1Corinthians6:19

90% of the battle is what you eat. Exercise is definitely something you should do, but you can't out work a bad diet. I had no appetite at all for days after my surgery so I used it as a good point to start over and followed the surgeon's instructions exactly.
Be encouraged! And remember 1 Corinthians 6:19. :-)

Definitely ask your surgeon. That seems like a lot of ccs to be feeling no restriction at all.

Christmas is WAY harder than Thanksgiving! There is just constant food. Food everywhere. Lunches, pot lucks, dinners....Ugh. I have tried to make the best choices, but I must admit I've had a few dessert samples. I have not lost any weight in almost a week. But I haven't gained any so I'm counting that a victory. The good thing is I go out on Christmas vacation for two weeks so I'll escape the constant schmorgesborg of food at work.

EXACTLY!!!!

Tonight is the company Christmas party. It's a formal affair at a local hotel with a cocktail hour, then dining and dancing. I have a little black dress, sexy shoes, bling on my clutch and bling for my accessories. I'm wearing the full length mink and I know I will be beautiful tonight.
How wonderful to look forward to something instead of fearing it because I'm the biggest person in the room, or because I can't find a chair to sit in because my knees are killing me.
For anyone struggling with holiday treats and temptations, think about how much better life is at a healthy weight instead of being overweight or obese. For me, it's easy to walk away from the buffet table especially when I can do it in kick-ass shoes and in no pain and with no cane.

I had no desire to eat for days. I was coming up on a week before I even felt any type of hunger at all. I had to make myself drink my shakes. But after a week or so, my appetite came back. Then I was hungry every 3 hours until I got my fill 3 weeks later. Now it takes me about 4.5 hours to feel hungry after a meal.

A hot topic for debate is to tell about our WLS or not to tell. In my opinion, the only "right" answer to this question is to do what is best for YOU. The choices you make about your body are deeply personal and you don't owe ANYONE an explanation or frankly, any answers at all about your weight loss. That said, the nosy nellies (and well meaning, but slightly clueless folk) are often relentless in their questioning.

I will not lie and I will do everything in my power to be polite (for a little while anyways) but firm. It's really not hard. I am just over 18 months out and I've not told ANYONE that I didn't want to about my surgery. Perhaps because I am not a pushover and when I speak, I leave little room for further discussion, but I have only had two people even hint around about surgery, and no one has had the balls to ask out right.

So my answers to the questions I've been asked or I've read that others have been asked (some copied from my reply on another thread):

How are you losing weight? "I'm working with my doctor, eating smaller, healthier portions and exercising."
Are you on a special diet? "I am working with my doctor to eat smaller, healthier portions."

What are you eating? "Well, my doctor and nutritionist have come up with a plan that works specifically for me."

Are you allowed to eat...? "Just like you, I can eat whatever I want, I simply choose not to."

How much have you lost? "A lot."

Well, how much? "A lot."

So how many pounds? "A lot."

What size do you wear now? "That's a weird question."

How much do you weigh? :blank stare: "Why in the world would you ask that?" or "I'm sure you didn't mean to sound as rude as you did."

Did you have surgery? "Why in the world would you ask such a personal question?" or "I didn't realize you were interested in WLS. I suggest you contact a doctor." or "That's a weird question."

How much more do you want to lose? "I'll know when I get there."

Are you still trying to lose weight? "I am working on being the healthiest I can be."

So HOW MUCH have you lost? "A LOT."

Wow! You've lost a TON of weight. "Thank you."

WOW! You are shrinking to nothing. "Thank you."

WOW! You've lost a whole person. "Thank you."

You are going to blow away soon. "Thank you."

Wow. You can't lose much more, can you? "Thank you."

You are really getting too thin. "Thank you."

You eat like a bird. "You eat like a horse." No, not really. HA! "Thank you."


What other questions have you been asked or are you worried about people asking you? Give me something hard!

Congrats on the dress! I wore a pair of jeans I couldn't get on a couple months ago

ive had these boots a while and just couldn't get them zipped it aggravated me so much. Once I wore them I got online and ordered another pair in black!! ????I love having someone on same schedule as me! My friends listen, but they just don't get it cause they've never been overweight.

Congratulations!
I had a similar NSV! We wear purple on Wednesdays at work as part of an internal networking group that promotes women in science and technology. I have this purple dress in a size 14 petite that I could not zip up. But I gave it a try yesterday and that puppy zipped right up with no problem and a little room to spare!! All day people were telling me that I look thinner. Felt great.
We seem to be on the same track! Band sistahs! :-)

Hi Everyone! Just wanted to share, I am 1 month out since surgery and today I hit a total 30 pound lost. That's 20 pounds preops and 10 pounds since the band. I currently eat around 1200 calories a day and I do 2 (30min) workouts a day for 5 days a week.

I can zip my boots all the way up and even have room to spare. May seem like a small thing to some, but it reassures me that this was the right decision for ME!!

Why run if you don't like it? There are so many other things you could do that aren't as hard on your joints. Exercise should be fun.

Just heard about a fellow Bander, Michele Elbertson. Michele is 28 years old and had the Lap-Band back when she was 23. Since her procedure, she has lost 260 pounds! In the past three years, she has run over 38 half-marathons, 7 full-marathons, one 50-mile ultra-marathon, and two triathlons.
Michele was chosen as a finalist for the December issue of Runner’s World Cover Contest and beat out of thousands of submissions. In addition, she was featured on The Rachael Ray Show yesterday and was given a full makeover. You can check out her transformation here.
She decided to write down her success story and wanted us to help spread her story – you can find that here. Her story was too inspiring not to share with our members. She has a Twitter account in the event you want to follow/engage with her directly - https://twitter.com/M_Elbertson

grilled chicken nuggets from chic fil a, ham with pepper jack cheese rolled up in it. Bowls with blacked Beans, and chopped seasoned chicken, onion and green peppers, one egg, chill cheese omelet (one of my faves!), turkey chili with cheese, and vegetable beef Soup.

I say no carbs is awesome! And the fact that food is not "wowing" you is a good thing. You should embrace the fact that you're not obsessing over eating a big donut or something crazy like that. :-) If it didn't wow us so much in the first place, we wouldn't have ended up here.
The most carb I've eaten so far is veggies and a little brown rice, but no more than 1/4 cup. The rest is all Protein.

@@Ldimples - food tastes great to me! I was so sick of Protein shakes I'm just so happy to be chewing. My new thing is grabbing a bowl from chipotle…lot's of great flavors and quite healthy. Not sure why it would taste different. What stage of diet are you on?

I wonder if you're allergic to lidocaine and that's what caused the rash.

Okay you guys probably read this on the other thread, but in case you didn't my fill went very well. No numbing, but no pain either…just a little pressure when she found the port and put the needle in.
I had 6, yes 6cc placed in my band at the time of surgery. The Fluid was removed and added back and an additional 0.5cc was added. It was quick and easy. I was on liquids for 24 hours and I'm eating normally now. I made it almost an extra hour before I got hungry after lunch today so I think I'm pretty close to the green zone already.
They said the reason I had so many CCs to start with was because there was not much of a fat pad, so more Fluid was needed to get the band snug enough.."there is a skinny girl waiting to get out!" were the exact words used. :-)

Glad it's gone. Did they numb you first? I didn't get any numbing, but it was really not painful or uncomfortable.

90% of the battle is what you eat. Exercise is definitely something you should do, but you can't out work a bad diet. I had no appetite at all for days after my surgery so I used it as a good point to start over and followed the surgeon's instructions exactly.
Be encouraged! And remember 1 Corinthians 6:19. :-)

I was sharing on another thread that I had my first fill yesterday. It was so quick. No pain…pretty much exactly like Bandista's. What was unusual about me is that my surgeon placed 6cc in my band during surgery which is almost unheard of. He said that I didn't have much of a fat pad around my stomach. So they added 0.5cc to my band which already had 6cc for a total of 6.5cc. I go back in 2 weeks. I was on liquids for 24 hours and was able to eat normally today without any issues. I stayed full almost 1 hour longer than I did with the 6cc. So maybe just half a cc more and I'll be in the green zone.
@@sandeebar - The green zone is when your band has just the right amount of Fluid to keep you feeling satisfied for at least 4 hours without snacking. If you have to snack, you're not in the green zone (or you just want to snack and are making the excuse that you're hungry).

Oh yeah…I see a nutritionist every visit too. She has really helped me figure out my eating. More so than the doc.

Hmmmm…not sure I like your doctor. You can always switch.
But as far as the restriction goes, are you feeling satisfied after 3-4oz of Protein? If so then you are good. If you get hungry less than 3 hours later, then you may need more Fluid. If not, then you should feel blessed that you are not refluxing and gagging and all of the other stuff that can happen with the band. My surgeon just told me that this WLS is not supposed to feel like a punishment.
I'm not sure who said that you should not be able to eat anything. You should be able to. BUT, that doesn't mean you should eat it. You've still got to eat the right kinds of foods. Even the bands with the most restriction will let ice cream and pudding through.
I guess what I'm saying is, it sounds like you may be unnecessarily concerned. You're losing almost 10 lbs a month. That's pretty darn awesome!

You win best answer ever. For real, yo!