Kitt3000

Thanks ladies! I'm so happy to hear these things, and the little shake Diva! I know everyone needs a place to chat, I think four or five of the last few days, some of the email I've had has been terrible situations for folks that are having bands removed or no weight loss, regains... Yes, I need to reset some settings, I'm almost afraid to open my email. I really love hearing from long term banders, it really helps! Thank you.

I don't know about anyone else, but if feel there is an over abundant amount of negative post regarding the gastric band, on the board right now. I've been very happy with it over all, but my gosh, all the bad press it's getting, it makes me wonder when "disaster" is going to strike!! Lol!

Good suggestions red! Even shredded meats can be puréed with broth, greens and fruit in the blender with Water or juice. Non flavor Protein in Soups, lentil Soup puréed ... The reason you are told to stick with the steps of your program is not to punish you, but to promote a successful surgical start, not tearing out sutures etc.
We've all been there, and we are here to pay it forward. I know I could not have walked this walk alone, you don't have to either. A month from now, that one more puréed something, will be a memory. One meal at a time one day at a time, one foot in front of the other. You can do this, believe it.

Awwww! So happy you are feeling on track now! Here's to losers !

What do all people who get ahead in life, who succeed at great challenges, who achieve great things, have in common? They all got started! And once they got started they "stayed the course" through the tough times, having faith that a better time and place was in their future, and not too far to reach for.


No professional athlete ever got great by occasionally training. No talented surgeon became great by entering an Operating Room now and then. Amazing parenting requires daily commitment. Amazing ANYTHING requires daily commitment. Greatness requires showing up, day after day.
We have received Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) as a tool. That tool shows up every day. Do we? Do we show up to use that tool every day? Paraphrasing Newton's First Law, "Objects in motion tend to stay in motion and objects at rest tend to stay at rest." How does this apply to us? "Objects" (us!) sprawled across the sofa eating chips and believing they can't succeed tend to stay on the sofa eating chips not succeeding! "Objects" (us again!) eating healthy foods and exercising tend to remain eating healthy foods and exercising.
We have all lived the experience of having Newton's Law work against us, which is how we qualified for WLS. How can you make Newton's Law work for you? What are you willing to do today, tomorrow and the next day to make Newton's Law work for you?
I met today with a Life Coaching client who for medical reasons beyond her control cannot qualify for WLS so doesn't benefit from the tool we have all been granted. But she shows up every day for herself, walking briskly for an hour and eating primarily vegetables, fruit and lean sources of Protein. Without our tool, she shows up! With our tool, how can you better show up in your own life?
It's not hard to do and you can do it! Start small, so the change is sustainable, but make it consistent. Small changes add up to something valuable if repeated often enough. So what will you do? Will you take a 20 minute walk daily with your heart healthily pounding during your lunch hour? Will you ride your bike for 20 minutes up a 500 foot hill daily and then coast home? Will you briskly swim laps daily for 20 minutes at your local pool? Will you follow-up these activities with lean, healthy dinners?
What I and my coaching clients have learned is that if we create daily programs for healthy living they are only hard to maintain for a few weeks and then we reap huge benefits in health, mobility and pride. Then the changes become the "New Normal." Consider....what would you like your "New Normal" to be? Are you willing to be uncomfortable for a few weeks to achieve it? If you are, I know the "New Normal" healthier you is within your reach and I know how to get there!!

I was banded on June 4th, 2014. I started at 265, dropped weight before the surgery, and dropped over ten pounds the two weeks post op. I was so happy, so excited to see such a change so immediately. No one, not even my doctor, warned me about the months that follow surgery. I went in to the surgery with the idea that it would work from the get-go, and that my restriction combined with the will from pre-surgery would create an unstoppable momentum.
I was grossly misinformed.
I was allowed to eat more than creams and liquids around the end of June/beginning of July. With the lack of a fill, I was able to eat and drink any and everything. It was disheartening. I thought over and over again that I was one of the % of people who wouldn't see success with the LB. The emotional toll that it took was the hardest.
I had fill in June, July, and August. I was at 7 cc's and wasn't seeing any difference at all. My lifestyle, while I had been hopeful, had become even more sedentary and unhealthy the longer I went without seeing any change. I felt that the surgery was for naught. The TR ladies were helpful, but with gaining one to two pounds with every check-in, I went from 265, to 247, to 253 by September 26th.
I had my last fill the 26th, up to 7.5 cc's. I had liquids the first 24 hours, then went to regular foods. Immediately I felt a difference.I had gotten too used to eating too fast, too much, too quickly. Within minutes I was full--and could see that 7.5 cc's was the absolute perfect setting for me at the moment.
I'm down to 244 and at my lowest weight in two years. Bandster hell is real. It's hard. It's depressing. It's also something I wish friends and doctors would have told me about to prepare for. Here's to making it through the toughest 4 months, and being confident that things are going to work out
J

First, let me congratulate you on the 61 pounds lost! Excellent!
What works for me regarding exercise...
Fit bit is a great motivator. Give yourself goals in the amount of steps and stairs you want to do everyday. Work up to that 10 thousand min per day, and then every couple of days, push yourself a little more. In bad weather, I head for the indoor mall, I'm busy looking at everything, and forget I'm exercising. Park your car at the farther point of every parking lot, it becomes a game as to how much you can get in. Dust off that old bike, or treat yourself and spend some lovely evenings touring your neighborhood after work. Turn on some music and dance like no ones watching! Have fun with moving! You will be surprised that pushing yourself just a little harder, may kick start the results you want...

Oooh, the butterfinger Protein shake is delish! It's a scoop of chocolate Protein powder, 1 TB PB2, 1 TB of SF butterscotch pudding, 1 c. milk (I use soy) and some ice. The original recipe also calls for SF sweetener to taste, but I find it's not necessary. I had one for dinner last night!

First, let me congratulate you on the 61 pounds lost! Excellent!
What works for me regarding exercise...
Fit bit is a great motivator. Give yourself goals in the amount of steps and stairs you want to do everyday. Work up to that 10 thousand min per day, and then every couple of days, push yourself a little more. In bad weather, I head for the indoor mall, I'm busy looking at everything, and forget I'm exercising. Park your car at the farther point of every parking lot, it becomes a game as to how much you can get in. Dust off that old bike, or treat yourself and spend some lovely evenings touring your neighborhood after work. Turn on some music and dance like no ones watching! Have fun with moving! You will be surprised that pushing yourself just a little harder, may kick start the results you want...

It's such a fine line for some of us! The elusive green zone. I suspect there are a few who have walked in your shoes. Don't give up! If there's one thing I have found out with the band, it's unpredictable, just like life when you think about it. Here's hoping you find your shade of green!

It's such a fine line for some of us! The elusive green zone. I suspect there are a few who have walked in your shoes. Don't give up! If there's one thing I have found out with the band, it's unpredictable, just like life when you think about it. Here's hoping you find your shade of green!

Once I slowed down, I noticed how fast my spouse ate. I think part of my speed eating prior to banding, was to finish as quickly as he did. Since being banded, I actually bought a minute timer hour glass to keep turning over between bites. It's been fun and funny. We joke and laugh about it- but he is eating less now that his brain is making the time connection!

Post-op I found warm tea and broth to be easiest for me to swallow. I couldn't handle the thicker things, like Protein shakes (plus I was sick of them from two weeks on pre-op diet!). Also I really enjoyed popsicles during this time. Hope you're feeling better today -- there is a turnaround point for each of us. I found the walking really, really helped me. Plus I had to take something for Constipation. Even though I didn't take pain medication post-op (the side effects seem worse to me than the discomfort), I had to address constipation at 4-5 days out. Best wishes to you! You are on your way -- worst is behind you!

As many posts I read that push me away because of the negativity I come upon those few, those ones who make me constantly want to come back and stick around and help others out while helping myself. This is one of those posts.
I would be downright lying if I said I could have done this without the support of many on this site. Some of you on this very thread in fact. I feel I owe it to those to pay it forward.
We cannot ever let the negativity push us away. We need each other and we need this site. We are strong because we all have something in common that a lot of people do not simply understand.
I am not sure about you all but I have entered what I consider most frightening phase of my marathon....Maintenance. This phase worries me more then anything because I have been here before with those fad diets. I am hoping it will be different this time but still that worry lingers.

@@jfc193 You have been inspiring me from day one; thanks so much! I wrote a letter to myself last year and can't wait to open it.
@@chasingadream love everything you said -- so true! Have missed you here......have a great week!

you need to copy and paste this post by you on every post asking for help in stalls, not losing, cant lose like so and so...this is superbly written and 100% accurate.

write yourself a letter with your hopes and dreams for the future also remind yourself how well you are dong and anything positive no matter how small.
The reason you want to write the letter is to remind yourself when you want to give up how well you are doing now.
Start keeping a list of NSV's (Non scale Victories)

Have you given some thought to making food one day of the week, pack it in containers by portion, date & freeze. Pop in the microwave? When we fix steak, I make some rare so that when reheating, it's not over cooked. There are some precooked meats you can buy at the grocery store, bake a small sweet potato in the micro, a small ind. size veggie portion, dinner can be ready in 10 min.
Beans by themselves or in a Soup, lentil soup, Breakfast for dinner... Turkey or roast beef roll ups with cheese and lettuce. Just tossing out a few easy things I do for myself. When I need extra Protein, a whey Protein Shake.< /p>
Even restaurant meals, pack leftovers in individual containers. Since you rant eating as much, splurge on better smaller cuts of meat, pork, turkey, crab, shrimp etc.. Feeling lazy, I eat a single serving container of Greek yogurt. Multi Vitamin, minerals, etc.. Good luck, and happy cooking!

I've been practicing keeping my food clean over the last few weeks. I define clean as minimal to no fried choices, no snacking between meals, and starting with Protein first at every meal.
I'm really finding that my restriction is more predictable and noticeable when I do this consistently. I was wondering last month if the fill I got was actually putting me in the green zone. I didn't think so because I could still overdo it on fried food or junk like popcorn.
But a month of eating cleanly has shown me that the restriction is definitely there, and my band is indeed telling me when to stop.
Such a learning process. It's easy to see now how I could mess this up. It's also easy to see that if I just follow a few simple rules most of the time, my band can really work and make satiety easy for me.
The sloppier I eat, the harder it gets. The cleaner I eat, the easier it gets.
I love my band!

Post on sista!

Post on sista!

I am so sorry you have had this situation occur. I can only send best wishes and hope you will get a new band soon. I would be freaking out, I have to admit. You've worked so hard to get to your goal. Don't give up, never give up!
Big hug!

Can you call your Bariatric surgeon for a little pow-wow and is the surgeon who is removing the cyst aware you have your band? Put those medical professionals to work. We really have to be our own advocates. Call now and get some answers so you don't have any more anxiety than you already have with any upcoming surgery. Best wishes to you! Call. Both.

I tried posting this in my blog, but am not sure it worked.
I have been walking for the past month, I guess, walking every day, either on the track at work, or on the treadmill at home. It would be an understatement to say I dislike exercise, because I was disappointed so many times when I’d get on the scale and it didn’t move. I would also be lying if I said that weight loss wasn’t important to me.
Maybe this is one of those aha! Moments, although I’m sure all this stuff was in the back of my mind. I am not walking just to lose weight. I am walking to have a healthier heart. I am walking to lessen the pain in my knees from arthritis. I am walking because less pain means going up and down stairs with ease. I am walking because I feel good after I do it. And you know what? It has kept me going. Know what else? The scale is moving in the right direction. My band works when I do my part.
I will always love sweets, that’s what got me to my highest weight of 338 pounds. I am allowing myself to eat them, though not in the huge quantities I have before. Just for today, it is working for me. There may come a time when I know longer desire them, though I can’t see that. (LOL) I do eat fruit; I eat salads and veggies. I’m making a conscious effort to make better choices, and though I don’t always do that, I feel like my refocusing has helped me immensely. I have lost 11 pounds Saturday was the first time I weighed myself. That also works for me, otherwise I know I'd be nuts. :-).

I so agree with the last post. I consider a fill and then my band gets irritated and I know I can't overfill or... Disaster for days. So I go along and I do not overdo it. It just acts up for sometimes no reason. And it's close to 8 years and I still look here for answers. Thanks