♕ajtexas♕

Welcome Donna, The band is the best thing I have done for myself. It is a wonderful tool that has assisted me in loosing 73 lbs in 10 months. I completely changed my eating lifestyle, I don't eat fast food anymore, I don't drink sodas anymore. Most of my meals are prepaid from scratch using fresh produce (nothing out of a box). I log everything I eat. Drink my Water and exercise daily. Yes its a lot of work, but worth every minute of it. I would recommend that you read this forum, read the success stories and also the unsuccessful stories. Research and educate yourself on the band and the rules that you will need to follow. One book that was very helpful to me was Bandwagon by Jean McMillan. There is a link to buy it at the bottom of this page. And finally ask questions, we would love to answer them and tell you our experiences. Good luck to you.

I suggest you log your food. I use myfitnesspal app. Be sure to eat no more than 1 cup per meal, 3 - 4 ozs of Protein, 1/2 cup veggies and drink at least 64 oz of Water. This is what worked for me. If you have a nutritionist available I would also suggest seeing them. They will help you map out a eating plan that will work for you. Good luck to you. Keep trying, you can do this.

Congratulations on your success. You are so right when you say: "The band is a tool and if your willing to make life style changes it's a big help!If you expect the band to do all the work you will fail." I hope all the newbies read this. Good luck to you & thanks for sharing your story.

The band doesn't help with emotional eating or head hunger. It is a tool that will help you eat less IF you follow the band rules. I had to completely change my eating lifestyle. I now eat 1 cup of food per meal which consists of 3-4 ozs of Protein, & 1/2 cup of veggies, a total of 1200 calories a day. I still battle head hunger. I eat when I'm bored, so I try not to get bored. I'm also an emotional eater and when I have to battle that I reach out to my friends. The band has helped me loose the weight, but I did most of the work by changing my lifestyle. Good luck to you.

Congrats. You look fabulous!

Count me in minimi. I need to get moving more and always up for a good challenge.

Failure was never an option for me. I had todo something and it had to work. So I followed allthe rules, changed my eating habit and here I am happy and health. Best thing I've done for myself. Happy New Year!

I sometimes have pita chips, pita bread or greek flat bread with it.

And it is very easy to make. Here is my favorite recipe Roasted Red Pepper Hummus 1 Can chickpea/garbonza beans (15oz) 1/3 cup tahini (See note below) ¼ cup lemon juice 2 Tbs olive oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed ½ - ¾ cup roasted red peppers In a food processor, combine beans, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add red peppers and garlic until desired consistency. I calculated the nutritional information based on ¼ cup serving: Calories 154 Total Fat 11g Sodium 190mg Total Carbs 8.4g Dietary fiber 3.2g Sugars .9g Protein 5.1g Tahini is sesame seed butter. I find it with the peanut butter or in the international isle of the grocery store. Enjoy!

It is sooo easy to make. Enjoy!

And it is very easy to make. Here is my favorite recipe Roasted Red Pepper Hummus 1 Can chickpea/garbonza Beans (15oz) 1/3 cup tahini (See note below) ¼ cup lemon juice 2 Tbs olive oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed ½ - ¾ cup roasted red peppers In a food processor, combine beans, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add red peppers and garlic until desired consistency. I calculated the nutritional information based on ¼ cup serving: Calories 154 Total Fat 11g Sodium 190mg Total Carbs 8.4g Dietary Fiber 3.2g Sugars .9g Protein 5.1g Tahini is sesame seed butter. I find it with the Peanut Butter or in the international isle of the grocery store. Enjoy!

I've never have a problem getting my protein in for the day so I've not tried the unflavored protein. Be interested to see what people suggest.

You can substitute roasted garlic for the Roasted Red Peppers to make roasted garlic hummus.I also have a tasty spicy black bean hummus recipe. Have to hunt that down & post it. Happy New Year.

Great blog. We can be our worst enemy or our best friend, it's our choice. Happy New Year!

So very true!

These are my babies! Atticus, Black Mouth Cur. He is the biggest baby in town. Hank, Blue Healer. Gill's dog, follows her around the whole time she is here. Sophie, Dachshund. Daddy's baby (but he won't admit it) and the BOSS of all the dogs! Bugsy, Rat Terrier and Dachsund mix. My baby, he is with his best friend Smokey the cat.

I think the oddest for me is the amount of wine. I measure out my wine and track it to the ounce. Knowing it's 'wasted calories' I make sure it is logged to the tee. lol

Is my band too tight? How many times do we see this question? A lot so let’s talk about it. How tight you have your band is a personal preference. No one (including your doctor) can tell you how tight it has to be. This is something you have to decide for yourself. Personally my band is loose. The last time I had an x-ray my doctor commented that I didn’t have very much restriction. Oh well, it is what works for me. I have had 2 unfills because I felt my band was too tight, but I know now that it wasn’t. So how do I know if my band is too tight? I ask myself these questions: 1. Can I get water/liquids down okay? If YES not too tight 2. Are my bites the size of a nickel or smaller? If NO not too tight 3. Do I chew my food at least 30 times before swallowing? If NO not too tight 4. Do I wait 1 minute between bites? If No not too tight It appears that my eating habits cause me to think my band is too tight. When I eat correctly I have no problems. My advice to anyone wondering if their band is too tight is, evaluate your eating by asking yourself my four questions.

What you are feeling is called a soft stop. Your band is saying that's enough any more & there will be trouble, lol. Basically you're full.

Why would you feel bad? You are listening to your band and you know whether you need a fill or not. I lost weight the whole time I was getting fills but I still got them because I was still hungry a lot. I reached the 'green zone' (aka sweet spot) when I was about 15 pounds from my goal. lol Listen to your band and if you feel you need a fill get one & don't feel bad. You are doing great!

Hiccups are often band related. They are a soft stop, in other word your band is saying that's enough. Or if you are eating too fast your band is saying hey slow down. If they come 20 - 30 mins after you have eaten then you probably ate too fast and your pouch is full, again band saying hey don't do that, lol. At least that's what my band says.

That is not unusual being only a week post op. Try to stay hydrated and as the swelling goes down your apatite will return. If you are having trouble drinking I would suggest you let your doctors office know. Good luck to you.