adagray

If you have a Pei Wei near you, I recommend the Hot & Sour Soup (27 grams of protein per serving!), Lettuce Wraps, and Chopped Chicken Salad. Yum!!!

The band is designed to work best on solid food and, theoretically, you should be able to eat anything after you are banded. From this site and support group mtgs I have been to, though, it seems that the majority of people do have trouble eating bread and red meat. My dietician made it clear to me, though, that this is a choice... that they CAN eat those things, but a lot of people just don't want to cut it small enough or chew it long enough. Personally, I have had bread get stuck once. It wasn't a horrible experience, but not something I would want to repeat. I realize I could probably still eat bread if I nibbled smaller pieces off of it, but I've decided bread is just not that great for my diet anyway (simple carb) so I don't mind just avoiding it for now. As for those who just consume Protein shakes and soft foods, that is a sign that your band is too tight (the red zone on the lapband chart). Technically, they should not keep their band that tight, but some people prefer it that way and they feel it works better for them that way. How tight you get your band is up to you, though. A lot of people on here make it sound like you either have restriction or you don't. Well, I don't think its that simple. I do believe there are different degrees of restriction. And, if you are losing 1-2 pounds per week, you do not HAVE to get your band tightened. For me, I'm still losing that, but I'm getting hungry between meals so I want it tightened more. But, it is my choice. I could leave it as it is until I stopped losing if I want.

Woohoo! You are doing awesome!!! I know how you feel. I am on my 7th week and although I am not losing quite as fast as you (19 down since surgery), it is still WAY WAY WAY better than what I could lose without the band. I am so happy!!! :->

I got my first fill at 6 weeks. It was supposed to be at 5 weeks, but had to be postponed. I got 3cc at my first fill (less than a week ago). I don't have enough restriction yet so I am calling back to get another fill, hopefully in another week.

Every time I look at the scale, I'm having a hard time believing the number there. This morning I got on and found that I had lost ANOTHER two pounds! Woohoo!!! I am now down 19 pounds since surgery (12/17) and 26 pounds overall (from my highest). This is all SO fast for me. Don't get me wrong, of course I LOVE it! But, for the first time, my head is having a hard time keeping up w/my weightloss. I feel like people can't possibly notice a difference, but everyone says they can. And, I can't believe I could fit into a smaller size, but I just tried some on from my closet and they fit. In a weird way, it feels like I don't deserve this because I haven't suffered and been hungry since surgery. I have associated hunger and deprivation w/weightloss for so long now. It is just so weird to be rewarded w/the weightloss, but without the discipline and obsession w/'points' required by WW. Or, eating your teeny tiny lunch on Jenny Craig and feeling so damn hungry you want to crawl under a rock until your next teeny tiny meal. Of course, I have to follow the band rules and I guess that is a 'diet' of sorts. But, it sure is a hell of a lot easier than any other 'diet' I have ever been on and, at the same time, I'm losing weight faster too. And, even though I am still in the 'yellow' zone w/my band (don't have quite the restriction I should), it is helping me tremendously w/portion control and hunger which is SO FREEing after this lifetime of struggling w/diets that I have endured. So, I guess I'm having a lovefest w/my band today. I can already see that this is gonna turn out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. :bored:

Every time I look at the scale, I'm having a hard time believing the number there. This morning I got on and found that I had lost ANOTHER two pounds! Woohoo!!! I am now down 19 pounds since surgery (12/17) and 26 pounds overall (from my highest). This is all SO fast for me. Don't get me wrong, of course I LOVE it! But, for the first time, my head is having a hard time keeping up w/my weightloss. I feel like people can't possibly notice a difference, but everyone says they can. And, I can't believe I could fit into a smaller size, but I just tried some on from my closet and they fit. In a weird way, it feels like I don't deserve this because I haven't suffered and been hungry since surgery. I have associated hunger and deprivation w/weightloss for so long now. It is just so weird to be rewarded w/the weightloss, but without the discipline and obsession w/'points' required by WW. Or, eating your teeny tiny lunch on Jenny Craig and feeling so damn hungry you want to crawl under a rock until your next teeny tiny meal. Of course, I have to follow the band rules and I guess that is a 'diet' of sorts. But, it sure is a hell of a lot easier than any other 'diet' I have ever been on and, at the same time, I'm losing weight faster too. And, even though I am still in the 'yellow' zone w/my band (don't have quite the restriction I should), it is helping me tremendously w/portion control and hunger which is SO FREEing after this lifetime of struggling w/diets that I have endured. So, I guess I'm having a lovefest w/my band today. I can already see that this is gonna turn out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. :smile2:

Do you mean you can slide your pants off without unbuttoning and unzipping them? If so, you have definitely changed sizes! I used to have these pants that fit me everywhere from a 14 to a size 20. They had lycra in them and I got to the point on one diet where I could slide them down to use the bathroom without unbuttoning or unzipping them. You can still wear them, just cut the tag out so it doesn't annoy you. ;-> But, please go out and try on some new clothes so you can at least see that you really have changed sizes.

I have a Tanita that is over 10 years old and it still works great. It is digital and gives body fat percentage too. I bought it way back when I was doing Jenny Craig to lose weight before my wedding. Boy, that poor scale sure has been through a lot and its still going strong. LOL

Save the money you would spend on Medifast and put it towards getting your band filled. You are jumping ship on the band much too prematurely. Almost nobody has restriction at 1.5cc. If you want the best chance to lose weight permanently, find a way to get it filled, be patient, and follow the rules. Jenny Craig and Medifast may be faster at losing weight initially, but there is less than a 5% chance you would keep it off.

Wow, all of you had your rings resized so many times. I actually gained 100 pounds since my wedding and have never had to have my ring resized. It still fits, granted I have to lotion up my hands to get it on and I have to wash my hands w/cold soapy Water to get it off, but I take it off and put it on several times a day without any real problem. It was a little loose when I first got engaged, but the jewelry store encouraged me not to get it sized down. They said it would be better to have it a little loose for when my hands swelled in the summer. Maybe the guy was actually thinking when I gain 100 pounds. LOL

Slim Jim (I don't actually have good restriction yet, but I just happen to know that a Slim Jim is really gross if you chew it for a long time. LOL)

For family and friends, I take the time to explain how the band works. I know it takes some extra effort, but if you spend that time upfront w/each person, then you never have to explain it again. And, they will have a better and more genuine understanding of how the whole thing works. I have a friend whose mom had recently gotten the band when I was pre-op and she told me it didn't seem to be working for her. Post-op, I was explaining to a bunch of my friends about the whole fill process and this same friend had no idea about it (even though her mom has the band). That seems weird to me. So, she had deemed the band a 'failure' for her mom when she didn't even know how it works or where her mom was in the process. I think its better to take the time and explain to people how it works. Granted, we don't have time to go out and educate the whole world on the subject, but taking the time and effort to explain it to family and friends is worthwhile I think.

This is gonna be a hard one for me because every time I have finally felt confident enough to get rid of my fat clothes (after losing significant weight), I regained AFTER getting rid of my fat clothes. It was like giving away the fat clothes jinxed me. Or, maybe I just like shopping for clothes. LOL Honestly, it is more fun for me to go shop for new fat clothes than have to go into an old box for stuff I wore before. So, part of me does wonder if it made it easier to gain weight because I did give away my old fat clothes. In any case, this time I am gonna let them go as I lose weight (at least the really big sizes). If for no other reason than my DH hates clutter and boxes of stuff lying around. But, as I get close to my goal weight and am down into the lower sizes (like 10s and 12s), I would hang onto at least one size up just because even naturally skinny people have their seasonal ups and downs. I don't expect to go all the way to goal and never have a blip or bump along the way.

My doctor said do not take any NSAIDs ever again (advil, motrin, aleve, etc.). I even explained that I only take one Rx strength aleve per month for cramps and she said I should go back to my PCP and have her prescribe something different. I don't know if it is really that bad, but that is what she told me to do. And, since the Rx strength aleve wasn't working that well for me anyway, I don't mind trying something different.

I believe that the lapband works best for those people who have had some good success dieting before, but just weren't able to keep it off because they were truly too hungry on the amount they had to eat to lose weight. I have been on so many diets before and I feel like the rules I have to follow for the band are very much like being on another 'diet' except for two very important things... (1) I am not required to be hungry to lose weight and (2) I do not have to measure or weigh my food to ensure that I am eating a proper portion size. The two things that the band takes care of very well (once adjusted properly) are portion control and hunger. Other than that, you have to follow the 'rules' just like you would on any 'diet'.

I don't feel it at all, not right after surgery, and not during my first fill either. The only time I even know its there is if I actually eat something that doesn't go down well.

I get the most full from any kind of chicken right now.

I am about 6 weeks out, had one fill (3cc in a 10cc Lapband), and I can eat beans and salad no problem. I've been eating beans for a long time already, but the dieticians had said to wait one month for salad. I finally had my first salad tonight and it went down great, no problem at all.

FINALLY, the scale is moving again. I was stuck at 227 for a couple weeks there. Really, it went up and then back down over the course of my TOM. I knew I was retaining water. Well, now all that water weight is gone and I'm down two more pounds. Woohoo!!!!!! :thumbup: So, now I am 17 pounds down since surgery on 12/17 and 24 pounds down overall... almost 1/4 of the way to my goal. W:smile2:W!!!

FINALLY, the scale is moving again. I was stuck at 227 for a couple weeks there. Really, it went up and then back down over the course of my TOM. I knew I was retaining water. Well, now all that water weight is gone and I'm down two more pounds. Woohoo!!!!!! So, now I am 17 pounds down since surgery on 12/17 and 24 pounds down overall... almost 1/4 of the way to my goal. W:smile2:W!!!

I'm bummed the Calcet has dairy in it. One site I went to had a big warning that said it was not appropriate for those w/lactose intolerance (which I have). I could take a lactaid pill w/it, but that seems like a hassle to take an extra pill to take my calcium supplement. LOL I ordered some calcium citrate lemon chews and chocolate chews that are made by 'Bariatric Advantage'. They are pretty good, but don't taste as good as Viactiv. I wish the Viactiv were calcium citrate. I think the reason why some docs say to take calcium citrate is that it is more easily absorbed by the body and not necessary to take w/food. But, I always take my calcium before a meal anyway (right before b-fast and dinner) so maybe I would be OK w/the calcium carbonate. I will ask the dietician next time I am in. For those looking for chewable calcium citrate, the other one I have used is made by TwinLab and available from www.drugstore.com. It is pretty chalky and took some getting used to. But, I don't have trouble getting them down now that I'm used to them. Just wish for something more enjoyable. The Bariatric Advantage ones are better tasting than the TwinLab, but still have a weird texture once you chew them up really well.

Yesterday, was the big day!!! I tried to update my blog last night, but hit the wrong key and deleted my update. But, I am happy to say everything went great yesterday. :cool: I love my surgeon's assistant, Melissa, who did my fill. She took her time and explained the whole fill process and all the questions they will ask me each time to determine if I should get a fill. She said after this first appointment, I can decide when I want to come in again (anywhere from 2 weeks to 8 weeks). She also explained how important it is to focus on reducing percentage of body fat... that over the course of time it takes to get to goal, she wants me to go from 51% body fat to 30% body fat. I'm all for it! And, she cleared me to return to Jazzercise (which I have been dying to do - walking is so boring to me). I'm just not supposed to do the stomach crunches they do at the end of class until 8 weeks. That's OK, I am usually so worn out by the time we get to the floor work that I just lay there anyway when everyone else does the crunches. OK, so on w/the fill. They have a big chair in every one of the exam rooms and I didn't know until this appointment that they electronically adjust all the way back so you are lying down when they put the needle in. So, I got to lying down, she cleaned the area, and told me to look away while she put the needle in. It was quick and no big deal. She gave me 2cc and then sat me back up to drink some water. The water went down fine, so she put in another cc (for a total of 3cc in a Lapband APS 10cc capacity). I drank some water again and it felt a little weird like it was not going through as fast and I felt some little bubbles, but it did not hurt. She stopped there. She told me after that she can give 2, 3, or 4 on the first visit, but most people get 3. So, I guess that makes me average. Now, the hard part... I am supposed to be on clear liquids for 72 hours (but no juice or sugar). I am trying, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it that long. I already cheated a little and put a little soy milk and agave nectar in my decaf tea. I am drinking clear protein shots I got from Costco (25 grams of protein in a 3 oz tube - tastes like unset jello - 100 calories). I drink my broth or tea as my 'meal' and then the protein shot like a 'dessert'. Yeah, right, not sure how long I can last like this! :thumbup: I'm also just curious to see if I can feel any difference when I eat from the 3cc. I might try a yogurt later today if I can't get my mind off of food after lunch. I did discover an AMAZING broth I just had for lunch. It is made by 'College Inn' and is called 'Culinary Broth' in 'Thai Coconut Curry' flavor... chicken broth infused w/a blend of coconut, curry, garlic, and coriander flavors. It has a lot of sodium, though, so I cut it half-and-half w/low sodium vegetable broth. It has great flavor, though... just the right amount of spice. OK, I am probably becomming delusional at this point from lack of calories if I am raving about a broth.

Update... I didn't make it 72 hours on just liquids. I ended up having a yogurt early this afternoon then cottage cheese later in the afternoon. And, I went to Bunko tonight and had a few rice crackers w/spinach dip (chewed up thoroughly to mush). My dietician said the only reason for the 72 hours on liquids is to avoid puking (in case you swell after the fill). Nothing felt even close to being stuck so I figure I am good to go w/food right now, but I'm just gonna take it slow and careful.

Do you think you are retaining water right now? Is it your TOM or have you eaten something salty or drank an alcohol drink in the past day or so. Any of these things could make you retain water and that can make the band feel tighter. In any case, I've heard its best to go on clear liquids only when you are experiencing trouble like this to see if you can get the swelling to go down. Every time you try to eat something solid right now or even the protein drink, you are making the swelling worse. If after being on clear liquids only for a couple days, if it doesn't get better, then you gotta go see your doctor. Or, if you are miserable right now, certainly go to your doctor right now. Good luck to you and I hope you feel better soon.