Encouragement needed and questions

Not an expert, but here goes. During the first few weeks after surgery many people do not lose weight if you read on the lapband web site and on other medical web sites it will tell you that during the first few weeks, you are on liquids, mushys and some higher calorie foods that later on you will want to stay away from. What your feeling is normal, many of us went through a grieving process once reality set in and we questioned our decision to have surgery. Remember right now you have no fluid in your band and you really have no restriction from the band. You may feel full but in the first couple of weeks post op you still have some swelling and aroound week 3 or 4 your hungry comes back and that is usually when the do your first fill. The one thing I caution you on is do not compare your self with others, it can be very frustrating if you see them losing and you are not. This is a new adventure and all of our bodies take time to adjust to the new process and we all have to learn how to eat and what works best for us. If you continue to feel discouraged or question your decision for having surgery I suggest you see they physcologist and have them help you through these early weeks. This is all new to all of us and the surgery only fixed one problem for many of us, it gives us restriction. It did not fix the fact that many of us used food as a coping mechanism, for hurt, for anger, for sad, for happy. We all our different and we all have our challanges ahead of us. You need to feel proud that you made this decision toward living a healthier life and taking charge of your weight loss. You have made the first step and you will succeed if you believe in yourself and use these forums for support. None of us are here to judge and we all have our demons. Read the different blogs and learn from others experiences. I learn from others everyday, it gives me encourgement during my weeks that I lose nothing, especially when I know I have done everything correct to my best knowledge. So don't feel discouraged, you are in the beginning stage of your journey, give your body and your mind time to adjust to the journey ahead. Make sure you have a picture of your self at your biggest and keep it in site and take photos of your self along the way. There is no encouragement like seeing your progress in a picture. Take you measurements along the way so you know where you started. Sometimes we lose inches and not lbs. So... say to your self." I made this decision for me, so I would be healthier and live a better life. My band is my tool to support me along my journey. Learn to listen to your band and not the little voice inside your head that says, that's ok just have one Bite!" Good luck on your journey, I know you will be successful!

I am 9 weeks out, no fill, no hunger. Do you follow the absolute rule of no drinking during or after meal? Furthermore, you must plateau after the first few weeks, but don't worry it is natural.

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Michael Pickert MD

Well said Lovethenewme!!! Sounds like you have this whole lapband journey down pat! Congrats to you! You are truly an inspiration to others. You are very wise! Thanks for taking the tinme to write so often to encourage others. It is truly appreciated.

Thanks for all of your comments. I do follow the rule of waiting to drink fluids....however I notice I am having difficulty getting all my fluids in. I never had this problem before. I am so thankful to have found this site so I can look for more wisdom and encouragement from those who have gone before me as well as hopefully be an encouragement along the way.

I just found this website tonight and am so thankful that I did. I am day 19 post op, down a total of 35 pounds, but have not lost anything in the past week. Today was really the first day I felt truly hungry, and had a hard time today really not wanting to do any more "mushy" foods, Its like these little goals of being able to try a different type of food each week have kept me satisfyed up until this point. Today, I truly wanted to ban any protein shakes and mushy food, but I stayed with it. I am working out, only a little bit each day and am hoping to increase that each week as well. Any suggestions for making it through this phase would be greatly appreciated!

lovethenewme.....youre awesome!!

I got on the scale today and 2 lbs gone, Yay! I too am tired of all the liquid mush. I know I am only 7 days out, but really with the liquids it is day 19 for me. Last night I had a dream I kept putting bread in my mouth and kept having to spit it out because I thought it was going to get stuck!