MarieMarie

Great posts -- congratulations all. It took me a little while to get cruising but this has been an amazing year. And not hard. I feel like the band has made it easy for me to make good choices -- something I wasn't able to do consistently before.

Love the purse

And REST. After my surgery I took the time to rest and relax. This isn't a quick fix. It is the start of a wonderful journey. During my first two weeks, I spent time in organizing my new life and eating habits. Write your Wish list. Clean out your closet, find interesting and good recipes.

I got my first fill, finally. 4 months of trying to get a fill date. I am a very nervous person, big chicken in fact. The nurse was fantastic with me, no pain and very quick. I have read this forum for 4 months and had a very good understanding of all the info she wanted to ensure I had. 40 lbs down in 4 months on my 'adventure'. Enjoy the journey!

Great job! I'm 6 days post-op and having the same challenges. I bought a bunch of pureed Soups from trader joes, plus some vegetable and a few fruit juices. I bought a non-flavored Protein Powder (gene pro) to add to the Soups and juices for Protein, or I season some Greek yogurt with salt, pepper and olive oil to go with the soups. I also bought some cheddar, ricotta and feta cheese to blend/melt into the soups. I was so sick of my Protein Shakes post-op that the thought of drinking them made me sick, so I've been trying to up my Protein in other ways. I also bought frozen fruit, skim milk, and silken tofu for smoothies (tasty with a splash of apple cider for sweetness).
I made a tasty black bean Soup the other day: puree 1 can drained black Beans with chicken stock, some Greek yogurt, a bit of olive oil and cumin. It's very tasty and satisfying.
A lot of these foods will transition with me into the soft food stage (I won't have to thin everything out so much).
The biggest thing for me now is judging my hunger signals during this recovery process while I still have some pain and inflammation - trying to eat enough but not too much.
I'm down 12 lbs, 9 pre, 3 post. So far so good
Good luck!

Lower your cortisol level & stress

Make sure to walk to help with the gas pains. Sip Water as often as possible and if you get nauseous you might try hot mint tea. It helped me a ton! You got this!!!

sorry to read of your (trouble). like jack, get a 2nd or 3rd opinion if need be
your body, your health, your life..
now what i am going to say is not being mean.or nasty but i must say this ..just because you can eat 2 small steaks and trimmings does not mean you should...if you are hungry, eat but eat smart (protein) and def drink a lot to help offset and sometimes just drinking solves an issue of (being hungry)..at least it does for me...it mainly head hunger from being bored, upset set....i am a southern girl..if in doubt, fry.....we must eat better....having a WLS is not a miracle solve all..i was a binge eater as i did not get up near 350 pounds by eating only lettuce.....3500 calories is a pound ate or drank and if we eat more than we can burn off (exercise/movement wise) then we will gain weight..
i wish YOU all the luck..keep going back to the doctor for answers
and get yourself well...we all are rooting for you 4everyoung.

It's demoralizing to hear such stories about the lap band. I have high hopes and am now feeling discouraged.
However, I wonder how many who aren't making progress NOT following the plan? I mean... eating two steaks (even if small) isn't supposed to happen unless it is one half cup's worth. Plus we are supposed to be doing a lot of exercise.
I can't imagine if we follow the plan and increase our activity levels we won't lose. It can't be all about the band. It also has to be about US, too. Our willingness to follow directions and cut back and start getting active, right?
I don't know... maybe in a few months I'll be groaning and moaning, too, even after following the plan! LOL
Just my two cents worth.

People LOST weight after being banded?? Honest injun???. I held my own for three or four months. I took a few fills before the band even started to work... and it took subsequent fills every several months to ensure that the weight loss continued. The band is not a fast track; think tortoise and hare. If you have the band, you are the tortoise, but you will win in the end!

Relax, you're doing beautifully. Keep all your appointments for fill assessment, keep increasing the exercise, keep patting yourself on the back for choosing yourself and your healthy future. Post band and pre-correct fill can be hard to navigate. Be tenacious! You will get this! And don't forget to pay attention to how your pants are fitting. That was a big one for me. scale wasn't bidging sometimes and that's right when I'd need a new size. Down from 18 to 10 in exact same brand. And 65+ pounds. It's like its not happening and then BOOM!

Congrats. I am considering finding my scale after taking a 14 day break from "NO SCALE VICTORIES" to non scale ones. My jeans almost fell off me last weekend while dancing and I really need some new shirts.

there is this dude on BP forum (not even had surgery) and he is tossing out (negative) lap band statistics of failure and complications…..REALLY??

Let people do what they need to do to make themselves happy.

Let them and their doctors advise them which is best (WLS wise).

Mind your own business.

YOU do what you need to do to make yourself healthy

and let them do their thing.

to me statistics are numbers

and so is my pants size going down

so my WLS works…is yours?



that is what i want to say.....to those tossing out neg/untrue (or even if it is) sh**it...this is one reason i hate coming to this forum sometimes..when i login i want to see lap band people...those who had the surgery i had...i dont care what surgery one had or about to get. i dont care if the dr they have say mine sucks..its what i have..its what i have now and what i have to deal with...NOT YOU



geesh

ok, rant over

Don't all beavers get big when you lose weight?
Hi, everyone. Today in Boston it is 63!!!!!!!! I was warm with my sweatshirt and vest on walking around and shopping. This weather is so wonderful and it leaves tonight.
Yesterday was my 2 year old grandson's kid's party. Grammie partied hard and my FitBit said over 7000 steps. The party was at a play gym for toddlers and I chased him and his friends and jumped on the trampoline with him and loved it. Without the band I would have sat on my fat ass beside my husband. Did I just say he sat the whole time, yes!
Have a great day. The NE Pats are winning!!
Arlene

I still might be able to do Vegas if everyone is on board with that maybe February or after but in April 15th I am trying to attend the meet & greet & I think Alex Brecher & Carnie Wilson will be there & a few other's from the site.

I am 8 months post op and have only told 2 people about my surgery (my husband and my child). I decided that I didn't want to tell anyone else, including any other immediate family. I am currently down 121 pounds, and when people comment on my weight loss, I am honest with them. I tell them that I am eating less and moving more and that I am making smarter, healthier choices with my food. None of which is a lie - I simply leave out the part about my surgery. The surgery is simply a tool in your journey and you are still the one doing the hard work. Good luck on your journey - and remember, you don't have to tell anyone that you don't want to tell.

This might be a strange thing to ask, but what if you don't want to be skinny and want to stop losing before your body is done losing? Does maintenance look any different than what you're doing for weight loss?

Good luck on your journey!

Do you have your gallbladder? Is it pain from Constipation?

Absolutely not. All I feel is the port, which is very pronounced as I have very little body fat left. When it was first installed, only I could feel it buried under so much fat. Now, if you know to look, you can see it sticking out of my tummy. I'm both somewhat embarrased and very proud of that bump.

I ve never felt mine. I do feel the wrath of it if I eat too fast or don't chew or eat too much.

I would search online for budget friendly recipes. Things like chicken thighs, or tougher cuts of meat that benefit from low and slow cooking will give you Protein and lots of bang for your buck. Also dried Beans are really cheap and another source of protein. I think us banders should try to eat real food instead of Soup since from what I understand the chewing helps with feelings of fullness. But stick to really budget friendly items and check other places in your life that you can cut down on expenses to make sure you can spend the money on foods you need. Good luck!

I agree that obesity itself is a health issue that very often leads to those other complications that so many of us ventured into before we had WLS. I'm also of the opinion though, that if snacking is what's at the heart of your weight problem, that no surgery will "fix" that for you. Weight loss surgery isn't a "fix" or guarantee of anything. It's a tool that with a lifelong commitment to making major changes in your attitude about and relationship with food can assist with losing weight. It's very possible to have a full bypass and still stretch your new stomach to hold more food than it was intended...couple that with poor food choices, and the weight can come right back on.

Thank you all for your responses. I am taking my Protein and Vitamins but i guess my sugar was low because i decided to have 1oz of baby food banana, pear, pineapple and broccoli and boy! That brought me back to life i even went to the gym! ???? i feel good.

Protein! Protein! Protein! Hope it helps.