health4life

Great! I didn't pay attention to how old this was. Sorry.

This is exactly why I did my research and found the Dr. I felt had the best reputation, loads of patients who HIGHLY recommended him and was extremely knowledable in the area of practice. I live in Indianapolis also and opted to drive to Cincinatti to have Dr. Trace Curry at JourneyLite perfom my surgery since I was a self pay. Not only is he a great Dr. but his staff is so professional, knowledgeable, friendly and helpful and I was hooked after my consultation. To show how impressed I was, I went to a seminar, met with Dr. C the same day, scheduled all of my necessary apts. (nutritionist, psycologist, ekg, blood work) started my pre-op diet the following week and had surgery 2 1/2 weeks later. I am soooo happy I made that decision. I realise not everyone can do this, but I highly recommend you research, research, research. I know there are others in the city at IU Medical Center, St Vincents Bariatric etc... Keep your head up. You will find someone that you click with.

OMG I was going to say the same thing about being judgemental about seeing heavy people being gluttonous, but I thought I would refrain thinking that I may offend someone. I wondered if anyone else felt that way.

Most definitely!!!! I do not crave soda and when I tried one that was my all time favorite, I could barely drink it. I had a craving for a double cheesburger meal from McDonald and yuk, never again. My taste has totally changed for it...thank God. After eating, the mere smell of food makes me sick.

All of your symptoms are normal occurances after LB surgery. It WILL pass. Welcome to band land.

After eating dinner one night I immediately drank some water and I felt like I had just swallowed a grapefruit and it was struggling to go down.and then I got the urge to swallow again and the experience was the same...it was painful to say the least. Has anyone else experienced this? Is this a sign of being too tight? Also, when I eat certain things, I sometimes gurgle, but it goes down. Is that a sign of being too tight or is that my sweet spot. I just don't know what kind of feeling to have when I'm at my sweet spot.

Oh, I learned my lesson. I wait now to take a drink and I start with a sip.

It is important to follow your Doctors instruction post op. I did and had no problems at all. My Dr.'s recommendations were as follows: Day 1- Clear liquids only Day-2 thru 14 - Puree diet Day 15-30 (weeks 3 & 4) Soft diet Slowly add soft foods Day 30 and after - Regular diet (low carb/High protein)

I was told the other day that healthy poop floats. They say it tells you that you are getting enough fiber in your diet. I was told sometime ago that your poop should be the consistency of mashed potato's and I don't think mashed potato's float. Does anyone know what a "healthy" poop should do; FLOAT or SINK and what should the consistency be or does that matter?

I don't think the answer is etched in stone, however, my trainer told me it's best to do weight training prior to cardio because you need your strength and air capacity to complete your reps. Imagine doing 30 mins to and hour of cardio and then trying to do weight training. Your endurance isn't going to be what it would have been if you did weights first and you're so out of breath, when you need to breath hard to get those last 3-4 of a rep of 12 in, it's difficult after cardio. I have been doing it this way and it's actually feels better to do cardio after a nice weight training session. Try it. Here is a good article to read. Should You Do Cardio Before Or After Your Weight Training Workout?

Mine is on the right of my navel and about 2.4 inches above it. I think it's just the surgeons preference.

You MUST add it to your schedule. In addition to that, prepare getting your workout stuff together the night before. Most importantly, starting out, you need to find some form of exercise that would be fun to you. For instance, if you like to dance, Zumba, Body Jam or just popping in the electric slide, cha cha slide, or cupid shuffle cd's and do them for 30 min starting out and increase the time every week. You do need some strenght training so you could start of with resistance bands and small hand weights and possible a body pump class whicc I LOVE!!! Good luck in your exercise search.

ALWAYS!!!!! She has proven results too which makes it easier to believe her. Thanks Jachut!

I can eat bread in moderation and as long as it's been reduced to a mush prior to swallowing. I choose not to eat too much bread though.

I like the Champion Pure Whey Protein Powders. I add frozen fruits, fage greek yogurt and 100% pure organic flax oil to them also. Delicious.

You can add a single container of Fage 2 % greek yogurt to any of your protein drinks for more protein. It will add 20g of protein and once you're off the liquid stage this is another great way to get in protein on the mushy or pureed stage and it's delicious mixed with spenda and other fruits and/or granola.

I tolerate and LOVE oatmeal!!! I like either organic rolled oats or steel cut. Both are very nutritional. I put 1 t earth balance buttery spread, a little brown sugar, raisins and walnuts and it's a meal in and of itself. Yum!!!

I got this recipe from another bander on here shortly after I was banded and I LOVE this Protein shake. I modified it somewhat. 1 scoop of CHAMPION Pure whey banana Scream (130 calories, 2.5g fat, 3g carbs, 23g protein, 1g fiber) 4-5 oz cold Water (or skim milk if you prefer) 1/2 frozen banana (72 calories, 18.5 carbs, 0.9 protein, 2.1 fiber) 4-5 frozen mango pieces (3/4 c = 90 calories, 24 carbs, >1g protein, 3g fiber) 1 T High Lignan 100% organic Flax Oil, a great way to get your Omega-3 fatty acids (110 calories, 1g fiber) (ice cubes optional) This is a great Protein Drink snack for after a good workout session. ENJOY!!!

PB'ing is "Productive Burp" what you just ate comes back up like a vomit only it does not have that nasty sour vomit smell or taste. I did it for the first time Sunday because I ate a pkg'd. dry meatball and it refused to go down and gave me fits for almost 30 minutes. I was praying that it would come up and it did. I was still gross as it felt like chewed food with slime. Sorry to be so graphic. Just chew your food up really really good.

GREAT post from someone who obviously has had success with the band. I am 5 months post op and have lost 46 lbs. My last fill after Thanksgiving was when I reached in my opinion, "my sweet spot". I do NOT eat just 1/2 cup of food either but what I eat is much less than what i did prior to being banded. I eat well proportioned meals. For instance for dinner last night I ate baked chicken legs, apsaragus and a sm yam. I was very satisfied after that meal and couldn't think of eating another thing after that. It certainly wasn't 1/2 cup of food, but I continue to see results. Must have something to do with exercising also. Thanks for your posts...I always seem to enjoy and learn from yours.

Quick question, was your port tenderness constant or intermittant? I have port tenderness on occasion and sometimes the way I'm lying in bed I feel the tenderness around my port. If I turn over to the other side, it feels better. Not a nagging constant pain though. Thanks!

As with ANY weight loss program, exercise and diet are the 2 main keys for significant and sustainable weight loss, aside from our mental ability. It boils down to "motivation" and how big your want to is. Our wonderful bands are to be used as a "tool" only. Our part is to recognize whether we are not restricted enough, too restricted or have good restriction, plan our meals to eat smaller portions consisting of lower calories, higher protein, lower carbs and a sufficient amount of fiber to keep our bowels moving, drinking the daily amount of H2O, getting on a regular workout plan (ideally something you enjoy). These are just a few things we must do to keep ourselves accountable. It's not easy, but worth the work. When you discipline yourself to do what is hard, you gain access to a realm of results that are denied everyone else. The willingness to do what is difficult is like having a key to a special private treasure room. Good luck in your weight loss endeavor.

As a relatively new bander (5 months post op) who has lost 46 lbs, I must say I LOVE THIS POST! What an inspiration you are!!! Continue to shine girl!!!

Had it before surgery, haven't had it since surgery, THANK GOD!!!

As others have said, my ONLY regret is that I didn't do it sooner! I LOVE my band!