FLORIDAYS

You are hungry because you aren't eating enough food at mealtime I suspect. How long is it taking you to eat the 1/2 c of food? It should take 20 -30 minutes And since you are newly banded it may. BE that you need to eat your food in stages although I would do everything not to do that...it creats the grazing habit. Just take tiny bites...about the size of what you would feed a baby. Use a baby spoon for true measuring. And take your time to get the food in, Hope that helps...

As long as you are watching and not eating....enjoy !!

From my experience there isn't a lot of salt In liquids...it's possible that your mushie foods have more salt and you are retaining water.. It may also be that you are getting more calories with Mushies and your body is storing the calories. This is the time to start a good habit of tracking your calories. If you stay between 1000-1200 ( or whatever your dr told you) for a day and stick with the proper portions you should be fine.

You are right CHEZ.... Yesterday the plastic surgeon told me the lift and Tt i am considering makes the lap band surgery a walk in the park.

Start with the basics. Count calories and measure portions. Eat 3-4 oz of Protein, 1/4 c starch and 1/2 c of veggie at every meal.... If you are hungry after that you may need a fill. Good luck!

Yum...it's close to my fav... Grouper is a smidge higher on the list. Glad you had a nice diner.

It's a great question. Truth be told only one aspect of it was really harder than I imagined... The 2 week liquid diet. But I stuck to it, didn't cheat and ultimately had a successful surgery. After that I cannot say its been hard. I was very strict with myself because I knew if I didn't see results in a reasonable period of time I would get frustrated. So I measured portions, counted calories, got fills when I needed them and went to my dr every month. It was frustrating at times of course. Eating out with friends watching them chow down on pizza and wings while I was having something less exciting is hard. But that isn't the band's fault. I do think you have to be completed committed to making it work. The band will do 70% of the work when you are in the green zone. sometimes it takes a while to get there. You must do the rest by making proper food choices. If you want to be successful ..being banded and in the losing stage means you will have to drink Water when your friends are drinking alcohol, skip the cake at birthday parties, forgo the ice cream on a hot summer day. And plan what you will eat when you are out and about. But once you have lost your weight you can have a few bites of most anything you want... The band will prevent you from wanting must more than that. I have craving every once in a while but i put my mind over matter and either ignore it, drink some water or eat one bite. I can tolerate most anything except carbonation, rice and skinned fruit. But during the 23 months of losing I didn't eat anything i didnt account for in my calorie tracker. I even would write down the cocktail sauce i dipped my low cal shrimp in. I was obsessed...admittedly In fact I can tell you the number of times I cheated...that's how focused I was. That doesn't work for everyone but it did for me. That said I am maintaining now. I have 2 lbs more to lose to get to my goal. And 12 more to get to my stretch goal. But I am not worried about it. If I don't lose another lb I am completely happy with my success. Was it hard? Sometimes. But 377lbs at 50 yrs old I was a heart attack waiting to happen. I think dealing with that would have been harder.

mother nature blessed you evidentially. I was always a B cup... Just a 44b.... Now I am a 34 b but of course the girls are quite deflated. But I am looking into those options. Were you always larger on top? I mean as a young girl?

Add a fiber supplement to your liquid. There in one that comes in box of packets like crystal light. You can put it in anything liquid. It's tasteless... You won't even know its there...but it helps. If I recall during liquids I used 2 a day

Living on the gulf coast of Florida I live on our friends from the sea... Snapper, Grouper, mahi, shrimp, scallops, oysters.... love it all.

You lose weight from the top down... It's just the unfair Mother nature reminding us she is in control....LOL. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do about it. Our breasts are made up of mostly fat so it's why they shrink. Sorry for the news.

Have you had a fill yet ?

I think I may have consumed less during the first 4 days post up than I was supposed to eat in a day. It's normal. Your appetite will return soon.

I have been to Minnesota... Does that count? Just kidding... I am sure someone will speak up soon. In the meantime there are a lot of us on this forum from all across the country and even across the pond who will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

I have a desk job and could even work from home if absolutely necessary although my boss isn't fond of that idea. But if I have a chat with him I am sure he would give in. Hubby and I discussed it,,, he said he is behind me and to do what I wanted. It's a large chunk of change so am giving it some major thought. I was banded 2 years ago... 12/2010 so the dr feels like I am stable and a good surgery candidate. It's decision time...

Wow you get bars? Man what I wouldnt have given for something I could have actually chewed. Lucky you. I was on 5 Optifast shakes a day, Water, caffeine free tea or coffee, 2 sugar free popsicles a day and if I REALLY needed it sodium free broth... It is the hardest thing you will do..... But when it's over you will have a healthy liver for a successful surgery , learn you can live without food just not nutrition And even get a nice weight loss in to jump start your deam. Congrats!!! You can do this.

You are experiencing normal feelings. You will be fine and your daughter will be better because she will have a loving mommy around for a very long time. Congratulations on the decisions you have made. They will last a life time!

I don't weep at photos....I am happy as a clam that I am thin. I keep my avatar on this site as a constant reminder of how horrible I looked and felt. I do weep with mixed emotions at other things tho, today I was in my new favorite consignment shop. I was trying on a Lily Pulitzer tunic sweater. It was beautiful but just not my style. I was walking around with it maybe because it was $ 4.97 and I know it was in last years catalog for $ 148 !!! But it just wasn't my thing. I tried it on twice and 2 ladies were just oozing about it. I was like.... I don't think it's my style. One of them said...well you are so small so you can wear just about anything....hearing that is not what I am used to. I thanked then and handed them the sweater to fight over and my eyes welled up.... I am so overwhelmed by the success of the band and my effort it just it blows me away sometimes. So enjoy it.... It will keep getting better. Congrats on your success!

You look fabulous. Keep it up!!!!

You just stop. I know it sounds like tough love... But you are the one in the drivers seat. You must eliminate all the junk food and just stop thinking about it. No one can make you stop but yourself. While losing I had chocolate almost daily. In the form of a Fiber one 90 calorie brownie, a 40 calories sugar free fudge popsicle, a sugar free pudding cup or sugar free hot cocoa. I made it part of my 1000 calories for the day and I ate it. It was a conscious choice and I planned for it. If you want to be fat... Keep on with mindless eating. But I doubt that's what you want or you wouldn't ha e asked for help. Be strong and dig deep for the strength to make this happen

Curious as to why you are drinking 3 shakes? Not sure what kind they are or how many calories but it seems like a lot to me. of course my dr isn't an advocate of shakes.... Except on the pre op and post op liquid only diet of course..... He prefers I get my Protein from food and not shakes which pass right thru the band. At every meal I eat 3/4 oz of protein, 1/2 c of veggie/salad and 1/4 c of starch. I usually cannot finish it.

My dr said 6 months

Welcome to bandster hell.... It's the time you have to live through until you hit your green zone. That may take a few fills. I lived through it and lost by tracking my calories and portions. You can do this!!!

Mine was pretty lengthy... Random questions about behaviors, coping, dealing with stress... Relationship with food... Drug use, alcohol consumption.....that sort of thing. Just answer them honestly. I don't think there are any wrong answers.... Maybe just red flags the therapist can discuss with you

You can have it... Just no carbonation. But I would suggest you consider the calories and count them into your daily intake or may wonder why you're not losing weight.