lisacaron

I agree with the above posters. If you are not comfortable eating and drinking then you might need just a tiny bit of the fill taken out. Remember that you can always go and have it put back in as you need it.

I'm looking for a good weight lifting and core training program to follow. One that starts you out slow and steady....any suggestions? @ DJ I agree with what B-52 and Karen said speak to your doctor before you start or go back to any kind of exercise program to be sure that all your wounds are healed. Just because your incisions are healed on the surface healing beneath the skin is still on going. You don't want to hurt the muscle or the fascia that the port is connected to. That seems to be one of the last things to fully heal.

Hi Marki, Welcome to the site. You will find all kinds of wonderful supportive motivational and inspirational people here. My thoughts and prayers are with your son, and I hope that 2014 will see you both healthy and happy! If you have any questions, just shout them out you'll get a myriad of answers. I've had several surgeries over the course of my life time. A couple major to remove some bad organs...but the lapband has been the biggest life saver of all in my eyes!

I agree with what you wrote Alex. Breaking down our long term goals and mapping out a plan to achieve them is a great motivational tool! Be sure to reward yourself for achieving even the smallest of goals you set for yourself with something non- food related! Building the rewards into the plan is like double motivation for me!

PT and CG you ladies are on a roll today! I have to say that I have been blessed on this journey. I have lost weight before and heard the haters, and hated on myself and gained it all back enough for 2 of me. I learned a lot from those experiences, and I learned that I have to be true to myself. I am not perfect, I am about as imperfect as a human can be and I love that about me! I make mistakes, I cry, sometimes bleed or bruise, get back up and do it again better and more aware every time. So to those haters I say THANK YOU because you have taught me some very valuable lessons! Since pre-op I have lost nearly 50lbs. it's been slow and some months have been no loss, but I am not complaining because...NONE of it has come back! I have not gained one pound of it back and the scale keeps moving in the direction I want it to move. I'm not always happy to see it be stuck on a number, but I remember that I feel good and I'm doing something right so I keep on going! So I say let the haters hate if they must, they don't hurt anyone but themselves! Once you get past those kind of people in your life you attract only loving supportive people to be around, and today that's who I have and choose to be by my side and I feel so grateful and blessed to have them!

Yes the sad but true fact is that we have to watch what we are putting into our mouths. Not only so that we don't choke on it or get stuck from it but so that we keep losing weight and stay nourished. I didn't choose to have other WLS because I didn't like the malnutrition component to them. I already have mild Crones that causes some malnutrition already. Due to that I have always had to watch what I am eating, and most times found that eating the easy to digest sweet carbo-loaded items was the easiest and less painful. Since surgery though my digestion is so much better, but now I am watching what I eat for band, weight loss and nutrition reasons. I don't "diet" if I want to have a cookie I do, but maybe one or two if they are small and not the whole container (thank you band!) It has taken me more then a few months of no losses to get it into my head that I need to have a plan for eating. I suddenly find myself cooking more, bringing my own lunch to work and getting in some exercise. It's taken me a bit...but I'm working my mind around it all finally.

We were on the same wave there for a sec CG! I posted almost the same exact message at the same time! Healthy and Happy!!! If we could add a little warmth to my day out there now that would be bliss!!!

It is a sad reality that people judge. They judge you if your overweight, or if your blond and perky too. So I am always happy being me, no matter my size. Being healthy only increases my happiness...and that is what motivates me every day!

In my opinion the reason for the protocol is two fold. One to help ease the trauma on the stoma as the pressure in the band is increased and two to help remind bandsters of the basics. Every fill or appointment is a chance to take it back to the beginning. To give yourself a chance to "reset" not just your pouch or stoma but your mind set. If we have strayed a bit off the path, maybe fell off that band wagon for the holidays or just because it's Tuesday your doctors appointment and that fill or no fill is an opportunity to get back on the wagon, the path or find your stride on your WLS journey. Bandista, I believe that having a protocol whether Dr. prescribed or not is a good thing if it works for you I say pick that one and adopt it as your own! It's not about a diet or restriction it's about living in harmony with your body and your band!!! (How much do I love that we can edit our comments! I have an itchy enter finger that likes to post before I'm ready! )

Way to go Terry!

Ah...my Grandmother always used to tell me "powder and Paint make you what you ain't." I find that to be true. Not always in a negative way either. Sometimes dressing up your short comings or covering up the things that make you feel and look not so great aren't a bad thing. It's all in the mind set of how you look at it, and when I am feeling less then great I will try to make an extra effort to jazz up the make up or the clothing to add a little pep to my step. When you look good you feel good...and if you don't...you can fake it till you make it! However, on the flip side Jack I understand what you mean about covering up with food and overeating. At one point in my life I also had the idea that if I was heavy then people wouldn't look at me and make me uncomfortable. The truth was they were still looking at me, and now some were judging me for my size too. I had to learn to be comfortable in my own body and in my own skin no matter what it's size and shape. To love me for me and not judge myself. That is what has helped me to stop thinking that by being obese I might fade into the background. That's just not in the cards for this little fire ball. So might as well shine as bright as can be!!!!

I will be totally honest with you all, sometimes I give in to head hunger. If I am truly not hungry, one bite of that "something" that's calling my name is usually enough for me to be satisfied. However sometimes I am truly hungry in fact so hungry that instead of eating something healthy that might take some time for me to cook, or heat or what ever I'll choose that no good something that I think I really want. That is the hunger that I have a problem with. When you have a craving I truly believe that comes from someplace in your body outside of your mind, something akin to an imbalance. I find when I have cravings for sugar or salt it's because my electrolytes are out of balance and my body suddenly will crave foods that are high in either content. The same happens to me with vegetables, I may suddenly have a strong urge for Sweet Potatoes, or Spinach and it's usually because my potassium is too low. For me true hunger that is not satisfied is what leads me to making poor choices, and to over eating. I will start picking at things or snacking a bite here a taste there until it's time to sit and have a "meal". Then eating the meal on top of all that I may have picked at puts me over the top and weight can be gained or maintained but definitely not lost. So I am working on making sure that I eat when I am hungry and satisfy the hunger with good food so that I'm not tempted to pick or snack on foods that are not part of my meal. I can get so engrossed in a project at work or home I forget to eat until I am ravenous and that works against me. When I am at work I set silent alarms on my fitbit to alert me that I need to stop and eat or drink something.

Hey lady, you could have a low profile port put in to replace the one you currently have. Give your lapband surgeon's office a call and ask him about it they have a couple of low profile options out there.

PT, you are a special lady you deserve to be happy and have lots of love in your life. I am so happy for you that your man see's that about you and makes you feel as special as you are! No more poker face unless you go to Vegas and win big!!!!

Dam girl I'm jealous! You look great, and I hope you are feeling just as awesome!

Ouch Misty. Take a rest, put your feet up for a bit and put some ice on that port site if you can that will really help. You need to heal my friend, don't push too far too fast and regret it later. You just had major surgery, give yourself permission to rest and some extra TLC.

It's the chance that you take when you have the surgery. Nothing is 100% but if it's worth the risk and the chance that it might not work for you or that you might have complications from it then you go for it. Not everyone is compliant with their bands or their doctors advice, and that might be the vein of the posts you are reading. When a band fails for any number of reasons, we don't and can't possibly know them all. I am sorry that the band did not work out for you and that you suffer from the results of being banded, wish you all the best and thank you for sharing your story.

Well JD you know what's up...you know what to do. Your not a failure, your a newlywed! Congrats! Now give yourself a break for what is in the past. Hopefully you had a great wedding and honeymoon and now it's time to focus on you and your band again. Go back to basics, that's always the best place to start. Make an appointment with your doctor, discuss a fill if necessary and if not then ask for some advice in getting back on track. Go to a support group if you have one locally, or stop by the forums here and speak with other bandsters and find some inspiration. Step one is already done....

Same here, definitely get your Protein in! hair is made of Proteins so you want to keep that in and it helps the body heal as well. I use Nioxin shampoo and conditioner and take Biotin supplement daily along with my mulit-Vitamin. The shedding has slowed way down. The Nioxin helps new hair growth and the Biotin helps the hair you have left be a bit stronger and in better condition. Hydrate and Protein...those are the BIG keys to helping slow down the loss of hair. IMO

Congrats PT. I am sure that this guy must have seen the gem in you all along! Sometimes we need to be comfortable with who we are and love ourselves before we can fully open up and embrace the love of another. I am so happy for you and your man that you have found each other as friends and have fall in love!!! When I met my husband we were both going through some pretty nasty divorces, and though we wanted romance we became friends and confidants first. Love was fast on it's heels and we have never looked back. I can tell you with all honesty that he is my best friend and my greatest love. I wish you all the best!

Happiness is something that your size does not dictate. I have been big I have been small I have been bigger and smaller still. When I was young and at my thinnest I wasn't happy. Not with myself, my body or my life. I was a bit lost about what happiness was and what it meant to me. So I took some time in my life to figure it out and find out what it meant for ME to be happy. As I got older and older still. I got heavier, and thinner and then heavier again. None of those sizes made me any happier then the size I was or was going to be. None of those things dictated what I would enjoy and what I would not enjoy. Happiness is a subjective thing. Some of us go on a 12 hour flight and find that the seat is too tight, and we need a seat belt extender and we are miserable the entire time. I just ask for the extender right up front buckle up hunker down and get ready to deplane in Hawaii! I don't make the flight miserable. I don't think Oh I am so fat that going to the bathroom is going to be a feat. If I have to go I graciously say pardon me to the person next to me. Nature calls and I shuffle the side step to the lavatory and take care of business. SURE all those things are a little more pleasurable when you don't need to squeeze your frame into places that were not created to accommodate such a frame, but i never let it bring me down or rob me of my happiness. Today I am happy. I was happy the day I got married at my heaviest weight ever! That was one of the happiest days of my life and I never weighed more then I did then, and today I am just as happy with my life and myself. I have chosen to have lapband surgery to make the quality of my life that much better. To be healthy as well as happy, and I can report that things are right on schedule in that department! If your not happy today, give yourself some love and ask yourself why your not happy? What does true happiness mean to you?

I agree with that article. I find it hard to get enough hours of sleep in and then the quality of sleep is not always the best. For me it's mostly the hubby trying to get comfortable with his hip pain at night and he can keep me up with the tossing and turning big time. I don't complain because I know how much pain he is in and this cold weather is NOT helping matters. On a personal note for me, there are so many things that have to be done...and my mind can keep spinning way into the early morning hours and never shut down if I let it. Since being banded I have made a very concentrated effort to get more sleep, and to create a routine that I diligently try to stick to especially during the week. On days when I'm feeling good (this winter I seem to be sick every other day!) I try to get up extra early and get a 20 minute walk, stretch or meditation in before getting the day started. I have to tell you that 20 minutes in the morning really makes my days go so much smoother. I feel more alive and alert and in control of the way I am able to deal with the often times uncontrollable events of the day and rest a little easier at night. How about you? Do you have anything specific that helps you get more/ better sleep?

Congratulations on the weight loss!! Maybe try giving your office psychologist a call if you think you may have moved from one addiction (food) to another (smoking). If this is the case you may need some support in quitting smoking and not reverting to another outlet. None of us are perfect, and none of this journey is easy. Focus on your health, and what that means to you. Best wishes in the New Year!