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My situation was totally different-I had surgery on Dec 23rd- the next day was Christmas Eve. I came home slept a while-woke up got up watched TV-took no pain Meds or Nausea Meds-didn't need them. Went to bed. The following AM(Christmas Eve) I got up made Christmas cookies to take to my sisters. Drove 25 miles to her house and sat around with no pain and no nausea. This surgery was a breeze for me-I went on the sugar busters diet before the surgery about 7 days to shrink my liver for the surgery. I lost 10 lbs before the surgery. I got serious about that liver shrinking thingy. I have now lost about 30 lbs. Nothing drastic, just slow weight loss and i go for my second fill tomorrow. So every surgery is not the same. I guess that i am just a tough old bird...I am 57

Hi All its 3 1/2 years since I have been banded and 1 year since my body lift. I need some help to see if I am just fooling myself and eating too much or If I really OK and should accept myself where I am. Its really frustrating. My top weight was 330 335 in High School. Today I'm 240. The lowest I was was 233 a few months after my body lift when I was recovering. I have been around around this 240 Mark now for a few years! And don't know what I can do to get to my goal which is moving up now to from 225 to 230! I am 6 Ft and a big guy. I have been heavy all my life, my dad and mom were big. So the it's in the Family. The only really thin "ADULT" member of my family is a cousin (HE's ADOPTED!) I was always the biggest guy in the class or room etc. So hear I am. Down 90 lbs from my High and 60 since the band. I work out 3 x a week for 3 years now. Yea I have built muscle but want to loose more. I keep looking for an answer and no one seems to have one for me. My Nutritionist says that my body really likes this weight! At my thinnest was 225 when I was 25, Now I am 55 and 240. My Medical Dr says I am fine! Not on any medications, labs are good. He is really happy where I am. My Lap Band DR says I am a success. Because the band gets you healthy not skinny. My Shrink says! "Live in the Now look where you have come from" Your a big guy and can't change your body type. My Trainer says do more cardio on my off days But I still want to loose some more. I also had a body lift a year ago, the Dr said he took off 10 Lbs but not so with the scale. I was 245 when I had my body lift, so I should be like 235 now but I am hovering around 240. I had gotten down to 233 during the recovery of my body lift. One I got back to the gym it started to up again. I would love to get some other suggestions too. It is frustrating, I know I am building muscle. My chest is almost a big as when I started ( NO MAN BOOBS THOUGH) but my waist went from a 44 to a 36, My Chest from a 52 to like a 48. My Shirt went from XXL to L but now back to XL Because of weight training my chest is getting bigger. Some guy friends have poked my chest and commented about the muscle so I guess that's good but not what I was really aiming for. So really at a loss as to what to do next. I have tried eating more, eating less. Low Carbs, no carbs, normal carbs? The scale goes up if I eat too many carbs or go off my plan. A few days back on its down. I have had the tests done on the amount of calories I should eat. They say around 2,000. I actually have My Nutritionist and I agree around 1500 - 1600. I work out with a trainer 3 x a week, doing mainly strength I really should be doing more cardio on my off days. But I do have bad knees. Guess I am looking for motivation or something. I never thought I would have a body this good especially at 55, Yea my abs are fairly good but still see that fat guy, Yea when I look at old photos I know I look much much better but still, want to be thinner but not sure if I am willing to starve. And I can't starve and work out! Just can't do it! " I have tried it! " Any suggestions am I kidding myself or just being ungrateful.

Does anyone have contacts or people near Ft Wood/Waynesville/Rolla/Cuba area that are bandsters? That have been through the pre-post & after care process? I am resolved & excited about finding a tool to help me lose weight. I need some answers and maybe a suppport group. What about it any one out there in this region? LaLee:eek:

Hi sleevers ! I'm one month out & everything is going great! I feel good, I'm losing weight, and exercising again. I was actually getting hungry in the evenings, not head hunger but real hunger. My Nut said it was because the soft foods weren't staying with me anymore & I needed to move on to dense food. I'm curious what is everybody eating at this point? Or what did you eat at one month out? I am getting tired of eating the same foods over and over. I can't wait until I can add raw fruits & veggies back! I know I won't be eating much, but I miss being able to crunch on something. I want a crunchy cucumber! I am eating the same foods over & over. Egg for breakfast, tuna or deli meat for lunch, fish or chicken for dinner. ( I can't eat pork) If I have room I add a fork full of canned green beans or other well cooked vegetable. Sometimes I eat cottage cheese, but my Nut wants me to stop with the softer foods. It isn't a challenge to eat this way, it is just getting boring. I have noticed I can eat a bit more now too. Like I started out two weeks ago eating 1-1.5 oz of tuna and now I can eat 2.5 comfortably. I'm not really sure how much I should eat at this point. Please share what you are eating or did eat, if you feel comfortable share how much you eat too. Its hard to know what is "normal" as we get close to eating regular foods again. Of course our new diet with regular food is completely different then before surgery. Any new food suggestions would be appreciated too! Thanks!

Well, I got a call on Friday from my PCP that they received the results from my sleep study that I had 6/13/07. It's about time! Bad news: I have moderate OSA. Partial good news: he doesn't want to bother putting me on a CPAP if I'm going through this surgery and just going to lose the weight anyway. Now I just have to hope my surgeon will feel the same way. If he decides that he wants me on the CPAP first then I have to go through the process of getting the machine, having another sleep study to set the pressure on it, and then be on it for two weeks before he'll even schedule my surgery. ARGHHHHH! :heh: But on another note, I spoke with Tangela from his office today. I had called to make sure they received everything on the checklist they gave me. She couldn't look it up in my chart because my surgeon still had it. But, she told me that if I DON'T hear from her tomorrow that means they have the 3 main things (nutritionist,MHC, and letter of medical necessity) to send it off to the insurance and she'll send it out tomorrow. So most like by this time next week I'll be approved! YIPPEE!!!!! :clap2: Next I have my appt with Dr. Ehrlich (my surgeon) on 7/16/07 (next Monday). We be discussing my gallbladder and probably now my sleep study too.:phanvan I just hope it goes well. I'll keep you all posted. Goodnight:notagree.

Hi guys! I remember about a month ago I found a post w/ a list of things that we should be doing to maximize weight loss as well as signs that let us know we do need a fill. Can anyone help me find it? Thanks!

what is a normal weight and normal bmi??? Im 5.6 what should i be??? Andree

Neither hypthyroidism nor the meds directly cause cravings or weight gain. Having your thryoid off kilter can make it difficult, even impossible to lose weight though because your metabolism slows down. Is your doctor following up with bloodwork and tracking your TSH levels? When mine would get off kilter, it would take more than a few weeks and sometimes one or two Synthroid adjustments to get me back on track. As for lack of periods, that definitely can be caused by a improperly functioning thyroid, could be a sign that your Synthroid dosage still isn't right. Stress may be causing you to eat more as well. Are you eating a lot of comfort foods (starchy and or sugary carbs)? This is what many of us turn to when we are stressed and that just causes more intense food cravings. Then again maybe you just need a fill.

I am not a happy camper. I was sleeved on Dec. 30th 2011 and up until a couple of months ago I had lost around 110 pounds and was still losing. I then decided to start a different type of birth control and I chose the Depo shot. I had heard that weight gain was a side effect but I thought maybe 5 pounds at the most. Well, I've now gained 12 pounds and I'm freaking out! I have decided to stop the shot but I'm sure it will take awhile to get out of my system. I'm just really bummed because I was on a losing streak and now that's all messed up. I worry that losing the weight I've gained will be harder since I'm further along on my WLS journey. Anyway, I just had to vent my disappointment. Thanks for reading.

I have lymphedema as well (thyroid cancer made it worse) and since loosing weight it is much improved- of course not gone but instead of using my pump every day i am using it a few times a month- more if i'm on my feet and it has a chance to pool.

It's normal. Your body is like - WTF? - and needs time to readjust. I lost almost 35 lbs my first week. It doesn't mean I lost fat, it means I was dehydrated, in ketosis, and really needing to poo! I'm about 11 weeks post op. I'd have to look at my blog, but guesstimating I'm going to say that between weeks 5 and 9 I didn't lose anything, or lost maybe a pound. My body needed time to recover from the initial shock of everything that happened to it. That's all. If you're following the calorie adage, then you need to keep in mind that results aren't instantaneous. Yeah, you're taking in fewer calories than you're burning, but there are a lot of little things in our body that can help it get by or, adversely, add to our total weight. It doesn't mean that the minute your activity puts you at the point of being under your BMR, ou can jump on the scale and see a pound gone. Remember that the scale weights your entire mass, meaning your skin & everything in it. It does not weight your fat. You will probably experience frustrating times, if you rely on the scale only, because it is possible to lose sizes without losing weight, especially if your workout routine is effective. Just be patient. It will happen.

I lost over 100lbs with the band. I was 257 went down to 149 then I had a tummy tuck and one year later was pregnant (good planning right) I weighed 166 at 8 weeks pregnant. My band was loosened a about 1/2 way at 2 months pregnant. I was gaining weight really rapidly so I asked my doctor to put more back in. I was partially restricted for most of the pregnancy but still gaining weight at above the recommened amount. I was completely unfilled last week due to bad, bad heartburn and even thought that is helping me I am hungry all the time and gaining weight really fast - I am now 33 weeks and am up to 212! I am totally freaked that after all this hard work I will never be able to lose the weight again and that I will gain even MORE in the next 1 1/2 until I have the baby. Any tips/ideas/support? Thanks in advance!

Breast feed if at all possible! With my first pregnancy I gained over 40 pounds (no band yet) and with just breast feeding I dropped a lot of weight! Breast feeding is not just great for you and baby, but it burns calories! Right now just concentrate on you and your baby and the weight will come off later! Good luck!

I am glad to see the goal weight isn't off those charts..I know some point in my life I weighted under 180 but I must have been around 13... I am the smallest I ever remember at a size 14 and weighing 205 my goal is 175 and I will be happy... I agree 3 babies and being heavy my whole life... Yea I will be very happy...

You have had a life change here girl! Start off slow, don't expect to be able to handle the gym right off. . . i started off with 10 minutes on the treadmill and 5 to 6 minutes on the ellipitical, slowly increasing the time by 1 minute each week. . . now i'm up to 30 minutes on the treadmill and 20 minutes on the ellipitical. . .i've added some weights in there too. . . but i haven't gone in a while, life is too demanding and there are priorities beyone the gym. . . good luck!

It can not only help, when you're close to good restriction it can tip you over the edge. I've had .2 taken out recently, I wasnt really overfilled but tighter than I wanted to be for maintenence. I would guess my food intake has easily DOUBLED from that small adjustment. Strangely, my weight is holding, I'm driving myself frantic with worry over how much I eat but I notice its still less than other people around me and I'm not gaining. But it can make a HUGE difference! I had quite a few .1 fills towards the end there.

I had my band surgery in Sept 2003. So far based on what my doctor told me it has helped me to not gain major weight. But I have only lost 45lbs at my largest weight loss. I currently weight 302 and recently went back to working a desk-job where I have started to gain weight back. I am bipolar and have mood swings that I know effect my weight loss plan. I am on meds but they can not be the fix all. I really don't have a support mechanism. My wife..or ex-wife left me a few years ago when she had the bypass. Her personality/weight changed and she said she was fed up with me and left. I'm single now obviously but just lack the motivation and do not know how to start this up again and regain focus on what I need to do. My surgeon said I should maybe look into the Gastric Sleeve..but that just plain scares me. I know most of what I am saying here is just me venting. I'm wondering if someone else has gone thorugh or is going through this? Thanks for listening. Kevin

Congrats you look great, keep up the great work, I feel like you do a princess, when I went to my support group my support group specialist did not even know it was me. I went from a size 3 x and wear a size large dress now and I am loving the new me. I am looking forward to 2015 and hitting target weight of 170, I want to try rock climbing.

Yes, I my surgeon was Dr. Stephen Burpee in Tucson. His office is helpful. The surgery was very successful with no complications and didn't take long in the OR either. The best part is the affiliation he has with Northwest Hospital in Tucson (a walk from his office). The weight loss program they have there is great. Tons of infomoration and informational classes to take before the surgery so you know what to expect. An RN by the name of Gail is the head person for the weight loss program and supplies you with a great binder including what to eat at every week, and lots more information like vitamins, protein, exercise, etc. etc. She also visits you after surgery and the day after that. She makes frequent calls to check up after you and tell you what you should be eating, I guess in case you haven't read your binder. I like Dr. Burpee as well. I didn't have a lot of questions for him at all, so I just didn't converse with him much. The seminar he conducts gives you lots of information too. Office visits post surgery are at 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and yearly after that. He just makes sure you are where you need to be and checks out your blood work. After reading some people here that don't know what to be eating or what they should be doing after a couple of weeks, I realized how fortunate I was to have Dr. Burpee and Gail. If possible, they provide you with TOO much information!!

i try to do weights, I haven't done anything daily but trying to start

We will be having a live chat session on Thursday, September 18th at 8:00 pm Eastern time. This will be a great opportunity to chat with others going thru the decision making process, to ask questions, offer advice or suggestions, etc. Would love to see you there! (This is the first scheduled live chat we are doing - there will be more scheduled and subjects will change. If you have a suggested topic, you can message that to me and we see what we can do about getting it scheduled.) You can discuss this announcement here.

Great to have that favorite pair of jeans to motivate us! It can be a problem that we lose weight so fast we will miss being able to wear some of the clothes on the way down because they are the wrong season while we are that size. Yet, a problem we are happy to have! Good idea to catch a sale and get a couple of pairs of pants. It is easier to get by with tops that are a little big. Too funny about the underwear suspenders!!!

Success is more than just the scale. For physical, measurable successes, start measuring inches when you weigh yourself, and keep a log. The more fat you burn and muscle you build, the inches will fall away along with the weight. You probably won't notice much day to day, but it will begin to add up! Celebrate the loss of both inches and weight! If your weight loss is slowing down that much... wouldn't your doctor give you a fill? I am confused (maybe it's too early to be reading the boards); you sound worried that he won't give you a fill but you say that the scale hasn't moved... isn't that one of the times to discuss a fill with your doc?

I'm almost 14 months out now, and I still track every single bite of food, probably will the rest of my life because I like the accountability. I hit my Protein target every day. I might have some days I go over on fat or carbs, but they are rare. I now exercise 6 days a week, walk/jog 5+ miles a day (today I did 9 miles total) and do yoga and bodyweight routines 3x a week as well. In the summer, I'll swim 5+ days a week and go biking. I actually enjoy exercise now, and I get antsy and sad when I can't go out and hit the trail. So weird! I never thought I'd be at the point I'm at now, but I worked hard to get this far. It sounds like you expected your sleeve to all the work for you. That's not how it works. You get a limited amount of time where you don't feel horribly hungry all the time, and the restriction helps you adjust to eating small portions. But the main thing you should be doing after surgery is relearning how and what to eat - healthy stuff - but protein first is the mantra. With the weight loss, you should start feeling more energetic and able to exercise and also feel good enough to get a decent exercise routine established before the honeymoon period of about 12-18 months ends. After that point, the weight loss will stop as your body will have adjusted its metabolism to your smaller portions and activity level, and if you didn't get healthy eating habits and exercise figured out, you will possibly regain weight. And while exercise is great for overall health, it has a small effect on weight loss. The way you lose weight is controlling how much and what you eat. It is the most important thing to figure out and really pay attention to, because while exercise will help build muscle, stamina, increase your bone strength and make you feel better... it is almost impossible to exercise enough to counteract a consistently poor diet. You definitely need to go back to the beginning. Protein first, then veggies, and then if there is any room complex carbs. Find an app to track food and exercise. Log every single bite, and get a food scale and measure the food until you get the hang of it, so you're not guessing. Find out from your NUT what your calorie goal should be at this point. Set up goals to drink 64 ounces of Water, get at least 80 grams of protein (unless your NUT tells you more) and keep your carbs under 100 grams/daily. Try to start a basic exercise of some kind 2X a week that you actually can enjoy and slowly work up to doing more. Once you know what and how much you are eating and see where you might be eating wrong things, you can come back here and get help on food, recipes and other specifics. It will be hard since you will be starting over, but if you can get all of this going and get yourself back on track (and tracking) then you will be well on your way to losing weight and getting, but more importantly staying healthy for the rest of your life. Good luck!