ElfiePoo

How did your fill go, Todd? Here's hoping it's *the one*. I had my 6th (?) fill last Thursday and yeah baby, I can finally see the difference in what I'm eating and how little it takes to make me full and keep me full. Nirvana. .

As someone already said, Protein shakes don't make you gain weight...eating too many calories does. I drink EAS shakes because they're low calorie and low carb and high protein. I usually drink one for breakfast and make it with 2% milk and half a banana. The rest of the time (mid-meals and one in the evening), it's just the shake made with Water or the readymade. For me, the shakes are a way of getting the protein and calories I need, particularly since I'm not eating a lot since my last fill. .

I'll ditto what Mel said. Before my last fill I was still able to eat almost as much as I could before banding. My last fill 5 days ago brought me up to 8.5cc and I think (knock on wood) I may have hit the sweet spot. I was so sick of Protein shakes for breakfast that I decided to try my old standby of a scrambled egg and toast this morning. It took me about 25 minutes but I got the whole egg down and about half a piece of extremely thin toast. lunch was the other half of my leftover toast with a tablespoon of Peanut Butter spread over it. dinner ended up being 3/4 cup of beef stew (sans the gravy) that had beef, carrots and potatoes in it. I did have my usual low cal, low carb Protein Shakes mid-meal and will have another this evening just to keep my calories and protein to a reasonable level. I haven't been hungry or craving even once in the last 5 days. Well, ok...I was craving to bake but not necessarily because I wanted to eat it (see my post 'snow day'). Hang in there ladies. There is light at the end of the tunnel. .

Nah...I was always hotter. Extra padding, dontcha know. :thumbup: .

That's the word! Hollow! I told my husband that since my last fill I've been really restricted (some most likely due to swelling) and have only been able to eat about 3/4 of a cup of food or less (depending on what it is) and I'm not hungry but I do feel 'off'. When you said you felt 'hollow', that describes exactly how I've been feeling! It's not bad...just 'different'. I'm not sure if that feeling will ever go away for me since I have 40 years of walking away from the table 'stuffed'. . .

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and suggestions. I'm 5 days post fill and still pretty tight (for the first time) so I haven't been getting a whole lot to eat that satisfies the taste buds. So I'm kind of afraid if I make anything, even sugarfree, I'll binge just because it's something to excite the taste buds. But it's 7 p.m. here in the snowy midwest and I think if I made it through this much of the day, I can make it through another couple of hours. We'll see what the morning brings but I'm usually pretty motivated in the mornings. One step at a time...I guess. Hope everyone in the path of this storm is keeping warm and toasty! .

Why wait a month? If you're still able to eat to excess and hungry, call them up and tell them you want another fill. Mine will do them every 2 weeks. My first fill was 3cc and second fill was 3cc and I didn't have any restriction after my fills (not even temporary) until I had about 7.5cc. Now at 8.5 (in a 12cc band) I think I have restriction...or at least still do 5 days after my fill. .

Nothing will happen *now*...but when you start getting fills and restriction, a couple possible scenarios. One, if you take small sips, the water will go down, but it has a tendency to help slide your food through...defeating the purpose of the band. We don't want to slide our food through because it is the full pouch that will give us the satisfied feeling and keeping us from being hungry for 4-5 hours after a meal. Another is that if you take too big of sips, it will not only fill up your pouch before you can eat the food that you need to keep you full...meaning you will be hungrier sooner or it will go down, shift things around and come right back up. I continued to drink with my meals until I started getting fills. Then I got a crash course in why no drinking with meals (since I'm a gulper and not a sipper). It didn't take long to cure me. :cursing: .

Congratulations!! What a milestone! .

I have a 12cc Realize band. I think I might be about .25cc too tight since I am only able to eat about 1/2 cup of food and we're aiming for 1 cup, but I want to give it a couple weeks to make sure it's not just temporary swelling. I figure any weight I lose in the meantime is just a bonus. :cursing: .

I think the thread is quiet because nobody can find it unless someone posts. I always forget about this thread until someone posts and I get an e-mail notification and think, "Oh right". I'm now down 35 lbs. and I think I may actually have hit my sweet spot at 8.5cc. Had a fill last Thursday and still have restriction. Knocking on wood that it lasts because I'm finally starting to see some serious drop. .

Personally, I'm not into the whole 'lying' thing so I'd just tell them I'm having elective surgery and if they're brass enough to ask, would tell them it's 'personal and I don't wish to discuss it'. As someone already said, in the U.S. you aren't required to tell them. They'll probably have more fun letting their imaginations run wild about what you could possibly be getting done. .

Right. I forgot not everyone is a short stump like me. I'm only 5'3. I've always said I'm not too fat...I'm just too short. :cursing: .

A 22? I want to shop in your stores! When I was 330 I was wearing 28's. At 260 I was wearing 24's! Can't wait to go buy new pants now that I'm down 35 pounds!

I tried them. They were a waste of money in my opinion. Didn't make me feel full at all. .

Breakfast is either a Protein shake made with milk and half a banana or 1 egg with 1 slice of toast. Since my last fill (5 days ago), it's been a protein shake because I can't manage either the egg or the toast. lunch is 3 oz of protein and 1/2 cup of steamed vegies. My favorite lunch is to mix a bit of lite mayo (not fat free...yuck) into some tuna or chopped chicken and just a bit of fresh cilantro, scoop the seeds out of a tomato and stuff the tomato with it. dinner is 3 oz of protein, 1/2 cup of steamed vegies and 1/4 cup of carbs (Pasta, rice, potato, etc.) In between meals and mid-evening, I drink a low carb, low cal protein shake to help boost my daily protein so I won't feel hungry. Between that and the Water, I feel pretty full all day. I keep my meals pretty simple and don't snack in between meals, so I don't feel the need to journal. If you haven't lost in 2 months, I would recommend journaling because you're obviously taking in enough calories to maintain your current weight and it might benefit you to see where they're coming from. .

First, the postop diet seems to be somewhat arbitrary. Some people are back on solids within days of their surgery. My doc had me back on solids within 2 weeks. Second, it takes a lot more to get your band to slip than just eating something you think you shouldn't. Second, according to my doc, part of the stomach is folded up over the band and sewed to keep the band in place. The only 'slips' he's seen are from people who were throwing up violently within the first month of surgery. Throwing up means heaving stomach...not the thing that happens when you drink something too fast and it goes down and right back up. Just remember to take small bites and chew thoroughly and don't drink with your meals. If you *must*, take small sips and you shouldn't have any problems. However, once you start getting fills and some restriction, that may not be the case. I have restriction and if I make the mistake of taking even a small sip with a meal, it's a tossup (ar ar...pun intended) whether I'll get to the bathroom before that Water comes right back up. .

My doc said alcohol was ok after I was back on solid foods. I don't drink alcohol but I would guess that if you're eating only 1/2-1 cup of food at a meal, the alcohol could hit you faster.

If you click on my ticker below, it will take you to the ticker factories website. Underneath the little box where it says to 'enter your pin', there's a choice to 'create your own ticker'. Just follow the bouncing prompts to choose which graphics you want. Then it will give you two choices of codes to cut and paste. Choose the IMG code. Put your cursor in the box, hold the control key down and hit the 'A' key. This will select everything in the box. Then hold the control key down and hit the 'C' key. This copies it. Now come back to this forum and click on the 'User CP' at the top of the screen. On the left side, scroll down until you see "Signature". Click on it. Paste the text you copied into the box by holding the Control key down and then hitting the 'V' key. Save it. Voila...all done. .

It's possible that the pill was stuck and now what you're dealing with is some temporary swelling. How are you this morning? P.S. I'd call the doc and ask for a liquid med and not take any more chances.

How many cc's in your band and how many does your band hold? Without the proper restriction, your band isn't even a tool...it's just a piece of plastic. Even once we have restriction, we may still need adjustments along the way. If you are hungry (should be able to go 4 hours or so after a meal without being hungry) and/or able to eat to excess (more than a cup of food), then you don't have restriction...assuming you aren't drinking with your meals and/or eating slider foods.

My doctor was quick to remind me that this may seem like a 'nothing' deal because we're in and out within hours, but it is major surgery nonetheless. It takes time for our bodies to heal from trauma to the body and the anesthetic used during surgery. Be patient with yourself. Do get up and move around. The more you do, the faster you will work the toxins out of your body. Do drink your Water. Your organs work more efficiently and you'll feel less exhausted. I was back at work the day after surgery...and promptly went home after 2 or 3 hours and took a nap. The following day it was better and continued to get better every day. You will too. :cursing: .

Sarah, I felt the same way. Then I calculated how many calories I needed to maintain my surgery weight vs. how many needed to maintain my goal weight of 140. I was dismayed to find that it's only somewhere around 300 calories a day...not enough to even lose 2 lbs per week. However, if I drop my calories down to 1200 per week, that gives me the 500 per day I need to lose that 2 measly little pounds. Keep in mind too that it's not immediate. You may have been on clear liquids for a week and a half, but what'd you eat the week prior to that? Another consideration is how many calories in that liquid? Additionally, your activity level (calories expended) may have dropped as a result of postop recovery. Are you just as active now...or less so? Bottom line is that our loss or gain comes down to simple math -- calories in vs calories expended. Remember, this is a band...not a bypass. Our weight loss will be slow and gradual and most (there are exceptions) people really don't start losing until they've reached restriction...which, depending on how soon and often you get your fills, may be months...if you let your doctor set the schedule. .

They just need to hang out with a better class of people...period. My husband's family are all thin and they are the nicest people I have ever known. Courteous, respectful and truly caring of others. I am so blessed to be a part of this family. My family (aunts, uncles and cousins right on up to my grandparents) now...geez. With rare exception they are all overweight and all *biotches*. They're an advertisement for euthenasia. Hmmm...interesting. It just occurred to me that the sweet branch of my family are not overweight. So much for stereotypes. :cursing:

Ok, it's only .1 but I am officially below a 40 BMI! What a way to start the week! .