TulipStar

1. Depends more on WHAT I eat than how much. I can eat about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of food at a time (4 oz or so). If it is fibrous (like chicken salad) I can eat about 1-2 bites. If I eat something filling (like protein) then that lasts about 4 hours or so. 2. There are ways to go "around" the band and not lose weight. You can eat a lot of ice cream, Cookies, etc and they go right through the band. They have a lot of calories. Also, some people are slow losers. Exercise always helps the weight come off quicker. 3. Depends...I would think you can lose it in a year. It has been 5 months for me and I am down 60, but I know some who had surgery at the same time and are down 20 and some who are down 100. Everyone is different. I know that I do all that I can to lose about 3lbs a week. 4. I drink caffeine... As for driniking with your meals, you don't want to wash the food down thru the band, bc you won't get that full sensation. Also, sometimes if you are starting to get stuck, adding liquid on top makes it worse. 5. yes, ice is liquid. your dr can give you a list of liquids. Off the top of my head: clear Soup, Jello, sugar free popsicles... Good luck!!

I used to love to eat and reallly looked forward to eating. I still do look forward to eating, but once I start, I get a little upset bc I can only eat a few bites. Things have definitely changed since I got banded. I am still learning that I should 'eat to live', not 'live to eat'!

I actually gained about 3-5lbs before my first fill.

Hi there and welcome! Everyone is different. Some people don't have any loose skin, some do. For example, this guy at my work lost 140lbs in less than a year after lapband and he says he has no loose skin. However, I am 30 and have lost close to 60lbs and have some definite loose skin already and I am far from goal. I have done so many things to make this better, moisturize w/ cocoa butter and nivea skin firming lotion every day completely all over my body. The only thing you can do it wait and see.... :smile2:

Check w/ your dr to make sure. A 5 hour car ride should be ok after 2 weeks. I flew on a plane for a 4 hour trip 2 weeks after surgery.

I don't really miss eating as much as I do certain foods. But, I know how you feel, bc pre-band I was so afraid to lose my lifestyle and the feeling of being so full and numb. I wanted to lose the weight, but I still wanted to eat. Now though, food does not rule my life. I eat bc I have to, not bc I want to. You will get there too. Many of the reason we is it tied to emotions. You will have to work on this connection. For example, I used to graze all day at work sitting at my computer eating chex mix, pretzels or something crunchy. The more stressed, the more crunchies I would eat. After the band I couldn't do this and had to figure out why I was doing this in the first place. I realized that the reason I ate crunchy things was bc I was stressed and my jaw became really tense, almost like I was going to grind my teeth and to relieve it I ate food (lots of it...bags of chips, chex mix, etc). I kept filling up, but it never solved anything. Anyway, I can't do that anymore so I have to learn to deal with the emotion in other ways (I'm still working on it).

chew it every day. I have since 1 day post op. My doc says it's not an issue.

I used to eat chicken every day, but since my last fill, I haven't been able to eat ANY chicken without it coming back up. No chicken noodle Soup, no chicken breast, no chicken salad, etc. That left me in a world of hurt bc the only meat I eat is chicken. I started bruising bc of a lack of Protein... And then yesterday I discovered chili. YUM! So yummy and filling... lots of protein! I am in heaven!:biggrin2:

I can still eat it. But only about 2 pieces total.

I would do it again in a heartbeat (even though I had a complication and had to have revision surgery). The band helps you stay on track, which is different when you are just on a diet, you can revert back to your old ways, but the band keeps you in check. Also, 1-2 is the norm they communicate, but everyone is different. I know one guy who lost an average of 20lbs a month. I have been averaging about 12 lbs a month (3lbs a week) and that was with a month of not losing bc of complications!

I weigh every day when I feel like I should be losing. For example right after I get a fill, I weigh every day bc I know I am losing. If I know I have been eating a lot, I will weigh only every couple days. It's like denial for me You are in "bandster hell" and are going to continue to gain unless you control your eating. After a couple more fills you WILL feel restriction, trust me (us) and you will miss those day of bandster hell when you could eat certain foods. So my advice is to enjoy it while you can, bc you are soon going to be on your way! I too "only" lost 20lbs at 5 weeks. We are all different, so stop comparing yourself to others. The band is only a tool, so you have to help by counting your calories and exercising. You shouldn't be eating more than 1,000 calories a day. Keep a food diary, it holds you accountable for what you eat!!

You can be as rough as you want. You won't even know u have it except for when you eat. My dr said that after the band has been there a while, there is tissue that grows over it, but not in bt the stomach and the band. Meaning that your body forms a protective layer over the top which can actually help it stay in place. The only reason I asked this question was bc I was worried about my body "rejecting" the band or trying to attack it bc it was invasive.

Welcome to bandland!!! I had to have a heparin shot too. My "adventure" was just like yours. except that after the 5th time they poked me to try to get blood (to check if I was pregnant), she spilled the entire vial of blood on me and my gown. What a site!!! The bed, my gown everything was covered in blood and this was before I had surgery!!

Last week they put me up to 6.7cc's and I am pretty tight, but I don't know if I am at the "sweet" spot yet...

A lot of it is genetics. I have only lost 56 lbs and have loose skin already... I have lost a lot of weight before and got my insurance to pay for my tummy tuck. It was a long and exhausting process..I got denied twice and appealed, I think it took me almost a year to finally get approved. that was for my tummy though, which could cause rash, back problems etc. I think it would be harder for them to cover arms/legs, etc.

1. all dr's give diff instructions for pre-op, even in the U.S. I know a lot who can only have liquids for 2 weeks prior. My pre-op diet was more lenient and I was allowed to have oatmeal for breakfast, Protein shake for lunch and a salad for dinner. 2. Not everyone feels hungry afterwards...everyone is different. I can tell you that I felt very hungry afterwards. There is a time between when u get the band and before you start to feel some restriction. It took me about 3 fills before I felt really good restriction and could only eat a little at a time. 3. You can still eat most food, just a little bit of it. You will have to change your habits by eating small bites and slowly (60 seconds b/t bites). The same goes for restaurants, order a smaller portion like an appetizer...but now that I think about it, UK portions are smaller than U.S. so you will have a "just right" amount, but may still have some leftover.

:hurray: Well put Suzanne!

I thought it was pretty good and informative about the positive aspects of the band. I did notice that the only one that Oprah said "great job, you are inspiration" is to the girl who did it without wls. It was obvious that they thought it was the "easy way out". I must admit I thought it would be easy, but it is so so so so hard. Some kids have tried behavior modification and it doesn't work. I was on a liquid diet at age 9 (ironically, the same one as Oprah - optifast) and then what happened? I gained the weight back and was over 200lbs at age 10. For children who have been dealing with obesity, it might not be too young at 13. I WISH these options were available to me at 13, bc then I wouldn't have had to go through being obese through my teens and 20's. (although I was obese as a child, I don't agree with children having wls) If I could have been "normal" through school, I feel that would have made a huge difference for me.

the band is a tool. It is not instant willpower. If you are having issues like this, you will have them with whatever you try. My Dad had gastric bypass 6 years ago, lost 200lbs, gained 100lb back. He gained bc he "cheats" and continues to eat bad food...although it might be small amounts over the course of the entire day. You can do the same with the band. What has been so good for me with the band is that it keeps me in "check". I can still pretty much eat whatever I want, just smaller portions and when I feel like bingeing, I can't. Now, there are a lot of sweet/"bad" foods that you can binge on with the band. It's your decision not to. I recommend addressing the real issue of WHY you are eating in all these situations. Why are you using food to try to comfort you? This is the most important IMO or else you are likely to either "eat around" the band or have addiction transfer to something else. I have had to do this, bc I am a stress/emotion eater as well. I started some counseling to address my issues and I actually think it's working. A good book I recommend is "Life is hard, Food is Easy" by Linda Spangle. It helps you identify emotional eating causes and ways to stop it. Good luck!

I met with some of the cast from season 4 yesterday and they agreed that the ad placement was awkward and cheesy! We were all making fun of it, "you know what I do when I get a hungry? I chew a piece of wrigley's gum" and "you want to know a quick way to make oatmeal? Try....." It was really funny.

I do still eat out, I just sometimes have to make better choices (like no bread). I do have a drink every now and then... Also, sometimes I just eat some off of my hubby's plate. A couple bites of chicken and I'm done.

I have a bodybugg which they use on the show and APEX (maker of the band) said that the Biggest Loser contestants work out an average of 3 hours a day. Which they would know bc you have to upload your bodybugg everyday. The show might get more interesting now since they are playing as singles. I have always been a big fan and even went to the NBC/MSN biggest loser tour for the million pound match up. It was fantastic to meet players from season 4!

I initally dropped 20 lbs after surgery, but then it was as struggle. I didn't start back on the downward trend until after I had my 2nd fill.

Ahh, I miss the good old days of being able to burn 1000 calories in an hour workout. My body has become more efficient with weight loss and it's getting harder and harder to meet my target burn. I also use a heart rate monitor and I used to hit 85% max heart rate easily. Now I'm lucky if I hit 60% some days.

I think it is so AWFUL of apex to post all those pictures of brownies and iced snack bars on their site. I have to look at them every time I log in and it makes me so mad I REFUSE to buy anything else from them!