kacee

Herb roasted Chicken and Garlic Roasted chicken....they have the least calories

My scales and I are surgically joined at the hip....er....soles of my feet. I weigh religiously every morning....yes, after a good pee and buck naked. This is what works for me. Instead of following the POUNDS, I follow those tenths of pounds on my digital scale. That way you get action every day. Yes, sometimes I am 183.6 and sometimes I am 183.8, but those tenths start to REALLY mean something to me. Today I was 182.6 and I am pretty darned excited! Maybe tomorrow I can be 182.4, or even 182.3!!! Then when it actually slips into another POUND....I DO THE HAPPY DANCE!!!!! Maybe after I get to goal I will drop to once a week, but this is wroking fantastic for me. I also log my weight each and every day on my FitDay account.

Oh Nana, isn't that funny! I went to a movie one week after surgery and I too was AMAZED I didn't have popcorn (I had bottled water and was just FINE!). I thought I would DIE if I didn't have popcorn at a movie! Wow...I LIVED!!!! And....I enjoyed the movie! Who'd a thunk it!

I don't know about anyone else, but for me, telling has HELPED me stay the course. Always before I'd say, "Oh yeah, I'm back at Weight Watchers" and be full of enthusiasm.....and then I'd fall off the wagon and folks would say..."what happened?" and I'd shrug. I want every speck of incentive in the world now. That means the incentive from shelling out about $13,000 of my own money for the procedure...a huge investment in myself, AND telling everyone. I want those eyes on me. THAT is incentive. It's me against "results typical". I'll show em! My weight loss is my best advertisement and my best revenge! I WANT their eyes to pop. I WANT them to ask how it's going. And I WILL be successful and I will show EVERYONE and I will be proud of my accomplishment!!!

I can eat a whole Lean Cuisine. If I got out to eat I can generally eat about half to 1/3 of what I ordered. If I am just standing and eating out of the refigerator I can do about 3-4 bites before I get full. It seems to vary, but with my third fill I am doing GREAT. I do log EVERYTHING that goes into my mouth and the amounts, but as far as specific measurements of volume, I don't worry about it. Your doctor has the right idea.

<p>I was banded 3 months ago. I wouldn't do ANYTHING any differently. The surgery went without incident, my recuperation was EXTREMELY fast (I was shocked!) and my weight has dropped steadily since and I could NOT be happier with the results. That being said, the band is NOT a license to retain your old habits. You HAVE to modify your behavior and eating habits. I have yo-yo dieted for 45 years. This is the FIRST time I have actually been able to be successful and to ENJOY being successful (changing my habits hasn't bothered me one whit!). This little jewel is going to remain with me. If you want a true tale...look at the poll asking if it was worth it. HELL YEAH!</p>

Try coffee or tea. If it is the caffeine withdrawal, you will find out very quickly.

Drinking just when you are thirsty is NOT an option. You have to sip liquids continuously in the early stages in order to keep things working right in your body. The reason I say continuously is because you are not downing that much liquid in each sip....just a tiny bit at first. I had a bottle of spring water and I was sipping at least every 10 minutes or so all through the day and evening (wqhen I was awake, that is) and it took a LONG time to get through that first bottle, which is only 16 ounces.

Not even to mention the part that after surgery you may not be able to straighten up for a while. I didn't have much of a problem after the first two days, but NO WAY would I have been able to "carry on" as usual. There are any number of side effects you could have...including the GAS that can be pretty darned dibilitating, depending on how it hits you. I think of myself as a hugely FAST healer and had none of the complaints a lot of folks here post about, but I would NEVER want to be responsible to carry on a household and watch children in that condition. Not to mention, you can't pick anything up. Big Wave Dave is RIGHT ON. Not to villify your hubby, but this IS major surgery. I've heard some people liken it to c-section in the way they felt. I wouldn't know. But even to have someone the second day will make a huge difference. You could really retard your healing process if you push it too much.

Dry meats will do it as well. Chicken breast is particularly dry (white meat). Luncheon (deli type) meats are offenders as well. You're better off with meats to have some kind of sauce or juice on them to help soften.

Don't you know ANYONE who could help out the first two days? This is MAJOR SURGERY and you will be healing. This is NOT a time to be bouncing around trying to watch a 1 year old. I'm sorry if this sounds bad, but you are putting yourself at some risk here. I did nothing but sleep for the first two days. So then what if you suddenly realize you CANNOT handle the day? What are you going to do? I would really rethink this. I am sure I will get a lot of crap from everyone for my answer, but this is not something to take lightly in my opinion.

Hear hear Bubble! You hit a chord with me! I agree wholeheartedly. I won't even get started on the welfare thing because I would never shut up, so nuff said. When I paid for my surgery, I made a pact with myself. This is not $15 a week at Weight Watchers. This is not several hundred dollars for Jenny Craig. This is a fortune to most, and me, and takes a chunk out of my money saved for retirement...so I better make this sucker work. I'm 3 months out and I am actually quite comfortable with my eating habits right now, considering I have 50 years to undo. I had 2 scoops of chocolate chip ice cream last weekend. Probably the first ice cream I have had in 6 months. Okay, I enjoyed it and now I am done with it for a while. I do agree about the folks eating all that stuff on their 2nd week or so out. I was too SCARED that I'd damage something if I did. Fear of consequences and awe of the money spent kept me on the straight and narrow. It amazes me that someone would be so lah-de-dah about the whole thing to put all that at risk.

2004 in all my glory - 225 day before surgery. 218 08-19-07 - nearly 3 months after surgery. 183 Okay I finally figured out how to do it....hope they aren't too big. Really happy with results so far...but that neck has GOTTA GO!!!

I usually go through the picture attachment icon (mountain with the sun) which would seem to be a whole lot easier, but I think there is something you have to do after you past the link in and I don't know what that is. Anyone pulled pics from a outside thing like Photobucket?

Yep, sitting in photobucket as we speak.

Bumping up and truly do need help.

Claramae....PB is when the food gets stuck (and isn't gonna go down), so it comes back up. It's not like a real puke with stomach contractions and everything....it's kinda like "from the chest up" puke, if you can imagine that. The first few times I did it, I just kindof leaned over the toilet and whatever I had just eaten kindof came up and out, accompanied by a lot of slimey mucus. Sounds gross, but isn't THAT bad, and if your food is truly stuck it can be the only way to comfort.

Has to do with your age also. I am 55. My doctor asked me what I thought it should be and I said 145 and he said he wanted me down to 160.....well, I'm 5'3" and that is just too much for me. That puts my bmi into the obese category and I would have to disagree. I arbitrarily dropped it to 150, but I am going to attempt to break the 40's if I can.

Oh can I relate! Eating after the band isn't gonna be as hard as trying to control yourself before the band (otherwise there wouldn't be any success stories, would there!). I was also lucky that I didn't have a pre-op diet (my doctor thinks they are unnecessary and people probably wouldn't be able to follow them anyway), but I absolutely GORGED myself on Chinese food the day before surgery (I suffered all night with a stomach ache, I ate so much....was that DUMB, or what!), but my attitude about food has changed since the band. I still stumble sometimes, but I get right back up.

I never really had any problems sleeping from day one. I was afraid I might not be able to sleep on my side (I'm a side sleeper, and mainly left side) but I had no problem at all.

Besides, you are smack in the middle of BAND HELL time. You just gotta get through this to get your first fill. The only thing you really need to watch is not putting stuff down you that your body isn't ready for (healing wise). Other than that, it's gonna be a trial and tribulation for you through about day 30, when most folks tend to get their first fill...

Your doctor is very smart, angeleyes. The whole idea of pain management is not to wait until the pain HITS to take your meds. You take a little and let it coast and take a little more at regular intervals. The idea is NOT to have the pain and/or to minimize it considerably. I hear a lot of folks talk about being "miserable" after surgery. It is just NOT necessary!

You know what...everyone uses this board to vent and complain, but if you asked each one of us if we regreted getting the band, you'd have about a 98% chorus bellowing HELL NO! in your face. You'll get a golf ball.....a few times....and you'll learn what causes it and go on from there. You'll slime....it'll happen...but so what? None of that is like a daily occurrance if you are doing what you are supposed to do. You'll find you can probably eat most of the foods you did before. I can even eat those foods that "I can't" if I take it REALLY slowly. You're not doomed to barfing and clear soups. Your life will change, but you will LOVE the change.

Mine is dead center, just below my breast bone. I have lost all my belly fat very quickly and when I lay down there is a slight hump. I tell you what, though...it doesn't bother me one whit. As long as it's not sticking out of the middle of my forehead I am a happy camper!

Oh, and Gas-X or something like that. Keep a lot close by and use it.