rosettag

When people say it's all in your head they are being truthful!!
It's not just that it's a "mind" thing it's a brain thing. food is medicine and many of us have been self medicating with food for many many years for many different reasons and ailments.
Suddenly we shift everything, and we stop eating sugar, and we stop eating so many carbs and we increase our Protein and we start moving our bodies more and the body's physiological reaction to this is WTF just happened to us?!
Your brain is looking for all the hormones and chemical compounds it's so used to having and now those things are not there. So it sends out some signals to you to say hey what happened to that particular element? Be it sugar or salt or even fatty greasy foods. They all break down to chemicals that react to the Proteins and hormones in our bodies.
The feelings of those cravings gets even stronger when the "ailment" that you would use those foods to medicate is also present. For example maybe you are over stressed about something today or emotional about something where you would normally have a cookie or 4 now you are not. Your body ups the calling for sugar and you are suddenly craving sweets at what feels like an uncontrollable level.
That's what head hunger REALLY is. When your craving it's your body calling for something it's missing...and maybe it's a good thing for your body that it's missing all that sugar or all that sodium, but until your body and your brain get used to doing without those amounts you get those urges and cravings.
That is another reason why you should eat something when hungry and substitute your craving with something that is healthier. Having 2 or 3 crackers will give the body enough sugar and carb to be satisfied and tune down the sugar craving and it's better then a bag of M&M's or a cookie and far fewer in calories.
As we learn to work with our band, we are better able to make those choices and choose the more nutritious foods our body wants and needs over the items that amount to zero nutrition. It is by no means easy, but trust that as you move forward it does become easier and soon you'll be craving Proteins and vegetables and fruits.

Hi Tracy!
I think only superficial and silly people are completely sure they are making the right decision.
Enthusiasm and motivation are elements that lead to success, together with self reliance and self esteem.
But having doubts is human, healthy and wise.
You are weighing the pros and cons. Your well balanced approach to WLS will help you to achieve those results which you haven't achieved so far.
Hugs!!!
( my English/American might sound odd..I'm Italian. )

I think I might name my band Seraphina! It translates into "fiery one" and my band is definitely got a lot of fire in her personality. Also, I decided it's a girl because she is way too all over the place with her feelings to be a guy

My band' s name is Leonida.
Here in Italy we study Ancient Greek history at school.
Leonida was the king of Sparta, a small,but brave town which was being attacked by the huge Persian army.
He faced this enormous army in a narrow place among the mountains and ( just because the place was narrow and he was a great warrior) succeeded in stopping the enemy and giving his town the time to organize their defence.
So, my Leonida's task is facing and stopping the huge amount of food I used to stuff into my stomach.

My band' s name is Leonida.
Here in Italy we study Ancient Greek history at school.
Leonida was the king of Sparta, a small,but brave town which was being attacked by the huge Persian army.
He faced this enormous army in a narrow place among the mountains and ( just because the place was narrow and he was a great warrior) succeeded in stopping the enemy and giving his town the time to organize their defence.
So, my Leonida's task is facing and stopping the huge amount of food I used to stuff into my stomach.

My band' s name is Leonida.
Here in Italy we study Ancient Greek history at school.
Leonida was the king of Sparta, a small,but brave town which was being attacked by the huge Persian army.
He faced this enormous army in a narrow place among the mountains and ( just because the place was narrow and he was a great warrior) succeeded in stopping the enemy and giving his town the time to organize their defence.
So, my Leonida's task is facing and stopping the huge amount of food I used to stuff into my stomach.

I am more self-reliant and less ready to say "yes".
When I was obese I thought I had to be forgiven because I was fat and tried to always please people
I have also become more selfih or self-centered. I don't let anyone interfere in my journey and my life

My band' s name is Leonida.
Here in Italy we study Ancient Greek history at school.
Leonida was the king of Sparta, a small,but brave town which was being attacked by the huge Persian army.
He faced this enormous army in a narrow place among the mountains and ( just because the place was narrow and he was a great warrior) succeeded in stopping the enemy and giving his town the time to organize their defence.
So, my Leonida's task is facing and stopping the huge amount of food I used to stuff into my stomach.

I am more self-reliant and less ready to say "yes".
When I was obese I thought I had to be forgiven because I was fat and tried to always please people
I have also become more selfih or self-centered. I don't let anyone interfere in my journey and my life

I am more self-reliant and less ready to say "yes".
When I was obese I thought I had to be forgiven because I was fat and tried to always please people
I have also become more selfih or self-centered. I don't let anyone interfere in my journey and my life

My band' s name is Leonida.
Here in Italy we study Ancient Greek history at school.
Leonida was the king of Sparta, a small,but brave town which was being attacked by the huge Persian army.
He faced this enormous army in a narrow place among the mountains and ( just because the place was narrow and he was a great warrior) succeeded in stopping the enemy and giving his town the time to organize their defence.
So, my Leonida's task is facing and stopping the huge amount of food I used to stuff into my stomach.

I am more self-reliant and less ready to say "yes".
When I was obese I thought I had to be forgiven because I was fat and tried to always please people
I have also become more selfih or self-centered. I don't let anyone interfere in my journey and my life

Congrats !!!
I'm so pleased when I read that banded people find their way to success!

Congrats !!!
I'm so pleased when I read that banded people find their way to success!

This is NOT normal. Please see your doctor soon and tell him/her these same things.

The Migraine hits me "bang"anytime I try to quit the coffee (caffine). My daughter-in-law is a diet coke addict and it hits her when there is not coke in the house! I'm just lucky the news media has changed tunes and coffee is back in good graces again. I say at my senior age I've given up everything (you know: reg job, good eats, sex, etc.) but my "coffee"!

I miss most carbohydrates.... Chewy bread, Pasta, and the occasional sweet. But, I've broken the addiction, and like a drug addict, I need not be around my old friends, which caused headaches, zapped energy, and added layers upon layers of FAT.

Maybe you have lost weight because of your health problems, but now you are recovering.
A lot of people lose weight when they are ill, but gain it back when they recover.
I think your band will help you avoid it.
You can resume your journey to health and target weight. You are not alone,you have a friend, your band, to help you.

Here in Italy things are different.
Surgeons don't prescribe pre-op diet to people who are going to have lap band surgery.
The day of surgery they didn't give me any food or drink.
On the following day only tea.
On the second day after surgery , afer RX, they gave me a cup of tea with 2 biscuits and mushy food for lunch and dinner.< /p>
My surgeon used to say that it is useless to make patients starve on a liquid diet.< /p>
I was never hungry, also because I had my band filled (1.5 cc) during surgery.
Now ( I've been banded for 2 years and 9 months) hunger sometimes arrives.
It is often head hunger, which is more difficult to cope with.
When I want to eat ( above all forbidden or trigger foods) I feel as if life were depriving me of somenthing vital and necessary to my "happiness".
On such occasions I try to go back in my mind to my obese life and the main feeling that had accompanied those long years :HUMILIATION..That's how I used to feel
And realize I don't want to come back . It was too painful

Health comes first. You have made the right decision and I wish you health and serenity...and the best things.
I would be very sad if I had to part from my band, it would be as if I lost a friend.

I have been hesitant to post this as I know there are several folks who do not want you to post anything that is considered negative about the lap band.
I'm just posting my truth, because I feel like there are people who come here to try to make a decision as to whether or not the lap band is the right decision for them and I think that it's fair for them to have all of the facts.
I was banded on 12/5. I didn't really lose any weight on the pre op diet or after. It was frustrating. I had restriction, was eating healthy, it didn't make any sense. I posted my frustration and I was accused of "bitching and moaning". I wasn't, I thought a support group should allow for voicing frustrations, but there are some avid band advocates that think if you have a complaint it's you being impatient, not working the band correctly, not exercising or cheating.
I'm not doing any of those things, and that seems to be very hard for some to understand. What it seems to be is that I have a very difficult metabolic issue occur that is not allowing me to lose weight. It's not the lap bands fault but the lap band was not the effective tool that my doctors promised me. Now, I say this so others will know because if I had known I would have never had this surgery. Quite frankly even if I was losing weight I don't know if I would have had this surgery. I think that is important for people to hear that when they are considering this option. There are a lot of healthy food options I can't eat because I can't make them small enough, when I'm working out and forget to sip Water and instead take a gulp it comes straight back up, sliming is a disgusting experience, if I lie on my side I can feel my port pushing in and it hurts, when my band was filled too tightly I PB'd everything and my esophagus still hurts and hasn't healed from that period. This isn't for everyone. Now I am stuck with this band and all of its restrictions, eating about 800 healthy calories a day and not losing a pound. My doctors don't know if I will be able to lose weight... Ever with what is occurring in my body and this is my cold, hard, truth.

Be the pt for now. Leave the nursing behind. Its very easy to believe we know whats best when this is as "greek" to us as it is to everyone else, even as nurses. My mother was a dietician and I was still a fat person. I knew the rules, just didn't know how to apply them. You'll do great. Come back and let us know how it all went once you feel like it.

you need to know that the liquid phases isn't just pre and post op. every time you get a fill you will be back on 2 days of liquids and 2days of mushies. that could mean every month four days out of the month you will be in hell. we politely refer to it as bandster hell. I am doing the liquids now after a fill and I am in mental pain over the whole dang thing. poor husband. I fixed him dinner but because I was so hungry. I purchased a 2 inch porterhouse steak and made French fries from scratched and a mushroom sauce to die for, but I didn't even taste anything. I am not tolerating anything but liquids so I feed him. lucky for him he doesn't gain weight and is healthy. but on the plus side we do this so we can get to the green zone and our appetite and hunger just might be in check. horray! be strong. you will be moving through each stage and really appreciate simple foods like eggs, refried Beans, chili. yogurt, cottage cheese etc.. these foods will be your steak and potato.

Losing weight with the band is not fast. Some do lose fast in the beginning but that is rare. Normal weight loss is 1 to 2lbs a week. There isn't any sense in getting upset, discouraged, or want to give up because you are a month post op or a few weeks and you haven't lost 70lbs. You didn't gain weight over night. It was a period of years of bad eating habits that caused you to gain 100 to 200lbs so getting it off in a short amount of time unless you are starving yourself is not going to happen. If there are those who lost weight quickly then good for them but it took me 3 years and of absolutely no cheating to get all my weight off. If you are a smoker and quit smoking it is even going to take you longer. Yes I know that from personal experience. You can't drop weight rapidly with the band unless you are some circus freak that lost 200lbs in a month. It's not a fast process but it works if you just allow it. 52lbs weight loss in a year is better then 52lbs of weight gain. A loss is a loss no matter how you lose it or how long it takes you to lose it. Be patient it will come. Rome wasn't built over night and neither is the road work here in Jacksonville done over night. More like a period of years. Stop weighing yourself everyday. If you can't wrap your head around the scale that your weight can fluctuate up to 9lbs because of Water weight then stop being a scale monger. Weigh yourself at your doctors office. The more you weigh yourself and get discouraged the more likely you are setting yourself up for failure. It's not a race and you don't have to be the first one to the finish line. Stop letting the scale wreck your day or month. Just do what you are supposed to and it will happen.

A lot of us use myfitnesspal. My username here is the same there and there are a number of other threads here for mfp and other peoples usernames.
There's an app for your phone to where you can scan in barcodes. They have a lot of restaurants meals out there already. It's pretty easy to use.
You can change your settings to change the name of your meals (I added in more Snacks and timeframes). You can change who can see your diary. If you make it visible, people can comment on your post when you're done with your meal for the day.