happy2lose

Please try not to get discouraged. Like the previous poster said, it is a slow process. Once you get good restriction you wont feel deprived. I am satisfied on very little nowadays. I know it is difficult for you right now, especially with all the holiday goodies around but it's only food. Put it into perspective. When I began this process it was pretty slow and I have very little patience. If I would have realized last April when I had my surgery that I would already be down 87 pounds by Christmas, I would have been much more satisfied with my band. Looking back on this past year I realize that I really have lost this weight pretty quickly and painlessly. The big thing to remember is that the band is only a tool. Your tool will not work properly until it is in proper working order. Once you are perfectly restricted you will begin losing slow and steady. It is the slow and steady that will prepare you for keeping this weight off the rest of your life. So please hang in there and prepare to change your life for the better. Regards, Donna

The best way to handle cravings is to change your focus. Go for a long walk and keep busy.

Liver shrinking diets are quite common for people with a BMI above 50. Please call your doctor and clarify the 300 calorie per day diet. It just doesn't sound right. Lien protein and a veggie for each meal will shrink your liver, there is no need to starve yourself. We bandsters can't even survive on 300 calories per day.

Happy holidays to you Jessica. Thank you.

We all stumble. It's okay to stumble as long as you get right back on track as soon as you realize it. Falling off the wagon and not getting back on is what you should avoid. Trust me, I have had weeks where I gain weight or don't lose because I ate more then I should or ate the wrong things and so will you. Just get back up and start again. This is a long journey. You didn't put the weight on over night and it will take a while to get it off. Working out regularly helps to keep me on track because I work so darn hard that I don't want to blow it.

Minxz, I was just like you. Not necessarily the 2 week part but I would not stick with dieting or exercising long at all in the past. I went into surgery with the mindset that I will not fail this time. I think what has helped me to be successful so far is pure determination. Have you seen the movie What Is Eating Gilbert Grape? If you have not, I highly recommend you rent it and watch it. I don't want to put my family through the pain and humiliation of my obesity ever again and especially if I were to die this way. I hate exercise but I found ways to enjoy it. I joined Curves and was fortunate enough to have clicked with the owner. I have great support at Curves and many cheerleaders keeping me motivated. I also discovered that riding my bicycle is fun now that I have built up the muscles to climb hills and stamina to ride long distances. I think what I am trying to say is that if you find activity you can find enjoyment in, that it is not a chore, it can be fun. I hate to sweat and find it very unpleasant. It is small steps and small victories that keep me determined. For instance, I noticed the shadow of my husband and I walking into a restaurant the other day. Instead of my shadow being huge by comparison to my husband's, it was about the same size. I can put on my husband's bathrobe when I get out of the shower instead of my old huge 3X size robe I can wear a men's large. Just small victories are really important. Plus I weigh everyday. While this doesn't help many others, it helps me see the affect that eating a Christmas cookie or two or three have on my weight. It is making myself accountable daily. Before beginning this journey the only time I weighed was when I had a doctor visit. Anyway, you need to find your own motivators. Perhaps you need to remind yourself daily of the horrors you have experienced being fat. Maybe you need to change up your menu when you get bored or change your exercise routine to keep yourself interested. Just don't give up trying. The motivation you need is within you. You just need to find it.

It's really not a good idea to compare what fill level works for somebody else to what is working for you. Everyone is different and with all the different bands on the market there really isn't any comparison. Just go by how YOU feel!

Aw, congratulations to you! What a great feeling!

I am in total agreement with this statement! I also have thyroid disease and a very slow metabolism and must count calories, carbs and protein to keep losing regularly. Everyone is different! I have to exercise like crazy to drop weight as some people don't have to exercise at all.

I was scared to have the surgery but I knew if I didn't I stood a greater risk of death from obesity. I have lost 85 pounds in 8 months. I have done this while dealing with some pretty awful personal stuff and family tragedy and did it without turning to food for comfort. I am proud of myself today. Having this surgery has been one of the best things I have ever done for myself.

I don't measure or weigh anything except myself haha

LollyMoe, I am so, so sorry for your losses. It is so hard to deal with it this time of year. You sound like a really nice lady and I hope you have a very merry Christmas.

Congratulations on your commitment to be healthier. I know making a decision is tough so I am very happy for you. Good luck with your journey.

Before you are so quick to correct me on my post, I think you need to realize that potatoes contain 63 grams of carbs. This is more carbs then I choose to eat in a week while trying to lose weight. Since you are still in the very early stages of your journey perhaps you should be focusing on better, leiner Protein choices.

It appears you are still in the mushy stage??? If so, try and focus on lower calorie soft foods. I have not eaten potatoes since my surgery 8 months ago because they are too fattening. You can eat oatmeal with some Protein powder added to boost the Protein. Fat free Greek yogurt is very high in protein. You can have cottage cheese, beans-excellent, low cal source of protein. Get creative. Make some home made chili for the cold days.

You should call the doctor's office and tell them you need another fill. Each and every doctor's fill schedule vary. But if you say you need a fill they should listen to you. FYI, Only in the first couple of weeks did I lose 3 pounds or more. The loss does slow down. Now I am lucky to lose 1-2 pounds each week and 1-2 pounds is what doctors say is normal.

I too am finding the holidays difficult to deal with. Not so much because I miss the food but because of the people that I have lost. I always get depressed this time of year, but this year it seems harder then years past. I wonder if this is because I am not turning to food to comfort me as I have in past years. Not really sure! My friend, she owns the Curves I work out at, told me that maybe I wouldn't lose any weight this month and I should just focus on not gaining. This comment really made me feel much better. She's right, so what! I'm still working out, I'm eating better, not perfect-just better then years past. She also told me to be prepared to get back on track in January. Well, I decided myself to get back on track that very day and I did. No more excuses for me! No more excuses not to work out everyday, no more excuses for having a margarita or two, no more junk food. Like Nike says, JUST DO IT! Words to live by don't ya think!

This is exactly my plan of attack and seems to be working okay. I really don't eat any fruit. Well, I do sometimes have a banana with Protein Powder but haven't in several months. I stayed pretty focused on protein for the most part but have begun to sway from this approach lately. I just eat the foods I can tolerate but just don't each much of it. I've finally started to lose again this week. Yay!

Hey Elfie, Years ago when I was going to Lindora I would fast a day each week but I'm never going to diet again and fasting just seems too much like a diet to me. A weird thing is going on for me though, I just don't have an appetite lately and I don't really care if I eat. I just can't seem to make myself eat the foods I've been eating for the past 8 months. The good news is that I finally lost a pound. Seems like forever since I've lost. Not really, it's only been a month. Let us know tomorrow how the fasting worked out for you. Maybe it will change my mind about fasting.

Erin, Just do it! You know what you need to do, make a plan and follow through. Don't allow yourself any excuses that would allow you to deviate from your plan.

Pattygreen, With all due respect, and I'm not really sure you deserve it, GET A LIFE!

I'm sure you are having a swelling response! My surgeon has me do 2 days of liquids after a fill. I recommend you try doing at least 1 day of liquids to try and reduce the swelling around the band maybe even 2 days before making the decision to have an unfill. My guess is you will be fine after the liquid days. I was filled too tight last month and it was miserable. Because of the cost and distance to my surgeon I tried to do liquids for a couple of extra days before deciding to spend another 10 hours in the car to pay and have an unfill. The nurse told me after the unfill that I would be back within 3 weeks for another fill and sure enough I am headed back to Mexico tomorrow for a fill.

One of my customers is on the way in with a basket of holiday cookies for me. Ugh! Sweet of him but I just don't have the willpower to bring them home to my family and have them sit in my kitchen calling out my name. I will give the cookies away before I even leave work today so they aren't around to tempt me. You have a long journey ahead of you and you need to realize that if you had will power you wouldn't be 400 pounds. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh because I really don't mean to be, I'm just brutally honest and have no filter and little will power. Try not to set yourself up to fail this early on. Don't subject yourself to bad foods until you feel you are mentally prepared to handle a situation where these foods are available. This is something I am trying to do for myself. If ordering food in a restaurant is too difficult for you to order healthy then don't go out to eat. You need to set up methods that will work for you to deal with food and the excuses you make to allow yourself to eat bad things. One thing I do when ordering out is tell the server to hold the potatoes or pasta. This will help me not to give in to my weakness once the food is placed in front of me. This being said, you are only human and you will make mistakes. I just believe in setting limits early on to minimize these mistakes. I'm sure you haven't stretched your pouch. It would take repetitive eating in that manor to damage your pouch or band so relax. Have a great day!

Actually, I learned the opposite. Salads ARE slider foods. A slider food to my recollection is a food that offers little nutritional value and will slide past the band enabling us to eat more then we should. Lettuce is all Water, nothing more. There are however better choices we can make salad wise. Mixed greens and spinach offer some nutritional value and actually offer more taste.