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If you have no restriction then you should be able to choose to eat what you want. Obviously you should be making healthy choices. There is no point in going and deciding that you can eat anything just because you are not restricted yet because by doing that you are setting yourself up for failure. You should choose foods that are not full of empty calories. Have some Protein - maybe lean chicken or a small piece of steak etc. Have some vegetables e.g. a salad . NB when I say salad I mean something with lots of fresh raw veggies in and no protein. Not a mixture of Proteins and creamy sauces with a token sprinkling of lettuce. Something like Beans is also good. A small portion of carb if you want. I would avoid the beer and have a glass of wine or something like that and sip it slowly. You need to get into the healthy eating habit now, you already have your band, you do not need to wait for some point in the future when you think you may have restriction. Planning on cheating is not good. Planning on adapting and enjoying a situation by making positive healthy food choices is good.

I can eat just about everything except dried apricots. Dry meat such as grilled chops also give me problems.

If you go onto the sleeve board you will find some negative posts there too. The grass is not always greener on the other side. You have the band what you need to do now is work with it. It is a tool to help you lose weight , it is not a magic wand that will do it all for you.

I had the same thing yesterday morning. I had an abdominal hysterectomy 5 weeks ago. Woke up and it felt like something was caught on my underwear. further investigation revealed that it was a stitch about 2 inches long poking from the end of my incision. These stitches are supposed to dissolve but sometimes they don't. I cut it close to the skin as it was really annoying as it was catching. I am sure your Dr will be happy for you to do the same. Just don't cut too close and afterwards cover it with a bandaid if it is still annoying you. Don't panic. And yes it looks and feels exactly like fishing line.

If you want to eat raw carrots grate them.If you eat them in chunks you could get stuck so badly that it requires an unfill - I know a number of people this has happened to.

If you are a virgin and haven't done anything else that would involve sperm coming close to your vagina then yes you are fine. However remember that heavy petting and ejaculation close to the vagina can also cause pregnancy.

I was going to post on the thread the other day but couldn't find it. I was also wondering how everyone was doing. It seems very few of the people that were part of our group are still actively posting.That may mean that for them the band is now a minor part of their lives and they are just busy getting on with life. Lets hope that most have been successful and that noone has encountered any serious problems yet. I have been at goal weight for a while and am maintaining without any major problems. That is in spite of eating far more junk than I should have done in the last month as I have been stuck at home , recuperating from a hysterectomy. I am also going to credit that for my latest 2kg loss. I know a uterus doesn't weigh that much but I have no other explanation as to why my weight would suddenly have dropped. It's not like i have been for a fill or exercising or anything. I haven't been allowed to. If you want to friend me on FB fine (just don't mention the band publicly as a lot of my friends don't know or have bands and don't want others to know). user name lynn defoe

Been there, done that. It's a good feeling isn't it?

I've had 2 C-Sections and am 5 weeks post abdominal hysterectomy. For me the band was easier than any of these although everyone is different.In fact I think i must be lucky as I seem to sail through surgery. Supposedly after the hysterectomy I should have been feeling pretty bad and I feel fine. I got banded so I could eat like a normal person, normal people eat cheesecake but they also know how much to eat and when to stop. If you eat cheesecake every day it will be a problem, if you have it occasionally then it won't. I eat bread, usually toasted but I won't attempt Subway. Trying to eat a sub would probably leave me stuck . It is just too much bread. I wasn't starving on the liquid diet as I made Soup (yes made not bought) and added things like lentils, chickpeas to them before liquidising. This was done at the suggestion of my dietician as it increases the Protein and makes it more satisfying.It is hard but not as hard as you think it will be.

Relax. Your feelings are all perfectly normal. A BMI of "only" 33 is still pretty big. It falls into the obese category. And realistically if you don't do something about it now you will wake up one day with a BMI of 40+ and then losing the weight will be even harder. The initial post op diets seem crazy but what gets most of us through them is the fact they are finite. Each stage only lasts 2 weeks. And the focus at this stage is healing not weight loss so technically you don't have to get hungry. You can eat more liquids or mushies without causing too much of a problem.After that it depends on what your Dr recommends but you should be able to eat "normal" food. OK I know that normal differs from person to person but if you focus on fresh, whole foods rather than processed junk then you are 90% of the way there. Good luck and imagine how great you are going to feel once you achieve your goals.

Never heard of a bra making a difference before. If taking your bra off really helps then i would think that the problem is with your bra, not your band. It must be too tight and causing discomfort. It does sound as though you may be a bit too tight. You should be able to drink without a problem. I would go back to your Dr, discuss it and possibly get a small amount taken out.

That means that you are too tight. The band is designed to work best with solid proteins not mashies and protein drinks. You should get some fill taken out as being too tight can lead to all sorts of problems.

Yes the point of the band is to help you feel satisfied on smaller amounts. Therefore there is no reason why you should need to stop going to these events. Eat a small portion of healthy food and then spend the rest of the time chatting to and enjoying the company of your friends. You don't need to go into hibernation and stop living just because you have a band. If you are worried about the food that will be on offer then take a dish that you know you can eat. Once you are past the liquid/mushy stage it should become a lot easier.

Walking is the only exercise that you should be doing at this stage. You should wait at least 4 - 6 weeks before trying anything more energetic. You need to ensure that everything is properly healed .

I think you may be assuming too much! I recently posted something about jelly and ice-cream and had at least 1 confused response.

I also hate it when people say one half of one percent! Why can't they just say half a percent - it means the same thing.

Incorrect spelling doesn't annoy me as much as the inability to use paragraphs. If I see a post written as one big long paragraph then I generally give up without reading it as it is just too hard. Not being American I also spell things differently e.g. Anaesthesia Oesophagus Sometimes I forget to translate from English/Aussie to American So I will write about biscuits(cookies), jelly(jello) and forget that you have no idea what I am talking about.

Go back and get some taken out,1ml was obviously too much. You don't need it all taken out . Remember if you stay too tight you are more likely to gain weight than lose as you will end up consuming high calorie slider foods. Also reflux etc are not healthy and a too tight band can lead to slippage,

There aren't that many don'ts that it warrants a whole website. Your Dr will tell you what his version is and it will differ from Dr to Dr..e,g no carbonation - this depends on your Dr and your ability to tolerate it. Having a band doesn't mean that there are lots of things that are suddenly a no no. Often it is trial and error working out what works for you and what doesn't.

Excellent - well done.

You have just had surgery so a lot of these things are fairly normal at this stage. By the other end do you mean you fart a lot, have the runs or what? A lot of people have the runs post surgery as liquid in tends to result in liquid out. It will normally settle once you start eating proper food. As to gas most bandsters find that they do burp and/or fart a lot. That seems to be one of the unfortunate side effects. The only urinating twice a day sounds like a problem. You could be dehydrated. What colour is it ? Pale urine is good , dark indicates dehydration. Make sure that you are getting sufficient fluids.

I had a BMI of 32 and my PCP refused to refer me to a surgeon. He also told me I just needed to eat less and exercise more. What did the a**hole think I had been trying to do for the last 25 years? Needless to say I went to see the surgeon of my choice without a referral. I was told that the nband was a good choice for someone like me and as I had a lower BMI I was actually more likely to lose 100% of my excess weight than someone with a higher BMI. Turn the clock forward 2 years and where am I? 24kg lighter and I couldn't be happier. My BMI is right where it should be and I can now fit into an Aus size 6 jeans ( I think that is a US 2). The only problem is that they are still a bit baggy around the butt! Can't go smaller as they won't do up around my middle. I do not have reflux. I am not too tight. I eat a well balanced diet with foods from all food groups(including junk sometimes) I do not journal I eat what I want to eat but with a focus on healthy options. Yes sometimes I get stuck. When I do it is usually my own fault for not chewing properley etc. Sometimes it is because the food is too dry/tough. I do have one regret and that is that I didn't get banded sooner. It would have been nice to have had a healthy weight earlier instead of waiting until my late 40s.

I would have just asked for a drink and then left it until after I had eaten. Easy and no need for any explanation. Also it is possible to sip at a glass of wine whilst eating without it causing problems - not something you want to do every day but on occasion it won't hurt. I eat with people that don't know I have a band and have never had any problems. I have even been on holiday with people , staying in the same house, and not had the need to explain. If you only want a small portion say so - there is nothing wrong with eating less - you don't have to explain why. Personally when I have people around I like to prepare the food and let them serve themselves.That way everyone can eat exactly what/how much they want.