Terry Poperszky

I am a bander, but had those same feelings. After all, we have all failed at a life time of trying to loose the fat, the hope that we will succeed now is sooooo scary. But, listen to your Doc, follow the rules, and realize that what you are going to go through is going to give you a tool to help you be successful. You will still have to work your ass off, but the difference is that now you truly can be successful.

Thanks guys, I was mainly venting because I was so frustrated. Head hunger was probably a misnomer, I wasn't hungry at all, but I had a bad day and I was battling a very strong desire to eat to experience the pleasure that eating brings. By the time I wrote that post, I had already had two cups of coffee and a couple of pieces of dark chocolate to try and curb the desire, but the monster wasn't going to be satisfied with anything less than mass quantities of food. Thankfully Mistress Band helped keep me from doing it by the very knowledge that she had her stiletto heels on and ready if I ate anything.

It has been a year now, why in the hell am I still wrestling with this?

Ditto, it is one of the reasons I can actually tell that the water is going through my band is because I can feel the temp change.

Shrimp and Lobster were a problem for me also....it's one of those foods that no matter how well you chew, it is just not good enough.... I did finally figure out a way to eat it though.... Funny, how we are all different. I can no longer eat steak, but I have absolutely no problem with shrimp.

My 1 yr bandiversry will be in 5 days. Down 60 pounds, went from 46" waist to a 36". More active than ever and feel great. I wish I had the surgery years ago, but to tell you the truth I wasn't ready for it mentally. According to the charts I have 40 more pounds to lose, my goal for 2014 is 20 of it. No longer in a hurry, simply enjoying life.

Made this tonight Cheryl, wife requested that I make it again. Would have made last night, but I started out with dry beans and it took a little longer than expected. Need to make some adjustments though, a bit bland for my taste.

So, what you are saying is that it is the State's decision as to whether or not they will cover bariatric procedures and is not a function of the ACA itself?

B-52 you are a lot farther down the LB road than I am, and I appreciate your candor on the things that you still have to watch for. For me, I am still learning to not take that second bite.

Admitting an addiction doesn't absolve you of responsibility, it simply means that you have greater self awareness. I personally don't have a problem with "Certain Foods", I have a problem with ALL foods. Did it occur to you that those "7 Habits" were simply the tools they used to battle their addiction, much as an alcoholic will use a 12 step program to battle their addiction? Besides, if having to have WLS and and your GE system altered (band, sleeve, GB) to finally gain some control over my excess weight doesn't classify me as a "food addict" then I don't know what does.

•1/2 cup chopped peppers Cheryl, I am assuming these are bell peppers? While I could hand 1/2 cup of Jalepenos or Habeneros, I don't think my girls could

My surgeon warned me that once I was at proper fill I should plan on starting the day with a Protein shake the rest of my banded life because for what ever reason, the band is tighter in the mornings. 80% of his office staff are banded and they echoed his advise. I rarely have anything but coffee the first hour I am awake, then I have a fruit/vegetable/protein smoothie. Trying to get anything solid down before I have been out of bed for a couple of hours is a very iffy proposition. BTW, I have noticed being tighter even if I am grabbing a 30 minute mid day nap, may have something to do prone position.

My family loves beans, made frijoles refritos last weekend and navy bean Soup is scheduled for this weekend. I have both Cous Cous and Quinoa in the pantry, although I haven't tried the quinoa yet. I'm not in any danger of becoming a vegetarian, but meat consumption has definitely been reduced.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/30/quinoa-facts-didnt-know_n_4494695.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Breakfast smoothies This morning we are all drinking a smoothie made from: pineapple w/core Carrot w/peel Baby Kale Orange Frozen strawberries Chobani Greek 0% fat yogurt Agave Syrup The kale flavor definitely shines through, but it has 170 % of the daily Vitamin c, not to mention amazing amounts of A and K as well. Add in the Fiber and probiotic benefits and it is a great way to start the day. Besides that, it tastes great.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/12/exercise_to_prevent_cure_or_treat_disease_cancer_heart_disease_inflammation.html

1. No constant ache. 2. Irrational fear yes.

All the veteran banders should read her thread! The more I read the other WLS forums, the more I realize that the problems that I see here have nothing to do with the band, but everything to do with what people expect from any WLS. Turns out the sleeve veterans get the same complaints about being "Mean" as the Banders who tell people to follow their Dr's orders.

Kohl's although I have never had to shop in a "Fat Lady" stores

I buy my own present, and the wife and daughters get me something small and personal. This year they gave me a toy giraffe for my desk (private joke). I do all the cooking in the family and when we first got married I told my wife that the first time I got kitchen appliances for my birthday or Christmas, that was the last meal I would ever cook.

Food logging helped me, for some reason the prospect of writing down that I was eating garbage was a deterrent.

Impressive article Alex.

Got to agree with you on this B-52, two things that make it this way for me: 1. People seem to want to be offended: On some of the posts that I have made that drew negative responses, I wonder if the person even actually read or thought about what I said, because their response is so out of tune with what I said. It is almost like people are looking for reasons to be offended. 2. When there is a disagreement, everyone wants to have the last word: I watch some of these threads that go on for multiple pages, and I swear that people aren't even reading each others responses, simply posting so that they have the last word on a subject. Personally I have started to speak my piece, and then ignore what happens in a thread after that. Personally, I don't post near as much as I used to. Why? It isn't fun anymore, all I hear is: you're bragging, you're being judgmental, you're too harsh. I'm tired of it. There are many Veterans on this forum that have helped me through the last year, I don't agree with everything they say, but I have enough respect for their success to at least listen too them. And I am far enough down the lap band road myself to start understanding some to things they are saying that I didn't (couldn't) understand when I had just started my journey.

Sandy, I think what B52 is trying to say is not that the people who are struggling are bad people, but that all he is seeing is posts from people who are struggling, and not from the large groups of Veteran lurkers here who are working the band through the Holidays. Those Veteran posts were significant to my success as I struggled in the early days of my band. Yes there are struggles, but once you start to learn to live with your band, those struggles aren't as hard. For instance, I just got back from a work assignment in Hawaii, I'm on an expense account, I am away from my normal routine, and I am surrounded by fantastic restaurants. Pre-band I would have gained 5 - 10 pounds during that week. This time? I was down 2 pounds. How did I do it? I listened to my band and when it said I was done, I left the food on my plate and was done. No diet, no counting, just the band. That doesn't mean that I never count calories, or log food. But that this time I didn't and the band worked for me. This is how many veterans live, and I believe these are the people that B-52 wants to stop lurking, and share their successes. Some will label it as bragging, but who the hell cares what they think? People need to know that the band works.

Spent 4 days in Hawaii on a work assignment, and maintained my weight. The office was about a mile away, so I didn't get a car and walked to work each day. While my food choices could have been healthier, I listened to my band and life was good.