xavier

I have always lived in fear of belts! It never occurred to me through all this weight loss until I saw this thread that I might actually be brave enough to try one!

What about your record of paying them? That might help. Next would be the threat of suing. It wouldnt be worth it to actually pay a lawyer but sometimes just the mention of either a lawyer or the threat of filing a complaint with the better business bureau will shake them up a bit. Good luck...I think they are bullshitting you because theres nothing in it for them.

Sleep apnea may do it but the labs wont. I had none whatsoever so I had to self pay...I know I'm lucky I could scrape up the $ but I would self pay or maybe sing on the street corners to pay for it all again...its the best thing I ever did after 20 years of being obese!

Please ask your doc about this and be careful of peoples advice here. Calcium is what is in arterial plaques that cause heart attacks so there are new recommendations for calcium supplementation which every woman used to be encouraged to take for bone density...you are gorgeous and have amazing hair but your heart is more important! Good luck...

My stomach growls like crazy but for me I had to teach myself that this is not the same as being hungry. Yes maybe the big stomach is hungry but I think its just food from tthe pouch moving down. My stomach growls so loud its embarrassing and I used to think I was hungry but I have realized I just wanted food (who doesnt?) but I was not actually hungry....its weird!

I had hernia repair with my band too but I dont think theres any way to tell which is causing you pain. I thought I had a complete reflux cure but it did come back for a few weeks or even months when I got fills that gave me restriction...it was ALL worth it! Good luck1

You probably wont feel full or fuller until you get to your green zone of fills and this can really take a while. This is called Bandster Hell and it is the worst part. You have been through all the prep and the surgery and you feel like you dont have a band! Hopefully your doc is not too stingey with fills and you will get some restriction soon, in the meantime try to be nice to yourself and not blame yourself when the band just isnt helping you! Good luck!

My doc says if you cant eat it in 30 minutes, you dont need the rest of it.

I have had that too on and off. I am not sure what it means. I can see if you are putting liquid on top of food but I can be completely empty in terms of eating and liquids still snag up on me. But I have learned to use it to my advantage if I am in the mood to overeat. I eat what I consider a reasonable portion but I want to eat more...I have a few sips of liquid and I am done! I cant eat more so it kind of works for me!

Glad to hear it...glad to hear you are willing to suffer a little by going one teaspoon at a time! Lots of people here cant seem to tolerate that even though its temporary. A lot of people have gone for a unfill for reflux...I would rather (and I do) take Protonix that be overweight. My heartburn is subsiding as I am losing weight and the band is loosening up but even if I had to be on meds forever, its better than being obese. I was just reading a very long thread of what people are generally eating every day and more than 90% of the posts (in my not so humble opinion) were a brutal midevil diet! WoW! If I could do that I wouldnt have had to lasso my gut! I eat all regular food and if I overeat I get a well deserved bitchslap from my band!

Dear Getting on track, Dont get discouraged...it make take some time to kick in or you may need more fill. I have even heard of people getting more fill than the capacity of their band because there is always some Fluid in the port line. Someone here said the band does 10% and the rest is you...if that were true I would have wasted my 15K because I self payed and have little to no will power. I would say my band does 90% and I do 10%. My 10% is putting Protein first but other than that I eat all regular food, I have never dieted or gone to the gym. My band only lets me eat one piece of pizza instead of the whole thing and I need that. For me its ALL about restriction...not how 'satisfied' I am or how long I stay satisfied. I eat 5 or 6 tiny meals a day and yes I still eat some junk and I have never given up wine or cocktails! Good luck!

I forgot to answer about whether I expect to continue to lose. Yes I think I will lose a little more based on what I am now eating and also I am 145 which is the first normal MBI for me. That is not a good place because for me even a normal up-fluctuation to 146 is 'overweight' and even though its silly, I dont want to live on that borderline! I hope to lose 3 to five more but I like my body how it is and I dont want to lose any more boob!

Cynthia, You will get a lot of support here and all your questions answerd to each of our best ability. I consider myself lazy and with no will power so if it worked for me....good luck, friend!

Well I think right now I am eating 800-1000 calories a day. Right now I was just eating some cake (a craving I had to get out of my system!). I am a vegetarian sort of because I do eat fish. I dont tell myself there's anything I CANT have but there are a few things I MUST have. That way I dont feel deprived. I have a rule about getting at least 60 grams of Protein every day which since I dont eat meat I have t be careful of. I am very tight in the morning so a lot of times I have a Protein shake (Cosco Premier Protein, 160 cals and 30 gms protein). Sometimes greek yogurt but I get sick of both and just force myself since I have no appetite (I never did) in the morning. Then later when I do get hungry I might want to eat junk food and I might let myself have it (I can only eat about a 100 calorie size of potato chips for example...not nutritious but not too big of a deal). So after morning protein I may eat another five times that day...tiny meals means eating and being hungry more often but I think thats ok. So of those 5 'meals' I try to make sure two or three are protein like tuna salad or a Boca burger with cheese. I have a hard time sometimes with rice, Pasta bread but I can eat small amounts of them. I eat a lot of sushi but I really have to chew. I drink wine almost every evening because one glass seems to keep me from the after dinner TV snacking! I refuse to eat anything that had reduced calorie or fake sugar or whatever. I walk my fat dachshund maybe every other day but I dont work out or go to ga gym and I never will. I hate diets (they made me fatter) and I hate gyms (I'm naturally lazy). Ask me anything I am no model of perfection but I am very honest. I just want people to know that you can be successful without becoming a dieting gym rat...how long could I keep that up anyway???

Ok, I know I'm going to get myself in trouble but it seems like most of you are basically on a very restricitive diet! If that works long term, great, but I think all my dieting is how I got fat. I eat small portions of regular food! I will NEVER eat anything low fat or low calorie or fake sugar or anything like that! I eat regular food, focus on protein, but my band only lets me eat tiny meals.... yesterday I had two portions of lasagna, a serving of sauteed spinach , some sushi, cheeses and crackers, and some wine. I probably eat bout six times a day...

Probably 800 - 1000. I dont count and I just focus on protein. I dont exercise other than a few walks of the dog and I surely dont diet!

Go back to what you know works...listen to yourself!!!

I say wear it if you like it...myself, it just makes me feel fat and miserable. Its just punishment to a fat girl which in my head I guess Ill always be...

Have him go all over this site...the truth is all here and the successes are the VAST majority. I would say dont involve yourself too much in helping him decide because it will be entirely his responsibility to deal with it and work the band... He will get any and all questions answered here and lots of support. PS: I love my band so much I would even self-pay again if I had to!!!

Dear Vez, Good luck you have been through everyones nightmare and you have handled it. I hope you surgeon sewed your band in place so you cant get a slippage. Mine does that on all bands and he has never had a slippage. The other thing is the throwing up which I have done more of than I care to admit but I have learned my band now and it is very rare. I think I was a slow learner though. Anyway I hope you are super careful because with previous tendency to slip you really need to minimize the throwing up as much as possible! Easier said than done! Anyway good luck and be nice to yourself in these hard and hungry early days...its not a race!

Dear Amber, What you are describing sounds like head hunger where you really want food but you are not physically hungry. We all have that and have to deal with it. If you are truly physically hungry you will eat anything like an apple. Head hunger means you want fries and even though the apple is right in front of you you will drive somewhere to get the fries. That being said, yes, I am hungry much less but I still want to eat when I am not physically hungry and sometimes I give in and do it...but my band is nice and snug and only lets me eat a tiny amount of food and then I feel full and I am over it. An hour after dinner I might want to eat pizza and back in the day could probably eaten a whole one...but now if I give in to the pizza head hunger I can barely eat a whole slice... Good LUck!

I never thought I would be here either. I have been obese for 20 years. I lost weight many times and always gained it back and more. This has been a crazy ride but relatively easy and I can now be sure I will never gain it back. I still see myself in a mirror or shop window or in a picture and dont think its me!

You are doing the right thing by just giving it a rest with the mushies. Mine can be variable too and I will never probably fully understand it or predict it! I think my tightness is similar to my wedding ring...in the morning I can barely get it off and in the evening its falling off but also some wild variations of that once in a while! Anyway I will never be able to eat solid food before 11:00 am and after dinner I have to be careful not to oversnack! I always say about my band "Its mystery is only exceeded by its power" and if you havent seen the movie Dude, Wheres my Car...you'll just think I'm crazy!