Jack

Dear OP, sorry to hear of your dilemma...prayers for rapid recovery

" Success does not come from having to follow Bandsters Rules but from wanting to follow Bandsters Rules. " most excellent! and CONGRATULATIONS on reaching your goal!!!

Where's all me buddies from 2004 class?

I've been wondering about 'what if' I have my own Band removed. Obviously I'm gonna have to read more. Good luck OP, hope all goes well.

Continue to be mostly satisfied with results. Band is still moody at times. Life is good

I tracked everything I ate for 3 years running & didn't lose an oz. Tight control of 1800-2000 calories. Various issues such as Barrett's esophagitis came & went....mostly. At 70 ++ I'm mostly convinced the Band not only saved my life but continues to help despite moments pondering whether further surgery has likely benefit. Haven't followed much here lately.

Last weigh in a few weeks ago was 281. This seems to be a gravitation issue rather like the hold Saturn has on the tiny satellites about the ring formation. I've had a 'keep the Band/rip it out' debate for the last few years. Still down from my highest weight by 90 #; not enough as my 'size 42 pants' didn't quite happen. Size 44 lasted for years, as did size 46. Now 48 seems a little more snug. Yet I managed a 1.5 mile walk last week, & continue remarkable daily activities. I spent several years as virtual house bound as other skeletal issues must be accommodated. Daily focus on Health helps.

more chocolate benefits for diabetics and heart disease? http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/309741.php of course, the basic anti-oxidants etc seem to be involved.

Be careful what you eat at ANY fast food place. Here's surprising news: That marvelous Kale salad at McDs is facing this report: "On its chicken salad contains "real parmesan" cheese petals and a "nutrient-rich lettuce blend with baby kale." These ingredients may sound wonderfully healthy, but topped with creamy Asiago Caesar dressing on its crispy chicken version, the salad loses its appeal. The salad contains more than 730 calories, 53 grams of fat, and 1,400 milligrams of salt, according to McDonald's nutritional information. If you ever thought "healthy fast food" was actually healthy, think again. Though Vitamins and can be easily added to a Breakfast wrap or sandwich for an extra crunch. On its website, McDonald's boasts that the "Keep Calm, Caesar On" chicken salad contains "real parmesan" cheese petals and a "nutrient-rich lettuce blend with baby kale." These ingredients may sound wonderfully healthy, but topped with creamy Asiago Caesar dressing on its crispy chicken version, the salad loses its appeal. The salad contains more than 730 calories, 53 grams of fat, and 1,400 milligrams of salt, according to McDonald's nutritional information. As a point of comparison, someone would have to eat three traditional McDonald's hamburgers to consume about the same number of calories. A Double Big Mac contains about 680 calories, 38 grams of fat, and 1,340 milligrams of salt. The American Heart Association recommends eating just 2,000 milligrams of sodium and 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/04/mcdonalds-salad-has-more-calories-than-big-mac.html

one of my most helpful, is to make regular use of my old LBT 'smaller plated' and 'smaller dishes' eating equipment. My drinking cup is 3 oz; my little gruel bowl holds barely a 1/2 cup. When I use the larger Cereal bowl, for instance, that is nearly 2 cups, for the life of me I continually cue from that and revert back to fixing that amount....while the 1/2 cup really is nearly adequate. And periodic review of this very forum tends to help me head in the right direction. Cheers

as of Wed 1/27 7:59pm now is NOT happening on my screen THANKS!

Alex: that is present in my Fire Fox browser too, just recently started. Of course as a Luddite I'm confused, as I don't do any of whatever it is trying to show me. 5 vertical string on left margin, 'f- birdi-e envelope- some kind of machine- and a + sign. Please advise.

Sorry to post from such sources, but that seems to be who publishes this kind of news: " A cure for Type 1 diabetes is a step closer after scientists managed to halt the condition for at least six months thanks to insulin-producing cells. Experts from US hospitals and institutions including Harvard University managed to transplant cells into mice, which immediately began producing insulin. The team was also able to show they could prevent the cells being rendered useless by the body's own immune system, which was effectively 'switched off' thanks to scientific work. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3415843/Is-CURE-Type-1-diabetes-horizon-Scientists-imp.html#ixzz3yH6AFXe0" http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3415843/Is-CURE-Type-1-diabetes-horizon-Scientists-imp.html Seems like good news for Type 2 can't be too far behind.

"How do you guys not do this? I am getting much better but I am wondering if anyone has any tips to make this easier. Am I the only one having trouble with this one?" It really isn't that big a deal....and I was a compulsive gulper-wash it down quick-gulp some more-wash that down too..... If you actually chew properly your saliva will begin the digestive process IN your mouth as the genetic design seems to desire. You probably did the grade-school Science Today trick of chewing up a soda cracker for 100 or 200 bites...and keeping it in your mouth until you suddenly realized how SWEET it became? I trained myself to stop gulping (ok, 'Symbiant' my Silicon Angel of the Iron Fist) actually trained me out of that....but I learned along the way that gulping Fluid wasn't helpful either. Since about 2 years postOp I have been able to sip SIP I say, and in a full meal can be very comfortable with a kid-size cup (3 oz or so) of such as skim-milk or Water..... So much of what we do is Bad Habit. We can learn new Good Habits just by paying attention.

one of my favorites is "Sesame baked chicken", recipes on line. chicken in general remains a non-favorite for me, but this version is similar but superior to the commercial versions it emulates. Basic skinless thigh bite sized chunks tossed in a bag with a little flour/sesame seeds/herbs of your choice up to & including paprika/chili powder/hot stuff/salt/pepper to taste, then baked.

"I just feel like my one chance at surgery is gone and I made the wrong choice." Understand the feeling perhaps, as the fickle nature of my own Band gives me enough annoyance at times. Don't understand your conclusion, but I don't have a vote in your life. Now in my 12th year postOp, at times I wonder whether there is a better choice for me as well. Other times I'm convinced this is the best choice for me in 2004 and 2016. Cheers on your journey.

Carbs no longer rule my life. They are important part of meal plans. Complex carbs serve me better. And the Holy Shredded Wheat with Bran is a daily necessity.

been there done that....see your Doc AT ONCE! This is pretty classic 'too tight' symptom set.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/6852866/New-freeze-dried-poo-pills-could-be-the-answer-to-obesity.html "SCIENTISTS are set to test freeze-dried pills containing the faecal matter of healthy and lean donors in a bid to tackle the obesity crisis. Twenty obese volunteers will be taking part in the research and each will be receiving capsules that include several grams of stool from slim donors. The pills will be taken every week for six weeks without making any changes to their normal diet and exercise habits while researchers track any changes. These health and weight recordings will be taken at three, six and 12 months, with the potential to continue further depending on the success of the trial."

thanks so much Alex.....I've personally logged in about 4 million times finding posts of informative, uplifting or simply a look at the path so many others WLS patients find helpful. Happy New Year.

"but I am still constantly hungry and not feeling near enough restriction (next to none). And despite the fact I am exercising daily, the scale still isn't moving!" well you touch on a couple of the more vacuous definitions ("hungry/restriction") that are very subjective, and then insert the allegorical reality of objective science ("scale") by which to demonstrate dedication to process ("exercise") is failing. I too have been frustrated by the fickle nature of My Little Angel of the Silicon Fist. The Lap Band performs for me, on average, "perfectly"......just as the 'perfect elevation' above sea level is the average between the Sierra Nevadas & the Jersey shores thrown in, if we can use metaphor. I once went 18 months systematically tracking every calorie, every food, every exercise, and lost not one pound. I was hungry too often and cranky too much. I suddenly realized in that period my pants had moved downward by 3 sizes, which I had somehow over looked. And I agree we tend to focus way too much on 'what we want when we want it'. Hunger is far larger a habit than I ever anticipated. I don't know what 'feeling restriction' really accomplishes for the long run; it does thwart immediate hogging out on massive quantities of some foods. What is more effective for my own serenity, is to better identify that illusive break between 'feeling hunger' and 'feeling NON hunger'. Usually the 'feeling restricted' produced far less results, and far more often the bleak emptiness of not being able to cram enough down with my eating shovel fast enough. My goal is to be 'not hungry' rather than 'feel restriction'. Sometimes there is only 1 bite between the 'hunger' and 'not hunger'. Feeling like a failure because of our fluctuating weight, is not a very scientific way to manage our emotional psychies. Reverting to Bad Old Eating Habits now & then is a difficult behavior pattern to change. You can do it. I have an antique Band: 4cc. I have been able over 12 years to only tolerate 1.6cc without major symptoms appearing. So I treat myself as a part of a complicated cooperative association moving in the right direction for my goal, rather than flail myself for failing to accomplish what seems to have been an unrealistic goal. Hope this gives you a few ideas. Keep exercising!

"Will this get easier to tell the difference?" yes

"I just have to feel it now. Not eat it." Well Stated!!! Years ago on the old Lap Band Talk precursor of the present magnificent incarnation, one of the more experienced Bandsters posted to the effect that 'if your hunger isn't satisfied by a normal helping, you are trying to feed something else'. Sure got my attention. Happy New Year.

tracew: My own Lap Band Celebration is now TWELVE years as of this week. We can draw any conclusion we want, just by clip & pruning limited facts to support whatever conclusion we want. There's a jillion reasons I'd rather never had done the procedure. However, there's '2 jillion' reasons it was necessary. Get yourself checked out thoroughly for the 12 year ride & let us know what you find on exam. Frankly I'm more satisfied than ever, even with a small handful of 'A-AWAHs' that sneak in now & then. I don't think I would have survived all my co-morbidity factors this long. Cheers for the New Decade!!!

This could be very good news for a lot of people around the planet: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/12068531/Anti-sweet-tooth-hormone-discovered-by-scientists.html " The researchers say that FGF21 is produced in the liver in response to high carbohydrate levels. The hormone then enters the bloodstream, where it sends a signal to the brain to suppress the preference for sweets. The study's co-senior author Doctor Matthew Potthoff, assistant professor of pharmacology in the University of Iowa in the US, said: "This is the first liver-derived hormone we know that regulates sugar intake specifically." Previous research explains how certain hormones affect appetite; however, these hormones don't regulate any specific macronutrient - carbohydrate, Protein, fat - and are produced by organs other than the liver. Co-first author Lucas BonDurant, a doctoral student, said: "We've known for a while that FGF21 can enhance insulin sensitivity." read the whole thing, hope it isn't another bogus claim For myself in the early teen years, I could never gag down 'breakfast' and head for school. And I never cared for such as doughnuts....still, by 10AM I was starving and the hall-way candy machine was raided on a regular basis despite primitive ALERT! from some part of my 'you KNOW better' yet all-too-easily-ignored warning system.... by lunch in Jr Hi and even into high school I'd head for the bakery.....having low pocket change the pastries were hard to pass up. I actually didn't like doughnuts....yet eating one always proved disastrous as sack full wasn't enough. I could actually feel something kicking into a manic eating frenzy. Didn't quite recognize the mechanisms at the time. It's always a surprise to hear how many of our Tribe of the Morbidly Obese have similar tales.