honk

I started back at the gym 4 days post op gradually increasing my time on the treadmill. My exercise of choice is swimming which I had to wait 2 weeks for. As long as you are not lifting weights I think you can do gradual cardio.

Probably a scare tactic. They may just be trying to ensure you don't GAIN any weight. I have read many posts of people who go over bored with the "last supper mode" and gain before surgery.

Ah the "feed me!" voice. It's still there the band just helps me ignore it most of the time. If your surgeon does not require behavior modification sessions with a psychologist; get a referral to one. I went to 3 group sessions and they were much more helpful than I expected. These sessions helped me with the WHY of my overeating and food habits. It took me 6 months to get restriction so during that time it was all about will power. Measuring the food and when it was gone I was done eating. Now that I have restriction I still feel physical hunger; normally 4.5-5 hours after eating. That being said I normally don't get dinner until 7-8 hours after lunch. Due to my commute (1 hour) and going to the gym after work I don't have dinner until after 8:00. I have a 160 cal. Protein shake as a prework out snack. Prebanding I never would have been able to go that long without eating. There are times mid afternoon where the inner "I'm hungry voice" starts up. I know I am not hungry. Really I'm bored. With the band I have a satisfied feeling and that helps me ward off the request for more food.

Do you get tunnel vision as well as the dizzyness? I used to get tunnel vision when I ate really really low calories in college.

While ice cream is not really my thing I had a dream the other day about the new softserve at Burger King. I see their sign everyday on my drive to work.

I can't really answer to you lactose problem. Your blood pressure however is not affected by the lapband. I would speak to your doctor about your issues.

You should not be vomiting! Call you doctor this is a problem. Knock on wood I am a year out and have never vomitted.

I used to really enjoy the reclining bike but it is now a bad angle for my knee. Personally I really like the elliptical; though I know some people have trouble with the motion. My gym also has a couple other machines that are eliptical like; but I get really nauseous when I use them.

I have REALLY thick hair and I was loosing a lot of hair. I starting taking 5,000 mg Biotin (available in tick tac size capsule) at about 3 months out. My hair loss did stop but hard to tell if the loss stopped on it's own after my body recovered from surgery or if the Biotin actually helped.

In general my doctor says no liquid calories and alcohol is nothing but liquid calories. Really no redeeming value other than the antioxidents.

I would recommend liquid tylenol (store brands available for much less). I can't take most perscription pain meds so that's what I took after surgery. I did take a dose every four hours to stay ahead of the pain.

I'm not a drinker so alcohol was not my problem. Post Op I did however have a Honey Nut Crunchy Peatnut butter problem. It was protein right? Anyway had to stop cold turkey.

I second greek yogurt. I add half a scoop of whey isolate vanilla powder and Kashi high protein cereal. I actually have been having that for breakfast even before hitting the green zone.

Cereal is high in carbs and low in protein. Kashi does make a higher protein cereal so you may want to look into that. For breakfast I have fruited Greek yoghurt with 1/2 scoop protein powder, splendra, benefiber, and 1/4 Kashi high protein cereal.

At 39 with no other health issues other than being over weight I had a stroke. Four days in intensive care at one of the best Neurological hospitals in the country and then 3 more days in a regular ward. Doctors have no definative answer as to what caused the blood clot but said they could'nt rule out my weight. If that does'nt give one a giant push to changing their life style I don't know what will.

Knock on wood I never throw up. Sounds like you are wayyyy to tight.

For vitamins my doctor recommend Flintstone chewables with Choline (check for Choline since not all vitamins have it). Costco has a store brand which is cheaper. I also take a chewable D, Caltrate plus chewable and chewable fiber. I also iron and biotin. My blood work has been great.

My insurance did not have a weight loss requirement but my doctor did. 10% body weight. Think of it this way. The surgeon needs to make his way through your body using a camera and some probes (Highly recommend watching real lap band surgery on youtube not at all bloody) the less stuff ie fat in his way the better. While I had to delay surgery for other health reasons I had lost my 32 pounds (10%) in 3 months.

One of the most important parts of my band journey was attending mindful eating sessions with a psychologist who specialized in over eating. I also had a big issue with boredom eating. I would have 3-4 bags of low fat crunchy snacks (half a bag of pirates booty does have calories) in my house at any given time. Also I could eat half a box of luck charms as DESSERT for dinner. Once you are at restriction the band does help with the hunger. Without the hunger you have a better chance of drowning out the voice in your head telling you to eat that cookie left in the conference room. The voice is still there however. They call it head hunger. Where your head says you should eat something even though your stomache is'nt hungry. Due to other health issues I had to wait 7 months from time of consult to surgery; and lost 50 pounds. During that time I significantly reduced my food consumption. For the month presurgery I was doing 2 protein shakes a day and one meal. I also swam 7 days a week. I have been a slow loser, 1 pound a week. Not sure if this has been because I lost a total of 82 pounds dieting and exercising before having surgery. I would say the developing a new mindset or relationship with food BEFORE surgery has everything to do with your being successful post surgery.

Space out your liquids. I did the soup and then an hour or so later have the protein shake. Helps with the hunger both physical and mental.

Abolutely none.

I am over a year out and I definately am much more gassy than I used to be.

Okay knock on wood! I am a little over a year out from surgery. I had a picture perfect surgery and recovery. Did not use perscription pain killers at all only needed liquid Tylenol. I have never been over filled. There are no foods I have trouble eating. All my blood panels have been normal since surgery. I don't froth or have productive burps. No one I work with has any idea that I've had weight loss surgery; though they do comment on how healthy I eat.

I second swimming. Water proof MP3 player is must (check them out on Amazon). I started swimming because it was the one exercise I could do with a bad knee. And if I could put on a fat lady swim suit at 364 pounds ANYONE can do it! 135 lost to date!

I think you need to speak with a surgeon. Many general doctors are anti weight loss surgery. I had a BMI of 57 when I starting this journey. My doctor said I needed to loose 10% body weight before surgery; I ended up loosing 15%. The question is really not can you loose a large amount of weight but can you keep it off. I lost 100 pounds TWICE during my teen years only to gain it back. I lost 100 when I turned thirty and gained it back. I was always an all or nothing dieter. Meaning super low fat/calorie diets. After a year I just could'nt take it anymore and I would start adding back in pizza, french fries, hamburgers, etc. While I don't really miss most decadent foods; I allow myself to have occational treats. I CAN have birthday cake at a family party once every 3 months. I just cant have it every day.