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I have two kids, 3 and 4, that are the love of my life. My son is big but thin; my daughter is not a big eater at all but she is a bit chubby. I don't really notice it until she's around other kids and she's a lot thicker. Both kids like to swim, play outside, etc. My husband and I are trying to build healthy family habits, and since we're both sleeved, there's not a lot of junk in the house anyway. My pediatrician isn't overly alarmed but asked us to keep an eye on it. I feel like we are doing all the things recommended for healthy kids, but I wonder if it's really possible for two parents who've battled weight to have kids that can outrun their genetic lottery toward weight gain. Thoughts?

Don't worry after the 3 week stall you will start to loose fast again. The stalls are just part of the process, you get worried you are doing some thing wrong or the surgery stopped working. The stalls are the way your body looses weight, you are putting your body through a big change.

There was a study that came out recently about how the body reacts to artificial sweeteners. However, I was on a low carb diet for three years before I was banded, and artificial sweeteners never made me hungry the way sugar and white carbs did (does). Even now, a year after surgery, if I had to live without artificial sweeteners, I would probably fail miserably. How long post op is he supposed to be on the liquid diet? Every doctor is different with their dietary rules. Mine said I had to lose 5% of my body weight pre op, and could use a variety of diets to achieve that depending on how much time I had to diet before surgery. After surgery, I was on Clear Liquids for 7 days, then two weeks of "full liquids" which included yogurt drinks, cream Soups, and Protein shakes. I didn't use slim fast, but I did have a Protein shake mix that contained artificial sweeteners. I still use it occasionally when I think I am shorting myself on protein. Some doctors say no caffeine after surgery, and some (like mine) said coffee is fine. I don't really know what to add about the slurping down liquids to test for a good fill level. I found that my own sensations of fullness or "backing up" were more reliable than what the doctor saw on the fluoroscope to determine a correct fill level. I wouldn't think drinking rapidly once or twice would cause damage, but on the other hand, I always would have problems drinking quickly without having some real discomfort, so I don't think it would provide a reliable indication of correct fill level. The problem with a doctor presenting a patient with too strict and too limiting a post op diet is that it makes it that much harder for the patient to stick to it. I would think he would get VERY hungry on just broth after more than a week, when the stomach swelling from surgery goes down. However, I realize we all often think our own doctors are the wisest and give the best advice, while any deviation from that is questionable.

I have not posted in a while. I have been pretty depressed with my weight lose. I know part was my fault because I was not exercising, but I have been so tired with no energy! I finally forced myself this week to join the gym. I have my best friend and my sister join with me so if one is unable to go the other will be there sooooooooo that makes me have to go!!! I am only able to do 1.25 miles right now but that is better then nothing and OMG the elliptical is WAY!!!!!!! out of my league right now. I was only able to do 2 minutes on that. I went out and bought 5 new shirts (1x size) WOOHOOO.... because my best friend told me I was starting to look like dumpy because they were getting to big on me LOL...... so I found some good sales! and teased her when I lose some more weight she will have some new shirts! I just hate to buy items when I wont be wearing them very long ( I hope!!!!!) We have planned a trip in January for 10 days to Kauai!!! I am so excited to go to Kauai, but I sit here and worry about clothes and what I will have to order because there will not be any stores that will be carrying shorts and swim suits in Dec. I dont know what size I will be and if I order items off the web will they fit, will I have to return them or what??? I don't like to order off the web much because unless you try them on you dont know how they will look or feel. Crossing fingers my goal is to be under 200 by then! All I have to say, don't give up! All the other post and blogs from people about how much they lose and how fast! I think as long as I am losing even 5lbs a month is better then nothing!

Last week I attended a seminar about LAP-BAND® hosted by one of our local weight loss institutes. I was very exciting. They provided a lot of information including just a quick blurb about cost and that at the first visit the financial counselor would review your insurance one-on-one. That makes sense, everyone has different insurance. They did include that there would be: $500 – program enrollment (includes pre-authorization testing), $400 – psychiatric eval, and $1,000 for the three year nutritional/exercise program. That all seemed reasonable to me. I also knew that my insurance had a $1,000 access for bariatric surgery. When I got the appointment today they said it would be slightly over $8,000. In addition to the costs listed above they use a second surgeon who is out of network (out of everyone’s network) which is about $5,000 and some miscellaneous fees. My husband has been active duty military for over 20 years and I have not seen a “civilian” doctor in a long time. I knew it would not be cheap but I was really surprised at the cost. Is this similar to what your fees were? I know each insurance is different but I had serious culture shock! :scared2:I was going to use my insurance through work but now need to look into TriCare referrals.

I've read a lot about energy level decreasing after surgery. True I had a muffin and some cantaloupe today. But I attribute 90% of my tiredness to me being overweight (and lazy). Question is: When I lose the weight, after I've had a VSG (I'm still pre-op), will I STILL be this tired? :sad0: I just assumed that when I lost some of this weight I would CERTAINLY have more energy. Im just starting to wonder if there are other underlying issues here. THANKS!

CONSISTENCY *If the food you are eating is keeping you full for 3 or less hours you must increase the consistency/thickness of your food. (Generally when you are on clear liquids and ready to move to full liquids, full liquid to mushy, etc) *If the food you are eating is keeping you full for 4 or more hours your food is at a good consistency/thickness. *As soon as you feel full (this may feel like discomfort in your chest) STOP EATING. If you ever feel like something is stuck STOP! Do not drink or eat. Typically, in 30 minutes the food will come up or go down. · Special note: If all you can eat is soft/mushy foods, you are too tight and need fluid out of the band. ADJUSTMENTS · You are ready for an adjustment when you are eating good solid nutritious food (the highest consistency) and it is no longer keeping you full for 4 hours and/or your portions are increasing, and/or you are not losing weight. DAILY ROUTINE · Upon waking drink 20 oz of water (anything 1 calorie or less, no caffeine, no carbonation). The first 8 oz may need to be hot clear liquid. This is also a good rule to apply when preparing your meals. (If you feel pressure/tightness, you need to loosen your band before you eat with hot clear liquids and deep breaths, then repeat water process) · Wait 10 minutes. No eating or drinking (let the fluid drain out of the pouch). When dining out, this would be when you are waiting on your food. At home this will be the time you take cutting meat, moistening meat, and getting it ready to eat) · Breakfast: Protein 1st (use fork and knife and cut up food well), Fruit 2nd (Sample breakfast: ½ cup low fat, low sugar yogurt, 2 T of almonds, ¼ piece of fruit w/ no skin OR 1 very soft, moist scrambled egg, 1 crisp piece of bacon, ¼ piece of fruit w/ no skin · Wait 1 ½ hours (no eating or drinking) · Drink 20 oz of water up until time for lunch. · Wait 10 minutes. No eating or drinking (let the fluid drain out of pouch) · Lunch: Protein 1st (use fork and knife and cut up your food well), vegetable 2nd, carbohydrate 3rd (sample lunch: ½ cup chili (beef or turkey and beans), 4 whole grain crackers OR 1/3 cup chicken salad, ½ seedless cucumber, 4 whole grain crackers OR 1-2 oz grilled chicken on 1 cup garden salad w/ low fat dressing, 4 whole grain crackers · Wait 1 ½ hours (no eating, drinking) · Drink 20 oz of water up until time for supper. · Wait 10 minutes. No eating or drinking (let fluid drain out of pouch) · Supper: Protein 1st (use a fork and knife and cut up food well), vegetable 2nd, carbohydrate 3rd (sample supper: ½ cup stew (beef and vegetable), 4 whole grain crackers OR 1-2 oz meatloaf, ¼ cup green beans, ¼ cup mashed potatoes OR 1-2 oz bake or grilled fish, 2-3 tops of broccoli (steamed and very tender), very small baked potato w/ no skin · Wait 1 ½ hours (no eating or drinking) · If you are getting hungry between meals, you are waiting for an adjustment and you feel you must eat a snack, it should be a protein snack. (low fat chunk cheese, T of peanut butter, nuts, turkey jerky) · Once you get close to your ideal body weight you may have to pay closer attention to your calories. You should not have more than 1200 calories a day. They also recommend when drinking right before your meal to drink/gulp to see if it moves smoothly. This will let you know if you are ready to eat yet. Also, my doctor's office does not recommend snacks.

Hi I got my band 3 years ago and lost about 100lb every thing went great, now I am gaining it back have gained about 20lb from my best. I go back to see the dr. at Northwest weight center next Fri. they say my band is full at 4 whatever that means, so I;m not sure what to do, has anyone else had this problem? Thanks:sad:

I had my open RNY in 2001. Lost 140lbs , then gained 80 lbs back. I am interested in revision surgery. What options do I have? Who was your doctor ? I would appreciate sharing your information with me. I was told by my original surgeon that there is nothing he can do!

I've had so many ups and down these past four months! I started at 340 lbs. I'm down to 251 lbs. As much as I have regretted having this surgery done, it has saved my life. I'm 22 years old and I was going down a road I don't think I would have stopped if I didn't have this surgery. I've always been a bigger girl, but 340lbs is and will be my biggest and i am never going to go back to it. It's the hardest thing I have ever done. This surgery has impacted me emotionally so much, I've been having a rollercoaster of emotions every day. I am so incredibly proud of myself though, that I am tearing up! Haha. It's amazing how many things I've noticed. I'm actually wearing jeans! Jeans!! Size 16!! I went from a 22 to a 16 in just 4 months. It's insane. I was watching a show called 'My 600 lb life' today and I just felt so much with what the woman was saying. She was saying that sugar was like heroin.. and food is such a comfort in her life. That's how it was for me. I struggle with depression and as I got heavier I got more depressed so food was always my comfort. It's been so rough, but it will be worth it. It has been so far but it has not been easy. Overeating is a sickness and there are times I wish I could eat like I used to, and that scares me so much. I don't want to go into a spiral again and gain weight back. I've been in therapy but I don't know what else would work for me. What are some things that help y'all with not overeating? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

hair loss doesn't always have to do with the Protein and Vitamins. Having adequate amounts of those could help but drastic weight loss with any diet can cause weight loss. It takes a bit for your body to reset itself with your new weight. Hormone changes is probably the big one for major weight loss. Here is a link of what can cause hair loss. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hair-loss/DS00278/DSECTION=causes Also, Most people on this forum say their hair loss started at around 3 months after surgery then started to grow back 3 months after that. So that goes with what the article says. But I've also seen some say it took anywhere from 6 months to a year to start growing back. It depends on the person. It will grow back so don't let that idea be a major part of your decision.

I see a lot of post here about being discouraged, the scale wont move, I want to give up. Weight loss with or without surgery is a process. Some will lose fast others will lose slowly. If you have an ugly attitude towards your scale, you are setting yourself up for failure. Lap band patients can expect to lose 1 to 2 lbs a week. If you lose more then that is a plus. You did not get to 300lbs over night but over years. It is work. Having a positive attitude in this process is everything. If you are constantly disappointed because the scale goes up or stays the same, then you will be the one who will give up and say to hell with it. Stop weighing yourself every day, get rid of your scale and get weighed on your post op visits. You will be surprised. Some of you that are starting out you will find that after a time your weight will stall. It may stall for a few weeks or a few months and these times you have to keep doing what you are doing. Everyone is not going to lose 100lbs in their first year. Some do but most don't. It took me three years to lose 120lbs. Stop cheating yourself by being upset about the scale. Get rid of it, have your husband hide it but in any case stop weighing yourself constantly. The scale is the root of all evil for us. I can weigh myself twice a day but not get upset about it. I know when I am retaining Water. There are things that keep you from losing weight. Not sleeping, not moving your bowels daily, water retention, stress are just to name a few and if you are stressing over the scale then guess what? You are making your self at risk for slower weight loss. Do the right thing and in time you will get to where you want to be.

his happened to my daughter as well. She has Aetna. The surgeons coordinator said the only chance we have of getting it approved is to wait and submit after the qualify BMI date and 2 years have expired since then. For you it sounds like that would be April 2015. For my daughter, because she did not have any co-morbidities, she has to be over 40BMI for 2 years. We gave up. Going to Mexico. With Aetna they will find anything to fail you. If it is not one thing it's another. You cannot lose weight and get below required BMI... You cannot gain any weight while working with the NUT, and so on and so on.

I would say geberally NO, unless it produces a state of malnutrition or dehydration, if you maintain your Vitamin regimine and keep hydrated then you will lose as fast as your coloric intake is under your base meabolic rate and extra caloric burn. Weight loss will slow as your caloric intake comes closer to matching your caloric needs to maintain. So keep sipping, taking your Vitamins and keep up with the doctor visits and you should do OK.

Ok, so I was sleeved a week ago. YAYY! I am thrilled about beginning my journey, but I'm scared that I'm losing weight at a faster rate than I've heard of other people losing. I lost 23 pounds in 7 days and I am concerned that I may be doing something wrong? My starting weight is pretty high (370) and I thought that could have something to do with it? Do any of you more experienced sleevers know if this is normal?

The band is less invasive than the sleeve...but to be honest, that's about all the good I can say for it at this point after my experience. With the sleeve, you start losing right away and drop a considerable amount of weight your first year because it does restrict how much you eat right from the start. With the band, it takes time to get to the right spot where it actually gets rid of the hunger and, for many of us, it never restricts how *much* we can eat. Also, the band seems to tighten and loosen on a daily basis making it a rollercoaster of joy (not) in knowing what foods are going to be a problem. Today I might be able to eat an egg...tomorrow, maybe not. I had the band put in 15 months ago. I'm getting ready to go back into surgery to get it taken out because since the day of surgery I've had persistent phrenic nerve pain (shoulder pain) from the band rubbing on my diaphragm. I plan on living without the band for a bit but if the hunger comes back and I can't control it, I'll go in for the sleeve revision.

I had my surgery 11 months ago. Your weight should be dropping like a lead brick. I found that I had no hunger so it was easy to let the pounds melt off. There is a lot of hassle at the beginning. It took me 6 months to reach a happy state.

THANK YOU Cheryl as my weight didn't seem to move for a month but I had to buy smaller pants and a new smaller shirt for work and they fit wich I didn't even know I was a smaller size till the clerk went and got a smaller size for me , so the weight is going down and my doc made a comment the last tie I went in he said pretty soon you will be at your goal it just takes tie and not to push it and that I was doing good so I will keep on track.

You've done excellent congratulations on your sucess. You have the same starting weight as me. I'm so happy for you. What size are you wearing now? Are you exercising?

The band is about volume, so we still have to do the work to choose WHAT we eat, and I agree with Jachut that the band is going to be more about helping with maintaining than with actual weight loss. (I'm counting calories, I know where you're coming from).

That's what I am hoping for (keeping the weight off) it good to hear this from someone who has lost their weight and mainting it - From your post I have read you eat like a regular person (healthy)- and this is what I want... Thanks Jachut..

I guess there are other ways to measure weight lose besides the scale, it's fun to notice our knew bodies. I realized my neck looks like it grew 3 inches.

Mine was 6 months, I had 6 months medically supervised weight loss, but my pcp was able to post-date the info from previous appointments. My BMI was 40, so I maintained for 6 months. I had a consultation with the surgeon at the beginning of June, had my surgery December 9th. Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

KKG I understand where you are coming from - this is why I say that 75% of the work is up to you and the band does the other 25% I eat healthy 98% of the time and exercises 4-5 days a week - I still get hungry between meals - I don't find that the band takes away my hunger - i have never forgotten to eat - I am doing most of the work - the band does help me feel full faster - but I am no longer eating tons of fried foods - I am no longer a slug bug - who sits on her butt all day at work and would come home and continue being a slug bug... I call my band my interior motivator. Ya if I had done this prior to the band - I would have lost weight - I had done this a million times before - but always gained it back plus some - and the band is no guarentee that I won't but I can say once you have proper restriction it does help you feel full on 1 -2 cups of food per meal - where as with out the band that was 4 - 6 cups of food per meal.. But I choose what I put in my mouth not the band - I choose to go to the gym not the band - so hell ya - I'm doing the work not the band - it's just my little tool..

Well, I generally eat most of my dinners out - and usually many of my lunches when I get them. It was a learning curve as a newbie. Occasionally I would go out and try to eat more than my band would let me, and that was uncomfortable. Now if I don't stop myself before I'm anywhere near full (I usually do now) then I get hiccups and that's my signal that the meal is just about over. I no longer try to get past that signal (but I tried as a newbie Bandster, and the band almost always won!) Whereas before I'd have at least part of appetizer, an entree, a couple of drinks (and sometimes a dessert, though not usually) - now I have an appetizer and a mixed drink or glass of wine (sometimes, maybe even part of a second glass). That usually does it. I often order my appetizer as an entree - no one makes a big deal of it. I don't inform casual acquaintances or new dates (if I remember what those are) of my surgery in most cases, and all they think is that I'm kind of a light eater or trying to watch my weight. I was so concerned about my social life that my surgeon thought the band was a better choice than the RnY bypass for me. I was clear with him, about my lifestyle. (Disclaimer: But as a single female - I sometimes feel that having lost more weight and having done it faster with a bypass, could have probably more positively affected my social life, but hey - hindsight is 20/20 and I've just resigned myself to slow baby steps to losing this weight.) Basically, I did want to be able to eat a decent range of things (only less quantity of them) and to be able to have a social drink or so. My surgeon felt the LapBand better assured me of the possibilty to enjoy a full social life with eating/drinking opportunities. So as someone who goes to restaurants daily, I've yet to absolutely not be able to find something to eat or have something made for me. It just hasn't been as big of a deal as I feared. I skip the bread basket and I do my almost all my drinking before my meal - other than that, I'm just eating a lot less. It's really not a big issue, overall. Good Luck to you. Happy Band (and Life) Journeys To All...