jmarruda

I was at the nail salon last week and I saw this woman sitting in one of the pedicure chairs who was beautiful. Petite, thin, dark hair. Someone walked up to her and complimented her on how good she looked for being so pregnant. It wasn't until she actually stood up and turned to the side that I could tell she was pregnant. She had a litttle beach ball sitting on her tummy. All I have to say is I definately want to be that girl when I'm pregnant. I don't want to tell people I'm pregnant and them think, oh geez, I thought she was just fat? Or think I'm pregnant because I'm fat!

I just finished reading it and I didn't think it was anything spectacular. It goes into great detail about what the band actually is, and why it is so much better than gastric bypass, but what I really want to know about people who have the band and write books about it is what kinds of food they're eating, how much they're exercising, how long it took to get to goal, what they're fill levels are, how long did it take to get the right fill level, did it ever change, etc, etc. Those questions are never answered! There were a few sample menus from the docs who helped write the book, but I know what the doc has to say, I've heard the same thing from my doc, I want to know about Ms. Ali...

both popcorn and peanut butter are fine with me. the easiest things for me to eat are chicken salad, tuna salad, chunky chili's, etc...

I saw on another posting similar to this, you could say something to the effect of having some sort of stomach issue and the doc is requiring liquids only for the next few days, which should clear things up...other than not going at all, or spreading the news, I really wouldn't know how else to handle it.

Great post...Makes me want to root you on, and concentrate on really focusing on why I made this decision.

I can't help you with what to do at dinner time, or what to tell people, because everyone I know knows about my situation. The PB'ing for me feels like I took one bite too many and its going to come back up. First I have a pain in my chest that feels like I swallowed a golf ball, which is on fire. I usually run for the bathroom, burp, then it all comes back up. It never hurts or bothers me at all when it comes back up. It happens about once a month for me and it usually happens when I'm not paying attention to chewing or I'm eating too fast. You'll learn to slow down with eating. And for me it happens with solid food only.

Hey Marchies I also fell off the wagon a little last week. I did a 7 day cruise and it was nonstop eating all the time. But I'm paying for it now because I'm having a hard time getting down mushies. I seem to be super tight lately, probably from pigging out last week. You guys also seem to be doing really well too! Its so exciting to see all your progress since we've all been banded in the same month.

I agree, I think everyone feels that way. I know I thought well, I'll get the lapband and it'll be easy for me to lose weight and I won't have to work out. Not the case, you will need to exercise, but it is so much easier once some of the weight comes off. I've noticed in myself, instead of coming home after work and plopping on the couch, I'm much more active at night. Even if I don't exercise all week, I've probably been pretty active running around after work. Don't worry too much about it. Once the pounds come off, you'll have much more energy.

I feel the same way too, I had a fill of 2.4 in a 4cc band and I was PB'ing all the time on everything. I was on liquids for 5 days after the fill because I couldn't even move up to mushies. I went to the doc immediately and she took half out. I can't eat pasta, rice, or bread, but I can eat anything else. I haven't lost any weight in over 3 weeks now, so I'm not sure if I need another fill or if my body is in limbo for a while...what to do, what to do...

You look FANTASTIC!!! Congrats, and I hope year 2 will be just as rewarding for you!

berry Even if you are doing all of the above, (which is great advise) you have to know that the scale is not always going to go down. It took me 2 months to figure that one out. I didn't lose weight for 3 weeks straight, then all of a sudden I dropped 12lbs, then gained 4 back the next week. For me it has been very up and down, obviously much more downs than ups, but you get the point. Try on some clothes that are a size smaller, or something you didn't fit into a couple months ago, see if they fit now. That always made me feel better. I had a button down shirt that I couldn't get to fit around my shoulders (never mind buttoning it) right before surgery. 2 months later and I can button the whole shirt down and wear it around town because I don't look like a stuffed sausage anymore! Hooray! Try putting the scale away for a couple weeks and work on getting in your Protein, Water, and veggies, and go for a walk around the block, or do an excersize tape. Something to get you moving. Or run around the mall for a while and try on a ton of clothes. It'll definately get your mind off the scale! Even if you still don't lose weight, you can feel better about getting your nutrition and excersize and knowing that you will be healthier in the long run because of it. OK, enough of my preaching...

Hi Marchies Mary, I've been reading about your shoulder pain, glad its feeling better. Just take it easy for now. I've decided to make some fitness goals for this month. I've been just floating along for a while. I have been working out, but its been really hit or miss. I'm going to try to get to the gym 3 times per week this month to do about 45 minutes of cardio. That's my goal. I usually am really good about getting enough Water, and as for the eating, it's been ok. I sometimes feel like I am still trying to figure out what I can eat and what I can't eat. Lately I've been feeling much tighter than usual, and the first few bites of any meal I always get a fireball, and I've been paying attention to chew, chew, chew. Good Luck to everyone this month!!!

I hope her book is better than sharon osbornes book. I saw sharon on a talk show and she said that her new autobiography was going to have a lot of stuff about her lap band. I read it cover to cover and was disappointed. All she said was that she was sick of being so fat, which I kinda took offense to. So she decided to do the lap band. Thanks for all the info Sharon!!!

did roseann barr have rny or band? i thought it was rny...

Another one with the band is Leila Ali's sister (Muhammed Ali's other daughter) I think she lost something in the way of 175lbs? after 2 years? Her book is coming out the end of June! Oh and don't forget about Star Jones. I don't know whether that was band or rny, but she definatly did something!!!

Hey Guys! I've been poking around in here for the past month and have been noticing that you guys are doing GREAT!!! I feel like I've also been doing really good up until yesterday. I had such a bad day and now feel like a complete failure. I ate chips yesterday, and a lot of them. I ended up eating a whole bag, it did take me most of the day, but I did it. I felt like I was back to my old ways and that this band was like a fad diet or something. I have been really good about checking my calories on fitday.com and working out 2-3 times a week for about an hour each time, but after yesterday I feel like such a failure. Has this every happened to anyone else??

<p>PB: "productive burp" -- what happens when something eaten can't go down due to restriction has to come back up</p> There are a ton of abbreviations and what they mean at: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f73/abbreviations-what-they-mean-7959/

The full feeling that I get is just as you described, higher in the chest as opposed to the stomach. And it's not really a full as it is more of a tightness. I try to eat now until I'm not hungry, instead of full. Now when I get that tightness I feel like maybe I ate one bite too many!

i'm scared of starbucks, i feel like i have to learn a whole new language!!!

I thought the point of LapBand was to lose the weight slow and keep it off. Most RNY patients gain weight after a few years.

I have 5 as well...

The same thing happend to me, but like everyone else said, walking around, drinking water, etc really does help. The recliner was my best friend for a week after surgery. Good luck with your band!

just a quick reply about the "sweets" post I love sweets, and always have. But after I got my band and followed the diet per doctor, liquids, mushies, etc...I never got a chance to eat sweets during that time, which ended up making me not crave it as much anymore. I eat sweets occasionally now, a piece of chocolate here or there, but if I end eating a whole slice of cake or something (which I can't even do), I get super hyper, then crash and burn (like a child). I hate the feeling of it. And I know eating a diet full of sweets isn't going to get me to my goal. I'm not perfect, and I still think I can eat things that I can't, which I then get sick from. But I try to remind myself that this is a life change--I had surgery to help me through--and I try to control what I eat. If I want chocolate, I'll have it. But only a serving of it. Before I would raid the candy aisle for whatever was there and eat a ton of it all in one sitting. I couldn't do that now if I tried! Theres one other thing that I think has helped me out. I found these Calcium supplements called Adora and they are these 500mg calcium supplements in a disk shape and they are milk chocolate, and actually taste like regular milk chocolate. I take two a day and they are pretty sweet, so for the most part, that by itself will help curb the craving.

I'm 25 and just got my band on 3/5/2007. My problem is I can't seem to find too many people in my area, boston-providence. Anyone? I've had two fills so far, and I'm starting to feel restriction. I have 2.4cc's in a 4cc band!

I too was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea, which was far from surprising considering I was snoring louder than a trucker. I was given the cpap machine and used it for about a week before surgery. After the surgery it made me nauseous so I never used it after surgery. My boyfriend told me a couple weeks ago that I'm so quiet when I'm sleeping, he hasn't heard me snore in over a month. I've only lost 30lbs, but most of the weight came off my chest, neck, face, upper body area. I think that has helped a lot! The doc told me that even after you lose weight, the pressures on the machine can go down with weight loss until the apnea is gone.