gMommy

I found that Pilates classes are amazing! I go to one that uses the reformers, which are tables that have springs and straps for resistance, strength and stretching exercises. Depending on the instructor, you may find that your workout also is a cardio workout. After 4 weeks of going twice per week I noticed a difference. A friend of mine has been going for almost a year 1-2 per week. She has dropped two dress sizes using this class and the lap band.

I could use some motivation. I was banded last April. I lost 30 pounds by late June. Then life came up. I have kept the 30 off, fluctuating back and forth with the same 4 pounds. One of my coworkers had Gastric bypass about 4 weeks before I had the band surgery. She is now down 100lbs and looks fantastic. Everybody is taking notice of her. Then they look at me. I haven't had a change in 6 months. Another coworker asked me last week "So how is that band working for you? Have you seen "other lady", she looks amazing!". Ugh! I have OK restriction. I only get hungry once or twice a day, but I still eat 3 meals, breakfast being a protein shake. My portions are 1 to 1.5 cups. The problem is that I allowed my addiction to sugar take over again. Since my split (and divorce) from my husband last June I have not been able to go to my OA meetings. I just can't get into the phone or online meetings. I haven't moved my butt enough to exercise either. I have been going through counseling though. Last week he said that maybe I have an agreement with myself that I don't deserve to loose weight. I don't know, maybe? Anyway, I read that I should do a 5 day liquid diet to shrink my pouch back down. My kids gave me the answer to the exercise thing. They want to do the Taebo DVD with me at night. And I bought an exercise ball for toning and stretching. I think what helped me before was having an OA sponsor. I had to call in my food everyday. I hated it. But after a couple of weeks I was able to cut out all sugar and stayed that way for 2 months! I think I need that support again. Is there anybody out there that would like to be my band buddy? We can help to keep each other accountable each day for food and exercise. We all deserve to have success with this. I am grateful for this website and for this string. Thank you for starting it.

That is too funny! My kids are a great support too. My 9 year old son is a hopeless romantic. I became single again about 7 months ago (this is a good thing for me and the kids). So my son says to me last night that he is excited to help me "get skinny" because he wants me to find a new husband. I was shocked. Really? He wants me to get remarried already? Sweet kid. But, when and if I decide to marry again it won't be because I am skinny. I will always have the heavy girl mentality. Afterall, the band does not keep me from eating chocolate. The happy part is that I realized that I am doing this for me. Not so I will look good for someone else. This is about feeling healthy and having a ton of energy to play with my kids. I love that now days I outlast them!

I had my surgery in April. By the middle of June I was staying focused. I was attending my OA meetings every week, I was walking at lunch time, I was eating the right things. Then on June 16th my oldest son (10) told me that my husband, his step dad, beat him up while I was at my OA meeting a month prior. Needless to say my life became different instantly. I had to kick out my husband the next day. There was a lot of unpleasant stuff over the next 3 weeks that resulted in a restraining order against him which included no visitation with our 2 year old daughter. I was devastated. How could a man I was so in love with be like this? So, 3 months later, at my 3rd fill appointment, I had only lost 4 pounds. Considering all of the emotional eating I was doing, I was pretty happy that I had lost those 4. At my 2nd fill appointment, a week after I kicked out my husband, I told my PA that was giving me the fill, about what was going on in my life. She said to just focus on getting though it and not stress over the weight loss. Then at the 3rd fill appointment, when I only lost 4 pounds she was disappointed in me. I think she forgot what I was going through and I didn't want to talk about it anymore. My concern was that my PA seemed like she didn't want to give me a fill at the 3rd appt. because I hadn't lost enough weight. I finally got some restriction from that fill (5.5cc in a 10cc band), but I am not quite in the Green Zone yet. My next fill is Nov 8th. I lost 5 pounds after that fill, then more stuff happened with my husband and I gained back 4. I'm back to it now and lost 2, for a net loss of 3 pounds since my last fill. I'm worried that my PA won't give me a fill at my next appointment because I have not lost enough weight. So, I'm back at it, hoping that all of the divorce/custody stuff has settled down, and sticking to my meal plan. I can stick to it as long as I don't have the major emotional stuff going on in my life. Anybody else have major life changes happen during their journey? How did you deal with it? I can manage the head hunger that comesl with daily emotional/stress stuff. It was just the big whammy life stuff that knocked my train off the tracks. Has anybody out there be refused a fill because they didn't lose enough since the last fill?

I finally had my first fill last week. I have 3ccs in a 10cc band. I don't feel any different. I still remember back to my first week of postop. I wasn't hungry at all. I know I will get there again. From reading posts on this site I know I will have to have 4-5 fills before I am in the green zone. My doctor insists on 6 weeks between fills. Ugh! So sometime in November or December I should finally be in the green zone. Just in time for the holidays. I know I will appreciate it when it comes. Until then will power and OA. I've lost 28 pounds so far.

I finally had my first fill last week. I have 3ccs in a 10cc band. I don't feel any different. I still remember back to my first week of postop. I wasn't hungry at all. I know I will get there again. From reading posts on this site I know I will have to have 4-5 fills before I am in the green zone. My doctor insists on 6 weeks between fills. Ugh! So sometime in November or December I should finally be in the green zone. Just in time for the holidays. I know I will appreciate it when it comes. Until then will power and OA.

I finally had my first fill last week. I have 3ccs in a 10cc band. I don't feel any different. I still remember back to my first week of postop. I wasn't hungry at all. I know I will get there again. From reading posts on this site I know I will have to have 4-5 fills before I am in the green zone. My doctor insists on 6 weeks between fills. Ugh! So sometime in November or December I should finally be in the green zone. Just in time for the holidays. I know I will appreciate it when it comes. Until then will power and OA.

I love OA too. It has been very helpful and supportive. I especially like the podcasts from www.oalaig.com. I knew my weight problem was more than just have too big of a portion at dinner. I was eating to deal with life. I know I have a lot of work ahead of me. But at least, now I know I'm going in the right direction and there is a lot of help and encouragement along the way.

I was so excited to see the scale this morning when it said 199! Woo Hoo! I'm sure I will bounce back and forth a couple of pounds for the next couple of days. At 199, I am down 29 pounds (15 post surgery). Tomorrow I go for my first fill. I'm not sure if I will feel additional restriction right away or not. But, if I can keep losing now, although it is slow, than I am very happy. I feel a little bit of restriction now as far as how much I can eat at a time. After I eat about a 1.5 cups of food I start to feel "backed up" in my esophagus. I haven't had the urge to throw up, it is just a sensation to tell me to stop. I've learned to listen and respect that feeling, no matter how good the food tastes or how much my head wants to eat. I really don't want to throw up because I know it can cause band slippage. I also don't want to eat until I feel pain because that may cause my pouch to stretch. I've stuck to many of the behaviors suggested: no drinking through straws, no carbonated beverages, drinking Water slowly (instead of gulping it down). I've always been someone that eats slow, taking small bites and chewing a lot. The two behaviors I am still working on: no drinking 30 minutes before or after eating and limit my snacking to one or less per day. I stick to those behaviors 60-70% of the time. Anyway, I wanted to share my exciting news with someone. Thank you everyone for being here.

Hi Fran. Have you tried greek yogurt yet? I eat Chobani brand. It takes some getting used to. But, it is only 6oz and has 14-16g protein. Foster Farms makes pre-grilled chicken strips. If you take a couple of those strips, add a few garbanzo beans, fresh spinach, sliced cucumber and red bell pepper, a small amounts packs a big nutritional boost. String cheese or a handful of raw almonds are also good. Good luck.

My drive is the same as before surgery. My surgery was 4/28/11. Unfortunately, I have noticable discomfort at my port site during sex. It kills the mood for me immediately, everytime. I am hoping the port discomfort goes away soon so I can get back to enjoying sex.

That is a great idea. Thank you for posting it.

I really enjoy nature walks. It is my favorite. Especially if I can go explore a forest somewhere. I would like to ride my bike on the bike trails. I just need to find a much more comfortable seat. The one I have makes my tush hurt for 3-4 days! Anybody have suggestions for a comfortable bike seat?

I was feeling discouraged too. I've only lost 12 pounds since my surgery 6 weeks ago. I won't get my first fill for another 2 weeks. I started pleasurable walking. I am gradually working up to other exercise. But for now, find some activity you really like. Walk the dog, go play mini golf, go for a walk on a beach, play air hockey...there are lots of fun things that don't feel like exercise, but they really are. Good luck.

Has anybody else had any issues with their port getting disturbed when you bend over? I am only 2 weeks post op, so this might be a recovery issue. I have a heck of a time when I need to bend down to pick up my toddler or something off the floor. My port is in my upper abdomen. It is at just the right position that it get pushed up by my jean's waistband when I bend. Ouch! It hurts. The pain is less than it was a few days ago. Also, I am learning new ways to bend off to the left so I don't disturb my port on the right. I wonder if this "port catch" pain will go away as I heal? As my stomach gets flat? Ever?

I am now 5 weeks post-op. I no longer of pain when I bend over. I guess the port area just needed to heal. Whew! I'm happy about that.

I was on liquids one week. Mushies were supposed to be 3 weeks. It included fish, cottage cheese, and yogurt. I found that 1.5 weeks into it my appetite returned with a vengence. I started to eat solid foods slowly and very well chewed. By 3 weeks post op I was eating very thin, small slices of meat (about 1 ounce + 1 Teaspoon of gravy to make is moist). By 3.5 weeks post op I was able to eat an apple with the skin removed. I am now almost 5 weeks post op. I can eat just about anything as long as I chew it very well and only eat about 1 cup of everything combined. I just had sushi (6 pieces total) for the first time post-op last Saturday for my birthday. I was a happy camper!

I can't wait for my fills! I was so spoiled my first 1.5 weeks after surgery. I felt no hunger at all. I could care less about eating. I only ate for nutrition. Then the stomach swelling went down and the hunger came on. I get full on 3/4 to 1 cup of food, luckily. But, I'm hungry an hour later. Ugh! At least I have an idea of what the sweet spot will feel like. I hope that "hope for the sweet spot" carries me through the next 5 weeks until my first fill, and beyond until I get there. Thanks for telling us about the Protein style. I know about animal style (yum). The rest of my family still wants to eat at the fast food places. Where there are chicken wraps, I am fine. But In-and-Out does not have chicken. Protein style sounds good. Thanks again.

I was getting really frustrated over the past two weeks. The first week after surgery I lost 8 lb, 2nd week 0lb, 3rd week 0lb. By the 3rd week I was also really hungry all the time. I started to give into that hunger and eat more often than I should. I ate a couple of things I shouldn't have and I started to fear failure. I was worried that I had gone through all of the surgery for nothing. Last night I decided to pull out my measuring tape. I could tell that my body was changing even if the scale wasn't. My jeans would be incredibly bagging within a couple of hours of putting them on. Shirts that used to fit pretty good were now hanging straight down (not getting bunched up on hips or tummy). So, I had a feeling I must have lost some inches. I was right! I had my measurements from 1 day pre-op to compare to. I lost a total of 5.5 inches in 3 weeks! Woo Hoo! Most of it was off my stomach/waist area. I was so happy. It helped to give me a little boost. I'm still a little worried about the next 5 weeks. My doctor doesn't give the first fill until 2 months post op. I really hope I don't put on any of the weight I already took off. I was down 22lb. I did gain 1lb back over the last 2 weeks. Now I refuse to get on the scale. I don't want to get discouraged and then start going back to my old self destructive food habits.

I have a birthday coming up in a few weeks. I am happy to report that I could care less about eating birthday cake or anything else for that matter. I am really enjoying just living life. My life no revolves around food. Yeah! But, my loved ones are having a hard time getting adjusted to my new life style. I have not had an "recreational sugar" since March and I feel great. I know that as soon as I have even one bite, I will want to eat a ton of it, even if it means eating around my band. I have no urges to do this. With my birthday coming up, my loved ones are feeling confused as to what to do. Traditionally, they give me a nice dinner (either out or homemade) and a birthday cake. My meals will still be a half a cup of something mushy and I chose not to have cake or ice cream (even though they can be mixed together to be mushy). I am perfectly happy with just going to a comedy club or a walk along the river. How have you dealt with loved ones and birthdays or other celebrations that were historically centered around food?

I'm going through it right now. I'm only 2.5 weeks post op. Someone said it could be from dehydration. I think it is because I haven't been able to have my vitamin. I tried the chewable vitamin, but I ruined it for myself. During the first week I had to crush my regular medicine. The chewable vitamin tasted ok, so I thought I would combine them. Bad choice. It was awful! I was sick to my stomach for 12 hours after that. Now I can't stand the taste of the vitamins. I'm hoping I can swallow regular vitamins soon.

I am just starting to try some solid foods. I'm supposed to just be in the mushy stage, but I figured if I chewed the food into mush, I would be fine. So far, so good. I had beef stew yesterday. The meat and veggies were really tender. I only had 2 pieces of the meat which I nibbled at (probably bites per piece) and then chewed very well. The same with the veggies, small bites of them. I tried crackers and that was fine. Today I tried two very small pieces of a soft pretzel my hubby was eating. I was expecting to have a problem, but I didn't. Again, I chewed it until it was mush. And the piece was about the size of a dime to start with. Good luck experimenting.