Chrisann

Well I am saving some but not as much as I thought because I am eating more fish and fresh fruit and veggies, they do cost more. I do know that I don't go to the store as much as I did in the past though.

My mom was watching a show, don't know which one, and they were interviewing a woman who was about 70, and she had this perfect tight skin. They asked her what she did, and said she never had Plastic Surgery and drank skim milk everyday. For what its worth, my mom is over 60 and drinks skim milk and her skin looks great.

My bathroom has a tile floor, and I have a bathroom rug near the shower and sink, but not near the toilet. The tile can be quite chilly when you come out of the shower.:sad: Anyway, I feel for you Heather. I PB'd right at the table, put a napkin to my mouth and out it came. The people I was with knew about the band, so were just staring at me. Well the slime still came up and now the running joke is I can slime at will.:thumbdown::smile:

May 17th, Knockouts where are you??? The weather has been crummy here in NYC, and with my being tired, feeling lousy, and dead, I have not been too active. Just did 180 minutes over the past 8 days. So that puts me almost to the half way point, 320 minutes so far. I need to ramp it up a bit. I want to hit 50 pounds lost by May 29th, my birthday.:thumbdown:

Ok for what its worth, I still can't tell a damn thing. Black tank, night before surgery, December 30, 2007, teal shirt, April 30, 2008

After being unable to eat stuff for the past few weeks, and feeling tired, crummy and irritable, I go to a Mets/Yankees Game party today. This is what I was able to eat from 12 noon to 11pm: 2 thinly sliced chicken Cutlets, breaded, with mozzarella and tomato sauce. The equivalent of 4 oz of cheddar cheese, and about 4 oz of pepperoni. 2 cups mixed fruit salad. 2 small black and white Cookies. Small piece of fruit tart, no cake part, just the fruit and cream. Small non fat ice cream in a cone, half a toasted bagel with butter. 2 Mikes Hard Lemonades, 3 bottles of Water, 1 bottle of Propel, cup of coffee with milk, and cup of tea.:thumbdown: Right now, still feel hungry, but since its almost midnight, not going to eat anything. But what the hell is this? I had been averaging 1 slim fast, 5oz-8oz meat, 4 oz cheese, some cut up fruit and veggies, cup of yogurt, 16oz iced coffee, 3-4 bottles of water a day. This is just the strangest thing.:confused2::confused2: I guess I have to see how I feel tomorrow.

Well Hell, my best friends daughter doesn't know I had the band, she is 14, and saw me tonite, first time since December, after the hug I always get, she said "oh my God you look so different". I took that to mean my lost weight, but reading your experiences could that have been a innocent insult?

You know when you are a kid and you get into an argument that turns into insults? The most famous response to an insult that I am known for, and now get reminded for is: I may be fat, but I can always lose the weight, you will always be ugly.

I don't order an appetizer because most of the time they are fried and high in calories. I don't waste the space in my pouch on salad either. I generally go for a Protein based meal. Usually a filet mignon, or some kind of fish. I always wind up bringing stuff home. I ask for extra veggies and no potato or rice. Went out the other night and had a cup of Onion Soup and a small portion of Fried Calamari. Only ate about half of the Calamari, and took it home and ate it the next day. The old me would have had the bowl of soup, a full serving of the Calamari and an entree.

Even at my top weight, I wore heels everyday to work. I can't say they were strappy sandals, but they were 2 1/2 inches high. I am just much more comfortable in them now that I am dropping the weight. But, I tore a ligament in my foot that I attributed to my weight, and it has taken nearly a year to heal well enough to keep the heels on for 10 hours. Somedays I still can't cause the foot aches. So, regardless of your weight you can still find attractive shoes that are comfortable. Go to websites for larger and wider shoes. Shoetrader is a good one, and even Hush Puppies.

Some guys at work don't know what to say, so they can be so evasive. This is what is going on here at my job. There is a pool to see when I get to 100 pounds lost. I get asked at least once a week where I am at. Then there are others, who give a generic question, like how are you feeling, is everything going ok? Or, guys who bring in other guys to my office to ask for my doctors number for the other guys who are not dieting correctly. How about the ones that ask what I brought in for lunch and can they finish it when I don't? I take it all with a grain of salt, its funny actually, but I wonder how it would be if it wasn't talked about here. The women on the other hand, are more direct like, look at your butt its shrinking.

Its going to be tough the first 6 weeks out, you are feeling better after 2-3 weeks, and then its a battle of wills to eat. Most bands don't have any fill in them right after surgery, so you have no restriction. This is one of the times you want to follow a food plan, and write down what you are eating and drinking so you don't overdo it. It does get a little scary cause you are afraid of damaging the band, so stay strong and positive. Don't panic if you gain weight either, because the whole first 6 weeks are for healing, and because you have no restriction it could happen. Don't let it get to you and don't get mad, just get back on the plan the next day.

I couldn't get anything down the first week except for clear liquids and ice pops. Just couldn't do it. Never felt hungry either. To top it off, even gained some weight. I then spent another 2 weeks on liquid diet and then mushies. The first 6 weeks are generally the healing time since the band is anchored to your stomach and has to settle in. You don't want your stomach churning while the band is settling in. I felt the gas all the time the first two weeks too, and used a heating pad and the gas x strips. I would try to get someone in the doctors office to see what you should do. Its no doubt that everyone here has advice, as we all reacted differently to surgery. The only correct advice you should use in this case is from the doctors office.

I was also told 2 months, and had a hietal hernia repaired so I guess that was why. But let me tell you, I have been going to pilates once a week since mid March and do they work!!!!! Between my weight loss and the pilates, I am down 5 inches in my waist and its tightening up. Wild, I actually am starting to see some slight definition there.

Pea soup is also high in Protein. If you make it from scratch, its much better to eat than the canned version with bacon in it. My doc was upset when she asked what I was eating and she thought it was the canned version. When I told her it was from scratch she relaxed. I ate pea soup every other night during my mushy stage. Since it was from scratch it was basically fat free. Since I wasn't getting much food down I didn't worry about the carbs at the time. However, I have had pea soup twice since I left the mushy stage. .

I ate one, but actually sucked on it for a few minutes and let it melt and then chewed it, but that was it cause I was afraid I would have problems. What I do eat are jelly Beans. The black jellybelly brand ones. Yummy....

I have been banded for a little over 4 months, and my port hurts every now and then, especially when the weather is crummy. Like today in NY, I couldn't get too much food down all day and my port area was sore. I think its going to happen on and off from now on.

I happened to have been on solids by week 6, but some doctors are crazier than others and keep people on liquid and mushies up to 8 weeks. But by week 6 I was chomping at the bit to eat, and had very little restriction. I was still taking things slow and maintained a slow weight loss, but some people have gained during that period, so while on the cruise just make good food choices, just don't over do it. And oh yeah, have a great time!!!

I lived with my heating pad. I had some complications after surgery and the heating pad was my best friend. I never used ice. I used to put the heating pad on and then put a pillow over it when I was sitting in the recliner, but in bed, just had it on. When I rolled over in bed, it was like the fat went first and then the muscle, and it hurt like a bitch.

I used the GAS X strips that melt in your mouth, because I had complications after the surgery and couldn't move around too much and that honestly worked for me.

Yep, that means you are probably at the sweet spot or a little too tight. Try to cut the food up smaller and chew, chew, chew slowly. I have been feeling the burn in the chest when I don't pay attention to my eating. When I cut the pieces small and eat slow and chew, I get stuff down. Sometimes I only eat once or twice a day and I am not hungry after that, sometimes not hungry till the end of the next day. I am at 6.1cc's in a 10cc band, I go back to the doc in two weeks, and don't think I am going to ask for a fill this time.

Just try to make smart food choices. Chinese food is not horrendous if you eat veggie and Protein based sauteed Entrees and wonton Soup. I was on a business trip and got stuck in some fast food hell. Just try to be picky. Good luck with everything going on. If you can survive this kind of stress with the band, you can go through anything with the band.

My mother swears that drinking skim milk tightens your skin. The problem is I can't get skim down, I drink 1%. I also was told by my primary care doctor that by losing weight slowly allows the body to catch up to the weight loss, and minimize your loose skin. I was also told to start now with the firming exercises, so I am doing pilates, and yoga with some weight training. I too don't have the finances for plastic surgery down the road, and have no extra funds to even start saving for it. I am afraid of having loose skin too.

If you are allowed solids, get it broiled or boiled, and then flake it. If you eat it in one large piece, it doesn't get chewed up enough, and might cause discomfort. By flaking it, you get to really taste it, and swallow smaller amounts at a time, without filling up too fast.

May 9th! How is everyone progressing? Been super busy at work this week and not feeling too well, so only did my Pilates class Wednesday and walked 3 miles. Other than that nothing out of the ordinary. Class and the walk are 2 hours. My running total at this point is 240 minutes.