HeatherO

FalloutGirl, you are doing wonderful so far, especially by losing over the holiday season. Congratulations and good luck. :0)

LOL, I think we have a lot in common . . . I seem to be suffering from that affliction myself. :tongue2:

It is funny you should mention that. My usually step class has between 5-10 people . . . but in January every year I can hardly fit in the room. You need at least a little space in between the steps to get a good workout. It is actually kind of sad because I know almost all of these new faces are most likely gone in a couple of weeks.

I am tired of the bombardment as well. pizza Hut, Bally's, McDonald's, Lipozene, Burger King, Slimquick, Subway, Alli. and on and on, never ending, blah de blah blah. I am so happy we can now skip commercials completely through the use of technology. Thank goodness.

Amazingly enough, this has finally gone away. I think I just needed a few months to get used to changes in my personal padding, lol. :wink_smile:

Congestion makes sense . . . I am happy you figured it out.

It is not easy in that you still must make conscious choices about eating healthy and exercise is a necessity. It is definitely easier in that I am no longer a slave to the demons of hunger. I would have to say it is both. Jody_620 said it so well :0)

I am by no means rich but my family is comfortable. I can afford to eat healthy, have a gym membership, buy exercise equipment, etc. That still didnt keep me from getting obese. Money doesn't affect being hungry or compelled to eat. I don't like that Oprah is so against WLS . . . but I do sympathize with her struggle since it is the same as ours. I just wish she was a little more tolerant of other peoples choices on how to address the weight.

I have been extremely cold. At home my husband and son are warm and wearing tshirts, and I am just freezing. Even my fingers feel frigid. I am hoping that my internal thermostat will also adjust with time.

I agree that you should call your doctor immediately. This is not a normal reaction to banding.

Baby food is usable but I found it to be wayyy too bland for my tastes. I prefer doctoring up my own mushies.

I eat it banded but have to pick off the sticky rice. Other than that, I still love it (but can't haven't again for a while due to pregnancy). I will definitely be going out for sushi once the baby is here, lol.

By the way, my doctor doesn't forbid it. This is the first time I have heard that some doctors don't want us to eat it.

I can eat it with no problem even with tight restriction. It goes down easy. I only have it once every month or too. I, like Jachut, only eat it the old fashioned way. There is just something about movie popcorn that makes me not want to eat it. Perhaps it is all the chemicals I can imagine in that flourescent yellow colored fake buttery stuff that they drown it in.

I can eat them too with no problem regardless of restriction, they make a great snack. Not to mention, if you need something in a pinch and you are at a gas station . . . this is generally one of the very few reasonable options there.

Well at least you can get plenty of sleep (unless you are too uncomfortable). Some people would love the rest before life gets turned upside down . . . but for me I would have a tough time of it. I am so used to go, go, go I am not sure I would know what to do with myself in that situation. I hope you can curl up with some good movies/books and enjoy your time. If you do go a little early at 34 weeks, and after taking the shots, he should be good. You have made it well past the biggest danger zones. I can't believe it is already so close to the finish for you. I remember when you first mentioned your happy news :0). I know this is your first natural born baby. I just want to say that there is nothing quite so incredible as seeing your baby for the first time. It is quite shocking. Whatever you may think he looks like, it will still be one of the most exquisitely wonderful surprises of your life. I can't wait to see some Tigger pictures, I hope you will share them when the time comes :0).

Wow, I missed your original post but now I am happy to see that you are doing better. I remember when you were so tight that you were pbing constantly last year. I went through a similar situation where I had reflux and had to get an unfill. I now keep a loose band and just have to work a little harder to keep from gaining but it is working for me. Congratulations on doing so well over the holidays as well. It is a real exercise in will power and determination to make it through unscathed. I think now that your band is working better for you you will have a much better year being banded in 2009. I wish you the best of luck and my thoughts are with you.

I have a 14 year old sister who weighs about 160 and is 5'3. She carries a little extra weight but carries almost all of it in her belly. Someone came up to me and whispered "OMG I didn't know your sister was pregnant." I was scandalized and offended for both of us. I said "Of couse she isn't pregnant at 14, are you nuts?" I felt bad that people were thinking that about her at the tender age of 14 and felt bad that someone would feel comfortable to come up to me like that (although I would much rather someone ask me then to ask her and make her feel bad). I then took a second look at my sister and realized I didnt think she looked pregnant because I know her and her body type well (both of my sisters are definite apple shapes while I am a pear). I then again realized that had I been seeing her for the first time and didn't know any better, I would have thought she was pregnant too. It was because her butt, arms and legs are not heavy, she is not busty and she was wearing a shirt that really showed that she carries her weight in her mid-section.

I have been within a couple pounds of goal for several months now. It seems to be maintained pretty well . . . even with pregnancy. I have loosened up my diet with pregnancy but I don't seem to be gaining.

The only thing that helped me was a slight unfill. Changing eating habits and taking meds only lessoned it a little . . . but the unfill made it dissapear completely. If you are not getting sleep, it is definitely worth it.

Sliming is not as serious as pb'ing as far as long term effects. Your best bet is to look at when you are sliming, what you are eating when it occurs, how fast you are eating and how well you chew. If I eat anything too early in the morning withoug having a hot drink first, I will definitely slime. Also I found that with each additional fill I had to go back to evaluating how fast to eat and how well to chew. Go a little slower, chew a little more and see if that rectifies the situation. There is also something that some people suffer with called first bite syndrome. When you have tighter restriction, you may find that your first bite doesn't go down so well and you can't keep eating without having ill affect. What you can do is take a bite of something . . . wait for a full five minutes . . . and then eat your meal. That delay may be what your stomach needs to "prepare" for what is to come.

I guess I should have asked . . . what was it you ate when you had the first pb on Saturday? Do you think you could have eaten a little fast or not chewed enough?

I agree with krtork as far as evaluating what you ate, how well did you chew and how fast you chewed. If you don't have a fill yet and are only a month out, it could be that you just ate something you were not quite ready for . . . or ate fast or didn't chew enough on Saturday causing a pb. When I pb, I have to go on liquids for at least the rest of the day and sometimes the next day as well. I get some stomach swelling after a pb that can keep me feeling sore and more likely to pb again if I don't take it easy. Calling the doctor anytime you are uncomfortable is always a good thing. My suggestion on what to do in the mean time is to go back to liquids for a day or two, and then proceed back to your appropriate dietary stage carefully. This should help if you have any stomach swelling.

You don't have to have a large unfill, small unfills of .25 or even .10 cc's can have an impact. With that being said, I always give myself 1 full week to adjust to a fill as long as I can eat and get in plenty of liquids. The whole point of the band is to be able to eat solid foods and have them drift slowly through your pouch. That is why they say to eat Proteins first. Banding isn't intended to make you restricted to eating mushies that pass uncomfortably. When you stay too tight, you miss the biggest benefits of being banded.

There should be no negative affect whatsoever as long as you are getting adequate nutrution . . . yet this is true whether you are banded or not. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that you should wait between 12 to 24 months after banding to consider pregnancy by most doctors requests so that you can stabilize your weight and get used to the banding lifestyle. You should also make sure you are taking a good Multivitamin and a folic acid supplement (to help prevent neural tube defects) before attempting to get pregnant.