JoJo1

I am 6lbs from goal and my stretch marks are the same. I don't seem to mind though, cuz I am having fun buying new clothes!!!

The low carb pre-diet is designed to help shrink your liver so the doc has an easier time installing your band. You should really do as much as you can. snack on cheese, deli-chicken, deli roast beef, etc, and vegs like celery. a small amount of carrots is fine, but they are one of the veggies that are higher in carbs. I love Laughing cow cheese!! Yum!! If you drink tons of Water, it will help you cut down on snacking. Best of wishes to you!! Hugs!!!

Wow this the first time I heard two hours!! If you do that, how the heck are you supposed to get 64oz of Water consumed in a day???

I researched the hell out of this 13 years ago because I am diabetic. I think I knew I needed to do low carb, but I resisted because of the constant media hype about low fat. I had a number of diabetic complications gong on, and I knew I needed to find an answer. I woke up at 4 one morning and went to the internet. I researched the websites of the insulin I used first and found nothing that would help me. Then I found a book by Dr. Richard Bernstien. He was a diabetic child and he at one point was going down hill like me. He had a wife who was a Dr, so he was able to get a glucometer, and he decided to find out how to finally get his blood sugar under control. He found out that protein and green vegs were the answer. He reversed all of his diabetic complications and he is in his 70s now and still in very good health despite being a diabetic since childhood. This sparked my interest so I gave it a try. I bought Dr. Adkins book, and "Protein Power" by Michael R. Eades and Mary Dan Eades because, I knew I needed to be completly convinced...I got my blood sugars under control in a very short time. My doc was impressed to say the least, and I reversed all of my diabetic complications. I still had a problem with hunger though, and that is why I got the band. Here are a few facts. Fat is not unheathy unless you are also consuming carbs. Keep in mind here that fat being healthy does now mean you can get a spoon and go after the butter container. Protien will not destroy your kidneys. High blood sugar and high blood pressure destroy kidneys The AMA (american medical association) ADA (American Diabetes Association) and the American Heart Association, all agree on one thing. Sugar and other carbs like starchy vegs, and fruit, and bread , do the same thing in your blood stream. So instead of getting rid of so called "healthy carbs", they decided that it is healthy to just eat sugar. They could never reverse their previous definition of a healthy diet could they??? Well there it is!! Who is going to stone me?? It is okay, I have the proof!! Hugs!!!

I think I knew when I left the docs office!! I confirmed it later, but I did know. He had me drink water constantly until I felt the difference. Then he stopped. I have 2.75 in a 4cc band. I have had two fills, and that is all. I do not want more, because like a lot of bandsters. I am an idiot. I push it at times... I love my band though!! Thank you Doctor Kuri!!!!

You should discuss it wirth your doc if you are still worried, but I would say you probably just felt a muscle spasm or a shifting of your port!! You didn't say if it hurt, but if it doesn't hurt, don't worry... Worry, can be your worst enemy!!! Hugs!!!!

I almost never feel thirsty and I also struggle with the water thing. I do feel tired though, and it is almost always when I have neglected my water. If I drink, I feel better almost imediately. You might be a very tiny bit too tight, but you should wait because it will loosen with time. Keep sipping water, it is so important for a lot of reasons!!! Hugs!!!

Find ways to increase your protein on liquids. You can do this... Stay away from sugar, and increase protein. I put chicken, hamburger, tofu, beans, cheese, pork,eggs, etc into the blender and thinned it with chicken broth to the consistency I needed for the stage I was in. I second the other posts though, be patient, it will happen. Hugs!!!

you can stand in the water, splash water on your head, arms, etc for a few days. This time will be over before you know it!!!! Hugs!!!!

Your pouch will empty in a half hour, so you can safely drimk then. Personally, I do not have to worry about drinking at all, but this will be a much bigger issue if you are having too much hunger!!!

For me, the key is to wait between bites. The full 30 seconds. This is hard to do when eating out, because there is nothing to do during the 30 seconds except watch other people eat. If I concentrate, I can feel the food moving through, and I can tell when it is time to take the next bite. If you get even two bites stacked up, you can experience this especially if you are drinking liquids at the same meal. At home, I watch tv between bites, and the time seems to go by faster. I have been a fast eater all my life, so this is my biggest challenge. Other people are always looking at me, or art least it lookes like it to me, including the waitress!! I am learning to ignore other people, and do what I need to do. It really makes a difference!!!! Hugs!!!

I get the plus size catalogs still, and get great pleasure out of throwing them in the trash!! The funny thing to me is that the models in the catalogs are not even close to plus sized, so where do they get their clothes??? LOL!!!

I remember that day also!!! I danced around in the bathroom naked!! Congrats!!! Hugs!!!

Thanks, I love the positive posts!! I am not only not hot, I am cold most of the time!! (I know it is summer) I love the hot days now. I do live in the mountains of Idaho, so we do not have humidity!! I feel for the folks in the heat wave who do have to deal with humidity. If we had humidity, I would have to complain about the heat, and I so do not want to do that..... When I go shopping, I find myself in the plus size clothes. When I realize it, I leave and go to the proper section, but in a few minutes, I am back in the plus sizes. Need to retrain my brain. People often say they did not recognze me, and it always surprises me. I feel like me, so I always smile at myself. My husband and I are divorced now, but have remained friends. He is always making comnnents about my "little" butt!! The word 'little" is very hard for me to wrap my brain around. I am not sagging near as much as I thought I would, but I am 59 and my skin is now crepy (spelled that wrong I am sure). People say things like "Don't blow away now honey" and "You don't want to lose too much" !! (I am quite sure I won't get "too thin") Lol!!! I don't care about food anymore, and I spend very little money on it. When I go out to eat, I always take enough home to feed me for a couple days!!! I am getting a new very short haircut tomorrow and a dramatic new color!! I am going to find out if Blonds have more fun!! I am also getting a tattoo with two if my daughters..... YaHoo!! Hugs to all!!!

I am sorry you feel discouraged!! I have spent a lot of time in discouragement also, but now that more time has passed, I realize that the time I spent feeling discouraged was downright silly!! Our sense of time gets all screwed up for awhile after banding, so we are on the scale every time we pee. After weighing 24 times in a day, it seems like we have been the same weight forever. You are one and a half weeks out, but if you are like me, you have weighed yourself about 150 times. When I realized what I was doing, I also realized that 1 1/2 weeks is only 10 days. I lost 10 lbs but it did not seem like much because I had weighed myself so many times, I thought the scale wasn't moving. When I took a realistic look at myself, I put the scale away, and only got it out on Saturday. I focused on the things that made me feel good, like a little looser pants, a little less discomfort, the ability to walk a little farther. I read a few good books, I watched a few good movies. I did things that made me feel good. One day, I took two hot baths for no reason other than I wanted to. This is how I shifted my focus, and it was liberating because time passed, and I just naturally had a healthier, attitude about weight loss. This will happen to you too. I think the orginal poster was only trying to let new bandsters know that at some point, their perspective will return to normal, and that everyone has been in your shoes. I am sorry you feel it is (yelling) I assure it is not supposed to come across that way at all. You are going to love your band!! Hugs!!!

I am suddenly referring a lot of people to my surgeon because I am looking thin for the first time in my adult life!! Time seems slow now but with patience, it will work. I am within 9 lbs of my goal, and do not worry about goal or food any more. That is the most liberating thing I have ever experienced. I lost 10 lbs my first week, then about 1 lb a week since then. I haven't lost any for the last month. You need to focus on your positives and forget about goals that are unrealistic. You are going to be fine. It is extremely important to focus on the positive. The comercials are before and after, not the in-betweens, it is hard to realize this when we are in fact in-between. PATIENCE!!! Hugs!!!

The actual reason is a little different. It will wash your food through quicker and then leave you hungry sooner. If you have food come back up when you drink, you were already stuck. I sometimes use several big gulps of Water to loosen and bring up food that is stuck!! Then at times I wait the required amount if time, and still have trouble because I did not realize I was stuck!! Waiting isn't a problemm, but sometimes it just doesn't do any good!! Hugs!!!

Be carefull about getting obsessed with hair loss. Obsession with hair loss creates more hair loss. Also keep in mind that a normal head of hair loses 100 hairs every day. That is normal hair loss. I think sometimes the discussion on here about hair loss, gets people looking at their own hair. They discover some hairs in their brush and then they start obsessing and they end up causing a worse problem. If you have thick hair you will lose considerably more than 100 hairs and if you have long hair, 100 hairs can look like a lot of hair. There are many causes of hair loss, like there are many causes of a fever. The band surgery causes trama to the body much like having a baby does. If you lost hair after a baby, you know that it grows back. You have to be mighty malnourished to have hair loss, so I do not believe lack of protein or vitamins is the culprit. If you are worried, get some Nioxin Shampoo from your hair dresser along with some Nioxin Scalp Therapy. The scalp therapy is a light weight conditioner but it is designed to be rubbed into the scalp. These two products started now will prevent hair loss from any baby, surgery, or any other trama. There are not any drugs in them, they work by unclogging the pores and allowing the skin to breath. I am a hair stylist and I lost hair after my babies, but did not lose any after my surgery, because I use these products every day. You are going to love being banded!!! Hugs!!!

I haven't eaten fruit for many years. You can get what ever your body needs from vegetables. I am still surprised sometimes, at the foods I have trouble with since I have been banded. My daughter who is also banded and I have trouble with completely different foods. I can only eat a black olive it it is smothered in ranch dressing. Other than that, I get them stuck. It makes no difference how well they are chewed. My daughter eats them fine. I can eat toast sometimes but not others. I can sometimes eat a lot of salad, and other times, I can barely eat it at all. There are times I can not have more than two or three swallows of my protein shake in the morning, and other times, it goes down fine. You may find the same thing. It is a learning thing for the whole experience. My band has changed my life though, and I am so glad I did it.... Hugs!!!

I did this about the same time as you. I felt tired and I couldn't get warm all day. I was fine the next day. You will be fine. A little liquid tylenol of you have a headache will be fine, if not, it is best to let your body just fight it on its own. If you think about it, a fever is a natural imune response to an invader. The body is a remarkable machine. If it gets bad, I am sure you know what to do, but I know this is normal at two or three days out. My daughter suggested to me at the time, that I might be withdrawing a little from the pain meds. I dismissed this at the time, but since then someone else told me of the same symptoms from withdrawal. Just food for thought. Congratulations on your life changing decision, and for your graduate. Hugs....

I would throw away the thermometer and just walk and drink water. If you have pain or are very miserable for some other reason, call the doc... Hugs!!

The farther down we get, the harder it is. Now I know why some people seem to be working on 10lbs for ever. I have enough restriction, I just need to be patient. I want to be at goal before my bandiversary. You have done awesome. They say the average is 50lbs a year so you are doing awesome!! Hugs!!

I think the low carb thing is a no-brainer with the band, however, I also know it is hard to do when you are very restricted. I always focus on protein and I have to do a low carb protein shake in the morning, or I won't be able to do breakfast at all. I am much tighter in the morning, so you might want to do a low carb shake in the morning to keep you from getting too hungry, and also to even out your calories for the day. Once you do have a stuck episode, you need to return to clear liquids for a few hours then add back mushies and then solid foods gradually. Believe it or not you can still do low carb even if you are on mushies. I use a low carb cream soup and add either melted cheese or canned salmon to up the protein. I found high protein clear drinks online also. Just remember, you will be swollen for at least a few hours after a stuck episode, so if you try to eat again you will set off a chain reaction. I have done this a few times, and I really hate it. I do have to disagree with the poster who said the very low carb regimine is not healthy. I have researched the H___ out of this and I can say that it is in fact healthy. The main problem is that our brain likes to get in our way. We see non-stop commercials on TV telling us that cherrios are healthy, so we lose sight of our goals. If in doubt, get more education. This has helped me more than any other single thing. You might want to get the book "Protein Power". It is not written by Dr. Adkins so it is extremely enlightening. Best of luck and congratulations on your recent revelations. Hugs......

You are supposed to be on liquids after a fill for at least a day. If you are stuck, or are in pain, go back to liquids for at least 12 hours. Your fill will settle down with time and will be ok. Hang in there and it will work its self out!!! I often don't know I am stuck until later. Sometimes after a whole night. It will be a learning experience!! It will be ok, trust in the process!! Hugs....

I have balked at formal exercise my whole life. I have joined a gym a few times and I have joined curves a few times. I do not like exercising with other people at all so I usually quit in a few months. With the band, I knew I needed to find something I like. I have walked more consistently than anything else in my life, so I decided to start there. I just walked down the road a little ways and walked back to begin with. (keep in mind that my kids are grown now) I knew myself well enough to know that if I didn't do it before work, I wouldn't do it at all.al. I started getting up a little earlier, and walked a little further as I felt like it. Soon I was up to 2 miles and I thought it was a terrible long way, because some of it was up hill. I just went every day and something amazing happened. I started getting a euphoric feeling from it!! Then I started increasing my distance. Now two miles is like a little stroll, and I am really enjoying it every single day. I vary my route so I don't get bored and I walk two hours a day and look forward to doing it again. I didn't think I had time to do it at all, but now I just figure out a way to get it done. The difference is that now I really want to do it. It is amazing what you do when you actually want to. I am not suggesting that everyone walk, I just think everyone can find something enjoyable if they don't start out by over doing it. If you either decide it is too much work, or you get sore, you won't keep doing it.