stateofzen

Bunny, if I didn't get numbed before my fill I would have squeeked too! My goodness. Last night I had my first dinner out with people other than my husband (a work dinner). We went to a Thai place and to avoid noodles and rice I ordered hot and sour shrimp soup and a chicken satay appetizer. It was great, and I've got left-overs of both for lunch today. I did have a moment at the end, when I was the only one who got a to-go box (and I clearly had eaten much less than everyone else) where I felt like people noticed but my colleague are too polite to say anything, thank goodness. That said, only one person has mentioned my weight loss and I've lost about 60lbs (including pre-op)! I think mostly I'm glad because it's a little awkward to have people commenting on your weight and the main reason I haven't told most people is because I don't want them monitoring my weight loss. On the other hand, I'm really super curious if they are noticing or if in their eyes, fat is fat so they haven't noticed. Exercise is still my nemesis/personal challenge. I appreciate the September exercise thread in the fitness section-- that's some good encouragement for those of you who haven't headed over there yet.

I've been eating a lot of fish with a side of steamed veggie. I've also made tomato/feta topped baked eggplant a few times, and have also had meatballs (3-4 small meatballs will fill you up- amazing). chicken salad and tomato with fresh mozzarella in vinegar have also been favorites. Shredded chicken sauted with onions and peppers (like fajita) and topped with some sour cream and salsa was yum. I do low carb, so I typically don't do starches though every once in a while I will have a baked potato when I go out to eat with my husband and feel iffy about what's on the menu.

I had a work dinner tonight-- first time going out with other people. We went to a Thai place, so I had to avoid noodles and rice. I had hot and sour shrimp soup and chicken satay. And I'll be having both again for lunch tomorrow! It was weird being the only one who had leftovers/to-go containers.

Every day, first thing in the morning naked. I track it every day on a wipe-board calendar that I have tacked on the inside of the bathroom closet. I put a number on my weight loss on Mondays. For me, when I don't weigh everyday I am not accountable and I find myself eating more. II seem to either weigh everyday or never, and when I'm trying to lose weight everyday is better than never :laugh:

That's amazing-- great work Jamie!

My goal is 218 by the end of the year. I am weighing in at 233, so that's only 15lbs to go!

A simple thing to try might be to add a B12 supplement.

Yesterday I had hit my goal weight, but today I was a lb up so although I normally don't count daily fluctuations, I'm going to this time and say I was down 6 lbs this week! One more to go. I really thought I'd never get there.

Thanks for the support! MissJoany, I think you're right-- I will walk again today.

You guys are doing so great! Good for you :blushing: I am not. I walked on my treadmill today for the first time since my last post. This is my biggest post-banding challenge for sure.

I lost 35 lbs pre-op and kept right on losing post-op. I've stalled a couple times, but haven't ever gained.

I hope this isn't too TMI, but sexy times are better without all of the extra padding blocking important kinds of stimulation, if you get my drift.

Looking straight down and being able to see my toes.

My doc only had a 3-day liquid diet before the surgery. I put myself on a very low-carb/high Protein diet a month in advance. I HIGHLY recommend it. Basically, I shrunk my stomach (sense of hunger) and got rid of my junk food cravings well in advance of surgery. As a result, I don't find the post-surgery menu a chore or torture at all. I was doing perfectly fine and losing without a fill, and now I have a small fill (I can't tell a difference) and I'm still doing well. I 100% believe that my experience after the surgery has been so positive because I did that month diet beforehand.

$1000 seems like a lot to me. I'd want to know what I was getting for that price. That said, insurance covers for the surgery. That's it-- those 45 minutes you are in the OR. They don't pay the surgeon's nutritionist, they don't pay for the educational seminar, they sometimes don't pay for the psychologist (mine did, but I know others don't), etc. For my support groups, a member of the surgeon's staff is always there. I don't mind the relatively small out-of-pocket expenses I paid (it was nothing close to $1000 though) considering all of the other professionals who were seeing to my care that insurance wasn't covering. That insurance fee is strictly for surgeon, hospital, and anesthisiologist costs for the procedure itself, and none of all of the other types of very important care you get as you prepare for and recover from the surgery.

Chili is perfect pureed food. In fact, it was my first mushie :blushing: It was so great to feel like I was eating real food even though it didn't have a single chewable chunk in it!

I had the same thing. First two weeks post surgery I lost a lot, then nothing for two weeks, and now I'm back to losing a lot again. Don't stress about it. Concentrate on healing and learning new habits. If you are doing what you're supposed to, you WILL lose weight. Your body won't be able to help but comply eventually :blushing:

I'm sorry about this financial stressor and agree-- you can't change the past, so try not to beat yourself up over the slip. The good sign is that you came on here to post about how not to do it, rather than giving up and deciding you can't help it. Good for you! Obviously one of the things to do is to figure out something else to do to cope with stress. What else besides food makes you feel good? A hot bath or shower? A walk? Some cuddle time in bed with your pets? Grabbing your camera to go outside and find interesting things to take pictures of? Scrapbooking? Doesn't matter-- as long as you can replace food with something else that makes you feel good. The other thing to watch out for is how you're talking to yourself when you're stressed. What kind of thoughts were running through your head as you made the decision to turn to food to cope? What kind of thoughts were running through your head as you ate to cope? You might not remember now, but there were thoughts that spurred on your behavior and in the future, be on the lookout for that first one that leads down the slippery slope. They might have been things like "I can't handle this!" or "why does it matter if I lose weight when we're dealing with this financial problem", or "I can't control myself" or "Now that I've started, I've failed so I might as well keep eating." If you can catch those thoughts early and recognize them as lies (I like to say to myself-- "I'm lying to myself here, or My stress is lying to me"), and then start thinking rationally and willfully and purposefully substituting more healthy thoughts, then you can feel a better sense of control over what you're doing. And, as a nice side bonus, your emotions will be a little less intense too. You may still be stressed, but a thought like "I can't handle this" is attached to a much stronger stressful emotion than a thought like "This is hard, but I can handle it."

I think the question is not "did you cheat and it was alright?", but "did you cheat and did it increase the chances of a problem and/or setting yourself up as a band-cheater"? Everyone slips up now and again, but try not to look for permission to cheat. Talk to your doctor's office if you feel like you're ready to move on to the next stage because you're hungry. Make sure you're drinking Protein shakes that have a LOT of protein in them. The liquid-mushy- soft foods- regular foods diet is there for your healing, and also to get you on the right track with "rule following". I say the most unfortunate part of weight loss is not being able to eat whatever I want in whatever quantity I want. But those are the sad facts, so use this time to start new behaviors. Good luck! You can do it.

I use small bowls and plates- the 6 oz fiestaware fruit bowl and the salad plate. That way, I can have a "full" bowl or plate of food.

Today I got my first fill, even though I felt like I was doing fine without it. I've lost 24 lbs in the month since my surgery, I haven't had any problems, and I'm able to eat nutritious food and stop at the right time because I feel full. I'm getting between 800-1200 calories a day. My surgeon complimented me on my loss, then said wait, you've never had a fill? Lay down, we're doing it. And now I have 1.5 cc's in my band and have to do Clear liquids for 3 days.:wink2: He wants me to go back in another month for another fill-- and I'm like, "what if I don't need it yet?" I know that most people on here are frustrated with NOT getting fills or restrictions-- anyone like me who feels like the fill enthusiasm is a little unwanted? I'm just really scared that I'm going to get stuck or have some other unwanted side effect from a fill when I was doing fine without it.

I appreciate everyone's feedback. I think because it was my first fill, and I had already put it off once (he usually does first fill 2 weeks post-op), I was questioning my own motivations for avoiding it and also wanting to be compliant with treatment (doctor knows best, right?). But you all are right-- if what I've got is working and I'm losing, no one can force me into a fill. Thanks!

3 days! And the fill day doesn't count! Obviously I just got my first fill today and am feeling whiny :wink2: I knew I should have eaten lunch.

It's gotta be the carbs-- that's the only difference I can see. I do have one on occasion when I'm out and want to grab something to drink out of the case-- the fuji apple pear is my fave.

I'm with Betsy on this one-- not all obese people have an eating disorder. A lot do, but not all do and I think it's a disservice to the science of obesity to claim otherwise. I also agree that a history of eating disorders is definitely something to honestly discuss with the psychologist and the surgeon. It won't automatically disqualify you, but it may mean that it is in your best interests to get treatment during your banding process to give you the best possible health and mental health outcome.