Marcjacobs

I did the samething. I actually ended being healthier than when I started lol. But I got back on track , eating habits excellent, and I walk and wall everywhere. I went from 341 to 227 May until present. I'm at a mind set that's permanent change. Hang in there. Don't be afraid to start fills again. I knew I was on the right path, when Igot kicked out of my support group lol. It was for people like our situation that gains back half or more than your original, pre-surgery weight. Than you lose. I didn't qualify anymore because the second time around, I lost More. So was actually a compliment! Hang in there

I did the samething. I actually ended being healthier than when I started lol. But I got back on track , eating habits excellent, and I walk and wall everywhere. I went from 341 to 227 May until present. I'm at a mind set that's permanent change. Hang in there. Don't be afraid to start fills again. I knew I was on the right path, when Igot kicked out of my support group lol. It was for people like our situation that gains back half or more than your original, pre-surgery weight. Than you lose. I didn't qualify anymore because the second time around, I lost More. So was actually a compliment! Hang in there

I did the samething. I actually ended being healthier than when I started lol. But I got back on track , eating habits excellent, and I walk and wall everywhere. I went from 341 to 227 May until present. I'm at a mind set that's permanent change. Hang in there. Don't be afraid to start fills again. I knew I was on the right path, when Igot kicked out of my support group lol. It was for people like our situation that gains back half or more than your original, pre-surgery weight. Than you lose. I didn't qualify anymore because the second time around, I lost More. So was actually a compliment! Hang in there

So i am having difficulties with body image and not adjusting the way i see myself. I find that i am getting more attention than before and people get mad when i have troubles accepting compliments or viewing myself as "pretty". Do you guys have issues with always thinking of yourself as the old you? I am nervous around new people because of the way people used to treat me. And if someone "likes" me i second guess myself constantly because i am even more shy now compared to before surgery. But i guess i have to remember that people who meet me now don't know the old abby, just the current. Even when shopping i find myself looking for the plus sized section all the time even though i'm and L-XL. It's weird. Does this go away?

Hi All,
I am scheduled for surgery on Feb. 3rd. I am so excited! The nervousness has not hit me yet. My friends are more scared about my surgery than I am. I think it's because this is God's path for me, and there is no need to worry.
I have my appointment with my dietician on the 9th, bloodwork on the 20th, and surgeon on the 21st. I will start the liver shrinking diet the following day. I have not heard anything about a need for an edoscopy. I guess that depends on the surgeon.
I have become addicted to this forum. I have a running list of items I will need to have on hand after surgery. Any suggestions you have would be welcomed. So happy to be able to talk with others to learn about your experiences as we all go through this at the same time. Prayers for each of you for a successful journey. I look forward to hearing how it's going.

So you cheated a little on your post-op diet. When you were supposed to be on liquids, you had a few spoons of mashed potatoes or a swallow of yogurt, both nice and soft. Maybe you ate a few Cheez Doodles, but what’s the big deal? They’re like eating flavored air, aren’t they? And the McNuggets you tried during the puree phase? You chewed them really well, and you could only eat three instead of your pre-op portion of six – isn’t that great?


No, it’s not great that you could only eat three McNuggets. And yes,cheating is a big deal, and I’m going to tell you why. You’re not going to get away with this one. Miss Jean has eyes in the back of her head. She sees the cookie crumbs on your face and the neon orange faux cheese film on your guilty fingers.
SOME DEFINITIONS OF CHEATING
The word “cheat” has two main connotations. One is cheating in the sense of lying and deceiving. It’s intentional dishonesty. You know what you’re doing is wrong, but you do it anyway. The other connotation of “cheat” is unfaithfulness. Unfaithful to a vow or promise you made to another person or to an organization.
When someone cheats you, do you just shrug and say, “Oh well, he was having a bad day”? Let’s say you bought a car that you thought was brand new, and later discovered that the dealer had fiddled with the odometer and charged you full sticker price for a car with 1200 miles on it. Would that be okay with you?
And what if your spouse, the person you trust with your life, cheated on you by sleeping with your best friend, would you be able to just shrug that off?
If your child got a B+ grade by cheating on a test by copying answers from the student at the next desk, would you be proud of him or her?
And what if you found out that a coworker betrayed you by using the great idea you confided to him or her and taking credit for it when it worked out splendidly? Would you still be eating lunch with that coworker?
Or what if you donated money to a political candidate who you admired, and he or she spent it on a vacation in the Bahamas instead of on re-election expenses. Would that be okay with you? Would you vote for that candidate ever again?
I’ll take a guess at your answers to these questions. In none of the situations I’ve described would you be happy or proud. In fact, you’d be disappointed and angry. So just how can you think it’s no big deal to cheat on your post-op diet?
EXCUSES, EXCUSES
I can hear grumbling in the room. I think I just heard someone saying, “I had to eat that mashed potato. I was so hungry and miserable and cranky from being on liquids for a week, I couldn’t stand it another minute.” I do understand very well how you felt, but in the big picture of world hunger, where babies die because their mothers eat so little that they don’t produce enough milk for nursing, your and my hungry misery is a big So What.
And someone else is whispering, “My best friend’s surgeon let her eat mashed potatoes on her third day post-op, so it must be okay for me to do that too, even though my surgeon told me to wait until my 15th day post-op. It’s not my fault that every surgeon has a different post-op eating protocol.”
While it’s true that surgeons’ eating instructions vary widely, you signed on with your surgeon, not your best friend’s. Presumably you chose your surgeon because you and/or your insurance company believe that he or she is well-qualified in laparascopic bariatric surgery. During your psych evaluation, you affirmed that you understand what the surgery involves and that you can and will follow instructions. You nodded when the shrink asked if you’re ready to make all the lifestyle changes needed for success. You nodded when the dietitian asked if you understood your pre- and post-op eating instructions. You scribbled your own name on a sheaf of release papers to indicate that you were informed about the risks involved and despite those risks, gave your surgeon permission to perform surgery on you.
In addition to all of that, you spent weeks or months jumping through hoops to prove your need for bariatric surgery. Perhaps you suffered through a six-month pre-op diet. You had lots of medical tests and evaluations, most of them not much fun, because you were so eager to get your weight loss show on the road. You had surgery, suffered some degree of discomfort from your incisions and gas, and finally heaved a sigh of relief because all the struggles are over now.
But then you discovered that there are still more struggles to survive because of that stupid post-op liquid diet. Yet despite jumping through all those hoops, in less than 60 seconds you blow it by popping a Cheez Doodle in your mouth, and justify that with the aforementioned misery excuse.
And man oh man, that must have been some really serious misery, because evidently it drove out of your mind all the very good reasons for faithfully following that post-op diet progression. You forgot that one of the most common causes of band slips is the patient’s failure to follow the post-op diet. You forgot that food can get stuck in the stoma or esophagus and cause an obstruction or vomiting. You forgot that vomiting can disturb the position of the band, especially when you’re a new post-op and your stomach is still healing from surgery. You forgot that in order to move mashed potatoes or Cheez Doodles through your digestive system, your esophagus and stomach must expand and contract, which can disturb the position of your band and cause it to slip. You forgot all the promises you made to your bariatric team and to yourself about healthy eating and weight loss success, because you were so miserable and just a few little cheat bites are no big deal.
I’ll try to give you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you thought that being able to eat the Cheez Doodles without having any uncomfortable side effects or complications like a stuck episode, a PB, sliming, chest pain, esophageal dilation or spasms means that it’s okay to eat the Cheez Doodles. Well, I’m here to tell you that’s a wrong assumption. Cheating eating can cause problems without you ever knowing it until it’s too late. Cheating eating is just plain foolish.
YOU’RE NOT ALONE
Now here’s the good news. You’re not alone. Nobody enjoys the post-op diet progression. If any of us were good at following diets, we might not need bariatric surgery in the first place. And only infants enjoy a liquid diet. But in a sense, as a new post-op you’re a bariatric infant who must consume liquids because your body isn’t ready yet to handle anything else. Cheating on your post-op diet is cheating your health in a major way.
If you already cheated once or twice or ten times, that’s not a good reason for continuing to cheat, so don’t do it again! I believe we should begin any project as we mean to go on. If you can’t follow your post-op diet, exactly when are you going to begin your healthy post-op lifestyle? Are you going to wait until after your first fill, or your second fill, or at some hazy time in the future? If so, don’t come running to me when your scale stays stuck on a number you hate. NOW is the time to begin your healthy lifestyle. NOW is the time to practice good band eating skills and making good food choices and controlling portion sizes. Doing that may not be easy, but it’s not impossible either. Losing a massive amount of weight is a big, tough project, but if you respect your band, it's going to be easier than any of your past weight loss attempts. Let me clarify that: it's going to be easier if you follow instructions.
In addition to that healthy lifestyle, there’s another very good reason to stick to your diet. At some point you’re going to have to face up to your past and acknowledge that food and eating have been a major problem for you. The fact that you’re struggling with your post-op diet is a symptom of that. There’s no shame attached to that struggle. As mentioned above, if we didn’t struggle with eating, we wouldn’t need bariatric surgery at all. So I suggest that you look at the post-op diet (and your pre-op diet too, for that matter) as a rite of passage. During this rite, you’ll be painfully aware of just how many food devils you possess, because without food to shut them up, they’re going to be jumping up and down and screaming for your attention. But their wish is no longer your command. You’re going to send them a clear signal: that you’re not going to submit to their demands any more. From now on, you’re going to follow your surgeon’s and dietitian’s eating instructions no matter how much commotion those devils make. You’re in charge now. As the saying goes, today is the first day of the rest of your life. Do yourself a favor, and make it a day without Cheez Doodles!

Hello everyone,
Yes, I'm officially one of the Banded now. I had my surgery yesterday on the 27th. Everything went very well. I had a bit of the left shouler pain. I found having my husband give it a good rub with the arthritis cream I use for my knees helped a lot. I also had some pain pills too. Today, I'm feeling fine. I have a bit of bloating in my stomache and have been using the gas x strips. I've definitely been passing some of the gas, so no problem there.....ooops TMI.
I couldn't have asked for a more attentive and professional medical staff. I was treated like a queen from the time I entered the clinic. I had my own nurse with me from start to discharge and my Dr. and anesthesiologist were just wonderful. They both described in detail what would be happening to me in the OR and afterwards. I had my surgery at 9:30 and was on my way home by 1:30pm. The doctor called me at 8pm and then again this morning to see how I was doing. He said he'll be giving me a call on Monday too. And the I'll see him in two weeks for an incision checkup.
I'm on Clear liquids for the first 3 days and then I can have full liquids for a week, including my Protein Drink. He likes to take introduction back to food slowly. He says he wants abit of scar tissue to form around the stoma before taking any kind of a chance with food getting stuck or what not.He said if I follow just what he tells me to do, I should have no vomiting or discomfort. I also have a dietician who is working with me and she gives lessons over the internet. My first one is August 1st. Just like a classroom with hand out sheets that she has already emailed to me. I couldn't have found a better clinic. I'm very happy with how I've been treated and expect to have a long and lasting relationship with my weight loss group.
Tips: drink plenty of Water after surgery, have a pillow to hold against you for your car ride, gas x is a must. I found the most comfortable way to sleep last night was in my recliner as they don't want me laying flat for 3 days. You won't have any trouble with the Clear Liquids after surgery, as I have zero appetite.
Just think , this time next year we will all be so much healthier and look better too.

The first 4-6 weeks post op are for healing, not losing. My best advice is to put the scale away until you're at least a month post surgery and back on solid foods.
As far as calories, I would follow the guidelines your surgeon or nutritionist gave you, but 800 isn't too much.

A little about me. I've been banded for almost 2 years. I've lost 115 lbs. I'm at goal I haven't had a fill in about a year and have acid reflux for about a year. It started after I got pregnant. I miscarried at 20 weeks and the acid reflux continued. I had an upper GI and nothing. I actually wanted another fill and my dr ordered the upper GI? She thought something was wrong and nothing. Anyway please please please try OMPRAZOLE. I've seen it at Walmart and Sam's Club for a while and never thought to try it. I've been using it for the past two days and WOW. What a difference. I used to wake up in the middle of the night choking on vomit or acid. I suffered from it throughout the day, particularly when I was hungry. The worst was at night when I lay down. I tried to sleep on several pillows to keep my head elevated and nothing. I tried to stop eating at least an hour before i slept and nothing. I troed Tums, that provided temporary reluef. This OMPRAZOLE is the ONLY thing that has worked. I know I'm not too tight and I know there is nothing wrong with my band. I refuse to get an unfill. I'm crazy and refuse to mess up a good thing. I'm comfortable with my restriction and wouldn't change a thing except for this darn acid reflux. I'm and going to post a pic of this medicine and keep you posted about my success or unsuccess with it. So far so good. You use it for 14 days straight. You take it if you suffer from heartburn/acid reflux at least twice a week. I feel like screaming I'm so relieved. Good luck and God Bless you.

Severe acid reflux is a major sign of a major complication. You need to get checked for a slip. They ask me at every visit if I have had reflux. It can also mean you are too tight.

David Letterman isn’t the only one who composes top 10 lists. Here’s my top 10 list of the things you need to know about gastric band surgery, served with a generous helping of GJTL™ - Genuine Jean Tuff Luv™.


TIME FOR SOME TOUGH LOVE?
Genuine Jean Tuff Luv™? What’s that? It’s my version of the kind of love that hurts so good, because it gets you going in the direction you want to go.
Stern but caring parents, teachers and coaches who maintain strict rules and demanding training regimens are said to practice tough love. Those rules and regimens may not be fun, but they can turn around kids, students or athletes who’ve gotten off track or are underachieving.
Tough love may seem too severe, too tough. It works best when the parent, teacher or coach believes in, proclaims, and respects the inherent value and purpose of the person they’re trying to help. Sometimes all we need is a wakeup call to shake us out of our stupor and pull us out of a rut. The drills and discipline of tough love can help (even as they hurt) when our bandwagons have gotten lost or stalled somewhere along the way to success.
A bandster once said of me, “Jean tells people the things they don’t want to hear.” I chose to take that as a compliment. Many times in my life, I’ve benefited from a slap upside the head by a concerned friend. When I do the slapping, I try to do it with just enough emphasis to get a friend’s attention long enough to deliver an important message, followed by a gentle and loving kick in the butt. So here’s my top 10 list of things you need to know about adjustable gastric band surgery. Consider yourself kicked!
THE GJTL TOP TEN LIST
1. You will not wake up in the recovery room at your goal weight. Average weight loss with the band is 1-2 pounds per week, and virtually no one loses weight at a nice steady pace of (say) 1.75 pounds per week. Some weeks you’ll lose, some weeks you’ll stall and some weeks you’ll gain, but as long as the overall trend is downward, you’re doing great!
2. Slower weight loss with the band does not prevent sagging or excess skin. How your skin reacts to massive weight loss depends mostly on your genetics and your age. As we age, our skin loses elasticity. If the possibility of sagging or excess skin worries you, start tossing your change into a plastic surgery piggy bank.
3. Weight loss surgery (of any type) does NOT cure obesity. Obesity is a chronic and incurable disease characterized by relapse and recurrence. Although bariatric surgery is currently the most effective way of treating obesity, obesity is something you’re going to have to manage for the rest of your life, with or without surgery. For most of us, a tool like the adjustable gastric band makes that a lot easier, but it’s not effortless, either.
4. Most eating problems after band surgery are due to user error, and can be prevented by using good band eating skills. Read an article about those skills by clicking here: How to Eat Like a Bandster.
5. In order to decrease your weight and increase your health, you must decrease your food intake and increase the quality of your food choices and the time you spend exercising. While you may be able to lose weight for a while by just eating much smaller portions of chicken McNuggets, potato chips, and candy bars, eventually that approach will stop working, and at the same time it will start biting your health in the butt. And though it may be difficult for you to exercise at first, each pound you lose will make it easier, and each additional hour you spend exercising will not only burn calories but improve your physical and mental health.
6. No weight loss surgery procedure will cure eating disorders, eating demons, emotional eating, boredom eating, stress eating, celebratory eating or food addiction. Changing those behaviors is your job. If it’s too hard to tackle yourself, consider getting some counseling with a therapist experienced with eating disorder and WLS patients, and/or joining a 12-step group like Overeater’s Anonymous.
7. The band rarely works without fills. Even if you initially lose weight with one or no fills, sooner or later, you’re going to have to face the fill needle. And if you’re too needle-phobic to tolerate a fill needle, why did you choose band surgery in the first place?
8. The restriction “sweet spot” is a myth. There is no such thing as “perfect” restriction, or if there is, you can’t count on it to last more than one hour, one day or one week. This is because the band is an inert silicone object implanted in a living, breathing human body that changes constantly in reaction to the time of day, time of month, time of year, hydration, illness, medication, stress, you name it. Restriction variability is part of the gastric band package.
9. There is nothing magic in the band that makes you lose weight. Changing your eating and exercise behavior is what makes you lose weight. All the band does is make that work easier for you by reducing your physical hunger and increasing your satiety.
10. YOU are responsible for your weight loss. Not your band, not your surgeon, and not the server at McDonald’s who invariably asks you, “Want to supersize that?”

Some restaurants (Red Lobster is one) are now offering half sized portions for their menu items...also places like the Cheesecake Factory have different size portions, one for lunch and a larger one for dinner.

I usually order the lunch sized portion, even at dinner time with no questions asked. Sometimes I like the meal so much, I happily take the left overs home and have several meals from the one menu item. I have never had questions asked about my menu choices.

I agree that the kids menu usually does not offer healthy choices. The one exception to this is Chick fil 'a. Their kids meal of grilled chicken nuggets and a side order of fresh fruit is ideal for a bandster.

Any restaurants I have been to lets me order from the children's menu however msot children's menus do not have things I like or that are healthy for that matter. I order what I want and take home what I don't eat. You know, we have to get over the fact that we have to pay for a full size meal....so what....we are worth it especially if it isn't an everyday occurance. Sometimes I order an expensive tender cut of meat (steak) that the price tag is more than I or most people want to pay for it BUT hubs and I share it. If we were to order a cheaper cut of meat (dinner) separately for each of us it would cost the same as getting the better, tender, more flavorful dinner that we share. When we share sometimes I might order an additonal baked potato or sweet potato.

To maximize the effect of the gastric band and limit your calorie intake and feel satisfied for longer, by eating more solid than liquid meals.


Once on a full unrestricted diet, your goal is to work in partnership with the gastric band to limit your calorie intake and feel satisfied for longer. This will be easy for you to achieve by following the first key principle, chew your food do not drink them.
The more solid in texture the food is on your plate that requires chewing to convert it into a paste, fewer calories will be consumed and it will help place pressure on the signal points with the gastric band to trick your brain and feel satisfied for longer after a smaller amount of food.
Are you wondering what I mean by this? Let’s compare eating your fruit to drinking the juice.< /p>
I glass of fruit juice would contain the calories of four whole oranges. The gastric band will allow you to drink these calories reasonably easily in a very short space of time. However to sit and plough through and chew up to 4 whole oranges, I know you would give up, it just takes too long to achieve. Liquid calories such as juice, Soups, mashed vegetables and casseroles should be kept to a minimum for maximum weight loss results.
The discussion needs to be taken one step further. To enable you to consume as many dry and solid textured meals as possible successfully with the gastric band, often you need to modify your food preparation slightly to make the meal more gastric band friendly.
There are many foods we could use as an example, however lets use a few Protein rich foods, such as a hardboiled egg, left over dry chicken and fish which can create havoc with the gastric band. Slightly better alternatives would include scrambled egg or a frittata, tinned chicken and tinned fish.
These textures are still dry and solid but easier to eat pain free with the gastric band. This ever so slight modification to your meal preparation will enable you to eat more pain free.
In summary, to maximize the effect of the gastric band and limit your calorie intake and feel satisfied for longer, by eating more solid than liquid meals.