JerseyGirl80

My thoughts exactly Jenn. NJGirl32, Apparently your husband just doesn't get it. We make it through those tough pre-op weeks because we know what the pay off is, if we weren't getting a band we'd never survive those weeks of starvation!lol Remember, you're doing this for you, not him. The whole thing is a learning process for you and for him, hopefully he will learn over time what the band is, does and means. It sounds like he can be very discouraging. No offense to you at all, but if my boyfriend had that attitude about it he wouldn't be in my life. If it was easy to lose weight and keep it off for everyone we'd all be thin and the lap band wouldn't exist. Most of us have struggled all our lives or most of our lives with weight. I've done weight watchers 6 times, and gained whatever I've lost back and then some each time. I got the band for more help, to have "portion control installed" because I obviously couldn't control myself at times. Now that I'm banded I'm doing WW again, not to lose weight either (obviously it helps but I'm not feeling like I've hit rock bottom and have no where else to turn as I've done so many times before when I signed up for WW.) I'm doing it just for the support and the accountability, it keeps me motivated. Sorry, I'm going a little off topic here.. Anyway, I've heard negative things like this from co-workers, strangers, "friends", or shall I say THIN people or jealous/insecure FAT people, and it really annoys me! Just do what's right for you and what you want, don't lose focus on that! Good luck to you!

Where in NJ are you located? I use Dr. Goyal at NJ Bariatric Center in Union, I believe they also have an office in Hoboken. So far I've had a wonderful experience with them. Great bedside manor especially Dr. Jack, maybe I'm biased but her being a woman puts me a little more at ease. But Dr. Jack, Dr Goyal and Dr Forrester are all great personable doctors. They have a wonderful caring staff, even down to the billing personal, if you are self pay they really try to give you options you can handle. Very nice and supportive on site nutrionists, they also have support meetings once a month. I have a realize band, they deal with both realize and lapband patients. I don't know if they take patients that were previously banded under other doctors though, but if you are in the area it's worth a try. Good luck to you!

I just recently went back too for the accountability. I've lost some weight since going back, I'm not eating all my points but I'm eating much more than I was just focusing on the "band diet". It is quite strange, I just think I'm paying more attention to the quality of the foods I'm eating. I was never a calorie counter whenever I've dieted pre and post band but have always been able to take off weight when I payed more attention to my choices. I love WW, always have, but after months of losing, all 6 times I joined prior to surgery, I'd always fall off the wagon and send my portion control out the window. Now I've had portion control installed lol so I'm hoping this time I'll be more successful. Geez, 7 times at WW, that's so bad! lol

Congratulations, this is an exciting time as well as a frustrating one. From what I've been told by my Docs and other members on this site, and speaking from experience, the first month or so should be focused on recovery and getting to know your band not really the weight loss. I didn't get my first fill for 6 weeks after surgery because I was still in the healing process. The limbo you're feeling can last a few weeks or even months, everyone is different, some of us never experience that feeling, some of us are losing and never need a fill and some of us need several. You must be patient you are only a week post-op . I lost 12 pounds my first week (fluids only) my second week (mushies) I gained a few back, but luckily they came off the following week. Do not get too hung up on the weight loss so early in the game, weight is a crazy thing and can go up and down until the band is working with you. The weight is not magically going to fall off, this is a process. Although you may feel perfectly fine, you are still healing inside. My doctors said no heavy activity or lifting for 6 weeks, I too felt I could move around like normal so 4 weeks after surgery I decided to take the garbage out and I hurt myself, so be careful. Just take it easy, get to know your new tummy and allow yourself to heal. My advice to you now during your limbo period is to be careful with the food choices you make. The majority of any weightloss between now and when you reach your sweet spot might be on you. A month after surgery I was able to eat as much food with as much ease as I did before my band, that was scary, but after a fill (and now 3 fills) I can only eat half to a 3rd of what I ate before and it's wonderful. BTW my first fill was 4ccs and 1cc for fills #2 and #3. They were all 4-6 weeks apart. I now have 6cc's in an 11cc band. Good luck to you and remember to be patient.

Clothes are loose Some clothes that didn't fit last year do now I had to get a ring guard because my ring kept slipping off I can cross my legs again I don't get as winded climbing stairs I can walk for hours (shopping) without any pains I can fit in Victoria's Secret panties I'm noticing men are paying attention to me again, this has been pretty exciting.. even though I have a wondeful man it sure feels good to be noticed again lol My 8 and 9 year old neices noticed that I'm smaller and they're excited about it, that kinda meant alot more than when adults notice. I can't wait for more NSV, I've only just begun. Thank you for this post, I was feeling a little bummed today as I feel like I haven't lost any weight in about a month, I'm getting frustrated. But looking at my list has reminded me of how far I've come.

My Doc's also said no liquid calories. But, I always have Protein shakes for Breakfast as I am tighter in the mornings and don't have time to sit and baby my band so I can eat, I told them this and they are fine with it. I think really what they mean by no liquid calories is no sugary drinks/juices/milkshakes. I use Pure Protein brand pre-made shakes in a can. Sometimes I have them right from the can or add them to ice and frozen fruit in the blender to bulk them up. They keep me full until lunch. They're only 120 calories, 1.5 grm fat, 1 grm sugar and 23 grms of protein. I think they taste much better than any of the powdered ones I've tried. Although it is best to eat real foods when you can and not drink shakes, when you're hungry it's quick and easy and can save you from unnecessary grazing on crap foods in between meals. I actually like drinking them. I get enough protein with the foods I eat but on days when I'm extra hungry I grab a shake as a snack instead of chips or chocolate like I used to. Or sometimes I'll have a Chobani yogurt (which have 12-15 grams of protein depending on the flavor) for breakfast or snack in place of my shakes, so that's also an option. I get interragated when I see my doctor too, she actually apoligized and said she asks because she wants to know what to tell her patients when they ask certain questions. She said she can give them all the medical answers and advice she can but can never truely tell them what it's like to live with a band. She always wants to know what I'm doing food wise and how I'm feeling, blah blah. She actually said that alot of patients just don't "get it" and have a hard time with their bands. Thankfully I'm doing pretty well with mine, so far.

Anything fried and or crunchy! Doritos and chocolate! If I could dip doritos in chocolate I'd be in heaven!

I'm frustrated for you, but do not give up on yourself. I have to agree with elcee's post. Are you eating less of regular foods or eating less lower fat/higher Protein foods?, that could make a big difference. Or maybe just changing your food routine would help? You could possibly have metabolic endocrine problems that are causing you to store fat. I have PCOS, my doctors pretty much told me losing weight on my own would be next to impossible, which is the main reason I had surgery. Hormones have alot to do with our weight and so does diabetes. Alot of us become diabetic because we are fat, and the diabetes does a good job of keeping us that way. I am insulin resistant/pre-diabetic due to my PCOS, this problem I have had since puberty has sabotaged every single "diet" I've been on since I was 14, I'm 31 now. Before surgery unless I busted my ass working out and eating like a rabbit I'd gain weight. So far the band has helped me, this is why I feel your frustration. I can only imagine how upsetting it is to struggle with weight as you have, only to continue to struggle after gaining the courage and making the step to take control by having surgery. I'm so sorry you are going through this. Do not hide from your doctors out of shame. See them and try to figure out what you can do. Go to support meetings, manage your band. I would never tell anyone to have WLS regardless if it's the band, the sleeve or the bypass. But are you completely against bypass? Some people are extremely happy with their results. Maybe you have other medical problems working against you and the band just isn't enough to help. Don't blame yourself, you know what you have done, you know if you have worked hard or not and you know if you have made mistakes or not. Maybe the band did fail you because of medical conditions that you cannot control. Don't hide and don't let it bring you down. Speaking from experience being upset about your weight, hiding and feeling ashamed can only aid in making you put more weight on. I wish I could give you better advice or the right answers. But I do wish you luck and hope you find the answers you are looking for. DO NOT give up!

I hope you're feeling better soon!! From reading around the site hunger is normal, it could even be head hunger. It takes a while to realize the difference between head and real hunger. I didn't start getting REALLY hungry for at least 3-4 days after surgery, but everyone is different. Jello and Protein shakes helped me alot in the begining, 5 months post-op and I still have them (Protein Shakes) for Breakfast everyday. I don't have any recipes, but sodium free bouillon helped alot too, it tricked my little belly into thinking I was eating because it tastes like real Soup. I sooo looked forward to this everyday while I was on liquids! Herb Ox is the brand I use (it's powdered, not cubed), (don't know what stores you have by you) but I've gotten it at Shoprite and Whole Foods. I'm sure other brands make sodium free bouillion too though. I still drink them in the afternoons when I get a little hungry, it helps curb my appettite. If you have questions or need any ideas of what to eat or how to make things taste better feel free to ask anytime! Good luck! Hope this helps!

My advice to you would be to get walking as soon as you can and drink as much as you can. I was up and moving in about 45 minutes after I woke up from surgery. If you do get gas pains, (if ok'ed by your Doc, use Gas-X strips) this along with the walking will help loosen it up and get it moving on out. The worst part of my surgery was the gas, the pain was terrible for about a week but I'd go through it all again in a heart beat. I survived lol. The only other pain I had was what felt like I did a million sits ups, just ab muscle pain. For me, recovery was alot easier and faster than I thought it would be. I hope it goes well and keep us posted! BTW I was so scared and nervous for the last 3 days before surgery, but once I was out on the table, it was easy breezy lol.. Good luck! You'll do great!

My starting weight was pretty close to yours and I've lost 46lbs, alot of my tight clothes are still tight and most of my clothes that fit perfectly before fit almost the same now. I guess this is normal. I've also kinda been the same size in clothing for the last 10 years, and in that 10 years (not counting current weight loss) I gained 100lbs. So size can be a strange thing, I feel smaller but my clothes pretty much feel the same. Although I do need smaller underwear..

I've done weight watchers with the band and without it, and I love it, I think when it comes to any plan it's best to eat your own food and not pre-packaged garbage. WW charges about $40 for a monthly pass or about $10 to $13 if you pay weekly, I personally think it's worth it because you learn so much it keeps you accountable, you make your own food choices and you buy your own real food. I've done Nurtisystem (before the band). I did it with 3 other friends and each one of us thought 90% of the food was disgusting. It was $300 for a months worth of food, so not worth it when you still need to buy all your own veggies, fruits and dairy products. We also maybe ate only a weeks worth of food because we all got sick from it. We all had stomach cramping, really bad and uncontrollable gas, and not to sound disgusting but it totally gave all of us strange colored diarrhea. I really don't know how anyone can go on TV raving about it when 4 out of 4 of us got sick from it. Hope this helps. Good luck!

I don't want to scare you but my first fill hurt. The Doctor said sometimes the first time it's difficult to find the port due to scar tissue. I don't know if she just said that to cover herself, but she sprayed me with some numbing stuff and I didn't feel much at first but it was uncomfortable. She took it out and tried again. By the second stick the numbness wore off and it hurt, i felt everything including her struggling to find my port. She had to call in the head Doctor to do it, he found it no problem but his stick hurt too because, again, the numbing agent had worn completely off by then. So, with my first time I definately felt it and it didn't tickle, but Every Body is different so some of us will never experience that kind of discomfort. And for the record, I'm not a baby when it comes to pain, so if it hurt me, it hurt. But I survived and that little bit of pain was worth it. With my second fill I made sure I was nice and numbed up, I felt a little pinch but it was nothing really. My third fill was even better. So don't be scared, if it hurts just keep in mind what the pay off is and know that it gets easier. Good luck!

You seem to be doing great. I've been losing 5-7 pounds a month since my surgery in December and my doctors are very happy with it, they say I'm right on track. Slow weight loss is the way to go! Of course I would love to lose much faster but weightloss is weightloss and I'm happy with things so far. Some of us are just a little faster than others. From snooping around the site it seems those that have alot more weight (100lbs+) to lose seem to be the ones losing the fastest, that's just what I've noticed, but that's not everyone. Every Body is different and the rate you are losing is right on point, you are doing better than I am! Good luck to you!

My doc didn't say not to but didn't recommend it either. The nutrionist said if I want to drink soda to wait for it to go a little flat first. I have no problems with carbonated beverages, I certainly can't guzzle them down like before or drink them real fast as soon as I pop open a can but I can still enjoy them within reason. BTW, I only drink sugar free things, "don't drink your calories" I guess some Doc's are very against it because it can cause pain for some people, it may cause some stretching and hurt the stomach if taken in too fast. I can't drink really fizzy things with food, it hurts and will come back up. Doc's probably just want patients to avoid that all together.

Hey everyone! I'm joining WW for the millionth time again (my first time post-band though). I'm losing weight on my own but really loved WW's old program and wanted to learn the new one as a guide for my meal plans since it now incorporates carbs and proteins when determining point value. Is anyone else using the new program and if so what do you think of it?

Wonderful, this is exciting and inspirational! Thank you for sharing with us, I can't wait to have 100lbs gone forever too!

I've always liked the Weight Watchers point system, it's always worked for me, while I stuck to it. Once you stray from the program the weight comes back. Those that get frustrated with that have to realize, once you stop eating healthy, which is what WW teaches you to do, you WILL gain the weight back. And for me, from doing it through the years ALOT of good habits stuck permanently, like 8 glasses of Water, reading labels, never drinking my calories, having balanced meals ect. Alot of us have no clue as to how to eat the right way, and in my experience with nurtionists telling me to eat this and not that, I've learned nothing I didn't already know. $75 a session for them to tell me what is common sense, they didn't teach me how to do it or how to read labels or how to count anything other than calories, but WW did. Eating right isn't just about counting calories, theres so much more to it. People think calculating points is annoying and too much of a hassle, but it really isn't, at first it may seem overwhelming but after a while you don't even think about it. WW is not for everyone, I love it because it keeps me on track and helps me stay accountable, focused and I enjoy the support at the meetings. To me it isn't dieting, it's eating healthy, it's just another tool or a guide or a helpful suggestion, or whatever you want to call it, and it works if you put your all into it. Just like the band it's not a magic overnight fix but the combination of the 2 can offer wonderful results. The alloted points will probably be way to much for us to eat but it's ok, they won't take us out back for a beating if we don't get all our points in lol. It's the learning part and the accountablity part that, I think, makes WW work. The problem I've always had was over eating, I would just eventually tire of smaller portions and just want to stuff myself, which is why I failed WW the 6 times I did it, pre-banding. But now, thanks to my band I can't do that anymore. I like to think that "I have had portion control installed". My feeling on WW is that it teaches you how to eat the right way, the healthy way. If anyone is considering doing it for the first or the 10th time, do it, it doesn't hurt. I'm going back myself tonight and I'm so excited to learn the new plan as it now incorporates carbs and Proteins to determine point value! Good luck everyone!

Hello and welcome. This isn't an easy decison to make, this is life altering so be sure to do your research and talk to as many banded people as possible, this journey is different for all of us. I came to my final decision for a number of reasons, but having PCOS (like you), that was a big factor for me. The struggles of PCOS are enough to make anyone crazy, espcially the weight gain end of it. For me it basically came down to either... A. continuing to yo-yo diet for the rest of my life like I had been for the last 15 years and end up just getting bigger and more unhealthy. Or B. swallowing my pride and admitting to myself that I couldn't do it on my own and that I needed help. So on Dec 13th 2010, I was banded. I know that was a chance and I may fail at this, but I really felt there was no other choice for me. I had dieted and worked out, and dieted and worked out, over and over since I was 15yrs old, and frankly I was tired. I was ready to give up myself. Until my boyfriend, knowing I had been thinking about surgery for years, encouraged me to go to a seminar. So anyway, to me it was taking a 50/50 shot on succeeding with this surgery or 100% shot at failing on my own again. So far it's been worth the shot. I've lost 39lbs and I'm feeling so much better and my clothes are starting to fall off me. I'm not embarrased to be out in public anymore, and not embarrased to go to a bar with my girlfriends and just enjoy myself. I am starting to find 'happy' again. It's not easy and my band isn't doing all the work, but it sure is helping me do things I never thought possible. I know this story is different for everyone, and I'm still just starting out but as of today I wouldn't change a thing about my decision. Good luck to you!

I did not have a pre-op diet. My surgery was rushed at the last minute due to insurance issues, it happened a month sooner than planned. Anyway, I only had 9 days to eat a healthy diet before surgery. I didn't follow any strict plan, the doctors and nutritionist told me to follow a low fat diet as best as I could, which was basically the diet I had been following all along. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

My Doc recommended MiraLAX. I'm sensitive to laxatives and usually get really bad cramps for a few days after taking them, but not with this it's very gentle.

I thought the majority of the food was disgusting, and I'm not a picky eater, very few items were tolerable. I also think I'm sensitive to soy, all of it has soy, it gave me major bathroom issues. 3 of my friends did it with me and we all felt the same way about the taste/quality, and the food effected us all the same way in the bathroom. It also gave us uncontrolable gas, it would happen wherever and whenever it wanted with no warning.. I bought 6 weeks worth of food and maybe ate 2 weeks worth. those 2 weeks were torture. To me it was a huge waste of money and I gained the 12 pounds I lost back right away. I wouldn't feed it to a stray dog in all honesty. It's also still high in sodium, I would have been better off just eating all food and snacks made by weight watchers and least those taste pretty good.

I'm sorry for your loss, but at least he is at peace now. What a wonderful gift from what sounds like a wonderful father. My father passed away dec 2009, he was very sick for about a year after having a heart attack. We talked about me getting surgery many times and he said he'd do anything to help me get it, he just wanted me to be healthy and happy. Towards the end I found out he had been saving all of his social security for the last few years for me. My insurance paid for most of it but not all, so what he left me helped. Thank you for this post, it made me think of my Daddy and how selfless he was for me. Congratulations and best of luck to you!

I said the same thing to myself when I bought a bag of cat food, that was about 20lbs. It really puts things in perspective. Congratulations on your loss!

Good question. I think if you are still losing weight, and you are accounting for the calories I don't see a problem with having that much as a snack, but I would try to stick to a serving size (whatever that is). Popcorn is so fluffy and airy so my thinking is that 2 cups popped really isn't all that much. I know for me pretty much any crunchy snack food goes down no problem and I can just keep eating it, so I have to limit myself to serving sizes. It wouldn't hurt to ask your nutritionist about it. Every one is different in what they eat, how they are eating it and how much that are eating of it, what works for one may not work for another.