flower faery

Just yesterday I took some lite blueberry pie filling we had leftover from my mom's birthday cheesecake and put about a tablespoon of that on my cottage cheese and it was really good. The blueberries were really mushy too.

...how the heck a person weighing over 250 lbs can eat on average 800 to 900 calories a day and not lose weight? Not only not lose it but GAIN it??? I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I'm so depressed. I was banded on 9/28/07 so it's been a little over 3 weeks now. At first I lost weight, but most days I was taking in even less than 800 calories a day. At 13 days post op I was weighed at my GP's office and had lost 13 lbs. I was so excited. Then within 2 days I'd lost another pound, putting my total weight loss at 14 lbs. Great. But since then I've actually gained back 3 lbs. How???? I don't snack except maybe a jello pudding snack once every few days. I eat 3 meals a day (still on mushies) and these aren't fattening foods I'm eating. I work 8-5 Monday through Friday so I'm not sitting on a couch all day. I'm moving around throughout the day. I haven't gone back to the gym yet (that will be next month) but still without even working out, someone my size should be losing SOMETHING eating that small amount of food. What is wrong with my body? I spent my life savings having this surgery and now it looks like it's not even going to work. This was my last hope. I could have kept the money in the bank and starved myself for free. The worst part? Everybody knows about my surgery so they're all watching me and asking constantly how much I've lost. I just want to scream at them all to shut up and go away. I know they mean well but this is hard enough to go through without everybody watching me. I've had people say "Just wait, you'll start losing the weight after you have a fill and have some restriction." Well tell me how that works when you're already taking in so little food and calories? If I take in much less I won't be able to function to work. How does restriction help you if you're already not taking in a lot? Please somebody tell me there's hope because I'm not feeling it right now.:help:

The good news is I've now lost the 3 lbs again so I'm back on track. So in total I've lost 14 lbs so far. I go for my first fill Tuesday. And I start back to the gym next Thursday. (Finally got the money to go back..yay!) I'm feeling so much better now. Thank you again to everybody for your advice and encouragement.

Thank you so much everybody for your encouragement and advice. It has really helped. I'm staying away from the scale for a week. My follow up appointment at the doctor's office is next Tuesday and I'll let them weigh me then. I might even get my 1st fill that day. I've added in a lot more Proteins, I'm not eating as many carbs and I've increased the calorie intake a little bit...not much. The pudding and yogurt are not sugar free. Unfortunately I have really bad reactions to artificial sweeteners so I can't have them. But I haven't even had pudding in a week and when I do eat it it's only a couple of times a week at most. Both the pudding and yogurt are low fat though. The mayo I eat is lite mayo (not fat free). I have had some butter on my potatoes but it's a really small amount..barely there. The cheese is full fat but I have such a tiny amount it doesn't add up to much. I get a bit of exercise through my job, so I'm not just sitting all day. I'll be joining the gym again in November when I have enough money and I know that will really help a lot. I guess I just expected to always see a loss at least for the first few months when I got on the scale and seeing not only that I hadn't lost weight but gained some floored me. My body has freaked out I guess. lol. I do have a slow metabolism unfortunately. I know the exercise will speed it up a bit though, so in November I'm hoping to see more pounds coming off.

Ok I'm going to try to up my protein intake and see if that helps. The only meat I can have at this point is tuna, canned chicken and baked fish. I don't like fish so I'm not thrilled about eating it but if it will help I guess I will. I just want to start losing some weight and stop gaining.

I don't know if it's true or not (I'm only 3 weeks out from being banded) but have heard people say basmati rice goes down easier than other types. I hope this is true because I love curry and eat basmati with mine. But if it's not then I guess I'll learn to live without it.

Thanks guys for the encouragement. Indiogirl - I've been so depressed I've started keeping totals on my calorie/fat/protein intake just to make sure and I'm positive my calories are as low as they are. This is an average day for me: Breakfast - 1/2 packet of cream of wheat or instant oatmeal made with 2% milk. lunch - 1/2 of a small can of chicken mixed with less than a tablespoon of mayo and some pickle relish, pureed together and eaten with 4 to 5 club crackers. (I chew the crackers to mush and they practically melt in my mouth anyway) OR 1/2 to 2/3 cup low fat refried Beans with a bit of cheddar melted on them OR mashed potatoes with cheese. (When I say I have cheese I'm talking about less than 2 Tbsp) dinner - 1 1/2 to 2 Fisher Boy crab cakes (cooked in the microwave so they're soft and mushy) with a tablespoon of tartar sauce OR a small bowl of Soup OR 1/2 of a baked potato mashed up with some cheddar melted on it. And that's it for the day unless every 3 days or so I want a Jello pudding or a liquid yogurt drink (one of the really small ones). I don't know what to do different. Some days I eat less. I drink Water all day and rarely anything else...maybe tea a couple of times a week. I've just started taking a daily Vitamin.

I was banded on 9/28/07. I have been on medication for hypertension since I was in my early 20's due to a combination of a hereditary condition and the extra weight. I am now 39. The hereditary condition causes me to have a rapid heartbeat, so I'm on a medication for that as well. So in total I take 3 meds. Since the surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago, my blood pressure has been right at normal...around 120/80. Then last week even though I was taking the medication for my rapid pulse, it was still going too high and racing (over 120 beats per minute). My doctor had switched me before surgery from a capsule to a tablet so it could be broken up and taken now that I'm banded. I still had some of the capsules from before left so I called Dr. Spivak's office and they said since I'm not restricted yet I can still swallow the capsule. I went back to the capsule to regulate my pulse. It worked like a charm. Then suddenly yesterday I started feeling really dizzy and nauseous...so much so that I had to go home from work. I took my blood pressure and it was only 106/69 even though I'd only taken half of my meds for the day. Today it's still really low for no apparent reason after only taking half of my meds and I'm still nauseous. If the nausea would go away I'd feel a LOT better. I know the first thing everyone will say is call the doctor. Which I will be doing, but can't possibly get any time off work to go in for an appointment because we're too short staffed the rest of the week. In fact, I'm the only one in the office for most of today. So anyway my questions is: Has anyone else gone through this? What could be causing this? I know I haven't been getting a lot of Protein. I'm on mushies and meat isn't allowed except fish which I don't like. I drink several bottles of Water a day. I'm eating probably between 800-1000 calories a day (I don't count). An average day's food for me is: Breakfast: 1/2 packet of instant oatmeal or cream of wheat made with 2% milk Lunch: 1/2 of a medium baked potato mushed up with 2 Tbsp of cheddar and 1 Tbsp of sour cream Supper: 1/2 cup of refried Beans with 1 Tbsp of cheese or something similar If I have a snack it's a small low fat pudding or a Danactive yogurt drink (4 oz) I've gained and lost weight over the years and nothing as small as a 14 lb weight loss (that's what I've lost so far) has even affected my blood pressure in the slightest. So I'm puzzled by these symtoms.

Thanks mdicurn. I'm trying to drink more water today to see if it helps. One of my blood pressure meds is a diuretic so it makes sense that I would need more liquids. I didn't even think about that. Hopefully drinking more will help.

Hi Texasrose! It's going much better now. The gas pains aren't as bad. I had been using Gas-X strips and they did absolutely nothing for the pain. Last night I got some extra strength chewable tablets and they have worked wonders. I'm still feeling a bit bloated and uncomfortable but getting better each day. My only real problem right now is with wearing a bra...the band hits right where my port is and ooohhh it hurts. I'm hoping it's not as tender when I return to work Monday.

Just remembered another one... When I was about 19/20 I was working in a fast food place that sold burgers as well as around 20 flavors of ice cream. A co-worker of mine was also overweight and we both happened to be working the front counter that day. A man walked in and he stood back a little ways from the counter and said LOUDLY in front of everyone "Well I can tell the food must be good here from the looks of the employees." Then he said to me "You must have test tasted all of the ice creams...which one is the best flavor?" Talk about total humiliation. Of course me and the other girl both just laughed along with him and acted like it was all cute and funny. But I was dying of embarrassment.

I have so many of these stories, I don't even know where to start. haha. When I was about 20, my grandma decided she wanted to buy clothes for me and my cousin for Christmas AND that meant she had to measure us. I was dreading it. My cousin was probably about a size 3 at the time. I was about a size 18/20. After she finished measuring me, she said "Well for someone who is as big as a cow, you have good measurements since there is 10 inches between your waist and hips." Right in front of my skinny cousin. Niiiiicccceeee. Then again my grandma isn't known for her tact, therefore she knows nothing of me being banded. A couple of years ago I had to have an ingrown toenail removed and so went to see the podiatrist. He asked me if I'd ever been any smaller than I was (size 24 at the time) and I said yes I'd been much smaller at one time. He said "Wow you must have really been a knockout. Such a shame. You have a pretty face. You should try to get small again." WTF?? He was supposed to be looking at my TOE!! What the heck did how I look have anything to do with it? Geez. I had a (now ex) best friend who was obsessed with talking about people's weight and how HUGE they were and I'd see them and they were smaller than me. Gee thanks. I found out from another friend that she'd said behind my back that I'd just given up and let myself go and didn't care what I looked like any more. That really hurt. I was a vegetarian for several years and when I was in high school I once had a guy ask me how I could be a vegetarian and still be so fat. I was only 165 lbs at the time anyway but I pointed out to him that vegetarians do eat more than just bean sprouts and carrots.

Yes it definitely was you then! I was the one looking horrible, wearing glasses and no makeup. I normally look a bit better..I hope. haha. I was with my friend who everybody mistakes for my sister. We've been friends forever. She said she's using me as her guinea pig to see what it's like before she decides whether or not to get banded. I was so nervous that morning, I could barely even think straight so didn't think to ask you if you posted on this board either. I'm glad things are going well for you after your surgery..except for the pesky gas pains...ugh! I'll be glad when mine are gone too.

Hi Texrose575. I was banded by Dr. Spivak Friday too! There was another lady having her surgery done right after me...might have been you. My surgery went well. The incisions themselves don't hurt much but I've been having a hard time with gas pains. In the mornings it's not bad but by night it starts really hurting right around my stomach area up under my ribcage on my left side. I'm hoping this will pass soon. I've been having only liquids and this afternoon I was hungry so had some really really soft scrambled eggs (whisked an egg with a lot of milk and scrambled it just past runny). I think one bit slipped down my throat without being chewed well so now I'm terrified that it's stuck and that's what's causing my pain tonight and not gas. I'm hoping not. Since this is all so new I have no idea what it's supposed to feel like or if a small piece of soft scrambled egg could get stuck. So now I'm back to only liquids and don't know when I'll have the guts to try anything mushy again.

I was just banded yesterday and the pain I am having is unbearable. I'm assuming it's trapped gas. It feels like something is pushing up into my diaphram on my left side. It hurts every time I breathe in. The incisions ache a bit but are fine, but this pain is killing me. I've tried everything I can think of. It feels like when you eat way too much food and you're miserable and can't even burp. I've only burped once or twice so far. I'm only on liquids so I know there's no food trapped in my stomach. I wish something would help.:cry

You and me both!! I have to be at the hospital in an hour and a half to be banded. EEK!!! I want it to hurry and be over with because I'm scared stiff. But I am really excited too.

I'm having mine the same day. :peep: In Houston though.

I'm scheduled to be banded this Friday, September 28, 2007. (Dr. Spivak, Houston) I'm excited, nervous and scared all at once. Right now I'm on a low carb diet to help shrink my liver before surgery and I'm hating every minute of it. I'm not a big meat eater at all so this is pure torture. Especially because knowing I'll be having surgery within days and won't be able to eat all the things I love, I'm wanting to go on a food tour and have a bit of everything. hehe I'm trying to get prepared for surgery by thinking ahead of everything I'll need. I already went out and bought liquid tylenol and chewable Vitamins along with all of the food I'll need for the first few days on my liquid diet. (broth, Jello, juice, etc.) If anybody has any advice on anything else I haven't thought of, I'd really appreciate any and all suggestions. :car:

Wow, ranchgirl that's really good! I'm hope my results are that good 5 weeks into it.

I'm really hoping I don't have to stay overnight. My start weight is 262. I know complications could occur and I might have to stay overnight but I'm hoping that doesn't happen.

Thanks jimmie a. :car: So when the hospital called you the day before surgery, that's when you found out what time to be there and everything? I hate not knowing because I have a friend giving me a ride to the hospital and I'm not able to tell her what time to plan on leaving or anything.

Wow..thanks guys! Big As Life - You were banded on my son's birthday! He turned 20 on April 6th. God I feel old. hehe. Your results so far are fantastic. I'm impressed. Betsyjane - Thank you so much for the advice on everything. You brought up things I hadn't even thought about. I'm definitely going to take the "before" photos, as painful as that will be. Natural instinct for me is to run from a camera. Your results are fantastic too...congratulations! I have a question for any of Dr. Spivak's patients - How much contact did you have with the office and hospital leading up to your surgery? I'm being banded this Friday but have had very little contact with Dr. Spivak's office and none whatsoever from the hospital yet. I called the office to ask (Spivak's office staff are soooo nice) and they said I won't normally hear from the hospital until the day before. :car: I was a bit shocked by this. So right now I have no idea what time the surgery will be or anything. I'm one of those people who likes to prepare for everything so this has thrown me for a loop. I haven't even had any confirmation letter from Dr. Spivak's office or anything. Maybe I'm worrying too much?

I'm having mine done on September 28th so you can add me to the list. :car: