needtorecover

Lol I think part of my problem, too, is that I attract crazy. I'm a mellow person and a good listener and crazy people pick up on it, hone in on me, and start talking my ear off. I was in line at a Disney hotel when this squirrely chick made eye contact with me and she ended up standing right next to me chattering on and on about something when she sneezed loudly and said "Sorry, I'm really sick right now and am about to go to the doctor and get antibiotics." THANKS. Meanwhile my family helpfully moved back a few steps so I'd be her primary victim. She spotted me later at a Disney parade and scooted back so she could stand with me and tell me her life story. I really need to work on my resting bitch face. Excellent advice.

My last thought: "It's weird seeing all the office staff dressed in scrubs." Last memory: the anesthesiologist saying "This might feel a little warm" as he stuck a needle in my IV bag. I said "Wow, that's hot!" and then I was in the recovery room with a nurse urging me to take deep breaths. I wanted to be left alone to sleep but she kept waking me up to make me breathe out the knock-out gas. Then she sat me up and made me eat Jell-O, which I really, really didn't want to eat but I did it anyway. Then it was on my feet and on my way home! Pretty easy. When my dad had a double knee replacement I was in the room hanging out with him until they took him to the OR. They must've given him a drug that caused amnesia beforehand because he was high as a kite. Kept talking about how we'd have to wheel him into the ocean in his wheelchair if he didn't get the surgery. We were cracking up. He came out of it just fine and stronger than ever. Surgeons can perform miracles.

When I was pregnant, I went to a brewery to buy growlers of beer for my family gathering and they always throw in a free 12 ounce beer while you wait. Great perk when you're able to drink but I couldn't so I offered the free beer to a man sitting next to me. He gave me a horrified look and asked "Are you hitting on me?!" 1) I'm pregnant and married. No. 2) The man wasn't even that attractive. At least a decade older than me, balding, poorly dressed... ick. 3) Sorry, jerk, you're definitely not such a hot commodity that you'd be soooooooooo far out of my league I'm actually kind of dreading being appealing to men. I don't want to awkwardly or rudely avoid anyone's advances, and I don't want to be in anyone's spank bank. That being said, the pros far outweigh the cons. I know I will feel so much better when I lose all this extra chub.

Well, if you think about it the liquid is only in your stomach for a short period of time because there's not much to digest. Your goal right now should be to put as little stress on your stomach as possible, hence all liquids. The "full" feeling definitely doesn't last, I remember personally, I just sucked up the hunger because there wasn't much I could do about it. I made myself live with the discomfort and it was okay because I was able to stay home and heal for a week. Right now I'm in the soft food phase... I eat some "regular" foods but I chew them very, very carefully until they're basically paste. I haven't had my first fill yet - not until February 8th I'll either get 1 or 2 cc's, depending on how I feel (if I'm super hungry they'll start me at 2). Right now I feel okay. My appetite is still duller than it was pre-surgery but I find I'm able to eat more and more every day. It is pretty cool, feeling full quickly and staying full for a long time but I think it's because my stomach is still healing. Hardest part right now is resisting the urge to drink during meals. I drink TONS of Water and I usually go through one or two large glasses of water when I eat my meals. It's a challenge making myself wait to satisfy my thirst. These are just my experiences though. Everyone is different! Some folks feel 100% normal by week 2. My stomach is just taking a while to get back to normal! We'll see how I feel in a week!

Oh......OP is a a man ???? Never realized it. Dude just needs to reach down and hitch his sack up and not have hissy fits. Funny thread, truly. I like @@Djmohr suggestion.......go have a drink of whatever you like and enjoy this glorious day. The Panthers are laying the smackdown on the Seahawks and I'm loving it. That's great - I'm going to try to throw this sentence in a conversation later on today

I got physically hungry right away (stomach growling like crazy) but my desire to eat went away as soon as I swallowed anything. I really felt the trauma in my upper stomach and it took a lot of effort to even drink Protein shakes for the first week but it got better. Now I'm almost 100% back to normal (3.5 weeks later). The liquid diet sucks, not gonna lie. Just gotta get through it! Good luck!

Looks like you and I may be a few weeks apart from when we did our surgeries - mine was the 28th but I'm guessing yours was much earlier in the month since you've gotten your first fill. I'm getting my first fill on February 8th. My PA told me that she'd give me 2 cc's if I said I could eat a salad plate full of food and still feel hungry after/between meals. If my hunger level isn't that strong she'll give me 1 cc. She said it would take on average 3-6 fills before I hit the "sweet spot" and to expect some hunger/difficulty initially. The best advice is be patient and stick to the diet as best you can. Practice eating as though you're at your ideal restriction. Small bites, chew well, and pause between bites. Easier said than done, I know. The goal right now is just do your best. Temper your expectations and focus on getting a good workout routine going. Think of your long-term goals and try to stay motivated. I'm still feeling the effects of a swollen stomach so I've been able to eat small and do fine. It helps knowing I can physically get by with much less food than I thought I needed. My pre-band strategy was to shave off a couple hundred calories daily because I didn't want to "starve." Thought I couldn't function on 3 meals on salad plates but it turns out I do just fine. I gotta remember that when I hit bandster hell myself. Hang in there. You don't want to get too restricted too soon. Some folks get to the point where they can't even swallow Water and that sounds horrible. I'd rather go slow and steady myself. It took me years to get this fat, and it'll take time to get the weight off.

Super cute! I love your decorating style too I have that same throw blanket on my sofa at home!

My partner agreed to share all restaurant meals with me (unless we completely disagree on which entrée to get!) Saves money and she's happy because she'll eat less this way, too. Sometimes when one spouse loses weight, the other benefits from their good habits and loses weight too! She's not as heavy as me but I know she wants to lose 20-30 pounds to feel better so I'm hoping my new way of life will inspire her.

I'm only a few weeks out from surgery but so far, no regrets at all. I'm in my 30's and I already have high blood pressure and am close to needing medication to lower cholesterol. My joints hurt, my back hurts, I can't get up and down from the floor easily, I can't bend over in a chair to reach something, I have to hoist my leg up onto my knee to put on shoes, I run out of breath easily... the list goes on. I love food, and I'm a volume eater. I eat fast and I eat a lot. Well, at least I did pre-surgery. I've never been much of a snacker except having dessert at night so I thought lap band surgery was best for me. Even though I haven't had a fill yet I eat very slowly and chew very carefully and I think harder about when my satiety level is reached. To me, vomiting is the absolute worst feeling in the world - if I'm sick I breathe through my mouth, lay on my back, and pray I won't vomit. When I do vomit, I cry. A lot. So I have a very strong incentive to eat carefully - the thought of making myself sick is plenty of motivation to not eat quickly or too much. And beyond the quick and prolonged satiety, I need immediate consequences to stick to any diet. I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant and I stopped eating sugar because of the immediate consequence of hurting my son. Veering off a diet has no consequences... other than making me feel like a failure and causing me to say "screw it" and go on a bender, then back to my old ways. This is just my perspective. Check around your area to find a doctor and make sure he/she uses your insurance. A lot of insurance companies will cover WLS now because it costs less than the comorbidities associated with obesity.

I'm going to go against the grain here and say I'd be offended by that comment. I get annoyed when people lose weight and other folks comment that they're "too skinny." Oftentimes they're not too skinny... people just aren't used to seeing them at a normal BMI. My mom said I was too skinny when I weighed 155 pounds. At 5'9" that's healthy. I had a bit of chub on my tummy and my thighs didn't have the coveted gap. It's just the fact that everyone around me was used to seeing me as a 200-pounder. I gained the weight back and then another hundred so that's awesome. Hooray diet pills. Sorry, went off on a tangent. My point is, he should've had more tact than to comment on your size. It doesn't hurt to join him on a date (may even get a free lunch out of it depending on if he's the chivalrous the-man-shall-pay type) but I'd feel a bit less enthusiastic about it, personally.

Cooking in smaller batches is a skill I'll have to learn. I already always make way too much of anything. My spouse and I are terrible about eating leftovers so I oftentimes package up the food and bring it to work for a colleague who hates to cook but loves home-cooked food. I love cooking, and I'm really good at it - but I get sick of eating the same thing several days in a row. I made an enormous lasagna yesterday. I'm going to pack it up well and freeze half of it for another dinner later on. Freezer food = A+. Food that's been sitting in my fridge for a week because I won't eat it = fail.

I love making a salad with black Beans, avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant and had to severely limit my carbs. The only way I can stick to any particular diet is if there are immediate consequences (the thought of giving my boy a lifetime of diabetes was horrifying enough for me to turn down all sweets and simple carbs). As a result, I *lost* weight while pregnant. And I ate like a quarterback. It was amazing. I've learned my body metabolizes Protein and fat much more efficiently than carbs. Thus the plan is to eliminate simply carbs but eat complex carbs like Beans, oatmeal, veggies, and fruits. Of course as soon as I gave birth I went and bought a box of doughnuts

I have this in my DVR so I can hate-watch it I'm excited to see it later on. Oh, Weight Watchers. That was my first diet. They've been going strong for many decades. Not really surprised Oprah bought it.

I'm afraid of flying but I do it because my love of travel is stronger than my fear That and I know logically the odds are very much in my favor that I'll land safely. But that doesn't stop me from getting scared during turbulence. I usually focus on the flight attendants' expressions. They seem pretty chill and they're serving drinks or talking amongst themselves like everything is totally normal. That makes me feel a lot better. I also bring something to keep my hands busy like cross stitch or knitting and I listen to music while I work on a craft project. If crafting isn't your thing, you can try a puzzle. I used to need Xanax to fly but I've flown enough that my anxiety is diminished enough that I can make it without meds.

I think the shower scenes are more for the benefit of folks who aren't used to seeing morbidly obese bodies, as kind of a shock factor. I agree, they should eliminate those scenes from the program entirely (or at least scale them down) because it seems disrespectful of the women and men who participate on the show. I didn't realize there was a new season, though! I'll have to check it out. I've seen a few episodes in the past. It's an interesting show - may even enjoy it more now that I'm post op

@@2goldengirl - I have the same issue with button-down shirts. My breasts are enormous (E cup) so if I get a button-down that fits and buttons properly over my boobs then the shoulders will be bunchy and the belly will puff out like a tent. Which makes me look like a fridge wearing a shirt. Not cool. I envy women who can wear fitted button-downs that emphasize their small waists and pretty shape. One sweet day

I was always a chubby kid, but there was a brief time in my life when I was slim and fit - between the ages of 17 and 22 when I took Metabolife. Don't know if you all remember it, but I basically took speed to lose weight. It went off the market and I gained all the weight back. Which is all good I suppose since Metabolife turns out to be profoundly unhealthy. In any case, reading this post reminded me of something I miss much more than cute, affordable clothes: the ability to move. Run. Climb. Carry. Play. I deeply miss having a body that could do more than lounge on the couch and lift a fork to mouth. I used to be able to run and jump and participate in sports. Now I'm the woman sitting in a chair drinking a beer watching everyone else play because it hurts too much or I run out of breath too quickly. It's so depressing. I got my membership to the Y and I can't wait to get my butt back into shape.

I'm actually just looking forward to being able to buy more affordable clothes. It's like there's a "fat lady tax" on the nice clothes available in my current size (22-24). If you look online, when you have to jump to the plus size on the scroll button, the price jumps too! It's so unfair. I've complained a LOT about plus size clothing. The stupid euphemisms when you go shopping at a department store and you can't find the clothing you're looking for... is it misses this time? Or women's? Or plus? I end up wandering around searching and then when I find the plus size section it's a tiny, dusty corner of the store with humiliating floral patterned shirts or elastic banded jeans. I hate shopping. I end up ordering everything online at retailers where I know my exact size. I just want to be able to go to a regular department store and shop in the regular sized section and pick out what I want, rather than be forced to shop in a 50 square foot space with 5 shirt varieties and a few pant options. Oh, and I want to be able to wear necklaces again! I miss jewelry. I know I can use extenders but it's a pain and I keep losing mine. I just want to pick up a necklace and not worry about it being too tight on my neck. Last thing: I hope my chub rub goes away. You know, when you're wearing a skirt and your thighs create friction and it becomes uncomfortable. Spanx solve that problem somewhat but I'd just love to wear a skirt without restrictive undergarments! Fun topic It's making me look forward to the future!

Heyo! I had my surgery exactly one week ago and while I'm very happy I did it, this liquid diet business is killing me. I've always been the type who hates eating the same thing for every meal, even if it's my favorite food. That's why I'm so bad about eating leftovers. If I ate lasagna for dinner, I'm not going to want it for lunch 5 consecutive days in a row. It's a shame because I've given so much of my cooking away over the years because I hate waste. Anyway... every day drinking my meals is sooooooooooooo GROSS!!! EW!!!! These Protein shakes, ugh! They are so nasty! You crack one open and take a whiff and it's like smelling a bottle of Vitamins So now I'm stuck in this situation where I'm literally so hungry my stomach hurts but the thought of taking another drink of anything makes my esophagus contract in horror. My Breakfast smoothie sits untouched on my desk as I type this. I'm dreading opening it and drinking it. I have 7 more long days of this liquid diet. I'm doing the best I can to vary it. I've been getting creative with my food processor but no matter what it all tastes the same because of the texture. Last night I blended black Beans, avocado, tomatoes and chicken broth into a drinkable Soup. I would have enjoyed it MUCH more if I could've just eaten it as a salad in its whole form The only thing stopping me from driving to my favorite brewpub and ordering a big, juicy burger is the terrifying thought of making myself sick and/or dislodging my band, or worse, ripping the stitches on my stomach... That's enough to quell my appetite. I'm just venting here. I know there's really nothing I can do except make myself take in the required 40 grams of protein per day and try to keep myself busy so I'm not thinking of the aching, deep grumble of my stomach. Happy New Year, everyone!

Thanks, belladonna_1975 Those Simply juices are pretty good. May go out and get some this afternoon. I've managed to liquefy pretty much anything I want with either broth or milk as the base - but the texture... bleh. I think that's the point though, so it passes through the stomach easily. Like I said, I know I just have to get through it. When I learned I had to do this for 2 weeks I thought it wouldn't be a problem at all, that I could do anything for 2 weeks with no trouble. But abstaining from real, delicious food for 2 weeks completely is much harder than I expected. I didn't think I'd suffer as much but there you go. I went out to dinner last night at a Thai restaurant with my friends to Celebrate their marriage and I got a coconut milk based soup. It was delicious and the broth was very easy to drink but the floating mushrooms, tomatoes, and tofu were sooooooooooo tempting. I saved my leftovers to puree and blend into a liquid today!

Thank you, everyone. This actually makes me feel better. I have my surgery scheduled for Monday!! Insurance just approved me so I'm good to go. I am really hoping I lose a significant amount of weight by doing this. I'm 33 and feel like I'm 53 I can't get up and down from the floor easily, I can't run or walk quickly, my knees and hips hurt, I lose my breath easily... food is just not worth it. But my appetite, it's just horrendous. Out of control. I want to be healthy for my family. I want to feel good again. I want to fit into rollercoaster and airplane seats without a problem. I want to have the energy to travel and explore. I want to be strong and do outdoorsy things like hike and maybe rock climb. I want to go skiing with my boy. I want to be able to run and jump and play. I couldn't care less about my physical appearance. If I could be healthy and feel good I'd love being fat It doesn't work that way though. Anyway, thank you again, everyone, for sharing your experiences. I'm going to enjoy my Christmas and then prepare myself for a new beginning with weight loss surgery.

Thank you, everyone! JustWatchMe, would you say that eating less is easier with the band or just as hard as before? If that's the case, why am I even getting surgery if it's not going to impact how full I get or decrease my appetite?? My biggest fear is going through this and not feeling any different than I did before. I realize I have to be the one making right food choices, but my hope is that the band makes it *easier* to stop binge eating, reduce my portion sizes, and feel full on less food.

Hello! I am new to this forum and wanted to introduce myself and ask a few questions. I'm an Indiana girl with a big appetite (a common theme amongst us, yes?). I've been seriously overweight (needing to lose 100+ pounds) for about 7 years. I used to be thin when I was a teenager but age and a puttering metabolism have packed on the pounds. So I love to eat. I LOVE to eat. And cook. And share food with family and friends. Food is a big part of my life. I love feeling full and I eat quickly so I get to feeling uncomfortably full before I realize it and that's usually when I stop eating. This is something I clearly need to work on. Anyway, I'm enduring a tremendous amount of stress right now which means I need food more than ever (at least that's what my brain is telling me). I'm in the process of moving, I have a 9 month old baby who is going through a wicked sleep regression (meaning I've been getting 6 broken hours of sleep per night for the past month), my mother in law moved in with her dog (which is upsetting my other pets, stressing them out, and now they're all aggressive towards the baby which is stressing ME out further), it's cold and miserably wet outside, and there's nothing good on TV right now (seems like a silly problem but it sucks that there's nothing I can zone out to at the end of the day other than a giant bowl of Pasta alfredo). All of this is temporary, and I know it. Logically I can tell myself that we will have a nicer home soon, our baby will move on from the regression, we're looking for a new home for MIL and the dog, the weather will improve, and my fun shows will return next season. But my poor psyche is grasping for comfort wherever it can be found and that's usually buried in my delicious meals. I don't really have a coping mechanism that compares in terms of easing my distress. People say to take a walk, read a book, surf the web, or find some other type of distraction but the whole time I'm thinking about how much I'd rather be eating. My understanding is these feelings won't go away with a lap band. And I understand that. I guess my question is, how do you cope without food (if you're a stress eater)? Does the lap band inhibit your ability to binge, at least? I desperately want to be healthy again. My cholesterol is frighteningly high (especially for a woman in her mid-30's), I feel horrible all the time (exhausted, it's hard to move, easily winded...), my libido has gone to hell, and my zest for life is just zapped. Some of this has to do with my stress levels but I know I'd feel better if I wasn't so heavy. I couldn't care less about how the fat makes me look - if I could still feel healthy at this weight I'd be a happy girl. But I don't feel healthy, not at all, and I need to change. Anyway, I guess I'm just looking for some hope. I'm probably going to get the band in December (if all things go according to plan) and I want my expectations to be realistic. Thank you for reading! Any stress eaters out there with the lap band, I'd love to hear about your experiences!!