JustWatchMe

I was thinking more like lobster in drawn butter. Just kidding. Sorta.

I've got almost three weeks to go (six total) before transitioning from full liquids to regular foods. No fill until four days after that. I'm daydreaming about what I will eat but I know I'll have to take it easy. Thoughts? (Sorry, this is a real marathon and I'm doing well but getting impatient!)

This is my new favorite thread.

Journey, schmourney. Endurance test? Obstacle course? Evolution? Evolution is what I titled my WLS journal. I don't write in it much. The title's rather boring. Maybe I'd write more if it had a snazzier title.

Yep, the dreaded neck gas pain. Right by my collarbone. What helped me was someone gently but rapidly karate chopping the area a few times a day. Sounds weird but it worked. It took a full week for those pains to be totally gone. Good luck.

Slowing down is my next challenge. Still in liquids post op, but eating soup too fast. I actually do better in a restaurant with a friend because I'm talking. But at home or on lunch from work, I'm still going too fast. I want to work on this before I introduce solids on April 24. Don't know how to slow down my morning protein shake, since that's happening as I'm getting ready to leave for the day.

Well said! Great job!

Everybody's different. I did return to work Monday after a surgery Thursday. I'm now three weeks post-op. I was instructed to get on the treadmill daily starting one day after surgery. It did help. I have a desk job but get up and walk around every hour or so. My surgery was outpatient. Good luck!

Great post!

One day at a time. Wow, that's a lot of challenges in a short time. I feel for you. I'm under stress now too, and the surgery was and is giving me a light at the end of my tunnel. No matter what life throws at us, we can handle it better if we're healthier and in control. Your honesty helped me today. Thanks for posting.

I mean 3 weeks to go, thank God. The extra half week is the day of my first fill. Scared myself there for a minute.

Today, day 21 post-op, I'm not particularly hungrier than normal, but my stomach is making LOUD gurgling sounds at work. And of course I'm sitting right next to someone working together on a project. Sometimes you just have to laugh. 3-1/2 weks left to go before solids. Sigh.......

Yes, it is very hard right after surgery, but it does get easier. I found that, believe it or not, getting moving helped everything. Not just post-surgical discomfort, but it also got me revved up and feeling better and motivated. And I hate exercise. But I started walking (only because my nurse coordinator told me I had to) on the treadmill and added a minute each day. It somehow helps with the hunger, and I don't know why. I also found that right around a week post-op, my body started to adjust to the liquid-only, low-calorie amount I was taking in. I personally got a little more boring with my meals instead of fancier, because there's only so much you can do with liquids. But when I started to plan it and stick to it (and drink LOTS of Water all day long) my stomach stopped complaining all day. I'm averaging 800-900 calories a day right now, and you would not believe how boring my intake is. But it's not that hard, compared to the first week, when I was actually consuming around 1300 a day. I hope some of this helps. It's only my experience. Make sure you're drinking enough Protein -- it really holds you longer. And don't flush it through with water until at least 30 minutes after drinking it. I like

I'm glad you posted again. This is such a hard piece of the journey. I'm reading the posts from others further along the road and now my sights are set on the day that my band will actually start helping me feel normal. Right now I'm just struggling along, and it's no different from any other diet -- except that I have that magical day ahead to look forward to when it WILL get easier because the band will get filled and I won't be starving! You know why you're going to succeed? Because you came on here and TOLD everyone you were going for pizza. LOL. You've got what I've got, and that's a self-preservation instinct. We've got this!!!! And stop cooking for others, at least for now. Good Lord, I'd even make them eat elsewhere! LOL

I just re-read your post before the last one. Are you still entertaining others in your home and cooking for them? OMG, take care of yourself!! That would be so hard! Please take a little break, give yourself some TLC, have something soothing to drink and something small to eat, and wait it out. You can do it! Get out of the house for a change of scenery.

cccv4, STOP! You've come a long way already. Don't do it. Have something to drink, something small to eat (a piece of fruit?) and go outside and walk around the block. Give it 20 minutes. You deserve success, and no pizza will do it. If you're miserable, get un-miserable, but please don't make yourself more miserable. Please let us know how you feel in 20 minutes. We are ALL rooting for you!

Trayg, hang in there!

I don't think it really hit me how much work this is until I started doing it, beginning with the 5-day clear liquids pre-op diet. That said, my team stressed over and over and over again that it only works if you follow directions. I feel as if I'm gonna be one of their high maintenance patients! LOL. The reason I say that is because this is definitely a challenge, a learning experience, and not something I can see myself succeeding at without lots of help. Fortunately, they really stress the aftercare aspect of WLS. Good for you for trying again. Hopefully you can get back to losing with some good medical help and support here as well. Keep us posted!

Thanks for the info. I'm getting eager to have my band start working but scared of being away from home if a problem comes up. They plan to fill 4-7 ccs in my 14cc band the first time. I'm leaning towards going ahead with the fill and being very careful on my trip two weeks later. I also read on this site to stick to liquids during the flights. Thanks again!

I was just banded two and a half weeks ago, but I've lost 32 pounds in the last two months preparing for surgery and post surgery. I'm on liquids still and have no restriction. Today a female coworker who's a real sweetheart offered me some gourmet truffles because I've always been the one who brought candy to work for the communal candy bowl. When I politely declined saying I'm staying away from candy for now, she asked if I've lost weight. I said yes, a little. When she asked if I minded saying how much I told her. "HOLY COW!" We both laughed. She started sharing her current struggle of gaining 40 pounds since Thanksgiving. She asked how I'm doing it. Here's what I said. ALL TRUE. I had a medical wakeup call and had to make a change. I'm working with my doctor and a nutritionist. I've raised my Protein and cut carbs. I walk every day on my treadmill and increase my time on it daily, and am building up to two miles, which I should hit on April 9th. My food plan will allow me more choices soon, but it's pretty strict right now. Even though it's only a smallish loss, I already went off of one blood pressure medicine and got off NSAIDs. My goal is to get rid of my cholesterol med next. We talked about arthritis, etc., which we both have. I didn't feel one bit guilty not talking about the band. My band, bless its little silicone heart, isn't even doing anything yet. Diet and exercise and lots of hunger have done this so far. When I finally get to solid foods, then the restriction of the band will start to HELP me diet. I still need to follow these behavioral changes for life. For life. For life. The band won't do the work for me. It will make it easier for me to do the work. LapBand ain't for sissies! And it ain't. Nobody's. Business. But. Mine.

I'm actually being encouraged by my surgeon to get my first fill 17 days before a European vacation. The NP says I can wait until I return if I want. I'm not sure what to do, but I want some restriction when I go on solids on April 28. I fly May 15. In your opinion, is that enough time before my flight to know if I'm good to go?

Good, looking forward to solid food in three weeks! Losing, and feeling great!

Good luck!

I quit on Super Bowl Sunday, 1985. I had a horrible sore throat and it hurt to swallow, much less smoke. I thought, I wonder how long I can stay off cigarettes? The answer is 29 years and counting. It wasn't easy when the sore throat cleared up. Habits were hard to break. Everything I did with a cigarette in my hand had to be relearned. This was back in the day when you could still smoke at your desk at work. Driving, out to dinner, out to a bar, watching tv, you name it. It hits you like a ton of bricks how often you reach for a cigarette. Mine was cold turkey from about two packs a day at age 23. I started in high school. My high school actually had a smoking lounge for students. I had never really tried to cut back or quit before then, but I was getting winded on stairs, etc., and it wasn't all from my weight. Once I quit, it only took a few weeks to begin to see the benefits. My sense of smell came back, things tasted better. I don't recall a big weight gain, but I was already obese. I had dreams occasionally for years that I had sneaked a cigarette. I'd wake up sweating. One thing I know is that quitting cigarettes was a cakewalk compared to quitting overeating. I've done both in my life and the food was much harder. I'm proud of being smoke free and now on a journey to healthy weight as well. You can do it. Think of the years added to your life the moment you quit. You will have a cleaner car, a cleaner home, your coat won't smell. If you can change your eating, you can do this. Good luck.

I was banded on 03/13/2014, and will be on soups and other liquids only until April 28. No scrambled eggs allowed for me. It's hard and although I didn't cry, I was immediately aware of being crabby! It passed though. Now my challenge is to avoid visual food triggers like commercials. I'm okay but when the ads come on, it's hard, so I flip the channel. I'm seeing weight loss and that's keeping me motivated.