HeatherA

That's exciting! I hope you make it, I look forward to meeting you!

Awesome!!!! Thanks Special K :-) I'll be there about the same time as last month. See you then!!!!

That would be a cool buffet. I'd be interested to see what the differences in cost would be from before surgery to after surgery.

I'm going to guess since we've not heard from Hippiegirl that her surgery went off as planned yesterday. Here's hoping that all went well and she'll re-join us quickly!

Special K, I plan to be there! It sounds like it will be a lot of fun. Thanks for the update!

Congratulations Sadie!!!!! Welcome to the land of the banded :-)

Hippiegirl... I'm keeping you in my thoughts!!!!! I hope all goes well tomorrow and that you're cold is nothing but a few sniffles! {{{{HUGS}}}}

I had restriction with my first fill for a few days about a week after I was filled. It only lasted a short time. So don't be discouraged if you don't have any restriction, or you do and then it's gone. I think that's just the nature of the game. I really have been riding it out by tracking my calories every day and exercising. Basically, my surgeon told me the day after my surgery to be prepared to diet. He warned me it might be awhile til the band helps me out. Good luck with your fill tomorrow!!!

Definitely sounds like a little more fill is in order. Right now I can't eat a lot even if I wanted to. The only thing would be if I was eating lots of shakes and things like that... solid food definitely has its limits. I hope this restriction stays, but I know it probably won't. Stay in touch... I'll be rooting for you!!! You're welcome. :-) Absolutely. Also, my weight loss includes pre-op as well as post-op. JowJow doesn't state if hers is all post-band. If it is, then she's way ahead of my game :-)

I don't hate you. :-) Mind you, what I shared is not my normal diet. That's why I was so thrilled that restriction saved me. First of all, I have to live my life. I am NOT going to restrict what I eat to the extent that I don't feel like a normal person. If everyone is eating pizza at a party, I'm not going to sit there and not have a slice. If I go out to dinner, I'm going to try to order something healthy, but also something I like. The quickest way for me to fail at this is to tell myself I can't have something. What I do instead is work it into my daily calories. I plan ahead. I walk an extra 1/2 hour or at extra intensity to burn extra calories if I know that I'm going to be indulging in something like cake. I am trying to train myself to think and act as a thin person does. I've been studying my thin family members and trying to emulate the best of them. Just so we're straight, I'm eating 1200 calories a day (on average) and I'm eating 60+ grams of Protein, less than 50g of fat, between 100-150g of carbs and trying to get at least 20g of Fiber in each day. I take my Multivitamin and I walk at least 20 minutes (usually 30+) each day... 7 days a week. I lose very slowly... my average is probably less than 2 pounds a week. I'm in this for the long haul and I truly want to change my relationship with food for life. My thoughts with what you wrote is that you might be eating too little for the amount you are exercising. I'm not sure what you're doing in your 2 sessions, but 1000 calories may be way too little. I was talking with my aunt this weekend, she's a nutritionist for the state of Ohio. I told her what I'd been doing diet/exercise wise. She thought my breakdown was fine, but that my calories were too low for someone my weight. She actually thought I'd be better around 1600 calories a day. However, since I've got energy and I'm feeling fine she said it'd be ok to continue at that number of calories. We went over my "average" food day and her advice to me was just to beef up the veggies where I could to make up for any shortcomings the Vitamin might have. I say just play with your calories (I started losing when I increased from 1000 to 1200 calories and added my walking) and make sure to shake up your diet every couple of days. During my WW days I learned that my body was smart and would stall out the weight loss if I ate the same things day after day. Good luck to you! BTW... you're doing amazing! You should be so proud of yourself!

I'm glad I could help you with my post. It's amazing to me too... and it quite literally sneaks up on me. Now that I know what it's like, I'll also be able to tell when I don't have it down the line and be able to get a fill to help me stay in check. I know this fill probably won't last and it's sparodic at best, but it kicked in when I needed it... :-) Exactly! In the beginning I doubted that this band would really be able to stop me... my head hunger was so strong during post-op that I even played with the idea of not getting a fill for a long time so I could eat what I wanted. Luckily my brain kicked in and I got my fills as scheduled and I'm so fascinated by the restriction, when I have it, that I want to stay in this mode :-) LOL Good luck today! I'll be thinking of you!!! Remember this feeling! It might go away before your first fill and you'll have to do the work on your own. If it does, just stay the course and make sure you get your fills on schedule :-) Congrats on your surgery! Are you eating foods that are easy to get down? Could that be why you don't have much restriction? I know that I can get soft/mushie foods down a lot easier than I can solid foods like shrimp/chicken etc... I try to limit my liquid calories such as smoothies (my current addiction) and Protein shakes to once a day. It's the more solid foods that I feel the restriction with. I have very little problems with foods such as candy and Cookies which is what I tend to want to snack on at night. If I eat a meal like my pizza last night, and I have restriction with it, it actually makes me so full that I have no interest in further eating so it keeps me from nighttime snacking. Just my thoughts and experiences so far. I hope you get restriction with your next fill. It's such an elusive thing, but so nice when it does show itself :-)

You can still cook... you just won't eat as much of it as you used to. It's amazing the changes that you'll adjust to... and how easily they can come if you embrace the tool implanted inside. I'm doing things I never thought I'd ever ever ever do. I'm sure you will do awesome!

OMG... I am so laughing my butt off! I'm doing the SAME THING! Not only that but I've also discovered that I have shoulder bones and when I lay on my side I have hip bones! Amazing things!!! Oh, and my knees are making an appearance also!!!! My DH was standing behind me earlier today and was massaging my shoulders and he made a comment that it's not as easy to do anymore because I have all these new bones showing up. LOL I loved it! Imagine... at only 37 pounds... what will it be like at 67????

I've only had two fills... I had restriction for a few days, but then it was gone, then it was back, then it went away again... you get the idea. Well, it definitely seems to be kicking in whenever I eat outside of my house. For instance... went to my little cousin's 13th b'day party yesterday. I had one slice normal triangular slice of pizza (minus the fat crust) eaten in peanut sized bites, had 3 small nacho chips with 7 layer dip, 2 Hershey miniature bars (mmmmm chocolate), a slice of cake and some vanilla ice cream. The cake was a big 2x2 slice and didn't really want to go down. I managed to enjoy my favorite part... the icing and threw the rest away. Now what's great about this is pre-band I would have grazed the entire time I was there, had 3-4 slices of pizza (including the crust) much more candy and eaten all of my cake and ice cream. The food eaten above happened in a 5 hour time frame... and was the end of what I ate for the day. Move on to today... we go to a big birthday lunch at BD's Mongolian BBQ. It's a stir-fry place where you pick your own meats/veggies/starches and sauces and have them grilled up for you and then you eat it with rice and flour tortillas. When we got there I explained to the manager that I'd had stomach surgery and couldn't eat a lot would it be ok for me to pay for a child's bowl. They were awesome and said yes so away I go. I put some shrimp, sausage, a few pieces of Pasta, edemame and onions in my bowl. I make sure to keep it "child" size and I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't have said anything and just gotten a normal bowl because I'm so hungry. Well, regardless I pick my sauce have my food cooked and go sit down. 3 bites of shrimp, 6 edemame and 1 piece of sausage in and I get that ache in my chest feeling. So I slow down and let it go away, try another bite and the feeling is back. I feel like I have to burp it out so I know then that I should just stop eating. Several minutes later I'm feeling better and dessert is brought out. 2 bites of ice cream later and that's it... I'm feeling like I might just puke. I get up go to the ladies room hoping I won't PB (I didn't) and then I feel fine. Before the band I would have had two heaping bowls of stir-fry at roughly 1200 calories a bowl... not including the rice and tortillas. Ok, so we spend the day out and since it's a gorgeous pre-spring day I get in well over an hour of walking and I'm starving but not feeling like cooking. So we decide to order pizza with our neighbors and I'm starving. I decide to just take 3 pieces (these are 2"x1" party cut slices) I eat the pepperoni off of one of them and realize I'll be lucky to eat two of these pieces. Put one back and spend the better part of the next hour eating the two small pieces on my plate. 2 SMALL PIECES OF PIZZA????????????? UNHEARD OF!!!! That was my dinner... my head of course feels deprived, but my body is satiated. It's still shocking to me when things like this happen because in my head I thought I'd need a huge bowl of food at lunch to feel full, I thought I'd need at least 5 pieces of that pizza for dinner. I have never had meals this small in my life. I love it. I just wish my restriction would stick around more often. I especially need it at times like this when I'm eating out of my normal comfort zone and in situations where it'd be real easy to eat more than my 1200 calories each day. Just thought I'd share my experiences... it might help explain that elusive restriction feeling so many of us wonder about.

Thanks for posting that :-)

Welcome Greg! I was banded at Riverside in December. Congratulations on getting a date! I can't believe all three of you are getting banded on the same day!!! You're welcome to join us at our get together next weekend. We'll be celebrating all of the March bandings :-) We have another guy that joins us (HunterCol) but I'm not sure if he'll make the next meeting because he was just banded on Tuesday and his wife is having GB next Wednesday.

I definitely have learned that I MUST keep things like Candy Hearts and cookies in the garage fridge. If it's in the house I will be drawn to them like a moth to a flame. If in the garage I really have to think about them and seek them out. I only usually go in the garage to get into my car. :-) I am happy to report that I have NOT had one candy heart today

Great, that makes 6 then :-) Woo hooo!

LOL... I'm not able to do that yet. Of course if I do eat any I am counting my calories and eating a portion size or 2 (12 for 60 calories). I just want to sit down with the entire container and mindlessly eat them. Amazing how much I miss mindless eating :-( The reason I went with the band was because I enjoy sweets and want to learn to eat them like a normal person. I don't subscribe to the idea of denying myself because as soon as I do I will do the exact opposite and cause myself harm.

Candy hearts go down really well too... These are quite possibly my favorite candies and I found some on clearance after the holiday. Thought I'd do ok with them, but had to move them from the cabinet to the garage fridge because I'd just grab a handful. I am trying to talk myself into throwing them away!!! *sigh

Awesome guys... I think that makes 5 of us confirmed so far! I can't wait to see everyone!

hippiegirl, That's a great loss! I've not "gained" since surgery, but I do have days when the scale goes up before going down and staying down. Normal weight fluctuations. I wouldn't worry about it as long as you stick to your post-op diet you're sure to lose more after surgery and then it will slow and possibly stop. At that point stick to a healthy diet and add in some exercise and the scale will start moving again for you before you hit your 'sweet spot'. 4 days! Woo Hoo!!!!! Out of the 6 of you not-banded at our last gathering, one (Hunter) has been banded and 3 of you are on the cusp! How cool is that?????

I lost 12 pounds immediately after surgery and then nothing for 3 weeks... just my body adjusting to being banded. Remember, we average just 1-2 pounds a week with the band. Look at the big picture. Your body is healing and it's not really about weight loss right now. Just keep following your doctor's orders and stick to your diet. Until you get restriction almost any weight loss will be due to your dieting efforts following your post-op diet. I've had 2 fills and I'm still pretty much doing it myself with diet and exercise. Hang in there and don't get discouraged... it will start happening for you!

I don't have the card, but I've been very lucky. Went to a Breakfast buffet on Sunday and was able to order the child's buffet. Only ate about 3 bites so the waiter, a friend, didn't even charge me. Monday went to a sandwich shop and ordered just a scoop of chicken salad... was charged $3 and nothing was said. Took 1/2 the scoop home. I will return often because this shop is a small family owned shop and their prices are fair. I don't always want to order a huge meal if all I can eat is 3-4 bites. I don't want to pay a lot of money for the privilege of eating leftovers all week. However, I do try to order things I know will work with me and focus on the ala carte or Soups and sides to get me through. I am going to a family meal at BD's Mongolian BBQ next week... I am hoping they will let me order from the children's menu rather than the adults as I'm sure I will be unable to eat even a small portion of an adult sized meal. If not, I'll be fine, but I know that I will not return to eat there often.

Tyanna, That's great!!! Congrats on the loss :-) Just a little more than a week! I can't wait to see you again. That would be terrific! We meet at 2pm and were done by about 4 last time. Of course you're welcome to leave at whatever time works best for you. It will be great to meet you!!!