lucymann

Congratulations to all of us on the great job so far! As I re-read the entries it is fun to see the progression - from not feeling any restriction to having problems with being too tight to thinking we are at or close to our "sweet spot". This thread is so helpful in charting our collective progress and success. Because of the discussions here on needing another fill I decided to ask my doctor if I could get my 4th fill a week early as I was really struggling to not eat too much over Thanksgiving. He had an opening and I am now at 2.9 in my 4cc band. I definitely have restriction! I can only eat a few bites and I am totally full for hours. If I eat one bite too many I am sorry! My doctor says that as we lose weight the band loosens because we lose fat around the stomach. I have never been told that we can actually absorb into our bodies the saline that is injected into the port. I just assumed the port and tube were impermeable. Isn't it great to be able to share this information and learn new things from each other? Thanks to all of you for being there and for sharing. It is making my journey all the more enjoyable.

Barbara12375 I loved what your granddaughter said! You know they speak what is truly in their hearts! Rroswelltx Great NSV's and SV's I know you will make your Christmas goal Congratulations! Christa94 I am so glad you had a successful Thanksgiving! And a weight loss as a bonus. Yea for you!

Barbara465 Congratulations on the decorating - I am looking forward to seeing pictures! And also congratulations on the "new" jeans from your alternative closet. What fun to get back into clothes you wore before! Cathy Congratulations on your 3 lb loss! Way to go! And I am glad your dates have gone well. Good luck to you. Leecelove70 Congratulations on your total loss of 51 lbs! Wow! Melissa I am glad your fill is okay so far. Sorry you felt a little deprived on Thanksgiving. I have heard that "nothing tastes as good as thin feels" and I think that is going to be my new motto! The presents you wrapped are gorgeous! I so wish I could do that. Pinkylee What terrific NSV's - I guess that is proof of the motto above! I did okay over the holiday - I did take my Protein but not all of my Water. I was so busy with company (nineteen for dinner) that I would forget to drink the water. I was able to eat a little bit of just about everything during the main dinner but no other meals. I tried to eat a little turkey in the evening and it came right back up. I just don't understand what makes the difference. I think I am chewing well and eating slowily and sometimes it works and other times it doesn't .

Barbara465 - I am glad you are getting the fill before the cruise! I would find a cruise with all the good food challenging! Also I saw your picture on the Before and After thread. It was nice to put a face to you! I am so proud of you being able to "retire" your pants. Good work!

Good Morning Everyone! I also appreciate hearing from so many of you today! We have come a long way in five months - don't you think? Speaking about restriction (or lack thereof) I had great restriction from my fill on 9/17 but this past week it seems like it is all gone! It really scares me to find that I can eat so much more. And just before Thanksgiving! :0 Makes me wish I had gotten a fill on my last Dr visit on 11/6 :0 But now I have to wait until 12/4 so I had better just knuckle under and DO IT!!! We had a nice day on Saturday here in the Pacific Northwest and my DH and I went for a great hike - we climbed 1600 feet in elevation and did 3 1/2 miles. It felt great to get out and do some strenuous exercise. I walk most days but that is on flat ground and doesn't really get the cardio going. Has anyone else noticed an increase of energy? I find I cannot sit for very long at all - I spent the rest of the weekend cleaning out my kitchen cupboards and putting in new shelf paper etc. In the past I would have curled up by the fire and read a book. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you :0

Good luck Crista94 - this is a difficult time of year to be needing a fill. I know I wouldn't make it through the holidays without good restriction! I am also wondering how all of you out there are planning to get through the holidays without gaining (and even losing) weight. I think I have good enough restriction that I won't be able to eat much at Thanksgiving but what other tricks have you come up with? I'm thinking I need to really concentrate on getting in my protein drinks and my water so that I am constantly full and not feeling deprived when everyone else is eating lots of turkey and pumpkin pie!

Pinkylee thanks for asking your dr about wearing jeans. I am enjoying wearing my size 14 jeans with my shirt tucked in and a belt and I sure did not want to find out I shouldn't be doing that! Also, I had a revelation this morning of the power of the band. I have always had a weakness for maple bars and someone brought a box of donuts (including maple bars) into the office. Because of the band and how painful even ONE bite of bread is I can only look at the maple bar but can't eat it. Believe me if I didn't have this band no amount of determination on my part would keep me from eating that maple bar (maybe BOTH of them :-) I really am glad I have this band! Lucy

Pinkylee - I wear jeans all the time - with a belt. I am not concerned about binding but maybe that is because I am ignorant of what the problems can be. Could you please tell me the reason for your concern in case I am doing something wrong? Thanks Lucy

:clap2: Congratulations!!! Onederland!! What an accomplishment! I remember seeing the number "198" and thnking it said "298" because I didn't believe I would EVER see Onederland!!! You are doing great - keep it up. Barbara - I am proud of what you have accomplished - don't think that my level of exercise puts yours to shame:) - I started hiking about three years ago even though I was very heavy and so I have built up stamina and muscle even though I wasn't losing weight. It takes a long time to get into shape - believe me I know! And thank you for the research - I don't eat much at fast food restaurants because I am never sure of what I can eat and how many calories/grams of protein it contains. This information helps to make better choices. I did not know that a small milkshake contained 420 calories!!! I do know my doctor said that milkshakes are The Enemy! Now I know why:) Lucy

I have been traveling with my DH for the last month. He just retired and I gave him a present of a class at a woodworking school in Berea, Kentucky so we took our truck/trailer and dog and headed East! We visited Bryce Canyon where we did a beautiful five mile hike and then the Grand Canyon where we only hiked about two miles because we did not want to leave Riley too long in the car. Then on to Zion but had to leave before the hike because I had left my purse in a store outside the park. Fortunately they had it and all was well! Then we spent a night in Kodachrome Basin at the State Park and took a total of about 4 - 5 miles of hikes and then on to Capitol Reef National Park. We took a wonderful 3 1/2 mile hike there. Our next stop was a state park just outside of Canyonlands National Park. We drove a very steep and difficult road just for the experience of it and did several short hikes to viewpoints. We also visited Arches National Park and took several longer hikes - 4 miles or so to different arches. That was wonderful! Then it started raining (it is October after all :-) ) and we basically drove to Albuquerque New Mexico and just shopped there and in Santa Fe. We LOVED Santa Fe shopping :-) ! After leaving New Mexico we drove through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and finally arrived at our destination of Berea Kentucky. This is a quaint little town with a lot of arts and crafts stores and I have had a lot of fun shopping while Larry is in school. I had my checkup with Dr Oh yesterday and I had lost 11 lbs while on vacation. That makes a total of 61 lbls lost just since my first visit to Dr Oh in May! He was very happy with my progress. I told him about my physical with my PCP which was on Novermber 1st. ALL of my numbers were perfect! My heart rate was 72 (it's NEVER been that low!) my blood pressure was 118/80, my fasting blood glucose was 93, my cholesterol was 183 with all of the components within normal range. The amazing thing is that my "good" cholesterol was UP within normal range. This surgery has been a real blessing healthwise. I am beginning to have so much more energy. When I come home from work I find myself unable to sit for long periods of time - I need to be up and active. That has never been my way! I also had an incredible experience. I was shopping at Fred Meyer and passed a sales rack of normal size jeans. I looked and found some size 14 short and I just threw two pair into my basket as I was in too big of a hurry to try them on. When I got home I tried on a pair and it fit perfectly! I cannot remember the last time I was able to choose something

rroswelltx - Thank you for the sympathy! I am much better today - had a little fish and a small salad for lunch and feel great! Go figure!!! CONGRATULATIONS to you on being able to shop in the Misses section!!! Isn't it WONDERFUL!!! Barbara465 - Congratulations on having a problem with finding clothes in your closet SMALL enough to wear!!! I know you will make your goal to shop in the regular clothes by Christmas. Keep up the good work Junebies - we ROCK!!!

Good Morning Everyone! I have had such a problem the last couple of days - wasn't able to even keep soup down. I could drink water so I knew I wasn't completely closed. I just don't understand why this happens. I tried to eat Wendy's chili and after two bites it was all over (over me and my car!!!). I was unable to eat for two days. I was so hungry I would try and it would come right back up!!! I have to admit that I was so very desparate I bought a chocalate SHAKE and after about an hour I got it down. After that I began to feel better and now this morning I am fine. I was so disappointed in myself eating that shake but somehow it made me feel better. I got my fill a week ago Monday so I sure wasn't expecting this problem. I have read that lots of people on this board have been able to eat Wendy's chili so I thought it would be okay ... never again! :-( Anyway, things are back on track today. Hope everyone has a good day.

My doctor says you can drink right up to the 1st bite of food and then wait an hour after eating before drinking again. I find that this actually gets easier to do as I go along - a lot of it is just habit! I follow the rules very carefully and I don't think my weight loss is any better than yours!

Welcome Genn! We are glad you found us. I understand the drinking while eating problem - I was a big drink during meals kind of person also. I have found that if I drink a whole glass of liquid just before beginning to eat I really can get through the meal without any liquid. And it gets easier as time goes by. Good luck to you

Margo - WAY TO GO!!!! You look wonderful!

Paulax - I am just learning how much I can eat also. My nutritionist said that scrambled eggs are sometimes difficult because of all the air whipped into them. Also I have learned (after 2 fills) that I really need to stay on liquids for a few days and then progress to mushies before going back to solid foods after a fill. I pretty much hurled up everything I tried to eat until I learned this. Now, after a week from the 2nd fill I am finally able to eat but really only a few bites. 2 oz is not very much food! I am learning to listen to my body and to wait a lttle between bites and to ask myself if I am full. It has been a hard leaning curve and I am not perfect at it but if I do these things I can enjoy eating and do not hurt or hurl! Good luck to you.

I didn't spring for a PT but I did join Curves. It is great because you only do what you can and guess what? You can do more and more each day! It is working for me and I really enjoy it.

My nutritionist says that scrambled eggs can be a problem because of the air whipped into them. To make egg salad just dice the hard boiled eggs fine and that may work for you.

Regina - you look wonderful!!! I am so proud and happy for you! I also agree with Barbara465 - even my husband (who is very proud and happy for me) looks at me and says he had better get busy and lose some weight too! It does make people think about it and if they aren't ready to make the commitment they may want to avoid you because it is just too painful to confront their own problem.

Pinkylee - GOOD LUCK! If you are having problems I have found (like others on this thread) that a little warm water, coffee or tea really helps to open up and let the other stuff go down!

Ok I just posted my Christmas Goal - I like your idea of buying a gift card and sending it to the winner. That will work great! I had my 2nd fill yesterday. I am now at 2 cc's and I definitely have restriction. I was able to eat a little more than I thought I should but now I am back on liquids for a few days. Good luck everyone on meeting your Christmas goal!

Barbara and Melissa Lea Congratulations on the scale moving in the right direction!

Randi I replyed to you privately but maybe someone else would like to hear what I said. I am following my doctor's rules to the best of my ability I eat 1 1/2 to 2 ozs of solid food per meal and 3 meals per day - mostly protein and then salad - if I have room 1 or two soda crackers I consume 90 g of protein per day - 3 30g shakes I drink a minimum of 64 oz of pure water every day No Milk and No sugar I check to make sure what I am eating contains 6 g of sugar (in any form) or less per serving I walk 2 to 3 miles 4 or 5 times per week and I exercise at Curves 4 -5 times per week (30 minute workouts) My husband and I hike in the mountains nearly every weekend a minimum of 4 to 6 miles with a minimum elevation gain of 1000 ft. I take a slew of vitamins, minerals & supplements every day I stayed at the same weight for 3 weeks and now the scales are finally moving again - thank goodness! Randi, I forgot to tell you one more thing - my doctor has us do one week of liquids w/o protein right after surgery and then four more weeks of clear liquids w/protein shakes, and then 2 weeks of mushies before moving to solids. I lost the most weight on the 5 weeks of liquids. He asked me not to cheat and I promised him I wouldn't so I didn't Lucy

Kim -I don't view this as a DIET - I view it as a tool to help me learn a permanent new way of eating that will #1 help me lose wieght and #2 help me keep it off forever. Sue - I think losing 20 lbs in 8 weeks is a good thing - I can't think your doctor would not be pleased. If I understand the lapband correctly it will help us lose 1 1/2 - 2 lbs per week. You are averaging 2.5 lbs per week. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I would suggest that you discuss the various complications with your surgeon and find out what is recommended to avoid them. PBing a few times is unlikely going to cause a disease of esophagus - that is caused by constantly irritating it by throwing up or "PBing" a lot. Your doctor tells you the "chew chew chew" to avoid this happening. The other thing to watch for is eating even one bite more when you are full. It may take a few PB's for you to recognize the "full indicator" for your body. For instance I hiccup! When this happens I now immediately stop eating - if there is food in my mouth I remove it rather than swallow it. But of course your doctor is your best source of information. I think it is good to know about the complications but then be prepared by knowing how to avoid them if possible. Lucy