horsegirl315

I agree with the above. For a while it got kind of sickening. My weight was always a huge embarrassment for me, I didn't want to be noticed. But for about a year straight I had people telling me how great I looked and that I must have lost a lot of weight, which still made me uncomfortable. I never liked my weight noticed, and the fact that people noticed how much I had lost was still embarrassing to me. However I'm past that phase, I worked very hard for my weight loss, it was more work than I anticipated but I did it. No one comments on my weight anymore, so I guess it's comforting to me, to feel normal. But some people who have had surgery can't wait for people to notice, I guess it just depends on how you take it, and how it's said

A prolonged period of less than 1200 calories can put your body into starvation mode. If you are unable to eat for breakfast and lunch, try incorporating some protein shakes into your diet. They will also provide protein necessary to build muscle and transform your body. I don't know what kind of exercise you're doing but, if it's cardio, instead of static state cardio (walking at the same speed for 30 mins for example) try high intensity interval cardio instead...walk a minute, jog or run a minute. HIIT cardio is scientifically proven to increase your metabolism for the 48 hours following your workout. Lastly, if you aren't incorporating weights into your routine, do it! That is where my body started to change. If you are unsure how to start, fitness blender is a great website, and it's free!

As far as brands, Isopure is great. They have many flavors!

Look up some herbalife shake recipes. They will give you some great ideas, you never have to have the same shake twice! I don't eat breakfast either, I'm not hungry and it is just an irritation to my band if I were to try because it's tighter in the morning. I have a shake either before or after the gym in the morning. I add fresh fruit, extracts, and even sugar free pudding mix or sugar free jello mix to my shakes. One of my favorites is vanilla protein, 1 T cheesecake pudding mix, frozen strawberries...strawberry cheesecake!

I was banded in 2011 but if memory serves me right, 7 weeks post op, I was still on a restricted diet at that time...certain harder foods were not allowed yet and I most certainly did not a fill yet...I remember by first fill, and even the second...the NP asked how I was doing and my response was HUNGRY! I was not at proper restriction yet, but still trying to be good! Between surgery and recovery, restricted diet for a while, I lost about 25 lbs. The rest I did have to work for, and one of the biggest things I learned to do was have something healthy around for when I was starving. It happens! Don't beat yourself up! Cottage cheese is my go to, it always hits the spot, it's a good consistency for sitting in the pouch, and it's high in protein. But if you are not feeling restricted yet at all, I feel for you! But hold on! You're not a failure, the best is yet to come! Keep your appointments and even if you gain, it's ok, but it's not ok to give up! You can do this

I have to disagree with some of the opinions here. You may not be his mother or doctor or surgeon etc...but you are his girlfriend and someone who quite possibly he will end up with for the rest of your life. With that said, I do think you have the right to offer your opinion/help to him. This is someone you care for, you want the best for him, and you want him to be healthy and around for you and a family you two may have. It is absolutely your right to want a father for your children, for as long as possible. And to give your children a father that will show then healthy habits, and be able to play with them. On the other hand, I know what it is like to have someone like you in my life. That person is my mother and she has never ever wanted more than the best for me. She's my biggest advocate and has always wanted me to be healthy. But if I start complaining to her about my band, you can be sure she is going to begin suggesting a fill if I'm not losing, or if I have gained, or if I feel like I'm always hungry. Of course it's not always received well, because I'm already in a state of frustration at times, and she doesn't have a band so "how would she know what it's like". I have actually said I didn't have money for a fill, and she offered to pay for it, and I was offended! Of course that's silly she only wants the best for me! And you only want the best for him. But he has to want it too! He has to be willing to make changes to healthier foods. It does sound like he is too tight which is incredibly frustrating to begin with. I wish he would just give a slight unfill a chance, has he seen the chart with the zones? Red, yellow, green? Sounds like he is in the red zone if he is vomiting often. If he was not educated about the surgery and how it should feel to have proper restriction, that could be a helpful chart to show him. It may actually make him feel like he has some hope with the band if he can get it adjusted correctly.

Depends on when you got your fill too! It can take a few days to even a week or so to feel a difference! Green zone for me means I really have to pay attention to what I'm eating! I'm just getting back from an unfill and set back last year. Like Bandista said above, I am also prone to irritation/inflammation so I have to be careful and not get too tight! 5cc was my green zone, I'm one fill away from it but taking my time

Don't ever let anyone tell you "you can't do this" ...not even yourself. I am the perfect example of the band being a TOOL not an easy way out. I struggled like hell to slim down and still do. I still have to count calories and go to the gym. I have days where I am tired. I have days where I am hungry. And I have times where the scale fluctuates. But I'm never giving up! To anyone that thinks the band is an easy fix, it's not. I thought maybe it would be too. But after my initial weight loss from surgery, I realized it was not enough. I lost 80 total and I can say only about 30 was a result of surgery. But it gave me the drive to press on. To eat better, and gave me the confidence to get in the gym. Please message me if you have any questions, especially related to nutrition or workouts. I would love to help on your journey. I'm still on mine

Feel free to send me a message! I'll tell you all about it

I did feel a panic at one time or another, I'm quite young, was banded in my mid 20s and have been banded since jan 2012. Lost 80 pounds, then one day a switch flipped that just stopped me from eating. It got so bad after a while I couldn't even drink. It took a month for that to happen and once I couldn't keep water down I knew I needed fill out. I was reluctant at first because previous to that I was in my sweet spot, but had a few issues with PB...nothing unusual from eating too fast or too big of a bite...but for whatever reason, my band got angry! I am now at 62 lb loss, so I did gain some once half my fill was removed. Still not sure if it slipped, we started with an unfill to see if that would help first. I allowed myself to heal and feel totally 100% before I began fills again, almost a year. Sometimes I do freak out thinking about how long this foreign body is going to be inside me, but I know I was at a point where I physically couldn't have lost weight without it, and it will always be there for me to use as a tool. But, if I was having issues and it never even worked for me, I would definitely consider taking it out!

I plan on it. I have not had kids yet so I will wait. 2 birds one stone lol. But for right now it's something I can cover up for the most part, some extra skin and definitely still some fat on my lower abdomen. I'm not done losing so unsure of how much will actually be skin later. But I am most definitely getting a breast lift! LAWD!!!

Congrats!!!

I had this issue too!!!

Congrats on your maintenance, for me, I am not sure I will ever maintain because my weight gain/issues were always mental, and always will be. Although for the most part im ok with it, it keeps me on my toes and I eventually progress downward on the scale. Not to say it doesn't fluctuate up once in a while...I'm coming out of a very cold snowy winter here in the north east but have begun to tackle the ten pounds I put on during "hibernation" LOL...however, I thank my band every day because I know it would have been a lot more than 10 lbs without it.

4 years and a lot of blood sweat and tears later...

I literally just posted about this. I have been banded for almost 2 years, down 85 lbs...and you would think I would know better than to wait a whole MONTH before getting an unfill when I couldn't get anything down for about 90% of the time. I had a few bad consecutive stuck/PB episodes that I believe set off a serious irritation and inflammation of my stoma. It was completely swollen shut at times!!! I was unable to get warm liquids down in the morning, and if I tried would have constant pressure in my chest with small air movement in my stomach, somewhat like very tiny burps but hardly ever anything that felt like relief. It is not until today when I got 3 cc of the 5 in my band removed that unrealized just how miserable I was. I kept thinking it would get better...and sometimes, it did. But it always went back to the same old stuck feeling. I am hoping my upper GI next week will reveal that I did not do any serious damage. Until then, I will enjoy brig bake to drink liquids freely without having chest pain or PBing multiple times daily. I am ashamed that I let it go on this long, and can blame no one but myself. The band is a tool and you have to listen to it, or you will lose it. I will never convince myself that it could possibly resolve again. Because it clearly won't! I was resistant to removing more than half of my fill, but was advised by the NP that it was my only option for allowing my stomach to heal. Thankfully it worked, and hopefully no permanent damage was done.

For the past month I have PBd daily. I can't tell you it is most certainly bad for the band and your pouch. Nit sure how bad in comparison to vomiting, however my PBing was quite violent and frequent at times. To the point where most of the time my stomach was completely swollen shut. Couldn't even get liquid down 90% of the time. I let it go on way too long and was extremely miserable. Finally got an unfill today went from 5 cc to 2. I was extremely reluctant to remove that much liquid but he NP advised me it was pretty much my only chance to give the pouch enough room to heal. I got immediate relief and have enjoyed drinking liquids with no problem today. Something i couldn't have dreamed of for the past month. I will go in for an upper GI to make sure everything is ok next week. Praying he band didn't slip!

Hi ladies! Life has been busy so I haven't been posting, but I knew I absolutely had to come on for my bandiversary and give you all an update! Exactly one year ago, I remember like it was yesterday, I was sitting in the preop area, scared to death. Wondering if I would be one of the people the band didn't work for. I am happy to report it has been a wonderful year! From my starting weight of 262, I am now weighing in at 185-188 depending on the day. I no longer feel self conscious about doing much of anything. I get compliments left and right about how great I look...which is kind of getting old, I kind of wish people would forget how big I was lol...I can ride my horse with confidence, I have begun taking lessons with an Olympic level rider--something I would have been way to insecure about before. I workout in some form daily, and I actually enjoy it. I love life now, and have my band to thank. It was the best decision I ever made. I would like to thank you ladies for being here all along, through thick and thin...LOL...I may not be the best about posting on the regular, but I know you will always be here if I need some support. I am friends with a few of you on Facebook, and I can say you ladies are some of the most wonderful people on my friends list. I truly love you all, and for my bandiversary resolution, I promise to try and post more )

Oh JDI, I laughed again reliving the sticky icky all Iberia your sweater with the few napkins available...only us right!! Only bandsters will understand our plight!!! I want to be under 200 for my one year anniversary also...but my body thinks otherwise...grueling workouts and strict calorie:fat:protein and my weight has never been so consistent! Annoying!!!! 200.8-200.2 is getting very old VERY FAST!!!

Welcome sue bee!! Never too late to join the wagon! 136 lbs, wow that is truly amazing, I was banded jan 30th also, and have lost 62 lbs so far...the last ten I have really bad to fight for! I an only imagine the fighting you have done to lose more than twice that!! Welcome to the group, once again!

Listen to your body, and don't force it. We are all different, so why would 8 glasses a day be a general rule? I know it has been pushed by many doctors, nutritionists, etc...but when it comes right down to it...none of us are exactly the same. I do try to get in a good many of water daily, but if I am really pushing it, I'm not gonna worry about it. The job of water is to cleanse and flush your kidneys...if your pee is dark yellow, you need more water...if you are peeing practically clear, you can assume the water is doing its job. I use that as more of a gauge than how many cups of water I am taking in. Good luck!

Ok as scary and driving and PB ing is...I'm sorry ladies, I had a good laugh!!! I totally understand your pain and the feeling of being in a vehicle magnifies the stuckness of it all!! Funny to hear about your kids, they sound like smart little buggers!! Lady bandito, I feel uncomfy eating in the car too...and in certain sitting positions...sometimes a mini stuck can be solved with standing up. To both lady and Nicole, I know exactly what you mean with the eating. I was like that for a while. Until I remembered a season of the biggest loser, where one of the contestants had WLS and ended up gaining weight back...they did an analysis of every contestants body fat percentage, and hers was the highest bc she had been depriving herself of Protein, not on purpose, of course...just filled up on all bad foods. In me, something clicked when i thought about that. Since then, when I eat something, I think...is this going to hurt or help me? If I'm looking for a snack...of course I WANT a cookie...but I know if I have a serving of cottage cheese, I'll be satisfied. Part of it too, is I have been working out religiously since September...I got stuck at 217 back then and I got a fire inside me...I said I wasn't going to allow my body to say no to weight loss...I was going to do everything in my power to get below 217...and beyond...now I am 201-203 depending on the day...and more motivated than ever. Working out definitely makes me eat better bc I don't want to ruin what I just did. I want to eat foods that will allow my body to recover and repair, so next time I am stronger. A big motivation for me has also been following fitness/health pages on Instagram...if anyone here has Instagram, I encourage you to check out workout motivation pages and healthy food ideas...some awesome recipes that don't make you feel deprived, etc... And now, I will end my post...pretty sure I just out talked you both...but I am Italian, that's to be expected! ???

Hello everyone!!!! I have missed you all so much! I'm glad to see everyone is still posting! I have been busy, working out more consistently than ever, making good food choices...and indulging in the once a week cocktail...sorry to touch on a sore subject...lol! I do wish I had a brother that was a bartender...but I have a feeling it wouldn't be good for my diet! I'm at 202 right now...right on the edge of ONEDERLAND!! I have been losing very slowly, and seem to get stuck at certain spots...I spent a lot of time at 207 and 204. LadyB, I wonder about erosion all the time...just had an upper Gi bc of the approaching one year mark...my surgeon requires an upper Gi and bloodworm on the yr mark...just blood work remaining, and upper Gi was normal, band is still placed correctly. It feels good to post again, I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hi ladies! Checking in quickly, will go into more detail a little later...but I am alive! I've been busy with my horses and working out, enjoying he beautiful weather...and counting calories! Lol! It's paying off and I am finally close to ONEDERLAND! I have 7-8 pounds to go til I'm there, but have passed my plateau between 217-220, and I couldn't be happier! I look forward to working out on my elliptical! Because now it's working! I love my band! I have lost almost 60 lbs and surpassed my surgeons expectations. Most of all, I know that I may screw up along the way, but I will always have my band here to help me get back on track. Now that we are in the cool crisp fall season, I was wondering it anyone has some recipes? I love to cook especially during the fall and winter, and I think a recipe swap could be fun! I have a recipe for a really delicious chili if anyone is interested