kacee

I was about a 38 BMI and have lost 61 pounds so far. I had very little stomach fat to begin with (my surgeon commented on this too) and knew that when I lost...it would come off my midriff quickly. I am down to normal sizes now. Yes, when I lay on my back there is a little bump below my chestbone where the port is. I have a low-profile port. Doesn't bother me at all and I certainly prefer that to the alternative (not having lost the weight!).

It's there permanently, barring something like a health reason to remove it or erosion. It's not like a car that you trade in or like a replaced knee that is supposed to only "last" 20 years...

Your doctor's regimin is very conservative so I wouldn't worry about starting mushies now. I was on mushies at 1 week and on solids after week 4. Your body should be very well adjusted by now to introduce mushies. That being said, just take it easy.

Fifteen minutes???? You must have been a SLOOOOWWWW eater!:cursing: The portion control is the thing for me now. Okay, say I have this craving for a doublemeat cheeseburger, fries, etc. Okay, you sit down with the burger, and start to dissect it. It looks great but you KNOW when you eat any of the bread you will be full in 10 seconds and that's all you will get down. Hmmm....eliminate the bread. Start with one fry....don't want a handful because you'll be too full to enjoy the wonderful burger. But the burger alone will fill you up in about 5 seconds, so now what to do? Given all these choices, I ususally steer clear of these things because it's pretty overwhelming to think about getting something down like that. After a while, it is more trouble then it is worth. Sometimes I try just having one thing at a meal...one thing I really like...because then at least I can get about 4 decent bites of it before I'm full. Thanksgiving was a real challenge! I had 10 nickel sized globs of food on my plate because I wanted everything!

I was also banded in May. My last fill was in early December and for the last three weeks (most of January) I've been hypersensitive to everything. I've debated getting a slight unfill, but I am trying to "ride it out". I know one thing I have done is started taking bigger bites and I have GOT to work on that. Also the chewing. Another comment....I have ALWAYS had a slight problem with scrambled eggs. They pretty much qualify as a soft type food, but they have a way of really clogging up the pipes if you aren't careful....especially eating them in the morning. Anyway, it's times like these you have to really slow down. I would say start eating more often and smaller amounts and bites.

Well, all I can say is....I am post-menopausal, I am 56, I have lost 61 pounds (and STILL going, albeit a little slower because I am knocking on my goalweight door). I could not be happier with the results. I had the metabolism of a slug, but obviously I was sabotaging myself anyway with my eating habits because when the portion control kicked in, the weight started flying off, so it wasn't all metabolism at all.... I am 3 pounds UNDER my doctor's goal weight for me and 7 pounds from my goal weight. I consider myself a complete success story.

Banding shouldn't be compromised by sneezing. It's probably uncomfortable now because EVERYTHING in that area is uncomfortable right now.

Oh yeah. Probably mot of us have done this. The thing is you're still gonna be eating on "the other side", and still eating 90% of what you were before, just in much much smaller amounts. I wish I could have gotten that through my head beforehand and not done so much "last meal" eating.

That typical post-surgery feeling. It will lessen each day. I think I had it for about 2 weeks. Just be sure and not to push it with the mushies. I had an "incident" with some mashed potatoes at week 2 that had me for about 2 hours feeling like a someone was standing in high heels on my chest bone. YEOW.

I too am in my 50's. I was banded last May and have never regretted one SECOND of it. Like all life changes, it is a behavioral retraining and there is a learning curve. I kindof liken it to learning to ride a bicycle. You screw up and reap the "benefits" of falling on your face a few times and then all of a sudden you have this "AHA!" moment where the light shines down and you have this realization of what it takes to be successful and what you need to do. It's nothing to be "scared" of. You will be able to eat 90% of the foods you ate before.....just in MUCH smaller quantities. The operative word here is retraining the way you eat. That's all it is. I have embraced my new lifestyle and all the benefits, physical and emotional, that I have received from it. My only regret is that I couldn't have done this 15 years ago.

Don't despair. It will come. I had ZERO restriction after the first fill (so much so they let me come back the next week). I felt a little restriction for #2 but it waned by the end of the month. But I was ACTIVELY losing almost 2 pounds a week and that is a LOT. It was hard for the band to keep up. Your fill will dissipate faster while you are really losing the weight because the fat around your stomach where the band is will continue shrinking. Third fill was THE turning point. 4th Fill was the topper to the sweet spot. Don't fret. You have the rest of your LIFE to do this! It's not a race. Actually, if you got 100% restriction right out of the gate you might freak. This gives you the opportunity to train yourself during the process.

I had the 6 month thing. They don't accept online stuff. It needs to be doctor supervised with notations. I was borderline with 38 BMI and knew if I lost anything they were going to reject me at the end of the line. I just couldn't risk that so I became a self-pay.

That's right. There really isn't too much you can do about it (other than the shampoo thing I mentioned). It's just a process you gotta go through.

You are not experiencing anything out of the normal. Don't feel like a failure. You still have practically zero restriction. Some folks (like me) don't get decent restriction until their 3rd or 4th fills. Now, that being said, you need to steer clear of things that in quantity are "bad" for you....i.e., brownies, etc. Get some other stuff in the fridge and whenever you even THINK you might be getting antsy to go get yourself something you probably should stay away from, go pop yourself a sugar free jello cup or something. Try jello cups with fat free topping. If one doesn't cut it, eat two....they're only 10 cal apiece. I got in the habit of eating whenever I had a craving coming on or felt like I was going to slip....except I made sure what I was eating was more in line with something that would FILL me up, but still be low of caloric content (at least lower than chocolate cake, cookies, etc.).

You know, I don't really think that anyone needs to have a clock on their meal. I would be hard-pressed to take a full 30 minutes to eat a meal. But that being said, you should take very small bites, put your fork DOWN between bites....chew a BUNCH of times, and then swallow. More than anything right now, this is in preparation and training for good restriction. You CAN eat faster now, but when that restriction comes, that is the LAST thing in the world you will want to be doing and is a solid gold recipe for disaster.

You go girlfriend! You sound exactly like me when I started out. I went in so gung ho and I was absolutely "by the BOOK" on everything I did. As a 45-year yo-yo dieting failure I knew this was my last stand and I was going to give it every opportunity to work for me. Let me tell you. It DOES work! It's all about portion control (and dietary choice common sense thrown in). My journey has been a pure joy...and to me it has not been hard. I made a commitment, I went after it with a vengeance and I am reaping HUGE rewards.

The operative phrase here is that Isopure clear protein drinks do NOT have to be mixed with anything. They come in a bottle, just like a fruit punch. I remember asking my local GNC abouty Isopure and they pointed to the jars of powder and I said Nope....not the same thing. The bottles are clear glass and have a twist off cap. You can get them in cases of 12 or singley.

I know that's a bigtime frustration. I've got a girlfriend who had to mess with the insurance applications all December (trying to get it done before the end of the year) only to be told the last week that there was some kind of "holding" period when it had to "sit on the books" or some dumb thing like that. Anyway, I just got an email from her that she was approved and is going in for surgery on Monday, 1-14, so I am thrilled for her.

Yes, about month 4 I began losing handfuls of hair in the shower. Now I have a HUGE head of hair so I didn't completely freak out, but it was very disconcerting to have to grab a handful of hair afterwards and throw it in the trash. I would probably say I have lost about 15-25% overall through months 4-7. I went to the dermatologist and he said yes I had dermatitis which is brought on by shock to the body (surgery, drastic weight loss, etc.) and I should get Head and Shoulders regular shampoo AND head and shoulders High Intensity shampoo (in the dark blue bottle) and wash my hair every day, alternating the two. Well, with my head of hair I DON'T wash every day....I'd be in the shower and messing with it forever...and I am too lazy, so I skipped the regular head and shoulders and just use the high intensity whenever I shampoo now. It has helped dramatically. I think WasABubbleButt said it can go on for about 10 months or so and then will slack off and eventually stop.

I think the important thing for all of us to remember is that if we do not "take on airs" after the procedure and do a lot of negative changing ourselves (like the friend who could do nothing but say "Damn I look good!" and drove everyone away...) this isn't about us at all. It's about the other people and their fears. I don't give ANYONE an opportunity to say anything negative to me. No matter what they say I say back "Best decision I ever made. I am THRILLED!" with a huge smile on my face. You cannot be insulted unless you ACCEPT the insult, ya know. An insult is handed to you like a big toxic present. I politely decline. If you accept it and digest it, the fallout is YOUR problem now. About the saggy skin thing....I say "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." and leave it at that. This is called taking ownership of what you have done in your life. We have NOTHING to be ashamed of or to hide from. We are being proactive with our lives. This WILL create tension and jealousy in other parties because many people don't like to see someone sail past them toward success.

Did anyone watch the new show on Lifetime last night called "Queen Sized" with Nikki Blonsky (the new girl from Hairspray). I watched and I cringed through the whole thing. I don't know how they can make a series out of it. It was awfully hard to watch and it's not like you are an actress in a "fat suit"....it's really her. Boy that's gotta be hard to do.

I have three tips that worked like a champ for me.: 1. Weigh every day at the same time (like when you first get up) and log it online somewhere (I use FitDay...there are lots of programs). This is not so much to watch the weight FALL off, but to watch how what you eat correlates with the scales....you get a feel for what you body can work with. 2. Log every single food you put in your mouth on a program like FitDay or SparkPeople. You will become hypersensitive to what you put in your mouth. You will start thinking in terms of calories. This is what Weight Watchers has touted for YEARS and I always thought was "bull hockey". I am now a firm convert!!! If I overdo it for breakfast and lunch, I can know that I need to cut back for dinner, or vice versa, if I know I am going out to dinner in the evening, I will keep my intake low in the morning and afternoon. I try to keep intake to 800-1100 calories a day. 3. Set easily attainable "mini-goals".....My first was to hit 210. Then 205, then to get to Onederland...my mini-goals were 2-3 pounds each and I gave myself an adequate time to reach them. Right now my goal is to get into the 150's....I've been vacilllating from 160-163 since early December, because I have been "bad" during the holidays, but I am getting back into the game. Always set a goal you KNOW you can reach. As you reach them you will get greedy for more goals and successes. Sometimes a success can be going from 163.6 to 162.8. That's the beauty of a scale with 10th of a pounds on them.

Mine is directly below my breastbone, dead center. Doesn't bother my bra, doesn't bother my waistband.

1. If you follow the lapband rules you should not have major problems. 2. You will be able to eat pretty much everything you could eat before...you just won't be eating 2 hamburgers and an order of fries at a sitting. You'll get to where you get pretty picky about what you eat. Actually, you get used to it pretty quick. I went out to eat with a girlfriend the other week (who has since gotten the band herself) and we both got stuffed baked potatoes as a meal. Whereas she dug right into hers....I marveled and laughed when I saw mine and said "No way on this PLANET am I going to be able to finish that baby!" and sure enough I couldn't.... 3. Best decision I ever made. 4. At the rate you are (and most of the rest of us were...) going....probably not.

You probably single-handedly ate the WORST thing in the WORLD you could have possibly put in your mouth...a bagel. Not just bread...but thick and doughy bread!