marypetunia

A comfortable place to sleep! Everyone is different, but I was very grateful for my recliner! (Laying down flat hurt....) I also relied on my heating pad for extra comfort. If you experience any constipation, be sure to have some Milk of Magnesia on hand... it's the one thing no one had warned me about, and I wish they had!!! Best of luck to you! It will be a wonderful new beginning! It's the best thing I've done for myself!

WELCOME! You will love this site, it is SO HELPFUL!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

Just checking in with you, glad to hear you don't have problems with the band, but will keep praying for healing in your lungs! God bless you today!

Just an update... I've been using the Nioxin shampoo, conditioner, scalp treatment, and supplements for just a week now.... and I definitely notice a positive difference in my scalp!! (Flaky, scaly patches seem to be lessening, hair doesn't feel so stringy and oily, feels cleaner...) I'm sure it may be awhile before I notice a difference in thinning, but I feel happy with what I'm doing today. Thank you all again for your wise advice!

Thank you Morsaille, I had looked for a January thread too. I was banded January 12, 2006 and I'm happy with my weight loss so far... 57 pounds off since banding, with 66 total gone. I've had two fills with a total of 2.5 restriciton at the present. (Seems a little bit tight, but it's working so I'm okay with it...) I keep track of everything I eat on fitday and usually range from 900-1,100 calories a day. Jennifer, I was upset about the thinning hair too and started a thread under "complications"... I got very good advice, so you could check it out. I've started using Nioxin shampoo, conditioner, scalp treatment, and supplements and my scalp and hair actually "feels" better to me after just a week. (At least I feel like I'm doing something postive istead of being upset at the loss.) Hello to all January bandsters!! I am SO GRATEFUL for everyone's input! This website has been a HUGE BLESSING to me! THANK YOU TO YOU ALL!

I use canned soups and I haven't given up the light cream in my coffee or stopped adding it to my mashed potato... I just am very careful to be honest and count it all in my journal on fitday.com. Substituting lower fat foods for the high fat ones works for many things... cheeses, sour cream, using Pam, etc. but skim milk in my coffee?..... no way!!! I think it's an individual thing... which foods are you willing and able to give up to reduce fat and calorie counts.... and which ones do you keep, but keep track of?

I use canned soups and I haven't given up the light cream in my coffee or stopped adding it to my mashed potato... I just am very careful to be honest with myself and count it all in my journal on fitday.com. Substituting lower fat foods for the high fat ones works for many things... cheeses, sour cream, using Pam, etc. but skim milk in my coffee?..... no way!!! I think it's an individual thing... which foods are you willing and able to give up..... and which ones do you keep, but keep track of?

I got them for about 6 weeks post-op, mainly when laying down flat... they were very painful and lasted a long time...hence I actually slept in the recliner for a month and a half! Now I get them occasionally, especially if I've I've done alot of exta physical work that day or take a longer walk than usual. GOod thing is, they DO subside.

Dear Dawn, Considered yourself and your family covered in prayer! He is with you today!

Yes, my nutritionist told me I could eat VERY soft veggies... cooked to mushy stage... so that's what I did. I used the boiled chicken mostly (with a variety of sauces for added moisture, sometimes very softly sauteed onions, peppers) and stayed away from high carbs (no Pasta, breads, rice, etc.) with the exception of mashed potato and sweet potato. I ate a lot of boiled yellow squash during that phase... and even now, I find it a good veggie to add to whatever portein I'm eating because it's very soft and not dry. (I usually keep a cooked bowl in the fridge.) I allowed myself olive oil to cook with, but sparingly. I hardly ever use butter any more, the spray butter works great for me. I usually cooked up a good batch of boiled chicken then portioned it out in the little Gladware containers that hold 1/2 cup. That way it was portioned and ready to go when I needed it. I'd do the same with my potato and veggies. Scrambled eggs or egg beaters with lite shredded cheese was usually Breakfast , and cottage cheese or potato with cheese was a staple as a snack or alternative lunch. (I'm not a yogurt eater) It didn't bother me to eat a lot of the same things to get through the "mushy stage"... the joy of eating "normal" food came quickly enough and the great weight loss during that phase was really encouraging! Some people experience gains before their fills, but it wasn't the case for me. I stuck to the rule, Protein first, then veggies.. I could easily eat up to 2 cups of food then, (usually 1/2 c protien, rest veggies...) but still lost weight because my food choices were healthy. I can't eat that amount now, (now maybe 1/2- 1 cup per meal) but the discipline of eating healthy foods has stayed with me so far! Don't worry, you're going to do GREAT! :cheer2:

Dear Photo Nut, CONGRATULATIONS to you!! You are always an inspiration! It's funny, but I had the same realization last week and it was astounding to me as well!!! I have only 38 pounds to go to 100 off! (We were banded very close in dates too!) I never would have thought these few months since banding would have made such a drastic difference! My most receent realization came when I had to walk part way up to the top of a mountain last weekend, and it hit me halfway up the climb... I don't have to stop to huff and puff every few feet... I am not dying and wishing I had never started the climb... I am very close to keeping up with all the "normal" people!!!! I was totally amazed at the change in my fitness!! WOW! It felt great!! (Inclines had always been a major killer for me!!) It feels great to be at this point in the journey and motivates me more every day. I am SO grateful for the band and for all the support I find here! :clap2:

FITDAY.COM has been a tremendous blessing to me too! It KEEPS ME HONEST with myself. It's also kept me from feeling "guilty" and defeated if I eat something that's not quite appropriate, thus spiraling dwon into a bad cycle of poor eating! I am just committed to recording it ALL every day and know each day is a clean slate! "His mercy is new every morning!"

I just couldn't fathom eating pureed food, and was really sick of just soup, so I asked what else I could do... My nutritionist suggested this and it worked like a charm for me! Boil chicken breast till it "falls off the bone" and is really soft.... (I'd boil for a couple hours with carrots and sliced onions....) Cut the chicken into very tiny pieces, and top with some of the broth or with fat free gravy or cream of chicken soup... Be sure you chew well, although it will be pretty "mushy". I used to eat this with a 1/4 c. mashed potato and a couple pieces of very soft cooked carrots... It's very mushy, gives you a good protein count, and tastes yummy! :hungry:

Dear Kim, GO FOR IT! I've been a "chubette" all my life... NEVER a normal size, not even as a child. I opted for the band and refused to consider the bypass and am SO GLAD! I struggled to lose just 9 pounds before surgery, but have lost 53 since Jan 12 when I had my band put in! That's 62 pounds gone for good! YAY! It IS working! I worried before surgery if this would work for me too, I was afraid, "What if I fail at this too?" Well, it hasn't, and I am thrilled! (So is my doctor, who admits he thought the bypass would be a better choice for me....) I had made my mind up to follow the a healthy eating regime right from the beginning, keeping track of everything I eat, and exercise regularly.... and it's actually been VERY easy! (The first two weeks of liquid probably were the hardest although I really wasn't at all "hungry"....) After years of dieting, I always said I was an expert at what I should eat, I just always ate way TOO MUCH it, even healthy food! (Never felt "full", was a bottomless pit...) Well, now I can't overeat, I no longer want to, and I am not hungry either!YAHOO!! :clap2: So, YES, it does work for those of us who have struggled all our lives!!!! God bless you in your upcoming "New Beginning"!!!

Dear Robyn, Just wanted you to know that I agree with you in prayer for all your requests... May you find peace as you hide in the cleft of the Rock, may His goodness and kindness overwhelm you as you seek His face...may He grant divine favor in all your circumstances. He is with you through it all! Blessings and hugs to you and all others posting today.

HI All, THANK YOU so much for your input! I'm going to order the supplements and extra treatment today! All your advice is SO appreciated! If this helps keep even a few extra hairs on my head I'll be happy!! Blessings to you all!

Please count me in!

Hi Elisabeth, No, not that I know of. I haven't had any blood tests since the surgery. It would be interesting to find out, though. I don't have an appointment for awhile, so maybe I'll email my doctor's office and find out if that's something they can do for me. Thank you for the advice, it really sounds like you know your stuff, are you in the medical field? Congratulations on your band and weight loss! You are doing fabulous!!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

Thank you Leener! (I LOVE your signature...) When you say Nioxin helps, do you mean you notice a difference in the thinning or does it make the hair feel thicker? Do you notice increased growth at all or is it mainly a good preventitive keeping more from falling out? I SOOOO appreciate your comments, it sounds like you have run the gamut for different treatments and I will take your wise advice and add the scalp treatment to my order. Are the supplements you mention also from the same maker? Thanks again for your help with all these "hairy" questions!:hippie: Mary Petunia

Dear Friends, I am 3 1/2 months post op , my weight loss is great, :clap2: but I'm beginning to notice a definite thinning trend in my hair line! AAAGGHHH! I'm really careful about eating adequate protien each day, take a Vitamin B supplement, and a multi vitamin every day... I realize drastic weight loss can cause some hair loss, (I had some hair loss after my last weight loss adventure ten years ago, the hair never came back, although all the weight did:faint: ) but is there any way to keep from losing more???:grouphug: I've read posts suggesting Nioxin, so I've ordered the shampoo and conditioner. BUT I'M CONFUSED... there are a lot of hair treatments out there to pick from! Some contain Minoxidil, which claims to actually grow hair.. others don't, like Nioxin. SO... I'd like to hear from anyone who has ACTUALLY USED any of these treatements... and what results have you noticed? Would you reccommend one over another? HELP! I don't want to end up like one of these "hair challenged" smiley faces....BALD!:help:

OK.. this is good therapy! You're all an inspiration! Janet, I like the way your creative mind thinks! LOL! Here's one more... If you no longer "covet your neighbor's plate of food"... you might be a bandster!

If the money you're saving on your grocery bill helps you buy a new Porsche... you might be a bandster! If the employees at the local donut shop or hamburger place are having lengthy discussions about you... wondering what's happened to their favorite regular customer..... you might be a bandster!

If your eyes are LITERALLY bigger than your stomach.... you're a bandster!!!

C- 291 (-51 total) Hit the 50 off FOR GOOD mark! YAY!!!:clap2:

Hi All! I'm 51, born and raised in Massachusetts, and married 28 years. Like so many of you I've battled being overweight ALL my life. I have NO "skinny" pictures in my family album. "Chubette" was a word I grew up with (pre "plus size" lingo for those yunguns out there...). I have lost over 100 pounds TWICE in my lifetime with the disappointing and devastating weight gain occuring within two years afterward. (Neither time did the 100 pound loss actually put me in the category of "thin".) There have been MANY MANY in-between weight losses ranging from 10-60 pounds at a time, NONE of them have obviously "stuck"! :faint: That is why I AM SO EXCITED :biggrin1: to DARE to BELIEVE that THIS time it will stay GONE FOREVER! I am not so ignorant to believe that it won't come with hard work and persistence, (As my history shows...) but what I needed most before banding was HOPE! Hope that THIS time will be different! That THIS time, even if not "thin" by the world's standards, I CAN BE less heavy and healthy (and STAY that way!) I read about the lap band on the internet years ago when I was in behavioral counseling for weight loss (which didn't work, obviously)... the hospital was just introducing the gastric bypass at the time which was offered to me, but I refused. I told them, SOME day, when this band comes to the U.S. (they had never heard of it) MAYBE I'll consider it! Well, SOME day has finally arrived for me and I feel wonderful, grateful, and HOPEFUL! A great BIG thank you to everyone who posts, I have "devoured" every wonderful word over the past couple months! This is a place of HOPE and I so appreciate you all! :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: