JaxBandster

Okay, I'm in the same boat that Becca was in when she started this thread! This past week we've been eating out quite a bit. I've tried to make good choices and my daily calorie intake is generally VERY low (less than 1,000 by a considerable margin). Saturday night we went to Olive Garden and I gave in and had one Italian Margarita (YUM). It is a margarita with a shot of amaretto in it. Probably contained my entire daily caloric intake in one glass! LOL (I don't even want to think about the carbs!) Then on Easter Sunday we had a picnic by the pool with honey baked ham (which was okay nutrient wise), and I also had about 1/8 cup each of baked Beans and macaroni salad. I also had one of my no sugar rum drinks. Um, wait, I had two. (ouch) ANNNNYYYYWAY! I stepped on the scale Monday and had gained two lbs. And no I'm not changing my ticker cause it's not going to stay that way! I immediately got back on track and did well yesterday and today intake wise and also spent some time in the yard mowing, weeding and such trying to increase my activity level. I'm usually pretty sedentary during the day trading stocks so I'm trying to move more. I just re read this thread and it helped to remind me that sometimes we don't do so hot and have to get refocused, and other times, the scale sometimes goes up for no apparent reason. In my case, I think I got a little lax but I didn't think I was THAT lax. I didn't log my food cause we were eating out so much it was impossible for me to figure out what I ate, but I have changed that as well and told the family that they can eat out but I'm eating from home where I can count what I eat. That's it from me. Just wanted to rant a little. Thanks for listening!

Katie, I would call Dr. Cywes's office and ask them. I'm not sure this is something any of us can answer.

Most of the pre-op meetings are done in groups. They are so busy they have to do it that way. It's kind of cool though because many times other people have asked questions that I had meant to ask or hadn't even thought about. Don't be embarrassed having your appt with others. All of you are in the same boat. If you have very personal questions you need to ask, Dr. Cywes or any of his staff will be happy to talk to you privately after the group meeting.

Okay, this was making me crazy so I had to find it. The ham wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I didn't think the ham was bad! Whew! Still can't justify the macaroni salad and the baked Beans though. And if none of you have heard of this site it is great! The HoneyBaked Ham Company HoneyBaked Ham nutrition information - food Labels - DietFacts.com

Fills are a breeze Crystal. Don't even over think it. Just go in and do it!

You are WAY too hard on yourself!!!!! You were great! You seemed completely natural in front of the camera. You didn't stumble over your words, lose track of what you were saying or anything. The head tilts are cute! LOL I think you should win an Academy Award for best actress in a lap band documentary! :biggrin:

I love the Atkins Advantage vanilla shakes. I add two packets of Splenda and about a 1/2 a tsp of vanilla extract and it tastes just like a vanilla milkshake! YUM!

Kelly, the answer is in your signature. One step at a time, one day at a time. Yesterday is gone and you can't do anything about it. Today you can get back on the wagon and do what you need to do to get back on track. When I met with Dr. Cywes's nutritionist she told me that we will inevitably take detours in our journey. It is expected. The important thing is that we pick ourselves up, move forward, and from that point on, do what we need to do to get on the right path again. You can do it! Don't let those nasty old carbs get the better of you!

Hi Tina! Welcome to the group! Yes, what you are feeling is completely normal. I was also very worried about the food addict in me. It is the reason I have failed so many times before. I was always successful at first, but my love for food inevitably won out. I would be lying if I told you that the band resolved my love affair with food. It doesn't. It DOES help me with quantity, but it's entirely up to me what I feed it. I haven't been a model bandster for the past four days or so and it showed this morning when I stepped on the scale. I was up two pounds! So starting today, I got back on track, logging my food, and making sure I made good choices. It is a matter of really resolving that you want and need to make these changes for yourself. You will inevitably take detours. Weekends are tough, holidays are tougher. But, as long as you get back on track then you will be okay. Write down on a piece of paper or in Word all the reasons why you have decided to have this surgery. List the things you want to accomplish, the behaviors you want to stop, anything and everything that got you to the point you are at today. Keep it so when you are having tough days, you can go back and remember why you did this, and to motivate you to move forward. All the things you list will be so much more rewarding than slipping back into old eating habits. It will become more apparent as you begin to check things off the list that you are able to accomplish. Best of luck!

My band's name is Olga! She is a cruel, heartless, musclebound, Russian amazon woman who will whip me into shape if I don't behave! LOL I was supposed to run around last week to look for a good place and got busy! I am going to be out tomorrow doing other errands and will scope out some places while I'm out. I promise!!!!!!!!!

Kelly, you are generally considered to be too tight if you cannot get fluids down or if you begin to have reflux. It sounds like you are really tight but probably not too tight as it will loosen up more than likely. After having an episode like you did this morning, it is usually advised to stay on clear fluids for a day to let the stoma rest and let any swelling go down from the irritation that was cause by the food being stuck and the resulting vomiting. Give it a few days, stay on fluids or soft foods and make sure you are taking very very small bites and chewing very well. Every time you have a fill you will have to relearn what you can and can't eat as every fill tightens you to another level that you have to experiment with. You may have been fine with scrambled eggs prior to your fill, but afterward you may not be able to eat them. In addition, most bandsters have a difficult time with breakfast especially after they have had several fills. Drinking something warm sometimes helps to loosen things up prior to eating. Also, if you get something stuck, I have heard that small sips of pineapple juice or dissolvable papaya enzyme tablets help accelerate the digestive process and gets the food to go through faster. I plan on keeping some around "just in case!"

Denise, I won't tell you one way or the other, but I can tell you that my doctor says to count total carbs, not net carbs. So, Protein bars are out for me since they are pretty high in carbs and I'm only permitted 30 gms a day excluding green leafy vegetables.

Oh believe me, I understand completely. I battle my carb demon every day!!!

When I was having some pain in my esophagus several weeks ago they said I could take motrin. I went to the drug store and got children's liquid motrin. You have to take the whole cup to get 400 mgs which is the adult dose but it goes down easy and I would wash it down with water so there is minimal irritation to the pouch and stoma.

My doctor and I actually agreed on my goal weight. When I had my initial appt I weight 270. I wanted to lose 100 lbs so we agreed that my goal weight would be 170. My highest was 277. Once I get to 170 (which is difficult for me to imagine as it has been decades since I have even been in the 100's, then I will reevaluate and see if I want to go lower.

I am loving all of your NSV's! Keep em coming! The other day I was out riding my motorcycle and my engagement ring kept sliding around my finger from the vibration of the bike. It has never done that before. Also, my best friend was over here yesterday. She is heavier than me but has been losing weight on her own and is now in the size I was at when I was at my heaviest. I went through my closet and gave her some pretty dresses that she can either fit in now or will be able to fit in soon. She was thrilled that she got some nice new clothes and I was thrilled to get rid of them! Good riddance! LOL

Wait a minute! The honey baked ham was bad?????????? I thought I was doing okay just having the ham plain and not making sandwiches with that yummy bread we had out. I know the macaroni salad and baked Beans probably weren't the best choices but I probably only had an eight of a cup of each! So that's why I was up two pounds this morning!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, eating at Olive Garden saturday night didn't hurt either!!! We really have to stop eating out! I know this should be in the confession thread but I'm here so............................... Good news is that I managed to stay away from all the Easter candy this weekend. Bad news was that I had two bites of my husband's banana's foster cheesecake at Longhorn Steakhouse on Thursday night (see what I mean by eating out?????) I also had some of those damn chips and shrimp lobster dip! God I've been horrible! I haven't been eating much quantity wise, but definitely haven't been making the best food choices. Time for me to suck it up and behave before I go back to the doctor for my second fill on the 4th and he yells at me! UGH

Got my first fill today! Just 2cc's in my large AP Band (my dr says it will hold 14cc's). I think he had me up to 3cc's but backed off a bit because the Water just wasn't going down very well. I was gurgling quite a bit! LOL It didn't hurt in the least! In fact, at one point he said, "okay this is going to hurt a lot!" I was like, "WHAT????" He laughed and said, "just kidding!" UGH! LOL He wants me back in three weeks! He was extremely pleased with my progress, he reiterated how big my hiatal hernia was! He seemed really impressed with it. LOL No wonder it took so long to heal! He said I may still feel pain in my left shoulder if I eat too much from the hernia repair. I had to laugh at him today. I confessed about eating too many carbs on Sunday during brunch and I told him that I didn't beat myself up too badly and just got back on track. He looked at me at said, "No, that's my job!" I love that though, I need someone who's going to keep me on track and he seems to be just the person to do it!

Okay folks. Going to try and figure out which day is best by eliminating the days that absolutely won't work. So, of the days of the week, are there any that absolutely aren't doable for you? By eliminating those, then maybe we can narrow it down a bit. I am leaning towards meeting during the week in the evening but we could also possible do a weekend day as well. We will see what works best for everyone.

Angie, I'm right there with you. I think I'm able to eat much more than I should as well. However, I'm still eating less than I did pre-band. I also try to make good food choices and still eat my protein first, veggies second, and carbs last. Until we get that perfect level of fill, I think that is about all we can do. Just know that you aren't alone!!!

Congratulations Katie! I know you are thrilled!!!! You will be a bandster soon!

Congrats Jin!!! Told ya it was a breeze! I have pretty much lost the restriction from my first fill although I can still go all day without eating as long as I'm drinking something. I know that sounds conflicting but when I do sit down to eat, I can still eat quite a bit and did so tonight (we went out to Longhorn Steakhouse!) I even had two bites of my husband's dessert!!!! When the sugar hit my tastebuds I thought they were going to explode!!!! LOL Seriously, it was like they got all excited or something!! I savored each bite for a couple of minutes before I swallowed it LOL. I still ate MUCH less than I did before I got my band and I hadn't eaten much in two days so it should all even out hopefully! :thumbup: I get my next fill in a little over two weeks. I could probably use it!

You really want to avoid/reduce carbs anyway. Remember the bandster way of eating? Protein first, veggies second, and if you have room left, you can have some carbs. This is the standard for all bandsters. So get back on that low carb plan.

That is a symptom of being too tight. If he put saline in your band during surgery, I would go in and have him take some out. If he didn't, I would still call because there could be other complications occurring such as obstruction. You shouldn't be having this difficulty.

Hi D! My doctor said I could ride as soon as four days post op as long as I wasn't on pain medication, but I didn't really feel like riding until about ten days post op. Was still a little too sore to wear jeans that were digging into my tummy. I don't feel any different now when I'm riding than when I rode pre-op. I was banded on 2.7.08 so it's been about six weeks for me now. I have a Harley Fat Bob and I ride fast! LOL Nice to meet you!