StormGirl

Hi...I'm scheduled to have my surgery next week and have a low BMI starting point of 30. Is there anyone else out there who started with a lower BMI like myself? What were/are your results? I'm also wondering a couple other things... Does everyone need a fill? Can you ever have a coke again? I'm not telling anyone about my surgery...will I look like I have an eating disorder if we go out to dinner with friends? I keep seeing posts where people are only eating 3-5 bites of food for a meal...that will look odd - won't it? Does that last forever? :help:

I'll go out on the boat with my fiance and not feel like everyone's thinking "why is he marrying her?" I'll feel beautiful in my wedding dress & not like a monster next to my bridesmaids. My new father-in-law will stop making vague comments about our bad eating habits (wtf is THAT about anyways...I mean what an ass). I'll do all the cool stuff that everyone else said...twice! I'll make girls jealous...of my body not my fiance. I'll wear a teany bikini on my honeymoon... I'll wear boots...any pair that will fit over my calves... That's it for now!

Haven't tried it, but the Chewable Gas-X with Maalox (in berry flavor) has been a Godsend for me!

I've been using the Centrum liquid...it's really not that bad. It's easier for me to remember for some reason. Tastes kind of a berry flavor...I don't know...I like it enough.

Hey...I saw this and am starting to look into finding a fill doctor (even though going to San Diego is easy for me - since I was born & raised there)...I'd like to find someone close to the Charlotte area - it's a difficult time of year for me to get away for a fill & if I could find someone a little closer it might be better. I was banded in Mexico - so I know I don't have a lot of options...

Boy am I glad I read this today! I've been really down about the fact that I'm STARVING...and I've totally plateau'ed. And my mom keeps asking me if I'm eating the right things or if I'm exercising (what IS it with moms? They try so hard, but they always seem to ask the wrong question at just the wrong time!). Yes...I've strayed a little from my post-op diet...but they had told me to rush it anyways (since I was a lower BMI) and to go along with how I felt more than anything...well...I feel hungry...and it hurts! And I know that I'm supposed to be happy with any weight loss (I've had 10 lbs, which is great)...and I am happy with what I've lost, but I feel like I could eat whatever I want with no restriction (although...I haven't tried because I don't want to "test" the band - and I'm really TRYING to follow the diet). The only thing I have is massive amounts of gas...and an empty stomach. There's been a couple times where I haven't chewed a lot (and thought to myself...oh no...here it comes)...and nothing's happened!! UGH...I am so frustrated right now...especially because scheduling for a fill is totally NOT working out for a lot of different reasons & I'd really wanted to lose as much as I could before my wedding in June. It also doesn't help that I got my period today...which I think is making me even more hungry & frustrated...

I see you're taking Protein, but are you also taking a regular mulit-vitamen? If you can't tolerate pills, there's many liquid multi's available now (I actually found one that doesn't need to be kep cold so I keep it on my nightstand & take a swig every morning). Also something to think about that promotes hair growth is Omega-3's typically found in fish...maybe a little more fish in your diet??? Just a suggestion... And I don't take bioten, but I believe I've seen it in drugstores in a liquid form...just rings a bell for some reason. Good Luck

Oh yeah...and I wanted to add...that it's true about the vitamens...I have them for Breakfast and they do fill me up...almost more than anything else. I love the popsicles too...sugar is my vice by far! :biggrin1:

Not together! :omg: Here's what the doc told me - Clear liquids (you know the deal) for 7 days. Day 8 I can add non-fat yogurt no fruit bits. Day 10 add Protein drinks/shakes at least 30g of protein. Then day 22 Solid meals. I'm wondering if anyone knows how cottage cheese and pudding fit into this. My theory is - yogurt is about the same time I can have pudding (dairy & all) and of course only if I found non-fat, etc. Then I'm thinking when I add the protein I could have cottage cheese (again non-fat, small-curd). Because I believe cottage cheese is a protein...:cry Anyways...this post band diet is really freakin' hard once the swelling has started to go down (and I think it will only get worse) so I'm looking for ways to 'trick' myself into feeling like there's a little more variety in my life! (For example...did you know that if you cook Top Raman with the noodles -and throw them out it tastes different then if you just cook the broth?) I've already been through just about every combo of every broth available at the store! :speechles Thanks...

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I wanted to let you know that I'm a very low BMI'er so they're actually afraid of me losing too much weight (can someone actually do that? LOL) so I've been told a couple things that they don't normally recommend. I'll tell you I think I'm also decieving to them (not my doctor because we had this conversation before the banding, but more to his staff) because I'm quite short (so my actual poundage isn't as high as someone taller, but the BMI doesn't lie!) and am blessed enough to carry my weight well and I also spent many years in pageants so I am trained on how to hide flaws with clothes and other "tools". Although I have been afraid to admit being of lower BMI for fear of discrimination on the forums...isn't that funny? But I guess it's just something else to be insecure about...I've been ashamed of my weight for so long and I've already starting feeling the success of losing that I guess I feel like I should still feel bad. Does that even make sense? Oh...and as far as the blood pressure thing...I have to tell you it made me smile because I have low blood pressure (on the borderline of needing meds to up it)...I know this is odd for my weight (and especially since high bp runs in the fam)...but I never thought of the sodium, which is just plain bad on so many levels! Thanks for pointing that out... I really just love the way this forum makes me feel...like a whole secret support network ready to catch me if I fall and help me when I need it! Thank you. :clap2:

Just a suggestion... Maybe, like an athlete, you should be sure to hydrate for a day or two before as well as carry Water or gatorade with you? :confused:

:faint: Okay...so just a little pat on the back for myself...I did it. I was banded 2/24/06 in Tijuana. We came home (North Carolina) yesterday...ON THE LONGEST FLIGHT EVER. Of course I had Drunky McGee next to me so I couldn't walk the aisles - so my peice of advice if you're flying get an aisle seat. The gas is painful and I feel like I'm carrying the band on my side (does anyone else feel like that? does it go away?)...it's not an "awareness that it's there"...it feels like a baby on my hip. BUT...I am happy...not to be eating broth and Jello...but to be confident that by my wedding I will have lost some, if not all, of my weight. I'm a low BMI'er and I've heard it's harder for me, but I'm pretty excited...just wish I felt as good physically as I do mentally. (Yeah...I know that will have it's up's & down's too). Thanks for listening to my little party for myself! :clap2:

I put a little of the free on my jello...the doc said it's okay (as long as it's the FREE) and it makes the jello more of a treat than the only damn thing I can eat. Oh yeah...they said it may give me diarrea (sp?) but I haven't pooped in a week so I'm not really worried about it. :eek: Now that you all know a little about me...lol!

Hey! StormGirl (Dana) Banded 2/24/06 Dr. Ortiz Obesity Control Center I'm avoiding scales for now... :eek:

Okay...so being a California girl I know something about this! It looks like you're far enough out from your surgery to tan with no need to use sunscreen on the scars (which I recommend for fresh scars) unless you notice them to start darkening more than the rest of ya'. I've had other surgeries and have never had a problem once they weren't fresh scars. I agree with Pam - tanning actually helped my other surgical scars to blend. Also remember the California Girl Code - "If you can't lose it, Tan it!" :eek:

I just got mine and I am not telling anyone, friends, etc. (okay...so I told my mom, dad and fiance and my best friend but only because she 'caught' me being out of town). So I'm not telling MOST people...we are a social couple with a close group (think Friends) so I'm sure most of them will think I've developed an eating disorder, but our plans are to lay low till I'm on Protein shakes (just a few more days) and then if we go out (or at lunch at work) I will tell others that I'm just trying another diet (you know...2 shakes and a sensible dinner...well...for all they know I had a sensible meal they weren't there for!). Hope that helps...

Wow...thanks for all the info & insight Jachut! You've made me feel SOO much better. Very helpful! Pageantnurse - Not "obese" but "overweight" by all the BMI charts...I'm 40 lbs over what they call my mid-ideal weight at 5'2"...and I do have some other factors (arthritis, back/neck pain, joint pain), a career based on physical health and the complete inability to lose weight since an accident (diets, pills, nutritionist & exercise - I tried it all). I decided to do the surgery now rather than keep gaining and having to lose more later. I am going to Mexico with Dr. Ortiz (www.obesitycontrolcenter.com). He came highly recommended to me and even offered a discount because my dad will be getting banded in the future (after seeing my results). They've been very helpful and I've actually had very few questions because of the amount of information they've given me...most of my questions have actually come from reading various forums and seeing "horror stories". Although I don't think there's much that could change my mind at this point!