coolcrystal

Ha ha.. wow, I didn't even think about that!!!!!!!!! Maybe I should wrap it up and give it back to her!? as her present even... no.. because then she wouldn't get to see it on me,, but yes.. afterwards I could be like, "oh, here, I thought you might like your robe back, it's too big on me now". HA HA. I'm not a vindictive person, but she has done lots of mean things to me like this and that was one of the most hurtful things. Getting a used robe that was like a size 14/16.. when I was a 26/28.... she knew it wouldn't and couldn't fit me.

It's taking everything in me to keep my mouth shut right now about those dumb liquid diets.. But anyway, I will try to answer your question.. of course you are going to be cranky when your brain needs fuel and you aren't providing it. It will be better after the surgery.. especially for the first week you will be too swollen to even want to eat or be hungry.. I was just in a daze that whole week and was fine drinking Isopure and broth.. but after two weeks and before restriction is where it's tough. But, it will soon become a thing of the past and you'll be fine. Good luck.

I think I wrote this in another post.. but, my goal is simply to wear the silk japanese robe that my "loving" cough cough, sister-in-law gave me for Christmas last year. That just happened to be like 4-5 sizes too small for me.. oh and she asked me to try it on in front of everybody so everyone could see.. it... not fit of course... Did I mention she was about a size 16 and I was like a 28 and the robe had no tags on it as if somebody had bought it for her, or it was hers and she was passing it off to me? So, guess what I'm wearing this Christmas to open presents in.. that's right. I'm wearing this danged robe if it's the last thing I do! And I'm going to take a picture of me in it and post it on this site. lol.

Good going!! you might be the first victorious valentine to get a TT! Congrats and I'm very happy for you!

What I dislike are the liquid pre-op diets that doctors put some folks on. It's actually an old way of thinking. Yes, it's for shrinking the liver, but the South Beach diet does the exact same thing and it allows the patient to actually eat food and learn how to eat properly before being banded. The liquid diet forces people to starve and what ends up happening is the patient will lose control and run out to eat a cheeseburger or a boxed pizza, throwing everything off course. With the south beach diet, you eat healthy, and lose a ton of weight before the surgery and it does the same exact thing as the liquid diet. It shrinks your liver. My doctor switched over to this way of thinking when he realized that too many of his patients would cheat on the liquid diet, but not cheat on the south beach and he had better overall results with a healthier liver. Also, you'll see people lose 20 lbs on that liquid diet and then when they start eating regular food they'll gain a bunch of weight back.. well of course this will happen when you aren't drinking liquids anymore. I only gained 1.5 lbs when I went back to regular foods.. but I've known people to gain 15 of it back.. because they were doing liquids. So, it's just sad when I see newbies on here crying out about the liquid diet and how miserable they are.. they are even more emotional and angry because their bodies and brains have no fuel.. so sad.

My husband and I joined our city gym, which isn't the best gym ever, but it has decent equipment and it was $35 for 6 months to join. I think most cities have a rec center that you can join for pretty cheap like this. I usually do bike or elliptical for 30-35 minutes and then weights every other day on top of the cardio. But, I haven't worked out in a week cuz I've been sick, and my body can tell the difference for sure. Have you thought about looking on craigslist for a bike or elliptical to buy. They usually have some for pretty cheap.

Mine just wanted the doctor to send them the information stating that yes I had at least 40 BMI for the last 5 years, but one of the years I was like 38 BMI and they didnt' care.

Who needs OH when you have lapbandtalk.com?? lol. This site gives me everything I need to be successful with my band. And it's funny that they would say that crap, because the three or four personal friends I have that got the bypass all gained their weight back and then some and are completely miserable in their life because they have the "dumping" syndrome they say. But even then, I wouldn't call them failures. They are food addicts. Food is yummy and that's why I understand how anybody could gain their weight back. My friend who is now back up to about 375 after her bypass told me it started with a french fry from Mcdonalds and then she started eating more and more of them everyday and somehow her pouch just stretched out. She had successfully gotten down to like a size 12. my band probably wouldnt' let me have a fry, nor would I ever want to try.

I don't really keep a blog persay, but I post on my monthly group a lot and if you have any questions at all, you can right click my name and send me a personal email. This banded journey has been great for me, but a large part of it is staying on this forum even after being banded. Many come here to find out answers, which is fine, but then they leave when they feel they dont' need the support anymore. Staying on this group is what keeps me going and going and staying on plan. Right now, at perfect restriction things are going great, but in the beginning, before I got my fills and I could still eat whatever I wanted was the hardest part. You have to be strong, follow a good diet plan (I followed South Beach) and make sure to get your fills, etc. My whole life was about this band for several months.. I ate it.. drank it and slept it... I wanted to know everything I could about it.. I researched the heck out of it..the good and the bad.. I lived on this forum..

Hummmm, what to say .. what to say.. all doctors have their own guidelines.. but i will tell you what I was already eating by day 8 after surgery... I was eating refried Beans with sourcream from Taco Bueno.. I was eating cream Soups.... by day 12 I was eating tuna with miracle whip on multigrain crackers and chewed up realllllyyyyy good... it had to be the grain crackers, not regular white ones.. you are almost a month out now so honestly you should already be on regular foods by now.. but this is just what my doctor had me do and what a lot of doctors.. usually after a month you should already be eating soft chicken, veggies, and just normal foods... actually, if you are still on liquids, you are one tough person because I'm sure you are pretty hungry.. unless you are one of those lucky folks who never need a fill. Actually, looking at your date, you are 3 weeks out, so not quite a month out... but I was still eating pretty normal foods at 3 weeks out... but, this is only me and my doctors opinion. and Since you asked... good luck. As far as drinking, I never drink sodas or carbonated beverages. But I drink tea and Water and crystal light. For Protein drinks, try Isopure clear from GNC. My favorite is Apple Melon.

Congrats you two and welcome to the group!! And, I love animals too and I'm all about the spaying and neutering! I wish more people did it... and don't get me started on animal breeders. lol. Anyway, I wish you all the best on your lap band journey. It really has been a wonderful experience for me! and I hope it will be for you too.:thumbup:

I love them! Apple Melon is my alltime favorite one. I would drink half in the morning and half at night. Remember, our bodies cannot really absorb more than 20g of Protein at one time, so drinking the whole bottle will really be a waste at one time. All of the flavors are pretty decent. The razzberry is my least favorite, but its not disgusting. But the orange, pineapple and apple melon are my faovites. I've never drank Protein shakes, only these and I only needed them right after surgery and after a fill for one day. Other than that, I always just ate regular foods.

Hey girl, It sounds like you really need to switch doctors. I think this is ridiculous that your doctor is doing this to you. Is it your doctor who does the fills or do you go to a separate fill center? I'm not sure how other doctors work, but I go to a separate place for my fills and I can come in every 3-4 weeks if I choose. It's between me and the fill person and they basically just ask me if I need a fill. My doctor is never involved, except I have to go see him every few months so he can check on me. Perhaps you should pick a doctor who does this as well. It wouldn't hurt to call around and see what you can do. But don't give up.. we love you and we are here for you. Once you do get that restriction everything will work out hun.. Huggs!

Yeah, I don't care what those folks say. It's BS. And in fact, if you don't eat enough calories most of the time your body goes into starvation mode and you won't lose weight. I mean, that's practically being anorexic for goodness sake. We didn't get this done to starve or survive on so few calories a day. I normally eat about 1100 calories a day. And when I stop losing I eat something naughty like a nutter butter or some chips and bam, I'll drop a few pounds. Because my body says "oh, right you're not starving yourself, it's okay to lose now". If you've ever seen Biggest Loser even the trainers make them eat one bad meal a week to snap their system into shape and not go into this starvation mode. When you reach good restriction you are really not that hungry, at least I'm not, so sometimes I have to remind myself to eat, but my diet consists of mostly salads, Soups.. tuna.. chicken.. veggies... and so forth.. I'm sure there will be somebody to come on here and say "oh you have to listen to your dr/dietician".. whatever... you will do yourself more harm than good by eating so few calories and there are some old school doctors who will really tell their patients this crap, its very sad. Especially if you are working out.. your body needs fuel and it needs those calories.. and trust me, you don't want your body thinking its going to starve.. you want to talk about plateaus, you will plateau for weeks and not know why 'especially eating so few calories'.. I see it a lot on here "why am i not losing, i only eat 500 calories a day".. DUH.. eat something and maybe you'll lose.. this is what i want to say every time lol. Good luck.

Aarial and others, What you are going through is normal. You just got banded so of course you can eat whatever you want after the swelling goes down. You will be able to eat whatever you want until probably your 2nd or third fill. I did the south beach diet until then. And it's also normal to gain weight at first because you were probably doing the liquids and then went to normal foods, so your body is going to gain a little. This is just temporary, I promise. Also, and I know I'm gonna get bashed here, but I don't give a crap, I still drink with my meals and it hasn't affected my weight loss at all. Somebody said that eventually you can't drink, but, if you don't get too tight, which you shouldn't then it shouldn't back you up. Granted, I use to drink 3 glasses of tea with my food and now I only drink half a glass, but it helps with the hot food and the dry throat. And I usually wait about 10 minutes after I'm finished to drink more. I've never PB'ed or felt nauceous either, but again, I don't allow my band to get too tight. The main band rule I follow is no bread and no pasta's. Good luck. And this will all be easier in a month or two.. youll figure out how the band suits you.

Right, I was in no way trying to be insulting and Jaime, if somebody is going to ask for our opinions then nobody should get offended if we state them. That was only my opinion. If it was mean, sorry, but that's how I feel. There's only two things that I hate about the band and this forum.. hearing about the stupid pre-surgery liquid diet people have to go on, as I think doctors who do this are silly because they dont' have to and people who get too tight because they are uneducated on how this band works or they are transferring thier disorder to becoming anorexic.. Now, I don't think Travel Anna was in either of those categories at all. I think she was perfectly aware of the tightness of her band and was simply asking our opinions so she could make a decision. I've read her posts and she is not one of those to get too tight. People say their fills get loser, but mine actually get tighter after a few days.. there are actually several people on here who's fills get tighter instead of loser. If she was already super tight, then what if it had gotten worse. Only she knows how her body operates and it sounds like she was uncomfortable with her fill level. Even if she had to get a little taken out.. maybe .1cc or.5cc, then in 3 weeks she can get more.. big deal. Three weeks.. I've gone on plateaus for that long.. we've only been banded for 4 months... this isn't a race to lose 100 pounds in 6 months.. we didn't get the bypass.. we got the band.

Just remember, not being able to eat very much can actually cause you not to lose weight and other than being completely uncomfortable, it's just not good for you. But, I absolutely can't stand it when people are too tight they can't eat a small healthy meal. It's one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to this band. When I read stuff like this, it really irritates me.. because it's not being responsible... but, I'm just being honest since you asked.

Ready, I love your new avatar photo! and I don't see anything wrong with drinking with the food. I've been doing it since the beginning. I can't drink the 3 glasses of Water with my meal like i use to, but I drink a few sips during my meal and about half a glass before my meal. When I eat hot food I simply have to drink with it or it burns my mouth too bad. renewedhope - I also have my sweetspot and I have the newer 10cc ap band. Perhaps yours is a lot tighter than mine. we all have our own levels of what we think a sweetspot is. but technically it is having the ability to eat a small healthy meal and not PB.

I drink with my meals and it has never affected me in a bad way. I still stay full. I know I'm breaking the "cardinal band rule", but I don't drink like I use to, because in the past I could easily drink 3-4 glasses of tea with my meal and now I might drink half a glass, but when I'm eating hot food I simply have to have Water to cool my mouth off. Since it's not slowing my weightloss down too much, I don't give a crap. I'm doing it. Remember, plateaus aren't a bad thing. Most people flip out if they stop losing for 3 weeks. Usually you just need to stir things up. Eat something bad even.. that might trigger the weight loss.. or just eat different things if you are in the same routine everyday, but most importantly, plateaus tell your body "yes, I have accepted this new weight". So, don't freak out. You will gain a few pounds when you go back to normal food after surgery.. don't panic.. this happens to most of us. Don't get your band so tight that you can't eat chicken and fish and veggies and the good stuff. You WILL be miserable and it will cause you to have problems. People come on here and gripe "I can only get 2 tablespoons of food down" like they deserve an award or something! It's NOT healthy people! I hate it when people allow themselves to get that tight.. :thumbs_up: I have never PB'ed and I can eat a small healthy meal and I love my band. I've never regretted it for a second. And people have already mentioned this, but don't compare yourself to others and their losses because we all have different metabolisms and our bodies all handle weightloss differently. Some lose fast.. some lose slow.. some are right in the middle. Basically if you are losing a pound a week, that's awesome. But even if you plateau that's fine too. Finally, like Jachut, I don't count calories. I got this done to live a normal life, not a life of counting my dang food everyday and being a slave to numbers and figuring out - oh how many calories is 3 bites of salmon? how many calories is a bite of yogurt? who cares! if you eat right and stop when you are full, you'll lose. Good luck.

Two things I have learned in the last week: 1. I cannot lose weight if I don't work out too. I didn't work out for a few weeks due to sickness and Tietze's syndrome and I only lost one pound.. As soon as I started working out again I dropped 5 pounds in a week! WTF??! Another thing I learned... 2. Even my brand new $70 scale tricks me. I got on this morning and it said I lost 3 more pounds from yesterday's weight.. I was so excited.. jumping up and down telling my husband and just to make sure it was right I got back on.. guess what.. I suddenly gained 3 pounds.. again WTF??!! I get back on.. lost a pound.. got back on and gained a pound.. What the hell do I weigh!! I weighed myself 6 times and just took the weight that showed the most.. I lost one pound. I'll take it.. but, I guess I'll have to weigh myself several times each morning.. What's funny is my husband weighed himself three times in a row and all of his weights were exactly the same. Maybe my scale is just tired my big butt getting on and off all the time... :ohmy: ANyway, does anybody else have these problems???

I was reading somewhere about how having a glass of wine is good for you and could help you lose weight.. Well, I never drink wine because I just don't like it very much, and I certainly don't drink during the week when I have to work.. but last night I went and bought a bottle of Lambrusco and had half a glass... boy was it good.. then I had another half of a glass... I'm feeling really good now.. then another half a glass.. then I started playing WoW with my hubby.... and listened to music.. I started dancing at my desk uncontrollably.. I mean, I litterally worked up a sweat. I had the whole chair involved.. it was like a 20 minute intense workout.. went and had another glass... played WOW, kicked ass and won 4 battlegrounds... made stupid comments in game like "wine is so divine" and "dancing is fun".. people probably thought I was nuts considering most of the people on there are 16 year old nerdy boys... Didn't go to bed till 2.. woke up with red tongue and teeth ... and yes, I brushed them.. still slightly a pinkish hue even today. lol. But, I lost 1 pound. HA HA.. So now I wonder.. isn't there such a thing as transferred addiction? like what if I become some raging wine alcoholic playing WoW and dancing in my chair everynight?? Do I need help???? Because even as I type this, all I keep thinking about is the rest of that wine and how I want just one more glass tonight....after I work out of course. lol.

I'm sorry to hear this is happening to you. It is fairly common. Me and my hubby only play WOW when we have nothing else going on in our lives that takes precendent. But, we are so busy most of the time, so we only get to play MAYBE 2 times a week. We go on a lot of trips, parties, and work out almost every night. I told him if it ever got addicting that I'd throw our computers out. So, only when there is nothing else going on in our lives and all other responsibilities are taken care of do we play Wow. But, some folks DO get addicted. One of my friends cancelled on coming to our wedding last year for a stupid "Quest with friends" she couldn't cancel. I was pretty upset over that. When the game becomes more important than life, it needs to go. Have you thought about cancelling his membership? or getting rid of his computer? or worse.. saying YOU want to play and then pretending to get addicted and flirt with the men and then that will scare the crap out of him and he will stop.. One of my friends did that and now her hubby barely plays. he got all jealous and hated that she was playing too. lol. I do enjoy playing with my husband because we can do it together and there's a lot of teamwork involved. Again, we don't have kids though, and I know that makes a big difference as well.

Mine is Ellise , level 49 Shadow priest.. Chromaggus server. lol. And I love battlegrounds. I'm geared up with purples and blues and trying to get my new boots right now. It is fun for sure. I don't think I'll transfer my addiction to alcohol as I'm really not a big drinker.. actually the last time I've been drunk was at my bachelorette party over a year ago.. but last night I was definitely tipsy.. If it becomes a habit I'll make sure to check myself and not go too far.. WOW = World of Warcraft. It's mostly a guy game, but it's fun. It does cost a monthly fee of like 15 bucks and it helps to have somebody show you what to do. I teased about the 16 year olds.. actually theres a lot of older men on there too.. my husband being one of them and most of his friends play too. If you're a chick in the game you get hit on A LOT actually. lol Somebody mentioned the calories in a glass of this wine and I looked it up and its only 40 calories and nothing else.. no carbs or anything..

Crack is whack! crack is whack! LOL.. yeah, we do know more about this stuff than some of those medical people.

I like your post! and, this probably happens a lot, heck, it could even happen to me... as others have said, you don't have to give up fun stuff like this, just keep it to an every now and again thing. For instance, every now and again I drink HALF a chocolate shake from Chic-Fil-A. It's like 380 calories and I make sure to do it on a day that I'm working out and I allow this once every two weeks... or I'll have a skinny cow fudgecicle which I think is like 50-100 calories.. sometimes when we deny ourselves these fun things, it makes us crave them even more. But, I am glad all the Dairy Queens around me shut down. HA HA. Cuz I know I'd be there getting some blizzards.