PhotoNut

No you can't have any of my wine! Oh.. you didnt want my wine? Heh.. *blushes* Seriously, I was losing 8-12 pounds a month until I added wine back into my "diet". I haven't eaten differently, just the wine, and this past month I only lost 2 pounds. You can drink, but alcohol is loaded with sugar calories. Beware liquid calories! Bah!! (Come on.. y'all just -knew- I'd have to respond on this thread, didn't you?? LOL)

Get out your scanners, get out your fave pic of yourself and share with me on this thread: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=21522

Err umm.. Lianna? This club belongs to all it's members and if something is offending you or making you feel like you dont want to be here, then please speak up. The club is for weightloss support and friendship. I want everyone to feel welcome and at ease here. The siggy thing is because those with pictures, gifs, and tickers take a long time to load for those on dialup. That's all. Don't lose your support by walking away. Stand up for the club and lets work together to keep it on track. *hugs Lianna*

Ticker how to's are all on this thread: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16218

I use PhotoShop to edit the pictures into one image. You can use image editors to resize pictures. Most printer software comes with a photo editor. If you dont have one, I know that someone posted a link for a free one you can get online but I'll have to look for it.

You can post pictures a couple of ways. 1. Insert Image: This option is available when you post a reply (not quick reply) or are in edit. The yellow icon with teh mountain on it will open a url box where you can paste in the link to your picture that is on a server or on a picture site like Photobucket. Using this option will show a link in your post, not the picture itself. In order to see the picture, people would have to click on the link that would then open a new window with the pic in it. 2. Attach Image: This is the paperclip icon on the edit screen. When you click on it, a Manage Attachments window will open. Once there, click on the Browse button to find the image you have on your computer. (Your image should be resized to about 450 pix wide or tall before trying to upload). Once the image is found and selected, click on Upload. When the upload is complete, close the Manage Attachment window and click on the paperclip icon again. You will now see the name of the pic you just uploaded. Clicking on it will insert the picture wherever your cursor is in the text box. To add more pictures, repeat the steps above and be sure your cursor is no longer on the last picture you attached. Hope this made sense and helped

I agree with Elizabeth. Better safe than sorry. Go see your Dr!

Try to relax about it for now. This period of time is for healing, not weight loss. Until you get a fill, you'll probably be able to eat just as you did before you were banded. But that doesn't mean you should. Go ahead and eat more if you're hungry, but eat hard Proteins that will help keep you full longer while helping your weightloss. chicken, fish fillets, tuna, roast beef, steak.. all of these are excellent sources of Protein. If you're on solids now you should be able to eat any of these if they are cooked in a way that doesn't dry them out. Take a good look at what you're eating. If its most soft carb type foods, that could be why you are feeling so hungry. Serve your food in a very small container. About a cup in size. Don't drink any fluids just before, during, or for an hour after your meal. If you are still hungry after doing all of this, then accept that you need more and eat again, following the same suggestions I just gave ya. And finally, you say you can eat so much now. Can you really? Or does it just seem that way to you in comparison to how you have been able to eat over the last month? To get a better perspective, think back on what you were eating before banding. Now compare that to what you eat now. Big difference huh? We aren't supposed to starve ourselves. You should be eating between 800-1,000 calories per day with a minimum of 60grams of protein and losing about 1 to 2 pounds per week. (Yep, I said per week - not per day!) I'm kind of muzzy-headed today so I hope that all made sense and didn't just sound like mindless ramblings. *laughs*

And I'm glad you did! It's always so great to see excitement and to hear about our victories. Grats on finally seeing a move in the right direction! :clap2:

This should help: http://lapbandtransformation.com/Adjustments.htm

OMG dont throw them away! Get out the sewing machine! Just think.. You can get at least 4 thongs out of one pair of grannies!

Ah, Mia.. that wasnt at you! Saw your post after I did mine. I know what you mean though, I weighed this morning and was only at 222.5. Thats 1.5 pounds less than yesterday! Arggg! *laughs*

All you late posters, sh*t happens and sometimes we can't get online to report our weigh in, and I know it seems fairly simple to do a quick edit to get late reports put in, but it's not simple at all. Every time we edit those pages, most of the formatting is lost and has to be redone, so while it's not much to change a number it does end up being time consuming to go back in several times to update folks. So please be thoughtful of the person handling the edits for the month and report on Wednesdays with everyone else. If you just cant, then wait until next week. I'm not griping at anyone about it, just letting ya know what it takes behind the scenes to keep the updates current. One more thing, for those who are fairly new. We all take a second to uncheck the "Show your signature" when posting on this thread. Quite a few of the members are on dialup, so all the big siggy lines take a long time to load and make it hard for them to enjoy reading the posts. It also makes the thread not quite so long. Thanks! You all rock!! :rockon:

I lost 16 lbs in the 2 1/2 weeks prior to surgery and 30 pounds during the two months following surgery. Here's how my first two months looked. 1-09-06 291 (-3) 1-16-06 287 (-4) 1-23-06 279 (-8) 1-30-06 277 (-2) 2-06-06 274 (-3) 2-13-06 272 (-2) 2-20-06 268 (-4) 2-26-06 265 (-3) 3-05-06 264 (-1)

Just Paul, I'm so happy to see you finally crossed over to the land of sunshine, rainbows and ponies! hehe This is a great group of folks and we're happy to have ya. Your weightloss success is phenominal. Kudos to ya buddy

So last month I got my second fill. I had been fine before that, with my 1cc fill (in a 4cc band). I was able to eat roast beef, steak, broccoli, whatever (didnt try bread or pasta), but I started noticing I could eat more -- way more -- than I should. I'd always been determined to avoid PBs and being filled too tight, so getting the addition fill took a couple of months to decide on. I thought he put in .5cc for that second fill, but today he said he'd only put in .3cc. Anyway, I started getting stuck on foods I had no previous problems with. I could feel an uncomfortable pressure at the base of my sternum (you know, that pointy piece that sticks down at the bottom/center of your ribs). Sometimes it felt like that pressure became a pain that went straight through to my back. I'd feel it when drinking anything cold, or sometimes when I wasn't even eating or drinking. Then there was the port pain. Now my port has always felt uncomfortable. It sticks out and when I slouch my ribs press on it. But after that second fill, it started feeling bruised around the port. I'd wake up in the night dreaming that someone was stepping on my stomach where the port is. And realizing it was hurting, I'd roll over onto my back. And then I started noticing a pain just to the right of my belly button, about half way between the belly button and the hip. It felt like, hmmm, a slightly torn muscle? Or perhaps maybe it was a tender ovary. Wasn't sure. But then that pain shifted to the left side and became more intense. Soon, I found I was feeling these bruised/torn muscle pains all of the time, along with the pressure under the sternum. So, today I go in for my monthly check up with the band surgeon. I tell him my symptoms. He agrees I'm too tight and says he going to take all of my fill out. Errrr.. Wha?? He explained that he wanted me to have a week of getting back on my solid Proteins. Yup, I had been leaning far too much on cottage cheese for my daily food intake. And I'd only lost 2 pounds since the prior month, in contrast to the 8 to 12 pounds I had been losing per month. This is a danger in being too tight. You start eating more soft foods, which go through the band easier so you want to eat more often, thus taking in too many calories. (Yes yes... I know that wine has 90 calories per 4oz and I've been drinking like a fish. Shhh :tea: ) Anyway, he took it all out and I'm on liquids today. I was sitting here tonight and wow. It suddenly occurred to me. There's no pain in my stomach! None. Not when I move, or poke, or anything. So, here's what I'm thinking. Ever hear of ghost pains? That's where the location of the source of the pain is not where you "feel" the pain. The brain gets scrambled I guess, and maybe that's what was going on? I don't know. But I had to share with everyone to say this. DO NOT IGNORE nagging pain and uncomforts. DO NOT ASSUME that it's not band related. It very well could be. And left without care, those could possibly develop into further problems, such as a slipped band or erosion. So, the next delima. I'm wide open. Do I take this time to go have a few things I normally don't get to have (yes a cheeseburger is on my mind)? Or... do I stay true to my new eating lifestyle and not tempt the gods? hehe Thanks for listening. I hope this helps someone.

Thanks again everyone. :huggie: It's kind of sad to hear so many say that vegetables and fruits are not on their "can eat" list because of restriction. When I only had 1cc I could eat all fruits and veggies and meats. And I think I let my perspective of quantities get skewed. So what if I could eat a steak and some potatoes and veggies? It was all good for me. I didn't do it all the time, in fact I rarely did. I was losing weight at a good clip. Prior to being banded, we would go to the Texas Steakhouse and eat a bucket of peanuts, then eat tons of bread and butter, then have salad with the meal, eat the potato skin and THEN have desert. My band WAS doing its job darn it. The way I feel right now, I'm in no hurry to get a fill. Today, I've eaten like I did with 1cc: Breakfast: Healthy Choice lunch meal (chicken w/mashed potatoes) Lunch: Green salad 1 can tuna on the salad 2Tbs fat free 1,000 Island dressing Dinner: 2 Gorton's Garlic Butter Fish Fillets 1/2C frozen peas n carrots I have not been having the constant cravings for breads, nor have I wanted to eat between meals. And, the best part of it all, no getting stuck! With a tighter fill, I was eating too much cottage cheese and peaches and I wasnt losing. We all chase after that "sweet spot" but I'm beginning to wonder what that is exactly. If it's being so tight you can't eat healthy foods, then there's nothing "sweet" about that at all. For me, that sweet spot is being able to eat reasonably, eat healthily, lose weight sensibly and feel good.

Hot damn indeed! Look at all of you melting away. Grrrr! It's time for me to get serious again. *gets her game face on*

C 224 (-83 lbs total, +1.5 this week) :rolleyes

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I truly feel like an alcoholic standing at the door of a bar, and my tab has credit on it! LOL I'll be fine though. You guys have brought me back to reality and the temptations and cravings are just about gone. I swear, wine has a lot of sugar in it and I think the carbs are bringing on the cravings. I've been fine until I started letting myself drink again. And no, I'm not really an alcoholic, just going thru some tough times right now (not band related, and Dawg is by my side being his usual wonderful self) and it's been a good release to just get blasted. *laughs* Alexandra, you have an awesome ability to cut thru the crap and lay it out with logic and wisdom. I do appreciate you!

Heya Mert - My good habits would include: 1. NO flour (this means breads, pastas, etc Im a dough addict) 2. NO sugar (I do have peaches in light syrup but I drain them) 3. Minimum of 60g of Protein per day (fish, chicken, beef, tuna) 4. Minimum of 64oz Water per day This month I have slacked off on water. I've been liberal with the wine. And I've been low on protein due to a too tight band. I only lost 2 pounds. The fill is out and the wine is out, so it's time to get back on track! :tea: I'd be happy to help you with any suggestions. Feel free to PM me if ya want. :bowl:

*grabs Donna and gives her a big hug* I needed that! No bread for me. Maybe a homemade grilled cheeseburger with no bun. :tea: Jacut, how ya doing my hero? Unfortunately, I do remember drinking the wine. Gads it's been a heck of a month. *laughs* Hey Wheetsin :bowl: I was amazed a the difference .3cc made. Prior to that, while I was in Tennessee, I ate a 9oz steak, veggies and baked potato (no skin). The bummer is, I don't think that restriction limited my quantities it only made it harder for me to eat foods that are important for the well balanced diet that kept me on track. I got stuck on steak, fish, and broccoli. The broccoli was the first bad one and I was in a restaurant. I didn't slime or throw up, but the pain was incredible. It felt as tho the broccoli would try to go thru the band and then move away for a bit then try again. So much like labor pains. *chuckles* I couldn't leave the table because we had our grandson with us and Dawg's limited vision would have made it very hard to take care of the little guy without me there. The steak was at home, very juicy, small bite, chewed well, but it stuck and took probably 15 minutes to finally go thru. I did a lot of bending, twisting, arm raises, stretching, even hit my fist to my sternum trying to get it to pass. Oh what fun that was. Then guess what I did after it went down? Yup, I enjoyed the rest of the steak luckily with no problems. I really am amazed that those pains are gone now. I really didn't think it was band related but apparently, like you said, its a common thing to feel it in the lower stomach and hip area. Interesting.

Welcome to the GFG Club everyone. Hello to all my long-time friends! I posted what's going on with me today on this thread. Have a peek: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?p=264316#post264316 Love you all! See you tomorrow for weigh-in *makes a face*.

Here's your side by side, Paul. Great job on your weightloss!

Lurking. Enjoying. Scared to join in. Loose lips sink ships ya know. *winks*