Jack

nibble nibble nibble made it possible despite my fears

re: "don't let yourself get that hungry, being hungry is when we make mistakes it also makes us miserable. good luck" yes......a MOST ESSENTIAL part of coming to understnat HappyBandsterLife is to step away from the edge before we fall off... Even still, if I get TOO hungry.....there's trouble of one kind or another. I timed it just right today, out in restaurant/business and did fine on soup/salad/bread/ OK, it was Italian place, I left probably 3/4 of the tiny loaf they served) the the Soup (some spicy chicken thing) and salad were superb. It was enough to last me from noon to nearly 6pm. I ate a small dinner (my squash treat) and have been anticipating 'the rest of the meal'...but actual 'hunger' has not reared it's ugly countinence. Almost too late to have 'dessert' a homemade gooseberry/chopped filberts diebetic recipe. Wait....I'm going to try a bite....

I'm well passed the 'children to feed stage of life. However, "witching hour" is accurate and happens to me most often mid-afternoon, 3:30 ish. Sometimes 10"30 ish. While I do rotate as needed, the last year or so I've been on a 'spaghetti squash' kick.....cold, microed, plain, with a little something. It's pretty well replaced any interest in Pasta. And I favor other squash too. Yellow peppers, or better RED peppers, sliced a variety of ways....crunchy, delightful, easy/healthy. Sometimes a 1/2 cup of snow peas are my special friend. They also make a delightful addition as a 'veggie omlette'.....if you can stan eggs at this point. Then again, I've been able to correlate have a 'decent' Protein a coupel times a day helps diminish or displace the Witching Hour(s).

actually....I'm rethinking the term "restriction"..... ......perhaps a different term would be more......user friendly.... maybe something like......"alternately enabled"..... well I've tried it for a few days in reading some of these posts. I have to agree, it ain't what you call the Rose that makes it smell.... 'Sport eating" vs "Over eating" doesn't change the behavior but does show a certain contempt for repeating my own FAIL eating behavior that would be humorous in other circumstances. We ALL must find a way to feed our Inner Selves in a way our Outter Selves don't hit the mega-sizes. One tiny behavior that helps me often when MY control starts slipping....is to develop some kind of little mini-ceremonial activity... using the same dish perhaps, or only sit in a certain chair facing a certain direction. Making sure that only a particular cup is what I use for certain liquids.....and all of course, smaller than the MUG sizes used preOp. I've discovered becoming somewhat 'fussy' can act in my eating compulsiveness.....so it rarely gets to that point.

grandmas mean well, as do most of the people you will encounter postOp mindlessly willing to share various stories intended to somehow make your life better..... the notion we of the Tribe of the Morbidly Obese can change our eating behavior by the good intentions of well meaning people advising us of THEIR anxiety about OUR real lives, is not demonstrated by observation Personally I was in such anxiety, despite a 2 year prep doing research and various medical study, that even on the bed awating transport to the operating chamber, when delayed 30 minutes, was on the verge of leaping up and fleeing. I am glad I remained. I believe the Band saved my life, and works every day to help me be less obese than I would have been had I actually not died from the multiple co-morbidities at the time. tell grandma how much you love her and how much her support means....and ask her to at least strive to understand the factors that led to your decision.... Cheers on your journey

There are periods where we all temporarily lose focus.... Early in my postBand life, I was at a convention, and "Partied" in my room after a tiny BandSmart dinner..... I was distracted and concentrating on business stuff, and knew I was eating in an unusual (by then) pattern..... but I rolled over & went to sleep finally. In the morning I awoke & looked about at the evidence of my "party" ......2 or 3 small bags of popcorn, and an empty 2 pack of grannies oatmeal Cookies....so much for "party"..... It solved a Big Issue, it gave me a bit of a re-boot on my own Band meal plan, and it showed that considerable IMPROVEMENT had been made towards a HEALTHIER 'party' despite unplanned food being included .... I had to laugh, as it was considerably removed from what my preOp 'party food' would have been. Cheers on your journey, just remember to keep moving in the right direction.

It's hard to NOT have flashbacks from when I attempted to do the same cart trick, despite knowing better. We all know people do not change easily, and 'the look' at such as shopping cart contents doesn't produce much other than continued determination on MY part to continue buffing up the loose ends of my own behavior. I have a son who spent a good decade working his way toward his RN degree....and headed well toward that 400# mark despite what HE knows as well. We've talked about such insanity, and how it grips us like LaBrea Tar Pit gripped beasts large & small regardless of their struggles. The subtle addictions to which we must all find a way around.... "But the morbidly obese really do eat bad food"....that's the truth....in my own writhing to escape, A thought suddenly hit me, that I was losing that battle because I was trying to feed my body and that wasn't where the hunger was.....

WOW!!!! I bet you feel GOOOOOOooooooodddDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!! Congratulations on your success and your hard work!!!

I a couple years postOp I was able to retunr to enjoying those, but it was bleak for a while. Generally a week treat I have is a 2 egg omlette with a cup of chanterlles and 2 pieces of Daves Killer 23 grain toast. Shared between 2 people, with me getting the smaller 1/2. PreOp that was just a snack while I was waiting for my actually meal. I rejoyce in my Band daily.

Welcome & cheers to your continued success monymo....tips & details always appreciated.

re: "or what is the usual time frame before the first fill? " that continues to vary amoung different Bandsters & their surgeons. My own "First Fill" was 6 months postOp.....alsom coinciding with my most profound weight loss period. re: variation in 'tightness' "Symbiant", my own Little Angel of the Silicon Fist, now 9+ years postOp, had days of drama (why is THIS happening?) and days where there seems to be no issue at all. It is not unusual to find some days we find ourselve either wanting to eat more at a meal or not. Mostly I've found ways to co-habit the same body with Symbiant, and both of us get want we NEED most of the time ...... After so long, I've grown cautious about eating my hard Protein. My little food-chopper has about worn out from use over the years. I finally realized I can eat ground meat much more satisfyingly, so I recently bought a Cabela game-style grinder with 2 different dies....rather like Pasta maker only it grinds down meat into more usable form.

I went through an odd couple years, where I couldn't tolerate cooked mushrooms but somehow raw ones were really REALLY tasty to me. That phase passed eventually and the last few years I have been able to enjoy cooked mushrooms once again. Granted, there must be *some* kind of difference between rubbery/chewy/slippery/slimy and styrofoam/cardboard/ consistency. Generally I have a chanterelle omlette nearly every week, and once a month or so, the famed 'Portabella' treat in the microwave....chopped up stem into small pieces, a bit of some kind of grated cheese, about a minute on 'stun'..... ah yes.....while that preOp was only the appetizer, most often now that is most of the entire entree....

I was told by my suregeon such choices are often made final at the point of the actual surgical procedure. Even in my now-vintage 4cc Band era, there was a couple sizes depending on individual findings.

re: "I simply did not want to continue...I did not want to eat..".....I LOVE that feeling!!!!

re: "Does that mean I am at restriction already or pretty close? " not exactly and your variability of the sensation of 'hunger' is in a state of flux, as there are lots of physiological as well as psychoemotional adapations we make in the early postOp phase. Further, as our bodies daily are adaptive to varous environmental stresses, a rolling normal state of 'homeostasis' occurs. It's early in your recovery period to leap on the "if this, then that" conclusions regarding the Band. We really are all different, on different days, and at different times of the day. Our self-regulation mechanisms are complex and very interesting. Try Guyton's Physiology textbooks to gain a further look at what a complex question you have asked. Short answer, 'whatever you think today, will be changing before long' as you further adapt to the postBand Life. Cheers on your journey.

The dreaded 'vomit' by whatever name, is a symptom not a malady. It is a warning that something isn't quite right. Ignoring chronic recurring symptom is not a good idea as a strategy for good health.

"Full" is a John Phillips Souza parade marching down your gullet into your Belly Beast kicking aside the route markers and stomping down the geraniums in the flower bed and mashing the garden flat. "Satiety" is a bird song in a forest opening as you sit enjoying the sunrise.

didn't read the link and don't intend to [Rant ON] about 'diet drinks' My efforts at rational intake eliminated 'diet drink' well over 20 years ago. No I don't miss them. The provided no satisfaction, no satiety, no pleasure, no nothing needed by healthy cellular functioning. Aren't you glad I avoided [Rant ON]???

Congratulations, Happy Birthday, and Cheers on your journey!

I explored considerably with the various spices, nutmeg/cinnamon/ a touch of cadomon now & then, perhaps a drop or 2 stevia, tried a wide variety of Protein powders. Amazing galaxy of choices....some were absolute catastrophe & others were quite pleasant, all within desireable nutrional guidlines. I rather enjoyed simplifying my taste input as it helped sort out questions I had regarding various food qualities vs 'hunger'. I had way more trouble identifying the exact nature of 'hunger' from 'non hunger' than I ever imagined. Seems pretty simple now.

bluegirly: thanks for a most wonderful post and Official Notice from yet another Bandster that "Our" brains must be involved in overcoming the Bad Old Habits so many of us developed over the years!! Sometimes 'we' forget that essential point. Cheers in you journey.

re: "here is a scale that tips between what an individual can do from determination and motivation, and the other end is what the band actually does on it's own...id one's self discipline starts to break down, no matter what the time frame, then the band needs to do more...." this is an excellent visual tool!!! I too have sometimes gone "2 years" without any fill/adjustment, then discovered such was necessary. If I had experienced what you just reported, I would certainly talk to my Band doc.

Most Bandsters have 'some' degree of privacy delicately balanced with 'just who DO I tell' that is nobody's business. I told a few close friends/family I was going for WLS just for my own peace of mind. After a few weeks everybody starts noticing anyway, as your weight goes down AND your eating habits change, along with your energy level and your willingness to stuff those little morsels of Morbid Obesity Kibble & Bits all the time goes away.. Eventually most folks get around to tell a LOT of people. Be prepared for 1) mostly supportive people offering helpful stories and good wishes; 2) health-opinion fascists who insist the worst is but seconds away unless you listen to them tell you all their stories of gorey unrelated bilgeater. In any case, the beneficial outcomes are way ahead of any other kind, despite my own anxiety in the 2 years dithering I took trying to make my own decision. Welcome to the forum, speak up if you have a question. Cheers on your journey.

....wa.....wait......I thought "ice cream & chocolate" were rewards for not eating all the other junk???

Motivation, attitude, morale, and opportunity for me all improve the harder I work at doing something, no matter how tiny it seems at first, to take control of my life It was too easy for me to set around inventing reasons I was 'fail' in my life, until I took a step that seemed to break my unconscious fixation on being somehow a 'victim. Doing just ONE thing a day lifted me from the mucky bottom of the Pit, and helped see that each daily step allows an ever increasing sensation of control over my own life. At the depths of my despair, I told a friend 'each day is a s**t sandwhich and each day I take another bite'..... Here's the payoff: She blinked her sweet brown ER nurse eyes and said (without a hesitation) "Have you tried taking a smaller bite?" From that sparkling moment I was on the mend. Hope we can do something here to help OP..... work like you don't need to love like you never been hurt dance like no body's watching wag more bark less It all helped me. Cheers on your journey.