Rachel412

I didn't have to do any sort of liquid pre-op diet so I started losing as soon as I was home from the hospital. I'm still not at my sweet spot, so all the weight I've lost to date has pretty much been pure willpower!

I almost always have greek yogurt with 1/4 cup of high fiber, high protein cereal stirred in.

Hi! If you're self pay I truly can't imagine a doctor cancelling your surgery because you didn't lose enough weight.

It's normal for the amount they pull out during a fill to be a TINY bit lower than they expect, but if it's always lower... I'm surprised your doctor hasn't brought up the possibility of a leak. It's normal for you to have restriction and then lose it after a couple of months as the fat around your stomach (under the band) goes away and your band is looser, but I'd be concerned about the liquids decreasing like they are.

I only told my immediate family and one friend. Where I used to work, lots of people were banded, and got very little post-op education, so most of them barely lost or lost and then gained back quickly. I'd always hear people at work saying "I just saw her eat xyz" or negative things. I don't know why WLS has such a stigma, but it does. At this point I don't have restriction from my band, so when I say I've lost with a combo of diet and exercise, it's totally true. If people ate like me, they'd most likely lose weight too. I have NO problem with people who decide to tell everyone and be an open book- I admire that! It's just not the right choice for me.

Well sure, you could have Protein Shakes in that circumstance. But if she's too tight, that's really easily remedied by removing a small amount of Fluid. So there's really no good reason for you to ever be in the situation she's in- unless she has some more serious health problem going on. What she's choosing are called "slider foods" because they "slide" down so easily, don't get stuck, and you can eat a ton of them. If I were you I'd talk to her and get some more info on why she can't eat anything else.

If you melt it in your mouth before you swallow, sure!

I think you're jumping the gun, I wouldn't call it a plateau this early in the game. Both of those things are known to cause gain, so take a deep breath and give yourself a break I'm sure the scale will be moving again in a week!

My normal breakfast is 6 ounces of greek yogurt and 1/4 cup of Kashi mixed in. If I'm in a super rush I do a protein shake.

Did you have Dr. Jiser?

Hi Nechama, welcome to LBT!

You are where many, many other have been. Maybe put away your scale for a couple of weeks and just concentrate on learning all your new eating habits?

And now for a totally opposite answer- I can always feel my band when I swallow something. If I'm not eating or drinking, no, I can't feel it. When I drink anything I feel it pool up, then gurgle through the band into my lower stomach. Any time I eat ANYTHING I swallow, and then a few seconds later I feel the food pass through the banded part of my stomach. It doesn't hurt, it just feels like... a squeeze, I guess. Oh, I can also feel it when I need to burp. BUT I've never been stuck, never slimed, or anything like that. It's been that way pretty much since surgery. I am not yet at a good fill level- 3rd fill Thursday. Oh, if I don't chew well enough or I'm tight in the morning, it does ache a bit as the food goes through the band. In the morning I drink hot chai and take my pills, then always have yogurt or something else really mushy. My tea gurgles through slower than normal, which tells me that I'm tighter than I am late in the day.

The hardest part of it is that for most people, just HAVING a band doesn't automatically affect their hunger. You need fills to get to a good spot, and it may take 3, 4, even more fills to get to that point. In between that sweet spot and the surgery you're just losing on willpower alone. If your biggest problem is REAL hunger, not just head hunger, it will definitely help once you get to a good fill level. I haven't hit MY good fill level yet, so it's hard for me to say what the best part is I wasn't allowed to do heavy lifting or exercise for 6 weeks after surgery, but was cleared to begin walking immediately. Seems like most people go back to work between 1 and 2 weeks after surgery depending on what their job is.

I haven't lost as much as you, but nobody has made mention of it either, other than my immediate family (who know about the surgery). I'm in a smaller size of clothing, I can feel that my body has changed, I see a difference in the mirror, yet apparently nobody else has noticed it. Oh well- their loss!

Quite honestly, I see no point in getting a fill (ever!) if you don't feel that you need it. You're right, you risk being too tight and starting to get stuck on foods, and if you're feeling like your current fill is doing its job and you're happy, you REALLY don't need to mess around with that! You're doing wonderfully, congratulations! You're around 3 pounds a week, which is a great rate.

Some people don't lose any weight at all during those six weeks post-op. Some people GAIN weight in those 6 weeks. Don't judge your loss on anyone else's. As for the weight not "melting off"- it really doesn't do that. You have to eat less calories than you burn, and the band just helps you to not feel as hungry as you did before, but it might take 3 or 4 fills or more to get to that good spot. I've heard of plenty of bandsters doing WW so definitely look into it if it interests you.

Yes, the pain is totally normal, and it'll eventually go away. The port is sutured or hooked into your abdominal wall, so you'll feel it when you bend, lift, twist, etc.

My surgeon waits 6 weeks after surgery, then I can get fills every 2 weeks after that.

My favorite is this: http://www.amazon.com/Optimum-Nutrition-Standard-Double-Chocolate/dp/B000QSNYGI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308618457&sr=8-1 Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% whey in Double Rich chocolate

You got infected from fills? I know you're reluctant to have anything done but you really need to get an unfill.

It's such a great thing when you find a protein drink you like!!

The yellow is probably from the iodine they use to clean the area before surgery.

what makes you think it's infected?

you look amazing, and you're gorgeous!!!