freebit

Food used to be my best friend. Now eating is like going to the dentist.

I have lost 52 pounds in the last 5 months. I still wear my fat pants. I just bought a much smaller belt. I figure I will buy some new clothes soon, but I dont stress over it.

I tried crushing pills to powder. It makes me vomit when I try to swallow the powder. However, cutting the pills into 4-6 pieces really helps.

I cant speak for husbands....but my wife hates the band. Me losing weight seems to really scare her for some reason. I try to comfort her and explain things. It never works tho.

My wife has always been a dainty eater. Now it seems as though she eats like a pig. I know it is just me though and I never say anything about it. I agree that it is a weird feeling to see everyone pig out while I can barely eat 4 ounces or so. It is even weirder going to a restaurant and seeing how humounous the portions are. Its like they are feeding elephants or something....LOL

The needle is very big and wide and it does hurt quit a bit. It hurts alot more if they fish around at all looking for the port. LOL....my surgery actually hurt less. Of course I actually was enjoying all of the drugs they gave me for the surgery. I actually felt great after my surgery. Weird. You may feel tightness in your band afterwards.

Smoking increases dopamine. Increased dopamine minimizes the bodies' starvation adaptations like coldness, tiredness, more colds, etc. Coughing never really negatively impacted my band. I would say smoke as you please and drink lots of coffee to keep you warm. Worry about quitting smoking in a year or so. Wait a sec...inst there an old wives tale about smoking, coffee, and fast weight loss?

Isn't it weird how everything goes down better after vomiting? I try not to eat much after I vomit. Sometimes I have no interest in food afterwards, and other times I just kinda pick at it.

Before post op, reflux was 24/7. Reflux completely disapeared post op.

I heard that scars dont tan well. Mine are still deep red 5 months post op. However, being a guy, scars dont bother me much. I am thinking that they never really go away.

Pain and discomfort followed by a trip to the bathroom come before packing. For me anyways.

I heard corticolsteroids are bad for weight loss.

Freebit's Exercise Routine: 1. Flip TV station up. 2. Flip TV station down. 3. Rinse, repeat. Sometimes I go 2 TV stations up and down to really kick it up a notch. 52lbs in 5 months no joke. Seriously, I may actually start jogging again. I am in the weight range where I won't look foolish doing it. Whatever you do dont strees over it. If you dont feel like exercising right now, then don't. I beleive that when the time is right, you will want to do it naturally.

I could never eat sandiches or hamburgers of any type. Ever. Always resulted in PB's. Took only a couple of times for me to learn tho.

The day after surgery I was eating yogurt and drinking apple juice (per doctors orders). Albeit, 1/2 ounce of yogurt at a time...LOL.

One time, I drank alot of water (maybe a gallon?) over a few hours. Then, I had diarrhea the rest of the day. Not one of my more brilliant ideas.

I take one centrum silver per day. I chop it up into 6 pieces and swallow. Taking 1000mg of anything is really hard for me.

My port is located 1 inch above my belly button.

I found that my body tends to try to get me to eat protein. I eat as much as I can which is not much. I dont stress over it though. I never count portions or anything. I eat what I want/can and my body tells me that protein is the most appealing. So I tend to gravitate towards it. My band tells me when to stop eating. Counting portions is for dieters. I have dieted alot in my life and I can say that bandsters are not dieters. The difference between being on a diet and being banded may be subtle and just semantic, but I think it is a very important difference. So eat as much portein as you feel comfortable with eating then stop. My 2 cents anyways.

Quesadilla is a bad idea due to the flour...gets stuck, bad scene. If you want solid food, try beef chili. The hamburger stays non-clumped as it goes down and doesnt get stuck. Chew good though. The more watery the chili the better. Chicken is kinda stringy and gets all tanlged up like a ball of christmas lights so stay away from that as well. It is normal to take an hour to finish a small bowl of chili. If with friends at a restaurant you will always be the last to finish. I used to be able to finish a humongous meal in 10 minutes. Amazing how things change huh?

I have had a really tight band. I have had my band really loose. If your band is tight enough, you will lose weight. Quickly. However, many american doctors get real conservative with the fills. Threfore, weight loss is slow....or darn near zero. Having a tight band is not all rosey by the way. It takes skill to live with a really tight band. You also may be on a plateau. I stayed at 210 for 4 weeks and then dropped 6 pounds in 2 days and stayed there for 3 weeks. Go firgure.

52 pounds in 5 months. Assuming (bad assumption I know) the same rate, that would be 100 pounds in one year.

If your band is tight enough then you will lose weight. Never had a problem with stretched pouch. Pain and discomfort usually stops me way before then.

The hardest thing in the beginning is dealing with the absolute control that band with enforce upon you. But dont fear it, the pain and discomfort of screwing up are wonderful teachers. The normal dieting issues that I felt like constant hunger and internal food willpower battles simply do not occur. If you are tight enough, you can eat when you are hungry and still lose weight. You may get colds, feel cold, and get tired from time to time, but these pass.

Wait 8-12 months post op. Get fill taken out. Get pregnant. Eat alot. Enjoy life. nuff' said.