NJ2NC

Hello JustDoIt130 & Rockonhan, I did try the Mirena and believe it or not after only several months it dislodged into my cervix I was told that was very very rare and that I should try it again. The only reason we found the issue was because I told my Dr. my cycles are still crazy and she looked at me like I was nuts and said lets do an ultasound. Before the Mirena I used the NuvaRing after the dislodging thing I was scared to try it again so I went back to the ring. Now that I'm banded it is obviously slowing down my progress I guess I should just put those fears aside and just get the Mirena again..

I'm curious about something. I've been consistently losing on average about 1-2 per week since banded 1/17. I started back on my NuvaRing 2 weeks ago and have not lost a single pound since (not gained either). coincidence or what? I've not been eating any more and doing about the same amount of exercise. I know BC has its weight gain issues but I was thinking ok! I'm banded and exercising this shouldn't be a problem. I get my second fill on Friday.. I have to decide to continue with the ring by Monday.. (it's not for preventing pregnancy its for cycle control..it has always been a beast lol) I'm wondering what's worth more to me?? taming the beast or losing weight consistently, I hope this wasn't TMI for everyone! What would y'all do?

Hey There, I'm still here! How are you..I've a little reading/catching up to do. I have the LBT app on my iPhone finally and I just finally got the myfitnesspal app. I hate logging my food, I always forget but I'll keep practicing! LOL well, I better go try to get in some exercise today I've been stuck at the same weight the last week but I know its better than gaining. My will-power is breaking down so I moved up my fill from 6weeks from the last fill to 4 weeks, so I go next Friday. I'm so excited hopefully I can get some real restriction.

Hello horsegirl, I get my second fill on March 23rd (I moved it up from April 5th - waiting 6 weeks was too long) I found my 1st fill to be a bit uncomfortable ok ok it hurt lol but only for a very short time then it was all over. I felt like a little kid that just got a needle, I should've gotten a lollipop or something afterwards haha. I've NEVER been stuck, I feel like I have no restriction! as of Feb 24th I have 4cc. I can take big bites, little bites, eat slow, eat fast, eat the same way pre-band and feel no different. I've been eating right and losing weight on sheer will-power which broke down recently when I finished my daughters Sonic Tator Tots (about 5 or 6) yesterday and the day before that I had a sausage and peppers/onions sub (I didn't eat the bread tho) AND I had a very small glass of wine. I knew my willpower wasn't going to last forever so I figured I better move this fill up. After the first fill I was so stressed so I don't know if the band or stress helped me not eat so much. Well, I've not gained or lost in the last week so I'm a little disappointed but not terribly cause I could've gained!! After I finish up my postings I'll head on over to the gym and get some exercise in.

Hey there, I think working with a counselor (Shrink as you described lol) to help replace those behaviors is a great idea. Sound like you have great snack choices I also get the sugar free fudge bar or pudding. However i was told to stay far far away from sweet tea, so I'll do un-sweet with a little stevia or splenda just to remind me how much I love and miss sweet tea. Stress eating can be hard. Fortunately I am a stress non-eater. I've been under a lot of stress since my 1st fill on Feb 24th so I don't know if the band is keeping me full or the stress. I realized at 1 point I hadn't eaten in over 16 hours..stress can be bad either way! I had my appointment with my nutritionist on Monday morning and was told I lost 29 pounds since my 1st pre-op weigh-in on Jan 5th I was so glad to hear that and needed to hear so great news! I'm back on track with eating properly and feel great. I hope you are feeling good too.

My first fill was Fri 2/24. I already had 2cc and he gave me 2cc (total 4cc) I don't have lots of restriction but I can feel a little. I've been stressing over some personal stuff all weekend so I don't know if my loss of appetite is from the fill or stress (I normally lose my appetite when I'm really stressed and eat terribly when i do eat, luckily I've had the will power to make healthy choices). Nothing has gotten stuck so far I'm scheduled for my next fill is 6 weeks but I could get 1 as early as 4weeks they told me to just call if I wanted to come in earlier. My doctor asked me how long does it take after eating until I feel hungry again, I said about 2 hours. I told him I just mentally make myself stop eating. Finally, getting a fill hurt I will admit I'm a baby when it comes to needles but still it hurt, not so terrible I'll never go again lol but enough to make me cringe in pain. He said now he know exactly where the port is it will be easier next time (I'm thinking yeah sure, a needle is a needle lol)

ZipLine! my goal is to buy my ticket put on my harness and not worry about stepping on that scale to prove I'm under 250lbs Shop in any store I want and not have to look for the Plus Size department. Run a 5k with my daughter who's a runner.

Good Saturday Morning..my first fill went good yesterday well to be honest it hurt a bit, but I'm a baby when it comes to needles. Once it was over I was just fine! I had 2cc in already and I got 2 more...so now I have 4cc in my standard lapband. I went to a retirement party/dinner last night I had some soup and I did just fine, I almost finished it but stopped and thought about what I was feeling and I felt full. I've lost 9.4lbs since my last post op visit on 2/2/11..I'm happy with that.

Wow, I would have lost my mind and snapped just for being "called out" like that. I work in a small office about 25 or so directly around me, my team of 4 and about 4 people not on my team know. I am the social butterfly in my office so its obvious when I don't eat the cookies and cakes that seem to come through the office often. I'm sure others will figure it out soon but no one has straight out asked me. 1 girl I'm not very close with beat around the bush a bit asking very quietly "sooo why don't you want a piece of cake or why can't you eat a donut" I just smile and say "Because 2012 is my year to treat myself and health the right way" it isn't a secret, if someone asked me I'll tell the truth but I won't volunteer to talk about my personal goals with anyone but my closest co-workers and family.

Hi Everyone, Hope everyone is doing well. Just wanted to say hello. I'm 5 weeks post op and scheduled to get my first fill on Friday..I'm almost excited as I was when I was having the surgery.. Like so many others I feel like I can eat as much as I want and I'm hungry every 2 hours. Although I've been very good with eating the right things and getting my protein in I'm hoping getting a fill will help me get through at least 4 hours before I'm feeling like I need to eat. I don't think I lost a lot a weight since surgery but I KNOW I didn't gain!! and that's the point right! I keep reading about flipped ports and I can feel mine easily just by grazing my hand over my skin, its still a little sore if pressure is put on it and it is right at "bend" level, so every time I bend over to pick up something I feel like I'm squeezing it... But I'm going to keep positive thoughts for Friday that all will be well.

oh yeah I'm one of them, I feel like I can eat and eat and eat some more. I've been extremely good though at stopping and following portion sizes and very proud of myself. HOWEVER, today I didn't follow the rules and now I know what it feels like to eat tooo much with the band and it's definitely punishing me..my chest feel like a vice grip is on it and up under my rib cage feel like a helium balloon is there and shooting the pains up into my shoulder. I had some baked Beans and some roasted bbq pulled pork (Very Tender and Very good) well my brain said enough but my taste buds said "ahh its just a few more bites" I believe JustDoIt130 said it best "Just because you can eat like you did before the surgery doesn't mean you should".....trust me lesson learned..advice of the day listen to your brain!

It wasn't perfect but I think I survived! As I sat down and opened work email first thing in the morning I saw "Donuts, Donut holes, and Starbucks in the breakroom" I felt like yelling NOOOOOOO! but it wasn't so bad I avoided the break room all morning (i knew they would be gone within an hour) and since I chose to give up coffee Jan 3rd (Cold turkey, I didn't even want to go to decaf I just wan't to stop coffee all together) the smell of that coffee was beckoning, but I put all my willpower to the test and won. I had my protein shake made with 2% milk, sugar free pudding and a spoonful of peanut butter and crushed ice...it was heavenly. The worst part of the day was when one of my co-workers tried to make me just "taste the red velvet cake, just a litte piece" and she knew that was a no-no right now. I was a little disappointed in her but she apologized later.

You're welcome, my mornings move quick between 2 kids... I grab a bottled water and then eat my Centrum chewable vitamin, by the time the kids are on the bus and I get myself together its time to head to work, next thing you know its 9 o'clock. If I had to sit still for a long period of time I would prob want to grab something a lot sooner...I think the hustle and bustle helps plus I've never been a breakfast person (one of my problems).

How do I make it from b-fast to lunch?.. sometimes Barely! LOL I wait till I'm at work to have my protein shake and I hold out as long as I can (my mornings tend to be hectic) so I'll wait until 9 or so to have it. Then about 11 I try to drink another bottle of water to hold me till lunch. Sometimes I may just grab a sugar free jello. I don't count calories either, I'm terrible at food logging. Oh those shots of protein..is worse than anything I've ever tried.

I donated my personal boxes of cookies as well but couldn't get the family to do the same..luckily the kind of cookies they like I DONT..so it kind of works out. lol. I'm learning to be patient too its been a long time since I actually enjoyed working out but slowing down right now is just the right thing to do during this phase.

Hi Nicole, I'm 4 weeks post-op and I am hungry after about 2hours too. I'm scheduled for my first fill 2/24. I'm exercising about 4-5x's a week. I'm also losing very slow but I realized I'm burning a lot of calories and not balancing with the proper amount of calories coming in..I slowed down my exercise a little by doing 2 days toning 2 days light cardio (I was doing spin class and hi intensity cardio classes and run/power walk treadmill). I realized I'm still on the "soft food" stage and definitely not intaking the calories I need to work out that hard. After I slowed down my intensity at the gym I dropped 5 pounds in a week. I know that will level out real soon. I've realized I have the rest of my life to pick up the intensity so right now I'll enjoy light steady workouts to build a routine. My day is something like: Slimfast low carb protein shake for breakfast, 2% cheese & 98%fat free turkey lunch meat or tuna/light mayo for lunch, slimfast mid day and either chicken/fish with a veggie for dinner and water throughout the day. If I need extra I'll mix in a sugar free chocolate pudding or jello or eat a yogurt. The pudding seem to fulfill my sweet tooth believe it or not.. I'm a Girl Scout leader and have about 20 cases of cookies in my living room right now...TORTURE!! but I just say "not know, I can maybe enjoy a sweet cookie down the road, just not now" BTW I tried a higher calorie/low carb protein shake from the gym and it tore my stomach up..gas pains all afternoon and night (lesson learned big time)

I understand where you are coming from. I have 2 very (sports) active kids and I'm active in a few organizations which result in lots of picking up food on the go and Fridays are normally dine out or order in nights. I thought long and hard about how surgery would allow me to fit in with all of that. I realized my health was more important than fast food and making adjustments will be well worth it. I'm almost 4 weeks post op and on soft foods and ts been ok, on family sit-down meals I cook healthy for everyone, we choose KFC for Friday dinner out (I had some grilled and pulled off the skin w/ green beans). So far all is well.

I would love to get out this size 11!! I hope I could be so lucky. A nice size 9 would be perfect lol. I'm only 3 1/2 weeks post op and I seem to be losing in my waist so I'm really not complaining... as time goes by maybe it'll move down through my thighs and hit my feet! Isn't it funny how everyone lose weight in different places.

I was banded the 17th, I had 2 weeks of clear/full liquids up to TODAY!! yay. I see the nutritionist today at 4pm for the next phase of my diet. The nutritionist is great! today I'll find out what I should be eating, calories, portion sizes, food choices, and all that good stuff. I'm not sure what your program recommends (it seems they vary greatly) but I'll share if your interested.

My husband and girls tried real hard to be careful not to eat in front of me, my husband would call and warn me he was bringing pizza or chinese food home LOL funny thing is I didn't want any of those things. I had to convince them it was fine to eat in front of me. I began cooking for them again about the first week after surgery. The hard part is I've been cooking nice healthy meals for them that look and smelled so good. So tempting but I had a mind set that I wasn't going to eat anything until my 2 weeks of clear/full liquids was finished. I'm starting to feel the hunger a little but know I'll be cleared for solids real soon!! Saturday after i picked up pizza and made the kids plates, my mom said "I don't know how you can watch us eat this and not pick up a piece, you are 1 strong woman" I took that as a compliment but it's my new band-mindset.. 3 weeks ago I would have been 5 slices in!

Hello Everyone, checking in from Greensboro!

I know everyone's program is different. I had to do 2 weeks of clear/full liquids to allow my stomach to fully heal before dealing with solid food. The goal was to get up to 32oz clear and 32oz Full liquids per day including shakes. I've been able to tolerate about 8oz Protein drink from day 3 post-op I do 2 or 3 slimfast shake 20g Protein, 4g Carbs, 2g sugar per day. I drink broth once a day, cream of something (chicken, mushroom, etc) and yogurt, Jello, Water as fillers throughout the day. My nutritionist will alter my diet tomorrow for soft foods. I don't think drinking a watered down shake will mess you up at all. I had to start drinking 2oz of a Protein Shake every 4 hours the next day in the hospital. Good luck.

Hello Nicole1, Sound like you are doing great. I am just coming out my liquid post op diet. Tomorrow makes 2 weeks POST! I was banded on the 17th, I see the nutritionist @ 4pm tomorrow to start my next phase of what I should be eating. I never looked so forward to soft/pureed foods in my life lol. I got on the scale yesterday then I went to the YMCA to walk the indoor track and got on the scale again just to verify mine is correct (I had it in the closet for MONTHS) it was still pretty accurate I've come down about 14 pounds since starting the pre-op diet. Today I feel great I've been getting my walking in (about a mile each walk) today I think I'll just speed it up just a tiny notch. I don't want to burn too many calories since I'm still on liquids. I was thinking of getting a trainer once I'm fully cleared by the doc to lift weights.

Good Luck!

I'm on day 9 post op and I'm JUST having the mental thought of "I'm hungry" but not really feeling hungry its very weird. I think I mentally know its just time to eat. I haven't had any stomach growling yet. I drink a 10oz Protein shake for Breakfast, 8-10oz broth at lunch, maybe Jello or yogurt mid-day or a Protein Shake. Then head home from work cook dinner for the family then make a can of cream of something Soup for me. Before bed its another jello, yogurt, popsicle or protein shake. I also stagger Water throughout the day. My goal is suppose to be 32oz clear liquid AND 32 oz full liquid.. Cooking for the family is a task..the smells of food is what starts to get to me but so far so good with the will-power!