FemmeOne

Thanks so much, everyone, for welcoming me. I think you've convinced me that I need to keep a food journal. I'm not the most organized person in the world, but I occasionally use the My Plate web site to track my food. Mostly just to see if I'm staying within my limits. My doctor doesn't want me to count calories or measure though; he thinks you need to learn to eyeball your food and figure out what you should eat. I do use a very small plate. I might start jotting down in a little journal what I'm eating and how I feel. I could also put down how much I've exercised. Since my 2nd fill last week, I've been having a hard time eating much of anything. I think I've lost another 5 lbs in one week. I usually have a cup of oatmeal for breakfast (with protein powder), and that I can get down. But hard protein is much more difficult and I've been getting stuck a LOT! Last night, my husband and I went out (a major occurrence!) to see a friend's art exhibit opening, and then went out to dinner. Turned out I couldn't eat any of what I'd ordered. I felt so dumb just sitting there while he scarfed down a ton of food! But it was still nice to be out for a change. Sounds like most of you are early Christmas decorators! I usually don't get anything up until 2 weeks before (I'm also one of those last minute shoppers too). But my book club is meeting at my house tomorrow, so I decided to put up a little mini tree (silver 50s model!) with all hot pink ornaments and a pink flamingo on the top. I live in a 50s ranch and have decorated mostly in that style. Our monthly book discussion group is a mix of couples and we have a potluck (pitch-in as they say in Indiana). I'm hoping I don't have too much trouble with the food---it would be embarrassing. Only one person in the group knows that I've had WL surgery. Great: I hope your knee surgery goes well. One of the good things I've already experienced from the LB is that my knees have stopped hurting so much. At some point, I may need surgery, too, though.

I've been reading this thread for weeks, and feel like I've come to know some of you. You are all such nice people! I have to tell you, reading your posts comforts me in some sort of way. Like knowing that people can reach their goal weight, but even more important, your lives go on and seem to be rich and full. And from reading Apple's posts, I feel like I know a little bit about what farm life is like!! Do you mind answering some questions? Did all of you meet here on this support board and were you banded around the same time? How long did it take for you to reach your goal? Do you have any advice for those of us who are just starting out? A little bit about me. I'm 55, work full-time as an editor at a state geological survey, and live in Bloomington, Indiana, a beautiful little college town in southern Indiana. I'm married, have the support of a good husband, and have two grown kids (DD and DS), no grandchildren yet. I live a pretty quiet life, and do a lot of sewing, knitting, quilting...crafty stuff. Adding exercise in to my daily life has been the hardest thing for me on this lap band journey, but I'm doing pretty good. Everything I like to do (practically) is done sitting down! And with my job, I'm sitting in front of a computer all day. Anyway, I hope to become part of your little group here. I sincerely enjoy reading about your adventures!

I bought an inexpensive elliptical off Craigslist and could only do about 5 mins (and that was on the lowest setting and with resting every minute or so!). Now I'm up to 15 mins, but it's harder than heck. I'm not thrilled with the machine, but I figure if I can keep at it, it will definitely help the weight loss.

My doctor is strongly against counting calories or measuring food. Every once in a while I check my calorie count for one day just to see if I'm getting enough or if I'm overeating.

Hi there, Tonya! I was banded in September too and have also lost 36 lbs. You should check out the thread "September 09 bandsters" in the Pre-Lab Band Operation Questions and Answers forum. There are a lot of us there and it's a nice place to meet others that are in the same place on our lap-band journey. Welcome!

It's two days after my 2nd fill and I feel a LOT more restriction (even though I have a lot fewer ccs in my band than others). Had a PB episode when I ate some chicken for dinner last night. And yesterday afternoon I had a small container of yoghurt, which completely filled me up. Now I'm wondering if I can get in enough food for nutrition's sake!

Wow, you're an inspiration! I can't wait until I get to that point. Do you have any advice about what you did to be successful?

It's funny that the three of us all had fills today. I found out I have a 10 cc band, and I have just 3 ccs in it. She only put in 1 cc today because I seem to be doing pretty well---lost 9 lbs in the 3 weeks since my last fill. That psyched me up. I'm scheduled for another fill in 4 weeks. Stardustic, I'm sorry to hear about your port problems. Hope everything gets worked out soon.

Dee, I was originally scheduled for the 2nd fill in December too, but I asked if I could come in sooner. My doctor really likes you to wait 6 weeks between fills, but he will allow you a somewhat shorter time between them.

I go in for my second fill today, and am anxious to see what I weigh on my doctor's scale. (Mine at home is different, and that can be disappointing!)

PB means "productive burp"---it's something that happens sometimes when you eat too fast or don't chew enough (or if your band is too tight). It's not really like vomiting, but it's similar.

I understand where you're coming from, but I agree with the advice others have given. You're just at the beginning of the rest of your life with the band. Don't give up! I thought I was being very realistic about the band: that it's just a tool and that I had to make a lot of changes. But even though in my rational mind I knew all that, I still had a part of me that wanted the band to be magical. OK, I've gone through this surgery and now the weight will all just magically come off. So if you're doing this magical kind of thinking, it's time for you to let your rational mind take over. You're doing great, and you're just healing. Pretty soon this will be behind you and you'll be happy that you're losing. Hang in there!

Heppy Thanksgiving to everybody. I hope you all had a wonderful day. It was an easy one for me; lazed around most of the day and then went out with my DH, my DS, and his girlfriend to a state park lodge for a buffet dinner. That way I didn't have to cook, and no leftovers to tempt me.

What is "PCO"? Also...what's "Met"?

I really don't know how much of a fill I have right now, but I'm going to ask the doctor when I go in on Nov. 30 for my 2nd fill. I think I have a 10cc band, and I'm pretty sure they only put in 1cc for the 1st fill. I worry about the pb'ing too, but I'm not sure that it will lead to the band slipping. I've read different things on this board about it; guess I have another question for the doc.

Cheri, thanks for letting us know about your blog. I've been reading it (since I got to work this morning) and I want to thank you for your positive attitude. It's inspiring!

hmarko, I'm two months out and have had just one fill and you and I sound sort of in the same boat! I had a major pb episode yesterday at lunch (eating at my desk in my office). My poor office mate thought I needed the Heimlich manuever and knocked at my door. Yikes.:ohmy: I tried to eat a raw carrot and I think that was the problem. Usually I seem to pb at dinner, because that's when I'm the hungriest. So I know I start eating too fast. I don't feel very restricted, even though I still get stuck (more than once a week). I'm scheduled for a fill in a week; we'll see how it goes. Hang in there.

Hey, this thread's getting quiet again. I thought I'd drop in and try to get it going. I'm relatively new here---only two months since surgery---but I really like the support of the 50s group. I'm wondering how many of you have thyroid problems. I've been hypothyroid for a long time, and just had to be switched from the Armour thyroid replacment (dessicated pig thyroid) to Synthroid. I've having a terrible time! Want to sleep 12-14 hours a night, depressed, cold all the time. My doctor doesn't want to give me more meds because my lab numbers look ok, even though I feel terrible. I'm also REALLY worried that this will slow down or stop my weight loss. Anyone else here think their thyroid affects their LB weight loss?

Missy, I've been having a pretty awful bout of depression since I had my surgery two months ago. I've been in the middle of a bad patch for about 1 1/2 years now, but it's gotten much worse. I have read some stuff about how surgery (any kind) can trigger depression, but I don't know if that's what caused this. There are some things I know how to do to help me out of this, but it's hard doing them. Exercise is something I'm trying to make myself do, because I know it helps. The other thing is doing things with people, because I tend to cut myself off from social life when I'm depressed. Hang in there.

lpglarry, I didn't have any trouble with the post-op liquid diet. I think the stomach is still healing from the surgery and I just wasn't hungry. The only downside to the two weeks diet was that I got really tired of sugary-tasting shakes and wanted some things that weren't sweet. (All the protein powders I had were the sweet variety.) By the end of it, I was really ready for the mushie stage, though, and mushed up food never tasted so good! You'll do fine!

Hi, Salty and welcome. Welcome to Take Charge Time, too! I'm relatively new here too; am 55 and was banded on Sept. 18. I've had my ups and downs, but the overwhelming part of LB surgery has been positive. I come onto these forums so I can get help and encouragement, and I love reading the success stories. The hardest part of this thing has been adding exercise to my life! I do a lot of things, but mostly everything I love to do is sedentary---reading, knitting, sewing, quilting. So I'm trying to add some movement in there. I've been walking, and trying to use my elliptical (gawd, that thing is hard!). But I'm not consistent at it yet. I did buy some exercise tapes, the T-Tapp system, but I've done the workout a giant whopping one time! :redface: So I'm fessing up to you guys what a couch potatoe I am, but I'm making a new commitment to exercising for at least a 1/2 hour every day. Cheers!

Hey, I'd like to join in. I'm a little discouraged today. Got on the scale at my doctor's during our support group meeting last night, and had gained a pound or more back. And this was after my first fill. It seems like I can eat more lately and I want more. They let me reschedule my 6-weeks-apart fill for a little earlier, so I'm going in about 2 weeks from now for my second fill. That made me feel a little bit better. But when I look on people's tickers and see that they've lost a lot more weight than me (and esp. if they were banded after me) I get discouraged. I guess I need a pep talk! Thanks for listening, you guys.

I've had an awful cold (or something worse) for over two weeks and have been coughing nonstop. Being the worrier I am, :tongue_smilie: I'm getting really paranoid about dislodging the band. Can heavy coughing cause a slippage? Does anyone know?

Loveslady, you're doing great. I was banded the day after you and am down 27 lbs. My doctor and his staff thought I was doing just fine with that amount. I'm not worried about how fast it comes off, as long as it keeps coming off!

I had my first fill on Friday, and only had to be on liquids for the rest of that day. The next day I could eat solid foods. My doc is pretty conservative and will only give fills of 1-2 ccs every six weeks; I assume that the reason for going right back on solid foods is that with that small amount being put into the band it shouldn't cause too much swelling.