♕ajtexas♕

Love the pics. Especially the one with your old pants. You look great, congrats!

Wow you look great. Congrats!

Doing great. Keep it up.

Congrats you look fabulous!

And it has wheels!

I was reading the forum today and read a reply to a post about snacking that said “It’s okay to be hungry.” This got me thinking (I know scary, huh?!) Do I really know what true physical hunger feels like? Hunger where you don’t know if or when you will eat again….. Pain and discomfort from malnutrition and dehydration. I have never experienced true physical hunger. But, I’m the first to say I am sooooo hungry. Why? Was it the way I was raised? Society? Or what? Before my band food was everything. I would plan every meal to the tee and as soon as the meal was over I was talking/planning the next meal. Breakfast at 8am, lunch at noon, afternoon snacks/cocktails at 5pm and dinner at 7pm. My belly alarm would go off at each time and I would say I’m hungry. I was obsessed with my meals and eating. Food had all the control. Fast forward 18 months and I have the control back (for the most part). Yes I still eat on the same schedule. This is a personality flaw for me, very organized and schedule oriented. It drives some people crazy. The difference is that I know this is a trigger for my head hunger and I don’t let that “I’m hungry” feeling take over. I know when I’m going to eat, I know how much I’m going to eat and I know what types of foods I’m going to eat. So, yes it’s okay to be hungry. But, my head hunger will not control me, I will control it!

Lurker, huh???? Well you know what we think of lurkers? Love them!!! Welcome! Good luck to you. This is a great place to hang out, get ideas, questions answered and support anytime!

Congrats! As for questions....so many! meal plan? Pre & post op diets? do's & don'ts? fills? after care? My best advise is read as much of this forum tonight and make a list from there. Good luck to you and welcome!!!

Oh hell yes! My band is like a two year old, you never know what you are going to get!!!

Austin of course... I live in Georgetown (about 20 minutes north of Austin), work downtown Austin. Love it so a little bias. Honestly, both areas are great. It depends on where you can get a job. If you do move here, I would recommend True Results (offices in both Austin & San Antonio) for your band follow ups.

The purpose of the pre op diet is to shrink the liver so it isn't in the way. If your doctor is still able to perform the surgery then you are fine.... tomorrow will tell, good luck.

I was self pay and my surgery was 3 weeks after consult. It depends on the schedule but Paul will get you scheduled as soon as you are ready. Good luck, you are in good hands!

I also use True Results Austin. Nothing but praises for them. They are the best. They have a support group that meets once a month on Thursday nights. The next one is this Thursday at 6:30pm. I would recommend coming. Hope to see you on Thursday.

Pattypan comes in yellow, green, and white varieties. The squash is most tender when relatively immature; it is generally served when it is no more than two to three inches in diameter.

First, congrats on the loss so far. You are right on track. Second, do not worry about your fill on Monday. Your doctor should discuss with you what you have been eating, portion sizes, food types, etc. From that information he/she will decide the amount of the fill. As you get fills the BIGGEST lesson is how to eat. Even today (18 months banded) I have to remind myself to take small bites, chew like crazy and wait about a minute between bits. This is the biggest obstacle most of us face and if we don't do it we have issues with eating and feel like we are too tight. Good luck to you, I think you are doing great.

Oh yeah, people treat me different, What I noticed first is at work, coworkers (especially male) saying hello to me....never did that before. As for family, my husband is my biggest fan. We have been married just over four years, so he married me when I was big. He always said that appearance was just that and didn't show the true person. HOWEVER, now he always tells me how nice I look, sex has improved greatly, and he likes to point out when I do something that I couldn't possible have done before. I am a lot happier and therefore our marriage is a lot happier, too.

You are on your way, girlfriend. Looking good!

Yes, I think Bariatric specialist should know best. Doctors orders vary and so my point is to follow your own doctors orders, not what someone says on this site or anywhere else. Good luck to you.

To having a Lapband…. Well there are Dr. O’Brien’s eight golden rules. 1, Eat three or less small meals per day 2. Do not eat anything between meals 3. Eat slowly and stop when no longer hungry 4. Focus on nutritious foods 5. Avoid calorie-containing liquids 6. Exercise for at least 30 minutes every day 7. Be active throughout the day 8. Always keep in contact with your aftercare specialist And there are the basic band eating rules. 1. Small bites 2. Chew until mushy 3. Eat slow (wait about 1 minute between bites) After this it starts to get foggy, many doctors with many different opinions and advise. There is: 1. Don’t drink while eating 2. No carbonated drinks 3. No straws 4. No NSAIDS 5. No alcohol So what do you do? Who is right?? Every doctor is different. An example is let’s compare my doctor and my good friend CalorinaGirl’s doctor: Drinking while eating: My doctor says it’s fine as long as you wait the minute between bites & sips. CG doctor says NO drinking while eating and wait 30 minutes after you eat. Carbonated drinks: My doctor says if you want that’s fine but he sees most patients prefer not to because of the discomfort in drinking the carbonation. CG doctor says NO. Straws My doctor says if you want and it doesn’t bother you, fine. (I use a straw on occasion). CG doctor says NO. NSAIDS My doctor says Yes. CG doctor says NO. Alcohol My doctor says count the calories. CG doctor says prefer not, but if so use sparingly. I would say that both CG & I have been successful with our banded journeys, we both follow our band rules (doctor’s orders) and have seen the results. So who is right????? YOUR DOCTOR IS RIGHT! That is the person you put your money and life into so why not trust them? My point is this journey is not cut and dry, black and white. This journey is what you make of it. Trust in your doctor and listen to them. Make your choices based on that.

I had surgery on a Tuesday and returned to a desk job on the following Monday. That was ample time for me, but if you have a more physical job I think you would need more time.

Good luck to you. Keep coming back her, there is a lot of great support!

I'll keep my figures cross on the insurance approval. As for Protein shakes I prefer Pure Protein premix shakes or unjury powder shakes. It is all a personal preference as you will see in the replies. Good luck to you.

My Patient Activist at True Results (here in Austin) has been banded for 10 years with zero complications.