Summerrain

Yes you may need a fill. I don't track calories, my nutritionist taught me about portion sizes and it works for me, others need to count calories and that's fine also. Do what suits you. Reason I hate calorie counting is because it makes me feel like I'm on a diet which I wanted to break away from if that makes sense. Talk to your doctor that gives you fills and explain how you're travelling along, he/she will guide you if you need a fill.

Wishing you a smooth operation and recovery. It's normal to be nervous and unsure if you're ready, I certainly remember being wheeled to theatre thinking what the hell am I doing and wanted to jump up and run off out the door. I'm so glad I got it done, you will learn as the weeks sail by. See you on the other side!!

I was sick of always having the same meals so I did some googling for low carb, protein recipes, sifted through a lot if them, printed the ones I liked and made up my own recipe folder. Some of them have all the nutritional info on them which really helps. Got lots of refreshing lunch ideas that can even be taken to work prepared the night before.

My apologies I posted in the wrong area.

Has your doctor put you on medication for your reflux?

The other night as part of my follow up with my nutritionist I was required to attend dinner with her and others with the lapband. The idea behind this was to bring up issues we all had and to show us the types of food to eat, how much to eat, how slow to eat and also the types of food to eat when dinning out. We were served five different dishes and we all shared a dish between three or four of us. Wine was also served with our meal and we were given oyster forks to eat with. Initially I was like arghhh I don't really want to go as I'm not comfortable dining out with a group of strangers. All I have to say is what a fun night, we all had the lapband in common, ages ranged from early 20s to 60s, the conversations didn't stop flowing all night, we had a good laugh, good food and a vino or two. We all had such an enjoyable evening that we decided at the end if the night we are all going to meet up every few months to do something together. Even though it was a mainly educational dinner it was so relaxing not worrying about anyone questioning what you were eating or how slow or how little you were eating. There twelve of us and the dietician. This is something I think all nutritionist should do with their lapband patients, get them into a restaurant environment in small groups and actually show food portions, bite sizes etc. Can't wait to meet up with the group again!

I take the Swiss vitamins for women, they are a capsule, I have good restriction now and they go down fine, nutritionist advised a teaspoon if yogurt to make them slippery and go through the band, also take biotin daily.

Amazing well done!!!!

Woohoooo great job!!!

Lol those damn scales. They trick us all from time to time. I weigh myself every morning, some days it goes up a few pounds then right back down, I don't fret over it , we'll I have maybe once or twice but I know it's not fat gain as I'm strict with making the right choices and know its mainly fluid retention. The weigh in I'm most concerned about is the one at the clinic each time I go which has been every two weeks so far and I've always lost, my biggest loss being 2.6 kilos in two weeks otherwise its one to two kilos down every two weeks which are adding up nicely.

My question for you is, how long does it take you to eat your meal, if its twenty minutes then usually by that time you should get the signal that you are no longer hungry. At that point stop, listen to your body and I mean really listen to what your body is telling you. If you have to go do something else go do it and ten mins later listen to your body again and how you feel. If you're eating really slow and taking very small bites (mis73 has posted a pic in another post as to how small the bites need to be) you wouldn't be eating more than a half to a cup of food. If you are getting hungry again quickly then it may mean you need a slight fill. To exercise or not is your choice but just keep in mind that to loose weight, keep it off and tone we need to move our butts. Start of with walking, 30 mins a day is good, do it in one go or break it up by ten mins three times a day or fifteen mins twice a day. Once you start exercising you will probably find you feel even better and wont be tempted by the wrong choices because you don't want to undo that good exercise. As for loose skin it depends on age, genetics, amount of weight you need to loose and also how much yo- yo dieting you've done over the years. This new lifestyle with the band is a whole new learning process and for life if we want to loose and keep the weight off. Some days are easier than others but if we really want to achieve our goals we need to make the right choices with food and exercise and doing the right things with the band It won't happen over night but it will happen if we are determined to make the positive changes. Great weight loss so far too!!

Just reading your post made me smile a smile of happiness for you well done!!

I'm no where near being slim and still have plenty of blubber to melt away and I too have felt freezing these last few months. Sure it's been winter but our winters are so mild here and I'd always be in short sleeves and roasting. This winter I've worn up to four layers of clothing even with the heating on.

You're right desertrose, but with the amount we eat, and with the exercising you'd think the scales would just go down every day even if only a bit. I know some days I don't eat enough and my weight stalls for a few days then I increase my calories and they move again. It just felt so good to be in the right zone with the band for a short time. I'm 8 pounds away from getting under 300 pounds and I want my scales to go downnnn not up even if its water retention, lol I sound like a two year old having a tantrum!

Hi all, starting to get frustrated, I know, I know, what I'm experiencing is normal but still frustrating. Up until last week I'm sure I was in the green zone, hitting satiety on less than a cup of food per meal and not feeling hunger for at least five to six hours. Even going to the supermarjek had me turning my nose up at everything and if i didnt have a list i would have walked out with an empty trolley. I was due for a fill last wednesday bit cancelled it as i felt i didnt need it and i was still dropping decent weight. The last few days ive started to feel hungry on waking and ive kept to the one cup of food or less per meal or upon hitting satiety. Yesterday ii had about six prawns for lunch and some snow peas then i was out all day, walking for over four hours, had a very light dinner as i wasnt so hungry, get on the scales this morning and im up two kilos, i put on weight breathing fresh air? grrr today i feel like going to buy a wicked chocolate mud cake and eating it all!! lol but im not going too, just venting as the amount of food i eat on a daily basis is the equivalent of my night time meal before being banded but yet the scales go up so much overnight. I know it's probably Fluid retention as I do feel a bit bloated today and it will all pan out. It was so good being in the zone for a good week and not having any interest in food. Guess I just have to go in for a bit of a fill next week and hopefully get back into the green zone again. I must say though pre banding the frustration would have me giving up and turning back to my old habits of over eating but not anymore. Sorry for the long most, just venting as I know you will all understand the frustrations of the ups and downs of this journey.

You look amazing, great work!

Oh my gosh!! Look at you, you look like a different person and younger too. Great work, very pretty.

Looking fantastic and post as many times as you like, you deserve too!

To look at your photos you'd never think you had a weight problem, you look amazing. Congrats on your weightloss and your engagement.

Looking like and feeling like a normal weight person and never being the biggest in the room again!

The pre op shakes are hard. I had to do it for a month, the first week was hardest as you detox, hence the headaches and filling sick. Drink lots of Water inbetween, Jello. I also drank chicken broth if I got desperate for something with a savory flavor. I also had the Protein bars, actually I probably had more Protein Bars than shakes in that one month period and still managed to loose ten kilos (just over 20 pounds). I have not touched a Protein shake since being banded ten weeks ago, just the thought of them makes me gag! Hang in there, it's tough but so worth it.

Hi pbk, yes initially when you start a diet you always loose fast then it tapers off, I think the majority on here can say that. I've been banded only ten weeks so I'm still fairly new to this lifestyle change. The reason I got the band is the most obvious, too loose my weight, my second reason is I wanted to stop the yoyo dieting because after twenty odd years of doing that I ended up fatter and fatter and even more depressed about my weight. My third reason I got it was to learn to eat like a slim person and change my non existent activity to being active. I don't count calories nor do I want to, I've done that it worked fine for a while then I got sick of it. My nutritionist has taught me about portion control and if I need to eat carbs, which is fine, she has shown me the quantities and the better carb choices. I no longer want to have this obsession with food and knowing what the right choices are has made it douch easier. If I need a treat then I have one, it's part of normal eating so no need to beat myself up. But now I don't eat a whole cake over the period of a day or a whole box of Cookies in a night. If I get the craving for a cookie I have one and I'm satisfied. Think I've had three cookies in three months. I no longer crave all the rubbish I used to eat, I actually crave vegetables and fresh seasonal fruits. I also do some form of exercise everyday and I actually am enjoying it. The word diet is no longer a word I use, I've made a lifestyle change for the rest of my life. I could only have made this change with the lapband because it is my tool to help me get to where I need to get , I couldn't do it on my own. It's taken away my awful hunger which was why I always failed. For the first time in over twenty years I'm finally in control of food and not the other way around. Argh my battery is going flat so going to hit send and will finish this post later Some people count calories others don't, it's personal choice. Some people have different eating plans to others. Some can eat certain foods, others can't. There are so many different surgeon instructions. Some exercise a lot, some don't. In the end I don't think there is a "normal" bandsters. What is important is what works for you to loose the weight. Glad you're giving it another go and I wish you all the best!