ElfiePoo

No hidden calories...at least since Friday when I was back from vacation and cooking my own food (versus eating out). I put every single thing into Fitday.com. I'm fluctuating between 1200-1250 calories a day and carbs are averaging around 40-65. Since Friday my days have been pretty much the same. 1 egg cooked in 1 tsp butter with 1/2 slice of oat bran bread for breakfast. Lunch and dinner are 3-4 oz of fish or chicken, 1 cup steamed vegies (broccoli, brussel sprouts, green beans) or salad and 1/4 cup rice or potatoes. If I feel the need, I'll drink a low carb/low cal protein shake made with almond milk mid-meal. At least before when I was maintaining and not losing, I accepted it because I knew my bad days were probably balancing out the good days...but now I'm doing everything right and I'm *gaining*. :smile2: .

ROFLMAO. You'd think at that level they'd have a proofreader. .

Jaffa, I'm sorry you had a defective band, but the vast majority of people have had no problems. The only extra consideration self-pay has is the cost of the fills which could amount to another couple thousand dollars depending on how much they charge for a fill. My surgeon said if insurance doesn't pay for fills, they will not charge more than $125 for a fill. The sleeve has its own set of problems. With the sleeve, your 'pouch' is whatever size it is and I know several people who've had the sleeve who still deal with hunger issues because it's not adjustable like the band is. It's why I chose the band. .

My doc said 60-80gm of Protein a day. I usually eat 1 egg for Breakfast or a low cal/low carb Protein shake. Then lunch and dinner are 3-4 oz of protein, 1 cup steamed vegies and 1/4 c. carbs (rice, potato, etc.). Just looked up the Morningstar veggie patty on fitday.com and it says that 1 patty is a serving at 81 calories and 9.8gm of protein. Three patties would be approx. similar to 4 oz of cooked chicken. .

Walked for an hour this morning (4 miles) and then went to aerobics with my mother-in-law. The only thing that made it bearable was to stick my headphones on and work to P!nk's 'Funhouse' album. 'In your face' kind of music...suits my mood this morning. .

Not having a good morning. Another headache and I gained *another* 2 lbs. WTH??!! I'm eating 1200 calories a day, logging everything I stick in my mouth (including sugar free breath mints) into Fitday.com, walking at a brisk pace for 1 hr each day and I'm gaining weight????? Argggghhh!

Nope...wish the band had been available when I was 16 and already 70 pounds overweight...and gaining every year.

Yes. I find when I don't, I'm tired and struggle with staying on plan. I usually start my morning with a mug of decaf tea (about 12 oz) and then carry a 20 oz bottle of Water around with me all day. I make sure I drink one bottle between each of my meals and one in the evening. I don't find it difficult at all to get my water in. I've also found that I am not as tempted to eat between meals (no cravings) now that I'm drinking water instead of crystal lite. Even the artificial sweetness made me crave sweet things...and I'm generally not a sweet eater. .

I did manage to 'drag' myself out of the house this morning for my walk and told my mother-in-law to keep a brisk pace otherwise I'll just stroll. She's 81 years old and walks so fast she's passing the 24 year old joggers at aerobics. We did 3.5 miles and I managed to do 15 minute miles! Woohoo! Best of all my headache was gone and I felt energized by the end of the walk. I managed to get quite a bit done today as a result! Now I think I'll go make a cup of sugar free hot chocolate and splurge with a small shot of whipped cream on top. .

My insurance was billed $28,000. Seems high when I see ads here for $5,000. Gotta love the American insurance game. :laugh: .

Judy, I thought I knew what the sweet spot was and ended up being overfilled. I finally had a long talk with my doc and he said if I was taking small bites and chewing well and still getting stuck a lot, then I needed to get an unfill. I think the sweet spot is the place where, when we eat thoughtfully (paying attention to our body and our meal), we know it's time to put down the fork...or when we eat what we know is reasonable, we're able to put down the fork and feel content to our next meal. I have 7cc in a 14cc band. I was up to 8.5cc and getting stuck all the time. Now at 7cc, I can eat anything I 'want' but I do have to take smaller bites and chew well or I will get stuck. I can also eat as much as I could preop *if I wanted* but I fix my portion, I take my time eating it (usually takes me 20-30 minutes) and I push my plate away. The difference between now and preop is that I do feel content after eating...something that didn't happen in the past. Perhaps that's what true 'full' is. I don't know. At any rate, I would say to thoughtfully pay attention to the size of your bites (maybe eat with toddler's silverware?), chew thoroughly and pay attention to what you're getting stuck on. For awhile there, I had to give up eggs and chicken because it didn't matter how well I chewed or how small the bite, they always set me to sliming. Then, if you're still getting stuck, you might consider getting a slight unfill. Also, not sure how long ago your fill was, but giving it a few weeks to allow any swelling to go down. Your problem may only be temporary. .

Morning bandsters... My body is rebelling at the thought of going back to work this morning (still wants to be on vacation)...even though I don't have to leave home to do so. I woke up at 6:30 a.m. with a raging headache that kept me up for most of the last half of the night so I took it off to a hot shower to drown it. Didn't work. Despite that I am going for a walk this morning as soon as there's enough light to safely walk our country roads. Maybe I'll get lucky and it will get rid of the headache...or at least motivate me. I'm having one of those mornings where I don't want to do anything. I know it will get better once I get back into my routine. Ah well...have a good one y'all! Melody

Christie: So life is good? :puke: Denise: Happy Birthday! Lobster? I am so jealous. I used to teach school on an island in Maine and was able to eat lobster every few days. I traded homemade bread with the fisherman across the street. Nothing like stepping out your front door in the morning to find a 5 gallon bucket full of lobsters. HB: Stick with it. Each one gets easier. My first quilt was a lap quilt for my new baby...'Round the World' pattern. I can't even tell you how many times I had to take out a seam. The last one I did was a queen sized Double Irish Chain. Didn't have to redo even one seam.

From the other side of the fence...My doc had me back on regular foods at 14 days post op. I know others whose docs had them back on regular food 3 days postop. So, based on that, I don't see a problem with the fact that you were eating regular food. It is not unusual to be able to eat postop just as you did preop until you have some sort of restriction in your band. Depending on many factors, you may not have restriction for months. My suggestion would be to start making good choices now and trying to eat reasonable proportions. Don't just eat because you can. .

I use almond milk which is not really milk. It's my understanding that if you're lactose intolerant, you can drink almond milk. If you're just trying to avoid carbs, it's also much lower in carbs than milk. .

Only you can answer the question of "is it worth it". Getting insurance approval may be tough, depending on your insurance, but I've known banded people who only struggled with 60 pounds...my surgeon being one. I wish the band had been available when I was 16 years old and 180 pounds with a weight that was steadily climbing each year and an out of control appetite. .

I would go back to the doctor and ask her why she will not recommend you for surgery when you know she has for others. I would also ask her what the point is of going on a 3 month 1200 calorie diet when your current weight is proof that this has never worked in the past. If you need prior approval from a regular physician before you can see a specialist in your plan, I'd call the specialist and ask if they can give you the name of one of the doctors who is most likely to cooperate with you for the approval. If you don't need prior approval, go straight to the surgeon. .

Not worth worrying about. According to my doc, in order for you to stretch your pouch, you'd have to go for several months (more than a year?) of stuffing yourself to the point of pain every time you ate. If you've ever taken that one bite too many (when you have some restriction), you know how painful and uncomfortable it is. Now imagine doing that every meal, every day for months. .

I had difficulty with bread and eggs right from the beginning. I eventually eliminated them from my diet. I was getting fills every 2-3 weeks and at some point was overfilled...and stayed that way...for several months and would get stuck on just about anything good for me...salads, Protein, vegies. After getting 2.5cc taken out I could eat anything. Now a month after getting 1cc put back in, I can still eat anything, but have to make sure to take small bites and chew thoroughly. It takes me 20-30 minutes to eat my meal. .

This is only the 10th. If you're not leaving until the end of the month, you have time to see if this will resolve itself since it may just be temporary swelling...as long as you're able to drink liquids. I would call your doctor and make sure you can get it in for a slight unfill (make the appt now and cancel if you don't need it) should you find this does not get better.

Kim, I had no problems eating things like tortilla chips even when I was overfilled and couldn't eat things like chicken, steak, broccoli, etc. so restriction may not help either. You don't need to give them up though...just rethink how you eat them. Tortilla chips don't have to be bad if you can make them a rare treat. Weigh out that 1 oz or so into a bowl and put the bag away...and don't go back for another helping. .

In another month I will be 1 year postop and, like the vast majority of people I see here, will only have lost around 40-50 pounds since surgery. I expected to lose a lot more than that. I expected it to be a lot easier than it has been. I expected the band to work in a completely different way than it has actually worked. Yes, I did the research and I asked all the right questions...which led me to these expectations and being overfilled. I was told the band would tell me when I was full, so I kept getting fills until it did. Unfortunately, by that point, it also made it almost impossible to eat most foods except sliders. Getting stuck became the norm. I finally said 'enough' and had them take out 1/3 of the fill. I stayed there for 7 weeks because it was such a relief to not get stuck on real food and then went in for a fill. What I've come to realize in the last month since that fill is that my band is not going to tell me when I'm full *BUT* it does make me take small bites and chew thoroughly and if I forget, will remind me with a stuck episode. As a result, I eat more slowly. I portion out my meal and I never go back for seconds. It takes me about 30 minutes to finish my meal and I'm always the last one done. I cannot go 4-5 hours to my next meal. Perhaps that has more to do with the fact that I'm a diabetic and need to eat more frequently to keep my blood sugar stable, but that's ok. My mid-meal 'pick me ups' are a low carb/low cal Protein shake all the time because I'm training my body to not expect 'food' in between meals. I suppose I could go in and keep tweaking my band until I get to that magical sweet spot, but I'm beginning to think that sweet spot is in our head. Someone once said it's too bad we can't band our brain...but I think, in my case, that's what has finally happened. I've stopped looking for the 'expected' and have start listening to my body instead. .

Yes, that's it exactly. I was still looking for what I previously understood 'full' to mean...and I just wasn't getting there. Now, I just portion out what I know is enough (about 3-4 oz of Protein, 3/4 cup steamed vegies or a salad and maybe 1/4 cup of carbs if I still feel like it) and stop. Many times 'enough' is reached by the time I finish my vegies and I honestly can't tell you how I know it's 'enough'...just that I do. I detest exercising but have come to the reluctant conclusion that my insulin resistance (and thus my blood sugars) are not going to resolve without 'exercising' <blech>. Watching my carbs and lowering my calories to 1200 just hasn't been enough and, to be honest, while the weight loss is nice, the biggest reason I got the band was because I didn't want to be on meds the rest of my life (if possible) and I don't want to lose my kidneys. Fortunately, the weight I've lost over the last 11 months makes it possible for me to get out and walk without pain. .

Yes, and that was part of what I had to get my head around. I may not have lost what I 'expected' to lose, but I have lost...and kept it off. The band may not be giving me the full feeling I 'expected' to get, but it is controlling how fast I can eat...so I'm eating less as a result. I've had a love/hate relationship with this band for the past 11 months but I think we're settling into a comfortable relationship which is a good thing because 'divorce' is not an option. :biggrin: .

Six weeks. .