nicole1

Sounds yummy!! Congratulation on the double day workout!! Sounds like you are on a roll!

So I had a disheartening experience with my trainer yesterday. He had me work on "getting up" from a kneeling, sitting & laid down position. I really felt humiliated & it was the first time since surgery I have really felt my true fatness agin. I know it is something good to work a lot of muscles, but there are better ways then making me feel like a turtle who fell on her shell side & can't get back up. I was too embarrassed to tell him I don't want to do those but decided today I just need to be honest I am paying him to give me what I want out of it.

I have loved this site. I agree my doctor was less help than the site. When I called in excruciating pain they told me to pop another pain pill. I searched the sight for "right ribcage pain" & had pleanty of suggestions that ALL helped!! I also just downloaded the APP!

I started with a trainer 3 times a week for 2 weeks and now I have him twice a week. I feel that I wouldn't work out as much without him. He really holds me accountable. He had me get a heart rate monitor and I email him my results after each workout. Can't fake a heart rate!! I think I could go with just seeing him once a week, but I kind of like the individual attention and the support. Today we created an at home toning workout and I think it is easy enough to keep up with it. I made it really clear to him from the beginning I am not interested in a life time membership, but I want him to teach me how and what to do at home. We have spent the last month doing a little of everything so he can figure out what I can and can't do and modifying the workouts. For example there are a lot of exercise that my stomach is too big for so he has me do similar exercise that work around my belly!!! So I recommend being very clear about what you want to get out of your training sessions and make them stick to it. Also ask session what are we working on and why and can I do it on my own at home. He also took measurements and even though it was embarrassing I am glad we did. Today was my 4th week with him and we did measurements and it was so exciting to see the inches go down in all areas! Except my stomach, that was disappointing, but he explained that was normal, it is that last to go. Yuck!! Good Luck to all of you and your new training routines!!

You're doing great Kymie!! Don't be so hard on yourself. YOU made the 1st step and got the surgery!! I think everyone has mentioned a halt in the weighloss. I have been the same weight for 3 weeks, but my clothes are feeling looser, so pay attention to how your body feels not what the scale says. It is really hard to not eat what the family is eating, so I only cook what I can eat!! I still will cook a rice-a-roni for them, but I pick ones that I do not care for and it really helps!! Also I took a kitchen cabinet and put all of my food in it, so I don't have to go into the cabinets with their bad food. Out of sight out of mind!! Also my husband does the major grocery shopping and that helps. As for the exercise try including simple toning exercise that you can do to music or the TV. I do wall squats, where you lean against a wall while squatting. I could only do it for 10 sec at first and now I am up to 42 sec. The more you build your large muscles (thighs and stomach) the easier the walking will be. Even laying on your back and doing leg lifts works both and they are not too hard to do with belly in the way!! I will find the official name of some of my exercise and send you links on how to do them! Keep positive!!

Ok I got 2cc fill! I'm still hungry but that is because I am back on all liquids for 2 days & 2 days purée. I can't stand all liquids they are not filling but it is necessary to be sure nothing gets stuck the 1st few days. So officially I have lost 38lbs since surgery 6 weeks ago!!

Ok so I am sitting @ the dr office typing this on my iPhone. I have my fingers crossed I get a fill!! I am currently starving!! Maybe if my stomach grumbles it will prove my point! Everyone is right the 1st couple of mths are hell. Between the pain from surgery the being hungry and all the holidays it has been hard to be good, but I paid a lot (self paid) for this & I refuse to give up. I recommend getting a private trainer even if it is just for a few weeks to get you motivated. But interview them first & make sure they have experience working w/ banded clients. I love my trainer he sends me daily pep talks!!

Erin. You need to schedule your upper GI imaging ASAP. There was 2 doctors present during the x-ray discussing what they saw as they did it & took LOTS of pics checking the position of my band. I was able to get my radiology report that same day & knew the band was in the right place & hasn't slipped. I hope this helps!

Remember everyone we are taking in a lot of protein and it not only saves muscle but helps build muscle & muscle weighs more than fat. So if you only lost .5 fat imagine you gained 1lb muscle!!!

We did have surgery on the same day!! How are you doing? did you get your 1st fill yet? Did you survive Valentine's Day? Your concoction sounds yummy, but I tried another suggestion of sugar free pudding and it was good!! maybe on a weekend I'll try your recipe!!

Find some good music to get you in the mood to move!! I listen to my ipod while I change into my workout clothes and find myself dancing before even get my shoes on!! Good Luck and keep us posted!!

so you do eat anything 1st thing in the morning? I am starving when I wake up. Hopefully that will go away with a fill!! Oh and I got some sugar free pudding and it is tasty and adds protein!!! Thanks for the suggestion!!

where did you get your Injury Shakes? Do they come in ready made? I have one of the blender balls! It is great on the go, but I always forget to grab it, so I have been drinking the ready made shakes by GNC called Total Lean. I bought a case of 12 today and it was $21, not too bad. I have the powder at home for nights and weekends, it is not too bad. I like the vanilla in my coffee in the morning. But I am always up to try something new!! thanks for the tip on the "my fitness pal" I have actually paid for a few only to be disappointed. I wish they would have one that you can scan the container and it finds the info!! We shop at Costco a lot and most of their stuff is not in any of the program I have used so far.

I work in a school district and today wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I almost took a personal day, but figured I might eat out of boredom, so I went to work. I stayed out of the staff room and the main office and I did not attend any classroom parties. Last year I went from one party to another collecting goodies. I survived the day and really didn't crave anything I did see. I saw a co-worker opening up a heart candy and thought, "if I'm going to break my diet, it is not for one of those fake chocolates!!!" I will save that moment for a bit of one of my kids Godiva Cheesecake from the Factory!!! We go once a year and it is worth waiting for!! So today I had my 1st slice of pizza in 2 months!! I ordered Round Table Guinevere Garden on thin crust (it is so thin it is like a cracker!) I slowly nibbled on it, chewing well and stopping when the crust stopped being crunchy! I was able to stop eating when I 1st felt the signs of being hungry and I never dipped it in the ranch!!! I was even able to just throw out the crust! Oh and I tried on a pair of pants I haven't worn in 7 years and they fit!! Well mostly, the waist is a little tight, but that will just remind me to keep working!! It beats wearing my baggy pants with a belt and still having to pull them up! I would say this was a very successful day!!! I go in for my 1st fill Thursday and a weigh in!! My personal trainer is going to do my measurements on Tuesday, I am soo excited!! I know I have lost inches!!

Cheers to all of use who survived Valentine's Day!!!

I have not been counting calories, I have been counting protein and water only. I guess I should be paying more attention to calories. I have also been tired after a workout, but I workout after work and I am already tired to start with, but I push myself to do it. Besides I have to send my cardio heartrate tracking to my personal trainier 3 times a week and I can't fake that!! It keeps me accountable. I don't like many of the higher protein shakes, and reading the reviews most of them give you the runs and you loose the protein anyway, so why bother. I have tried one of those "shots" of protein, they are disgusting, but I wasn't able to drink my morning shake due to my stomach x-rays, so I tried the shot, I almost threw it up! I will try the pudding idea, maybe that will help curb the cravings. Sounds like you don't do a mid-morning snack how in the world do you make it from b-fast to lunch????

Well I will be 5 weeks post-op and I will be going in for my 1st fill. I hope they give me a fill. After about 2 hours I feel hungry. My weight loss has been disappointing. I have tried to only weigh myself once a week, but it does not seam to be moving down. it kind of does this up and down thing. I am doing cardio 3-4 times a week and toning 2-3 times a week and here is a sample daily meal: vanilla protein powder mixed into my morning coffee, protein bar around 9-10am or 2 fat free string cheese, at noon I have either tuna w/ tbls lite mayo & pepper and steamed veggies or leftover meat from previous dinners (love the turkey meatballs they last a full week) at 2 I have a V-8 fusion and at 3:30-4 I have a GNC protein shake before my work out. At night I cook a typical meal and just eat the meat and veggies. Right now I am not counting calories, just protein and water. maybe that will change at my next appointment. I did give into my cravings last weekend. The family bought chocolate dipped shortbread cookies and left them on the counter. I passed by them several times, but late that night I gave in and truly enjoyed it. But then I enjoyed another one the next night. I finally put them away in a cabinet I don't use and I felt better. After the 2nd night I really started hating on myself and gave myself a good guilt trip, but the next day, my friend reminded me we all make mistakes and instead of dwelling on it, I should just look at it as a new day a fresh start. It took me all day to let it go, but I realized if I didn't let it go, I would be back into my old cycle of "oh well I screwed up, I might as well enjoy it and start my diet again next week" So I did an extra day at the gym working off that junk food!! I still have cravings, but I think I am good if it is out of sight it will be out of mind. I hope I get my fill, I do not like being hungry ever 2 hours. I am glad to hear how well everyone in doing. What is you daily menu like? Just wondered if you have any good ideas???

Help! I suddenly craving again!! I am exactly 4 wks post-op, lost 14lbs (give or take a lb) and I have done fine with the kids junk food in the house & going into stores. But today I went to the store & I swear that single slice of cheesecake spoke to me!! Then I saw a kid licking the frosting off a cupcake & I felt like running out of there screaming!! To top it off all the commercials were about food tonight!! Ugh I have done so well even no holiday treats, but now feel like I am craving the satisfaction I used to get with sweets!? Any ideas? I have heard a variety of opinions "feed the craving now or you will eventually give in & over eat". But what about the next day and the next??? "replace the craving with something else" seriously??!! What?!?!

So your stomach is about 1/2-1/3 cup size. It doesn't matter ounces, just eat the right things until you're full. I get the sensation I'm about to burp when I am full. Here is a sample meal 3-4 walnut sized turkey meatballs & 1/4 broccoli & coliflower steamed (frozen). Or a packet (starkist albacore tuna in the blue packet not can) mixed w/ tspn lite mayo & 1/4 cup steamed carrots. I hope this helps.

Hello January Bandster!! So I was banded 1/4 it has been almost 4 weeks! I went back to work after 2 weeks off. It was hard to get caught up at work and keep on my eating schedule, especially since you have to spend a lot of time chewing!! At 3 weeks I started back on my Elliptical, but just paced myself slower than typical and it felt good. I also realized that I was not sure I was doing all of the toning stuff right and gave in an hired a personal trainer, he is a physical therapist and is able to work around all of my former injuries and ailments!! So I am on the Elliptical 3-4 days a week and I do my toning at home 3 days a week and 2 days with the trainer (he totally kicked my butt yesterday!!). As for the pureed food, I did that for about a week and was suppose to do it for 2 weeks, but it took so much time to prepare, so I just cut stuff up small and chewed a lot, so far so good!! My diet is a cup of decaf with chocolate protein mixed in for B-fast (my version of a cafe mocha), yogurt at 9:30, some type of protein (meatballs, tuna, chicken breast) and veggies (frozen then microwaved) at noon, around 2 I have a V-8 fusion, 4pm ready to drink GNC lean shake, then dinner around 7pm meat and veggies. And water in between it all!!! So far I feel a little hungry before I go to bed at night around 10pm. I go in for my 1st fill 2/2. I still have some of that left over gas pain in one area under my right rib cage, but at least it is not in my shoulder anymore. It only hurts when I first get up or sneeze (weird!) Well I feel good! I have always suffered from depression and now I feel on top of the world!!! The scale does not help so I stopped getting on it. I will probably get on it once a month. But I can see the difference in my face and my bras are too loose and I am constantly pulling up my pants!! So that makes me feel good!! I plan to buy a few belts today. I am hoping skip buying a few sizes in between by using belts. I hope all of you well and look forward to hearing about your progress!! It is odd being one of the 1st of the year, so I look forward to your stories!!! Good luck to you all! Ditch the scale, just FEEL the weight loss!!

My doctor said I could do light weights at 2 weeks post-op and at 3 wk post-op I can go back to using my elliptical and typical weight training. It is to ensure you do open ur incisions. I am 13 days post-op & have started with my private trainer for light weights & I have been walking 1.5 miles a day for the last week! Good luck to all of you motivated fitness junkies!!

So I am 9 days post-op an I kinda fell off the net for awhile. To be honest I was depressed. I wasn't in any pain, but I was bored with the shakes, bored with TV, it was too cold to walk outside and I was tired of walking laps in my house!! I had low energy and just didn't feel like doing anything. Well 2 days ago I decided to bundle up and do my walking outside and I told myself "no more naps!! I would nap after I ate my so-called lunch and wake up 4 hrs. later, so no more naps. Wednesday felt really good, I did my morning drinks, did my walk, did some cleaning and just got moving. I went into work for an hour to say high to everyone and forgot to take anything but water and knew that going back to work was going to be hard. I'm glad I don't go back until Tuesday. So I wanted to let you know about my problem about feeling "Full" I have always known when I at too much, I think we all know what that feels like. I would be drinking a shake and say am I full yet........maybe just a little more. the 10 minutes later I was feeling horrible like I ate too much. So what does just right full feel like. So I went on the chat room and found out the are what the call soft sign (have no idea where that term came from), like a tickle in your nose, your nose feels moist suddenly, you burp or feel about to burp. Before a burp meant "yeah more room!!" well it means stop eating! I though this might be helpful. I recommend using the chat room day and night there is always someone there who has been through it already. Ok so you guys want to talk BM, well I didn't go for 3 days, I figured I hadn't put anything solid in so long! Then I exploded. I didn't add any fiber but increased the powdered milk, hear that might help. So far so good. I wish you all luck! Today was great I did my walking in the mall, I was there 2 hours, but the 2nd was shopping!!

Ok so 5 days out & just when I thought it was going so well....the pain really came back. As a reminder yesterday I decided to down grade from OxyContin to just tylonel. So yesterday around noon I started having pain all around my right side ribcage, rt shoulder & rt neck. It hurt so bad!! It hurt to breath hurt to lay down or stretch. It was so hard to breath!! I went for a walk that made me nauseas. Tried sitting w/ heating pad but it hurt to breath. So I called the dr. She felt I just slept wrong & took myself off pain killers too soon. Not very helpful. So at 8pm after last shake. I was ready to go to the ER but decided to check the forum. It was a life saver. So 1st went off pain killers too soon 2nd I was drinking to much causing a lot of gas so added more gas x, next added heating pad & slept sitting up (wish I had a recliner!!) & pain meds every 4 hrs (set alarm). So I think I was sooo obsessed about getting all the water & protein in I wasn't paying attention to my fullness. Which caused gas & pain. So it is almost 10am & the pain is gone except a little in the shoulder. I am going to start back like it is day 1. But this time I am listening to my body!!!

Four days out and I have the same bubbles and shoulder pain. I try to walk after my protein drink and that helps, even if it is just a few laps around the house. Also a lot of stretching has helped!! Loosen up all my upper body muscles and move the gases around. I have been drinking tea in the morning and It feels good going down. I still have a little bit of a sore throat from surgery, I am going off the pain pills so I can be more alert and hopefully have more energy. How can I possibly drink the required fluids if I sleep the day away. Congrats to all of us for surviving our pre-surgery liquid diets, the actual surgery and now the post effects! We did it!!!!