Kime-lou

Both that and couscous are great subs for Pasta and rice and have more nutrients. I haven't had any issues with either.

My doc said no, but I have a friend whose doc said it was ok after 6 months post. I have tasted one, honestly it made my stomach hurt so I don't drink them at all anymore. After finding out that Mt. Dew has oil in it (look it up it's in there) I can't think of drinking it. I mean yuck!! I highly recommend trying the different flavors of crystal light and propel- they are excellent and allow you to change up the taste of Water. I drank Crystal Light peach mango green tea for a while, now I am on Propel grape, sometimes crystal light lemonade. All good stuff.

You are doing great! It is an adjustment. I just bought a bubba bottle (24 oz) help me just sip instead up gulping. It's an evolution and you are doing it!!!

You are still very early on. Likely your feelings are more surgery that sugar. While I do not have diabeties, I do have issues with my surgar droping, it just never goes up out of range. The days following surgery as the swelling decreased I felt that Sh*&. I wasn't getting much in and feeling low. Once I got back on mushies I started to feel better and it just got better from there. Your body is adjusting not only to surgery, but to the far less food, it's trying to heal, so it's using up some energy for that, Give it a few more days before worrying to much. Best thing you can do is check your levels make sure they are ok, stay hydrated (very Important), walk as much as you can, and rest! Your body has to have time to heal and adjust.

You WILL enjoy food again- maybe to much. I find I almost enjoy food more because I slow down and savor what I eat rather than wolfing it down in a hurry.

There is much confusion surround WLS surgery and WL in general. Some people think- oh WLS is easy, now you can eat what you want and not have to worry about it. That is soooo wrong. Actually, I worry about what I put in me more. Rather think about, I have to make sure what I am eating has protien, is healthy, and won't get stuck. Some, and I have even been guilty of this, think the scale is the only sign of success. What gets me and I have had this confersation with the doc, is that doctors look at BMI only. You get on the scale and they say oh you are over weight- shame, shame, you must diet. They don't look at everything- your over all health. While we know being morbidly obese is not good and leads to many healthy problems, being slightly over weight is another ball game. I weight 187 lbs, I have been in a 14 for months and now I am starting to move to 12's. While my weight isn't going down, apparently I am toning and my waist is smaller. My wedding rings are falling off my hand. My glasses slide down my nose. Heck, even my socks are big on my feet. So while I see the scale number not moving, something has to be happening because of my clothes. Some seem to think that WLS is a magic bullett and it will cure all that ails you. No way, I wish my mental fatness was cured. I still feel the part of the fat girl. I am amazed when smaller clothes fit, I still feel huge. I still crave the unhealthy. I still have to fight the demons that make me want to eat when I am not really hungry. The triggers are still there, I just have to recognize them and fight them. It's funny many people I work say nothing about my weight loss, ignore it. No one says hey you look good or gee you've lost a lot of weight. I know I must look smaller after loosing 60 lbs, but I wish people would notice. I actually like it when people ask, I like educating people on WLS. Some think it's a good thing, other think I was crazy. But, it is my decision, I made it and I believe in it. My band may mess up some day, I may have to have a revision, but for now it's working just fine and I am happy with it. My brother who is a medic, freaked when I told him. He said I was making a mistake. He worked with some one who thew up everything he eats and he hurts all the time. The band has made his life miserable. I told my brother, that isn't how the band is suppose to work, likely the dude is to tight or is trying to eat to fast and or to much. Now my brother sees what the band can do if worked properly. So, if people as- yes I had the band and this is how it works for me.

I lost 50% in 6 months. Hope to lose 70-100% by the time I reach 3 years. The weight loss slowed after 6 months but I am still slowly loosing.

Don't stress about it. As long as you follow the doc directions you will be ok. The scale will bounce based on water retention, time of day weighed, salt intake, pooped or not, type of food eaten, water intake, time of the month, medications, ect. Therefore the scale is not the only measure of success.

Having planted my own little urban garden this year, I have been enjoying natures bounty. I have spaghetti squash, yellow squash, zucchini squash, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and sweet bell peppers. So I have had lots of veggies to cook. So the following are some meals I have prepared with natures goodies: Spaghetti Squash Garlic Alfredo I cook the squash in the microwave, which takes just a little bit. I make my own garlic alfredo using garlic cloves, olive oil, 2% milk and flour. It's yummy and far less calories than the store bought kind. Sprinkle a touch of parm on top- yummy. Veggie frittata Saute zucchini, cherry tomatoes, onions, peppers add beaten egg and a dash of 2% milk - sprinkle with a touch of monteray jack cheese and it's a yummy meal that reheats wonderful. Grilled Squash Sliced squash tossed in a touch of olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a grill tray and grilled till tender enjoy or sprinkle with a touch of parm cheese. Spaghetti Squash and Veggies Cook Squash in the microwave Touch of olive oil- sauté onion, peppers, cherry tomatoes, squash- salt, pepper to taste, dash of lemon juice. Toss with squash- sprinkle with parm cheese. These are just a few things I have done in the last few weeks - it's nice to eat out of my own garden. I know it's organic, I know it's fresh, and it is soooo good!

At times there can be a fine line in to tight and just right. I had a fill a couple weeks ago, it was fine then, I knew I was tight, but as my cycle time has gotten closer I can't eat solids. I am drinking shakes, eating yogurt, eating eggs, soft fish- until I get through this. If this doesn't go away after my cycle I will go back and get a little unfil. As always, check with you doc.

My hubs is like this. He will not eat fish if it smells or taste fishy. So that means no salmon or tuna. White fish like tilapia, cod, and flounder are good and are not to fishy. I buy large bags of frozen tilapia at Walmart. I pull out two fillets and make these for the hubs and I. There are a lot of different rubs and batters you can use and bake. If you like lemon, try a lemon pepper rub. The lemon pepper rub is yummy if you sprinkle on your fish, place the fish in an aluminum foil packet and grill. If fish smells to fishy when you unwrapped it, soak for about 30 min is Water, a couple drops of lemon juice, and a little salt. This will weaken the fishy taste.

Tomorrow I will have had George D. Band for one year. Luckily, I haven't had any problems. I have gotten about 6 fills and feel like I am in a good place. George is a little tempermental, tightening up whenever he wants to. I have lost 57 lbs and counting. The first 6 months the weight came off with what seem of ease. Then the last 6 months it's slowed to almost nothing. I know, however, the slow down is my own fault. When I began this journey in April 2012, I was excited and determined. I was banded June 22, 2012 and did everything that I was told. As time went by and the weight came off I started to become a little lax on following the rules- like a couple of extra bites here and there and eating more calories than I should. For a while I was getting on the elliptical daily or at the least every other day and getting 30 -45 min. Now my workout routine has become sporatic at best. Partly, the lack of exercise is because work has become very busy and life consuming since we are switching computer systems. Partly, I let the work outs slip because I just didn't want to do it, even though I knew I should. The last month my weight has bounced between 187-190, basically the first 50 lbs fell off the last 7 have come about a pound a month. I do follow the water thing religiously and I do not drink any type of carbonation. I have only had a couple of alcohol drink and they were mixed drinks, which is my preference anyway. I have really started these last couple of weeks trying to get back on track and not allow myself a cheat. This isn't always easy, but it is something I must do. This time of year ice cream and iced coffee from McDonalds are deamons. I love these things during the summer months, so I am trying to avoid them. I hope that I can rededicated my life to dear George and get him working like a champ again. I admit that I have not lived up to my end of the bargin, but George has agree to forgive me. However, George must be a little upset at me because for the last two days he has decided to tighten up to the point yogurt is my food of choice and it keeps me going for 4 hours. I wish he'd loosen up just a touch. So to sum it up after a year of happy marriage to dear George D. Band we are still stitched together, just needing a little couple's therapy.

I have to say I agree with a lot of the others. If I were to have any problems with my band and it needed removal I would revise to the sleeve or bypass. I just don't know if I could do it alone.

You don't have to get stuck. You have less chance of getting stuck if you eat slow and take small bites (peanut M&M size). Right after a fill be careful and during your monthly cycle. Also, for some (me) tightness happens when you get upset and worked up as well as when you fly. Getting stuck is no fun and it does hurt, but it is nothing to panic about. It is mainly pressure and the desire to throw up. If you do get stuck, just remember to stop eating, stop drinking, get up and move around- it will come up. Most of the time my is already coming up by the time I reach the toliet- I lean over spit it out and I'm fine.

That needs to be between you and your doctor. Depending on the type of complications and how you are now, if you should even go right back into sugery. My advice would be have a long in depth conversation with the doctor. Hope things get better soon for you.

At 3 days shy of my 1 year banding mark, I have come to a lot realizations. Through this process you tend to learn about yourself and your strength. I have come to realize, I've lied to myself for a long time. I use to think I ate healthy- WRONG. While I didn't hit fast food joints a lot, what I cooked at home wasn't cooked the healtiest and I ate a lot of processed foods. Beside that I just plain out ate a lot. I use to think that this process would be a snap for me- easy as pie- that I would be a leader and knock the docs socks off- WRONG. I have lost 60 lbs, which isn't horrible, but I could have lost a lot more. I had to realize some things about me and it took a while. It's not always easy to make the right choices when it comes to eating. I use to think- ok I can do this with out exercise- WRONG. I have lost the weight I have with little exercise. While on occassion I take a long walk with the pups, I did good for about a month on the elliptical and the hubs and I ride bikes when the weather allows. But, my workout are not routine, they are sporatic at best. Honestly, I believe I am going to have to add consistant exercise to my routine to ever lose more weight. I use to think- ok, it's okay to eat not so great food today, it's only one day- WRONG. Some people are able to do this, I am not one of them. I find that if I go out and eat something that I normally don't, say fried chicken, that will set my cravings for other not so healthy foods off. For me going off a rigid plan only leads to a slippery slope that I have great difficulty not going over. I have fallen off this slope more times than I care to count. I am currently climbing my way back up to the top. I use to think- I can do this alone- NOPE again. I need the support of so many people. When you are having a tough day, even though you know the answers to some questions, you just need someone there who can reassure you that you are correct. You need the support from the people you are around on a daily basis- spouse, kids, parents, roommates, friends and sometimes co-workers. You also really need a good open relationship with your doctor and nutrtitionist- these are the specilaist to can help you best of all with tweeks to your plan. You also need some type of support group- it could be an actual group meeting or this site- but a group of people who are going through the same thing as you are; who can understand the ups and downs. You also need somewhere that you can come and encourage others, so you feel value in this process - it's an evolving cycle. These are not nearly all the things that I learned, but it's a lot of the big ones. I've stuggled with my weight since I was 6 years old; always being the big girl. I find that I ate complusively and emotionally for years even though I didn't realize it. I realize that while I haven't done horrible on this journey, the only reason I haven't lost more is that I did fully invest in it. I thought I could do it my way and still get where I wanted and that was wrong. I have to do what the doctor and the nutrtionist recommend- healthy diet (plan- whatever you want to call it), exercise, rest, lots of water. So even though I am one year out and about 45 lbs from my goal of weight in the 140's, I am going to have to reinvest myself, get back into the game and hit it hard. I am going to have to do it or I will remain in the 180's.

Call your doc now. You can have blood clots in your lungs- this can be deadly!!

The decision to have and what type of WLS to have are both very personal choices that you must make. Take you doctor's advice to heart. Read, research, get a 2nd opinion, study. Then think about it, talk to a friend or spouse, then make your mind up to do the one you feel you can and the one that you can and will commit to. Bottom like, with out commitment you will not lose weight no matter what type of WLS you have- at least not lose it long term. Once you have made your decsion, go back and talk to the doc. Tell him/her firmly what you want to do and why. If they can't respect that, find another doctor.