adagray

Great job on the eating out and keeping it under control! I never get cheesecake at the cheesecake factory anymore ever since I looked up the nutritional info one time. Its like eating two Big Macs or something horrendous like that. I would love just ONE bite of the white chocolate macadamia nut cheesecake, but they don't sell it in one bite servings. LOL

Jeans that actually fit and don't restrict circulation have got to be the greatest reward of all! LOL I was just thinking this to myself the other day. Way to go!!!

Awwww, different brands vary so much in size. Even the same brand can vary a lot because all the manufacturing is outsourced. I just bought a 2X shirt that is smaller than my old 1X shirts that I have. And, my size 18 jeans are finally loose and now I can fit into a pair of 20 jeans I have that were too tight before. Also, if you happened to try on any brands that are marketed towards 'Junior Plus', they run a whole size to two sizes smaller. So, a 3X Junior Plus may fit like a regular 1X. So, please try not to get too caught up in the sizing. You KNOW you are smaller because your clothes are getting loose. Don't let a silly little label make you feel bad. You know what I do to labels that make me feel bad??? I cut 'em out!!! LOL

In the post-op class I took w/others that got banded by my surgeon the same week, the dietician recommended that we give up some things for just the first month after banding. And, after giving them up, I'm thinking I may just be better off without them at all: 1) Red Meat and Pork 2) Caffeine 3) Artificial Sweeteners The funny thing is that I really missed the red meat and pork the first week because I am so used to having these options when I plan my cooking for the week. But, now, I've found all sorts of chicken and turkey products, fish, and soy products I love. And, with my high cholesterol and other health issues, am thinking maybe I am better off to just not even try to eat red meat or pork again. I think most bandsters have trouble getting them down once they have proper restriction anyway so what is the point of reintroducing these just to end up taking them away again later I figure. Now, w/the caffeine, there have certainly been DAYS when I would have LOVED to have a cup of coffee to get me going in the morning. But, overall, it feels great to have broken this addiction. I actually crave a big glass of water in the morning now. And, the removal of artificial sweeteners has had the most amazing effect for me. The dietician claimed that artificial sweeteners make you crave more sugar and I really didn't believe her when she said that. But, much to my amazement, she was right! I used to crave sweets all the time and now I can take 'em or leave 'em quite easily. I've been using agave nectar instead which is a natural sweetener (similar calories to sugar), but much lower on the glycemic index (so good for my prediabetes). It feels weird to add 'calories' when I know I could just throw in some splenda for 'free', but I can't argue w/the results I am enjoying. No more sugar monster! Anyway, I'm just so surprised that I'm even considering embracing these changes long-term when I had grumbled about them in the first place. And, I'm trying to figure out how I will handle the lamb chop dinner my mother-in-law is planning a week after my first fill. I have already told her not to worry about me when she plans meals because... (1) I really don't eat much now and (2) I can always find something that works for me out of everything she makes. It seems like everyone worries about whether their menu will agree w/me now that I have lapband and I'm the only one who is NOT worried because I know that even if there is hardly anything I can eat, I don't need much anyway. :ohmy: Oh, by the way, I am down 2 more pounds as of a couple days ago. Yay!!!

Just wanted to chime in that my surgeon requires 72 hours of Clear Liquids after a fill... just so you know that what your surgeon is requiring is not totally 'out there'. For the clear liquids, I can only have Water, broth, caffeine free tea, Jello, and clear Protein shots. So, I expect that to be a pretty miserable 72 hours! LOL I think the logic behind waiting 72 hours is to give your body a full chance for any swelling around your stoma to go down before moving on to foods. Otherwise, my surgeon is aggressive about moving on to solid foods. After surgery, I was on clear liquids only (non-calorie and non-protein too) for three days after too, but then could go straight to solid foods. Anyway, all that said, just try to hang in there! Try not to read too much into your hunger right now. Liquids go right through the band so its impossible to tell how your restriction is until you can eat real food again. I go for my first fill on Friday. I'm excited to get more restriction, but am also a little nervous because I do have a little restriction already (even w/an empty lapband) and I had one stuck episode w/a piece of bread that I never want to experience again.

Great goal! I agree that numbers on a scale can get boring. There is no bigger thrill for me than being able to fit into clothes that I couldn't before. Or, having stuff that used to be tight, feel loose. I'm just starting this journey (banded in December), but I just found that I could fit into a favorite pair of jeans that had become too tight for me before. And, that has been my favorite reward so far. Also, previous to being banded, a good friend of mine came over and helped me go through all my old clothes, get rid of stuff I wouldn't want to wear again, and we boxed up everything that I still liked, but was too small and categorized it as 'stage 1', 'stage 2', and 'stage 3'. Basically, as all my current clothes become loose, I open up 'stage 1' and it has the next one to two sizes down. Then, when that becomes loose, I open up the 'stage 2' box, etc. 'Stage 2' and 'Stage 3' are stored in the garage, but 'Stage 1' is stored in two boxes in my closet right above my current clothes. So, I keep looking up there and wondering when I will be ready to open those boxes. :->

As for the risks of surgery, hopefully meeting w/your surgeon can put him at ease. Also, unplanned surgeries and problems (like you had during childbirth) are just a lot more scary than scheduled surgery. Going in for this surgery, they know your current health up and down and will be ready for anything. Maybe the anasthesiologist can give something to your husband to help him relax. I know the stuff they gave me on the way to the operating room worked for me. LOL As for his worry that he will not be attracted to you if you lose too much, isn't this something you can negotiate and deal with later. I mean it will take awhile to get from a size 32 to an 18. I would ask him to just support me on the way to size 18 and then let's negotiate my goal weight from there. You'll have a better idea of where your health is at that point and how much more YOU really want to lose too. I also suspect that by the time you reach a size 18, he will be reaping the benefits of a happier and healthier you and may not care as much about the looks aspect of it all. Or, maybe you compromise and not go below a 14 or something like that if you are comfortable with that. I can tell you that there are some ladies in my surgeon's support group that changed their goal (to something higher) once they got most of their weight off. They just wanted to eat more 'normal' and felt happy w/their health and how they looked. I know I can be perfectly happy 20 pounds above the goal I chose. And, in a way, I think the whole idea of having a weight goal is kind of silly. I mean really my goal is to get my health back and feel good about how I look, but also happy w/my new lifestyle. If it becomes a struggle to attain that 'number', then I don't really care about it that much. I just want to be healthy, happy, and living a lifestyle that is maintainable.

Have you tried just getting the alcohol out of your house? I love wine and gin and used to drink almost daily whenever I was not on a 'diet'. After lapband, I have decided that I will drink just occasionally for special occasions or when I go out w/friends, but not in my house (because the 'daily habit' part has got to stop in order to achieve my health and weightloss goals). Well, I was doing pretty good, but then one day I picked up a bottle of wine just to have on hand in case I was going out I'd have one handy to take to a friend's house or whatever. Well, sure enough, it did not stay in my wine rack long. The first day the kids stressed me out and I thought I 'deserved' it, I popped it open. So, I've decided to just not keep wine or gin (my two favorites) in the house at all anymore. Other alcohol does not seem to call to me. I have a liquor cabinet full of other stuff, but I don't care about it. It just seems that I can't resist temptation for wine or gin if it is in the house... just like I'm sure other people are w/ice cream. LOL I'm either too lazy or have too much pride to go on a run to the store just to pick up wine or gin so this works for me. ;-> Anyway, just figured I'd throw that out there as an easy thing you can try if you haven't already.

For me, in one week, most of the actual pain was gone. I would not have wanted to work that first week at all because I had a lot of pain in my shoulder and some of it would come on very suddenly and be very severe. The second week, I felt good (very little pain and nothing that was ever severe), but I was more tired than normal and would get worn out more easily. I could've worked the second week, but I probably would just need to make sure I went to bed early and got extra sleep. By the third week, I was really all better. Not even any dull pains anymore and my energy is all back to normal. And, I'm antsy to get back to my normal exercise (Jazzercise), but have been told I'm not allowed to do that until after my appointment next Friday. I feel like I could even do stomach crunches, but I won't dare do that until I am told it is all OK. By the way, I was required to do laps around the bariatric unit while I was there and that does help a lot. When I got home, I got lazy and didn't walk as much. Then, the second or third day home I woke up w/such severe pain in my shoulder that I could barely move and was crying. I had to get my husband up to get me a heating pad and my medicine. That is when I realized I needed to be walking more and I started walking on my treadmill for 10 minutes (slow) every hour. Within a day, I was feeling much much better. So, the walking is really really important!

I consider my scale the 'official' scale. I know from all my dieting on WW that its best not to weigh more than once/week, but I'm too curious at this point to not weigh more often. So, I weigh pretty much every other morning right now (empty and in a lightweight nightgown). I do not weigh at other times of the day because there are too many variables (clothing, food you just ate/drank, etc.). I think my scale may actually be off a little bit in that it says I am a little bit heavier than any doctor's scale I get on (or WW when I was doing that). But, I like that because then I am never upset by the number I see when I'm going for my appointments. ;->

I can definitely see a big difference. Your whole body looks slimmed down, especially your tummy and your face. You are looking GREAT!!! :thumbup:

My surgeon advised during her seminar that you SHOULD choose lapband if you don't want to give up alcohol entirely. Current thinking is that alcohol can be very dangerous for gastric bypass because the alcohol goes straight into the system of a GB patient without being metabolized at all by the stomach. With lapband, the processing of alcohol is not changed at all. I will warn you that it may make your band feel tighter the next morning, though. Since alcohol is a diuretic, the rebound effect the next day may cause you to retain water which can make your band feel tighter.

I just got my band so I'm not at goal yet, but my surgeon did advise me that the standard lapband port would probably show a little once I get to to my goal weight of 149 (which is about a 25 BMI I think). But, she said she can combine port revision surgery w/any other stomach surgery I might have later if I want to go w/the lower profile lapband port later. Ultimately, I'll have to see how I feel when I get there, but I suspect that if I am feeling vain enough to care about my port, I'll probably be getting a tummy tuck so I can have the port replaced w/a low profile port at that time. The reason she didn't put in the lapband low profile port to begin with is because it is hard to find for fills when you still have a lot of excess weight to lose. You might also consider the Realize band if a flatter port is very important to you because the Realize band comes w/a flatter wider port. I didn't choose Realize because I didn't like the design of the actual band as much, but that is just my personal opinion. Both bands get great reviews and work well so if making sure the port doesn't show is a high priority, I would go w/Realize instead (if your surgeon offers it). This is kind of far out there, but I've also heard that lapband recently aquired a company that is developing technology that will eliminate the need for a port at all. Basically, there will be a reservoir of fill Fluid and the fill will be able to be done by a sort of remote control device. So, ultimately, way way down the line, maybe I would want to get that once the techology is perfected.

That's 13 pounds lost since my surgery on 12/17 (just over 3 weeks ago) plus 7 that I lost before surgery. Woohoo!!!

If anyone asks me what my goal is I tell them 150 because that puts me right at the edge of the healthy weight range. But, I follow that w/'But honestly, I will be happy wherever I end up whether it be lower or higher. Its a new lifestyle and my body is gonna end up where it ends up.' I think its funny that anyone would think that I have complete control over where I would end up. But, anyone who says 'don't lose too much weight' or get 'too skinny' is probably more concerned that you will end up thinner than them. I know that sounds harsh, but that has been my experience when I've lost a lot of weight on weight watchers. Some people in your life will freak out if you go below THEIR weight or size because they perceive a 'pecking order' to weight/size and you will have disrupted that hierarchy in their mind. I'm not someone who has ever cared if I am 'fatter' or 'thinner' than someone else, but some people have their whole identities wrapped up in this.

If its like mine, there is a LONG test w/a bunch of statements and you have to respond w/how much you agree or disagree w/each statement. Statements like... 'It makes me nervous to drive on a freeway.' Or, 'My friends are generally supportive of me'. Or, 'I like to go fishing in my free time'. Just answer the questions and don't overthink it. LOL I recognized some of the questions were trying to figure out if you have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Alcoholism, etc., but some of them I had no idea what they were there for (like the fishing one). In any case, even if they do see you have signs for something (like GAD), it wouldn't prevent you from having the surgery, but they would probably recommend you follow-up w/your PCP or a psychologist to discuss it more. It is a general test and tests for things that are not contraindicated for WLS. The only things that I think are contraindicated for WLS is active alcoholism and active bulimia... meaning if you have either of these right NOW, they would deny you. If you used to have them, I think you can still have the surgery.

That's 13 pounds lost since my surgery on 12/17 (just over 3 weeks ago) plus 7 that I lost before surgery. Woohoo!!! :thumbup:

Just when I thought I had no resriction, I had my first real stuck episode tonight. First of all, I think I must be retaining water. I have felt bloated all day. And, I think this is what must be making me feel restricted cause I have not felt any restriction for awhile (I'm 3 weeks out from surgery and no fill yet). Anyway, so this morning I had a baby shower to go to and when it came time to eat, I splurged on having two eggs benedict, some shrimp, and mixed fruit. I could feel the food not going down so well so I stopped eating. It was so weird for me to not finish my plate cause everything was so good. OK, so flash forward to tonight's dinner and we had grilled salmon, grilled asparagus, pasta, and rolls. I was just gonna eat the salmon and asparagus and I could feel some of the asparagus was not so tender, but it was still going through fine. Then, I decided what the heck, I think I'll have a roll. BIG MISTAKE!!! By the time, I felt it getting stuck, I had already eaten almost the whole thing. It hurt really bad. I excused myself to the bathroom and took my water with me. My mom had said you can take a sip of water to help it come back up if needed (she's been banded for 2 years). But, when you are stuck, the last thing you want to do is to add anything to the mix. I took some tiny tiny sips and it just made it worse. It was a weird sensation feeling the water work its way down and little bubbles coming up. I am a woos when it comes to throw-up. I don't even know how to make myself throw-up if I needed to. I remembered that someone on here says it helps to hold your hands up high in the air so I did that for awhile. That seemed to work OK and the roll finally made its way through over the course of a few minutes. I know some stuck episodes can be a lot worse so I'm thankful this passed pretty quickly. But, I never ever want to feel that again so I am staying far far away from bread from now on. I hardly ever eat bread products anyway because I have an intolerance to wheat (makes me really tired), but just indulged today because it wasn't gonna matter if I got tired. Anyway, this whole experience has taught me that I also really need to be careful anytime I am retaining water or feel bloated. And, I need to try to prevent that too. I think I was so bloated because I ate some really salty stuff last night which makes you retain water. And, I had wine which makes you dehydated. And, when you are dehydrated, your body reacts by retaining water too. So, I gotta really watch all that stuff now... not just for the calories (which I knew were bad), but because of how it effects your restriction. On the bright side, I got on the scale yesterday and lost another pound! Woohoo!!! :thumbup:

Just when I thought I had no resriction, I had my first real stuck episode tonight. First of all, I think I must be retaining water. I have felt bloated all day. And, I think this is what must be making me feel restricted cause I have not felt any restriction for awhile (I'm 3 weeks out from surgery and no fill yet). Anyway, so this morning I had a baby shower to go to and when it came time to eat, I splurged on having two eggs benedict, some shrimp, and mixed fruit. I could feel the food not going down so well so I stopped eating. It was so weird for me to not finish my plate cause everything was so good. OK, so flash forward to tonight's dinner and we had grilled salmon, grilled asparagus, pasta, and rolls. I was just gonna eat the salmon and asparagus and I could feel some of the asparagus was not so tender, but it was still going through fine. Then, I decided what the heck, I think I'll have a roll. BIG MISTAKE!!! By the time, I felt it getting stuck, I had already eaten almost the whole thing. It hurt really bad. I excused myself to the bathroom and took my water with me. My mom had said you can take a sip of water to help it come back up if needed (she's been banded for 2 years). But, when you are stuck, the last thing you want to do is to add anything to the mix. I took some tiny tiny sips and it just made it worse. It was a weird sensation feeling the water work its way down and little bubbles coming up. I am a woos when it comes to throw-up. I don't even know how to make myself throw-up if I needed to. I remembered that someone on here says it helps to hold your hands up high in the air so I did that for awhile. That seemed to work OK and the roll finally made its way through over the course of a few minutes. I know some stuck episodes can be a lot worse so I'm thankful this passed pretty quickly. But, I never ever want to feel that again so I am staying far far away from bread from now on. I hardly ever eat bread products anyway because I have an intolerance to wheat (makes me really tired), but just indulged today because it wasn't gonna matter if I got tired. Anyway, this whole experience has taught me that I also really need to be careful anytime I am retaining water or feel bloated. And, I need to try to prevent that too. I think I was so bloated because I ate some really salty stuff last night which makes you retain water. And, I had wine which makes you dehydated. And, when you are dehydrated, your body reacts by retaining water too. So, I gotta really watch all that stuff now... not just for the calories (which I knew were bad), but because of how it effects your restriction. On the bright side, I got on the scale yesterday and lost another pound! Woohoo!!!

You can give up the diet coke. I used to drink a lot too and was able to quit it. Just start cutting back... limit yourself to maybe two per day, then one, then none. Besides it being a band rule to eliminate carbonation, my friends had been bugging me forever to give up (or at least cut back on) the diet coke cause they say it is so bad for you and that artificial sweeteners are bad. Interestingly enough, in the pre-op education class I took, they said that artificial sweeteners drive cravings for more sugar. And, that there was a study done where they had people give up their diet sodas for full sugar sodas (no other changes) and they LOST WEIGHT! I know it makes no sense because you would think the diet drinks have less calories so have to be better for dieting, but there is something at work there that they don't totally understand. The dieticians at my surgeon's office recommend cutting back as much as possible on artifical sweeteners and I have found that it really has lowered my cravings for all sweets. Weird!

I think when you've exhausted all your other choices to get your weight under control and failed, though, it can feel like 'magic' that you've finally found something that works for you when you put in the work. Gosh, I have done them all. Jenny Craig is the WORST! Those meals are sooooooo small and I was sooooooo hungry. No confusion here... this was real hunger on JC, not just head hunger. I did JC to lose 20 pounds fast before my wedding and between the wedding planning and this diet, I almost lost my mind, but I did look good in the dress. Haha!!! I think for someone who has done many different diets and could not get past the 'hunger' aspect of dieting, the band can seem like 'magic'. During my psych visit, I told the psychologist I would be willing to do ANY diet forever to be healthy as long as I could actually lose the weight at a decent rate (even just one pound per week) and keep it off and NOT BE HUNGRY all the time!!! He tole me I was an ideal candidate for the band and would do really well. I did weight watchers for 2.5 years and lost 50 pounds so I guess you could say I'm a 'slow loser'. But, ultimately, I just could not get anymore weight off and I had to be hungry a lot just to keep off what I had gained. I'm newly banded so not a lot of experience w/this yet, but I've lost 12 pounds since my surgery three weeks ago and that feels like a MIRACLE to me. It sure is a heck of a lot easier to do my part when I'm actually seeing good results. And, even though I don't have a fill yet, I'm not terribly hungry like I usually am on diets. I also feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders to know that as long as I keep doing my part, I should be able to get to a healthy weight eventually. I don't really care how long it takes if I can just keep moving in the right direction and keep it off. I didn't realize how much mental energy I spend worrying about my health and comorbid conditions (high bp, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and prediabetes) before this. I was deathly afraid really and it does feel like 'magic' for me just to feel the possibility that I have some control to take back my health now. Halleluliah!!!

Most surgeons sew your stomach around the band now so that it won't slip. Of course, if you haven't had your surgery yet, this is something you would want to ask your surgeon about beforehand.

Oh Yummmmmmmm! You are giving me head hunger!!! LOL And, it doesn't help to know that these delicious corn cakes are local. Where did you have lunch? Or, maybe I shouldn't ask... I have no restriction right now, but only two weeks until my first fill. I can't wait!

It might be dehydration. I get dizzy when I'm dehydrated. Sip sip sip! And, congrats on losing 52 so far!!!