PrettyThick1

I lost a total of 82 pounds, gained back some when I quit smoking but I got another fill and have lost 23 pounds in 23 days!

Quite honestly, I was eating EVERYTHING...NOTHING DIDN'T GO DOWN. LOL

I've lost a tremendous amount of weight with the band but started getting off track last year after I quit smoking. Well I started going back in for fills and I think I'm back in the green zone because I lost 23 pounds in 23 days! Woo hoo!

A fill is when you get Fluid added to your band to help keep you full for longer periods.

I'm recently back on the wagon after going for nearly 2 years with bad habits but in that time I gave up smoking, too. The two combined with a less than half-full band is a recipe for fatassism, which I developed over the course of 6 or 7 months. I've buckled down, gotten 2 fills and am losing weight again but I have a problem. Going that long without getting a fill, being loose and eating whatever I wanted has made me forget how to eat the right way and I've been having a lot of problems. I'm also taking a medication that seems to tighten the band, but tomorrow is my last day taking it so I won't go so far as to get an unfill. Unfortunately, I am very tight. There are times when Water won't go down, so I dare not try to eat my favorite foods: fish, beef, chicken, crawfish...the list goes on and on. If I don't loosen up after the medication is gone then I'm going to get .25cc's taken out - it sucks that I have an appointment scheduled for Thursday to get another fill. I don't know if I need it or not until the meds get out of my system. But I wrote all of that just to say: I really miss food and being able to eat like normal people. I love being a lower weight, but I loved food a lot too.

When I was in the green zone I could: 1.) Eat anything I wanted, just not much of it. 2.) My soft stop was a sigh and if I kept eating my stomach would hurt bad. 3.) I lost 2-5 pounds per week. 4.) I wasn't hungry but ate regularly anyway. I had a stomach virus and had to get some Fluid taken out so that I could vomit without causing problems, I never went back to get it put back in and gained a lot of weight rather quickly. I'm back getting fills again but it's a lot harder finding my sweet spot than it was the last time. I really miss being Green because I could eat and drink "normally" without any adverse effects.

I have the band and lost that much in that amount of time. I lost 26 pounds the first month and then 12-15 pounds per month after that. I think the secret to my success is that my doctor gave me a 3cc. fill while I was still in surgery, everyone that has that done loses really quickly.

I think they might say the "Like This" button serves that purpose.

Getting back into my pretty clothes I bought when I hit my first goal of 160. I was bad and gained some back but I'm on the way back down again. Yay!

Thank you, it's great to be back!! I needed to return because this site keeps me accountable for my actions some how, I got off track but now I'm back in the swing of things again. I missed it here. LOL

I have a friend who is selling a weight loss and energy product, she knows that I have the band but that I got off track and started to gain again. When I told her I just needed to go in for maintenance she tried to push her products on me as well as ask me to throw a party at my house (my friends and relatives of course) so she could sell to them. I'm all for supporting my friends projects if it's something I believe in but this is another multi-level gimmick that will be out of fashion in a year or so.Long story short, she's trying to "make" me buy her stuff even though I told her I need to sample it first because it may not agree with me and I'd be throwing away money. I'll spare you all the details but she almost got me upset by not taking no as an answer - but I remembered that I haven't eaten yet and when I get upset my band feels completely closed and nothing will go down. Moral of the story: don't let people upset you, your band doesn't like it.

Ummmmm...I know I gave you my advice (don't sweat it, keep vaping) and others have as well. So what else do you want?

That's just life post WLS. I'm 3 years out (band) and a lot of factors go into what I can eat and when. It's not fun, but you're going to have to get use to it.

You don't need any comorbidities with a BMI over 35, you'll be fine just have faith.

You should find out if they're really using synthetic marijuana and just saying they're vaping because that doesn't sound right at all and I have a tough time believing it.

Dang...exactly WHAT are they vaping? I know tons of vapers who haven't experienced any adverse reactions and they've done it longer than I have (18 months).

If you have reached your goal weight or are close to it, how much Protein do you aim for everyday? What is the source?

Looking for meal suggestions, I'm pretty tight and want to keep it this way but I ideas on how to get nutrition at this level. Thanks!

Poor baby...nobody deserves that. You're going to find someone great very soon and this will all be a memory.

Your roomie is wrong and you need to put her in check. It's not her place to discuss your surgery, your weight or anything else personal. Girl...make her get her life. yeaaah... my roommate is going to make it difficult for me to date the guys I want to - without them knowing about the wls because he likes to tell everyone how I had 80% of my stomach cut out to lose weight, instead of just leaving it at she had surgery (which is what my sister said to our waitress the other night because the lady thought I didn't like my salad or something as wrong with my food). I'm cool with people knowing, but the way he says it and the tone he says it in is more him judging me and trying to put me down about it. And I want to date one of his friends after I am at a more confident space in my mind to deal with me and someone else.

I just tell people and don't worry about their reaction. For the most part its like: "wow, cool..." and have a lot of question because chances are they know someone who is also interested in it. I have yet to get a negative reaction from telling others.

I don't mean to scare anyone. Vaping is far and away a better choice than cigs, by every medical study I've read (and I keep an eye out for them). I would rather every cigarette smoker in the world switched to vaping based on the science available right now. However, it is *not* risk free, and no one should claim that it is. You are inhaling a foreign substance into your lungs, and it puts you at a higher risk for pulmonary complications. The risk is miniscule compared to cigarettes, and is even smaller than the risk of living in a large city, but there *IS* a risk. There's a risk in swimming at the beach, but it's still hard to get a good parking space. There's a risk in driving my car to work everyday, but I'm here. There's a risk in everything you do.

Popcorn lung happens when you use liquids that have 2 certain chemicals in it, not all vape liquids will cause popcorn lung (I work in a hospital and I haven't seen anyone diagnosed with that YET but Houston is full of people who vape). The one I use has only 2 ingredients - vegetable oil and mint flavoring.

FYI - I've been vaping for a year and it's been the most healthy time I can recall. No coughing, no colds or flu. Once I got all the gunk out of my lungs and chest (3 weeks) I felt like I had the lungs of a kid again. Don't let people scare you.

When I was banded I was smoking cigs, it was risky because my doctor could have given me a test and found out about it and ruined my surgery, or worse it could have affected my outcome/health. I'm happy to say that I no longer smoke because I vape - I started out at 12mg nicotine and now I'm at 0 like you. You don't have anything to worry about, everything will be fine by vaping.