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Janet – I am doing and feeling great! My weight is holding steady – not losing but I haven’t gained either. That is a first for me, I have always been able to lose weight and then gained right back to where I started (and then some). I have been at 190 since Feb. I would like to get to 160 but, like I said, maintaining is something I have never been able to accomplish before. I credit all of the exercise I do now with being able to maintain. I just started exercising in April. I had never really exercised before. That’s why I initially hired a trainer – I was so pathetic, I did not know how to use any of the equipment at the gym and I (as a fat girl) was too embarrassed to ask. Now I keep the trainer for motivation. She keeps me honest and keeps me moving forward. She always has something new (and harder) for me to do. Heck, I press 40 pounds now. I have developed some real muscles. LauraK – WTG on the walking and yoga. Your upcoming girl’s weekend sounds fabulous. Have a great time. Apples – I too want to get PS but I would like to get a TT. They say you should wait until you reach goal and that is still 30 pounds away for me. I keep thinking maybe I should just give up and be happy with where I am at and get the TT. Then I think I should just kick myself and lose the last 30. I know exactly what you mean about it being uncomfortable. It isn’t too bad in the day because I always wear spanx but once I take the spandex off it has a mind of its own. It is very uncomfortable when I exercise (especially when doing sit-ups) and when I try to roll over at night. I don’t know about you but I have been having trouble with infections in my belly button. I guess moisture is getting trapped because the skin falls down over the “innie hole”. LOL-TMI. It does get quite painful though. All I can say to you is “go for it girl!”

okey dokey. This is for Monday Oct 18. Caution this may be a TMI kind of a post. Good news: I'm down another couple of pounds. Bad news: I had to have a root canal this week and it has been painful. I was given some vicodin which I have taken. I think the vicodin has slowed my digestive process. Time will tell. Great news: I'm gonna see Kathy Griffin tonight with my sweetie! I hardly eat. I think my little doggie is eating more than I do. I am not doing so well on the Fluid either. A couple of sips and I just don't want any more. I gotta force them down because there are too many bad things that could happen with too little fluid. I hope all of you are doing well. Can't wait to hear from you.

No way not to tink it to death...from what I understand I go into the chat room a lot! and many of the people there complain about all the negative things...so I I havent been in as often. TMI---Too Much Information. I am scheduled for tomorrow...don't focus on the negative things focus on thpositive. Remember what got you to this point in the first place. Remember how when you go shopping you want to buy anything & everything you want & not be so limited in your choices. Also some people who have slippage is because they have made poor food choices & puke which causes slippage. Be totally committed mentally & physically and remember you have to not want the bad things to eat...the band can't stop you from eating them only you can. As far as not losing weight ask them what they are really eating...there was one lady in the chat roo complaining that she isn't losing but was consuming 2000 calories a day. Take a break from the forum & you will remember why you are doing this. On friday I had one of those moments but when I put on my outfit to go out & realized that I look like a linebacker...it brought right back to why I wanted to do this in the first place. I have a blog & I will be tracking my progress as I go. Maybe that will help you...Good Luck!

Don't mean to hijack your thread, Bob, but feel that this would be a comfy place for me to ask a couple of questions, if you don't mind. History...banded June, 2008 and have been at goal (23lbs below original goal but OK with where I am at and so is doc) since Oct, 2008. At first I was "somewhat" satisfied with my hanging skin on my lower abdomen. I look good in my clothes but feel terrible naked or in underclothes....it hangs out the bottom (tmi). The farther out I get the more the skin seems to hang and bother me. While exercising/walking/exerting myself, the fold becomes icky and irritated. This may seem silly but the problem I am having is with "deserving" to get this problem taken care of. It's almost like I am selling myself short of taking this last step of this journey. Make sense to any of you? As I stated, right after reaching goal I told myself I would be happy with whatever if I looked good in clothes. Now, since it seems to be getting in my way and physically and emotionally bothering me, I feel like I am giving into something that would be egotistical. Silly, I know. Anyone else feel this way?

Been banded for 4 wks and dint have a fill yet. I'm premenstrual (tmi) :-) and 2 things have been happening. Top oft stack has been tightening and it really hurts in weird way. I know it's the band. Also had my st stuck incident out of blue when lately I can eat and drink anything. I jad terrible pain in sternum area and felt like turkey sandwich got stuck. I panicked flailing arms and was just abou to try and throw it up when my son brought me something to drink to try and get it down. It worked but I was tired after the incident and had similar incident tonite. Has anyone else experienced this?

Is it normal to still be having diarrhea nearly a month after surgery? Sorry, I know this is a little TMI, but I am getting concerned. I am eating solid foods, and had my first fill last week. I am losing weight on schedule and everything else is great, but the sudden diarrhea is getting REALLY old! Please tell me this will pass soon! :smile:

Linda, you are right, we don't teach writing anymore AND the killer is the grading. With all my master's stuff I haven't graded a paper in over a week, not good. I am just going to have to find a way to simplify it for this year. Not proud of it, but it is all I can do. My principal came and talked to me about who they are going to hire for my long term sub. It is a teacher that use to teach at our school, but when they sold their property for 6.9 million, yes MILLION dollars she retired. My youngest daughter had her and loved her. She taught mainly 1st and 5th grade, and her strength is not science, but she knows the system and possibly some of the kids. I know I will be able to walk away and not worry about a thing. I wish my surgery was tomorrow, I am hanging out about 4 inches and having difficulty going to the bathroom. Last night I had to shove everything back in just to have a bowel movement...I know TMI! We did have some good news yesterday. My co-worker that has been diagnosed with breast cancer got her results back from the test for the genetic marker for cancer (her mom died of breast cancer when she was 9) came back negative. So she will NOT have to have a bi-lateral massectomy or hysterectomy. They will be able to do a lumpectomy and radiation!!! What a blessing. Love you all, but I have a paper to crank out, TTFN

I definitely struggle with making good choices, and probably fail as much or more than I make right. BUT.....I consciously think about the type of food I am eating now, and I am more knowledgable about how food reacts when I eat it---the carb /blood sugar issue for instance. So I am at least thinking about it, which is more than I ever did before. I did diets before, but more of a "fad" thing than a common sense one. I TRIED being informed, but the weight is so much slower going away that way than it was with some new fad, that I always abandoned that thought quicker!!! Once I was banded, I tried to imagine the size of my pouch, and to think about filling it with healthy stuff as opposed to filling it with junk. I lost tons, and tons of hair post banding, and I thought it was poor diet, so I was seriously learning everything I could about healthy eating when one can only eat small portions! In the end, the hair loss stopped, but I had gained tremendous amounts of information on how my body worked with the food it took in! Sometimes I have to bargain with myself---tell myself 2 more bites of veggies and I can have some ice cream for desert....and often times the 2 bites fills me to where I cannot eat the ice cream! Usually not, but it is 2 more bites of healthy vs. the 2 extra bites of ice cream!!! LOL Suzie, to have lost 200 pounds is such a huge accomplishment, especially when you have been through so many stressful situations in that time. You may not be on the losing fast track, but you have plugged along, only gaining when you were unfilled for surgery---and even then keeping it to a minimum----you have done soooo well! You work out at work, and away from work, I just want to commend you on your continued efforts, and your continued efforts to keep us slackers motivated!!!! LOL, we are so glad you are here!!! Tracy, you are doing it!!! Every day, every choice is helping. Helping your body, and helping your emotions---by knowing you are doing the right thing. You go girl!!! Big giant hugs!!! Cindy---my granddaughter has her first parent teacher conference this Friday. My DD said she is afraid she may get the "talks to much" thing!!! I have to laugh! I got my share of them over her Mom!! Kinsey lost her first tooth last night. We ordered a pillow off of Etsy, for her to hang on her doorknob with the tooth. she sleeps so wild, we knew the tooth would never be found! When she got the pillow it come with some letters you could download, and print for your child from the toothfairy, and also a little bag of irridescent and silver , extra fine glitter...or "fairy dust" so Manda tucked her money and letter into the pocket on the pillow, and sprinkled the fairy dust by the door and she said she was totally excited! Such fun. I did not sleep well last night. I am surprised anyone around me did either!!! My stomach is all icky again! And I don't smell pretty! TMI I know, but yuck!!! Feel better today, but sticking to a totally bland diet. Used to be I would eat rice, and it would settle my stomach. These days I can eat about 1/4 cup of rice, and I am full, it keeps swelling I think after I eat it! LOL Just glad it is feeling better. Rick is in the field so not sure when he will be home. Guess I better go dig in the freezer for something to make for dinner, so it will be ready when he does get home. Will talk to y'all later! Oh yeah----Michelle, did you ever hear anything from the hardware store????

I think Im starting to feel hunger now :huh2:. And those stupid soups are not filling me up! Im so done with soup its not even funny. Just putting it in my mouth makes me wanna gag!!! Oh.. and never in my life do I wanna see yogurt and pudding :cursing:!!! It's soo crazy that everyone on here has a way different diet plan after surgery. I was reading about a "Mushy" stage. WTF!!!!:thumbup: Why dont I get a freaking mushy stage :crying:?!?! No... all I get is a 6 week full liquid stage and then on week 7: Real food. WTH is that about? So my diet pretty much consists of whatever I had for the clear liquid diet and yogurt, milk, and creamy soups (blended) :thumbup:. So yea....Week 2. In the beginning of last week I did something really bad :frown:... I cheated. But shhhhhh, my husband doesn't know :wink2:. I took like 3 bites of a pizza but spit them out. Then I ATE the 4th bite :crying:. We then went to the mall and I had my first experience with "Dumping Syndrome"!!!! All I have to say is OMG!!!!!! Guys... It is sooooo not worth it!!!! Worst thing that ever happened to me. Just so you know... I have a HUGE public bathroom phobia. I literally cry whenever I have to go into one :crying:. But this "Dumping syndrome" is no joke and that phobia didn't help . It was just a really bad experience. One that I can promise will never happen again (intentionally anyway). This might be TMI but thats ok... maybe someone will learn from my stupid mistake. Ps. I still have the shoulder pain.... which sucks! But no gas... woo-hoo!!! (oh, and gas-x did nothing 4 me)

That's normal. Your weight fluctuates with water. For example, before I workout, I may weigh 2 pounds more than after it. I've sweat off a good amount of water. Also, your weight fluctuates with bowel movements and the such. This is TMI, but I decided to see what I would weigh before and after a BM. I ended up weighing 1 pound lighter than before my BM. Yeeeeahhh.... don't worry about those 2 pounds. They will be gone soon enough.

So today officially marks my 3rd week sleeved!! My totals are 15.6 Lbs since Sleeve surgery day and 24.6 Lbs since the beginning of my Pre-Op diet. Also, I have lost 73.6 Lbs from my highest forever!!! I am just now starting to get into my mushies, puree's and softer foods. I will do this through day 30... which I am now on day 21. I'm not doing all too bad. I can eat egg soup that I make for myself every night for dinner. It's pretty tasty! I also eat high Fiber oatmeal for my carb of the day. It's helping!!! LMAO!! I need it though. Maybe TMI, but I actually went through 5 or 6 days last week of a no-go. Not good! I know I've also been feeling way better since too. Lighter even? Yeah maybe... LOL When I first started my Pre-Op diet I was wearing a size 22W/1-2X. Today I am back into clothes I haven't worn since last summer. I am wearing 18W/XL-1X. I can even wear my XL pajama gowns perfectly. I feel incredible and sooo happy I did this!!! Sure it may have been pretty awful the first few days, but I'd gladly trade those few days in now for all the awesome days I'm having now! I am usually the type to get a good workout in. Well I have decided to put that on the back burner for now until I can get my proper nutrients in, and a good supply of Water. I'm still to this day working on this. I really can get a good amount of water in, but I still feel some lethargy due to not being able to eat solid foods. In my estimation I'm still thinking I'm a good 2-3 weeks out or more from that stage. So for now I'm just getting some walking in and some low key Calisthenics. It's keeping my muscles toned right now and keeping me semi active. It's ok -- I'm still losing really good right now, so I'm not all too worried. As a matter of fact, I have to get my calisthenics on tonight!!! :-) I have a bit of trouble coming though.... I always seem to get stuck at the weight 255. Up or down I hover around this weight for weeks before coasting along. We'll see if this will be the same this time around. Also today I went back to work for the first time since surgery. Yay!! It was nice. Everyone was glad I was back, including myself. I think I had too much time on my hands! There's lots of work to do there so the days will start flying by again. And as I always say... as long as I'm doing what I'm supposed to do, time will pass and the pounds will drop. Ok, I'm outta here for now! Good luck to all the pre-sleevers going up soon! You will do great. You may even question yourself for a day or two... I won't lie, I did myself - but it didn't take me long to take that back and be ever thankful for Dr. Aceves and my new tiny tummy!!! :heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart:

5 months out and 60 lbs down....i am finally confident enough to "do it" with the lights on. heheheh to be honest the lights never go off now....sorry if this is tmi! outwardly I was never afraid to do stuffor talk to people....butwhen I walked away I just knew they were talking about me. I was a master at faking it (my confidence that is haha) around people...now I have that real confidence!

I was banded on September 17th 2010 by Dr Speigel in Houston, TX. It was definately an experience. My last preop meal before my liquid diet started I had my Dad make his homemade Fried Porkchops & Rice & Gravy. I was in heaven. Then three days on clear liquids. Wasn't that bad, atleast there was a goal ahead to reach. The day of surgery I woke up in the recovery room thinging "What the hell is wrong with you Billie (me), Why on earth would you put yourself through this torcher. There is a foreign object in your body, and to top it off, you have to go through this crap again to have it removed." I was extrememly worried and scared. But every day after surgery was so much better then the previous day. The gas pains were eased by walking around, as were the nassea feelings. If I could burp, I would feel 100 times better. Its a totally different world burping with lapband. (tmi I know) but it is!! For those of you who just went through it, or are going to do it, just remember each day gets so much better. I'm barely going to reach my 3weeks post op on Friday and I've been eating solid foods for a week now. I feel like I'm over eating. Its time for a fill already, but I have to wait one more week. Keep your heads up and there is a brighter path to come!! Feel free to email or messageme anytime! I would love to have friends who are goign through the same thing as me, considering I have no immediate friends who live close and have had lapband,gastric, ect... :confused:

Drive by Gang - it's 8:30 - boot camp kicked my butt.. That font thing has NEVER worked for me - I tried it a long time ago... Hugs Cheri - I saw on FB your pic of Michael (?) who past away a few weeks ago. Joyce - WTG on dinner.. And Thanks to you & dh for the pictures - Apples - Hugs I missed the tmi subject - I take ducolax ;0) Yep Jodi - You look fab in those Jeans !!! Cheri can be our stylist ;0) Charlene WTG at the gym Phyl - Hugs on the hip Oh Andrew just called - said he would come visit this weekend and maybe go out to lunch or hang out at the mall making me cry ;0) Well gang - I gotta go eat.. Weather here (lower end of the valley) is beautiful - have the doors and windows open - no a/c ;0)

And now, I'd like to vent and complain! I know I tell other people to take it easy, stalls happen, loss is different for everyone, blah blah blah. But right now, I'm pretty frustrated, so I could use some support of my own. I am down forty pounds since surgery. That's great. I know it is. It's an average of 3.33 pounds a week, which is better than a typical diet. But I'm frustrated. VERY frustrated! I've been stalled for twelve days now. I keep gaining and losing the same two pounds over and over again. I put the scale away last week hoping to see the numbers change but nope - after a week I was up four tenths of a pound. I'm between monthly cycles - this is usually the only time of the month that I do lose, and instead I'm stalled. If my cycle affects me like usual, I can expect to be up 1-3 pounds next week and then stalled again. The first month out I lost 18 pounds. The second month I lost 8 pounds. Now I'm two days from twelve weeks out and I've lost 14 pounds this month. I suppose the good news is that I lost more in month three than month two. I'm still pretty aggravated with the slow loss. Slow loss would be A-OK (or at least less gripe-worthy) if it was accompanied by skin that wasn't sagging, but unfortunately, my skin is sagging horribly. I expected bad things from the stomach, since I've had twins. The stomach was bad to begin with. But my breasts? Already? And my thighs? And my butt even droops! I can lift up part of my butt and jiggle it like a saggy breast. Yes, that's probably TMI. I don't care, I'm complaining! Maybe I wouldn't be as frustrated if I wasn't so incredibly close to 199 pounds. For whatever reason, that's this huge success to me - to be out of the 200s again. Anyway, I just wanted to complain. I know nobody has advice because there's no good answer. Since I still hate eating (I never thought I'd be so unhappy to never be hungry, but eating is still a total chore for me) I'm backtracking to full liquids for three days. I hope that will kick start the weight loss again. Anything to change it up, right? So, thanks for giving me a place to gripe. Once I lose a few pounds I'll be cheery again, I promise. And yes, plastic surgery is in my future, but I'll battle that saggy skin with weight lifting and squats in the meantime to do my part to help it along. I expected some sag, but really - these 70 year old breasts are not improving my grumpy disposition. Hope everyone else is having a better time of it than me! ~Cheri

I just did mine... was supposed to be 2 oz of Milk of Magnesia, but it was thick and I have a sensitive gag reflex ... held it down for about 5 minutes then vomited it up (sorry, TMI I know) so then I had to run to the drugstore and get Magnesium Citrate which was akin to hte nastiest cherry soda I have ever had, but easier to drink, and supposedly stronger that MOM anyway... For me, my diet ALL DAY was "clear liquids" which could also include apple, grape, or cranberry juice and Jello. I have had a LOT of Jello today, LOL but am so far fine... it's almost midnight, so i'm getting in my last few sips of Water... My only problem today was I accidentally took one of my gummy vites at 10 pm and didn't chew very well so I guess I technically ate something, but I don't think it will be a big deal, the Mag-Cit pretty much flushed me out... never quite experienced anything like that. I just hope I'm empty enough... I dont see how anything could be left... Saturday all I had all day was a 2 slim fasts and 1/2 a chicken club sandwich, Sunday all I had was Slim Fast and today nothing but iced tea, juice and jello. Best of luck to all!

Hey guys, I asked a while ago if anyone had experienced a yucky mucus at the back of the throat a few weeks out. There were suggestions of allergies or that I may have caught a cold, but I'm really not sure. I am now almost a month out and still having the same problem. I went to the pharmacy today and had real trouble explaining how it feels... It is NOT a cough, there is nothing on my chest I feel like I need to clear my throat and nose all the time, but nothing ever comes out I keep having a big thick clump of phlegm in the back of my throat which I can't bear to spit out because it feels so horrid, so I am swallowing it and then my tummy gurgles lots and I feel sick. I am having trouble eating because I feel like my stomach is full of this slimy stuff. Sorry for the TMI, it's so gross! Reading some other posts it sounds a lot like the "sliming" which some people experience when eating too much or too fast. But it is there all the time. Maybe I should go to my Doctor? The pharmacist gave me some tablets for congestion and catarrh but they don't seem to be making any difference.... Any advice would be much appreciated! Yours slimily xxx

Hi everyone! I was banded on 10-01-10. I have felt pretty good, other than the normal pain that goes along with surgery. No nausea, vomitting, indigestion...thank goodness. Ok, so for the TMI part, no BM as of yet...normal? I got on the scale(couldn't help it) and was up 3 lbs from day of surgery..normal? Water, shakes and broth all go down fine, although I'm pretty conservative. Thought about walking on treadmill today but not sure I can get my tennis shoes on, bending is a bear! Just curious how everyone else did at this stage. Thanks

The Minimum RDA for fiber grams is 18g per day. It is something you need constantly and daily to keep things moving. We also need to make sure we are getting all the 64 oz of Water too. Keeps things "moving" properly. I know many here are on extremely low carbs but there's no way I'll give up my fiber in detriment for using the bathroom properly. I need to make sure I'm ridding myself of waste! LOL Maybe TMI, but is a normal function! So I try to make sure any carbs I do eat are stocked with fiber. You can still do low carb/hi fiber. I'm starting to get into my purees and mushies from time to time. I'm taking it really slow and feeling so much better right now. But I'm also noticing I'm not flowing right. I think it's time to start making sure I'm getting all my fiber! As for the rings, I went from an 8 to a current 6 right now. My rings were literally falling off. My husband bought me a beautiful new diamond ring in size 6 for our last Anniversary and is being used to hold in my other rings. As I continue to lose I will eventually just have them sized. Just not ready to do that yet as I still need to lose 100 lbs.

For the past couple days I've noticed i've not had any difficulty with any food I've tried and I haven't pushed it to the limit but I notice I'm eating a little more than usual. I'm not sure if what I'm eating is a slider (boneless wings from walmart deli, egg salad, cereal....sorry I can't remember all the things I had this weekend off hand) I know this will be tmi but usually when aunt "flo" is here I'm tighter and nothing likes to go down, well....she's in town and I have no issues. I even notice I can drink right before and after I eat if I want. I'm scared. It's been 8 months since my surgery and 2 months since my last fill. What are the odds of the tubing coming apart or something? I just started working out at the gym and now I've got myself really worried. I can always make an appt with my doc, but I wanna give it a lil more time and get some feedback. Thanks guys!!

I know this may be TMI for some but I'm wondering if you had any kind of pre-warning. Were you feeling bad or did it just happen. I'm wondering because I have been worried about that happening to me at work and hope to have a warning to get to the ladies room.

i just had a fill almost 2 weeks ago...my first fill since APRIL!! I had great restriction after the April fill...and that's when i truly learned to SLOW DOWN...lol I still only occasionally have a pb/vomit issue but rarely now....(tmi? lol) Anyway at this last fill i thought i needed a small fill..he thought i should have one full cc so now i'm at 10.5cc's....and WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!! Omg, i only get hungry if i've gone way too long w/out eating, i can eat VERY small amounts and be staisfied for hours, plus there's lot of foods (mostly breads) that i can't eat anymore. And i'm OK with that! I'm 15 months post op, down 50 pounds since surgery, and i have amazing restriction..so i'm losing more! :smile2:

I don't know about anyone else, but I have experience some things with the new me that I did not expect!!! I was never told that the high Protein diet will give you constipation:blushing: (TMI I know) which can lead to hemorrhoids:blushing: (which is an experience all in its self if you have never had them!), your feet loose weight which makes all of your shoes loose:thumbdown:, and your rings start to fall off:mad0:... Anyone else have any surprise outcomes??? But I wouldn't change it for the world!

I had my surgery on Sept 29th and I haven't had a bowel movement since then. My last movement was on Monday afternoon so I'm not sure if Tuesday actually counts. However, I have been taking the protein in and the broth as I was instructed and I haven't been able to go. My tummy isn't in any discomfort as of now I'm just getting concerned. I also started my cycle which may be TMI but normally that makes me go all the time. I'm not sure if I'm getting enough water in me though. Today I'm going to aim at more water less protein. Has anyone experienced this?

Okay so this week there were times that I had this deep visceral hunger. Tried hard to fight it/limit the damage. I am on blood thinner treatments which make my TOM very irregular. Soooo I though the hunger was based on not having restriction (have had only one fill). Well TOM came a week early today. The other thing that suprised me was the first TOM after surgery I got restriction suddenly just before which I tied to water retension. Perhaps that will not be an ongoing issue; because this week it did not happen. I wonder how this will affect weight loss because I have been very slow loosing so perhaps I will have a drop this week.