kimk1999

Just be careful of caffeine withdrawal headaches. I'd suggest to start with some different black or green tea that still has caffeine. It's still much less than coffee but peppermint has no caffeine.

My pcp needed to request a chest X-ray, EKG and blood work. That was part of the form my surgeon gave me to use. I'm not sure if it's a safe assumption for you. Maybe call your surgeons office and ask what they require.

I feel your pain. I've done a *bit* more but not much. I lost 8 lbs in the 2 weeks post op and was super excited and then nothing for the next month!! I started eating more as I was hungry all the time. Originally I was sticking super close to around 800 lbs and my body wasn't sparing any weight. I went up to about 1200 and now I've lost about another lb this past week and a half. It is frustrating as anything knowing that you went through WLS and it's not dropping like you had hoped or expected. I was banded around the same time as some others (I thought was band as well) and they said that they had lost 20-30lbs in their two week post op. What is your starting weight? Have you been tested for thyroid issues or something else that could cause biologically the stalling of weight? If so and the answer was no, then be patient and give it more time. We definitely lose slower than sleevers. I've also read (and some people here might disagree with me) is that its' good to vary up your calorie consumption. I still think of old school starvation issues. If you don't eat enough your body will become a hoarder. If the body is getting adequate (not excessive) it might be willing to give up a few lbs here and there. Then again, that's just my crazy mind Hope that helps.

For me - I loved eating scrambled eggs again the (fat free) refried Beans, salsa, and (reduced fat) cheese was a good option For normal dinners that were put through the blender, I had to have it more pulverized than pureed. I am a texture eater and this put it into almost course sawdust consistency but pureed was gagging me. Still lots of Soups but also progressed to chili.

I wouldn't say it's 'sweet'... but it has a good flavor and I don't see it as being bitter like some of the different black teas. I usually only leave my tea in to steep for 3-5 mins. Some of them get super bitter if you leave it longer.

Oh wow. I get my first fill this Friday and was thinking of posting the same thing. I'm planning on going to work afterwards so I was hoping that everything will be ok. Hope you feel better soon.

I'm a bit back and forth. I couldn't stand to watch it prior to surgery, but it seems almost inspirational to me. I know a number of them gain it back after they get to the real world. Part of me is extremely jealous (and I just told my fiancé this), that I wish I could take 3 months off of work to workout 10-12 hours a day. I wish I had the ability to just focus on me and my health, but that's not my life. Biggest Loser - on NBC 600lb, 800lb, etc people - TLC

I lost 6 lbs pre-op, then 8 lbs post op... after that, I've been battling the same 1-2 lbs over and over. My BMI was 35 at the start of my surgery so that's something else I have to keep in perspective when I hear of others amazing weight loss. It's started moving again. Right now with the band, I do not have any restriction. I'm hungry all the time and can eat my pre-surgery amounts. I can't wait till I get my first fill this Friday to limit what I can eat / drink better. That's one of the problems with the band is that weight loss is slower than the sleeve. lol. I don't drink every day. Typically I stick with wine or spirits as beer is too carbonated. When the carbonation finally leaves it's warm and not that great. I've only gotten "drunk" once. My fiancé made me a small cocktail. I drank that slowly over 2-3 hours and then I asked for another one. I ended up pouring out half as it made me sick. Primarily, I've only had 1 drink here and there. I've actually started buying the cheap mini bottles of wine to keep the portions in check.

Congratulations. Puts a smile on my face reading that

It stalled when I came off full liquids and started on the puréed.

I'm only a month out but I like the band so far. I get my first fill to make the band tighter this coming Friday. I like the adjustable factor with this option and that's it's either removable or I can switch to the sleeve or bypass if I need to later on. I'm an engineer and trained to look at failure modes with recovery options lol. Might not be the best approach for wls but that's how my brain thinks. I'm looking forward to this first fill because I'm so hungry right now. I like how the sleeve typically has a faster loss rate over the band and that's part of why I considered the band. My surgeon does both and we decided on the band together. I second the suggestion for mfp (I'm on my phone and can't remember if I mentioned it earlier). There's a lot of people here that have a mfp account and we're 'friends' there too. It's another way to track your details while still encouraging others. I like seeing how many people are losing so much weight and keeps me motivated to stay at it.

Definitely discuss it with your doc even if you find a remedy... I suggest some hot tea. I had a stuck episode once already and the next day I felt terrible. My throat made me still feel sick and lots of pressure in the chest even though I could eat it drink still. Docs office suggested liquid diet for 24 hours and the hot tea really soothed the throat /esophagus muscles. Hope you feel better soon!

Not that I'm proud of it and don't want to seem like an alcoholic but I've been drinking just two weeks post op. I can't remember the guideline, but it was more explained to me as an empty calorie drink and since you're not eating/drinking that much at this time they wanted to shoot for maximum weightloss. I can't do anything carbonated, well maybe a sip or two of my finances beer. Usually I pass whatever I'm drinking over to him to finish anyways (more to save calories and that I really no longer want that much. Tolerance has significantly decreased too which is a good thing right? I'm definitely not a good example and this is probably a contributing factor for the stalling of my weight loss. Above all else, follow your doctors recommendation above listening to people who cheat . (Banded 12/16)

The 50-60% number sounds about right. I remember hearing the statistics when I was considering the band or the sleeve. I chose the band but that doesn't matter here for this thread just a point of reference. As some of the other have suggested - go back to the basics. How often and how hard do you workout? Do you vary your routine, intensity, workout style to change up your muscle memory? I'd suggest the 5-6 mini meals and try to stay under the 1200 (or whatever makes sense to your situation/goals). Make sure you get your protein in. Research the different diets... Maybe Atkins (low carb) lifestyle will work for you. Maybe the traditional low cal will work. Maybe the eat right for your blood type or some other host of diet styles might work. I wish you the best!! I've read a number of people on here that have met or exceeded their goal weight. The 50% studies is not a hard/fast rule. In order to obtain that statistic many people had to do better than that. With the right determination you can exceed it as well.

NSV - non scale victory Congratulations!! I'm starting to fit into some of my favorite old bras that were a bit too tight.

Yeah I'm right there with you. I was banded Dec 16th and I won't get my first fill till this coming Friday. I lost 8 lbs in the two week liquid stage but have been stuck with the same plus / minus 1 lb for the past three weeks. It's depressing. I try not to worry about the scale but it's hard with being so close to having Weight Loss Surgery! I'm hungry just about all the time too. I'm eating a lot more than I should. I try to stop eating after my small portion but that only lasts about an hour or so and I'm starving again. Constant grazing is not good and I can't wait till my first fill. I'm glad to see I'm not alone. Bandster hell is definitely a good name for it.

I'm glad you're here looking for suggestions for your husband. Unless I missed it, I'm not sure what surgery he actually had. I had the band and that's where I'm coming from.... First off, he really needs to follow his doctors orders. They definitely suck and get tiring but his surgeon felt they were important for a reason. I had two weeks of liquid and two weeks of mushies. I could not stand it when my meat was puréed to oblivion but I could eat it if it was pulsed to a pulp. There was still some texture but it was very well blended. I'm a texture eater and pure puréed made me gag. With all that being said, there are some people on here that their surgeons didn't give them much restriction / limited diet post op. So they were eating solid foods very quickly post op. I don't recommend it, but after reading those people I did cheat a bit and had a few Snacks I wasn't supposed to but it was the holidays. Again, I strongly suggest that he follows his doctors orders, but if he absolutely must deviate he needs to be very very careful. Take extremely small bites and chew it till it's mush. You really don't want to risk something getting stuck and throwing up so shortly after surgery. He really needs time to heal. Even if he's feeling ok, he shouldn't push it. Plus he might have more boredom hunger as someone else mentioned and it might not be real hunger. Have him drink fluids slowly and see if that helps. This phase will be over soon.

So great news and a problem... I've lost about 20 lbs so far and my engagement ring is getting really lose. I have about 50 more to go to get to my goal weight. Other than getting it resized often, what do you do to tighten your rings? When I was little I tied yarn around a few times but that gets a bit nasty when washing hands. I remember some metal thingy to clamp on there but I can't find it on amazon or eBay. Suggestions?

I haven't had a fill yet, but in my binder of information my doc has a sheet that we can use to keep track of all our fills and 'defills' (is that's the right word). I'd try to push a bit more. Like someone else said - if you go to the ER it would probably be good to know.

This I think is one of those follow your doctors advice. Mine says no. I think because if you accidentally swallow it, it can get stuck and have to come back up. We're allowed mints but supposed to stay away from gum. Also as you chew gum, supposedly you'll also ingest more air thus causing more discomfort. That's my surgeons rules. I think I've seen elsewhere on here that others do not have that rule.

Check out Sun Coast bariatrics. They have support groups. . I don't know of any plastic surgeons, sorry.

If your pain suddenly got worse, I think the after hours call should be one to call and verify that you're not mixing signals up. For me, I had to take 2 of the gas x chewables at a time. One would not help. I also depended on a heating pad for my shoulder. If you can, walking helped me too.

I prefer the elliptical. Easier on my joints. I did buy a bike recently and I'm starting to get into that but I'm not sure on calorie comparison. Still easy on the joints.

I love to make a quick scrambled eggs/ omelette thingy in the microwave before work. Measure and pour egg beaters, add some reduced fat shredded cheese and then sometimes I'll add in diced ham. Really great protein packed breakfast. Keeps me full for a long time. Snacks - I love the lite baby bell cheese. 6 grams of protein and feels quite indulgent. Also I like Greek yogurt as a snack too. My NUT recently suggested edamame.

Jan 27. She waits 6 weeks to make sure everything is healed. I also asked is she preloaded the band in surgery and she said no . I'm so hungry and starting to go over my calorie limits.