mckelmer

Hello Meredith,

I did start mine early.. I started a month before my surgery with the Optifast so I could allow myself to have 100gms of meat for dinner.. I knew i would struggle through it if i couldn't have some sort of feeling of chewing real food. It worked well for me, as i lost 8kgs in that month. I really do think the first week was the hardest, after that it got easier so by the last week I was so proud of myself. Good luck with everything, I have no regrets and am sure you too will be very happy

I had the horrible band put in 2007 and removed in 2012 hated it for most of the time. It was so anti-social with my lifestyle, and the reflux was intollerable, i had to sleep sitting up the last 6 months i had it in , i call it bulimia because i spit up everything, yes I lost 35kg but was not worth the day to day dramas, so had it removed and gained it all back plus some. I had the sleeve done in Oct 2013 and in 7 months have lost 30kg and am not looking back! Very tired the first 5 months, still struggle with energy but i make myself walk walk walk because this time i want it to be the healthy way. I couldnt eat anything fruit or veg with the band so I am rediscovering healthier choices which isnt a choco bar daily. All I can say is you do what is right for you, this is just my thoughts Good luck

I had no restricitons from my doc on exercise. My brain on the other hand kept finding reasons not to do it... and then i told myself i didnt get this surgery done for nothing, so 2 1/2 month after surgery (middle of Jan) I pulled my finger out and just did it... i walked 2kms and it about killed me... I have not let myself talk myself out of it ever since... i feel so good after I am done and i have lost 4 pant sizes... I can tell you that it is not all because of the sleeve, that is not the end all... but the bad was horrible i never would have been able to exercise with the band, would have never been able to drink the Water needed... if anyone needs some motivation download the runtastic app on your phone and add me because it is awesome motivator to be challenged enore66@bigpond.com ... good luck everyone and everyone of us deserve this!

Hi everyone

Just an update... still exercising but the weight isnt moving much but still grateful that it is at least making my inches go down.... started in a size 26 (loose) and now down to an 18... goal is a 12. I am up to 6km's a day and will probably maintain that for awhile but I have locked into the HBF run for a reason which is 12 km's.... OMG I never ever would have thought i would do something like that... I am not going to lie and say i love exercising because I DONT but i sure love how i feel afterward... I am struggling with food tho and have had a real pig out week... i am not going to let it get me down and am not going to beat myself up but just wish i had more self control sometimes.... anyhow love reading all the posts and everyone that is getting ready for your WLS it will be the best thing you have ever done even with all the mental struggles!

Hi everyone, i too am from Perth, surgery was in Oct 2013... 24kg down, lots of work and definitely realized that its not a "freebie" ride. Have started exercising to make sure this was not for nothing. As an ex-bander I will not ever allow another opportunity to go by. I had lost 30kg with the band before it started acting up, I know i could have done more and feel I let myself down by not doing anything physically. Anyhow, good luck and feel confident you will get where you want to.

Hi everyone, it is so fantastic to read so many success's happening. I started exercising 5 weeks ago and have only lost 1.3 kg ... such a struggle, and I am not eating badly.. yes i have had things i shouldnt but in general i am eating better than i ever have in my life, walking/running 6 days a week and feel like i should be loosing more. I am not going to quit cause i know it will all catch up to me but struggling mentally. Anyhow, altogether I have lost 24kg since i started my journey in Oct and know that without the sleeve i would have lost nothing and probably gained. Also, I have been lucky enough to have joined up with someone who had it done 1 week before me and together we have busted our arses working out. Thanks for listening guys and hopefully next update will be way more kg's off.

Hello everyone, I am an ex bander and newbie sleever... had my surgery on the 29th of Oct. and have been feeling really good the last 2 weeks. Having troubles with figuring out when to eat, last week seemed to be hungry all the time, this week I am not LOL, im sure i will figure it all out. I lost 30kg with my band but when they took it out i gained that all back plus another 14kg . Have only just lost all the extra and now into chipping away at that 30kg . Best thing i ever did was to get that horrible band out, most anti-social thing ever, had it in for 5 years and carried a "spit" bottle with me everywhere (covered up with paper so no one knew). It is nice to be able to eat anything, albeit not much of it. I have been told I can have my beer now that my 6 weeks is up and that is really my only BAD BAD thing I have. Was stalled on my weight-loss from the time I started the mushie stage until this week and now it seems to be coming off again, thankfully! Have not been back on the forums for a very long time, its good to be back and hopefully I can add some value. Cheers

My surgeon was and still is Dr Tony Kierath, he is not far from the city and i love him!!! he is fantastic, no muckin around with him, he is straight up!! Good luck :blushing:

Hello everyone, I havent posted in almost 2 years now, and never posted much anyhow. Just thought I would share with you all my story... lost 30kg (66lbs??) the first 18 months, then stopped getting filled, was pretty sick of not being able to eat or drink normally and had stalled on loosing anyways... gained back 6 kg (14lbs??) and decided it was time to get a fill again, so in December I did. My doctor was actually quite happy with me, he thought I would have gained alot more than that, anyhow, got my fill and could not swallow lol went back 3 days later and got some taken out... have now lost the 6kg and am glad im back on the loosing track. But have to be so so honest, ever since I have had the surgery all the bad stuff stays down and all the good stuff comes back up, sad!!! Also, I play tricks on the band if I want to really eat a meal, I will eat Ice Cream or chocolate to get the band to "open" then I can eat a decent meal, not sure why it works, but it does. I do that about 3 times a week so I can make sure i get some sort of vitimans to stay down...??? I know its not the right way to do it, but after having the band in for so long now, everything else I tried never works. Oh well, thats my update... Glad everyone has done so well :thumbup:

hope this works, banded in Aug 07 i can see a difference , mostly I can feel it... not as fast as some but gotta admit, still love my beer!!!! anyhow, love this site, keep up the great work everyone!

Hi everyone, hope you all had a very happy and safe Christmas. I am pretty happy that I managed to loose 2 lbs since my last fill, considering the holidays season. But have a question, does anyone have horrible abdominal cramping since being on the band. I dont have it all the time, about once every six weeks and it is HORRIBLE, i cant walk for two days because of the cramping. I am using a fibre powder in the mornings and thought this would help with the lack of fibre in my diet....???? any suggestions?

Great news about your ring!!

Hi everyone... just had my 4th fill, not sure why he filled me again, but am extremely happy. PB alot, my own fault. Doctor says WELCOME to the world of the lap band, when I told him some days I can eat some thing and other days NOPE...lol, it is quite funny tho.. looking back at all the older pages just makes everything we have all gone thru so far so worth it!!! so many encouraging stories when we all think we arent doing well then you see more and more happy people. I am one of them, 25 pounds to me is like a mini person I have lost, and not wanting it back!. I think I am coming to terms with "slow" isnt so bad at all. The last 2 days I had 2 people say I have lost alot of weight... FIRST real compliments I have gotten, what a great feeling... MERRY Christmas to everyone, and may we all have a great new year!!!

mckelmer -

I am in the exact same boat as you. I have only lost 20 pounds and I was banded on the 22nd. Isn't it frustrating! But then I think that I should not complain because I have lost 20 pounds that I was never able to keep off. I go for my second fill in a couple weeks, so hopefully that will help. At this point I have no restriction and eat whatever I want, I just get full a little faster than normal. Keep us posted on your next fill. I am anxious to hear.

Good luck!

Hi Melissa, well just had my 3rd fill last week and HOLY COW, the restriction is huge... have tons of PB's, but im actually starting to fiqure out when to stop for awhile then I can finish my meal (very small meal). This is the sort of restriction I was hoping for, is taking some time tho to tell my mouth to stop or ELSE! lol... so im hoping this will all mean something on the scale next week when I weigh in. Just makes me feel alot better and am thinking that I should have no problem loosing again. Whats new with you?

Well, this band does funny things to my head... have only lost 20lbs which disappoints me immensley!, but then again, am sooooo happy to have gone down 2 pant sizes! such a huge amount of mind games I seem to be playing with my self. happy but not happy...lol oh well. have had my second fill on the 27th of Nov, have no restriction to how much I can eat, have had a few PB's, but never with the same food... once again a head game... i eat anything i want still, when does it start really restricting? i know there is no general answer but its nice to vent frustrations to people who go thru the same things that no one around me would understand... thanks for listening fellow bandsters. :confused:

I read in one of the other forums ???? that alot of people dont really start loosing until after the 2nd fill, but I will say this stage really sucks!! I lost all my weight in the first three weeks too!! and I know all my hunger is in my head and I am not a will power type person otherwise I would not have needed the band! grrrrrrr I am sure it will get better after the next one but until then, you may have to see me on here everyday giving my sob story LOL...good luck to all of us. and now i regret complaining about the first 5 week liquid/mushie stages... HA HA

Hi everyone, well it has been 2 weeks since my first fill and I am eating like a COW!, it makes it worse because I have had the last 9 days off work and seem to find the easy path to the fridge....OMG, really disappointed with the fill not being restrictive. It was the first 2 days but now I can eat everything in site. I do find that I dont eat a huge meal but I think thats cause I am snacking and I dont go back to work until Saturday...I did finally start walking 2 miles every evening but seem to use this as a rationing to eat??? holy cow, just dont know what to do...

Hello everyone, here is what I eat. Let me first say that after the mushie/soft food stage, I cannot eat or even think of Soup or tuna, so what I have been eating for the last two weeks is Protein Shake in the mornings when I work and eggs when I dont. lunch is usually left overs or avacado w/ cottage cheese and dinner is always steam veggies of some sort and fish three days a week, and have advanced to finally trying whole pieces of chicken (thigh). I do not measure what I eat, but I know that it isnt much. Got my first fill last night, so not sure how much this will change, but doc said I could eat anyhthing I wanted (as he snickered) stating that he knows whatever it is, IT WONT be much! LOL, anyhow, knowing this, I will at least make sure I get the Protein needed first, and if I get lucky enough to not be FULL, I might try a little piece of chocolate... GOOD thoughts for all us bandsters!!

Hi everyone, well I went for my first fill last night (live in a country town, Dr. works til late in the evening) and it didnt hurt when he put in the needle but I sure did feel it when he put too much in. He quickly took some out and when I left I felt like I had ate 12 pizzas LOL, now it is morning and has settled a bit, not hungry but am enjoying my coffee. He told me to ease into solids as I see fit. And that I can eat anything I want to. I have only lost 5 kg (12 lbs) since my surgery but he was very happy with that. As like all the other doctors seem to say "if I was loosing weight still" he wouldnt do the fill. So, if he is happy, I am as well. I look at it as AT LEAST I HAVENT GAIN 5 kg!!!! slow slow if fine by me :-) ... In my little country town (13,000) almost every fat person has had a band, so I know he has heaps of experience and the best bit is that I dont have to hide the fact that I have had it done.... anyhow, thanks for listening... best of luck to everyone and I LOVE MY BAND.:whoo::whoo:

Hi all, well its been 13 days now since my surgery and I have moved myself onto mushies! I have never ever been a Soup person, so I just couldnt handle it anymore. I find that I am craving meat soooooo bad but have no idea how to have any?? sugestions anyone??? also, for you that have been banded longer, is your appitite fully back? I find that I am eating well, not huge amounts but Breakfast is scrambled eggs, lunch is 15g tuna and cottage cheese and dinner is fish and veggies, is that rite? Any help you can give PLEASE.. Thanks

Thanks Nilsa, I used to be a coke freak but thank goodness I stopped that years ago or else I know I would be in major trouble lol. Well after writing my post I had three fritos with bean dip and chewed chewed chewed until nothing, then added some Water and WA LA it was fritos Soup in my mouth!! omg tasted so good, I fiqure that was my treat. So now I must behave again..

Hey Newgirl07, what was your banded date? I am scheduled for my first fill on the same date, but I was thinking that was to soon for me?? I know that my DR has a good rep, but he doesnt explain or tell me anything. I was banded on the 20th.

I WAS BORN IN: Sun Valley, CA

AND GREW UP IN: Sparks, NV

I MOVED AWAY FROM HOME WHEN/BECAUSE: 12 because I was a wild child. Luckly survived and have no regrets only cause I am 41 now and mellow

SINCE THEN I'VE LIVED: Costa Rica (mother is from there) and now Australia

I TRAVEL AS OFTEN: as we can, hubby loves to travel

FARTHEST I'VE EVER BEEN FROM HOME IS: Australia

BEST VACATION EVER, THAT I'D REPEAT IN A HEARTBEAT: Costa Rica

WORST VACATION EVER, THAT WILL HAUNT ME TIL I DIE: Mt Shasta, rented a house boat and our dingy sank, it rained (monsoon) for 6 days solid.

DREAM VACATION IF TIME AND MONEY WERE NO OBJECT: anywhere is South America except Columbia (to much bad media)

SPECIAL PLACE I NEVER GET TIRED OF GOING BACK TO: Costa Rica, cause my whole family lives there.

Hi everyone, im 8 days out of surgery and starting to feel HUNGRY for real food... thought I was doing well but the SMELLS are killing me. Just feel like locking myself up at times lol... hubby has been real good and waiting for me to go to work until he cooks his steak! I know not long to go to the mushy stage and most of the time its ok, but when I walk outside in the evening and everyone has their BBQ's going, I am so sure they are doing it to tease me...

No pain, no more gas and physically feeling fantastic. Good luck everyone, I know we can all do it. Thank goodness for this encoraging site!