Jack

been a while since I've visited here, any body home???

Otis968 You express the very same concerns I had a decade ago when I was on the verge of going in for the Band. Biggest challenge of my life, which has been full of other opportunities to grow faint of heart. What I have learned for my journey, is that WHATEVER it is I think, and HOWEVER it is I feel, there is only ONE thing that takes me toward my goal: That is to take a step in the right direction EVERY DAY. When I stopped my action-plan to move toward my goal, I was sucked back toward the very same darkness, like Gollum in the Lord of the Rings.....hiding in a cave muttering to myself and snapping at invisible bonds that weren't really there. I found my personal strength grows which I exercise my volition....when I take that step, when I abandon those Old Habits which strive to again ensnare me. Each day grows easier, as each step I take toward my goal strengthens, as the bag of Old Habits grows lighter every day. It takes only one thing to accomplish your goal. That is to take ONE step every day. When you feel weak or distracted or depressed, try looking a different direction. Take a step in that direction. You will be surprised.

over the years there has been periodic waves of infestation of trash spammers, both here and in my own private email accounts Alex does a great job of cleaning up when such is reported. Yes, it's annoying and a PIA. Don't know what normal rational people can do about it. Sort of like pissing in the swimming pool, IMHO. Don't let the stupid mischief of the addled make too big of a divot in our day.....

It was far easier for me to change my notion of 'diet'....and therefore a bit easier to keep on my eating plan to help achieve my goals. 'Focus on where you want to go' and keep moving in that direction. That keeps daily activity and results more manageable IMHO. The failure of decades of 'diet' finally motivated my postOp eating behavior into a more beneficial model. cheers on your journey...stop wishing and get into gear, you won't have time to fret

What do you expect it to feel like? My own fills never felt like anything at first. Over the course of a few days I would become very aware that it would take less and less to hit that "S" mark...."Satiety"!!!! Sometimes then in 3 or 4 days, only a bite or a 1/2 bite would be plenty. THAT was the sensation I liked. "Not hungry"....and 'Not FULL'....

By 30 days postOp you physically will probably feel just fine. Being around the turmoil of crowds and tons of junk food may well represent a conflict of interest. Old habits vs New Habits. Overeating is part of the secret dark personal history of all Bandsters in their preOp life. You likely can do either: go & enjoy yourself; go & not enjoy yourself. There are precious few New Bandster-friendly meal opportunities at D-Land. If you have made the transition to reliably have social fun without junk food overeating, that's a good opportunity. I believe our New Life Eating Habits must begin somewhere in the real world. It requires a certain discipline and resourceful research to learn some of the tricks that help insure a speedy acquisition of the postOp learning curve. Learning how to manage various such stresses is part of the PostOp Bandster Life. cheers on your journey

If Canadian food stores are at all like US versions, there's a TON of varieties of all flavors and manufacturing sources. Generally personal experience determines choices after that. Sizes of canisters vary; it's best to get the smaller ones until you find something you like. I was fortunate in finding a good half-dozen that were pretty good. Of course now I have forgotten the name. Most big stores have a section of "health food" and there is often at least a dozen choices. cheers on your journey

I think your direct observations such as "If I'm not hungry I don't eat, but sometimes I'm so hungry I take a bit, then I can't take another. Like i feel sick and want/need to vomit to stop that feeling" are great indicators of what may well be happening. It was totally surprising to learn that sometimes ONE bite was plenty...against habit and decades of bad conditioning by all around us...yet there it was. MOST of my similar complaints identical to the one you described, resolved by treating 'eating' as a resolution to 'hunger'. IE: "one bite" didn't necessarily mean EAT THE WHOLE THING. One helpful tool is to actually chart what you eat and when WITH COMMENTS. As you review your history a week or a month later, you can evaluated trends in your own progress. A very useful phase is to recognize the advantages of the ONE bite= NOT hungry ! Yes, it truly happens. The hard part later, is to remember that and continue not taking the second or 22nd bite. Since they had to remove most of my fill about 6 months ago, I have come to appreciate being able to eat what is an approximately 'normo' size meal without issues. It is very beneficial IMHO to pay attention to what, where, when and why I do eat, along with such other control items as "how fast" and what the actual sensory pleasure of the food is, rather than cram it in with my eating shovel as rapidly as possible, per perOp days.

I went through a phase where hard Protein didn't appeal to me very much. And certainly for the first couple years mostly nothing I liked preOp interested me either. You can do healthy vegetarian Bandster but it requires considerably greater research on your part.

That often for me really was more of a 'trying to eat too much' issue. Nibble just one tiny bite, and stop for a while. Also "Vomit" means below the band-stomach contents kind of splash.....there would be a considerable difference in that vs the "PB" kind of above-the-band contents. I've NEVER had "vomiting". The stink of digestive juices is different than the slime/mucous/fluid of pouch-related debris.

SOMETIMES, that 'trouble eating' for ME eventually proved to be that of a previously unrecognized status, of being "NOT" hungry. It took a while to come to recognize the difference between 'not eating' and 'not hungry'. When I discovered SOMETIMES even just "ONE" bite was plenty to become satiated, much of those issues resolved...much of the time.

Whatever his politics, Gov. Christie has made a commitment for similar reasons, that all of us have faced. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/chris_cuts_waist_oAUDrJ8Sm1fY6awWgFY6nN cheers on your journey, Governor!

The times that I make most "errors in eating" are these, in no particular order: starving hungry, in a hurry, gulp it down distracted not chewing adequately ignore that little 'something wrong' whisper and continue to eat overeat, ie 'eat when not hungry' but trying to finish sport eating trying to talk on phone/eat at same time there are others There IS a difference in method between Old Morbidly Obese emotional eating frenzy, vs New Bandster Rational eating for health, IMHO.

Word of the day for 4cc Band for SURE: "FINICKY"....yes....

congratulations on reaffirming your concern with better health.....that 2 years pattern sounds like the kind of thing I would have trouble with myself. My Band continues at times to be my BFF, and at time my Symbiant that confines my excesses to smaller fluctuations. And at times really truly leaves me feeling like a 'Totally Recovered food Junkie'....totally....sure.... I was suffering daily PBs and they finally took out most of the fill....which gave instant relief. Still, it was only 1.8/4cc band at max, just not tolerable. At 67 I'm not anxious to either go for more surgery OR return to my evil Morbid Obesity twin.

"life stresses" for me emerging as over eating continue to just befuddle me... I'm finding I do serial snack at times....but now it amounts to perhaps 6 or 10 single saltines instead of a bag-o-burgers.... If you feel you can, I'd appreciate some closer description of the sensation of being without the Band.... and then going for replacement. Both of those took a lot of courage, IMHO.

I used a 40 year old Osterizer blender. Did just fine. Also had a backup very small food processor someone gave me. It was great too but way more work to keep clean. cheers on your journey

thanks for the update.....can you give some specifics on the post-4cc band weight gain? I haven't heard much over the years about how a deBanded person transitions back to the old Bad Eating Habits. That's of concern in my own overeating history....'knowing better yet proceeding anyway'.... cheers on your new journey

I was also too swollen and couldn't even bear to think of eating. About 7-10 days postOp I did start getting 'hungry'....but it was a lot different sensation than preOp. Sometimes just drinking Water took away 'hunger' for additional hours. I really got into the 6 week no solids routine. Wish I could get BACK into it again in fact. It's delightful to not be so preoccupied with eatingEatingEATING all the time.

IF you like Peanut Butter.....it can be difficult to control portion size, like any other food. I learned to like a spoon of it mixed in with LF yogurt as a special item now & then. I prefer the chunky Adams style. No added crap & the little bits of nut remind me to restrain my enthusiasm.

There's a difference in degree between "afraid" and "apprehensive"...the new & unknown are matters we all process differently. It's good to hear your liquid-phase is going so well. I'm not sure what you mean by "get sick".....if you mean hurl up whatever puree you tried to gag down too rapidly, the very act of learning how to eat in a new way will be enjoyable. At least for myself, learning how to actually control not only what but how fast and when I eat, was a tremendous discovery. Don't be afraid, you can do a lot of new things in this postOp world. Eventually you will likely come to want to give puree a try....and there is a whole new experience to enjoy. cheers on your journey

It really helped me to just sip-sip-sip during the first week or 2. I was a complete gulper-wash down with a big swig of liquid in the old preOp days. Having a tea cup next to your chair helps, and herbal tea was a Big Help for me. It was about day 5 or 6 before I could even drink a small cup of tea while it was still even warmish...so that Fluid volume was a challenge. I think IIRC it was about the 3rd week before I could even make it though a 32 oz Water in a day. Those are goals to work up too, which become easier as the swelling goes down. cheers on your journey

I spent about 6 months the first time trying to figure out what that "something in the throat" or "tie is too tight" sensation was. Mine was related to the Band being too tight. May or may not be the cause of your symptoms.

I learned a magnificent TON of previously unknowns about 'hungry' during my first 6 months postOp. 'Gassy' is likely related to still new changes in your bowel chemistry. I have come to actually ENJOY 'hunger' having spent so much of my life in fear of it, and eating to relieve fear-of-hunger. It is a most pleasant discovery. cheers on your journey

Thanks for sharing your journey and the best of results. Please feel free to keep us posted on your new path.