Frustrated

<br /> <br /> I think it's more along the lines of being in the right frame of mind for the surgery. It's why they also require a psych evaluation prior to surgery as well. They don't want to approve surgery for people who haven't seriously tried other ways to lower their weight and quite often they require documented proof of your efforts.<br /> <br /> I also believe it helps them weed out the less-than-serious people. Those who won't make the effort to gather the paperwork and do six months of physician controlled weight management appear to be less concerned about it than someone who is willing to do anything they can to get approved.

Not necessarily. My insurance co. paid for my initial consultation with my surgeon but I was denied twice for surgery before getting a final approval. There were a lot of hoops I had to jump through before being successful.

Thanks Auntie Phyll. I'll definitely have to go and get some for myself. :Banane20:

Some of you have mentioned the bad eating habits you've noticed in your partners, family and friends. For me, it's been more of a realisation of my own shortfalls. My husband is a picky eater and hardly ever binges on junk food. I was the unhealthy one and it becomes more and more apparent to me just how bad I was. I deliberately cooked more than necessary and kidded myself it was in case hubby or son wanted another helping. Truth be told, they rarely do. The amount of leftovers now is HUGE and I know it's because I'm not eating what I would normally have eaten. The cold reality of it has been both embarrassing and enlightening. I HONESTLY didn't know how bad I was. :embarassed: But I've made a new start now. There are no longer junk snacks in the pantry like family sized bags of potato chips and packs of cookies. I spend less on food when I go grocery shopping in spite of the fact that the healthier stuff is more expensive. I no longer think of where and how much I can eat each time I'm out in public. I don't always remember to bring my water bottle along with me, but the cost of a new one is considerably less than what I would pay for a soda or shake and the meal to go with it while out.

Hubby and I have done a few long road trips. On the most recent one we listened to an audio book for a good part of the journey. It was great and kept us from getting bored. Good luck with your fill. Let us know all the gory details. This time I'll pay closer attention to your advice. :embarassed:

Congrats!!! Good for you Caolin. :clap2:

I was stubborn too. The rule for us was that if we didn't finish our dinner by bedtime, it was served up to us for breakfast the following morning. Lunch if we didn't finish it then. Dinner that night if it still was left. I was so stubborn one time that I went for days without food just to prove I was NOT going to eat liver! And this was in the days before we had microwaves, so any leftovers were either stone cold or dehydrated from reheating in the oven. There were always plenty of stories about how children in third world countries would be more than happy to eat what was put in front of us. Food was often be used as a form of punishment for us. "Off to bed with you without any dinner." It's probably where many, MANY of my issues with it started. So I went to the other extreme when I got older and was out on my own by using it as a reward. I ate what I wanted to eat, when I wanted to. But I've never been able to shake myself of the "empty plate" mentality that was driven into me as a child. We didn't have a lot of money, so we couldn't afford to just throw out what we didn't want to eat. And I just can't bring myself to do that now. Fortunately eating leftovers has never been an issue for any of us. I just need to learn to cook smaller portions and find smaller containers that will hold 3 or 4 spoonfuls of food. I don't HAVE to eat it all in one sitting like I've been doing all along. And I certainly don't need to be cleaning off someone else's plate.

Caution: graphic post, not for the weak stomached. Last night I had my first (and hopefully last :girl_hug: ) experience with sliming. I'd made mashed carrot and parsnips for my dinner with extras to use as sides for hubby and son's dinner. I ate my own share and loved every morsel of it. Came time to clear the dinner plates and my son had probably 4 or 5 spoonfuls of the mash on his plate. No big deal I thought, I'll finish it off. The first spoonful went down alright. The second spoonful made me feel like I was full. The third I knew I was probably pushing it. What the heck, there's only a little bit left, I put that in my mouth as well. Within a couple of minutes I was regretting it!! It felt like it was stuck in my chest right between where my breasts are. It was too far down to try and cough it out. I went to the bathroom and knelt in front of the toilet waiting.... and waiting... after a little bit my salivary glands started to go into overdrive. This is usually a sign for me that I'm about to barf. My mind was spinning. On one hand I wanted to get this food out of me and make the pain/dicomfort go away, on the other I was terrified that I'd tear something somewhere. I burped and with it came "slime". Thicker than drool, not as thick as phlegm. The pain was still there and I could still feel the food trapped in my chest area. My salivary glands were still in overdrive and I was spitting all of that into the toilet but I wasn't getting any relief as I could still feel the food. After a few minutes I felt a slight shift in my chest and more slime came out with little bits of food. I had that happen a few more times until the pain slowly eased. The whole episode lasted probably 10-15 minutes and I know I'm lucky that things weren't more painful and for longer. But it taught me a VERY good but hard lesson. I CAN'T overeat and not pay a price for it. The price for me is far too high. I'm in no hurry to experience that again. Sometimes I have to learn my lessons the hard way before it actually makes sense to me and hits home. I've been fortunate that I've not suffered from head hunger or been in bandster hell (touch wood). But this sliming stuff is the pits. I'm not doing that again! I know I need to get out of the habit of "clean plates". It was SO drummed into me as a child that I had to finish everything on my plate. I promised myself I wouldn't do that to my child and I didn't. Instead I was the one cleaning his plate for him. :rolleyes I HAVE to stop that.

I make protein shakes. The type I have gives me 23g from the powder, plus 7g from the soy milk. I drink 2 a day and usually time those for between meals. One when I would normally snack in the morning and one in the afternoon ( which has always been a problem time for me). The shakes I have are YUMMY. I never have to worry about whether or not I'm getting enough protein in my day as it's never been a chore to force myself to drink one because they're so nice. As for food, I've gone back to the days when my son was a baby (prior to teeth) and he loved his mashed vegetables. Pumpkin, zucchini, carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, yams.... anything that can be mashed, I'm cooking for myself. I loved eating his leftovers back then and I really, REALLY enjoy them now. And the bonus is I don't feel guilty about what I'm eating. I've cut out so many carbs since my band and to be honest, I haven't really missed them. I feel so FREE! I hope it stays this way.

WOW Lynette! What a fantastic windfall for you! Congrats.

That's a great question. Unfortunately I don't have an answer for it. At the moment I'm already training myself not to drink 30 mins before or after a meal. This includes a soup meal for me. It's probably not necessary, but I know myself too well and at some point I'll be able to convince myself that if it's okay to drink with soup, it's okay to drink with stew (chunky soup) and pretty soon I'll cheat in other ways as well. Better for me to convince myself not to drink EVER with a meal. I can't be trusted.

I like that! I think I'll chant that mantra too whenever I feel the urge to cheat.

For me, even prior to surgery, walking always seemed to help with period pains. I must say I'm really enjoying my daily treadmill workout. It feels like I'm walking away from obesity, one step at a time.

Yeah thanks for that Caolin. My problem is somewhat similar except my hubby is really supportive. In doing so, when I have a bad time with pain or hunger or am just irritable for no reason at all, he wants to solve my problems too. Sometimes I don't even know myself what I'm mad at. So I think it's a great idea to tell him that I'll have bad days for no apparent reason at times and that when I go off I'm not expecting him to find a solution, I just want to vent and have him listen.

:omg::omg: Note to self: don't pop stitches! :paranoid

I drink Syntha-6. http://www.vitacost.com/BSN-Syntha-6-Chocolate-Milk-Shake?csrc=PPCADWLT-syntha-6&s_kwcid=syntha-6|462161171 I have the chocolate and the vanilla Ice Cream flavours. They're delicious! I mix mine with soy milk as I don't drink any dairy. We discovered them at a local sport nutrition store a few months ago. There are 23g of protein per serving and with the 7g from the soy milk I mix it with, it gives me a daily total of 60g. My nutritionist told me I need between 40 and 80 and I feel like I'm getting plenty with just those two shakes. My problem time of the day as far as hunger goes was always been the afternoon to early evening. If I can make it from 2pm - 7pm without eating out the entire fridge, I was doing well. So I've decided that if that problem time crops up again for me in the future, I'll time one of my Protein Shakes for that time of day. I went for my first post-op check-up today and everything is going fabulously. My doctor is pleased with my weight loss (12lbs) and so am I. I'm allowed to go swimming again as of today. Yippeeeee! :clap2: That's sooooo comforting especially now that summer has finally come to Dallas. It's up in the 100s for the first time this season and the timing couldn't be better for me.

Sorry you're having a tough time of it forgive. Are you drinking all your water? Perhaps you can increase that. Sip on it constantly through the day. I know I slack off sometimes, but if I keep a bottle next to me it prompts me to take a mouthful or so every once in a while rather than trying to drink the whole bottle within a few minutes. Maybe that'll help curb your hunger. If this is your first period since banding, wait until it's over and get on the scales again. With luck a lot of it should be fluid retention. Sometimes for me it's a couple of pounds but there have been times when it's been up as high as 10. So hang in there and keep up the good work in the gym. It's so easy to give up and we all know this journey is going to be difficult at times, despite many who tell us the band is taking the easy way out.

I keep a packet of sugar-free gum with me to give my jaws a chewing workout. I don't miss chewing yet, but I've been on liquid diets where I have before so this time I'm prepared. Just don't make the mistake of swallowing the gum.

I'm SO glad things worked out well for you. I was really worried for you there for a while. We were out for dinner last night and I discovered that when I noticed someone who was overweight like me, I was thinking they would benefit so much from a lap band as I am. I hope I don't want to become one of those over-bearing preachy people! lol

Guilty as charged! Food Network is my favourite channel. Paula, Alton, Giada, Rachel... I feel they're part of my family. I get a lot of my recipes from there.

I woke up feeling FANTASTIC this morning. Last night was the first time since surgery that hubby and I had fun in the bedroom. It was unbelievable! At times I could feel my port, but not to the point of pain. We were both a little apprehensive, but I tell you, I had an itch that needed scratching and I was going to get it scratched!!! Probably too much info. :eyebrows: I'll be walking on air all day today, lol. I got on the scales this morning and I'm down 10lbs since surgery on the 26th. YAY! I gained 5 extra immediately post op, but lost it in a couple of days so didn't take that into consideration in my total weight loss. I get a little hungry on occasions, but I think a good deal of that is just to get the taste in my mouth and I'd be satisfied. Once I'm on full foods I expect (hope and pray ) that that's what it'll be like all the time. It is SOOOOOOOO freeing not to be constantly hungry and thinking about all the bad foods I'd love to stuff in my mouth to satisfy those hunger pains. I feel so blessed that I've got this opportunity to use such a wonderful tool to help me win this battle against obesity! It could simply be the fact that I had such a wonderful evening that I'm in such a good mood today, but why question it, right? :biggrin1: I'm loving this new me that is appearing as the pounds fall away! :bounce:

I'm sorry you're having such a tough time of things Dini. I think you already know in your heart what it is you should do, but gathering the courage to do so is going to be tough. Once you do, be prepared to have many, many doubts over whether or not you've made the right decision. Often the choices we face are very simple; to accept or not to accept. Implementing that decision once it's made, however, is VERY difficult. Whatever choice you make, you've got to put 100% into it. If it's to leave (or have him leave) it'll be a very tough trip emotionally and physically for you. Not to mention that little angel of yours. If it's to stay and try to work things out do all you can to do so. But a relationship needs two people to make it work. It'll never work unless you're BOTH committed to making it so. Just remember, you can be lousy at relationships but still be a terrific parent and neither of you should lose sight of that very important role. Best of luck with your decision. :gluck:

I agree. You wouldn't want to stretch out and tear anything. Call your doctor's office and ask when is best.

I don't think it's too soon. I got on the treadmill 2 days after surgery. I took it very slowly. I had the speed at a constant 1.5 the entire time and was on it for 30 mins. I felt great! I've been on it for 30 mins a day ever since, slowly increasing the speed. I'm 7 days post-op today. I'm not there to work up a sweat or to drop the pounds, I'm simply there to get things moving and prepared for the time when I can work out without the physical restrictions. :Banane20: There's no exact recipe, so just go at your own pace, for the amount of time you feel is right for you. There are no prizes for pushing yourself and being a hero, but the satisfaction I get from actually DOING something is quite the rush. Simple pleasures.

Yes. I lose my temper VERY quickly these days. I haven't had too many cases of the sobs, but I have no patience at all and feel myself wanting to snap at the littlest things. I've become such a drama queen! :drama: