2muchfun

Cleescruggs, No average time. Sometimes you need to be aggressive with these docs or their staff to get a fill when you want one. I'd insist on it but be aware that your doctor knows what it looked like inside your body and if he feels like you need more time to heal, agree with him. But call the office and ask to be scheduled. BTW-I had my first fill at 5 weeks tmf

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I think for me I could have pulled the trigger and had surgery a year sooner if I would have accepted the fact that I wouldn't be able to eat what I ate prior to surgery. The thought that I couldn't have a Carl's Jr double cheeseburger, or go to black eyed pea and have a chicken fried steak smothered in gravy just overwhelmed me. Now, I know I can still do this, it's just going to take 3 meals to get it all down. So, I get to enjoy the luxury 3 times instead of 2. But seriously, it's no longer a priority to eat like that. Something happened mentally and now I don't crave it and have only eaten fast food once in the last 3 months(doube cheeseburger, McDs). The fear you have is real but it's only in the now. The now after surgery I only think about nutrition and thin. tmf

Butler, I see we were banded within a week of each other. I too have only lost 24 lbs. Most in the first 3 weeks and last 6 weeks. I plateaued between Mid December and late March. 5 fills for me and I go in Friday for fill 6. Hoping to get a small one to tweak the band so I'm in the green zone, I hope. My Doc was quite laid back on what we eat after surgery so I never had to endure 600 calorie days. Since it was Xmas he allowed me to eat normally but within reason and try to steer clear of sugars. I went into this with the fantasy I'd be losing 8-10 lbs a month. I thought I'd be down 50-60 lbs by summer but that's a wasted dream now. I believe I'd still have this surgery had I known then what I know now. I just wish I would have known about bandster hell and how many damn fills I'd need to get to the green zone? Those many days of frustration January-March were agonizing. tmf

If I only had a dollar for everytime I've said this? You're in bandster hell and will be for some time. It's just like you've never had surgery. Your band was not filled or was filled with a minimum amount of saline so you may not have any restriction. Not everyone is as lucky as you are. Just kidding, most all of us experience "Bandster Hell". I had it for 4 months before I finally started feeling some restriction/satiety. Follow your surgeons guidelines as much as you can. Don't beat yourself up if you don't lose much weight during this period because this is just like before surgery and we all know how well diets work. Once your tool(lapband) begins to work then you'll be on a diet, a forced one. Till then, it's pure willpower. tmf

Toddy, I went to lunch with a rep and ordered soft fish tacos. Thought I could avoid the "stuck episodes" but oh was I wrong. 2-3 bites into the meal I got a bad stuck episode. Took about 15 minutes to pass. Bites too big and too often I suppose. Anyway, the rep was so worried because I was sweating, could barely talk. I confessed to her what I had done. She was very interested in the procedure and we never talked business, just bariatric surgery from that point on. BTW-I excused myself during this episode to the bathroom where I eliminated the slime which usually speeds up the process. I'm rather extroverted and I told everyone. The UPS guy came to the door and I raised my shirt and exclaimed, "look what I did". I'd like to have some of those moments back.LOL I now regret telling everyone. There are several people who have been preaching to me how I should lose weight now. Of course, these are people who are either real skinny and always have been or they're overweight and are prescribing the latest herbalife, amway, Vitamin cottage type remedies. Be selective in who you tell. tmf

Someone else asked the same question last night. Here was my response: "No pain. Over in a few seconds. I think the only downside is my doc has us go back on liquids for 2 days, puree for 2 days and then back to solids. For me, I'm so curious to see if I get any new restriction I find it real hard to stay on that diet. Waiting 4 days to see if my fill moves me closer to the green zone is agonizing. I'm on fill 5 and going in Friday for #6. I'm getting good restriction now and just need a tweak to get me to the Holy Grail Green Zone. It's all about satiety, not restriction. Read Jean McMillan in the magazine articles. Very good author." tmf

No pain. Over in a few seconds. I think the only downside is my doc has us go back on liquids for 2 days, puree for 2 days and then back to solids. For me, I'm so curious to see if I get any new restriction I find it real hard to stay on that diet. Waiting 4 days to see if my fill moves me closer to the green zone is agonizing. I'm on fill 5 and going in Friday for #6. I'm getting good restriction now and just need a tweak to get me to the Holy Grail Green Zone. It's all about satiety, not restriction. Read Jean McMillan in the magazine articles. Very good author. tmf

LOL...Hey Tracey, she said .9 lbs. Less than 1 lb. No worries, sometimes I think the dots on my screen are periods but they're just dirt. Sounds like a fill is in order. I was in bandster hell from early December to late March. It's awful. It's like never having had the surgery and we're back to the old days and dieting. I've got some restriction now and I've lost 12 lbs since my late March fill so I'm feeling good now. tmf

Someone was looking for a site to count how many calories they need a day? http://nutrition.about.com/od/changeyourdiet/a/calguide.htm Banded 11/28/11: Lost 12 lbs first 3 weeks. Then I plateaued for 3.5 months. Had a consult with my nutritionist and a fill from my doc late March. I too was eating around my band, or I was making bad choices. My nutritionist sat down with me and we went through my meal choices and just by cutting out a couple of beers/wk, 4 latte's(never sugar), one slice of bread/day, Soups, and some other minor items, I was able to cut out 500 more calories per day. That's 3500 per week=1 lb. I still get a couple of beers or wine on the weekend and I'm only having 3 latte's a week now so I'm not totally depriving myself. I can live with this. I also kicked up my exercise routine a notch. I've steadily lost 12 lbs over the last 6 weeks. With just a few minor adjustments I made the band(tool) work for me. She(nutritionist) also pointed out some other foods I should be consuming that fill me and satiate my appetite. I know we're all different and I've been concentrating on finding those foods that fill and satiate me longer. I'm not quite to my green zone but I think one small fill and I could be there. Good luck. tmf

If you can walk, treadmills are fairly inexpensive and can be found used most anywhere? Or, even an elliptical. They're a little more expensive but easier on the knees and hips. I like this site for calculating calorie intake and metabolic rates. http://nutrition.about.com/od/changeyourdiet/a/calguide.htm And, I agree, exercising sucks. Unless it's golf, tennis, walking the dog, racquetball, hiking, skiing etc. The wife and I are really into bicycling these last few years. My knees are real bad so the biking really works. One mild 30 minute bike ride equals about 250 calories burned and if you can push it, you can burn 300+ in 30 minutes. Even if you're lightly active, you should be able to go on a 1200-1400 calorie diet and burn 700 calories a day. That's 4 lbs per month. By July 4th you could be skinny again. tmf

11/28/11 and only down 24 lbs. So, much slower than you and I'm on fill 5 and have a fill appt for fill 6 this Friday. I didn't start to see restriction till March and had plateaued for 3 /12 months shortly after my surgery. But it seems to be working much better now and just needing some tweaks to get to the almight green zone. tmf

I love soup. All kinds. I really miss eating soup. I work from home so it was easy to eat a low fat/calorie soup but it doesn't stick so I was back in the kitchen eating the wrong stuff 2 hours or less later. If you don't eat out a lot one small soup isn't going to blow your plans up. LOL..I could go on and on about the stuff I miss. I've been craving waffles lately. tmf

BCBS? Hurry up and wait is about all I got. tmf

TKW is probably right. If it's real thin it will go right through to your stomach so it shouldn't pose any problems other than excess calories. I find that a salad goes down easy too and with a side of low-fat, low carb dressing would be better for you. tmf

I went to the site and if you click on "View Product Label" it says 4 g a can for the frosty chocolate. tmf

Don't do either. Pot will lower your inhibitions and you'll eat too much and consume the wrong foods and cigarettes will give you cancer.

Cost of fills? Protocol after a fill? Is Dr available by phone if you have an emergency or very painful stuck episode? How many CC's does the Dr put in at surgery? How strict is your Dr regarding diet and nutrition? This could be a biggy for some patients. One size fits all may be difficult for some patients? Does the Dr have a nutritionist on staff and is there a cost?(after surgery a nutritionist could be the difference between success and failure) Is there a sychotherapist who specializes in eating disorders available should you need one? I assume you've already chosen your Dr and your satisfied he/she has 2+ years experience, >250 bands placed, practiced medicine in your area for >2 years? BTW-Are you sure you have to have the 6 months supervised nutrition program? BCBS required this for many years and have eliminated this requirement last year. tmf

SMA, I do have some foods that seem to satiate me longer. And, that would be a good topic or string for a day. You have to understand, I'm only 5 months into this journey, so for me, it's like I'm still in the dark trying to feel my way around this tool in my body. I'm still learning. Salmon, meatloaf, thin sliced white meat chicken, tuna, sliced ham, low fat cheese sticks, 100 calorie bread thins w/cheese/egg, salads, cheeseburger sliders, stir fry veggies w/chicken. I try to use low fat ingredients in all that I cook and eat. I also peel away much of the excess breads on sandwiches and breaded foods. Good question and I plan on asking the same questions later today to start a new string. I'm curious about what other bandsters consume? tmf

Running scared is right and I also think as we become conditioned to our band, with each fill we become better stewards. We learn to eat slower, take smaller bites, chew more and become more selective in our food choices. tmf

Sedantary: 1.2 X 1687 = 2024 calories burned a day. Lightly active: 1.375 X 1687 = 2320 calories burned a day. So, if you are sedantary and you only consume 1600 calories a day, you will burn about 424 more calories than you consume. Or, 424X 7 = 2968 calories burned per week. That's close to 1 lb per week. So, you can see that just being slightly more active you could lose 1 lb/wk. tmf

Passion, looks like you may have missed the 2nd part of the equation that Nikki corrected after her beginning comment. Add in your AMR(active metabolic rate). Go here to see where you fit? http://nutrition.about.com/od/changeyourdiet/a/calguide.htm I don't see your age in your profile or I'd calculate it for you? But most likely it's around 2400 calories. So, reduce your calorie intake to 1400 or increase your activity level? tmf

Look at the forums page on the right side about half way down. There's a section called "recent magazine articles". Click on Jean McMillan's article called "Restriction, the Holy Grail". This puts a slightly different light on restriction and satiety and makes a lot of sense to me. tmf

Nikki, that's very interesting but you needed to go one step further and multiply your BMR X your AMR depending on your activity levels. About Nutrition is where you found this I assume and for me it looks logical. In your scenario, if your model is lightly active, you would have to multiply her BMR by 1.375. So she would need 2020 just to maintain her current weight. Let's see if this site allows me to paste the URL? http://nutrition.abo.../a/calguide.htm

Made a big Cinco De Mayo feast for the family and I just dived in as if I never had the band put on 5 months ago. Funny how my stomach informs me that I've eaten too big a bite and ate too fast and didn't chew enough. It also seems to tell me just after I've stuffed my cheeks with a huge next bite. So I sit there, chewing and chewing and thinking, where's this bite going to go? Stomach to brain, not in here, no way, no how. Congrats on the loss. I'm only at 24 after 5 months so you're doing well. tmf