Bandista

I recommend a vasectomy -- best birth control ever!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery -- and congratulations on a night in your own bed. And a shower! Good luck with everything -- you're on your way to a new life. Appetite monster off your back, hurray!

Hang tough -- you're doing great and it will all be worth it.

Hi Carmen, congratulations -- you're really getting there or, who knows, maybe there! I have no idea how much is in my band because my surgeon doesn't share that information and I haven't pushed for it. It's sort of esoteric, that number, as we are all different and so individualized insofar as what will be the ideal fill. I've had six but I suspect they are six small ones -- but really I have no idea. It took me a week or two to settle into each new fill and ascertain whether I was "there" yet. Even this last one which was the magic one -- I didn't feel it right away. But this is going to vary for each person. Hope this helps! You are doing beautifully! Yippee!

Hi Joanne, we've missed you! Welcome back, and welcome to spring!

I think that some people are just not ready to give up their addictions and/or disordered eating behaviors -- and of course it is possible to find a way around any weight loss surgery. The really wanting it to be a success is key. The band is designed to dim the appetite so we can make good decisions -- and it's amazing how easy that is once the appetite monster is shut down (shut up!). But still we have to do it. We can't say, "screw this, I'm going to drink milkshakes," etc. We have to want it. We have to choose ourselves and our healthy futures and that is an incredibly powerful thing. This is something I didn't know would be a side benefit to the weight loss, etc. -- the whole feeling of strength I feel now. It's so empowering! As some one said recently in another post, a big dose of brutal honesty goes a long way. I was very ready to be brutally honest with myself and therefor able to confront the self-sabotaging behaviors that were in my way and admit that I needed help with that. My help is in the form of a band, and I'm very grateful to have it.

Well, I just got up and grabbed one of my bottles of "juice-water" from the fridge. We have beautiful Water where we live but still it's hard for me to drink it plain. I fill up 32 oz. glass juice bottles almost to the top with water, add in 1/2 cup of aloe vera and a big splash of unsweetened cranberry. This really works for me -- and I need the hydration for joint pain, digestive health, etc. As far as weight loss, when I'm really good about getting the liquids in (I actually try for three of these 32 oz. bottles per day and usually get in two), then I see a drop on the scale. I can drink an entire bottle after a good workout.

Hi Paulette, congratulations on your surgery date! I think it's natural to be nervous -- and then the pre-op diet gets our nerves totally on edge right before. I was very, very excited and let that carry me through. I had never been an overnight patient in a hospital and I'm 52. I have to say, it was all so much easier than I thought it would be. Every one was there to make it as smooth as possible -- people really good at their jobs. And I think it was the walking that really helped me nerve-wise as well as kicking my body into healing mode. Good luck to you! For me this was the best decision I've made in almost two decades -- life-changing. Best wishes to you!

I like ice for inflammation -- and I was quite swollen for a while, especially at port site. Am a retention type, arthritis profile, etc. Good luck to you and congratulations on the surgery!

Oh my goodness, what a transformation! I am so happy for you. Truly inspirational. Thank you from those of us still in the trenches (which is still a pretty great place to be).

I love celeriac and couldn't believe I spotted a post about it! Can be cubed and added to soups or stews very nicely, or just like cauliflower can be steamed and whizzed up in a food processor with stock (I use chicken). It's a fabulous vegetable.

This sounds like the red zone -- I would get a small unfill immediately.

We live in a beautiful area with a much-climbed mountain, which I have to say I have not climbed much in the last ten years. Okay, maybe not at all -- certainly not to the top! So this morning when I was walking with a friend on the road and we passed one of the trail heads we decided to go for it and see if we could find one of the short loops around the base. Ha! Bushwhacking ensued, but it was really fun and great exercise. So beautiful to be deep in the woods and to feel mobile again. Able. And I guess the ability comes because of the willingness just to go for it -- I have missed that kind of spontaneity in my life and can tell that it has returned with my weight loss this winter. So happy!

I've had six small fills -- my surgeon goes fast but in small amounts. The last two took a while to "reveal" themselves (love that Paris Shel!). I'm not tight -- just right, I think. Band balks a little if I'm trying something it doesn't like, white meat chicken, for example, or ground meat I haven't cooked myself. I do everything with stock and cooked so there's no stringiness, etc. I could eat more but don't have to -- before I couldn't stop and say enough; now I can.

Hi there, congratulations on your surgery! You are one of the lucky people who are not hungry post-op -- I was, too. There will still be inflammation at this stage and once that goes down there may be a return of hunger. For me this was about a month out and just when I was going for a first fill appointment, so the timing was good. Some people are hungry after the surgery -- the band has been installed but no dimming of the appetite until achieving the right fill. Once my hunger came back I had to work at my eating choices, practicing small portions and most importantly slowing way down and listening hard to my body. Those weeks were an important foundation for later once I reached the green zone and my appetite is not an enemy anymore, just a natural signal that it's time for food. What a relief, but none of us got there overnight!

Truly inspiring -- beaming health! Thanks so much for sharing. What a beautiful couple and a whole new life for both of you. What a great turn-around, this choice for your happy healthy futures!

What a great post, Sandy! You are one of the people who have really inspired me. Thanks so much for sharing your story......and here's to this new life, free of food addiction.

I agree about putting it in print and the accountability that goes along with that -- it's why I'm on here so often as it really helps me to reiterate the reasons I chose the surgery and what my longer-term goals are. In the short term I just want what I want, lol -- this site helps me keep the long view in perspective. It sounds like you were listening to your body very well and knew just what you were doing but then the surgeon inadvertently gave you permission to stop being mindful. It's such a fine line, isn't it -- for those of us who were very restrictive, all those years of dieting. One thing I've really learned is that it's not the same for any one -- we are all so different. The key is to find what works for you and stick to that. I gave myself permission to nibble on cheese and olives all day yesterday and drink wine. So today my scale is up, up, up. But I do go up and down anyway -- and often up before a real loss. Congratulations on the great loss you have had since your surgery! Try not to worry too much about the ten pounds as a lot can be accounted for with salt and accompanying retention, stress, etc. And today is a beautiful new day, you're reconnecting with your surgeon and from here it's one foot in front of the other, as it is for each of us. Best wishes to you for spring and the renewal that brings!

Way to go on your weight loss -- that is fantastic. I am one of the people that took six fills to reach the green zone. My doctor was looking for a tennis ball sized portion of food and not being hungry again for 4-5 hours. I kept wondering if I was there yet but it wasn't until I really started feeling ambivalent about food, putting down something even though I hadn't finished my whole portion, or realizing that six hours had passed and I hadn't been thinking about food that whole time -- for me, that's when I knew I was there. And I'm not tight. Never throw up or slime, etc. -- that would tell me we overshot the green zone and took me into red. I am not interested in being there, that's for sure. I still love to eat but happy to be able to stop after my portion. I could keep going, that's for sure -- I don't think my band prevents that but having it helps me have the willpower to say to myself that I've had enough for now. The "for now" works for me because the message is I can have more later. I'm not depriving myself, just had had enough for now. Best wishes to you!

Way to go -- I can tell you are falling in love with your trike already! Biking is also on my spring list for ways to get exercise and enjoy the great outdoors. We live in the boonies but have to pack the bikes up to take them somewhere because these secondary roads are just too dangerous when cars come along. I like to be on a bike trail at this point in my life -- can't deal with traffic and still relax and have a good time.

Yippee! Loving the reappearance of the neck, too. As for the boobs, my grandmother and mother have a funny phrase that sort of sums it up, "hangsie-downsie."

Congratulations on your surgery -- glad you're feeling better. The walking as much as possible really does help with everything. Best wishes!

Here's to not overdoing it, and not wanting to! Feels good, doesn't it, to be out of that feeding cycle, the more, more, more...... Congratulations -- you are doing so well! We will hit Onederland soon -- when is your birthday (you referred to in your blog)? Enjoyed reading your pieces!

I have been a restricter for so long that it is hard for me to let that go -- but what a relief. I don't "diet" now but I am still very mindful. I make good choices, try to focus on Protein, etc. Today is Easter and we had a big brunch. I let myself nibble on cheeses and olives and have a few Mimosas. I had a custom made teeny tiny omelet, skipped everything else not because I wasn't letting myself have it but because I didn't want it. I wanted that cheese! My surgeon's rule of thumb is full for 4-5 hours and I am experiencing that. I am not a Breakfast eater so my midday meal is my first of the day. If I'm hungry later I grab almonds -- four of them. Or I might have one of those 100 calorie Greek yogurts with some chia seeds and a little bit of gluten free Cereal in it. This might be a meal or it might be a snack, depending on whether I'm hungry. Likewise with dinner I might have a real dinner (small, high protein) or just do something like that yogurt. Once in a while I do a shakes day -- will do that tomorrow to tone up my band and brain after a weekend of socializing. I look forward to the shake days -- but that's because of that old restrictive behavior which I'm still shaking off.

@@NMJG thank you so much. I just picked up a bottle of. Carlson's with lemon (had a coupon!) and hoping this does the trick -- like the tin man with creaky joints in need of oil....congratulations on your weight loss! Looks like you're doing beautifully.....