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Tunnel Vision. Defined as: “the tendency to focus exclusively on a single or limited goal or point of view”. A lot of people view tunnel vision as a bad thing. And in some instances, it can be. But in the instance of my health and physical fitness? It’s an amazinggggg thing! I sorta-kinda had counted myself out of the 5k I had planned to do next month due to some health set-backs and overall apathy while dealing with some of life’s other BS. But I’m glad to say my "tunnel vision" goggles have returned (as it pertains to getting in better shape) See this pic? That's me. RUNNING (jog/trot is more accurate) across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge (MD to VA). The span is 2.-something miles. I did NOT run the entire length, but d@mmit, I DID it. 2 years ago - and 100# heavier - I could have never imagined this for myself. My 1st 5k race is in 3 weeks. I am determined to do it!! My inner athlete at work This weekend I headed out with my family for a traipse across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The span itself is a little over 2 miles one way. The trail totals 6 miles – there & back, including the bridge span. I hadn’t planned on running at all, but when the urge hit me? I took off! Like, didn’t even THINK about running. It just felt…NATURAL. For the first time. EVER. And I’m so incredibly proud of myself. I had nearly given up on the idea of being able to get in that 5k race next month, but this was just the encouragement I needed to stick to my plan. Like I said previously – even if I have to crawl over the finish line, I’m going to FINISH. #the end. My Sweetface...running like the wind! On another note: Who woulda thunk that my Sweetface 3 year old would serve as my biggest source of encouragement? Her daddy used to be runner, so I guess it’s in her genes. (damn shol aint in mine!) *shrug* But she knows it’s a struggle for me. At one point she said “See? Just like this, Mommy” – and took off running. Then said “COME ON, MOMMY! You can do it! Go Mommy!” How could I NOT find the energy after that?? I have exactly 3 weeks to get my bootay in gear. I have enlisted the help of Jillian Michaels and her “Last Chance” workout DVD to help amp it up a notch. So tonight, I will take my first 30 minute punishment. The REALLY insane part? I’m looking forward to it. That blows my mind. Not only that, but I’ve found another 5k race to get under my belt in October. Except this one is going to be funnnnn. (It’s a 5k obstacle course -entitled “Run for ya Lives”. Yeah – running from ZOMBIES! Presumable trying to eat my brains… *lol* Doesn’t get much better than that. Who thought I’d truly ever be excited to run – for any reason other than towards a cupcake truck?!?) Times, they are a changing. And so is my body. Y’all betta watch out… Size 12 is coming.

Most restaurants have chicken, fish , veggies and baked potatoes. Even if it's not on the menus ask your server. I do it all the time. When the meal comes I ask for a second plate and cut 3oz of my meat, half of a baked potato and remove it from my plate.... Then I enjoy my meal. I ate out once or twice a week during the past 2 years... It can be done but you need to stay away from the bread.good luck

Looks like it to me! What page is that on? Looks like I'm right on the money. That seems kind of counter intuitive... if you want to stay the same eat what you need to stay the same for 5 days a week, and eat 1/4th of that 2 days a week.

Agreeing with both of you! I just checked my last 2 weeks of logs and they looked something like this (I don't log EVERY single day but pretty close: 1,118 518 1,271 1,661 1,530 513 1,311 1,243 1,354 572 1,318 Etc. So I do see one day at 1,600+ calories and it's funny my "note" for that day in my log was "oops, too many calories!"

Only my opinion here but what I believe is that yes, right now you will lose weight eating this way but eventually when you get to a certain point, you will stall. If you are happy with what you are losing right now, stick with that and then when you begin to stall, you will want to change what you are doing. I would think you will want to cut out the carbs at some point and are you exercising at all? You will need to begin doing that also. This romance period right now will end if you continue to eat that way.

oh hun...we all have them days...maybe not as bad as yours but days we just want to eat and eat to ease the momentary pain were feeling....We know after were done eatting were going to feel worse in soooo many areas....so were here for you. If it helps...I to have had a long week...my 13 yr old son punched another boy in the face in school for a reason he felt was deserving ...~sighs~ I went for a fill and my doctor said he was giving me a by this time...he thinks Im doing good...but what I dont think he understood was I am only by will power...im HUNGRY to many time...I drove one of my chidren 2.5 hrs ( in pouring rain) to a specialty Dr only to have a dr go over meds and ask a lot of questions I could of done all on the phone and saved the gas !!! I have been eating out of stress also..but just make good choices...celery and hummas...raw carrots ....weight watcher ice bream bars

I had vsg.at 25 december i am in stall week 3 and week 4. I am so sad of this stall...i just lose 7 killograms untill now Sent from my SM-G900V using BariatricPal mobile app

For my revision it took maybe a total of 4-5 weeks. Sent all to insurance company got approval for revision in less than 2 weeks. Went to education class the next week and surgery 2 weeks later. Had surgery on a Thursday and back to work the following Wednesday working 10-11 hour shifts.

I’m just sharing info in case there are people who aren’t aware of this option. I know some people get very bad GERD after the sleeve that can’t be controlled by medications. I was told the only other option would be to convert to bypass (which is why I ended up choosing RNY). Turns out another option is out there. I’m a nurse practitioner and went to a meeting last week that included dinner and an educational presentation. The presentation was done by both a GI doctor and bariatric surgeon. They were talking about the Lynx procedure. The simplest way I can explain it is to imagine a beaded bracelet that goes around the esophagus. It applies enough pressure to stop the regurg. Complication rates are low. The bariatric surgeon said he has had excellent results for his sleeve patients. He said right now the procedure is still off label for bariatric but the literature on it will be published later this year. Just something to think about or to ask your physician about if you are having GERD issues. If your physician wants more info he can contact a LYNX rep or I can share the name of the surgeon who presented.

Hi everyone, I was banded 10/11/11. I just had my 2nd fill yesterday and have lost 35 lbs. I really messed up around Thanksgiving, ate too much of the wrong things. Then going out with co-workers at lunch just to get out of the office, and the first fill didn't last very long, and I was so hungry. I'm hoping this fill will last longer and will help me get back on track. I had bad news 11/2 - I was notified my job was being transferred overseas, but will still work through 12/30. After about a week, I stopped exercising and that mood lasted for about a month. Yesterday when I went in for my 2nd fill, I had only lost 3 lbs since the month before. At least it's in the right direction, but I know I can do better. So I just need to get back on track. I'm so glad I found this site! I think the journey will be much easier with support from other bandsters.

You sound A LOT like me. I, like you, have been big for what seems like forever. I too was around 250 when I graduated high school and I haven't been under 300 pounds since I gave birth to my daughter almost 18 years ago. I hovered around 380 for many years, then gained even more when my health took a turn for the worse the last couple years. I maxed out at 421. I know you're scared, but if you are willing to make the necessary life changes to be successful with the band, you will be so glad you did it. I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd lose weight. I still have a ways to go, but I've already lost 96 pounds in just under 5 months. I was hoping to have lost 100 pounds by my birthday in a couple weeks, and now I'm sure I'll actually surpass that goal. I LOVE my band!! This is by far the greatest thing I've ever done for myself. Hang in there, you will do beautifully too

Yes I use a straw. Began using one about 6 weeks post op. No problems.

I can use a straw. I'm only 8 wks out and so far so good... I've only been using it for two weeks now. I'm still at the stage where I think I'm going to mess things up so bad!! I hope using a staw this early on is okay.

Thats very normal, I think pretty much all of us think that, feel that and do that lol the week before my pre op I gained 4lbs from the O man not having this again for awhile if ever syndrome lol but on my 2 week liquids I lost 12 and I am now 17 days out from surgery and have lost 17lbs! So enjoy your few treats, get your mind all ready for your pre op, you will do great and you will lose! Good luck to you!

At my third or fourth week post-op, I walked past a banana. And had a craving thrown on me! I had to have that banana. I had no idea I wanted one so bad till I walked past it!

I am seven weeks Monday and have been craving pizza for weeks. Not enough to try it though lol! Just looking at all that grease when my kids eat it makes me nauseous.

Hi Elizabeth - Sorry no one has addressed any of your questions. It sounds to me like you are tight enough based on your description of how you feel. Have you really looked at what you are eating? How many calories are you getting in per day? If it's lower than 1200, you probably need to eat more. How's your activity level? I guess we'd have to know some more details to help you troubleshoot your plateau. I'd be hesitant to say you need another fill based on your current physical feelings, regardless of what you are eating. If you are getting in around 1200 calories a day, exercising 30 minutes a day about 5 times a week, that should put you on the road to weight loss. Many people use www.fitday.com to track their calories and exercise. Perhaps that will help you analyze that side of it. I don't know how many people experience the discomfort you describe, but I tend to have a little pain my first two bites and then I'm usually okay. I think my first two bites are a) not chewed as well as the rest and :cool: are eaten too quickly. Let us know the answers to the calorie/exercise question, and be sure to take it easy! But it does not sound like you need another fill.

Hello everyone, this is my first time on here and I was just looking for some imput from people who understand my situation. I had my gastric bypass surgery on September 7th 2016, so I am 5 weeks post op. I am so thirsty can't seem to get enough to drink I just want to chug Water even though I can't. I drink about 3 16 Oz bottles of water a day and still thirsty. Does anyone else have this problem? Also, as I said I'm 5 weeks out and have only lost 35LBS, I feel I should be losing more and even last week I gained half a pound. I eat about 300 calories a day. what am I doing wrong... Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Thank You Suzie, SommerBrez, and LilMissDiva. I really appreciate ya'll taking time to write me back. Suzie: I know this won't be a quick fix, however, I don't want to go backwards either. I know I need to be more patient with myself its just hard to when I see so many people already getting to their goal. I guess I don't factor in how much time they invested to get there. SommerBrez: I'm so glad I'm not the only one feeling this way. I get my fill in a week and a half. I hope to see some change after that especially since I will be able to work out then. LilMissDiva: what about the sodium? I do try to keep a low sodium diet but thats because high blood pressure runs in my family. How is that contributing to my weight gain?

I actually had to switch dr's. My original one was pretty much scamming my insurance and kept having me come in and billing for bs stuff. I am PPO, so when I got the bills, I knew either I wasn't there or nothing was done like stated. I started 10/31 with my 6 mo. nutritional. New dr I saw 4/28 & 5/15 so he had 2 extra visits on there), it was submitted 5/28 & approved 6/3. I called Blue Shield Thursday to talk about the last dr, and they told me. And today when I faxed over my pcp approval for the surgery, she set everything up. And said I just need 1 week of protein diet.

You are where I was in late 2009. I researched the lap-band option for about 8 months last year. Went to 2 different lap-band presentations by 2 different doctors in 2 different cities. I did a lot of researching on the internet and found that "lapbandtalk.com" was the best source of education. On January 5th I had my day long briefing at my doctor's office and started my liquid diet for 2 weeks. I lost about 7lbs. On Janurary 18th I had my surgery and the worst thing for me was coming out of the anesthesia but this wore off pretty fast. I received lots of first class medical attention and can't say enough about the doctor, technicians, nurses, etc. I live about 100 miles from the hospital so I stayed there overnight and left early the next morning. Lot's of support from my wife (& best friend). I did "exactly" what they told me to do,i.e. what to eat, drink, etc. and stayed home from work for the entire week. When I started I weighed 250 lbs. (naked) and this moring I weighed in at 207 lbs. Thats 43 lbs. in just over 9 weeks! I take my Vitamins including B Complex, Optisource and Viactiv Calcium and I feel great! It's really all about how bad you really want to loose weight! In my case I had high blood pressure, sleep apnea and was tired all the time. Now it's all gone. No more pills and I feel great. 75% of my decision was for health reasons and 25% was for how I looked but that was me. You have to restate why "you" want to go for a lap-band and only you can make that decision. :Banane20:

Perhaps it's time to start adding additional food. Seriously... The best stall-buster is a sudden increase in calories, protein, and water. You will likely continue to experience stalls if you attempt to maintain a low caloric intake. Our bodies are astute and will adapt to the morsels we feed them if the intake is too low for too long. I started increasing my caloric intake in a stepwise pattern at 4 months out. Back then, I bumped it up from 800 calories daily to the 1000-1200 range each day. At 6 months out I was regularly eating 1200 to 1400 calories a day. At 9 months out I had gotten up to about 1500 calories a day. By 1 year out I routinely ate 1500 to 1700 calories a day. I am now 2+ years out and maintain in the 2000+ calorie-per-day range, while those who kept their intake too low for too long seem to rapidly regain if they eat more than 1200 calories daily.

Are you sure that you're not just overeating to the point that you pb? If you are sure that's not the reason, then I agree with Harley Nana.... Go and get your band checked out... You might just have tightened up over time If all is well consider taking the following actions 1. have a few days on fluids, throwing up a lot can irritate you stoma and lead to further throwing up... it's a viscous circle. 2. keep a food diary for a couple of weeks, noting when you are throwing up and exactly what you are eating... It's not revolutionary, I know, but it may show you what you are/aren't doing that's hindering further fat reduction. Follow the bandster rules: SaggiJ, You do know what the bandster rules are regarding meals, don't you??? they are as follows... 1. No drink 30minutes before and 45 minutes after food 2. Eat good quality, solid food that will stay in your pouch and give you satisfaction. 3. Eat you Protein FIRST, then your vegetables.... then if you have room you can eat the carbohydrates!!!! If you eat the mash first, then you are asking for trouble in the weight loss stakes..... You also know that it's small bites.... no bigger than 10p piece then chew chew, chew!!! taking larger bites and swallowing them before they're well and truly mushed in your mouth, is asking for trouble, especially when you're tight! Success depends on following these rules and working with your band, not against it! Come on girl, you know what you should be doing!!! Taken from a previous post! Hope that this helps a bit! Hx

I agree no surgery I ever Had could even compare!! i am 12 days post op and Yes it does get better. I had Major buyers remorse for the first week.!!! Just hang in it will get better

Hi all, I'm from the beaches of Virginia but left my bikini body behind some 30 years ago! My appointment with the surgeon is this Wednesday, so I guess I'll find out then if I can be banded. I sure hope so. Been fighting weight all my life; and now I have diabetes, heart disease, and a host of other lovelies. God blessed me with a loving, supportive husband of 24 years and a wonderful 19 year old son who is currently in college. Life is good and full; in more ways than one! I've been reading for several weeks; learning as much as I can from you fine folks. My surgeon is Anthony Terracino if anyone is familiar with him... Well, other than the fact that I'm retired on disability since 1995 due to complications from a craniotomy (lupus related); that's about all there is to tell about me. I enjoy gardening when I am able, our church family, and we like to travel but haven't been able to this past year because of my loss of mobility. And I have a ton of great friends! They really keep me going. Looking forward to sharing more with you soon. Hugs, Susie