vlp1968

You did great. Sounds like you excersised a lot of control. Good for you!

You get a large fill the first time because the tubing connecting the port needs to be filled. I had trouble keeping anything down the day of the fill. I threw up the Water they gave me to drink on the way home. I probably should have turned around and gone back but I didn't. The next morning I was fine. It took me 3 fills to feel any restriction.

I was told at least 60gms a day. Don't know about a max.

What a milestone! Keep up the good work!

The deal with carbs is that they raise your blood sugar. This causes your body to produce insulin, which stores the sugar in your blood as fat. Some carbs are "better" than others. They include whole grains (100% whole wheat breat and pasta, brown rice) and whole pieces of fruit. The good carbs have fiber, which slows down the absorbtion of the carbs and helps keep your blood sugar stable. Fat also slows down the absorbtion of the carbs. It's good to say, have a little cheese with fruit or a little all natural peanut butter on the whole wheat bread. All that being said, I ate a very low carb diet when I was loosing. I stayed away from all bread, pasta, potatoe, corn, fruit- anything with significant carbs. I probably ate about 20-30 carbs a day. I also ate low fat. My typical day was a low carb protien shake for breakfast, lean meat and veggie for lunch and dinner and a snack of 1/4c nuts and lowfat cheese sticks. I lost 107 pounds in about 10 months. I also work out 5 or so days a week. I started going to the gym about 4 months post op. Hope all this helps and good luck.

I was on liquids for 1 week, mushies for 1 week then solid food. I had no problems.

I brought a small pillow to put inbetween the seatbelt and me for the ride home, and chapstick. You won't be able to have anything by mouth until they do an xray and make sure eveything is as it should be. Your lips will get very dry. Congrats on your upcoming surgery!

Glad I could help. Look forward to a PM from you.

That's great. I have found compliments are very encouraging. Keep up the good work!

First off, 68 pounds is great! I assume you meant 10/29/10 lol. You are right on track, the expected weight loss with lapband is 1-2 pounds a week. If I did the math right you have lost an average of 1.5 pounds a week. That is fantastic! Ok, here's the advice you asked for. If your not excersising, I highly highly reccomend you start. Not only does it spur on weight loss but I find there is something about it that helps with food choices. If you are already working out, are you breaking a sweat? Are you doing it for at least 30 minutes? If you can kick it up a notch that would be very helpfull. As far as diet, when I was loosing I ate very low carb/low fat/ low cal and high protien. I was too tight in the am for food, so I had a low carb protien shake for Breakfast (now that my band is looser I eat eggs for breakfast). lunch and dinner were a lean protien (chicken, fish, porkloin) and non-starchy veggie. I snack on nuts (1/4c) and low fat cheese sticks. Pretty boring I know, but it worked for me. I also planned my day of eating in the morning. Not in an obsessive way, but just planning ahead. I would think about what I was going to eat and when depending on what I had going on that day. I try to eat at regular times- breakfast around 9, lunch around 12, snack around 3 and dinner around 6. Hope this helps and let me know how your doing. Feel free to PM me if you want.

I agree, your doctor is not very good. He doesn't seem to be willing to put in much effort towards his patients care. My surgeon does all my fills (and unfills when needed) although not under a barium swallow. He met me at the office once, on a day he's not usually there, for an unfill. I don't think that is too much to ask at all, it's serious when you can't keep anything down. His nursing staff is great as well. I would switch doc's if I was you. Good luck!

Wow I thought I was the only one with that experience. The band was not really the tool I hoped it would be. I spent time either hungry or getting sick. I did have a few weeks here and there where I was in a good place. That being said, I did loose all my excess weight. I excersised and stuck to a low cal/low fat/ low carb/ high protien diet. I lost 107 pounds in ten months. I was self pay, so the money I spent was a huge motivator. However, I wish I had given it one more try "on my own" before I got surgery. I don't want to discourage anybody, but I wouldn't do it again if I could do it over.

LOL it was a bit of an nsv for me when I realized my towell fit all the way around me.

Good for you! I go to a month support group, also by my surgeons office, and really like it. I got lots of compliments too. I highly reccomend you keep going! Keep up the good work!

Fitting into smaller clothes is juch a great NSV. Congrats to you. I was at Banana Republic and took size 2's into the dressing room (they run 1,2,3). They were all too big! I needed 0s and 1s. It felt awsome.

I am now 42 but I lost a ton of weight in my early 20's (unfortuatly didn't stay off for long) and my skin bounced back. This time it didn't, I have had a tummy tuck, boobs and a face lift. I hope your skin bounces back and you don't need more surgery.

I have been succesful in loosing my excise weight but I do kinda regret being banded. Through my journey I spent a lot of time either hungry or getting sick. There were weeks here and there when I was in a good place in terms of the band. I now choose to keep my band pretty loose, had a large unfill after maintaining my weight loss for a few months. What I wish is that I gave eating right and excersising one more try on my own. I hadn't tried to loose weight in years before I got banded. That's my story, I certainly don't mean to discourage you, just wanted to share my experience. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

You are doing awsome! Keep doing what your doing, it's obviously working. You came very close to your goal, so much so I think you can count it a success. Great job!

Yes, it is easy to substitute one addiction for another, it's known as addiction transfer. I have several addictions, food being the last one I worked on. I was in therapy for about a year. I learned positive ways of dealing with stress and worked on feeling my feelings. I still struggle with the food. I have maintained a weight loss of about a hundred pounds since Sept. However, I am working on sticking with a balanced diet. I have binged, then had days of deprivation (such as just doing protien shakes). The good days have balanced out the bad days but I know it's not healthy. Congrats on 9 years sober and keep up the good work!

I think you are doing well. I know how frustrating it is to not have restriction. I went through that. Sounds like you are making good choices most of the time. I would highly reccomend going ahead with a gym membership. Don't worry about how you look, noone is paying attention. Go in there with your head held high and know you are working on your issues. I would even go so far as to get a personal trainer if you can afford it. If money is tight than maybe you can hire one for a few weeks and learn some moves. I love my trainer, really keeps me motivated and on target. I hope your next fill does it for you. Good luck!

Hang in there. Keep doing all the right things and the scale will move. You lost a lot of weight very quickly, your body is adjusting to that. Once your cleared, start excersising. It is a huge piece of the puzzle. My other advice is to watch carbs and fat. Get lots of protien and fiber in your diet. I usually have eggs for breakfast, and a lean protien and veggie for lunch and dinner. I snack on nuts (1/4 cup) and lowfat cheese sticks. Hope this helps and good luck.

Excellent job! Fitting into smaller clothes is just the best feeling. I think it's as good as, if not better than, seeing the scale move. Keep up the good work!

Honestly, I think a true friend would understand you not wanting to tell her, especially since she talked negatively about the band. If she is a true friend, she will come around. I think it's not ok for her to be in touch only when she wants something from you. That's not what friendship is about. Hope you guys can work it out.

Keep up the good work! You are doing fantastic.

I suggest you change things up. Do a different aerobic excersise, start lifting weights. Change up what you eat and your daily calories. Some days take in 1000 some days 1300 et.. You may be able to trick your body into dropping some more pounds. Good luck!