lapband Hell

[faithmd 14]

First of all I am dying to know what 'goldfish' are!!! Im from Scotland and have never heard of them but wish I had. .

Goldfish are little crackers shaped like tiny goldfish. And they are yummy!

They come in pretzel, many varieties of cheese flavorings and a pizza flavor.

I haven't been banded yet, but I do appreciate reading all these posts about being in Hell. I am taking all this info in and processing it so I have tips to make it through my hell when I finally get there.

One of the things I have read on here over and over and over again is that the first fill RARELY gives you good restriction, it usually takes until the second, third, or occasionally more than three fills to find the "sweet spot." Not meant to burst your hopes, but I wanted to remind us all (because I will be where you are now, soon enough) that we have to be strong for a while. We can do ANYTHING if we know there's a light at the end of the tunnel. How many years have we carried around this excess weight? And this Hell is only mere weeks out of our lives. Okay, it is several weeks, but we all CAN do it!!!

[lizrbit 0]

jack...you rock.

[Raven5683 1]

FYI: Goldfish are a Baked (usually cheese) flavored snack cracker in the shape of a little fish... http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/fun_snacks_goldfish.asp

Make sure you are taking in your 10-12 cups of Water a day, commonly people mistake dehydration with hunger...Also High Protein foods are going to keep you satisfied longer. Another good idea is the Protein Water drinks such as Special K2O.

I'm almost two weeks out (still on full liquids) and have felt hungry a couple times but not to bad. I need to keep up with my water and I'm making sure to get in my 60+grams of protein and I feel I'm doing well. I had to do the full liquid diet for two weeks pre op and lost 16 lbs. And since the procedure I've lost 18 lbs to date...

[TimeTraveller 0]

Feel the same way. I'm almost two weeks post-op, and without a fill, I feel like I could easily fall back onto my old ways in a heartbeat. I'm not having any pain now -- but feeling hungrier and hungrier each day. Everything goes right on through like the band's not even there, which had me worried until I read some other testimonies here on the forums. The only thing keeping me afloat during the liquid phase is the wonderful support of my wife & kids (and the fact that I've dropped 14 pounds in only 13 days helps a LOT too!).

I'm having a hard time getting ahold of the high Protein foods right now. Been drinking a couple of "Ensure"s each day, which gets me 24 grams, but I know I'm falling way short of the 60+ my doctor wants.

I'm currently keeping my surgery a secret from friends, coworkers, and everyone at church --- just letting everyone I'm around know that I'm on a "new" diet (which everybody keeps asking me what it's called), but ordering Soups at restaurants and not eating any of the chunks in them is getting old really quick. I can't wait to get to solid foods again and have a fill -- then I'll finally feel the inner effects of the surgery and know where my new limitations are.

[Mrs Wright 0]

First of all I am dying to know what 'goldfish' are!!! Im from Scotland and have never heard of them but wish I had. berry I am totally with you on this one. Like you I have bad willpower which I suppose is why we had the band fitted in the first place. I had my band fitted on the 7th of February 07 and have not lost a pound. During the pre-op diet I did lose 10lb and I have kept this off but I have not lost anymore and I feel as if I can still eat large quantities. I had my frist fill on the 26th of March but have been really disappointed with the result. I did ask for the Dr to be really aggressive with the fill and was assured she had been but to no avail. There isn't really much difference from before the fill. People on here assure me that this is normal and that it may take until the 3rd or 4th fill before I reach what I understand is termed the 'sweet spot' when optimum weight loss will be achieved. Bring it on. Until I do reach this point I am trying to concentrate on eating small portions (which my dietician tell me should be the size of the rubber on the end of a pencil! good grief) and chewing well. I am also trying to keep in mind the money this has cost and the results I hope to achieve from it and this is focusing my mind somewhat. Keep motivated and please let me know how you get on as it is so good to know I am not alone out there.

Goldfish are small crackers in the shape of a goldfish. They are usually cheese flavored.

[LJS69 0]

Lap-band is basically just a tool. You need to get mentally in the game since to feel the proper restriction may take months of fills to get it just right. I'm about 2 months out and I feel some restriction some of the time but you need to get into a frame of mind that you can't eat certain foods and you really need to measure out the food and just eat that and no more.

[ukangel 0]

I have just returned from a two week vacation to Florida and found that as the two weeks went by I was able to eat larger and larger quantities. I had thought that my band had slipped as I could eat so much!!! But now I have read this thread I feel a lot better and reasured.

I found that if I ate the salad at the begining of the meal I was full for the meal. I made a lot of healthy choices and stayed away from the bread. (Though it was so tempting) Quite liberating to not be focussed on food all day and for my husband to be the first to say 'Shall we eat' It was hard to pick of menus at time because the portions are so big and I used to eat a lot of steak ribs and chicken. I just had a lot of seafood and salad. I have not weighed myself yet but with all the walking i am hoping that my weight has stayed around the same.

[Kat817 19]

LJS69, getting your head in it IS the biggest hurdle. However, having a back up plan, and healthy Snacks available will help keep a hunger BINGE from happening. IN my case, I could get on a diet, and do ok for a few days, then the HUNGER hit, and I literally felt out of control!!! I did not have my head in it---no matter how well I thought I was doing---I was on a binge! When I feel deprived, I tend to binge. I fought this weight for years---I know my downfalls. I want to think of myself as a strong person, and in many ways I am, but food---it was my major weakness. It was ALWAYS there. It is a necessity. It wasn't like when I quit smoking---cold turkey, no more cigarettes---done deal. 2 weeks or so, and the worst of it was over. Not so with food---everyday I HAD to eat---so there it was, and if I didn't have it---there was a store right down the road that DID!! I struggled, trying to keep my head on straight---but my weight just gradually crept upwards. Then come the band. It simply being in there, gave me another help with the head hunger. But simply being prepared for it was the best thing I could do for myself!

I am not suggesting a non stop grazing. Just to stock up, and be PRO active to the binge monster, instead of RE active.

I applaud you for being able to measure out a cup, and stick to that without any back up plan----that is awesome!

Kat

[rondajs 0]

Oh goodness. I thought I was the only one that was hungry. I have been terrified that I am screwing something up, I had surgery on 3/29 and I had to move to at least something substantial once a day. I couldn't do Clear liquids. I was needing to have that all day long. Like 6 or 7 times a day and never was satisfied. I had to move right away to food once a day. Usually something like pinto Beans, butter Beans. I even had some Pasta....shame I know.

I only eat about 1/2 cup and then I start feeling full, so I quit. I can however eat the 6oz cup of yogurt. I thought something was wrong with me. I am so happy to know someone else out there is feeling my pain. Whew!

Ronda

[demsvmejm 5]

I'm able to eat bread with no problems...is this because my band isn't filled?

My Dr. was concerned that when I see him on 4/23 that I try bread and lean meat like chicken and pork to see if I can tolerate....no problems now.

Wondering if these foods will be a problem once i'm filled.

[captain danbo 0]

I am terrified to eat something like goldfish. My physician's asst. told me (pre op) that if you eat too many carbs, they can ball up and get Gummy, and have trouble going through the passage. I don't think that's true but for my own good, I am going to hang onto that fear.

My Doc told me the same thing. gummy= bad idea

[rondajs 0]

Okay, it is true. I had a bite of a soggy tortilla roll-up and it had to come back up. That was a bad idea. Something made me want to try...

[Betsyjane 2]

I felt very little restriction until fill #3, and then I could truly live the bandster life.