littlefroggy

I was told that a fill could cause swelling. I am supposed to do liquids for 2 days, but usually only make it a day and a half!

My doctor told me if I vomit, I have to go on liquids for 2 days to let my stomach heal. It can cause stress to the band and it needs time to heal.

I try pretty hard to eat right and exercise. I am doing well on the band, but could be doing better. My weight is ALL OVER THE PLACE! I can gain like, 2-3 pounds overnight. I can also lose that much overnight. Often though my weight stays the same for several weeks and drops. I am now trying to keep to around 1000 calories a day (fewer some days, more others) and I am exercising 3-4 times a week. I am not watching carbs though, and do definitely eat some junk... however, I eat very little and should think I would lose anyway, especially with the low calorie intake. Do you know what the problem is? I don't understand! Calories are low, exercise is good, can it really be that bad? I have eaten 600 calories today, 45 grams of Protein and will probably eat again. I did eat a cookie and some hot cocoa. the issue I have is that this is supposed to be a life style change and a tool... why does my doctor want me eating 600-800 calories and only a bit of sugar once in awhile. She said maybe chocolate once a month. I understand that I have to make sacrifices, but it seems crazy to me the amount of calories and the kinds of foods I need to eat. I mean, if I did that pre-band, I probably would have the same results... Why is the diet so strict when you already can hardly eat any food? (I can maybe eat 3 oz at a time.)

I was told 800-1000 calories a day. If you work out A LOT you can increase the calorie intake. I use calorieking and the minimum they allow is 1000. So I set that as my goal and am happy if I get below that. Most days I get somewhere in the 800-1200 range. I am losing pretty well, so it's working fine!

I just looked at the website. I don't think anyone who HAS the lap band should eat those. It looks like they are made of puffed rice. My guess is that with the Water, the puffed rice expands in your stomach, making you full. I can see how this COULD work. But seriously, eating those bars twice a day, every day.... hmmm??? I don't regret the surgery. If I had done that I would just get sick of the bars and stop doing them. I can't quit the band!

The band isn't a fix-all... it is a tool. My doc told me that time and time again, but now I am starting to SEE that it's true. You still MUST follow the program and eat well. If you don't you won't lose. I realize that when I don't work out I don't lose. I can overeat with the band, but it's not like it used to be. I can eat maybe 1500 calories instead of 3000. I will lose, but not without trying. I have had weeks go by when the scale didn't budge. I had to really look at what I was doing. I was not working out enough, I was eating too many carbs and sweet things. So I know it won't work like magic. You have to work with the lap band. You have to follow the doctor's orders. I think people who think that by having WLS you should be "cured" and not have to diet will frown upon the band. It is only a tool, and you have to use it as such. If GBP is a surgery that just limits what you can eat and not do the work, maybe that is better for some. I didn't look into it because I have seen others fail with it and have negative health side effects. I had a great start, losing 40 pounds in the first couple months following my surgery with almost no effort. Now for about 2 months I have lost 12 pounds. I figure it's as good as I would do on weight watchers, Jenny Craig or any other program.... HOWEVER I can't eat like I could back then, so this TOOL keeps me on track. I could lose more if I did more working out, ate better, etc... it's a balancing act- like any lifestyle change.

B- slice of cheese, coffee L- teriyaki chicken (no rice) 1/2 of a fiber bar D- 2 potstickers S- 5 cheez-its, 1/2 banana

I tend to eat the same things over and over. Just about every day for lunch I have teriyaki chicken from Trader Joe's. (It's frozen and I let the chicken marinate, and nuke for like a minute.) I haven't had problems eating it at all. I also like having chicken or tuna salad w/ pita chips. I have just started to have coffee and some crystal light or something for breakfast (separately) and then I have a snack around 10:00, like, a piece of fruit. I eat lunch at 12:30 and it's fine. I have an hour though. Maybe you should have a smaller lunch and a breakfast w/ more Protein like cottage cheese. When I eat breakfast, I never eat a breakfast type food! I always have chicken or tuna salad, or sometimes turkey meatballs. It has to be soft. 30 minutes should be enough time to eat lunch, even if you chew, chew, chew. In fact, longer than that isn't good.

Yuck! I have cramps and took 3 advil. Now my stomach is killing me!!! Am I not supposed to take advil? I am tighter than every before. this is going to suck, as I have to take advil due to severe menstrual cramps. What should I do instead? Do you have this problem? (I mean the stomach ache!)

I know the conference is in NYC but when is it? I'd love a LGBT bandster cocktail party! I'm going to NYC next week, and want to go again for the conference!

I know someone who had the GB and the gas problem is almost unbearable! I would not be able to deal with that. Not only the gas, but when she uses a bathroom, it's a nightmare to go in after her. She won't use public toilets to BM because the smell is now so noxious. Aside from which, I like the idea of losing slower and being able to adjust the band as needed.

I just had a fill, so I am tight and not eating much! Yay! B- 2 thin slices of cheese L- tomato soup and 2 bites of chicken salad D- 1/4 mexican pizza

I had a pretty big fill today. My dr. said I was on the upper end now and would experience some differences than before. I haven't had any solid foods yet, but I am BURPING a lot more than usual (and I normally burp a lot.) Have people who are filled up more noticed increasing burping? I am hoping with this tightness, I am going to lose a lot more and keep my portions much smaller.

This is 5 weeks after my fill (to the day.) Now I am getting stuck DAILY, often 3-4 times a day. This was not happening before. It's been happening all week. What gives?

ok, I have realized it... I am totally an "overeater" and it's a problem. I have done well on this lapband journey more or less, though I do over eat on occasion. The last couple weeks (holiday stress maybe) have been the worst. I have even drank while eating so I could eat MORE... should I join a support group? Get a counselor? What would you do? How did you overcome this? (edit: the R and the lapband trademark is totally a thing on the page, I didn't do it myself. weird.)

Pasta may become the death of me. I never liked it much BEFORE the surgery, but now it's one of the things I can eat and not get stuck... so I have been eating it a lot. I tried sushi once with rice and it didn't get stuck (before first fill) but it didn't feel good either. I'm avoiding it.

I am hoping it kicks my butt back into shape... the last few weeks have been bad. Overeating, etc. I changed my ways yesterday and was much lower in calories, higher in Protein and exercised...

I also just finished the Twilight series (well actually I will probably finish Breaking Dawn tonight.) They are great and I have been reading each book in a day or so- they are totally gripping. I also just finished "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, which was GREAT! It won the Pulitzer. I read that one on Thanksgiving.

If you can, I would suggest swimming. I swim 4-6x a week and LOVE it!! It is so awesome. You can even get an underwater ipod to listen to music while you swim. I find myself learning new things each time and increasing my endurance, lung capacity, and stamina. When I first started I could do ONE lap and I had to breathe with every stroke. Now I do 3-4 strokes between breaths (3 is normal) and I can swim 6 laps without resting. I have taught myself to do a flip turn and use kickboards and these leg things. I can feel the muscles in my arms and legs and see a big difference in the contours of my body. You just have to get over the being in public in a swim suit thing. There are always people at my pool who look worse than I do, or just about the same, so I don't worry about it. Oh, I started out doing deep Water aerobics. It's great. You wear a bouy around your waist and swim in the deep end doing different kinds of walking back and forth without touching the ground. I think both swimming and aqua-aerobics or aqua jog and low to no impact.

I think it started a few weeks ago when family came to town and has spiraled out of control since then. My eating has been TERRIBLE... at least before I was still exercising... now in the last 2 weeks due to various complications (parent teacher night, a late event at work, pool closed for Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving) I have not really been working out like I was before. On December 26th I am going to visit friends in NYC and want to be looking GOOD. Well, as good as I can. I am getting another fill next week. But I have lost 9 lbs since my last fill (somehow) but gained back 4 since Thanksgiving (I actually didn't overeat during dinner and PB'd on stuffing). My doctor is going to say 1-2 lbs a week is "normal" but I KNOW I have not been doing what I should. I am not sure what to do to turn this around? Should I do low-carb? (I haven't been) Should I make sure I only eat 1/2 a cup of food at a time? (I haven't done that either.) What is the BEST way to pull yourself together? Portion or food choices? I am also upset because I think my bad eating has caused hair loss. In the last 3 weeks it is very obvious to me that this is happening. I am still doing Vitamins, but not getting 60 grams of Protein each day- some days but not all. I am going to GNC to get hair vitamins TODAY.

I made a very yummy dinner tonight! I took 7 reduced guilt pita chips (from Trader Joe's) 100 calories reduced fat cheese - 1 serving 100 calories 1.5 oz of canned albacore tuna mixed w/ fat free mayo 76 calories I topped the pita chips w/ tuna and then topped that with the cheese. It tasted EXACTLY like a tuna melt, one of my favorite all time comfort foods. It's a little high in calories, but not as high as an actual tuna melt! I burned 900 (!!!) calories today, so I will say I was VERY hungry when I got home! What other comfort food alternatives have you come up with?

I seem to have a weird weight loss cycle. I will maintain my weight (no losses) for about 2-3 weeks, then drop 5-7 lbs at once. Yesterday was my weigh in and I was 225 for the 3rd week in a row. Today I woke up light headed and couldn't figure it out. I thought I wasn't getting enough Protein or something so I kept eating (not over eating just trying to figure out why)... still not going away. Finally, I weighed myself to find that I was 220- 5 lbs lost! (Maybe more since it is 1:45 and I weighed w/ clothing on and had already eaten Breakfast and lunch.) Anyway, this is the third time this has happened. I am always light headed/dizzy and then find that I dropped a lot of weight overnight. Does this happen to anyone else? Should I be concerned?

I am TRYING to work out daily, but for one reason or another, it's more like 4 days a week... some times 5. How do you do it? How often? I can go swimming daily, but often can't make it. I usually swim 30-45 minutes, about once a week getting in 60 minutes. I'm not doing anything else.

My doctor and nutritionist say I should be going toward 3 meals per day. I just can't seem to do it! I was also told to eat Protein so I am not hungry for 3-4 hours. That means I should be eating Breakfast at 8 am, lunch at 12, dinner at 4??? Right now I need to have breakfast at 6:30 or 7:00, lunch at 12:00, dinner at 7:30, so obviously I need to snack in between!! How on EARTH do people do three meals a day? I am doing 5 maybe 6 a day!! I am sticking within the calories but not losing. I tried only having drinks until 8:00, but then I get too busy with work and forget to eat! I am a teacher and can't stop to eat between 8:30-10:45 because we are in class. Everyone has a snack at 10:45 but that seems too close to lunch for me... however I often have the snack because the last time I ate was 6:30 or 7:00.... I am very confused!!! I am often having a snack at 4:00 or 4:30 when school is out and I have time to STOP, and then eating again at home after my exercise class around 7:30ish.

Using lots of lotion will help elasticity somewhat (just staying hydrated in general will help.) Also, building muscle will help as well. I am also worried about the excess skin, but I am noticing that around my arms and my thighs it's actually tightening up. I can only attribute that to muscle development through exercise. I have some fatty loose skin right near my arm pits and upper, upper thighs but it's not as bad as I expected at all. Not even noticeable... and my thighs are definitely shrinking... Amazingly, my stomach, while still humongous is shrinking and not "floppy" either... so miracles do happen!