Jannalise

How soon after surgery do you get the fill? Is there criterea to get it? Someone said you have to have not lost weight first before they will fill you?

My friend invited me to her birthday which consists of a Sushi bar and drinking that hot tea they serve. I realized after she asked me...I don't think I will ever eat sushi again will I? We can't have rice can we? I know I'm way to soon to even eat but her party is in a month. Can or has anyone had a sushi roll once banded or is it a forbidden fruit? I know pasta is out forever and soda but is rice also?

Sounds sooo good but it has rice. I thought we couldn't do rice? Is it ok to eat banded?

Drink while we eat? I know we aren't supposed to..but I don't really know why? It's an extremely hard habbit for me to break. I'm only still on mushy food and soups but I always find myself reaching for my water. Can someone explain to me why or rather what happens when we drink while eating?

That makes sense! I never really understood. I will try that ice trick. That sounds like a great idea. I get so thirsty so it's really hard, but I will do it. Thanks for the replies.

I LOVE your motivation! You keep me smiling:) This lap band has really changed me too. I feel great, full of energy and I love how I can actually feel fullness. I honestly can't remember feeling full before this band...thus the weight gain. I can't wait to hear your success stories and now especially about when you hit the 30 pount mark. That will be such a huge milestone for you! You are doing great and thanks for always being so positive. {{{Hugs}}}

You'll do great! And come here often it's full of so much information to help you. I'd be lost without this site. Congrats so far on your 5 lbs.!!!

Don't compare yourself to anyone but yourself. How far have you come since your band? Maybe it doesn't show on the scale but you are here blogging which means you are still motivated. Look for the things you have changed and focus on them. Some people don't do well taking in more than one small change at a time. I think we are always trying to keep up with everyone else in life we forget to be good to ourselves. This is YOUR journey and however long this journey takes is up to you. As long as you don't forget to enjoy each stage of it. I'm taking each stage and really taking my time to get to know myself again. I have been so lost that I lost touch with so many things that are slowly coming back to me. I"m in no way competing with anyone to see who gets there the fastest. Instead i'm doing what it takes to make sure I make permanent changes...even if it takes me twice as long. I want to understand my body and how it reacts to foods mentally and physiaclly. I'm taking my time and doing the best I can. If I mess up, so be it...I get up dust myself off and say ok take 2. We are all human, with strengths in different areas. Find your strengths and let them help you. Vent anytime...it really helps!

I must have missed a step in my banding process. I went to one seminar then the Dr. had me do all my testing and in 6 weeks I was banded. I really never got anything on what to eat and when- other than to be on liquids for 1 week post op - then mushy food for 1 week then I see my Dr. from there again. I was never told not to drink from a straw - I had no pre op diet (although my Dr. said on paper I look like i'm athletic) and I'm kind of thinking I should buy a book or something on this band and foods. Maybe it will all come on my appt. the 17th. For now I am eating soups, protien shakes, jello, yogurts and drinking lots of water and crystal light. I feel really good and I don't have any issues eating/drinking or with gas. In fact I had NO issues with gas even after my surgery. I didn't know the straw part so I've been drinking with one and I've had no issues. When you guys say gas do you mean like burping or GAS down the other end?LOL sorry but I don't have either so i'm not sure. I'm not comlaining trust me, just worried maybe something is wrong, i'm literally having no issues other than wondering if I'm doing this right. Well - Cheers to feeling good and I hope this continues and I start to see the weight drop soon. I keep reminding myself - It's only been a week, BE PATIENT. I'm truly amazed that I have been able to stick to this so far with no temptations. So far so good. I am starting to feel hungrier each day so my 300 cal days are now about 650 calories per day. Is that enough for now? Because thats about all I can get in.:rolleyes2:

Cami - I too am 8 days post op. I am amazed how I feel Kind of like I didn't even have surgery. I cleaned today even vacumed with no issues. 1 week makes all the difference in the world. Congrats on your weight loss. I'm down 12 pounds also but I have been doing protein shakes and puddings/yogurt for a couple of days now. My downfall is I feel hungry and have since about day 3 post op. I've been really good with sticking to the liquids but my engergy really boosted up once I put in a few more calores. Congratulations to you for your 12 pounds!!!!!!!

Sounds like you had a great time. It has to be water if your feet are swelling. Sounds like you did great. No matter what you lived your life and had a great vacation with foods in control. That to me is paradise :0

Thank you so much for the advice. It seems like pretty much if we listen to our bodies we can live with choices and be ok. A friend of mine got banded a week ago and is eating Wendy's chili because she is starving and found it worked well for her and she swears its only 220 calories and 18 protien. I'm too scared to try it but she is fine. It's amazing how different we all are with this band. I know this is a lifestyle change and I plan to use this band to help me recover from my old habbits.

I like to have wine with friends too. I know it will be a while before I can have it again but I proabably will allow myself a small glass in the future. I know moderation is the key to success for me and I also know myself well enough to know if I deprive myself totally...I go overboard later. I hope you atleast enjoyed yourself?

Today is 6 days post surgery and I feel SO good. No more pain and my energy is coming back. I'm even amazed that my incisions are healing. I have been a little reluctant to get on the scale but today my co-workers noticed a slight change in my face. I am so happy to feel so good so quickly. I am starting to feel hungrier...but nothing too bad yet. My friend said i'm still in the honeymoon stage with my band, but you know what I'm going to enjoy it and try to keep this motivation and excitement as long as i possibly can. I post to keep myself on track and accountable. It really helps me.:smile2:

My insurance is covered at 90% as well and it's all on the back end billed to me. I was told I can make monthly payment if I need to. Check to see if this is an option for you?

It's sad but true. I can relate so some of it. My biggest light bulb moment is when I realized I couldn't cry when I ate...that opened my eyes to the idea I had Sh** to deal with. I have delt with most of it...but my years of bad habbits equaled years of not crying becuase my mouth and mind took me briefly away from what was on my mind and in my life. It took associating it to realize the link for me and now, i'm here on my journey to turn old habbits into new fresh better ones. It's a hard habbit to break, but support is my key to success and we all have different motivators and needs to succeed. Sometimes we may feel just as disgusting as people view us, only instead of being shamed a hug and a friend to talk to often are lacking in that persons life. That is just my view and opinion on the topic. It's a deep rooted extremely personal issue that we all can relate to in very different yet identical ways.

Are we not supposed to drink through a straw? I did not know that.

Yeah...that visual just stuck in my brain so if I go maybe I will just have the soup and some steamed veggies.

I love the pictures. You look SO cute! Congrats on your goals so far. You look great!

Good luck and atleast you are aware of what you need. It's a good thing to make progress even if it's just making different decisions than we used to. I know the scale can be bad to visit everyday. I had a friend when I went to weight watchers every week that had the same dress on week after week. I didn't know why until she explained it's so she weighs (her clothes) the same each week and so she sees the results in inches as well as pounds. I love the idea and it really helped me see sometimes our body does change even when the scale does not. Keep it up and eventually you WILL get there. It's only when we give up that our body does too.

I know what you mean..it's hard when the entire house is eating chicken wings (which i LOVE) and pizza and crap everyday...it's hard to embrace the liquids. I'm doing this for me and it's funny because everyday it's easier to not miss that stuff and know what i'm doing is going to make me stronger each day. Even as strangers, I find these posts help me stay strong and focused. Don't lose sight of why we came here to begin with.

I loved your post. I like details and I just started my journey but I too am anxious to see what is hidden under all these pounds. I've always been told I have such a pretty face, but that just always made me kinda sad to hear. I now have the power to match my body to my face and i've never done that before...I look forward to feeling smaller each day. I know health is so important too, but I want to feel good when I look in the mirror and everyday i'm one day closer. Thanks for sharing...it's nice to hear what others go through.

Thanks so much for the reply. It really helps to have others that are going through or have gone through this. I will continue to follow the orders my Dr. advises me to do. I cannot wait to see some results. I'm hoping soon I will be able to tell something.

Today is 3 days post op or 4 days since my surgery. I am having less pain but it is definetly still there. I am drinking my water and broth, but i'm starting to feel hungry tonight. My boyfriend had some chicken wings and I felt my stomach growl. Is this just my mind playing tricks on me? It seems from reading others experiences that I should NOT be hungry yet..but I kind of am. I don't want to begin the hunger so early. I was hoping to avoid that for a few weeks at least. How soon did you start to feel hungry and am I really too soon in this process to feel hunger? I was instructed to do liquids for 4 days then add protien shakes/yogurt/broth for another week then go to soft mushy foods at day 7-14. Does that sound close to what you are doing? I'm just concerned and do NOT want to mess all this up. I've invested way to much and gone to far to make any mistakes.

Good job! I'm so happy for you. I know that losing weight is such a good feeling and thank you for sharing your journey.