littlefroggy

It's past 8:00 pm and I have been burping since 12:00 noon! I had my first lean cuisine today for lunch (1/2 of it) and a chicken breast for dinner. I tried having some toast with the chicken breast, but immediately felt the stuck feeling after one small bite. Needless to say, I'm a tad worried. I called the consulting nurse (not the doctor's office) and took two Tums. Anyone else have this happen? FYI- The consulting nurse said burping could be a sign of a heart problem!

Well I DID try a bit of bread today and guess what- it got stuck and HURT! It was grilled bread. I ordered a chicken sandwich on grilled bread, and only ate the grilled chicken breast inside, which is better for you anyway, but now I know!

I can't IMAGINE being able to eat a foot long sub, or even one of their mini-subs....but I haven't had the guts to try bread. I haven't tried much that's on the no-no list! I can however eat chocolate and like the smooth feeling going down my throat. When I did try fried chicken skin, one bite and OUCH! So no, I can't eat what I want.

I can't IMAGINE being able to eat a foot long sub, or even one of their mini-subs....but I haven't had the guts to try bread. I haven't tried much that's on the no-no list! I haven't had rice, or potatoes at all. I can however eat chocolate and like the smooth feeling going down my throat. I love Pasta now, and eat about 1/2 of a lean cuisine meal w/ pasta. It's funny because pasta is something I didn't like it very much before. I know it's not something I am supposed to eat, but it again is something that feels good to eat. I also really like chips, and those if chewed well are also easy for me to eat. I try not to eat them though of course! chicken and things like that get stuck now unless I chew super well. When I did try fried chicken skin, one bite and OUCH! So no, I can't eat what I want. I have learned there are things that really make me sick... chicken nuggets made me puke, fried chicken, scrambled eggs. I know I shouldn't even try fried chicken... but well, I guess I am nuts, because I still crave and want that stuff. I only had one bite!

I try to do that all the time. I am supposed to wait an hour, but often it's 45 minutes. If I forget, I forget, but more or less I am trying to follow instructions.

Can you feel it? Yesterday when swimming I had a lot of pain in my port area... I was a bit worried that something happened.

I'm 5'4" and my highest weight was 275. I have never been able to lose this much through exercise and diet! I am SO glad I did the surgery, but only you can make the decision. Personally, I think your body sounds like you are in good enough shape (if you can sustain that kind of workout) because before my surgery I could barely walk up the stairs and now I work out all the time. I felt like the surgery was going to be the thing that helped me get to the next level, and I found I was right! I am motivated, I eat small, low calorie meals and am finding success! You can do it too!

My body seems to do this... I stay the same, stay the same, and bam, overnight drop several pounds. It's ranged from 3 lbs-7 lbs. Last night I was at 230, this morning I was 225! (This is great because I haven't weighed 225 since my senior year of college.) BUT I have a RAGING head ache. I am at work and don't know how I will make it through the day. I am drinking A LOT of Water in case it's due to dehydration. I also took 3 advils. Does this happen to anyone else? Do you think it's due to the rapid weight loss?

I felt like I had a migraine. By the time lunch came it went away and eating did help. I took a week off work (7 days of recovery w/ the weekend.) Seriously, I could have used MORE time off! I was not one of those people who was great 3 days after surgery. It took me about 2 weeks to feel normal again. I was very tired, achy, and so forth. With the amount of sitting I was doing at work, I also was having a lot of pain in my stomach/port area. However, now I feel like things are going great, and it was TOTALLY worth it!

I'm feeling like this might be VERY good restriction! I lost 5 lbs this week!

BTW- the wings are skinless and not fried! But thanks for your comments. If I was not so lazy about cooking, I would probably grill my own chicken and veggies!

They scheduled me for a fill on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and then I cancelled it. I don't need to be restricted any more on that day! I would rather enjoy the holiday than be sick or something. It's not about the food, but you never know how your body will react to a fill-- what if you get sick or can't swallow at all?! Do you know how IMPOSSIBLE it will be to reach your doctor or the doctor on call? (I use to answer phones for doctors on call and none of them want to be bugged on a holiday.) Cancel that appointment and schedule another one. If you really don't think you need the fill, than waiting a week or so won't matter. But do it soon... I know my doc is booked up for fills weeks and weeks in advance.

I think it's about finding an exercise that you ENJOY more than anything. I have had gym memberships and gone on walks, and even ran when I was much thinner... but swimming is the exercise I like best. I plan on adding weights eventually as well. I swim Monday: laps 30 minutes; class 45 minutes, Wednesday: laps 40 minutes; class 45 minutes, Friday: laps 30 minutes; class 45 minutes, Saturday: laps 45 minutes. On Sunday I am signed up for a yoga class but I keep missing it! I AM GOING TODAY! The class is an hour and fifteen minutes, but it's super low-key and not really "exercise" it's more like a meditation and stretching class. I'm not exercising EVERY DAY right now, but I am doing well over an hour on most of the days when I do. I plan on swimming laps on T/Th pretty soon. I just need to work up to it.

My doctor was saying that if the band is too tight you will make poor food choices because those are the foods that feel good going down! Maybe you need an unfill?! Also, for everyone else... 2-3 cc is hardly anything! My doctor filled me up to over 5 on the first fill because he said that most people don't have any restriction until that point. I had my second fill at 6 and feel much more restricted now! I can still drink a lot of liquids, but a couple ounces fills me up. Wait until you get 5-6 cc and then decide. Sometimes people need up to 8-10 cc to be perfect.

Raising Cain AND The Pressured Child by Michael Thompson (non-fiction) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie The Zombie Survival Guided by Max Brooks The Birthday of the World by Ursula LeGuinn (short stories) On of my students recommended Twilight and I will be reading that soon! As soon as a copy is available at the library! I am always in the middle of a bunch of books, but I get bored easily so I read a few at a time. I have to read what suits my mood.

I'm supposed to do a liquid diet. I have managed to do liquids the rest of the day of the fill, and then through the morning of the next day. I usually have a soft lunch. I don't think I really can go back to full liquids. I had a TON of problems with the Protein supplements.

I've been losing an average of 3.5 a week, and it's been nine weeks. I expect that to slow. I have also had weeks where I lost MORE than that (in the beginning) and weeks where I didn't lose at all. I think by the end of my journey I will have lost about a pound a week.

I think there is a bit of validity to that story. I think low-self esteem relating to my parents not accepting me as gay may have had something to do w/ my weigh gain, though I was chubby before coming out. I was a bit chubby (160) but nothing like I am now. I was never molested or raped or anything. I did have some bad experiences with guys through the years, but experimented with girls as young as 13 years old and had a steady girlfriend at 15. I think my sexuality is as much a part of me, as anyone's, and not the result of any trauma. I will say, I initially thought dating would be easier as a lesbian, because women in general are more accepting... but I find that I am just as lousy about dating and have low self esteem with girls too! (Last time I dated a man was 10 years ago.) Anyway, there are lots of reasons for obesity, but way fewer reasons people are gay! I will also add that I have a BIG group of lesbian friends, and I am the only obese one in the group. I also date LESS than anyone else I know. At the gay bars, I am often the fattest one there! Most lesbians are athletic and fit, at least where I live. And ALL the lesbians I know care a lot about how they look!

Before I had my surgery, I met a woman who had the surgery a year ago and never went back to her doctor, and never had a fill. She had lost 75 lbs, but had maybe another 30 to go. However, she said she was happy at her current weight and didn't want a fill. I should think she would have wanted at least a check up, but she never went back to the surgeon at all. Not what I would do, but if you don't need a fill, and you are losing at a good rate, don't get the fill until you need it.

You should go to the doctor. I had one of my scars get infected and now it looks bad, and will never heal the way I would like (bikini ready.) I posted a ton of times asking questions, and by the time I went to the doctor they had to "dig out" the infected parts, which is why my scar is now huge! (About a a cm wide, instead of just a little line.)

My problem is my butt is flat and my lovely pooch on the front is bigger than most butts. I'm "backwards"

I got a fill today and first thing I did when I got home was eat! (fill at 3:00, ate at 7:30, worked out in between) I have had a 2 oz bowl of Pasta w/ butter (carbs, anyone?) and a piece of chocolate! Not only that, but I am SUPPOSED to be on liquids for 2 days and soft foods for 2 days. The pasta and chocolate was soft, but man, I feel like I totally blew it!

I also use cloth pads! I think people think it's gross, but I don't like the "feel" of that plasticy/papery stuff that regular pads are made of. I wear cloth pads at home and at night only. I HATE the feeling of sleeping in a papery pad. I use OB tampons, the little kind with no applicator. I know there are women who don't like those because they have to use their fingers, but jeeze, if you can't touch yourself I think you have a problem! On my very light days I use a regular pad, but I pretty much hate them. Since being banded I have like, 4 days of spotting and 2 days of HEAVY bleeding. This is basically the opposite of my previous cycles. That means I am using a lot more pads. I only buy Always pads, and have used those since I was 12!

My "plan" is counting calories. I eat what I want as long as it's Protein first so I am getting that in, but also making sure that I don't eat any meal that has more carbs than protein. So everything is protein first, then carbs. I do eat sweets and carbs in moderation. I've been losing this way and like it because I can eat all kinds of foods. I do avoid sugar drinks, bread, rice, and the things the dr. said would get stuck. I keep track of my calories on calorieking.com. I like it because it tracks calories, carbs, protein, Fiber, etc. It also tracks the minerals and Vitamins I am getting from food.

I mix one packed in a 32 oz bottle of Water, so it's quite diluted. I found I won't drink the water required each day if I don't mix something in it. I also mix in fruity tea, and let that chill in the fridge (like cranberry zinger.) No problems for me so far!