Jenn1214

I take a chewable multivitamin and calcium chews daily. While the Lap Band doesn't hinder nutrient absorption, it couldn't hurt to give your body a little vitamin boost!

I've been experiencing FBS more often lately. Each time it's because I let myself get too hungry and therefore ate too fast. It always resolves itself after a few minutes, but it's no fun!

I don't know about all of you, but the whole reason I got the lap band is because diets don't work for me. The cycle of being "good" for a while and then giving up and being "bad" caused me to balloon up to 251 pounds. I follow my surgeon's instructions 80-90% of the time, but I'm not perfect. I don't think he expects his patients never to have a glass of wine or a piece of chocolate ever again, as long as it isn't every day and not in the quantities we used to have. I think the major thing I credit my success to is learning to let go of guilt about eating. I've learned that I can eat an occasional treat and still lose weight, which is huge for me. I've broken the diet cycle and I'm succeeding for the first time in my life with weight loss, so an occasional glass of wine won't hurt me.

I've heard that a good way to slow down during meals is to eat with your non-dominant hand. Also try putting your fork down in between bites. Take a good look at what you're eating. Is it mostly solid protein and veggies, or are you eating more sliders? Don't worry about not being able to eat bread...I don't eat it at all because it's just not worth it. Also try bumping up your exercise a little and make sure you're drinking enough water. Don't be discouraged. It's 6 pounds, not 60, so at least you're on top of the situation before it gets out of hand. You can get back on track...believe in yourself!

Losing weight causes the estrogen stored in fat cells to be released, so that may be the cause of the spotting. But if you had an ablation and are suddenly spotting after having no period at all for 3 years, it's worth a chat with your gynecologist. Better safe than sorry!

Over the weekend, I realized that my weight loss really has changed my opinion of myself. Something that would once have hurt me and caused me to cry in a corner with a box of Oreos just made me shrug and go "Meh." On Friday, my fiancé, who is an art teacher, was dealing with a student who is nothing but trouble. He's been pushing all the teachers' buttons and is defiant and obnoxious. He acts out constantly and seems to relish in the fact that he is generally despised by all the staff. Anyway, he found a new way to get my fiancé's goat by picking up a picture of me and him on vacation before I was banded and making comments about my weight. Supposedly my fiancé almost decked the kid and took steps to have him permanently removed from his classroom. He called me up after the fact and told me what happened. His voice was shaking and he was ranting and raving about "How dare this little so-and-so say something like that about you?!" I was upset because he was upset, not because this obnoxious little snot rag called me fat. I calmly told my fiancé "Don't be upset. I'm not that person anymore and I have nothing to be ashamed of. Let it go." To me this is a HUGE leap forward, because after years of dealing with low self esteem and low self worth, I was finally able to look beyond personal criticism and see the person I really am. I'm not a fat person. I have lost both physical and emotional weight and it feels great!

Sasha - There is no getting through to this kid. He is a future criminal in the making and doesn't even respect or listen to his own mother, let alone a valuable lesson from my future husband. Pretty sad, really. And I definitely agree that fat is not something we are...it took getting banded to start learning that. Lizzy - I don't think the act of losing weight has made me a different person, but the lap band journey certainly has. It has taught me that I am strong, that I can do something difficult if I really put my mind to it, and that I can be successful. These are things I never thought of myself when I was heavy.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. People don't realize how hurtful their comments can be, or simply don't care because they think people who are overweight or obese are not human beings. Kudos to your husband for not knocking the guy out! Good luck on your journey, and don't let the bastards get you down...you'll have the last laugh soon enough!

If you are only 1 week post op, you should definitely NOT attempt solid foods. Your stomach is still healing from surgery and you could do some real damage. Just because you CAN progress to purees and beyond doesn't mean you SHOULD unless your surgeon says it's ok. That being said, your surgeon had no right to yell at you. He was probably concerned that you weren't following his instructions, but scolding you like a child isn't cool. Just realize that at this point, healing from surgery is your top priority. I was not allowed any solid foods until a month after surgery, but every doctor is different. Please don't push it or you may be sorry later. Think of this journey as a marathon, not a race. Good luck!

I am currently working out 5-6 days a week for about 30 minutes each session. How many days a week should I be resting? I don't want to overdo it.

I actually found a really delicious one by a company called Syntrax. The brand is Nectar and the Chocolate Truffle flavor is awesome! It doesn't even taste like you're drinking a protein shake...give it a try! The Vanilla Bean Torte flavor isn't bad either, and they have a whole variety of fruit flavors too.

Ha ha that is awesome! What a great feeling!

I lost 60 pounds with the lap band with minimal exercise. Once I dropped below 200 pounds, my weight loss stalled and I was very frustrated. I knew I needed to start an exercise program, and it has helped immensely...now I'm only 19 pounds away from my goal. It was tough to get started at first, since I was so out of shape, but now I love it and hit the gym at least 5 days a week. Give it a shot, and I'm sure the scale will get moving again!

I have a card but don't use it. Most kid's menus have fatty things like hot dogs and mac and cheese anyway...if they had better choices I might consider it. I usually order an appetizer when I go out, or share something with my fiancé. I only had a problem once at a hibachi place...they wouldn't let me order just an appetizer because they had a 30 dollar minimum. I told them I had a lap band but they didn't understand or care. Suffice it to say we had lots of leftovers that night!

My fiancé gets this from his family all the time. He's newly banded and I think his head hasn't caught up yet, so he'll put more on his plate than he can really eat. He did it to me once too a few months back, but I nearly bit his head off and we had a huge fight, so he hasn't done it since! It can be very annoying feeling like you are always under a microscope when it comes to eating. I constantly feel that people are judging what I put in my mouth, even if they don't say anything. I try not to let it bother me, and since my results speak for themselves, I don't get any comments about my food choices. This isn't a diet, it's a lifestyle, so if I want a cookie or something once in a while, it's not going to hurt me. People don't get that.

Strangely enough, my fiancé never seemed that worried that I would up and leave him once I lost weight. We were both obese when we met and fell in love, so I guess it was never a concern. He proposed to me at my highest weight, a month before surgery. I was always afraid that he was only attracted to me as an obese person and that he would lose interest once I lost weight, since I knew a girl who had gastric bypass and had the same problem. He seems to love me no matter what size I am, so lucky me! He's been banded almost 3 months now, so we have our own little support group!

I am sure glad to see this post...I thought I was the only one with this issue! I've had problems with night eating for the past few months, not because I'm particularly hungry, but because there's no stop signal. Learning to recognize head hunger vs real hunger is still something I struggle with, but I'm getting better at telling the difference. I'm glad I'm not alone!

I was at a get together at my brother's house over the weekend. A lot of the people there were in his and his wife's bridal party with me last summer, but I haven't seen many of them for several months. A few of the former bridesmaids were commenting on how great I look, but I was a little taken aback by my sister in law's cousin's reaction. She walks in, sits near me, and doesn't say a word to me. She's usually very friendly so I was a little confused. Then someone mentioned how much weight I've lost and she said "Yeah, she's a b***h isn't she?" in a joking-but-not-really kind of way. Then she goes back to ignoring me. I didn't let it get to me, but I was a little hurt by it. I guess this is what I'm going to have to put up with now?

I don't burp very often, but when I do you would mistake me for a big burly man! My fiancé laughs his head off every time (I don't always understand his sense of humor but hey, whatever works I guess).

When I was on full liquids, all I could have were protein shakes, milk, strained soup, pudding, and yogurt. My nutritionist wanted me to drink 4 protein shakes a day to make sure I got what I needed to heal from surgery.

I would try to get as much protein as possible in the post op stage to promote healing. My nutritionist told me to drink 4 protein shakes a day for the first two weeks to make sure I got enough protein. When you are healed and able to eat solids, you're definitely going to need to up your calorie count. 500-700 calories is nowhere near enough and your body will hold on to every single calorie, slowing down your weight loss.

Mine comes and goes, usually when I'm in the green zone and I drink too fast or swallow too big of a bite. However, my fiancé who is also banded doesn't have shoulder pain at all and never did...weird.

Every once in a while I'll catch of glimpse of some "skinny b***h" reflected in a store window...then I realize it's me

If you had asked me 86 pounds ago, I would have said yes without hesitation. Now I'm not so sure. I think part of it has to do with how you feel about yourself. Maybe not a large part, but people do pick up on your vibes. So if you're feeling miserable because you're fat, people will sense that and not be as friendly because they don't want to be around a miserable person. For the most part, I haven't noticed people falling all over themselves to be nicer and more helpful, but then again this is Queens I do notice men holding doors more often, and I swear there was a woman glaring at me out of jealousy at a restaurant once...