Cherrybomb

Glad to hear how it is going for you. I had my fill on August 16 and I'm feeling a little mixed on my results. The first couple of days, I was down 4 pounds and then everything stalled. My restriction really varies from day to day. Some days I can eat anything and don't feel full, then the next day, everything seems to get "stuck". I'm finally down about .5 but I'm thinking I need to go in for another fill. I've been exercising (not every day, unfortunately) but I'm not doing well getting all the water down. I really didn't expect to hit a mini-plateau so soon in the fill process. My son goes back to school next week (2nd grade) so maybe I can amp up the exercise then. It still seems crazy that a significant reduction in calories still can't seem to peel the weight off of me. My metabolism must be broken!!

It is a ridiculous show that exploits the last acceptable group in society for this kind of treatment - fat people.

As my grandma used to say "tend to you own knitting". Why would someone else's foolish behavior bother you in any way?

Actually, I believe there is some truth to that. The body needs X number of calories just to survive (breathe, repair muscle, digest, etc.). What X is depends on how big you are, how sedentary and I'm sure other factors. For my weight and my "lifestyle", I need about 1800 calories to just live. So no matter what, I'm going to keep my cals below that number until I reach my goal weight.

I drink a lot of Crystal Light but the other day I drank over a quart of the Fruit Punch. I ended up with a severe headache later in the day, which is rare for me. I don't know if it was the punch, but since then, I have cut back.

Had my first fill yesterday. I received 3 cc's in my 14 cc's band. I didn't feel much restriction on my soft foods, but maybe it will be different when I have "real food" today.

I'm wondering how many bandsters have had issues with their gallbladders after banding? I had hoped my surgeon would just take mine while he was in there but no such luck, lol. I hear that gallbladder issues are common if people lose significant weight, has that been anyone's experience?

Hi Pinenut, I'm wondering how things have been going for you since your first fill. Care to share? Thanks, Cherry

Thanks for the update, Pinenut. My first fill will be August 16 and I am looking forward to it. Right now, I can pretty much tolerate anything - or at least the stuff I have tried. I've had a couple of really unpleasant "overly full" feelings after eating too much but no pb, sliming, etc. I'm still trying to eat soft(er) foods and I haven't tried steak or anything like that. Unfortunately, my weight has been holding steady for the last three weeks. I have been increasing my exercise and I definitely feel better, so that is a plus. But I'm hoping to see some pounds drop when I finally get the fill. I'm really worried that I won't be able to get all the Water down once I am restricted though. I know the water goes right through but if the pouch is filled with food from a meal, doesn't that cause a problem? I'm having trouble getting all the water in now, let alone later. I'm sorry to hear about your scary time with being "stuck" but I'm glad to hear that you are getting some restriction now after the second fill. Please keep us posted on how it goes! I won't be at the St. Joe's meeting but I will be at the NWWLS meeting on August 16th.

Wow, this weekend I went crazy with food. I'm still in the soft foods phase post-op but that hasn't stopped me from wolfing down ice cream and any other food that I can pulverize to eat. I'm not sure why I've gotten so off track. I don't get my fill until the middle of August. Does anyone have some suggestions for how to get a handle on eating when there is no restriction? Thank god I haven't gone totally crazy with pizza or bread and thankfully I've run out of ice cream in the house (won't be replacing it either) but I need some help getting my head hunger under control. Thanks! :help:

In my classic OCD way, I am always impatient for things to get going. I focus on what I want to have happen and then I keep fixating on that until it either happens or I finally realize that it isn't going to. Well, no suprise that I am impatient to be fully functional after the surgery. It is day three and even though I have made remarkable progress - no nausea, no narcotics, able to walk around and do things - I still want to be ready for everything. I want to start riding my bike. The bike that has been languishing in the garage for seven years. I want to sleep through the night without feeling the soreness of my stomach wounds. I want the weight to just fall off of me like so much magic. This morning, my weight was up four pounds from yesterday. Now I know there is no way that I gained any weight - it is fluid for recovering from the surgery - but the old voice of impatience rings out and wants the weight to hurry up and come off. Part of this journey is going to be getting my head to just go along on the journey and not be fixating on the end. I need time to relearn how to be me - how to eat again, how to exercise, how to relate to my family and friends as the "new me". Patience is going to be my watch word for awhile. This journey is just beginning; I better settle in for the long haul.

I'm going to the August 16th support group meeting in the morning, just after my first fill. Anyone else going to be there?

Six months from now I hope I am half as successful as you - you are my hero!

Who has experienced this with the band and how do I avoid it? I'm scheduled for banding in a couple of weeks but this has me freaked out.

Exercise videos are my favorites. It isn't weather dependent and I can spice it up with new titles when I get bored with what I have. Just picked up some latin dancing workouts, so I am excited to give those a try.

Logging your weight at physicsdiet.com helps because it shows you the overall trend of your weight loss. For me, it takes my focus off the daily number and puts it on the overall loss. It is free and has some nice reports available.

My weight hasn't changed all week, which considering the amount of calories I am consuming seems unbelievable. So getting dressed this morning delivered a much needed NSV. My "skinny" jeans - hardly skinny but jeans that have never fit well - feel pretty darn good and a shirt that I tried on a week ago suddenly has room to spare. The shirt really threw me because I had tried it on just a bit ago and decided it made me look pregnant. Now, it is loose in the stomach and doesn't leave an imprint across my butt from being so tight. It's amazing what an NSV can do for your mood. Plateau, schmateau.... Though I still hope to see the numbers actually go down soon!

My weight hasn't changed all week, which considering the amount of calories I am consuming seems unbelievable. So getting dressed this morning delivered a much needed NSV. My "skinny" jeans - hardly skinny but jeans that have never fit well - feel pretty darn good and a shirt that I tried on a week ago suddenly has room to spare. The shirt really threw me because I had tried it on just a bit ago and decided it made me look pregnant. Now, it is loose in the stomach and doesn't leave an imprint across my butt from being so tight. It's amazing what an NSV can do for your mood. Plateau, schmateau.... Though I still hope to see the numbers actually go down soon!

This thing reminds me of those old movies where the large lady is standing on a platform and a big band is strapped around her bottom, jiggling her for all it is worth. And for $10K, I'm not willing to put my skepticism to the test. But, if a gym had one, I'd give it a whirl.

It's funny how when I start to focus on my weight and losing it, I also start looking at my appearance and making changes. The nail polish comes out, the tweezers go to work, even tubes of self-bronzer, liquid eyeliner, and exfoliant find there way back into my life. Instead of buying Real Simple magazine, I pick up Vogue or Elle. Instead of searching out comfy sweat pants, I'm looking for fitted jackets and fancy bras. I wonder why, for me, the girly girl side of my personality really doesn't come out unless I am paying attention to my weight. There are many overweight women who wouldn't leave the house without makeup but I've never been one of them. I head out with scarcely my hair being brushed, let along spending time getting my lip liner on straight. Don't get me wrong, just because I haven't worried about these things doesn't mean I don't know how to do them. I'm fairly adept at makeup, accessorizing, and all the other fashionable arts. I just never bothered to partake in them while I was doing my best to ignore my weight. Certainly any shrink, hairdress or celebrity stylist could diagnose the reason for my apathy. If someone is ignoring their growing waist line, they might not want to draw attention to themselves with nail polish and glossy lips. In short, if you feel like a sow's ear, you can't really imagine fashioning yourself into a silk purse. I admire those ladies of size that say "to hell with that" and go for the glamour. I think its great that their weight doesn't bear any relation to how they view themselves as a woman. But for me, I just don't feel sexy or worthy of pampering when my weight is out of control. But the control I now have with the band has also unleashed my inner fashionista. Even though I have a long way to go to my goal weight, my perception is changing. I am seeing myself in a new way; someone in the mirror who likes mascara framing her eyes. I doubt I'll ever become a woman who can't leave the house without her makeup, but I'll have that vixen red lipstick in my purse, just in case.:kiss2:

It's funny how when I start to focus on my weight and losing it, I also start looking at my appearance and making changes. The nail polish comes out, the tweezers go to work, even tubes of self-bronzer, liquid eyeliner, and exfoliant find there way back into my life. Instead of buying Real Simple magazine, I pick up Vogue or Elle. Instead of searching out comfy sweat pants, I'm looking for fitted jackets and fancy bras. I wonder why, for me, the girly girl side of my personality really doesn't come out unless I am paying attention to my weight. There are many overweight women who wouldn't leave the house without makeup but I've never been one of them. I head out with scarcely my hair being brushed, let along spending time getting my lip liner on straight. Don't get me wrong, just because I haven't worried about these things doesn't mean I don't know how to do them. I'm fairly adept at makeup, accessorizing, and all the other fashionable arts. I just never bothered to partake in them while I was doing my best to ignore my weight. Certainly any shrink, hairdress or celebrity stylist could diagnose the reason for my apathy. If someone is ignoring their growing waist line, they might not want to draw attention to themselves with nail polish and glossy lips. In short, if you feel like a sow's ear, you can't really imagine fashioning yourself into a silk purse. I admire those ladies of size that say "to hell with that" and go for the glamour. I think its great that their weight doesn't bear any relation to how they view themselves as a woman. But for me, I just don't feel sexy or worthy of pampering when my weight is out of control. But the control I now have with the band has also unleashed my inner fashionista. Even though I have a long way to go to my goal weight, my perception is changing. I am seeing myself in a new way; someone in the mirror who likes mascara framing her eyes. I doubt I'll ever become a woman who can't leave the house without her makeup, but I'll have that vixen red lipstick in my purse, just in case.:kiss2:

Anyone using a standard pedometer/cal counter during their exercise? How accurate are these things? I'm sure the bodybugg type of device works great, but I just bought a much cheaper pedometer and I dwonder how accurate the cal counting can be.

Thank you for the great resources. I will give them a try.

I'm very interested in learning yoga. I've done some basic poses (Triangle, warrior, etc.) but I'd like to start really digging deeper as my weight loss and flexibility improve. Any advice on starting out? Thanks.

It seems to me there is a difference between spitting something out because you know you can't swallow it and spitting something out to avoid eating it/absorbing the calories. Lord knows I have been tempted to do this during the liquid phase post surgery, but every time I give it thought, I think about the "Sex and the City" episode where Miranda's old friend has moved to LA and is suddenly thin. She goes out to eat with him and is stunned to watch him chew his steak and then spit it out. I just can't get passed my feeling that this form of satisfaction might not be the best way to deal with cravings. But, to each their own.