Astrasmom

So here's my update. I was banded on Oct. 23, 2009. My pre-op weight was 294. I am now 265. 29lbs lost since surgery. I have lost 3 inches on my waist. I'm down 2 sizes in clothing. I finally got rid of some of my heavier clothes yesterday because they were just way to baggy on me. I got my first fill on Dec. 3 and I do feel some restriction. Even though they only put 2cc in my band. My next fill is Jan. 13. All around I am feeling pretty good. I'm really not feeling hungry in between meals. I have pretty much turned off the head hunger sign. Once and awhile it will get the best of me, but I do NOT give in. I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Holiday. Stay strong and don't let food control you. You control the food!!

Great Attitude. Whoo hoo. Good for you. We should all think positive like this.

I mix it with 4 oz of Skim Plus milk.

We are always more critical of ourselves and it really never hits us that we have lost weight until you have lost a big amount. Especially the heavier we are and the more weight that we have to lose. And no matter how thin you may get you will always find a certain bulge that you don't like, or a certain part of you that you might not like. But someday you will accept yourself and those bulges won't be so critical to you any longer. People tell me all of the time that I'm looking great and I have really lost some weight. I on the other hand honestly can't see much except in my face. Enjoy the way that you feel. Instead of looking at yourself in a negative way. Go out and do something for yourself to reward yourself for what you have already accomplished. Get your hair done, your makeup, a facial, a massage or even a manicure. Make yourself feel good. Remember you can't judge a book by it's cover. Beauty lies from within. :wink2:

I have to agree with what someone else said. Find another doctor. I lost 29lbs since my surgery on Oct. 23, 2009. I got my first fill yesterday (12/3). The doctor didn't ask me if I was hungry between meals and didn't care if I was losing weight either. I just got the fill. Honestly I started getting hungry the day before I got the fill. Up until then it was strictly will power and keeping to the portions that I was told to keep to, and eating higher protein foods. If we could do this on our own we would have never spent the $15000 to get the surgery in the first place. The band is a tool. A tool is supposed to be used. I could possibly understand them saying for your 3-4 fill that you don't need a fill right now because you are loosing weight on your own. But NOT your first fill. That's insane. Some doctors are just in this for the money. Others (like mine and I'm very thankful) are in it to help you reach your goal.

More then likely the pain is actually from the gas that is still in your system. It takes a good week for it to all be gone. You are hungry because you aren't getting the protien that you need to keep you full. Ask your doctor if you can start taking the Protein Shakes which you really should be taking 3 times a day. As for the bowel movement it's normal. You aren't really eating anything so there isn't much to get rid of. Even now on solids I don't really go for 3-4 days at a time. It's simply because we aren't eating alot. You can get some benefiber and put that in your liquids. It dissolves totally. By the way CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Congratulations. I also had to wait 6 months before my surgery was approved. 6 nutrtional visits, Pulmonary visit, Upper GI, Cardiologist, Phsyciatric eval, and a letter from my primary doctor with Dietary habits and support.

What HAS been working for me is white chicken in Water (Canned) with a little olive oil mayo, tuna w/ mayo, Ricotta cheese, vanilla Yogurt (Fat Free), All natural Peanut Butter, Fish (salmon, flounder..), and of course my Elite whey Protien Isolate shakes 2 times a day. Make sure you aren't drinking while you eat either. The longer you keep the food in the pouch the longer you won't feel hungry.

Are you drinking the Protein shakes? Be sure to keep as active as possible and drink fluids when you are hungry. Think of the long run. You will soon be to the finish line and then you to can look back and tell everyone how much the pre op diet sucked. But the great thing is that it DOES give you a jump start on your diet and your liver will definitely be better. You can do it. Just keep telling yourself how good you will look and how much better you will feel. Use us for support and whoever you have on the outside to support you. Stay away from temptation as much as you can. We will meet you at the finish line. Best of luck to you. YOU CAN DO IT!! :sad:

Congratulations and welcome to the Losers Bench. I wish you much success in your weigh loss. Be sure to walk to keep that gas flowing. And make sure that you get those liquids (4oz every hour). It will help with the hunger pains.

I am allowed 4-5 oz of food at every meal and 2 Protein shakes. I eat alot of fish and chicken, all natural Peanut Butter (not alot because of the calories), Fat Free ricotta cheese, oatmeal, eggs, yogurt,be sure you pick foods that are higher in protein. It will help you through what they call "Bandsters Hell" I was on of the lucky ones that didn't go through it because I eat the higher protein and it kept me full. Banana's are also good.

Wow 8oz of food? My Dr. said no more than 4-5oz of food at a meal. I guess all doctors are different.

I've really never got this question answered myself. How do you know if you stretched your pouch??

It took me 6 months from the time of the Initial consultation until my surgery. As everyone says it depends on your insurance. I had to go to the following. 6 nutritional visits 1 Gastric Doctor 1 Cardiologist 1 Psychological Evaluation 1 Pulmonary Doctor And a letter of support and diet habits from my primary doctor. The pain after the surgery wasn't that bad. I didn't use hardly any pain medication in the hospital. I used a few pain pills at home for maybe 2-3 days after surgery. I had my surgery on Friday and went back to work the following Tuesday. On a scale from 1-10 the pain to me was about a 5. You do have to walk though so that the gas that they pump into you during surgery comes out. If I had to do it all over again, DEFINATELY! I am very happy with the overall process and results so far.

Try a Protein that is made of whey Protein isolate instead of SlimFast. Slimfast tends to have sugar and sodium. Sugar in return is going to make you hungry instead of doing it's job. It's also empty calories. Whey Protein Isolates made of Veggies or Soy will keep you satisfied longer. I use the Dymatize Elite Protein powder. There are several ones on the market. You also might not get light headed like most people do. Whey tends to run a little more expensive then SlimFast but it's better for you.

You are very welcome. Any questions you have along the way please feel free to ask away. :confused: Good luck to you. Let me know your progress.

Great reply. And congratulations on your inches lost. And especially your sugar coming down. That's awesome. See alot of people forget that it's not all about the weight-loss. It's about everything else also.

You are very welcome. By the way there are all kinds of Protein drinks out there. If you don't like the one that you are with now, try something else. I use the Elite whey protein (Mocha and Vanilla) I also use unjury chicken Soup flavor. Keep in mind you will be using the Protein powder even after you have your surgery so I recommend (if you can afford it of course) a variety. Get 1 or 2 different kinds so you don't get bored of it. You will find that after you have your surgery it will be a little easier to resist temptation. It doesn't happen over night and you will still have to work at it. Best of luck to you. If you have any question along the way, don't hesitate to ask.

Soup is also 4 oz because it's a liquid. Yogurt is on the puree list so that should only be 2-3 oz. All doctors are different so I don't know what your doctor is allowing you. I was on full liquids for the first week and wasn't allowed yogurt. All liquids are not supposed to be more than 4 oz. However my doctor allowed me to have 8oz of Protein drink instead of 4oz because I was getting hungry in between meals. I have to sip REALLY slow though. When you get to puree (Stage 2). You are only supposed to eat 2-3 oz. Stage 3 which is soft is 3-4 oz of food. And stage IV which is regular food is 4-5 oz. If you are on liquids make sure you are basically taking in fluids every hour to get your 64oz in. 3 of them should be your Protein drinks. On the next stages make sure that you wait at least an hour before you drink anything. The longer the food stays in your pouch the longer you won't be hungry. Pick foods that are higher in protein as well (chicken, Fat free Ricotta, tuna, all natural Peanut Butter, eggs). This is the schedule that I use and try to stick with it. You can't really use this on the liquid stage but on the puree and up you can. Of course I don't eat the same food all of the time. This is just an example. When you move up, make sure that you WEIGH everything. Get yourself a scale, measuring spoons, and measuring cups. 8:00 am Breakfast 3 TBS scrambled eggs 1 TBS oatmeal 10:00am Protein Supplement 4oz 12:00 lunch 2oz (4tbs) chicken (I use white chicken in a can in Water with a little bit of Olive Oil Mayo or Light Miracle Whip) 1oz Fat Free Ricotta 2:00pm Protein Supplement 4oz 6:00pm dinner 2oz (4tbs) Flaked Fish 1 Tbs whipped Potato 1 Tbs pureed carrots 8:00pm Protein Supplement 4oz My doctor told me no Snacks in between. Be sure in between the meals that you drink your fluids. But as I said wait at least 1 hour before you drink after meals. And don't eat for at least 15-20 minutes after you drink. This example is for 2-3 oz. You can add oz as you move up in the stages. I found that if I stick to basically this schedule I am losing weight and I am not hungry. As I said though you have to add foods that are higher in calories once and awhile to give your body a jump start. If you have the same amount of calories each time your body gets used to that and it won't lose weight. It basically goes into shut down. Hope this helps and if you have anymore questions please feel free to ask. Good luck to you.

Every thing that you are feeling is normal. We all go through the "What if" syndrome before we are banded. Did your doctor put you on a pre-op diet before your surgery? If so then you will probably have no problem losing the 10 lbs. Is it set in stone that if you DON'T lose the 10 lbs before surgery that you will be denied? Either way just think of it this way. This is your road to recovery. Recovery from all of the bad habits and things that we have learned over the years to make us over weight and unhealthy. It takes time to learn the motivational skills that you will need to succeed. This is not a diet, this is a life style change. And it's not going to be easy either. It's not a get skinny quick and eat whatever you want type of deal. What it is, is a tool to help you lose the weight and keep it off. If you follow the plan that the doctor gives you then you should be very successful in your journey through weightloss land. The most successful ones are the ones that follow the plan. The only thing that you have to give up on is bad habits. You don't have to give up on life. You can still have many of the things that you have had in the past, just in moderation. "Banders Hell" doesn't hit everyone. I think I am one of the lucky ones because I don't have my first fill until Dec. 3, and I'm really not that hungry inbetween meals. As I said if you follow the plan and work with your doctors Bander Hell for you could be as easy as me. Or it could be very difficult, sorry to say. Just make sure that you get your Protein in which will help with the hunger. And drink your fluids. Also you need to start this now. Listen to your stomach and be aware of when you are full, not over stuffed. This will help you in the long run. You will need to know the difference between 'head hunger' and real hunger. Head hunger is the one where you aren't really hungry but you eat the food just because it's there. Most important thing is TAKE THINGS ONE DAY AT A TIME. If you start looking to far ahead you WILL set yourself up for failure. Listen to your body. It will tell you when it's hungry. It will tell you when you need to stop exercising because it's tired and it will tell you when it's thirsty. Before my surgery on Oct. 23, 2009 I had no motivation at all. I was a grazer and would eat anything that didn't have legs to run away. Thank God my dog wasn't chocolate (just kidding). I hardly ever exercised. I am now 5 weeks into it and I'm not hungry most of the time. I did have Thanksgiving yesterday and DID have pumpkin pie, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables and a glass of red wine (an hour after dinner). I didn't eat as much as I normally would have but I did eat and I lost another 2 pounds this week. Everyday is a learning process for me. I try and exercise at least 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes. Whether it be walking, playing on my Wii Fit, exercising from the TV or walking on the tread mill or life cycle for 30 minutes. I also have the support of my family and friends. Which helps a great deal. I've lost 34lbs since surgery. 44 all together with the pre-op diet. My highest weight was 305lbs. Today I am 261lbs. And I'm actually starting to get my self confidence back again. I feel great!! So now I say, if I can do it. So can you. Congratulations to you and good luck on your journey. We will save you a seat on the losers bench. :Yawn: