B-52

Mine is right below the 1/4" layer of skin. It sticks out like a big lump! Like there is a golf ball there. I can rub my finger around it and feel every nook and cranny, including the tube. But that's what happens when all the fat on your belly disappears, and your stomach gets rock hard.

I don't see much Protein there! Protein can curb hunger most of the day. Without it, your body starts to scream for something (cravings) and you try to satisfy it with junk food, which only makes it scream out all the more. I start the day with about 1/2 of my required daily protein, 45gms, and that, along with the band curbing appetite, seems to take care of binging on junk food. Also, I am not so up tight that I cannot enjoy my favorite junk foods Snacks either. I still have Cookies, chips etc. It's just not overwhelm me anymore. I now eat and think the same way a skinny person does. I know plenty of skinny people who eat junk food. They are just not pigs about it.

congratulations indeed!!!! 1 year seem s to be a good milestone for a lot of people. it was for me. It's amazing what changing one's eating habits and addictions to food can do for somebody in 12 months.

I am not recommending this to anyone, you should follow your Dr.'s directions. But: I have not counted calories, or concerned myself about portion sizes since last May. Reason: My band is tight enough, and I have enough restriction,that even if I wanted to I cannot overeat. My portions are automatically controlled by the band. Plus, I am rarely hungry the majority of the time. So, if my portions and appetite are set, all I need to do is make wise food choices. I don't need to refer to a chart or labels to know what is good to eat, low cal, high Protein, and what is not. I cannot eat anything solid first thing for breakfast in the morning, so I have a high protein smoothie for 40-45 gm of protein. Not hard to make up the difference for the rest of the day. To me, that s being in the "Groove"' "Sweet Spot" "Green Zone" etc. I live a normal day to day life, not worrying about being on diets, and loosing weight without even trying.

What makes you feel you will have trouble getting anything down? How many fills have you had?

Only you can answer that question base upon your own experience on what you can or cannot eat. I always attempt to play it safe when dining out, having been stuck too many times at a public restaurant I have learned the hard way. But what I cannot eat, you may be able too and vice versa based upon how much restriction you may or may not have. When I first came off liquids to solids, there was nothing I could not eat because I had zero restriction. It was all about dieting and had nothing to do with the band.

I have noticed many people say they cannot talk while eating....I wonder why. I take so much time between bites and swallows, that If I did not have something to do between swallows, I would go nuts! I drive my wife crazy. She's trying to eat and I keep putting my fork down and talking all the time. Whats does everybody else do between bites/swallows, stare out the window? Read a newspaper? I find talking is the best way to slow down my eating, so not to eat too fast and pay the consequences.

I cannot eat anything in the morning, and have not been able to for many months now. I always have a high Protein home made smoothie for Breakfast, about 40gm of protein. I also cannot eat any red meat any longer, including pork. chicken has to be very tender, not over cooked. I don't like cold food. It's not that I can't eat eat it, it is because my tastes have changed and it no longer appeals to me. May last fill, I was extremely tight. First time I ever considered calling the Dr and perhaps getting it removed. But I stuck it out, took a few weeks for me to adjust to it. I'm glad I did. It kicked me out of that 3 month plateau I was in, and I am still loosing, although very slowly because I am already at my goal. I have 7.5 in a 10cc band. This weekend, I though maybe I was over eating, and the band felt "Loose" I think I am going to go all liquids today and see what happens come Monday.

I chose not to tell anybody, other than those very close to me, about my surgery. However, I am one of those that cannot, and will not lie to people. It just bothers the heck out of me and I cannot do it. And I would not want people lieing to me either. I took a week off work, vacation time to "take care of some personal things" People ask me everyday how did I loose so much weight. I still don't lie, I just don't tell them everything. I tell them things like "Dr.'s Orders" or "I just don't eat as much as I used to" and "Lots of protein, including protein shakes everyday"

Setting goals and deadlines are very important to a lot of people. Myself, personally, it is too much like dieting, as though I need to do something more than I already am to reach those goals. I try to live a normal day to day life, letting the band naturally control my food intake, and get as much exercise as possible. I know of a support group that has been setting monthly 10lb goals since the day they were banded. That may be all well and good, "white-knuckling" it as though it was Jenny Craig or something. They go to their Dr. and are told they are doing a good job and don't need any fills. Then they complain that the band is not working and worry they will never reach the green zone. Catch 22!

All that just from Ice Cream? I don't count calories, or measure portions. I eat just about anything I want, or the band will allow. The reason I still lost weight is because, looking at the big picture, I eat a fraction of what I used to on any given day. If I were to start gaining weight, it would simply be that I am eating more that I should. I'm not addicted to Ice Cream, but I have it 2-3 times a week. I also snack on potato chips, etc. But again, if you add it all up for a given day, it is still nothing compared to the pig I used to be. In other words, because of the band, I eat like a skinny person does. Skinny people eat ice cream too.

Do like I do and let them all get covered with chest and belly hair!!!!

Happens to me all the time, at least once or twice a month. I normally have good restriction, can feel the band with every swallow most of the time. Then all of a sudden I realize I am eating larger portions more easily. What I do is stay away from solid foods for a day or two and stay with shakes, Soups, etc, then a day of very soft foods. I believe this gives everything it a rest, perhaps shrinks the pouch, but in any case it does work for me. Some also refer to the 5 day band test, which is someone's clever way of setting up a schedule for 5 days producing the same results.

Treat the illness the same as you would if you weren't banded.

It is good to hear from other people about not being obsessed with food or eating. I have been on other websites where all they do is talk about food, share recipes, etc. I told them how, if I am busy, I can go all day and forget about eating at all! I might as well have told them I had 2 heads! They could not understand and thought I was very strange. And when I asked them what's up with all the discussions about food, well the arrows started flying! Let's face it...food is not my friend. It has gotten me in more trouble than I can think of. Since the day I was banded I began to push food way down on list of things I need to concern myself about.

I should take a picture of the pills I take every morning. Some of them very large liquid filled capsules that cannot be crushed. Bu I don't need to crush anything. I just take one pill at a time, with a drink not food, and I do just fine. I should add I have a very tight band.

I don't understand...why are you afraid to drink anything? Is it because you're afraid you might gain weight? Everybody looses weight from the post surgery diet. How can you not. After 4 weeks, I went back on regular food, and I gained weight. After that period, you are all healed, and back to NORMAL, just as you were before the surgery. You may have the band now, but it is not doing anything yet. It can take a few fills before the band gets adjusted properly and starts to do what it was supposed to do. So right now you are dieting just as though you do not have a band at all. I don't know about you, but I stink at dieting. Failed every time. If I was good at dieting, I would not have needed to get this surgey! In spite of all that, I met my weight loss goal in 13 months. So don't get discouraged this early in the game.

I have not had any bread products in almost a year. Bread, biscuits, pizza, Pasta, donuts, bagels....you name it. When you have restriction, the passage to your stomach is smaller. You need to find out for yourself, by getting stuck, what you can and cannot have. You also have to adapt to a new way of eating...like a skinny person, not a human vacuum. There are plenty of foods I no longer eat, because no hard I try or how carefully I am, they are just too risky. One of the characteristics of being in the green zone, is hat your appetite is held in check. It's not lways a feeling of being full. For me, it is a lack of interest when it comes to eating. The band sends a signal to your brain that you are full, you don't need to,eat anymore, but physically you are not full. You may not have eaten all day! This lack of interest, combined with your selection of foods, IMO, is what it is all about! You'll have to give up some foods, but you won't care because the weight will start melting off.

Type 1 or Type 2 ???

My Dr. said I MUST loose 10-15 lbs before surgery to shrink the liver, or he will have to re-schedule it. He did not care one bit how I lost it, as long as I did. Having said that, liquid - Protein shakes, work the best. So most Dr.'s cut through the Bull Crap explaining it and just say go on a liquid diet. It' easier and time saving for them to say that. \It was all about loosing the weight, NOT what I consumed. I did eat regular foods, but I was on my own about whether I wanted this surgery or not!

I'll start it off by saying your eating will come in different stages, each with their own foods and habits. 1) Pre-op diet - follow your Dr's instructions 2) Post op diet, usually 30 days, liquids, mushies, soft foods, then regular foods - follow your Dr.'s instructions 3) Standard diet based upon calories, portion sizes, etc. You do this for a few months until you get your band adjusted properly. 4) Green Zone phase, you'll figure this out when you get there!!! Now everyone else can jump in.

I was thinking the same thing as elcee. Perhaps you need some one on one counseling. You yourself admitted you have much going on in your life. Having this surgery and being successful demands one to change their life styles, and to take on new habits and new ways of looking at things. If you are distracted by other things in your life, then it's hard to focus on this. For the majority of the time, when I read posts about people who have failed with the band, there is usually something else going on in the background that causes that person to loose focus. Not always, but usually the case, as in yours.

Welcome to the club....I think it is typical for those who are at or near their goals. I have been gaining and losing the same 3-5 lbs for a while now. But it's funny that you bring up how a skinny person reacts.... I'm going on vacation soon, and in the past I have always worried about my eating, possibly. gaining weight, going off the wagon, etc, etc. But this year, on my vacation, I am going to think like a skinny person......In other words, enjoy myself, and if a gain 5 lbs in the process I will have to loose them after my vacation just as a skinny person would do! But in the background, the band will still be there. I can indulge, but never over indulge!

As I got close tommy goal, I plateaued for 2-3 months, losing and gaining the same 3-5 lbs. When I went to my Dr, we both agreed I was dong fine in the green zone. Appetite under control, portion sizes,etc. we both agreed I was fine, and there was no reason for an additional fill. But I was plateaued. So, just as a experiment, he said he would give me a 1/2cc fill. Just to see. I could come right back if it was too much. We boh agreed it was just a " see what happens" Well that was all it took to give me that kick, and the weight began to fall off again. I go back to see him I May, and I may ask to get that 1/2cc removed.

I did not wake up one day and say I'm gonna try this, but I go to a gym that has locker rooms, and I always find myself backed into a corner with little room so I started doing it out of necessity. Now it is the more common way, like skinny peoLe.