Betsyjane

Hi! I used to be up there in the Metroplex...now in Houston and loving being banded.

Now that's about the sweetest post I've ever seen. Good for you for writing. 1. Listen to her to find out what she'd like from you. It will change over time and range from food coaching to exercise encouragement to just hush up! 2. Ask her to teach you about it and to let you know what she's learning. It's a long steep learning curve for months. 3. Congratulate her for taking such a big step to improve her health. Weight loss is practically impossible to do or to maintain once you become morbidly obese, and the TV just says we all can do it with diet and exercise, or we're just lazy. Fat is the last great acceptable form of prejudice. You can say whatever you want about fat and people will laugh. You can discriminate against fat people, and no one cares. Let her know that YOU know that once you've crossed over that line to so many years of yo yo dieting and failures, that you change physically, biochemically, and in your brain, and it is NOT true that exercise and diet work or your lazy. She had the courage to do what she needed to do, and you need to be the one who knows that the best. 4. Help gently. My husband will touch me gently at dinner and then almost whisper "slow down" if I'm eating too quickly. And if it got on my nerves, I'd feel comfortable telling him not to pay attention to that anymore, and that instead, I need him to ask me every day if I've been to the gym! 5. In a sense, she's losing her best friend. for me, food was always there to handle my boredom or stress. Taking it away left some holes temporarily and I had to grieve. Then I started replacing my food with healthy habits...exercise and the like. Anyway, if your wife goes through emotional changes, just know that it's normal. 6. I guess my best advice to you is to ask her to read this post and ask her what she thinks. What she thinks will change week by week as she learns to live as a bandster, but this post might give you a common ground to start some conversations. My best to you both.

Congrats to both of you! It's an amazing journey. I was really nervous too! The biggest thing for me is that I've never succeeded at weight loss, so I figured I'd screw this up too. But it turns out if you screw this up, you can make it right without much sweat. It's a learning curve, and we aren't perfect...but look! I'm down almost 2 pounds a week on average since I was banded! Who's your doc in Houston?

lrw26...Look at you go! Nice weight loss!

Mannamay: I'm glad you are nervous. This is a big step, and there's a lot to learn both before and after banding. Even if you keep your guard up and don't show it, you can always write it here! We done bin there. Congratualtions on starting this journey. To your health.......

I'd rather drink water than all that artificial stuff. Here's how I get it in, but everybody's different. I drink around a glass of water and a half first thing in the morning. Then I have breakfast and don't drink anything for an hour. Then I drink a glass or two right up until lunch. Sometimes I sip and sometimes I just drink regularly. Then I have lunch and nothing to drink for an hour. Sometimes I forget my water in the afternoon, and then hurry up and have a glass and a half before dinner. I keep rubbermaid bottles of water in the fridge equalling 64 ounces so as I grab them during the day, I know how much I still need to drink. After dinner, I wait an hour and then drink whatever I have left to drink for the day. I just usually have one of those bottles with me wherever I go. But I'm not a sipper.....

Hey Krystal. You go girl! How are you doing with stuff like not grazing? That was a tough one for me. CJ Angel....They told me that insurance usually pays if you are BMI 40 or above...or BMI 35 and above with other medical problems. (My insurance didn't cover it at all, however.... jerks.)

Oh...I thought you were up here since you're in the Humble Kingwood group! I've only been to one Spivak meeting, and it was crowded...a full house. Lana and I went and I think we both got a lot out of it. But it's a long way for us too, so we'll go infrequently. If you're ever up our way, come join us!

Ha! I read some scathing reviews of the book and found out the scoop. Lots of predictable advice on weight loss. Then lots of high colonics, massages, exercise. AND the biggie....steriods! Or sort of steroids...a concoction that is illegal in this country, but he tells you how to get it so you can inject it in your self every day (!)...or a bunch of herbs that he says works a lot like the real thing, that you can buy through his website.

I seem to have to be constantly vigilant about grazing. It's definitely not that I need the extra calories or nutrition...My food intake at meals is right on target and I feel full. It's a head hunger issue that challenges me. I am likely to pick up an extra Protein shake as a snack, pouring unneeded liquid caloies into me, a bandster no-no. Anybody else have the same issue and have any success stories? What I know about my issue so far is that I eat when I'm bored, and I'm bored around 2PM, when I run out of my morning burst of energy and am less focused. I'd love to blam it on nutrition, but I think it's more about patterns. I have always hit a lull at 2PM in my lifeand habitually just slowed down and picked up food. I'm going to try going to the gym at 1:30 each day and see if that helps me install a new patterns..... Right now, my grazing is under control, but it is a struggle. Looking for other ideas....

Better Than Boullion saved me. I could drink it during liquids stage and it tasted so hearty! Then when you can, try those boxes soups, like the ones by Imagine. Also hearty!

Woo hoo! You're on your way!

I get constipated if I drink a protein shake and then don't drink LOTS of water during the day. It just sits in there...too big...too hard.

Best wishes to you! Going of anti depressants and the band and going for it is great! I can eat salads just fine with the band......just shows how different we all are.

You're doing so well. Now you can change your description to middle aged, balding, healthy-weight success.

Hey that's great! It's a wonderful journey to embark on. My weight loss has been in fits and starts as I learn new things....but my overall average weight loss has been just under 2 pounds a week. That's certainly a first for me! One of my odd benchmarks is t-shirt size, and I've dropped 4 t-shirt sizes. Are you coming to one of our meetings?

Hey BetsiJane! Are you also an Elizabeth Jane? What part of Texas?

The idea is not to eat a lot of small meals. With lap band, the idea is to eat 3 small meals that give you a sense of being full, and then not doing any snacking. But everybody is different. Generally, you want to fill the little stomach with foods that will keep you feeling full within 15 minutes, and for the next 4 hours or so. I find that I still have to laugh at the dumb things I do...ordering more food than I need...heading to the refrigerator out of habit and realizing I'm totally full.... My doctor was is very liberal. No pre-op diet. liquids for a day after surgery and then mushies for a very short while. That's unusual though. Go with what your doc says to do!

Here's an example of a typical day for me, having been banded last November. What I eat has changed a lot over the months, but currently... I have a lot of restriction in the morning, so I was having a Protein shake for Breakfast (Slim Fast Carb Control). Now, I more often drink Water for a few hours and then have a later breakfast of scrambled Eggbeaters (about 1.5 eggs worth). That fills me up. For lunch I have around 4-6 ounces, a green salad with some kind of meat thrown in. Sometimes I still look at it and wonder if it's enough to fill me up...It is, but sometimes my head just doesn't grasp it. Mid afternoon, I sometimes want a snack, and I have a bite or two of a solid meat, and that fills me up. For dinner, I have around 6 ounces of the same thing as lunch. A sugar free popsicle for a snack later. If I go out to eat, I order whatever I want and usually eat a fourth of it. I savor my going out and eating anything. The reality is that at this point it doesn't feel claustrophobic...It feels freeing. I can honestly push away from the table and say "I couldn't eat another bite!" And then mostly not think about it until the next meal. That's freedom. I have found, though that that leaves me with some free time that used to go toward grazing and filling boredom. I'm working had at filling those holes with exercise. It's a process. A day in the life.....

Ha! That'll teach you! Have you noticed you are throwing out a lot more food since being banded? I sure don't get around to eating enough before it goes bad. They I bring home leftovers when I eat out and they often go bad...... Hubby isn't around to eat on weekdays, and I can't seem to buy small enough for me.

got this private message from Cynmen..... the forum won't let me post for some reason... tell everyone i will hopefully be there wednesday! __________________ Cyndie Surgery - 12-19-06 Dr. Ilahi, Baytown Texas Starting weight - 220 205 two weeks later... 200 as of 1-12-06 185 as of 3-25-07 Goal - 120

I think I got my b-12 at Walgreens...... If not, it was CVS. I like the sublingual because it works fast.

Yes. Some of them are alarming. But it happens so seldom. I wish you lived near here. I'd invite you to our support group for current and future bandsters. See if there's one locally. Just a bunch of folks who get together at a restaurant to chat and laugh, share tips and learn. That might help you as well.

Oh, and tell your husband to ignore anything awful you may say to him over the next few days......

Deanna: It WILL get better, but that's not helpful now, is it? I want you to remember something. You just had anesthesia. It can wreak havok with your emotions, your energy, your pain tolerance, your memory. You are swimming in mood altering chemicals. I came out of surgery demanding to be taken back in and get that thing out of me. Although my hubby says I never said it out loud....I was sure I did. Had that same feeling that I had allowed someone to put a foreign body in me OMG! Right now, you need to pamper yourself. Hot pad on your shoulder and back pain. liquid Tylenol. Stupid comedies on TV. I know it doesn't feel like it, but you are an awesome candidate for major success with the band. You lost 10 pounds pre op, and never cheated. That puts you at the top of the pack. Keep writing here if it helps. You just have to live through that stupid anesthetic and you'll get your bearings.