LindaV

WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep up the great work!

Hey MelAnne, Maybe you have to look at the big picture over time. Twenty-eight pounds is a great accomplishment! I also get frrustrated by what my scale says weekly! I tend to have a pattern of wieght loss over a four week period that goes something like this : Week after my period -4 to 5 pounds. Week after that - 3 to 5 pounds. Two weeks after period (after I ovulate) - 1 to 2 pounds if I'm lucky and work hard. Week of my period + 3 to 5 pounds (no matter what I do). This is a pattern I have had my whole dieting life. I would suggest you keep a spread sheet or some kind of chart to see if you have a pattern of your own. Otherwise, you might want to get rid of your scale for a while and go weigh in once a month at the doctor's office. Let's see, you're down 28 pounds after two months. How exciting would it be if you had only weighed twice and you were down 16 pounds each time. It's all a matter of perspective! In fact, if you continue losing at even 10 pounds a month, that's 60 pounds in 6 months and 120 pounds in a year. It sounds like you are doing everything right (exercising, and eating). And YOU ARE LOSING!!!!!!!! In fact, you are ahead of the Lap Band average of 1 to 2 pounds per week. In my book you are already a huge success. Don't let your scale sabbotage you or discourage you!!!!!!!!!!!!! :clap2:

Since I love cheese, I eat low fat cheeses. Cheese is a great source of protein for me and a great snack that fills me up for quite a while. I don't feel like I compromise on taste with the lighter version one bit.

Hi Mandy, While I don't usually tell people to go against doctor's advice, I also think it is important to listen to your body. You probably still have significant swelling from the surgery which is why you are not hungry and why your body is craving liquids. When your swelling goes down you will probably start craving foods with more substance. I would suggest listening to your body right now. Your doctor is right about one thing, though. You should try to get in some more calories. You can probably find a Protein shake with more calories and one that you can mix with whole milk. You can also try eating creamier soups or simply adding cream or milk to them to give them some extra calories and Protein. It's only been a couple of weeks so don't stress too much. I know counting calories is a pain. It feels more like bondage to food than freedom. Keep up the good work, don't worry about the weight loss for now, and listen to your body! I'm sure you will turn a corner with regard to food soon! Good luck!

CLOE, Don't stress and worry over this! You are not a failure! You just don't have proper restriction yet. I know it is frustrating when you see others who are losing weight before thier first fills, but there are just as many who, like you, have no restriction yet. I lost and gained the same 3-4 pounds for about 3 weeks. I didn't even attempt to eat the portions that restricted bandsters do! I would have starved. What I did instead, was try to make healthy food choices, get in enough Protein and Water, and count Weight Watcher points. The point system gave me perameters to follow since the band wasn't doing that yet. I know it is hard right now, but you only have 2 or 3 more weeks before your can get a fill. Hang in there and don't beat yourself up in the meantime!

Another thought - you might try drinking warm or room temp. liquids like teas or broths. For the first few weeks after I was banded, I could not tolerate cold liquids at all! It felt like everything just closed up! Good luck and keep us posted.

When I was pregnant, I threw up what I looked like several parts of my lung or liver! We discovered that, what it actually was was a slimfast shake that had sat (and sort of congealed) in my stomach and had not been digested because of the reflux medication I was taking. Are you on relfux meds?

Hi All, I went for my first fill today. My Doc gave me a 1 cc fill in my 10 cm band. I thought he would put me on liquids for a day or two but be said I could eat normally, just chew well and avoid any food that have given me problems since being banded. I was really surprised. My doc tends to take the conservative approach from what I have read on this site. I was all prepared for liquids but not looking forward to it. Hopefully I will only be able to eat a cup of food at a time now and stay full for quite a bit longer. We'll see!

WOW Wheetsin! You're a regular gormet cook! I'm partial to my mom's lazagna. In fact, we're invited over for lazagna tonight for dinner!

I'm 5'6 and I think I have settled on 170-180 for my goal weight. It depends on how I feel and look.

I think it is finally safe to vote since I get my first fill tomorrow morning. I have lost 18 pounds since surgery - 34 total. I have been up and down the same 3-4 pounds for the last 4 weeks since starting mushies. It will be good to get a little better restriction so I stay full a bit longer.

Congratulations! It will be here quicker than you know it.

Hi Hippo's Hope, Soup nite is June 22. Photonut left a message on the Idaho thread. I will let you know when I know more information. I get my first fill on Friday. We should have lunch next week.

Hi Kathlen, Welcome to LBT! This is a great site to learn about Lap Band and get to know people who have one or are going through the same process as you. Good luck!

My political compass: Economic Left/Right: -4.38 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.21 OMG! My libertarian husband must be rubbing off on me! Oh well, it could be worse, I could be in the company of Stalin or Hitler. I like Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela.

Hi Time4pam, Welcome to LBT! I am rather new at this. I have been banded for about 6 weeks but, I think I can answer some of your questions. The "sweet spot" as I understand it is when you have the perfect amount of saline in your band so you have the perfect amount of restriction. You can eat the amount of food your doctor (it seems to vary from 1/2 -1 1/2 cups of food) at a time and will not be hungry until your next meal. Some doctors require a pre-op diet while other's don't. In general, obese people have very fatty livers and the pre-op diet is to help shrink the liver which needs to be retracted during the placement of your band. Many doctors have very specific pre-op diets. My doctor just wanted me to lose at least 10 pounds. He didn't care how. The other surgeon in the area has his patients go on a diet of 3 slimfasts per day and all the vegetables you want. The surgery itself was relatively easy for me as was the physical recovery. The post-op diet (which also varies by doctor) has been a little challenging. Once I made it to mushie foods, I did ok. The liquid phase was tough! Most doctors will not give you a fill until you are 4 - 6 weeks post-op. Some people go longer because they have proper restriction with no fill. I know I will need a fill because I am eating more than 1 cup of food at a time and I am hungry again within a 2 - 3 hours. When you can eat too much and you don't stay full, it is usually time for a fill. As you lose weight, your stomach gets smaller and the band loosens up which causes less restriction. This is a great site to do research and I'm sure you will have more questions as you get farther into this process. Good luck with your journey.

Hi Kayla, Don't be discouraged! I cheated about a week out when my husband went out of town and left his spaghetti take-out in the fridge. I also had some chili that same night which I could have blended, but was so hungry I didn't. Of course, I started my period that night. I should have known, my willpower (what there is of it) was no match for pms hunger. Anyway, I'm sure you didn't do any damage. I found potato cheese soup very satisfying and here is a recipe for pumpkin soup that a friend brought me the day after I cheated. It is savory and delicious and definately fits through a straw! EASY PUMPKIN SOUP<o =""></o> <o =""></o> 2 T olive oil (I used 1T)<o =""></o> 2 cloves garlic smashed not chopped<o =""></o> 1 shallot roughly chopped ( just enough to release the flavor and sweetness…you can also use ¼ of a sweet onion)<o =""></o> 1 small peice of peeled and chopped ginger <o =""></o> (about the size of 1/2 your thumb)<o =""></o> 2 C chicken broth/stock (you can add more if you like thinner soup)<o =""></o> 1/4 tsp nutmeg<o =""></o> 1tsp salt<o =""></o> 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree (not the one that is already spiced for pie)<o =""></o> 1/4 C cream or half and half ( I used nf milk and it was just as good) <o =""></o> 1 T butter or margarine<o =""></o> dash of pepper<o =""></o> <!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o =""></o> Over med heat in a 2 qt saucepan heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, shallot and ginger. Cook until tender but not brown—about a minute. Add salt, and stock. Let this simmer for 15 minutes. With a slotted spoon remove the garlic and ginger, and shallots from the liquid or strain reserving the liquid. Add the pumpkin puree and stir until smooth. Add the cream and the nutmeg and the butter. Bring this to a slow boil. Let this simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with a dash of black pepper or some parmesan cheese. Makes 4-5 cups. Good luck! <o ="">:confused:></o>:grouphug:>

Hi All, Hippo's Hope - Good to hear from you! We're doing "soup nite" at Artist for a Day by the Edwards Cinema. The woman who owns it has a lap band and is goingt to donate mugs for all of us to paint. There has been talk about a potluck but no definate decision yet. I hope you can make it. 3Loves: Try the turkey breast. I have had no problem with turkey until the other night and I think it had more to do with trying to down a quick snack before bed and not chewing well enough! Trip2bme: I havn't lost for a few weeks now. The same 3 pounds comes and gos. I can't remember, have you had a fill yet? I hear it makes a big difference when you get proper restriction. At least we havn't gained! It sounds like you are doing a great job working with your band. I still eat too fast and I am sure that is going to come back to bite me in the butt after my fill on Friday. I am going to try to work on that from now till then. Either way, I'm not changing my ticker until reflects weight loss!

Hi All, I am feeling much better today! I am a little sore in the chest area so, I am slowly nursing a Protein shake this morning. Trip2B: I will get my first fill this week. I eat between 1 - 2.5 cups of food at a sitting and I eat when I get hungry which is usually 2-4 hours after I eat depending on how much I have eaten. My doctor said when I have proper restriction I should be able to eat only about 1 cup of food. I'm not sure how many meals/snacks yet. I'll let you know.

Hey Everyone, Wow, we've added to our numbers! There are over a hundred of us now! I had a great trip to California! I got home about 4 hours ago and decide to have a little snack before bed and now I have had my first bout of SLIMING, PBing (that name doesn't do it justice) and I am still painfully STUCK! I had a couple of bits of thin sliced deli turkey breast. I guess I didn't chew enough. I can usually eat pretty much anything as long as I chew. Anyway, this sucks. No slight pressure and dainty burping up food. This is really painful, I can't swallow the slime my body is actively producing so I have to run to the bathroom to spit every couple of minutes. I have tried hard not to vomit, but, this has been so painful and nauseating, I couldn't help it. After two PB's, I think the offending food might be out, but, I am still afraid to swallow because I still sound kind of gurgly. I guess it's back to liquids for the next 24 hours! OK, I think I'm ok now so I am off to bed. Thanks for helping me through this, even though most of you are probably sleeping soundly and won't read this until tomorrow. It's good to be home - In Idaho and on LBT!!!!!!!!!

Well, it's 4 am and I am off to California for a few days! Take care all and I'll see you when I get back!!!!!!!

LJC - Call our doctor asap! You might just have a bug or something, but, you could also have an infection due to surgery. My doctors follow-up care specificaly stated that if I ran a fever to CALL! If it is an infection, you want to get on antibiotics! So, go call your doc or go to an urgent care as soon as you read this! Infections can get go from bad to worse very quickly and, you don't want to jeopardize your band!

Hi Kathy, Welcome to LBT! I'm in Idaho so I can't help you with info on your doctor. Good luck with your surgery and keep us posted.

Thanks Trip2bme and 3Loves. This is no different than any normal pms for me. I actually can't eat as much. I felt like I had some restriction again yesterday. Myra - glad to hear you are doing so well.

Hi Guys, Glad to hear everyone is doing so well. So I am totally PMSing! It sucks without a fill! I felt like I had pretty good restriction until this started. I can't believe the amount of food I consumed this weekend! I gained 4 lbs :omg: I am due for my first fill on June 16th and I really can't wait! Oh well, back to exercise and counting weight watchers points for me today!