RAYSBABE

excuse me....9 pounds!

I want to make it there by my bday on Oct 1....kind of a little present to myself! I have four weeks to lose 8 pounds.....I know I can do this!!!!!

I actually haven't had to have a fill yet.....I am not sure that I am at that "sweet spot".....that term still confuses me too. I do get very full with about a cup and a half of food though....I'm loving it. My surgeon didn't want to give me a fill since I have already lost 45 pounds in three and a half months without one.....he says that I can just get one when I start feeling like I need it.

okay, sorry i didn't really answer your question before.....i didn't start back on light housework until about a week later. i don't think my house got vacuumed for about 3 weeks (ICK). I just took it easy and if i didn't feel like doing it (whatever "it" was), i just didn't do it. As far as food....my surgeon would not like to hear this but i couldn't handle the liquid phase either. I was very hungry, UNTIL i started to eat. I had lots of frozen ice fruit cups and protein shakes that really filled me up. When I was really hungry, I would scramble an egg and I mean scramble it into tiny pieces. I put a little cheese and salsa on it (which made it more liquidy) and I could not even eat the whole egg. It was sooooooooooo good though after having eaten only liquids. I took bites that were tiny, tiny and I chewed, chewed, chewed. Another great thing is FF refried beans with a little cheese, sour cream and salsa. I wasn't supposed to eat these things yet, but like you I was hungry. It was very encouraging to get full so quickly. I also ate soups without blending them....just don't forget to chew! I hope this helps a little. Hang in there.

oh yeah, i also have the problem with gaining two, losing three, gaining one, losing one and so on and so on......I have always been this way so I don't pay any attention to it.

Thank you, Mini! Well, I went in for my first fill yesterday (8-14-07). I drove an hour and a half to get there and my doc was so happy with my progress that he decided not to give me a fill......so here I am still fill-less :confused: His exact words were, "I don't want to rock the boat". I'm okay with it since I already have so much restriction anyway. It would actually be great if I NEVER had to get a fill.....not getting my hopes up though! About the loud mouths at support.....I had the same thing actually happen at the seminar I went to.....it was sooooooo annoying. I couldn't wait to get out of there! I don't even go to my groups now since I have this forum.....so grateful for you all and your support!!!!! good luck on your interview melissa o!

good question!

It really does get better! I went intertubing (sp?) only 3 weeks after surgery and it was no trouble at all. That's about how long it took me to feel like my old self. Not sure my doc would have approved, so I wouldn't suggest intertubing without asking your doc first:) Good luck...you'll love your new tool!

Wow! You look great! Can't wait till i'm where you are:)

I had surgery on May 3, 2007 and I went in for my first fill yesterday....he didn't do it because I have lost 40 pounds in three months and he doesn't want it to come off any faster. His exact words were "I don't want to rock the boat, you are doing so well that we'll just wait another couple of months." I am happy about that.....I do have a major difference in what I can eat since surgery and so far it is working just like it is. I can't imagine having no change and having to wait so long for a fill.....best of luck to y'all. Hang in there.

I am sooooo excited! This morning I broke my own record. I have never lost more than 38 pounds on any diet/exercise plan before.....this morning when I weighed, I was down a total of 40 pounds!!! I am stoked. To know that I can keep this off forever is so exciting. Thanks for all the encouragement everyone.

Okay, I'm a little over three months past surgery...... 1. gone from size 22/24W to 14/16 tops and 18 bottoms~no W!!!!! 2. Confidence is soaring. 3. the compliments are just oozing from every direction. 4. my dad (not the praising type) told me that I was really looking better. 5. my grandfather (called me an elephant when I was 11) mentioned how proud he was of me for losing so much weight and he actually admitted that it really is hard to do. 6. my husband cannot stop saying how gorgeous I am. 7. feel soooooo much better about sex. 8. not as tired. 9. not nearly as hungry. 10. new hope for life. 11. happiness just overflowing. I know I'll think of more later, but that's a good start!

I had surgery on May 3, 2007.....it was the best decision I have ever made as far as weight loss is concerned.....I am absolutely loving the new, shrinking me. I have lost 38 pounds and I still haven't had a fill. You have to make sure it is what is right for you.....in my case it definately was. I am no expert only being three months out of surgery, but I am loving my new life!

i would looooovvvvveeeee to be at 199 by my bday in six weeks. i have about 16pounds to go. my first fill is tomorrow so maybe that will help! thanks for the alcohol comments......i didn't know it was that big of a deal!

I have done so much with measuring for different diets that I can now eyeball very close to the right amount that I am looking for. It did take a little practice to get to this point though. I've used a food scale, measuring cups, etc......you will get used to it:)

Hey everyone! I just stopped in to say that all is well here. I actually am about to have my very first fill tomorrow. the first appointment was cancelled because of a car wreck and the second appointment was cancelled because of a death in my surgeon's family.....they say third time is a charm so hopefully all goes well tomorrow. i am sooooo nervous! i have gotten very comfortable again with my new way of eating and it is going to change some after tomorrow. i will have to go to even smaller bites and probably less variety. i know it's for the best though. i have managed to lose 38 pounds without a fill and my docs office is very happy about that one. i just got a new hairstyle on friday and everyone can't stop saying how gorgeous i look.....it's kind of going to my head:) i'm not used to it! anyway, i am sooooo glad i did this surgery. i have a new hope in life!!! about the hairloss, Melissa, I have heard the 3 month thing too. I haven't personally had any major problems yet though. i do take my vitamins and calcium very faithfully.....don't know if that makes a difference??? i hope everything balances back out for you. good luck.

thank you, Cindy, for the well wishes.....i am feeling a little better every day:) I was just going to tell everyone that I have never lost more than 38 pounds on any diet that i have ever tried and i now have 37 pounds gone...just 2 more pounds and I will be past all of my former successes (if they can be called that!) i couldn't be more excited.....the more that falls off, the happier i get!!! good luck everyone! Hang in there.

well, i missed my first fill because of a car accident....now i have to wait an entire month to get one....it's too hard to get an appointment around here! i'm not too happy about that, but oh well, nothing can be done. i also just twisted my knee on a water slide last Friday. it was bad and i still can't walk. so much for the exercise! it really hasn't been the greatest couple of weeks, but i still love my band and it is awesome!!!!! i am happy with my weight loss so far. my dad just noticed for the first time that i have lost some weight. it felt really good for him to ask me about it. (he still doesn't know about the surgery). good luck to everyone and i'll be back sometime soon:)

I love this forum! It is sooooo helpful to see that I am not the only one that is struggling....and with the same issues too! I do GREAT everyday until about 2 o'clock....then the munchies hit me with a vengeance. I have done okay not giving in, but just okay. I love my band already and know I wouldn't be where I am today without it. I am looking forward to my first fill on the 19th. Hang in there everyone...we're doing great!

I can get just about everything down also, but I am kind of still in that phase where I have a little bit of will power. Every diet I've ever been on.....I was good for about 5 weeks and then it all fell apart. I haven't been perfect, but I keep telling myself that my first fill is in 6 days and I can make it. The amount of food I am eating now does not even compare to the amount of food I was eating before surgery.....and I am exercising. I had hoped to lose 30 pounds in the first thirty days, but that didn't happen....that's okay, at least I have lost some. They really don't want us losing more than 2 pounds a week when this evens out anyway, do they? If I average my weight loss, I have done really well. Hang in there everyone, this will get better! I found out what sliming was on Saturday....I ate a small piece of steak (no problem for me right now if I cut it into pea size bites and chew, chew, chew) while I was camping....I didn't have a knife and I thought I was taking tiny bites....not so!!! I got soooooo sick. I threw up for 2 hours before I got it all up....it's one of the sickest feelings I've ever experienced.....I learned a BIG lesson that day. It's the first time I've had trouble with anything going down....it was a mistake I never want to repeat.

Okay, so I went to a carnival the other night (maybe not the smartest thing three weeks post op) and after I finished riding all the crazy rides, I realized that my port was up about three inches from my incision. I thought that was weird, but this morning I woke up and my port is right back behind my incision. Has this ever happened to anyone else? I feel fine, but I'm a little worried that I might have messed something up!

Howdy....good to have you!

I totally agree!

I love these kind of topics! I am a Christian, certainly not a "fundamentalist", but definitely a Christian. When I hear of a murder, I always think about how I would feel if it were my family member that had been murdered. I do agree with the death penalty, and I think if it was enforced a bit more, we would have less murders. (Just my opinion:)) I know two wrongs don't make a right, but I'd like for these creeps out here to die the exact same way that they killed their victims....don't have a heart attack....I know that wouldn't be right, that's just the "angry" side of me speaking. (we all have one, as I'm sure I'll see when I get some replies!)

cornstarch works great!