SolracSpree

I had the same exact pain. (under the bottom of your left rib?) It is one of the reasons that I had to extend my pain medication. When I talked to my Doc about it she said that is was "relative pain". So during surgery while they were poking around they hit something that causes pain outside of your stomach somewhere in the abdominal cavity. Again my pain was so bad they extended my pain meds. I hope you feel better and that is isnt anything more serious!

Why would everyone preach exercising to burn calories? And then turn around and say now you have to eat more? And use the argument / excuse about metabolism levels, etc...does anyone here know how to measure that?

I have had my resting metabolism measured by my Doc. I do know with a higher metabolism I need to eat a couple hundred more calories body to keep my body out of starvation mode but it something my body naturally does on its own. When I was just eating 1,000 calories I was always hungry and quit counting. When I went back to the doctor they told me they needed a calorie count on file so I went back to counting, and funny enough when I went back to count I average at 1,400-1,500 daily and still losing when there are those who eat only 700 - 800 calories and losing the same as I am. I follow my body hunger first and calories second.

But I am new to the world of banding. I'm sure thinking will change a lot for a while.

What carolinagirl says is true. The band does not do the work for you, it helps you. If you do not keep up with adjustments, you will be able to eat more than what is suggested and if you are are losing weight and do not excercise, you will hit a plateau and get stuck on a certain weight. I started excercising and that made a huge difference. I was banded on 6/20/13 and I have lost 102 lbs. I need 16 lbs to lose to reach my goal. It feels great! Good luck

You have lost 100 pounds in less than 2 months????

Make sure to make a review on your experience with our surgeon as a warning to those in the future. Wishing you the best

Lori I'm like you! I'm 1 month post op and I take in 1000 with exercise. I'm down 35 lbs so far. Working on taking in more Water . I can't eat any more than that anyway . My tummy would be stuffed !!!

Have you guys had fills yet?

I each sushi fine. California rolls are 43 cal a piece 4-6 pieces fills me up. And as far as string cheese I like Sargento but the Babybel cheese has fewer calories and its fun to open

I'll have to ask my doctor is he wants me to stay at 1400 calories once I get a fill. It seems like people are significantly lower than my calorie intake ( expect the 6ft males lol) If I go lower wont my body go back into starvation mode? Its all so confusing : /

How do you check your metabolism

Im not exactly sure how the math is calculated but they hooked me up to a machine that measures your heart rate (?) and breathing. The machine measures oxygen intake and carbon dioxide out. Then based on that the machine calculates it comes up with your metabolism rate. I had to get that, as well as an iDXA scan in order to be approved for surgery.

What my doc does is every time he gives a fill, he takes out all the liquid from the band to measure it and then adds the amount for the next fill. This would show if you might have a leak if he knows he put in 5cc and now there is only 3. If that makes any sense.

Also I dont know how much food a grinder is but it sounds like way too much to be eating at one time. Make sure you are measuring your food. 1 cup is my Doc's max. Yours might be different? But if you eat that 1 cup and still aren't satisfied then you can always eat again when you are hungry. It would suck for you to come this far and damage your band.

Hey everyone.

I wanted to know what is everyone's daily caloric intake. 4 weeks ago my PA put me on a 1,000 calorie diet. And lets say I didnt do great on it towards the end once my appetite came back. Then when I saw my surgeon two weeks later he put me on a 1400-1500 calorie diet because he said my metabolism rate is higher and I needed to consume more calories and "kick" my body out of starvation mode. So on here I've seen people who eat around 900 cal - 1200 cal. And some who don't count calories at all. Now I don't know how I will consume this much once I've gotten a fill but I guess my body will adjust. I just wanted to see if anyone is eating this many calories AFTER being banded.

(Having your metabolism rate check is awesome btw, if you haven't had it done its pretty cool. I found out my body burns 2,174 calories resting, which as explained to me means my body would burn 2,174 calories if I never got of out bed. The you add calories for daily activity level and exercise. My metabolism is very high they said, which is a surprise to me! I always thought my metabolism was awful.)

Yes happened to me. Prilosec as well now

I think most people who complain about only losing 25 pounds are including weight they lost from pre-op which can be sometimes around 20 pounds. I know before surgery I lost 18 pounds and I include that in my total weight loss, so they might not be losing as much as it seems.

I had liquids for 2 weeks. I had Clear Liquids for 10 days and full liquids for 4 days. The pureed food for 1 week, then mushy food for 1 week and soft food 1 week. Now on normal food.

I started experiencing hunger after the first week and I stayed hungry up until week 4 when I started eating soft food.

I have no idea what Tripe is, but is it allowed on your post op diet? It's definitely not a liquid or mushy food. According to your profile, it's only been a little over 2 weeks since your surgery.

Tripe is an animals stomach lining

There are a couple people who are losing with no fill (except what they put in during surgery). I think I've seen it more with those who had plication with their band than those who didnt. I'm losing currently without a fill but i'm hungry in between meals.

I am at week 6 now. I did not lose anything from week 2 - 4. Now I am losing approx 2 pounds a week. No fill yet. And this week because of that TOM coming I actually gained 5 pounds. But as soon as it ended it went away. Dont be discouraged!

2 weeks for me

I have found planning ahead works best. I am a little OCD so I made a "to-go" food Chart. I looked at the the nutrition for everything on the menu for like 10 different resturants. If it is was 300 cal or less I added it. (or for a larger meal 600 and split it in half to take home). It has helped alot with keeping my calories within a certain limit. And by looking ahead you can know what is offered before hand instead of second guessing.

I agreed with tiger however, you are only 3 weeks out of surgery and eating anything other than your diet food might hurt you. chips are hard and could do damage to your stomach. Everyone else is hungry at this time too. I am currently 5 weeks out with no fill and im hungry but you gotta keep keeping on

You liver is very large and in order to perform the surgery safely with laparoscopy your liver needs to shrink enough that the can maneuver the medical instruments around your abdominal cavity. If it does not shrink it they might not do the surgery.

I had phlegm after I started eating food again. Went away after a couple days.

I agree and I guess disagree all at the same time. Yes your hunger will return. No you should not over indulge in fatty foods. Change however takes time. Don't be embarrassed that you ate chips. Just limit the amount you eat. Deprivation is the mother of all diet breaking habits. The best thing my mother (who lost over 100 pounds without surgery and has kept it off) ever told me was this: you strive to have a healthy diet as much as humanly possible. But when you truly crave something and you don't eat it, sometimes you over eat other things trying to compensate for the one item you are avoiding. It is not the fatty foods that make us lose control - one chip did not make you gain several pounds over night - it took several chips over a long period of time. So every blue moon if you have to have some chips than do so. Portion Control is the key.

Couldnt agree more with this post. I am one of those people where if I'm truly craving something I will eat much more food than if I was to have a small taste of what I was craving. You just cant have cravings everyday

I dont know if I could be considered a 'mentor' since i'm younger and only 6 weeks banded. BUT I AM A TEACHER. Elementary Art. Im 24, I also live my boyfriend and dog but no kids. I will gladly be there as a friend / support.

We almost have the same starting weight. I hope in 7 mo from now I have awesome results like you!

Infection is nothing to mess with, your doctor shouldn't have given you a fill if you were showing signs of infection. I too have been struggling with my port site. You can see the attached photos. See someone else, this is something that can really do damage to your body.