JustWatchMe

@@catfish87, all I can say is, "wow!" And thanks for that important info!!

I'd like to commend you for supporting your husband. I don't have that support from my husband, and it hurts sometimes. That said, your WLS is for you. As others said, all other avenues should have been exhausted first. Sure, you'll probably take off some weight along with him now, but will you be able to keep it off? Maybe, maybe not. I was never able to keep weight off before my band. I'd advise you to start the investigation process. See your primary care practitioner and let him/her know you're planning WLS. Start the process. It takes a long time for approval anyway. You can always change your mind if you decide not to do it. However, I suspect that as you watch your husband succeed, and do the diet along with him, you'll want it for yourself. If that's the case, don't lose precious months now just thinking it over. Like I said, nothing's final until the day of surgery. Good luck and let us know what you decide!

Please please read the post-op posts from others. Gaining is the norm. I'm 14 weeks post op and losing like crazy. I gained at first. Check my ticker. This thing works! Do your part. Exercise every day and follow your food plan. Mine was six weeks of liquids. Thought it lasted forever, but it was so worth it. You're in the hardest part now. Grit your teeth, follow directions, exercise and keep posting here. You'll be amazed in one month, I promise!

I thought my back pain was part of my osteoarthritis. I thought I'd never be able to live without taking anti-inflammatories. Turns out, I was just fat.

On weekdays just under 5000 average. On weekends just over 10,000 lately.

Wendy, I am sorry for your husband and for you. What an incredibly stressful time. Please stay connected here and let this be a place of support. I'm having a rough personal time now (not medical) and I thank God every day that I got my eating under control and feel better physically. Some days my weight loss project is the only thing keeping me sane. At your appointment, lay it all out. Let them know the extreme stressors you are under and have them check your band. They can help get you back on the path to weight loss and feeling better. While you're waiting for that appointment, take a short daily walk alone and have some time to yourself outdoors. Reflect on what you need for yourself and why. I'll be thinking about you. Good luck.

As I understand it, the slowing down is important no matter what kind of food it is. The reason is that every squeeze of your esophagus is sending satiety signals to your brain. You can't feel a soft stop signal of satiety if you rush the food. The signals need that time to register. Will you get stuck if you eat soft foods faster? Probably not. But you're not letting your band do what it's meant to do. Slowing down between bites/swallows is the absolute hardest thing for many of us to learn. When I do it (I am not always successful) I feel satisfied so much sooner. When I eat quickly (even soup) I blow right past my brain's signals and I end up eating too much before I have felt like I have had just enough. Slow it down and practice that new habit as often as you can. I hope this helps. I'm learning this too, and it's starting to really work for me.

Way to go!

The band is not effective until it is filled to the right level FOR YOU. Some people need no fill at all. Some need a lot. I'm on my second fill and I may stop here for awhile because it feels right. Please don't be intimidated by him into suffering needlessly. Let his office know you will be changing providers unless you get a fill. If you can't say it to his face tell the nurse or office staff.

I made a pot of delicious homemade Italian meatballs last weekend and ate them all week long. I used my garden herbs, ground beef and Italian sausage, simmered and reduced with tomatoes and peppers. It amazes me how long food lasts in my fridge now!

My lap band was outpatient, with no complications. I was told that the month I had my surgery was the first month they stopped requiring an overnight stay. March 2014.

234.2 on 06/22/2014

Have a blast!

GoWalking said it all. No, if you continue to rely on carbs you'll have a rougher adjustment. But I too can eat almost anything (except pork so far) and some foods "slide" easier than others, like salads. If someone's eating only salads they may be too tight. My best advice is to try the food changes now, pre-op. High Protein, low carb. No carbonation. No snacking. Habits that need to be broken. The pre and post op diet windows are the hardest. Once your band gets some decent restriction it gets so much easier. And once the weight starts to come off, you truly feel that it's all been worth it. Good luck!

I second what Bandista said. My experience so far has been so much better than I expected. My pre-grieving the loss of volume eating, future Thanksgiving binges and crispy turkey skin were all wasted energy. I'm three months post op and 69 pounds down and I have my life back.

I really don't get hungry until lunchtime either. I'm at 7 cc in a 14 cc band and 13 weeks out.

#skinnypeopleproblems People can be doofuses.

SandyM, pork was horrible. Twice. I'll miss it. But it's a small sacrifice to be at Green!

B52, did that sensation of no hunger happen early on or take months of time to develop at the green level? I still get somewhat hungry at mealtime, but not before. It is unusual though, not to care about food during the day. It's very liberating.

Tmf, that's how I feel. This is almost perfect, so why mess with it? I have enough easy food to still require discipline, but enough tightness to not want to go tighter. I'm scared of going too tight. I was thinking of returning to Protein shakes at breakfast just to get that protein in. My dog usually gets half or more of my egg.

I cut mine a few weeks ago but alas, no change on the scale from that. I am losing my hair now though. I'm 13 weeks post op with a band. I have super thick hair so I'm hoping it won't be a big deal. I'm only on a daily multivitamin.

I instinctively reach for my glass if it is there. So get it off the table or cover it with a napkin. Set your phone alarm for 30 minutes after a meal and that means you can drink. Before the first bite take a nice big drink of Water. My doc allows drinking up to the first bite but nothing during or 20 minutes after food. It's only a habit. You can break it. Stay hydrated before you eat and it is easier.

Congratulations!!!!

I'm not confident I've reached it so soon, but I may be dancing at or near the Green Zone. Those who are there, please describe how it feels over the course of a day. I'm feeling almost Red in the morning (often I can only eat a bite or two of egg), and Green at lunch and dinner (can eat a whole salad or three chicken strips or two small meatballs and then feel a soft stop). But sometimes I feel Red at dinner (pork gets stuck). Yellow if I eat a sandwich (all bread goes down easily, so I really have to limit it). My weight loss has been steady since my second fill three weeks ago (14 pounds). I average around 1000 calories a day. I never snack. I'm never hungry between my 3 meals. It's almost too magical. Is this my Green Zone? What does yours feel like?

In my opinion, telling loved ones later about our WLS shares some aspects of "coming out". Our new body after WLS is who we are. We don't want to nor should we tell everyone. It's intensely personal. Our reasons for not telling others back when we had the surgery are related to many things: not sure how we felt about it ourselves (or not comfortable yet in our evolution from "con" to "pro" WLS) , fear of judgment, fear of rejection, increased scrutiny, fear of failure. I may eventually tell others outside my five that I've had WLS. One of the reasons I'm not doing it now is all of the above, as well as the fact that with social media, word will immediately get out to my employer and others whom I am not yet ready to tell. Your privacy is one if the few things that is truly yours. It's so vulnerable in this day and age. Don't be rushed. Do it on your terms. Maybe in a time of calm, you can write a letter to your BFF and another to your boyfriend and just put them in a drawer. When you feel like the time is right you can either hand over the letter or you can just reread it for yourself and then sit down and talk. Your life is your life. You've done nothing wrong. Good luck.