julie.ann

Tell me why and what I need to look at first!

I just bought a wii fit! I can't wait to get home tonight and try it out. I have heard a lot of good things about it!

Thanks! I don't remember the site. I just googled free avatar and I found this one. There are others too. Just look around for it.

LoveIslovely - that is awesoome!!!! 42lbs WOW! I am afraid to do more at the gym than walk before I am a month out. Have you done more?

11/5/08 ONE WEEK! I can’t believe it was only a week ago that I got banded! I have lost 9 lbs in that week for a total of 23 lbs. I haven’t lost anything the last 2 days…..uh I don’t think I can complain that I went two days without weight loss. Besides I’ve got some sodium back in my diet so I’m sure that will cause me to put on a few pounds of water. This first month is for healing. I need to remember that! I have been really watching my portions. I get hungry faster though. That is normal and expected since I don’t have restriction and swelling is going down. I think I’m okay with that. Someone asked me yesterday how much weight I have lost. That is awesome! I can’t believe at my weight that anyone can tell after 23 lbs, but I guess maybe in my face a little. I need to start walking. Not just with my job, but making an effort to walk. I can’t do vigorous exercise until after my first fill because I will be a month out then. My fill in is 3 weeks. I need to get off the “lose weight” mentality for 3 weeks. It is hard and I am afraid to lose that mentality for fear of not getting it back….. Well I think I ate too much this morning. I ate my egg beaters (southwestern) scrambled eggs. I make ½ cup. Then this morning at break (about 1 ½ hrs later) I thought I was hungry and ate a poached egg white and a piece of bacon. I think the bacon was pushing it. I am supposed to be on soft foods. Yeah, I know. Fried bacon probably wouldn’t make it on the list of soft foods. So I felt that bacon sitting in my pouch for a while. In fact a couple of hours later at lunch time I only at ½ c. cottage cheese because it was still sitting there. One of the departments had a little “tea party” at work to celebrate something. You know how that goes. Cookies, punch, nuts and all the trimmings. I did really good. ( I think.) I had a piece of cheese and two ritz crackers and 2 pieces of cantaloupe. I keep thinking people are going to look at me and say, “Hey you had that lap band surgery didn’t you?!?!” Well one of the girls at work had a RNY and I think she looks at me and knows all the signs of how and what I am eating. I know it will be okay and if people find out it won’t be a horrible thing. I just want it to happen on my time.

Thanks Sunshine. It's nice to know others understand where I am coming from!

That's awesome! Getting back to the gym seems to be the hardest thing to do.

This is what I think.... We do have a pouch. It is the part above the band. If the part of our stomach above the band stretches then our pouch is stretched. The fill just gives a smaller opening from the pouch to our larger stomach below. The fill affects the opening....not making the pouch larger or smaller. That's is how I see it. By the way i L-O-V-E saying things like "WE have a pouch!!!!!" I want to twirl around and sing.... :wink5::smile2::tongue2::Dancing_tongue:i have a pouch...I have a pouch....I have a band! I have a band! Sorry back the program.

Welcome michellelei! Congrats!

I thought you might like this. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f197/warning-i-lapband-orphan-71660/

I just found this. I thought you might like it. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f197/warning-i-lapband-orphan-71660/

Wow you have had a rough time. I can pass on what I have learned from talking to others. I have found that many people with the Realize band need many fills to get to the point of restriction. I would suggest writing down what you are eating to see how much protein you are getting. Your right that when you get to that "sweet spot" you shouldn't be hungry so fast. I don't what foods seem to be your nemesis but remember not to eat with your meals, eat your protein first and follow it with veggie and chew, chew, chew. I find when I have enough protein it curbs my hunger. Have you talked to you doctor about your problems? Has he give much advice. If you aren't getting support there maybe it is time to shop around for someone that can help you. Good luck! Keep us posted.

11/5/08 ONE WEEK! I can’t believe it was only a week ago that I got banded! I have lost 9 lbs in that week for a total of 23 lbs. I haven’t lost anything the last 2 days…..uh I don’t think I can complain that I went two days without weight loss. Besides I’ve got some sodium back in my diet so I’m sure that will cause me to put on a few pounds of water. This first month is for healing. I need to remember that! I have been really watching my portions. I get hungry faster though. That is normal and expected since I don’t have restriction and swelling is going down. I think I’m okay with that. Someone asked me yesterday how much weight I have lost. That is awesome! I can’t believe at my weight that anyone can tell after 23 lbs, but I guess maybe in my face a little. I need to start walking. Not just with my job, but making an effort to walk. I can’t do vigorous exercise until after my first fill because I will be a month out then. My fill in is 3 weeks. I need to get off the “lose weight” mentality for 3 weeks. It is hard and I am afraid to lose that mentality for fear of not getting it back….. Well I think I ate too much this morning. I ate my egg beaters (southwestern) scrambled eggs. I make ½ cup. Then this morning at break (about 1 ½ hrs later) I thought I was hungry and ate a poached egg white and a piece of bacon. I think the bacon was pushing it. I am supposed to be on soft foods. Yeah, I know. Fried bacon probably wouldn’t make it on the list of soft foods. So I felt that bacon sitting in my pouch for a while. In fact a couple of hours later at lunch time I only at ½ c. cottage cheese because it was still sitting there. One of the departments had a little “tea party” at work to celebrate something. You know how that goes. Cookies, punch, nuts and all the trimmings. I did really good. ( I think.) I had a piece of cheese and two ritz crackers and 2 pieces of cantaloupe. I keep thinking people are going to look at me and say, “Hey you had that lap band surgery didn’t you?!?!” Well one of the girls at work had a RNY and I think she looks at me and knows all the signs of how and what I am eating. I know it will be okay and if people find out it won’t be a horrible thing. I just want it to happen on my time.

11/4/08 6:15 am: Well I was just re-reading my journal entry from yesterday. I think that maybe I have figured out a tiny part of why I don’t want to share this. If I felt like this was something that I WANTED it would different than something I NEEDED. It sounds like a small difference, but it isn’t really. I am planning to cook me up some egg beaters – southwestern this morning and I am avoiding. I better go. 7:00 am: Well that went well. At least so far. I had ½ cup of eggs. I took about 25 minutes to eat it. I really like eating with the relish fork and baby spoon. It helps me be mindful of what size of bites I take. No burping. Oh and I sneezed this morning a couple of times and it didn’t hurt. I am getting occasional hiccups. They are uncomfortable. It’s time to get ready for work. I feel better with real food in my system. I will work on my protein shake mid morning and maybe have some cottage cheese for lunch. It sounds good to me. I might shake things up and add some peas to it. Chew, chew, chew! 8:30 pm: WOW! I got in 680 calories today! 95 grams of Protein without the liquid protein even!!! I know I am using a lot of exclamation points, but that is exactly how I feel! I ate cottage cheese and peas. It tasted so good! I don’t want to get tired of it so I will have to watch it. On soft foods I am allowed well cooked casseroles. I think I will try one tomorrow. I am working on eating slow and not drinking anything right before, during or right after my meals. That is a really hard rule. I’ll keep plugging along. Oh yeah, the op sites are off of my incisions too. They look really good.

You have lost 70 lbs! Wow! what an accomplishment. You know this has worked. It is just time for a re-evaluation. I know that 3.1cc seems like alot in a 4cc band, but a minor adjustment can do a lot! Have you been following the "guidelines" I have been told about from other bandsers. No water with meals. Solid protein first then veggies. 3-4 oz per meal. You shouldn't get hungry for about 4 hours. If so let your doctor know. Call you doctor and LET THEM HELP YOU! Remember they can't help if they don't know. Let them know you eating habits when and how much. Use somehthing like sparkpeople.com to keep track of food. Don't forget the exercise. Let us know how it is going!

My heart felt support. You have been through so much! My doctor also encourages calls any time even after hours and on week-ends. The calls go right to his cell phone or home phone. Find someone that can help support you and stop this horrible HORRIBLE cycle you are on!

For those of you banded in October there is a thread for everyone that was banded in October. You can find it at October 2008 Bandsters - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum or seach for October 2008. There are quite a few of us there. There is a forum for each month! Good luck to everyone! Mushies ROCK .....

11/4/08 6:15 am: Well I was just re-reading my journal entry from yesterday. I think that maybe I have figured out a tiny part of why I don’t want to share this. If I felt like this was something that I WANTED it would different than something I NEEDED. It sounds like a small difference, but it isn’t really. I am planning to cook me up some egg beaters – southwestern this morning and I am avoiding. I better go. 7:00 am: Well that went well. At least so far. I had ½ cup of eggs. I took about 25 minutes to eat it. I really like eating with the relish fork and baby spoon. It helps me be mindful of what size of bites I take. No burping. Oh and I sneezed this morning a couple of times and it didn’t hurt. I am getting occasional hiccups. They are uncomfortable. It’s time to get ready for work. I feel better with real food in my system. I will work on my protein shake mid morning and maybe have some cottage cheese for lunch. It sounds good to me. I might shake things up and add some peas to it. Chew, chew, chew! 8:30 pm: WOW! I got in 680 calories today! 95 grams of Protein without the liquid protein even!!! I know I am using a lot of exclamation points, but that is exactly how I feel! I ate cottage cheese and peas. It tasted so good! I don’t want to get tired of it so I will have to watch it. On soft foods I am allowed well cooked casseroles. I think I will try one tomorrow. I am working on eating slow and not drinking anything right before, during or right after my meals. That is a really hard rule. I’ll keep plugging along. Oh yeah, the op sites are off of my incisions too. They look really good.

Those "guidelines" are just what I have gotten from others that have been successfully banded. I actually added in the No Bread, Pasta, Rice or potatoes. That is because I was told to keep those low and you have to be careful with bread and pasta because they can get gummy and form a ball in your pouch and can give you problems. I have also joined a yahoo group called smart bandsters. I am not really active there, but I lurk and try to learn as much as I can from them. There are some really great sources there. One is a Nurse Practitioner that has had been banded for many years and works with banded patients. She even has a book that has a lot of good information for those that are looking into gastric band surgery. There are alot of successful bandsters on there. I was just trying to help, not put anything down in concrete. Sorry if you took it that way.

I think I know what she means. It means don't look at calories or fat. If you are on a liquid stick to liquid. If you are on a mushie stick to mushy. My doct just said to try and get my 60 gram of protien in and don't worry about the rest. Your body needs Protein to heal. Buit i understand where you are coming from bobina. "Sure I can stick to what he wants, but I can do it in a health way or an unhealthy way." We don't want to lose ground after joining the band. Give me a P-R-O-T-E-I-N! :tongue::tongue::eek:

Bobina: Have you tried keeping track of your meals on a website. Several people have mentioned different ones. I like sparkpeople.com. If I kept my protien high I didn't really have any hunger. I plan on trying to follow the bansters guidelines as much as I can after I can eat real food again. Eat your lean protein first and slow. (bandsters portions) Follow with veggies Protein drink between each meal. No bread, potatoes, pasta or rice. This keeps the glycemic index low and helps cut the cravings. I know this is aiming high and it is easier said than done. That was basically my pre-op diet. I am going to try to stick with it until my first fill on November 25th. I hope that helps.

11/3/08 I am hungry, but the thought of eating anything about makes me want to puke. I finally broke down and bought some liquid protien. 42g in 3 ounces. I had to. I couldn't get enough in. I can't even drink enough. I'm trying. I got over 60 gms of protein in with that. I bought six to last me about the next week. I am supposed to be able to start transitioning to soft food the day after tomorrow but I have decided to try some egg beaters tomorrow. A day early, but I want to try. :thumbup: I just can’t get enough calories or protein down. I caught my family physician up on the fact that I had surgery. He kind of figured it out since his wife was one of the two I mentioned I had surgery to. I was planning to let him know when I had a chance at work anyway. He and my husband are the only two around that knows what kind of surgery I had. He was surprised I had it so fast. I only mentioned it to him in September. Self pay moves a lot faster. Besides when I make up my mind I am not one to fiddle-fart around. (Wow did I really just use that phrase? :redface:) This is my first day without Lortab. I about started crying tonight; the left shoulder pain was so bad, but I laid down on my back on the floor for about 10 minutes and it really toned down the pain. I don’t know why that helps and I don’t really care. By the way…I still don’t regret my decision not to tell anyone. You see I can always change my mind and let people in on my decision, but once the cat is out of the bag……… Keeping this a secret is for me. It is personal. I'm not saying it is for everyone. I think I have to come to terms with the fact that I couldn’t handle this monster called obesity by myself. I need to be okay with the fact that I needed surgery. Not wanted surgery, but NEEDED it. I needed it for me. I needed it for my personal life. I needed it for my self-confidence. I needed it for many different reasons. When I decide to let others in on it then I will. Maybe never….maybe soon. I think that will depend on my journey.

11/3/08 I am hungry, but the thought of eating anything about makes me want to puke. I finally broke down and bought some liquid protien. 42g in 3 ounces. I had to. I couldn't get enough in. I can't even drink enough. I'm trying. I got over 60 gms of protein in with that. I bought six to last me about the next week. I am supposed to be able to start transitioning to soft food the day after tomorrow but I have decided to try some egg beaters tomorrow. A day early, but I want to try. :mad2: I just can’t get enough calories or protein down. I caught my family physician up on the fact that I had surgery. He kind of figured it out since his wife was one of the two I mentioned I had surgery to. I was planning to let him know when I had a chance at work anyway. He and my husband are the only two around that knows what kind of surgery I had. He was surprised I had it so fast. I only mentioned it to him in September. Self pay moves a lot faster. Besides when I make up my mind I am not one to fiddle-fart around. (Wow did I really just use that phrase? :wub:) This is my first day without Lortab. I about started crying tonight; the left shoulder pain was so bad, but I laid down on my back on the floor for about 10 minutes and it really toned down the pain. I don’t know why that helps and I don’t really care. By the way…I still don’t regret my decision not to tell anyone. You see I can always change my mind and let people in on my decision, but once the cat is out of the bag……… Keeping this a secret is for me. It is personal. I'm not saying it is for everyone. I think I have to come to terms with the fact that I couldn’t handle this monster called obesity by myself. I need to be okay with the fact that I needed surgery. Not wanted surgery, but NEEDED it. I needed it for me. I needed it for my personal life. I needed it for my self-confidence. I needed it for many different reasons. When I decide to let others in on it then I will. Maybe never….maybe soon. I think that will depend on my journey.

Yeah, to hold everything in. You can even find some informercials now too. I am hungry, but the thought of eating anything about makes me puke. I finally broke down and bought some liquid protien. 42g in 3 ounces. I had to. I couldn't get enough in. I can't even drink enough. I'm trying. I got over 60 gms of protein in with that. I bought six to last me about the next week. I am supposed to be able to start transitioning to soft food the day after tomorrow but I have decided to try some egg beaters tomorrow. A day early, but I want to try. I just cant get enough calories or protein down. I can't imagine being on just liquids for more than a week. I feel for you guys that are on it for a month!