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Hi everybody, Today was my first fill! thanks to all for your advice. According to my surgeon, I wasn't due for my first fill till next month. I am five months out and started to slow down on weight loss ( only 3 pounds) since December. I told my Dr. that I was hungry with only 1/3c of food three times a day, so, I increased the amount to 1/2c., I dropped 2lbs. this month. My Dr. also said that he does not know how many baby spoon bites are in each 1/3c. or so ...but if it's more than 3-6 baby spoonfuls it would be too much! Just wondering .....do any of you eat this amount? Is it reasonable to think that 3-6 baby spoons of food 3x aday plus two protein drinks is what you guys are doing? I don't want to mess up! Don't forget this is my first fill. I thank you so much. any advice or feedback would be appreciated! Linda :confused2:

I know that my slow weight loss is partly my fault I know I am 50 lbs slimmer that last year I know that I need to exercise more I know that I love my friends on this forum I know that sometimes I could make better choices I know that I have made great progress at a healthy rate I know that I still have my weak moments I know that I have support I know I need to support myself more I know that I should check this website everyday I know that I know that I know I can do better I know that I CANNOT drink when I eat it ruins the results I know that Cokes are a thing of the past and should stay there I know that sometimes I sabotage my own results I know that I fear success I know that I can do it I just hope I will do it.

it is very commom to have depression after wt loss surgery, I had bypass, you can suffer from depression from the loss of fat the hormone inbalance, and also there is something called anesthesia depression...try to make yourself move even if you dont want to, jump in the shower, walk out into your yard and listen to the birds., watch a comedy, anything to take your thoughts away from your self and food..let me know how you do...good luck..you will do wonderful...

I read about the hair falling out before my surgery. I'm not quite one month, but I've read it typically hits between months 3 and 4. Everyone I've talked to says it slows and then stops. Most people just cut their hair short and wait for it to grow back. My understanding is it comes in thicker and thicker. I personally have resolved to shave my haed when the fall out starts, and donate it to locks for love. That way someone can take advantage of my loss. Don't freak out about it! Think of it as a new beginning! New hair for a new body!

I was sleeved in July also and my hair is falling out like crazy now. It is definitely unnerving. I've even had a couple of nightmares about going completely bald. lol! My hair is my signature. It's the thing people know me by because it is extremely long (almost to the floor) so losing it in huge clumps like this is traumatic. I'm consoling myself with the fact that it is temporary. Hang in there, we'll get through it!

Hi everyone, I'm having trouble deciding who to listen to - my surgeon or my nutritionist. HW 243 SW (day of surgery after pre op diet) 234. 2 month post op I was 214.5. I'll also mention that I had a lap band for 10 years and had it removed almost 3 years ago- gained back anything I had lost with it. When I went to my 2 month post op appointment, my surgeon was unimpressed by my weight loss. So was I. He asked what I was eating and I told him I was getting about 700 calories a day but getting in all of my Protein. He said I was eating WAY too much and this is why I wasn't losing. He said only eat when hungry, forget about protein, stop Protein shakes, and live off my fat. I pointed out that is very different guidance than I had received from the nutritionist that I had seen right there in that very office. He said something like "yeah, yeah, I know. She gets all focused on that and it is really not necessary - this is an ongoing conversation I am having with her". Because I was on a stall at the time, I decided to go with his advice and see what happens. I lost about 10 pounds the following month. Also during this month I upped my exercise, getting 10,000 steps most days with a combination of walking and jogging (using couch to 5k, up to week 4). But now I am on a stall again, and wondering what I should do nutrition wise. I am getting around 700 calories still most days but really never over 40ish grams of protein. It is hard to figure out what to do when your 2 resources are telling you different things. I haven't seen anyone else on the boards who are being told to forget about protein. What should I do? Forget my surgeon's advice and go with the nutritionist even though my weight loss was slow when following that plan? Follow my surgeon's advice even though it is not consistent with any of my research or reading others' experience? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I know that I will forever be mindful of chewing...chew...chew...chew I know that I could not have achieved the weight loss to date without the band. I know that regardless of my success, I will always feel embarrased I let my body 'go' so far. I know that I will eventually be the body size/weight combination with which I am happy. I know that I should have done this several years ago. I know that if there was a magic pill to cure my cravings for nuts, I would take it. I know that my lifestyle changes will impact DH - and ideally mean we are together longer. I know that my family are proud of my success to date. I know that if anyone had said I would become 'a regular' at the Y and be there before 6am 4 days a week, I would not have believed them. I know that I have to keep exercising, even though I do not enjoy it. I know that I have tremendous respect for many of the people I have met on this forum, and that we would not have 'met' were it not for this band.

I am not sure that there really is anything your mother can do but wait until May. She could look for another surgeon but I know with mine (Dr Watson at SJOG Murdoch) there was a waiting time of almost 3 months just to get in and see him for my first appointment. May isn't too far away, maybe your mum could do a gentle version of optisfast or something from now until then to give her a great kickstart with the weight loss? Not much help I know..but I guess this can happen to any of us if our surgeon comes down ill Lou

I was diagnosed with Diabetes about one month before I was to have my surgery. My doctor was going to put me on several medications to control my bood sugar. Since my surgery was coming up, we held off on the medication to see how the surgery and weight loss would affect my blood sugar. My surgery was 5-25-2011 and my blood sugar numbers are now normal. I did not have to go on any Diabetic medication. I think the Diabetes alone is enough of an issue to have the surgery, it seems to have helped many on this forum beat this horrible disease.

Hang in there and allow yourself to heal properly. You can do it. You have a whole new lifestyle awaiting you. It is vital that you have a protein high diet. One reason is it is the fuel that drives the engine also, it prevent hair loss and other nasties. Carbs give you quick energy but protein stokes you for a long time. Could you be having a bit of depression due to not being able to eat? Keep posting, love to hear how you are getting along in the future.

Since my band I see a physician that does my fills. He works with the surgeon as well. He is a natropath as well as other things and ordered a lot of tests for me. He has put me on some caps. called Gluco-support that I take with each meal to help with the insulin. I have found out that I have a dairy,wheat and soy intolerance so I was fighting a losing battle with weight loss before. He also ordered a stack of caps. from the US from the Health Institute for me that are packed with vitamins. I had low Iron, Magnesium, Zinc and too much copper,oestrogon and insulin. I take heaps of caps. but it will only be for a couple of months to get everything working again. I have heaps more energy so something must be working. I am just lucky that this man was employed by the Bariatric surgery to do these tests on lap banders to help diagnose any problems. Good luck seeing your Dr today. Yes a fatty liver can be helped by diet. Saleel22

Thanks Ezma. gotta say, this is the first time 'the girls' have participated in my weight loss. In my many previous weight losses, they have hung (and I use the term intentionally) around - mocking me. This is a first...band and cup size!

Hi Queen of Hearts. Thanks so much for your reply. I just went through all of my papers, I have a 10 ml inamed band. I will talk some more to my doc on tuesday. My weight loss is excruciatingly slow at the moment so I am leaning towards getting another fill. many thanks

What benefit will criticism bring? Food is not more important than the beautiful people you are hurting. Congratulations though on your weight loss.

My eating plan was a little off for a few months (therfore my loss stalled!) so I am back on the horse. Right now I am eating Protein, veggies, low fat dairy and whole grains. I have been logging my foods in my journal, feel free to peruse. I will say my favorite dessert is what I call the frozen Peanut Butter cup. I take 1 sf ff fudgesicle, 1T natural PB and melt it in the microwave for a bout 15 seconds. Mix hat up and fold in 2T lite cool whip. Freeze it until ice cream consistency (or less if you want it to be like a mousse). It is so good and hits the sweet spot at night. My meals right now are a lot of salads with grilled chicken. I also love making fajitas and eating them without the tortillas, maybe adding some LF cheddar and light sour cream. So yummy! I marinade the chicken in some lime juice, cumin, cayenne & oil. Nice flavor if grilled with peppers, onions and garlic.

Hope you're being cheered up Amy!! I can imagine how frustrating it must be when you don't lose as you've expected but like everyone has said, you've had it pretty rough! Now you can focus on moving the weight loss along, I hope you see some results soon!

Hey ppl!! I just wanted to share my before and during pics with all of you... I hadn't seen my old pics in a while and wow did I look bad back then... So started this whole process at 233 pounds (my highest ever) and was around 215 by my surgery date... I've been loosing slowly since the second week and the scale hasn't moved a lot in a few weeks which is somewhat discouraging but seeing this I get that I'm still loosing inches even though the scale shows almost no weight loss for a month now... I weigh around 189 and I'm 2 months out... I admit I haven't really dieted lately cause of the holidays but I have been more conscious about what I eat and of course my portions are very small... I struggle with getting all my Protein in and also with learning when to stop eating so almost every meal I get this full, really uncomfortable feeling but well I'm still learning... But oh well... Here are my pics (or at least I hope they got attached) ... The first 3 are from a few months ago when I was at my heaviest (holy horrible pics) then there's one with my friends around a week before surgery and the last are all from last week at home and from my trip to disneyworld last week...

I agree. More Protein at meals and no Snacks. I will sometimes have a small tidbit of something in between meals, but I don't snack between every meal. By the way, I have considered doing liquid/soft food diet for a couple of days or more, to see if I can jump start a little more weight loss.

I've noticed my dark circles are way worse after weight loss, and I do get a bit puffy there. But I have deep set eyes, and my kids do too and we all have that allergic, sinusy type constitution too - asthma, eczema, hayfever in our family. So dark circles are kind of there to stay. But yes, they are WAY worse with weight loss because I've got no fat left on my face and obviously with age, you lose a lot of the fat from your face anyway, my face is a lot leaner than it is when I last weighed 70kg in my early 20's. Oh well, at least I dont have wrinkles. All you can do is use a good eye cream, there's apparently one or two really amazing ones out there on the market but I dont have the funds to be spending over $200 on eye cream personally. For me, its the hollowness that causes the problem, and there's not a really good cosmetic surgery option for that, it all consists of fillers which cost an arm and a leg and dont last anyway.

Donna-- To be specific, here is a list of factors I can think of off the top of my head: People who have higher BMIs tend to lose faster. gender age Metabolism The first several lbs contains a lot of Water and glycogen and that comes off quickly so if people were required to lose weight before surg they already lost some of the "fastest" weight. Different MDs give very different after surg eating plans (and for different lengths of time). People who have fewer calories lose more. Some people exercise or are more active then others. There are differences to how well people can stick to their dieting plans. The human body may have set points (unique weights where each body "likes" to rest and cling to for a while before moving up or down in weight. There may be more factors that I'm not listing In addition; according to Dr. Ortiz (Lapband for Life) it is very common for lap band pts. to have a period of weight loss stalls after surg and the initial weight loss. This can be cause by a "shock" to the system -- or the body's effort to adjust. I lost 20lbs before surg, 11 within 2 weeks, several more in the next few weeks---then I stalled for about 6 weeks even though I was being golden. At times I have been frustrated but when I stop to look at it ---I have lost 49lbs in 6 mons. I'm half way to my goal and my goal is actually 8lbs less than a normal BMI. I haven't gained 1lbs since I started losing. Six months ago I was 92lbs overweight and now I'm 42lbs overweight. I know are worried and you want to lose faster. I feel the same way -- but try not to worry

i would like to know where do you go on your page to copy the weight loss ticker? i seem to be having problems trying to figure it out. Please help!!!! thank you

Congrats on your loss to date! Big difference in your pics. I'm sure you'll get back on track and reach your personal goal in time.

Yay Allen! Great job on your weight loss so far! Welcome to posting-land. So glad you are out of lurkdom. Congratulations!

I suggest you make sure you're getting in your daily Protein requirements. Also make sure you're getting all of your Water in. Sometimes we confuse hunger with thirst. When you're feeling a little hungry, reach for a bottle of water first and then if you're still hungry 30 minutes later, have a snack. Snack suggestions would be sugar free Jello or puddings, add a splash of some kind of condiment/sauce to cottage cheese. There are 100 calorie snack packs available at most grocery stores, but if you're going to have one of those, make sure it's only one. If you're still hungry after that, put a stick of gum in your mouth to get you through to designated meal times and sip on your water as well. I'm guessing you're at the mushy stage of diet, so perhaps different combinations of mashed vegetables. Some of my favorites were carrot and parsnips or rutabaga and squash with some spinach added for texture and fibre, etc. Fish, ground chicken and turkey, some of the leaner meats that can be chewed up really well, but be careful that you're not eating too much too soon of these things. Remember that the first 6 weeks after surgery you should be concentrating on healing and healing only. That's why sticking in the liquid/mushy stage is important. You don't want to aggravate your band area and suffer complications as a result. You have plenty of time to get onto a controlled diet/weight loss/exercise routine, so don't rush things. I thought back to my son's baby stage and basically made food that I would have made for him both in size and ingredients. Baby food. Fresh, not the canned/bottled stuff. Exercise. One thing I've learned is that I can't eat chocolate chip Cookies while exercising. :drool: At times when the hunger really gets to me, I'll go for a 20-30 minute stroll outside just to get away from the temptations of food in the fridge and cupboards. You need to break yourself out of old habits that got you into trouble in the first place. It takes a lot of work in the beginning, but if you stick with it, it becomes second nature to have your meals, Snacks and exercises planned for the upcoming day or week. When choosing an exercise, make sure it's one that you'll enjoy. Or at the very least, one that you don't hate. If you start to feel like exercise is a chore you'd much rather avoid, sooner or later you'll find reasons and excuses to do so. Some people get into a routine that doesn't change at all, but others find they need to keep changing in order to keep things interesting and not get bored with their workout. I think the best purchase I've made since my lap band has been my iPod. It helps keep me focused when I'm on the treadmill or elliptical and the time goes by really quickly when I'm singing along; in my head, so as not to scare the public :biggrin: On the days when I've forgotten my iPod it seems like it takes twice as long to get through my exercises. :smile: Hang in there. This is a wonderful journey that at times is very hard, but the rewards of that hard work are SO worth it. I hope this helps.

When I was banded I was taking 2 meds for high blood pressure, a diuretic, and a Calcium channel blocker, I was also taking Metformin for a prediabetic situation, Celebrax for joint pain, and another for a short time for high cholesterol (could not remain on it, it raised my liver enzymes---so cholesterol remained 200+.) Within a very short time, I was taking zero prescription meds! 2 years out, I still take absolutely nothing. My blood pressure is normal---117/72 this morning. Blood sugars are normal--cholesterol has dropped below 150---with no meds. My knees don't hurt with every step. I am thrilled to death with the weight loss, but the health aspects alone, make me feel like the band was a success, and that is was without a doubt worth it, and the right choice for me! Good Luck----the seminars are FULL of information, take someone with you if you can, especially if someone in your life is questioning the surgery---it would do them good to hear the seminar. Welcome to LBT.....again! Kat