lljpaisley

Thank you all so much, this is a great group, better than any support group that i have attended in person!

You know, you are right, I was perfectly happy with my weight loss even though it is slow. I was so happy the other day when i bought clothes in the regular size department for the first time in like 5 years. I am sure I will be fine tonight after i go to the gym (that always makes me feel better). In general I am just a happy girl these days. I don't know what got into me yesterday. :clap2:

Wow, that must have been disappointing for you. I know the feeling ( well not as bad as you) because I know my band is tight, I feel restriction, I go to the gym regularly but I don't seem to be losing weight! I am trying to figure out what to do - smaller meals at night, more intense workouts, etc. I even am considering another fill although I feel restriction daily. Good luck

Thanks for the support. Of course you are right, and i would just die if I gained back 35 pounds. I had heard that both surgeries achieve the same weight loss goal but bypass people generally do it in a year and bandsters do it in two years. If this is true then I am right on target.

I try to exercise 4 times a week for about 90 minutes each time. When I don't exercise I try to do some heavy housework. I didn't start exercising until about 6 months after surgery. Since I have started exercising - about 2 months ago - I haven't lost much in pounds but I have gone down at least one whole size. I picked at gym which is located in the same building that i work in because i knew that if I had to get into my car I may not make it to the gym.

I had surgery in June and had been taking about one tiny sip of fountain soda a day just enough to wet my whistle (so to speak) with no problems whatsoever. Well one day I took a sip of warm soda from a can and within 30 seconds thought I was gonna die! I had the worst pain for about 5 minutes. I didn't know what to do and I was scared until finally I burped and the problem was solved. I think it happened because it was canned soda that was warm and very carbonated this has never happened with fountain soda but I also haven't had another sip since this happened.

I have done yoga for about 6 months. We did alot of toning but also some strength work on the abs (alot of abs). I loved it but some of the poses were difficult with my excess flab!

Melissa That is an excellant idea. I work in physical rehab and we keep getting inservices on how to work with the bariatric patient. I think it may be the next up and coming field! Good luck

I feel exactly as you do - that maybe my pouch is stretched. I eat what I want and stop when i feel full. There have only been a few times that I have stopped because i have been so full that i felt sick. This is what i typically eat: breakfast: two rice cakes with Peanut Butter and maybe a small glass of chocolate milk snack: cheese stick lunch: salad, lean cusine - mostly protien if i can snack: orange, a few snack crackers dinner: some sort of chicken, a small side dish I am losing about 1-2 pounds a month, not a week. I can't get another fill since I feel restriction at every meal. I have been exercising about one month and do aerobics for about 60 minutes. I am not overly worried but wish I could speed up the weight loss a little

Oh my, i can eat so much compared to others. I feel restriction based on the food i eat not on how much i eat. It also varies from day to day. Some days I can eat en entire wendys salad for lunch but the other day I could only eat about 1/4 of it. I eat breakfast about 7:30 am and get starving at about 11am. Lunch at noon, starving at like 3:30. I have a healthy snack when I am starving like a cheese stick or a yogurt. It seems my hunger pains are so much stronger since I've had the surgery. I was so sad the other day to find that I can't eat oranges. The membrane around the sections of the orange was getting stuck. I think i will continue to eat them but not in public because i either have to peel off the membranes which makes me look like a freak or eat them and spit them out!

I waited a good 5 months before I got up the motivation to exercise. I started with a yoga class at the community night school. Well, that opened up the flood gates. Since then I have joined a gym, go at least three times a week, and can't wait till yoga classes start up again. I think the key is finding the right groups of videos. The yoga instructor was very aware of the different body types in her group. The gym I joined caters to cardia rehab and seniors although all are invited to join. My job involved working with seniors so I have no problem exercising with them. It is a whole lot better and less threatening than exercising next to people who are already in shape

Congratulations! It's always great to get those little surprises. I was a little down because when I went to Thanksgiving dinner no one really said anything about my weight loss even though they hadn't seen me for like three months. I got happy again though when I went to get a passport on saturday. The lady took my liscense with a photo and said "wow, you lost a lot of weight". I smiled and said "yes, I did, thank you." I was so happy.

I went to my support groups the other day and found out that some people did the same thing as you did. Their reason was that they wanted to try out foods on their own. I, on the other hand, am so anal retentive that I did exactly what the doctor ordered. I stayed on liquids for a total of 6 weeks. I always do what people tell me to do The benefit to me was that I lost over 30 pounds in that time period! ONe of the other girls who was banded on the same day as i was started eating in week two and lost very little. It turned out that her band was just too loose and as soon as she got her third fill she really started losing weight. Take care and try to stay on the mushies for your own health.

I have to admit that I was eating more than you at this point but I wouldn't worry too much. I found wonton soup or ramen noodle soup to be beneficial at this time (the dogs loved the wontons and noodles!). Everyone said that I had to watch out for too much salt at this time but it was the only thing I was eating other than sugar free jello and protein shakes! Good luck Laura

I felt this way after my first fill. I was doing well, eating most things, and losing weight. After about a month the weight loss stopped and i got another fill and that is when the fun ended. Now I am reminded at almost every meal that there is a band around my stomach! I don't mind at all though. It reminds me to slow down, take smaller bites and chew. The only problem is that my weight loss has slowed and I know I can't get another fill.

Oh Melissa - I can't resist the movie theater popcorn either! I buy the medium bag because it is such a better deal than the small popcorn. That is how the fat me thinks Laura

My co-worker is one of those high energy types. I can't keep up with her even when we are just walking down the hallway (she and I are the same height). One day we went to Wendy's for lunch - I got a salad and she got a burger, fries AND and baked potato!!!! I joked with her about that. She says that in general she eats healthy foods in the right combination. I guess no dinners of pasta and italian bread without a protein in sight like I used to do!

I feel like I can still eat alot. I can't get another fill because many foods get stuck especially if I eat too fast (this is nothing new to most of you). when I go to a resturant I either take home the leftovers (usually about half of the food) or share a meal with one of my nieces. Since my second fill I have been eating mostly chicken since beef and pork are no longer friendly!

No pre-op restrictions one week of Clear Liquids post op 6 weeks of full liquids one week of mushies

Well, my first choice would be to get re-banded but if I couldn't for some reason I would definately do the bypass. I LOVE losing weight and never want to be fat again!!!!

I have tried minute rice which definately is not sticky - I would hesitate with white rice from a chinese resturant. My program definately stressed low cal, low fat, low sugar after surgery. Even on my first week out, when I was doing nothing but clear liquids, they stressed low sugar. Now I just do the moderation thing.

After being filled once I could eat a whole wendy's salad for lunch and about half of a resturant meal. After I ate I could go about 4 hours without getting interested in food again. I was losing about 1 pound a week. I thought this was too much food so I asked for another fill

Well I made it through the day. It's weird what I can eat and what I can't. Soup is fine, even the noodles. I had trouble with Jello and with applesauce and a little problem with my Protein shake. I wonder if it's because all of these are cold (as someone previously mentioned). I was really hungry so I got some french fries for dinner just to see if I could and guess what? I had no trouble what-so-ever with them. I ate about 10 in 60 minutes, it took about 10 bites to finish a fry, and i so throughly chewed each bite that it over 5 m inutes a fry. I promised myself that I would stop if I felt any restriction but nothing at all. Strange isn't it? I also called the nurse coordinator of the bariatric program to let her know what was going on. I explained the situation to her. She asked about reflux or vomiting (which I haven't had because I have eaten so little). She told me to keep trying and call her friday at noon. I will let you know what happens

Wow, the same thing is happening to me, not as bad as you though. I got my second fill yesterday and i can feel every sip going down. I have not brought anything back up although it's been very close. I logged on to see what i should do about this. Should i wait a few days to see if it get a little looser (is that a word?) or should I call the doctor today? I am drinking my protein drink now and can only take tiny little sips. What should I do??? Laura

I only ever drank diet soda - not a drop of water. Like everyone said, it was very easy to give it up and I didn't even crave it. I do admit that every now and then, when I am at the beach eating lunch with my sister, I will take a very small sip of her ice cold soda but it I take two sips I am in pain.