JustWatchMe

Hooray!!!! You're on your way!

I am loving hummus in so many new flavors now. The ones I get say gluten free on them although that isn't why I buy them. It's a great alternative to chips and dip. I have it with celery or carrot sticks or pretzels. The brands I like are Tribe, Sabra or Cedar's. I've had roasted red pepper, pine nut, lemon, 40 spices, hot pepper, and many more.

Mine's making noises right now and I'm definitely not hungry. Seven months post op here. Oh well!

Welcome to BandLand! I was on full liquids for six weeks post op. So one week sounds kind of fast to me. I agree, call your doctor and ease into the solid foods. Good luck!

Yes! And you don't even care!!!!

Congratulations! Some answers and a question for you. Correct. No nail polish due to being able to view the color of your nails during surgery. Secondly, my pre-op diet was limited to five days of Clear liquids. That is unusual. Most people have a longer pre-op diet that includes Protein shakes. My post op diet was six weeks of full liquids. Hard to do, but it really started off my weight loss great. I've learned early on not to question my surgical team's recommendations. They haven't steered me wrong yet. I had a colonoscopy at age 50 so I'm not sure if that would've been required for me or not because I already had one. I did need an upper G.I. before surgical approval even though I had one of those at age 50 as well. It was determined that I do have a small hiatal hernia. My surgeon told me he would repair it while doing the lap band if he thought it was necessary. Turns out it was not necessary. I have a question for you. I will need to change insurance after my divorce becomes final. Going from basically a Cadillac plan to a plan that doesn't cover much of the bariatric stuff. My choices are limited if I want to keep my own surgeon. That will end up being a very costly change for me. So what I wondered was, what state are you from and what kind of coverage does your marketplace plan have? I've learned on my research on this forum that having a center of bariatric excellence is really important. I'm very happy to have gotten my surgery with such excellent insurance, but as we all know, LapBand requires a lifelong commitment. I would love to stay with my current team, but I simply don't know if I'll be able to afford the insurance plan where I work unless I go H M O. That particular H M O does not cover my surgeon's office. Thanks, keep sharing here. There's so much good information on this site.

I do a modified intermittent fast twice a week which is basically one 500 calorie meal at 1pm on Mondays and Thursdays and regular healthy eating the other days. It results in about 17 hours of "fasting" before and after those meals and it kick started my weight loss again. It also causes my band to feel tighter on the following non fasting days. My stuck episodes increased until I figured out that it was all about my first bite. I had to had to had to learn to chew that first bite to mush. And I had to slow way down. Good luck. I'm in the green zone now and it sure required new eating behaviors for me.

Congrats on your surgery and ask someone to do karate chops on your neck and shoulders a few times a day.

Kari , congratulations ! I have a 14 cc band as well. My last two fills were .25 each. I crept into my green zone. I am now at 7.5 in my 14 Cc band after four fills and I am convinced this is the green for me.I did notice a difference in restriction pretty much right away. The way it manifests with me is if my first bites are not chewed enough then I get stuck. This has been a hard lesson for me. Especially when I'm hungry, my first bite of anything is usually fast and big. I have learned that it needs to be slow and chewed well. None of which answers your question. What I will say, is that 2 cc at this stage seems like a big jump. Maybe you do have too much Fluid in your band. It's hard to say because everybody is different. The first few days after the fill is always a big unknown. I'm surely no expert, as I'm only seven months out myself. But I do know that now that I am experiencing my green zone, I am very wary of getting too tight. It is all now dependent upon me following my eating rules. Good luck, and I'm also curious how this turns out for you! We are all so different. Thank goodness it's adjustable!

Yes I had this between months two and six. It's stopping now. N

You should be more comfortable each day. If you have worsening pain or can't swallow liquids call your doctor before they leave for the weekend. Congratulations!!!!

I had my band placed six months ago. Since then, I have lost somewhat over 90 pounds. I've changed the way I eat, and the way I look at life. I am so happy that the surgery was available to me. I don't know what I would've done if I had continued to live in the food. My life was miserable, and I was merely surviving. Today, I look forward to getting outside to walk every day. I look forward to healthy food. I enjoy foods that I never would have looked twice at before. Hummus? Yes! Delicious! I never thought I would be able to turn away from fried food. But I find myself choosing healthy food over unhealthy food more and more each day. I started the weight loss surgery process one year ago in September. One of the things that was heavy on my mind was what I had to give up. I remember being very sad on Thanksgiving thinking that I was not going to ever be able to indulge in greasy turkey skin again. Yes, I really was depressed about that. What I knew intellectually, but didn't feel in my heart yet, was that by the following Thanksgiving that would not matter. Yes, I knew it in my head. But I was still sad. I was starting a process that was going to leave behind all of my addictive behaviors. I am not the perfect WLS patient. I still want to do things "my way". The difference is, many times now, I will simply follow directions. I still want to do it my way, but many times I am able to say, let's just try it their way. I found myself in a food rut over the past month. I was consistently eating enough junky food that my weight-loss had stalled. My past patterns would have been to give up on myself. Slide back into disordered eating. Hide from everyone. Reach for the food over and over again. Instead, I came here to these boards. I asked some questions. I got some advice. I tried something new. I ditched my scale for a week. I cleaned up my eating. I listened to my body. And maybe most importantly, I found help outside of these boards as well. I go to a few different support groups, not all for weight loss. I find that the phrase, "it's not what you're eating, it's what's eating you" applies to me. I am able to look inside, and uncover some of the reasons why I reach for food. Knowing why doesn't solve my problems. But knowing why, acknowledging that, and allowing it to be the truth, helps me to deal with it. If I can identify it, I can change it. Eating my problems away never ate my problems away. It only very temporarily masked my problems from my awareness. When I would come back out of my food coma, my problems were still there, sometimes worse, and I had self blame and shame to add on top of that. Today, my recovery from disordered eating is twofold. I am addressing the underlying reasons for why I reach for food. I am also addressing the physical reality of my disordered eating by allowing the lap band to help me remain in control of my portions. I don't think I could do one without the other and still have success. I am grateful that I don't have to. For any newcomers here, know that there is hope. I am living proof. I have my life back after decades of simply hanging on.

Only here will people understand. I was actually afraid to try it until today. I have not crossed my legs the "dainty" way in many years. I joined the century club this week, and decided it was time to try crossing my legs in a chair. I was afraid that my belly would still be in the way. It was irrational and fear based. Today I decided to go for it at work in my cube. I crossed my right leg over my left and it worked. I crossed my left leg over my right and it worked. If I could type on my PC this way, I'd do it all day long. Crossing my legs is my new favorite activity. Happy NSVs to us all!

Fabulous Friday! I'm so happy. My oldest daughter is coming home from college for a long weekend tonight. I'm going to make burritos tonight. Mine may be without the tortilla. Lol.

RJ I just want to send you a hug this morning. Your posts help me all the time. I am hoping you get relief.

Congratulations!

You're on your way! It's life changing, truly. Good luck and stay connected here. We all help each other.

Good luck and that's a great attitude!

Agree with tmf. As your date gets closer you'll want to follow up on critical details but I too learned things before some of my team did. It's hard for us to relax but just keep an eye on things and call them when you need to. Good luck.

Do a Taylor Swift and shake it off. Don't mess around with your pre op protocol but don't dwell on it or get stuck in self blame. You're compliant right now and you've got this! So. Plan ahead. Have protein ready the next time you are in that state. Some protein liquid shake or something that you are allowed. I was on clear liquids for the five days before my surgery but your protocol could be different. Even clear liquids can be found with protein like Isopure. If you need something reach for that. Then allow it to register hat you've had something. Protein holds you longer than soup or Popsicles. Pre op is very very hard but it's doable. Different discipline will be needed post op. We can handle these stages. We're not perfect but we worked way too hard to get surgical approval to lose it over food. Good luck and stay connected here and you got this!!!!

I know ! I need a coat but I don't want to buy one that I'll fit in for only a few months. My size changes weekly. A good problem to have!

What do you really like now that shocks you, because before WLS it was NOT a food you liked or ate unless you had to for a diet? Mine: Celery Vinaigrette instead of creamy ranch Soup and salad on a menu instead of a burger Hummus Drinking Water

Never give up. We worked too hard for our surgeries. I'm sorry you had these obstacles but please don't give up on yourself. Good luck.

To all the newly banded, it gets easier and you'll be so happy with the miraculous changes soon!

Yay for shrinking!