stateofzen

I would suggest not weighing everyday. From what I read, you are down 10 lbs in less than a month, even with the fluctuations. That's amazing. I think what you are experiencing are normal fluctuations and your body adjusting to that really rapid 10 lb loss. This is my pattern of losing-- nothing, nothing, nothing, bounce up and down in a 2 lb range then BAM loss loss loss. Followed by the same pattern, over and over again. I'm not doing anything wrong, it's just the way my body works. My guess is that you are doing nothing wrong except obsessively monitoring your scale (hahaha-- I say this as someone who does it too-- no judgment).

I had to stop my liquid Lortab the night after surgery (I went home same day) because of the extreme nausea. I actually switched to the tablets instead of the Liquid (cut up of course) and it was fine. The posters above have great advice. Congrats on your surgery and I hope you feel better soon!

I teach college, which requires quite a bit of standing/moving during my classes but sedentary desk time the rest of the day. I had surgery on Friday, went back on Tuesday, went home the second my morning class was over on Tuesday (I was exhausted more than anything), cancelled my Wednesday classes, and then was back for a full day on Thursday. I felt totally fine on Thursday. That was 2-days less than you're planning to take. For me, the week you're planning on taking off was just the right amount. However, it's probably one of those things you won't know for sure until you experience it.

With all respect, by that definition ALL weight loss strategies are fad diets according to medical literature I think the point is that nothing in the diet and weight loss industry-- including basic calorie counting diets based on the food pyramid-- works very well long term in people who don't have the help of WLS. Thank goodness we do have that help!

I disagree with the idea that you need a fill, though you know better than I, obviously! If your current level of fill is keeping you from being hungry, but your problem is eating when not hungry, then I would suggest some practice of mindful eating rather than risk over-filling your band. This is what I mean by mindful eating: Forcing yourself to carefully consider the motivation behind every food choice. So, for example, when I go home this afternoon and I'm tempted to pull out the crackers and dip I have left-over from my SuperBowl party, I will ask myself this: "why do I want to eat this? am I hungry?" If the answer is no, I will make the choice not to eat it. If the answer is yes, I may eat it, or I might follow-up and ask if I could eat something else that would be a better choice. I know people differ on this, but for me, my long-term success is going to be dependent on me learning to look at food and hunger differently than I ever have before. In other words, make a permanent change in the reasons I eat. Otherwise, I know that I will eventually find a way to "outsmart" my band and gain it all back, whether because i choose to eat a lot of sliders or because I eventually stop maintaining the supertight fill level that would prevent me from eating or make it very uncomfortable or embarrassing (i.e. PBing and sliming all the time). For me, personally, I want my band to work by making it easier for me to make good choices because I'm not HUNGRY, not because it physically prevents me from eating food. I know others use their band in different ways so I'm not saying mine is the only way-- but I am saying that I believe that changing the psychological and behavioral approach to food is just as important as reducing the amount we eat in long-term success. Good luck to you-- just don't give up!

8 lbs in less than a full week is excellent. Your body will most likely need to catch up before you lose more. Don't panic, you're doing fine. I might suggest, if you are worrying about Water retention, to watch the sodium in the Lean Cuisine meals. You'd be surprised how much salt they pack in those things.

It sounds almost like you might be getting stuck on the dry meats, rather than experiencing "fullness". I know a lot of people have to give up chicken and steak or find ways to make it very tender. I've never been stuck, but I've heard people describe the sensation like a painful lump in the upper chest. Sometimes I eat too much and feel uncomfortably full, but I wouldn't call it a lump feeling. More gassy, ugh, why did I do that? feeling. I don't know if this is at all helpful.

It took me over a month to get back on my stomach, but only a couple of days to sleep on my side. I just had port pain when I put direct pressure on it for several weeks , but I know others have been able to transition more easily than me. The funny thing is that now that I've lost all of this weight, I can sleep comfortably on my back again. I still prefer the tummy though

This has got to be a joke. I just can't figure out if it's making light of Atkins, or Bandsters, or both.

I track nothing. I do eat low-carb the majority of the time, but I don't count my carbs. There honestly isn't that much to count when your major source of carbs is your morning Protein bar and then fresh vegetables I suspect that when I reach my first major plateau, all of this will change and you'll see me journalling and counting away.

Hi Barbara. I can only tell you what my fills are like, with no guarantee that your doc does them the same way. I lay on the table, he feels for my port, then injects some numbing stuff. Then the fill needle goes in. I don't think any of this hurts at all. He has me sit up with the fill needle sticking out, then he injects the saline and has me drink Water and report on how it's going down. That way he can take some out or even put more if he needs to. Then I lay back down, he takes out the needle and puts a band aid on me. Boom, we're done. Takes less than 5 minutes. How people feel after the first fill varies a lot, but based on what I've read here, most people do not feel much different after the first fill or two. Sometimes, it takes several fills and sometimes it takes less-- there is no way of knowing what you'll be but just hang in there if it isn't right the first time. I have had two fills, in tiny amounts (I have 2.5cc's total in a 10cc band) and they've worked like magic. Other people would spit on that fill amount and need more. The mysteries of the human body, I guess. Edited to add: My doc has a 3 day liquid diet after every fill. That seems to be on the high side-- I do 2 days of liquids and then I do a day of mushies, which means I am a bad patient but it has worked for me just fine. You should definitely plan on doing liquids for the day after your fill-- that seems pretty standard at the least.

Jodi, I was in the same boat. Now I cook fish a lot. I get tilapia filets, because they are very "un-fishy". I spray my casserole dish to keep them from sticking, season them with Old Bay, place a slice of lemon on top, cover loosely with foil, and bake in a 375 oven for 20 minutes or until it is white and flaky (test with fork). It is the easiest dinner in the world. Then I do any number of "toppings". My favorite are a dill sauce made with ff mayo, ff sour cream, fresh baby dill, and lemon juice, or a "Mediterranean" topping that is diced tomatoes (canned/drained, seasoned with basil and garlic), feta cheese, red pepper for spice, and a splash of lemon juice (heated on the top of stove). That would be even more awesome with capers or kalamata olives added, but my husband isn't a fan of either of those ingredients. I want to try a cedar-plank salmon, but haven't so I can't speak to how to cook it.

This period of time is the MOST important time for you to just take a deep breath and force yourself to stay on track. It has nothing to do with weight loss- it has to do with healing. Being hungry is uncomfortable but it will not kill you-- you can do it and you will get through it before you even know it. I promise! Figure out a few distractions, keep Water on you 24/7 and sip sip sip every time you feel hunger. Also, sometimes it helps to take a few index cards and write "coping statements" on them. Things like: "I can do this. It isn't forever", or whatever you need to combat the eating solids-- then anytime you feel really tempted, you pull it out and read it until you believe it. If you've done harm already, you could have symptoms like acid reflux, vomiting, and not being able to keep anything down including liquids. Probably you're ok for the moment. Talk to your surgeon at the next appt-- they can do a fluoroscopy to check band placement if they are concerned.

I have bad teeth genetics too. My mom is in her 50's, has always regularly gone to the dentist and kept up with dental work, and is still missing a LOT of her teeth to the point where it is very noticeable both in her speech and in her smile. My only hope is that because she is a major smoker, and I have never smoked, that I will do better in the teeth department at her age. Still, even though I'm a regular dentist-goer from childhood, I have fillings everywhere and have had two molars need root canals/crowns before the age of 35. What are ya gonna do, but save up for dentures haha!

First, let me say that I really recommend you insist that your doc gives you the time to really research the band and decide if it is what you want. In a moment, I'm going to tell you how amazing it has been for me, but the fact is that people who are on the fence about it seem to have a harder mental time immediately post-surgery than those of us who took the time and were absolutely sure of our decision. Education comes in the form of seminars with the surgeons-- and go to more than one surgeon's seminar if it is available in the area. Also, usually support groups are "open" and you might go to some of those for education face-to-face. Ok, now that is out of the way. Before surgery, the only medical complications of obesity I had were pain related-- low back weakness that led to long-term muscle spasms and plantar fasciitis that had me wearing only crocs for shoes and still finding mobility painful. After surgery, the plantar fasciitis is GONE and I am actually wearing high heels again in comfort. The back pain is 95% better-- and I now am in a state where I can work on my core strength to improve it even more. Life with no pain is amazing. Even if I never lose another pound, I have gotten so much gain from this surgery that it would be worth it to still be technically obese but pain free and mobile.

Alcohol is discouraged because it is liquid calories. That said, I do drink alcohol, but mostly it is red wine which has some health and, purportedly, weight loss benefits in moderation. I wouldn't drink a whiskey with coke because of the carbonation in the coke, but I do occasionally have a margarita, vodka cranberry, or gimlet (none of which have carbonated mixers). That said, some bandsters do carbonated beverages sometimes and just take the risk with the band. I'll say this-- you certainly won't be able to drink as much as before.

Tiffany, your comment about your butt touching your knee made me laugh-- this whole weight loss thing is a mystery, isn't it? I've been worried I'll have a flat butt when it's all over, but I guess there's always something else to worry about. I'll tell you what, my boobs have looked better-- that's all I'm saying. Congratulations on your loss! You're doing great, Moon Pie or no!

Lisa, I snack on cheese. It has protein and is very low carb. It fills me right up. Sometimes if I'm super tired of cheese I snack on almonds (though they are higher in carbs) or turkey pepperoni.

Haha- this is true. I don't exercise, but I do limit carbs (i.e. "diet"). I do this because I'd rather give up bread than exercise, without a freaking doubt I say this, KNOWING, that before too long I will have taken my weight loss as far as it will easily go on diet alone and will have to start exercising. But man, I'm not doing it until I have to. To the Original Poster, honestly the only secret is that I do not test my band, meaning I carefully watch portion size 95% of the time. I try to eat as little as possible to get me to "not hungry" and then I stop no matter how good it tastes. A lot of the time, I do that with a low-carb mindset that is high on Protein and veggies but honestly I'm not even 100% strict with that-- it's just my general way of approaching meals that I follow a good portion of the time, but that also allows me "treats" when I really want them. My band makes this much much easier to do than before and yes, I expect that I will eat this way for the rest of my life. I honestly don't have a problem with that and it is the reason I got my band-- to help me maintain weight loss long term.

I'm glad it's finally working for you OP! I'm sure there are lots of people who read this and felt some hope.

Certainly, it does help and other people certainly have to negotiate with their partners to fit their own situation. I'm not saying that my way is the only way, just that it is another way. I'm not particularly triggered by any of the foods I just mentioned-- I have a harder time bypassing a burger and fries at a fast food restaurant than any amount of sweets in my own home, and my husband doesn't bring home my trigger foods when he can just eat them without me knowing. For me, I think about how long it took me to get to a point where I was ready and willing to change the way I eat, and let's just say I was 100 lbs overweight for a very long time even though I'm only 35. Just because *I* am ready to give up sweets doesn't mean that my husband is (he isn't). I feel 100% supported by him, but I also recognize that he is his own person with his own food cravings. Luckily, he is normal weight, but if he wasn't and had undergone what I am even two years ago, I wouldn't have been mentally ready to give up everything just because he was ready. So from my mindset, his food choices don't reflect that he is out to sabotage my weight loss-- they simply reflect on what he wants to eat. Now if he was shoving it in my face, offering it to me, or being a jerk about it that would be a different matter altogether. This is what works for us. I just wanted to add the viewpoint to the mix that spouses who eat foods we can't/shouldn't eat aren't necessarily out to sabotage our efforts.

Nope, doesn't hurt.

This is my general schedule: 2 cups of coffee after getting up Protein Bar 1 hour after finishing coffee lunch Maybe a stick of cheese as a late afternoon snack dinner Notice what's missing? liquids other than coffee. I'm pretty sure I'd be fine on 3 meals and no snack if I could just make myself drink my Water. I definitely get dehydrated at times. I am really starting to understand why people equate drinking your water with weight loss because a lot of the times I think I'm hungry (afternoon), I'm pretty sure I'm really just thirsty.

You can also run it through your food processor to really grind it up-- that might help.

During the mushies stage it is pretty hard to limit carbs-- because it's a very limited diet and a lot of the approved mushy food is stuff you'd normally avoid on low-carb (yogurt, mashed potatoes). For me personally, I didn't start worrying about carbs again until I hit the soft food stage and could add in fish and well-cooked vegetables. Here are my own personal low-carb rules that work for me: no bread or breading, no Pasta, no starches (potatoes, corn, peas-- though I do eat Beans just not every day), no rice, no white flour, no processed sugar. Basically, I shop in fresh meats, produce, and cheese- the perimeter of the grocery store minus the bakery! I will occasionally add a low-carb food that has less than 10 carbs per serving for variety sake, like hummus or spinach artichoke dip to stuff mushrooms. Because I do it this way, I don't technically count carbs since all of them come from good healthy kinds of non-processed food. I do not follow this strictly. I try for more days low-carb than not. When I work up a good string of days in a row, I lose more weight, but I try to approach life in moderation, so if I have a potato or a tiny bit of pasta once or twice a month, I don't sweat it.