TheProfessor

Take a deep breath. It DOES get easier. You are only 2 weeks post op so of course you are healing and the hunger is normal. You are doing everything right - stick with the mushiness, and know that this too shall pass - you will be eating solid food again soon. Don't rush it. My surgeon advised me during the mushies and soft food phases, "when you are hungry, eat". This was helpful for me - having "permission" to eat when I needed to made me feel so much calmer and in control. Maybe this will work for you, too? Keep your tummy full and you will feel sated and in control. You need to remember the reason you had surgery and keep your eye on that gorgeous prize. Trust in the process - and it is a process - you will get thorough this! Keep breathing in and out and take it one day at a time. ((hug))!

Aw thanks, Letsgetskinny! This is a lot more work than I anticipated but it's not as hard as 'dieting'. A worth every penny. I have to say I love it when others notice the gradual results - just yesterday I wore a pair of 'slender' (well, slender enough for a size 16, which I haven't been in a decade!) black dress pants and a form-fitting blouse to the College (professional wear for meetings) and a colleague who has no idea I had WLS came up to me and whispered that my ass looked great. We had a good giggle and she said, "I have GOT to lose some weight, seriously - my knees are giving out me... you are an inspiration...!" and then we giggled some more about the caloric evils of black Russians and red wine, and that if she gave up her BRs and I gave up Cabernet, we'd both be like Twiggy. I felt like a million bucks for the rest of the day.

Hello there! Are there any bandsters in London, Ontario that would like the idea of touching base and getting together for some mutual story-telling, laughter, support and camaraderie? Perhaps there is a chapter of a WLS group that already exists here...? Would love to hear from you!

Thanks JennieTN!

Went out to dinner last night and hubby ordered the Mosaic dip with pita wedges. Nom nom nom... Used to be a favourite. I took one bite of pita bread, and it was lovely and soft... chewed, and then my band said "No way sister - that is going to get STUCK and you are going to slime all over the table". I quietly spat it out in my napkin and that was that. I get the same now with leftover meats (like a chicken leg in the fridge, a pork chop...) there is NO WAY I can have even a bite. There is a dryness to meats that have been refrigerated (not cold cuts) that are just NOT tolerated by my band. Some people have problems with Pasta and rice. Me, no worries at all. Bread of any kind and leftover meats are my Waterloo! I love that my grocery bills have gone down so much!

Hi MR1227! "Restriction" is a 4-letter word to a lot of bariatric surgical teams, including mine in Toronto. I've followed all the rules but I have to say, I love the sensation of restriction. When I first heard the word I was confused to what it meant. I was nervous that it was the same as 'constriction'. Tightness. Yikes. I was nervous that when you are banded you feel some kind of blockage. These were all questions I had until a couple of months after being banded. Then I was like, "Oooohhh... now I get it!" First - its SATIETY you're after - the length of time you go between meals with the absence of hunger - not 'restriction'. Pair those two together though, and for me, it's a marriage made in heaven. Now that I'm in the Green Zone, I finally understand what restriction feels like. Have to say, 4-letter word or not, I love it. Restriction is just like CherieRyde and Rizzle01 say - you feel 'done' with food. You have a nice few, slooooow bites of chicken, some green Beans, a bite of salad, and a thumbnail sized chunk of cheese and WHAM. You feel like you have no more interest in food. And that's your hunger done for hours. Where once I could have eaten a rack of ribs and half a cup of coleslaw, now, with restriction, I can eat 2 ribs, a tiny salad and I'm done. Restriction is the same kind of feeling when you push your plate away after eating thirds at Thanksgiving dinner, but without the fullness and discomfort. You are NOT full - you are happily sated. You feel you need not a single bite more. You are only 2 weeks post-op, so you are still healing. You will likely begin feeling your hunger coming back a little, but as you add mushy foods, soft foods, then solid foods back into your diet, you'll likely find yourself eating a lesser quantity of food. All that is normal. Eventually you will begin getting band adjustments (some call them "fills") that will increase the pressure of your band. This will likely increase your sense of how much you can eat. (Restriction). It should be stressed that you can cheat the band. You may get a signal from your body that you simply no longer need anymore food (this is the band working!) but you can easily ignore that signal and continue eating. The signal you are looking for is called a 'SOFT STOP'. It could be a sigh, pushing your plate away, puffing your cheeks out, a little burp... everyone is different. As soon as you get that signal, put your fork down and STOP EATING! Be patient - you will get there!

Congratulations there, skinny! Woo! That's a LOT of weight lost in just 3 short months. Go girl! You care because you've invested not just money, but a ton of emotional energy into this enormous life change. Caring makes perfect sense. Your body image is not just how you feel, it's also how you perceive others perceive YOU. It's ok to care! Like you, it took 40 pounds of weight loss for anyone to comment. I was feeling terrific, my clothes were looser, my balloon butt had all but disappeared... but no one said anything at work. It was so puzzling. I was a little disappointed, even though I was feeling great and much, much lighter. Finally I was three months post-surgical, walking down a hall at the College and 3 of my students were coming my way. They said hi... walked by... then one of them stopped abruptly, turned back and said,"Ok, enough! We've been watching you disappear every week - we don't know what you're doing but you look amazing!" Well, I was just THRILLED! I thanked them, blushing every inch... and they all chimed in and said, "Everyone's noticed and has been talking about it but no one wants to say anything because we didn't want to seem rude..." This was music to MY ears! They say that people don't want to comment on obvious weight loss because it's a private thing, and a lot of people might take it the wrong way. (Not you or me!) One woman posted on this forum something along the lines that it takes 3 weeks for you to notice your own changes and 3 months for others to notice. Way to go! Believe me, people are noticing. They just don't want to say anything because they're too polite!

Great changes since being banded 5 months ago. 46 pounds lost, 4 pant sizes down, hunger monster is GONE. For the most part I have had loads of energy and been upbeat. In April I hit my first plateau. No weight loss for about 6 weeks and I found myself fighting the blues big time. It was weird as I am NOT prone the blues or depression. No idea why these blues hit me but I felt really, really down and I'm normally a very upbeat person. Started losing again and I am back to my normal self. Hooray! Really - only good changes with just one hiccup.

Welcome to the other side! Small sips is recommended as a precaution against overloading your healing esophagus. I was delighted when I went from the sip...sip...sip... stage to full on Water glugging (one of my favourite things!). If you can drink more with no discomfort, I suspect there would be no trouble, however take it easy. I'm 5 months banded and am able to chug water like I used to. Watch out for very cold or ice cold water/milk/fluids - these can cause your esophagus to reject the liquid (and up it comes!) The "Liquids" phase is going to be a little different for everyone depending on what your WLS doc has advised. Liquids for me was two phases - Clear Liquids (broth, water, watery milk) and then full fluids (shakes, Boost, cream soups), but for you, it could be different. Yes, as the days go on between you and your surgery, you may notice yourself getting hungry. I was instructed to "eat" (drink broth, have a Protein shake, have a Jello, have a sugar-free pudding) whenever I was hungry. For most of us, it's a normal part of the healing process to have the hunger begin to return, but as you graduate from liquids to mushies, then soft food, then regular food, the Proteins and fibres should take care of things nicely. One thing I recommend is NOT RUSHING through any part of the graduated meal process (getting back to solids). Your stoma/stitches etc. need the time to rest and heal. You will also likely enjoy weight loss during this time, which is really awesome and sa-weet! Yup - Have water on hand constantly, day and night. Staying hydrated is really, really important in this early phase. :-) AND YES of course you are thinking about food - you have barely had any for a long time! Old habits (like eating when bored - I did this, too!) took a long time to form, and so they will take a while to break. I was banded on December 18th - 7 days before Christmas. So like you and your family BBQ, there I was sitting at a table LADEN with gorgeous yummy foods - prime rib, devilled eggs, green Beans and almonds, roast potatoes... and there I was. With my pathetic protein shake. I got my family in on the ridiculousness of it all, and we laughed about my situation. Keep your head in the game and remind yourself why you did this in the first place. Keep your eye on the prize! A serious (and friendly!) warning to you - whatever you do don't rush into eating solid food. The BBQ may tempt you like crazy, but if you eat solid food (especially ribs or meats) at this early stage, you risk having a stuck episode. Take good care and keep us posted. Every day it gets easier!

Hi Cheryl M! Welcome to the forum. I've been banded 5 months, and I have found this forum to be incredibly useful, thought-provoking, supportive and helpful. Good luck to you - the pre-op liquid phase is totally manageable! :-) Keep your head held high and know that your surgery day will be here in no time - and it will be fantastic! We're here to support you!

Agreed, Letsgetskinny! I am not a fan of needles, but the port fill is absolutely NOT a big deal at all - my first fill, I didn't even feel it. Like ZERO sensation. My port is 'just' under the skin - not deep at all, so the "pinch" of the needle is barely noticeable (unlike shots you get in your arm. Yeeesh!) The whole process takes less than ten minutes - my nurse checks my weight, asks me about the length of satiety between meals, checks in with me to ensure I am not experiencing heartburn, nausea, night cough, or stuck episodes, and then I'm up on the table. Swab, needle stick (painless), adjustment, needle withdrawn, bandaid. 1 minute later after a glut of Water, I'm putting my shoes on and I'm out. I'm going for my 5th fill the day after tomorrow, and they are a piece of (low calorie) cake!

Oh yes - I agree with Kate P - the nausea could be caused by being hypoglycaemic. I forgot that I had a run-in with that a few days post-op. Blood sugar and nausea are linked due to the fact that abnormal blood sugar levels can cause a person to feel nauseous. For example, a person may feel nauseous during a time when his blood sugar levels are too high, which is referred to as hyperglycemia. On the other hand, a person may also feel nauseous when his blood sugar is too low, which is referred to as hypoglycemia. In either case, nausea is a symptom of abnormal levels of blood sugar, also called glucose, in a person’s bloodstream. - www.wisegeekhealth.com I had never experienced hypoglycaemia before, and it hit me as I was in the shower, my 4th morning post-op. Came on suddenly and made me feel more ill than I ever had in my entire life. The nausea and light-headedness was awful and I thought I was going to pass out. I added cream Soups to my liquid post-op diet and blended some Protein powder in there... and started feeling much better! Higher calories, but no more nausea as I was no longer hypoglycaemic. I'm not saying that's what it is (you should still contact your Doc) but if it is, you are not alone. All part of the healing process! Hang in there - one day at a time!

I agree with Lady VS - there is nothing to do but keep breathing and getting through each day. You are on the other side now, and all that is left is to slooooooowly get back a solid diet. My gentle advice - do NOT rush it. Hungry or not, your stomach and stoma are swollen. You will experience hunger - this is normal - just enjoy the savoury soups (broth, etc) - they make a nice break after the sweetness of the shakes! Hang in there and follow your surgeon's plan. Trust that it is the best thing for you as you heal! (And watch some pounds melt off - rather a lovely bonus!) You will eventually have your surgery 'settle in' and you will be eating solid food in no time. Just not so much of it. Awesome! Keep us posted and congrats on your decision to be banded! I'm 5 months in and never been happier.

Everyone recovers differently and at his/her own pace. This kind of fatigue sounds like something to address w/ your surgeon. Welcome to the board, and brave on a great decision to be banded. It will get better - you are on the other side now! All you have to do is get that nausea under control and get yourself back to being yourself! Contact your surgeon asap.

So totally became this thread founder's hoochie nightmare yesterday by wearing a FABULOUS pair of size 16 Columbia sportswear 3/4 length flared pants. Heather grey, silky. Haven't worn those babies since 1998. Pre-Lapland, I was a size 22. Since my December 19th surgery, I've worked like a madwoman to get the weight off. I'm down 45 pounds and I cried putting those Columbia pants on again. My ass has disappeared. As a size 16, after a decade at size 22, I feel like a Goddess. I looked great in these pants - and even more important, I felt amazing in them. Paired them with a snug v-neck t-shirt and a cute pair of sandals and honestly, I felt like a million bucks. Would someone walking down the street sneer and judge and say,"Good LORD! Look at that woman wearing Columbia sportswear. She must be what, a size 16??! That woman needs to go home and put on some sweats!"? Well I'm not sure. The smile in my eyes and the bounce in my step as I wore those pants was my super-power against negativity. I make no apologies if I offend your eyes or your sentiments or any other part of you. You have not gone through the process (yet!) of losing half your body-weight and so you are in absolutely no position to judge any of us who have. What we wear, how we wear it - - our business, our dance, our success. Good luck with your surgery. I'm pretty sure we'll see you back here in a thread entitled "Holy crap I just went out in public wearing a thong!" Woo woo! Stay positive!

Good that you can identify the pain - more of a bruise sensation. I say give it time. Your little body has been through a lot getting the surgery, and, laporoscopic or not, it's still an invasive procedure that can take a lot out of you...and has a significant recovery period (for most of us, anyway..). If its tenderness around the port site (or incision site) this is perfectly normal and will become less and less noticeable each day. This tenderness is a normal part of the process, however if your pain does NOT subside, please contact your surgeon for advice.

Hmm...it's early days yet. You are not yet 3 weeks post-WLS. Maybe you need to be a wee bit more gentle with your self..? In terms of port 'pain' - Is it actually "PAIN", or is it merely awareness? I'm 5 months out from being banded, and depending on the day, I can TOTALLY feel my port. It even moves around - ! I've had a few episodes that last several hours in length of sensing a 'stitch" in my port - - the way you feel a stitch in your side if you run/walk too fast. Weird and kind of "ouch" but not 'pain' per se. Like you, I can feel my port when I lie flat in bed. Is your sensation more pain, or 'awareness'? Like, "Oh, here is my port. It's sticking out today! Wow! And it's really saying HELLO right now...I feel you, port of mine!" Or is it "Holy SH#T this SUCKS and HURTS and I need to take something for the pain"? If it's the latter, this is something important to talk to your surgeon/medical team about.

I had WLS in December, 2014 - 4 months ago. My pre-surgical starting weight was 259 lbs. This excess weight came from eating too much (volume), rather than the wrong foods or junk foods. I'm not vegetarian however I have always incorporated a lot of raw food habits into my diet. To those who are not familiar with "eating raw" - I'm not talking about crudités or peeling a banana and eating it. I'm taking about "raw" lifestyle foods like breads, crackers, wraps and veggie burgers that have been created using nuts, seeds, flax, hemp and vegetables, often in a dehydrator. Before my surgery, I incorporated a lot of raw cuisine into my diet and used my dehydrator constantly to make delicious foods like raw falafel, flax crackers, pureed veggie wraps, kale chips, mushroom burger patties, etc. Since my December surgery, I have stayed away from raw and been stringent about adhering to a low carb, high protein diet. (Yes, this included meats). Lots of salads, raw fruits and veggies, but no "raw cuisine" per se. In the 4 months since my surgery I have dropped 45 pounds and feel terrific. Or I should say, I HAD dropped 45 pounds, until 2 weeks ago when I started eating raw cuisine again. These past 2 weeks eating mostly raw, I am sad to say that I gained almost ten pounds back. Ah, the irony. Eat well! Gain weight! I had missed my beloved VitaMix and my Excalibur dehydrator terribly, having not used them since two weeks prior to my WLS. I decided a couple of weeks ago to get back to incorporating delicious raw cuisine back into my diet. Foods I created over the past two weeks from my old favourites included nut cheeses (cashew...mmmm mmmmm!), walnut-spinach pesto, nut burgers, raw "onion rings", sesame seed/hemp seed dressings and more. As I was blending, spreading and dehydrating, I became worried about the sheer amount of fat, calories and carbs that made up the ingredients going into these dishes. Those nuts, seeds and avocados really pack a punch. The ingredients in my raw food dishes were wholesome and nutritionally dense, BUT they contained a ton of unwanted complex carbs and sugars (Mejool dates, for example). So I feasted (in small amounts as only my lap-band allows) on raw falafel, vegan hummus with garlic aioli with marinated vegetables in a flax/carrot wrap, marinated portabello mushroom caps stuffed with cashew/garlic nut cheese and walnut-spinach pesto, raw zucchini pasta with sweet marinara sauce... it was a great 2 weeks. Unfortunately it also triggered some pretty major weight gain. What I've learned: Even with smaller lap-band sized portions, and although most raw food dishes are densely nutritious, they pack a significant caloric punch - too much so to be aligned with my weight loss goals. So I am back to salads and lean meats and steamed veggies, no wheat, no white, no sugar. And, unfortunately, no raw cuisine. (Or at least very, very little). Has anyone out there managed a raw food diet (60% +) and managed to keep the surgical weight off? Would love to hear from you!

My straw was a triple whammy. 1. Took my daughter to Alberta to play in the mountains and show her the trails I used to guide trips on when I was professional outdoor educator there. A hike I used to be able to do in 2 hours took me 5. I could barely make it up the steep inclines, the switchbacks - - my knees were screaming, I was out of breathe... I was very, very sad. And to think just 15 years before I had conquered these mountains effortlessly at 140 pounds. Here I was, 259 pounds. I felt nothing but shame and frustration as my weight gain was 100% my own fault. 2. Flew back to Ontario from that lovely but sad Alberta trip and really, truly needed a seatbelt extender, but BLOODY WELL REFUSED to get one, so I punished myself nicely for the 5 hour flight. Was tired and sore and uncomfortable for the duration, mentally beating myself up for letting myself get to that point. 3. Got home from the airport, put the laundry on, sat on a lawn chair in our lovely backyard... and it collapsed under my weight. I burst into tears and yelled obscenities for about a full minute. THAT WAS IT. First the hike, then the airplane, then this. I was DONE. I called a weight loss centre the next day and had a consult. The rest is history. Today, 5 months post-surgery (lap-band) I am down 45 pounds. My skin is clear, my eyes are bright. I walked 4 kms into town with my husband and it was EASY. No screaming knees, no shortness of breath. And as I write this I am sitting in another lawn chair - - - and it is holding up just fine, thank you!

I did my 'liver shrink' diet for 14 days pre-op. It was fine - totally do-able - ! I was actually quite anxious about it - mores than the surgery itself. (No solid food for 2 weeks??!) but had no trouble sticking to it. I kept myself VERY busy at work (I'm a teacher) and on the go... just took it one day at a time and kept reminding myself that this was temporary and that I COULD DO THIS! It got weepy and fatigued at the 12 day mark - just sick to death of Protein shakes and longing for something savoury, rather than sweet. I blinked and then it was surgery day - the day my life changed for the better! Believe me - as a food addict/lover if I can do it, you can too. :-) You are WORTH IT!

Took the hubby out for his birthday this past April and had a delicious meal in Toronto at a fab restaurant that featured an onsite craft brewery. So many amazing beers to choose from! I ordered a pint of gorgeous lager, forgetting completely as we "cheers"d" that I had been banded only 3 months prior. This was my first post-WLS beer. What happened next was hysterical. Took a BIG "pre-WLS" swig of ice cold beer (delicious!), swallowed, and within seconds felt as though a Water balloon had exploded behind my ribcage. No pain, just a WHOOMP of frothy Fluid coming' right back on up my throat. My eyes got huge, my eyebrows shot up, I pressed my lips together so as not to firehose the birthday boy and squeaked in alarm. My husband took one look at me and yelled "SHE'S GONNA BLOW!" My mouth filled with frothy beer (I swear it tripled in volume coming up). I looked a sight - my cheeks were puffed out to capacity, lips bursting to spray with the very beer that had just gone down. Now I should say that this was as completely painless as it was hilariously inconvenient. I was laughing through the whole thing as I desperately tried to retain this carbonated frothing mass in my mouth while attempting to breath sloooooowly through my nose, trying to re-swallow the now warm beer in tiny sips. Yes, people were all around us, many wondering just what in the hell I was up to. Phewf! Managed to get it down (and not a drop lost!) but it took me over 30 minutes to finish that ONE pint of beer. My husband was incredulous. The "old" me would have slammed that pint and had another ordered before you could say "empty calories". So beer is do-able. Kind of.

What a lovely post! Way to go, girl! Woo woo! Here's to your continued success.

I have just discovered the "5-Day Pouch Test" link and have spent the last couple of hours reading, copying, pasting, downloading and saving. I had lap-band WLS on Dec 18th, 2014. As of April 30th (4 months post-surgery) I was down 45 pounds but have been in a full stall for about 5 weeks and have gained back 3 pounds. WAH! I'm actually not discouraged at all - realizing this is a normal part of the process - however I am eager to get things moving once again towards further weight loss. After getting on to this forum and searching "stalls", "set-backs", etc. The "5-day Pouch Test" kept popping up. And so I am ON IT. When I was pre-surgical, the 2-week liquid diet was a challenge, but was totally manageable. I anticipate the 2 days liquid diet (wine is a liquid, right? KIDDING!) being a breeze. Really what this is a modified version of the Atkins "Induction" phase, designed for WLS people. I am highly versed in Atkins, having spent 3 years of my life on it and lost 60 pounds.... I love how friendly the recipes are and how this little mini-diet gives my band a chance to 'rest' and do it's thing. Looking forward to getting this started in a couple of days. For now, dinner is on BBQ, there is a glass of red wine in hand and it is a gorgeous long weekend with sunshine and gardening to do. I am enjoying every second of this time until I hit the grocery store tomorrow and get everything I need for the "5-Day Pouch Test" diet. Will keep the thread posted on when I start and how things go!

I was completely where you were when you posted this! Today is Thursday, and I was scheduled for a fill on Tuesday. I had been experiencing good satiety (solid 3 hours between meals) and no stuck episodes (except when I was stupid and ate too quickly or something I should not have). I also have seen my scale stuck at between 217-218 for 3 weeks. What to do, what to do?? Like you, I was scared I would be "fill-greedy" and overdo it, thereby undoing all the good that has been done these past 4 months since being banded. On the other hand, how do I know if I'm in the green zone if I've never been there? So. I decided to go for the fill, but thoroughly explained EXACTLY what was happening for me before that needle touched me so the bariatric nurse could make an informed judgment call. She thought a small fill might be beneficial - so I had .2ccs. I'm glad I went for the fill. What a difference! Since Tuesday I've been experiencing a bit of "restriction" for the first time ever - actually feeling the band putting a limit to how much I can eat in partnership with listening to my own body signals - and my feeling of satiety between meals is waaaay up - I ate a small dinner at 5:30 pm last night, went to bed at 10pm (no Snacks, not even the thought of a snack), woke up this morning not hungry. Began to wonder if I'd ever want to eat again! I've since had a yoghurt and and a salad with chicken, and feel great. I say listen to your body, and ask your surgical team (surgeon, nursing staff) for advice or guidance. If they are truly professional and excellent at what they do, they should be able to offer you some expert advice.

Well its great to see I'm not "off my nutter" here. Seems you all have had similar experiences with vegetarian or grain/nut-based foods. Everything in moderation, right? I've probably eaten the equivalent of 1-2 pounds of nuts these past 2 weeks, between the almonds, macadamia, walnuts and pine nuts I've consumed in all of my dishes. Tragic! Delicious AND so much fat...! I went for a band adjustment today, and a little 2cc fill has made a HUGE difference. Normally I don't feel the difference until about 10 days later, but this one has delivered a noticeable and profound change in sensation. Eating a salad (raw, but no nut dressings!) tonight I could barely make it through 20 bites. (Chew, chew, chew...) @@Bandista I am so very much like you - require that 'chew factor' in order to get the brain signalling that satiety. I experienced my first "soft stop" tonight during dinner - sighing and pushing my plate away. Nice to have noticed that soft stop, that is a great signal that I definitely want to continue to notice and honour. STOP EATING. So today is a pivotal day for me. Another band fill that has, dare I say it, brought me into the green zone (!finally?!) and an end to my experiment with re-introducing (yummy) raw cuisine. A small haiku to the end of my raw food dalliances: Raw cuisine (delish) I will miss you, my old friend Weight must be lost now.