BarbaraWM

Congratulations on everything. I'm jealous.

Current Mood: Optimistic :thumbup: In preparation for my fill, I weighed myself this morning and I think my scale has delusions of grandeur or ambitions to be on TV! It is a new, good quality digital scale but when I get on, it does the same thing the scale on The Biggest Loser does....up, down, up, down, up, up, down, down. I find myself holding my breath to see where it settles every time. Luckily, I don't have to wait for a commercial break to find out what I weigh! I think I've figured it out though...it never shows a weight lower than my actual weight, so at least I'm not thinking I lost 8 lbs for 1/10th of a second before it settles 5 pounds higher. I still have a sort of "phew" moment when it shows the low number every time. I'm just really glad it can't talk! LOL

I Empire BCBS and was approved immediately. I think it depends on your particular plan though. Good luck.

Current Mood: Pretty Good :sad: Restaurant Week has always been my 3rd favorite holiday after Christmas and Halloween. Now I am facing my first restaurant week with a band and restriction and....my 2nd fill in 3 days! NYC Restaurant Week allows us the opportunity to eat in some of the world's best restaurants that we normally couldn't afford. The fixed price for lunch is $24.07 and dinner is $35. I looked at the list of participating restaurants and got really excited and even made a reservation before I realized that my 2nd fill is Wednesday at lunch time! Luckily, I will be going to Tao on Tuesday for lunch. I'll just skip the fried rice and it will all be good. What I'm really looking forward to is my next fill. I have 6ccs in a 12cc band and though I have some restriction, and recently experienced getting food stuck for the first time, I still think I can eat too much at a time. I'd like to get down to a full feeling at 1/2 cup of food rather than 1 - 1.5 cups that I can currently eat. In other news, my "little" brother got a band last week. He is 6'8" and I couldn't even guess what he weighs. I hope it works for him. He is still young and has a great life ahead of him if he sticks with the plan. I'll be trying to support him as much as I can. My older sister, though she was not very overweight to start, has a band too which we found out about a year after she got it. She's been very helpful to me and I hope she supports our brother as well since he's pretty much going it alone. I am really looking forward to Mexico in a few weeks. I feel like the fill will help me be the weight I want to be when I get there. 10 lbs is not impossible between now and then and, I just bought a maxi sun dress a size smaller because I'm just that sure...or at least optimistic...that I can do this. Next self improvement - teeth whitening. I just had trays in my mouth for 45 minutes this evening and I swear my teeth look better already. I realized it will benefit me in another way too - if I put the trays in right after dinner, it prevents me from drinking for 45 minutes. I've been having problems waiting a full 30 minutes before/after meals to drink and at least this should keep me "dry" until an acceptable amount of time has passed. I'll have to figure out something else after the bleaching is done. Suggestions are welcome.

Current Mood: Pretty Good :thumbup: Restaurant Week has always been my 3rd favorite holiday after Christmas and Halloween. Now I am facing my first restaurant week with a band and restriction and....my 2nd fill in 3 days! NYC Restaurant Week allows us the opportunity to eat in some of the world's best restaurants that we normally couldn't afford. The fixed price for lunch is $24.07 and dinner is $35. I looked at the list of participating restaurants and got really excited and even made a reservation before I realized that my 2nd fill is Wednesday at lunch time! Luckily, I will be going to Tao on Tuesday for lunch. I'll just skip the fried rice and it will all be good. What I'm really looking forward to is my next fill. I have 6ccs in a 12cc band and though I have some restriction, and recently experienced getting food stuck for the first time, I still think I can eat too much at a time. I'd like to get down to a full feeling at 1/2 cup of food rather than 1 - 1.5 cups that I can currently eat. In other news, my "little" brother got a band last week. He is 6'8" and I couldn't even guess what he weighs. I hope it works for him. He is still young and has a great life ahead of him if he sticks with the plan. I'll be trying to support him as much as I can. My older sister, though she was not very overweight to start, has a band too which we found out about a year after she got it. She's been very helpful to me and I hope she supports our brother as well since he's pretty much going it alone. I am really looking forward to Mexico in a few weeks. I feel like the fill will help me be the weight I want to be when I get there. 10 lbs is not impossible between now and then and, I just bought a maxi sun dress a size smaller because I'm just that sure...or at least optimistic...that I can do this. Next self improvement - teeth whitening. I just had trays in my mouth for 45 minutes this evening and I swear my teeth look better already. I realized it will benefit me in another way too - if I put the trays in right after dinner, it prevents me from drinking for 45 minutes. I've been having problems waiting a full 30 minutes before/after meals to drink and at least this should keep me "dry" until an acceptable amount of time has passed. I'll have to figure out something else after the bleaching is done. Suggestions are welcome.

I pretty much had the same experience and then a couple of weeks after, I could eat anything and felt no restriction. I just tried to stick to the plan and make it to my first fill. On the bright side, since you're doing so well, you'll probably get your first fill a lot earlier than some people, mine was 3 weeks after surgery. Good luck.

Also important to remember that statistics are just that. They are not reflective of individual's success but an average. MOST people only lose that percentage of their excess weight....not everyone. My doctor said his patients ranged in weight loss from 28 lbs to over 200 lbs and that it really depends on the commitment level of the patient above all else -- even with bypass. Good luck!

Misses sizes and Women's sizes are different in both sizing parameters and actual cut. If you look at the size chart for JC Penney or Macy's, for instance, a 3x is a 22-24 and it is their largest size. In the Plus Size Women's stores (Lane Bryant, Avenue, even Old Navy) a 3x is a 26-28 or so. A 14 (please Lord let me get there someday!) in The Gap is NOT the same as a 14 at Lane Bryant. And, everyone is right - let the fit be your guide. Size is just a size. A good fit will flatter you every time.

CURRENT MOOD: A-OK :thumbup: I've been pretty successful at getting back on the program since the new year and it is paying off. I got on the scale yesterday and was down a few more pounds. I am judging my weight loss by my personal history and I am currently somewhere in the mid 1990s. I am hoping to break into the late 1980s by the end of the summer. Something new: I finally experienced getting food stuck for the first time and it IS really as unpleasant as everyone says. I didn't vomit, slime or foam but the pain stopped me in my tracks and my husband thought I was choking for a second until I was able to say what was going on. It was steak and I just didn't chew it well enough. The weirdest sensation was when it cleared. I could actually feel it slipping through my stoma after a couple of minutes and sips of water. Very strange and uncomfortable. Why did this happen? Well, I've eaten steak plenty of times (it seems I need solid meat to stave off hunger) but I was wolfing down my food because we'd waited too long for lunch. Then we chose a restaurant that was too crowded so we went to another restaurant and the kitchen happened to be incredibly slow. I think I said something about lunch initially at 1:30 and it was literally 3:20 by the time our food arrived in front of us. It was a learning experience: 1) Do not wait too long to eat or you risk eating too fast and not chewing well enough 2) Do not choose a restaurant that is so popular you will have at least a 25-30 minute wait for a table when you are already hungry 3) Do not choose a restaurant over a mile away and insist on walking (for the exercise) when you are hungry 4) Chew, chew, chew, especially steak 5) Have some sort of signal ready for your loved ones so they don't think you are choking to death and try to do the Heimlich maneuver on you I am getting my 2nd fill on 1/28. I currently have 6ccs in a 12cc band and can still eat over 8 ounces in a sitting. I am hoping to have restriction at a lower volume and get used to it before our vacation to the all-inclusive (BUFFETS!) resort in Mexico on 2/16! I am also hoping to drop another 10 lbs by then and fit in the seat on the plane without pushing up the arm and overlapping on my 6-year old. Well, that part might be pushing it...I probably need to lose 30 more lbs before I stop overlapping on planes. A couple of updated stats: Weight loss total since consultation: 34lbs Weight loss since surgery on 11/9: 23 lbs Jeans: same size but now they actually fit and don't restrict the circulation in my lower body! LOL

CURRENT MOOD: A-OK I've been pretty successful at getting back on the program since the new year and it is paying off. I got on the scale yesterday and was down a few more pounds. I am judging my weight loss by my personal history and I am currently somewhere in the mid 1990s. I am hoping to break into the late 1980s by the end of the summer. Something new: I finally experienced getting food stuck for the first time and it IS really as unpleasant as everyone says. I didn't vomit, slime or foam but the pain stopped me in my tracks and my husband thought I was choking for a second until I was able to say what was going on. It was steak and I just didn't chew it well enough. The weirdest sensation was when it cleared. I could actually feel it slipping through my stoma after a couple of minutes and sips of water. Very strange and uncomfortable. Why did this happen? Well, I've eaten steak plenty of times (it seems I need solid meat to stave off hunger) but I was wolfing down my food because we'd waited too long for lunch. Then we chose a restaurant that was too crowded so we went to another restaurant and the kitchen happened to be incredibly slow. I think I said something about lunch initially at 1:30 and it was literally 3:20 by the time our food arrived in front of us. It was a learning experience: 1) Do not wait too long to eat or you risk eating too fast and not chewing well enough 2) Do not choose a restaurant that is so popular you will have at least a 25-30 minute wait for a table when you are already hungry 3) Do not choose a restaurant over a mile away and insist on walking (for the exercise) when you are hungry 4) Chew, chew, chew, especially steak 5) Have some sort of signal ready for your loved ones so they don't think you are choking to death and try to do the Heimlich maneuver on you I am getting my 2nd fill on 1/28. I currently have 6ccs in a 12cc band and can still eat over 8 ounces in a sitting. I am hoping to have restriction at a lower volume and get used to it before our vacation to the all-inclusive (BUFFETS!) resort in Mexico on 2/16! I am also hoping to drop another 10 lbs by then and fit in the seat on the plane without pushing up the arm and overlapping on my 6-year old. Well, that part might be pushing it...I probably need to lose 30 more lbs before I stop overlapping on planes. A couple of updated stats: Weight loss total since consultation: 34lbs Weight loss since surgery on 11/9: 23 lbs Jeans: same size but now they actually fit and don't restrict the circulation in my lower body! LOL

I'm a month behind you and did the same thing over the holidays. I was so afraid about how much I indulged but was pleasantly surprised when I got on the scale on 1/4 and had actually lost since my fill on 12/3. It's been fairly easy to get back on track, especially once we got rid of all the holiday goodies. Good luck to you both. PS - I read ahead and instead of chicken breast, I thought you were saying you and your wife didn't like each other anymore! LOL

Current Mood: Hopeful:thumbup: My last blog entry was about how much I drank (and ate) over the holidays and the fear of getting on the scale. After New Year's I went back on the program and finally screwed up the courage to get on the scale on Monday, 1/4. As the title says, it was some very unexpected good news! I'd previously suspected about a 4 pound gain but I was wrong. Instead, I have lost about 15 pounds since my fill on 12/3. Wow! 15 pounds over the holidays and I wasn't actually following the plan very closely. I still think I eat too much in one sitting but I definitely feel some restriction and if I eat too fast (usually bread) I get a horrible pain that takes a minute or two to go away. At least when that happens, I have to stop eating. For the new year, my resolution is to make better food choices, avoid too much alcohol and finally get to the YMCA to sign up for the free (for members) personal fitness program. Other thoughts: 1) I got back in touch with a friend from 25 years ago via Facebook. Hopefully by the time I see her again,I will weigh less than I did in 1984. 2) My skin is squishy already. Man am I going to need some serious plastic surgery after this. 3) I love cooking and am considering it as a new career which is sort of funny for someone who has food and weight issues. I realized the reason I love cooking is the appreciation of those eating my good food not because I want to eat it all myself. As Martha Stewart would say, "this is a good thing." 4) I wonder how much weight I need to lose to go down one size in pants. I have been wearing the same size (even when they were so tight I could barely move) for the last 31 lbs and they are getting loose, finally. 5) If I could just win Mega Millions...

Current Mood: Hopeful:thumbup: My last blog entry was about how much I drank (and ate) over the holidays and the fear of getting on the scale. After New Year's I went back on the program and finally screwed up the courage to get on the scale on Monday, 1/4. As the title says, it was some very unexpected good news! I'd previously suspected about a 4 pound gain but I was wrong. Instead, I have lost about 15 pounds since my fill on 12/3. Wow! 15 pounds over the holidays and I wasn't actually following the plan very closely. I still think I eat too much in one sitting but I definitely feel some restriction and if I eat too fast (usually bread) I get a horrible pain that takes a minute or two to go away. At least when that happens, I have to stop eating. For the new year, my resolution is to make better food choices, avoid too much alcohol and finally get to the YMCA to sign up for the free (for members) personal fitness program. Other thoughts: 1) I got back in touch with a friend from 25 years ago via Facebook. Hopefully by the time I see her again,I will weigh less than I did in 1984. 2) My skin is squishy already. Man am I going to need some serious plastic surgery after this. 3) I love cooking and am considering it as a new career which is sort of funny for someone who has food and weight issues. I realized the reason I love cooking is the appreciation of those eating my good food not because I want to eat it all myself. As Martha Stewart would say, "this is a good thing." 4) I wonder how much weight I need to lose to go down one size in pants. I have been wearing the same size (even when they were so tight I could barely move) for the last 31 lbs and they are getting loose, finally. 5) If I could just win Mega Millions...

Current Mood: Festive :cursing: I think I have gained 4 lbs since the beginning of December. I say "I think" because it was 3 lbs last time I got on the scale and my behavior has actually gotten worse rather than better so I haven't gotten back on. I entered the holiday season with too much bravado and confidence for a fat person trying to lose weight. I thought, "I can't eat too much - I have some restriction - so I'll be ok." Not only did I make some seriously bad choices about what food to eat, but I also drank, and drank, and drank without regard to the calories. And, my habits suffered as well. I took the bus instead of walking because walking with a hangover was painful. I drank fluids with my meals because I was dehydrated from the wine the night before. I felt starved....And so on. I do not have a drinking problem. I do have problems with self control related directly to food -- thus the lap band decision. But, just as when I quit smoking, I find myself replacing one bad habit with another - this time it's red wine. I apparently forgot that the health benefits of one glass of red wine per day DO NOT extend to 4 glasses twice a week. The calories from 4 glasses, which now make me quite tipsy because of the lower volume of food, add up and fast. And, then when I have a few drinks, I feel a bit peckish and need a snack when I'm not supposed to be eating. It's a vicious cycle so, my new year's resolution is to avoid drinking alcohol. I'm not saying I won't enjoy a day-ending glass of red as a wind down, I just have to get out the recent holiday habit of downing booze at parties and dinners because I'm not eating. So, tomorrow evening, Christmas Eve, I have already invited over friends and family for mulled wine and cheese! Oh well, hindsight is 20/20 and this was my husband's idea more than 2 weeks ago when I still thought I had some control. We'll see how I do. In the meantime, my jeans are looser, I walked miles in the snow over the weekend and I actually got down in the snow with my kid to play and was able to get back up without a forklift. The scale may not be moving but I do feel better overall. January is my buckle down month...and then February...and then March, etc, etc, etc! Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and successfully avoids the more caloric niceties of the season. Best of luck and Happy New Year to all! B

Current Mood: Festive I think I have gained 4 lbs since the beginning of December. I say "I think" because it was 3 lbs last time I got on the scale and my behavior has actually gotten worse rather than better so I haven't gotten back on. I entered the holiday season with too much bravado and confidence for a fat person trying to lose weight. I thought, "I can't eat too much - I have some restriction - so I'll be ok." Not only did I make some seriously bad choices about what food to eat, but I also drank, and drank, and drank without regard to the calories. And, my habits suffered as well. I took the bus instead of walking because walking with a hangover was painful. I drank fluids with my meals because I was dehydrated from the wine the night before. I felt starved....And so on. I do not have a drinking problem. I do have problems with self control related directly to food -- thus the lap band decision. But, just as when I quit smoking, I find myself replacing one bad habit with another - this time it's red wine. I apparently forgot that the health benefits of one glass of red wine per day DO NOT extend to 4 glasses twice a week. The calories from 4 glasses, which now make me quite tipsy because of the lower volume of food, add up and fast. And, then when I have a few drinks, I feel a bit peckish and need a snack when I'm not supposed to be eating. It's a vicious cycle so, my new year's resolution is to avoid drinking alcohol. I'm not saying I won't enjoy a day-ending glass of red as a wind down, I just have to get out the recent holiday habit of downing booze at parties and dinners because I'm not eating. So, tomorrow evening, Christmas Eve, I have already invited over friends and family for mulled wine and cheese! Oh well, hindsight is 20/20 and this was my husband's idea more than 2 weeks ago when I still thought I had some control. We'll see how I do. In the meantime, my jeans are looser, I walked miles in the snow over the weekend and I actually got down in the snow with my kid to play and was able to get back up without a forklift. The scale may not be moving but I do feel better overall. January is my buckle down month...and then February...and then March, etc, etc, etc! Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and successfully avoids the more caloric niceties of the season. Best of luck and Happy New Year to all! B

Current Mood: Excellent, party on! :tongue2: I'm going with stream of consciousness blogging today.... Friday, Friday, Friiiiiiday! Started out the weekend right last night by having a lovely home-cooked chili courtesy of my husband, doing all the laundry, wrapping presents, watching a movie and having a glass of wine. I slept like a log for most of the night and today I hopped on the scale and....ta da....another 2 lbs gone. I'm going into the weekend in a great mood and good attitude. Final holiday shopping, setting up the tree, some baking (I won't eat the cookies, I swear) and probably sledding too! Next year, I'll have to buy smaller snow pants so I might as well get use out of my big girl ones now! I think I can cram in enough activity this weekend to lose the last 2 lbs needed to make my year-end goal of 30 lbs total. Fills: When I got my first fill on the 3rd of December, I didn't ask about follow up so I finally called the doctor's office yesterday and they said to schedule my next fill at the end of January unless I really felt there was no restriction and then I might come in earlier. I feel the restriction and even had a bad moment this morning - possibly the first time I've had first bite syndrome. I've been talking to my sister, who also has a band and is now a size 8 at 5'10" (same height as me but much smaller frame in general), and she's told me about her PBs, eating too fast, gas, etc.... She says it is all worth it though she does miss pizza. I already ate pizza. Have a great weekend! I hope you stay on track but don't forget to enjoy yourself! B

First bite syndrome is when you sudden sort of clench up while eating. It actually happened to me on my third bite which was probably too big and too soon after the last one. It's uncomfortable but it does pass. When it happened, I stopped eating and took my shower and by the time I got out it was gone.

Current Mood: Excellent, party on! I'm going with stream of consciousness blogging today.... Friday, Friday, Friiiiiiday! Started out the weekend right last night by having a lovely home-cooked chili courtesy of my husband, doing all the laundry, wrapping presents, watching a movie and having a glass of wine. I slept like a log for most of the night and today I hopped on the scale and....ta da....another 2 lbs gone. I'm going into the weekend in a great mood and good attitude. Final holiday shopping, setting up the tree, some baking (I won't eat the cookies, I swear) and probably sledding too! Next year, I'll have to buy smaller snow pants so I might as well get use out of my big girl ones now! I think I can cram in enough activity this weekend to lose the last 2 lbs needed to make my year-end goal of 30 lbs total. Fills: When I got my first fill on the 3rd of December, I didn't ask about follow up so I finally called the doctor's office yesterday and they said to schedule my next fill at the end of January unless I really felt there was no restriction and then I might come in earlier. I feel the restriction and even had a bad moment this morning - possibly the first time I've had first bite syndrome. I've been talking to my sister, who also has a band and is now a size 8 at 5'10" (same height as me but much smaller frame in general), and she's told me about her PBs, eating too fast, gas, etc.... She says it is all worth it though she does miss pizza. I already ate pizza. Have a great weekend! I hope you stay on track but don't forget to enjoy yourself! B

Mmmmm, cheese curds are a delicacy in Wisconsin. They're salty little nuggets of yum. Whey is just the liquid that's produced when you make cheese. So, think watery cottage cheese and you've got Miss Muffet's lunch.

It sounds like you need a fill. I might too. Perhaps someone who has been doing this longer can tell us, how long is the satisfaction/fullness after eating supposed to last before you feel hunger again? My nutritionist said I would feel hunger but this is pretty soon after eating and very intense. Yesterday I noticed I was hungry 3.5 hours after lunch. This morning, it was more like 2.5 hours after Breakfast that I felt physical hunger, not just head hunger. It's now a few minutes after noon and I am ravenous.

Current Mood: Pleased and Relieved:cool2: The fill worked! I have been very tempted to shove food in my mouth and/or keep eating when I think I've had enough and I've been able to stop when I needed to stop! To a certain extent, I think it is mental. I'm just too afraid of pain and vomiting to push it. But then again, maybe I'm just beginning to recognize the signs of a band that is properly restrictive. I just came back from lunch with a colleague and brought at least 2/3 of it back. It was delicious - chicken breast, mushrooms w/ goat cheese and roasted potatoes - and I could have kept on going but once I hiccuped, I decided that was enough and hoped my body was trying to send me a signal. I had the food removed from the table and wrapped immediately so I wouldn't keep snacking. I brought it back to the office and gave it to someone who was quite pleased. It's working. Since my first fill last Thursday - 3ccs - (admittedly after soup and about a quart of water and while having my period) I have lost 9 lbs. I think the fluids and water weight I was holding probably accounted for 4-5 lbs so I'm feeling pretty good about my loss because I figure it's 4-5 lbs of NOT WATER. I make my total weight loss since consultation to be 26 lbs. I'm on target to lose the 30, and maybe more, I'd hoped for by Christmas. Setting Mini Goals: How do you determine what your mini goals are? I think mine are related to where I was in my life when something specific was happening rather than a particular number on the scale. Here are my mini goals: 1) The low after my daughter was born in 2003 - 9 lbs away 2) When I quit smoking in April - 24 lbs to go 3) When I met my husband - 44 lbs to go 4) When I started my career - 60 lbs to go 5) When I graduated from high school - 80 lbs to go (must also lose 2" of height! haha) If I get that far, I'll have to set some new goals based on pants size because although I can remember what I weighed when I was in 8th grade, I am 4" taller and a lot older so it's actually lower than my ultimate goal.

Current Mood: Pleased and Relieved:cool2: The fill worked! I have been very tempted to shove food in my mouth and/or keep eating when I think I've had enough and I've been able to stop when I needed to stop! To a certain extent, I think it is mental. I'm just too afraid of pain and vomiting to push it. But then again, maybe I'm just beginning to recognize the signs of a band that is properly restrictive. I just came back from lunch with a colleague and brought at least 2/3 of it back. It was delicious - chicken breast, mushrooms w/ goat cheese and roasted potatoes - and I could have kept on going but once I hiccuped, I decided that was enough and hoped my body was trying to send me a signal. I had the food removed from the table and wrapped immediately so I wouldn't keep snacking. I brought it back to the office and gave it to someone who was quite pleased. It's working. Since my first fill last Thursday - 3ccs - (admittedly after soup and about a quart of water and while having my period) I have lost 9 lbs. I think the fluids and water weight I was holding probably accounted for 4-5 lbs so I'm feeling pretty good about my loss because I figure it's 4-5 lbs of NOT WATER. I make my total weight loss since consultation to be 26 lbs. I'm on target to lose the 30, and maybe more, I'd hoped for by Christmas. Setting Mini Goals: How do you determine what your mini goals are? I think mine are related to where I was in my life when something specific was happening rather than a particular number on the scale. Here are my mini goals: 1) The low after my daughter was born in 2003 - 9 lbs away 2) When I quit smoking in April - 24 lbs to go 3) When I met my husband - 44 lbs to go 4) When I started my career - 60 lbs to go 5) When I graduated from high school - 80 lbs to go (must also lose 2" of height! haha) If I get that far, I'll have to set some new goals based on pants size because although I can remember what I weighed when I was in 8th grade, I am 4" taller and a lot older so it's actually lower than my ultimate goal.

Current Mood: Tired :thumbup: I finally got the first fill yesterday just in time for my company holiday party! Woohoo. After the last fiasco on Tuesday, I went back the doctor after 2 days on liquids and my weight was up another pound. Amazing considering how starved I felt. The good news was that I finally got that elusive fill. I am trying to figure out if I have some restriction but it's not easy when you're limited to fluids initially and then if you're unwilling to eat too much to test it. After the fill, which was pretty painless and only took a minute or less, I drank 1/2 cup of water and thought it pretty much went down but I did feel a sort of cool pooling sensation at the base of my throat. Later I had some hummus and guacamole, licked off vegetables at a party and fluids seemed to go down just fine too. By the time I got home, I was ridiculously hungry so I ate about a cup of chili. No problem at all. When I woke this morning I had the feeling I'm beginning to associate with mornings in general...a tightness or indigestion feeling that stays until I get up and have something to drink. After coffee and water and waiting an hour or so, I had 2 eggs and cut a banana in half. After the eggs and a bite of banana, I suddenly thought I'd better stop. It was just sort of a feeling, not pain or anything. For lunch, I ate a 3 oz. hamburger. I felt like I could keep going but made myself stop. I had some flat Diet Coke after lunch and that provoked a bit of a full feeling but nothing I couldn't handle. Just now, about 4 hours after lunch, while I was making turkey salad (yes leftovers), I snacked on some stuffing and that did it....I think I feel restricted or, it could just be that it was bread. Not sure. I am going to get a good night's sleep and then start tomorrow on plan and following all the rules and see how I do. It will be hard because there is yet another party tomorrow, but I can't keep using parties as an excuse to test my limits. Maybe I just picked a bad time of year to get this band. Oh well, it's there now.

Current Mood: Tired :thumbup: I finally got the first fill yesterday just in time for my company holiday party! Woohoo. After the last fiasco on Tuesday, I went back the doctor after 2 days on liquids and my weight was up another pound. Amazing considering how starved I felt. The good news was that I finally got that elusive fill. I am trying to figure out if I have some restriction but it's not easy when you're limited to fluids initially and then if you're unwilling to eat too much to test it. After the fill, which was pretty painless and only took a minute or less, I drank 1/2 cup of water and thought it pretty much went down but I did feel a sort of cool pooling sensation at the base of my throat. Later I had some hummus and guacamole, licked off vegetables at a party and fluids seemed to go down just fine too. By the time I got home, I was ridiculously hungry so I ate about a cup of chili. No problem at all. When I woke this morning I had the feeling I'm beginning to associate with mornings in general...a tightness or indigestion feeling that stays until I get up and have something to drink. After coffee and water and waiting an hour or so, I had 2 eggs and cut a banana in half. After the eggs and a bite of banana, I suddenly thought I'd better stop. It was just sort of a feeling, not pain or anything. For lunch, I ate a 3 oz. hamburger. I felt like I could keep going but made myself stop. I had some flat Diet Coke after lunch and that provoked a bit of a full feeling but nothing I couldn't handle. Just now, about 4 hours after lunch, while I was making turkey salad (yes leftovers), I snacked on some stuffing and that did it....I think I feel restricted or, it could just be that it was bread. Not sure. I am going to get a good night's sleep and then start tomorrow on plan and following all the rules and see how I do. It will be hard because there is yet another party tomorrow, but I can't keep using parties as an excuse to test my limits. Maybe I just picked a bad time of year to get this band. Oh well, it's there now.

Current Mood: Very Frustrated :wink2: So last week I went back for the check up and everything was looking good so they told me to eat solid food for a week and come back for a fill today. Yesterday morning I ate two slices of apple with my breakfast and it did me in. I had a feeling indigestion for the whole day and decided to have soup for dinner and drink as much fluid as I could to "loosen up." This morning, I could feel some pressure in the same place but it seemed to dissipate a little after a coffee. Breakfast went down fine - 2 scrambled eggs - but after I ate lunch the clogged feeling returned. I can only describe it as similar to the feeling I had the week after surgery when I was still swollen and tried semi solid food. Uncomfortable but not really painful. So, being the honest woman that I am, I told the PA about it and she asked a few other questions and decided I shouldn't get the fill and instead I should go back to liquids for a couple of days and then call the doctor on Thursday. If the feeling hadn't gone away by then, they would probably want to get another upper GI series. I am so disappointed! I gained two pounds. I have no restriction. I can eat and drink anything without any real restriction and then this set back. On top of this, I suffer from PMDD and my period is 4 days late (I attribute this to the stress of the surgery) - my OB/Gyn says the later the period, the worse the PMS/PMDD. I am depressed, sad, angry, feeling like a total failure and embarrassed that I acted like a total f'ing baby at the doctor's office today. So, feeling like crap emotionally, and on the verge of tears, I leave the office and run into my surgeon on the street. He asks me what's wrong and I warn him that his PA is going to tell him what a baby I am. I feel like such a failure. I go through a major alteration to my body to lose weight and I feel like this journey that everyone writes about just won't start for me. It's like I'm seated in coach, in a middle seat, on the runway for 9 hours and they won't let anyone get up or take the damn plane back to the gate. I know it took me a long time to get this fat and it will take time to lose the weight...I just want to START.