michelll

I pretty much eat whatever the mood strikes and don't worry about it. I can't eat enough of any one food to hurt me, so I don't worry about it. some days I can eat chicken, seafood or steak no problem and a few veggies - some days I can't so it's soup & water on those. ONe of the things I"m trying really hard NOT to do is dwell on my food intake anymore. Gone are the days when I woke up thinking about breakfast, and while i was eating breakfast planning lunch and dinner... The only thing I can eat a ton of is popcorn, and I let myself once in a while because it's not a horribly bad food to begin with... I did go though a stage of eating 'real' sugar and 'real' butter because i couldnt eat enough of it to matter, but I've gone back to the substitutes - it just makes more sense.

My doctor tricked me. I went for my preOP checkup the night before my schedule surgery, afterward I was planning a huge Mexican feast (I was in Mexico afterall) but when I got to the hospital for the pre-op, he says' Here put this on..." hospital gown, and wheeled me into surgery! Oh why not, I said... but i did feel cheated!

AB-SO-LUTE-LY! WITHOUT Hesitation! All the above! My worst fear is that something happens and I lose it -- but if I did, I'd go to my grave trying to get it put back in! My only regret is not doing it 10 years ago, or 5 years ago... but 2 years ago I DID DO IT! and I am SO HAPPY!

Chicken is one of the easiest things for me to eat, but turkey is almost impossible! Shellfish is great for me, but fish is difficult -- again, no rhyme or reason! I cannot stress enough the importance of walking after surgery to help the gas pains -- do it when you don't think you can from the minute you wake up...

Everyone is different but for me, yes there was a lot of pain -- much more than anyone said but I'll be the first to say I'd do it again in a heartbeat! How quickly you succeed depend on the fills you get more than anything. I was lucky and got a good tight fill my first time (2.6 cc) and had lost about 35 pounds in around 4 months - then had to have an unfill due to a stomach virus causing swelling I couldn't shake. After a month unfilled, I maintained but then had 2.8 CC's put in, which was too tight and again had to have an unfill... Then put 2.5 cc's and now I'm at about 2.2 CC's which is a 'maintenance' fill for me - it's been a lot of fills and unfills and adjustments but don't be shy about that. it seems like there is no one thing that works for everyone, so you really have to be patient and pay attention to your body. I can eat just about anthing but have a lot of trouble with some things... tuna from a can is difficult fo rme, but chicken from a can is great! I can drink beer, most cannot. I can eat salads, most cannot. I can't do bread unless it's a good hearty wheat and is toasted to a crunch. I can do rice just fine, potatos are difficult, french fries nearly impossible. Chips are okay, cheetos go down good, and for some reason I've always been able to eat popcorn when nothing else will go down... and lots of it! I can't eat yogurt or applesauce (go figure) but protein shakes and meal replacement drinks are very good... I can eat most vegetables but have to be careful with them. Good luck to you! BTW, I was banded August 31 2005, at 212 pounds. I now weight 158 - holding for about a year now - I'm 5'10" and went from a size 16-18 to a size 8 - -- you can do it!

It's funny isn't, what we really discover about ourselves after banding? Well, pre-band, I was constantly on a diet (you know what I mean!) and thought a good day was 12-1400 calories.... I cannot lose unless I consume less than 1000 a day. at 1200-1400 and a strict exercise program, I maintain my current weight of 158. I was 212 at banding so I've lost 54 pounds. I've maintained this weight for almost a year now - and have had a bit of an unfill to be comfortable- which I am. I can eat most anything now, including drinking carbonated beverages (beer) but still much much smaller quanitities and have some good days and some bad as always

I've had my band unfilled 3 times since getting it almost 2 years ago, and it's always a relief for me -- I can eat immediatelly afterward and funny enough I always think - oh I'm going to eat this and that (yummy things I can't eat with the band filled, like donuts or something bad) but in the end I go for stuff like salads that I have a hard time eating with my band filled -- my choices are usually pretty good, but I do find I can eat a lot more so I have to be very careful.

I've been banded 2 years this coming August, at first with a tight fill I could only eat a few things 'easily' and everything else was just too much of a hassle. I could eat chicken, shrimp, most soups, meal replacement shakes - and a few other things. After about 6 months, I'd lost about 40 pounds (goal was 60) I had an unfill because I was having trouble swallowing anything- the doctore thinks I had some virus that caused some swelling. AFter that I've had a series of fills, unfills and refills - I'm at goal and had some fill removed so I am in maintenance mode, and can eat most anything I want now in smaller quantities. I never 'had' to eat anything weird, just selective indeed. Cheetos have always been difficult for me bacause when all else fails, I can eat Cheetos - but gratefully - only a few.