Squishee

Ok, I am driving myself half insane about this and I really could do with some advice. Having not given a hoot about cals and food content half my life (hence why I'm in this pickle) I now find myself obsessed and completely confused. Yes we all know that home cooking from fresh ingredients is far better for you as no chemicals etc etc but how the eck do you know what sort of cal content the portion you decide to dish up would be?!?! If I go for a low fat, ready meal at least I know exactly from a calorie sense what I'm putting in my body. How the hell am I supposed to do that with home cooking? Help! :tongue2:

Have had a very bad day today and I feel awful. Im sitting here, feeling so tight, a bit sick and definately so annoyed with self. I need to kick start my diet back, I'd been doing so well aswell. What to do after a bad day, help guys!

Hey Shelli, I can't offer much but I'll try. First and foremost well done on your amazing wls so far!!! By the sounds of your problem it could be a few things. Did you discuss the surgery and the implications beforehand, was he 100% on board with you or dod he have any concerns. Did you resolve these? How supportive has he been in other ways during your journey so far, has he felt as though he's being involved? One of the things that can happen during our journey is that we get so wrapped up in ourselves we forget that there is someone that is just as involved with this as we are. He could feel as though he has a brand new wife (and so he should!) so might be an idea to take things back to basics and date again, I know this sounds stupid but bring the old romance back He could feel left out and maybe it's been all about you for a while and he's been going through other stuff he felt he couldn't talk to you about. Try to get to know each other again. These are just suggestions, please take them as they are intended, I'm not accusing but trying to get you to look at things from another perspective. I hope you find it useful Goodluck, keep us posted! xx

Wow, that was really brave! Im conciously not dating at the moment, I'm only 2 months post op and I want to really concentrate on this at the moment but it is something I've thought about. When is the right time to tell. Does it really matter, can you leave it too late to say? I've spoken to a friend of mine about this who'se had her boobs done and see when she brought it up with her fiancee. She said she didnt feel comfortable to talk about it till she knew he was going to be serious and that was fine as everyone has a few things that they don't go screaming from the rooftops about anyway and I figure she's right. It's just that I'm so sensitive about this band right now I didn't even see it like that. The way I'm looking at it I'm not going to make it a big deal, if a situation arises I'll be honest but if not I don't think I'll tell until I know its serious. As for dinner dates I'd stick to soups and pretend I'd had a late lunch!

I've been pretty open and honest with everyone in my life so most people know but that doesn't stop things being wierd. In restaurants I have the waitresses that I can see sniggering to themselves at how much food the fat girl has left behind, what is she trying to prove. Or and sometimes, even worse, I get asked if I didn't like it. But my friends seem to fuss and fret the most "what to feed me" I'm like chill and usually give them a few options of things I can eat but I do feel like my every bite is being watched and cant figure out if they think I'm eating much more than they expected or less ....... maybe wasn't such a blessing to tell everyone.

I'm pretty overweight and before my band my TOM was getting increasingly erratic and v v light. As with anorexia I've read that if you're grossly overwieght your periods can stop. I've now had 2 post surgery the first was AWFUL!! PMS like I've never had before and the flow ..... OMG trust me you don't want to know, I think it was my body telling me that it's trying to get back to "normal" the second one (thankfully) was much better but I gained 6lbs of fluid!!! I think we all are getting used to this crazy band ride and our bodies are trying to catch up with everything that's happening to us!

There's tons, I was talking about this with a good friend of mine I came up with 10! Cross my legs Be able to buy knee high boots Wear a swimsuit or heaven help me bikini comfortably Be able to sit in any chair and not have to mentally judge whether or not I'll fit Go skydiving Not to be put in the front passenger seat of every car / taxi share Able to fly without being uncomfortable and travel longhaul for first time Share clothes with friends Shop anywhere I please Not to hide behind people or have friends sit on my lap for photos to hide me!

I tend to agree, but a few years ago I was working in a bar and one night a particularly drunk customer stumbled upto me and said "Actually, you have a very pretty face." now that was a tricky one!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to check where I am on par with other people's quantity of food. One of the biggest reasons why I gained so much weight in the first place is that I'd have too big portions. I'm 2 months post op (first fill booked for the 28th Jan) and have seen great results so far but I just want to err on the side of caution. On a typical day I eat: Breakfast: 2 weetabix with semi skimmed milk and a little honey to taste OR 1 slice wholewheat toast and one scrambled egg Lunch: 1 400ml Soup - assorted OR 2 ryvita with extra light cream cheese and tomato Snack: Tea and 2 diet biscuits (30 cals each) Dinner: 400grams of chicken tomato and vegtable stew OR cottage pie and sometimes as a treat I have a 50 cal lemon ice lolly in the evenings See just looking at that seems like still A LOT of food, what do you guys think? Thanks!

Hiya, I have three variations on breakfast at the mo Weetabix with skimmed milk and a little honey One scrambled egg with skim milk on a wholewheat slice of toast or 3 tblsp of natural fat free yoghurt with fresh blueberries drizzle of honey and dry toasted almond flakes to top You just need to get creative! Good luck

Gaahh....so much to learn, thank you guys. Admittedly I am having a lot of runny foods cos I'm afraid of anything getting stuck. I'm avagaging about 900-1000 cals a day if my calculations are correct. First fill next week though I suppose it'll all change! Thanks again.

Lol, yes I am in the UK! I try to measure my food by weight, 400mls is just a bit bigger than a can of coke and 400 grams is a similar quantity but in solid form. I do take one multi vitamin and one fish oil capsule a day which I did omit, sorry! I throught that my protein would be fine from the milk, cheese and meat or egg that I try to eat every day ..... maybe not, eepp!!

Hi, I'm sorry you are getting off to a bad start on your journey. I dont think comparing yourself to anyone else on here is going to help you as we are all on so very different paths. I have a massive BMI so even though I was banded in November I've seen some good results, from your pics you don't look like you have even half the amount I have to lose so of course things will be more gradual for you. The nearer you are to your goal weight to harder it is. I'd try not to worry about your pouch, I know it is harder said then done, I worry about mine too but I think your body will tell you when it's overfilled. I've heard of people PB'ing which I haven't yet so I must be doing something right! Sounds like your diet is quite similar to what mine was. I was on broth for 2 weeks, thicker liquids for 2 weeks, mushies for 2 weeks and then (finally!!) back weaning onto solids after 6 weeks! If you are prepetually hungry, I know this is probably old hat but do something, anything. Get out of the house, go for a walk, I do an excercise DVD I got for xmas. I call friends, I've even gone to sleep early as I'm hungry and don't trust myself! Remember your band is a tool and not a magic cure, I've also taped motivational pictures to my fridge and my cupboards of old pictures to deter me, whatever works! Good luck and don't let it drive you crazy. One final motto, my mum said this to me. "You need to eat to live, not live to eat." xx

Ok, I need to admit I'm a newbie, I was banded 13th Nov and have now lost 38lbs (hurrah!) with still no fill. I was banded privately and have to pay each and everytime I need to go for a fill and have not been in communication with my Dr since my op as yet. I have read on here that sometimes fills can be far too much and you've had to de-fill, for me that would still count as a fill and I have to pay £60 or $120 for each one. I should also mention that I'm a trained nurse. Now the question! Has anyone ever administered their own de-fills if they are too tight. I know that the filling should be done under the guidance of your Dr but does anyone have any insight or info on DIY defills? Finances are a tad tight esp at this time of year, I hope you all understand, I'm just concerned and am pre-empting. Thank you and Merry X-mas to all! xx

Hi, I was really worried about this happening to me as when I was doing my research I read a post saying "You will lose a lot of friends due to this procedure" I think it depends on how well you know - or think you know your friends. I'm only 3.5 weeks post op and have already lost 2 stone (I have A LOT to lose) and am feeling great. I've told almost all my friends about the procedure, some were great about it and some very very worried. I had - thankfully - no negative responces. All my friends that were concerned needed assurance on was that this wasn't something I'd decided to do on a whim. I assured them that I'd been thinking about this for 1.5 years and had seriously considered it for the past year and this was something that I needed to do for myself to make sure that I was going to be around in the next 20 years. Some were still skeptical and said that my health wasn't in danger and why was I putting myself though this? Well to them I explained that it was also preventative and to get this when not if I did start to have obesity related health complications would be even more risky. I also compared it to cosmetic procedures. I don't know about anyone else but in my circle of friends I've got people that have had boob jobs, nose jobs and even a friend who has altered their ears. In this day and age if you are doing something for the right reasons who has the right to stand in your way. I hope you find that your family and friends are not against the procedure but are concerned for you and if that's not the case these are not the people to surround yourself with. I have realised I've not talked about my family on this yet, they were great, my parents even helped pay 1/2 for my operation and my mum was with me every step of the day. I guess I'm lucky but only time will tell on how it will all pan out. Good luck.

Hey there, I'm 1.5 weeks post op and am a bit confused. The more I read the more I think everyone else has been given different diet directions than me. My doctor was really specific but I will add that I wasn't told to do a pre op diet. My rules are, Clear liquids for 2 weeks, thicker liquids for 2 weeks, mushies for 2 weeks and then onto solids at week 6. This from what I've read is a lot later than most of you. I'm very confused, should I stick to what my doctor has said or accelarate? Any suggestions would be great. Thanks! :help:

Hey all, it's been just over a week since I was banded and boy am I glad I found this site! I'm doing ok, my shoulder kills now and again especially at night so I'm finding sleeping a bit tough. But the brain hunger is killing me, wherever I seem to look people are eating. On the train, walking down the street, on the TV, I keep on having dreams that I've cheated and eaten something and wake up wrecked with guilt. At the moment I'm living off about 150 calories a day and I'm even finding that tough to keep down and with talk of PB and sliming I've read (I don't even want to know!!) I know this sounds crazy but I just want to chew something, ANYTHING, but physically I'm not hungry. God I sound like a complete nutter, sorry, I had to get that off my chest. Gaahhh.....