♥LovetheNewMe♥

Abby at least you are starting over and not giving up. Losing weight with lap band like everything else we all have tried. Old behaviors do not change over night and any change is hard and takes some of us longer than others. We all fall off the wagon now and then but the key is to pick your self up and move forward. What happened over the past few months is exactly that in the past. Look at today as a new beginnng and go back to the basics and follow the rules. Don;t think of this as a diet but a life style change, It is kinda like AA, you take it one day at a time and find what works best for you. Make planning your meals a priority and do inventory of your cabnets and fridge and throw away the junk. Even if you don't post everyday, read the posts on this site. You need to set some small goals and have a win and then you will fill better about yourself but foremost don't beat yourself up I am sure you have done enough of that to last you a life time. Good luck and know we are all here for you. Diane

Suzie the one thing I have learned during my first year of being banded is constant follow up with a physician. There is no magic with the band and everyone of us is so individual and we all react so differently to our fills. You had a good start but maybe when you had your band filled it was too tight, from what I have read on this site, is if your band is to tight junk food is usually easier to eat. I suggest you find a good doctor and do a follow up, don't give up, you are right the band is finicky and sometimes just needs a little more tweaking.

I will apoligize up front for my post. First and foremost I want to say, "Why are you eating spaghetti?" Spaghetti is not a protein and if you were going to eat it a cup is too much, even if your band will allow you to eat it you should have it as a side of 1/4 to a 1/2 cup and eat protein like a meat ball or something as your main course. Pasta, rice, bread all our made from white flours unless you go whole grain and they will increase in size in your stomach and make you feel very full and sometimes can even make you feel over full. None of these foods are worth the risk of causing your band to slip by over eating. If you really want spaghetti might I suggest spaghetti squash, add some sauce and a meatball or some chicken sausage. It really does taste good, try it. When you say you are still eating preband portions? Have you changed your plate size, try eating off a small plate and always measure your food. Changing eating habits and behavior is not easy and all of us struggle and back slide from time to time. But I have learned that if I do not measure I will over eat, If my band is not properly adjusted and I can eat pizza, pasta or bread, I will try and eat it. I will tell my self anything to justify why I want something or can eat it but honestly all it does is decrease my weight loss and make it that much harder to get back on track. You are not the only person struggling with the emotional side of eating, we all struggle with this if we are honest. Maybe what your body is telling you is you need to make better choices. The one thing to remember is always eat protein first, it makes you stay fuller loner, takes longer to digest and holds you between meals and keeps you from getting hungery. Good luck, you can do this.

Sounds like you are progressing well and you are correct to measure and weigh all foods, even though we all kinda know what a portion is it is better to rely on measurements to keep us honest. I continue to weigh and measure even though I am over a year out, I still think I have a tendency to guesstimate to large. As for solids they are similar to softs but require more chewing and digesting. Chicken and eggs over cooked or reheated are two foods a lot of us have problems with. Just remember to cut everything into small bites and chew, chew, chew. Good luck.

Well said, good luck on getting your approval and date set.

Shadow Stacy, along with the list of foods does this include your protein. Lean meats and fish? The protein is what will help keep you satisfied the longest between meals, it takes longer for protein to break downand digest. A lot of people are misinformed about how the band works. It does not prevent you from eating anything and it can not stop you from overeating. If the band is properly adjusted you should be satisfied with 3 meals a day and rarely eat between meals. If you drink while you eat it will wash the fluid straight through the band and also if you eat more than 3 meals a day and snack inbetween it also is harder to lose weight. I guess fortunately or unfortunately there are a lot of rules to follow and it does take discipline and life style changes. Sorry you are frustrated and I hope things get better for you.

Good luck and welcome to the family!

You should be able to eat about 2-3 ozs of protein each meal. Solid protein that is moist and well chewed. A lot of people have problems early in the morning with the band being tight but by 10 or so you should be able to eat solids. I would tell your doctor how your feeling after small amounts of solids. Your band should never restrict you from eating but should help you feel satisfied and not hungry between meals, if the band prevents you from eating than it may be to tight. Good luck hope your feeling better soon.

Those of you who have been following my blog know I am a bit of geek and sometimes spend countless hours researching ways to help myself to stay focused and be successful. I do believe there is no magic to weight loss and actually hate the word DIE..T and have removed it from my vocabulary. I do believe that being successful with Lap Band does require a life style change in eating habits and rewiring of my brain to help me to make healthy choices. I try very hard not to put myself in situations that would require me to be around junk food or foods that are not good for me. I am fully aware that only being 1 year post op and still having weight to lose to get to goal makes me vulnerable to all the horror stories of regaining what I have lost. I know the fat person still lives in the shadows and watches and waits for a weakness in my armor. I know I must be strong and must learn to live the healthy life style, by always picking the best food choices, exercising daily and always practice what I preach. I sometimes tell myself it is ok to still be overweight because I do look much better than I did a year ago but my fear is that as long as I stay overweight it will be just as easily to accept being obesity again. If I am totally honest this journey will continue for the rest of my life, because once the journey of weight loss ends than the journey of maintaining everything I have worked so hard for starts. So today on my internet travels I found a bairitric physicians web site who has published several books and one happened to be a free down load. "The Last 30 Pounds". I started reading and decided I needed to share this with all of my LapBand Family because at some point in time we will all be here and it doesn't hurt to read ahead. I know just reading a book doesn't make it happen but if you read and apply it can work. I need goals and rules, goals help me to keep focused and true to my journey. I also read several other things on this physicians web site about the yoyoing of fills and unfills and it actually made since to me. This physicians web site is one of the best I have ran onto while inquiring on success of Lap Band Patients. Here is the site and also the free down load of the "Last 30 Pounds" Check it out I think it will be worth your reading if you are struggling with losing and are feeling a little frustrated with your Lap Band Journey. We can all blame the Band or our physician for our failures or we can all take accountability for our failures and successes. As always these are my thoughts and opinions and I hope I don't piss anyone off. http://drsimpson.net/index.htm The Last 30 Pounds.pdf

Excellant post and you are correct as a team we can beat obesity. We just need to hold each other accountable and speak the truth. Good Luck to you!

It's a suture, it will either dissolve or surgeon can clip. As long as your suture line is closed you will be ok, sometimes the sutures wiggle there way to the outside.

An option to the pills is the kids medications, they do make it in granuales and also in liquids, you have to take more but it goes down easier, I got pneumonia the first winter after banding and I had o do the childrens doseage, my pharmacy helped me figure out how much to take, hope you feel better.

Happy Saturday Bandsters! Hope everyone has had a great week. I finally fell like I am getting back on track from my last fill on January 30th. This time it has taken me much longer to recover and get adjusted to my meal plan, it has been like step one learning to eat all over again. I really struggled the first couple of weeks post fill and had to rely on protein shakes more than I would have liked to but I am finally eating solids 3 meals a day, no hunger or snacking between meals and able to get at least 90% of my protein with solids. I still struggle a little in the mornings with solids, but I just keep trying and eventually I know I will be able to do breakfast of eggs again. So for now breakfast will just have to be Greek Yogurt with some additional berries and a little high protein Kashi. My weight loss since the fill has finally leveled off to about a pound a week, but the rapid weight loss during the first few weeks made my hair start to fall out again. I was bad, I did not take my vitamins like I should have and now am paying for it but have gotten back on track this past week. I went back to the gym this morning, this is the first time I have done formal exercise, except walking since my knee surgery last year in November. It felt good just to make my self go, I took it slow and did not over do it, I was a little nervous and afraid I would struggle with the knee exercises but I did well. Exercised for 40 minutes than stretched for 10-15 minutes. Great way to start a Saturday, I have decided to go to the gym on Tuesday and Thursdays after work, and Saturday mornings. I am going to try hard not to over do it like I did last time so I do not re-injure myself. I also had them to remeasure me this morning and since I started the gym last year, I have dropped 23.3 lbs and 23.75 inches, not to bad since I have not exercised since September of last year. I think the most dramatic drop has been my waist and my bust. I have dropped my waist from 40 inches to 33 inches and 5 inches off my bust. Needless to say, it is time to buy bras again... Again I could put my husbands tube socks in to fill out the cups. I really need to work on my thighs, honestly out of all of my saggy body parts, I hate my upper inner thighs. If anyone has any good suggestions for some great exercises for the inner thighs let me know, I am going to concentrate on the legs so at least I won't look to much like a Shar Pia this summer. This week I was reading the blogs and really liked one that (MorelGirl) I think the blog was timely and could really hit home for a lot of us, Logical Me and Emotional Me. That blog really hit home for me, logically I always know what I should be doing but emotionally sometimes it is so difficult to remember everything I am suppose to do and not allow the emotional side win over the logical side. Take for instance, waiting so long to get a fill, I knew for months I needed a fill, but kept telling myself, you can do this, you can manage your portions, you know what to eat. Well logically, yes I do know what to eat, but it was nice to eat what everyone else was eating, little pizza, little bread, little pasta. Even thought I did not gain weight, I was not losing, I had convinced myself I was just at a plateau but honestly that was emotional me trying to convince logical me that it was OK to eat that stuff. So I will not cry over spilled milk and I will not lose anymore time feeling sorry for time lost. I am refocused, back on track and will faithfully blog and be accountable to myself. It is so easy to drift back into bad habits, and thank you Morel Girl for snapping me back into reality. So since I am back in the Green Zone and back on track I am posting a few tips for all of us to learn to live by. Please learn from my mistakes, do not give up on the band, remember to use it as the tool it was designed to be. If your adjustments are not quite right keep going back and insisting they get them right. Remember it is not the amount in your band but how you respond to the amount in your band. It takes some of us longer than others to get to our "sweet spot", some just need a little adjustment, some need more. Stay in touch with your surgeon and attend the support groups locally if you can, support is important because even though our family and friends support us if they have never been "overweight" really they can not help us or identify with us. Remember we are all individuals and we will all lose weight and have different amounts in our bands, we should never compare the amounts in our bands, we are indivduals and will all respond differently to the lap band. The most improtant thing we can do is learn from others successes and failures. Standing alone sometimes we may feel powerless but as a group we are strong and very powerful. Have a great weekend friends. Love and Good Luck to all, Diane Lifestyle Guidelines After LAP-BAND® Surgery 10 Tips for healthy living Here are ten simple but important tips that will help you achieve your weight loss goals with the LAP-BAND® System. Remember, your success depends a lot on your ability to commit to a new way of eating — and embrace your new way of living. Show All 1. Aim to eat three small meals a day. The LAP-BAND® System creates a small stomach pouch that can hold about one-quarter cup (approx. 2 oz) of food. Eating more can stretch the stomach, canceling the effect of your procedure. 2. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly. Food can only pass through the new stomach opening (or “stoma”) if it has been chewed into very small pieces (about 15–20 times per bite). 3. Stop eating as soon as you feel satisfied. Once your stomach pouch is full, your body receives a signal that you have eaten enough. If you rush through your meal, you may overeat before this signal reaches your brain. 4. Avoid or limit drinking before or during meals. If you drink in the 15 to 20 minutes before, or during, your meal, the food you eat becomes liquid and the effectiveness of the LAP-BAND® System is greatly reduced. Take only small sips with meals. 5. Limit eating between meals. Snacking between meals is one of the major reasons for weight loss failure. You should not feel hungry between meals. If you are, it’s a good idea to keep healthy snacks on hand. Remember, to listen to your band to stay in the Green Zone. You may need an adjustment if you are persistently hungry. 6. Eat only good-quality, nutritious food. Your meals should be high in protein and vitamins. Don’t fill up on high-sugar, high-fat “junk” foods which lack the important vitamins and nutrients you need. Talk to your doctor to determine the right nutrition and vitamin supplement plan for you. 7. Avoid fibrous food. In general, foods that contain many fibers, like asparagus, can block the stoma. Even with thorough chewing, saliva sometimes cannot break the fibers down enough for them to pass. Try cooking fibrous foods well, then cut them into very small bites and chew them thoroughly. You’ll soon learn what your body can and cannot tolerate. 8. Drink enough fluids during the day. Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water daily, in small amounts, all day long (but not right before, during or after meals). This helps you stay hydrated and eliminate waste from your body. 9. Drink only low-calorie liquids. If you drink high-calorie liquids (even healthy ones like fruit juice) you may not lose weight, even if you are following your diet with good, band-friendly eating habits. 10. Keep moving. This is an important tip. Physical activity burns calories and increases weight loss. Once your doctor clears you to exercise, aim for 30 to 45 minutes of moderate to high activity, 3 to 5 times a week. A lot of calorie-burning activities can be fun and rewarding.

Glad your doing well, just make sure you get plenty of liquids in so you do not get dehydrated. Keep us updated on your progress, good luck.

I know how you feel been there before and it is amazing how such a small amount can make such a difference, when I was overfilled it was only ,2cc's. that just seems unreal to me but it did make a big difference. Those 2 lbs will come back off, good luck.

Good Luck and keep up the good work.

Great progress, I totally understand the "TMI", I have plenty of bodily noises that I make now that I just except and move on. Sounds like you are doing well with your proteins and liquids. I remeber thinking in the early days how would I ever get in all that protein, I was barely drinking or taking in 400 calories a day but it gets easier over time. Good Luck.

Love your post, right on target and so real for many of us!

@ Bert, jitters can be a number of things, but low blood sugar comes to mind first. When you eat protein it takes your body longer to break them down than carbohydrates and your body can use these foods for fuel. If we eat foods that are simple carbohydrates, chips, crackers, popcorn, bread etc our bodies break these down faster and we get hungery again sooner than we should. Even though we have the band to help curb our hunger and reduce our intake we still have to think about what where eating and strive to eat 3 well balanced meals a day and if we do snack we should make the snack a protein not a carbohydrate, nuts, cheese, deli meats, beef jerky, peanut butter, etc. If we can eat these types of snacks in 1oo cals or less they will help keep us from straving and eating the other types of foods. Unfortunately even though the band is a big help, we all still have a lot of bad nutrition behaviors to unlearn, I agree with above statement about tracking what we eat, I track all my intake on myfitnesspal.com. It helps me but don't get caught up in the number of pounds it says you should loss. Use it to make sure you are eating what you should.

Are you getting all of your daily alloted protein? Weight loss witht the band works better if you make sure you get from60-70 gms of protein a day, a shake for breakfast, soup and salad for lunch and popcorn for breakfast is not well balanced and you hair will fall out if you do not eat protein. Sorry don't mean to preach but first food to reach for every meal should be protein and if there is room left than the veggies and fruits and starches. Remember the band can only do half the work the other part is changing our behavior to making healthy choices and this is the hardest part for all of us. Good Luck.

Well bandster family, I hope many of you took the time yesterday to spend Valentines Day with someone you love and who has supported you. I got up early yesterday, 5am and baked Valentine's for my wonderful Husband, Son and staff. I made vanilla cupcakes with marshmallow cream center, butter cream frosting and decorated with edible glitter and hearts and kisses. Now I know my friends here are saying, WTF is wrong with Diane, she is suppose to be making better choices. I love to bake and I believe it is OK for me to have a taste of something sinful like a cupcake once in a while. It is only a problem if I bake and eat the whole recipe. Actually I enjoyed less than a quarter of a cupcake and I was very satisfied. Tonight I want to share what a wonderful Valentine's Day I had with my hubby, we got all dressed up and went out to dinner and a comedy show at a place here in our local town of Greenville, SC. "Café and then Some" and saw a show called "Life after Oprah" I have never laughed so hard. We joined our best friends, my girl friend had a gastric sleeve about 6 months after my lap band surgery so we are the perfect friends who can share a meal. The night did not start out to well for me, I had two bites of salad and it got stuck, it took about 3 trips to the bath room to get it unstuck but than I was able to enjoy a wonderful appetizer of 3 succulent broiled scallops wrapped in Bacon with a Hollandaise sauce. I left the bacon but the scallops were delicious and so moist and juicy. I had one small glass of Pino Noir and a strawberry dipped in chocolate for desert. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was a wonderful evening, I enjoyed my meal the company and we looked smashing if I do say so myself. I am attaching a couple of pic's one from 2 years ago when I was as my hubby puts it Large and in charge and one from tonight. Life and living with Lap Band is possible and we can all do this if we believe in ourselves. Now you tell me, does lap band work. I say, oh hell yes it does. I think I look pretty good for a 56 year old lady. Remember Lap Band Friends and Family this is a journey! All of us can do this, with time, dedication and support of the ones we love.

Well banster family, I hit a new milestone today I wanted to share. I had a check up with the doctor and when I weighed in today, I am no longer obese,I am now just over weight. Now only my bandster family can appreciate what that means. I started this journey 14 months ago and at that time by the charts I was considered morbidly obese. Needless to say I am very excited. To reach my goal I only need to loss 12 additional pounds, now to no longer be considered over weight I would need to loose an additional 26lbs. My doctor and I decided on a weight based on my bone structure and muscle mass. Now that being said I never started this journey to be thin, my Goal; was to be healthy. It feels good to have energy and not longer have knees that hurt all the time. I feel very blessed to have done so well this passed year and am thankful for my supporting husband and family and for my wonderful surgeon for always being understanding. I never considered skinny and me in the same sentence and it still bothers me when people say I am skinny. I am by no means skinny, they were just so use to seeing me "Healthy" aka Fat that I do look "Skinny". Today people said," now your not going to lose more weight are you because you sure look skinny". So I replied, Yes I do plan to lose a few more pounds because I am still above the goal my physician and I have set. Well that just lead to well, you don't want to lose too much more, you don't want to look old. OMG! Did the forget I am old, and I would rather be think and old than obese and old. So I ask "What does skinny actually mean?" Below are the definitions for Skinny and Overweight. Definition of SKINNY Definition: 1: resembling skin : membranous 2 a: lacking sufficient flesh : very thin : emaciated b: lacking usual or desirable bulk, quantity, qualities, or significance Definition: Overweight refers to an individual weighing 10% or more of what is considered his or her recommended healthy weight I actually think I take more offense to being called skinny then to being called overweight.... emaciated. Boy I never thought anyone would use that word to describe me. When I think emaciated, I have an image in my mind of a someone who is so thin you can count their ribs. Now I may be thinner but believe me you can not count my ribs and baby still got Back! Now for those of you just starting your journey, you are probably thinking what is this women ranting about, but seriously can no one give a compliment these days. If you can't say something nice to someone just keep your mouth closed, thank you. Well I feel better now and I will continue on my journey and will stop losing when my physician and I feel I am at a healthy weight for my body type. Thanks for Listening and allowing me to rant. Good luck to all of my bandster family, keep motivated, focused and all dreams can come true with dedication and time.

Your feelings are normal and it is worth it. You really can do this and once on your journey you will ask why did I not do this sooner. We were all scared, this is a big step, you have made a decesion to make a hugh change that will impact the rest of your life for the better. Good Luck and keep us in the loop.

Good Luck!

The first month or so after surgery I had soreness and pain around my port site. Remember they had to make a place in your abdominal fat to secure your band to so a little soreness and pain is normal. That is one reason they tell us not to bend over(from the waist, squat instead) the first six weeks post op. Also no heavy lifting. As far as chocking and difficutly swallowing, everyone is different. All surgeons have different post op diets, some keep you on clear liquids and full liquids longer. Mine allowed me to eat solids after 10 days. I had to use my pain medication off and on for the first week to 10 days and the medication for nauesa for the first month. If you really feel uncomfortable, call your surgeon, that is why we pay them the big bucks. Your surgeon or office should be avalibe to answer your questions and concerns. The pain does get better and you barely notice you have a port unless you bump it. Some times my panty hose or a skirt or pants that are to tight can make my port hurt. When was your surgery? Have you been back to your WLS for posp op check up? Good Luck!