ElfiePoo

Yes sir. :biggrin: .

I was told 4-5 hours. At about 5 hours my stomach tells me it's time to eat *but* I also drink a Protein shake (low carb, low cal) between meals. I don't think I'd last the 5 hours if I hadn't had a Protein Shake 2.5 hours before. .

HB, are you talking about 'throwing up' or does this also include when we slime and it comes back up. Is the slime acidic also? .

I have never *vomited* since being banded. Vomiting, as far as I'm concerned, involves stomach heaving...which is not good for the band. I have had the occasion when something got stuck and I took a big gulp of Water which immediately came right back out with the stuck item, but that is not vomiting. It's more like a rebound effect. I haven't figured out how to eliminate these occurrences since they happen with something I was fine with the day before...and I always pay attention to taking small bites, chewing well and waiting between bites. Some days my band seems tighter than others so I'm putting that down as the cause. I can and do, however, lessen these occurrences by paying attention to the problem foods...those foods that generally give me problems -- eggs, breads, tuna -- and avoid them. I suppose some people are lucky to never have this happen, but I'm not one of them. .

Nothing wrong with real mayo or real butter or real sour cream, etc. Everything in moderation. I use real Hellman's without a tinge of guilt and I put butter and sour cream on my baked potato. Given that I can only manage 2-3 bites of said potato, that's not a lot of butter or sour cream. :biggrin: Oh...and I have had Hellman's lite mayo and it's pretty good despite being half the fat. .

Zero, zip, zilch. However, I lost 14 pounds from my seminar to the date of surgery (no special diet) and maintained my surgery day weight until 4 weeks postop when I had my first fill. From that point until I reached my first temporary restriction (about 3 months postop), I lost another 12-14 lbs. After reaching restriction, I lost 18+ pounds in 3 weeks. Of course, I haven't lost anything in the last 2 weeks, but hey...I can live with that. .

Kerri, It will vary by individual, doctor and insurance requirements. After surgery, I went through each phase of the postop diet in 2-3 days at each phase so by the end of the 2nd week, I was back on solid foods. I have restriction and my typical day looks pretty much like yesterday: Breakfast: Two scoops of Protein powder in 1 cup 2% milk mid-morning: EAS ready made protein shake (110 cal, 3 carbs) Lunch: 3 oz Gorton's herb & garlic fish filet, 1/4 cup steamed broccoli mid-afternoon: EAS protein shake Dinner: 3 oz porterhouse steak, 1/4 cup garlic green Beans, 2 small bites of a baked potato mid-evening: EAS protein shake late night snack: 2 strawberries I usually aim for 2-3 oz of protein, 1/2 cup of vegies and 1/4 cup of carbs (potato, rice, beans, pasta) for dinner and same (minus the carbs) for lunch. Lately, though, I've had to cut my vegies back to 1/4 cup and I don't always get to the carbs at dinner. I just had a fill though so I'm thinking the temporary swelling is the cause. I have a hard time with chicken no matter how it's cooked, tuna fish and bread are no-no's...although crusty french bread I can do now. Most likely because it doesn't get as gummy as regular bread. I've given up on eggs completely. I never drink with meals because I'm asking to upchuck if I do and I always drink my 64 oz of Water. I still can have most of the things I could pre-band...just in smaller quantities. We stopped at Whole Foods on Saturday and got a tomato and basil pizza. It's a thinner crust pizza and I was able to eat about 4 bites with no problem. Then I was full. There was a time when I could eat 2-3 huge slices. Progress is wonderful. .

JT, You probably don't have restriction yet. I have a 12cc band and have 8.75cc and I didn't even get any temporary restriction until I reached almost 8cc. I was told most don't get restriction until between 8 and 9 and a fair number not until they're over 9. I didn't lose hardly anything prior to restriction. Once I had restriction, I lost 18+ pounds in 3 weeks. Restriction makes the difference. Until you have it, you're in the same boat you were pre-band as far as losing weight.

I agree with the Greek Yogurt comments and this is from someone who loves Feta cheese. Give me Dannon any day. .

Oh yeah...and hi everybody! Sorry for being MIA. I had a sudden 'spring cleaning' urge and actually had the energy and ability to do something about it this year so I've been cleaning out and rearranging kitchen cupboards, scrubbing carpets and walls and uprooting spiders for the last several days. My son says he thinks I lost it because I'm going around with my sheepskin duster singing, "Moving day, guys!" as I swipe out a cobweb. I did go in for a fill last Thursday. I wasn't sure if I needed one since I do get stuck on quite a number of things, but after talking to the doc, he said 'getting stuck' is not necessarily an indication of restriction. So after an additional .25cc, I have only been able to eat about 1/2-3/4 cup of food at a meal, which makes me happier, and I'm going to pay closer attention to...and avoid...those things that cause me to get stuck...or to slide. Pasta, beans and rice when eaten alone are slider foods for me. They go right through and I could eat just as much (literally several cups) in 20 minutes now as I could pre-band. If I have it with my evening meal, I'll just have 2 Tbs and eat it last so it sits on top of the things that take a while to go through. I haven't lost anything in 2 weeks. Still sitting solid at the same weight. Not complaining though since I lost 18+ pounds the previous 3 weeks. If it all averages out to 2 lbs per week, I can easily live with that. Now to read through this thread...boy y'all have been busy! .

I'm guessing she misread the article. It's equal parts maple syrup and lemon juice and then you take 3 Tbs of that and dilute it in 8 oz of water and drink it every 3 hours (5 glasses *total* per day) with a couple shakes of cayenne pepper in each glass. I calculated it out and it's not even 1000 calories per day. It's actually not gross. Tastes like lemonade with a maple flavor...not bad if you like maple. Have to admit though that I lost 10 pounds in one week and never felt hungry or craving. I think it's the maple syrup keeping the blood sugar stable. I do this particular fast when I'm feeling sluggish since I get a boost of energy within hours. Haven't felt sluggish though since I got restriction and my carbs have been seriously restricted. .

I'm not a big fish person so I wish that was my problem. I'm the opposite. No problem with white fish (tuna is out), but I get stuck with chicken every time. I'm bummed because I love chicken. Pasta is a no-no for me because it slides right through. I can eat just as much pasta in 20 minutes as I could preband. I'm reaching the point where eating is just not as enjoyable for me as it used to be. Probably a good thing. .

Congratulations, Chris!

J's mom...I discovered that there are tons of Zumba classes around here. I e-mailed the one instructor and asked her what the chances are of me coming out of this without a broken leg or arm...given that I can't even keep in time with Richard Simmons. She said everyone 'gets it' eventually. Ha...she's obviously never met me. So I'm thinking DVD's cuz it does look like fun! However, when I looked them up, it looks like they're over $100. :w00t: Was I looking at the wrong thing? .

BT...good luck tomorrow. I know you'll do well. You have a really good attitude and that goes a long way towards healing. .

Leigha & Jens...congrats on the weight loss. Hey, Leigha...a pound down is still a pound down. Good on you! .

Wait a minute...isn't cortisol the thing that causes you to put on belly fat rather than overall? Great...I'm *never* going to get rid of this buddha belly. :w00t: .

Yep...usually I'm up at 6 a.m. and crash around 10 or 11...but this morning I was up at 4:30 a.m. so I'm going to splurge and go back to bed for an hour. I've been sitting at the computer for about 30 minutes and my feet are like ice. I'm gonna go put 'em on my foot warmer and listen to him yelp...since he's done the same to me. :biggrin: .

I'm ba-a-ck. Wow on the pain patch! I actually slept for 6 hours straight the first night and then 7 hours last night and I'm an "up 2-3x a night to go to the bathroom girl". I feel sooo much better. It's Monday *and* the first day of the month and feeling like the Energizer Bunny...everything is conspiring to remotivate me to get back on track. I kind of derailed a few days this last week. I realize now it was due to pain and tiredness. I've been reading through this thread and am inspired by all of you! I'd comment more but it's only 6 a.m. and I think I'm going to slip back to bed for another hour. Those who can sleep...do. :biggrin: .

roflmao...

Hey ladies, This thread is just what I needed. Despite losing 18+ pounds over the last 3 weeks, I feel like I'm losing my motivation. I'm almost sure it's just my usual February into March cabin fever. I am soooo over winter by this point and I want to get out in my garden but it's buried (literally) under 3-4' snow drifts. The constant pain from my shoulder hasn't helped either *but* my husband went off and bought some of those pain Patches, so I'm looking forward to some sleep tonight and I'll be back to my posivite self in the morning. In the meantime, I think I'm going to catnap next to the fire place in the recliner... .

Your english is just fine. :wink2: Every time you get a fill, the band will get tighter. You may be too tight for a week or two after a fill due to temporary swelling, but at some point there you should be able to sip Water (not gulp) with no problem. You should also be able to eat about 1 cup of food. I eat 2-3 oz of Protein, 1/4-1/2 cup of steamed vegies and 1/4 cup of carbs (potatoes, rice, Beans, Pasta or fruit) and by the time or maybe before, I am full. If, after eating, you feel as if your food is in your throat or have a pain in the center of your chest, you're either eating too much or something is stuck. Maybe you could give an idea of what you're eating for your meals? .

By day 8 postop, my doc had me on mushies or soft food (can't remember) and salad would not have qualified. A week later, I was back on solid foods. That said, I doubt you did any harm.

I agree with everyone else, but the above reason is the main reason I wouldn't mess with my band. Just because I have restriction now at 8.5cc, it doesn't mean I'll have it again if I get an unfill for a vacation. If you get an unfill, you could spend weeks or months trying to get to where you have restriction and it's probably going to take you the next few months just finding what that point is. Do you really want to mess with it once you do? As someone else said, there will always be a reason why we want to stuff ourselves. It's why we needed the band to start with. As has been said in so many other threads...nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. .