BeckyC73

I'm 5'8" and I was around 375 when I originally went in for a consultation at the bariatric center (400 lbs when I got married and got pregnant). I didn't want to set myself up for failure, so I originally thought I'd like to go for what the literature says is average for LapBanders: losing 70% of excess body weight after 3 or so years. That would be about 220 or so. (I think maybe I weighed that when I was 13?) Now I think I would be happy under 200. I think I'll keep revising my goals as a meet them.

The weight that I'm entering is from weighing naked, in the morning after I pee and before I eat/drink anything. Is that cheating???

Has anyone else had issues with being grossed out easily and finding certain foods intolerable since getting banded? I have NEVER been a picky eater, always loved to try new things, but since getting banded there is a lot of stuff that I have aversions to, mostly stuff I'm supposed to eat. During the pre-op diet (which was not liquid, but high protein, no carb, low fat) I did protein drinks and I didn't mind them, even liked them. Now they turn my stomach. The chewable vitamins I bought (not VitaBand but same company) don't TASTE bad, but upset my stomach and made me puke for some reason and I can't keep them down, so now I have an aversion to anything orange-cream flavored. (I had a bite of my daughter's orange creamsicle yesterday and nearly lost it!) I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I have never been this way (except kind of in my first trimester--but not even this much) and am worried about my vitamins. Has this happened to anyone else? What did you do about it?

Even if it is psychological, that doesn't make it any easier to overcome. I don't know of any other chewable vitamins that include a B-Complex. Anyone know of one?

Don't worry about what "normal" is? Everyone is different and what works for one person might not work for another. At the center for bariatric surgery that I go to, they don't even want to tell you how much they put in because they don't want people getting on sites like this one and having people tell them they got too much or not enough, etc. They make you sit up after the needle is in and drink Water while they are filling and you tell them when it won't do down anymore and then they remove a little and you drink again to make sure it goes down all right. (But at my first fill, I got about 2 cc's.)

I don't know if I'm a good one to talk, because I don't exercise as much as some of the other people who've answered, but exercise is a pain in my ass, but I'm getting better at doing it more regularly. (Mostly it just is BORING!!) I envy the people for whom routine comes naturally, but I've never been a person who could keep a routine very well so I can't depend on that to help me. (I'm just a "go with the flow, adapt to the circumstances"-type of person and I'm not good at making the circumstances adapt to me.) So, here's what I try to do.... I found one thing I like to do: Water aerobics. I've always loved being in the water. Because of scheduling, I can only do it once a week, but at least that's one day less that I have to do stuff that bores me. The other days I have a variety of options that I try to fit in depending on what my day is like. Sometimes I take my toddler mallwalking. (She is getting a little less patient with this, but for a while she's okay riding in the stroller and looking around.) Sometimes i go with my mom or my cousin, so it's less boring, but at least there are things to look at and people to watch and I can talk to/play with my daughter. Sometimes, I do aerobics at home after my daughter goes to bed. I have a couple different DVDs to match my mood--Leslie Sansone or Shapely Girls. Sometimes, I walk on my cheapo used treadmill at home. And once in a blue moon, the weather has been warm enough (almost up to freezing and no wind) to stick Squirt in the stroller and walk outside. So I guess, to summarize... If you or your life do not lend themselves to routine, try having a variety of options that you hate less, break it into smaller chunks (25-45 minutes at a time) and make doable goals (e.g., 30 min., 5 times a week). Try finding someone to encourage you to do it or to make it less boring at least part of the time. Also, it does get a little easier once you lose some weight and/or get in better shape.

I think that in my case I would have been able to go back to work after 4-5 days, but it is different from person to person, obviously. I walked on the treadmill for a half hour the day after surgery and felt completely normal again in a week. I'm a teacher and had surgery over my Christmas break, so I didn't have to go back for 2 weeks.... I think I would have liked to go back to my normal routine sooner, because not being able to eat solid foods was harder being at home with nothing to do.

I had my first fill on Feb. 3, and I am feeling some restriction, but not feeling really tight. I thought a fill would work miracles, but it didn't, of course. I lost 30 dieting 6 weeks before the surgery and only 20 or so in the 7 weeks since the surgery, so it has been a little frustrating. But I'm still averaging 3 lbs a week, so I guess it's okay. I guess patience is the hardest part.

I was also banded on 12/21/09, but in Iowa. How's it going for you? Is it what you expected it would be like almost 2 months out?

I am struggling with getting hungry as soon as I drink after meals. I try to wait as long as I can, but then I don't get enough liquids. I feel full, but when I drink I start gurgling and rumbling and feel hungry right away. Has anyone else had this problem?

Like Julie (JUKU), I'm very pear-shaped and have always needed a size or two bigger for my bottoms than tops. I'm losing it first from my upper body (especially my boobs). I don't feel like I'm losing from my belly because my skin hasn't shrunk, but I'm buying smaller pants and my underwear are getting baggy. I'm still waiting for some results in the thighs, though. (FRUSTRATING!)

I'd love to lose 30 lbs by April 1st. I don't know if that's going to be doable, but that's what I'm going for. That would get me under 300 for the first time in 15 years.

The dietitian told me 1/4 cup (=2 oz.) three times a day with no snacking, just liquids and protein shakes in between. This has been IMPOSSIBLE for me to follow in these first 5 weeks since surgery. I eat more than that (1-2 cups) and occasionally have a snack, but I've been recording everything I eat on fitday.com and I usually have been limiting myself to 1200-1500 calories a day. I hope to feel full with less food after my first fill next week. I was also supposed to be on clear liquids for 48 hours, full liquids for two weeks, mushies for 2 weeks, soft foods for one week, then slowly introduce regular foods. I know I should follow doctor's orders, but I moved up the timetable for myself because I healed so fast I felt like my body could handle it. Maybe that was wrong, but I feel like I have to do what works for me, always keeping in mind that if I am not careful, I'm not gonna lose as much as I want to and it will be nobody's fault but my own.

When I got married and got pregnant (same week), I had a BMI of about 60 (5'8" & ~400lbs). Pregnancy and breast feeding got me down to a BMI of about 57. I was 375 when I when in to my first consultation. The doctor wanted me to "have my weight trending downward" before I had surgery and I lost at least 30lbs by dieting for 6 weeks before hand. So I guess I was down to a BMI of 52 by surgery. So my daughter did the first 30 lbs and I did the next 30 pounds. I'm only 5 weeks out and haven't had a fill yet, but the surgery went well, I had very little fat in liver and abdominal cavity (doc said I was skinny on the inside). I healed really fast and I think that made keeping to the post-op diet harder (felt normal but still supposed to be on liquid diet). I've lost 10-15lbs in the past 5 weeks, but I'm hoping my fill next week will make it easier to eat less, because I'm hungry a lot right now.

Yay! One of the reasons I had this surgery was to be able to go to amusement parks and ride the rides again by the time my daughter (19 months old) is old enough to go to them.... Also, not exactly a "crazy" goal, I want to be able to shop at Kmart or Walmart (which you can't do when you're above a size 30) and second hand stores. And when I take Athena to Teotihuacan, I want to be able to climb both the pyramid of the sun and the pyramid of the moon in the same day. Because in the past I've only been able to make it up the pyramid of the sun and it took me FOREVER. I don't have any goals of bikinis or anything like that because I'll be happy with pleasantly plump instead of super fat. I ain't never gonna be a skinny mini: I'm tallish and big-boned. I'm not really miserable and thinking I'm a failure or a bad person because I'm fat, but it's getting in the way of things I want to do, especially for and with my daughter. I want to be a good role model for her.

It's good to see what real people are eating. I'm only 3 weeks out and feeling no restriction. The dietitians at the Center for Bariatric Surgery say I should only be eating 1/4 cup food 3 times a day and no Snacks, but I feel like that's just not enough. I'm hoping that it will be better when I get a fill in 3 weeks. I'm frustrated because I'm eating about 900-1200 calories a day but I haven't lost any weight for 2 weeks. :thumbup: It's so frustrating because I was losing about 4 lbs/week on the pre-op diet. I feel like "why did I do this to myself if I'm not even losing weight?" :tt1:

A few random ideas: For Breakfast, I have been making myself a little breakfast "burrito" with a one egg omelet instead of a tortilla. I beat an egg and empty it into a nonstick skillet and tilt the skillet a little to spread it fairly thin. Then I flip it and sprinkle with cheese and put about 1/3 cup of refried Beans in the middle and roll it up like a burrito. I eat about 1/2 of one of these for breakfast. I like it because it's portable and I can make it ahead and reheat. How about tuna noodle casserole with extra tuna and lowfat cream soup as a sauce?

My doctor's program says that I was supposed to be on liquids for 2 full weeks, then mushies for 2 weeks, then soft foods for a week. I am 2 1/2 weeks out and I have been cheating like crazy!! I was trying so hard, but couldn't stick to the liquid diet. It didn't help that I had surgery on Dec. 21. Christmas was HELL!!!!! :smile2: I cheated a little with no ill consequences, but went though a lot of guilt and worry about stretching out the pouch, etc. I think that my body healed really fast (a week after surgery, I felt completely normal) and wanted something solid. It's easier now that I'm allowed to have "semi-solids", but I make sure to try to eat Protein so that I feel full longer (e.g., for Breakfast I have 1/2 scrambled egg and 1-2 oz. refried Beans with a little shredded cheese) and chew the heck out of everything. I'm still cheating a little (crackers, a little bit of bread) but I'm justifying it by saying that I'm listening to my body. Plus, I've read enough on LBT to know that different doctors/programs have different requirements (some say normal food is okay with caution after one week or two, or six like my program). So I'm no expert, but not even the experts agree. Be cautious, but don't beat yourself up. Try your best and move on.

It is standard for my doc's patients to spend the night, but I specifically requested to go home if everything was okay. I have an 18-month-old daughter and I didn't want to spend the night away from her if I could help it. I had to walk around, pee, and keep clear liquids down in order to go home that night. I got into surgery around 11:00-11:30 a.m., got to my room before 1:00 p.m. I dozed off and on most of the afternoon, but got up and walked, then peed as soon as I could. They brought "supper" around 5:30 and I sipped slowly for an hour, then the nurses called the doctor and he okayed my discharge.... I'm glad I didn't stay the night, but that I had the option to if needed.

Think of it like an hour glass. Only a certain amount of food in a certain amount of time can trickle from the pouch into the rest of the stomach. So the pouch gets full and makes you feel full (because that's where the nerves are that send the signals to your brain that you are full), but then slowly empties into the rest of your digestive track. That's why you aren't supposed to drink with your meal (but rather 30 minutes before or after), it would wash the food out of the pouch too quickly. However, if you put a pebble into an hour glass, it would get stuck and none of the sand would be able to tickle down into the bottom of the hour glass and it wouldn't work. Hope that analogy helps.... Like sand through the hourglass, these are the days of our lapband lives.

I was banded on 12/21, so I am 5 days out. My incisions are fine and I haven't taken any pain meds since the day after, but no pain. Yet, I'm miserable most of the time so far. I'm freaking hungry (probably head hunger) and full liquids are not satisfying. I get "full" but the hunger doesn't go away. I think I want to CHEW something.... I'm not getting as much liquid or protein as I'm supposed to, but it just seems like I can't get enough down..... I don't want to be a bummer to my family at Christmas, but sometimes I just want to cry. Probably doesn't help that I can't get my depression meds down. I dread taking any of my meds because they taste disgusting and half the time I throw them up (and get to taste them again)! ... Oh, and my breath is GROSS tasting and smelling. My mom asked me if I farted yesterday, but it was my breath. And I'm burping all the time..... I knew it was going to be hard, but I didn't know it was going to be this hard, this fast.... Okay, I'm sorry for this tirade, but I needed to complain to somebody who might be able to understand. Anybody else go through thiS? How long did it last? I'm supposed to be on full liquids for another 8 days, then purees and mushies for two more weeks. How am I going to make it through this?

Clear liquids in hospital and first two days at home. Full liquids for the rest of first two weeks post-op. Mushies for two weeks. Soft food for one week.

I recently discovered that the BEST hot cocoa ever is a cup of skim milk with 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder and 3 tsp or packets of Splenda. Then microwave it for 2 minutes (at least in my microwave, but it may be wimpy) and stir. It tastes WAY better than any sugar-free hot cocoa mix I've ever tried. (I'm wondering why I didn't figure this out years ago!) Sometimes the baking cocoa clumps, but if you mix the Splenda and cocoa before adding the milk, it doesn't clump as much.

I liked the chicken broth flavor of unjury (www.unjury.com) and some of the flavors of Isopure zero carb liquid, like pineapple orange banana and alpine punch. The advantage of Isopure liquid is you don't have to mix and you don't have anything gritty or chunky. You can just grab a bottle and go. The clinic where I'm getting my surgery recommended Protein supplements with 100% whey protein isolate and no carbs, which is hard to find. Slimfast, Muscle Milk, etc. don't meet those requirements. A lot of supplements have some whey protein isolate, but if you read the label carefully they mix it with other whey protein or other types of protein.