stateofzen

I think it's easy to forget that just because us "oldies" have been here-read that, it doesn't mean the newbies have. Sometimes I find myself getting frustrated with the hundredth "it's a week after major surgery and I've only lost 10 lbs" post, but then I remind myself that to that person, it's new and confusing and scary. We've all been there to some degree and as far as I'm concerned, very few people would take the time to find this board and post to ask for support if they weren't really interested in success. So I try not to let my occasional annoyance get in the way of truly supporting someone who needs it.

Yay! That's fantastic!

Clothes and shoes for me!

I'm glad everything looks good on the inside! Hopefully your stomach will settle down soon and let you get some food in.

Canned chicken is way moister (though it does smell like canned tuna, which is ewwww!). I got Tyson brand all-white chunk. I made a pretty good crustless quiche by combining egg with cheese and a small scoop of artichoke dip, baked in a ramekin dish at 350 until it puffed up (I honestly can't remember how long). Chili was one of my faves (blended of course), but you said no Beans so that probably won't work for you. I bet there are "savory souffle" recipes out there that would work.

I think my first wow outfit was a really simple black drop-waist cotton sundress from Target, of all things. I couldn't believe how complimentary people were! I also get lots of comments when I wear my (now too big) white pants with a gold or cream top and gold sandles.

Hi Shirley-- I know you are trying to be helpful and agree that the insurance game isn't fair to us consumers-- I absolutely will not argue with that I just disagree that it's good to publicly encourage people to commit a crime: it's more than lying, it's lying you can be punished for financially and it's a lie that hurts everyone else who doesn't lie. That doesn't seem fair either. It's a bad situation, all around-- well, for everyone except the insurance giants I guess.

I know people do this, but I wouldn't encourage it. It is insurance fraud and it is illegal. At least send your encouragement to commit a federal crime (Tricare as the insurance) in a PM.

If you can find a higher Protein shake you like, I'd give it a try. I like this one a LOT in vanilla: http://mynutritions.com/vht-extreme-smoothie-11oz-12-pack (I buy it from my doc's office for $30 for a 12 pack-- but obviously I also found it online). It comes in a "soda" can and has 35g of protein. I think the meat and cheese is great. If you get tired of ham, try turkey pepperoni or sliced all-beef summer sausage. If you can tolerate raw veggies, they are very "munchy" and could replace the crunch factor of the chips. Sugar snap peas, cucumber spears, cherry tomatoes-- all are easy to travel with and can be eaten one handed. I usually travel with fruit as well-- berries and grapes are my favorite because again, they can be eaten one handed without any trouble. I am a fan of mini dill pickles and olives too. You might also pack some almonds. Just be careful with serving sizes. The problem with this "snacky" type food is that mentally it might not feel like a meal even if you're consuming enough calories for a meal. It must be tough to drive for a job and also be banded-- it would be tough for me anyway. I guess stopping for meals at rest areas, etc. as much as possible would be best, so that you can have "meal time" and not just be grazing all day/night.

Yetta, can I ask what you think you will experience when the band is working that is different from what you are experiencing now? I'm just curious about expectations-- I think that a lot of people expect the band to do things it might not ever do which leads to feelings of failure and frustration, and I'm wondering if that might be part of your experience.If the band is controlling your portion sizes-- then maybe it is working? What you describe-- capability of eating whatever you want but in smaller portions is EXACTLY how my band works. Unfortunately, that means I have to choose what I eat and don't eat carefully. If I make good choices 80% of the time, then I lose weight. I know other people seem to use the band in other ways, so I'm not suggesting that my way is the only way. However, it might be how the band works for you and if you adjust your expectations, it might take away some of the frustration and help you make choices in food that will help you towards your goal.

Full liquids are still liquids-- the only difference is that you can't see through them. I ate soup with no chunks-- tomato soup, butternut squash soup, broccoli cheese soup (where the broccoli was too small to chew). Yogurt and Protein shakes I think were considered Clear Liquids by my doctor. But that was it. Mushies for me added in refried Beans, chili that was blended until it didn't require chewing, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese (I made a ricotta cheese/cottage cheese seasoned base with marinara on top, baked, that was good and suggested on this board). I think I also did a baked "quiche" at this stage-- beaten egg with cottage cheese, baked. You need to check with your doctor's office. I can't believe there are still surgeons sending people home without detailed diet lists. If you haven't already, recheck any paperwork you got from your support staff to see if it contains directions on your diet. As for the Cheetos Puffs-- well, I wouldn't add them back in for at least 6 months. Don't get me wrong-- I think people can have non-nutritious food on occasion and be fine. However, I worry that if you're really concerned about how soon you can eat something that has ZERO nutritional benefit after having weight loss surgery, that you are setting yourself up to struggle to lose. But if you want to kickstart your loss even before your band begins to help you, I'd commit to healthy eating. You can always add the treats back in later after you've developed some new habits.

In lapband blog land, we had lots of responses to this show and a lot of people posted what they ate at 6 months to dispel the idea that that woman was typical OR healthy. Clearly she's too too tight, so it's a shame Oz put her on as the face of lapband because now when she slips and/or damages her esophagus from chronic acid reflux, everyone is going to think that's normal too. Here's an example: http://cheeseandsunkist.blogspot.com/2011/04/dear-dr-ozget-me-on-your-showasap.html

Amen. If you claimed to be perfect, I'd be suspicious

I set my ultimate goal as the very top of a "healthy" BMI range, and then forgot about it for a while. Instead, I set smaller goals that were definitely attainable to keep up my morale and make me Celebrate when I reached them. One thing I did in the beginning was join "weight loss challenges" on this site and with other bloggers. So, I might commit to losing 15 lbs by the end of the challenge and work toward that goal. Then I had a trip coming up and set another "10 lb goal by the trip", etc. I did this throughout, making sure to set realistic goals. In other words, I never expected myself to lose more than 2 lbs a week, so in the beginning when I was losing quickly, I always met my goal earlier than expected which felt great! When I got within 20 lbs of onederland, that became my goal. Then, weighing less than my husband became my goal. Then, being overweight and not obese became my goal. All of these involved less than 20lb losses to reach. Now I'm in the homestretch-- so I'm just doing 10 lbs at a time and still ignoring that final number. I'll worry about it when I'm within 10 lbs of it

Spanx is a lapband girl's dream! I actually look skinny/non-bulgy in clothes now! Sagging skin is really not the trauma that people imagine it will be, for the most part

What is wrong with some people? I mean clearly it was a compliment, but holy inappropriate confession, batman! Your husband has my respect for keeping it professional and not telling him off. Only one person that I know of has commented to my husband about my weight-- funnily enough, it was a guy that works at a barbecue place we eat at regularly on Sundays. I guess he didn't want to say anything to me about my weight (smart man), but asked my husband if I've lost weight. He said, yes, she has. The guy said, well, she's lost a lot-- like 30 or 40 lbs, right? My husband just said yes, she's lost a lot and left it at that. He told me he wasn't sure if I'd be complimented or angry that he thought I'd "only" lost 30-40 lbs. I chose to feel flattered

You'll get there! It takes a lot more loss to see size changes in the 30's and 20's than it does in the teens and singles. When I was GAINING weight, that made me happy (I could gain 20 lbs and still wear the same dang clothes!), but when I first started losing it was frustrating! This time next year you'll be posting about your tiny sizes

I have lost almost 120 lbs in the past 9 months, and am wearing a 10/12 on the bottom and a L on the top. I fit comfortably in those clothes-- they aren't tight at all and my 12's are generally getting a bit loose. Today I went shopping for a one-piece swim suit. I have several tankini suits in my size, but my loose skin needs more "spanx" support than a tankini provides so I wanted something to hold in my middle. To fit the length of my torso (I'm not that tall-- only 5'5.5") and to fit my breasts, I had to buy a suit in a SIZE 16! This is after trying on several sizes in several different brands. To put this in perspective, my last one-piece that I wore 120 lbs ago was an 18W. Now I get why even my skinny friends hate going swimsuit shopping. What the hell? I hope you all are having better luck

Your band must work differently than my band, Mist. Maybe it wouldn't work for you but if it's a 1200 calorie diet, it would be fine-- that's what many of us aim for as-is. If it's more than that, nothing says you HAVE to finish the meal or eat the dessert, etc, and it could be easily adapted to the band. I wouldn't do Nutrisystem myself, but I understand why someone else would to help them get a feel for portion sizes and calories with a little more ease and a little less guess work. And I think I already explained the difference between being on a weight loss program WHILE banded vs pre-banding. Without the band, you can't stay on those programs long term. With the band, you can do it without feeling deprived for as long as you want to. It's actually an enormous difference and completely understandable why someone might want to do after banding.I'm not advocating it for everyone, but I don't see any real reason to discourage it if someone thinks it could be helpful.

Yay you! Great progress

Lots of people do Weight Watchers, low-carb (i.e. South Beach or Atkins), and Nutrisystem to help them lose weight and to give them structure in eating even after the band. The band helps, but it doesn't do everything-- sometimes that structure is exactly what people need. I say go for it. I see people say all of the time "if I wanted to diet to lose weight, I wouldn't have got the band!" While I can sympathize with that, the fact is, you HAVE to diet (i.e. cut calories) in order to lose weight. The difference between being banded and on Weight Watchers and not-being banded and being on Weight Watchers is twofold: 1) when you have the band, eating the fewer calories required by the diet is easier, because you get full on smaller portions and thus aren't dieting AND starving at the same time, and 2) once you lose the weight, the band will help you keep it off.

Rachel-- Yeah, my 18W was well-worn and well stretched out. I think this is just one of those oddities of fit. My torso is a bit too long for one piece suits and so to get them to cover my large breasts adequately, they have to be a little big so I can use that extra stretch. Lands End is where I got my Tankini's-- I love the quality of their suits (except the dye tends to fade super fast). I just wanted to get something cheaper-- I guess I got what I paid for I KNEW I'd regret not getting that yellow Juicy Couture one-piece at TJ Maxx that I tried on in the spring!

How about turkey pepperoni? It's simple to keep at work, you can serve yourself only the amount you're hungry for, and you get some protein. I admit, I do not watch my fat content so I've never really paid attention and it IS processed, which isn't "clean eating" but I always have it on hand for some simple quick protein.

I am 175, 5'5 (I am actually exactly 5'5" and a half inch, so I never know whether to round down or round up). I am in a 12/10-- I was in 14's at around 200. This just goes to show you that there is no way to tell. It depends on the shape of your body. I have a fairly hour-glass shape, but I'm slightly heavier on top (my dang boobs) than bottom. If you have a straight waist and carry weight low, then a size 14 will take longer.

Go back and talk to your doctor. If he was against lapband surgery, the ethical thing for him to do would be to tell you upfront, not sabotage your medical record after you went through the process. HIPAA law gives you the right to see your medical records, and challenge anything in your medical record. I am not sure how one goes about doing that, but you should start with him and his office . Become familiar with HIPAA and let him know you are familiar with it. Don't get me wrong-- it isn't sueing, but you do have the right for your medical records to be correct. http://privacy.med.miami.edu/glossary/xd_amendment_rights.htm http://medicalrecordrights.georgetown.edu/stateguides/az/az.pdf If you can't get him to resubmit new information, then appeal with the insurance. Good luck. This is truly unconscionable and another piece of evidence that obese people get treated like crap by many old-school doctors who are so behind the medical research they don't even know their "willpower" talks are based on obsolete medical ideas.