stateofzen

I know it's different for different people, but I've noticed on several occasions while dieting that when I am too restrictive, my weight loss slows down. I do low carb, and I've noticed that for my own body, when I stop losing on low carb, if I have a meal of pasta, then go back to low carbing it seems to jump-start my weight loss. Maybe it's all coincidental, but as long as the scale is moving down, I don't care! Even while I was stuck for those two weeks though, my body was shifting and changing. I went down a pants size in that time even though I didn't lose.

My realistic goal is to be down 22 lbs by the end of the year (roughly 2lbs a week). That would put me at 218.

The other day I was making dinner (squash with marinara for me, baked Pasta for my husband) and I absently popped a penne noodle in my mouth, then realized what I'd done and spit it right back out. Just a moment where I realized how thoughtless some of my eating habits are, and how I'm going to have to be really careful for a long time to be mindful of everything I eat until I learn new habits. It's tough, but we can do it. If you can, put your family on a healthy diet to go along with you. They may complain, but healthy eating isn't just good for fat people. When my husband wants a treat,he buys it himself and puts it in a cabinet, but otherwise when I open my fridge, there's really nothing in it I can't eat and that helps a lot. I've also seen people who do really good meal planning-- that seems like a good idea too since it takes the guesswork out of eating even real food. It's tough though.

Ugh, I hate underwire bras. It is sometimes hard to find a cute-ish but supportive non-underwire, but it's possible. I also tend to wear sturdy tanks with built-in bras under my clothes to "smooth things out", so you might try that too if your bras are too irritating (and yes, I have large breasts, though they are getting smaller all the time now).

I was banded 9/17. I went in for my first fill last week, but didn't get it since I still had swelling and fluid at my port site, so I'll supposedly have it next week. I've only journalled my calories one day, because I was stuck on the scale, and I was at about 800 calories (it was a very typical day for me). I think that is too low for me at this point, so I upped it to about 1000 and my scale finally moved this morning. I wake up feeling hungry, but my hunger has been surprisingly non-problematic otherwise. I think it's because I did a month of low-carb before surgery and "shrunK' my stomach (i.e. appetite). I have to admit I'm sort of nervous about having a fill, because things have so far been ok without one. But i know I'll eventually need it. So that's where I'm at.

If you're going to test your band, the band will fail. There is always a way to "beat" the band, whether now this early when you don't have restriction (neither do I-- get my first fill in another week, maybe), or later when you can eat slider foods like ice cream even when you have restriction. The band will help you, but you have to help yourself first. Don't fall into the trap I've seen sometimes of believing that "if you could do it on your own, you wouldn't have gotten the band!". While that is true to some degree, we absolutely cannot rely on the band to do all of the work for us or even most of the work, especially in the beginning. Do it one day at a time and you can get there-- I've seen evidence around here of bandsters who have done it, so that lets me know I can too-- let them be an inspiration.

Yay, my scale finally moved! -3 this week, so I'm a little under halfway there. Doesn't look like I'm going to make it to my goal, but any loss is excellent.

So sorry that you are dealing with this. First, you need to always remember that you do not have to let people treat you badly, even if they are family. They have no right to do it, and you aren't a trouble maker or a mean person if you REFUSE to let them do it. Politely but firmly stand up for yourself, and remember, if the tone is changed for the night-- it is their doing, not yours. It sounds like you've done all of the explaining that you can do. If you still get nasty comments, tell them it is a decision made, an action completed, and that they can see for themselves that you did not, in fact, die from the procedure (all the better if you say this as a joke). And then, make it clear that any other negative discussions are closed. "You've made your feelings clear, and so have I. I appreciate your concern, but this is not a topic that's up for debate anymore. So, what's going on in your life, mom?"

Meridia just got pulled off the market by the FDA yesterday. The stupid thing is, even if it didn't, Meridia has a 10 lb weight loss average. Big woop for a morbidly obese person. I'd make sure your PCP even needs to be involved. Unless you need referrals to see specialists, you should be able to go straight to the surgeon.

Hey folks. Checking in-- I did not make my goal this week (exercise 5 of 7 days). Today was my last day of the week and I did 4 of 7 days. So, I'll keep 5 of 7 for my next goal and see if I can do it this week.

Sometimes they will take a dated picture in place of a doctor weigh in-- you might look to see if you have a picture from '06.

My interview was 20 minutes long-- a complete breeze. We just had a conversation about whether I was currently experiencing any problems (I wasn't), and then if I had any concerns about the banding (I talked about exercise follow-through concerns). I've done psych evals for other kinds of surgeries (specifically organ transplant), and so I can tell you that MOST psychologists who do these are just trying to make sure there aren't any huge red flags that would make you a poor candidate (I'm talking things like body dysmorphic disorder or current drug addiction, etc.). The real purpose is to give you someone to talk to about your follow-up self-care. Depression or anxiety are ok-- not anything to deny a surgery over. Odds are, it is an innocuous loop you have to jump through so the surgeon can cover his butt in terms of liability. :biggrin:

You can use anecdotal evidence to "prove" anything. Everyone hears about that one guy who. . . but no one really *knows* that guy. This is why science is based on population samples and not case studies. Look at the real statistics. They're pretty clear that lap-band is about as safe of a surgery as you can have. Are you 100% guaranteed not to have any complications-- no. But the odds are WAYYYYY with you.

I too had surgery the 17th. I've lost 15 lbs since surgery, but most of that was right away. I've stayed the same for the past week and a half. Since I'm following all of the "rules" for eating, I've decided I'm not going to worry about it. There is no way I can stay this weight forever if I keep doing what I'm doing-- it'll eventually start coming off again. I also had one of my incisions come "unglued" early. I'm on a preventative antibiotic (I asked for it because I worried about infection), but just like Cocoabean said, the treatment is a bandaid :thumbup: Freaky, but I'll tell you my incision is healing just fine, just maybe a little slower.

My nausea and dry heaves were due to the liquid pain killer-- I switched to a cut up pill form and that went away. It was awful while it lasted though, so you have my deepest sympathy. Don't feel bad for being underwhelmed by the band so far-- it sounds like you've had a really rough go of it! But it will get better! You should save a copy of this post now so you can look at it again in 6 months and see just how good it's gotten!

Thanks for starting the thread, Lisa. I'll admit, before surgery I didn't have an exercise program. I did buy a treadmill and start walking a couple weeks before surgery, but I feel like I'm starting from scratch. This week, the first week I've been active since I was banded 9-17, I have walked 3 of 5 days. Two of those days were outside and I'm not sure of the mileage, and one was on my treadmill where I was at 3.2 miles an hour (walked 1.5 miles). My goal is to exercise 5 of 7 days, for 30 minutes at a time. I know I'm slower now than I want to be, but if I can just make myself DO something, I will build up speed and stamina. So, I guess at this point my exercise goal is to walk today and tomorrow, so I can make my "5 out of 7" weekly goal.

Lisa- I put my food stage progression up on my blog here if you want to see: Big Fat Professor: A Little Over a Week In. . . It might not be the exact progression you are on, but it's an idea. I am in soft foods right now and I am eating chicken (canned) in a wet chicken salad. I did put it in my food processor just to be sure I would be able to tolerate it but it is so nice getting protein the old fashioned way :thumbup:

I eat it right off the spoon, with a side of laughing cow cheese. One teaspoon full with the cheese usually keeps me feeling satisfied when I get home from work (my old "binge" time).

My favorite BetsyB advice EVER!

You should be fine, though you shouldn't do heavy lifting (make someone else put the ham or turkey in/out of the oven). By 10 days out you'll most likely feel closer to normal again.

You're going through a lot of changes, and change-- even the good kind-- is really stressful. I found myself really crying at a dumb tv show last night, so I know what you mean.

Thanks for the fish tips! You are all awesome.

That's so exciting! Yay for you!

I think I'll have spaghetti squash with some marinara sauce.