vinesqueen

*snork* don't we all? I have gone down a half a cup size, so I'm almost a DDD, but I sure don't know for sure. I'll need a brest reduction before I'm finished.

Well, it depends. Some people can, some people cannot. I can, but corn makes me hungry so I generally don't.

Do we have another crop of Turtles? I was banded in March, and I've had 4 fills. I'm down a grand total of 27 pounds. No where near the expected 1-2 pounds per week. I've had 4 fills and I need a 5th. Some of us are just slow losers. It doesn't make it any easier, but I think knowing that other people lose slowly helps. http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=10174 is the offical slow loser thread for the Turtle Tribe. It can be so disheartening when we see people complaining that they've only lost 50 pounds in 3 months, and expect that they should lose more.

Hi Tod, it may be that you need to change your definition of what "full" is. Many of us equate "full" with being stuffed to the gills. Maybe you need to concentrate on "being satisfied?" I know that this has worked for many folks. Cheers, and welcome to LBT

veggies aren't normally classified as a liquied, but anything in a soup is considered liquid. The bits are generally very small, about the size of an eraser, in commercial Soups anyway. They are generally cooked until there is no crisp left in the neighborhood of veggies in soup. Stews I would classifiy as a mushy.

Yup, you have to stop beating yourself up. NOW. And yes, I know that is easier said than done. The Band is not a diet. It is a lifestyle. Diets can be cheated on or broken, but a lifestyle is how you life your life. It takes time to learn any new skill, and this is no different. I know that many of us get stuck in the "perfection" mode. If we can't do it perfectly, the first time we try, we give up. Obsessive compulsive behavior, overbearing parents, or take your pick of hundreds of other reasons. We want to do this perfectly, and when we can't, we feel like we've failed. Failed our families, our doctors, our friends, even ourselves. But that's the thing, with a lifestyle, you cannot fail because there is no perfect. There is only "doing our best." Sometimes that best means we fall short of the ideal. But that's okay, because sometimes "the ideal" in unatainable, unreachable. For instance, take my supposed "ideal weight." By the charts and the books and schedules, being 5'5", my "ideal weight" is 125 pounds. But given my body type and composition, the only way I will ever reach that weight is if I end up with a terrible wasting disease, like cancer, that eats 50 pounds of muscle and bone. For me, the "ideal weight" is unatainable, unreachable, and unwanted. The other wonderful thing about the band is that it is always there for us. It is a friend, a mentor, a cop. You can always start over because you cannot fail at life. The only way to fail at life is to die. So. You need to call your surgeon, make that doctor appointment. You also need to find a therapist who can help you with some of your other issues around food. You need to call your friends and let them know you are okay. Let your band heal. Take care of it, and it will take care of you. And just so you know, the first weeks before your first fill are for healing, and NOT for weight loss. Any weight lost during this time is just bonus.

What a blast! I think it's possible this is an even biggger NSV for your kids. For the first time ever Mommy joined them in the tubes! I know for my son, the biggest NSV is when I chased him down the stairs, round the truck and out into the street. I almost caught him too . For me, the biggest thing about NSVs like this is that they have real impact on our children.

Wow, you've lost 50 pounds in 3 months? Which puts you at well above the average rate for bandster loss! Holey Crap! That's a huget amount of weight gone. I would say that you are eating way too few calories, there is no way you can get in all your nutients at 400 calories aday. But *sigh* I'm a turtle, so what do I know. (and damn Molly, you're a Rabbit too!)

When I tell people, I just say, "I had weight loss surgery in March." Of course, I don't care who knows. No softening, just bam! I know I'm not taking the easy way out, and I believe in being up-front and honest. I'm not ashamed of my band

You must take control of your band. No one else is going to have a journey like yours. Every band is different, every bandster is different. Don't let your doc take a one-size-fits-all approach. I mean, we all know that when it come to clothes, one-size-fits-all actually fits none. I'm with Kathy, I think you need an unfill. You hadn't been eating solids before, so it isn't surprizing that you are not able to eat solids now. The band is designed to work with solids, not mushies or soft foods. In fact, one of the ways to eat around the band is called "soft food syndrome." Where you are too tight to eat solids so you just eat soft foods, which of course, we don't feel full on for long.

Well, the first thing we need to look at is your calorie intake. If you are still really low calories, you might need to up them. You might need more Iron, but that would also show up in a low calorie diet. Low energy is what my nutritionist, and the fitness assessment guy worry about with me being at about 1000 calories. To loosen the band, you might try hot tea or coffee before you eat. The heat seems to relax the restriction for most poeple, just as cold blended beverages (like margaritas ) tighten the band.

Pat, I do believe you are full of spit and vinegar today!

hmmm, I believe we have a couple of bandsters who have Tricare as their insurance company. Isn't that the military insurance? (I'm guessing here.) Maybe start a new thread called "military insurance" or something like that. You might also search the Insurance Forum for tricare. Sorry I can't offer any further help on this matter

Big Paul, I don't believe it is possible to watch too much sci-fi. Not possible at all. Sorry Wheetsin, I just get on these tears sometimes and can't seem to control my fingers. It's Kathy's fault, honest! Really, the point is that you have done your research, and like Kathy (the best me) said, we are just going to send the newbies to you.

Hippo Birdies, two ewes!

Half a bowl of vegitable soup, eh? Well, I suppose it depends on the size of the bowl. Now, if you bowl was the size of oh, I dunno, a kitchen sink, then it might be possible that there was no restiction. Now, on the other hand, if your bowl is the size of, say, a regular bowl, then that's about 1/2 cup? 3/4 cup? Those are perfectly resonable amounts of bandster proportions. Even a cup and a half of soup is reasonable, I would think. What exactly are you expecting? a couple of tablespoons and your are done for the meal? When were your banded, and how much fill do you have? Cheers!

Oh, I forgot about Foghat -- saw them in a bar...

Every doc is unique. I just need to "take it easy." It seems the more experienced the doc and clinic, the more liberal.

Anwyn, I would hazzard to say that along with the weight you've lost, you've also lost at least 10 years! I am constantly amazed at how young people look in their after pix, just amazed. In some cases the change is subtle, but with others it is sooo dramatic.

I've had one unfill, and three more fills. No going hog-wild, although I did run for the bus a couple of times. Does that count? (bounced in placed I forgot I had... )

Hmmm, I've been to about 7 Dead shows, and I got to see them when Santana opened for them! That was the most amazing show ever! Pearl Jam, Echo and the Bunny Men, Oingo-Boingo (THE night of the Oakland fire-storm), and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. (our new holiday tradition!). I almost saw The Ramones in 1980, but they were sold out... Oh, and I saw Nervana at the Puyallup Fair (pew-al-up) before they got big. Oh, and The Little River Band played at my DH's company picknic two years ago. Who would have thought that one of the biggest bands from when I was in high school would be playing at company picknics?

Chicken is really hard for me too. Sorry about the prolonged sliming. Better?

Oh, and while not specific to banding, your hair could catch on fire.... Super Train could crash into the hospital... Or The Atomic Train could crash into your hospital... a meteor strike could take out your town, an alien invation could be scheduled while you are in the OR, a masive EMP strike could nock out all power to everything in a 5 mile radius causing 3 jumbo jets to simultainiously crash into the hospital while shutting down every piece of equipement in the hospital, or a weird power surge could cause all the electrical equipment to suddenly come to life and hold the entire hospital staff hostage until their demands to be moved to the desert are met.... Just a million things could go wrong. Better not even leave the house. Heck, better not even get out of bed. Just grab your snorkle and hunker down in your blanket fort... And yeah, I know, skylab fell a long time ago, but I was feeling nostalgic

Yup, that is pretty funny.

Ah, two $64,000 dollar questions! Ultimately, only you can answer these two questions. I can only offer insight to my issues. You have just lost 15+Kg in a matter of months. That is a lot of weight and more importantly, that's a lot of mass gone from your body. I know I've used my fat as shield and armor to protect myself from the pain of the outside. The last time I lost a significant amount of weight, I completely freaked out over the sudden attention I was getting. Strange men were flirting with me, guys from work were flirting with me. Hell, even women were flirting with me! I was completely unprepaired for all this sudden attention. I had become quite comfortable with the invisiblitly that being fat brings. Suddenly, I wasn't so invisible anymore. I'd lost this weight under a really great supervised program, but they completely discounted what I was saying about suddenly being a object of desire, and my complete inability to deal with it. That program had a wonderful diet program, and I mean diet as in sound eating practices along with meeting with a nutritionist for an hour a week. I also met with a personal trainer 3 times a week. It was intense, but it got great results. But without the psych support that I needed, I freaked out and gained the weight back, with added padded just to make sure I would never get back down to that scary place again. So. That is one of my issues. I am convinced that if I don't do the head work, the band is never going to work for me. Oh, I will inevitably lose the extra weight, but I have to do the work to keep it off, the brain work. So m'dear, I strongly suggest you start looking at why you are fat. Not only the why you are fat, but what keeps you fat. What are your demons? From what are you protecting yourself? Without my sheid and armor, I will stand naked against the world. I could don a burka but I will still be naked, defenseless. I have to learn a new way of defending myself. Or maybe I need to learn that I don't need to defend myself and that my demons are only shadow puppets. Caricatures that have no real power and substance.