minimeme

I was about 4 months out before I tried eating a steak. It went ok, no problems. chicken cooked fresh was introduced maybe 2 months into it, if memory serves. I have never had any problems with fish. But just be careful if you just had a fill. I had some issues with things that had never given me issues for 2 weeks after my first and only fill.

I have some small bento boxes I use to pack a lunch. They are Japanese school children lunch boxes and are very small containers. Ramekins are nice too. You can get them pretty much anywhere, even Walmart. They are typically 6 oz or 1/2 cup. I use them when I am going to make chicken/black bean salad. I use one for the black Beans, one for the chicken, and heat them up in the ramekin. Then dump the beans on a plate, top with chicken, add grated cheese and 1 table spoon of mango salsa, 1 tablespoon of guacamole, and 1 tsp of sour cream. Yummy!

I didnt get a fill my first visit, so it was 10 weeks before I had a fill. Like others said, you need this time to heal. You want your band to set correctly so you do not have problems later with slips and stuff.

When I sit down to eat, I make sure no drinks are close. If I go out to eat, I tell them no water, no drinks. When I am at home, I dont put them on the table while eating. It helps. Too easy to just reach over and take a sip if it is there.

Panda Express has a kids meal and you can get veggies instead of rice/noodles. I am just worried about the MSG content, havent had confirmation that they use it but I suspect. Starbucks Vivanno Protein drinks. I like the banana chocolate. Pollo Campero has a grilled chicken with a side of Beans and fresh lime wedges I do sometimes, carefully. I read on here where people were eating refried beans and was eating them daily for a week and my weight loss stalled. So I dont eat them anymore.

I dont like the gummy Vitamins, bought a tub and am stuck with it. I just really dont care for suppliments that mimic kiddie candy. I am currently using Bariatric Advantage chewable multi and calcium. As soon as those are used up, I am going to switch to Bloomin Nutritions chewable prenatal vitamins. I ordered a tub of those and they are great. They are a soft chewable cube like a chewable calcium, but they dont try to mimic kiddie candy. They have a very sophisticated taste (citrus ginger), which I prefer.

You are doing wonderful, congratulations!

With it being so small and a family run business, chances are they are going to find out when they get their insurance review. So, if it were me I would not lie. I would simply tell them you need time off for health issues and leave it at that. If they push, tell them you are having surgery but try to avoid giving them the opening to ask too many questions. Also, with it being so small they are exempt from a lot of the federal regulations regarding disabilities, discrimination and such. (before anyone jumps on me, notice I said federal and look it up yourself. FMLA cover businesses with over 50 employees).

I have heard others say surgery can cause water retention weight gain. So give it a week or so and see how it all works its way out of your body. I didn't own a scale immediately after surgery so I don't know what my weight was doing then.

I saw my doctor for the first time since banding. I didn't ask for her recommendation prior to doing it, I didn't even tell her. She was very cautionary and said she has never seen anyone be successful in the long run of the patients she sees with the lap band. And she stressed making good habits as they will be what determines how success you are in the long run. I have got to get off the protein shakes. When I told her about relying on them, she said "listen to yourself. You know what you need to do, so why aren't you doing it?" It was a rhetorical question, but what popped in my head was LAZINESS. Laziness is the only thing keeping me from eating correctly. I got to do better. I have to concentrate on making permanent changes instead of just watching the scale go down.

I saw my doctor for the first time since banding. I didn't ask for her recommendation prior to doing it, I didn't even tell her. She was very cautionary and said she has never seen anyone be successful in the long run of the patients she sees with the lap band. And she stressed making good habits as they will be what determines how success you are in the long run. I have got to get off the protein shakes. When I told her about relying on them, she said "listen to yourself. You know what you need to do, so why aren't you doing it?" It was a rhetorical question, but what popped in my head was LAZINESS. Laziness is the only thing keeping me from eating correctly. I got to do better. I have to concentrate on making permanent changes instead of just watching the scale go down.

Breakfast is usually a Protein shake, yogurt or cottage cheese. lunch is usually another protein shake or some yogurt or cottage cheese or some sliced cheese with sliced lunchmeat. dinner is usually grilled chicken or fish with lightly cooked/sauted veggies. On a bad day it will be half a can of spinach or half a can of Soup. Snacks are fruit with cottage cheese, yogurt or cheese. I know I rely to heavily on Protein drinks and they defeat the purpose of the band. I also don't cook and eat out too much.

I heard the commercial on these, thought briefly about it then worried about my band. The premise is you eat one of these and drink a glass of water with it, it then expands to fill your stomach. Is expanding food and water really good for your band/pouch?

Im 5'11", but I had a girlfriend who was fairly close in height and scale who wore a 32.

The band has a whoooole lot of aftercare. Constant fills and even some unfills. food getting stuck. Being able to eat more than you should of some foods, and intolerant of some you would like to eat. A friend has the sleeve and they do not have the issues I have with the band. They claim they do not have the issues with hunger I do because the stomach produces hormones which regulate hunger and when you remove so much of it, you cut down on it. Having said that, I chose the band because I didnt want my insides messed with. It would be my luck, they would cut out 80 percent of my stomach then I would wind up with some medical condition/disease affecting what is left of it. The band is as invasive as I would agree too. If something happens and I cannot tolerate it, I wont do anything else. Just wanted to add: If you cannot afford aftercare, you should stay away from the band. We have had a few people post here who cant afford fills and it isnt working for them.

My boyfriend always says, "loosing weight is 80% what you put in your mouth. How good you look afterwards is 80% exercise". He looks damned good. So I am gonna go with what he says. (not trying to say anything about what was posted, just adding on)

I do regret it, but it was necessary for me. I wasnt trying to be skinny. I had serious health issues. If it werent for those, I was content with myself, size and all. I know, the horrors how could someone actually be happy at a size 22.:thumbup:

Or maybe he is saying (without saying it) that he was lucky to get you and only got you because you were overweight. Once you are no longer overweight, you will be too good for him. One of the things that has always served me well in relationships is to remember if there are two ways of looking at something rather than see is the most negative, give your partner the benefit of the doubt and take it the best way possible. Just my opinion, but he is worried out of his own self esteem issues, you see it as negative towards you because of your own self esteem issues. Give him a kiss and tell him you are lucky to have him and if that dont work, tell him to think of all the new sexual positions you will be able to do better. Give him something to look forward to.

My thin sister who has never been even close to having any extra pounds obsesses over food. I had always assumed it was not an issue with her because she has always been so thin. Then when I got the band, we spoke and she said, "dont you think I am hungry? I am hungry all the time, I just dont eat". I have noticed, even though I am not at goal that I no longer obsess over what I am going to get to eat each day. It use to start a couple hours after Breakfast, I would sit and plan which cafes I could go get lunch at and then which place to have dinner. My whole life was planned around eating. All the waitstaff around town knew me by name and when I do out out to eat now, they all comment on why they never see me anymore. I think they miss my tips. Also had a funny thing happen the other day. Saw someone I hadnt seen in several months and he said, "you look so good girl. Lost all that weight, you have to let me take you out to eat". My reward to loosing weight? Food. LOL

Knowledge is power. Knowing what your body is doing is important. I weight each morning after I get up. What it does for me is lets me know what is going on and if I need to make corrections. My weight fluctuates. I also have a cheapo set of ring sizers and measure my fingers to get an idea of how much Water I may be carrying. My weight has gone up as much as 16 lbs in 2 days, but I knew it was water. If I go up a couple days in a row, I will evaluate what I am eating. For me, waiting a week wouldnt work. Daily keeps me reassessing my meals and exercise.

Bread is hit or miss with me. Dont eat it often, but I have sat and ate it at a restraunt without issues. Just not the first couple of weeks post fill.

112 lbs. Havent hit a plateau yet. Loosing much faster than I expected.

I remember the first time I stepped on the scale and it read 2xx. Wonderful feeling.

I dont think the men arent looking because you are a size 10. More than likely you are either not understanding or your low self esteem keeps them away. I have a really, really good looking muscular boyfriend who is 10 years younger than me. I was a size 22 when he first asked me out on valentines day 2006. I have never payed attention to the guys who didnt pay attention to me. Honestly, I felt it a blessing.