Bandista

@@2muchfun hmmm....maybe I will try the 7PM rather than 9PM as I was planning. Heck, it's only a couple days a week. Way to go on the 18 pounds since June. That is terrific. I feel like I need a little jumpstart, that I had a day or two of challenging my band and just feeling a little meh. This should get me going again.

Okay, I'm in! Doing my mental prep now in anticipation of Thursday. Watched the videos (thanks TMF!) and making some plans. Wednesday night I will stop caloric intake at 9:00 PM (I figure I can move this up earlier if needed) then I'll have my first calories on Thursday at 2:00 PM. So that's fifteen hours to begin. Since I'm not a Breakfast eater and am often not hungry until noon or so, this seems like a natural way for my body to function. So Thursday 2PM Protein, protein, protein -- then another protein meal in the evening -- under 500 calories for both. Then Friday, back to "normal" through the weekend and Sunday PM stop caloric intake at 9:00 PM. Excited, thanks for the motivation (as usual!).....

This is a wonderful post -- so happy for you! Doesn't it feel great to be exercising more and to be out and about, increased confidence and just generally more happy and healthy? I am loving this banded life!

Hi there, I had to have a little taken out as well -- felt myself creeping into the Red Zone and that's no place to be. For me I think it had to do with allergies and hormonal activity. I'm so glad the band is adjustable and we can work with our surgeons to find the sweet spot. Best wishes to you!

Sending best wishes your way -- this is a tough time with all the waiting, appointments, anticipation.....we've all been there and what you're going through sounds very familiar. For the first time I don't feel deprived of anything. So wonderful to be out of food jail.

Hi there, I get boneless skinless chicken thighs as they fall apart nicely and can be made into a lot of yummy dishes, but any kind of chicken can be used. Here's how I often cook: heat up a pan until it's really hot, add a little high-heat oil and brown the chicken well on both sides. Take it out and set aside for a minute (note it is not cooked yet, just browned) and use the pan to sauté whatever veggies you like. We cook with a lot of garlic, sometimes leeks are nice, ginger root if we're going Asian, etc. Be creative. Then add the chicken back in and cover with chicken stock. Instead of the stock (or in addition to it) you can add a can of coconut milk if you'd like to have a delicious ginger coconut chicken dish, or add in a jar of peanut sauce, etc. White wine and herbs, a little butter. You get the idea. We are not eating very much of anything so why not make it delicious? Sometimes I do a curry. Simply add the curry spices at the time you are sauteing the veggies (curry likes a lot of onions, etc., and carrots are yummy, leeks -- whatever you like -- for those who eat potatoes cube or slice them small and add them as well). Frozen peas work well. If you like a red sauce just open up a jar or two and cover the chicken with that. The key is to let it all simmer for a couple of hours until the chicken is really falling apart. We call our pot the Magic Blue Pot because whatever we cook in it is absolutely delicious. My family has the chicken on top of rice and I have my little bowl of just the chicken and sauce. Life is short; I want sauce.

I want to wear a short skirt and a longgggg jacket! Tonight I am going out on a limb. This introvert has her togs on and is going to the community center for her first Zumba class. Great bike ride yesterday on a rail trail -- Water Lilly ponds, a few turtles basking in the sun, bridges to cross -- so much fun! After a summer of walking hard and fast I am finally really loving exercise rather than just going through the motions. Yippee! I plan a few days out -- know who is meeting me tomorrow for a morning walk, then Wednesday there will be three of us. On the weekend we had seven of us for four miles of laughing and talking and walk, walk, walking. Beautiful!

What a waste of time for a surgeon to have to pay all that pesky post-op attention to his patients rather than going right back into the OR where there's more money to be made and the patients don't talk back. I have had probably a dozen interactions with my surgeon in this first year and I'm grateful that he seems to be as committed to the followup band appointments (assessing for fills, etc.) as getting into his scrubs. For the right kind of doctor, being a lapband surgeon provides a nice variety of patient interaction along with the actual surgical activity, but this isn't for every one. We all know surgeons who have no people skills; lapband is not the right field for them. I personally feel the importance of the followup is key to the whole thing -- having the surgeon available as-needed and on your team. They all perform well in the OR, I'm sure -- it's not brain surgery, it's laparoscopic. Good luck to you. I love, love, love my band! If something ever happened and it had to come out I'd go through it all again. I'm glad to have my whole stomach.

Hi there, so glad you are doing well! Read up all you can -- I learned a lot from Dr. Simpson's article on the "lapband is not about restriction" and also the Eight Golden Rules. Went to those sites over and over again and would copy them here but iPad and not that cooperative. I believe it's best never to force anything -- there's no amount we have to get in.....drink your water, walk and enjoy the shedding.....

If you get a rice steamer be sure to invest in a stainless steel one so you're not cooking in plastic. I don't eat rice but we use our Lotus Foods rice cooker all the time. Family eats rice and steamer can also be used for other grains like quinoa, buckwheat, oatmeal, etc. It's magic.

Hi there, my surgeon has no problem with ibuprofen, etc. but I am not taking NSAIDS -- too worried about long-term damage to the digestive track in general but since being banded I feel extremely cautious. But the joint pain, OMG! Recently I did a trial on Cymbalta which is being used in low doses to treat joint pain. I don't tolerate medicine very well, and so even though I do think it was working (but harder to tell in the summer) I went off of it. Behold the roaring return of inflammation and pain! Yesterday I picked up a script for Voltaren Gel, a topical NSAID for hands, feet, knees, elbows -- may not worker for deeper joints, like hips. $40 a tube (big tube) but I'm giving it a try. Any one have experience with this?

Thanks so much -- I will. Ice works really well for me but youch. We have a ridiculous array of ice packs in the freezer, including wine bottle coolers that work on the tops of my feet. The Voltaren is yet another thing to do -- four times a day. But I'll try anything at this point. Went to an arthritis clinic at Dartmouth a while back and tried a medication that works on the hormonal side. Made me feel strange. Cymbalta, strange. But I'm not giving up! And I need a new rheumatologist. Mine is not the right fit -- okay, I think she's an idiot. Her big advice was not to do yoga. There is a theory that people who were hyper flexible as children have too much mobility in their joints and arthritis moves in. I am a person who has to stretch or I can't move. You should see me walking -- a lot of stretching as I book it. Which is what I'm going to do right now -- off to go walking at the lake with a handful of recruits from dinner last night. 10AM is late for me to get my exercise in but the more the merrier. Have a great weekend, Go Walking : )

If you read up on movie theater popcorn and how toxic it is, you'll never miss having it again. Preservatives, bad oil, the corn is low quality and pesticides, etc. used in mass quantities. Our bodies will thank us for never having that crap again! I like popcorn at home once in a while. Got some organic kernels for the air popper -- seems like once a month or so I get that craving for big crunching and the popcorn provides that outlet. But you're right, empty calories, sigh. Hey, maybe we need the Fiber, lol! @@Mikee57 sorry you're having a hard time. It's a process, isn't it? I had to have some Fluid taken out for the first time -- could tell I was getting into the red zone. Afterward I worried the surgeon had given me a fill instead of an unfill as I felt even tighter. Turns out I think it was a TOM issue combined with allergies....that was giving me inflammation and a tighter band.

I did not have protein goals post-surgery.....my body naturally wants protein. I listen to that but I don't try to "get in" a certain amount of anything. But that's just me. I eat really well already and have a good understanding of nutrition -- this will be unpopular but I think as a culture we are way too obsessed with protein. Look at the average amount an American eats for beef, milk, etc. -- and look at our health problems compared to other cultures.

I know what you mean! Always tended toward constipation but since banding it has been harder to keep the track on track. Colon health is so important. I did a series of colonics this spring and I'm going for one next week. This is something I got in to when I was juice fasting in the old (desperate) days. The colon is the length of however tall a person is. Wild, huh? The colonic practitioner can sure talk poop -- it's amazing, really. She recommended a Squatty Potty and I got one. Basically it's just a stool to put your feet up on so the knees are up higher. Modern toilets are apparently too tall -- a problem in geriatrics as eldercare facilities, etc. often have very high toilets. We are meant to be squatting. I love my Squatty Potty -- it's like yoga, a different way of perching. In my 100 calorie Greek yogurt cup I add chia seeds (about a tablespoon) and a few nuts, maybe crushed up walnuts or sunflower seeds, and gluten free high Fiber Cereal flakes -- can't fit much in the cup with the yogurt so there is automatic portion control. The chia is great for the digestive track. Sometimes I use ground flaxseed, too -- love the nutty flavor. And I eat almonds here and there, an apple is great for constipation. Also I drink aloe juice every day. We fill up glass jars almost all the way with Water and add 1/2 cup aloe and big splash of unsweetened cranberry. I can tell when I haven't had enough of these (two to three bottles a day). Aloe is great for the insides. Yesterday I bought some asparagus to steam -- that will be good. I miss the high volume veg world. Did my share of raw food dieting. Every kind of dieting, lol. Not anymore!

Congratulations and welcome to a new chapter -- exciting times ahead. Protocols really differ by surgeon but that seems like a lot to have so soon. Could it be they just don't want you to have more than that? Like an "up to" this amount? I would check back.

Good for you, Terry! Mindless eating at my desk or the recliner is hard to kick. Lately I've been going outside to the patio with my little meal and being very mindful of how delicious it is, etc. This is a very different experience then multitasking with a little handful of almonds or an apple -- whoosh, they are just gone so fast and I haven't even been "there" for it. Shel, welcome back -- you sound great!

Hi Copper, shame is such a deep emotion and many (all?) of us here have used food to tamp that down. Know that you deserve all good things, that you are showing up for yourself -- you had the surgery, you had initial success, you are here in the forum. Next steps are the appointment with the surgeon to assess for fill and get back on track. I benefitted from seeing a therapist to sort out my triggers. Just knowing what I'm doing is a big step, even if sometimes I still do whatever it is, have that programmed response. So for me the thing is to change the programming. Addiction to soda pop is very common in this country. Diet sodas contain sucralose (Splenda) which in some people tell the rain food is coming. Other beverages have high fructose corn syrup -- maybe there is something pharmacological going on that is causing a stumbling block. Best wishes -- you can do this thing, you will feel so good when you're back in your body in a healthy way. Let's live our lives fully.

You are doing a wonderful thing in choosing your self first -- your healthy future has to be the #1 priority and everything else (everyone else) will fall into place and be better off as a result of you stepping up for yourself. At home and at work. It's amazing. Take the time you need to fully recover. In a year you will be running up and down those stairs and loving it.

Fill paper bag with extra zucchini from your garden. While at post office watch for some one going in who has left their car window open. TA-da! But seriously, ratatouille, yum! Pecorino and oregano are key, and excellent olive oil...

Hi there, you'll find that people have all different protocols from their various surgeons. My pre-op was two weeks of shakes -- I was so excited I even started a little early. Just wanted to get the show on the road! As others have said, the first couple of days are difficult but after that it's not hard at all. My post-op instructions were one day clear, one week full liquids, then on to a week of mushies then a week of "smooth" foods, then real food chewed extremely well. Return of hunger also really varies. Some people come out of surgery feeling hungry and others lose their appetite completely. I was one of the latter -- probably having to do with inflammation. I enjoyed my tea post surgery and popsicles, Miso Soup, etc. For full liquids I really liked the soups that come in cartons in the health food section of the regular grocery store -- potato leek, etc. I'd have a little and be done. This was a taste of what it's like to be in the green zone later and I loved it. Having the appetite monster off of your back is an amazing thing. Post-surgery it is unusual not to need to have fills, though there are some people in that category (most of those got plication with their band). I am some one who needed several fills to get to my "sweet spot," that place where I am satisfied with a small portion and not hungry again for 4-5 hours. I chose to keep my band a secret and there are very few people who know. We entertain and go out quite a bit and no one notices what I'm having -- if they do it's just seems like I'm dieting (ha, that's the great thing, I'm not on a diet!) which accounts for all the weight I've lost in these last months. I don't have bread, etc. but that's a nutritional choice. I don't know whether my band would be happy with bread or not. I do have an occasional gluten-free product -- like crackers, etc. and I munch on rice cakes to satisfy my desire for something crunchy. Those are slider foods for me and I try to avoid them. For some reason scrambled egg doesn't work for me, which is weird because I would have thought the softeness of that would be perfect. A fried egg, which I would have thought would not be band-friendly, turns out to be the right kind of egg for me now. There's a whole period of figuring out what your body wants and tolerates well. I used to eat a lot of beets and those do not work for me now. I have no idea why (too slippery? do I miss them so much I eat them too fast? is it something about the enzymes? who knows!). Prior to surgery I really benefited from seeing a therapist. I wanted some one to go through the process with me -- an objective professional rather than trying to process my worries with my husband or a friend, etc. I am in my fifties and really felt like I had "been there done that" as far as analyzing my food and weight issues but obviously I had not resolved anything as I could not get and keep the pounds off no matter what I did. So I was a little reluctant to roll up my sleeves and go through it all, but boy am I glad I did. It was different this time because I was admitting that I could not lose weight by dieting and that I needed weight loss surgery. The fact that I was electing what to me was something so drastic made for a lot of self-honesty. We identified the triggers for emotional and stress eating and the therapist was relentless in getting me to go into a lot of detail. For example, instead of "work stresses me out and I eat" we got down to real specifics. For me it's the phone. A tele-conference, etc. is a trigger for me to want to get something to eat. I get anxious and want to tamp down the emotions. So it's like Pavlov's dog for me when that phone rings. That's just one example but you get the idea. Now I may still have that stress or anxiety but I notice it and because my appetite is dimmed by the band I am able to choose not to feed my face every time I have to make or take a phone call. l I started a journal and listed all the appointments I had, names of the various doctors, nutritionist, etc. and then made lists of what my goals were -- the reasons I was doing this. And I wrote out my feelings. Many of us worried about missing favorite foods and being able to chow down, etc., but it's amazing how that isn't an issue once the band is properly adjusted. That's the whole idea. Best wishes to you!

Hi there and congratulations - exciting times! I'm sorry I can't read the italic font but sending best wishes for speedy recovery. Don't forget to walk all you can!

Congratulations on your surgery and way to go choosing yourself first. Pat yourself in the back! I am married, the guy is great but we had to work through a few wrinkles post-surgery. I think he had a couple of worries -- losing his eating partner was one and the other was would I turn into a babe and go run off somewhere. Both were silly -- I still love to go out and he makes out like a bandit as I eat so much less and he gets the leftovers, and I'm not going to leave the love of my life, duh. We are all bags of chemicals, really, and those deep down fears and responses are there no matter what. Oh, and did I mention most men are insensitive clods?

I love to garden and feel more connected with my soul there than anywhere else. Here are some pictures -- raised beds for veggies and a flower garden that is pretty wild right now. My refuge.

Love, love, love my band and the fact that it is adjustable and, if push ever came to shove, I could have it removed or opt for another surgery. But that's not going to happen. I feel so in sync with my body now, and with my band. Good luck to you -- main thing is you are choosing yourself and your healthy future. You are worth it!