salsa1877

That can certainly be a big issue. Have you tried taking stool softeners? Make sure it is the liquid/chewable kind though. Also, you could be retaining Water. There is no way that you can gain weight on 850 calories without those 2 things causing issues. The scale can't tell between 4 pounds of water retained and 4 pounds of fat. Just keep doing what you are doing and it should start coming off. Have you tried walking a little bit. That will sometimes help get things moving!

Usually when I hiccup or hiccup/burp (the worst!) It usually is a sign that I should be done eating OR that I have eaten too quickly OR not chewed enough. Your stoma probably was irritated from vomiting but you did the right thing to go back to liquids. I feel that I would not have needed my 1st fill for a long time, but because of the distance between where I live and my doctor (6+ hour drive) I went in on the first day I was cleared to get a fill because it fit in my schedule. You might just be one of the lucky ones that gets restriction with just their band. I am at goal and trying to stop losing weight so I had a complete unfill, and I am still too restricted at times. I did not tolerate fills well at all. So I would think that if you are not having any more heartburn and it does not hurt while eating that you are probably alright. If either one of those things return for unexpected reasons then I would see my doc. There are several people who have never needed a fill to lose weight. Good luck and keep us informed.

Are you talking calories or volume? I guess I will give you what I did for both! I stayed between 800-1000 calories and ate about 3/4 -1 cup of food at a time. For me that worked really well. Some need to go a little lower in calories, some need a little higher. A lot of it depends on your exercise as well. If you are exercising a lot you may need to be betweeen 1000-1200. I was exercising but I never plateaued so I figured if its not broken...don't fix it. Hope this is what you were looking for.

I would call and ask your doc because mine prefers an empty stomach. No food for at least 4 hours prior to fill and no liquids for 2 hours before fill.

My doc highly discourages the use of liquid calories for 2 reasons. 1. They are not stopped by the band and therefore MOST people do not get full or stay full from them...thus causing them to be hungry and overeat. 2. This doesn't teach you how to eat properly. Drinking my meals is not something that he anticipates most people will want to do for the rest of their life and by having them do this once they have graduated to real food, provides them with an innacurate sense of a lifestyle change. Now stating that I know a lot of people that do drink a Protein Drink everyday either because they are too tight in the morning or because they have a hard time getting in enough Protein. However when people ask me what they should do because weight loss has stalled the first thing I tell them is to get rid of the protein drink. As for the amount of protein...I usually get in around 100 grams a day, but that is because I am an Atkins girl at heart and that is just what I like to eat. If you want more protein you could substitute in a Protein Bar. I use Pure Protein Bars...190 calories...20 grams of protein. I get them at wal-mart. Also I found buffalo/beef sticks at GNC that were really good. 80 calories for 10 grams of protein and very filling. Sorry I just noticed this was the "Men's room" Hope you don't mind a girl dropping in...I just was going through the unanswered posts!

Yep...I am totallly unfilled now because I just had a harder and harder time handling the fills. My bet is that you would still have good/decent restriction with minimal fill...if any. Sometimes the band tightens up for no good reason...stress, change in workout, time of the month. Because this was so sudden I would definetly see the doc. Do they do your fills under fluoro? Even without a fill I have lost 10 pounds in a month which is really good considering that I am at goal...so you could do it to. I have found that I have needed less and less of a fill as I have lost weight. That is not normal, but not unheard of. My band gives me pretty good restriction by just being there. In fact I pb'd on chicken the other day when I ate too quickly! Good luck, but I would definetly contact your doctor.

I think you may have kidney stones. I have had them 10 times and I can spot the signs anywhere. If it is only on one side then that is my bet. Have you gone pee today? Was it painful. The only way to get rid of them is to wait it out...but do it in a hospital where they can give you good drugs.

Does your nutritionist deal mostly with gastric bypass patients because those are the guidelines that they have to follow. My doc only works with lap-banders and says that 1/2 cup to 3/4 of a cup is good. Once filled like I mentioned I only ate 1 cup.

What did your nutritionist say? That was the advice that mine gave me.

Don't worry about portions. Just keep eating the right foods until you are not hungry. If that means you eat 15 times per day, the so be it. Your stomach growling is often just air rumbling around in there and it does go away with time. It is not used to being empty! Make sure that you do not drink while you are eating. Even with mushies don't drink a half-hour before or for an hour after. This will help with the ability to stay fuller longer. This is not the time to worry about weight loss...just healing. So as long as you stay with the mushies and get full you won't hurt yourself. It is when you progress with the WRONG consistency food that you can hurt yourself. And no I didn't really feel hunger...but that is not a good thing either. It was frustrating to eat and feel exactly the same before and after the meal. It made me want to eat more because I didn't feel like eating had accomplished anything. Believe me the grass is not always greener on the other side! Hope this clarified a few things. Your hunger will subside substantially after your fill!

It is not silly at all...that is a huge milestone...I cried like a baby!

I think there is a potential for there to be complications...as there is with any surgery...but I didn't have those problems. In fact I walked from the recovery room back to my little cubical and then had almost zero pain after that. Did she get a fill during surgery? I didn't have anything put in my band for 1 month after surgery. My doc wants that month to be about healing...not about achieving restriction. That could be an issue. If that does happen FORCE your doc to take some of the fill out. This is your body and you are paying for it (either as a self pay or through insurance premiums). I would say that from listening and reading here for several months that the case you are describing is rather rare...but certainly possible. Yes I have had food stuck, I have been miserable for a couple weeks from being too tight (I live 6+ hours from my lap band doc and due to weather in the passes, I couldn't get over there). But I would consider those minor hiccups. I will take those any day when I look at the fact that I have lost 98 pounds, gained a life, and feel so much better about myself. FOr the most part all the pain that I have felt has been because I was an idiot and didn't chew well enough. You can prevent most of that if you don't get yourself too tight. For me I stayed pretty loose so I didn't have these problems as much. For me the band was the greatest thing in my life! Good luck.

I started shopping around in March and I am a self pay. My surgery is not until July. It takes a while to get into surgeons (especially good ones!) and if you are working with insurance it could take even longer. I think ultimately 15 pounds or less would be a good time to start seeing the, but if you are a consistent loser you could start scheduling to see PS around the time you think you will be at that weight.

I don't think it is bad that you were give an appetite suppresent because it will get you through bandster hell, but my biggest suggestion is to not give up your control to anything...not the band and not a pill. Once you learn the power you get from controling your brain, your food and your life, you will never want to go back. I get a sense of pride when my brain tells me to eat and to eat CRAP foods or stop running, and I don't listen...I get so proud of myself for being able to be in control...and that has led to great success for me!

Soup recipes Roasted Tomato with Roasted Garlic This recipe yielded about 1 cup. Ingredients: ½ container of grape tomatoes 4-6 cloves of garlic (depends on size and strength of garlic desired) 4 oz of silken tofu 2 TBSP of fresh basil (2-3 tsp of dried basil) Salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Peal the garlic and wrap in a small piece of aluminum foil. 2. Place the tomatoes on a cookie sheet and spray with PAM, sprinkle with salt and pepper. 3. Put the tomatoes and garlic in a 350 degree oven until done. a. Tomatoes will burst and shrivel a bit b. Garlic will be soft and mash easily with a fork c. Tomatoes will probably finish before the garlic 4. Place the tomatoes and garlic in a food processor (or blender) 5. Add the tofu and blend until almost smooth. 6. Heat through and add the finely chopped basil at the end. 7. Simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors blend. 8. If necessary thin out with FF evaporated milk. Grilled Asparagus Soup Ingredients: ¼ pound or more of asparagus 2-3 cloves of garlic (depends on size and strength of garlic desired) 4 oz of silken tofu ¼ small onion (more or less depending on taste) ¼ -1/3 cup of LF shredded cheese. Salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Either boil grill on BBQ (much better!) the asparagus until just undercooked. a. To grill on BBQ spray with PAM and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in aluminum foil if you do not have a flat grill on BBQ. 2. Sautee garlic, onions and cooked asparagus 3. Place veggies in a food processor (or blender) 4. Add the tofu and blend until smooth. 5. Add FF evaporated milk until correct texture. 6. Heat to desired temperature Sautéed Mushroom and Tuna Soup (This was my way of eating tuna noodle casserole…soup style!) Ingredients: ½ pound or more of mushrooms (any kind will work) 2-3 cloves of garlic (depends on size and strength of garlic desired) 4 oz of silken tofu or white Beans ¼ small onion (more or less depending on taste) 1 can of tuna fish Salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Sautee mushrooms, garlic and onions until desired texture. 2. Add to food processor or blender. 3. Add 4oz of silken tofu or ½ can of white beans (depending on your taste!) 4. Add drained tuna fish (or any other canned fish) 5. Puree to desired texture. 6. Heat and add FF evaporated milk to thin if needed So as you can see, the base for these Soups is pretty much the same. If you don’t like tofu I would assume that white canned beans would work just as well. Experiment with different spices, add a little parmesan cheese, or different veggies. Right now you shouldn’t be worrying as much about calories, but rather about healing. If you would like add meat to any of these it would work just fine. Ground chicken, hamburger, and ground turkey all pulverize very well. You will most likely just have to thin it out with the FF evaporated milk. That one ingredient has changed my way of cooking. Once you graduate to real foods you can have chicken Alfredo for VERY few calories by using this one ingredient. Another soup that has good flavor is to just take some refried beans and beef stock. It has a lot of flavor and a lot of Protein to keep you fuller longer. Also take some spaghetti sauce and add some pulverized veggies to it and it makes it better. Adding some pureed white beans also helps it feel like more food. Just thin (or strain) any of these to meet the correct consistancy for your current level of food!

Yep only 3 days apart! 169...that is freaking amazing! I was down 98 as of my weigh in today. I HAVE TO STOP LOOSING! I know...it sounds bizzare but my plastic surgeon really doesn't want me going below 150 and from what I have read on PS, docs really shouldn't take more than 10% of your body weight in surgery and there is a possibility that they will take 15 pounds. So go ahead and hate me...but I hope to report a 0 pound weight loss next week. Whosya - you are AMAZING THOUGH!

HOLY COW (or cats!) I did it. :leaving: I ran 7, walked 1, ran 2, walked 1.3, ran .7. I can't believe how far I have come. I am sooooo proud of myself. And I am proud that I can say that I am proud of myself.:sad: I have only ever been able to say that one other time in my life and that is when I graduated from college the first time! My DH is the greatest. He was out there giving me Water at every mile. He had his bike and would ride to the "check points" and stand there with water and cheer me on...it was so great... He really does look out for me. Sometimes I get so focused that I don't think about things...that is what he is there for! So I have not analyzed the run with my Nike+ running system yet but I will post it on my blog so if you want to check that out you can. LJM introduced me to the nike+ and it is really cool. At the end I got a message from Lance Armstrong congratulating me on my longest run yet. You can push a button on your ipod and it goes to your power song to help give you a boost. It counts your miles and averages your speed. It also calculates your calories based on speed and weight. Today it said that I burned 1392 calories. :w00t:That is right on with what the treadmill says...just a little over 100 calories per mile! Today is a free food day for me. Why you ask...because on Friday I weighed 152 and thought it was a fluke. When I weighed in yesterday 153, but I ate RIGHT before I went to bed. This morning back down to 152. I can't go any lower. And on days like today when I have already burned 1392 calories before 10AM I figure I can't have any FF or LF stuff. I am not going hog wild and sitting down with ice cream (cause that would have me spending the entire day in the bathroom) or candy, fast food, chips, or crap like that. It just means that we are bbq'ing hamburgers tonight and I am actually going to have ground beef. I am even going to put mayo on it...though that will have to be light mayo because that is all we have. I don't know what we are having for lunch, but I am sure DH will make sure that it is reasonable but higher calories than I would normally eat. I don't want to get to the point that I have to put weight ON, so I just have to have these days when I do the long miles. I guess you could say this is a bonus to maintaining (though it makes me nervous!) Well I hope everyone has a splendid Sunday. I need to do my cooking for the week...once I sit for a while...my legs are sore...wonder why?!?!:sneaky:

HOLY COW (or cats!) I did it. :leaving: I ran 7, walked 1, ran 2, walked 1.3, ran .7. I can't believe how far I have come. I am sooooo proud of myself. And I am proud that I can say that I am proud of myself.:sad: I have only ever been able to say that one other time in my life and that is when I graduated from college the first time! My DH is the greatest. He was out there giving me water at every mile. He had his bike and would ride to the "check points" and stand there with water and cheer me on...it was so great... He really does look out for me. Sometimes I get so focused that I don't think about things...that is what he is there for! So I have not analyzed the run with my Nike+ running system yet but I will post it on my blog so if you want to check that out you can. LJM introduced me to the nike+ and it is really cool. At the end I got a message from Lance Armstrong congratulating me on my longest run yet. You can push a button on your ipod and it goes to your power song to help give you a boost. It counts your miles and averages your speed. It also calculates your calories based on speed and weight. Today it said that I burned 1392 calories. :w00t:That is right on with what the treadmill says...just a little over 100 calories per mile! Today is a free food day for me. Why you ask...because on Friday I weighed 152 and thought it was a fluke. When I weighed in yesterday 153, but I ate RIGHT before I went to bed. This morning back down to 152. I can't go any lower. And on days like today when I have already burned 1392 calories before 10AM I figure I can't have any FF or LF stuff. I am not going hog wild and sitting down with ice cream (cause that would have me spending the entire day in the bathroom) or candy, fast food, chips, or crap like that. It just means that we are bbq'ing hamburgers tonight and I am actually going to have ground beef. I am even going to put mayo on it...though that will have to be light mayo because that is all we have. I don't know what we are having for lunch, but I am sure DH will make sure that it is reasonable but higher calories than I would normally eat. I don't want to get to the point that I have to put weight ON, so I just have to have these days when I do the long miles. I guess you could say this is a bonus to maintaining (though it makes me nervous!) Well I hope everyone has a splendid Sunday. I need to do my cooking for the week...once I sit for a while...my legs are sore...wonder why?!?!:sneaky:

Great job...I know they are bad, but it is soo worth it. What is your next phase? I have some good Soup recipes but I don't want to tempt you with them if you can't have them yet. Good luck and let me know!

I flipped the store off when I drove by it yesterday! I don't ever even want to stop in that store again~

10) I am confident that I will fit in any roller coaster! 9) I am in control of my food...my food does not control me 8) I am not the fat one at the gym 7) I feel like I can be a true role model to my students 6) I can shop in a regular store (though this is overwhelming to me...too many choices!) 5) I have pride in myself and my accomplishments 4)I have learned the difference between an excuse and a reason. Before I was full of excuses! 3) I have run two 5K races and not come in last! 2) I am training for a 1/2 marathon 1) I have learned to love who I am and forgive myself for my past.

I was trying to get in a 6 mile walk today, but the sun went down and hubby came and forced me to get in the car because it was too dark. So I did 4.5 miles. Tomorrow morning we are heading down to the canyon to do the 12 miler that I didn't finish on Thursday. We are doing it early though so hopefully the heat will not knock me out and DH will be down there with water so that I don't get dehydrated! Planning ahead this time!

I would check the 50s and 60s board. I know that my "band mom" (no relation, just became related through our experience on the board) is 53 and lost 92 pounds in 9 months. I would say she did quite well! THose would be the boards to check out though...they seem to have a quite a good support group there! Good luck and I think that ANYONE can do this if they get their head in the right spot!

The only thing I read about the pouches is to make sure that the brand does not have a clip made of plastic as it can get brittle and break off and there you go having to buy the sensor again! This stupid thing won't let me post pictures! You are welcome. If you want more info losingjusme has had one for a while. She was the one that suggested it to me!

I bought one of these the other day and they are fantastic. I was deciding between this and the bodybugg and figured this would be more helpful in my Quest toward the half and full marathons. I did go with the ipod only because I need a new mp3 player...but I don't like ipods at all...not a big apple fan. But the nike + is great! You can publish it for the world to see (I put mine on my blog) so it keeps you motivated to run the distance that you said you were going to. I just bought a new pair of 100$ shoes that were professionally fitted, so I was not going to buy Nike's. You can buy a marware pouch (I think LJM said to look on amazon) or you can make a little pouch like I did and attach it to your shoe laces. Cost me exactly 0.00$ I took an old t-shirt (that I had shrunk out of), cut out a rectangle, folded it in half, sewed it into a pouch, stuck the sensor inside and finished sewing it up. Then I took another piece of fabric and sewed a loop on it so that I could run my laces through it. I tried attaching a picture but it is not letting me right now. I will keep trying!