laurenlee

Scenerio - I just ate a hot dog cut up in small pieces. It took me 20 minutes. I did not drink anything with my meal. I feel like i am full. I also feel slightly stuck. I am burping a little but I am not going to regurgitate. It doesn't seem like the full feeling will last long enough. Did I eat enough? Then again, if I wait until I am physically able to drink or eat another bite (about 20-30 minutes), will that be enough time to have passed that my brain will think I am full? Is this how it is supposed to work? Is it uncomfortable or saiety? Diagnose and Vote and Thanks

Hey guys, i thought this was a place to seek advise and support. I posted a question on October with over 213 views and only 1 reply. The subject line was HELP! Is it because we are 10 months post op and most don't need help? Well, I can admit, I am at the most critical point where I need the most help. I haven't found my sweet spot yet, foods I SHOULD eat are harder to eat than foods I SHOULDN'T eat and I am at the point in my dieting history where the weight starts to creep back on. I come here for help, advise and support. It is hard for me to ask for help and the lack of replies makes it harder. So, if anyone has any advice to the questions I post, please reply. And, if for some reason, you aren't replying, let me know. Thanks.

Scenerio - I just ate a hot dog cut up in small pieces. It took me 20 minutes. I did not drink anything with my meal. I feel like i am full. I also feel slightly stuck. I am burping a little but I am not going to regurgitate. It doesn't seem like the full feeling will last long enough. Did I eat enough? Then again, if I wait until I am physically able to drink or eat another bite (about 20-30 minutes), will that be enough time to have passed that my brain will think I am full? Is this how it is supposed to work? Is it uncomfortable or saiety? Diagnose and Vote and Thanks

I agree with Enchanted. Your breakfast and lunch equals a low estimate of 65 grams of carbs. Then you have a Protein bar which is often higher in carbs. I've been told to stay within 30-50 carbs for the day. You are hungry about 2 hours later because you aren't eating protein. Swap out the cereal for eggs or cheese or, one of my favorites, scrambled eggs With cheese. Have steak if you want, roast beef, turkey; all good protein choices. when you are hungry, eat protein first. discover cheese sticks. they are easy to grab and go, and handy. grill a tray of chicken wings and have them on hand for when you are watching tv. great finger food that you can eat slowly and no one notices. email me if you want more. good luck ;

I was banded April 1st. I have yet to eat any bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, fruit or cereal. These are known refined sugar carbs that my Dr. says I cannot have. I'm not sure if I'll ever have them again. I know this: Carbs DO NOT satisfy my hunger AT ALL. If I am hungry, truly hungry, I should eat (or drink) protein. I strongly suggest you do not start with carbs especially if you are just getting into the mushy stages of food. Stick with scrambled eggs (with or without melted cheese), egg salad, cottage cheese, stuff like that. You'll fill up fast and won't trigger a carb craving. Good luck!

it's sunday night, i'm watching the football game, and i'm bored. i'm bored with all the food i've been eating the last 6 months. i just came back from the grocery store and realized i'm bored. had i realized it while i was IN the grocery store, i could have bought something new. but noooooooooo - i didn't think of it until i got home. what to do what to do..... protein suggestions please?

On my six month anniversary of my surgery, I dropped into the 160s for the first time in 20 years. I can hardly believe it. Six months, 60 pounds, 10 pounds a month. I am thrilled and terrified all at the same time. I have been here before. And then I wasn't. But, this time HAS to be different. This time WILL be different. I am different. This surgery has made all the difference in the world. This is no longer about food. This is about LIFE. h230/c168/g160

i wouldn't wait to see your dr. i would go in immediately. i can't guess what is wrong, but clearly something isn't right. good luck!

you're right. it's a slower process than we all expected. but i think it's a good thing. i think it's giving my body a chance to get used to each level of weight loss rather than plunging down. it also feels like it will stay off this time. i have been successful, but i don't consider myself a success just yet. i am scared to death that this isn't forever. i am buying clothes that are in the front of my closet, dreading the day when they might be at the back, never to fit again. I haven't been a size 12 in 20 years and i almost can't believe it. i have lost just over 50 pounds since surgery April 1st. i am within a few pounds of my doctor's goal; within 15 pounds of where i want my highest point of a realistic range to be. another 20 would be best. i am looking forward to somewhere seeing the words "results not typical" associated with my success. you are right. this is a slower process than we all thought. but that's ok. it really is. i think the physiological restriction is something that will never change. as long as i stick with the right foods, i will be ok. i also think, seeing as surgery was a last option for me, and being a self pay client, i have more invested in this than ever before. how much of a failure would i be if i let this opportunity slip away from me? i feel incredibly lucky to have this chance and i am not going to blow it for anything. i am feeling SO much better and everything i put on is big on me and people are starting to notice and although the attention is a bit uncomfortable, i am so much more comfortable. i almost can't believe how wonderful things are compared to january 2009. a truly new year.

BMI is 29.9 down from 37. I am clinically overweight.

First of all, I'd like to say something to Angie and to anyone else to whom this might apply: You are not failing at the band - the band is failing you! the band has a specific function. it is meant to create a sensation of saiety (sp) (fullness) with less food. if it isn't doing that, it isn't functioning properly. sure, we can eat our way around this band, but that isn't the initial point. it is a point, but for later. i was fortunate to have this life changing surgery April 1st, making me 71 days post op. and for those counting, my practice looks at 90 days out to have adjustments close to where they should be. so stop being so hard on yourselves and take advantage of this adjustment period to figure things out, including your head. even if there is some serious sabotage going on, you still have a chance. because you still have the band. anyone who isn't friends with their doctor should get another doctor. do not declare defeat. fight for the results promised to you when they were selling you on this procedure. you haven't failed. (stepping off soap box) 1. WEIGHT highest 228 surgery 4-1-212 5-1 - 204 (2 lbs a week) 5-26 - 201 (you do the math) 6-8-09 - 196 (2 lbs a week) 2. FILLS-in a 10cc band 1) 5-1 - 2.5 cc 2) 5-26 - 2.6 cc = 5.1cc 3) 6-8 - 1cc = 6.1cc 3. RESTRICTION- none until the 3rd fill. i think i've got it. when i don't eat slow enough, i physically cannot eat another bite for a few minutes. PERFECT. so i slow down. i can't drink as fast as i could before. PERFECT. 4. RULES-here's where this process will be different for me than any other time i've tried to lose weight. i will break the "rules" life happens. so how do i account for the times and incidences and still make this work? THAT is the job of this medical staff that has my life in their hands (and mine in my stomach). 5. ANYTHING ELSE when i go in for a check up (and a fill) i tell them all the things i am able to eat that i don't want to be able to eat. i could down 6 Biotin pills all at once. i ate 6 oz of steak and another 7 oz 3 hours later. that's when they looked at each other and said "she needs a good fill". if you don't succeed, THEY haven't succeeded. they didn't keep their promise. i want the physical restriction promised to me. that's what i signed up for. that's what i paid for. that's why i'm doing this. there is no failing, because there are no other options for me. i hit bottom and there is no where to go but up. so stick to your guns ladies. tell them you are capable of eating in a way that will not help you lose weight. tell them you need them to make it so you cannot physically fail. on a side note, let me say this: at the initial office visit, i met with four different staff members. on four separate occasions, they all told me "ya know, you can eat your way around this band..." until i heard it (4 times) it never dawned on me to even try. I admit, with all due respect, I looked each one of them in the eye and in no uncertain terms told them : "hey, i'm not fucking around here." I'm not here to learn HOW to eat my way out of this. i'm here to learn how to use this to my advantage. on another side note, let me also say i realize after reading these posts that i am one of the lucky ones having little or no complications. the worst part of it all has been left shoulder pain post op for 3 weeks and now if i eat too much or too fast. it's a good signal for me to stop when i feel that. i am happy to say i might have found a good fill point with this last visit. i had 8oz of steak in front of me tonight and could only eat half. i had an entire box of Green Giant brussel sprouts in butter sauce before this last fill, made it again and couldn't come close to finishing. so this is good. my practice is overcautious with a very gradual approach allowing the stomach and your system and YOU to get familiar with this process. USE THEM to help you. i've had alcohol, and counted it (i'm a food log nut). i had 16 oz of 2% chocolate milk. and i counted it and didn't go over for the day. and that's going to happen sometimes. so here i am deep into week 10 (your typical weight loss program) and as my motivation starts to waver as patterns show, this is when we figure out how to live with it. someday i'll have to figure out the "why" but for now, i am still optomistic. so keep your heads up ladies, and hold the doctor accountable for some of this. work with him, be honest and let life dictate how you can use the band to help you the most. sorry for the long long post, but i felt it important since so many of you are blaming yourselves for what might not be your fault. keep your head high and we will succeed. hugs knewme

my story is the optitomy of stupidity. i did not weigh enough with a BMI of 33. BMI of 35 with any comorbidities and i thought i'd be covered. even slouching to deduct a full inch off my height and i was still under. i didn't imagine i wouldn't have bariatric benefits. so, stupid stupid stupid me gained 15 pounds - yes double digits - 15 pounds only to find out i do not have bariatric benefits......i never cried so hard. here i was already overweight and i gained 15 pounds for NO REASON. how stupid is THAT??? so here i sit, 25 pounds down from my highest (and ugliest) after being banded April 1st. I try not to imagine where i'd be if i hadn't gained (for no reason). did i mention it was for no reason??? ughhhhhh first fill may 1st. i can't wait -- i'm hungry......