Dibley Dawn

I know i've said this on the boards somewhere before, but I'll say it again, and again, it's only my personal experience and may not be what other banders have experienced. i am (or was) a bulk eater. i'm not a picker or grazer, but if a plate is in front of me i will eat everything on that plate, then go back for 2nds, maybe 3rds and when i'm done, i'll be planning what is going to be eaten at the next meal. since getting the band, the food monster has silenced in my brain. i am not constantly thinking about food, my next meal, what's for dinner, what's for Breakfast, what kind of snack i can have. i just don't think about it. i might go 4 or 5 hours between meals and then i might only eat because my stomach is growling or i'm nauseated. (i have found that i don't feel hunger when i'm hungry, i actually get a little bit nauseated. took a while to figure that one out, but that's how i know) i don't have any fills, ergo no restriction, but i haven't needed it because i am in what i consider to be a green zone. i'm not constantly thinking about food. this was a major deal for me. even when i do eat, i can't eat plates and plates that i used to eat. i can eat maybe 2 cups of food, like a piece of fish, maybe half a crab cake or a piece of grilled chicken and a little bit of spaghetti squash. i can't physically eat more than that because it will get uncomfortable. i haven't tried to push it to see how much i can eat, i just eat what i think is a normal amount of food for me and then i'm done. i don't know how to explain how it feels to suddenly go from constantly thinking about food to just thinking about it when it's time to eat. i feel like i have gained so much of my life back. i'm not planning my day around a meal time. and since you are a foodie, a culinary person, i think you will be pleasantly suprised by how much more you will actually enjoy food once you are banded. pre-band, i was a vacuum. i sucked food down. didn't chew, didn't take the time to taste anything, just open and swallow. post band, i can't do that. i have to chew everything. i have discovered new tastes and i've even discovered that foods i once thought i loved, after chewing them to oblivion, i don't really care for them any longer. the band for me isn't about not eating things i love, it is about portion control and eating just the right amount of foods i love. so far, i have been successful. i can eat any type of food if i chew it long enough and i am satisfied on just a small amount of food. i couldn't have done this pre-band. i was hungry all of the time. so the number 1 thing that band has done for me is cut out my hunger...that driving hunger monster that just constantly talked to me and told me to eat, eat, eat. hopefully, it will do that for you. a regular diet won't work because while you may cut calories and cut back on food, you'll still be hungry. eventually, you will break down and eat everything in sight. with the band, hunger is kept at bay and you can live a normal life. that is what it has done for me.

it is perfectly normal. i was scared to death myself...not of the band, but of the surgery itself. i was convinced that i would die. I got all of my affairs in order and everything. I had to walk into the surgical theatre and when i saw all of the people in scrubs busying themselves, getting ready for my surgery I tried to turn around and leave, but the nurse grabbed my hand and said "you can do this, now get your butt in there"...and that's what I did. i walked in, they drugged me up and the next thing i knew i was waking up in recovery. you will be fine, you've got this.

that's great news. so glad you are doing so well. congrats to all the may bandsters for coming this far.

I told my husband and 1 close friend. nobody else knows. that's how i plan to keep it for as long as i can. it's nobody's business how i've lost weight. i don't feel that i'm robbing anyone of the chance to hear pros/cons from a wls patient because the only people who have even noticed that i've lost weight are all thin and don't need surgery. my plus sized friends are anti wls, so no need to tell them. either. it's not that i'm not proud that i'm banded, it's that it's a personal decision and if and when i'm ready to spread the word, i'll spread the word. if i'm never ready to do that, then i never will. i didn't want the added pressure of people watching every little thing that i put in my mouth and asking things like "are you supposed to be eating that???" again, not their business. we each have to do what is right for us. there is no right or wrong answer. good luck on your journey.

I went through about 2 weeks of mourning myself...i literally sat at the table and ate pizza from my favourite pizza place and just cried as i said 'goodbye' to the slice 'forever'. i did that with burgers, Pasta, mexican, etc, etc, etc... well, i'm here to tell you that at 6 months out, i can eat anything i want to eat. i can't eat in the same quantities, but i can eat it. i would say that it's up to you if you feel you need to go through the mourning stage, to eat whatever it is that you want to eat. you really won't be able to eat real food for about a month or so anyway, especially if you have to do the 2 week pre-op liquid diet followed by 2-3 weeks post surgery of liquids and then 1 week or so of mushies...so if you feel that you want to eat things, then go ahead and eat them. but don't say goodbye just yet. you'll still be able to eat things like Cookies, pie, brownines, cake, pizza (if it's thin crust or if you don't have fill that is too tight) really, if you have time to chew, chew, chew, you can eat anything. about the only thing i don't really eat is steak and bread rolls because i just get so tired of chewing. i don't really miss them all that much anyway. anyway, mourn if you need to, but mourn the QUANTITY you'll be eating. you won't even want to attempt to eat a huge amount of stuff after you are banded. you'll be satisfied and satiated. bulk eating will be a thing of the past. edited to say...i'm not saying 'go out and eat everything in sight', especially if you are on a monitored diet. but, rather, if there is a particular food that you just really want to have, go ahead and have it, don't feel guilty. you'll probably be able to eat your favourite things again, but just not any time soon. i wouldn't go looking to eat foods that i haven't really had just because you think you'll never have them ever again when it's not necessary. nobody told me this before surgery, and i ate everything in sight...and GAINED a few pounds before my pre-op diet. so, anyway, sorry for the ramble, but do what you feel you need to do to prepare.

Good luck on your surgery tomorrow. I don't want to shatter your image of what is going to happen when you get that band around you, but, it's not a magic wand. it's not going take away the desire to eat things that aren't the best choices for you and for me personally, that's a good thing. you are not going to NEVER eat junk food ever again. i don't think anyone here can say that they have gone more than 1 year or 2 without eating a piece of chocolate, or a slice of pie, or a cookie. you can't live like that for long. i was afraid before I got the band that i would have to say goodbye to all my favorite foods and, well, that hasn't happened. what i did say goodbye to was the quantity of the foods i was eating and the constant eating of foods. i don't have to do that anymore and i don't feel compelled to just eat and eat and eat. i don't think about food all day long and i don't obsess over what my next meal might be. that being said, when i am hungry, i don't just stick to salads and fish. i eat a lot of salads and fish, but i branch out and eat tacos, chicken courdon bleu, fast food, lasagne, etc, etc, etc, i don't really look at food as good or bad, but rather, better choices than others. sure, i could eat a hamburger every day, but do i want to? no, i don't. am i going to kick myself if i have a burger once a month? absolutely not. most diets are giving up things so that you can get smaller, and some people view the band as a way to do that (and I guess it is) but for me personally, it wasn't for me to give up all foods. it was to help me with my portion sizes and it has done that beautifully. like i said, i don't want to burst your bubble, but you should look at the band a little bit more realistically. i wish someone would have told me this before banding and i wouldn't have gone through the 'goodbye food' phase where i ate foods i thought i would miss for 2 weeks solid before my liquid diet. ...and consequently gained 5 pounds ...... anyway, if nothing else, i actually enjoy food more now than before because i actually take the time to chew it and taste it, rather than vacuum it down and not remember eating it. it has opened up a new world of taste for me. foods i used to like, now that i have to spend time chewing them, i no longer care for. you'll find that things are different, but some things are the same. don't judge the food and make the food feel bad for being delicious....just try to watch your portions and please allow yourself to make bad choices every once in a while and be forgiving. you'll be happier for it and more successful with the band. again, good luck on your journey.

i kinda look at it this way....i must have gained 60 pounds in about 2 years time but i didn't change clothing sizes. that's probably why i didn't really notice how much weight i had gained...i just knew that i felt bad and getting around was more difficult. a lot of weight can go into the upper sizes and a person who weighs 300 pounds might be able to wear the same size shirt as a person who weighs 250. i think if you just concentrate on losing and hang on to those old big clothes until they are falling off of you, then when you buy, you will be able to buy 2 or 4 sizes down. i don't want to blow a ton of money on a new wardrobe that i know i will be changing eventually, so i'm kinda happy at the moment that most of the old clothes are still fitting me. except for my pants...but dresses and shirts are still fitting like a dream.

i was over 10 pounds when i was born, so yes, i have been overweight my entire life i am only 6 months into my journey, but already i'm am at a weight that i haven't been in over a decade. i hope that by the time i've been at this for a year i will be the close to the size i was in college...still fat, but not morbidly obese . haha....

exactly...i'm pretty sure i squeezed as much as i could into my clothing just so i didn't have to go up to a number that was ugly and hey, we were banded one day apart and we seem to be in the same place in our weight loss...cool

in the pants department, my changes started happening a little faster than in the shirt department. i can still wear the same size shirts, but my pants won't stay up without a belt. i bought a new pair of jeans 2 weeks ago 2 sizes down and they were snug...today they fit loosly. but still in a big top. i'm hoping that my top and bottom find some common ground. i would hate to be just a belly walking around on skinny legs.

Heck, I've lost 80 pounds and I can still wear some of my big clothes...granted, they are very roomy, and I guess i have officially only dropped a couple of sizes. If i confess the truth, my clothes were probably really tight on me when i was wearing them pre-weight loss and I suspect i was actually a size or so larger than i thought i was, sooooo i don't know what to tell you. it will change eventually, just hang in there, 26 pounds is awesome.

there are very few times that I actually drink Protein shakes.....if i'm in a hurry in the morning and don't have time for Breakfast, if i'm too tired when i get home to cook anything and just need the protein, but not necissarly wanting to eat, or if i'm away from home all day and don't know when i'll have access to food. i usually keep an emergency protein shake or bar in my bag for those just-in-case times. other than that, i eat my protein. my doctor wants me to eat them and not to substitue too many shakes. i do find that sometimes i am just plain tired of chewing and only a protein shake will do. The Glucerna shakes are almost like a treat, so i might have one once a month or so. so delicious.

honey, i am bigger than 260 and I'm still going on a cruise in january and i'm wearing my swim suit, and i'm gonna have a great time because it's my vacation . what someone else thinks about me on my vacation means nothing to me. at a size 22, you should have no problems fitting in an airplane seat and you shouldn't need an extender. i was able to fit in an airplane seat and go without a seatbelt by the time i finally hit twoderville...i was around a size 26 still but had no problems. don't let something like a number on a scale hold you back. go, enjoy yourself and have a great time. you might regret NOT going, but you won't regret going.

I eat potatoes all the time....i don't really use sour cream on them, instead i use Greek yogurt because it tastes pretty much the same plus has lots of Protein in it....but to stay away from carbs 100% is just not feasible. edited to add..there is nothing wrong with using sour cream...i still use it, especially on nachos, which i eat from time to time....talk about carbs! but tasty! hope the OP has contacted their doctor and/or the pain is gone and they can get back to eating normally.

I say go for it. 260 isn't as big as you think it is. You should check the weight limits on most zip lines and most of them are 250. you could totally be under that by February. that is doable. i would go if I were you. just pre-plan the things you want to do ahead of time and read about weight limits. no big deal. i weigh more than you do now and i can still hike and climb and ride bikes be active. don't let what you 'look like' affect you having a good time.

pendulum, I don't know if this is true for every bandsters, but this has been my personal experience. I have been on every diet out there and yeah, i've lost weight on them, but gained it all back. those other diets i have been on have been diets in every since of the word. counting calories, restricting what i eat, staying away from certain trigger foods and all the while on those diets, i was STARVING. hunrgy all the time, but denying myself food. What the band has done for me is it has somehow supressed that hunger and the desire to just eat and eat and eat. I think some people have mentioned that it affects the Vagas nerve and that might be what is happening. i haven't had any fills and i'm 6 months out, so i have virtually zero restriction, but i haven't needed because the urge to eat has left me. i don't think about food 24/7 like i did. i was a bulk eater, not really a grazer, so it's true that even with no restriction i can't just sit down and eat 2 or 3 plates of food like I used to be able to do, but truthfully, i don't even want to do that. whether it's the placement of the band or some signal it is sending to my brain, i have not had obsessive thoughts about food for 6 months. i didn't realize how much food took occupied almost every waking thought i had until the thoughts kind of went away. so, long story short, unlike most bandsters, i really don't follow a diet. i try to stay away from bread, Pasta and rice, but every once in a while i might feel like eating a burger. i'll just go get a burger, eat it and then i'm satisfied and done with burgers for a while. I don't deny myself any food that i want to eat, i just eat a smaller portion of it, or enough to get the taste of it and then i'm done, no more obsessing over it. so far, even at only 6 months out, i have been more successful than any other diet i have ever been on. why? well, i'm not physically hungry. also, i don't feel like i'm cheating since i am essentially NOT dieting, but rather, eating what i think NORMAL people eat. if i go out with my skinny friends, we order stuff, i eat what i can and notice that i'm naturally stopping when they are stopping too...i don't just keep eating and then pick stuff off of their plates. also, when i eat something non-diety, i do not feel guilty. i originally got the band because i just didn't want to GAIN any more weight. i didn't know if i would be successful, but i wanted to stop eating and eating and eating. i had no idea that it would help curb my appetite and help me stop thinking about food non-stop, but it has done that for me. i have a long way to go and i may never get there, but i know that instead of thinking about what my next meal is, i'm thinking about making plans to hang out with friends, or go out in public, or try a new hobby. food isn't the center of my world any longer. when your family asks, tell them that this tool is also about supressing appetite. a diet can't do that. you can restrict yourself and eat only the right things, but you'll always be hungry and you could snap at any moment and go back to the old way of doing things. that's why diets fail. you can't stick to a 'lifestyle change' forever if you are hungry and thinking about food all of the time. you just can't. you'd be miserable. hopefully, the band will work this way for you too...give you not only the restriction (if you want it) to be able to physically not eat a lot of food, but also give you that mental willpower to be able to say no to food that you are not even hungry for. that's what it has done for me. i do not regret it one little bit. even if i never lose another pound and stay this size for the rest of my life, i know that i will not be eating and eating and eating.

Shelley, food was my 'go to' also...for everything. I'm happy-food, i'm sad-food, i'm angry-food. the band has definitely cut most of that chatter out of my brain that says i need to have food to fill voids. i have recently picked up the guitar as a means to help myself keep my mind off of mindless eating. it has helped tremendously. when i am bored, i pick up my guitar, angry-guitar, sad-guitar, etc... it might help you to find some hobby that you really enjoy that you can go to instead of food when it feels like food is all you have. good luck and you are doing great because you are 31 pounds lighter than you were, so that is something right there.

hahaha, i love those little party people. so great. hopefully the next thread i start will be my 100 pounds gone. i'm not in a hurry though, so i'll Celebrate when it happens. thanks again everyone for the encouragement. you guys are the best.

Hi unfilled friends I am 6 months out and I have lost 79.8 pounds with no fill. Just had a doctor visit this morning and he agreed that I do not need a fill at this time and he doesn't want to see me again until after the new year unless i think i need a fill. I know that eventually, i'll probably have to get one, but for now i'm in my own personal green zone and i just don't need or want one. i hope to continue to be unfilled for as long as i have the band. that is my goal.

I just got back from the doctor's office for my 6 month check up. Official Doctor's scales put me at 79.8 pounds lost. just 20.2 pounds away from 100. Yay!!!!!

hey sparkplug, It is soooo great to hear that you are fill free after 3 years. I am still pretty far from my goal, but at the moment, that band is really doing great things for me, especially mentally. It must just be in the right place because I don't think about food constantly like I used to. I was literally hungry all of the time and now, that is not the case. I don't always make the best choices, but I do stop when i feel satisfied and I haven't had to have second helpings of anything. When i'm done eating, i'm done and i don't think about food again until several hours have passed and it's time to eat again. i used to eat and then i'd be thinking about my next meal immediately. so, the band has done something to my brain. it is a tool, that's for sure, but it has helped me tremendously with my will power. it's so much easier to say no to something if i'm not hungry for it or obsessing over it. again, so great to see that you are fill free after all this time. people in my support group have told me that eventually i am going to want a fill and i just really don't want one ever. as long as i'm not gaining, i am happy. i have my 6 month check up tomorrow morning, so i will report back and let you all know how it went.

that is a great idea. i can cook tons of things in a muffin pan. perfect portion sizes too!

Aww, thanks poodlelover....i'm glad we can inspire each other

I was banded and I live in NYC, but I'm from alabama so I just wanted to stop by and say "Hey Y'all!" soooooo....Hey Y'all! Roll Tide

i can only imagine how much will be gone at 1 year out. If i make it to 100, that would be awesome. thanks again everyone for stopping by and listening to me. you guys are awesome.