May 2007 Banders

[Wenjea 1]

Sue, are you still on? What are all those little girls up to at the slumber party? I've got to hit the sack soon and I am really looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow morning. I will be thinking of you. Hope you made a copy of big medicine for me tonight!

[ragdollx19 1]

I posted on the general forums but wanted to see if anyone else is mourning food? I feel like a complete loser for being sad over not being able to eat much when that is why I got the lap band!

[anjul19 0]

Ragdoll, I too am missing & mourning food as I "used to know it". It was/is such a big part of my life that it is no wonder it's sad. I am not sure how we are supposed to deal with this though. No one prepared me for "missing" food! I don't know how to cope either, but I do know none of us are "losers"...

[cindyluhu 0]

I don't know about anyone else, but my mouth wants to eat more. I'm really hungry before I start to eat, then I can't eat much. My mouth still wants to keep going, and sometimes it gets me into trouble. It is a journey that I am still learning, sometimes a little too slowly. Found out this morning that an omelet is not such a good thing for me. Perhaps I took too big of a bite, or a little too fast, or both, but after only two bites, I was soo done. Had that sternum pain and slime (gross, sorry).

No more omelets for me. It was just egg and cheese. Oh well. On to other things. Live and learn. Each day is a learning experience with the band.

Cindy

[Vikki 2]

You guys sound exactly where I was about 3 months ago. I got my band the day after Turkey day last year. I went threw a mourning period of not being able to get my comfort food. I was sooo used to getting a big mac if I was having a bad day and it was a type of self sabitoging myself which I thought made me feel better but actually gave me major guilt that I didn't need to eat that. I couldn't eat my carbs that I used too and what the heck do I eat today that my body needs instead of craves. It is not overnight that you change yourself. It does take time and 8 months out I am down 40 pounds and back into a lot of cloths I couldn't wear 8 months ago. It feels really, really good to really start feeling that the dedications and sacrafice that I have gone threw in giving up eating all day long is actually worth it. It is hard to feel that way in the beginning because loosing weight is a long journey. It takes one weekend to pack on 3 pounds but a whole month to loose it. It doesn't make sense to me either but it takes a long time of listening to your body of what it is craving to be healthy instead of instant satisfaction like a In N Out Double Cheeseburger...Which I miss a lot.

You guys are doing soooooo great and it seriously does take one day at a time. Try to just get your Protein and play around with flavors and dishes that don't have too much salt and helps feed your body not your emotions. It is all worth it and this tool is going to make it happen!! I love my band and it is the best thing I have ever done.

[cindyluhu 0]

Vikki

Thanks so much for the words of wisdom. It is so encouraging to hear from someone who's "been there, done that". It really is a "lifelong" journey, and I think in our (or I should say MY) haste to get to the end of that journey, you have to remember where you've come from. The weight has been joining me for years, so it will take some time to come off. This is no magic fix, it is just a way for me to make my dream goal a reality.

Again, so good to hear from someone who has been through this before.

Thank you.

Cindy

[Manatee 4]

So a question

Should I eat when I'm not hungry?

I really never feel hungry at all, and when lunchtime rolls around I'll go out and get a chicken breast or something. The weight's coming off ok. Should I just start skipping lunch or dinner if I'm not really hungry, or will that slow the weight loss?

[Melissa S 1]

Eat every meal... everyday... if you are not hungry..try making your meals smaller... skipping meals will send your body into starvation mode and stall weight loss.

[Vikki 2]

So a question

Should I eat when I'm not hungry?

I really never feel hungry at all, and when lunchtime rolls around I'll go out and get a chicken breast or something. The weight's coming off ok. Should I just start skipping lunch or dinner if I'm not really hungry, or will that slow the weight loss?

It sounds completely wrong from what we have learned by dieting and starving to loose weight. I have learned that my body looses more when I do the 5 small meals a day method. It is usually 10am 1pm 4pm 6pm 8pm and I say meal but I just mean food. 10am a fat free yogart with fruit or South Beach high Protein granola bar. Something to keep your body from going into starvation mode and shutting down the metabolism. You think if your not getting food how could your body not loose weight???? Makes no sense but our bodies go into a starvation mode and just stop thinking it might need to eat off of what you have in extra pounds. It is a natural thing that it does. When I was at my longest platea I wasn't very hungry so didn't eat much.....realized that when I keep my body with very small portions of high Protein all day that week I drop at least 3 pounds. What you have to do is plan your day of what your going to eat. Portion size and put in baggies to bring with you. Set an alarm if you need too. It does work but it is hard to do when your not hungry. You can take 30 to eat that small something and just make sure that you are intaking a lot of Water every day. It is like being Sherlock Holms with your body to figure out what works for you but it takes a couple of weeks of trying this and that to determine what will work. :whoo:

[4RE4ME 1]

Manatee: You are no longer hungry and need to eat in order to live. Sounds like you hit the sweet spot. I don't see a problem. Eat 3 meals a day and thank the Lord that the lap band was invented during your lifetime...

[Wenjea 1]

I don't get hungry either. I eat because it's there or because the clock says it's time. I hit a plateau for 2 weeks and the scale didn't budge until I started eating more. Now I have days where I eat a lot and days where I don't eat much at all but on the whole it's so much less then before that the weight eventually comes off. I really don't think thin people give food half the thought that we give it.<br /> <br /> Think of it as a source of fuel that your body needs. You wouldn't put in poor quality fuel into a premium tank. Why do we keep putting junk into our system? We are worth the best so put in the best fuel you have.

[mannamay 0]

In all honesty, I am glad to see that I am not the only one having these eating problems. I too am having a hard time eating when I am supposed to. Lately, its been my Breakfast that I am skipping, and I love breakfast. It is because I am not hungry. I am going to eat breakfast this am, because I know I am throwing my body into starvation mode. Yesterday was a bad sweet tooth day, all's a wanted to eat was junk. I didn't, but wanted to.

The next issue would be no energy, I am guessing it is because I am not eating that much during the day and then OMG, in the afternoon, my tummy gets upset, don't know if its gas or something I ate, but I almost have to take to bed because I feel like the room is spinning. Anyone else had that issue???

Something else I have noticed is that when my bowles are not moving, I eat something with peppers, and Lord watch out, that usually gets it going. I found out that peppers are a natural stool softner plus they burn calories, so eat your peppers...lol. My family and I went to our local lake for the weekend and I ate pretty normal, I actually bought me some of the 100 calorie pack hostess cakes (carrot cake) and let me tell you, they taste great. When everyone else around me was eating fattening food, I had my pack of cakes (very tiny) and I was satisfied. My DH has a ski boat, so we hooked a tube to it and I got to get on the Water and play. He threw me off of it a couple times going so fast and when my body hit the water, I was like HELLO?!?! But, all in all, we had a great time. Okay, will write back soon. Take care everyone!

[Macysgranny 1]

<p><p>Good morning everyone! I am having a lot of the same issues to deal with, mourning food, eating too fast, etc. etc. etc. One thing I know for sure though, I don't regret being banded!</p> <p>I actually had to be banded twice, once on May 4th and then again on the 7th...I spent one of the most horrible weekends of my life in the hospital. My first band was too tight and NOTHING got thru. I then went for my first fill on June 29th and got 4 CC in the VG band...I ended up very sick, throwing up and nothing getting thru so had to go back in the afternoon and get 2 CC removed. I am in the process of seeing if I can have my next fill Flouro (sp?).</p> <p>And, I still don't have any regrets. I just got back from vacation and was down 3 lbs! That has never happened before but I am confident it will happen again!</p> <p>Everyone hang in there. I am going to go to a therapist when I hit 60 lbs. The one I went to for my evaluation said I would need to come back and he was right.</p></p>

[jsrico 1]

I started the week w/ the some issues. I think I have delayed restriction. I got filled as of today 3 weeks ago. Weird huh?? Well I love breakfast...but I feel too tight in the morning so I usuall have my Starbucks coffee....that satisfies me. lunch comes and I have beens or some kind of meat....(its all about the Protein baby). I am not starving, and I am not really hungry either, but I eat until I feel sorta full. dinner comes and I could by pass it too, but I try to eat something w/ protein..like tuna, or cottage cheese. I cook for my kids and husband and I have no appetite for what I have cooked so its been easy to by pass it......sometimes I will take a bite of it and move on. I got so busy after work yesterday....came home did some laundry, cooked spaggehti, cesar salad, and served everyone there plate and ran off to meet some friends at a 3 mile trail. We walked three miles and I came home and forget that I had not had any dinner. I wasnt hungry so I drank a 8 oz glass of milk. Felt like I need to put something in my belly. I feel great. I just hope that the weight keeps coming off.

Sandra

Highest weight 255

surgery weight 242

current weight 218

goal 140 would be nice...but I will take anything under 200!!!

[sue11 0]

I am constantly amazed when I meet people who have gone through WL Surgery and are not involved in some type of support group, be it a group meeting or on-line chats such as this. I would be so lost, thinking I'm the only one who is mourning food, or throwing my self into starvation mode by not eating enough and losing nothing. I'm on a plateau right now, and while I am frustrated I'm not in a panic as I probably would be if I had noone to talk too. I would be thinking I just threw away how many thousands of dollars!!!

I have learned more though this talk forum, my group meetings and talking with individuals then I ever learned in my doctor's required classes. The real struggle, at least for me, is with my head, and nutrition classes, though full of alot of good information, don't address that issue.

Thanks to all of you for letting me know I'm not nuts!!!