JanetC

I SO hear you! I can’t seem to eat without hurting. I golf-ball almost every meal, at least once… sometimes two or three times. When I do PB, everything's chewed really well... I'm proud of that part, lol, but why on earth am I still PBing? StrawartS posted this for dealing with a tight fill. I haven’t done the hot tea part yet… I’m not really tight, lol. But when I follow the rest of it, I do well. I’ve taken to actually watching a second hand… and this is what I found: My normal bites are 0 seconds apart. My 2nd bite is in as SOON as I swallow. My “slow” bites are 3-5 seconds apart. LOL!! Sad, but true. 30-60 seconds is FOREVER!!!! Dealing with first bite blues: Drink HOT tea before your first bite. Take a VERY small first bite. Chew till the end of the earth. Swallow. Wait 1 minute. Drink more HOT tea to wash it down. Repeat steps 2-6 for the next few bites. Put your fork down for 30 seconds to 1 minute between ALL subsequent bites. Yesterday I timed 30-60 seconds between bites. 30 seconds seems to be pushing it -- I golf-balled a couple of times. 45-60 seems to work better for me. I'm really trying to FEEL 60 seconds... so I can quit being so clock obsessed! Good luck! Hope you find your magic number!

Hi Greta! "Sticky" is a forum term... moderators "sticky" a post to make it always appear at the top. That way it's easy to find in the list of posts. It's not a term for us privates, it's for Penni or Alex or one of the other moderators. That being said, us privates do have access to "Bookmarks" or "Favorites": Look up at the top of your window... all the way up... there should be a blue bar which should have info about "Spring Bootcamp 2006..." in it. JUST BELOW that bar, is another bar that should say something like "File Edit View Favorites". Click on the word "Favorites" Click on "Add to Favorites" You'll get a pop-up box. Click on the OK button. That will bookmark this thread for you. Then, when you want to visit this thread again: Click on "Favorites" Scroll down to "Spring Bootcamp" (move your mouse down until the words "Spring Bootcamp" are highlighted) Click on "Spring Bootcamp" NOTE: This is to bookmark THIS thread. If you just want to bookmark LBT & not just this thread, follow these steps: Click here: http://www.lapbandtalk.com The new window should be the "main" LBT page Click on "Favorites" (back up top) Click on "Add to Favorites" Click on the OK button That will bookmark the main forum for you. Hope this helped! Let me know if it didn't work for you!

That's awesome news! Congrats Kendra & Nicole!!

Ravens, don't take a break! That's what we're here for! (( Big ol' bandster hug!! )) We all have our ups & downs, let's just pray we're not all down the same day! Give your band time... get 2-3 fills in you & see how it's working then. I know it STINKS (!!) to have to wait that long on faith, but restriction is going to be awesome! For me, I've definitely felt moody since banding. Post-op depression is a documented side-effect of surgery. Any major life change can cause depression. And every time I've dieted I've gotten depressed & had mood swings. Throw all those things together & you're looking at some issues! But I've got to hang onto the hope that we're going to come out on the other side & it's going to be worth it!! Good luck, Jillia! Let us know if we can help!

Go SuperDaddy!! Get that bod a'movin! I'm in binge mode. Granted, it's about a third of what I used to eat, but I've GOT to get back in control! It's no way to start a boot camp!

Hmmm, I've been thinking. Didn't our monthly visitor all hit us about the same time last month? I know I'm expecting mine in about a week. So maybe we're all having problems with food right now for a reason?! Just a thought... Man I hear you with the lack of fill, Becky! I'm ashamed at what I ate yesterday. I know it's about a third of what I used to eat, but still!! I'm in binge mode & really need to get it under control! Ms Vicki! Your first PB! ((Hugs!!)) Freaky, isn't it! Stacey, thanks for being the voice of experience for us!! I cannot wait to get restriction! You've been so patient, and now we all get to learn from you! Hey Julie! Good luck in Boston! Enjoy the flowers & avoid the junk food! We're doing "Dance Dance Revolution" (DDR) for exercise. It's a video game (PS2 or X-box)... basically dancing on mats with arrows, following the steps they give you. We've worked up from 2 min (1 song)... we're at 22 now! Sounds like you're doing great with the walking! Keep it up! :clap2: Welcome Prinnie!! We're glad you're here!! Feel free to jump in & chat & let us know how you're doing! We don't bite... much. Ouch, Ms Vicki! Guess I need to rope myself back in, especially on the volume. Thanks for the cautionary words! Oh Stacey, I saw Nashville on the news last night! Did you weather the tornado ok? The devestation was awful!! I'm praying you & yours are safe!!!! Hope you have power & can check back in soon! My commitments / results for 07-APR: Vitamins — check! Water — check! 80oz! Protein — check! Exercise — no check :tired Food journal — check! Good choices — um, what's worse then no check? Calorie difference 1000+ — no check :speechles Daily affirmations 3 times — check

Heh, I'm glad it's just slightly out-sized & not a slip! Man! I hope I can learn from you & your owner's experience & quit telling my band to shut up, I can handle it!

Thanks for the info, Kathy! On my way to Walmart! I'll let YOU explain it to Mikey, lol. I'm glad your pain went away freebit! Hope mine does the same!!

That's so cool! Congrats on your bandiversary!!

**shudder** Nothing to do but suck it up & post, huh. I've been in a week-long binge mode. I've got 1 fill (1.2 / 4), 7 weeks post-op. Turns out I can eat just about anything, as long as I space my bites out enough. I think I may be hormonal, because I was in control just last week... I remember it fondly, lol. Anyway: Early AM: Isopure RTD 0 carb (40g protein) 10:30am: Lean Gourmet 5 cheese lasagna 1:00pm: Long John Silver's... ya know this isn't going to be good, lol. Let's see if I remember... Most of a snack size popcorn shrimp & a snack size lobster bites (thank goodness Mikey ate some of it!), 1 piece of fish, 1 piece of chicken... ALL deep fried 6:00 pm: "Ready made" beef brisket 7:00 pm: Breyer's low carb ice cream bar Throughout the day: Hershey's Special Dark chocolate chips. <--- This is actually a red flag for me. They sit in a cabinet until THAT week. I normally eat 5-10 chips a day during my "special time", lol. Today I ate 3/4 of the bag. **sigh** I haven't done that in a LONG time, 2 or 3 years. I have found that I'm just plain ol' ANGRY this week. I paid a lot of money for this band to limit my portions, but I'm SO ticked off to not be able to binge like I want! How messed up is that! Oh well, thanks for listening to me rant! Tomorrow is a new start & knowing I have to post it helps! Thanks guys!

Hey all! Can anyone jump in on this thread? Or is it just for those from MD? I could use some embarrassment to get me back in line... WAY out of control! BeeJay, I'll take a stab at some of your questions. Milk / dairy can cause problems for SOME post-op. Most can go back to drinking / eating it after a couple of months. Some seem to develop lactose intolerance from the surgery (go figure). For me, I drank milk protein shakes 3 days post-op & haven't had any issues. We do TRY to avoid liquid calories... so ice cream is sorta a no-no. That being said, I LOVE it!! I try to limit myself on the quantity, but cutting it out just makes me binge. The first week post-op I was never hungry, but by the 2nd, my swelling had gone done & I was ravenous. Each person is different. It depends how much you swell & how fast you heal. For myself, I've had the "golf-ball" (where you feel pressure behind your sternum that feels like a golf / tennis / volley ball is stuck there). If I manage to stop RIGHT at that pain, then it normally passes as the food gets unstuck & goes down. If I DON'T stop, then the next bite causes issues. I've had 2 different issues: 1. Sliming. The saliva backs up... and you end up "throwing up" (it's bigger then a hiccup, but not really throwing up). For me, sliming is just clear... saliva... stringy... it gets over everything & is a royal pain. It also seems to take longer to get through it, with a PB, once or twice & I'm done. Sliming goes forEVER. 2. PB. For me, I define PB as when food comes up with the slime. Again, it's almost like a hiccup, but you get food back. The food is not digested (it's only been in the top pouch). You can see if you didn't chew well enough, lol. For me, it doesn't seem to be a chewing issue (I chew really well), it seems to be too many bites too quickly. I'm learning to pause 30-60 seconds between bites so that I hear the pain signal & don't have the bad results.

That's awesome!! Great pic! Congrats! :scared:

Welp, my fill seems to have worn off. The pain is letting up, which is a blessing, but it's caused an increase in calories, lol. I hadn't even noticed them creeping up, but I just got caught up on fitday (NOTE TO SELF: Don't EVER get behind again!). I'm up to 2000 calories a day!!!! *gasp!* Last week I was having problems breaking 1000! 2 weeks to our next fill. Time to get my rear back in gear! My commitments / results for 06-APR: Vitamins — check! Water — check! 80oz! Protein — check! Exercise — check! (DDR: 22 min) food journal — check! Good choices — semi-check. :scared: Calorie difference 1000+ — no check (only 776). :speechles Daily affirmations 3 times — no check. :tired TODAY I will make a difference! TODAY I will work to create the me of tomorrow! TODAY I will CONQUER & get all things checked! I am in control of my diet and exercise. I make good food choices daily. I move my body daily. I am patient with myself & my weight loss. I do the steps on my plan so I CAN TRIUMPH!!

**sigh** I thought Mandisa was the best female vocalist. Oh well. For me, Kelly doesn't stay in tune. I hear her waver... I thought Carrie Underwood was MUCH better -- and was able to sing all kinds of styles successfully. She's doing country now because she WANTS to, not because she HAS to. Only 3 girls & 5 boys left & I'm bummed, lol. I'm sure I'll kick it by next week, but man! I sorta don't even want to watch! :scared:

Kellybelly & Parvathi both JUST had PS done... read their update threads, they're inspiring! :scared: Kelly's Jess's

Be nice to yourself, but keep going!!! 10 min and 5 min are nothing to sneeze at! It's a great start! Now keep it up! :scared: We were totally sedentary... and started with TWO minutes!! We've built up & are finally up to 20, after 3.5 months, heh. You'll get there!!! Just move the bod daily! And congrats on the awesome weight loss!!

That's awesome!! Congrats Jess & welcome home! Glad to hear it went so well!

Ewwwww to both stories!! And laughing about the drunk, heh. Glad you can laugh about it! They certainly take some getting used to! :scared:

Wow, Crystal! I just caught up on all this... sounds like you've been through it! I'm glad you're home & that the men are being, well, normal men... and that you've got a good doctor... and that you're not waiting, you're GRABBING LIFE BY THE HORNS!!! Go get 'em girl! :scared: You're my hero!

Happy bandiversary! :scared: You are an inspiration! Thanks for hanging around here & letting us all learn from you!

Heh, no worries Pat. I bought a 3 liter of Diet Coke & cracked it, then put it in the fridge. It's mostly flat... and still tastes good. It does make me burp a ton, though. :scared: We have maybe a cup every other day... it doesn't seem to have the hold on me that it once did, thank goodness! Now it's just a treat... or for use when I get food stuck. **sigh** After my big post this morning with the good eating rules, I proceeded to get stuck with STRING CHEESE!!!!! I PB'd yet again. The good news, it was well chewed, lol. But too much too fast. **pout!** I just ate salad while watching the clock & was fine. Read, learn, live by the rules!

Weeeeeeeeeee!!!!! Signed & committed! JanetC We don't have a scale, so the weigh-ins will be bi-monthly when we hit the doctor's office. :scared: LBT BOOTCAMP starting 277 pds 546.25 inches 4-10 4-17 4-24 5-1 5-8 5-15 5-22 5-29 6-5 6-12 6-19 6-26 6-30

Welcome back Sheryl! And congrats on both sets of weightloss! :scared: What a great story!! I'm glad you're on the other side of the ick!

Hi Britt! It is hard to decide what to do when the scale keeps going up & diets don't seem to work. The lap-band is a good choice if you are an over-eater, not necessarily if you're a sweets eater: If you go off your diet by eating 3 sandwiches, lap-band might be for you. If you go off your diet by having a milkshake or 2, it might not be for you. (The lap-band won't restrict liquid or sweet calories well.) As to qualifying, if you self-pay, you most likely won't have to qualify. If you're wanting insurance to cover it, most require a BMI of 35 with a co-morbidity or 2... or a BMI of 40+. Right now your BMI is 34.5 per my calculator, using 5'7". Using 5'8" it's 33.4. Do you have co-morbidities? High BP? High cholesterol? sleep apnea? Documented back or joint pain? Arthritis? (Just naming stuff off the top of my head.) If you have co-morbidities, you could conceivably get your BMI up a touch by either gaining a little weight, or by hunching when they take your height. There was a girl who needed to have a higher BMI... she hunched for her height & took off 2 inches. She also ate Chinese the night before -- to add Water weight. I think she drank a ton of water as she was going in -- more extra weight. I believe she also carried weights in her pocket, but I'm not sure about that. I don't advocate insurance fraud, but gaining weight just so you qualify does seem a touch backwards. Good luck with your decision! Feel free to ask questions, we're a pretty friendly bunch!

:Banane57::Banane39: :Banane33::waytogo::Banane43::Banane59: YAY Stacey!!! Wow, 32 pounds! Woohooo!!