cruisemissile

many psych meds actually physically slow down your metabolism. (lithium, etc...) that's why many people gain weight.

in addition, many mellow you out so much that they kill your motivation. many cause apathy, sleepiness, etc...(many antidepressants).

even worse, many cause changes in appetite and sugar cravings.

I got to a point before I was banded where I no longer needed an antidepressant, and was on a steady minimal dose of mood stabilizer.

work closely with your drs.

most Protein powders have 25g/protein per scoop. so I use 2 scoops in 8 oz milk.

milk itself has 9g per 8oz.

so that gives me 59 g per shake,

i'm a guy, so I need more protein.

as much as I wanted to share the change in my life, because there is weight/appearance discrimination in this world, I have not told anyone at work.

luckily they had seen me start to lose weight and drink Protein Shakes pre-op, so they were used to my new habits.

i did'nt want to tell anyone at work because i didn't want them to take credit away from the hard work i've done.

they assume fat people are lazy, so they become fat, now they look for an easy/lazy way to get rid of the weight.

if the comments are bad enough, you can go to HR and it can be considered a "hostile environment" (people leering, making comments that make you uncomfortable, etc..)

i just had my first fill, 1cc this week, I got banded 4/2 and am down 21 lbs.

I am bummed because I have plateaud.

part of it I think because I needed a fill, was feeling more hungry.

the other part because I got "brave" in what I found out I could eat, and need to get back on track with better choices.

I have been exercising and graduated up to jogging.

unfortunately heavy exercise seems to really stimulate my hunger.

i don't live too far from lutz, i'm also looking for a closeby support group.

feel free to pm me if any questions or support.

i got banded 4/2.

hang in there, sounds like you've been through alot.

the sun always comes out after the rain and clouds.

I am lovin u right now...lol that is so right...

you don't think I have a shoe fetish or anything???!

I hope not, I just know hot women's shoes when I see em

I would call the Dr's office and let them know some need fills faster than others... U want to continue your success..... Congrats on the 16lb weight loss...:thumbup:

thanks for the kind words

oh yeah, here's a pic of the awesome heels that ladies should consider when they get sexy

everybody loves stripper shoes.

gotta get at least 6" stiletto heel, platform, open toe

wooo baby!

i got banded 4/2 and I've lost 16 lbs.

lately I've really felt more hungry and have transitioned to solid foods.

I really think I'm needing my first fill because i'm feeling more hungry.

my activity level is through the roof and so is my appetite.

did anyone else feel like this before your first fill?

i was doing so good, but lately it seems like lack of restriction may be surfacing.

my experience was very good. dr murr is very well known.

J, I live not to far from you. I know UCH has Lap Band seminars so I would hope they do have support groups. You are a step ahead of me since you've already been banded. I also been desperate to find other people from Tampa going through this process. I hope we are lucky enough to find others in the Tampa area in here.

good luck and keep in touch. maybe we can start our own group here in tampa

sounds like a good book.

there's also a program on tv by some psychologist, who helps people overcome and redirect "cravings", etc...

I agree, you have to deal with what's in your head and motivation, to help you reduce/change what goes in your mouth.

i live in FLA and I'm cold in the evening too.

i think you're right, may be fewer calories, etc...

if I look back at when I was heavier, I tended to be warm and sweat more frequently. so now i think my body is under a bit less pressure.

congrats on how smoothly things are going.

for me, I just took 1 pain pill the evening after my surgery, but otherwise, I took some advil here and there for a bit of soreness.

I took up walking about 40 minutes right away.

congrats and hope things keep going well for you.

basically, on a regular basis, no.

they just provide lots of empty calories, stimulate appetite, irrirate your stomach, and depress your mood and willpower.

once in a while a couple ounces is okay though.

except if it has carbonation, most doctors would tell you to still stay away from it.

good luck

very true. definitely have to change the way you eat.

lap band is only a tool to help.

most of it is up to you to change your eating habits, and exercise.

I didn't go through all this trouble to get surgery only to screw it up by keeping my sloppy habits.

I even bothered to visit a nutrionist, etc...

I wish you long term success!

its amazing how different each doctors orders are.

I didn't have a pre-op diet, mainly because I didn't have any fatty liver issues.

some people are on Clear Liquids post op for weeks, others like you get to get solid foods right away.

I'm supposed to be on full liquids for the first 30 days, but I've "cheated" here and there just out of sheer hunger.

i've not had any vomiting at all luckily.

congrats on your "nice' diet..! good luck.

sounds like you're going through alot.

stress really spikes your appetite. many times we eat to calm down.

its hard enough trying to deal with the hunger and new habits that come with a new band, without lots of other emotional stress and trauma.

if you want to , you can simply say that you had stomach surgery. people have surgeries of different types, for ulcers, intestinal, etc..., which affect how they eat afterwards.

you can always tell them you had surgery for ulcers and you have to watch what you eat. simple and most people would "buy" it.

I'm not telling anyone I have lap band, because there might be judgement.

they might make judgements like fat people are lazy, and they need a quick fix to lose weight (surgery).

i just got banded 4/2 and extremely few people know.

i definitely don't announce it

at work and other situations, I just tell people I'm on a diet by choice and trying to lose weight. if you sound confident they'll respect it.

it works well, because I was on a diet for a while before my surgery and was starting to lose weight, so people are already used to it.

as a matter of fact, others at work have started joining me at the gym and drinking Protein shakes for lunch!

good luck

i think BMI scale is not good.

it does not take into account muscle mass. many weight lifters are "overweight" and would be considered obese by bmi scale. silly.

a better measure would be muscle vs fat ratio, I think.

there can be a varying weight range for a height that's still healthy.

sorry to hear about your mum. my mother in law was given a hard time getting a kidney transplant because of her size. I can understand it, because its very invasive surgery and it makes it very risky. she was ordered to lose weight and didn't.

I am sure there is discrimination. people make assumptions that you're "weak", impulsive, stupid, which affects employment, etc..we should address this.

we also have an obesity epidemic in this country, which should also be addressed.

my health insurer would not cover gastric surgery for years, maintaining it was "elective" (unnecessary), until this year. that shows that their view was "its your choice to eat less and lose weight, we shouldn't have to pay for expensive surgery".

I have been fat nearly all my life and the one thing that annoys me most (apart from my size 20 (UK) clothes) are the people who discriminate against 'big' people.

I read in a newspaper article a while back that 'big' people are far less likely to get a job if they are up against a 'normal sized' person. ETC ETC....

I have seen first hand that when you are big you are treated differently in society, in my opinion we are sometimes seen as being intelectually slower than 'normal sized' people or sometimes we can be seen as being lazy etc..

I believe that society should not be allowed to discriminate against obese people just as you are not allowed to be racist or discrimitive against people's age, sex etc..

Over here in the UK there are some NHS hospitals that will not give some treatments to obese people because they are obese!! It is disgusting. My mother needed an urgent scan and she was in an NHS hospital for 1 week. The nurse asked my Mum how much she weighed, soon after this each day the scan was cancelled (without explanation) I believe it was because my mother was classed as obese. Also people who need hip operations etc.. are being turned down because they are classed as obese (this particular lady was 14 pounds overweight)

We need to stop this discrimination now, obesity is a illness that is affecting more and more of us, we should all live in harmony no matter what we are like on the outside.

Lauren xx

I am officially a bandster! I had my surgery yesterday and come home from the hospital today. I am feeling a little sore at the moment. I didn’t take any pain meds today for fear of them making me nauseous! I don’t have anti-nausea meds at home like they do in the hospital. It’s fine though. I think I am mange without the pain meds. I do, however, have to give myself a shot today. Haven’t done that yet so it could be interesting! It’s still hard to take deep breaths and I am using my little tool they gave me for that. (Can’t for the life of me remember it’s name now) I seem to be getting better at it so I guess that means things are looking up! I don’t have any gas pains but from reading everyone’s posts that seems to hit a lot on the 3rd day which will be tomorrow. I am hoping I won’t have to deal with that though!

congrats and welcome to the club...! each day will bring about more recovery and feeling, you'll feel better each day.

just keep your dr instructions close at hand at look at them everyday so that you remember what you have to be doing, drinking, etc...

we're here for support...

maybe you're just craving the sugar in the pepsi.