laurigee

I stayed away from pain killers because they only make me nauseous and constipated which can be a whole new group of problems! If your having gas pains, walk. If your having shoulder or back pain a heating pad works great! Congratulations on your band, and I hope you start feeling better!!!

I hope that everyone takes chronic acid reflux seriously! It is not OK! My dad passed away a year ago from esophageal cancer! He was constantly taking meds from doctor along with hand fulls of tums! The symptoms he had was a full feeling and pain in his chest! Of course the doctors just kept treating him for acid reflux! By the time they caught the cancer it was stage 4 terminal! Acid reflux is not just annoying or inconvenient, it can cost you your life! Take it as seriously as your vow to lose weight!

I think I must be a private person. Just like I dont share my marriage, financial, or family issues with acquaintances, I don't share my medical issues either. I probably wouldn't have made up an excuse of why I was having surgery. That just sets you up for people to question you in the future if they find out the truth. You can use your time off without having to explain or justify it to anyone! I don't like to give people the opportunity or reason to have me the topic of their conversations.

Just had a colonoscopy 2 weeks ago. Definitely the prep is the hardest part. Just thinking about drinking that crap makes me gag! I had a double bonus by having a total hysterectomy a week after my colonoscopy! Good luck Barbie with your colonoscopy, I will be praying for positive results.....Donna, so sorry to hear about your brother, will send prayers his way as well!

I have certain things that trigger over eating! There are certain foods also, for some reason, that do the same thing! If I eat any type of potatoes I know that I'm not going to have a good day! It triggers something in my brain that wants me to keep eating or searching for something else! Figure out why you went home searching for more food! Whether it be physical or emotional figure it out so you recognize it and it will prevent it from happening again. Don't punish yourself by not eating the next day and just doing protein shakes, that's just playing into the same crap we told ourselves pre-band. If we are bad we must be punished with taking away our food! Don't let food have that control! It usually backfires because we become more hungry and repeat the same things within a few days! Move on! It's over and done! Don't beat yourself up over it!

I had pain in my head, neck, and shoulders with every fill! I have gone 6 years now without any fills. Try to unfill your band and see if the problems go away! Good luck!

I like Kobe beef. You could chew it with no teeth. I think the key is getting the right cuts of meat and then knowing how to prepare it! I didn't eat dry or tough meat even before my band! Yuk!

I can eat steak. There isn't really any foods that I'm unable to eat!

I guess I didn't have a last meal. I didn't have the fear of never eating something again. If I crave something now I eat it in a lot smaller quantity. Not as often as before of course! I found if I withhold things from myself I crave it and obssess over it even more.

Holy crap! How fast are you eating? If your following the simplest of all the rules, which is eat slow and chew, it would have taken you several hours to get down that much food!!!!! Don't use the band just to lose weight, use it to become healthier! As you get more restricted it is going to be VERY important that you make smart food choices! Your body is getting less food, so the quality is important! Proper nutrition is the only thing that is going to allow your body to preform to it's potential. Fill it with crap, you'll feel like crap! Dont test your band because you will be very disappointed to know that you CAN eat around it! FOLLOW THE RULES and it will work, if you don't, this is just another fad diet!

I think of restriction as being able to get your water, protein, and proper nutrition in for the day. Also, being satisfied on your meal and not being hungry in between meals. ...4-6 hours. This may just be my version, I'm not sure what others feel about restriction.

How long have you been banded? That's a lot of food! Do you keep track of calories? That 1 - 2 cups usually includes the protein, not an addition to the proteins. I don't feel the food as it goes down. Do you make sure you chew your food really well?

If my husband would have thought it was funny, I would have turned the joke on him! I would have left the house and went to the most expensive store and bought myself the most awesome incentive outfit that anyone has ever seen! I would have waltzed into the room, hung it up in the middle of the party and with a huge smile, hand the receipt to my husband in front of them all! Then thank your husband and his friends for their encouragement!

Welcome! I'm so excited for you!

I'm not able to get fills, which is a long story I won't bore you with! However, I have always stuck with 1200 calories a day regardless of how much I could eat! Just like prior to the band, when you gradually start eating more, the more your able to eat! Has your doctor or nutritionist told you how much you should eat per meal. Most people say they eat a cup of food per meal! It seems like right now you don't really have a game plan. I'm not really sure what your saying by feeling tight. I know that for me it's about being satisfied with smaller portions! I don't stop eating because I feel I can't eat anymore or a tight feeling. I stop eating because I ate my allotted amount and calories, or I'm satisfied.

I was successful with the band 6 years ago, I came to the site every day......hit a rough patch 2 years ago and gained some weight back, and stopped coming to the site! Came back to the site for support in January and have now lost 13 pounds! Therefore, my assumption can only be that this site and the people that stay involved, regardless of being new to the band or at goal, have been the key to my success! Words cannot express the gratitude that I have for many of you! It's funny how I'm a veteran with the band, but how much I have learned from the newbies! If you keep open ears along with an open mind it amazing how fast you learn what you don't know! Thank you everyone, you threw me a life preserver when I thought I was going to drown!

Are you eating more than your suppose to where you feel the possibility of dilation? Are you really hungry between meals?

I would have done ANYTHING to have my insurance pay for any of my surgery! Why do the 6 months have to be a waste of time? Most of us have been able to lose weight, it's the keeping it off for long periods of time that we struggle with! Why can't you tell yourself your going to start with eating right, learning why you over eat, and learning about nutrition, and starting to exercise!?? These are things your going to have to know and do with the band! It's just giving you a head start! Being in better shape will definitely help with your recovery process after surgery! I had to work 2 and 3 jobs for over a year to save up for my band. I started out at 297 and had got to 267 by the day of my surgery! I didn't continue my bad habits until I got the band! The day I said "I've had enough" is the day I started doing something about it, not the day I got the band! Start NOW, absorb all the information about the band, about nutrition and about exercise! Even if you think you already know it all, learn more! Your long term success depends on it! I wish you all the best, be patient it will come faster than you think!

My surgeon never told me anything about carbonation either! I was a diet coke addict and he said that was fine! However, I found out on my own that it makes me feel bloated and horrible! Funny how I have no craving for it anymore! You'll have to see how you tolerate it! Sips here and there are probably not going to be a real issue! Good luck!

Were you having a hard time before you got the pill stuck? Sometimes after a stuck episode things feel like they are getting stuck because of the irritation even though they are not. I would stick to warm liquids today and if you don't feel better by tomorrow call your doctor! If there is something truly stuck when you try to drink or eat it will come right back up! I had a pill stuck and as soon as I would drink water it would fly right back up! The doctor had to retrieve it. Good luck and never feel hesitant to call your doctor when things don't feel right!

I was anorexic/bulimic from 17-23. I think it has to do with the "all or nothing" personality! We are either going to be horrible or perfect! There is no in between! I've now learned to live in the gray area! So much less pressure to live with balance!

I don't pay attention to how much time I wait between bite. I don't set my fork down because I've always been in the habit of moving food around on my plate between bites even before the band. However, I will not eat if I'm being distracted by something else or in a hurry! When I eat, that's my only job at the moment! It's funny how I have learned to actually enjoy the flavors of food and I actually like foods I never ate before! I think I enjoy food more now, but am less obsessed with the quantity!

I am shocked and disappointed at what I'm reading. Have we been so brainwashed that we actually think that reading a certain number on a scale determines our HEALTH!!! NO!!! It establishes your WEIGHT! Is a 10 - 20 pound difference mean the lighter person is healthier? Of course not! Does a person that falls within the guidelines assumed to be healthy? Apparently??! I have seen many people in my support group that are at their goal or below that have the most unhealthy eating habits! They have used the band as a starvation tool! Their skin looks like hell, you can see they have no energy, and have been losing their hair as fast as their weight! I, like everyone have a goal, however, if my body feels great and I don't fall between the "ideal" so be it! I'm not intimidated by a chart or a scale!

I've never heard of anyone naming their band! That's hilarious! I'm so sorry for your loss! There is nothing as important and influential in a woman's life then her mother! A bond that I can tell is even there after her passing! As far as naming it, maybe it's like a baby. Before they are born you think you've picked out the perfect name, then once they're here it just doesn't fit! Maybe you need to wait for "the day" ! I haven't always said nice things to my band! LOL...Good Luck on the 7th. I will be thinking of you and saying a prayer for an easy surgery and a quick recovery!

When I stall I like to change things up! Maybe change up your exercise routine! When you do the exact thing every day your body adapts to that! Do an exercise that targets other muscles every other day! I will increase my calories a few days a week by 100-200 calories. Also watch that you don't put the exact same food into your body every day! Your body will also get use to metabolizing certain foods that are eaten repetitively and daily. Changing it up makes your body have to work harder to digest different foods! Good Luck on your journey! Remember, your overall objective is to be healthy. Your eating right and exercising! Give that as much importance as the numbers on the scale! Be proud of yourself! The scale can measure our weight, but it can't measure our healthy lifestyle! Thin without being healthy is just as destructive as obese and unhealthy! Use the scale as a guide to success not the factor!