livingmydream

The only thing that ever got stuck with me was one of my pills, just after I first stopped crushing them. It created a burning sensation in my esophagus for about 10 minutes until it worked itself along.

It's a great idea to engage in "mindful" eating, to stay aware of your bite sizes, and chewing each bite enough. It takes some practice, but like everything else we practice, it can become part of your routine. I think multitasking gets many of us in "stuck" episodes with food..

So, in June I will have been banded for a year! I can hardly believe it! This past year has been a year of learning how to use food as a fuel source for my body and not as a crutch to help me with boredom, fatigue, anxiety and other feelings and emotions. I love the way my body looks and feels. I exercise religiously and don't and did not expect overnight results. My doctor has been a great help and encourages me when I get my fills.
I remember I posted when I was pre-op and said I wanted to start living purposefully and not just existing anymore. I feel like I am doing just that. I feel good about my decision to have the lap band and do not regret anything about it. Granted, there are times when I want to eat away my problems, but they are short-lived and life goes on.
And, it's a good life!

Congrats!!!

Good for you. It will be 2 years in June for me. And while I have been very successful, I struggle daily with head hunger or emotional eating. I seem to control it but it's not always easy.
Continued Luck to you!

Congrats to you as well!

july will be a year for me, I think i've done pretty good also, Congrats to you

So, in June I will have been banded for a year! I can hardly believe it! This past year has been a year of learning how to use food as a fuel source for my body and not as a crutch to help me with boredom, fatigue, anxiety and other feelings and emotions. I love the way my body looks and feels. I exercise religiously and don't and did not expect overnight results. My doctor has been a great help and encourages me when I get my fills.
I remember I posted when I was pre-op and said I wanted to start living purposefully and not just existing anymore. I feel like I am doing just that. I feel good about my decision to have the lap band and do not regret anything about it. Granted, there are times when I want to eat away my problems, but they are short-lived and life goes on.
And, it's a good life!

So, in June I will have been banded for a year! I can hardly believe it! This past year has been a year of learning how to use food as a fuel source for my body and not as a crutch to help me with boredom, fatigue, anxiety and other feelings and emotions. I love the way my body looks and feels. I exercise religiously and don't and did not expect overnight results. My doctor has been a great help and encourages me when I get my fills.
I remember I posted when I was pre-op and said I wanted to start living purposefully and not just existing anymore. I feel like I am doing just that. I feel good about my decision to have the lap band and do not regret anything about it. Granted, there are times when I want to eat away my problems, but they are short-lived and life goes on.
And, it's a good life!

Wow. Thanks for sharing your feelings. I am so happy that you have 100lbs of weight gone! Imagine the health benefits that you don't actually see that your body is enjoying. I, on the other hand, am one of those people who have struggled with being overweight all of my life. I am almost 1 yr. out of lapband surgery and feel like a new person, even though I have lost about 35lbs. I too have had a struggle with trying to outsmart the band and fill that ever-present "hole" in my life with food that goes down easily.
This is a life-long journey for me and I am glad to have the tool that I now have to help me get to my goal. I feel thankful that I was fortunate enough to get it, but now I need to use it properly and not work against it.
Best wishes to you.

I had my LB put in place in June 2011. I am now at 4ccs in my band. My experience has taught me that this is not for the weak at heart.
Life with the lap band life is like learning how to walk. There are hills and valleys involved and bumps and bruises along the way. Of course I am speaking figuratively, but I hope by my posting this that people will realize that there are no "easy fixes" even with the LB. I continue to be challenged by eating small bites and chewing very slowly and thoroughly. There is still an opportunity for me to overeat as I have learned, although now there are painful consequences. Learning to eat to live is an everyday battle for me. Years of bad habits are hard to break, especially when our society celebrates, mourns and everything else with food!
My hope is that this message will encourage, challenge and speak to those who have made this life-changing decision and to remind us all that this is an everyday battle that we fight. Focus on your goal and get to that finish line. We are all worth it!!!

I just about always take leftovers. When I don't its tuna fish, cottage cheese, chicken salad with grapes in it, string cheese. I've purchased canned chili and will do some of that, 3 bean salad is good.
The meatball idea sounds great! i need to try that, and I love the wrap idea also. i haven't done wraps yet.

I write about this stuff on my blog. The band does not EVER help me make good choices, I have to do that. But I have mine tight enough so that eating requires thought and patience, and once thought and patience is added to the mix, I tend to make better choices. My theory has always been that the challenge (for success) is to see HOW LITTLE you can consume, not HOW MUCH. Making this mental shift is critical. When someone says I can eat anything, I think, but why are you? The challenge is not to see what you can still eat. The challenge is to diet until you get great restriction, which can take some time.

I got my band 2 yrs ago and my first "real" meal was a Burger King cheeseburger. So yes, I know what it feels like to not eat quite so healthy and be disappointed in myself. For the first 4 mths or so after I had the band, I felt no restriction whatsoever. And I ate just the same amt I had eaten previously. It took till my 3rd fill to get some restriction. I've now lost 100 lbs with about 13 left to lose with perfect restriction. And I still eat quite a few things I shouldn't be eating. If I could eat perfectly, I wouldn't have needed surgery! I agree with the others - stop beating yourself up and understand that it's ok to blow it occasionally. Once you have restriction, it'll become easier to say no to certain things and pass by certain things.
Good luck to you!
Marci

This may help you in understanding the restrictive mechanism of a Lap-Band.
The ALLERGAN protocol for Lap-Band fills calls for a six-week delay after surgery, prior to any fills. The purpose for the six-week delay is for the patient’s stomach to heal from the surgery, as well as allowing time for the Lap-Band to “Seat” or “Nestle” into the fat pad between the stomach wall and the interior wall of the Lap-Band.
Prior to receiving an EFFECTIVE fill, it is VERY uncommon to have any restriction from a Lap-Band. Some patients will NOT lose weight, or may even GAIN weight until they have received an effective fill in their Lap-Band.
Normal weight loss with a properly restricted Lap-Band is between 1 and 2 pounds per week.
The normal cycle of fills, restriction and weight loss is as follows:
1. The patient's Lap-Band constricts when the patient receives a fill. Swelling for a few days after receiving a fill is very common. Many doctors require a patient to go on a liquid diet for a day or two after receiving a fill. A fill may have a “Delayed Action” of up to 4 weeks. A “Delayed-Action” means that the fill may not become effective for up to 4 weeks after the fill. That is why the ALLERGAN protocol states that fills should not be performed on patients who will not have access to medical care for at least two weeks after a fill.
2. The patient's stomach capacity is lessened as a result of the restriction caused by the Lap-Band.
3. The patient loses weight because they cannot eat as much food.
4. The residual fat-pad between the inside of the Lap-Band and the outside of the patient's stomach reduces in size because of the overall weight loss in the patient.
5. The reduction of the residual fat-pad causes the Lap-Band to become loose again.
6. At that point, the patient needs another fill, because the Lap-Band is loose, and the patient has a loss of restriction, which allows the patient to eat larger amounts of food.< /span>
7. The patient receives another fill and the process starts all over again.
Most Lap-Band patients receive several fills to adjust the Lap-Band as their weight loss progresses, and there is less and less residual fat-pad between the inside of the Lap-Band and the exterior of the stomach wall. Once a patient has lost all of their residual fat-pad, fills become less common. As the Lap-Band patient progresses in their weight loss, the effect of very tiny fills (Less than .2ccs) becomes greater and greater.
It is not uncommon for a late-stage Lap-Band patient to experience a significant difference in restriction with as little as .05cc of fill.

Thanks! I'm actually attending my first Zumba class tonight, rather than just my normal work-out. Hopefully this will be one of the nudges I need to get myself back on track.

About the only thing you may want to be aware of could be your appetite returning once all the post-op swelling has gone away. You may end up in what's known as "bandster hell," where you haven't yet had your first fill, and your appetite is back with a vengeance. it's hard to maintain a low calorie diet when you have no fill. Hang in there, keep working your plan, and you'll do fine.
Good luck!
Dave

The band has been the absolute best thing that has happened to me (besides the birth of my daughter). I no longer have to worry about my weight escalating out of control because I have taken control of the situation I find myself always analyzing food before I eat. I am by no means a saint at all, but much, much, MUCH better than I was prior to surgery.

I am smiling more. I love to look at clothes now. Even though I'm only down 39, (which is a huge accomplishment for me)..I am already 95% more active than I was a few months ago. I hiked three miles the other day and swam in our pool.

No regrets at all!

Same here, not getting it sooner. Yes, you will grieve food a little after surgery. Yes, you may have times when you get something stuck. Yes, you will have to still watch what you eat (ice cream, candy bars, etc.), yes, I have had to exercise but I can say that 5 months down the road, 53 lbs lighter, past the grieving period, past the port healing, past the scars on my belly, most days I forget I even have a band. I love it and just wish I had done this years ago. Good luck sunshine. The only frustrating part was that I didn't loose 10 lbs a day like I wish I could have.......giggle.

I didn't think I would experience any jelousy because my family knows I have struggled with my weight all of my life. Unfortunately, I ran into it two weeks ago. I have an older sister and a younger sister and when we were younger, they were always thin and I wasn't. They used to tease me so bad and it hurt. Now, they are overweight too. I didn't know how much they weighed but I knew we were all close. My oldest sister came to see me last week and brought me some clothes she said she couldn't wear anymore. She's lost 40 lbs, she claims and I could tell she had lost some. I was so happy she was losing too because I know how hard it is. Long story short, I have lost 53 lbs and was feeling so good about that until she got here. When I opened the bag of clothes she wanted me to have, I found that they were a size 22 and size 20. I told her they were too big but I apprecited it. She kept telling me they were too big for her too and said that she was wearing a size 18. Which is what I am wearing. I just wanted to cry because as I looked at her I kept thinking that if I were still that big that I didn't feel it and my heart was just sad. I felt like I had been working out all of this time and I still looked so big too if we were wearing the same size. I know we carry our weight differently. Mine is in my butt and hips and hers is around the middle but I didn't see any way we were wearing the same size. She never said how much she weighed but I just kept saying no way. Then I did something sneaky. (I know and I felt bad) but when she went to the store, I went into the room she was staying in and I looked through her suitcase to see what size pants she was wearing. I felt really bad about doing it but I found out she was wearing a size 24 and not 18. The thing that hurt my feelings was that she had to lie about it. I just don't understand that. She knew where I started at 263 lbs. She also knows how much I have struggled to get this off, even with the band. In all honesty, I am losing weight for vanity reasons and because I have felt bad about myself and the way I have felt I looked and I was sick of it. I am also getting older and I have not had any health problems and I don't want any associated with being over weight. I am at a point in my life where I have been through so many bad things that I want to feel better and look better and have a better self esteem. As crappy as that may be, it's the truth. I slipped on a pair of 16 jeans today and they wouldn't button, but I got them up and buttoned is just my next goal. I am seeing my legs look better and I'm making little muscles in my arms and jelousy, or no jelousy, I'm getting this off this time. I've carried all of my emotional hurt in my body for too long and at 40 years of age, I've discovered that people are going to like me or not and it has very little to do with my weight.

You can do it! Just stick to a training schedule. I'm not ready for this triathlon and am scared I won't be ready but, hey, I am going to finish it! Even if I finish last I will still be able to call myself a triathlete!

As we heal from the surgery our bodies return to "normal" we feel like we did prior to surgery. If you weren't given any fill at surgery time, you'll feel hungry! It's like you didn't have WLS. You find yourself wondering what the heck you did to yourself.
Bypassers lose very quickly at first. They have great motivation to begin their journey. We don't always. After I was returned to solids, my surgeon didn't expect any losses from me until I started getting fills and getting the benefit of this tool.
Fluids go right through the band. If your swelling is gone, that explains why Water goes right down. Even with good restriction, I can drink Clear liquids as fast as I want. We are told to sip, sip, sip at first due to swelling.
Hunger is a physiological function. Don't beat yourself up for being hungry. 3 days post-op I was eye-balling my dog I was so hungry. Keep your chin up. Keep healing. It gets better. Just follow your doctor's orders and heal up.

When you're hungry, drink drink drink. It helps me a lot. I'm almost 7 months out and I've had one small fill. Fills do not make you lose weight. Only you can do that. Am I hungry between meals, yes I am. But I'm still not sure if I want another fill. I'm losing weight fine, because I know what I have to do and I know I have to do it. Am I gonna Lise 100# in a year, no. But Water can keep me satisfied to an extent, so I'm wondering if I really should get a fill.
So drink when you feel hungry. I know this may seem hard since you may still be on liquids or mushies, but it helps. Though I wasn't hungry during my liquid stage, so I can't say for sure if it will help on that stage. But remember fills do not equal weight loss. Only you can control that.

Very important post indeed!
I honestly won't listen to anyone complaining about not finding the time to incorporate workouts to their daily routine. This is purely nonsense. You found time to gorge and pig-out...you can find time to exercise.
I'm not a big fan of 2~3 hour workout sessions. I think it's too much and cannot be sustained for a long time. However, I do believe in doing various 15~20 minute exercise sessions throughout the day.
Being a paraplegic, I'm only able to work out my upper body... but I try to do as much as i can. Even pushing my manual wheelchair, I can change the style to isolate different muscle groups. For instance, I can lean forward and focus on my pectorals... or I can lean back and work on my front deltoids. I can also go uphill backwards in my wheelchair to work out my traps and some triceps.
I'll try to go around my neighborhood (about 1 mile) with my dog at least once a day. It's pretty tough because we have pretty steep hills.
My mother ails from rheumatoid arthritis and absolutely abhors working out... but I am so adamant that if she'd lose 30~40 pounds, the impact on her knees would be so much less. I guess it's much easier said than done.

I'm having surgery on June 17 as well. My nerves are under control, but I am so nervous about the after-surgery nourishment. I guess I just don't want to "screw up" and am very stressed out.
One day at a time is what I am telling myself.