kittyforet

A can of green Beans? I love that! Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't eat a can of green beans if you paid me, so for me, that's a great "test" of hunger!

It really works for me. Sometimes my answer is, "yes, I would." Slam dunk that I need food. Other times my answer is, "no, I really, really want that bag of Dorritos in the machine in the break room." Well, ok, maybe not true hunger. Maybe I am starting to get hungry, but the junk demons are calling first. So can I stave them off with something else? A glass of Water, might I be thirsty? A cheese stick? They are a bit salty. Maybe a slice of deli meat, or a few crackers. Or can I wait until my meal-time. My surgeon is not against a healthy snack if it is planned or truly needed.
Asking the question at least makes me stop and think before grabbing the bag of Dorritos and eating it brainlessly.

Went to surgeon yesterday. Aside from complimenting me, he shrugged his shoulders and basically said there is nothing else we need to do.
Don't expect much more weight loss,anything more will be a bonus. If anything, he said he would be concerned if I loose anything more significant because that would mean loss of vital tissue and muscle.
Body fat % well below 15.
So that's it, confirmed by the man himself...definitely on maintence mode now.
Only advice given was to continue the high Protein Shakes for Breakfast, other meals portions should not be larger than a deck of cards, Protein based, Water, Fiber, exercise....see you in September..
16 months total time.....

WATCH OUT! The food Police are watching you, and if they catch you misbehaving, you’ll be dragged off to prison, where you’ll have to subsist on stale melba toast and lukewarm Water.
The Food Police are every dieter’s nemesis. They’re relentless and sometimes cruel, and they surround us. You know them. They're the friends, relatives, and coworkers who watch as you eat a meal and say things like, "Should you be eating that?" I actually enjoy dealing with that kind of comment. Depending on my mood and the circumstances, I might give a mind-your-own-business answer ("What's it to you?") or I might say, "So, where did you get your degree in nutrition science?"
The existence of Food Police implies that there are some hard-and-fast Food Laws that the Food Police enforce as they prowl the weight loss community, maintaining order and detecting crime. Although I wouldn't want the job of a police officer, I know the police are necessary, and I believe that without them, chaos and anarchy would probably ensue. But in the world of weight loss, there are at least a thousand sets of Food Laws, and they change by the moment according to whatever new scientific discovery or not-so-scientific fad is being publicized. If you listened to every member of the Food Police, you'd probably end up feeling like a citizen of a Police State, where the police not only enforce the law but create it. That's truly a scary thought.
I can snap out smart-aleck responses to Food Police interrogations all day long, but I'm not always so clever at dealing with the special squad of Food Police who live inside my brain, monitoring every bite of food, every minute of exercise, every food choice, every ounce on the scale. They've been there a long, long time. The summer I turned 14, when wearing a cute bikini was the most important goal in my mind, I kept a food log and graded every bite of food I took. I knew that a chocolate donut had 310 calories, and since that was one-fourth of the total calories I had allotted for each day, that donut got a low grade. I knew it was a "bad" food choice, so I decided to eat only a quarter of a donut (77.5 calories) for breakfast at 8:00 each morning, but since I'm a notorious Food Criminal, I'd end up eating another donut quarter at 8:30, and another at 8:45, and the last at 9:00, at which point I would view the empty donut box with deep regret and the three empty hours until lunch time with deep dread. That was not a happy summer for me and the cute bikini I sewed for myself would have caused the Fashion Police to arrest me if they'd been out cruising our neighborhood.
FOOD CHOICES: GOOD, BAD & INDIFFERENT
The Food Police can make us miserable, it's true, but can we live entirely without them? One of the lifestyle changes I committed to when I had bariatric surgery was to make a sincere effort at making good food choices from now on. Since I don't have a degree in nutrition science, I decided to follow my bariatric nutritionist's Food Laws. I think highly of Susan but as the months went by, I realized that succeeding with the band actually involved several types of "good" food choices. The two most important categories for me are:
1. Food that's nutritious.
2. Food with high satiety value.
The pre- and post-op nutrition classes Susan conducted emphasized food choices and behaviors that would support good health ("nutritious") and prevent eating problems (like stuck episodes, PB's, sliming), but I don't recall any mention of eating for satiety. Susan is a smart lady but she's not a bariatric patient, and I learned gradually, through trial and error, that food consistency could turn a "good" food into a "bad" one in the satiety sense. For example:
1. An apple is "good" while applesauce is "bad".
2. Baked chicken is "good" while chicken salad is "bad".
3. A bowl of chickpeas is "good" while a bowl of hummus is "bad".
4. Hard cheese is "good" while cottage cheese is "bad".
5. A granola bar is "good" while a bowl of cooked oatmeal is "bad".
Provided that all of the foods mentioned in the examples above are prepared in a low-fat, low-sugar manner, all ten of them are nutritious, but only five are good food choices in terms of satiety. How so? solid food has the greatest chance of triggering the nerves in your upper stomach to register satiety and send a "had enough" message to your brain via the hormone called leptin. Soft and slippery foods, no matter how "healthy", can't be relied on to do that job.
FOOD LAW AMENDMENTS
I've also learned that appropriate enforcement of band food rules needs to be adjusted on almost a daily basis, because on Tuesday morning I can eat 2 cups of cottage cheese while on Wednesday afternoon I can eat only 2 tablespoons of it. As a result, I not only have to constantly monitor my body and my eating (which is not such a bad thing), I have to continually amend my Food Laws.
The variability of restriction is one of the most perplexing things about living with the adjustable gastric band. It can be downright infuriating. But consider the alternative. The alternative is the way I ate and lived pre-op. I could and did eat anything I wanted, in any quantity, at any time of day. Three chocolate donuts every morning, three pounds of shrimp every afternoon, a gallon of ice cream every night. The price I paid for those food choices was obesity and all the painful, humiliating, and frustrating side effects and limitations caused by 90+ extra pounds on my short body.
YOUR ASSIGNMENT, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT
Do you have Food Police in your life? Who's wearing that uniform? A spouse, parent, coworker, friend or neighbor? Are they truly qualified to judge your food choices? How do you respond when they try to force a food law on you?
And what about the Food Police inside you? What are they telling you every time you take a bite of food? Do they chastise you, or do they sometimes give you a good citizen award? Do you listen to them, heed them, ignore them, defy them?
Make a list of 3-5 Food Laws that structure your post-op life. Are they serving your health and weight loss needs? Or do they need amending? Can you do that by yourself, or do you need the help of a professional, like a nutritionist or a counselor?
At almost 5 years post-op, I still have my own in-house (so to speak) Food Police, but they're not as strict and punitive as they used to be. I keep them on the job because I'm so good at justifying the worst eating behavior and I sometimes need them to say, "Hey, hey, hey, little lady! What do you think you're doing? You know better than that!"
The Food Laws that structure my life are:
1. Eat for good health.
2. Eat for good satiety.
3. Eat for pleasure.
Did I really say "eat for pleasure"? I sure did. But that's a topic for another article!

Congratulations! So that's 5cc total?
F YI it may not last, or be permanent I should say. Most people's come and go at this point but it is enough to let you know what better things there are to come.
As a side note, there are actually people, who have been banded, that is against feeling any restriction at all! Go Figure!
And to make things more insane, they belong to a support group where people are trying to be successful!

Also there are some really nice, knowledgeable, encouraging people on here and some great tushie kickers on here too. Something for everyone!!!
Cheri

I start out knowing I will get heat for this but here goes . . . .I have a hard time believeing ALL these people who have nothing good to say about the Band are real. They ALL have been banded for several years and the Band totally failed them or they never loss the weight or lost it and gained it all back plus some.
When you read someone's posts look at who is posting it. If they just joined today and have only posted one post and never post again MAYBE they are just misleading you. In over 2½ years here I have seen it happen a lot. I am not saying everyone's is like that I know some people are being real cause I know some people the Band doesn't work for them or some don't work with their Band.
I always try to give people advice anyway, but there have been a few that were just flat out rude and and sent people rude private messages all night including me, if you call them on what you suspect , , , you can tell what they are doing. Trying to scare people away from the Band. People get paid to do that. Newbies and people researching just saying I think we should help every body but take caution in what you are reading. Even mine!!
Cheri

Hey there!
LBT used to have a way to search for threads that had no replies. Does that still exist? I can't seem to locate it.
If not, can it be added back? I like to find threads to which no response has been given, and see if someone has been overlooked.
Have I overlooked something?
Thanks!

I had asked a friend about this, she said she had used the surgery excuse long enough, hubby wasn't buying it anymore

Man, I need to get my libido checked out.
I wasn't even thinking of wanting to try.

Still have about 20 lbs to go. But......
Saw some jeans on the internet that helps give you a little booty. Cause mine is flat and wide. Anyway, had never been in this store, was nervous that I couldn't find anything to fit me. While looking at the jeans (Was so hoping to be able to look without the assistance of sales person but a skinny sales lady came over) She asked if I had ever worn there denim before? I told her I saw the ad on internet but I didn’t see any 14's. I was so embarrassed. She asked why I was looking for a 14, so thinking their 14's were smaller then other places, and wishing I hadn't come in….I started running my mouth,,,,,"I recently have lost a lot of weight and needed to get new clothes and really didn't know what size I needed, thank you anyway"…..and tried to leave. She told me to go to the dressing room and she would bring me some jeans. When she handed them to me she said "don’t look at the size" I put them on and they fit so nice, I went out to show her and she gave me such a great smile and said "those are size 10." WOW!!! Ok they are made a little big but I don't care they are 10's. I HAD to buy them.

The band never makes the cravings go away.....it just stops you from eating a dozen of the Cadbury eggs.... down to one.... lol Don't deny your self.... simply adjust your way of eating that temptation.
candy still calls my name too... When i have to have .... i do exactly like Rachel above. My co worker freak that i can make a small bag of M&M's last a week or two. I take one M&M and put it in my mouth and just let it melt and savor it.... then i'm good.
Good luck.....

Those Cadbury candy coated eggs are like crack. I could eat a whole bag. Since they are my favorite; and preband I would buy multiple bags of them AFTER Easter from the discount shelve I can no longer have them in my house (keep in mind I live alone). HOWEVER if I am going to a party I will buy them and have like 5. I make sure I have eaten first (and I am now at restriction) so that when I do eat them I am not hungry and don't go crazy.

I've been stuck more times that I would like. It's all been my fault. I'm working on it though.
Sometimes the papaya enzymes work, sometimes they don't. Sometimes the jumping (or doing the chicken dance) works, sometimes it doesn't. I've also tried the pineapple juice...just a warning though, it tastes worse coming back up!! Almost nothing worse than (tmi warning!!) pineapple juice vomit. Blech.
Most of my issues are either first bite syndrome or when I don't chew/take a small enough bite. And I've learned that if I'm stuck due to not chewing or taking a large bite, I can GUARANTEE that I will continue to be stuck the rest of the day if I try to eat food...I find that I MUST go to liquids the rest of the day. If i dont pay attention to this, everything i try the rest of the day will come back up. Dealt with this yesterday.
If I get stuck from the first or second bite, then once it goes down or comes back up, I'm ok to eat like I'm supposed to for the rest of the day. It's almost like my band gives me a warning to really slow down.
I'm one of the weird ones that never slime before it comes back up...once I get stuck, I can cough it out and get the slime only then. Usually it comes (the mucus) out my nose, again tmi, so I make sure to take napkins/baby wipes with me at all times. And for me I've only pb'd over the sink. Too scared because of the auto flush feature to try the toilet. Last week I got stuck at church and didn't want everyone to see me at the sink, so I made sure to take an empty cup into the restroom stall with me and pb'd into that and then flushed the gunk.
Being stuck is no fun. But for most of us, its part of the learning curve of being banded. What everyone else has said about how it feels is right. It's painful. Rock in your chest.
Sent from my iPhone using LapBandTalk

Here it is:
There are two days in every week about which we should not worry.Two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is yesterday with its mistakes and cares, Its faults and blunders, Its aches and pains.
Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed. We cannot erase a ...single word we said. Yesterday is gone. The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow. With its possible adversities, Its burdens, Its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.
Tomorrow's Sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.This just leaves only one day . . . Today. Any person can fight the battles of just one day.
It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternity's -yesterday and tomorrow that we break down. It is not the experience of today that drives people mad. It is the remorse or bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Let us therefore live but one day at a time. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:34

Yes, I still love food, but it is no longer the love of my life. I'm a little bit more objective about food now, appreciate it for its nutrition as well as its taste, but I've got so many other interesting things going on in my life now that food is not my #1 interest these days.

I am home bound today because of all the bad weather and I found this while perusing on Pinterest.com and thought I'd share. For those who love to make smoothies, this would be a great time saver. I am not much of a Breakfast eater, so I usually have shakes or smoothies for breakfast.
1. Freeze greek yogurt (great source of protein!) in muffin tins.
2. Slice up a bunch of your favorite fruits. A few suggestions.....strawberries, blueberries, bananas, pineapple, kiwi, etc. Whatever you like best.
3. In freezer bags, add 2-3 frozen yogurt pucks and 1&1/2 cups fresh fruit and store them in the freezer.
4. When ready to make a smoothie, just blend contents of bag with a splash of juice and voila....breakfast is served.
I am definitely going to do this!

There are so many fantastic recipes, but when I find one I love I do that till I'm sick of it. Now if these Protein tastin' parties could just fiqure one with rum for the weekends I would be set! LOL

Alright ladies...lets calm our heads and just agree to disagree. Exercise is important for health. You may get results without it. But your life, health, and overall wellbeing will be great if you include it in your life style changes. At the end of the day, the choice is yours...and my definition of success my be different from your definition of success depending on what our
goals are. Me is to live longer and be s healthier me. And "I" need exercise to accomplish this. Your goal may just be to lose weight....and you only need the band. Whatever the case its your life and your decision. Not for us to judge eachother. We are here to support eachother.

Do not bake muffins when she comes home. My husband did a week or 2 after my surgery and I could have quite happily killed him.

That sounds like good news. Hope it all goes well.
I am sure if your surgeon had unwanted breasts he would sympathise with you a bit more. Doctors!

I wanted to offer up any support that I can offer to anyone who may need it.
I am over 2 years post-op and have been at goal for about 14 months now.
Hopefully I can help

First off, I was banded in Oct 2010 and have lost 105lbs so compare me to you and you're winning. This isn't a race. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was your ass. Or mine. Or anyone else's thats battling the bulge. It took me over a year to understand the head games that go along with the band. First, you're not gonna hit restriction at the same time everyone else does. It took me 6cc's in a 10cc band to get any. I hear people say "oh when i get restriction i won't ever be hungry again"...wrong. Nothing about the band is gonna turn off feeling hungry. Its not going to stop your stomach from growling. Its just a tool, and its a tool that you have to work, and you ARE working it. I've managed to lose and haven't done crap really to lose. I eat what I want, when I want as long as I stay around 1000 calories a day. You have to have fuel to burn fat. Mix things up...one day have more calories then the next day, drop it down by a few hundred. When your body gets used to getting the same calories a day it gets stagnant. Also...relax. You're banded, not dead. You're doing great so far and you'll continue to do great. For me, because I'm not dead, and because I'm a food addict, I had to learn to control the food, not let the food control me. You're still letting food control you. Because you're always hungry, the food is controlling you and you're pretty miserable sounds like. When I want ice cream, I eat it. I have a scoop not a whole bowl. I don't deny myself. Whatever I want...I eat. in moderation. Thats the key...everything in moderation. You have to stop focusing on that "can't haves" and realize that you can have EVERYTHING just in moderation. I know there's gonna be people that post against me...thats ok each to their own. This is my journey. But you're really doing well

did you feel anything when this port flipped? how do you know unless Dr tells you?

I would love to find others on FB that has had the surgery, my only problem is, only a small handful of people know about my surgery, and I cant risk it getting out to some family members on FB, so i have not spoke openely on FB about it, some day i hope i will be able to do that..its just complicated in why i can not speak about my surgery to some family..