shortgal

Wow, 50 pounds is amazing. You guys really have your head into this. Way to go! I'm just barely 1/2 of the 50 pound mark. I'm slow.... but steady! I won't win the race, but I'll finish.

Over the years when I didn't count calories, I always ate too much. Counting keeps me accountable. If I could "read" my bodies signals of being full etc. then I guess I wouldn't have gotten fat. Once I get restriction, if I am able to lose weight without counting, then i won't count, but the minute that scale goes up or a pair of pants gets tight, I will be back to counting. If my band helps to send the right signals to my head to stop eating after a normal portion, then I won't count. No one plan works for everyone, just like one size doesn't fit all!

Oh yes, the love/hate relationship with fills. The fear of being too tight! I dread it, too. But read the posts and you'll see many people have been too tight and they just get some taken out. I've had food stuck a few times and sure it hurts and I hate it. I use my fear of it, to control my eating. My fear of getting stuck makes me proceed very slowly and carefully after each fill, until I see what works. This fear also keeps my food intake reasonable in quantity. So get a fill, even if you just ask the DR. for a small amount of fill,more frequently, so you don't fear it so much. And explain your fear to the Dr. They're there to help you. Be sure you're following the band rules, no drinking one hour after a meal, fluids after the hour, Protein first, veggies next etc. and if you're getting hungry too soon after a meal, then you need the fill. When you're biggest fear is gaining the weight back, then you'll be able to overlook the lesser fear of being too tight! Use your tool!

Tina, What are you eating? I know it's only a 1000 calories. Since I'm on full liquids for two days, I had butternut squash Soup for dinner, tonight. Not much Protein in it, but I feel good about getting veggies in and it's got a pureed texture. I'm getting my protein from the Isopure clear and I had an Atkins shake for lunch. I forget who makes it, it's in a box and I just heat it up in micro, it's got some carrots and potatoes in it, to makes it a little thicker. If you like it, that's a good choice for when you're on full liquids after surgery. When you're dinking so many cold Proteins shakes, something warm can be a nice change, especially in the winter.

CT MAN, Don't want you to leave the CT family of banders for good for the March 08 crowd!!! We need both groups for our support. Oh yes, post the photos! I wish I had taken before photos. Don't forget, front view, side view and rear view. Some times the biggest change from one photo to the next is not visible in just one frontal photo. Lots of people wear the same clothes, like shorts and tee shirts. Have you checked out the before and after photos on the forum? Isn't it amazing to see the difference? Did you know that at Dr. Ehrlich's office, Kevin, Becky and at least one other girl whose name I dont know yet, have all been banded? I never saw them before banding, but it would be hard to guess they had the surgery from looking at them. I know Kevin had lost over 85 pounds in a relatively short time. I think it's wonderful for the patients and Becky has given me some good advice on a few things....she's been there!

Lacey, Look under support groups, then monthly support groups, then Jan 2008.

Lacey, You're on the board for people that were banded in November. You're welcome to stay of course and join in our journey, but you might want to join the Jan 08 group as well. Your weight loss etc might be more in line with the group that were banded the same time as you. Sounds like you're doing well!

Jill, OMG! I was no way close to that. Not only did a lean cuisine not fill me, I wanted a yogurt with it and then I was hungry an hour later! You sound like you're there! If a lean cuisine keep me full for two hours, I would have delayed my fill. I don;t want to be so restricted that I can't get things down, but I would love to feel satisfied for a couple hours after a lean cuisine!

there are at least two kinds of Isopure ( and maybe more), but one is a CLEAR pre-mixed drink in a 20 oz bottle that has 40 grams of Protein. There is also a powder form of Isopure. I was allowed the CLEAR right after surgery, but not the powder one. The powder one was not allowed for me until week 3. Lots of people on the forum were allowed the same Isopure CLEAR right after surgery. In the first week, it can be tough to get in enough protein for proper healing unless you drink something like this. The first few days, it would take me all day, to drink one bottle! broth will have some protein as well.

Two to three hours of being satisifed between meals is fabulous. that sounds like a sweet spot to me. You should lose quickly with that restriction, of course then you'll need another fill! That's not a bad price for fills, I've seen people on the forum looking for fill Dr.s and have found some to be asking $500! Can you have a big tag sale with stuff you want to get rid of? Or sell things you no longer need on e-bay to raise a few bucks? You can always use the money you save from eating less!!!!

TxArcher: How long did the feeling of being satisfied last after your turkey, apple sauce and cheese? I'm eating reasonable amounts, but I would love to have the feeling of being satisifed longer between meals. Don't feel too bad about paying for fills, if you have to, it'll be worth it and I had to pay for the whole surgery. How much are the fills where you live?

Skinny Jill, The gurgling is a good sign, but it's possible it won't last. :tongue: I had an atkins Protein shake when I got home and it went down fine. UGH! I have heard some on the forum say, their restriction can kick in later, so we'll see. I don't think this one did it for me. They have been giving me 1 cc at each fill after the first fill, which was 2cc's. I don't know why but I think I'm going to have to be at 6 cc at least before I get restriction, but I'll know in a few day after the liquids. But the office is willing to give the fills every two weeks, so at least I don't have to wait too long between fills and I am losing weight, slowly, but losing.

Good for you! You'll be a bander before you know it. I wish our ins had paid for mine, but I don't regret paying to get it done. I had another fill today. My fourth! On full liquids for two days and then soft for two days and then I'll try it out and see if this fill did anything. I really think it's going to take another fill before i get where I need to for it to last a while. I am still tracking my calories and Protein and have found this to be very helpful during this time of little restriction and although the weight loss is slow, the scale continues to go down. Once you have the surgery, I hope you'll join the group on the forum for the month of your surgery. (I know you're scheduled for March). I go on the November 2007 forum all the time and we share info about our fills, appts, hunger, food etc. It's great because while our weight loss varies, we are all basically at the same point post-op and we encourage each other, if we're going through a tough time. Right now, our group is doing a Jan. to Valentines day Challenge. We each set a weight loss goal for the six weeks and each week we post our progress. The threads for those ahead of you can be helpful too, so you know what might be coming you're way. Congratulations on your approval. Let us know when you start the pre-op diet.

Getting a band is a process, it's not just the surgery and then you're done. The process is surgery, heal, fill, wait, fill, wait, fill, wait etc. Each step in the process is there for a reason. Each Dr. has a different time period between each fill and each Dr. has a different schedule for how many cc's at each fill. So during the time after healing and first fill while waiting for your band to give you some restriction, old fashioned dieting is required IF you do not want to gain or if you want to continue to lose. Adding exercise will help also. Most of us are experts at dieting. Ask your Dr. or nutritionist how many calories and how many grams of Protein they want you to have during the post op stages and track your calories and protein daily to be sure you are meeting the goals they want.( This info is usually given to you pre-op). If you stay within the guidelines provided you'll continue to lose. Is it easy? Not without some restriction from your band. But that time will come. If your Dr. requires a long waiting period between fills, then talk to him/her about this. You shouldn't ask (or want) to be over restricted, so be sure you're expectations are realistic. Explain how often a meal keeps you satisifed after eating. Is it one hour or two hours? Describe what and how much your are eating at each meal. Bring your papers where you track your calories and protein. If you're hungry between meals, drink a bottle of Water first (be sure you have waited the hour after your meal, so you don;t wash the food out of your pouch) then decide if you are still really hungry. If yes, eat a small low calorie healthy snack. These are all ways to help your band, help you. You need to be involved in the process, not an innocent standbyer, waiting for the band and your Dr. to make it work for you. Please read all the info on the forum about how "the lap band works" and "how fills work". There are some excellent threads, that helped me to understand the process better.

We must be the most stubborn creatures on earth sometimes! We keep thinking that this time something will be different. Head hunger drives us to continue to try things that get stuck everytime. At least we need to give ourselves credit for perseverence (sp?)!

Good Luck Skinny Jill! I just got back from my fill appt and I now have 5cc's in 10cc band. Two days of full liquids now for me and two days of soft food, so we''ll wait and see. I already made my next appt for two weeks, if I don't need it I can cancel, but I doubt I'll have to. I have a love/hate relationship with fills and restriction. I want to feel full but don't want to be so tight that food comes back up. I guess I want it perfect! I would like to eat a normal portion, be full for several hours, eat normal again etc. It's the feeling full in between the meals that's missing right now. Every fill I've been hopeful that it will give me some restriction for a little while and then nothing. I know eventually it will happen! Let us know how you make out today!

You go, Pizzaman and I'll be following right behind you!

That is what I want! To eat a reasonable meal, but feel full for hours. The full feeling is the part I am missing. I don't want to be so tight that I can't eat at all. Of course, I'll lose weight that way. It's the feeling of being satisfied that I am looking for. Next fill tomorrow!

Sades: I wish you hadn't told me that licorice went down ok!!! I'm afraid I'll get brave and try it. I'm controlling the food but not exercising, you're having problems with the food but doing well with exercise, if we could become one person, we'd be to goal by now. I hoping I'm down one pound for Thurs Challenge weigh in. With my fill tomorrow, I'll be on full liquids, so that should help. Like you, I'm getting frustrated that the weight loss could be better, if I just had some restriction. I'll be sure to post on how my fill goes.

Well other than the popcorn, which went down fine, the one other thing I have feared and still haven't tried is licorice... Twizzlers to be exact. They were a favorite treat, but I just picture them like lead sitting in my pouch and I know there is no value in them. At least the apple, salad and popcorn I could justify. The popcorn less so, but it has fiber! Oh, and I forgot pizza, still haven't gone to that extreme, YET! 6.5 cc could take me several more fills. I am going to have to talk to the Dr's office about this wasted time!

It's still such a battle, isn't it? I would like some restriction, so I can just relax a bit about feeling hungry and trying not to think about food. A feeling of fullness for several hours after a meal would be really nice about now! My fear of being stuck and eating certain foods has carried me since surgery, but my fear is lessening. In the past few days, I've tried apples, salad and popcorn, all things I was nervous about trying before. All went down without a problem! I did manage to stay within my usual calorie count while having these things but how long before I start adding one or two things too many? Fingers crossed for appt tomorrow, but I think I'll only be at around 5 cc's and I believe it's going to take another fill after that to get some restriction! And another two weeks of waiting!

Tann, you dont have to recommend anything, your success speaks for itself!

My surgery was late afternoon and I was so groggy from the anesthesia, that I could barely walk for several hours after getting to my room and I had already been in recovery for a while, too. I didn;t get much sleep later that night, but I was glad I was able to get anti nausea meds before getting some pain meds. By the next morning, I was definitely ready to go home!

A lot depends on how old we are (slower metabolism), how much we exercise ( calories burned) and how tall we are. At 5'0" my ideal weight would be about 120 pounds, which means I would either have to eat less than someone whose ideal weight is 150 or I would have to exercise more than that person (assuming we're about the same age). So some of it just depends on how hard we want to work at getting and keeping it off. At 6 feet tall, you're at an advantage over a man that's 5'8", as your ideal weight is higher and therefore you can consume additional calories to maintain your ideal weight. I doubt I will ever get or maintain my ideal weight of 120 pounds and yet people like me would be included in the statistics. The majority of banders seems to be women and women have a harder time acheiving and maintaining their ideal weight, so you might have closer to ideal results.

Pizzaman, you're making me laugh and you're making me want pizza! I am just over two months post op and have yet to have (but of course crave) pizza! If I don't get restriction soon, I'm afraid I'll cave in.