Bandista

Congratulations on your surgery date! I was really glad I upped my exercise beforehand -- didn't want to but I did it anyway. I just walked and this gave me something to step into right after surgery, literally. A little further each time. It kicked my body into healing mode and helped with everything. And now, today, I love walking. I have found the banded life to be easy. I am still 20-30 from goal but I know I will get there. Mostly I just feel so happy to finally be at peace with food. The links below in my signature helped me as as I was getting started; maybe they will help you, too. So glad you found the forum. Best wishes and keep us posted!

Way to go on your successes and noticing them. Lots to ceebrate! I have a waist! I like to dress up again -- did not think I had a thing for clothes but I am really enjoying choosing what to wear, putting outfits together, etc. Here is a big one: I like to exercise now! What? Yup, most of the time anyway and the rest of the time I pretend until I do. It works! Oh, and I really like myself, who I am, how I am.

Hi there, so happy you found this forum! I never thought of WLS either and then suddenly I realized I needed to choose myself and my healthy future FIRST. I had never put myself front and center before. Of course every one else benefits but the main thing is I did this for ME and I feel great about my decision. I would do it all over again tomorrow. Best wishes!

I'm so sorry you are going through this! I am some one who benefitted from seeing a therapist. It was a little tedious and I didn't want to do it, but I'm glad I did. We really dug into my triggers. I was willing to say I'm an emotional eater and leave it at that but we went way deeper to find very specific triggers. Also, it's none of my business but is your band too tight? It sounds like your started relying on sliders and that has led to regain. The links below in my signature have really helped me; maybe they will help you, too. Keep in touch -- keep reaching out. You are on the right track!

Great post -- and so important. I am reallly glad winter is nearly over so I can crank up the outdoor exercise again. I can definitely feel the flabbiness when I'm not working out enough. For me that is a lot of walking then stretches, weights, etc. at home. Today I went for a PT session (hip stuff) and I got on an elliptical. That was an eye-opener. Geez, I can fast walk four miles but could barely do four minutes on that thing. Hello! Big plans for my body this spring, summer and fall, then a better strategy for next winter.

Way to go, Liz! Ah New York, where you have things like restaurants with South African food. We socialize a great deal and I'm learning how things vary for me. Yesterday we were going to a cousin's house for a pot-luck-ish dinner. Wouldn't you know I was hungry at 4:30 -- a full two hours before we'd be eating. Nothing to do but have my "tea" consisting of an egg and some yogurt. If I'm hungry I eat, that's my rule for myself. I don't wait. I didn't want to attract attention at the gathering so I took a portion of stew and some salad then played with it. People are generally focused on their own meals once things get started; it's the ordering or serving that I find most uncomfortable.

Yippee! So happy for you.......I love, love, love my band and this new chapter in my life. I feel so much better and my self-esteem has increased. Life is good. There is something very powerful about choosing ourselves and our healthy futures. Showing up in our lives! Here's to it. Good luck with all and don't forget to walk, walk, and then walk some more. You'll be glad you did. Oh, and way to go on the 25 down. I loved it that for the first time the weight I lost on pre-op was weight I'd never ever see again (unlike every diet I had ever been on, and those were plenty). Best wishes to you.

Congratulations on your Bandiversary! It's so great to hear from long-time banders -- very encouraging. Sometimes when the old instinct of tamping down feelings with food kicks in, I greet the feelings and try to name them. Hello, overwhelm! It helps me to know what the anxiety is about, or whatever it is that is behind my wanting to turn to something like chocolate, etc. (boredom, rewarding myself inappropriately, prepping for something I don't want to do.....). If I call it out then I seem to be able to remind myself that feeding the feelings is something I don't do anymore. But if I want a bit of chocolate or something as a treat, I don't deny myself either. Thanks for a great post.

I'm sorry but there is a lot of new data coming out on the subject of whether breakfast is necessary. We are not all the same. I never eat breakfast anymore because I'm not hungry until a little later in the day. For many people, breakfast triggers more eating and thus a higher calorie count for the day.

Everything I learned about the band I learned here, from you guys -- certainly not the packet of info from my hospital. I saw who the successful motivated people were and jumped on the bandwagon with you. Thanks so much for that!

Sorry for your pain -- I hate pain meds so didn't take them. I'm worried that with two little ones you may be overdoing. Your surgery was day before yesterday so you need to be taken care of and not worrying about others. I used ice packs for incisional pain and a heating pad for gas-related pains. For those there is nothing like walking all you can and doing windmill arms, etc. Hope you feel better soon!

Love Mindful Meditation and all the benefits -- should bea dointt hat now instead of this! Less screen time, more silence and breathing.

Yes to the walking! It will help release the gas pumped in to your abdominal cavity for the surgery -- Gas-X etc. is for gas inside the stomach. Windmill arms, etc. -- keep moving. I loved my Popsicles during this time, and savory broths, tea. And watching all the movies I wanted, lol. Around day four or five I had to address severe constipation, even though I didn't take any pain medication. Wish I had been ahead of that. Best wishes for this brand new chapter in your life -- happy for you!

I know, me too! I got a lot out of Dr. simpson's website even though I didn't use him -- link below to Lapband Is Not About Restriction. And those Golden Rules and really understanding about the chewing. Huge for me. Good luck with all -- you are on your way! Hope you got to soak up some sunshine in Mexico......spring is such a great time for this new chapter in your life to be starting.

Hi there, until you have proper restriction you are battling the appetite -- it's all about the green zone! If am some one who needed several fills to get there. My surgeon described being satisfied on a tennis-ball sized portion of food and not hungry again for 4-5 hours. We kept going until I had both. The links below really helped me understand the way the band works. Maybe they will help you, too! Glad you're here. You had the surgery so the band is installed but now to activate it. No sliders. It's the chewing of the food that signals satiety. Best wishes!

Hi there, full liquids can be hard for me to swallow sometimes -- like a protein shake. there's just something about it even now when I am 16 months out and can eat most anything provided it's chewed very well and I stop at the full signal. I definitely wouldn't try glugging -- stick with sipping and give your doctor a call so they know what's up. Best wishes and congratulations!

Happy spring and happy new life!

So happy for you! Way to go......

Or little envelope upper right corner of ipad.....

Congratulations! Springtime is such a great time to be starting this new chapter. Pre-op protocol varies and can be really hard. The purpose is to shrink the fat around the liver to make it easier for the surgeon to place the band. I also loved the fact that for the first time ever the pounds that I was losing during pre-op were ones I would never see again. Good luck to you -- you're doing great! I was glad that I upped my exercise prior to surgery -- walking a little more each day gave me something to step into right after I woke up and I think this kicked my body into healing mode. Best wishes!

I love my band and have had excellent results. There are a couple of links below in my signature which might be helpful in terms of understanding how the band works. It dims the appetite so that we can make good decisions but it would still be possible to eat around any weight loss surgery. I am some one who benefited from seeing a therapist during my research phase and then the initial stages of my new banded life. I don't miss anything. I eat well and am very happy to have the appetite monster off of my back. Choose yourself, choose life and a healthy future -- that is what you deserve. Diet soda is not helping your body -- there is data out about how the aspartame, etc. tells the body that food is coming, thus creating hunger. Whatever it is, it's an epidemic of addiction. Best wishes to you as you go forward.

Way to go -- so happy for you! I hope to be able to post the same later this year. What a tremendous accomplishment. We have turned our lives around.

Happy Spring, LB friends. I'm looking forward to being able to walk outdoors again -- really need that. And the garden. We will be pruning our apple trees a month from now. It's a big job. Hosting a birthday party tonight for a 15 year old. I can't stop cooking so it will be good to have some real appetites here.

I have a beautiful garden which I can't wait to see again (it's somewhere under all that snow), I make art, write and have only recently rediscovered that I can really tear it up on the dance floor.

@@2babutterfly accepting a compliment = huge NSV. I so get that. Congratulations!