bossstar

It is about time that I introduce myself since I have been lurking on these forums since early 2008. Hi, I am Charles. I am from Louisiana (land of the best food). I was banded in March of this year and I have lost over 100 pounds. My wedding band is falling off (i need to have it resized). I have moved down 12 pant sizes. Other acheivements is that I haven't had a soda since a month before being banded. I rarely have more than a bite of any snack foods or any fast foods. I am rarely ever hungry so I would consider my banding a success even though I some more work until I hit my goal. By the way, anyone ever fantisize about getting your band unfilled before Thanksgiving and then having it refilled the following Monday? It can't just be me ... lol.

I don't really have any advice because I have been pretty much eating whatever I want in smaller portions. Since I can't eat much, I have stayed away from fast food burgers and fries. I haven't had a soda the entire time. The only thing that I noticed was that I lost more weight when I drank a lot of Water and ate something for Breakfast. I don't know if it boosted my metabolism but it really seemed to help. The only weird thing is that I don't see the weight lost on myself. Every once in a while I will put on some pants and it blows my mind how big I was 6 months ago. By the way, you look like your doing good. My PA said that guys lose weight much faster than girls and of course the last 50 is the hardest to drop.

I have officially lost 100 pounds!!!

I lost about 6 pounds in 7 days. The weight loss was great but not enough to endure the discomfort that happened everytime I put something in my mouth. I am back to normal. I eat the size portions that I am supposed to. I haven't really gotten hungry which means that I don't snack and will lose weight at a healthy pace.

Well I am currently 1cc lighter and feel much much better. I am back to eating good portions with no pain. My fluid intake is also back to normal.

EAbadie ... I am happy to hear that you are feeling better. I already have my appointment set for tomorrow morning .. that will be a week since the fill. They added 3ccs to me too so I am curious to how much they will take out. I don't want to lose all my restriction because I didn't feel much restriction before this fill. By the way, our weight loss is almost identical. Ofcouse I have much further to go.

I am struggling to decide whether I am overfilled or just trying to over eat. I keep getting a tight feeling in my chest and while nothing is coming up (PB), I think it would feel better if it would. I have been trying to slow down and reduce the amount of food that I try to eat but I haven't gotten the hang of it yet since I have had the tightness almost everytime I eat something. I haven't been hungry since the last fill but I just can't believe that I am supposed to eat such a small amount of food. Just to give you an idea, I have only been able to eat a 1/4 of a grilled chicken breast and a couple bites of veggies. Should I be eating less than this?

Hi ... its been awhile since I posted so here is an update. I am on my 3rd fill (which I had done last week). The first two fills did very little for me. The 3rd one did alot. I went from eating pretty much whatever I wanted to really paying attention to my diet. All in all, I lost 52 pounds before the 3rd fill. Since then I have have had to pay close attention to my choices and portions. For a while, I felt immune to following the guidelines since I was eating normal foods and still losing weight. I have not been hungry at all. Infact eating is just not as much fun. I have a question for those of you that have reached a good restriction ... How much can you eat? Use a boneless chicken breast as an example. I just want to make sure I don't have too much restriction.

29 years old and I live in Lafayette Louisiana. I manage a group of 4 radio stations and I even do a morning show.

I was banded March 11th and my hunger has returned. At my 2 week checkup I was told that I could eat more protien. She understood that I would continue to be hungry until my fill which is at 6 weeks.

I was banded on March 11th and have lost 22 pounds since surgery. The ups: no nausea and I haven't had really any problems since the gas subsided. The downs: my co-worker put a box of hot doughnuts on the meeting table the other day and I have never wanted anything sooooooo bad but nothing tastes as good as thin feels right?

I think all doctors stitch the band to the stomach but that is healed in 7 days (according to my doctor) ... I tested the tuna carefully and that is all that I have tried since it gives me the Protein that I need. My calorie count is amazing low (around 300 calories a day) and I can't wait until I am allowed to get back on regular foods ... hopefully at my check up on the 27th. Anyone else not able to get all the glue off?

I gave up on the protien ... I purchased a $52 case of Isopure ready to drink that I tested and liked at the store only to gag me while trying to sip it at home. So I tested myself with some tuna and light mayo ... no problems and good protein! So now I am basically on my day 11 diet 4 days too soon. I still have no hunger. I am getting 64oz of Water a day and the pounds are melting off ... 20 pounds or so down since surgury.

Day 6 and 20 pounds lighter! I am starting to feel normal and can sleep on either side now. My hunger still has not returned at all. I am not sure if the liquids are just filling me up but I am still having problems getting all this protein in and can't wait until I can eat some protein like tuna or scrambled eggs (which is allowed on day 11).

Day 3 and I am back at work. I have made an amazing recovery in the past 24 hours. I went from having tons of uncomfortable gas and not being able to sleep with almost no pain (except for the tugging sensation from the port). One weird thing is that I have not regained my appetite. Maybe I am just keeping myself full with the liquid diet and all that liquid that I am trying to squeeze in.

Use a funnel! Thats the only way that I figure out how to get enough Protein in. I am feeling so much better today though. Much less gas and almost no pulling feeling.

Prevacid ... to prevent acid ... I just spelled it wrong. Day 2 and I am sore but surviving. I wonder if I will be up to going to the office tomorrow. If not no big deal but I manage 4 radio stations incluing the areas news/talk and a huge local news story broke and it sucks to not be there. Any guess as when this bloated feeling goes away? Not painful but not normal.

A THOUSAND SIT UPS feeling is correct! Wait a minute ... what would I know about doing that many sit ups? lol And I used a spirometer in pre-op but they never brought it out so I have been taking deep breaths and paying attention to my breathing. My last complaint is about Previcide. Why does it cost so much?

Well I have been home now for a couple of house and feeling a little sore but it is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Admitted: 9:20am Surgury: 11:00 am Home: 3:00pm

EAbadie, your post made me feel very confident as I am leaving for the hospital in 10 minutes. The seriousiness of the surgury did not set in until I told my wife and daughter goodbye this morning ... my wife and mom will meet me at the hospital later. My surgury is set this morning for 11am and I am just ready to get this over with and begin to work on a new thinner me!

Good luck to you too!

Protein builds muscle and you need it to survive since you won't be eating much of anything.

I start my pre-op diet in 30 minutes and I keep thinking that I need to get a steak in my system immediately! Ofcourse I would not know where to get one at 9:30 in the morning. The next couple of days will be interesting. Good luck to everyone.

I am on March 11th too and I will be starting my pre-op diet on Monday morning. I am finally prepared for this and just anxious to get it over with.

Well it is finally confirmed, I will be getting the band. My insurance will not pay for the vertical sleeve so I will go along with my original plan. Tuesday seems like its coming very fast.