abeaher

I am so down and frustrated with myself! I told myself that once I had the band I would control my drinking or give it up all together. I did good at first and now I am slipping. When I binge I probably put down 1000 calories in alcohol. Due to this my weightloss has halted and I have gained a pound. Any words of encouragment would be great!

This is a great idea! As so many of us with weight issues having compulsions that have led us to this point. I will admit that I do not struggle with the compulsion to overeat, although I have had my moments. My struggle is with alcohol, it is my escape from "feeling fat" or being embarrassed in social situations about how I look. I have tried to stop many times and am not successful. At AA and Celebrate recovery I got stuck on number 4, I think from just lack of knowledge on how to complete that step. Anyways, it is a terrible habit and my children are starting to reach an age where they are aware of it. I am concerned that this will be my greatest obstacle with the lap band as the eating is not really a big problem. Anyone else who struggles with alcohol? and is having the band or has the band? I would like to hear from you.

I have been experiencing a soar throat for over a week now. It is HORRIBLE in the morning and gets better through the day but never goes away. It is mainly on the left side of my throat and radiates up to my ear. It only hurts when I swallow. It feels like I have been vomitting for 2 days, ya know that burning irritation feeling. Anyway, I read that night time regurgitation can cause morning soar throat so I thought I would see if any of you that have been banded for a while had this.

I feel you, I really struggle on the weekends. I long for the feeling of fullness and satisfaction. I don;t feel hungry but I never feel full and I miss that. Weekends are hard for me too, I don;t have any advice, I just wanted to let you know you are not alone.

Second fill yesterday. Apparently my surgeons puts in 4 ccs at the time of surgery and doesn't tell you so when he put in 1.6 ccs and said "ok that is 6ccs" I said "WHAT!" I thought I only had <1. He said "its my little secret"...UHHH OK. I don;t feel betrayed or anything, but it caught me by surprise. So anyways at 6cc I can't eat anything......it's AWESOME!! I ate one bite of banana......FULL! So cool! I hope this lasts! I also am reading the book "The Skinny Bitch" It is harsh but brutally honest and has really changed the way I think about the food I put into my body. I definately reccomend it!! I am not going all vegan yet but I am trying to cut out all dairy and meat slowly. I was so down yesterday from only having lost 2 lbs in 8 weeks but I feel energized now that I have restriction! Best Wishes!

I appreciate your concern, but I am being VERY cautious about what I put in my body. I don;t eat ice cream, mac and cheese, pudding etc so the foods I eat (fruits and veg) are difficult to get down. It is just the way it is with the band. I could probably eat a bowl of mac and cheese or a peice of cake but I choose to not put that stuff in my body so if the choice is between being able to only eat a tbsp of fruit or veg at a time or a bowl of ice cream.....I'll take the one tbsp of fruit and veg. THAT to me is healthy. I know my body needs nurishment and I have seen all to often the band fail because people can't tolerate not being able to eat so they unfill thinking they NEED to be able to eat more. Not so in my opinion, there is a HUGE misconception in our society that we NEED to eat a ton of food to be healthy for example, the milk ad that recommends 24 oz of milk daily for weightloss???? that is rediculous, eat a few extra servings of broccoli instead. I just think that the publics opinion of "healthy" is very misconstrude and influenced by the media who only want you to buy their product. Just my rant but again I appreciate your conern.

ok no bites on my trivia so I'll tell you. Her name is Stacy Fergusen A.K.A "Fergie" from the Black-Eyed Peas. Jennifer Love Hewitt was also a cast member. Go Wheetin!! YOu remember the theme song! Are you walking around humming it now like I am.....AHHHHH.....make it go away.LOL

If you were an 80's kid you probably remember "Kids Incorporated". It was sort of a knock off of the Mickey Mouse Club. Here's the trivia: One member of Kids Inc. is now a famous solo artist. She started out as a member of a well known pop/rock band and then branched off to do her own thing. Here first name was Stacy. Who is she? The Unofficial Kids Incorporated Show Music/Video Page! Here she is, if you can't access youtube just download it.

I am about 8 weeks post op and have about .75 ccs in my 10cc band, I have lost about 18lbs all together and have been stuck at 212.5 for about a week and a half. I go for a second fill in about a week. In regards to you saying that you have had the willpower to eat right and change thus far and hope that you will continue to have willpower after the newness wears off. I am loosing steam and my willpower is fading. I do eat less than before and I have always been aware of the right type of food so I try to make the best choices possible but it is starting to get hard and I am frustrated that I have not lost any more weight. I need to kick the exercising into gear and count my calories but at this point I feel like I am back to the old "start a diet, do well for 4-6 weeks, loose motivation, back to old habits" cycle. I can eat anything and quite a bit of it to full me up. We are also struggling a bit financially right now so my grocery budget is has room for milk, bread and diapers and thats about it so I am eating whatever I can scrape together to make for the family. Ugggggh, I need something to pick me up. Anyways, I just wanted to comment on your concern with the motivation dying out bc I definately have experienced that. Best Wishes.

Ant form of potatoe, even pot salad......seems like a mushy but for some reason it gets stuck. No problems with rice or pasta....weird.

Ok my doc says no caffeine. I thought I could do it but three weeks post op and I finding this very difficult. Most mornings I am ok but occasionally I would fall asleep driving without my cup of coffee. Doc says it dilates my espohagus, any suggestions or thoughts on this. I certainly don't want it to lead to pouch stretching!

I am newly banded. I have had one fill and have about .75 ccs in a 10 cc band. That is good to know, I am hoping the more fills and restriction I have will help with my choices.

Speaking from experience. (I was 10 and bigger than my classmates when I started weight watchers, as well) I think what I can tell you from my outcome is that I wish my mother would have recognized that my problem was not eating it was what made me want to eat. If my mother had made it known to me and explained to me what my problem was and told me she understood instead of showing disappointment when I messed up and ate a cookie I probably would not have suffered the anxiety of the failure of every diet since. I developed a complex and actually began to hide food and eat in private out of shame. Confront the problem, make her aware of it, don;t sugar coat it. She is old enough to understand and she will heal faster the sooner she understands her illness. I do believe that emotional eating is a mental illness. She is overweight for a reason and it is deeper than weightwatchers can help her with. Good luck, I am sure as a mother this is difficult.

Thanks Westcoastfatguy. I appreciate your post, I have thought about therapy but was unsure what type of therapist I needed, they are all so different. I am not into AA, I have tried it 4 times over the last 3 years and it always fails me. I am not the type of person who can sit in a smoke filled room and listen to other people who seem to only want to hear themselves talk. I have my own problems I son;t need to hear other peoples'. Not trying to be selfish or incensitive but AA is just not for me, I don;t want to lean on other sick people I want to overcome my illness and take control of my thoughts. I AM strong enough to overcome this I just have not found the right tools yet, but I will take your suggestions. I have even tried CR through my church and it is better as far as positive fellowship and not as much the "Poor poor me" type stuff but still not effective for me. THANKS!!

Mine like subway. I have a little one, a picky one and a bottomless pit one. There is something for each there (ex:yogurt, baked chips, raisens, apples etc). Plus they can do a cheese sandwich and melt the cheese which is for the picky one. We still do McD ONCE in a while and I have salad but I feel guilty about feeding it to my kids. PS sometimes we take it to the park and eat on the way home, that way they can run off some calories and tire out before bed, it helps me get movin around too after sitting at a desk all day.

I'm stuck between 210 and 212...uuggghh. I need a second fill, it is quite a struggle to stay at 1000 calories a day. I can't wait until summer so I can get in more exercise (i'm a teacher). I can eat anything so I am just trying to focus on making healthy choices. Good to see everyones progress!! I keep telling myself that it has only been 6 weeks and I have lost about 14 lbs since surgery day, not too shabby I guess. It just can't come off fast enough, ya know!

Good luck to you, I'm excited for you!! I was banded 6 weeks ago by Dr. Turnquest, I live in The Woodlands.

Sorry, I usually am not one to post stuff like this but I want to know if anyone has experienced this. Let me say a few things first: 1. I have had my tubes tied for a year. 2. I know that surgery can screw up your cycle. 3. I know that rapid weight loss/change in diet and metabolism can screw up your cycle. So here's my story. Banded 2-22-08, had a period like 3 days after surgery, I think a few days early but not sure, I dont track my cycle. I have since not had a period. By my calculations I am about a week late. I normally have 28 to 30 day cycles. My hubby brought this to my attentiion last night. He claims that he thought I was about to start last week, apparently he claims he can "tell".....ok, guess he knows my body better than I do. Anyway I cramped for like 15 min last week and nothing ever happened. DH says I am not acting like I will start anymore....again....ooook....lol. I am aware that I have an increased chance of an ectopic but I don;t think I feel prego. I know that women who have weird or absent cycles will claim to feel like they will start and never do, but this is all new to me. I have ALWAYS been regular unless I was prego. Question: How many of you have experienced a messed up cycle due to surgery and/or weight loss?

I am posting here bc I did not get a response in another area and us 20 somethings are generally pretty aware of our cycles given we are of reproductive age. Did your surgery postpone/screw up your period your period? I had a period on schedule three days post-op and nothing since. I am about a week late. I have my tubes tied and I know the prego possibility is rare but it is still in the back of my mind.

I have a 30 lb 15 month old boy and 2 other kids that are too big to pick up, but I was lifting the baby in and out of bed and the tub less than 1 week out. I had NO other options, but I dont think I would suggest it.

Mixed with spaghetti sauce and some parmesan cheese, it tastes like lasagna. The cottage cheese gets melty and resembles riccotta (sp?) Super yummy, don;t even miss the pasta. PS I add ground meat to my spaghetti sauce.

Joaquin, Are you usually pretty regular?

EVERYBODY CALLS ME: Amber MY PRIMARY RELATIONSHIPS INCLUDE: My husband of 5 years, my sons James 8, Keith 3, Carson 2 NON-HUMAN FAMILY CONSISTS OF: 2 Daschunds, Jack and Sue. We recently lost our daschund "Cash" named after Johnny Cash (husband's a big fan) so in his honor we named our newest "Sue" as in "A Boy Named Sue", yes he is male...obvious I am a Texan yet:tongue: oh and a calico named Emmy Lou (found her at a bar near the dumpster.....wow...that sounds bad... I am really not that big of a hillbilly!! I LIVE IN: Magnolia, Texas (Northwest of Houston) OCCUPATION(S): RN, high school teaher currently teaching health science technology. Miss nursing but these hours are much better for mommyhood. I'll go back to nursing one day. AVOCATION(S): Organizing, home projects, puzzles, River trips, camping and fishing (I think God knew I was not a girly mom). FAVORITE EXERCISE: Anything but the treadmill..LOL. Love classes (any kind), yard work, walking. I COLLECT: HMMMM, nothing I don't believe in clutter, cleanliness, simplicity and organization is good for the soul. My motto: If you can't take it with you when you go, then you can live without it.

forgot to mention, these also keep my mind off food and prevent me fron eating because I am bored.

When I get bored with the exercise routine I try doing other nontraditional types of exercise, for example: 1. Painting a room (you would be surprised how much stepping up/down and squatting you do, not to mention the back and shoulders) 2. Rearranging furniture or cleaning out my closets 3. CLeaning out the garage (BIG chore!) 4. Yard work, trimming trees/shrubs, cleaning out flower bed, raking leaves (it's that time of year), planting flowers (I want to plant a veggie garden at some point). When I am in a rut and tired of the routine these activites help me feel good about myself, I guess it is enjoying the fruits of my labor so to speak, there is nothing like walking outside my door and stepping on a clean freshly swept porch with clean flowerbeds and trimmed bushes. I work full time and have three little kids so these type of chores dont get done often but I have started reserving them as my "change it up workout routine". This may not be your cup of tea, but I enjoy activites like these. Those 2 Brittish ladies on TV that go in and clean peoples houses say that "organization and cleanliness is good for the soul". I tried tennis and Basketball with my hubby. I totally suck and have not played these in YEARS, but that made the workout all the better. Hope helps! Sorry so long.