Bandista

Hi Wendy, you are doing beautifully! We have very similar stats only I'm a November bandit. I really hovered at those gates of Onederland a while but once through it all seemed a lot more real to me, like it's really happening.

Congratulations on this new chapter in your life -- very exciting. Seven months out and I am still so excited. Best wishes for speedy recovery.......

Hi there and congratulations on making this choice for yourself and your healthy future! I am so happy to be banded. I can't really recall the discomfort of those first couple of days -- I was so happy about getting banded that was all that mattered. It's not like being in the hospital for illness or an injury -- I was getting something I wanted and that made all the difference. Sense of humor was a good thing to take with me -- the gown, slippers, just how surreal a surgical environment is (this was my first overnight in a hospital as a patient and I'm 52). Walk all you can......I'm pretty sure that's the magic ingredient. Kicked my body's into healing mode. And thank yourself, acknowledge how wonderful you are, that you are showing up for yourself. Way to go! And keep us posted.....we are here for you.

Happy Bandaversary x two -- loved reading your post. I am spat seven months+ and also feel like I'm taking it a little slow but that it's okay. I'm inspired by your yoga -- that's something on my list of what I hope to be able to do. Thank you!

Hi there and congratulations -- I am seven months out and so happy with my banded life. Grateful every day. It's not just the weight loss, which is great, but the being out of food jail. I'm not at the mercy of my appetite anymore. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. I was so thrilled I didn't really mind the discomfort -- be sure to walk all you can and keep us posted on your progress.

Hi Rose, congratulations on your band and now a fill as well -- sounds like you're on your way. Try to keep up with the 30 minutes of exercise and that will really help -- you will have so much more energy as you get further along. You'll see! About the slower-healing incisions, I sometimes have a sore place under my bra line and I tuck a square gauze pad there. Maybe you need those for your waistband? I get the softest ones. Best wishes! My post-fill instructions are to take it easy but most people have liquids for a few days.

The first few days are hard on any kind of regime like this -- your body is craving that sugar, etc. Good for you for wanting to do it, for getting ready for surgery and the changes you want to make in your eating. I have to say that for me it was like night and day pre- and post-op. The band dims the appetite and takes away that nagging "more more more" monster. Yes, you still have to make good decisions but obviously you can do this. When I was on ore-op I considered it my last diet ever. The band is a lifestyle for me, not a diet. I am able to eat well, just in much small portions than the old days, and at appropriate intervals. It seems like a Miracle and we all feel like we won't be able to do it, etc. -- pre-op thoughts run like that. You will surprise yourself with your strength and determination and just how good it feels to choose yourself and your healthy future. Best wishes!

Congratulations! So happy for you -- here's to health and happiness!

Hi Shel, great post. I feel like there are certain foods I need to be able to eat or I know I'm too tight. For me those are salmon and steamed broccoli. I hear you on the upside of too tight and losing back that five, but I don't want to be disordered either. For those of us who came from a restrictive background (dieting queens!) this is of course dangerous territory. I think I like food too much to "go there" but I don't want to find out. Here's to HEALTHY and happy -- strong bodies with dimmed appetites but healthy need/desire for good food in small amounts. Happy travels ahead!

Karen, you help me every time I read something you've posted. But I totally get the going silent for a while....... In other news, it's our wedding anniversary weekend and I'm feeling great. We are in Boston for a couple of days. It's hot and so much fun to be on the waterfront and feeling good in my little Capri pants and top. I have a long way to go but right where I am I'm feeling "normal" -- not fat. I feel healthy and good things are happening wherever we go. Eating-wise I've still not caught on to just how little I have to order, so tonight a picnic from the leftover lunch we had and maybe a Greek yogurt and nuts later. Tomorrow another fancy lunch place and probably a lot more leftovers. So wonderful to "be" in a restaurant, really present and not just eating, eating, eating. I'm enjoying my food and stopping. Hotel upgraded us to a suite and sent up champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. I stick with flat wine -- my Proseco days are over -- but a couple of those strawberries oh my goodness. Then stopping. Satiated. It is delightful to have this kind of lifestyle.

So happy for you! Yippee!

So sorry you've had a bad time! Sounds like that was a doozy of a reaction to the anesthesia. Be sure to find out and note what they used so if you ever have to have surgery again they have a different cocktail for you. I loved my Popsicles post surgery -- maybe that would feel good on your throat, or warm tea. Try to move all you can and walk around so you don't end up with gas pains on top of the other. I agree ice can help with that incisional pain and some people like a heating pad for comfort. Just know you'll be feeling lots better shortly. Sending best wishes your way!

Sometimes it takes time for the fill to settle in -- I don't notice at first but then 4-5 days later I do. I've now had seven small fills. The surgeon doesn't share fill amounts so I have no idea how much, etc. If it starts to wear off and I'm hungry again too soon, I go back. We are all different and have find what works for our bodies. It's great that you are seeing your surgeon again and regrouping. Keep listening to your body, noticing patterns for hunger, time until you feel hunger again, what is satiety versus "full" which is not what we are trying to achieve. Also the slow eating of real food with lots of chewing is what gives those esophogeal signals to the brain. Go slow, no sliders, listen in -- it may be that fill is just taking a little time to work.

I got a mini-elliptical from Amazon less than $100 and it's great -- it's only the foot part, a platform, but can be used as a peddler or as an elliptical. Requires balance but that's great for core work. Thing takes up very little space.

Yippee! Feels great, doesn't it? You are doing beautifully!

My first fill was at exactly four weeks. Up until three and a half weeks I thought I might not need it, but that was when the hunger returned. Good timing for me! Good luck with all -- you're doing great!

After years and years of restrictive diets, I am so happy not to be on a diet anymore. It never worked for me -- I could lose but then inevitably I'd gain it all back and then some. Now I have a lifestyle change and it's the making of good choices each and every day that is working. So happy to be out of food jail! Enjoy your time with your son and just listening to your body. My one rule is to eat when I'm hungry, don't eat when I'm not hungry. These days when I'm out for meals I'm much more engaged in what is going on around me than what is on my plate. That is a big change for me. Also I try to make a game out of putting down my utensil and listening to my body -- I look around and really enjoy where I am and who I'm with.

Oh dear, so sorry -- try to relax and wait for fluoroscopy so they can see what's going on there. Keep us posted! Meanwhile I just looked at your stats -- you are doing beautifully. That is a great loss.

I'm a pretty cheap date these days, except if I order the tenderloin, lol! My family likes eating out with me because they get all the extras. I'm still working on getting my husband not to order an appetizer because he's going to be having half of my meal as it is.

Congratulations on your upcoming surgery! If there are things you wished you had talked about at your appointment, call them up and discuss by phone. They are there for you! I was given a prescription for liquid narcotics which I filled just in case but ended up not needing. As said above, we are all different in that regard. One thing I'm really glad I did was up my exercise prior to surgery. I didn't want to but I did it and I'm pretty sure all the walking I did pre and post-surgery helped kick the body into healing mode. And shedding mode! Best wishes to you. Get all your questions answered by your medical professionals so you are not worrying about anything.

Sending best wishes for a speedy recovery -- walk all you can! Congratulations on choosing yourself and your healthy future. Love, love, love my banded life and know that you will, too.

Congratulations on your success! My surgeon was looking for being satisfied with a tennis-ball sized portion of food for 4-5 hours. I had the portion part but was hungry again after a couple of hours -- that's how we knew if I needed a fill. Eating over a longer period of time than 20-30 minutes is grazing, something I have to be very careful of as that is my tendency. I sometimes "clock" my meals -- I make a note of the time and count off four or five hours on my fingers to tell me what time I should be eating next. I think this helps reinforce my old behaviors of going back for more too soon, just out of habit. Good luck to you -- you are doing beautifully!

What a great post! Congratulations on turning your life around. Isn't it great having the appetite dimmed? And you are really rocking the exercise -- cardio, weights, yoga, Wow! I'm pretty sure exercise is the secret to success, and listening to the body. Good for you forgoing all bread items and figuring out what works for you. Just think, at your next doctor's visit you will be in the two hundreds. Way to go!

Hi there and congratulations on your surgery! I don't happen to use a scale but I do use small bowls and a long-handled baby spoon and shrimp fork when I'm at home. I love my little condiment dishes. For me, it's a volume thing, so knowing what bowl works well is a good way for me to measure. I am very conscious of eating Protein first with some veggies, etc. Also, I eat Greek yogurt maybe 4-5 times a week. I get the 100-calorie individual containers (even though I hate all that plastic) because the little cup is perfect for me to add in a few chopped walnuts, some chia seeds and if I'm really splashing out a little gluten-free Cereal. It's impossible to have too much as the little cup would overflow, so it keeps me honest. Yogurt would be a slider food for me if I didn't have the mix-ins. Oh, I also add in collagen for an additional 6 grams of protein and that makes it thicker, too -- more time for my esophagus to signal the brain.

Hi there and congratulations on your upcoming surgery. Pre-op can be hard but I was so happy to lose a chunk pre-surgery -- weight that I knew would never be coming back!