Kime-lou

No foods, even carbs, are against the law with the lapband. That being said some people can't tolerate thick breads, especially once they reach proper restriction. Some people choose not to eat carbs, but other continue to. The choice is yours. I eat carbs and some sweets, and heres the catch- I count calories. I try to eat healthy most of the time, but when I really crave something I do have it and I count it in my calories. I LOVE spagetti and chicken alfredo, but both have Pasta. I choose to use spagetti squash for my noodles instead of regular pasta and it is still awesome. You can still eat your carbs, but in moderation. The biggest question to ask you self are you ready for MODERATION, not are you ready to give up xyz. Eating whatever and how ever much you WANT got you over weight, so you have to change in order to change your weight. You can be successful if you are WANTING and WILLING to MODERATE yourself with your food intake. If your family loves you they will support you through the difficult times.

I go in for a fill once a month (had 4 so far), but how often you go in for a fill is related to your restriction level, not time. Some people need more fills than other and some don't need any to be "comfy". So there is no real 100% answer to that.

I have heard that it is possible for the carbonation to stretch the pouch causing the band to basically be useless. I do have a friend whose doctor told her that she could drink no more than 10 oz of a light colored soda a day. I have tried a little Dt. Dew, but it made my stomach hurt so no more, besides I just really rather not risk it. If I were you I would go with what your doctor and nutritionist say, after all they are the experts not us.

I am doing Thanksgiving so I am in control of what is served. So a healthy Thanksgiving it is. I will make my fav- Turkey, cranberry sauce and spinch stuffing- but I will try to do everything as low cal as possible. I will only eat a little tiny bit of each rather than a huge serving of each. Christmas will be harder, but I will fix myself one plate and do just a taste of each and that is it!! The holidays won't be easy, but I don't think they will be horrible.

I am not going to lie the pre-op diet is going to be hell, but it will be worth it. You are about to have surgery, you doctor and you want it to go well. The pre-op diet is to strink your liver which will make placing the band easier and saver. The only advice I can give you is DRINK!! If Water just doesn't cut it for you, try some flavor additives like crystal light or propel. I am hooked on peach mango green tea and it honestly does help curb my hunger. Instead of reaching for food I reach for water. Once you have a handle on your bad habits and curb them you will be suprised at how great you will feel about yourself. I have a friend who like you makes amazing cupcakes - flavor and decor. She has lost about 90 lbs. When she comes up with a new recipe she will bake a couple and cut one in half and taste it- then she knows if it's a keeper. Flavors she has made for a long time she doesn't worry about tasting because she knows how they are. Losing weight has also challenged her to make some sugar free options, and some low cal options made with veggies - so now she is helping others be able to have a cake and eat it to. So don't look at this as the end of something, look at this as the begining of something. You can do it, I know you can!

I did. I had to start mixing mine with other things- like half a Protein Shake with a half cup of yogurt. I was told by my nutritionist that to much Protein at one time can cause nausea. It helped me to just cut mine with yogurt or milk (1%).

I am not shocked. I have times like this. I think sometimes is it worth it, giving up things that I love to taste. I have times when I think, oh it's okay to eat that tonight, it's not like I eat it every night, just this once will be ok. You know what happens then it becomes twice a week, 3 times a week, ect. I have to really watch myself. I have to remind myself thinking like that will get me back to 250 and then on up to 300 lbs and I do not want that to happen. I really have to remind myself sometimes of the big picture- my health and not wanting to be so big I can't go out.

I had a horrible stuck episode this weekend, lasted 30 min and I finally puked it up, that was Saturday. Sunday I couldn't eat anything with out getting stuck, so Sunday after I figued that out and then Monday I did soft food. Today I went back on solids and I am not getting stuck anymore, but I do feel tighter. I have devloped a cold since then, my throat is major sore and I am coughing like crazy- can this make you tighter than normal? Previous stuck spells haven't caused my band to be tight for this long. Just a little worried I may have screwed my band up.

The first 30 lbs were easy it's after the 30 it's slowed down. Most doctors say you will lost between 40-60% of your excess body weight in the first year. How committed you are is directly coorilated to your success. So if you are committed you WILL lose more than 30 lbs.

I am 100% Southern Girl. Being that I was born, raised and still live in the south, certain things are a given. My Grandmother passed away last Wed night at 88 years old. She was a wonderfully awesoem little lady that was not only Grandma, but one of my best friends. I spent many hours with her through the years and loved her dearly. On Thursday I went to my mother's and was there through Monday morning. Neighbors, friends, family and church family brought tons of food. Bringing food to the those who just lost a loved one is a huge part of southern culture as is the large amount of fried chicken we had. A healthy food was hard to come by. My parents live in the middle of no where, so going to pick something better up wasn't really an option. So I made the best of what I had trying to make good choices. Well, I learned reheated chicken and my lapband do not mix. I had a horrible stuck episode. The pain was horrible after about 20 min I finally got it up and banded chicken from my diet for sometime to come. This took place Saturday and since I fear eating anything because anything with much consistancy causes pressure. Water and liquid goes down fine as does cereal and yogurt, but anything else causes pressure. Due to the slim pickins of healthy foods I have gained 2 lbs. This is the only gain in weight I have had in the 4 months since surgery. Part of me, the depressed down part, wants to say forget it eat what I want and whatever goes down easy and the other part says jump back on the horse and get back to eating right and that 2 lbs will come off. It is easier to stick to what we are suppose to do when thing are going ok, but hit a bumpy patch and it's hard to stick to it. I know that I must get back on the horse or I will gain back every one of the 40 I lost and I do not want to do that. It is just hard. I am so tired and emotionally exhauseted I am having a hard time doing what I know I need to. Right now I just want to sleep. I am back at work and have done ok with eating today (soft only) and I think I will just have a scrambled egg for dinner so my calorie count is fine or even low for the day. Any one have some encouragement to get me back on the horse? I need a swift kick in the butt- CG come one girl I know you got something !!

Cincinnati style chili would likely be fine - it's much smoother and milder than other kinds. I made thick fruit smoothies during that time - some greek yogurt or plain add your fav fruit, some ice cubes and blend - thick creamy and tasty. I did creamed pototos with chicken broth and a little cheese- I really enjoyed that.

It is in our human nature to compare one thing to the other. We do it from the time we are kids- remember with siblings- he got more than me thing. We start compairing early. By the time we reach school age we are compairing clothes, looks, ect with our classmates. And you always hear he's/she's not as cute as xyz. Then we begin compairing ourselves to others- her hair is prettier than mine, she has more friends than me, she has nicer clothes, ect. Our self esteems are molded some what by these compairsons. I know for certian mine were. I have always felt like the ugly duckling. I have been large since 5 years old. In school I was picked on and it got worse in middle school. I hated being fat, but all that hate just drove me to the nearest donut, which intern made me fater. Now that I am taking control of my life and have had lapband and am losing weight, the compairsons do not end. Chances are all of us have compared our self to another member of this forum- either boy I am glad I am not them they aren't losing much weight- or - it's not fair she is losing more weight than me. It's just in our nature. I have compared myself to others several times and gotten down and out. Some people are really rocking it. I talked to my nutritionist about this and she had some great throughts. 1- Body weight percentage has to been taken into account- those with more to lose will lose quicker. 2- Life style - some people have jobs that are more active than others and we can't control that- most of us need to work and have to do what we do. Some people can't due to health reason work out where others can. 3- Muscle mass- some people scale wise appear to not be losing, but are losing fat because they are working out and building muscle that weighes more than fat- this is a great thing because the more muscle you have the more fat your burn. 4- responsiblity- it is sometimes our own fault when we aren't losing- we CHOOSE to eat high calorie foods that just slide down, we CHOOSE not to be active, we CHOOSE not to follow doctors orders This conversation with my nutritionist made me feel better. She said that when I compair myself to another person I need to look at these things. If I am doing everything I am suppose to do then I have no need to belittle myself. The bottom line is at the end of each month the scale trend in going down, therefore I am successful for me! I hope that I can stop compairing myself to others, but if I happen to I will take these things into account before I let the bad thoughts drive me to a mouth full of krispy creme.

I am sure you have vitamin shops over there. We have things like The Vitamin Shoppe and GNC here that sell all different kinds. Google that and see if you can find one in your area and check it out. I just went to a vitamin store and looked around and questions the people there- that is how I found mine.

Yes, both can effect. If you cry you diaphram (sp?) gets a work out when we sniffle - ugly cry- that cause an up and down movement of the GI area around our stomach so that can cause so aggrivation around your band area that can cause a little swelling. Most women complain of band tightness around or during their period. This is due to Water retention in the cells that again causes swelling. Aren't our bodies grand?

Mine always checks my band first and pulls all the Fluid out and then injects that plus some back to make sure everything is okay. If they are unable to pull it out or see fluid in it I would think that maybe he isn't getting it it the port, it's just going into the abdominal area - doesn't hurt you just doesn't help OR there is a leak in the tubing not in the band that is causing the fluid to leak out before it even gets to the band. Maybe a second opinion from another surgeon wouldn't hurt.

Go for it! I didn't do a pre-op diet, my doctor didn't feel I needed to. If you doctor feels it is okay to go forth the trust him/her. I had surgery on a Friday and I was fine by the next Wed to be back at work- I sit a lot.

I thought I was the only one who did that. I am 4 months out and am still having them. Every night I dream and remember most of the them the next day. So odd. But hey it means we are reaching REM sleep and the next stage is 3 which is great rest that our body needs. (I use to do sleep studies in a hospital - boring sitting all night and watching some one sleep!)

I just looked at myself in the mirror- really looked at myself. I realized my face is much smaller as is my neck and my double chin has disappeared. My husband keeps telling me I am looking great, but I just fail to see it. I know I am smaller because the scales and my clothes show it, but when I look in the mirror I still feel large. Will I ever be able to let go of being the fat gir? Will I ever feel like I am small enough? I am 5'2 and to start with I want to be around 170, but now I have changed that to 135 ish. But, will that be enough once I reach it. I am not sure how I will feel at that point and I know I should worry about, but it's a thought in my head. I love the fact that I am 38 lbs smaller than when I began- even though it's taken 4 months to get there. It feels slow, but my average is 8 lbs a month which isn't bad. I wish I had a magic mirror that could show me what I will look like in a year. But would that motivate me to continue or would it allow me to become complacent and stop being so tight with myself. I don't think any of us have the answers to all these questions, we are all just living our own banded life each day- which varies from person to person. For today I am happy to look at my smiling face in the mirror and now see a second chin or my eye lids dropping down - my face is tighter and cuter and for today that is going to be my joy. Onward and downward in our case! LOL!!

I think we all have moments of that and I was very much like you my first month or so. You are doing very well and should be proud of your accomplishment thus far. As far as weighing everyday, if you want to do it! I do, but I have also learned that my weight fluctuates, so I look at a weekly average not one day on it's own. Weigh ups and downs due to numerous reasons, so it's better to look at the average rather than a stand alone day. Also remember that if you stress to much about this you will cause yourself not to lose. Stress causes cortisol to be released and that will cause you to hold on to the pounds. Try to take a deep breath. Try weighing once a day- in the morning - with as little as possible on before you eat or drink - record it. Then take a weekly average- you may be pleasently suprised. Most of us start off losing quick and then slow to a more normal pace, so do freak if that happens. As long as those scales show a monthly downward trend then you are doing great!

I have heard of them doing both at the same time. My surgeon actually has you sign papers saying that if he gets in and feel your gallbladder needs removing he can and also if you have a hernia that he can fix it. I had already had my gallbalder out a year earlier (I was around 235) and then had my lapband this summer. I did have a hernia that he fixed at the same time. Gall stones can become urgent where you need immediate surgery- I would look to another surgeon. Before, you decide on lapband make sure you have done the research and you are ready to commit to it so you will be a success.

The lump in the throat thing sounds like indigestion. I would check with the doc to see if they have heard of this before.

You will have these feeling before and after surgery. You must just keep going- I feel like that on occassion, especially when my weight isn't going down as much as I'd like. But, I do not allow myself to even consider getting off the band wagon. Dang it, I've been through to much to give up. Yes, the weight is headed down slowly, but it's headed down- and that is what I have to keep reminding myself of. If possible the best thing to do is just not let yourself dwell of those feelings. Think them and then redirect yourself to something else, something more postive.

Do any of you have a Kerig? How do you like it? I am looking to get one, but I don't want to put that much money into something that I may not like. I enjoy coffee, but I only ever drink one cup at a time. I have a small coffee pot, but I make 3 cups and end up dumping 2 cups. How well do you like it? How do the calories run for the k-cups?

Like they said not for 4 - 6 weeks, you need to heal first. You can stick you legs in, just can't submerge your abdominal area. Also, be aware that once you do get back in - the hot tub will make you feel tighter, so don't get out and expect to eat soon after.

You are really early on. You don't normally get restriction before a few fills. I didn't really start feeling it until this last one, which was number 4! You body went through a lot in a short time, give it time to catch up before you get frustrated- I know that is hard to do. If you want to make sure you are doing all you can - walk as much as possible, drink your water, get your protein. For my counting calories with myfitnesspal and keeping my calories around 1200 works. If I drop to the 800-900 range I am hungry and don't lose. Each person is diffrent you have to find your calorie sweet spot. You just have to find what works for your body and as you get more fills things will get eaiser!