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I was allowed to try iceberg lettuce starting at 4 weeks and other veggies as tolerated starting at 6 weeks. I did fine with everything except raw broccoli and cauliflower--I was probably at about 8 or 10 weeks before those agreed with me.

I hear you. The nut told me I wasn't eating enough calories too. I stalled for a whole week on the 3rd week post-op, since then I've started losing again and lost another 10 pounds since then. I didn't change a thing, it just happened. I'm right on track according to my dr. but it does feel slow. I am far out enough that the nut told me to add nuts as a snack to get more calories. But you may not be far out enough yet. I don't know what to tell you other than keep trying to add a little bit at each meal. It's hard I know. But did you ever in your wildest dreams think you would have the problem of not eating ENOUGH?

Hi Mollie, I was banded by him on 7/26, and everything went just as you said. Only I wish they spoke more english,but they knew what to do. I didn't have any troulble, just the usual with this type of surgery. I live in florida, and had never flew on a plane before. You can imagine what it's like facing being banded and then get on a plane. But I loved it. Got over my fear of flying. Now I'm ready for a fill, cause I have no restriction. I did loose about 10 or 12 lbs. and haven't gained it back, but I'm ready to loose more. Guess I'm going to the fill center in Lakeworth as it's closet to me. I hope you have good luck, keep your fingers crossed that my fill works good the first time. Take care, I'll keep you posted. Vicky Waters

Hello all! 04/26/2012 will be my FIFTH bandversary. Yes, 5 years. I used to live on this site and for me it was vital to my success and accountability. I was tight with my group of "Violets" who were all 2007 bandsters..... I am still friends with most of them on facebook and such, but the need to come here and post is long gone. If you click on my profile you can see where I started and where I'm at today..........as I uploaded more pics to my progress album. I did awesome my first year and lost 98 lbs, and then I just quit watching what I ate and quite weighing every day....... I gained about 30 lbs, but then I just settled. I would get on the scale about once every 6 months and the scale would read the same 204-208. Failure? Hell NO! I was (and am) normal sized and comfortable in my size 12-14's. In 2012 I am refocusing on re-losing those same 30 lbs, because I loved the feeling of size 10 levis! and my narrow face, plus I ready. I love my band. I haven't had a fill (or unfill) in well over two years and have no plans for one in the future. I still eat too fast, but I will never again be able to eat 6 tacos or a large thin crust pizza! I can however eat two tacos and be completely stuffed!!!! I believe in eating Low Carb.. it has always helped me lose weight banded and pre-band. I am currently adhering to a LC lifestyle and I will come back and post a pic when I get back down to those size 10's in 2012! I was the first in my family to get banded........ My Brother in law got banded in Mexico 4 years ago My Mom by Dr, K 3 years ago My StepDad by Dr. K 1 year ago All of us have lost weight. My band has been a great tool and the ONLY way I've been able to maintain any ONE size in my entire life! Good Luck on YOUR band journey! Tracy Banded 04/26/2007 272/174/today206/goal for 2012... 172 and it is totally do-able!

Stalls sucks. I am 10 weeks out of my surgery and I am just coming out of a 20 day stall. It was terrible, mentally. 20 days is a long time and you really begin to question things at that stage. Like everyone says out here, you just have to be patient.

Tinytears its usually 20% of your weight.my doc told me 10% being I quit smoking..it hard for me too..I have lost 60 pounds before 30 before.. But now I am needing to lose and have lost 10 so far..need 7more

Hi, my name is Mark, 19 years old and from ND. I was banded on July 18, 2007 and I'm down 115 pounds! It feels so great, I have so much more energy! I'm excited to read more on this forum.

You look amazing. In 10 weeks you have lost a lot. Tomorrow I will be at 6 weeks and is only 21 pounds down!

I had surgery 11/19 , HW 282, SW 239, CW 221 only 18 pounds since surgery. I am not exactly happy with my loss either but I am taking as a clue to exercise more and hit my protien and water harder.

19 days & still have discomfort. Today's the 1st day I haven't felt the need to take my pain medicine, which has usually been late afternoon. I kinda felt like a sissy, but have read people are just different. Sometimes it's achy above my belly button, sometimes it's time a pulling where my incisions are. It was 2 weeks before either pain would allow me to sleep on my side. Now, in just doing Advil for soreness & try not to do too much.

I have always been happy with myself. It has never really mattered to me what others have thought of me - because only I can control how I feel. If others don't like me because I'm heavy - well that's their loss. So in that regard, I'm probably not your typical morbidly obese person. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2003. My A1C was just over 7 - so not too awful. In the years following, it had remained in the low 7's. In the last year it has leaped up to the high 7's. My doc still says that I don't need an endocrinologist - I just need to loose weight. But he has no suggestions on how to do that. So, I research and try different diets just to have my weight increase to the highest I have ever been. Yup, that worked... NOT. But still, that wasn't the tipping point for me. In 2005, my back started bothering me. My doc has me do physical therapy and it helped. Then 2 years later, it acted up again - this time the pain went down my right leg and I woke up one day and was not able to get out of bed. I had to use the restroom of course, but it took me 2 hours to get out of bed so that I could walk to the bathroom - just 10 steps away from my bed! At this point the MRI showed I had a bulging disc and they did surgery to fix it. Now, 4 years later, I am finally able to stand straight, but can't stand for more than 5 minutes without breaking out in a sweat. I also can't walk more than 10 minutes without having issues. My health has really gone downhill since that surgery and I regret having it. My left leg is getting the same pain that my right leg had, but I will deal with that pain for as long as possible before having that surgery again. I know that loosing weight will help my back (at least that's what every doctor says), but again, that's not the tipping point for me. In 2008, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and given a CPAP. I tried it for a year, trying different masks and machines, but felt that it was actually making my sleep worse and not better (I was more tired after using it), so I stopped using the CPAP. But this was not a tipping point for me. In the last year, I have had to get new clothes - size 28w. I have never in my life had to wear clothes that big. That was depressing - but still not the tipping point for me. My new avatar was a picture taken at Christmas last year. I was helping out at a Christmas program, and decided that I would dress as an elf since there was already a Santa. I found the largest elf costume that I could find - and it barely fit. The tights weren't even close to fitting, but luckily, I had a pair of dark green pants that worked well with the costume top. The gentleman who played Santa used a pillow to make him "fat" like Santa is supposed to be. But, as you can see from the picture, his elf was larger than he was! That was depressing! But again, it's not the tipping point for me. Over the past year or so, I've noticed I have had more issues getting myself "clean" after #2. It's been harder and harder to wipe everything. It just occurred to me that it's probably because I'm bigger and thus can't reach as well now. So, yeah, this is a definite factor in my decision - but still not the tipping point for me. (Sorry for the TMI.) So with all of that said, what really is the tipping point for me? It's the fact that although I have insomnia big time, I could fall asleep easily during the day and I am so lethargic that I don't do activities that I used to. It's getting worse too. I've seen my parents do this, and some friends and I hate that they do this. I have realized I am becoming like them and I really do not want that to happen. So how crazy is it that the reason I finally decided to do this is because I am literally tired of being so tired?

I gotta go on Amazon. I pay 9-10 at Wal-Mart. I'm in Alaska so we pay a couple dollars more for just about everything.

My Hgb A1c was 7.5 a year ago & 7.3 in May, one month into the 3-month supervised high Protein, low carb diet. Three months later, the day after surgery, my Hgb A1c was 5.9! I'm going to get it checked next week with my annual birthday-month checkup. I'm hoping that it will be even lower. I stopped taking Metformin 10 days before surgery & haven't restarted it. And I am taking a lot less insulin now. Healing has never been an issue with me. Quite the opposite actually. I scar very easily. I just had to have a scar-release surgery on my right hand 11 days ago due to heavy scarring after a trigger finger release nearly three years ago. At least I've found a hand surgeon who believes me & lets me have the stitches out in a week rather than two weeks or more as is the norm with diabetics. Even a week was a bit much this time.

My surgery is 10/16, I start my pre-op diet Wednesday. I'm also on 2 other meds for my sugar, hopefully it will improve with losing some of this weight. My last weight check was 253.

Scared I'm not shrinking my liver enough. 10 days before I'm sleeved

I did not have to be on a full liquid diet. I was allowed 3 oz. fat free ham, turkey, or chicken. Cottage cheese, peice of fruit or 1/2 cup of fruit in lite syrup, sugar free jello and sugar free popsicles. Also had to drink 64 oz of clear liquid for 10 days before. I was so thankful that it wasn't only liquids for 10 days. Don't know how you do it! I was so hungry on the diet I was on. Just got banded yesterday, and I am on liquid only now. I can't wait to be able to eat some soup or something! Good luck to you!

NeverBeTheSameAgain i "think" losing 10 lbs in a month is good (average) - so you are on track w/8 1/2 lbs gone i have heard also that if you are slightly "bigger" the weight comes off quicker and easier not necessarily true but remember - we're all different we all lose weight in a different time period never, never, ever compare your weight loss with someone else I'm sure you are doing everything right eating vvvvery slowly getting in all your Water, not drinking during meals waiting 45-60 minutes after you eat before you drink again chewing into small "shreds" of pieces as long as you are following all the rules - its almost impossible not to lose weight you are on such a small caloric intake maybe still on puree'??? being sad takes more energy try and smile (easier said than done) i can see in your lovely face you will succeed good luck kathy "God Grant Me Patience, Just Hurry Up About It!!"

I have recommitted myself. I have an exercise focus. I found a Duathlon (Duathlon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) in my area on Oct 19th. I'm journaling my food . Got to keep a handle on intake. I'm seeing the Dr. on the 9/19, possibly for another fill. Im taking an opportunity to do some volunteer work. Horse therapy. Once a week. I've stated to donate platelets again. Yes life is good.

Well as of today I am down 18 lbs since surgery...I'm thinking that is pretty good seeing how Tuesday will be 3 weeks since my banding. I have done fairly well with sticking to how and what I am to eat. Still need to take in more fluid and protein but everyday gets better. I was finally able to sleep in my own bed after about a week due to I was still so sore where my incisions are. I had a few days were I over did it with getting out and about that I would feel sick and nauseated the rest of the day. I guess its called sliming. I would get all sick feeling and my mouth would water like I was gonna be sick but never would. Other than that I have been fine. Went for my 10 day check up and doc said everything was healing well and my weight loss was good. He started me on solids but told me to take it slow. So for the past week I have been on them with very little issues. I haven't started exercising yet. Will try walking this week and gradually increase it from there.

(Reuters) - One night when Lynn McAfee was 5 years old, her psychologically troubled mother left her at the side of a road as punishment for a now forgotten infraction.In the minutes before her mother's car returned, the terrified girl looked toward the nearby houses on the suburban Philadelphia street and wondered if she should walk over and ask for help."But I didn't," said McAfee, 62, who is now the director of medical advocacy for the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination. "I didn't think anyone would want a fat child."The stigmatization of obesity begins in preschool: Children as young as 3 tell scientists studying the phenomenon that overweight people are mean, stupid, ugly and have few friends. It intensifies in adulthood, when substantial numbers of Americans say obese people are self-indulgent, lazy and unable to control their appetites. And it translates into poorer job prospects for the obese compared with their slim peers.It may be the nation's last, accepted form of prejudice. But the stigmatization of obesity has repercussions beyond the pain it inflicts on its targets: It threatens to impede efforts to fight the obesity epidemic."As long as we have this belief that obese people are lazy and lacking in discipline, it will be hard to get support for policies that change the environment, which are likely to have a much larger impact than trying to change individuals," said psychologist Rebecca Puhl of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.That barrier to action is becoming clearer as the nation grapples with the costs of having two-thirds of adults overweight or obese. This week, an influential health panel proposed changes to an obesity-promoting environment, from farm policies to zoning, trying to shift the debate away from personal blame.A new Reuters/Ipsos online poll of 1,143 adults from May 7 to 10 captures some of the prejudicial attitudes. Asked to identify the main cause of the epidemic, 61 percent chose "personal choices about eating and exercising"; 19 percent chose the actions of food manufacturers and the fast-food industry. The poll is accurate to within 3.6 percentage points. Because of the methods used to collect the data, accuracy is measured using a statistical measure called a credibility interval.Reflecting the belief that the obese have only themselves to blame, 49 percent of respondents favored allowing insurers to charge obese people more for health insurance.Poll respondents also showed broad support for efforts that target the food industry: 56 percent wanted to limit advertising of unhealthy food or taxing sugared soda, 77 percent were in favor of calorie counts at restaurants and sport arenas. But an all-out ban on fast-food restaurants? America loves its Big Macs: Only 21 percent said yes.EFFECTS OF THE STIGMAOne effect of the obesity stigma is that discrimination on the basis of weight is legal. Michigan is the only state that prohibits it, along with a few towns and cities. Everywhere else, it is legal to deny people jobs or refuse to rent them an apartment if they are obese. The fact that two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese has not led to bans on such discrimination.That does not surprise McAfee, who weighs about 500 pounds. "Studies show that fat people are even more prejudiced against fat people" than thin people are, she said.Even respected leaders such as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, seen as a potential running mate for Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, are not spared the mockery.Christie's girth was the target of fat jokes at the White House Correspondents' dinner last month, though he shrugged them off."When you're overweight, fair or unfair, there's going to be those who make really awful comments about you and there are going to be people who make jokes about it. That's the way it goes," Christie told reporters.The stigma also hurts the efforts of America's 73 million obese adults and 12 million obese children to get back to a healthy weight: Targets of stigma often fall into depression or withdraw socially. Both make overeating, binge eating, and a sedentary existence more likely, studies show.Sophie Lewis and her colleagues at Monash University in Australia interviewed hundreds of obese adults who were the target of such comments as "look at that fat lady!" when out in public. As a result, found Lewis, obese people are less likely to exercise by walking outdoors.Even healthcare professionals hold negative attitudes about the obese, studies show. Physicians often spend less time with an obese patient, for instance, and do not counsel them about a healthy lifestyle, perhaps believing it would fall on deaf ears.Doctors and nurses who telegraph negative attitudes toward the obese can keep them from seeking treatment for diabetes, found a study led by Elizabeth Teixeira of Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions in Philadelphia."Patients are afraid of hearing, 'you're fat,' or 'just lose weight,' as if it were that easy," said Teixeira, a nurse practitioner specializing in diabetes. "I've had patients tell me they delay seeking care, even having their blood pressure or glucose checked, because they don't want to be lectured."A 2010 study by scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found that the fatter a patient, the more likely a doctor is to assume he or she is not taking medications as prescribed. That, other studies have shown, can keep physicians from prescribing needed meds, assuming they won't be taken.Taking all that data into account, it may not be surprising how reluctant people are to call themselves obese. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 14 percent of respondents said they are obese. Based on their self-reported height and weight, 26 percent are obese according to U.S. guidelines.SHIFTING THE DEBATEThe belief that obesity reflects personal decisions implies that the solution, too, should be personal: Eat less, move more. But as the Institute of Medicine argued this week, the most effective way to combat obesity is to change the environment.For average American adults, willpower is no match for "an environment in which we are constantly bombarded by food and food cues," said David Kessler, former head of the Food and Drug Administration and author of the 2009 book, "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite." "Lecturing people doesn't work."The IOM recommended building sidewalks to make it easier for people to walk, banning sugary drinks from schools and requiring 60 minutes of daily exercise in grades K-12, reducing portion sizes in schools and restaurants, and making low-cal choices widely available and as affordable as super-sized ice cream cones. Most important, it concluded, was changing the "messaging," including the ubiquitous marketing of calorie-dense food.Fat stigma makes those ideas ripe for attack by an industry that says how much to eat and move reflects individual choice. The restaurant- and food-industry-funded Center for Consumer Freedom called the IOM "arrogant and absurd" for suggesting "that Americans are too stupid to make their own food choices." By proposing to keep unhealthy, calorie-dense food out of school lunch programs, it said, "food nannies" like the IOM are "flatly arguing against consumers having any choice in their snacks and meals."In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, respondents were almost evenly split over "government intervention" to reduce obesity, with 52 percent supporting it and 48 percent opposing it. There was greater support for specific steps, with 87 percent in favor of requiring 30 minutes per day of exercise in school.ROOTS OF THE STIGMAPsychologist Chris Crandall of the University of Kansas has found that young adults who stigmatize obesity tend to be more ideologically conservative, favoring traditional sex roles and capital punishment, his studies found."Particularly in America, self-determination and individual choice is a fundamental value," he said. "We blame people for everything that happens to them - being poor, being obese. It's the ‘just world' idea that people get what they deserve."The stigma is less pronounced in countries such as India, Mexico and Turkey, whose cultures assign more collective responsibility for personal outcomes, Crandall found. His studies, going back to the 1990s, surveyed hundreds of people worldwide about how closely they associate obesity with adjectives such as lazy and stupid.Americans also stand out in their conviction that hard work and determination lead to success, while failure is due to lack of effort."Being thin has come to symbolize such important values as being disciplined and in control," said Yale's Puhl. The converse: If someone is not thin, he must be lacking in those virtues.Indeed, some Americans value thinness more than life itself. In a 2007 study, 24 percent of women and 17 percent of men said they would trade three or more years of life to be svelte.Yet despite the rising personal stakes, a growing body of research shows just how hard it is for the average person to keep the pounds off.Just before speaking to Reuters, McAfee had exercised for an hour in her Florida pool and had a salad for lunch."I work out, I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, and I'm still not thin," she said. "So please stop beating the crap out of me: It's completely counterproductive."(Additional reporting by Edith Honan; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Prudence Crowther)

I still can hardly believe how great things are going. I stayed at a hotel for a few days post op bc I live about 8 hours from hospital. Came back home yesterday and was so happy to see my baby girl again! She is only 2 so she doesn't understand why I can't pick her up yet. I showed her my boo boos and she gave me a check up with her dr kit, made my day! My hunger has been nearly non existent. Toughest part was fixing her dinner and snacks, used to I would eat along with her. I can drink water without much restriction if I pace myself, but protein drinks and protein soups I feel very full at about 3 oz. still no pain or nausea. I have lost 10 lbs since surgery 6 days ago, I know that is not a realistic or sustainable rate, but for now I am loving it!

Tomorrow I get sleeved! So nervous, please send prayers.

I'm with you Galthom. I leave the doc's office after a fill tight..........and I don't get tighter over the weeks or months...........What does happen is I decide I want something - that I know I can't have because of the band - but I eat it any ways and boom......problem! Then my tummy is swollen and tender for some time and I have to baby it.......then back to no problems. Banded 11/09 Lost 70 pounds 4 fills for a total of 6 cc in a 10 cc band

I know that everything has to be blended or pureed prior to eating it, but my instructions seem a bit vague on this step. I would appreciate some insight from those who have recently began this phase. Barbi