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I think staying off the scale is a smart move on your part. It sounds like you already know and understand all of the factors associated with a new workout routine that can lead to a stall or even a gain. But you are right that, even when we rationally understand the logic, the numbers on the scale can deal an emotional blow. It sounds like you are doing everything right and I definitely agree that being in the best shape of your life is the way to go into plastics and have your best shot at a smooth recovery.

@@wantenergy83 I would just call out that you should not be out long with this surgery either. I could have returned to work within a week. How much time are you taking off?

I think chicken is a hard one, as is steak. I'm 4 weeks out and still can't do chicken. I'm thinking I will be able to eventually. Meatballs I can do if I cut them up really well and moisten with some tomato sauce.

About how long did it take for you to start noticing swelling going down and get some relief? I'll be one week post op tomorrow, and still feel like a Macy's thanksgiving day balloon, lol. I'm trying to increase my fluids, but I don't feel like the swelling is getting any better. I know it's not unusual, this was a major surgery and will take time, just looking for a light at the end of the tunnel! Thanks

The worst of the swelling lasted 3-4 weeks. After that, it was mostly when I over did it that the swelling would come back. I'm almost 4 months post op, and swelling isn't an issue. Give it another week or 2, and then look at swelling as your body's way of telling you to slow down!

Hi everyone! I am just curious about something, I am 5 weeks out as of today and have lost 40 lbs (10 from pre-op diet) why I am super super excited for this amount, I have noticed that my weight loss has slowed down quite a bit since the first week. The first week post op I lost 14 lbs... after that I am ranging between 4-5 lbs a week. Which is still AMAZING! More than I was losing before surgery, when I was trying really hard. Just was curious how everyone elses went. Was it similar to mine?

Wait... You are having surgery right after your wife gives birth? Woah. I don't think I could handle that. You are a brave man. I may do it before or after by a week or two in either direction. My mother-in-law will be coming to visit for a few month for the birth of our child so there is another body to help around the house. I feel I can just suck it up and take it. I typically heal fast from ailments. of course family first. I will follow the judgement of my surgeon.

I'm only two weeks out so I can't really let you know either way...but I'm in a 10W or an 11. I'm sure hoping they shrink!!!

It's after lunch, so everybody is full. Then, in comes a luscious chocolate confection. The sight, the smell—even the sound of the word "cake!"—stimulate the reward-and-pleasure circuits of the brain, activating memory centers and salivary glands as well. Melinda Beck asks the age-old question: Do you eat to live, or live to eat? Scientists, it turns out, have learned much more about how appetite works in the brain - and the findings have major consequences. Those reactions quickly drown out the subtle signals from the stomach that are saying, in effect, "Still digesting down here. Don't send more!" Social cues add pressure and permission to indulge. Soon, everybody is having a slice—or two. Scholars have understood the different motives for eating as far back as Socrates, who counseled, "Thou shouldst eat to live, not live to eat." But nowadays, scientists are using sophisticated brain-imaging technology to understand how the lure of delicious food can overwhelm the body's built-in mechanism to regulate hunger and fullness, what's called "hedonic" versus "homeostatic" eating. One thing is clear: Obese people react much more hedonistically to sweet, fat-laden food in the pleasure and reward circuits of the brain than healthy-weight people do. Simply seeing pictures of tempting food can light up the pleasure-seeking areas of obese peoples' brains. Two Reactions to Cake Two conferences this week on obesity are each examining aspects of how appetite works in the brain and why some people ignore their built-in fullness signals. Scientists hope that breakthroughs will lead to ways to retrain people's thinking about food or weight-loss drugs that can target certain brain areas. In a study presented this week at the International Conference on Obesity in Stockholm, researchers from Columbia University in New York showed pictures of cake, pies, french fries and other high-calorie foods to 10 obese women and 10 non-obese women and monitored their brain reactions on fMRI scans. In the obese women, the images triggered a strong response in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a tiny spot in the midbrain where dopamine, the "desire chemical," is released. The images also activated the ventral pallidum, a part of the brain involved in planning to do something rewarding. "When obese people see high-calorie foods, a widespread network of brain areas involved in reward, attention, emotion, memory and motor planning is activated, and all the areas talk to each other, making it hard for them to resist," says Susan Carnell, a research psychologist at the New York Obesity Research Center at Saint-Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital and Columbia University and one of the investigators. Similar brain reactions occurred in the obese subjects even when researchers merely said the words "chocolate brownie"—but not when they saw or heard about lower calorie foods such as cabbage and zucchini. Reactions were far less pronounced in the non-obese subjects. More such studies are being presented in Pittsburgh this week at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior. In one, neuroscientists from Yale University's John B. Pierce Laboratory had 13 overweight and 13 normal-weight subjects smell and taste chocolate or strawberry milkshakes and observed their brains with fMRI scans. The overweight subjects had strong reactions to the food in the amygdala—the emotional center of the brain—whether they were hungry or not. The healthy-weight subjects showed an amygdala response only when they were hungry. "If you are of normal weight, your homeostatic mechanisms are functioning and controlling this region of the brain," says lead investigator Dana Small. "But in the overweight group, there is some sort of dysfunction in the homeostatic signal so that even though they weren't hungry, they were vulnerable to these external eating cues." Studies have found that a diet of sweet, high-fat foods can indeed blunt the body's built-in fullness signals. Most of them emanate from the digestive tract, which releases chemical messengers including cholecystokinin, glucagon-like peptide and peptide YY when the stomach and intestines are full. Those signals travel up to the brain stem and then the hypothalamus, telling the body to stop eating. Obesity also throws off the action of leptin, a hormone secreted by fat tissue that tells the hypothalamus how much energy the body has stored. Leptin should act as a brake against overeating, and it does in normal-weight people. But most obese people have an overabundance of leptin, and somehow their brains are ignoring the signal. All these findings beg the question, which came first? Does obesity disrupt the action of leptin, or does a malfunction in leptin signaling make people obese? Similarly, are some people obese because their brains overreact to tempting food, or do their brains react that way because something else is driving them to overeat? Researchers at Yale and elsewhere are turning to such questions next. "It's possible that these changes reflect how the brain has adapted to eating patterns in obese people, and that could create a vicious circle, putting them at risk for even more disordered eating," says Dr. Small. There are plenty of other metabolic mysteries, too: Why are some "foodies" who get intense pleasure from eating able to stop when they're full and others aren't? Is the tendency to eat way past fullness genetic or learned behavior, and how much can it be changed? The answers are still elusive, but neuroscientists and behavioral experts are finding some tantalizing clues. Some fMRI studies have found that while tempting food stimulates the release of dopamine in obese people, they actually have fewer dopamine receptors than normal weight subjects do, so they may derive less pleasure from actually eating, setting up a craving for more. Curiously, several studies have shown that some forms of gastric bypass surgery can actually create changes in the brains of formerly obese people —and not just because their stomachs are smaller and fill up more quickly. Levels of leptin and glucose tend to drop in bypass patients, ending diabetes for many of them. PET scans also show that bypass patients have more dopamine circulating in their brains, which may help control appetite as well. Bypass surgery seems to make food less tempting, too. In a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition last month, Swiss researchers had 123 severely obese, 110 non-obese and 136 bypass patients take a test that measures vulnerability to hedonistic eating, known as the "Power of Food scale." The bypass patients and the non-obese had scores far lower than those who were currently obese. (Exactly why is still unclear, but some experts think it could relate to "dumping syndrome," in which high fat and sweet food creates nausea and dizziness in bypass patients. They may have learned to associate such foods with discomfort rather than pleasure.) Some of the most intriguing imaging studies have peered into the brains of people who have lost significant weight and kept it off through diet and exercise alone—although researchers say they're hard to find.

Joan- I was back at work in three days...I believe there are some lifting restrictions, but laproscopic surgery makes the recovery so much easier. Every one is different- some people have severe gas pains for a few days, some people don't need any pain meds after the first day or so. Best of luck! Megan

Hi, i am going to Juarez, Mexico this week on April the 1st i too am a little nervous. I live in tennessee but when i get back i will be sure to let you know. I am still super excited about going but alittle nervous about the crime.

I had a banging headache for the first 2 weeks or so. I think in my case it was due to to few calories and my body learning to pull energy from itself and not eaten food and also ketosis (sp) it will pass just keep up the fluids and portion shakes

I was doing night shifts for a few months after my surgery, and I was losing well, due to not eating much during working hours, and then got home in the morning, went to bed and slept till work again. Honestly, I was just dragging myself, and NS is totally not for me, the struggle is real! I think losing 2 pounds a week is awesome. Remember: slow and steady wins the race. Also, you do not want to shock your body with 5 pounds a week, no need for that. Yo surgeon is strange... But I think doing NS will mess with your weight loss on the long run. I hope I am wrong but working night duty is such a big shock on your body's rythym ... I wish you the best, just try to eat during your shift, and get minimum of 8 hours of sleep during the day!

I did speak to someone at the surgeons office and they have a program that will qualify. Unfortunately the only surgeon under my insurance plan is in LA with is 180 miles away. There is no way I can travel that far 3-4 times a week.

Have you found a surgeon? If so, I would ask his/her office. The girl in my surgeon's office who handled insurance made sure I did EXACTLY what was required of my insurance plan, and because of her diligence in helping, I was approved within hours of her faxing the info to the insurance company. I did not have Aetna, but I was required to complete a 6-month pre-op program that included meetings with a nutritionist, 3-4 days a week in a gym (and I had to prove that I was going via a print out of all the times that I signed in to the gym), a meeting with a psychologist, and a pre-op education course regarding the band. It was intense, but again, I was approved within hours of her submitting my paperwork. I will say that I'm glad I did the 6 months. It prepared me mentally for making the changes necessary to live with the band. Sooooo, ask at your surgeon's office. Someone there will be able to guide you through the requirements.

I was sleeved on Dec 21st, and was supposed to return to work on Dec 28th. However, over that weekend, I started feeling lethargic, dehydrated, etc, so I went ahead and took that week of Dec 28th off too. And only because I knew we would be busy and I would be running around a lot. If things were slow that week, I would have gone in.

I'm almost 7 weeks post-op. and I go to the gym every other day..... but I still dread it.... I haven't reached that point where I strive on the work out..... Instead, I jog on the elliptical and steady watch the time and distance.... Waiting for it to be over cause it hurts and I always feel like I can't catch my breath............. Please tell me this has happened to some of you and eventually it gets easier .........

I'm getting banded in a couple of weeks. Am male and need to lose about 70lbs to meet goal weight set. I'm at 249 and need to be at 180 or less. BMI is 35-36. I have obstuctive sleep apnea, high BP, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, and a fatty liver that puts out very high enzymes. I'm payint out of pocket and using TLC. Anyone had experiences with these conditions? Hope I'm making the right decision.

Hi everyone! I'm 18 and today is my 2 week mark since having the gastric lap-band surgery. I just kind of wanted to know how much success everyone had at 2 weeks? Last friday I weighed myself and have already lost 18 lbs I will be weighing myself again today. Is it normal to feel nervous? Now that I have had the surgery I feel really afraid to not lose weight, I guess I am just anxious, but I know weight loss takes time. Any advice on how to not feel so anxious? I would really appreciate it. Love, Stef.

Wow, just came home from a wonderful cruise to Alaska. What a beautiful country! What a beautiful cruise! and What beautiful FOOD! Lol! Just wanted to report on my experiences. I am banded one year today, thank you, thankyouverymuch. I just got home from an Alaska cruise yesterday. I loved the company, I loved the countryside, I loved the food, or at least what I could eat of it. In my experience, travelling does cause my band to tighten. I am told that elevation changes shouldn't affect the band. But I hear that stress does, so if anything, that is what tightened me this past week. Was I bothered by the tiny amounts that I could fit into my little pouch? yes, sometimes I was. But I have to report that I tried a bit of everything that I wanted and have no regrets as to what I may have left behind on my plate. I WAS however THRILLED with my new size 12 pants from Ricki's, my whole wardrobe in fact. The feeling of not being embarrassed walking from my lounger to the pool and hot tub. The wonderful compliments I got from my family and friends. Today I am 85 pounds thinner than I was one year ago. I have 20 pounds to go to get to my goal. I feel younger, healthier and more energetic than I have felt in a lifetime of fighting my weight. I am so grateful for this surgery and the positive changes it has brought to my life.

WOW it sounds like you an I are on the same page. You said that at family style dinners you would worry about how big your helpings were, I on the other hand worried about everyone else. I use to be so afraid that there wasnt going to be enough food, that i would hoard it. i actually had a small panic attack before the surgery thinking about how a 1/4 cup of food for a meal is not enough. I am also 9 weeks out and I havent been hungery (except for a few days on week 2). I wouldnt go as far and say my food addiction is gone but I havent had a panic attack over food since surgery (which did happen weekly for me). As far as clothes, I actually cringe alittle thinking how I must of looked in my clothes before surgery. I say that because I am wearing everything I did before (except I went down 1 pants size) and they still fit. I shouldnt say still fit I should say that actually fit.(haha). I currenty live 11 hours from home and I stopped flying home and starting driving. I told my family its b/c I enjoy it but the truth is I hate how I felt in those small seats and little belts and I felt alittle sorry for the poor guy next to me. But 2 wks ago I went on vacation and I had space. It felt so good. I my challenges right now are not only to eat slowly but not to drink and eat. I never thought that would be so hard but it is for me. I too havent told anyone but my mother and father and I thought it was going to be hard to hide it but like you said people are more worried about what they are putting in there mouth.

I think most addicts will trade one addiction for another. I have two (well three) examples. The first, a friend of mine moved to San Diego and got addicted to snorting Crystal Meth. When she came back to the east coast, she wasn't able to access it as easily as she did when she lived out west (it was so bad she was fedexing money to her dealer and of course no drugs would come back) so she started drinking a lot. It was so bad, her husband almost put her into rehab for alcoholism. Another friend of mine was addicted to cocaine, had to give it up because it was costing her her life and her family (her daughter was taken away from her by her ex-husband) she cleaned up her act and then got addicted to smoking angel dust, which she is still doing to this day. I think if someone has an innate addictive personality you do end up "switching" for me (the third example) the itch will always be there to eat crappy food, but I feel like my new addiction now is buying clothes. I'm an online shopping fool! It's such a great rush, but after you feel bad. The other day i went to Victoria's Secret was fitted for bras and bought about $500 worth, the minute I left the mall I thought to myself "wtf I'm just going to have to get new ones in six months!" but then the other side of me goes "hey it's $500 you can't take that money with you when you're dead"

My surgeon had me schedule a visit at 3 to 4 weeks post-op. I seemed to have "healed" at 3 weeks and got a fill then. I had a friend who's incision was infected though and he wouldn't give her a fill until it healed. It was near the port and he said he didn't want to risk the needle somehow injecting the infection farther inside her. totally makes sense. so - if you are healing okay, swelling is down - I'd think it is okay. After that fill I was "as if no fill at all" pretty quickly and just had my 2nd fill. It had been 3 more weeks.

I had the same problem I am four weeks post op I ended up getting butterfly band aides and put over do that it stays together but still can breathe. I also put neosporin on it at night and leave it open then clean and reapply the butterfly's in the morning. This sems to be helping it heal like the other four incisions. I was just at my surgeons office for follow up and he said its not infected they take a little longer to heal because they ate covered most of the time with binding waste bands. He told me to put neosporin on it at night but to continue what I am doing it will heal. If it is not swollen and hurting its not infected.