Kymbethin

So I'm on mushies...and I have this problem with testing my limitations. With that said, I've moved myself beyond mushies and have found myself grazing on things like very small pieces of beef and baked tortillas. Also, with my mushies, well let's just say they haven't been the best choices. I've tolerated things like guacamole, potato salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese and I even tasted (only tasted) some of my son's graduation cake last night. Although I've only had very small portions, I get full easily, but what I do find is that I'm hungry within a couple of hours and I find myself grazing again, what's up with that? My doc said that he put about 3 or 4 cc's at the time of surgery, but apparently I need more. I do feel like I've gained a little weight, but I've been too afraid to get on the scale. I can't wait to feel that satiety that the band is supposed to be famous for. My saving grace is probably the fact that I turn my treadmill walks into full workouts (doing a lot of variations). I must admit that I do feel a little discouragement, because I expected my first month to be really successful with the loss. I do think I'll be more successful when I'm not limited on what I can do physically. Anyway, I hadn't posted in a while, because I didn't want to be discouraging to others, but this past week has been somewhat of a struggle. But what I do know for sure is that better days are ahead! Kymmie

Congrats, very inspiring!

That's what I actually had was Progresso's, now I don't feel too bad!

I concur Miss Mary! I started my mushies a couple of days early and I find that I've been craving the creamier soups like, clam chowder, cream of potato, broccoli and cheese, I've even made some really creamy, soft guacamole. I think I've just wanted something hearty, something that truly felt like I ate something. And since most of my swelling has gone down, I find myself becoming hungrier between my meals! Like you, the scale really isn't moving for me either, and I actually go to the gym and burn lots of calories...I guess discouragement is starting to set in a little. My first fill is scheduled for the 14th...

That's great Gtney! You give me some inspiration...I forget sometimes that you have to take into consideration of trying to find the balance with the fills. I've lost quite a bit, but I honestly feel like I should be losing more, I can't wait to get my first fill! 48lbs is great for 8 months, that's a 7 year old that you're not carrying around anymore =)

Thanks SkinnyInside! Yeah I was actually able to keep everything down with no nausea or vomitting. The Skinny Girl Margarita is great, and it's pretty strong too, only 33 calories in a half a cup! Drinking liquids of any kind does not really fill me up, it just feels like it felt pre-band. It doesn't really curb my hunger or anything. Good luck on your impending success, I know you'll do great too! Once you're sick in tired of being sick in tired, it catapults you to a new mission for yourself, you'll be unstoppable! Keep us posted =) PS: The Big D is Dallas (everything's bigger in Texas)

It sounds like you're doing great BandedKitten! And you're right about the how food looks much better than it tastes sometimes. I just keep telling myself, "you've tasted this stuff a million times before, it's nothing new!" I agree, the hunger pangs are starting to kick in overdrive. I can't wait to go for my first fill on the 12th...11 days to go! I hope I can at least drop another 10lbs or so by then! Try walking with a little intensity, and the scale will probably start moving for you again. I notice that everyday I workout, I lose at least 1lb. Happy Travels Chic!

So I am now 12 days into my journey and I've been extremely proud of myself on the workout portion. I've now graduated to walking on the treadmill doing speed walking intervals, with inclines that includes backwards walking intervals at a pace between 3-3.7mph for one hour (sometimes even twice per day)!! BUT like I said that part is ALWAYS easy for me, food is my issue. Not snacks...I've never been the type to eat all day or raid the fridge in the midnight hour, but I love good meals! I like going out to eat at nice restaurants (and there are hundreds to choose from in the Big D); and my partner prepares fabulous cuisines! I've been doing pretty good at my liquid diet, and in two days I'll be allowed to graduate to mushies...but today it came a little early. After I worked out at the gym, I drank my lil 42g protein shot and I came home and didn't eat, because I was satisfied from the protein shot for a couple of hours. So we prepared Memorial Day Dinner that consisted of grilled hotdogs, ribeye steaks, chicken, potato salad, and baked beans. I actually ate about a 1/2 cup of baked beans combined with the potato salad and chewed it to a liquid state. Should I feel bad? Because I don't, it was the only thing I had eaten all day and it probably totaled less than 200 calories. It was delicious! It felt so good to actually chew, and I was satisfied with my baby portion. OH yeah I also had a glass of my Skinny Girl Margarita! Don't feel bad about that either! I didn't have to deprive myself, I was satisfied with very little, and I didn't have any problems with digesting it. This made for a great day! I'm losing, my clothes fit differently already, and I feel great...except for the occasional port pain that I feel! Hope everyone had a fabulous Holiday, I did

Jenn, I feel your pain, but what Miss Mary said is 100%. Since you're obsessed with the scale (like I am :-) you should get a tanita scale that measures your fat, water, and bone density; this way you can see where the weight gain is (and weight loss for that matter). It will give you a peace of mind, because our bodies will hold on to water, especially when there is a drastic change. Even exercise can make you retain sometimes. Drink plenty of water to flush out the water and you'll be fine (physically and mentally But I do feel ya on the appetite, I have been sooooooo hungry and NOT for a damn protein drink either, I want to CHEW!

CONGRATS JEN! What an accomplishment...I'm still on liquids! I called my dr's office and asked if I could eat some real food and they were like NOPE! They said it was because they sewed a part of my stomach on top of the band to prevent slippage, and they want it to completely heal. I am hungry and I'm tired of drinking protein shakes. I would love to have some scrambled eggs right now!

Way to Go Banded Kitten! 15 POUNDS is phenomenal! I was happy to be down 11 as of this morning. What's up with the swelling? When is it going to go down? I think I would be lighter if it wasn't for that! I'm sad about the holidays, it's funny how I've associated food with every special occasion in my life, now I have to deal with my emotions and get them under control and remember FOOD is for FUEL. BTW, how far are you into your journey? Happy Travels!

Congrats Young and Banded! You mean you could actually eat rice?? I dream of eating rice again, it's my favorite staple. They told me at my center that rice is very difficult to eat for a banded person? Did you have any saline to start off with? Were you able to eat real food before your first band? I'm really starting to have a mourning with missing food. I just keep thinking about the last time I chewed something, it's been NINE whole days! Congrats on your lost!

Hi Olivia, I agree, this site is a little difficult to navigate around. I'm sorry that you are experiencing some vomiting...what are you drinking? I'm on liquids with occasional baby food and Jell-O, but everything I consume I try to get some protein with it. My protein shakes consist of blending: 1 cup of frozen strawberries 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder 1/2 cup of fat free milk or sugar free lemonade (depending if I'm in the mood for fruity or creamy) My hunger has really picked up the last past couple of days, but the more protein I drink, the better I feel. You can pick up those protein shots at any major health food retailer, small or large, and also my gym (24 hour fitness) sells them too. Here's the link to the website of the brand that I drink: http://www.newwhey.com/shop.php Happy travels along your journey Olivia!

Thanks Freelance! I need all the motivation I can get!

I made it through my first week with BanDiva and I'm officially down 10lbs on my scale with a whooping 6lbs on pure body fat GONE Buh-Bye! I can't really tell physically that I have lost weight, except for the fact that my girls aren't filling up and spilling over my bras. I still have a lot of swelling and bloating in my abdomen area, is this normal? I must say that today was much better than yesterday. I went to the gym this morning, and graduated to an incline with speed intervals, it got my heart rate pumping, created a little muscle confusion, and resulted in an uptick in caloric expenditure. I debriefed my lil' mission with a relaxing, HOT 15 minutes in the sauna! My hunger contained itself better than yesterday. I increased my protein intake which prolongs satiation. Not that it was completely sustained, because I'm hungry RIGHT NOW! I finished two protein shakes today, and had a Popsicle and one of those distasteful protein shots, it tasted like I was drinking liquid, orange flavored meat, but it has a whooping 42 grams of low calorie protein, no sugar and no carbs. They're about $2.99 each. Also, anyone tell me, how long does the left shoulder gas pain really last?? I mean I didn't think I would still be feeling it like this? I pop gas pills, walk, move it around, massage it, and beg it to stop hurting, what gives? I am open to receiving any advice to get rid of this pain. On a positive note, my scars are healing very well. I can barely see three of them, the other two largest ones are sealing up nicely as well. Well that's all that I have for tonight, I guess I'll go to bed and dream of what it feels like to chew again! Happy Travels Sweet Dreams GO MAVS!!!

Thanks for sharing...your information provided some clarity to having the band.

Freelance, I like the high I feel from working out, it actually does release endorphins, you know the feel good hormones...so I'm like a crack addict searching for that high when I go to the gym sometimes, especially when I'm in one of my moods!

Jenn, I am equally proud of you, thanks for sharing all of your successes, you're an inspiration!

Today officially feels like I haven't eaten in a week! Wow where did these hunger pangs (pains) come from? I was totally fine with my appetite until now. It feels like my body is going through some type of emotional food drug withdrawal! Maybe my day started too early and I've been awake for too many hours, I don't know, but I definitely hope this is not an indication of what's to come, I have another full week on liquids! Okay (as I step away from my sounding board) let me think about my successes for today! Let's celebrate the positives...thinking....thinking....umm....well, oh yeah! I didn't cheat, I actually stuck to the program, right! I didn't cheat! I should feel good about that right? Well, honestly I probably didn't cheat because I was deathly afraid of the consequences. Besides that, stress overwhelmed me, and my usual emotional eating habits started tapping me on the shoulder PROFUSELY! The :welldoneclap: gang was on my other shoulder and I just suffered to my victory! In all seriousness, I expect to face challenges, it was one of my reasons for this sound decision to get banded! I wanted to face the emotional eating head on, I wanted to be forced to make a better choice when faced with these situations. I no longer want to be the victim of circumstance. Plato said, "The first and best victory is to conquer self"; to me that's what this journey is all about, getting out of my own way. Tomorrow is a new day!

I was banded on May 18th also! Glad so many are on the mark with me, now we're set...so let's go! Except it's not a sprint but more like a marathon, we will endure to the end, our prize will be our health, strength, and personal reinventions! Gas pain - moderate Abdomen pain - moderately so Protein intake - I just started taking A New Whey protein shots - 42g of pure protein, no carbs, no sugar!

The great news is that you can still have your chocolate and eat it too! Jell-O has some fabulous chocolate, sugar free, fat free puddings with probiotics, it tastes sinful, try them and it will probably do wonders for the emotional upheavals that are challenging you. I hope you feel better soon and thanks for the possible forewarning...

Congrats! I look forward to the mushy stuff! I'm still on liquids, day 5 post op here!

Day six of my happy travels and I actually got up and went to 24 hour fitness. I'm not much into neighborhood strolls, I prefer the aroma of sweat, barbells and dumbbells, the belts of treadmills and stairmasters and loud music to get me pumped! My goal was to complete 30 minutes of no incline at 2.5mph, but I did myself ONE better, I actually walked for 45 minutes at a pace of 3.5mph! At one point I wanted to break into a sprint, but I followed the rules and enjoyed my brisk walk on the treadmill. The exciting thing about my personal journey is that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE working out!! And to top that off, I'm a trained professional in the field, I've been personal/group training under an apprenticeship since I was about 19 years old, and I've been certified for just over a year. The problem for me was that although I could achieve the results with consistency, discipline and HARD work, I often times failed as a "victim of circumstance." So many times, I let life happen and knock me right back to rock bottom! But not this time, BanDiva will allow me to not only reach my wildest dreams of having the perfect body, but allow me to be my own walking advertisement to make some great extra bucks in my spare time. As far as the rest of the day was concerned, I did work for a few hours today and trained one of my colleagues in the process. I think that kind of wiped me out, because I was having to do a lot of uncomfortable twisting and talking. So I went home early and partook of my last two meetings of the day via conference call. After I sobbed from watching Oprah, I actually got up and cooked dinner for my kiddos for the first time since I had the surgery. The amazing thing about this was that I was not tempted, not even a little by the aroma of my infamous spaghetti! I didn't have a desire to eat it, taste it, lick the spoon or savor over what I thought I was missing. I had about a quarter cup of seasoned chicken broth for dinner and a sugar free strawberry popsicle, and I AM ALL GOOD and FULL! I took about a teaspoon of hydrocodone and Mac and Me lie in the bed as I express my thoughts to you good people! I hope everyone has a splendid evening, I receive so much encouragement, inspiration and hope as I read your stories of success and struggles, I'm not alone and I visualize what's to come! Nighty Night

Hang in there! Remember the first few weeks are about healing, not losing weight, the weight loss is just a byproduct of the VLCD. You're successful, because you faced your faults and learned from them. By the next few weeks, I'm sure the weight will just be falling off of you! Good luck on your road to skinny!

Thank you Charmaine, I didn't think of that! I did have some sugar in that Kellog's protein shake that I drank (which was not good by the way). I will definitely watch the sugar intake today! Happy Travels