Timinator

Think of this time as your last horraah. Get use to chewing your food well, taking smaller bites and slowing down your "attact" of food. Over the new few months as the Fluid goes in, the habits you instill now will hopefully help you get through "after fill" problems like irritation around the band (from eating too much or the wrong things, lot's of throwing up, etc). Read everything you can here over the new few weeks, it's all good info and having lot's of info from banded people is a good thing for you.

Don't sweat over the bad stuff like stuff getting stuck. It happens but the great thing about this site is that you know it happens to everyone and we're still all here and moving forward. Like someone said above, you're in the middle of the worst it get's right now. Everything is win win for you from here on. Occationally, you'll be on liquids after fills, but you'll be use to it then, you'll be eating less then, you'll get through it 100x easier than you are now and you'll be thinner than than now to prove it. Re: Costco; I was there yesterday and cruised through the place and chose a couple of the higher Protein samples to eat. I think I had two or three of the little bitty paper cups full of stuff. That completely filled me up and I was fine till dinner. Very cool. You'll eat and get full and you won't be on the prowl like you are now. It's all better from here on.

How much can you eat? When you reach your sweet spot you will only be able to eat a small amount and you will get full quickly and stay full. I would "think" that you don't have enough Fluid in yet. If you are not able to eat much at all then maybe too much fluid.

Sounds good, I'm going to try that. Honestly, if trying to eat steak, I'd stick with Fillet only (lucky us!). It cost more but order rare or med rare and if it's a good fillet, it should melt in your mouth after a 20 or so chews. Sirlon and other cuts just aren't good enough for Bands. When eating any meat, you pretty much have to concentrate on not swallowing too quick. You have to chew it till there is nothing left to chew. You only swallow when you have to from chewing so much. You can't eat quickly either. Small bites, put the fork down and start chewing. Don't pick up the fork for 30 seconds after you swallowed the last bit.

Just found and joined the Forum. Really glad I did and wish I had found it a year ago. I finally just got enough Fluid in my band and am finally loosing weight. I had a little problem after the last fill which led me to the web and finding you guys. I read up, figurend out what was going on, adjusted my eating habits and am FINALLY eating less, getting full quikly and staying full. The last 10 months I never had enough fluid in the band! I'm now at 6.5cc in a 10 cc band. Every doctor should make every one of their patients join a Forum because you really have to farmiliarize yourself with what feelings and reactions mean what. Your 5 mintues with the doctor every couple of months is not enough time and lot's of time they just don't know. Thanks for being here.

Yea, I was getting pretty pissed at my doctor too. I kept writing on my chart that I could eat whatever I wanted to and way too much of it before I just got full normally. She just kept giving me 1cc fills month after month, and nothing would change. Should be noted that the full feeling you get when you get close to the sweet spot isn't the same full feeling you're use to after going to Chinese buffet. It's more of the full feeling you get when you're body says "if you eat one more bite of that cheesecake you're gonna puke" felling. For me, it's more of the too much of a rich food feeling and it stops you dead in your tracks it really does. It's also an up high and bit of pressure feeling too. Well I hope the both of us can be on our way now. We've deinately paid our dues. Good luck.

Hopefully that will change. After my first fill I couldn't eat much for a few days, but then I was able to keep eating more and more. I kept going back for 1cc fills for several months that just didn't do much. I didn't really know it either, mainly because I didn't find or read this forum yet. The "support groups" at the Hospital were more of sales meetings for people thinking about getting banded than a support group for people after getting banded. The time you have to watch closely is after a fill, especially when you start to get close to your sweet spot. It's easy to keep eating more than you should (even to "test" yourself to see how much you can still eat) after a fill, but it really does irritate the area around your band and can give you several days of hell if you irritate it. Constant sliming just plain sucks. I had really given up on the band for being able to loose the weight I wanted to until I finally got the right fill. When you get it, it works. There is a "thin" line between love and hate though and you have to find it. FWIW, I did Atkins for a long time around 1999. I lost 97 lbs and kept most all of it off for 5 years. Then......... Anyhow, I made Protein Shakes alot and they were pretty low in carbs, usually < 3 grams of sugars. I would use a scoop or two of chocolate Protein Powder (many differnt brands) and then use about 1/4 cup of half/half or heavy wipping cream, Splenda, ice chips and Water. I would blend it up into a real nice milk shake. I don't seem to be able to deal with all the air that gets into the shake when it's blended now so I just stir it all in a large cup. I can get 50 grams of protien in just one drink and it's very rich and creamy and good. Does have some fat in it from the heavy cream but is generally very low in carbs. Makes it easy to get all the Protein you need.

When cooking meat in slow cookers, be sure to thououghly brown (almost black) the meat in pan first before you slow cook it. Much better broth and meat flavor that way. I'm going to just die if I can't eat steak anymore. After 10 months I finally got the fill I should have and am finally eating way less and getting full quickly. I'm a big steak fan that will break my heart. BTW, the beer can chicken cookers in the oven is absolutely the best chicken I've ever eaten. 1.25 hours at 350 degrees with a half can of beer up the chicken on a pie tin half full of Water. I sprinkle heavilly with poultry seasoning before cooking and it's as moist as chicken can be.