Jodi_620

Oh, I didn't realize that you were only a week and a half post-op. You really are doing great! A month of full liquids?! I feel for you--I really do. I would be angry too, I was a bear during my two weeks liquid.

Sugar is bad for everyone there is nothing that makes it worse for bandsters than for anyone else. Mainly the problem is that it is full of empty calories. When we are taking in less food we need to make sure that the food we do take in has a lot of good nutrients...sugar just doesn't. Also,for many of us it causes insulin spikes. You eat the sugar your insulin spikes too high really fast then it drops too low really fast. Your body then sends out a signal for more sugar (other carbs can have the same effect) and you just get caught in a vicious cycle. It is best to keep your insulin level.

That is very true Watcher. You are doing great with your weight loss! So, how about you...what has been your biggest sacrafice?

Probably when I have reached my goal. I almost never get head hunger and I know that it is because I cut the bad carbs out of my diet. I am insulin resistant so just a little will get my insulin jumpin' which will only cause me to want more. I just feel safer keeping it out of my system for now.

I don't measure so much anymore. I can pretty much eyeball my plate and tell how much I need. I use a bread plate rather than a dinner plate.

Since May 15th I have not had pasta of any kind, regular bread (I do use whole wheat wraps sometimes), sugar or caffeine. Of these four items my biggest sacrafice would probably be the pasta, I love the stuff. It was hard at first but I have not been missing it so much lately (unless I see an Olive Garden Commercial that is :tongue2:)

I had the same problem with eating fast, it is a learning process and as you get tighter, believe me, you will remember to eat slower. It is very common to worry that something is wrong with your band at this stage because there is no restriction. I worried and there are many posts here from others that did too. Just keep following the guidelines and after a fill or two you will start seeing it work.

I didn't feel that way myself but I worried that others would think that way. I have dieted my whole life, I would lose a good amount then gain it all back and then some. I knew I couldn't be successful on my own. I could try and fool myself into believing that I would one day lose it on my own or get the surgery. Even after making the decision to get the Lap Band I worried that I would fail at this just like all the other attempts. But now I see it working and I know that this really was the answer for me...so you see it truly is a mind game for all of us. You'll sort through all of your concerns, just give it time.

I can eat most of those things too but I choose to avoid them. The band won't always keep you from eating the bad things it will only limit how much you can eat, that is, when you get to proper restriction. You have to make good food choices. If you fill up on those foods when you reach restriction, you will not be leaving room for healthy foods and that can create health problems. I didn't get much from my first and second fills. My third fill was when I really felt restricted on how much I could eat. Although that was two weeks ago and I am starting to lose some of that restriction...not sure if I will have to call and get fill number 4 early or not.

I think you handled it beautifully! I would have had a much harder time holding my toungue. I did have that problem with one co-worker, as sweet as she was I would get so annoyed with her but she has recently left the company.

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(Yesterday) Breakfast: 1/2c eggbeaters, with ham/cheese: Calories: 193 Protein: 16 Fat: 7 Midmorning: Vanilla Worldwide Protein Shake Calories: 110 Protein: 35 Fat: 0 Lunch: Chickn Breast Tender/1/2 c Beans Calories: 133 Protein: 29 Fat: 4 Afternoon: Protein Shot Calories: 110 Protein: 25 Fat 0 Dinner: Homeade LC/LF Pizza with chicken Calories: 240 Protein: 20 Fat 7 Totals: Calories: 786 Protein: 124 Fat: 18

I agree that you can gain Water weight during TOM but it shouldn't hold on for weeks. If you drink lots of water & watch your sodium intake it should flush out in a few days. A good way to know if you are getting enough water is to watch the color of your pee, strive to have it come out clear instead of yellow. Your doctor should offer a backup...mine does fills , has an assitant that does fills and even his nurse can do it in their absense. I also wouldn't chance a fill if nobody will be available in case you are too full; fifteen days is a long time to suffer.

I went to my seminar in September '07 and didn't actually make the decision until April '08. I did a lot of research and soul searching. I understood that it would take commitment from me and when I was ready there was no question that this is what I needed to do. Jachut, I hear what you are saying. Our daily diet is not one size fits all. My doctor does push Protein but otherwise says I can eat whatever I can tolerate (within reason of course). As long as the weight is coming off then the calorie intake is right. I didn't follow his 60 G a day protein rule and now my hair is falling out so I think although that rule may not be necessary for everyone, it is for some ...unfortunately you don't know for sure until it is too late, my scalp and hairline have gotten quite thin very quickly. I choose modified low carb because I know that carbs are an issue for me. And I think that many US docs recommend low carb because it is such a huge issue for many of us, diabetes has become an epidemic even in our children. Our shelves ar packed with highly processed foods chocked full of bleached flour, sugar and/or fructose corn syrup along with chemical preservatives. These foods are cheap, convenient and taste good. And besides weight and diabetes, they are a major contributor to our head hunger...the more you eat the more you want. I eat carbs but only from natural sources, fruits, veggies, whole grains and milk. And I am getting that protein in because I can't afford to lose much more hair!

I think everyone needs to check their numbers again. It looks like some of the previous recordings have been dropped Maybe someone didn't copy/paste the most recent post when they updated their own (?)

Glad to hear that you are feeling better! Yeah, I would take it easy for a couple days, graduate from liquids to mushies to solids as slowly as possilble.

I am not supposed to eat or drink four hours before the fill. Two days of liquid after then two days of mushies.

Name________Start Weight____Current Weight____Goal________Lbs lost *****:thumbup:***********:smile2:*************************:tt2:*********:smile2:**** 1day at a time.....263............263............243............0 2BHealthE!.........194............179............194............0 ahsem2bme..........244............244............225............0 aJoneen............223............223............213............0 Aphrodite1984......208............208............190............0 Ariel..............199............198............180............1 ArmyWife4life......209.5..........209.5..........190............0 Barb12590..........228............228............213............0 Bea1128............210.5..........208............188..........2.5 Brandymom1234......227............156............135............0 Caramia71..........208............208............195............0 Crzytchr...........281............279............265............2 DebinFl............181............181............168............0 georgiagirl........245............239............230............6 HarleyGirl.........188............188............175............0 HeatherA...........210.5..........210.5..........200............0 HeatherO...........155............154............140............1 Jazzyywan..........255............255............190............0 Jodi_620...........196............192............177............4 KikiVal315.........237.5..........237.5..........220............0 laurigee...........267............180............160............0 Leslie2Lose........220............220............205............0 lindar172 .........274.2..........273.6..........256..........0.6 LisaB..............205.5..........205.5..........180............0 livn4thm...........235............235............210............0 Long2bthin.........248............246............230............2 Luu2008............203............203............183............0 KikiVal315.........237.5..........237.5..........220............0 Mamanmidwife.......299............295............280............4 mamato3............186............186............170............0 MarinaBleu.........226.5..........226.5..........216............0 memom..............210............210............170............0 mominlv13..........299.8..........297.6..........275..........2.2 nip50..............175............175............160............0 NurseNiki..........258............255............239............3 odamay.............242............242............225............0 paige65............252............252............232............0 Renee74............214............213............199............1 Renewedhope........171............171............150............0 reif78.............294............195............185............0 shaversd...........235............230.5..........210............0 SpecialK...........294............294............280............0 Sunshine2..........177............176............167............1 Tess...............304............304............280............0 thatDEgirl.........211............211............195............0 Turler.............225............222............210............3 wendyw.............192............192............172............0 wowox7.............195............192............170............3 WyominGirl.........327............327............312............0 pj_txlady..........220............220............200............0

Yes, I had Band-aids over top of the steri-strips. I was told to remove the Band-aids in one day and allow the steri-strips to come off on thier own.

Please let us know how things went...

The products to use vary so much from doctor to doctor. What someone here uses/used may not be what your doctor wants you to use. For example, some people were told to use Slim Fast but I was specifically told no Slim Fast and nothing that says "meal replacement". My dietician went over exactly what I should eat and gave a list of various products and where to get them. I haven't had to make any online purchases. I currently buy my Protein supplements at Vitamin Shoppe. Many of your grocery stores carry premixed shakes and stores like Walmart have the powders too. The products use different types of protein forms and the content varies so you need to check with your surgeon for his specific guidelines.

It depends on your doctors guidelines. All require a pre-op diet that can range from a day to a couple of weeks. Many, not all, require liquid. You will learn more when you meet with your dietician. I was liquid Protein two weeks pre-op.

I could probably eat as much as I could pre-band but I never did. I did however eat more than 1 cup per meal. It took willpower to not eat too much between weeks 2 and 6. But even with very little restriciton I still had to take it slow because I could still get stuck.

I was told that most people are not hungry for the first 7-10 days. I started feeling hungry at about 7 days. I was told to get 800 calories per day and I know that I did not always meet that during the first week but I think surpassed 800 pretty well after the first week. Enjoy it now because your appeitite just might come back with a venegance very soon!

Miss.Susan: Because you have sutures holding the band in place. Until the sutures heal, you do not want your stomach churning or the sutures will get pulled out and your band will slip. Nobody is starving to death and it doesn't last 3 or 4 months. For me, it was 2 weeks liquid pre-op (to shrink the liver) then post-op, two weeks liquid, two week puree (for healing) for a total of 1 1/2 months. In the end it is well worth the short-term sacrafice. I was much less hungry once I started on puree(two weeks post op). I haven't really been hungry since solids...after surgery we are instructed to eat when we are hungry. As far as how many fills, that is different for everyone. Mine improved with each one and the third fill really put me where I wanted to be.