The B

Hi and congratulations. I was like you after surgery my left arm hurt and I had to remind myself to eat because I had zero hunger and would feel satisfied with a bite. Enjoy it while it lasts, I would have split pea soup or lentil soup (split into 3 or 4 servings through out the day) a teaspoon of peanut butter, I would also have tea with soy milk and I would do this for the protein the fiber and because it felt less like eating than other things since I wasn't hungry. Make sure your picking foods high in protein and low in fat calories. I didn't get or need a fill until 6 months after I got the band and I believe it was because I had lost enough weight that my band was looser. For me the left side ache is less but still occasional and as far as the fill pain, I'm afraid of needles and hate the feel of stinging but really this isn't bad I fact a lot of times she has to tell me it's done cause I didn't know. Good luck you'll do great!

My dr. Says the same as yours but to proceed slower with adding solids back if needed. You've had other fills so you know your body best but I just wanted to say ( in case your body is like mine) but I stay tight from a fill for about 10 days before I get an accurate feel of how my body will handle the new fill on a daily basis. Good luck though hope it's green zone for you

Wow your a cutie!! Thanks for posting this I've been banded for a year and have been pretty successful but it has really slowed and I've been excusing it. This was really motivating! Thanks agsin

Haven't been for a while so hi again everyone!

I know your frustrated and I know making this lifestyle change is tough. you said you were going to wait and get a fill after x-mas, for this to work you have to embrace this change during the holidays too. you will always find an excuse to wait. or at least i could if i approached it that way. for a long time I did approach it that way, after x-mas i will start eating right, after we get moved into the new home I will start eating right....etc..etc. i put it off until i weighed 275 lbs. it's easy to do. I agree with you though stress affects the band for me it also affects my weight loss. I have faith in you and i'm sorry your going through tough times with other things as well...Good luck everything will work out, take care

don't stress, I think most Dr.'s are more concerned about you healing than about your weight at this point, right now it's about adopting the right habits and whether or not your having trouble avoiding the bad ones that the Dr. will be most concerned with, my dr. even told me that some people don't lose and even gain because of swelling and water. No worries everything will be fine, Good luck and take care!

Let me tell you not everyone loses a lot on pre-op diet I certainly didn't, and I hope you don't get too discouraged after only 5 days or this journey will be longer than it has to be, I'm not trying to be to critical but weight loss takes time and you haven't even been banded yet there is still all the pre-op time and then 4-6 weeks of post-op time when losing a lot of weight is unrealistic for some people. Please don't focus on the scale yet, learn to eat right and it will happen, you will hit moments when it takes forever to lose 2 ounces and other times you might lose 5 lbs. in a week, I promise if you do your part the rest will happen. A word of caution though, stress (even stressing about the number on the scale) will slow down your progress. let this happen, be patient and be excited this can change your life in great ways like it has for so many of us!! your not doing anything wrong except stressing... Good luck everything will work out!

Hi, its funny, i spent...probably hours on LBT before my surgery reading everything i could to educate myself and then continued to be a constant reader for about 3 months after the surgery. It's funny how much less time I spend on the computer now that I have more energy, I am often curios how everyone is doing and plan on peeking in but never seem to have the time...that's a good thing in a way because i'm busy and living! but the past few days I've made time to visit LBT again and remembered why I enjoy this site, and how encouraged I always am by it. I don't want to be one of the people that only pop in to complain and give others a bad impression of the band and then leaves only to pop in moths later to complain again, instead I want to tell some of the newbies how it can be frustrating sometimes in a good way,,, First let me say I have lost 78 lbs. in 6-7 months! but it seems like every new big # is a challenge for example I kinda went through a plateau for about a month, frustrating but also new it would happen. now i've started losing again, steady, consistent...I am happy!!!! okay so now I'm approaching 199 I will be in onederland, everyday i'm losing ounces not always pounds but always ounces okay so a few days ago I hit 200.6 maybe tomorrow I tell myself, the next day 200.2 okay definently tomorrow, the next morning 200.0...Really, okay, okay this happens often it's okay ( I really don't freak out if i don't lose any thing for a week or two, but i am sooo excited about being in the 1 hundreds again) It's okay I say, tomorrow will be the day. this morning I wake up excitedly weigh in...yep 200.0. I am frustrated, It's great... I know any day (or week) I will get up and cross that threshold into the ones but today is not it, what a great journey this has been...any body want to know if this is worth it? anybody want to know if LBT will help you? and does anyone want to know whether or not I'm happy even if I get up tomorrow and the scale reads 200.0 again? YES...Yes...and Yes my band has become my friend and I love it...I hope you all love yours too!

LoL! that is funny, your awesome! I havent been on in a while i see what I've been missing it wont be so long next time! btw congratulations, good job

Wow you are so lovely, as so many of the posts have said you are an inspiration! Great Job and Thanks

I only order water when eating out but otherwise you will learn what your body will take easily and what might get into a stuck episode and then avoid the problem foods but if you don't eat out often then just enjoy it. remember you want to eat right, but we're going to have special times we want to let go and enjoy, even skinny people do it, remember portion control and be mindful don't go crazy but don't over think it either! Good luck and don't worry

for me its worth it, and i was a cash pay no insurance. but let me tell you that this is no easy fix I know people who are getting weight loss surgery and say to me " I can still eat what i want but I wont be as hungry and won't eat as much, so i'll lose weight". I don't think so.... let me tell you, you'll probably lose weight for a while but if you don't make a lifestyle change it will come back, I Have seen this happen with several people. so its worth it if you do it right! Good luck You'll do great!

So I am wondering about Peanut Butter is it healthy or not and in what amounts. And before anyone says ask your nut. I can't... I live in a tiny town 4 hours away from where I had surgery. no nut. here. now I am going to say I have been studying on how to eat better and we (my family have changed how we eat) even my husband has lost 22 lbs. and not by dieting but because we changed our life style. but books are conflicting on peanut butter one uses it as a good example the other as bad so whats your opinion or what has your nut. told you? :wub: Thanks in advance I really do appreciate it!

Hi! this site can help answer alot of questions and be a great support system. I learned so much from here before my surgery and continue to come back! Good Luck with everything and welcome!

Popcorn bothers some and not others. The eggs though, hmmm I dont understand why your dr. said that, I personally do egg whites and it doesnt take much to fill me up, but i usually have some fruit or side with it. I would try it though and see if it does fill you up, if not tell your dr. and maybe have a healthy side as well. I want to say though, most of us are told to keep portions to no larger than a cup however you don't have to eat a cup if less keeps you satisfied, i rarely eat a whole cup of food more often it is 1/2 or 3/4 of a cup, at first if i barely could eat 1/4 of a cup of anything even a Protein shake. Good luck though, you'll figure out what works for you!

I just went on a trip where the altitude was higher and i did notice i was tighter. i had to make sure i chewed just a little better. I had to revert back to yogurts and shakes a couple of times. it wasnt super bad but there was a difference. Good luck and have fun!

i take gummies and the flintstones kids chewables. do they make you nauseated because of the flavor or is it just the vitamins? until i got used to them I had to take them at night right before bed and this has always been the case even with prenatal pills that you swallow. Hope something works out, Good luck!

Hi and congratulations! I had my surgery in April and yes that is exactly how i felt it gets better... I still have a stinging sensation sometimes and my dr.s office says it's normal.

you had surgery 5 days ago right? first let me say if you're concerned call your doc... second, you're gonna be sore, they pumped you full of gas sewed a port to your muscle, put a band around your stomach and sewed that too. I was sore for 2 weeks before it really started getting better and the 3rd to 8th days were the worst. also it can take awhile for your appetite to return, but be careful of what your eating most people are only on liquids right now. again though it is normal to be very sore, listen to your body and if you think something isn't right call your dr.s office thats what their there for. as far as having regrets i guess thats up to you, i had surgery in april and have lost 50lbs and still going strong, I have no regrets, maybe in a few weeks i hope you won't regret it either! Goodluck and take care

You will all kinds of answers for this question, some people obsess with the number and can't cope with fluctuations that will occur and to them it's not worth the stress. You have to do what works for you. You won't lose as quickly if your stressed all the time! I myself weigh every night and morning. I do this so I know if I need to double check anything that i might overlook, keep myself accountable, and it also gives me a heads up to tom, Water intake, etc... having said that I don't freak out if I don't lose anything for a couple of weeks. do whats best for you and your progress! Good luck you'll do great!

everyone is different, myself and several others have not needed a fill at all, and their are others that need several, before i had surgery i had resigned myself to the idea of not being in the green zone for a year, i'm lucky, chin up you'll get there.

Hi everyone! I have a question about adding electrolytes to Water. I drink alot of just plain water but sometimes I add mio just for some flavor, I bought 1 with electrolytes and honestly I can almost feel the difference immedietly but, well I guess I don't understand when or how much electrolytes are good or bad. I know that when your sick and losing alot of Fluid electrolytes are good but what if your not sick? Do electrolytes make you retain water? Do any of you know the pro's and cons of adding electrolytes? How much is enough? Thanks anyone that replies, I appreciate it!

I read your post today and left and am now back, I want to say something to brighten your day or change your perspective, but I don't know what to say. All of these things are important and you deserve to feel overwhelmed. I don't know when and I don't know how, but eventually things will work themselves out, or you will see how these things helped you grow, idk, I really wish you the best, and believe things will get better! Good luck and take care.

Tomorrow will be 5 weeks with my band, my Husband comments on my loss everyday and my kids do regularly which feels great! My husband was saying a few days ago "your butt is getting smaller" after telling me several times over a few days I start thinking, maybe it really is getting smaller, so I say to my son (he is 7 and the youngest of 4 kids, he being the only boy and his sisters are all teenagers, so he is used to these questions and usually puts in his 2 cents whether he's asked or not) Is my butt smaller or is dad just being nice? You can tell the pressures on... "uum, um," and his eyebrows are pulled together in thought, what to do, what to do??? he finally says "I think it's smaller?" I laugh cause he's obviously trying to get this right and I ask "is it really smaller or are you just being nice?" his confidence must kick in now cause he sits up a little straighter and says "I think it's smaller yeah, yeah, it's smaller" so there you have it, either my family is being sweet or it's smaller. I've been really lucky, I didn't have to get a fill when I went in a few days ago, I'm never hungry and have to remember to eat, I don't have many cravings and haven't had a problem with wanting to over eat. i'm losing about 15 lbs. a month or 1/2-1 lbs. a day. I'm enjoying it now cause I know any day it will slow down and I'll have to really start working for it. I am noticing inches and my clothes are getting to big, today..right now, I love my band, we seem to be working together very well! My husband says if you could do it again would you. well right now yes, but like so many others I worry that I will lose 35 lbs and it will just stop, it's scary to think that I paid $10,000.00 to lose 30 or 40 lbs (I was self pay) and then he says... we need to get a bag going for you so every time you put something on that no longer fits (which is starting to happen !!!!) you can put it in it and get rid of it you'll never need it again. I gasp, he doesn't know but inside I think wait, what if I gain my weight back I'll need clothes.... Wow, why is this so scary, it's fun I'm losing weight I've only just started this journey... and I know some people return to bad habits ad gain there weight back, I'm familiar with plateau's and sure I will have my share, but since when have I been so weak to not be able to control myself??? not so long ago. or I wouldn't be where I am today. The band helps the belly not the brain. But you know my family has made lifestyle changes we eat better, we only buy healthy things my husband has lost 22 lbs and my teenagers all lost between between 5-9 lbs (all have and had healthy bmi's) but none of them have the band, we are making our life so that I and all of us know how to eat and live better. so I'm going to stick to it. worry about today and eat right so I'll be ready for tomorrow and then I'll repeat. this plan should work... NO NO It will work!

I agree with you this site has really been helpful! I don't have support groups where I live and where I had surgery is 4 hours away, also I don't personally know anyone with the lap band so I would be pretty lost without this site, I'm sorry you had to drive so far and not have the meeting be helpful. Good Luck