tonya66

I was a member of Curves about 7 years ago, I loved it. I think it is a great exercise for someone that doesn't have the time to do a lot, and for someone that doesn't like a lot of people (men). For me, it just didn't work because of their hours. They didn't open until 8 am (I have to be at work at 8 - so I couldn't go before work). They closed at 8 pm (My son had b-ball games in the evening during the summer) so I couldn't go in the late evenings (I like to go around 8:30 pm) I'm now a member at a 24 hour gym and I love it. I'm a little more serious about exercise and weight training, so I don't think Curves would fit in, since there are no free weights. However, I think Curves is great for some people and great for anyone just beginning to exercise. I did lose weight while working out at Curves. The people who ran it were also wonderful ladies and very encouraging.

Cindi - I totally agree! I love running into people who haven't seen me in awhile and they are always, "is that you?". I had some people that didn't even recognize me. Feels so good and lets me know how far I've come. Yes, patience, its something that I don't do well with, but hey, we are getting there.

Hi Lynn, I haven't seen Baby on here in awhile either, I was wondering the same thing. The scale is stuck at 180. grrrrr. But, my I am feeling smaller again. I made it to the gym 6 days last week and so far EVERY DAY this week. I've picked up on the exercise and made it more intense. I feel the inches melting off, the but the scales refuse to see it. I know that they will eventually drop, so I'm not worried about it. I'm just more disappointed in myself for letting the scale creep back up. For not having a little more self control in my times of stress. But, I can't change the past, only the future. So, how is everyone else? I was having a very good workout last night, and after some weight training, I jumped on the elliptical, I was planning on doing 25 min before going home. Well, about 10 min into the elliptical, my knee starting popping, so I knew it was time to get off. It felt like it was about to give out and I could see myself going down on the elliptical and it would not have been pretty. lol. This morning I'm having a little pain, but I will be icing it down shortly, hopefully that will help. I'm just checking in, I hope all is doing well. Life is busy right now, with work, working out, and all the activities I have - Tuesday night, church, Wednesday night, bible study group meets at my house, Saturday, ministry work, Sunday church. So, 4 days a week are basically taken, that leaves Monday and Thursday evenings to do all my other stuff, laundry, clean, etc. I have not been getting to bed until midnight, and I get up at at 5:30 - sometimes 6:00 am every morning. I think I need another "me day". This is when I take off work and the DH & kids are all at work & school, and I can just play, do nothing but things for me. Does'nt happen very often, but I sure do enjoy them! I do get off work at 11:00 am on tomorrow and I plan on going to get my nails done, pedicure, and I have a hair appointment at 3:30. Well, I better get to work. I will check in later with everyone.

I am staying on plan today because I want to!

Bfast - My famous protein shake - same as yesterday Lunch - wrap, made with lc tortia, filled with a salad that has chicken breast in it Dinner - grilled veggies & quail (made a stir fry type dish, very tasty) Exercise - 32 min on recumbant bike - burned around 170 calories Wt - 180.1 Notes - I'm really getting back to my exercise program and I am so happy about that! I did wake up this morning and have some pain in my right knee, so I am going to have to slow it down a bit I think. I will ice it down today to see if that helps. I sure don't want a set back. My abs still hurt a bit, it hurts to sneeze, so I must have worked them hard! My thighs also hurt. But its a good kind of hurt. I can already feel changes in my body, I feel smaller, even though the scales don't really show it, I know that I am shrinking. I feel good!

Bfast - My famous protein shake - same as yesterday Lunch - wrap, made with lc tortia, filled with a salad that has chicken breast in it Dinner - grilled veggies & quail (made a stir fry type dish, very tasty) Exercise - 32 min on recumbant bike - burned around 170 calories Wt - 180.1 Notes - I'm really getting back to my exercise program and I am so happy about that! I did wake up this morning and have some pain in my right knee, so I am going to have to slow it down a bit I think. I will ice it down today to see if that helps. I sure don't want a set back. My abs still hurt a bit, it hurts to sneeze, so I must have worked them hard! My thighs also hurt. But its a good kind of hurt. I can already feel changes in my body, I feel smaller, even though the scales don't really show it, I know that I am shrinking. I feel good!

Menu - Protein shake, made with 1/4 cup oatmeal/2 strawberries/skim milk/1/4 banana - its feeling and gives me so much energy - I added up the calories for the shake 1 cup skim milk - 80 cal 9g Protein 2 strawberries - 8 cal - 0 protein 1/4 of a banana - 23 cal - 0 protein 1 scoop protein powder - 120 cal - 23g protein ______________________________ Total cal 231 total protein - 32 I think that is a pretty good amount of protein for bfast! And not bad on calaories, and the fact it feels me up until lunch, and gives me energy, it beats the coffee with cream Lunch was on the run, so swung thru starbucks and got the carmel light frappacino - 220 calories Snack string cheese - 80 calories Dinner 2 oz of chicken breast - 96 salad - 225 salsa as my dressing with just a squeeze of ranch - 50 Total Calories for salad- 371 Total calories for the day - 902 I probably had a bit more calories because I did have a bite of granola bar, and a few bites of my dd sandwhich. So, maybe I had 1000 or 1050. Exerice - Oh yeah, I worked it! 16 min on Elliptical Upper body workout - Triceps (they are already hurtin) Biceps, shoulders, back, chest Elliptical Machine - 10 min - I was planning on doing about 25 min, however, after about 10 min my knee started popping so I got off, I didn't want it to give out on me and I go down like a bag of bricks. I knew if that happened, I would have a major set back, so I decided that was my clue to get off the machine.

Menu - Protein shake, made with 1/4 cup oatmeal/2 strawberries/skim milk/1/4 banana - its feeling and gives me so much energy - I added up the calories for the shake 1 cup skim milk - 80 cal 9g Protein 2 strawberries - 8 cal - 0 protein 1/4 of a banana - 23 cal - 0 protein 1 scoop protein powder - 120 cal - 23g protein ______________________________ Total cal 231 total protein - 32 I think that is a pretty good amount of protein for bfast! And not bad on calaories, and the fact it feels me up until lunch, and gives me energy, it beats the coffee with cream Lunch was on the run, so swung thru starbucks and got the carmel light frappacino - 220 calories Snack string cheese - 80 calories Dinner 2 oz of chicken breast - 96 salad - 225 salsa as my dressing with just a squeeze of ranch - 50 Total Calories for salad- 371 Total calories for the day - 902 I probably had a bit more calories because I did have a bite of granola bar, and a few bites of my dd sandwhich. So, maybe I had 1000 or 1050. Exerice - Oh yeah, I worked it! 16 min on Elliptical Upper body workout - Triceps (they are already hurtin) Biceps, shoulders, back, chest Elliptical Machine - 10 min - I was planning on doing about 25 min, however, after about 10 min my knee started popping so I got off, I didn't want it to give out on me and I go down like a bag of bricks. I knew if that happened, I would have a major set back, so I decided that was my clue to get off the machine.

Okay - I have to rant about this. I know that we can't be with our kids 24/7, but parents, do you know what your kids are doing? I am appalled at all the stories I see on the News, "13 Year old steals car and has Wreck and kills family" - This happened at 3:00 am in the morning, the family was traveling thru town - the father was driving, the rest of the family were all buckled in asleep. The 13 year old is out with friends and steals another car and goes for joy ride. Its shocking, where was his mother? Why was he out at 3:00 am on a school night at that? The latest, the girl out of Florida was beaten during the day by some other teenagers, they taped it all to put it on Utube, but now they are in jail. They interview one of the suspects mother, who places blame on the victim? The victim evidently said some nasty stuff on Myspace, so what do they do, they beat her and the parents places blame on others? Come on parents, take some control!!!! I'm just outraged at the lack of control parents have on their children. I am by no means saying that all kids should be perfect. But these kids are commiting very serious crimes, which will effect them the rest of their lives. I ask my kids these questions before they are allowed to do anything: 1. Who are you going to be with? (I also double check this to make sure they are telling me the truth) I watch their association very closely. 2. What are you going to be doing? 3. Where are you going to be? 4. When will you be home? And they both know (one is 17, the other is 15) if they can't answer these questions, then the answer is NO. I know that my kids sure are not perfect and have had their share of getting in trouble but nothing that required the law, and I promise you, they are not out at 3:00 am! Nor are they allowed to watch such violence on TV, Internet etc. Yes, I have our computer right out in the middle so everyone is monitored on it. Some might feel I'm over protected, but my kids are not being arrested, they are not beating others up, they are not out stealing, they are both honor roll students and my son recently was faced with a situation and instead of peer pressure he called me to tell me he was not comfortable with what the other boys were wanting to do, so asked me to come pick him up. I didn't ask him any further questions, but later I found out the other boys were meeting up with some older ones to buy them some liqour, they were caught by their parents and it didn't happen. But it could have been a bad situation, they could have got drunk, drove, and killed someone or themselves. I'm glad my son made the right decision and left the situation, I think it is our job as parents to teach them right from wrong, and monitor their actions until they are no longer under our roof. They won't always make the right decisions, but thats our job to help them. Okay, I just had to get that off my chest! It is just so sad to see kids going to jail, parents, please take control!

I'm staying on plan today because I am back on track for 2 weeks now! I don't want to ruin my streak and I want to lose at my next weigh in!

Wow - Jennie - I'm shocked! I just can't believe some people today. It makes me so sad to hear that parents treat their kids that way. It makes me angry that parents just let their kids run wild, it makes me upset that they don't care enough to take time to visit with their teachers. And it makes me livid when they don't know how to dicipline a child. Either they beat them to death, or, they do no dicipline because they just don't care. Dicipline - doesn't always have to be spankings, my kids lose their priviledges and that is major dicipline to them. When they were younger, I did spank them, but it was always done with love, and I always tried not to lash out just because of anger. I wanted to correct their behavior. I always made sure they understood "why" they were being diciplined. It amazes me that children get diciplined and really never know why. Its just crazy the way some people act, its just sad.

Karen, thats a pretty good deal on the fills. Especially $100 a fill. My doc charges $200 for non patients, My insurance pays for mine, I think I have to pay about 10%, but not too bad. To answer your question, No, keeping the band unfilled does not make it a risk to slip. From my studies on the internet, it seems the tighter and the more you PB the more likely you are to have a slipped band. Try and get a fill, because it will help with the hunger. It usually takes an average of 3 fills to get a restricition, I say average. Some need more, some need less. For me, I am on fill #10! Hang in there sweetie and keep your chin up, you did the best thing for you and your kids by leaving the SOB. What a jerk!

Tax Day everyone! I'm about to run out and send my taxes off at lunch....yuck. Menu - Bfast Protein shake - made with skim milk, 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (low carb), 2 strawberries, 1/4 banana, 1/4 cup of raw oatmeal - YUM YUM Lunch Low carb tortia, filled with roasted chicken, lettuce, tomatoe, yum. dinner - Roasted chicken, spinach Exercise - 15 min treadmill/15 min elliptical Notes - man, my stomach hurts today from all the ab exercises last night, I was killing it!

Okay, I am sure the fill is working and I don't think I will be going back. I noticed last night when I was eating my dinner, it sure didn't take much to fill me up. Then, this morning was our office breakfast and it was my turn to pick it up. So, we all decided Steak & Shake, so I ordered me the cheese scrambler with wheat toast. Okay, I take one bite of the eggs, and decided I would eat 1/2 slice of the wheat toast. Well, I've always been able to eat breat in the past, and plus this was toated, so no biggie right? Well..........wrong - it was long and I was running to the bathroom PBing. Wow, I actually PB'D! I'm excited that I have enough restriction now that I actually PB'd! After 15 1/2 months, I've got real restriction! Thank you thank you thank you! I'm on cloud 9! No more bread for me! I finally have found a food that I cannot eat! Yay! Menu today Bfast - eggs/part of bread (whatever I didn't PB up) Lunch Protein shake (my stomach hurts a bit from yacking so much, I think I will keep it simple) Dinner - we're going out tonight, so not sure, but it will be healthy Exercise - LBWO - I didn't make it to the gym last night to do the lower Body workout, so I will do it today. Wt - still have not weighed, but will on Monday! TOM is around the corner, so the scales might not be nice to me on Monday, but I will still weigh on Monday.

Don't feel ashamed, you are trying to be the best mother you can be, and in order to do that, you have to take care of yourself. I'm sorry you are having so much financial difficulties, its not easy - I understand. Hang in there and try and focus on the good and positive in life. I really hope you can get the funds to get the fill because the band doesn't work without the propper restriction. How much are they charging you for fills? Where do you live? Be careful where you get your fills and make sure they understand that you are self pay and need good restriction the first time, or they might have you keep coming back and back and back.

Before being banded, I asked a lot of questions on this site, and one of the questions I asked, was "what they would do differently". 99% of the people said that they would have exercised in the beginning vs waiting until they lost some weight. I took that advice to heart, so I started exercising in the very beginning, and it paid off. I lost very quickly in the first 6 months. I am now about 15 months out and the past 6 months I have been recoverying from a knee surgery due to a fall I had on vacation, well, the exercise has been very slim, and so has my weightloss. I recently (the past 2 weeks) have made it back to the gym 6 days a week now, and I can already tell the difference. Exercise for me is the key to losing, without I just stall.

Tax Day everyone! I'm about to run out and send my taxes off at lunch....yuck. Menu - Bfast Protein shake - made with skim milk, 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (low carb), 2 strawberries, 1/4 banana, 1/4 cup of raw oatmeal - YUM YUM Lunch Low carb tortia, filled with roasted chicken, lettuce, tomatoe, yum. dinner - Roasted chicken, spinach Exercise - 15 min treadmill/15 min elliptical Notes - man, my stomach hurts today from all the ab exercises last night, I was killing it!

I had a busy weekend, Saturday was the special olympics that I worked. I worked the softball throw and I was running all over the place keeping up with the special needs kids. I tell you, they may have limited mental abilities, or physical abilities, but they are stars in my eyes. They had so much energy! I was exhausted by the time the day was over! Well, my fill is now again, loose! I just don't understand it. I'm very frustrated, but I will not give up. I just don't know why I'm so different. DH & I went out for steak Friday night,I could have eaten more, but I stopped at about 2 to 3 oz of the steak. I also had turkey last night, and decided to "test" a roll, it was small yeast roll and it went down as smooth as ever, I didn't eat any more, but I know now the PB incident was just a fluke on the toast. I am going to call the doctor and discuss it with him. I'm not going to let this be an excuse to "eat" and I'm still hoping at about 2 or 3 weeks the fill will really kick in. It has done that in the past, so I'm going to discuss it with the doc and see what he thinks. Menu today: Bfast eggs/ 1 sausage link Lunch - salad Dinner - roasted chicken and salad Exercise - 15 min on treadmill - 107 calories .75 distance Exercise PM - Lower body workout - really worked the abs & legs, then jumped on the elliptical for 10 more minutes of pure sweat! Wt - 180.7 - grrrrrr - But TOM is here, has been since last Friday, so he will be leaving soon and I should start dropping again - at least I hope!

I had a busy weekend, Saturday was the special olympics that I worked. I worked the softball throw and I was running all over the place keeping up with the special needs kids. I tell you, they may have limited mental abilities, or physical abilities, but they are stars in my eyes. They had so much energy! I was exhausted by the time the day was over! Well, my fill is now again, loose! I just don't understand it. I'm very frustrated, but I will not give up. I just don't know why I'm so different. DH & I went out for steak Friday night,I could have eaten more, but I stopped at about 2 to 3 oz of the steak. I also had turkey last night, and decided to "test" a roll, it was small yeast roll and it went down as smooth as ever, I didn't eat any more, but I know now the PB incident was just a fluke on the toast. I am going to call the doctor and discuss it with him. I'm not going to let this be an excuse to "eat" and I'm still hoping at about 2 or 3 weeks the fill will really kick in. It has done that in the past, so I'm going to discuss it with the doc and see what he thinks. Menu today: Bfast eggs/ 1 sausage link Lunch - salad Dinner - roasted chicken and salad Exercise - 15 min on treadmill - 107 calories .75 distance Exercise PM - Lower body workout - really worked the abs & legs, then jumped on the elliptical for 10 more minutes of pure sweat! Wt - 180.7 - grrrrrr - But TOM is here, has been since last Friday, so he will be leaving soon and I should start dropping again - at least I hope!

it is normal to have "head hunger", and it is also normal for the 1st fill not to work, or for it work for a short amount of time. When you say munchies, are you truly experiencing Hunger? Or is it just the cravings? The head hunger will not go away, its something you will always have to battle - at least for me it is. True hunger is what we are trying to take away, and with the right fill, you should eat your protein and be satisfied for a minimum of 3 hours.

It is normal not to lose any weight during the period you are in, it is normal to even gain. This is the healing stage and doctors are not concerned with you gaining or losing, they want to be sure you heal. Normally they do not do a fill until 4 to 6 weeks out, so I'm not sure if your doc will do a fill, more than likely he will schedule one for you. Being hungry right now is also normal, this is what they call Bandster Hell, where your starving, and no fill. Hang in there, it will get better.

Pammie - this is where you are going to have to do maybe some tweaking of your own. Here is what I mean, everyone, and I mean everyone, is different with the band. For me, I don't have to chew, I don't have to take "bandster bites", I eat normal bites, and I chew just like I did before band, but, I don't eat as much as I did before the band. Matter of fact, I just had my latest fill, and I now know that I can PB. I had one this morning on wheat toast. I won't be doing that again! Another thing is, you are going to have to figure out what your body needs, you might tweak your diet. How many calories are you eating? You may be eating too little, or maybe too much? You might try the 800 - 1200 calories. Some say they don't lose if they eat less than 1000, others say that don't lose if they eat more than 1000, then others say if they even look at a carb, they gain. For me, exercise is the key! If I slack on my exercise, my matabolism shuts down and I am at no weight loss, no matter if I eat 100 calories - honest to god truth. What your experiencing about not being able to eat before 4:00 is not uncommon at all. For me, I've never experienced that at all, I eat Breakfast, lunch and dinner. I do notice I am tighter in the mornings, but not so tight I can't eat at all. Another thing is you might be experiencing what they call "the first bite syndrome" where no matter what, your going to have pain with the first few bites, then it gets better. ONe thing you might try before you eat is sipping on some warm tea, I heard that helped with this problem. Another thing to remember the full feeling you felt Before being banding is no longer the same full feeling you will feel now. When I say I'm full, what I really mean is I'm satisfied. I eat for 20 minutes and stop, sometimes I feel like I could eat more, but if I wait for about 30 minutes, I no longer feel that way. Then I begin drinking my Water. We no longer eat until we're full, be we eat until we are no longer hungry. This is a hard habit to change, I understand, and its something I work on everyday! Another thing that I have learned is, I can eat as much as I want with the band, yes, I could, but I don't. I quit testing the band and started using it as a tool it was meant to be. I've ready where others say one too many bites and they PB, well, that doesn't happen to me at all. One too many bites, and I just get a fuller feeling, sometimes I get a pain in my left shoulder if I overeat, but never PB. This is where Isay the band is different, there really is No set of rules that everyone must follow. I just wanted to post the Rules of the Road as guidlines for everyone. Again, not everyone will experience everything or some maybe none at all. I personally thought something was wrong with me becaue I never PB'd and I can eat steak, chicken, etc, I just can no longer eat my usual 16 oz ribeye, I hope I made a little sense in my rabling on, feel free to PM me with any questions. PS - regarding your fill, you might get just a little and see what the difference does. Getting to the propper fill requires a lot of patience, I just had my 10th one. I totally understand patience now. If the fill is too tight, then you can always have a little taken out, there is no law against that at all. Also, make sure you are getting plenty of Protein in, good solid protein is the key to losing too, well, again, it is for me, maybe not everyone.

Okay, I had the same thoughts, then I found the following and had to ask myself the questions, was I ready to make the changes, was I ready to go the distance, I decided Yes, I was ready! Read Below: (I did not write this, I found it on a doctor's website, however the websit is no longer active, but I did copy and paste this in my blog, so I was able to go back and refer to it often) Rules of the Road What you need to know about living with the band By Robin McCoy When you begin the decision-making process to have Weight Loss Surgery (WLS), and specifically LapBand® Surgery, it is vital that you fully understand the changes you must make in your lifestyle. WLS is not a magic pill. Weight loss is something that you must work at to be successful. There are several rules and circumstances that someone who has undergone LapBand® Surgery, a “Bandster,” must follow and understand to see success and have a high quality banded life. Drinking Before and After Meals Not drinking during meals is, by far, one of the most important things to learn and is vital to your weight loss success. It is also one of the most challenging. Stop drinking all liquids at least 30 minutes before your meal. This allows all that is in your pouch to drain through to the lower stomach. Therefore your pouch is empty when you eat allowing the food to fill you up properly. Forgo all beverages during your meals. Drinking during a meal flushes the food through your band and the band is unable to function properly. Most people will have 2, 3 or even 4 glasses of liquid with meals. Servers in restaurants, trained to keep customers happy, will keep beverage glasses full throughout the meal. This is unhealthy for bandsters and sabotages their success. State firmly and clearly that you do not want a beverage. From personal experience, I know the often bewildered looks that follow the statement: “nothing to drink for me,” but diligence is the key. Like most changes required after the LapBand® procedure, not drinking with meals gets much easier with time. Having now lost over 100 pounds, I no longer have difficulty asking my server not to bring me a beverage! Do not drink for an hour after a meal.The main reason is the same as drinking during your meal. Liquids wash the food through the band defeating its purpose. Another reason not to drink after a meal is if your pouch is full the beverage might not have anywhere to go…except backwards resulting in a spit-up. Suffice it to say that food and liquids making a return visit is not satisfying. By starting this practice immediately, at the next meal, you will be well on your way to a successful banding experience. Smaller Bites. More Chewing. Slower Eating. Begin to recognize and understand what a Bandster Bite is. At your next meal look at your bite size. Look at the amount of food on your fork and remember it. Now, cut that bite in half. This is the Bandster bite size after surgery. Now, cut that bite in half. This is the size of a Bandster bite after the first fill or adjustment. After each fill the bite size will get smaller until the bandster is eating toddler-sized bites. The reason for this is so the bite can be chewed completely to a liquid before swallowing. The next point is chewing. It is very important that food is completely chewed. Before swallowing ensure the food is a liquid. As the weight loss progresses the opening from the pouch to the lower stomach will be getting smaller. Therefore the food needs to be chewed more thoroughly. If a piece of food is too big to go through the stoma, or opening, it will get "stuck". This can be very painful. Slower eating becomes inevitable. Eating too fast encourages bigger bites. The bigger bite means the food isn’t chewed properly and it can get stuck. As a Bandster with over 18 months in, I still find myself falling into this trap. I get excited, chatting with friends and just forget to pay attention. A Bandster’s Eating Order Lap-Band patients have a specific order in which to eat their food. It is important that there is enough Protein in the diet to keep the bodies moving properly. Therefore, the protein should be eaten first. WLS patients need 40-60 grams of protein every day. This can come in a variety of ways. Protein Shakes, cheese, fish, beef, chicken, soy. The challenge comes when only certain foods can be tolerated. Also, it is important that the protein is a “hard” protein (chicken, beef, and fish) if possible. It shouldn’t all come from protein shakes and cheese. The vegetables should be eaten second, and carbohydrates/starches last (if there is room). Proteins last longer in the pouch and take longer to process through the band allowing you to feel full sooner and maintain satiety longer. Hard proteins are the most difficult for a Bandster to consume. The hard proteins need to be more moist, more tender and chewed more completely than any other type of food. Generally speaking, proteins are the foods that get “stuck” most often and cause spit ups. This happens because the bite isn’t small enough and/or, because the protein hasn’t been chewed sufficiently before swallowing. For the record, beef is generally the most difficult food for Bandsters to eat. Beef is one of the most difficult foods for humans to digest. It can take several days for a piece of steak to actually work its way through the digestive track. And that’s on an un-banded person! So, if you eat a piece of steak and it isn’t chewed it up completely, it can sit in the pouch for an extended amount of time. Further, the stomach acids that help an un-banded person process beef are not present in the pouch and therefore are not there to help the body break the beef down. Remember each and every person is different so you will have to test your own waters. Some Bandsters have no trouble with beef whatsoever; others won’t go near it. From personal experience I know that each Bandster will figure out what he or she can or cannot tolerate through trial and error. Trust me when I say that tolerances change; one day ground beef is fine and the next you realize it isn’t any longer. You must be willing and able to adapt to sudden changes in your body’s ability to process certain foods. The Constant Quest for Restriction; Not enough vs. too much Restriction.No one can really describe it but everyone wants it. You have restriction when your band is adjusted to the point where you can eat 3-5 bites of well-chewed food and you are full. When this happens you have what is called good restriction. You are too loose, or open, if you don’t feel full after just a few bites.You are able to eat more on a consistent basis than before. Maybe your weight loss has slowed or stopped. This is when it is time for a fill, or adjustment, in your band. You are too tight when you can eat very little solid food or worse—none at all. If you are so tight that only liquids go through your band or you are spitting up too often this is too tight. If you can’t keep liquids down this is a medical issue and you must get some removed. You run the risk of becoming dehydrated. Being too tight is not a good thing! Not only are you not getting the nutrition your body needs to function properly but it can also bring on a slippage in your band. If this happens you will require minor surgery to repair it. Now that you know a little about what restriction is, let’s get a little deeper. There are three points to learn: 1. The first thing to understand is that every banded person feels restriction differently. So to compare yourself to others is difficult. 2. Also the amount of Fluid in the band and the stomach’s reaction, or restriction, to it is a varied as the Bandsters reading this now. Everyone’s stomach is a different size and reacts to the band differently. It is fine to compare fluid levels but don’t get too caught up in “I have this and they have that”. 3. Finally, your level of restriction can change day to day. It can change meal to meal in some cases. You are now asking, “How in the heck do I deal with that?” My answer is trial and error and learning about your band. Let us go back to the beginning. Immediately after surgery you will feel restriction. The surgeon usually doesn’t put any fluid in your band during the surgery. The restriction you feel is the swelling of your stomach and it’s adjustment to the band that has suddenly been wrapped around it. You won’t get your first fill until 4-6 weeks after surgery. You will be on Clear Liquids and they will fill you up quickly for the first few days. Then they will stop filling you up you will begin to feel hungry. About this time you will be allowed to eat mushy foods like mashed potatoes, creamy Soups, etc. You will find that you eat just a few bites and you are full. This is great! Who knew a ¼ can of Soup would be enough? This is going to be a piece of cake. It isn’t going to last. Shortly this won’t satisfy and you will be moving on to solid food. That feeling of restriction comes back. A slice of turkey and you are stuffed! This doesn’t last either. At about 4 weeks, sometimes earlier, you will start to feel hunger again. You feel like you are eating everything. Your weight loss has slowed or stopped. You start to freak out. “Where is my restriction?!” you cry. This is a difficult time but one that every Bandster gets through.Just be patient and let yourself finish the healing process. Watch what you eat and know that you are not eating anywhere near what you were pre-band. The unfilled band supplies a certain amount of restriction and you won’t hurt your progress. Your first fill will bring you back to the restriction point right after surgery. You will eat a few bites and feel full. You will start losing weight pretty quickly. You want to make sure you are eating your protein first, vegetables second and any starches last. This will ensure satiety. This fill will usually last several weeks. Then it starts to loosen up. Your second fill is the one that usually kicks a Bandster in the butt. This is where they learn what not chewing thoroughly and taking bites that are too large can do. And so it goes. Some Bandsters need one fill others need more. I had 4 over the course of the first year. I heard of one woman that lost 80 pounds on her first fill. This is why I stress not comparing yourself to your banded friends. It brings on frustration and we have spent enough time in our lives comparing ourselves to others. Now is the time to stop. One of the largest environmental factors that make our band feel tighter is stress. I never truly understood what Bandsters were talking about when they said stress was tightening their band. That is until I started the process of buying a house. The stress of the pending inspection and what they might find had my band so tight I was barely eating. My band was so tight I cancelled my fill appointment. Let me say right now that I learned from this experience and you need to make sure you are getting the right Vitamins in to ensure your health. I wasn’t in any danger but I was very tired and was bruising like crazy! Well, the inspection went well. I got my house and my band opened back up. Food started going through more smoothly and I started eating better. Other environmental factors can be tiredness, excitement, sadness, or just the fact that it is morning. Many Bandsters find they can’t eat until after 11 AM every day. I don’t know if this satisfies your curiosity of what restriction is or what you are to do with it. I do hope you understand that everyone is different and it is a learning process. You will learn what it feels like for you to have good restriction and when your band is talking to you. Being “stuck” and “spitting up” As WLS patients we have a few fun words we use. Some are nice and some are not. You will hear “PB” which means “Productive Burp”. I prefer the simple term “spit up”. What does “stuck” mean?Stuck means that what you have eaten won’t go through the opening between your pouch and lower stomach. This is called your “stoma”. The bite is too big to go through (meaning you didn’t chew it enough), it isn’t something that moves smoothly through the band (lettuce), or you just ate too darn much. When a bite of food goes through your esophagus and hits your pouch it has one of two places to go…through the band or back. If all is well it will go through with no problem either now or later. If it can’t make it to the pouch or through the stoma it will result in a spit up. Understand that this is something that will happen to you and to every bandster out there. Call it a side-effect or whatever you like but it will happen. The questions are what causes a spit-up, what it feels like, what to do when it happens, and how to avoid them. Remember, things can change day-to-day, heck even meal to meal. This is the nature of the beast. Frustrating? Yes. Small price to pay? I think so. What causes a spit up is easy.The bite it too big, you took one or two too many bites, you didn’t chew properly, or it is simply a food that you can’t tolerate right now. It is up to you to determine which of the above it true. Trust me… you will learn to determine this. What does if feel like?You will know. The best way I can find to describe the feeling is when you drink a big gulp of Water and it goes down with air. You get this pain in your chest that makes you feel like something is going to bust out. That is what it feels like when something is stuck. It can be minor or it can hurt like a son-of-a-gun. Some bandsters say their bodies tell them when they are finished eating and need to stop. Some Bandsters start to salivate which is their body’s way of washing the food through. Some, me included, get a heavy sigh or exhale; this tells us we are full. Don’t worry; you too will learn to read what your body is telling you…even if you don’t now. What should you do when it happens? Stop eating is the first thing. It doesn’t matter if it is your first bite or your fifth. A spit up is your body’s way of telling you that you are full. This is your band in full-alert. It is telling you that you are done and to put the fork down. Many times you can stop eating and just wait it out. Until you are used to it you might get the “deer in the headlight” look. Soon you will just adjust. If it doesn’t go away then you need to deal with it. Dealing with it means excusing yourself and heading to the bathroom. A spit up is just that. I compare it to a baby spit up. It should never be what you classify as vomiting. This is hazardous for a Bandster and should be avoided as it can cause slippage. There is a very large difference in spit ups and vomiting. How to avoid them?Well, that comes with experience and a willingness to acknowledge when your “food police” tells you to stop. Very quickly you should learn when your band tells you to stop. I found that after my 2nd fill my band was at attention and told me when I was full. This is when I experienced my first spit ups and found foods that I could no longer tolerate. One of the most difficult things to get your mind around is just how little you will be eating. Your band tells you that you are full but your brain engages and says, “You haven’t eaten nearly enough!” So you take that extra bite or two. Then there it is…the feeling in your chest…your eyes get big…and saliva fills your mouth. The biggest point I want to get across to you is that, while normal, spitting up is not necessarily a good thing. You don’t want to be doing it every day and certainly not every meal. If this is happening you need to take a good look at what you are eating, how big your bites are, how much you are eating and to what level you are chewing. Be aware at the beginning and it will become more of a habit soon enough. Surgery Is Not a Magic Pill Surgery is not the magic pill we have all been waiting for. You will not wake up thin. You must be willing to meet the band half way. You will lose weight at a different pace than your friends. You must change your behavior for this to work. It is a tool—and nothing more. An electric mixer is easier than mixing by hand but you still have to follow the recipe for the cake to taste good. Right now you should be asking yourself one question—“Am I ready to go the distance?” It can be a joyful journey with the highest of highs. Moments that are so thrilling and uplifting that you don’t think you will ever come down. It is also a frightening journey as we venture into unfamiliar territory of who we are and where we are going. You are not going down this path alone. There are many Bandsters ahead of you on this path that are ready to help you along the way and take you with them to the next level. So I ask, “Are you ready to go the distance?”