danide

Well even if the original person did not read all this great info, I certainly did. I am one month in and feel like I am not losing fast enough. But I realize now that I am really really not eating enough protien. I work odd hours so I usually eat more carbs and I gotta prepare better now. I lost 15 lbs between the 1 week pre-op and the first 2 weeks post op. I have maintained at 15 lbs down for the past weeks now... So I gotta get serious. Its difficult cause I don't have any restriction added yet. My first fill is on the 19th. Im sure it will be a little easier once I get the fill but I really gotta up the protien and add more Water. Im not too bad with the water but def gotta limit the carbs again. I guess for Breakfast I will have some tuna :thumbup: (egg whites just dont sound good today. lol did that for a few days... :thumbup: gets odd even with adding stuff to it). Thanks everyone.

MountainMama- really awesome of you to get up there! Great story! Like many of you already said, pretty much, I let my fat control my life. I used to be so outgoing and confident and the last year or two (i hit my heaviest) I shut down. I am just starting on this journey, 1 month so far, long way to go! But I am starting to control my fat, enough of the fat controlling me. I stopped/won't participate now: Going out to certain places Meeting my boyfriends family Meeting up with old friends Going to amusement parks Going hiking Going white Water rafting Going sky diving Enjoying family events Kinky/adventurous sex Being silly Being HAPPY... I can't wait to get down another 15 pounds so I can start feeling more normal and then 30 pounds will be great and 60 pounds it'll be a whole new me!

First, CONGRATULATIONS on the pregnancy. Thats wonderful. Just think, at least right after you have the baby, you can get a fill and start losing weight fast, and have a new life in your arms! As far as being scared, thats probably normal but have faith! And talk about your concerns with the doctor, Im sure they are confindent that you will have nothing to be scared about. Good Luck!

Sorry but its time for personal venting... THANKS! :tongue2: So its like 5 weeks post op now and .... there is pretty much no restriction and it'll be another 2 weeks before my first fill... Im not going crazy with the eating but eating too much to keep losing. I have maintained the same weight for 2.5 weeks now, since eating normal food. Saturday I was able to start back to fully normal food. I mean, I have had some junk but not soo bad (special occassions). Far from what I used to do. And I have been trying to replace some food with just jello to help monitor calories, but with out much restriction its really hard and I don't do it all the time... I mean, I guess there is SOME restriction cause I do notice when I get full faster then before surgery but not nearly enough... :thumbdown: I want to feel the way I did a few days after the surgery. You know... 2 spoons of jello and thats all that can fit... I WANT MY FILLLLLLL. I go on October 19th... And I have began exercising... Sure, not as much as I could but I make sure I do at least a little. I've had a cold since Sunday so that limited my energy. GRRRRRR Okay, enough with all blabber.... I hope that everyone is doing well! Seems that everyone is pretty good from what I read! Hopefully I will have better news on my end in a few days or weeks... lol:lol:

Congratulations Brenda! Hello to EVERYONE! I have nothing to talk about tonight, just wanted to check in with everyone else.

Thanks Brian for jumping on the transfer of threads! That means we are officially ALL Banded! WOOOOOO HOOOO! we ROCK! I don't have much to report other then Happy October and Happy Saturday! Great news on the poundage people! Hi John! Wow 1 year and 120 lbs down, thats awesome! Nice job! You can be our guide!:smile2:

Okay its October and 1 day... See everyone on the POST OP side! Thanks Brian!

Woo Hoo Wednesday! Hope everyone is good! Just a few more to get banded! :smile2: So I weighed myself yesterday... looks like no change, still 15 lbs, but Im hoping thats because "aunt flow is coming to visit soon" . But at the same time, I checked my measurements and I lost 3.5 inches off my upper waist (smallest part), 4.5 off my belly (belly button belly), 4 inches off my pouch (that nastey lower belly women get), 1/2 inch off my hips and 2 inches off my chest! Soooo even though the pounds aren't going away, seems that the blubber is still shrinking. I started at the gym again so Im hoping that will help boost the pounds. The pounds were shedding really fast before I began eating normal food... Brian- Im able to eat anything soft, meaning anything that can be mushed with a fork. But because Im not seeing pounds shed, I am going to try to do 2 or 3 meals as jello, pudding or yogart and 1 meal, some sort of soft meat/soft food. See if that helps anything.

:rolleyes2:So the only people that know that I am going to get the lap-band is my parents, my sister (and brother in law) and my boyfriend. Not even my brother knows right now (im affraid that he will slip and tell other family members). I told 1 friend that I was considering it months ago, but she doesn't know that I went through the process and already have a surgery date. I may tell other people after I lose some weight but even then, I don't know if I want family and friends to know... So I was wondering if there were other people who are planning to keep it hush or is everyone telling everyone?

Hi everyone. Glad to see everyone is doing pretty good. Hope those who are having some minor issues, recover quickly and feel normal soon! :yesnod: Good luck for the upcoming surgeries. WOW this month is coming to an end fast and soon we will ALL be bandsters. :sneaky: Im doing okay. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks for me... and for the most part I am pretty normal. Unfortunately I discovered that I can eat pretty much anything again. Of course I do limit myself a bit, I do chew chew chew, and I do stop when I feel full. I don't have half the restriction feeling as I did the past 2 weeks but thats to be expected with the healing process and not being swollen much. Though I do still have some swelling in my lower belly where the port is. I've avoided the scale for at least 4 days now. I am scared to get on tomorrow but I do feel that I need to. I don't really know what to think or feel. It would be nice to feel that restriction like I did initially. That would make me feel safe. Im thinking I should not weigh in tomorrow but... I should. Right? :smile:

Grace- good to know Im not the only one. Ive actually read a few other posts today that were talking about the same thing. My solution... my mom is hiding the scale from me. So I won't weigh in for 2 weeks. It sorta hurts not to keep checking but I know me... very well... and it will be best for me to stay clear of the damn scale. If I see I lose only 1 pound in a week, I will become aggrivated and ruin myself for the day... but if I stay away and see that I lost 3 or so pounds in 2 weeks, I will be more satisfied. I have a screwy mentality so like I said, for me, better to stay away. And I have to have someone else hide it from me so I won't even be tempted to look for it. Out of sight out of mind... I have been measuring myself too so I think that I will give the tape to my mother to keep away from me too. I'll do bi-weekly checks! :mad: :smile2: Annnd hopefully that will keep my sane! Congrats to the newly banded! Glad to hear so many people are doing so well! :mad:

I had my 2 week follow up yesterday and they told me I can start doing some other things- eliptical and some cardio videos but nothing strenuous for another 4 weeks. No jogging, no weights, nothing with pressure till 6 weeks post surgery. But then as someone mentioned, every doctor is different!

This is a topic thats near and dear to me lately.... I think the secret might be to ditch the scale or have someone hide it. And only allow them to give it to you bi-weekly or something. Im gonna test this theory... I am ONLY 15 days in band land and I have lost 7 lbs. (15 total since 1 week pre-op) And in theory I should be happy but Im not... I feel like it should be more even though my doctor was happy with my results thus far...I should be THRILLED since before all this, it would take me 1 month to lose 1 pound... I should just be focusing on changing my habits and lifestyle, and I know the pounds will come off when Im not paying attention... I really don't want to be a slave to the scale. My mother said she'll hide the scale for me and be the scale controller, after my boyfriend threatened to steal it and hide it indefintally.

Good Morning peeps! Pooky- Thats got to be a difficult job when having to see sad situations like the one you descibed. I'd imagine that theres a lot of differnet emotions minute to minute, patient to patient. Finding alternative outlets are gonna have to be our focus. Some ideas would be maybe exercising, talking to someone supportive, writing to release emotions and thoughts, slamming a pillow against a bed over and over. (I gotta practice what I preach) Cathy- Congrats on the hitting below 200, thats awesome! Banded- Thats awesome! Congrats on the 21 down (maybe plus some)! Just venting... I went for my 2 week follow up yesterday, they removed my stitches but apparently I still have a lot of swelling in the belly. The nurse weighed me and its the same weight its been for days now. 15 lbs down total but only 7 lbs down since surgery. I mean, I know its actually really good, especially since I had a hard time losing 3 lbs for months, but to me, I feel like it should be more. I know its ONLY been 14 days but but but... Uhhh. This is why I need to avoid the scale, cause it doesn't move fast enough for me, then I get frustraited, then I give up. Not that I am giving up, I can't and I won't BUT it puts a damper on things. :thumbdown: It makes me sad. Yeah yeah, I know... in 3 weeks 15 lbs is really something to be happy about... So why aren't I? Then the nurse tried to explain to me that 1-2 lbs really is the norm and the healthy thing so being that I had more, its really great... :thumbdown: And it didn't make me feel better that she was explaining how after the rest of the swelling goes down I will probably have more hunger and can eat more until I get a fill in 4 weeks.... Okay well, I eat when I get hungry now and its not that often but I guess because I had high expectations, I feel its too much. If I could do it I would love to eat like I did 3 days post-surgery forever... I took 3 spoons of pudding and was full..... Yeah, that feeling didn't last forever. I have to remember, this is NOT MAGIC... its a HELPFUL TOOL! Now if only I can't stop my brain from its normal ALL or NOTHING attitude, then I'd be fine. :rolleyes2: Stupid BRAIN...

Woo, back from the weekend. Hope everyone is doing great. Hope everyone with new surgeries are healing well. Those who are getting the surgery tomorrow, Good Luck! Those of us 10 days or more in... isn't great that our bodies are getting back to normal! Ohhh Grace- Congrats on the lowered blood pressure! Thats really fabulous!:smile: On my tummy to sleep, on my side... ohhh how wonderful. And I started mushies on Saturday! My doc said to wait 2 weeks but I started 3 days sooner... Oh how nice it is to chew! :thumbup: I go for my 2 week follow up tomorrow morning. I hope he agrees that I am doing pretty good. :scared2: I don't want to go there having lost 9 lbs since surgery thinking its good, but him tell me Im not doing good enough. :thumbup: BUT the other good news, now that Im healing pretty well, today I was able to do some more exercise... :wub: Not just walk! Now I hope the doctor feels that its safe enough... then I can work on losing weight faster and get tone!:thumbup:

Happy Friday everyone! Well wishes to all! Cici- Happy Birthday for tomorrow! Maxi- Im on Long Island... are you? PS. Gas X helps but walk helps more! Okay so I told myself not to get on the scale till my 2 week follow up coming Tuesday... I even promised my boyfriend because he told me it will do me more harm then good then to look often. I/We don't want me to become a slave to the scale... Well.. this was on Tuesday that we said this and... I failed. lol I looked today. I seem to be down another 2 pounds but I weighed myself 4 times and twice it said one weight and twice it said another soo.. I don't know.. won't count it till Tuesday. So I told my boyfriend and lol he said that the next time he is here he is stealing my scale. hmmm maybe thats a good idea... IDK. If the scale was right with the higher number, then I will be disappointed cause its no change from several days ago.. if its the other weight, then I will be content. STUPID SCALE.. AND WHY AM I HICCUPING SO MUCH... I fxxxing HURTS.

Hi everyone! Hope everyone is doing good! Im doing better day by day! I think Im healing pretty fast and so happy about it! Moni- Welcome! Had Enough- Yay CONGRATULATONS on the approval! What a relief. Anna- Good luck with the surgery, heal fast! As far as the dinners out, don't worry so much. You will still be able to go out with your family and friends and have the 3 course meal, just with moderation... Once you learn where your limits are you will be able to better judge when you go out. You can have a bite or two of the first course, bite or two of the second and bite or two of the third- so you wont miss out and the best news is that you will have tons of tastey left overs! :alien: OR you can save tons of money by just having the course you enjoy most and literally taste a bite of your hubbys other courses! But this is a GOOD thing, try not to think of what you will not be able to do, but what you CAN when you feel good and look good! :wub: GOOD LUCK surgery goers for today!

Wow so much to read in just 24 hours! :crying: Have I mentioned that I love this group?!? We really have a great group of people here! I cant remember everyones names but... I read about the exercise thing... I haven't gotten back onto my exercise routine yet. I just walk right now and do general house cleaning and chores that keep me moving. I am defintally not up to exercise yet. My surgeon also recommends waiting 2-3 weeks to recover before a starting light exercise. I really can't wait to start exercising again though. Then about the ice cream thing.... I'd say STAY AWAY. Ice cream is full of fat and high in calories. Even the half fat ice cream is really high in fat. Go for frozen yougart BUT make sure you get the fat free/low fat ones. Like someone else mentioned- read the calories and fat. Turkey Hill has really good frozen yogart! Again, some are higher in fat and calories and just not worth it but there are lots of options that are very low in fat- my favs are the mint cookies/cream; pom berry truffle and cookie dough... and the neopolitian is fat FREE! The chocolate and strawberry are really good- the vanilla, ehhh not so great but still good enough especially for 80 calories and no fat per serving! Sorry, I am VERY passionate about this topic because I am a frozen yogart junkie. I was all about ice cream until I discovered that frozen yogart is a much healthier choice. My thing is... If I choose, theoretically I can have 3-4 servings of frozen yogart versus 1 serving of ice cream! We all got (or getting) this surgery to make a lifestyle/health/body change! Don't waste it by having unhealthy things (like ice cream) when there is a better choice. Of course we can eat anything as long as we are aware and moderate our other meals, but why? Of course, we are all individuals and will go at different paces but my thought is, I am in it to win it... I have a goal and I fully attend to get there and stay there! No, I am not going to deprive myself of certain things, but instead of it being a regular thing, it will be my weekly/bi-weekly/monthly reward. Thats how my boyfriend is (hes very health aware and body beautiful- don't know how we are a good match but whatever lol)... Do good all week and reward yourself if you really have a craving at the end of the week... And enjoy your reward, have serving or two but not 4 or 5! Desiree- So glad to hear that you are doing better now! :smile:

Good Morning! So today is 1 week since my surgery and for those who are just getting started or still waiting, I have to say, every day really does get better! I am sleeping a little better, much much less pain (still occassional chest pain and port pain) but really so much better! :thumbup: And back to work for me this afternoon! Yayyy OMG yeah I can't believe I am yaying that. LOL Hope everyone is doing super!

Desiree1972- Any answers from the doctor? Hope you are feeling better! Hopefully its just some sort of odd thing for the first couple days and you are back to normal.

Hi Zen! Im only 6 days in so I have a long way to go still but I feel your "pain". I am probably right behind you with the feelings right now but not there so much yet... Right now I can barely eat anything- I am lucky if I get 3 liquid meals in- I guess I am that swollen. BUT I have been soo bored during this week home I WANT to eat and its sad that I can't. I mean its a blessing that I can't cause thats what caused me to get fat to begin with but I miss eating whatever I want, when I want. Like CANTB2 said, food was the enemy and now its the friend... I get that concept. Certain food can be evil but most of it is nurturing and helpful! It took a lifetime to develop bad habits, give yourself a few months to get in routine with good ones. As far a the weight loss stopped, its just cause your body it re-adjusting once again to the changes. I bet that if you can avoid the scale for 2 weeks you will see a sudden drop. This isn't the magic potion to be skinny, its the helpful too to help you get there. It took time to put on all this weight, it will take that time to lose it. As far as walking... I know its a hassel sometimes, especially when we are feeling down, but walking will help the pain as well as burn calories which in turn will help you lose weight. Maybe just focus on little steps at a time, walk in place while you watch TV, go up and down the steps 2 times before going about other things. For motivation, you need to dig deep inside mind. Set mini goals, envision your ultimate goal. Hang in there and GOOD LUCK! YOU CAN DO THIS!

Good Morning everyone and Happy Monday. Good luck to all those going into surgery today! Scarred4Life- I know its really annoying sometimes to have that "support." Sure you want them to help you stay focused and motivate you but then at the same time, they are just annoying and constantly harping! How about telling your hubby, "honey, I really love that you are so supportive and trying to help me through this but I need to do this a little more on my own. I know the rules of this and am motivated to do it, so please just give me a little space with it. I want your words of encouragement and support, I want you to help me stay motivated but constantly questioning what I put in my mouth is a little frustrating. But I really apprieciate what you are trying to do and I love you for it!"Hmm in theory it should work... in reality, i don't know! Side note- I have never wanted to go back to work more then I want to now. I sooooo just want to pull my toe nails out one by one just for sheer entertainment. I am so bored but I don't feel up to doing too much and when I do I hurt, I am tired but can't sleep cause Im uncomfortable on my back. I get sleep in spurts- I wake up every 30-40 minutes in discomfort during the night... I tried sleeping on my tummy last night, it felt okay at first but only lasted 15 minutes before it hurt. Oh how tomorrow can't come fast enough! WORK here I COME! And the sad part is that I technically only work part time. Part time hours but I have 26 clients. I have never wanted to exercise so badly too, but the best I can do is a little walking. Ohhh PLEASE heal fast and get back to normal!:thumbup:

ohhhh mmmyyyyy... 2 surgeries back to back!?! :thumbup: That sux but good for you for being so motivated and determined... and taking care of yourself! :tongue2: Hope you heal quickly for both!

stateofzen- thats awesome on the weight loss! Congratulations! What a great job! :tongue2: As far as the sickness, I hope you get better fast! I think you have the right mindset. If anything, it will be put off for a couple weeks, but it will happen. Your health is first priority! But I'm sure you'll still be able to get it as scheduled! Hang in there! :thumbup: Lisa- I know its scary to be so far from your family but this is something that will be helpful for them too! Its only a few days and its only a few hours flight (no like 24 to go to austrailia or something). Its great that your hubby is so supportive! Sure, its a lot of money to dish out but think about long term, the money you will save by being healthy! Im sure your hubby feels, just as I believe, that there is no better investment then yourself... and you are an investment to your family!

I was banded the same day as you and yes I feel that too. Mine comes and goes randomly. When it happens to me, I take shorter shallow breaths until it passes. Gas x should help break it up. Walking around helps A LOT! Also, you can have your hubby rub your back to help move the gas, I found that it helps me. Just up and down on the sides of the spine, for a few minutes. Ohh and hiccups are dreadful! OUUUUCCHHHHH have you experienced that yet? I had the hiatal hernia repaired too so I think thats what hurting when I hiccup! Hang In There! Good Luck!