Melissannde

My usual answer to that is "how many people KEEP it off with just diet & exercise"? Too few. The redirection idea works very well. I've started using that when people start getting too close to my discomfort zones. There's one lady at my gym who tells me ever so often that I should quit losing. She's not being catty.. I've known her for a long time and she's just not that way. I just smile and change the subject.

This is why the band is sometimes called a "fickle b*tch". When it will let you.. eat your measured portions. When it won't.. don't. I gauge needing a fill when for more than a week, my measured portions aren't keeping me full for 3 to 5 hours. AND when I have no issues eating dense Protein. AND when weight loss has stalled or slowed quite a bit. At least 2 of these have to be occurring for me to want a fill. Right now.. I can get hungry sooner than 5 hours, but yesterday eating an apple was a teeny bit uncomfy..so I turned down a fill because of that. YMMV As to the current "restriction" (really don't like that word).. ride it till the wheels fall off!! (quote from Jessie Ahroni)

I had no pre-op diet to speak of, other than a day of Clear Liquids. Post op was only 2 weeks before I was back on soft/solid foods. The time will pass quickly.

One thing that might help if you think they might hesitate to adjust your band due to good loss is to take in your food log. Either write it out by hand or if you log it online, you may be able to print it from the site. I take in about a weeks worth of my food diary every time. This way the nurses and I can go over what I eat and when; good choices vs bad choices; etc. I recently turned down a fill because I even though I can still eat lots & lots at night (yes, I know.. just because I can doesn't mean I should...), lunch time is a bit difficult to eat solid dense protein. It's a balancing act. My next appt is in June.. not sure I can make it that long till my next fill, but maybe?

She may not have been required to drink Protein Shakes. My surgeon didn't require them at all, neither pre nor post op.

I think you're probably at the "post-op discomfort stage". yes, it will get better. Not everyone "bounces back overnight" and yes, very normal for the band to feel tighter first thing in the morning. Try some warm tea or coffee (if allowed) or even hot Water with lemon (sounds awful, but is actually pretty good). Stages of Banding by Jessie Ahroni Stages of Banding Discovering the Band Wondering if this is for me Investigation Doing serious research Joining a support group Getting hopeful Finding a doctor Shock at the price Deciding to do it Making the arrangements Wondering if you made the right decision Getting nervous Going ahead with it Waking up and wondering what the hell you did to yourself. Post-op discomfort Month of liquids- not being able to strictly adhere Wondering if you've been scammed again Seeing a little success Getting your first fill Changing your eating habits Seeing more success Getting second fill Really losing Seriously changing your eating habits Being totally euphoric about your weight loss Changing your thinking about eating Wanting to tell every fat person you meet about the band Realizing you really can't eat Worrying about nutrition Learning to eat healthy and wise Finding other ways to meet your emotional needs Realizing it takes a long time to lose 100lbs Trudging along My clothes are too big Buying new clothes Oops, I bought too much too soon...now these are too big Buying more clothes Getting near goal Enjoying all the compliments Feeling successful Getting aggressive Not taking crap from anybody Realizing you can be assertive without steam rolling everybody Finding balance Wondering what comes next **There are other stages and everybody does not go through them in the same order or even go through all the stages. Some people might have stages to add....and there is some looping back and forth. But these are common stages that Bandsters go through.

6am Pre-brkfst: coffee w/ 1 tbspn ff half/half, s/f choc. torani syrup & Vitamins 8am Brkfst: RTD Muscle Milk 11am afterworkout: nectar Roadside Lemonade, multi-vit & C 1pm Lunch: 3oz pot roast, 1/4 cup broccoli & carrots, 4 brussel sprouts 5pm preDinner: weight watcher's string cheese, 50 cal pack Jack links teriyaki 7pm Dinner: 2oz pork tenderloin, 1/4 cup broccoli, 2 fingerling potatoes (about 2oz?) Afterdinner: don't know yet. Seems like a lot or very frequent eating.. but I also worked out for 147 minutes today (body pump, rpm & bootcamp) and IF my polar HRM is right.. burned 662 calories or thereabouts.

I've never counted carbs, but have done calories. My caloric goal right now is around 1200. I do try to limit processed foods and I try to eat low glycemic. When you say "count carbs" do you mean all carbs or just the processed ones? IMO veggie carbs (non-starchy) aren't to be worried about.. but what do I know?

Plus size shapewear

spanx (and other like brands.. flexees, sweet nothings, tummytanks, etc. ) are sorta like compression wear that athletes & others wear to workout, but spanx are made to wear under other things instead of on the outside. I work out 5 or 6 days a week and wear compression shorts and tank tops (with a t-shirt over) while exercising. I find that the snug fitting shorts are supportive of my muscles and they feel better when I wear them. I wouldn't recommend wearing spanx 100% of the time, but in my limited experience and knowledge, don't see a problem wearing them when appropriate.

I'm told as a post-menopausal woman to get a minimum of 1200mg of calcium a day. It's important to get calcium citrate as it is better absorbed in the absence of food. most calcium citrate comes in huge pills. You can try those, but even breaking them and putting in yogurt or applesauce caused me pain, even back when I had very little fill. I prefer the chewables that I get from Bariatric Advantage. Celebrate also makes a chewable calcium citrate. And there's a brand out there, OTC that makes a Calcium Citrate "mini" for easier swallowing.. can't remember the brandname right now. I've used them when I ran out of my BAdvantage.. they're tolerable. Some people use the Viactiv chewables. I suppose they're ok, but I don't like the fact that there's hydrogenated oil in them. YMMV. I don't know about Iron poisoning.. sounds a bit far fetched to me. When I was needing Iron, I took Slow-Fe. It releases slowly and causes much less problems with constipation than other formulations. If you choose to get more iron via your diet, make sure you're not drinking too much tea. Tea can block the absorption of iron. Good for you for being on top of this!! You don't want to get osteoporosis or osteopenia from lack of calcium/vit. D. I take a D supplement.. low D is associated with many things, including depression. It's about time to get in and get my levels checked.. spring tune up so to speak. ::grin::

I was going to suggest exchange at support group too. What about freecycle? www.freecycle.org It's an email list through yahoo groups (usually.. some may use other services, but all the ones I've been on use yahoo) where people give away things they don't want any longer. I recently got 7 bags of used clothing from freecycle. I pulled out what my family could use and then passed the rest, 6.5 bags, on to another freecycler. And while the less fortunate may well need the charity stores, I don't feel bad shopping at them as I donate there as well. Our local thrift store supports Hospice. Lots of nice things there.

I second the Carbmaster Yogurt suggestion. As to the cottage cheese, get the plain breakstone snack size WITHOUT the fruit.. add your own fresh fruit.. still a little sugar, but it's natural and not processed. Or really I like a tablespoon of real bacon bits added to cottage cheese. It's only 25 calories/Tbspn and wow does it taste good! For a lower calorie Mayo, try the Kraft Olive Oil Mayo.. it tastes good and much less calories. I also like Hellman's Dijonnaise for some things. If you can't find the lower calorie Mayo, try subbing some plain low fat (or non fat) greek yogurt for part of the Mayonnaise. That helps cut calories and ups the Protein. I've heard some people (nonbandsters) suggest mashed avocado as a healthier sub for Mayo.. not sure how that would taste, but might be worth a try. Good Luck. I've never really "counted" sugars, but I read labels and compare products and buy the ones with less sugar, lower sodium, higher protein, lower calories, lower fat. Sometimes you have to make a choice between which one you get.. if it's for me, lower fat, lower calories, lower sugar are my priorities. For DH.. lower sodium is my first concern because of his health issues.

What kind of working out do you do? If running is all, may I suggest some kind of weight training also? I think it helps. Time will help too.

I'm about 25 lbs from my first goal and recently have decided to ease up just a little on myself. I'm still trying to lose weight, but have made mainly a mental adjustment of not pushing so hard. My eating and exercise hasn't changed. So I think it's not unusual, but I'm a sample of one. LOL

Also very rapid weight loss can cause gallbladder issues. I know, I had it happen to me. I log my food intake at livestrong.com/thedailyplate. For a while I had mine set to let me lose 4lbs a week, but then again I was SMO (super morbidly obese). That's probably part of what lead to my GB issues, that and eating two pork ribs.. LOL. If you haven't started exercising, I'd highly recommend it. It doesnt have to be a gym class.. exercise can be just moving MORE than you used to. I started out by walking my dogs, hanging out clothes on the line, parking further from the store and taking the buggy back when empty.. Just increase. Go to the gym when you're ready. It took me 7 months. BTW: My surgeon and husband both wanted me to have RNY (bypass). I said no. I've proved them both wrong that I wouldn't do very well with the band.

The way my doctor has us eat is to weigh and measure our food, not to eat till full. The full feeling is different after banding... what we're really trying to achieve is a feeling of being satisfied, not full. He suggests 3oz of Protein and 1/2 cup of veggies per meal. That's what I serve myself (I use a scale I bought years ago to do eBaying.. think I might have pd $20.00 for it, or less). I eat that, wait 20 minutes. IF still hungry after 20 minutes, I'm allowed more veggies. Most of the time, the 3oz & 1/2 cup is enough. If you don't have a food scale.. 3oz of protein is about the size of a deck of cards (3 dimensional) or the palm of your hand. 1/2 cup of veggies is a Large serving spoonful or about the size of a tennis ball. Those little glass custard dishes from my childhood hold about 1/2 cup of veggies too. You could try eating the way my doctor suggests and see if that will work for you. We are allowed Snacks between meals if needed. Keep them low calorie, low carb and high protein. Things like reduced fat string cheese, low carb yogurt, 1 teaspoon (not tablespoon) of Peanut Butter and an apple, 100 calorie packet of almonds, 50 calorie packet of beef Jerky (jack links teriyaki steak nuggets are really good). Between meals, get in your Water. Minimum of 64oz a day. And the previous poster is right.. a teeny fill can make a huge difference. Hang in there.

I use thedailyplate @ LiveStrong too. I set my activity level as much lower than I really am, because they don't really have a category that fits me. I don't work outside the home, and go to the gym for a minimum of 90 min. 5 or 6 days a week. If you can afford it, I highly recommend getting a Heart Rate Monitor ( Consumer Reports recently did a brief evaluation of them .. some brands/models are better than others). I have a Polar FT-7 and it gives a better estimate of my calorie burn than the LiveStrong website or any treadmill. To answer the OP's question, I aim for about 1200 a day, but don't worry if I go a little under or a little over. It all works out over time. As long as I'm losing I'm happy. To the person who was wondering if they should bump up their calories cuz they weren't losing at the rate they think they should.. try it and see what happens. There was a point I was losing slower than I wanted and decided to ease up on my calorie restriction just a little and it helped me. Just don't go overboard.

The "refunding" that some people get after banding is not the same as the nausea/vomiting that most are familiar with. There is very little to no nausea, and the food that comes back isn't mixed with digestive juices so it doesn't taste nasty coming back. Most of the time, if you don't keep your band too tight and take small bites, chew well and eat slowly, you won't have issues with getting stuck and having to PB (productive burp) or refund the food. The intensely yellow urine is likely due to you not getting in enough Water. My doctor says that we should strive for a minimum of 64oz of water a day, but that it may take a week or two to work up to that amount. Try keeping a glass or bottle of water near you between meals and sip frequently. It's OK to use crystal lite or some other very low calorie flavor if you must. Plain water is better, but the fluids are the more important consideration right now. A multi Vitamin on its own is unlikely to cause highly colored urine, but I also take a B-100 supplement and for a few hours after taking that, my urine is very yellow.. but returns to almost clear. If you don't want to drink water.. make some warm tea or coffee.. (a little caffeine [2 or 3 cups per day] isn't all that dehydrating, contrary to popular thinking. Check the mayo clinic site about coffee and dehydration. ) Sounds like you're doing well over all. Congrats on being banded. And don't apologize for "gross" questions.. we're mainly adults who've gone through a medical procedure and need to be able to discuss topics without shame or embarrassment.

I'm like the others.. at home I measure 3 oz Protein, 1/2 cup of veggies. Eat that. IF still hungry 20 minutes later I'm allowed more veggies (provided they're not drowning in butter or other high calorie sauce.. which I don't do anyhow.. I LIKE my veggies plain or with lemon juice). Eating out.. I eat protein the size of the palm of my hand, veggies the size of a tennis ball. I've never had to have them bring the to-go box first, I always get satisfied and don't want to eat more, for fear of getting overly full and having to PB in public. But if putting the extra aside works for you or someone else.. go for it!! What ever mechanism works for the individual (and isn't maladaptive) I'm for it.

I don't recall having leg cramps so soon after surgery. But I have had them after exercise. I usually drink powerade ZERO (not the full calorie stuff) which has extra potassium in it. Also watch your water and calcium intake. A call to your surgeon isn't a bad idea at all since you're so recently post-op. Best of luck to you.

The first 7 months after surgery I didn't go to a gym.. all I did was walk my dog(s) (got two more during that time). I started with just walking up and down my long driveway..and by the time I started at the gym I was walking a mile or more a day.

Actually, reflux and eating slider foods are a sign of a need for an unfill. Go to support group and talk about your issues and see if the leader might have some ideas.

I like Syntrax Nectars. (http://www.si03.com/). If you email the company and ask about samples, they used to have a deal where you could buy a sampling of flavors for about $1.00 a packet. They have a lot of different products, make sure you are looking at the Nectars. Most are 90 calories, 0 carbs and 23 grams of Protein per serving. A few are 100 calories. I've been told that our bodies can't use more than about 25 grams of protein at a time, so more would just be wasted (waisted?). I think the nectars are a bit too weak in flavor, so I mix them with Powerade zero or crystal light.. YMMV.

How high did you set your activity level? That might be the reason you're getting a higher Calorie assessment. I just go in and set my calorie goal manually to whatever I want it.