November Bandsters!

[tropicaljill 0]

Question? What are everyones expectations here? From what I am hearing a lot of us are upset at only losing 15-20 lbs in a month. I am exstatic and didn't expect to lose that much so fast and am greatful I did. I only expect to lose about 2 lbs a week. Some weeks less, some more. I figure that is over 100 lbs in a year. I also know that a lot of this depends on me. The more I excercise and watch what I eat, the more I will lose. So I am just cruious what everyone else is thinking.

Oh...so well put. We all have to look at the BIG picture (no pun intended) and try to reach back in our memory to pull out the enthusiasm we all felt just days after the surgery. We were all so optomistic, and still should be.

And remember ...exercise- even if it means taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and parking the FURTHEST away from the store so you can burn more calories!

It will be awesome in a year when we all connect back and total the pounds we have all lost. It is going to be amazing!

We can do this:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: !

[marni 0]

I'm not griping about losing 15 pounds. I'm griping because the 15 pounds were before and immediately after surgery, but now I'm just struggling no to regain it! Looking forward to my fill......

quote]

I hope I did not imply Griping. That was not my intention. So what is everyones goal? expectations?

[DaniKLargo 0]

I've been pretty hungry too, and I've found 2 things that work pretty well for me. First - egg drop Soup. It's kind of thick and has lots of Protein, so that keeps me full for a while. And for flavor I put in a ton of tabasco - but I've been doing that with everything. (I'm still on liquids). Also soft boiled eggs hit the spot for me. Smash them up with a little butter - yummy. Again - high protein and warm and gooey.

[Yvonne 0]

Hi Marni,

I've lost 10 lbs since leaving hospital last Thur and can't believe how fast it's coming off but I know it'll start to taper off soon.

I'd be more than happy at losing a stone a month but this might be asking a lot too so as long as the scales keep moving in the right direction I'll be happy.

I think I'd get disheartened with losing 1-2lbs a week as I'm only on 800 cals/day though but seeing the scales moving is an incentive to keep being good.

Take care,

Yvonne

x

[mamamanikay 0]

Yvonne,

What's a stone equal to in pounds? I keep seeing this on posts from UK, Australia. Thanks for the eductional assistance.

[Yvonne 0]

Hi mamamanikay,

A stone is 14 lbs

Yvonne

x

[Randi 0]

I totally understand how everyone is feeling hungry. I am beginning to start that phase too, and I will not be able to get a fill until January 5th. I am struggling with how to deal with it, I dont have much advice besides keeping healthy Snacks and healthy drinks around. It is really difficult for me to exercise right now b/c it is freezing outside here with a lot of snow around, also I dont have a membership anywhere (really cant afford it)....

Cassandra,

One way I keep my exercise going during inclement weather is video tapes. Kathy Smith and Leslie Sansone are two of the fitness instructors that have produced indoor walking tapes and there are probably others. If you're a member of a local video club, those types of stores usually have exercise videos availble for rent/purchase. On occasion, I also order exercise videos from http://www.collagevideo.com/

[Oberhasli 1]

Hi mamamanikay,

A stone is 14 lbs

Yvonne

x

Hmmm. I think we should adopt this in this country. 4 stones overweight sounds so much better than 60 pounds. After all, 4 is less than 60.

(Kind of like the old joke: which is heavier, a ton of metal or a ton of feathers.)

Tom

[misschrissie67 0]

Okay I am just curious if anyone else is experiencing what I am and if it will last (God I hope so ). I am only 10 days out from surgery, have lost 13.5 lbs . It hasnt been that long ago that I was this weight, but now my energy levels are way up. The fatigue I had before is gone. I want to get out and go and do things. I want to clean house. (I want to do alot of things I am sure I shouldn't be doing yet ) Is this energy normal? Will it last? Is anyone else experiencing it? I love this feeling . I haven't felt this good in about 100 pounds. I am just hoping it will last til I get 100 pounds (or more) off. Would really love some feedback on this. :director: Thanks

[Yvonne 0]

Hi,

I fell off the wagon last night and had a chinese chow mein. Now that I know I can eat without any problems it's going to be much harder to stick to a liquid/mushies diet for the next 3 months till my first fill. :help:

Anyone else having problems?

I'm trying to be good today, last night wasn't about hunger - more just wanting. I'm fed up at having to wait all this time for a fill, seems like torture when I'm reading on here that you guys are being filled much sooner.

What do you all think?

Yvonne

x

[Yvonne 0]

OH! Just remembered - I also put on a pound so it's like every old diet all over again - lose some then put it all back on and then some more.

Yvonne

x

[Oberhasli 1]

Hi,

I fell off the wagon last night and had a chinese chow mein. Now that I know I can eat without any problems it's going to be much harder to stick to a liquid/mushies diet for the next 3 months till my first fill. :help:

Anyone else having problems?

I'm trying to be good today, last night wasn't about hunger - more just wanting. I'm fed up at having to wait all this time for a fill, seems like torture when I'm reading on here that you guys are being filled much sooner.

What do you all think?

Yvonne

x

3 months on liquids/mushies would drive anyone totally crazy! Each doctor clearly has their own course of treatment and it's important to follow your doctor's recommendations. I guess I was fortunate as I was not placed on a pre-op liquid diet (I had lost ~30 pounds in the 7 months preceeding surgery), only had to eat light the day before surgery with no dairy product for dinner the evening before, had nothing the day of surgery, Jello the next morning and then onto a mushie diet for 2 weeks, then a week of soft food and since 3 weeks post surgery, I've been on normal foods. I do eat much smaller quantities and am careful to chew well, but I've had no complications from the food. Now, my weight loss hasn't been as dramatic as some (16 pounds in 4 weeks) but I also don't feel deprived or have the urge to eat things I'm not suppose to. I'd MUCH rather have a slower, consistent weight loss and be able to actually lose what I need to, even if it takes much longer, to not have the feeling that I'm missing something because of my diet.

I'm scheduled for my first fill at 6 weeks post banding (12/18) which is a few weeks sooner than he normally does it (usually the first fill is around 8 weeks) but since I've had no problems tolerating any foods, the surgeon feels it is the right time. I tend to agree as I do find that the same amount of food is not filling me up as well as it did a week ago. I've been pretty strong to resist the temptation to eat more as the one time I did go out with friends, I either ate too much or too fast and the pain in the chest was uncomfortable. Not intolerable but enough to remind me to slow down and eat less. I did eat 1/2 of a chocolate chip cookie yesterday at work, coincidentially brought in by someone that had the full gastric bypass in February. (She said she loves to bake but if she keeps them around the house, she'll eat them so she bakes and then brings them in for all of us to get fat on. <G>) (To give a reference, she's lost 92 pounds since surgery 9 months ago. That's just over 10 pounds a month and that's with the bypass. Her primary care doctor and surgeon are thrilled with her weight loss, as is she. Thought it kind of put into perspective our own accomplishments, especially considering the band is FAR less radical than the bypass.)

Tom

[misschrissie67 0]

OH! Just remembered - I also put on a pound so it's like every old diet all over again - lose some then put it all back on and then some more.

Yvonne

x

So far I have been lucky. Not really hungry, not craving things, but also not trying to eat through the band. In our support groups, the doctors, dieticians, and nurses told us that the most important thing to remember is the band is a tool not a fix-all. It is important to follow the diet given to you, not cheat, and eat very very slowly. The latter one seems to really be helping me. I have learned to take really tiny bites and lay my fork/spoon down between bites, chew chew chew, and allow the food time to travel down my esophagus before I take another bite. MY nurse and doctor say that if you really want to, you can ultimately eat through the band and eat whatever you want. I am so afraid of getting something stuck or getting PB that I have not even tried things that were questionable about hanging. My only guilty pleasures were a tiny (emphasis on tiny) taste of my finace's key lime pie and my daughters chocolate cake and ice cream. And it just honestly wasn't that good. Anyway, hang in there Yvonne. Don't give up. Remember this a fight for you life and you havent even got the gloves broke in yet. And its definitely a fight worth winning!

[fitzgerald 0]

Well, I fell off the wagon tonight. I had a nice juicy burger and vanilla milkshake and it was delicious !

And I'm paying for it. I feel pain between my shoulder blades (a result of eating too much, in my case).

But I honestly feel that falling off the wagon from time to time isn't such a bad thing. I am relearning how to eat and I am bound to mess up every now and then. It's to be expected.

Hang in there ! You have lost 10 pounds in such a very short time. You're doing great.

[AngelaT 2]

Well, I fell off the wagon tonight. I had a nice juicy burger and vanilla milkshake and it was delicious !

And I'm paying for it. I feel pain between my shoulder blades (a result of eating too much, in my case).

But I honestly feel that falling off the wagon from time to time isn't such a bad thing. I am relearning how to eat and I am bound to mess up every now and then. It's to be expected.

Hang in there ! You have lost 10 pounds in such a very short time. You're doing great.

I also fell off the wagon...I had some problems eating rreal food, and my aunt had a Xmas party...I ate taSTES OF EVERY SOFT THING THERE WAS TO EAT INCLUDING DESSERTS! yIKES! i HOPE i AM BACK IN CONTROL TOMORROW!