jen_1381

I take a liquid dose of a multivitamin, vit B12, and vit D every morning with half a glass of low cal fruit juice. I also take the pill form of Biotin (I wasn't losing hair post-op, but thought preventatively it may be a good idea). Your surgeon and/or dietician should tell you specifically which vitamins you need.

First of all, congrats on making such an important decision! I haven't regretted one second since having my band placed. The nerves are completely normal. The weight loss journey is different for everyone. What drives everyone to be successful is different. Really, the outcome lies all within you. You'll hear the bad and the good from everyone, but it all boils down to choices. My "drive" comes from a total fear of failure. My best advice for pre-op is make sure your head is in the right place. I did a lot of soul searching before having surgery. What drove me to overeat was stress and always feeling like I needed to be busy. If I wasn't actively moving, I was eating to keep my hands busy. I had to sort out my stress and triggers before I had the band placed. In the end, it was a complete blessing in disguise because I've never been happier in my whole life than I am now. My journey has been relatively easy so far. I sailed through surgery and recovery and have been successful so far in losing weight. I know it may not always be this easy but for now, I'm thankful. I've been very strict with myself though about following my surgeons recommendations. Protein, Veggies, then Fruit. Exercise daily (some days it's only a 10 minute walk, other days a 45 minute run, just do SOMEthing every day). Good luck to you, I wish you nothing but success!

Yes I love my yoga ball at work! I switch back and forth between the ball and my chair. When I'm on the ball, I lightly bounce to give my legs a workout, then lean back and sit up to work my abs. I work in a very relaxed atmosphere though, they don't mind me rolling around on the ball

This part still challanges me - eating small bites and eating slow. When I put something on my plate, I cut it up into small bites. Then, before popping it in my mouth, I will cut it again. When I'm starving, and really just wanting to shovel food in, I cut bigger bites than I need. When I'm in the moment and actually getting to fill my stomach with food, it's easier to rationalize my bites. I still eat fast though. Slower than I used to by a long shot, but still fast enough to give myself indigestion after the first few bites. My body is REALLY good at reminding me to slow down.

I nearly cancelled the day before. I had a little snag with insurance and was SO relieved when they said they may need to cancel until we get authorization. When the doctor came through at the last minute and forced the approval, I was scared to DEATH! I had the thoughts of - - I can just do this on my own. I've done so well on the liquid diet, I can do this! Do I really want this? I went home and sorted everything out in my head. Reality hit, and the fact that 1) I was only losing because I was not eating, and 2) if I could do this on my own, I would have years ago and wouldn't be in this situation. I decided to put on my Big Girl Panties and do it. I've never regretted it for a minute since getting out of surgery. I wish I would have done this years ago. Nerves are completely normal - - it's real now, it's actually going to happen! Just take a deep breath and think of why you're doing it.

Are you logging everything you eat? I found that REALLY helps. Is your dinner high enough in Protein to keep you full? Or are you just used to grazing afterwards and that's what feels normal? Sometimes it's really hard to seperate hunger, thirst, boredom, and routine. If you feel like you really are actually hungry, try doing some exercise or something active to distract your mind. I'm sorry you feel like it may be a waste of time. It's easy to get discouraged when the scale isn't moving. I'm working through a plateau right now, 14 days of absolutly no change. Try upping your exercise and logging everything you eat (myfitnesspal is amazing!) for a while and see where you can make changes.

If you haven't had a fill, you won't feel any restriction. Even after a few fills you may not. You most likely felt some restriction for the first week or two post-op because of swelling. Plateaus are completely normal (I have to keep reminding myself this!!) especially after such a durastic adjustment in your diet. Your body goes into conservation mode and also can adapt to your new eating style and exercise routine. From what I hear, if you have a band slippage you KNOW it. There is pain, and an intolerance to food and liquids. My best advice is stick to your eating plan, measure and weigh everything you eat, and log all of your food. Stick to the plan, and eventually your body will realize it can start letting go of some of the weight. The first month or so is all about healing not losing (which is frustrating since you are so excited for your new band and want the weight to just fall off!! That was my hope anyways...) If you're really concerned about your band, it never hurts to call your surgeons office. Better safe than sorry.

Any time you have chest pain, it doesn't hurt to run it by your doctor. That being said, every time I have a fill I get pain that radiates from my chest to my back shoulder blade. The position of my band irritates my vagal nerve and causes the pain. It goes away after a few days, will be worse after I eat, but the only option is surgery to reposition my band so I just try to ignore the pain.

Coffee actually supresses my appetite! I find that having my daily cup between breakfast and lunch really helps me avoid snacking. I did okay for the few months I quit coffee, but man, life is SO much nicer with it I didn't want to deprive myself of everything good!!

Shellabee - Honestly, I'm just following my surgeons rules. I base my meals on Protein first, then veggies, then fruit. If I need a snack I'll do one of the pre-packaged slices of cheese (80 cals.) I drink between 100-120 mls of Water every day. I also jog/run for at least 20 minutes and do some calnistetics (sit ups, push ups, yoga ball exercises) for 10 minutes every day. I feel very blessed that I've gone down lbs so quickly, but at the same time, I don't FEEL at all inside that I am any different...such a struggle. I don't want to reward my loss until I hit my goal.

It was strongly discouraged that I quit coffee, just because it can dehydrate you, but wasn't really ever advised about caffiene itself. The nutritionist was fine with unsweetened tea. I've unfortuantely started drinking coffee again, about two weeks ago, but just one cup a day. I was drinking a whole pot of coffee daily before I started my WLS journey.

Well it can't come off fast enough for me! My surgeon said he would be pleased with a 1 lb loss every 7-10 days, so I don't feel like the bar is set too high by him but by myself, it's pretty high up there! Starting weight: 243 Current weight: 193 Surgery date: 5/18/12 Total weight loss: 50 lbs Weeks since surgery: 11 Weeks Average weekly weight loss (lbs/weeks=average): 4.5 lbs Keep in mind though, I'm just (hopefully) coming off a two week plateau. The scale sat at 194._ for two weeks, and this morning I was finally back down at 193. I've been lucky to lose like I have so far but I have a feeling it's slowing down.

Weekends are by far the hardest time for me. During the work week I stay very structured, drink plenty of water, and exercise daily. Weekends are a free-for-all. I don't usually slip up too bad diet-wise, but my meal times are crazy. I'll get busy around the house and realize it's 11 and I haven't eaten breakfast! Yet another area of my life that needs more discipline.... Carolinagirl is right though, the days are over, and luckily every new day gives us a new opportunity to do right.

I'm totally Type A, so when I started seriously considering the procedure I researched the heck out of it. Going through the process I asked a ton of questions - but I also listened very carefully to the answers! I think a lot of people only hear what they want. But, on the other hand, my surgeon didn't go into very much depth about the process. I was thankful that the other WLS team members did very well teaching their part because he gave me the "nutshell" version.

This peaked my curiosity so I did a little research. From what I've found, there shouldn't be any reason why you can't have an MRI. Nothing in the band set-up should react with the magnet of the MRI. As always though, check with your surgeon. There's a reason they put it on the card.

I learned to not worry about people talking behind my back, it just means I'm steps ahead of them. There are people whose opinions I value, but ultimately it's my life and my decisions that I make. Plus, it feels pretty darn good to see people from my past, 50 lbs lighter, and seeing the looks on their faces.

I would give them the generic "need the day off for a minor procedure". You could even say you were having a minor abdominal procedure if you felt like sharing more, in case you're worried about post-op pain/restricted movement. They shouldn't ask many more questions. I have a mostly desk job working in Physical Therapy and was able to have surgery Friday and come back Monday.

Thank you so much for the tip! I will try that tonight. It's just draining, and my husband keeps threatening to hide the scale!

Thank you for this topic! I'm at a plateau now, just over 30 lbs from goal, and am getting super frustrated. When I did Insanity (I did the whole 8 weeks), I didn't lose hardly anything at all. I was pairing it with a low calorie diet and nothing. BUT, I did get to feeling pretty fit. My legs were taking shape and muscles were being worked that I hadn't used in years. I felt incredible. I toned what I had, which made the not-losing part okay. Your body is probably just confused right now. I'm going to take my own advice, and just ride it out. Eventually, things will start happening.

Well I've hit a plateau in a big way. It's oh-so-frustrating. I know that plateaus are normal. I know that everyone hits them every now and then. Does that make me feel better? Meh. I've gone two weeks with absolutely no change. I know, you're probably thinking 14 days insn't bad compared to some who plateau for months, but this is very new to me. Last time I went on a weight loss journey (pre-band), I did fantastic until I hit a plateau 20 lbs away from my goal. I rode it out for a few weeks then slowly sunk into my old habits and gained ALL of the weight back. What's scaring me is that last time I stopped losing at 190 lbs. Very close to where I am now, and I can't help but wonder if my body just isn't meant to walk this Earth at 160 lbs. Maybe this is all of the good I can do? I know that's the pessimistic side of me thinking, but I'm trying SO hard to break this. I tried increasing my calorie intake. Nada. Tried decreasing my normal by 200. Nothing. Tried upping my exercise and changing up my routine. Zilch. Even stopped exercising for two days. Nope. At least I'm not gaining..but really, I'm putting in the hard work. What gives?! I want so bad to be at a flat 193 when I see the doctor in 8 days. I've done so well at hitting my goals up until now. A coworker asked me two weeks ago how much I'd lost (he didn't know I had Lap Band) and I told him I had finally just hit the 50 lb mark. On Friday, he made another comment about my amazing weight loss and how good it looks. I felt like screaming - I HAVEN'T LOST ANY MORE THAN TWO WEEKS AGO!! But I refrained, and gave him that smile and you're-making-me-feel-awkward face. Okay, disclaimer: I'm usually NOT this negative (okay well I sometimes am but I don't say it out loud). I really am a glass-half-full person and am finally getting used to my "new" body. I just felt like I was on such a roll, and now I've stopped and am spinning in circles. My NSV that keeps me going is that I caught myself all curled up in my office chair last week. Like, feet up on the seat, curled up in a ball (I really was working! Just computer stuff gets boring sometimes). I noticed it and I actually felt comfortable, not like I was pinched in half and couldn't breathe. So yeah...that's kept me going through the week.

Jen checking in STILL at 193.6. Can not break this plateau! Fill coming up on the 16th, hopefully that will help.

I was banded May 18th and am down 50 lbs but have been STUCK on top of a plateau for about 10 days. No matter what I do I can't break through so I'm trying to just ride it out. Congrats to everyone on your weight loss success!

At three weeks post-op your swelling around the band has probably gone down, so you will start feeling the hunger. Antwan is right, it won't stop the hunger at all. This is what we refer to as "Bandster Hell", where you aren't at a satisified fill level (aka - Green Zone) and you're having to keep your hunger in check. This is the "white-knuckle" phase where you have to put mind over matter and follow your eating plan. I know this is MUCH tougher than it should be, because face it, if we could keep our hunger in check we wouldn't have needed surgery. It WILL get better. Focus on Protein, it will keep you fuller, longer. Chew slowly and wait between bites to let the food really digest. Again though, it WILL get better.

Jschlugs - You mentioned that you can't wait for the healing and "bandster hell" to be over for your first fill - just to forwarn you, it may take many fills for you to feel any restriction and to be through "bandster hell". I'm 11 weeks post-op with 2 fills, 4.5 cc in my band, and feel virtually no restriction. It's been all diet controlled so far. After my first fill I felt a little restriction for about 5 days then it faded away. Just keep cruising along though, you sound like you're off to a good start.

The Special K Protein Water is actually pretty good. You just add the packets to your bottle of water. It has 5 (?) g of protein per packet.