Veritas

I have a very difficult time telling exactly when I'm hungry because I find I still have a lot of "head hunger" After getting my band I've found that I have a hard time determining if I am hungry or if I have gas or if my tummy is just busy digesting. Generally I get an "empty" feeling and have a bit of a growl going on. I also pay attention to whether I am light-headed or cranky. As far as full goes, it's not too hard for me to tell when I'm there. It's just so hard to stop!!! Usually I have a feeling of fullness and find I have to burp. That's my first warning. If I continue eating I get a burning feeling and usually if I stop there it's not toooo bad. But if I'm really rebellious and push it even one little bite further then my need to burp becomes more... productive

Ok, I have to be honest that I'm starting to question myself on this topic. I am 5'8 and currently weigh in at 342lbs. I cannot remember ever being under 200 although obviously at some point in time i must have been. When I talked with my nutritionist about what would be a good "goal" for me she did some calculations and came in with the weight of 211 pounds. However, the height/weight charts I see say I should be anywhere between 135 and 150. I honestly cannot even fathom being that thin. And I really don't want to be. Is that wrong do you think? I personally will be thrilled to get under 250 and if I get within 10 pounds of 200 I'm pretty sure I would be thrilled to stay there. My husband loves my curves and I am really scared to lose them! One thing I've always considered is that all my extra weight is very evenly distributed on my body. When my husband found out that I weighed 372 pounds (before surgery) he was truly shocked. He said I did not look that big at all. I've always been told that I "carry my weight well" so I'm hoping that if I reach 200 maybe I will "look" like I'm only 160-170? I don't really know what that weight will be like but I'm hopeful I can make it!

Ok, so I was finally banded on June 5th after waiting for soooo long and I was determined to be compliant and not cheat. However.... of course I did! I'm really torn about how I feel about it too, because on one hand of course I feel bad for not following the rules, but on the other hand I have been literally faint from not eating much substence (it's a Protein issue maybe?) so my body is so happy that I gave it something with substance. :hungry: My doc wants me on clear and full liquids for 3 weeks. I'm only 1/2 way in. I feel AWESOME, am back at work, drinking 8-10 glasses of Water daily with no problem, minimal pain and only at port site and seemingly no restriction. I'm curious, what is the definition of a full liquid? Does it still have to be sucked through a straw? Because my food list says clear/full liquids, but also has yogurt listed, which I never thought of as a liquid.. Ok.. here are the foods I "cheated" with: Cottage cheese - 1/4 cup Chili (blended, so still pretty liquidy) 1/2 cup Tuna w/mayo (about 3 bites) So here's my question/plea for help :help: 1st - do you think I've hurt anything by eating these foods? I made sure to chew chew chew chew as well as I could and ate very slowly at all. 2nd - Am I just beyond hope?! I'm really mad at myself for not being able to stick to the liquid thing for 3 weeks and while I'm certainly not throwing up my hands and quitting (how could I ) I know the next week and a half are going to be really hard! I'd really like to hear from other people who have "cheated" even if on healthy foods. I know my doctor is conservative in his liquid stage, how long were other people on liquids before they could go to mushies? Please, no negative comments - I'm beating myself up enough on my own. I'm just wondering if anyone else felt like this or did this and how it turned out. Of course encouraging words are always welcome. Please tell me I'm normal!!!

Ok, so I was finally banded on June 5th after waiting for soooo long and I was determined to be compliant and not cheat. However.... of course I did! I'm really torn about how I feel about it too, because on one hand of course I feel bad for not following the rules, but on the other hand I have been literally faint from not eating much substence (it's a Protein issue maybe?) so my body is so happy that I gave it something with substance. :hungry: My doc wants me on clear and full liquids for 3 weeks. I'm only 1/2 way in. I feel AWESOME, am back at work, drinking 8-10 glasses of Water daily with no problem, minimal pain and only at port site and seemingly no restriction. I'm curious, what is the definition of a full liquid? Does it still have to be sucked through a straw? Because my food list says clear/full liquids, but also has yogurt listed, which I never thought of as a liquid.. Ok.. here are the foods I "cheated" with: Cottage cheese - 1/4 cup Chili (blended, so still pretty liquidy) 1/2 cup Tuna w/mayo (about 3 bites) So here's my question/plea for help :help: 1st - do you think I've hurt anything by eating these foods? I made sure to chew chew chew chew as well as I could and ate very slowly at all. 2nd - Am I just beyond hope?! I'm really mad at myself for not being able to stick to the liquid thing for 3 weeks and while I'm certainly not throwing up my hands and quitting (how could I ) I know the next week and a half are going to be really hard! I'd really like to hear from other people who have "cheated" even if on healthy foods. I know my doctor is conservative in his liquid stage, how long were other people on liquids before they could go to mushies? Please, no negative comments - I'm beating myself up enough on my own. I'm just wondering if anyone else felt like this or did this and how it turned out. Of course encouraging words are always welcome. Please tell me I'm normal!!!

Thank you all for your replys, it's been very comforting to know I'm not the only one who has "strayed" from the path of band perfection. It's been a long journey and I'm only on day 11! But I appreciate that I can come here and spill the beans and not be judged for it. Thanks again!

I totally understand!!! I wasn't hungry until about day 4 or 5 when I stopped taking the liquid Vicodin. It was smelling my husbands dinner that was my undoing. My mouth started watering and it's like my body said, "Hey! Real food - haven't had that in awhile!" Have you tried Protein shakes? I found when I pumped up the protein it made a big difference in my ability to withstand cravings and "head hunger" I'm not sure what aftercare diet you are on, but you could ask your dr if cottage cheese would be ok. I found that it really satisfied my desire to chew something and have some substance to my meals. Also, tomato Soup and bean with bacon soup and split pea soup - all Campbells brand, thinned out a bit, they all really fill me up pretty good. Just some ideas. Of course take into consideration what your dr wants you to do. But don't be afraid to call ur doctor if you are struggling. That's why they're there! I was to the point of almost passing out because I was so weak and adding just a little bit more protein made all the difference!

I'm only 11 days out and I feel the "plops" which is really interesting considering I'm still on liquids. When I drink Water or eat Soup I can feel the "progression" of the food where I never could before. It's the STRANGEST feeling! I'm so much more aware of what is happening in my stomach now! I can feel the "full" sensation of my pouch filling up and about 20 minutes later it's like someone pulled the drain on the tub and I can feel everything moving "south" I'm also super hungry all the time but I think it's because I let myself have some more solid type foods before I should have and now my body knows what it's missing out on. And it doesn't like me very much for withholding from it!

Every doctor has different guidelines for carbonated drinks. The general consensus seems to be that it's not a good idea for the 1st 6 weeks and after that to listen closely to your body's signals for how it responds. Everybody is so individual. Some find that the bubbles cause great discomfort, but I've heard others say that they have one once a week (after the 6 week mark) and have no problems. If and when you do drink carbonated soda again it would probably be a good idea to let it sit for awhile and get some of the carbonation out. Not fully flat (I mean, what good is soda if it's flat, right?!) but at least long enough that the initial "fizz" can go. I'm a diet Pepsi fan myself and am looking forward to that first "test" sip to see how it goes down. Good luck!

When that happens to me I go for the individual sized sweet things. And low-calorie/low-fat whenever possible. So for example, Blue Bunny ice cream makes low-fat ice cream bars that are only 90 calories. There are a lot of similar items. You can get popscicles too that are sugar free or even regular isn't that high in calories. I also take my chocolate flavored Slim-fast Optima, mix it up with a spoonful of PB and a banana and it makes for an awesome shake. You can thin it down and make it stretch for 2-3 servings too. Let's see... there's pudding cups too. Oh! Or I REALLY love the 99cent Frosty from Wendy's when I'm really jonesen for some chocolate. It's tiny in size and just hits the spot. Hope this helps somewhat. Good luck!

Hello! Just wanted to let you all know that I was finally banded on Monday, June 5th. Today is my first day home and all in all I am feeling pretty good. Tummy is still hurting a bit of course but I'm amazed by how manageable the pain is. Have my mom here with me to help (she is a registered nurse so I am spoiled!) and have graduated from water and juice to broth which tastes soooo yummy. My tummy is all gurgly which I think is a good sign. And I know it's temporary but it is really nice to not care if others are eating around me. I have no desire to eat "real" food. Again, I'm sure I'll face that demon soon enough but I'm enjoying it so far. I do have one question... what do you guys do to "get things moving" so to speak? I really feel bloated like I need to "go" but have not been able to so far. This early in the game I wasn't sure if I should try something over the counter or not.

I am shocked. Totally shocked. I am finally going to have my surgery! I had an appointment with my surgeon today and I have finally lost enough weight that we are going to proceed. So next Monday morning, bright and early, I'm hauling my tushie down to the hospital and banding up!!! I was so nervous about the appointment I didn't let myself think about the reality of the surgery! So now it's hitting me all at once. But I am super duper pooper scooper excited. I'm going to spend the weekend stocking up on liquids and trying to get mentally prepared. Does anyone have any good advice for the last 4 days before I take the plunge? I am so stinkin excited. Can I say that one more time? I know reality will set in soon and it won't be all fun and games, but DANG I'm enjoying feeling good about it right now. Ok, so two random thoughts... Random #1 - I read the best quote the other day on Puddin Pie's blog. It said "Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket?" Is that not HYSTERICAL?! That is such an apt description of my life sometimes.. Random #2 - I read something earlier DeLarla posted about marshmallows and Ritz crackers and I had to laugh because I grew up eating something similar. My mom would take a saltine, put a slice of cheddar cheese on it and a marshmallow on top and put it in the microwave for a few seconds to let everything melt together. She calls them "Poor Boy Cookies" Her mom made them for her when she was growing up. Sounds weird, I know! But it is the best combination of salty/sweet, chewy/crunchy, savory all at the same time. IT WORKS TOGETHER! Ok, I will stop my ramblin now. Just had to share the good news. Yay for me! :clap2:

:update: Just thought I'd post an update on where I am at with my "journey". I'm scheduled for surgery on June 6th and am currently trying to follow my pre-surgery diet as faithfully as possible. Thankfully I've been donig pretty good and only have 5 more pounds to lose in the next 2 weeks. I made a decision to quit the 2nd job I started barely 6 weeks ago. It was a hit to my ego but I found that I just do not have the energy I used to have to work those kind of hourse. I was pushing 70 hours a week and trying to prepare myself physically and mentally for this surgery and it just WASN'T working. I was so worried about our finances and how this would impact them but thankfully due to some creative number crunching we've figured out a way to get buy with me just working my primary job. YAY! My husband is SOOO happy to have me home in the evenings again (my part-time job was Mon-Fri 6pm-12:30 am) Before we only saw each other on the weekends. It's amazing to me what we are willing to sacrifice for the sake of money sometimes. So now I am re-focused and getting very excited about finally getting my band. My hubby cooked me a sort of "last supper" tonight (although I'm proud to say I really watched my portions) and I'm just feeling like, "bring it on!" :peace:

My doctors recommendations for the pre-surgery diet is 3 slimfast (or other Protein shake drink) three times a day and unlimited fruits and veggies. The idea is to do this 75% of the time and obviously it would be pretty easy for the weight to come off. I personally have a really hard time with Slim-Fast or any other Protein Drink for that matter. I've tried several and just feel like a little kid trying to choke something down becuase mom told me to. lol. So what I've been doing is 1 protein drink for Breakfast, some kind of lean protein for lunch (like tuna or some sliced chicken or deli turkey) and then a lean cuisine or south beach frozen meal for dinner. I eat a LOT of veggies, mostly from frozen but now that summer is here I hope to start havin more fresh. And a lot of fruit. I also bought some low-sugar individual ice cream treats and fat free popcorn for Snacks. I try to buy pre-portioned whenever possible becuase I find it really helps with portion control. I use fitday.com to track my calories/fat/protein/carbs and my target calorie intake is between 1200-1500 per day. It has been easier than I thought and the weight is actually coming off fairly easily. I've started drinking a TON of Water (about 8 16oz bottles daily) and I try to walk 3 or 4 times a day for between 5 to 10 minutes. I plan on switching to an almost fully liquid diet for the last 4 days before surgery. Just to get myself ready for the liquid phase after the diet and also to kind of clean the solids out of my system too. Eww, icky thought, eh!? PhotoNut - I'm so glad to hear from you too! Now that my life is back to semi-normal we should really get together to walk. Where is the dinner at on Tuesday night? I'm so excited at the prospect of getting together with some bandster folks!!!

I've been gone from BandLand for awhile due to some technical difficulties as well as an extremely crazy schedule. I'm back thanks to my dear husband who got me a brand new laptop so that I would be able to stay entertained while recovering from my band surgery. I'm actually pretty discouraged at the moment regarding my future band. I was initially supposed to get my band on February 27th. However, I unexpectedly ended up in the hospital on Feb 7th with severe pains and ended up having a (benign) tumor removed that was pinching one of my ovaries. I was out of work for 3 weeks and had to reschedule my surgery for May 1st. Unfortunately, when I went in to my doctors office the Thursday before my surgery he determined that I had not lost enough weight to be able to proceed. I was supposed to lose 5% of my body weight prior to the surgery which for me was a minimum of a 19 pound weight loss. I had only lost 12 pounds and my doctor refused to go forward until I lose another 10. (Not sure why I have to lose more now than I did before) I'm super frustrated because dieting is obviously an issue for me. Otherwise, why would I be having the band in the first place? We have been under a lot of financial strain lately and so I've taken a 2nd job and am basically working about 70 hours a week to try and pay down some debt and save enough for my co-pay for this procedure. Mon-Fri I eat every single meal away from home. Which means I'm living on Lean Cuisines which, while tasty, get VERY old sometimes. My doctor wants me to be on a strict pre-surgical diet consisting of 3 Slim-Fast's per day and unlimited fruits and veggies. I'm supposed to stick to this diet 75% of the time. It's just so hard becuase I truly dislike Slim-Fast (as well as all other Meal Replacement shakes) and it's such an extreme diet that i don't understand how anyone could be expected to maintain this diet over such a long period of time. Especially a person who so obviously doesn't do well with diets in the first place. Plus, I've essentially been trying to stick to this diet since January and I suppose it's pretty obvious by my failure to lose enough weight that it's just not going well for me. I'm experiencing an extreme lack of motivation and an overwhelming discouragement regarding the band. I was so excited to have it back in February. To be delayed essentially 3 months has really eroded my confidence that this is really the right thing for me. What if this is a sign that I am not supposed to do this? What if I can't succeed in this? I've never known success in this area and this latest setback has really knocked my feet out from under me. I have so much goin on in my life right now. And I am so FRICKING tired of focusing on food so much! Whether I'm binging or dieting it's all the same. All I can think about is what I can eat and what I can't eat and then feel bad because I either ate something I shouldn't have or becuase I want to eat something I shouldn't. I'm just so damn tired of the whole thing. :think

Thanks to all of you for your encouraging words and advice. I woke up this morning with a renewed sense of determination regarding this whole issue. I finally buckled down and bought a scale that could weight me accurately. (Sad to say but my old scale only went up to 280 and I am well beyond that) I've always had to go to the doctor's office in the past to weigh myself so it was much harder to keep track of my progress (or lack thereof!) I'm hoping that being able to weigh at home a few times a week will help me stay on task a lot better. I know that ultimately it all comes down to a choice on my part. I can choose to be positive and do what it takes, or I can choose to be negative and talk myself back to poor eating habits. I truly do want to succeed in this. Unfortuantely, even if I did lose the 10 pounds in the next week or two, I am at the mercy of both the doctor's availability and my co-workers vacation schedule. So I am stuck with the June 5th surgery date, although I wish I could go earlier. My plan is to count calories and exercise the next 2 weeks but not be as strict with myself about the Protein shakes until the final 2 weeks before the surgery. I just think if I try to go gangbusters for the full four weeks I'm afraid I will burn out half way through and the temptation to cheat will be too great. Right now I just want to focus on staying away from fast food restaurants and keeping the junk food out of the house. Luckily the weather has been nice lately so I've been able to get out and walk more often. Yay! Again, thank you to all of you for your support. I'm glad that I can be online again. I think having support will make a world of difference.

Actually, I just had 2 cysts removed just a couple of weeks ago. Totally unexpected too! One of them was the size of a small orange and the other one was pretty small in comparison. It was emergency surgery cuz they basically had one of my ovaries in a corner and were threatening it! :couch2: The hardest part for me was that they did a full incision to remove them. So I basically have a scar like a C-Section would be but no baby to show for it. I was in the hospital for 2 days and it was about 4-5 days before I could get myself in and out of bed. The unfortunate thing is that I'm sure my weight made it harder to get around. The good part is that 2 weeks later I am almost back to normal. I hope things go well for you and if you have any questions or need encouragement, please let me know!

Hi Boston - Yes, Pre-Op stuff is time consuming, isn't it!?!?!? I'm not sure what hoops you have to jump through, but I had to do the following: sleep Study (2 of them before it was all said and done) Psychological Evaluation EKG A whole lotta blood work Visit with Nutritionist It seems like I'm forgetting something, but that's the gist of it. Once that was completed I consulted with the surgeon and got insurance approval. From start to finish (well, I'm not banded just yet, but that's another story) it took me about 6 months. I'm sure I could have gotten it done sooner if I'd been more dedicated but it was expensive and time-consuming. Nature of the beast I guess. Keep your chin up. It will be worth it! I am so excited to get my band and get on with my life!

LOL! Ok, this thread is a classic. We also use the term "Mr Happy" And we call mine "Mrs Happy" Not very original for sure, but cute enough. My hubby jokes that one day I am going to come to bed and he will have a superhero cape attached to "Mr Happy" and then we can shoot an action/adventure film together! LOLOLOLOL! He wishes!

Hi Kat! Welcome to BandLand. I am relatively new here as well but I think you will find that the people are great and so very supportive! I was supposed to be banded this month (27th) but it was delayed due to an unexpected surgery I had to have to remove a cyst. So my new date is probably going to be late March, early April. I would love to offer any support I can! I'm not super computer saavy when it comes to this setting, but I am picking up more and more each day. Where do you live? I am in Idaho. I know when I went for my first appointment I found I had to have quite a few other things done before I could schedule the surgery. sleep study, psychological evaluation, etc. Do you know yet what your surgeon requires? Please feel free to ask as many questions as you need to. I know I found this site super helpful when I was in the decision making process. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. kaylakrahmer@yahoo Kayla

The surgery was done by a Dr. Ludders - I think he was the guy on call for the night. Turned out to be super nice and I may even start using him as my primary ob/gyn since I don't have one at the moment. I go back next Tuesday (21st) for my follow-up appt and will hopefully be back to work soon after. Thank you to all of you for your kind words of support! I love this community!

Well, I had a rather interesting time last week. Was supposed to attend my first Lap-Band Support meeting on the 7th but woke up early am with sharp shooting pains in my abdomen. Managed to wait until 8am when DH came home from work and had him take me to Doc-in-the-Box. I actually thought maybe I just had really bad gas pains or something, but it hurt so bad, I was beyond being embarrassed about it. Well, after the initial exam, my doc referred me to the hospital for a C-Scan thinking maybe it was my appendix or endometriosis. After going through all that (still in a lot of pain, mind you) they say they need to do an ultrasound because they just can't figure this thing out. Well they do an ultrasound and see a big ol mass hanging out with my ovaries and have me admitted and scheduled for surgery within about 45 minutes. YIKES! By this time both me and my DH are scared to death because no one will tell us anything. In the end the surgeon removed 2 cysts from inside me, one about the size of a plum, the other one much smaller. I was in for 2 days and then went to my parents house for recovery as my mom is a nurse and was able to help me out much better. The good news is that I'm feeling much better except for the 8 inch incision on my belly (just like a C-section incision) and I am finally able to get around on my own and take care of myself. The bad news is that this will delay my banding by about 2 months. :faint: I can't return to work for another week and a half, thereby draining my vacation fund and then must be fully recovered before I can even think about the band surgery. I'm a bit discouraged, but trying not to be. The good news is that even though I've had the ok to eat normally since the day after surgery, my appetite is gone and when I do eat I get full after just a few bites. My DH jokes that maybe they put a band on me while they were in there! So here I am trying to enjoy daytime TV and lounging around and finding it's much harder than I thought it would be. Oh dang.

I'm glad I didn't miss much - sorry I wasn't there PhotoNut. Was actually having surgery right about the time the group should have started. I'll post the details on the main thread, just didn't want you to think I make a habit of no-showing!

I'm looking forward to meeting you!! I drove by St. Al's on my way to work today, so I'm pretty sure I know where to go now. Should be interesting...

Hi all - I'm here in Boise as well and am planning on attending the Support group on Tuesday night - does anyone know where and when they meet? I think it would be great to have some face to face time with people who know what we are going through! plus, as I haven't officially gotten my band yet, I'd love to find out what the process was like for all the others. Photonut, how long did it take for you to get back on your feet and "out and about" after the surgery? I've had my gallbladder out and I've heard the recovery time is pretty similar compared to that. Well, I was at the mall 2 days after that surgery, so I'm hopeful that this one won't be so bad?

WHAT WILL IT TAKE? <O:p</O:p I’m pondering this question tonight. What will it take? What will it take for my mind and my body to finally connect? Permanently! I sat here earlier with a bag of potato chips in my lap, munching away. And I don’t even like potato chips that much. I was so “good” today watching my calories and making healthy food choices. My surgery is 25 days away and I know I must be disciplined. And yet, at 11pm, I walked over to the cupboard, pulled out the bag of chips and started munching. What is my problem? :target: I wish to God I knew. <O:p</O:p I think it’s rather ironic that I’ve spent my entire overweight life feeling like nobody understands me and nobody understands why I am the way I am. But the truth is, I don’t even understand or know myself! Oh sure, I could sit here and reel off a million excuses. Stress eating, comfort eating, bad eating habits since childhood, the fact that I don’t like to exercise, I don’t have time to exercise, etc, etc, etc. But those are only part of the story. After all, I’m not stressed out ALL the time. I’ve learned about nutrition. I know what to eat to be healthy and truth be told, when I do so, I feel great! My body rejoices when I exercise it. It practically dances when I stop eating when I’m full. When I say no to sugar, I am more alert and productive. My energy levels are higher, my attitude is more positive, and I feel like I’m on top of the world! So WHY?!?!?!? Why do I go backwards? Why is it so easy for me to disconnect from what I know is true?! :faint: I’ve spent my whole life struggling with this. I grew up looking at people bigger than me with condemnation, telling myself, “Look at how they let themselves go! I will never be that big” Well, lo and behold, here I am. I’ve always told myself that I would never hit 200 pounds. Then it was 250. Then 300. Then 350. I am now 372.5 pounds. I can’t believe I am even typing it because that number angers me and repulses me and more than anything, it SCARES me! I can’t be that person! I’m better than that! I have more self-control than that! I just can’t accept it! <O:p</O:p I am afraid to have this operation. But not because of potential complications or because I don’t like sharp objects or even because the thought of lying naked in front of a lot of strangers is not my idea of a good time. (Although all these things are true) What I’m really afraid of is that I will not succeed. That I will fail. Yet again. <O:p</O:p So I ask myself, what will it take? What will it take for me to win this battle for good? And the unfortunate truth is that I just don’t know. Yet. <O:p</O:p But you can bet your sweet ass I’m going to keep asking myself until I figure it out.