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There is a light at the end of the tunnel, is it a train? LOL I wish I were filled back up. I have to wait another few weeks to go back for additional fluids. I gained weight yesterday,so this morning I thought what the heck and ate what I wanted for breakfast, bread, eggs, coffee. Then I lost it! LOL This time is harder than the original but there's nothing else that works like Lap-Band. Linda

It depends upon the density of the food you are trying to eat and how well you chew. Bread seems to be one of the hardest things to eat. Also, you should not drink while eating...that is drink water, coffee or tea. I gained weight Saturday....a whole lot of weight. Don't know why, So I decided that I would eat everything I wanted yesterday. Of course, I tried bread again and ended up losing it. This morning I had lost again!!! I lost all that I had gained. Don't know why. I think, and this is just me, I think the more I concentrate on what I'm eating try to limit myself, the more I will gain. And that if I just show some judgement and not try bread or drinking with my meal I will lose. If I stop when I feel full and not push it.

Hi everyone. My name is Jennifer and I got my band on July 2. I went today for my 2 week check-up, and I lost 16 pounds. I felt the first three days after surgery were tough. I had a lot of gas pain in my chest and shoulders. I am so happy that I decided to go through with the band, even after the pain. I wish a lot of luck to everyone in their weight loss journey.

I know how you feel. Until I got restriction on fill #3, I wondered what everyone thought was so great about the band. If you're able to eat anything, feel no restriction, and haven't lost weight it might be time to: 1. Measure and weigh foods 2. Log what you're eating 3. Get back to exercising 4. Get a fill that gives you proper restriction You started at a lower BMI so don't compare yourself to anyone. I learned that lesson myself. At 46, I'm not going to lose like younger people and I certainly don't lose like some people with BMIs as high as mine. Since I'm not in a race with anyone, I only have something to prove to myself. Talk to your surgeon and get that next fill. You'll be a loser again in no time. NEVER GIVE UP!

Welcome to LBT! I was banded in September also. Good luck and Congrats on the weight loss!

I am on my second band right now. Both bands were 4.0 cc max fill. Right now I have 3.4 cc's and have no restriction. I am very upset/nervous. With the first band the most I ever had was 3.0 cc's and I had a very hard time getting fluids down and I PB'd every time I ate which is what I assume caused my band to slip eventually. I also went from an empty band up to 3.0 cc's within a few weeks because I went to several different fill doctors. I just wanted to get the show on the road and lose weight. I am sure that might have contributed to my slip. So, I lost my band, but I got a new one. Things have been different this time around and I don't know if that's because I weighed 196 when I got the first band and I weighed 134 when I got the second band. I guess time will tell! All I want for Christmas is RESTRICTION!!!!!!!!!!

I will be 5 weeks out tomorrow. I am thirsty all the time. So trying to wait 30 minutes to eat gets to be really hard. Then when I do eat it is really, really small amounts. I have been losing weight consistently but this can't be healthy. I'm down 27 pounds so far. And to make matters worst the Protein shakes make me gag. HELP!!!! How are you guys getting it all in for the newbies? For the more experienced sleevers, how far along were you before you were able to get in all your liquids and protein? Thanks in Advance!

Try taking really teeny sips. I took 15 minutes to get down an ounce the first few days after surgery. Also, my stomach grumbled like a Mac truck was driving through it the first couple of weeks. Prop yourself up with pillows in bed or sit in a comfy recliner and hog the TV. Before you get settled, upt a small container of Water by where you will be resting. Use a clock to watch the time and drink one ounce from a medicine cup or a 3/4 full shot glass every 15 minutes. I'm sitting here almost 5 months out and 60 lbs. down from my pre-op weight. Energy has returned and I can guzzle a cup of water at a time if I'm inclined (which I am when I drink my benefiber- it gets thick quick!). Point is, it is worth it and temporary. Baby yourself - you deserve it!!!! I put on hand lotion and lip gloss every once in while to cheer myself up, but everyone has their own favorite thing. Lynda

45 g of protein is very much on the low end. What kind of carbs are you eating and how much? You would need to eat a whole lot of "good carbs" to consume about 800 cals worth per day. Eventually you loose all the water weight and then you are working on true fat. Fat takes a 3500 cal deficit to lose 1 lb of fat. How much exercise are you doing? My doctor says at least 30 minutes 7 days a week. I do up to two hours daily and I am a slow looser.

It can be rough in the beginning, but it does improve dramatically as time rolls on. The three most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. Weight loss is achieved after surgery through volume control. You begin at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet your protein daily requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as Protein shakes. It is common for your taste buds to change after surgery. I remember in the hospital after surgery I could not drink the Water because it tasted very chlorinated. Eventually I found flavored water such as Crystal Light to work O.K. Many experience problems drinking protein shakes. I hated them. But in the beginning I drank them, three 16-ounce protein shakes a day, in order to meet my protein requirements. You do not have to like protein shakes only tolerate them. There are many varieties of protein shakes available today. Experiment until you can find one you can tolerate. Over time as your meal volume increases, if you concentrate on consuming high protein meals, you can begin to reduce your reliance on protein shakes.

Hey ya texas cutie... If you have good restriction and are loosing weight just with that I would wait...I didnt have my first fill till after 2 months post surgery...just speak with your dr and see what he says. :eek: becky

Hey Jerry I have always been a swimmer. I go to Bally's and walk and jog in the pool. It is great exercise and everyone there really supports me. I also swim laps.. I really miss it, and I haven't been since I was banded (Nov 17) and my first fill was last week (Dec 28). Really give it a try, your legs will get strong very fast and it will also help you tone up and loose weight. Good luck on your journey!:clap2: Carole from Texas

Man, I never thought that I was gonna be able to say that I was already banded. WOO HOO.. I was 243 on Dec 17 at my pre-op diet. On Jan 12 at mt post-op appointment I was 226. :sneaky: 17 pounds WOW. I thought that I should have lost more but my doctor (Dr. Tiffany Jessee in Largo, Fl) thought I was doing great. I go back for my first fill/adjustment on Feb 16. Dr Jessee said that, thats when I will really see the weight difference. My goal weight is 170. That means I only have 56 pounds to go.:thumbup: If anyone is in the Tampa Bay area and would like information on the surgery or Dr Jessee please feel free to email me at xeina000@aol.com. She is great. Excellent bedside manner. Down right GREAT!

Question for all you going to the gym. I started going to the gym now, and want to know about a good workout routine. Any tips you have please? I only started out about 3 weeks ago, so I am still quite unfit. When do you do what? I want to incorporate weight training as well as I've read it's actually also good for weight loss, not just the cardio. What does a good exercise plan look like? I only want to go 3 to 4 times a week. Please specify type of exercise and amount time and what when you are doing? I was thinking perhaps: Monday: Cardio - 20 mins Weights - back and biceps Wednesday: Cardio - 20 mins Weights - triceps, shoulders and chest Thursday: Cardio: 40 minutes Weights - legs Please give me tips if this is a good or bad idea. This is nee territory for me so all advice welcome, please! If you dont agree with this plan please tell me, i am a novice! Also tell me why it is not good and then advice on what is please!

Love zumba too! I'm signing up for the next class at my rec center. Obesta...I would increase your cardo to 30 minutes of whatever kind of cardo u like. Over the next few weeks I would try to increase the amount of time or intensity. I'm not much for knowing about weight training, but I was told not to do it everyday as your muscles need time to recoup. However that might be different since you are working on different areas. Just as someone else mentioned, it probably would be a good idea to talk to a trainer. The should be able to give u a starting plan that u can build from. Good luck! Start weight 224, Surgery weight 205, Current weight 199

I am so sorry this is happening to you. Could you go talk to your primary care doc and see what they have to say. Also I had diarrhea in the liquid stage but it went away a couple of days after I moved to mushies. I hope you can find a solution, I really love the band and my weight lose so far. Let me know if I can help in anyway, we are here for you.

That's what I was afraid of...Yeah my husband just thought that maybe since I lost that weight kind of fast that maybe it caused it...thank you though...I'll try to get in and update when I can :thumbup:

maybe its water. Did you eat a lot of salty foods over the weekend? 1 pound is 3500 calories above and beyond what you burned. 7 pounds seems nearly impossible for someone with a band. Watch your sodium for a couple days then weigh again. Frustrating... I know. When I gain 2 I wonder "how the hell is that possible"!

I go to the doc tomorrow...my problem is that at times I can eat a great deal and other times I can't eat anything that doesn't cause pain and comes up. Once I start throwing up or sliming as they call it, it doesn't stop and I start heaving:w00t:. I learned what foods to avoid...and some of the foods that cause other issues, don't bother me and vice versa. And I have pain in my left hand side after getting sick...probably a pulled muscle. I know my doc will make the choice but I am confused...to get more of a fill or not. I'm not losing much weight...since May 26, I've lost 25 pounds. For weeks after my fill, I felt nothing. Now, every other day, I am having these issues. I had no idea this procedure would be so hard. Unfortunately, due to some other issues, I am not able to work out, which I know would help me lose weight. I am just wondering why at one moment i can eat and no problems:blushing: and at other times, i get into severe pain. I went to dinner with friends and ordered moist fish and after a few bites, it got stuck...I made it to the bathroom:drool:, but I was embarrassed.Other times the neighbor will bring over a hamburger and it can all go down. ANY advice you give me will be so gratefully accepted. Much love! __________________ Much love to you all and thanks for any advice:wub:

I can only speak from my own experience. The band works very well. There is no way I would have been able to stick to a diet long enough to take off the weight I have so far with the band (and keep it off). I had my mind made up about the band and was determined to get it and change my life and the way I felt about myself. The only anxiety I had was toward surgery in general. I have had 3 other surgeries and the general anesthesia really messes with me. I was not looking forward to that, but knew it would only be a temporary thing. There are enough things in life that cause stress and are out of our control. I try not to stress myself out or lose sleep over the things I do have control over. I chose to be banded and that is a positive thing for me, not a stress. Good luck to you on this journey.

It is a long journey, isn't it? You are in Bandster Hell, waiting for fills to take you to restriction. If you do not want to gain wt like I did, start exercising and limit your food intake like you are on a regular old fashioned wt loss diet. Restriction will come, but maybe not in full force til your 3rd fill. The Dec 2 fill should help you control your appetite and portions. Best wishes, Mimi

Honestly, the hardest time for me seems to be at work! Mostly because I'm trying to focus, which is not easy between having a headache and being a little dizzy. Each day will get a little easier, yeah? According to the scale, I've lost about 8lbs since Sunday, but I think that's a little biased because I had an upper endoscopy/colonoscopy done yesterday, so I spent Monday only drinking Clear liquids instead of Protein shakes, and all the prep medicine really emptied things out. I'm not going to complain though, getting this weight off is the whole goal! Stay strong!

Thank you. Got my second fill, hopefully it will start shifting some weight now

My experience..... My consult appointment was yesterday. The whole staff was very friendly. I really like my Doc. My appointment didn't really go like I thought it would. I did the whole check in height weight. Found out I am 5.1/2 ft. but I actually think I'm 5ft. my hair kind of got in the way, (updo, I know stupid). I met with the nurse, we went over a couple things, the doctor came in, he asked me a lot of questions that are normally on your new patient questionnaire which I thought was weird.. Like my nationality, am I mixed, married... and so on. We didn't talk about my past weight loss attempts. What I've been doing to lose weight. Or why I gained weight over the last month. He had to of known I've been seeing my PCP since October for weight-ins. Anyone else have to fill out a questionnaire that asked you how much money you make a year? There were a few other questions I thought were strange, but I cant remember them. I also received a check list, which most of it is already done. I'm not 100% sure what supporting documentation for weight management is... another question for insurance, I guess? Anyways, the Doc then brought me and another patient in for a little slide show of bariatric surgery procedures and risks. Which went into a little more detail than what I've found online and I found it interesting. After the slide show, I went back into my exam room and had physicals. Found out my ideal weight is 109lbs, that seems impossible to me. He said "120-125lbs is good." My goal is 115lbs. He brought up my heart murmur. So, now I have to get cardiac clearance before he'll do the surgery. I forgot all about it, I was told when I was 16. But no other doctor brought it up again. Surprising, because I've has a few surgeries. And because of my heartburn I have to do an EGD, which he will perform in a couple weeks. He mentioned that my BMI is 43. I'm assuming he meant I needed to lose some weight before surgery.. but he could of also meant I needed to do the weigh management for the 3-6 months, being that my bmi isn't above 50. So I will need to clarify that with him. There was so much information thrown at me, it took me till after dinner to process it all. When I was finished up with the Doc. I met with a lady that scheduled my EGD and handed me lab papers and I have to get a chest xray. Then off to another room and met with the NUT, which ended up being a group meeting, the other patient was there again and then we met individually with the NUT. I thought the NUT would go over eating a healthy well balanced diet.. lol.. duh, no it was about getting enough Protein in. and I found that I am not . so my goal is to get my 80g of PRO and working out a little bit more. She gave me a sample of vanilla unjury, which I will be trying today. The whole process took 3hrs. And I only had to paid the NUT, which was 130$. I have dual coverage and it paid for my appointment with the doctor. Oh, I cant forget the pre op diet. Boy am I ever lucky... I get 3 meals a day 3 scoops of Unjury between meals. This plan seems easy enough and fulfilling. The plan consist of Protein, Free food & Extra Food Choices. It reminds me of the 1st stage of Atkins, with some exceptions. Unlimited FF, which is zero cal beverage, coffee, tea, raw veg, herbs and spices, vinegar, mustard, lime, lemon juice. I will be using the FF to make my own salad dressing. I need more that one serving of dressing on my salad. I can have 4 EFC (guys get 6): 1 small fresh fruit or 1/2 cup fruit, cooked Cereal, potato or rice, low carb tortilla, 1 slice whole grain bread, English muffin, sandwich/bagel thins, low cal bread, bran buds or Fiber one cereal, 1 cup v-8, tomato juice, Soup or any food or beverage that is 60-80 cal per serving. For Breakfast select 1 protein, and 2 protein for lunch. Dinner 4-6 oz very lean meat, 1-2 cups low carb veg and 1 large salad with 1 serving of salad dressing. approximate nutrition 120-150g of protein, 100g of carbs estimated 1,200-1,500 cals and 15-30g of fat. I think that is the best Pre-Op diet I've seen so far, well other than the eat what ever you want ones. I feel like the insurance coordination was not on the ball. I asked her some questions and she seemed confused and didn't know exactly what my insurance was requiring of me. Hopefully I can get a clear answer from my insurance company. I really want to know if my weight-in from Oct count or do I start from yesterday. Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

Thanks gals. I figured it was normal. It lasted a bit longer today, so I just ate two egg whites with a spoonful of nonfat ricotta cheese. My doctor's office said I'll loosen up as I loose more weight. So I can't complain, atleast the weight is coming off and atleast I'm not PBing.