MerryHearted

It's in the FAQ section... here it is: Lap Band Talk Forum - The largest forum for Lap Band Surgery Discussion and Lap Band Surgery Support - FAQ: Lap-band Abbreviations

Same here -- about once every 3 days when I'm eating 1000-1200 cals a day. I'd rather it were more often, but right now I'm not sure where I'd add more fiber in without doing something like Metamucil. (yuck)

Way to go Karri! I'm sorry to say I skipped my workout today (Sunday, that is) due to Mother's Day activities, although I could have gotten one in this morning. Tomorrow is support group night, so I'll get some walking in in the morning and pick up with the Couch to 5k workout on Tues. Have a great week everyone!

We just bought some Flintstone chewables for my son and they taste awful. I take the Emergen-C Multivitamin, which is liquid. (and yummy) It's not as comprehensive as some of the other Multivitamins, but it's fine for what I need, since I eat a pretty balanced diet overall. When I find myself consistently falling short on Calcium, I have Viactiv chews. For Iron, I try to get in a bowl or two of Total Cereal over the course of a week. So far my iron levels are fine. (just had them tested recently) The maker of my kids' gummy Vitamins (which are yummy) and my favorite probiotic (PB8) just introduced a new line of adult gummy vitamins: NNI Adult Gummy Vitamins I'm going to try some out whenever I happen to run into them locally.

It sounds like you are also too tight or else need more practice chewing food til it's completely gone - something that might take time to master. Mushies do slide right through the band. It's solids that will stay in your pouch and help you stay full. Maybe try dropping 1cc or 1/2 cc and see if it helps? Another suggestion is to call your surgeon's office & let them know that even mushies hurt, what do they suggest.

Get an unfill if you can't eat solid food. You can always get another fill once you lose more weight. Staying too tight leads to problems.

Wow, Sue -- good luck on your pouch test. I'm sure it'll feel great to break out of the sugar cravings and get back to eating protein & produce afterwards. You are doing so great -- over 100 lbs lost in less than a year, that's terrific!

Welcome Melissa! Yes, it almost certainly will be different with the band. So many people have succeeded with the band where traditional diets have failed. Hope to see you around on the boards!

I'd probably call one last time, explaining that I just needed to know whether to go ahead with this current infusion or hold off. My guess is that you are going to need to go ahead with your infusion and plan to be banded 6 weeks out by the time she finishes & submits your paperwork, gets approval, and gets you scheduled for an actual surgery date. How frustrating! Hope you hear good news on Monday if you call.

If you can't even eat soft foods without vomiting, you might be slipped. Better go in and have it checked out. It also sounds like you need to make some appts with a counselor/psychiatrist to determine why you are sabotaging yourself this way. If you get completely unfilled or have the band removed, you are going to gain your weight back. Is that what you want? You may even continue to gain past the point where you used to be. I think it's normal to go through ups and downs -- being really gung ho abut losing, and then losing motivation and not caring. Write down a list of reasons why you want to be slim and healthy. Write down a list of the cons of being grossly overweight (50 lbs more than you are now and higher). Which do you want for yourself?

I've been supplementing with a bowl of Total Cereal a couple times a week as it has 100% Iron. I also have slowFE tablets on hand. But I asked my doc a couple weeks ago when I went in for my physical if he'd check my iron levels because I thought they were low. They were normal. So I haven't been taking the slowFE.

Up until yesterday, I was getting email when people posted on a thread I was subscribed to. Last night and today that's not working. Anyone else having issues? I've verified the setting is still on in Edit Options and I've verified that the notifications are not going into my junk mail folder. I'm receiving mail from other sources just fine, so my email is not down.

Yep, that worked (setting it to something else, saving, then setting it back) -- thanks Salsa!

I'm so glad!! :thumbup: :biggrin:

My doc says no to Protein shakes (once healed up from surgery) but does recommend the protein first, then produce, then complex carbs if you have room approach. I'm to aim for 1000-1200 cals a day. Note that this is NOT the same as low carb / high protein. Eating protein & produce for me comes out to about 50% carbs, 20% protein, 30% fat or thereabouts. (per TheDailyPlate, where I log my food). It varies from day to day, but my carb intake is always higher than my protein intake. Produce -- veggies & fruit -- has plenty of carbohydrates. Some of the protein foods do too, like Beans & milk. (although some put beans in the carb category to begin with, I suppose) Just wanted to clear up that eating protein + produce is not even remotely close to a high protein / low carb diet like Atkins, unless you're skipping fruit and a lot of the veggies. :thumbup:

How do you get back started again after skipping a day? It's just like that -- instead of doing hard workouts 5 days in a row, alternate hard workouts with easy ones so your body has time to recover. There's a difference between your body being at it's limit (you are fatigued, legs feel heavy, you try to do your full workout but can't) and those days where you just don't feel like going to work out for whatever reason. LV sounds like she needs to let her body recover between workouts. The latter is a head issue that we just need to push through, like you said, and do it anyway.

Aw, sorry to hear about the blister. That's no fun. Definitely get one of those blister bandaids; they are amazing. Today I'll do my last "first week" workout for Couch to 5k. I can't wait -- I love running. You know what I love best about the first few weeks of starting up running again? How fast we progress from panting and wheezing and legs-of-lead to being able to run comfortably. It's soo cool. :smile: 10 miles. WTG Salsa!! Yes, I hope to have my progression be 5k, then 10k, then half-marathon. But for now I'll just focus on being able to run 60 secs / walk 90. That's hard enough! :smile:

Well, you're in a new place now -- there are a ton of people on this board who have been successful with the band. I go to my support group meetings and there are a lot of people there who are successful with the band -- i.e. have met their goal weight. I consider the band successful for me even though I'm not at goal, although I'll eventually get there. Without it I'd be at least 350 lbs by now. I think the advice you got was good -- you need to track everything you eat, including any drinks with calories. If you eat the appropriate bandster portion (2-3 oz of meat and 1/2 c of produce) are you physically hungry in less than 3-4 hrs? If so, you probably need a fill. You can do this! And yes, there are head issues that the band doesn't fix -- emotional eating, head hunger... counseling can help with that, or something like "The Beck Diet Solution" book which is basically cognitive therapy without the therapist. :smile: Don't give up -- the band does work, and it can work for you too. :smile:

I love my band and have no regrets. I feel a lot better now, even with as much weight left to lose as I do. The lifestyle change wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Yes, I've had to work on my issues with emotional eating and head hunger, which stalled me for awhile. But otherwise, I'm happy with the amount I eat. And sometimes amazed at how much I used to eat without feeling full. I think you'll feel great about taking control of your weight now. One of the best things about the band is HOPE -- knowing that hundreds, if not thousands, of people have had success losing their weight this way when traditional dieting has failed them.

Definitely go have it checked out. Your regular doc can probably do a chest x-ray and ekg to make sure there is no lung clotting or heart issues going on. And then you'll worry less about it being something really serious. It doesn't sound band-related.

It's normal to have some gas pain after the surgery, but it doesn't last long. After that, if you are gassy it's likely because of eating/drinking habits (swallowing a lot of air) or because of what you're eating/drinking. I've found that not just dairy but anything sugary sets me off with bad gas. For the latter, I highly recommend Probiotics. That's the only think that's worked for me. Walking helps too, but doesn't solve the problem for when I'm in my office trying to work! Gas-X doesn't help me. I've had the best results with PB8, but it's a standard-sized gel capsule, so too big for people who are tight. I'm still testing out the Pearls but they don't seem to be working as well as PB8 does.

All mine have been spaced at least a month apart, by my own choosing as each worked for a little while. Curious what the limits are that your insurance has set. Once every 30 days? Hopefully not less than that!

Yep, it's probably paperwork. They give you these psychological profile tests that take awhile to complete. Nothing to worry about. The tests often have the same questions repeated but with a slightly different wording, which is one of the things that makes them so long.

This is extremely common as the surgery date approaches -- almost every day someone posts something similar. So don't worry, it's natural to second guess or get cold feet. This is a big life change. Don't let the fear stop you from going through with it. Even if you go through a short phase after surgery of "what the heck have I done to myself" (also normal!) you'll soon be on your feet with your weight dropping and feeling great. If you don't already have one, make your comprehensive list of reasons why you want to lose weight and read it through every day to remind yourself.

2) Yes. Alcohol is not particularly conducive to weight loss, so not wise on a regular basis, but once in awhile is fine. I used to love frozen drinks like dacquiris but drinking something that cold constricts my band, so these days when I have a drink it's usually a glass of wine. 3) Recovery is pretty quick. I was back to work (desk job) in a week. Surgeons vary on their post-op eating requirements. Mine was one week of liquids, two weeks of mushy food like yogurt & mashed potatoes, and then I started back in on solids. I don't remember how long til I was exercising - maybe 2 or 3 weeks? 4) Oh yes! Definitely worth it. I feel tremendously better at this weight than I did prior to banding, and know that I will eventually hit my goal. That's priceless. I'm more than 2.5 yrs out with no regrets. Good luck with your decision!