Suzette456

Nothing wrong. That is what life is going to be like from now on. It means: 1) you ate something that you should not. I have this problem when I try to eat a french fry or white bread. It has been long enough now so that I can eat 4 or 5 French fries, as long as I chew it with lettuce for vegetables before I swallow it. The food that you find that you can just never eat varies by person. 2) You did not chew thoroughly enough. 3) You ate too fast. It still takes discipline to eat what you should. I can have a taco salad from my local Mexican restaurant, and have no problems at all, .. and eat a larger portion of it than I expect o. I can eate a piece of pizza as long as I chew it very slowly, and chew with a few pieces of lettuce before I swallow. At one point I actually ordered a pizza on a cold winter day, tired, no groceries in the house. I was able to eat one piece of pizza out of it, and froze the rest individually. When I reheated it, it did not stay down. I defrosted it at room temperature, and reheated it at a high degree of heat in my oven, but did not work. I don;t understand that, but .... I don't order pizza. Pizza is truly a treat under the right circumstances, nice and hot, not leftover, etc. Now that it has been a few years, I find that I am going back to what I ate before, which is higher in carbs. I have whole grain, no sugar Cereal with unsweetened soy for Breakfast. Much higher in carbs than the Meal Replacement beverage. I feel like this is the downfall of the whole "let's get banded" craze. ... folllow up afterward. It would be grand to discuss what is appropriate to eat, and what is not appropriate to eat in this forum.

I have been banded approx. 3yrs., 3 months. Goal to lose: 70 lbs weight loss; 30 lbs. On scale of 1 to 10 with satisfaction of the band: 5 Because I was post menopausal when I had the band put in,I was told that if I did not exercise, it would not work for me. I have not exercised. That is my fault. The psychological exam before the surgery was a joke. Anyone who has dealt with being obese for years would easily give answers the psychiatrist wanted to hear, rather than the truth. If you are still considering the band, listen to the people who say it is just a TOOL. That is what it is. You will still have to plan out meals, write down what you eat, and exercise, ... as you did before the band. The band will allow you to eat portions that will satisfy you, and you can easily stick to the plan. Concentrate on doing whatever you have to do to get to your goal, and the glory is, that the band will facilitate staying within 5 pounds of your goal weight a breeze compared to the past. I found the support groups that I attened for the first 18 months to be very frustrating. They were pretty heavily populated with people who had Roux-En-Y surgery, and they do not have to deal with the same issues that we do. At the support groups, I was sold tupperware, and people brought lots of dessert recipes. Let's face it, I was not obese because I had a lack of dessert recipes. How to cook chicken and fish meals that are low fat and interesting, that I could use. I am grateful that I do not have to obsess every day on what I eat, and get on a scale and have it show that I have gained weight anyway. I have stayed at the same weight for the last 2 years. No weight gain during the holidays, vacations, etc. I do need to find a support group. Maybe I can still pull of the next 40 pounds and feel good about myself. Before band, I ate more vegetables than the average person. Now it is easy to 'fill my face' with a yogurt (which is fine on the healthy intake scale) , or a burrito from Taco Bell, etc. ... or something that does not go down well, ... like a half a bage and cream cheese, or a donut, so I deal with the 'stuck' feeling for the next few hours, but I skip a meal that way.

Hi Digg, Yes, I experienced weight gain from the surgery,... but I could see it in my swollen hands and feet ... from the IV they had me on to keep me hydrated. It took a few days for the swelling to leave, and to show the weight loss again.

Successfully banded on the 23rd. Don't even need pain medication !! So many people blogging here were so happy and enthusiastic about their band. I was anxious. I am feeling better now,and enjoying the enthusiasm of actually being able to be a normal weight.

NOT easy to talk about, but extremely important. Especially if you have a band. I think that it is something that they do not cover enough in the lap band process in regard to health. It is extremely important for the health of your colon and a healthy heart to have a sufficient intake of water soluble & non-soluble fiber. If you are young and banded, maybe even more so because you may tend to get away without eating fiber / fresh vegetables.

Believe it or not, had this conversation with an herbal life representative. I had to do some searching, but found an article on the "WEBMD" site that supported my view. Floating is good 8-) .... it means that you have enough Fiber in your diet. People get mixed up about it though because there are some diseases that people have that causes stool to float also. The key is to know your body. I know that if I eat fresh corn, or eat oatmeal with a lot of Water for Breakfast, .... sorry about this, ... but I will have floaters. Hope that helps. Live long and prosper !!

HI KC, I am getting banded in about 34 hours from now 8-) I have been reading the blogs more this week. I wish I had found them earlier in the process. I feel like I have wasted my life being fat, and I don't have the energy to even think about trying weight watchers, or starting at the gym again, etc. My feeling right now is that the band will get me through the rough spots. .... I won't be hungry and decide to have a non-healthy, greasy, probably fried .... with gravy ... kind of meal and then end up giving up all together. At some point, I can have a taste of dessert, or something really yummy that would not be considered healthy, ........ but I will have only a little of it because I will be fuller sooner. ........ so the set back will not be as great, ....... and because it is not that big of a set-back, I will not get discouraged and give up, ...... it will be easy for me to get back to my standard (healthy) eating plan. Do I have the right perception of how this works? What is the thing that you would say is the most difficult for you? [i am not a big soda pop drinker, ... but I will miss my diet root beer] Is it hard to eat out because you only eat 1/3 of what they serve on one plate? What happens if we DO drink alcohol?

LOL ... thanks for the blog about people telling you how to lose weight. I am getting banded in about a day and a half. I am post-menopausal, so they tell me it will be harder for me to lose weight. I will have to be very diligent about exercising. What I don't understand is how can I NOT lose weight? .... on 1200 calories a day? I am trying to imagine the sensation of having to fully chew every single bite before I swallow. ... that does not seem to bad, but ... then I have caught myself swallowing without chewing enough. I figure that could happen when the band is in place, ... but once I swallow, I have already caused myself a problem. Am I realistic in thinking that I can go back to work on Monday (surgery 7:30 Am on Friday) ........... will I ever be able to eat popcorn again, or is that a permanent "bye-bye" ........... also, on the pasta ...... it just causes too many problems? I will miss my spaghetti. I make some great spaghetti sauce. Am I realistic in thinking that I will be able to adjust to the band with NEVER throwing up ? How about gas? ..... concerned about that when I get back to work too.

Hi Incabink, I am getting my band in a day and a half. I am anxious. I keep thinking, ... okay , ... if I DON"T do this, what would be my plan? ... .and I just come back to the fact that I do want to do this. Unfortunately, I am also from the U.S., so the insurance is different, but from what you mention in your blog, the "NHS" (National Health System?) could turn you down. That indicates to me that they have a prerequisite criteria the same way that the insurance companies here have. ........ maybe not the same criteria, but criteria just the same. How would you go about finding out what they are looking for? If it has to do with weight loss attempts, make sure you start documenting now !! Best of luck.

I considered Mexico, ... even bought the plane tickets. How far are you from Detroit, MI? "Great Lakes Weight Loss" has a special program for self-pay lap band patients. If you look at the possible complications, and the fact that having a U.S. doctor would be a bonus rather than going to Mexico. .... if you are closer to the East Coast than the West Coast.

I am going to be banded on the 23rd. Feeling nervous. Am also concerned about the liquid diet that I am supposed to be eating to shrink my liver. I am supposed to drink two liquid meals, and then have a 'sensible' evening meal for the week before hand. But I did not follow that strictly this weekend, which means that I will only have four days left to correct that. What happens if my liver is not shrunk enough ? Pain? complications?