Banded122809

Well the first week is always the hardest. You have to deal with the pain, and the liquid diet. Just remember that the aftermath of surgery doesn't last forever and very soon you'll be on a more normal eating scheduale. Try going on the scale, chances are, you're already losing weight, and that might help your confidence on your decision. I'm about a month and a half out from surgery, and i'm already seeing results. Hang in there! :thumbup:

thank you so much for your encouragement! Everyone on here is really making me feel like I can do this, its wonderful!

aw, thanks so much for your supportive words, people like you really make me think I can do this, but its harddddd!!!

but as they say, the harder the battle, the greater the victory? something along those lines...lol

I can eat salad if the lettuce is well cut up and and well chewed... if not it can be dicey, basically lettuce has the habit of not getting cut into small piece when you chew, so it can unfold and kind of block or something when eaten. But if you use shreaded lettuce (like they call shreads in the grocery store) it seems to work for me.

meat is an individual thing, some people it really does not work, but for me I find as long as the meat is not over cooked or dried out and I chew well I can eat it just fine. Pasta -- I can eat some Pasta but it has to be the lighter pasta like spaghetti and small amounts, I cant eat the heavy dense italian type pasta's, basically it just gumms up and forms a ball and gets stuc, so the ticket is plenty of sauce and chew well.

I read somewhere that once you are filled, the opening between the pouch and lower stomach is smaller than your little finger.. if you think of it that way you will understand why eating slow and chewing is so important. And soft bread of any kind does not work no matter how slowly I eat or how well I chew. Also I cannot eat scrambled eggs, I did until my last fill but now no way, comes up everytime. Hope this helps, feel free to send me a private message if you have more questions.

thank you so much! All of your experiences have actually really helped me. Even if I could eat soft bread with no problems, I'm definitely not going to try it! I had a scrambled egg this morning (first solid food since the surgery) and it went down pretty well, but of course I havent had any fills so, we'll see!

once again thank you so much, you've really helped me!

Ahhh... Applebee's! I love it... So this is what I learned... My BFF and I use to SHARE the boneless wings and the chocolate meltdown. No meal just an appetizer and a dessert... So I decide to look up the calorie content one day and found out we were "sharing" a total of 2500 calories. Keep in mind this was an appetizer and dessert, no main course.

On a side note... I love :rolleyes2: Starbucks Grande White chocolate Mocha... Ah, should have its own religion... Anywho, this lovely drink has a nice 500 calories..

Just some food "calories" for thought..

I was reading on here, and something clicks in my head: children's menu.

I think that from now on when I go out I'll eat from the kid's menu. They typically have a choice of sides (example: mcdonalds offers only fries as a side for adult meals but apple slices or fries in a kids meal), smaller portions, and they are cheaper!

I'm so glad I'm not a coffee drinker, it sounds like it was difficult giving up that starbucks drink lol

I still go out quite a bit actually but eat differently when we do. If I go to Breakfast with my husband I will order a crispy english muffin, i will eat 1/2 of it and give the other 1/2 to him, he will have a meal that has either bacon or ham on it and I will eat a little of that.

For lunch we just went to applebees this weekend, I ordered the new wonton tacos, they are 4 little tacos, I ate 2 of them, my husband ate the other 2.

Very often I will order an appetizer of some sort then I can share the rest with others at the table, i.e. we went to a pub this weekend, they had an appetizer called steak bites. It was about 5 pieces of steak that was maybe 3/4" x 1/5" with either a b b que or horsey dipping sauce. I ate 2 of them and a bit of salad, the rest was my lunch today.

So you can make it work, the thing I find is to make sure you pace yourself, eat slow, that way although others are eating more you are still eating while they are so no one feels akward. I tend to go for the meat first, salad or veg second, stay away from the potatoes, pastas, fries, or other starches they dont work for me and are empty calories anyway so why waste the small amount I can eat on something like that. Hope this helps.

thank you so much for your post!

I really enjoy salads quiet a bit but my doctor has told me to stay away from lettuce and also tough meats like steak and roast :rolleyes2: you have no problems eatting those? nothing stuck, or no pain afterward? thanks so much about the advice to stay away from fries...they are my weakness but I realize they are no good, I'd definitely rather have a baked potatoe or a salad as my side...if I can eat salad

what problem does Pasta cause for you? I love Pasta, but I'd like to learn from others mistakes instead of making the mistake for myself, you and everyone else on here are really helping me out a lot

The pizza crust thing has a couple of reasons. First thing is that I have a problem with soft bread. If anything is going to get stuck, soft bread is it! Crispy/toasty/cracker-y is all okay because it can't stick itself into a ball of dough. And Crispy crust has fewer carbs/fewer calories that the thick crust you get at a lot of places. If I make pizza at home, I use a fat free tortilla as the crust. I used to be Type 2 Diabetic (the reason I got banded) and back then I had to control my carbs so it started then and it's been so long that I simply came to like the crispy thin crust better.

thank you so much! I'm more than sure that you just saved me a lot of painful moments and time trying to get un stuck. I appreciate all of your help and the help of others! thanks so much!

Remember: no soft breads :blushing:

Restaurant portions are usually HUGE, LOL. We just never realized it until now. And now, I order whatever sounds appealing (taking into consideration the things I have problems eating or just shouldn't eat) and I ask for a go box and box up half to take home for dinner the next day. I just think of it as more bang for the buck .... two meals for the price of one. You'll come up with your favorite places. I don't do pizza usually, which is as much a personal choice as anything, and if I do eat it, I get crispy thin crust.

that's a great idea! immediately box up half of the meal so its "out of sight out of mind" and also so you dont over eat. when you eat pizza do you order crispy thin crust because it's less likely to get 'stuck' or cause problems for you? or is that the type you like?

thank you so much for your answer and help, good luck with your weight loss!

I was banded June 4, 2009. I've lost about 35 lbs. Was losing steadily until I got an overfill and had to be emptied in September. I've had several fills since then, but haven't felt real restriction again. It's been a struggle since that unfill, but I've tried to refocus myself on exercise.

Best wishes to you, you can do it!

it sucks that they had to empty your band! Good luck with refocusing on exercise! Maybe if you live close to a mall you could consider walking around the mall? thats what I did before my surgery and I lost 10lbs (plus eatting better) and as soon as I can I want to get back to the mall. Its a lot of fun to walk around and look at the sales and clothing I'll be able to wear one day!

good luck and thank you!

I went out last night to our favorite fish place. I ordered the same thing I have ordered for several years. Blackened Snapper. It comes with hush puppies, slaw, & potato. I asked for no potato. I had 1 hush puppy, 1 bite of slaw, & maybe 1/4 of the fish. I brought the rest home to eat over the next few days. This was my first experience out & all in all it was a good one!

thank you so much for your answer! It's really comforting to know I can enjoy my favorite foods, just not as much of them (i.e. weight loss) thank you again! Good Luck on your weight loss!!!

I'm not a teen, but I'll answer anyway. We went out to eat Saturday night to Texas Roadhouse. I ordered half slab of ribs with mixed vegetables and a house salad. I ate about 1/4 of the salad and gave the rest to hubby. When dinner arrived, I ate one rib and a few veggies -the rest went home with me. I ate one rib for lunch yesterday and the rest is for hub's lunch today.

Sunday night, we went to Applebees. I order the french dip sliders (3 miniature french dip sandwiches). I ate one last night, will have one for lunch today and the other for lunch tomorrow.

I'm not saying these were healthy choices at all, but I don't want to completely deprive myself of my favorite foods. I just eat MUCH less of them and they last a lot longer. I should also add that I'm not losing weight as fast as others, but this is the way I chose to use the band.

thank you so much for your answer!! It really really helped me. My family and friends and I actually always go to applebees so the fact that you used that as an example was perfect. I certainly dont mind eatting small amounts over a period of days instead of never having some of my favorite things again :blushing:

when were you banded? and how much weight have you lost since then? if you dont mind me asking! :thumbup:

that's exactly what I wanted! Thank you, you helped me so much! I want to continue eatting out with my family (they know about the surgery) and my friends (they dont know) and I want to be able to enjoy what I'm eatting without feeling like I may get sick or stuck. Thank you so much for your reply!:blushing:

i just spent a while 2 weeks eating out because I was on a backpacking trip. Though I never took my food home that I didnt eat, there was a huge difference in how I used to eat.

Ok so two examples and ones bad I know

So Mcdonalds yes bad I know one day I had no choice. Before surgery I could eat a whole adult meal no problem with a drink. Now two months after surgery I could never even dream of eating even a burger so I opted for a kids meal ( with choc milk to drink later). chicken nuggets seemed ok. Since I ate so slow by the time my friend was finished his normal meal I was no where near finished mine ( 1.5 nuggets) so he ate my fries while I finished my nuggets. Four nuggets and I wasnt hungry for some time after.

Another example while traveling last week. I was at a place in Thailand and most of the food was fried or involved a bun or rice. I got the pad mai or something which is chicken bits, bean sprouts ( I think they're called) egg, noodles, crushed peanuts in an olive oil kind of sauce or something. Before surgery I could def eat it all and still be hungry but now after surgery I simply picked around the plate eating small bits of the Protein and vegetables and ate a very small part of the noodles. My meal happened to be so delicious that all my friends ate it too which somehow made me feel more full ( because the plate was almost empty).

Just to note no one knows about my surgery even though i just spent 24/7 with some friends for 2 weeks. I thought eating out would be hard but it is so easy. Plus you live in an English speaking country where you can ask for things on the menu to be changed ( ie no rice) where in Korea even if I asked the waiter wouldnt understand why I wouldnt want something included in the price I pay.

This may be a crazy question, but it's something I'm curious about!

After having the lap-band surgery, what is it like eatting out at restaurants? I'd love to have an example of how it was prior to the surgery, and how it is now.

like for example: before surgery I ordered a burger and fries and I was able to eat it all...after surgery I order a burger and fries, eat a few fries, half the burger, and I'm full. I take the rest home in a doggy bag and finish it in the next 2 or 3 days.

this would be really helpful for me, I'm excited about the weight loss after reading so many post on here and I want to change my life style, but I really enjoy dinning out with my family (I'm the only one in my family trying to loose weight/has the lapband) and I'd like to know if it's still possible without getting 'stuck' or sick :[

before I had my surgery the nurse told me as I was sitting on the hospital bed "you're going to lose some friends" and I was like o_O "what are you talking about? what do you mean?"

and she explained to me that some people in your life like you, but are using you to fix something about themselves, and it seems that way with your friends :[

I think if you talk to them and tell them how you feel, let them know that you'll still be the same person they know and love, and want them in your life...maybe they'll come around?

-How fast was weight loss? My doctor said initially in one week you can loose 10lbs (all you're able to consume for atleast a week is liquid) and over a year you can look at an average of 50-100lb weight loss

-How was the skin sagging? My doctor has said that with exercise (toning,lifting weights, walking,things like that) and my age (I'm young) my skin shouldnt have too much sag

-Girls. How did the boobs turn out? they're fine as of now lol

-Does your face change a lot? my mom said she can see changes in my face already, maybe like thinner face? no double chins!

-What did people at school say? no one has seen me,but I doubt they'll go crazy over my weight loss lol

-and why do you think its worth it? I have high blood pressure and general health problems easily related to my weight. That was my initial reason for getting the surgery. I'd like to live a long happy healthy life and stop being limited by my weight.

Hope I helped you out a little, good luck!

--Amber

I think I would have waited until I was 18 to do it again to see if maybe I could have lost more weight naturally without going to such an extreme measure that, thus far, I'm not happy with...

it's only been a week though, I hope I feel differently in a month or two.... :[

--Amber

Hey Taylor,

I suggest that initially (if you haven't tried it already), ask for primary care doctor for a refrence to a good nutritionist and dietician. It would be cheaper and maybe you could loose the weight without having the surgery.

I had the surgery a week ago and I'm regreting it. Make sure you do your research!! You'll be in pain (it hurts where they put the port(the thing they put silicone injections in)) and you have to follow a special diet for a month (2 weeks of no solid food, only liquids. 1 week of mushy food like mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs. 1 week of returning to regular food)

I highly suggest exhausting all your options before really considering the band

hope I helped and good luck!!!

--Amber

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