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I really agree about finding out what pushes you towards eating. I was taking with female family members once and we agreed that our male relatives are alcoholics go for alcohol; but when we are upset we don't look for alcohol we say "What can I eat". I like Cereal esp. lucky charms and count chocula; odd huh? I can't buy them; for me they are like beer for an alcoholic. I can't stop. Ice cream means nothing for me. I've hosted family birthday parties and ended up with a freezer full of ice cream. My mother came 2 much later and said "Is this from 2 months ago? Yeh, just does'nt grab me. Planning is also important. Be prepared. Will you be out shopping and need to delay having lunch? Keep a Ready to Drink Protein shake in your car. That way you can have a high protein, low cal snack and not be ravenously hungry when you get home.

You may need to bump your execise to 5 + days a week. I think if you shoot for x days per week you will actually go x-1 or 2. So I try for 7 days a week and usually do that but sometimes go 6.

Most doctors say no carbonation alcoholic or not. Other than that just the calorie count which is high

Just because you can eat something does'nt mean you should. As for carbonated drinks, STOP. They are physically bad for your stomach now. Until you hit restriction you have to diet in order to loose weight. I am just now getting res. after 4 months and 5 fills 9.4 CC. I am able to eat all types of foods as long as I chew correctly.

I've tried Ready to Drink Muscle Milk Lite Chocolate it was pretty good. Also available at Costco is Premier Protein Ready to Drink 160 cal, 30 g Protein. I've also gotten a case of Pacific Organic Sweet Red Pepper/Tomato Soup that is great for post surgery/fill. Great pricing compared to the Grocery store.

I have lost about 25 pounds since my surgery on 8/13. I am now at 9.4 CCs in a 11 CC band and am just now getting restriction. Sounds like your doctor does not have post fill diet restrictions; if he thought you would be eating solids the next day. My doctor requires 1 day of full liquids and 1 day soft foods after a fill. Seems to me like you need more fill. My doctor requires no less than 2 weeks between fills. I go in about every 3 weeks so I think I just had my 5th fill. I really have been dieting since surgery because I have'nt had restriction. You will not be getting assistance from the band until you have restriction. Also what type of exercise are you doing and how often? You may need to break out of your comfort zone and exercise more often or do different things.

Watch a real lapband surgery on YouTube; there is no blood involved and it shows you WHY you need to follow the post op eating instructions! I freeze 3 oz servings of chicken that can be quickly thawed out for dinner. You can also find frozen fish in 3-4 oz servings. At costco you can by a case of Pacific Organic sweet red pepper/tomato Soup great for post fill eating; and Premier Ready to Drink Protein shakes. Mrs Dash (non salt) flavorings are great added to soup (heating reconstitutes the garlic and onion). Stock has a lot more flavor than broth; and forget the low salt version; Clear liquids are bad enough without trying to go low salt! liquid Tylenol if you aren't going to be on narcotics. Vitamin Shoppe has good prices on whey Isolate Protein much cheaper than GNC! Hamilton Beech individual Blender is a must for presurgery liquid diet and post fills for making Protein Shakes. Swimming in my opinion is the best exercise for an overweight person. No joint trauma and you can exercise longer than you would on a cardio machine when you are first starting out. Waterproof MP3 players available on Amazon; best invention ever!

I have to admit I do not food journal. I also believe in the 80/20 or 90/10 rule; if you eat correctly most of the time you can occationally have special foods. I'm not going to call them cheats because thin people don't think that way. Cheating makes me feel like I've broken some law and that someelse makes the rules. I am 41 years old and need to make my own rules. I realize if you live with other people this will be difficut; but I would plan and buy foods you should eat and don't buy those you should'nt. Lack of planning is a downfall. I buy chicken cutlets/tenders and package them in 3 oz servings and freeze them. You can also find individual 3 oz fronzen fish. Those can be coated in breadcrumbs baked and served with a sweet potato.

Have you had an appointment with your sugeon? If you surgeon and the NHS doctor do not think there is a slip. I would recommend asking for another XRay or Fluro; to be read by a different doctor. Preferrably by a doctor who knows bands. Even if you have to pay for it seperately (I don't know enough about NHS to know whether they would expect you to pay for another test.). I've read on here that people have a complete unfill rest there body for a month and then restart fills.

Hi, yes plateau's early are normal. I lost a lot the first couple weeks and then things slowed down a lot; and yes I started back to the gym on day 4. I think in the short term because you are on such a restricted diet the 100 cal. is okay. When I said the same thing to my nurse she said "Your body has a lot of fat to burn! Long term you will be at a higher calorie count my Nutrionist says to be around 1,000 cal a day. Again long term you will want to ensure you're getting 60-90 g Protein a day. My Nutrionist okayed my having Premier Ready to Drink Protein (160 cal, 30 g protein) shake prework out because lunch and dinner are far apart. Were you going to the gym presurgery? From what I've read on this site; I think people who suddenly start exercising after surgery loose more for the first month or so than those who were already exercising.

I agree it could be time for a fill. Remember the closer you are to restriction fills are normally small; so don't think that you will get like 1 CC and then be two tight. It could be that you've lost weight round your stomach and now the band is lose. Remember we have fat everywhere! I've always been a musical person and in college had a vocal scholarship. I've notice as I've lost weight I absolutely have more breath support: can reach higher notes and hold them much longer. Is that a non scale victory?

When I went for my first fill the nurse discovered what a previous poster called a Seroma which was near my port. So I had to be stuck with a needle once so they could withdraw the liquid; and then stuck with a new sterile needle for the fill. As someone who comes from a family rife with cancer (family deaths from cancer on Mother side 1 grandparent, 5 aunts and uncles;3 cousins with serious cancer episodes) I would insist on immediate test on any odd lumps!

Good Luck! I know this is super hard. It may help you to count the days every morning that you have not had a cigarette. It will remind you how much effort you've already put into this project. Ever notice recovering addicts can tell you to the day how long they've been clean/sober?

LapBandForMe, keeping in mind each employer writes their own insurance policies. My experience with Empire BC/BS was really good for LapBand Surgery. I had reached my out of pocket maximum for in network for the year so I ended up paying like $250 for the sugery with an overnight stay in the hospital.

I have heard some doctors do a blood test to determine whether someone is smoking. There is a chemical in your blood from the nicotene. Some doctors have been known to cancel the surgery. I am not unsymathetic to your case. My brother is a recovering alcoholic and he says tobacco is the hardest thing to give up. He has given up both pot and alcohol. At AA meetings they have coffee and cigs and the room is blue from the smoke.

I think doctors take into account the size of a person's stomach when determining which band to install. I think if you have a larger stomach you may need a band that can hold more saline in order to get restriction.

My fills are done by the nurses at the practice. They do not do a numbing shot but it really does'nt hurt. After the fill do a day of full liquids, and then a day of soft foods ( I do canned chicken mixed with a low fat laughing cow cheese wedge. I highly recommend this food plan. On this site usually when someone writes in having post fill problems it's because they went straight to solids. You may get a constriction like feeling when you first get up off the table. It does'nt hurt just thought I would mention it. It took me 5 fills to really start to feel restriction so I did'nt have any problems eating after my first fill.

One problem with eating away from home is you can't always control what you have. I went to my sisters yesterday and had a very fancy pasta casserole but it was cream based. There was fish as protein but I'm sure I did'nt get 3 oz so I had lots of carbs and fat with little protein. And the small piece of bunt cake with ice cream did'nt help. Did I eat less than I would have presurgery yes. Did I do an hour of cardio before dinner, Yes. I had a 200 cal. brunch. I was up today 2 pounds on the scale this morning. I don't think that was real weight (that would be 7,000 extra calories for yesterday and I did'nt eat 6,800 calories at dinner!).

It's not uncommon for weight loss to slow down when you move to solids. If you are phsically able to excise more often you should do so. I do an hour of moderate swimming daily and my loss is slow in my opinion.

It could be that 1) she's uncomfortable asking for details (do you ask others specific questions about their medical treatments?), 2) she knows she has a problem but is struggling with feeling inadequate. Personally it took me a long time to consider WLS and when I did I still felt like I was admitting failure.

I lost several pounds immediatly following my last fill so that does'nt suprise me. I am unsure what you mean by cracker sandwich. Do you mean the ones that come in a package that have either "cheese" or peannut butter inside? If so you may want to re think that choice. Lots of carbs/fat with limited Protein. Also my doctor requires first 24 hours full liquids and next 24 mushies. Did you move directly to solids? If so that could be part of your problem. Also in general crackers are going to be dry and hard to swallow. Thus your need for a drink. As you discovered you can not drink right after eating. I think of it is by adding Water you are washing the food out of the pouch and there goes your fullness. You will be hungry right away.

I saw on a news program how the FDA is trying to fight packaging that does what you mentioned. Another thing they commented on was on a bread roll that said 100 calories; but that was for half the roll! That's even ruder who eats half a roll? Additionally I really support restaurants having to list calorie counts on menues. One that really bugs me is at Dunkin Donuts they have low fat blueberry muffins. Well their low fat muffins have more calories and fat than a egg and cheese english muffin sandwich. If you get it made with eggs whites it's even lower. Who would think a sandwich would have less calories and fat than a low fat muffin.

I have had 5 fills and am starting to have restriction. I have eggs whites pretty often. Dont know if it's because their egg whites and not whole eggs but knock on wood no problems.

I wonder if the doctor is saying no milk because they are concerned someone will drink whole milk with chocolate syrup and have ice cream sundays (Please note I'm not saying you plan to do that). Like another poster mentioned perhaps they want to discurage liquid calories which is what most lap band doctors do. I am not a milk drinker either. One of my own person demons is cereal with and without milk. It seems to me that many bandsters don't have regular cereal with milk. Cornn flakey type cereal is going to be high in carbs and low in protein (Though Kashi Go Lean has a high protein cereal). I think you'll find post band that low protein cereal won't be a great breakfast choice because it will spike your blood suger and not give you long term satiation. Also most doctors want you to get 20 + grams of protein at each meal. You won't get that from 1/2 of special K. FYI some people do have oatmeal for breakfast because it breaks done slower.

I have had 5 fills in order to get some restriction. My guess is that you need a fill.