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Hi! New on here too. I will be having surgery in just under three weeks. Good luck to you! Kara

Hello! I am new to the site as well as the banded life:) I wasnt sure how to introduce myself till i fell on this forum, so decided to share a bit in hopes I might connect with someone else throughout this journey. I have been banded 13 days ago to be exact and thank god I feel great now. Went through an atrocious week of shoulder pain, discomfort , gas, incision pain and swallowing my meds but as I said I feel great now. I almost feel normal apart from the incision where the "remote" for the band was inserted. First week I weighed myself I had lost 6 kilos( including 3 day pre op diet which consisted of tea and ricotta cheese). Last week I havent lost a single kilo which got me dissapointed and was wondering if thats normal? anyone have tips on how to accelerate weight loss? I am also finding myself eating the same soup every night which is getting dull so if anyone can share their food diary it would be amazing! Im sorry im such a novice at this all if I could be directed towards a way to start a blog on here? thank you all and nice to virtual meet you!

Chewing and Spitting is a sign of an eating disorder. However, I do it very occassionally, and I don't have an eating disorder. Once every couple of weeks I get hot McDonalds french fries and I stand over the garbage can and dunk them in ketchup, chew them and spit them out. They are SOOOO good. I can't swallow french fries. That is a guaranteed stuck food for me. They used to be my favorite food and this way I can taste them and not have to swallow them. But you can't chew and spit often because I understand it will cause digestive problems. Your body primes up and releases everything it needs to digest food and then it doesn't get the food. I guess that does something negative.

Considering you just had serious surgery, have probably been on some meds that made you dopey and your body is freaking because it's not getting all that sugar/caffeine/etc, I think the fatigue is normal. I was banded on 12/30 and haven't felt like myself since. I figure it will be another week or two before my mind and body get it together.

I have been using Bariatric Advantage vitamins - my doc said to use chewable for the first 8 weeks then I can start the capsules. I can't wait to start capsules since I really don't like the taste of the chewables that much - 1 more week to go.

I'm going to keep an eye on this thread as well. I'm 3 weeks out as of today and ready to swim. My surgeon cleared me I could at the end of this week. We're waiting a few extra days since one of my incisions was a little iffy.

Thanks for the feedback/ advice. I don't have drain site (my surgeon doesn't do that), so maybe that's why they say only three weeks? I wonder...

Hi GasX help me I'm 3 weeks post op

Same here, I found the best thing for me was to buy a composition book, on the left side of the paper I've got Water, Protein, calories and sugar (that's what my dietician want me to track) and then in the right paper I write the times I eat, drink, or take medicine/vitamins... Writing how much and of course if the food did not sit well. It's old school but I find it really easy.... I'm eating basically the same things so far, three weeks out and in the soft food diets, so it's easy to do this right now.

Everyone (who knows) asks me if I am glad I had surgery.... HECK YEAH! 15 1/2 weeks post op. For the first 2 1/2 months, I lost weight at a quicker than average pace according to what is expected. Then I went through 4 weeks of barely loosing. The scale would go down 1/2-1 pound, then up 2-3 pounds for an entire week, then I would drop 1/2 -1 pounds below that lowest weight that I accomplished the week before. Then I would go up another 2-3 pounds for another week and repeat. It was frustrating, but I knew my body would slow down at some point to "catch up". I also knew that while the scale was barely moving, my body shape was still changing. To date: I lost 21 pounds in the 2 months pre-op. I have lost 48.5 pounds post op. That puts me at a total weight loss of 69.5 pounds since May. I am already BELOW my doctors projected goal weight. I am at a weight that if I stayed here, I would be fairly happy. And then I am only 23.5 pounds away from my IDEAL (in my mind) goal weight. Everyone is commenting on how great I look and it is obvious I lost a lot of weight. People are funny. There are those who know I had surgery and those who are thrilled for me. There are those who know who are jealous I think who needed the surgery more than I do who won't talk to me or say a word (whatever lol). Then there are those who do not know who are obviously noticing and afraid to say anything. And of course, the last group who hesitates before saying "you lost a lot of weight" followed by the long pause "are you OK?" LOL To them I just smile and say "Yes, I lost a lot of weight. I fixed some problems that I had and it is finally coming off". Their reactions are kind of amusing. Today, I decided I needed to buy a couple pairs of jeans because none of my old clothes fit me anymore. The clothes I bought in late October no longer fit me any more either. What size did I buy today??? Size EIGHT pants and MEDIUM tops! And they ALL FIT WONDERFULLY! (I am HALF my dress/pants size of 16!!!) I even bought some fun dresses. I don't wear dresses, but I am excited to get these. My shoe size has also shrank. My feet are at least 1/2 to maybe 1 full size smaller. They are actually a little on the bony side right now. I don't remember them ever being this skinny lol. The other new thing that I have noticed? My legs not only look much skinnier, but they are a bit "jiggly" lol. Never before have I been so excited to have my calves jiggle LMAO. My daughter was excited that they jiggle lol. And today, I also took out my "mothers ring" that I haven't worn in nearly a decade. It fits perfectly again. So yeah... VSG??? Best decision ever. Even if I can't eat all of the foods I love!

Fellow Sleever, look at your success! Youve lost 67lbs, that is wonderful! You will come to a stall sometimes as my Dr has told me. But your not at a stall at all, your just slowing down. You will continue to lose and you will reach your goal. Stay positive.

For the first week post op I dreamt of Going through drive throughs in weird apocalyptic scenarios also one dream involved me playing on a 25 cent claw machine and ending up getting a pizza. lol I'm actually into dream interpretation I believe our subconscious has much to say when we aren't in a wakeful state. Now the first bout of dreams seemed pretty clear cut I think I personally was coming to terms with the fact that those days were over and it was an apocalypse in a sense. As for the pizza in the claw machine, I don't know lol. Your mind is so much more powerful then you know. Your tummy hurting is probably caused by your brain tricking you into these intense bouts of hunger or cravings. It'll pass as you become adjusted to the reality of your situation and say your "goodbyes" to your old ways of thinking. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I was sleeved march 24th.. my starting weight was 387... I am down to 320 which includes my 2 week preop diet.. This week I am so depressed and just feeling blah... I dont know how to snap out of it. .. when I weighed yesterday I only lost 2 1/2 pounds last week so that added to my depression..... any suggestions?

I'm two weeks out and can't get all my water or protein in! My stomach can't hold it!! I tried really hard today and was so uncomfortable!!

I buy the liquid at Whole Foods. Works for me. pre-surgery weight 325; surgery date 2/28/2013; surgery weight 307; 8 weeks past-op weight 281.4

Congratulations on getting your date!! I can't wait to be there.....soon I hope! I think most docs order a lowfat diet for a week before sugery to try and shrink the liver as much as possible as it make it easier to do the sugery. The liver is very close to the stomach and it's possible to knick it during surgery if it's enlarged due to being fatty. My surgeon has his patients do a full liquid diet the week before with Protein drinks and creamed Soups and such. Then Clear liquids the day before and after.....no bowel prep (thank goodness)! Guess he figures that with the full liquids for a week the bowels would be fairly empty.

@favor thanks it really does @carlos I swear I have white coat anxiety because of the scale......you are doing so great keep us posted on your visit:) @ wanna thank you are you ready for your surgery? I know everything will be fine and in a couple of weeks we will all be routing for you and looking to hear some pst op results

Went to my PCP today exactly one week following my surgery to get a B12 shot and well it has been a long time since I wanted to get on the scale at the doctors....hehe but today was different very curious to measure my loss:). And I am happy to announce I lost 15 pounds! Came home took off my dressier clothes to spend the rest evening in my "Life is Good" shirt and indeed it is!

you definatly need to be having more then 3 meals a day. there is no way for you to get everything that you need in 3 small meals a day. no wonder you feel so bad! you poor thing!!! i eat 6 meals a day.....and when i say meals, really i mean snacks. you shouldnt feel bad about one slip up.....ive had a ton. you are only 6 weeks post op and have lost 17 pounds!!!!! that is almost 3 pounds a week....that is amazing! stop stressing yourself out, and have a little fun with this journey. that is what i have chosen to do. you can do it!

Personally, I have been drinking coffee since I was 7yrs old, my Dr and Nut said no caffeine ever because it can cause ulcers., For me I would think I would have had the ulcers many years ago, so not likely for me to give up coffee. I also tried decaf coffee (Sanka) and decaf tea.., can't do it, will just enjoy my regular coffee as I always have. Didn't start drinking coffee until I was 6 weeks post-op though, wanted to make sure I would be OK with it. And don't forget, just because you loved a food or drink before surgery, you may not be able to stomach certain things anymore. [emoji256] anything worth doing is Never easy [emoji3]

I was told that I needed to get 1500 mg of calcium per day, either via food, supplementation with calcium citrate, or a combination. For calcium citrate, I was told take no more than 500 mg in a four hour span if I am supplementing. It was up to me whether I wanted to do chewable or liquid for the first 8 weeks. After that I could choose chewable, liquid, or regular pills. I have actually stuck with liquid since the chewable tends to have a lot of calories and carbs and I just can't handle the big pills any more. I only take 500 mg via supplementation as I get well over 1000 mg from food every day (I eat a lot of dairy). I track my calcium on MFP so I know exactly how much I am getting.

You have no idea how normal that is. Don't worry, you'll start losing again. Your body is just readjusting itself. I'm 7 months post op & I had a 2 month stall where 2 numbers were just going back & forth. The scale FINALLY moved today. Added more walking.....don't worry!

I am going thru the same thing. I am 2 months out and i havent lost weight in like 3 weeks, im eating ok, drinking water, excercising as well. Everyone tells me i lost but i dont know....

Tuesday morning is the big day and I'm Super Excited! I have so far lost 12lbs on the pre op diet so hopefully I'm on track! I'm on Vacation all week so I should have plenty of time to rest properly!

Hey y'all! my name is Holly, and my surgery is also this Friday! its at 1030am in Atlanta, Ga by Dr.Macik! SO very excited but nervous as well, itll be my first time being put to sleep, EVER so that scares me most! zpearle you will be fine, ChefGabbie is right, many surgeons only require a two week no carb diet like mine, with only liquids the day prior. Ive even heard of some banders preop diet consisting of ONLY 2 days of liquid prior to surgery. I pray that we all three have amazingly succesful surgeries.Lets all stay in touch after surgery to keep up with each other's progress, complications, etc! ONE MORE DAY LADIES------->;=]