Bea1128

Hey Suzi! Sorry for your lack of support. I was afraid to tell my mom too. I knew she'd be freaked out and find every unsupportive thing to say to me. And of course I was right for a while, then she decided it was okay and she came to support my decision. She's tried to be supportive by asking how much I've lost and wanted to know about my progress; however, she keeps saying things like, "that's all you've lost so far?" and "you have to loose weight because you're not eating much right?". Which tells me she doesn't understand it at all. She's talked about wanting the band, but I think she'll have an unrealistic view of what it can do for her. She's asked me a time or two if I am "cheating". Now I feel like I have to defend myself and my eating to her all the time. It would have been too hard to keep something like this from her, but there are times when I wish she didn't know. Anyway, we're all here for you. Just keep plugging along and do what is right for you. Good luck! :behindsofa:

Leslie - Thanks for the tip on mydailyplate.com. I have been doing fitday for a couple of months, but checked out mydailyplate. It seemed like a hassle at first to move to another site, but I am very impressed with their food database. I'm still trying to figure everything out. I was getting irritated with fitday so your suggestion couldn't have come at a better time. Sorry to hear about your flipped port. I hope it all goes smoothly and you'll be ready to roll again in no time. Good luck. gdf - I had my 2nd fill a week ago. This time was kind of weird. At first, not a whole lot of restriction, but as the week has gone on I feel more restricted. I'm sure I'll loose it again in a few days, so I'm a happy camper for now. I go for #3 in three weeks. I'm hoping and praying that it will be the one that lasts longer than 7-10 days. I had gained a couple of pounds two weeks ago. I weigh in tomorrow and hope it's back off. Good luck!!

It's really hard to say as everyone is different. I just always feel really bloated and gassy for a couple of days. I feel pretty good when I leave, but as the day goes on I start to feel a little uncomfortable. It doesn't keep me from doing things, I just don't feel very well. I feel really bloated and kind of achy. Of course I can't do anything but liquids for that day and I usually can't resume mushies until the 3rd day. Most people say they don't have any trouble at all, so chances are you'll do just fine. I guess I'm just one of the weird ones! :biggrin:

I'm almost 9 weeks post-op and still have lost only 20 pounds. I've had to be real with myself and look at the things I'm doing to sabbotage myself. I was so excited to have been approved by my insurance to get my band. I really believed it was the start of a whole new life for me. I read all the literature, the books, the blogs and forums. I understood that it was just a "tool" to help me. I even signed my life away saying that I understood this was a tool and there were things I had to do in order to be successful. Enter the band. I did my pre-op diet at near perfection. My surgeon was please with the size of my liver and I lost 7 pounds during those two weeks. I followed the post-op instructions and did what I was supposed to do. Including my pre-op diet, I lost 21 pounds in about 6 weeks. That averages over 3 pounds a week. All is great. At some point during this journey I have told myself that I can eat whatever I want, just smaller portions. Technically true. The whole reason for having this surgery is so I don't have to do the "diets" anymore. I've done WW until I'm blue in the face. I could teach a class on the subject. I don't want to count points anymore and I don't want to DIET, damnit! This will ultimately be my downfall. While I believe that if I exercise and do the things bandsters have to do (chew, don't drink with meals, get in all of my protein, etc), the weight will come off and I can eat "whatever I want", in moderation. I'm realizing now that I can't eat these things everyday. The band didn't miraculously get rid of my issues with food. Trigger foods are still trigger foods and, if truth be known, those foods go down a lot easier than the good stuff. Somewhere along the way (I'm ashamed to say that it only took me 2 months), I stopped doing some of those things that we as bandsters have to do. I'm not chewing well enough, which now after my 2nd fill is causing an issue. I'm finding myself taking a drink or two with dinner because I'm eating too fast or not chewing well enough and feeling stuck. I'm eating just to eat, but I can do that because I have a band now, right? WRONG! What the hell? I know what I need to do, like I said I could teach a class. Who knows nutrition better than life long "dieters"? I have to start applying the so called rules that I swore to uphold. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's been so much work to get the band, to jump through the hoops, to have surgery, to go in for fills, not being able to eat certain things anymore. Why would I then sabbatoge myself, this gift I've been given? A lack of motivation? I read on this forum everyday how successful most are. I see their pictures, the joy on their faces when reaching goal. I have to want it, I have to really want it. And I do, I really do. It's time I acted like it. It's time I worked for it and helped myself along. No more excuses!!

I'm almost 9 weeks post-op and still have lost only 20 pounds. I've had to be real with myself and look at the things I'm doing to sabbotage myself. I was so excited to have been approved by my insurance to get my band. I really believed it was the start of a whole new life for me. I read all the literature, the books, the blogs and forums. I understood that it was just a "tool" to help me. I even signed my life away saying that I understood this was a tool and there were things I had to do in order to be successful. Enter the band. I did my pre-op diet at near perfection. My surgeon was please with the size of my liver and I lost 7 pounds during those two weeks. I followed the post-op instructions and did what I was supposed to do. Including my pre-op diet, I lost 21 pounds in about 6 weeks. That averages over 3 pounds a week. All is great. At some point during this journey I have told myself that I can eat whatever I want, just smaller portions. Technically true. The whole reason for having this surgery is so I don't have to do the "diets" anymore. I've done WW until I'm blue in the face. I could teach a class on the subject. I don't want to count points anymore and I don't want to DIET, damnit! This will ultimately be my downfall. While I believe that if I exercise and do the things bandsters have to do (chew, don't drink with meals, get in all of my protein, etc), the weight will come off and I can eat "whatever I want", in moderation. I'm realizing now that I can't eat these things everyday. The band didn't miraculously get rid of my issues with food. Trigger foods are still trigger foods and, if truth be known, those foods go down a lot easier than the good stuff. Somewhere along the way (I'm ashamed to say that it only took me 2 months), I stopped doing some of those things that we as bandsters have to do. I'm not chewing well enough, which now after my 2nd fill is causing an issue. I'm finding myself taking a drink or two with dinner because I'm eating too fast or not chewing well enough and feeling stuck. I'm eating just to eat, but I can do that because I have a band now, right? WRONG! What the hell? I know what I need to do, like I said I could teach a class. Who knows nutrition better than life long "dieters"? I have to start applying the so called rules that I swore to uphold. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's been so much work to get the band, to jump through the hoops, to have surgery, to go in for fills, not being able to eat certain things anymore. Why would I then sabbatoge myself, this gift I've been given? A lack of motivation? I read on this forum everyday how successful most are. I see their pictures, the joy on their faces when reaching goal. I have to want it, I have to really want it. And I do, I really do. It's time I acted like it. It's time I worked for it and helped myself along. No more excuses!!

Everyone is probably a little different in what they feel after a fill. I'm always pretty tight the first couple of days and it takes a while to get things like protein shakes down simply because they are filling. When I drink clear liquids, I gurgle the first few days. I also have a problem with a bloated, gassy feeling. I don't know why, but I don't feel good the first couple of days after. Most others tell me they go to work right after because they don't really feel anything. It doesn't keep me from doing what I need to do, I just don't feel well. I'm also always dizzy for a little while. I can get liquids down fine so I don't think it's an issue of being too tight. My doc says liquids the day of a fill and mushies the next, but I always have to do at least two days of mostly liquids if not three because I feel so bloated. Anyway, that's my experience.

I haven't tried pizza simply because I'm afraid of that extremely full feeling. It's miserable and I just don't even want to go there. I haven't tried steak yet, but I can eat hamburger all day long as long as it's juicy. The only things I've found that I absolutely can't eat are chicken and french fries, but tator tots go down just fine...go figure! I've just gotten my second fill so things may be different now. Since I haven't had much restriction I have been able to eat even bread. I ate a hot dog with bun the other day. No probs.

I'm a lot more burpy than before banding. A lot of times I don't even realize they are coming until they are already out. I'm terrified I'm going to be speaking in public into the microphone and do one of the "super sonic burps"! :cursing: I'm also a lot more gassy right after fills. We need to all buy stock in Gax-X!

I've never blogged before and thought I would start to record my journey. We'll see how long it lasts. :thumbup: I had my second fill today. Now I have a total of 4.7 cc in a 10 cc band. I feel better than I did last time. I got 3.3 cc last time and I felt really tight and uncomfortable for a couple of days. I'm being good and doing the liquid thing. I lost 4.5 pounds this month (actually lost 6, but had a small gain). The good news is that everything looks good, so I'm doing the right things. I know I should be happy with 20 pounds gone and I am, but I wish it would come off just a little faster. It's summer and I have to go swimsuit shopping soon. Another 10 pounds off would make it a little easier. I'm just feeling sorry for myself today. I should be telling myself to get my butt on the treadmill today since I haven't been on in a couple of days. No more pity party today. I'm doing great. I'm blessed to have been able to get the band and that I have a wonderful support system. I'll be taking my measurements later today and taking another "after" pic. I do that every time I get a fill. I need to set another short term goal to get me going. I'll decide on that today as well.

I've never blogged before and thought I would start to record my journey. We'll see how long it lasts. :crying: I had my second fill today. Now I have a total of 4.7 cc in a 10 cc band. I feel better than I did last time. I got 3.3 cc last time and I felt really tight and uncomfortable for a couple of days. I'm being good and doing the liquid thing. I lost 4.5 pounds this month (actually lost 6, but had a small gain). The good news is that everything looks good, so I'm doing the right things. I know I should be happy with 20 pounds gone and I am, but I wish it would come off just a little faster. It's summer and I have to go swimsuit shopping soon. Another 10 pounds off would make it a little easier. I'm just feeling sorry for myself today. I should be telling myself to get my butt on the treadmill today since I haven't been on in a couple of days. No more pity party today. I'm doing great. I'm blessed to have been able to get the band and that I have a wonderful support system. I'll be taking my measurements later today and taking another "after" pic. I do that every time I get a fill. I need to set another short term goal to get me going. I'll decide on that today as well.

Hi Veg! I'm not a whole hearted vegetarian, but have been forced to take on some of the practices. I have a kidney disorder and it's better for me to limit my intake of animal Proteins. Now that I'm banded, I've found that chicken does not agree with me and I really don't want to eat nothing but red meat, so I'm getting myself back on track with a more "vegetarian" diet. I've bought probably 10 books over the last year. I've tried a bunch of products that I was not familiar with. Some were great, some not so great. My favorite find was Melissa's veggie chorizo. I find in the produce isle where you would find tofu. It's so delicious. I put it in everything from Soups to Beans to eggs. It also has a great texture. I'm also a fan of Gardenburger Portabella burgers and veggie crumbles (all in the frozen food section). My two favorite books are the "Clean Eating" books by Tosca Reno. She's not a vegetarian, but she makes some really great veggie recipes and she does a lot with tofu. Most of the books I bought have some really inventive ways to get in tofu. I love soybeans and eat them all the time. I also enjoy soy milk. My kids also like it. I sneak soy in where ever I can and my family doesn't even know. Bottom line, I will never be a hard core vegetarian, but I find I feel better limiting my animal Protein. If you want some of the titles I've already bought, just let me know. I also pick up some of the vegetarian magazines when I'm in the bookstore. They always have interesting articles and recipes. Good luck and share any interesting recipes and products you might find.

Why am I fat? Wow, great thread. I, like some others, didn't have a very good childhood. My mom wasn't around a lot when I was little and to compensate, I ate. When she was around she would harp on everything I ate, saying stuff like "don't you know bread makes you fat?". I know in her mind that she was trying to keep me from being overweight, but it just made me feel bad and I started sneaking food. We lived with my great-grandmother and one time she had made two pumpkin pies. When they were cooling, I took a fork and ate the center out of both pies! I got chased around the house with a switch for that one! Another time when I was in the 4th grade, one Friday my mom bought like a month's worth of groceries. She and my stepdad went out of town for the weekend. By the time she got back on Sunday, I had eaten pretty much everything she had just bought. I even threw up, but that didn't stop me. I got into so much trouble for that. As a child and teen, I never learned to eat correctly. In high school, when I wanted to loose weight, I would starve myself. I was athletic and I would exercise like crazy. In the summer, I would gain about 30-40 pounds and then have to loose it all over again when practice started. I've yo-yo'd my entire life. After high school, I got married and stopped exercising. That's when I really started packing on the pounds. I've gained and lost the same 80 pounds numerous times. I truly believe that mine is an addiction no different from an alcoholic or a drug addict. I do it to medicate myself. Addiction runs wild in my family. My grandmother was an alcoholic as was two of her four children (not my mom, her addiction is food as well), my grandfather gambled, and several of my cousins have issues with alcohol and drugs. I thank God that my addiction was food and not drugs or alcohol. That could have so easily been the case. I still have issues but I'm working through them. I have been married to a great guy for 15 years. This has given me the stability that I so greatly craved as a child. My children, thank God, are growing up in a stable, loving home with both parents. When I have a bad day, the first thing I think of is food; however, after the band, I'm dealing with it in other ways. I don't think of food as often and I don't seem to want it like I did. I feel so blessed to have been given this great tool. My emotional scars are deep, but I'm working every day to overcome them. It will be something that I have to take one day at a time for the rest of my life.

Awww. Just thinking of all the things like this makes me so sad. It's such a deep emotional scar. It will be strange not to have to worry about these kinds of things again. I feel so blessed to have the band as a tool! When my oldest was really small she got stuck at the top of the playplace at McDonald's. She was screaming for me and I couldn't fit up there to get her. I had to ask one of the older kids to go up and get her. Poor little girl just wanted her mommy and I couldn't rescue her. Last summer my kids wanted me to go down a slide with them at the jump place, but there was a weight limit which I exceeded. I had to tell them no and they kept asking why, why, why? I didn't want to say it in front of everyone so I told them I just didn't want to. They were so disappointed. The looks on their little faces broke my heart. All the other moms were going. There are a million other times when my weight has held me back or embarrassed me. It's no wonder that I had gotten to the point that I didn't want to go anywhere or do anything! Not anymore!!!

I had my first fill 3 weeks out. I got 3 cc in a 10 cc band. I'm scheduled for one next week which will be 4 weeks after the first. I guess I'll continue on the four week cycle until I hit my sweet spot or the "green zone", as he calls it. My doc is an aggressive filler though. I'm very ready for #2. Good luck.

My surgeon was Dr. Adam Smith in Fort Worth. I had my surgery at a True Results clinic in Hurst. The nurses were great and so was the anesthesiologist. All in all, it was a good experience.

Congrats BBK! You look awesome. I can't wait to get to that point!

Hey, I'm glad you said something. I had forgotten all about them. I have miles 1-3, but they must still be in a box somewhere. We moved a while back and I haven't seen them. I used to do them all the time. I agree with what someone else said, she gets on my nerves with all of her talking and laughing. I actually turn the volume down. I might dig them out and try doing it with my ipod. :w00t:

Hey Mindy! I'm in Texas too, Fort Worth. I started out at around 250 as well. I've lost 21 pounds so far. I'm due to have my 2nd fill next Wednesday, thank goodness. I don't have much restriction at all right now. I gained two pounds this past week, but it was because I ate bad over the holiday weekend. I'm back on track and hope to drop that two pounds again. I know what I need to do, I just don't always do it. :thumbup: I would love to have a buddy that understands what I'm going through and can offer some advice and support. You have done so great! Wow! 100 pounds off in a year. Congrats! It must feel so great. I can't wait to get my first 50 off. It will make me feel so much better and I haven't been under 200 in years! Keep up the good work. I hope to hear from you soon! BTW - My name is Brook

It's perfectly normal to have anxiety about this. It's a huge adjustment. For all of those people who say this is the easy way out should walk a mile in our shoes. Just know that there have been hundreds who have gone before you and are doing great. I applaud your willingness to do your research and make sure it is right for you. Good luck! You'll do great. Like you said, you've had triplets, this is a piece of cake compared to that! Right? :thumbup:

I thought about lap band for a year as well, doing research, soul searching etc. I have two children although not as young as yours, mine are 8 and 4. I'll try to answer your questions as best I can. As for the question about regret, the only regret I have is that I didn't do it sooner. I would go through it all again and again and again. Even at my most miserable moment, I never once thought I wish I hadn't done this. The pain and lifestyle change are insignificant compared to the benefits, in my opinion. I've lost 21 pounds, I had surgery 6 weeks ago. Most of your questions are different from person to person. I can tell you that I didn't have much surgical pain. The pain I had came from the gas they bloat your abdomen with. I had that for almost 10 days. Although, that didn't keep me from going on with my life after about 4 days. It got better every day. My port site was the most sore incision, but that only lasted maybe a week. I started walking right away even though I was miserable from the gas pain. I had my surgery out-patient and was home in about 4 hours, but that varies from surgeon to surgeon. I've had one fill and will have another next week. As you read through the posts, some people have a lot of pain and are down for a couple of weeks and still others are back to work after only a few days off. You can take all of these with a grain of salt because it may be a completely different experience for you. You won't know until you get it done. And because of this, my advice to you would be to make sure you have plenty of good help in case you are down longer than expected. You babies, I'm sure, demand a lot of your attention. You'll just want to make sure you are able to get the rest you need to recover fully. Good luck to you and keep us posted on your decision.

Thanks Froggi!

Hey guys! I'm in FTW. I'm not sure I would be ready to run a marathon in December, but I would like to train like I am. I used to run all the time and I miss it. I've been doing my treadmill a few times a week, but I really enjoy being outside and besides I have to work harder because I can't just stop, I have to come home. I'd like to get the book as a training guide. Can you give me the particulars? Thanks and good luck! Keep us posted on your progress.

I started a new social group "Bandster Gardeners", but now I can't find it. I'm not sure what happened. Should I start over? Thanks.

Indio- I think this is a great idea. I started out the same way you did, 250 and only 5'4". I've lost 21 pounds (well actually 19 because I gained two back this past week). I am scheduled for my 2nd fill next week. I have no restriction right now and am in bandster hell I guess. I'm trying to "white knuckle" it until next week, but it's hard. After the holiday weekend I returned to some old bad habits, mostly carbs. Any help or suggestions you could offer would be appreciated. Thanks!

Wow! Thanks for sharing the website. I'm going to give this a try. I gained two pounds this last week and I'm out of control. I'm hoping this will help me get back on track. I have my second fill next week. I guess this is what everyone calls bandster hell! Thanks again!