heartfire

I have to really pay attention now. Until the last fill, I didn't have to pay too much attention to how much I chewed. I do now. I've gotten stuck 2x now. I don't like that. The 1st time I just had to wait it out. The 2nd time I had some papaya enzymes and I chewed those up and it took care of it in no time. I'm trying not to get too frustrated with the WL but I do. I try really hard to NOT compare my WL with others' but it's hard. I've always been a slow loser so figured that wouldn't change much and I was right! UGH! I started my ticker from when I started the program. In my signature tho I made sure to list the different weights so as not to confuse people but notice that people don't always read that part. They just look at the ticker. I don't measure my food and probably should. I eyeball it. I put a little on my plate and usually stop after that's eaten. I have been losing copious amounts of hair since I was a few weeks out from surgery. My theory is it's b/c I was dieting so hard several months before surgery. My program required a 10% WL w/little Protein as part of the program. My other theory is that I was lacking Iron. I started a liquid Iron 2 weeks ago and my hair loss is already decreasing slightly. My protein after surgery was fine since that was all I could have for the 1st 3 months. So for me, I think my problem was lack of protein/hard dieting leading up to surgery with the Iron deficiency contributing to the problem. I'll see what happens as my Iron levels increase. And yes, eventually it will grow back. Some people find that the amount of hair they have changes or the texture changes. Some who had straight hair before, now have some waves to it. Others who had curly/wavy hair, now have straight hair! Others have no changes whatsoever once it stops falling out and grows back. Everyone is different with loss and re-growth and not everyone even loses hair!

Last week: 193.1 This week: 192.2 Total loss: .9 Missed a whole lb by an ounce! LOL! Actually happy with that considering the way I ate. I didn't overeat at one sitting, I slowly ate the whole entire day! UGH! Can't wait til all of the junk stuff is gone. DH is plowing through it pretty fast so it'll be gone soon! Had a great dinner of ham, roasted veggies, salad and rolls. Last night made a cheese tortellini dish with broccoli and ham. Tonight is going to be a yummy ham and navy bean Soup with rolls. Then the ham will be all gone except for left-over soup! It's weird because I feel like I'm eating too much, yet I lost more weight this AM too. Strange. We'll see what the scale says tho next Friday.

So glad to hear you're feeling better! Just keep an eye on it. Now for both of you, you will continue to swell in the general area of your incisions for some time. If I do a lot and am up and about ALL day, I still swell in the evenings a little. I'm 4 months out from surgery. This can happen for as long as a year, so don't freak out about that. It's a surgery thing. Congratulations and Best Wishes to both of you on your bands!!!

Great Job!!!! So very glad to hear it all went so well! I on the other hand, slowly and carefully ate my way through the afternoon and evening! LOL! Don't get me wrong it was still A LOT less than what I used to do. But alas, I'm clarifying it and I shouldn't. Back on track (and treadmill) tomorrow! Hope you had a Blessed Christmas as well! Congratulations!!

Make an appt to see your surgeon as soon as you can get in. Puffy and with a lot of pain doesn't sound right. Is there any redness and/or heat in the area? That would be a sure sign of infection. Puffy usually means some swelling but that alone doesn't necessarily mean infection. I would feel better for myself if I got it checked out in person. Keep me posted!

I'm not super tight. I have restriction and if I swallow too fast (not chewing enough before) then I will get a little stuck. BUT I'm also not eating a lot of pasta or rice. And most times it's whole wheat pasta and brown rice and small amounts if I do eat it. I just take it slow, like everything else. I don't want to be so tight that I can't eat something. That's always when I get in to trouble when dieting. Tell me I can't have something and that then becomes all I want! I do eat pizza (1 slice vs. 4), cheeseburger (1 sm or 1/2 lg vs 2 or 3 sm or 1 lg PLUS lg fries!), etc. BUT instead of having that stuff several times a week, it's maybe once a week or 2. Ice cream is 1/2-1 cup, once or twice a week vs 2-3 cups nightly. It's all about moderation and portion control and that was my problem before being banded. Don't get me wrong, I'm still messing up and still have a lot of head work to do but it's all MUCH better than before banding.

I had a 6 week, 10lb lifting restriction. That's about a gallon of milk! Can't go grocery shopping b/c tho you might get help getting the groceries into the car, when you get home, you need to get them in the house somehow. DH would make sure I was stocked up before he went to work for his 72hr shifts. Can't lift the baby onto the changing table. My DD climbed onto the bed and I put her table pad there so we managed. Couldn't lift her to clean her and change diapers, had her lift herself. Can't lift baby in and out of car and seat. DD was old enough that she can climb in and out herself. Can't get baby in and out of the tub. DD learned to climb in and out with help. DD is 2 so we practiced stuff before surgery and I talked about it often to make sure she realized that I wasn't going to be able to pick her up and she was going to have to be careful with mama's tummy. She loved being able to do more for herself tho we had some issues with the picking up. Not many but since I'm home all the time, I'd take her hand and we go find somewhere to sit that she could climb in or on and get into my lap and we'd snuggle like normal. I kept things as normal as I could. Gave her responsibilities and had her "helping mama" like only big girls can do. She really did great. Not sure how your 1 year old will do tho. I think you're going to have to do some tough love stuff and have DH take over a bit more on the baby care. Your baby is going to HAVE to let your DH do for him. Esp the first few days after surgery. You just plain aren't going to be up to it! Since baby sleeps with you, make sure you have a small pillow to cushion against your stomach so if you get kicked in the middle of the night, you're okay. Startled, maybe, but okay. Keep that pillow handy too for lap time. I had to have it over my stomach before DD leaned against me for awhile. It just hurt too much otherwise. Hang in there. Don't panic. And really just start practicing and thinking about how to make things work. Literally think about how you do things as you do them in the normal course of a day and see how you can change it or if you're even going to be able to do it for awhile. You'll come up with your own ideas about how things will work for you. Best wishes!

I have ALWAYS been a shedder but I noticed soon after surgery, say within a month, it was getting much worse. I am still losing copious amounts of hair. What's funny tho is b/c I'm taking Biotin to help with re-growth, I've got new growth as I'm losing the longer stuff! I'm not losing clumps but my hair, overall, is getting VERY thin. I'm hoping this will stop soon. If it doesn't I'm going to have to get some blood tests. I did finally find an Iron supplement that I'm willing to take and just started that on Saturday. I'm hoping after a few days that will start to kick in and within a few weeks, it'll get better. I think my iron is low. My Protein is okay, some days are better than others. But this also started when I was on strictly protein only so I'm not sure mine has anything to do with that. I'm really hoping it's the iron. I haven't been taking that til now. We'll see.

We have a pretty quiet Christmas. DH is working Christmas Eve this year (he'll come home Christmas Day). Depending on the weather (may have snow), DD and I will go to a Christmas Eve candlelight service at church. Christmas Day we'll go to communion service, then home to get ready for DH's parents, brother, sil and kids to come over. We'll probably let DD (2 1/2 yrs old) open her gifts right after church. When the family gets here, we'll open more gifts while snacking (not much for me or I won't be able to eat dinner!). Later we'll have ham, roasted root veggies, green salad and rolls for dinner with pumpkin pie for dessert. An aside to Kristen, looks like I might (if I can afford it) be in your area in Sept. Mom and her siblings and us kids are getting together for a week-long reunion at a resort near Bend or Sisters. They're looking at Black Butte Ranch and one other one, River something or something River, mom couldn't remember what my aunt said! Anyway, just had to share! (Not like you need or want to care either! LOL!!!! :tongue_smilie: )

Welcome! I was banded in August at Fresno Kaiser. I live in Oakhurst. I go to a monthly support group at Kaiser that is open to ALL in the community that has WLS. It's the 2nd Tuesday of the month at Kaiser. Let me know if you're interested in attending after you're surgery. Whoops! Just realized you said Modesto, not Merced! You're not going to want to drive 2 hrs, one way, for a 1 1/2 hour long support group meeting!!! Hopefully you can find someone closer to you. Maybe try the Sacramento thread and see if you can get someone closer to you. I'd love to answer any questions you might have or help in any way I can. I'm new to being banded but I've been on the boards for awhile. Take care!

Ditto what Jack said. You can't stay home every time there is a family dinner or special meal out. Might as well jump in and figure it out now. This won't be the last dinner you need to participate in. Print out Jack's response and read it often. Take it with you if you need too! Best wishes and a Blessed Christmas!

I'm in the same boat. My problem and reason for the band was/is because I love food and my portions were way out of control. That doesn't change overnight just because you have surgery. I'm not eating til I PB (and now where NEAR what I used to eat pre-surgery) but I AM eating til I'm way too full and very uncomfortable. I'm not doing it every meal, but it is more than I should be doing it. I am in a panic about stretching my pouch. I had another fill at the beginning of the month and have restriction now tho I can still eat everything if I chew it well enough. I'm 5cc in a 10cc band. It's hard and I'm working on it. Trying to change a mindset that's been in place for a very long time is going to TAKE some time and hard work. Hopefully I'm up for it!

Try them again at another time I'm sure you're a little swollen after your fill. Hang in there! I love pickles too and eat them often. My 2 1/2 yr old DD Snacks on them all the time too. Glorybee, every doc is different. My doc says to stay on solid food unless I have a problem then go back to soft foods. I personally need to do soft and liquids just b/c I get so swollen that food just doesn't FEEL good on my stomach! I'm just not interested either.

Kristen, I'm glad you're feeling better but total bummer about the exercise. It's amazing how used to it our bodies get. Hopefully you can get some sleep soon. Take care of yourself!

Last week: 195.6 This week: 193.1 Total loss: 2.5 lbs! Whoo Hoo! Got a new scale last weekend and that's part of the total. My old one was off almost a lb! This one is way more consistent and is acting the way a scale should! LOL!

First, get a new PCP. Second, what is your weight and BMI? Kaiser follows (at least Nor Cal) the national standards of a minimum BMI of 40 without co-morbids or a BMI of 35 with 2 recognized co-morbids. I qualified with the BMI alone. I'm not sure what ALL of the co-morbids are so can't help you there. You do need your PCP's help b/c they have to refer you to the seminar, then to pysch and nutrition, then once that's all done, they have to send the referral to bariatric surgery. So, since that is the case and your PCP works for YOU, fire her and find another one! This will cost you. I had minimal travel expenses- gas to the city once a week for classes, seminar fee, co-pay for every appt I had, including surgery and fills BUT it's much easier than trying to finance it yourself if you can get through the system. Best wishes!

I have 5cc in a 10cc band and finally have some restriction. I'm eating a lot less now. I do find that if I eat too fast or swallow too fast, it'll get a little stuck on the way down. Nothing serious yet but I do have to be careful. Before this last fill I was eating upwards of 1 to 1 1/2 cups of food! Then I'd be hungry in less than 3 hrs. I was starting to worry about stretching my pouch. But I guess until you get restriction THEN overeat, you don't have to worry about it too much. I can eat anything. Bread, Pasta and rice do not bother me, but again, I have to chew well and not get in a hurry. I don't want to be so restricted that I can't eat things. That isn't the point of the band, at least for me. I want to be able to eat "normally" while just eating A LOT less of it. In general, my diet is very healthy but I still want to be able to eat my whole wheat pastas and rice along with my lean Protein and veggies. I got in to trouble with every diet I tried by restricting certain foods. I refuse to do it anymore. An occasional small order of fries is not going to hurt me, it's the large orders on an almost daily basis that's going to hurt. Anyway, that's my theory! :shades_smile:

Since May we've been members of a local (hour away) CSA Farm. We get a box of fresh, organic, in-season veggies & fruits every week. It's $20 per week and very much worth it. We still have to buy some fruit and veggies depending on what we need or are cooking that week but it's fun to find recipes to use the in-season veggies that we get each week. Oh and the boxes are delivered to different sites and you go pick your box up at your pick-up site. They deliver all over 2 counties. I'd LOVE to try Bison. Just don't know where to get it. I haven't done it yet but there is a grass-fed beef company within a couple of hours of us (they deliver) that I want to try as well. I've never had grass-fed beef. I was raised on grocery store meat! We started the veggies before I had surgery but I was in my insurance program to get surgery. I think that as you (me) get healthier, weight-wise, you want to start doing better things for yourself and that includes how you eat, what you eat and exercise, buying nicer clothes to wear, getting your hair and/or nails done, etc. Will power isn't necessarily an issue. There are some things that I really just don't care to have anymore (soda, tho once in awhile I think I'd like a sip) and there are things that I still love (pizza for one). I'm trying to get out of the dieter's mentality and become normal in how I think about food. It's fuel and nice to have some treats once in awhile. pizza once every week or two are fine now b/c I'm only eating 1-2 slices vs. the 4-5 I used to eat. At this point, for me, it's all about moderation and eating as healthy as I can for the most part. My treats aren't candy bars or chocolate, it might be 1/2 a kid sized cheeseburger or a few of DH's fries with my baked/grilled piece of chicken. For me, at least, it's just been a total changing of a mindset. You'll find what works for you.

SillyGoose, I PMd you back! For clarification tho, the surgeon that spoke in SillyGoose's (OP) seminar is an excellent BYPASS surgeon. It's what he knows. The facility we are with has just started banding (July) and the new surgeon is the one who will band SG. The new band surgeon is excellent and will be teaching the other 2 surgeons to band. I completely agree with Jacqui and the Aussie food mentality. It is a much healthier and normal way to eat. The US has become so warped in the way we think about food. We are over-processed and WAY too focused on how much, what, and when to eat. The only thing anyone talks about is what diet they are on, what they've tried, what the next big diet is, etc. No wonder we're a nation of obese people who all happen to be on some diet or another. It's not healthy. We are dieting ourselves fat over here! I'm newly banded and still trying to figure things out for myself. I'm not eating enough veggies and hardly any fruit. I've gotten on the Protein kick b/c of the surgeon's pot-op diet and I'm trying to get away from that some. I'm having to re-learn everything as I also have a dieter's mentality. It's what I've been doing since I started gaining weight over 20 yrs ago! I am losing copious amounts of hair tho. Maybe it's not protein at all. Maybe I'm not eating enough veggies! LOL!

Stayed the same: 195.6 for the 2nd week in a row! I need a new scale. It's all over the place and I keep hitting exact amounts several days apart. I also got a fill on Tuesday and I'm feeling it more so should have lost due to less food but nope that didn't happen. I'm also having to STOMP on the scale now when you should just be able to tap (hard). I don't know. I guess I'll see what happens when I buy a new one in a week.

Oh Kristen, You must be totally freaking out! It's one thing to know for sure what's going on but to just be sent home with meds and some maybes, ugh! I'll add you to my prayers if you don't mind. And lets hope it's something "minor." As far as my experience, I'm only tender after a fill. I got a fill yesterday, so I'm a little swollen and very tender. AND b/c I'm swollen, my stomach sticks out more than normal and I keep hitting it! This will last a few days and then I'll be fine. Take care and let us know what happens! Oh and did he take your fill out or leave it? Just curious. And I can't imagine it would start eroding already but I have no idea either. Best wishes!!!

I know, for me, I already feel better about myself. As far as physically, everything is feeling better and not hurting as much or as often. As I lose more, I imagine all of the will just get better and better! I have a great life and need to remember that. Sometimes when you (I) wallow in your (my) own bad self-image, you (I) forget the things that are going well. I think when people are saying thin doesn't make you happy it's the same as money won't make you happy. In some ways it's true and in others, not so. If you are hoping that being skinny (or having more money) will cause your relationship issues (personal, work, etc) to suddenly disappear, then you are probably going to be disappointed. If you are hoping that being skinny (or having more money) will make life in general easier, then you are probably going to happy with the results. IE, being thinner helps with movement, health issues, energy, etc whereas more money could facilitate much needed repairs to car and/or home, college education, retirement, charitable donations, etc. Being thin (or having more money) will not save marriages or make your work life easier. Does any of that make any sense? Trying to type a point sometimes is difficult and doesn't always come across well. I do totally agree with both of you. I also think that most personal opinions are just that, personal. They are fact for that person but probably not fact for many other people.

I forgot to weigh on Friday so did so yesterday. Stayed the same, to the ounce! How weird is that? I'm still not sure that my scale is accurate anymore. It's around 5 years old now. Go for my next fill on Tuesday. We'll see what happens!

Thank you, Alex!! It's amazing how adapted to something we get so when it's gone, we almost panic! LOL! Have a good night!

Okay. We had this last night for dinner... AND again for lunch today!! It was sooooo good!!!! DH is inhaling it last night and says we MUST keep this one! He said it again at lunch today! My DD tucked in and chowed down too! She's 2 1/2 and no picky eater by any means but she actually finished what I gave her and that hardly EVER happens! What's is supposed to LOOK like though? It was all the same color (pale). When I make it again in a week or 2, (I'm freezing the other half of the squash for another batch), I'm going to add a can EACH of tomatoes and sauce. I only used the tomatoes this time. I'll reduce the amount of broth to compensate for the sauce. I just threw it all in one pot too. Please don't take offense, I can't leave ANY recipe alone! Not even the ones from the chefs on food network! LOL!!! I do want to find that seasoning you were talking about. I've not heard of it before but I'd like to try it. I'll have to see if my grocery store has it. If not, I'll ask our friends who own a great local Mexican restaurant if they know where I can get it. I love to cook Mexican but I'm not very good at it without a recipe. Most of it (that I do on my own) definitely is "white girl" Mexican, if you know what I mean! LOL! I didn't grow up with it at all, my dad was a meat & potatoes guy and I didn't have any friends to teach me. The most I knew, as a kid, was Taco Bell or ground beef with an envelope of taco seasoning! Tell me how you cook with the seasoning? Do you add it to everything, like you would cayenne or cumin or salt? Is it used only for certain dishes? What's it's base (chiles or ?)? More info please! LOL! My DH makes a really good Chili Verde, would you add some of it to that? DH learned how from a good friend that he used to worked with. Rich is first generation American and learned to cook at his mama's knee. Oh my gosh! His mom makes THE BEST tamales!!! I'm afraid to attempt those. No way could I make them as good as she does. Everything I tried would be a sad comparison! Do you make those? I know in some families, it's becoming a dying recipe. Other friends of ours, only the elder ladies are still making them. The young ones aren't interested b/c it's so involved. Anyway, PLEASE guide me and teach me! (If you don't mind!) Thank you!