this sucks

Yes, the water will help with the tightness. But...I am still tight every morning and drink my breakfast. Whenever I think I can fake the band out by eating real food, it just laughs at me and I pay the price! Are you drinking enough? What does your dr. recommend? I drink about 64 oz. per day, spread throughout the day and it does seem to keep me from eating too much. I read somewhere that when you think you are hungry, that you may really be thirsty.

Wow. Hope you enjoyed yourself at my expense...

Oh Nicki, don't I know about those evil family traditions related to food! Just sent my college kid back off to school and realized that we ate out every day while he was here-all in the name of tradition! Sad he's gone, but relieved that I can get back to my eating routine. At least that is, until he comes back in three weeks for Christmas break! Don't be too hard on yourself. Sounds like you got this handled!

Great idea to run a contest, but based on posts? Really? You already have people who post on every thread, whether that have anything valuable to share or not and now you are going to reward them? This has been one of my biggest frustrations with LBT. There are people who "hijack"threads with their own silliness and now they can earn chances to win prizes for each little comment? Thanks, but no thanks. I appreciate the experiences that people share on LBT, but I have learned that I need to stay with only a few threads/forums.

I just laugh it off every day when I get that message! I am truly in no danger of starving myself when I eat 1200 calories per day. Just remember, MFP isn't a WLS specific site so it doesn't understand our unique needs. Hang in there though. Not sure where you are in your journey, but you may just be hitting a plateau, not unheard of.

Okay, if you have never had a serious stuck episode, you have no way of relating to this, but having been there a couple of times, I TOTALLY get your reaction.... I felt like the life flight helicopter should land in my front yard to take me to the hospital! Not trying to scare the newbies, but don't be quick to tell her that shrcumm that she over reacted if you have never been there! A serious stuck is a very scary experience. NO, it doesn't block your airflow, and NO you won't die, but when you are in the middle of it, you feel like you could. Not minimizing it at all! It hurts and it is scary.

I survived the eating frenzy too. I was lucky because we ate our dinner at a restaurant instead of sitting at home overeating. It was a bittersweet day though. First Thanksgiving since my much loved father in law passed away in April... Realized how much of a void his passing has left in the family. He was always one of my biggest supporters in my weight loss journey and I wish he could see me today at the lowest weight that I have been in many, many years. I did enjoy the meal and had some pie, but got in a good swim at the hotel pool last night with my kids so hopefully i burned up a few calories.

I am an avid user of MFP. The biggest issues with MFP are: 1. The daily caloric goals aren't realistic for WLS patients. When i set the daily limits to the numbers recommended by my dietitian, it tells me that I am taking in too few calories and i need to increase my calories. It always shows that I am over my daily limits for Protein and always under for carbs. Have parameters set to dietitian or doctor recommended general levels based on type of WLS. 2. Need better exercise values and categories. I believe strongly that calories burned from exercise are always way too high in MFP so I always take the numbers with a grain of salt. I use them as guidelines, not reality of calories burned. Thanks for asking our opinion.

I stopped trying to find the elusive "green zone" a while ago. My band changes every day. If I had too much salt, if its that time of the month, if I'm dehydrated-any of these this can change how tight or loose I feel. I choose to eat right, journal and drink all my Water and don't waste any energy on finding the perfect fill. I had surgery over two years ago.

too(t) funny! I burp ALL the time. It's a joke with my kids that its just my band talking back. I usually have to warn people who i work with because at this point, 28 months after surgery, I don't even think,about it anymore. As Shrek says "Better out than in, that's what I say"....

Cheryl, sorry to hear about your gallbladder...how soon will you have surgery?

Me too! Chili has become my "go to" lunch when I have home office days. Yummy, yummy, yummy!

I am a big coffee fan, but I did switch to 1/2 caf recently. I told me surgeon that a no coffee rule would be a deal breaker to me and I meant it at the time. Now, it's really not such a big deal... Do whatever your dr says, that's all you need to do.

I did have a port infection. It made me pretty sick because I didn't call my doctor quick enough. You are a smart chick to react like you did. All it took was a round of antibiotics and about ten days and I was good again. God luck today!

My vitamin issues were directly related to the band. Guess I wasn't listening when that part of the prep class went on...typical for me, was probably thinking about, oh, I don't know, let me guess....FOOD! Still no regrets for having surgery though.

Boy it sure sounds like you need an unfill...hope you can get ahold of someone in your dr office tomorrow !

I know! She could have told me that I had two heads or something. I didn't hear anything she said after that!

Is prepared the way I want than an entire plate of something that tastes mediocre. Funny thing is, I just had this conversation with my dietician last week. Lately I find that I'm searching for richer flavors and more intense seasoning, but I'm also finding that it takes a lot less to satisfy me. She says that's what thin people do-imagine that!

Ladybandito, I love your appetizer idea! Pretty and tasty. I like your plan for Thanksgiving. Every time I deprive myself, I end up more than over compensating by eating other things. I now let myself have a little bit of what I truly want and I journal it and I move on. Ladies, keep going for your follow up visits to the doctor. Whether you have a fill or not isn't the issue. Last week I saw my bariatric doctor and she showed me an article that directly matched follow up care with long term success. The statistics were surprising to me. I know that I still see my surgeon every six weeks or so, my bariatric doc every two to three months, the dietitian and exercise physiologist every four months or so. I know, it sounds like a lot, but it keeps me honest and on track. Please feel free to ask me anything...the only difference between all of you and me is that I've had the band in longer, so i may have experienced something that you haven't yet. I have not had the weight loss success that some of you have had, and I still struggle constantly. I'm here just like you looking for some people who understand this journey.