Danimal

For me, the surgery does not turn off that switch in your head for not wanting certain foods. My nurse has told me I need to understand what I can eat and what I can't. If I tell her I had pizza, I will get the lecture for not eating properly and then she says once in a while is OK if you don't eat the crust. I can't eat items like corn, peas and salad. The skin I just can't get it chewed up enough. You will know it after having the surgery for a while what you can and cannot eat. For the most part, I follow a good diet and it is up to you to make good choices. Yes you can make bad ones as there are lots of slider foods out there which will cause you not to lose weight. Do I have them once in a while? Sure I do but I can't sit down and eat 3 pieces of pie like I used to. Can I eat a small piece of pie? Sure I can. The urgers haven't went away for me, they are still there and it's up to me to make good choices. On the other hand, we go exercise now almost every day. Couldn't do that before, nor did we feel like doing it when we were 80+ lbs heavier. Now it's just part of our routine.

Yeah it's one of the few addictions in which we still use the drug of choice, food, and are suppose to somehow control ourselves. Believe me, I would of fallen off the wagon months ago if I could. I just can't. Cravings are still there. I just can't over indulge.

I think we all pretty much did that. Let's face it, my best friend, my comfort in life, my enjoyment, the thing my day evolved around was about to leave me forever. It was like losing a loved one, but I adjusted. I haven't had a steak or a soda in nearly a year. Steak just isn't worth the work to eat anymore. I can still eat pizza. Must be thin and very crispy. Don't do it much though cause it goes against everything I've done in the past year. I stick to fish and chicken mainly.

I will start producing slime to the point I have to spit it out. I have excused myself and went to the bathroom. Usually for me, it just comes back up and I get rid of it then and I'm done. It helps for me to get up and move around. I will tear up, runny nose and lots of slime. You can't swallow because there is no where for it to go. Doesn't take too many of those lessons before you learn. That was always my biggest fear before banding but the stories I think are scarier than they really are. For me, it's not like when you get sick. I have time to get up and go to the bathroom. Just don't ask me to talk though.

I'm at about 7.5cc in a 10cc band and each time my sweet spot stays on for longer and longer. My doctors office has me return every 4 to 6 weeks and if I am struggling, they give me .5cc. Only one time did they give me 1cc. I was filled in November and that one has now lasted until March but I was ready to go in for a fill. They always tell me not to struggle and come in earlier if I do. Early on, I was just like you. the fill would seem to only last a day or 2, then a week or 2, then a month or 2. I should be getting close to being at a year or 2 now before needing a fill. Good luck. You'll get there soon.

I can't say that exercise is something I love to do. I know it's something I must do. I stared out just using the Wii last winter but as soon as the weather warmed up, I began walking on my lunch hour. If found if I kept busy it really keeps my mind away from food and usually afterwards, I'm not as hungry. That worked well for my initial weight loss but I finally hit a plateau once I dropped 75 lbs. So we joined the gym 2 months ago and began going almost everyday for an hour to 1.5 hours. Used to take me 22 minutes at 0 degrees to do a mile but now I walk 3.8 mph with an elevation of 8 degrees. I'll do this for 45 minutes. I still get my heart rate up to my goal and it's easier on my hips and knees than running. I also do 3 rounds of weights to help with my upper body fat. I still plateaued for a couple of months but figured I traded fat for muscle as I still dropped inches. I've now began dropping my weight again. It's just what I have to do in order to achieve my goal. I know I would of given up during the plateau for the 2 months, but the band wouldn't let me make that choice.

I never thought of many goals, accomplishments, revelation or achievements before my LAP-BAND®® surgery. Just really wanted to lose 100 lbs. I'm getting close and am noticing more changes in my life. Now as a few of these things have happened, I think wow, another little thing that that I never realized. So here are a few of mine. What are yours? never realized I could exercise for an hour almost everyday and be ok with it. I was lucky to get off the couch before. Being able to sit in a booth at restaurant with out my belly being squashed. Seeing my reflection in a window and not recognizing myself Buying clothes an not having to pay extra because of the size.

Dyingtobethin - It will all work out for you just like it has for us. I would be surprised if you could get your surgery by years end, but maybe. For us it took 2 months for the insurance to approve and then another 6 weeks to get the surgery date. Not many people realize that it is a needed surgery and consider it more elective. For both of us, the paperwork said it was required for health reasons. When your at work, most people have the perception there is nothing wrong with you because your there everyday. In reality, your at a health risk everyday. Good luck with your surgery. Wife and I were talking on the way home from exercising this morning. We both lost more weight before the band but the direction is still down. We both felt with out the band, we would of once again fell off the wagon and gained our weight back. The band won't allow us so we keep moving forward. Keep in touch and the best of luck. Let us know how it all goes. Dan

I loved bread but don't miss it. I can eat a little toast though. Once banded and you reach your proper fill, you won't want to eat things like this. For me it's just painful and not worth it (stuck, hurts). Same thing happens if I eat too fast. It's the power of the band. I haven't had soda either in over 6 months. Sometimes I have the urges. Peanut M&M's used to be my weakness. I've had them, but about 6 of them are enough. Basically for me, I can eat almost anything. Just in small quantities. The band is not the magic wand as you do have to do some work, count calories and eat right.

OK. You may of seen my other thread "what does full feel like" well this is just the opposite, "what does hungry feel like?" I had never thought of this before until my wife, who has also been banded, asked me and our fill nurse this question. The nurse said in all her years, she had never been asked that question nor did she know how to respond. Now think really hard about this before you answer. What is real hunger. For me I said it was just a craving for food. I see it, I smell it, I want it. That's probably not a true signal that "I'm hungry." Because if I'm really busy, I don't eat much nor does my wife because our minds are busy. It was this way at pre band as well as post band. Sometimes I guess it could be a growling stomach, but mine growls more after I eat than before. We are uncovering some real skeletons in our closet. We feel we got to our large size by not understanding these signals and eating because of our impulses. The difference is now, I can wake up in the morning and feel what I think is hunger, but only after a little bit of food, that urge goes away. With out the band, I would have no other signal to stop eating other than to stuff myself. So what does hungry feel like to you?

I do drink hot coffee in the morning and it probably does help. It's more of a want than a need. I'd like to have eggs and bacon but I can't. Just doesn't agree with me. So I've found out to eat about 2 hours after getting up and having my coffee. I'm good with it all. Just trying to learn the new full feeling and what it is, other than the pain from eating wrong or over eating that last bite. I get no other signs that I am noticing just yet.

So now that you've been banded, what do you think full feels like? What is the trigger that says stop eating? I ask this because the other day when I had this discussion with the fill nurse, I said full to me is when I reach that point I feel some discomfort or pain. I was told that if I reach this point, I've eaten too much and that I needed to back off. This is difficult to judge because in the morning I'm very tight and can only eat about 2-3 oz of oatmeal and I may get this feeling only after a couple spoons full. By evening, it's just about perfect eating my 4-5 oz. Either way, I stop when I feel that discomfort. Also a lot depends on what I eat. I have found, when I don't have this, I feel I'm not tight enough and am hungry all the time and can usually over indulge. So what does full feel like to you?