pounds by the end of the 10 days. I would give it a few more days (sorry you have to suffer) and see how it goes. Good luck!

12 pounds is really awesome for 3 WEEKS? Or did you mean months? Because technically, exercise isn't recommended until about 4 to 6 weeks from surgery. If you DID mean weeks, it sounds like you are doing pretty good. I imagine the hunger will stop once you start getting fills. Good luck on the move!

I would be afraid to go on them right after surgery. They say we should wait between 4 and 6 weeks to start exercising. I think the same would apply to the amusement rides as you often get thrown around. I wouldn't take the chance.

Yup! My insurance required 6 months of nutrition classes. They were only once a month so it was no big deal and my doctors office offered them for free. The 6 months flew by. I would call your insurance company and ask what their requirements are. As long as you fall within the BMI guidelines (40 or above or 35 to 40 with co morbs) you should be fine. If you have sleep apnea, that also helps with the approval. You will be fine! Good luck!

So even though I have not lost anything in two days, I KNOW I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. I can't feel bad about that. It is possible I'm losing inches (I will check on Saturday and compare) or maybe one of these days, a whole bunch of pounds will drop. But I don't feel guilty. I haven't done anything wrong and I'm following the program as I should. It's actually easier than I thought it would be. I haven't really been hungry between meals so I'm glad about that. Yesterday I had 558 calories and the day before, only 426. Today will probably be in between that. The pureed stage does not suck. I haven't had any problems and haven't thrown up even once. That may change once I progress into regular food again, but I'm hoping it doesn't. I'm actually looking forward to eating less! I make sure to take time in between bites (swallows) and wait to listen to my body. I usually burp or hiccup when I'm done. I really appreciate my body letting me know! At first I was like, what the heck! I don't even feel full! But that's backwards thinking...I don't NEED to feel full, I just need to feel satisfied. And I was! And on so little too! I am sooo excited about this journey! I know my blog from yesterday was a bit over dramatic but I'm not normally like that. This is what my food schedule will be today 8:30: Half a greek yogurt I usually have my SF carnation instant breakfast in between meals, but I ran out of it and milk. Have to go grocery shopping tonight. If I get hungry before lunch or dinner, I'll have a spoon full of ricotta cheese. 1:30: About 5 tablespoons of refried beans mixed with a little bit of fat free sour cream and weight watchers shredded cheese 5:30: Same as I had for lunch 8:00: Maybe some Sugar Free hot chocolate Hope everyone has a nice day!! Please feel free to add me as a friend on Myfitnesspal. My sn is legnarevocrednu

I just had surgery 9 days ago, but this is what I've gathered from the posts on here: You can eat less at first because your swollen. Once you start to heal, you can eat more. The bands either have very little liquid in them or none at the time of the operation. Once you start getting fills, you should start feeling restriction. I could be wrong, but that's what I gather. Don't worry! I'm sure you are fine! Good luck!

I have a lot running through my mind right now so figured I'd just blog about it. I had surgery on November 21st and everything went smoothly. As of yesterday, I had lost 21 pounds (including pre op diet). I KNOW I'm not supposed to weigh myself every day, but I can't seem to help myself! So today I weigh myself and I've gained a pound. Yesterday I started on pureed but all I had was a SF Jello Temptations (60 calories), 2 SF Carnation Instant Breakfasts, and SF Applesauce (60 calories). I don't see how I could be gaining weight considering I got less than 300 calories yesterday! I know I'm being completely psychotic about this, but it's stressing me out. Lots of people on here say they didn't lose any weight or they even gaines some once they started eating again. I feel like as long as I'm staying within my calorie limits, I should still be losing! Maybe tomorrow will be different and I would have lost again but now I'm scared to eat what I had planned to today. I'm hoping I'm eating the right way. Here is what I'll be eating today. 8:30: 1/4 of Greek Yogurt 11:00: SF Carnation Instant Breakfast 1:30: Try to finish the yogurt 3:30: SF Carnation Instant Breakfast 5:30: FF refried beans (which I'll probably get less than 5 bites out of) 8:00: SF Hot chocolate I feel like that's a good eating schedule and I shouldn't be gaining weight with or without the band by eating this way. I really wish I wasn't flipping out about this so soon after my surgery. I know I have to be patient. I'm going to work on that :/ Anyways, I had my surgery follow up appointment yesterday. It went very well. He said everything looked well and I made an appointment for my first fill (well that depends on how much I've lost) for January 3rd. He was extremely happy at the amount of weight I had lost thus far. I guess I should be happy about that. I'm now at 40.1 BMI. That's sooo awesome! Anyways, please excuse my rambles and freaking out. I just had to rant.

I was just banded on November 21st. I would like to set myself a Christmas weight loss goal but I don't know what to expect to lose being that I was just banded. I have already lost 22 pounds (8 of those pounds since surgery) but I don't expect to be losing that quickly the whole time. Does anyone have a sense of what the average may be for the first month after being banded? I plan on eating healthy, protein heavy meals with little to no snacking in between (once I'm back to regular eating of course). I won't be able to start exercising regularly until after the holidays. I know it differs per person, but I was just hoping to get a roundabout idea. I also have a wedding I'm going to be in on January 13th so I would like to set a goal for that date as well. Thanks!!

This morning I started my pureed stage. I had a jello mouse temptations (sugar free, only 60 calories). I really can't tell when I'm full! I took my time between bites and after about 4, I hiccuped. I took that as a signal, but I don't really FEEL full. Are hiccups a way of telling when to stop? Just curious! I put it away for now. Around 10:30 I plan on having my protein drink, around lunch time, some refried beans with a little bit of cheese and fat free sour cream, another protein drink between lunch and dinner, and maybe try to finish off the jello mouse for dinner. I'll also be sipping water throughout the day. I'm hoping everything goes okay! I'm also looking forward to having some sugar free hot chocolate around bed time. Oh and by the way, although I've been updating my weight on my fitness pal, I haven't been logging food until today. Now that I am, if anyone would like to be friends on there, my sn is legnarevocrednu . Thanks!!

I have an office job as well and I only took a week. Yesterday was my first day back. It was doable. I made it through the day although I started to drag the last part of it. I got a good nights rest last night (about 11 hours actually haha) and I feel really good today. However, I don't know if the plication would make it harder for you. I would suggest starting with a week but tell your coworkers that you may not be up to par when you come back and that if it gets really bad for you, you may have to leave early. Everyone where I work was okay with that. Good luck!