Bandista

There's a good health food store in Asheville and I'm sure they have single pack protein powders if you want to try something. Or just a healthy salad bar that will have good options for healthy foods to choose from. Our coop here is expensive but I have so little that it works out. Have a safe trip -- so sorry about your Mom. Sending best wishes. And don't forget that you have to take are if YOU, too. Sometimes it's hard to choose ourselves first but that's the healthy thing to do. Like the oxygen mask first on you then the one you're with. If you need a beautiful place to walk around there are many to choose from there.

Great post -- makes my day. And I had a good laugh over your location listing, "in a state of constant flux." Your ferocity is coming through loud and strong. I feel, it, too -- this new courage; I'm showing up in my life in a whole new way. It feels great! Yes the weight loss, the health and vitality, etc., but for me I think it's about the appetite monster finally being shut up. All that mental chatter about food was making me second-guess myself and the things in my life. Not anymore!

I was a professional dieter for decades -- some one recently said something about being a walking talking calculator of calories, WW points, fats, carbs, etc. I really identified with that and, for me, it's been a year of unlearning that behavior as it was messing too much with my head. Now I am eating to satiety and listening to my body rather than counting, but that's only because I still have that deprivation reflex going on and I have a good nutritional base -- the food I love is wholesome, "good" food. My only rule is to eat when I'm hungry and not eat when I'm not hungry. I did have extra food this weekend as it was my birthday. I stay away from breads, Pasta, rice, etc. but I did have a small piece of tart two days in a row and a bite of flour less chocolate cake. And cheese, my weakness. One of my birthday cards said, "what a friend we have in cheeses." Cracks me up! So even though I overdid it a bit I know there was a part of my brain tallying it all up. Just Watch Me, I loved what you said about the forty almonds -- so easy to get carried away with nuts. To answer your original question, juice. I was adding a splash of lemonade or limeade into my cocktail rather than the Water with unsweetened cranberry and aloe that I usually drink. We bought several cartons of limeade for a BBQ we canceled and I started in on it a bit at a time. No HFCS but, still, sugar. I was pretty surprised by how many totally useless calories I was introducing that way. No more of that. And no more of the using stuff up mentality.....I was such a finisher. Do not need to finish what's taking up room in the fridge! Don't need to finish anything. Sorry for the long post -- just wanted to chime in as a bander who is not counting anything.......left that behind in the operating room. But you who are, good for you! We all have our own histories with food and how we got where we are. Point is there are many ways of doing what we are doing -- choosing ourselves and our healthy futures first!

My surgeon doesn't share the amount so I have no idea, but he is of the small frequent fills school. My band was not primed at surgery and I had my first fill four weeks out, second the fifth week, then sixth week another. This lasted me a while -- goal was satiety after a tennis-ball sized portion and not hungry again for 4-5 hours. I had one but not the other. Each time I've had a fill it takes a while for it to settle in, for me to feel the difference. I have gone back for subsequent fills after feeling a return of appetite, and I have had one small unfill when I felt like I might have crossed over into the red zone. Don't want that!

@@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!

Nice! Isn't it great feeling more comfortable in our bodies? So happy!

You are on your way; we all went through this (well, me anyway!)....STILL even now at almost a year have to remind myself to slow down, put the utensil down, etc. You are doing GREAT!

Yippee! So happy for you!

That putting down of the utensil was so hard for me -- I didn't want to let go of my implement, lol. I practiced with a clock to help me with that behavior (shovel, shovel). And chewing to Smitherines...... There are some foods that don't work well for me and I know now not to keep at it -- if it's not going to work, it's not going to. Good luck with all -- you will find your mode. Your surgeon is your partner in this so be frank about what's happening. I was "tight" after my surgery for a few weeks and thought I would be a person who never needed a fill. But then my appetite returned just about the time of the appointment to assess for my first fill. Now I've had several. I think for me it was all related to the inflammation.

Hi there and congratulations! Hope you're feeling better today. The walking really helped me so much during the healing phase. I was also constipated -- didn't use pain medication but just from the anesthesia in the hospital -- and I had to take something to help with that. Best wishes -- you are on your way!

Hi Sade, I know there are many people who have their fills with Fluro to make sure it's the right fill -- I would definitely ask for this. Don't give up -- you can get back to the Green Zone!

Hi there, congratulations on everything -- you're doing beautifully. It's so hard not to get caught up in the instant results game. Enjoy each day and the healthy new you! The scale is one thing but what we call "non-scale victories" or NSVs -- wow, those are the things to watch for. Take your measurements, notice how your jeans are fitting, watch for ways you feel more confident and happier. I cannot really tally the points for JOY in my life now, and the relief at not thinking about food all the time. That's a huge NSV for me. The scale will move and you'll be astounded over time, but it may take a little while to get going or you may have some weeks with a loss then one or two with nothing.

So sorry you are going through this -- weird! And you'll probably never get to know the real story. We have such a litigious society and it could be anything -- just know you are solid. You will find your next doctor for after-care. Don't let this bring you down. But so frustrating! Sympathies!

Hope you are feeling better, that this gets resolved! I'm assuming it has nothing to do with the band but what is the trigger for gastritis? Sending very best wishes -- enjoy that puppy!

I make stews a lot, the kind where the meat is really falling apart. Delicious. And I use stock to cook with -- adds protein and softens the meat/chicken. And chicken thighs are easier for me than white meat. Do you like chili? So many different kinds -- beans are a great source. I eat Greek yogurt and in order for it not to be a slider for me I mix in some nuts -- almond or walnut pieces or sunflower seeds -- and a little gluten free cereal. Also I sometimes add a tablespoon of collagen which adds significant protein. Doesn't change the taste at all (the collagen is for my joint issues). The food needs to be chewed in order for the esophagus to signal the brain for satiety. That's the problem with sliders like shakes and bars, we are not getting that signal when we use them. Good luck with the sugar -- sounds like you are on to what you need to do there. I know those tendencies to save up calories, etc. from all those years I'd dieting. Unfortunately empty calories are just that and if there is addictive behavior then a little is going to trigger old patterns. Feel like I'm talking to myself here -- so thank you for posting. You can do this -- you've done beautifully and now you're ready for the next step.

You ROCK! As Shel says, Fierceness and Joy. So happy for you.....

@@karbear409 I love the toddler metaphor -- so true! You are doing GREAT! Pat yourself on the back and know that you have chosen yourself and your healthy future. Way to go,

My surgeon hand-wrote egg drop soup on my instructions and I went for it -- to the point of making it myself. Delicious! And fun, too....

This so great, Alex, way to go! You have done so much to help SO many people. It's exponential. Happy to see my hero in the press but I have to admit I was checking out the running shoes. For me that's what's happened -- could never have figured this 50+ WLS patient for an exercise fiend. This lapband has changed my life. Bye, bye appetite monster, hello ME. I was there all along but so busy with the food chatter I could not find myself. The band took care of that for me and I am so grateful. Here I am!

This so great, Alex, way to go! You have done so much to help SO many people. It's exponential. Happy to see my hero in the press but I have to admit I was checking out the running shoes. For me that's what's happened -- could never have figured this 50+ WLS patient for an exercise fiend. This lapband has changed my life. Bye, bye appetite monster, hello ME. I was there all along but so busy with the food chatter I could not find myself. The band took care of that for me and I am so grateful. Here I am!

I am not in your shoes but want to chime in both encouragement. Excellent advice on checking with the doctor about medications. I don't do well on narcotics and didn't take anything post-op but there's still the effects of anesthesia that need to balance out again. I would say all the water you can drink comfortably and lots of walking to help clear out and reset your system. I was very constipated post op four days and had to address that. Just throwing that out there. Sending best wishes your way -- better each day. Be gentle with yourself and pat yourself on the back for choosing yourself and your healthy future. You are worth it!

Beautiful AND healthy, yippee!

Hi Lisa, great posts -- you are hitting the reset not just with the band but with everything. It sounds like you have a lot of stress in your life. I've been finding my feelings are so different now that I'm not tamping them all down with food at the first indication. I'm actually able to feel some real anger -- rage, even. I think that's been good for me (versus the sad version, which does not burn out like anger but lingers). Goal of course is none of either! I'm trying to be "beside" whatever it is and not allowing myself to get whirled up in it but for a participator that can be difficult. I have a mantra about choosing myself first. Choose Lisa First! You are in need of YOU right now. Every one else can wait. Get plenty of sleep and enjoy those pups.

Hi there and congratulations on your decision to have weight loss surgery. I am so happy not to be on a diet. I make good choices -- the band let's me do that. It's like the appetite monster is off of my back. The hardest thing for me was learning to eat slowly. I was a shoveler. That will not work with the band. I learned to chew my food into very small pieces -- I use small spoons and a shrimp fork when at home. I wish I had known that I would not feel like I was giving up anything. My days vary -- and you'll find we all find our own ways, some similarities, some differences. I am not hungry in the mornings and so I don't eat. I no longer believe in starvation, etc. I am glad to know hunger now -- it feels so normal. My body says, hey, I'm hungry and then I eat. It might be 11 or 12 -- usually I have had several cups of tea by that time. I wake up early and get a lot of work done in that time. Sometimes I have leftovers from the night before -- I love salmon, for example. Often I have a Greek yogurt. For me that's a slider food and to make it something that is chewed (it's the chewing and swallowing that gets the esophageal signal happening and how we feel satiety) I add chia seeds, walnut bits, a little gluten-free cereal -- whatever mix-ins. Then I note the time because I should not be hungry again for 4-5 hours (I'm in the green zone). I might have head hunger and I can indulge that, too, if I want -- I might have an apple or some almonds. Dinner varies but I just have a little of whatever it is, and I don't wolf it down. We eat out and go to people's houses, have dinner parties. Hardly anyone knows I'm banded so my small portions just help explain how it is I'm wearing size 10 jeans right now. I'm kind of a healthy food type, not that I didn't love sweets and it's certainly possible to get really fat on high-quality food, lol. I'm just saying I did not have to cope with addictions to junk food, etc. But it is truly amazing to me that I can have food in my house that I love (cheese, nuts, chocolate, etc.) but I just have it when I'm hungry now. Before I was in the green zone I was careful not to have temptations around. Exercise is something I want to do now and I honestly cannot believe that. I worked out before (to move, I have arthritis) but I never wanted to and now I look forward to exercise. It's wild, the changes. I'm so relieved to be out of food jail. Hope this helps -- long and all over the place. Know that you will get there. Stay positive. Don't worry about the scale in the beginning. Best wishes!

Ivy, sending best wishes your way -- sometimes it seems like these human bodies are just bags if chemicals. I'm glad you're aggressively seeking medical attention. Twenty-five years ago I put on fifty pounds in a couple of weeks. In my case it was a reaction to IV steroids. Got off the steroids but it took years to recover and I put on more weight. Could not drop at all until I got my band, so happy about that. Take good care, don't panic -- I find writing notes before and after doctor's visits helps me give them the details they need. And come here anytime -- it's why we are all here, to support each other.