Ale78

I am a vegetarian that eats mostly whole foods and tries to stay away from processed foods. (I am totally serious!) How will the Lapband help me? Portion size! If you are over weight it is a tool to help you lose. It won't do the work for you. The whole mental thing really is a bugger...I mean look it has you convinced you eat healthy even though, if you are looking into getting a lapband, you are not. It sure makes it easier though. It makes me aware of everything I put into my mouth. It is different for everyone. I think eventually it does help you make better choices because you are just so used to making better choices! My husband commented after Easter dinner that he had forgotten I had the band and he was wondering where the rest of my dinner was because I had very small amounts of food on my plate. Then he remembered and it was a huge aha! moment for him. We are starting to forget I have it because it is now second nature for me to not think about eating bigger portions. Well and I just got a fill so it's even less these days ) Try doing a calorie counter for just a day or two and see how many calories you actually consume...you may be surprized. Good Luck! ~A

I had my first fill on Thursday...yeah not so fun eh? She put in 4cc plus what was already there. I feel like I can eat less but I can still have bread and whatever else I want :thumbdown:( I was hoping getting a fill would help with the mental issues a little. What I mean by that is as soon as I realized I could eat what ever I wanted it was harder to convince my head that I didn't really NEED it lol So I was really good for three days but then of course today is Easter...ug! I really didn't eat anywhere near what I used to eat but still probably more than I should have and not all the right things. I WILL get back on track tomorrow and so will you! We can do this!! The biggest thing is we can't get discouraged. Start fresh every morning with a great attitude and a healthy breakfast :blushing:) On a semi weird and somewhat positive note I have lost what my 4 yr old weighs....so it's like I gave birth all over again. lol Really I think it was easier the first time! Have a good Monday all! ~A

Wow that is yucky. In the first few days after my surgery I did get the hiccups a lot for no apparent reason so I don't think that is out of the norm but the other symptoms are not ones I have read about so close after having surgery. The only thing I can think of is that you irritated your already tender stomach. If you can't keep Fluid down though you need to been seen asap or you will dehydrate. I am sorry you are having troubles....get seen and get better!! ~A

I am afraid that I have to agree. I have a really hard time as well not eating the junk that I ate before. I knew going into this that I was going to need more help with my head than anything else. I had uncontrolable urges to eat garbage food. Namely icecream. It is still really hard now but having the mental help there for me has really made a huge difference. You have to change your MIND not just what you try to eat. I get mad at my husband but at the sametime he really helps keep me in check and asks me things like should you really have that much food on your plate? Which makes me want to punch and love him at the same time :thumbup:) So I guess what I am getting at here is while it may be no fun for a bit you need to really help her make the right choices and remind her that she doesn't want to stay the way she is, or she wouldn't have gotten the sugery to begin with. I am contantly asking myself "Do you really want more food or do you want to look cute in a swim suit?" That really helps me. So maybe help her come up with a manta to stop her from eating the bad stuff. A doctor can't do this for her....trust me we would ALL love that. Good luck and hang in there! ~A

I hear you my sista!! Holy Crap I have been struggling. Unlike you though I can't wait to get a fill. I go in next Thursday. It all starts innocently with accidently eating too much and once that stinking rotten brain knows you can eat more it wants more...ARG! I mostly struggle in the afternoons and evenings too. I think I need to cut down on Carbs...we'll see. I don't eat meat though so it's hard to avoid them. Something I really need more of is exercise. I know it feels good once I get going but I find myself lacking the motivation. It's a daily stuggle but it gets better right?

OMG I would so totally rather be in labor for 26 hours than feel the gallstone pain for 5 minutes. That person had NO clue what they were talking about. I feel like it is hard to pin point though because once you are in pain it just seems to radiate your whole torso. The only thing that made it *mostly* go away was morphine and even then I could still feel it, I just didn't care anymore lol.

I had my GB out about 2 years ago. I don't ever remember thinking oh I knew this was coming because of...? For me it felt like some one was stabbing a burning hot knife just under my ribcage. It would start as a queasy feeling and some light headedness. Basically I totally felt weird just before it would hit and then BAM! Stabbing hot knife...oh I hurt just thinking about it. I couldn't do anything but go in a dark room and ride it out. If you are having gallbladder trouble...you will know it without a doubt. My surgeon said once you do get stones there is nothing you can avoid doing or eating that will prevent attacks. It's all luck of the draw at that point. He described a gall bladder as like a bingo machine. It's just a matter of time before a ball falls in the hole and you just have to wait for it to fall back out. I hope you are just having heartburn. I wouldn't wish gall stones on anyone. Good Luck ~A

I know you work hard. Washing clothes and dishes by hand. Walking and riding bikes probably burns a lot of calories too. I know it's hard to find gifts for your friends. Well I have a dishwashing machine, and a laundry machine and I drive my car to work. I don't burn 3000 calories a day just doing household chores. I can give my friends good smelling lotions as gifts. So I have no need for your Friendship Bread starter. I don't want to bake every ten days. I have no need for the warm and moist cinnomony goodness. I don't want to be your friend anymore. ~A

Yes I had some wicked bruising around a couple of my incisions. Some were kind of red and ugly. They get better pretty fast ) ~A

LOL OMG...so I used to live in an apartment building that had a really really outdated workout room. It had two of the above items. The roller thing and the belt "Shaken" thing. Too hilarious. The roller thing was weird...it basically massaged your butt and it totally looked like a huge safety hazard. The band thing was just weird...it just jiggled your fat...nothing in the world can make you feel fatter than having every ounce of your fat jiggled lol Thanks for the laugh! ~A

Hey Manda, Everyone is different...some people wake up hungry and some people aren't hungry for a while after the surgery. I wasn't hungry for at least a week. Like tummy growling hungry. I did start to think about food but nothing like before. You won't feel restriction until you start to eat real food. The liquid stuff just passes right through. Even then restriction doesn't come for some until after many fills. I hope I at least sort of answered your question. I know I don't really feel full but I lose interest in coffee in the morning and I struggle to eat during the day because I just don't always want it but at night I have to fight myself to not eat too much lol Good Luck! You'll figure it out as it comes ) ~A

Oh my goodness...That's crazy! I was totally the opposite! I had runny stools until I was able to start the Protein shakes! Now it's mostly normal thank goodness. Best of luck to you, I hope it never happens again! ~A

I had day-surgery too. I went in at 9 am and was home by 3 or so I think? I actually felt better up and moving around rather than sitting. I have a pretty high pain tolerance I think but even still I think this was pretty easy. I had my gall bladder out a couple of years ago and I remember being more tired and sore after that. I went back to work the next Monday so like 5 days after surgery. I still was a little sore to bend and you can't lift anything but that was fine. I would recommend getting up and walking around asap! It helps tons with the shoulder gas pains. Good luck! ~A

Hmmm....I don't know my Doc said i could have coffee in my clear liquid stage and never said anything about decaf? I would say to ask your dietition.

Hey flowers...My Grandma used to say to me ALL the time..."You'd be so pretty if you were skinny" So what the heck am I now? Gee thanks! It's funny what people will say to you when they are "just trying to be helpful"

Well after the post-op liquid diet you shouldn't be eating any soups or at least not the liquid. That counts as part of the no drinking with meals.

Oh so it's just our brains that are lazy?? lol Or just too dumb to figure out how to use the lepitin? Lovely.

This is for the mexican food lover... Not sure if it's all ok with your Dr...so double check... Ingredients Cambells southwest Corn soup Can of refried Beans 1 Avacado 2 slices of an onion Throw that all into a blender until smooth. Pour your portion into a microwavable bowl, heat it up and oh yum! It's like burrito soup. It's really filling too. I can eat about 1/2 a cup and then I am good for several hours. It totally tastes like a real meal even though my daughter says "Oh yuck Mom are you eating mud again?" ha! ~A

Yeah it's hard. Some people out there will just never get it. I had a friend once who would eat huge amounts of food...huge! Skinny as a rail. I asked him once what the deal was and he said he has always been that way. He tried several times to gain weight but it never worked. He said he could eat 3 doughnuts every morning for a month and maybe gain 10 or 15lbs but once he stopped that would come off within a week. Wouldn't that be AWESOME!!! lol He of course hated it. Then there is my husband. He was one of those people that always thought fat people were just lazy pigs who sat around eating and watching judge judy. I was about a size 16 when we met. I have always been an active person and was pretty fit for a couple of years there :confused:) So when we got together we just sat around and ate the dumbest things and we always had koolaid made in the fridge. Well, I gained about 100lbs within a couple of years and he gained 40lbs. He always ate more than me and he drinks beer! So we decided we wanted to get healthier again and he started bringing salads for lunch. He lost 30lbs within a year. Seriously that was all he changed. I did South Beach and also lost 30lbs. Then got pregnant lol. Anyway there are people out there that it is EASY for them and they CAN eat whatever they want or if they do gain, it's easy to get it back off. Why it's not like that for us I will never know. I have been doing way better than I ever thought I would with not wanting or NEEDING some of the foods I wanted and needed before. But still sometimes I feel so out of control and find myself spitting out what I just stuck in my mouth on auto pilot lol I told only my husband and my boss who is also a close friend. I just don't want to hear the negative stuff right now. I want only people who will be 100% supportive to have my ear. Just ignore them and move on. It's your body and your life. We all know our own struggles. I am so glad we are all here and working through it! GO US!!! ~A WOW sorry that got so long lol!

Yeah, if you are someone that will let it discourage you...stay away from the scale. If you stick with your healthy diet it will come off. I love weighing myself for some reason..lol So Sometimes I weight twice a day, just for kicks and it will seriously vary +/- 6 to 8 lbs from morning to night. You are doing awesome...just keep it up and stay away from the scale! ) ~A

I got it in the natural foods section of my grocery store. Also I picked up some Protein powder at costco (Choc and vanilla) that doesn't have the fake sugar just fructose. But it doesn't have any more calories than the stuff with the fake sugar that we got at GNC. I don't know if you are a member or not or where you are at but at least you know that it's out there. Good Luck!! I like to stay away from the fake sugars too. They make my lips numb of all things. ~A

Well Riley....I would hate to go against what your doctor or "Kaiser" says but I had my surgery on the 25th and I was told ok for protein shakes. I don't know how we would be able to get enough protein right now without it. If nothing else they do have clear liquid protein. I made some in Jello and you couldn't even taste the nasty stuff ) I was told that was ok too as long as it was clear... Good Luck and good job on your loss so far! ~A

Go and get yourself some Zicam! I use the stuff that's on a swab that you stick in your nose. I have not had a cold this winter and I am a nanny for kids in school! Every time I got that feeling like I was coming down with something I used the swabs and it went away. Good Luck! ~A

Hey All! Banded on the 25th...feeling almost back to normal. I haven't had any trouble with being on liquids. Most times I can't even finish my cup of coffee in the morning because I am full. The most wonderful thing so far is that I am not always thinking about FOOD! I feel like I have been very lucky I know some of you are struggling. I did start with thicker liquids yesterday and that is nice...something besides water, coffee and broth, yay! I did find that the Roasted red pepper and tomato soup...can't think of the brand...Pacific something I think, has the most protein per serving for the cream soups. And it's yummy...I don't even like tomato soup lol I haven't really started much in the way of working out yet but hopefully by next week the energy level will be a bit better to do that. And it's starting to get warmer out so that always makes me want to exercise more...not sure why? Good Luck! ~A