Woodslass

Just checking in - how is everyone doing? I went on vacation this month for 2 weeks to visit relatives, and had a family reunion and a wedding to go to as well while I was there. I gained 5 lbs but lost it again after I got home - I think some of it was probably Water weight as well. While I was there, I took my gym clothes and went walking every other morning, so that definitely helped! I admit I ate anything and everything I wanted, just in moderation, and I only had two episodes of PBing so that was great. I weighed myself this morning and my 10 lbs for the month are now gone, and actually I lost 5 of those twice! I think things are getting easier with me. I still haven't had a fill past my third one which was 1/2 a cc, I'm still not exercising as much as I should, but I'm 60 lbs down now and still on track. The holiday season is approaching and I'm not even scared of it - how about you?

WOOHOO! Congrats Brenda, you are an inspiration

Doreenviv, I had the same problem for a while about needing to PB right after I started eating. I think I was doing it just about every day for months, and when I talked to my surgeon about it, he explained it like this. Your stomach has three strong muscles around it. These muscles are the ones that contract and relax, moving food through your system (and also cause your tummy to "growl" when you're hungry). For a Bandster, we often don't have a lot in the stomach if we are not snacking between meals. When you sit down to eat a meal, these muscles are eager to go to work and are very stimulated when you smell the food, see the food, and first bite goes in and chewing starts. The stomach anticipates the food about to arrive and the muscles clench up all the way to the opening of the band. So if you eat too fast, with bites that are too large, the food can't go down at all and you'll start sliming and usually end up bringing it back up. My surgeon told me that the first 2 to 5 bites are critical in a meal. So, what I've done is literally take a pea-sized bite as my first five bites, and take about 30 seconds between those bites with my fork down. I chew until it's disintegrated, and I'm not really swallowing as much as it just disappears. Once my stomach realizes that there's more food coming, it relaxes and I'm able to eat and not PB. This may not work for everyone, but it took me five months to finally get some answers to this and I have not PB'd since I started doing this except for some scrambled eggs the other morning (which I'm always tight in the morning and usually I don't eat at all). I also found that definitely not drinking during a meal has helped and was also a cause of PBing - I make sure I don't accidentally drink by not even having a drink next to my plate. If I dump a bunch of liquid on top of anything I definitely will be seeing it again! As for the two hamburgers - I haven't been able to sucessfully eat white soft bread since the day I was banded, but that's just me. With fills, your band opening is about the circumference of your pinky finger - it's not easy to get larger items down it, especially if it swells up. Good luck, I hope this helps you as it helped me!

Congrats, I know it's been a long frustrating road for you - I am very happy for you!

I'm still here too. I've lost a little over 50 lbs since my surgery on April 4th. I had been pretty steady at 10 lbs a month until this month when I only lost 4. I went in last Thursday and confessed that I had been PBing a lot over the last few weeks and I had fallen off the wagon a bit - was eating more carbs and exercise was pretty non-existent. I had a rough month with travelling for work - it's freaking impossible when you are in a business meeting for 9 hours and the only thing at lunch is catered Olive Garden. I had the salad but I needed the Protein to make me full - and left the Protein Bars at home - and ended up eating raviolis. I also must say that I still am not exercising hardly at all, because I just can't stand to get all sweaty. Doc told me to not get sweaty, I'm not trying to get in shape so I don't need to get the heart pumping and the sweat pouring, just get out and walk and do it for a sustained amount of time. So the next morning I took the dogs for a walk around the park near our house and back. I was a little sweaty but at least I was walking for 30 minutes. Going to do it again tomorrow I also found that I still am not eating small enough bites - it was explained to me (finally, after 5 months) that the first 3 to 5 bites have to be extra small and far apart and chewed to death. When there's nothing in the pouch or the stomach, the first bite causes the three muscles around the stomach to clench in anticipation, and that's when I found I would PB. So I've been in a near-constant state of swelling in my pouch for the last few months, which explains a lot. Since the visit (I had no fill and he didn't take any out) I haven't PB'd at all because I'm really watching those first few bites. Hurray! Swelling must be going down and I'm trying to pay more attention to eating protein. I'm finding that I'm still addicted to carbs, mainly bread. I haven't had rice or Pasta (except those two raviolis on my business trip0 or shrimp for months, but dammit I just can't stay away from the crackers and bread. Doc just flat out told me I need to get away from the bread and suck it up for a few weeks until the cravings go away - I keep trying but still find myself trying to eat it. You'd think I'd learn but I guess that's what addiction is all about. I've been good about no soda - haven't had anything carbonated since February 2nd. Not drinking my calories at all except a cup of coffee maybe twice a week with a spoonful of sugar. Otherwise I drink at least 6 16.9 oz bottles of Water a day, and even a diet Snapple here and there. It's those damn carbs! I am going to a family reunion in two weeks to Kentucky - where everything my relatives make is battered, buttered, fried and oh, so bad for me. I'm counting on my husband to yank me away from the trough...

At this point I don't think it matters how slow you are running - you're getting exercise. If you were trying to build muscle or "get fit" then actually doing it in a set time would be key; however, your goal (I assume) is weight loss. I just had a discussion with my doctor last Thursday and told him how much I hate getting sweaty. He looked surprised and told me that I didn't need to sweat, I just needed to move. He explained that just the effort of walking at a normal pace for a sustained amount of time would do me much better than going fast and getting sweaty and feeling like I'm going to pass out. So now I take the dogs for a walk around the park and come home instead of getting on the treadmill and trying to kill myself

Thanks everyone!

Thought I'd share my own before and after, 52 lbs down since lap band surgery. I've gone down three sizes, from a 30/32 to a 22/24. The pants I'm wearing in my After shot were given to me by my sister, who has always (I think) consoled herself that at least she wasn't as overweight as I was....well that's no longer the case, since I'm wearing her clothes (muhuahahahah!) The before picture is from the night before I started my 2 week pre-op diet before surgery on April 5, 2011.

If the calories are low, I say go for it

Fantastic, Rachel! I'm so proud of you - I also passed my 50 lb mark just last night. I'll see if my husband can dig out the photos he took of me before surgery and get him to take some tonight so I can do some comparison too:) You look mahvelous, dahling!

I would say it really depends on the calories, fat and nutrition you get from those vs a red snapper filet or slice of grilled salmon. Do you not usually like fish and that's why you want them in something that tastes like junk food? I haven't tried them. I usually treat myself to a really nice piece of fish - I'll go to Whole Foods and choose a salmon filet from the butcher case, or some fresh red snapper or haddock, and either grill it on a plank on the barbeque, bake it with white wine and lemon in foil, or pan sear it. I'm trying like crazy to stay away from extra carbs.

Yes, I still would have done it. I feel it was the first step in taking control of my weight and not letting it control me. I still have to watch what I eat, I still have to make decisions about exercise, calories in/calories out, and I've had to make lifestyle changes. It was all worth it.

Dr. Gerald Kirshenbaum, Denver Colorado - Lapband of the Rockies. Still $9,950 for everything, including first three months of fills. Fills after that are $30. And if you go in and don't get a fill, you don't get charged anything. He's fantastic

That's like asking if I feel like a fraud because I color my hair, or wear makeup. HELL NO I don't feel like a fraud. I worked for every pound I've lost, and I want people to notice and compliment me, and tell me how good I look. It keeps me going!