Humming Bird

Or ........ you could get your fills and not bother counting calories

The problem is that you don't know if you will be able to tolerate steak or not until you are banded. I can not eat steak no matter how much I chew.

I'm a belly sleeper .....yes, you will. I think it took me about 2 weeks to get back to a belly sleeping position. It helps if you sleep on your side with a pillow next to your belly for a few nights.

For me, the band is not a "tool" because I think of a tool as an object I have to manipulate in some way to make it work. A tool is something I myself have to put effort in to get the job done. The band has worked more like a mechanical device. The device is wrapped around my stomach and does restrict the types of food I am able to eat as well as restricting the amount of food I can eat. I have not eaten a normal size plate of food since July 2009. I lost 100 pounds in the first year with very little effort.

It is so strange that we are all so different and you really don't know how it will work for you until the band is in place and you get some adjustments. I was so desperate to get the weight off I really didn't care if I had to eat gruel the rest of my life. I am happy that I can eat more than gruel, but my list of foods that give me trouble is long. From day one of banded life my stomach has been very sensitive. I can no longer eat pizza, hamburgers, french fries, Pasta .......the list is much longer. I no longer even crave these foods. It's a good thing because these foods made me morbidly obese. I figure I have eaten enough of these foods for a lifetime anyway. Sometimes the lessons are hard learned. I'll give you an example: I think I had only my first fill at this stage....can't remember. I had taken a nap and did not eat lunch. I needed to go pick up my grandson from school. There is a McDonalds on the way, so I figured I could drink a bit of coffee and maybe half a small fry from the drive-thru. I pulled in the "flow lane" at the school where many parents line up and wait. I drank about half a small coffee. I ate about 4-5 french fries. All of a sudden it hit me! OMG! I thought I was going to die! I knew I was going to throw up! There were many people around........ all I could do was grab the McDonalds bag and throw up. There was no avoiding it. so......... no more french fries for me and no more fried food at all. .....lesson learned. After food causes pain, discomfort or puke, it no longer even sounds good.

strange when you post all the time too.....

That's why I don't go to the gym

something just does not sound right about all that why couldn't they treat the infection with antibiotics if the band was fine?

no, never heard of it........ what went wrong?

It just feels very heavy like a blob of dough .... same as bread for me.... not a good feeling at all.

Everyone is different with the pasta issue. This may also change as you get fills. When you do try it just use much caution and go slow. As for me, pasta has been a no go from the beginning and I don't miss it.

So, you have already chosen a lapband doc and know he requires a liquid pre-op diet? I will never understand why some docs put their patients through that. I, along with many other bandsters, did Atkins for 2 weeks as a pre-op diet. It works very well to shrink the liver and is a much more pleasant way to do it.

My surgeon told me to use Adult Centrum chewables and I have stuck with those all along. I also take a couple other things, but not sure they are helping anything. I know the fiber gummies work great, but the others?

My Dr. did not set a goal weight for me. At first I set a weight of 150# because that is where I felt good when I was younger. Since then, I realized 155 is a better number for me at an older age. When I drop below 155 I start looking sickly. I think anyoneone would be at a pretty good place in the normal BMI range. (25 is on the high side of normal, not 22). As others have said, you have to consider so many other things like your build, your age, your fitness level, where you carry your weight.. When you hit a BMI of 25 it is considered 100% of your excess weight is gone I never heard those silly things about the band only working to take off 40-60% of the excess weight until I came here to LBT. I don't undersatnd that. In my own experience, the band worked to take off 100+% with very little effort on my part.

You won't know until you are banded. Some people can eat everything in small portions, but some people can't. Either way, it is so worth it to no longer be morbidly obese. *******oops! just posted in the men's room....sorry guys, I sometimes stumble into the mens room ..... can't help myself.

After that first constipation issue is resolved with some sort of laxitive, you may find it helpful to take some sort of fiber daily. Vitafusion brand fiber gummies (Target) saved me! They are very tasty and melt in your mouth soft.

For me the needle isn't bad at all. It's like getting a shot in general. Once the needle pokes through the skin you don't feel it because it's inside the port. It is really much nicer than I thought it would be. It's tough at first when others around you eat things you can't, but it gets so much better. Now those foods that other people in my family eat don't bother me at all. Just last night I cooked a very nice meal for my family that was all things I can't eat. I was happy to cook a tasty meal for them ...... it made me feel good. I made myself a little salad with some Protein in it and got satisfied just fine. Much of the first part of the journey is attitude. You have to think positive. Instead of thinking, "poor me, I can't eat that anymore." , say to yourself, "It's a good thing I can't eat that anymore because that stuff made me fat."

Beans are a protein in my book, but I don't count, or journal, or track anything.

You have to make sure which one your doc takes, but I used HealthOne. The interest rate was lower for me with them. My min. monthly pmt was around $100, but I made very large payments and paid it off in about 18 months (9,995).

protein is key ......you will get sick of the shakes and things, but you will find that even if the protein puts you over your calories or anything else you are counting, the weight will still melt away. I drank many many many protein shakes in the first year. .....Breakfast, "snack", or just when I felt like I needed something. I never considered a protein drinks any sort of a "cheat". I stuck to my doc's rule of shakes should be 150 cal or lower and 15 or more grams of protein. If you get sick of the milky type order some Nectar brand fruit flavs.

That's true and you are doing well We just have 2 different styles. I did zero "work". I got a couple fills and 100 pounds melted off in 1 year. No matter how we do it, as long as the weight comes off it's a good thing.

pssstt.......... go get a fill Thee-o

Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your LIFE !

It would be very hard to do it exactly the way you would if you had the band. After you get banded you will be amazed on the tiny amount of food you can survive on. I reached my sweet spot very early in the process, so hunger has not been a problem. When you don't have the band and restriction, hunger will get to you. That being said ......... I do like your thinking ..... There are a few things I started before I was banded that helped me quite a bit. I started taking very teeny tiny bites of food no matter what I was eating. I made sure every bite was well chewed. I didn't chew things to a liquid state or chew so much I got grossed out (and still don't even with a pretty tight band). I just made sure every tiny bite was well chewed before it went down the hatch. I watched how other people eat. I am amazed at the large bites and lack of chewing! I ordered sample packs of Protein drinks. I started sipping instead of gulping ..... just some lap-band basics. The not drinking while eating is a good one too.

I am one of those people. The band has taken it away for me. I'm not starving at all. Maybe you have not found your sweet spot or something.