Bandista

Sending best wishes for a speedy recovery -- walk all you can! Congratulations on choosing yourself and your healthy future. Love, love, love my banded life and know that you will, too.

Congratulations on your success! My surgeon was looking for being satisfied with a tennis-ball sized portion of food for 4-5 hours. I had the portion part but was hungry again after a couple of hours -- that's how we knew if I needed a fill. Eating over a longer period of time than 20-30 minutes is grazing, something I have to be very careful of as that is my tendency. I sometimes "clock" my meals -- I make a note of the time and count off four or five hours on my fingers to tell me what time I should be eating next. I think this helps reinforce my old behaviors of going back for more too soon, just out of habit. Good luck to you -- you are doing beautifully!

What a great post! Congratulations on turning your life around. Isn't it great having the appetite dimmed? And you are really rocking the exercise -- cardio, weights, yoga, Wow! I'm pretty sure exercise is the secret to success, and listening to the body. Good for you forgoing all bread items and figuring out what works for you. Just think, at your next doctor's visit you will be in the two hundreds. Way to go!

Hi there and congratulations on your surgery! I don't happen to use a scale but I do use small bowls and a long-handled baby spoon and shrimp fork when I'm at home. I love my little condiment dishes. For me, it's a volume thing, so knowing what bowl works well is a good way for me to measure. I am very conscious of eating Protein first with some veggies, etc. Also, I eat Greek yogurt maybe 4-5 times a week. I get the 100-calorie individual containers (even though I hate all that plastic) because the little cup is perfect for me to add in a few chopped walnuts, some chia seeds and if I'm really splashing out a little gluten-free Cereal. It's impossible to have too much as the little cup would overflow, so it keeps me honest. Yogurt would be a slider food for me if I didn't have the mix-ins. Oh, I also add in collagen for an additional 6 grams of protein and that makes it thicker, too -- more time for my esophagus to signal the brain.

Hi there and congratulations on your upcoming surgery. Pre-op can be hard but I was so happy to lose a chunk pre-surgery -- weight that I knew would never be coming back!

When the band talks, we have to listen -- and you are getting a prime example of that right now. Your body does not want those potatoes. Maybe later in the game, but many people eliminate the whites -- wheat, potatoes, pastas, rice, etc. -- as those carbs are not really good choices anyway. I hope you're feeling better (and if not call the doctor!) but know that many of us had a learning curve for finding out what is band-friendly. Sorry you had to go through this. My first one was beets. We are all different. You may want to back up a stage to continue full liquids a few days then ease into something other than potatoes. Good luck -- you are on your way! And do call it in if you're nervous -- they are there for you, your medical professionals.

Sending best wishes your way. In choosing yourself and your own health first, every one will benefit. You are dealing with a lot and need to have a strong and healthy mind/body -- so glad you're here to get some support. It can be so hard but you know you can do it and how good it will feel to be out of food jail again. You deserve that, so see your doctor, regroup and know you have lots of people here behind you.

The weird thing about carb/sugar world is that it doesn't even taste good. Keep in mind, you're not really missing anything yummy....so much crap out there and thank goodness we're not shoveling it in out of habit and being one of the gang. Um, no thanks! Way to go choosing yourself and your healthy future first. Way better than any of that crap.

Good grief, that's AUSPICIOUS, not suspicious, lol. Thanks a lot iPad (I cannot edit from here.....). Keep us the walking -- that is really the key, and know that later you won't even be able to recall this discomfort. I am seven months out and so happy. It's amazing.

Hi there, try an ice pack on the port site -- that really worked for me. Congratulations on the surgery and this whole new chapter. You will feel better each day. I had heparin injections while in the hospital but did not have to do it at home. One thing about this is how much protocols vary. I also had no compression stockings. Mid-summer seems like a very suspicious time for this big change -- choosing your healthy future. Best wishes and so glad you found this forum. It has helped me enormously.

Congratulations! I love, love, love my band. The weight loss part is great but also I just feel like I finally have that appetite monster off of my back.

Hi Amanda, how about a follow-up visit with your surgeon to assess whether you need a fill? If you are hungry more frequently and eat more than you think you should, your band isn't working for you. It will be good to get that appetite dimmed so you can make good choices. The exercise you're doing is a great choice -- way to go on that! And congratulations for regrouping to get healthy. Weddings can be stressful. It might be a good time to really sort out what might be emotional eating vs. actual hunger. Some people do the five-day pouch test (you can google it) to get back on track and feel the tightness of the band again. Remember, though, it's not about restriction it's about dimming the appetite. If you find you're eating over the band, it might help to work with a therapist. I had a lot of success with some counseling. It was a bit tedious but we really broke down the various triggers I had to reach for food -- work-related stuff, mother on the phone, rewarding myself, boredom, etc. It was good to go from generalizes responses to figuring out the really specific events. Good luck to you! You're not alone....

Best wishes to you! I was banded last November and did not use pain medication either. I had the prescription filled just in case but didn't need to go there. I had a heating pad that I think helped, and a few days in when the port site hurt a bit I used an ice pack and that did wonders. Like Icy One says above, the walking is the best thing to do -- I'm sure that is what kicked my body into healing mode and kept me out of pain for the healing process. If you do take pain medication be sure to address the potential constipation issue -- can talk to your doctor about that. That's another kind of discomfort and one to avoid! Good luck with all -- getting this band is the best thing I have done for myself and I am so happy with it.

When you have the right fill, your appetite will be dimmed and you won't be fighting against that. Great to get in to see the doctor to assess for fill -- s/he will have all the info they need when you tell about the goulash. Meanwhile try not to be a slave to the scale. There are many reasons we can be up in weight. Get walking, get to the doctor, and pat yourself on the back for everything you're doing,

Gut flora sure is hot right now -- probiotics research after all those antibiotics. Hope the medical community can go deep with all of this and figure out more about inflammation, arthritis, etc. And of course obesity. Thank you for posting!

Yippee, so happy for you! You look wonderful -- exuding good health. Thank you for posting this inspiration to just keep on going and enjoy where we are. There is so much success to celebrate but what matters most is the feeling good now, today -- not how fast until tomorrow and whatever goal. The goal is peace with our bodies. I love it that you have that. The rest will come!

Good for you! I love walking and that is my main exercise. These days it's outdoors, which is lovely -- an hour's loop at the lake -- and in the wintertime we have a treadmill in the basement along with a recumbent bike and a Bowflex. This reminds me, I need to get down there and start the Bowflex again. Love having the strong muscles.

Hi there and congratulations on making this choice for your healthy future. I started my research at this time last year, basically digging into this forum, reading post after post and asking questions. I was banded in November and am so happy with my decision. The most important thing about lapband is the followup care and you want to have a nice relationship with your surgeon who will be helping you assess when you need a fill, etc. It wasn't possible for me to meet the surgeon ahead of time but I really lucked out -- nice guy, smart, easy to talk to about how it's going, etc. We don't spend a lot of time at our visits but I know the door is open should I feel I need to see him. Some doctors prime the band so you start out with some fill. I didn't have that and am not sure what I think, but that could be a question. As for the surgery itself, it is laparoscopic and not difficult. Many people have a hiatal hernia to repair at the same time. My surgeon advised of this possibility and sure enough I had that repair simultaneously. Good luck with all -- these are exciting times!

My appetite is dimmed and I can make good choices -- and I had no restrictions after recovery, just to eat when I'm hungry (way less) and learn to pay attention to my band, I'm glad nothing is outlawed -- caffeine, alcohol, etc. I had years of outlawing all sorts of things to no avail. I am not on a diet. I have a band and make good choices.

Hi there, pre-op protocols vary greatly -- each surgeon has their own process and the best advice for each person is to follow their program and not worry about what other people are doing. I'd you're not clear, give the doctor's office a call and get them to clarify. I had a two-week liquid diet -- others had three weeks or one, some have a meal a day plus shakes, etc. Goal is to cleanse and shrink the liver so it's easier for the surgeon to place the band. Best wishes to you and congratulations on getting to this place. It's big, this choosing of yourself and your healthy future. Be prepared for amazing things happening!

It's funny, just today I was sitting briefly in the garden with a friend and I was saying how much I long for reinvention yet often feel it's not happening or loo late, etc. This is one of the few friends who know about my surgery and I reminded her (and myself!) that last November I gave myself a year to just do this. This being the weight loss, the return to myself, the investment in my healthy future. That said, I know something else is ahead -- I'm a writer also and I don't want to be in the field where I currently work. I'm going to be 53, I have a wonderful life but the career aspect leaves something to be desired. I make art, too, and signed up for a five-day workshop in October. That will be quite a present to myself. I think that creating visual art will help open up new possibilities in my life. And then there's the garden. Here's to summer!

Yippee! So happy for you -- I know that was a long three months. Love it that you have this perspective on it, though, the importance of the band vs. good habits, how much we need this device to continue to achieve success. Get ready to drop those five and five more, five more -- you are doing beautifully!

Happy Bandaversary! I have followed your process over the last year and you are truly amazing. May all your dreams come true.......

My surgeon doesn't share the amount of the fills so I have no idea how much is in my band. He doesn't want me obsessing and I guess it's kind of a meaningless number as fill needs change, we are all different, etc. I don't eat breakfast in the morning -- let's see, it's about 12:30 now and I'll probably be eating at 1:00. Hmmmm.......interesting! My rule is to not to eat if I'm not hungry but definitely to eat if I am hungry.

Wow! Way to go!