SolracSpree

I got my protein from IsoPure drinks. My doc required a CLEAR protein for 2 days post-op. I drank them for 10 before my body could handle anything else.

hahaha I love your list of things that weigh 48 pounds lol. Awesome visual. I am glad you are no longer carrying a canoe on your back

I have the LapBand with plication. Or did you mean you are choosing between the sleeve and the LapBand? Either way I love my Band w/ plication it keeps my hunger under control even without a fill.

The hardest part of all of this is temptation. Once you can overcome temptation it gets significantly easier. We are all big for some reason or another, and we didnt get here by making great food choices. You have to learn to reset your mind. And it doesnt happen overnight. For some people surgery put their mind straight and they haven't deviated. Good for them , but that doesnt happen to all of us. Don't get discouraged. I way I am learning to think of food is 1) why am I eating this? (hunger, boredom,ect) 2) what is the food giving my body? (Protien, vitamins, ect) 3) could I make a better choice 4) Will I feel guilty afterwards and is it worth it? (some times the answer is yes. For example I ate a cupcake, it was delicious, I am under my calorie count, and I only ate 1. Do I feel guilty. NOPE) Your body is still healing dont focus on weight. You should focus on getting your mind right and letting your body heal. Weight loss will come

I eat out a lot socially so I googled the nutrition for all of my friends and my favorite eating spots. Anything under my calories count went on the list. So now when we go somewhere I pull up my list and choose from that.

The "iBand" is also reversible. My doctor did plication with my surgery 6/20/13. Because the stomach is sutured together, if you have complications that can removed to suture as well as the band. I like having plication, it reduces the chance of a slip and even with out a fill I am losing weight. It has a higher percent of weightloss too. (Somewhere between 5-10%) I highly recommend it.

Anyone in Charlotte, in particular near UNCC

I had the same exact pain. (under the bottom of your left rib?) It is one of the reasons that I had to extend my pain medication. When I talked to my Doc about it she said that is was "relative pain". So during surgery while they were poking around they hit something that causes pain outside of your stomach somewhere in the abdominal cavity. Again my pain was so bad they extended my pain meds. I hope you feel better and that is isnt anything more serious!

I have had my resting metabolism measured by my Doc. I do know with a higher metabolism I need to eat a couple hundred more calories body to keep my body out of starvation mode but it something my body naturally does on its own. When I was just eating 1,000 calories I was always hungry and quit counting. When I went back to the doctor they told me they needed a calorie count on file so I went back to counting, and funny enough when I went back to count I average at 1,400-1,500 daily and still losing when there are those who eat only 700 - 800 calories and losing the same as I am. I follow my body hunger first and calories second. But I am new to the world of banding. I'm sure thinking will change a lot for a while.

You have lost 100 pounds in less than 2 months????

Make sure to make a review on your experience with our surgeon as a warning to those in the future. Wishing you the best

Have you guys had fills yet?

I each sushi fine. California rolls are 43 cal a piece 4-6 pieces fills me up. And as far as string cheese I like Sargento but the Babybel cheese has fewer calories and its fun to open

I'll have to ask my doctor is he wants me to stay at 1400 calories once I get a fill. It seems like people are significantly lower than my calorie intake ( expect the 6ft males lol) If I go lower wont my body go back into starvation mode? Its all so confusing : /

Im not exactly sure how the math is calculated but they hooked me up to a machine that measures your heart rate (?) and breathing. The machine measures oxygen intake and carbon dioxide out. Then based on that the machine calculates it comes up with your metabolism rate. I had to get that, as well as an iDXA scan in order to be approved for surgery.

What my doc does is every time he gives a fill, he takes out all the liquid from the band to measure it and then adds the amount for the next fill. This would show if you might have a leak if he knows he put in 5cc and now there is only 3. If that makes any sense. Also I dont know how much food a grinder is but it sounds like way too much to be eating at one time. Make sure you are measuring your food. 1 cup is my Doc's max. Yours might be different? But if you eat that 1 cup and still aren't satisfied then you can always eat again when you are hungry. It would suck for you to come this far and damage your band.

Doc appointment today. I went in for a checkup on my stitches and good news is that it is healing great! not great enough to get a fill though. - Sooo close but no dice. I scheduled an appointment for next week in hope that my issue will be resolved. While I was there I was praised by my Doc. Two weeks ago I went in about my stitches and weighed in at 236 pds and today weighed in at 232. So an average of 2 pounds per week. She told me she was very impressed with my weight loss thus far. She told me most people do not lose during this stage because they do not feel restriction and constantly eat and some even gain weight. She also went on to say it shows that I have real dedication and making the choices that I should be making. The last part made me feel guilty but I didnt say anything. I am far from a poster child. For example I had a Reese cup just yesterday. I eat 1400-1600 calories a day. Where some people are eating 800. My only exercise is playing with my dog and walking up my horrendous 3 flight of stairs to my apartment 3 times a day (and the occasional Zumba song ). But really, am I putting in my all. Nope. And I think it is unfair that someone like me who isnt trying all that hard can lose weight faster than someone that is. I do stick to my 1 cup of food at every meal - I do not want to cause any damage to my band and think it is irresponsible to eat more. But I have cut out a BUNCH of crap used to eat on a daily basis (try 4 packs a Reeses, Taco Bell for Lunch, Golden Corral for dinner) but compared to some of the hard work and efforts of people on here. I am not doing much. Will this catch up to me? Probably. And when it does it will kick my ass into gear! But as silly as it sounds I feel like why should I try harder if what i'm doing is already working. Whats the saying....dont fix what aint broken? Maybe things will change once I am back working. I feel like I have no routine in my schedule and its throwing me off. Once I get back to school and have a assigned slot for Breakfast/Lunch/Snack/Dinner I wont be grazing or doing other guilty food actions. I know my exercise will increase once I get the ok from my Doc because I actually like lifting weights. But these are all in the future and havent been done. And like my status says ..... When it is all said and done, Will I have SAID more than Ive DONE?" Lets hope not.