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Im about in the same boat. I was banded 8/2010 and lost 50lbs after that. I have been at a standstill ever since then. I need to lose another 50lbs to reach my goal. I'm at good restriction I think so I really cannot each much. My surgeon is very conservative with fills so I'm about 5.5 in a 10cc band. I don't think I need another fill because if I eat too big a bite or too much I will be stuck. I just had a stuck episode and had to bring that back up (which I loathe) This band was my last resort. I never thought I would have to do another diet other than living my lapband lifestyle but I have to admit here that I have even tried to do homeopathic HCG to quick start my losses again and I resent having to do that. I hope more people post here with some suggestions or maybe the OP @Shannon will come back and share what her Dr. told her. I need all the help I can get.

I haven,t been on the site for a while now but I came in looking for a little advice about how I'm feeling and the post from readytochangein2011 is exactly how I feel. I've been banded since 8/2010. My Surgeon is very conservative with his fills. I'm just now at 5.8cc in my band after over a year and a half. He does make up sit in the waiting room after a fill and drink a glass of Water. I was fine after this last fill with the water in the office but now I notice that I can't eat much at all. I feel I'm in the green sone. I have no reflux or heartburn and I'm not as careful with my bites and chewing thoroughly as I should e.g I had 1 chicken wing yesterday. I don't eat the tip and I don't eat chicken skin but that small piece of wing had me stuck. I had a small bite of a burger today (no bun) and was stuck. I'm wondering is that a problem? I feel fine other than that and I know I have to be more careful with my eating . Just wondering about others experiences.

I think alcohol and not exercising as I should have contributed greatly to my slow losses. I have found that alcohol stalls my weight loss. If I drink on the weekend I can count on not having a loss that week no matter how well I have eaten. Since I recently stopped the drinks on the weekend my loss has picked up a bit. So try to monitor yourself and see how your body responds to the alcohol. I have found that in all the many different threads about this topic different people do different things and some can drink regularly and have no problem whereas others like myself just can't mix alcohol and dieting, sadly. I can go for a cool vodka and Crystal lite right now. I had to put it aside for now though I want to reach my goal at last.

Beautiful, if I could see stuff like that on my walk I'd be out every morning. I live in NY . Nothing but cars and buildings , people rushing to and from and folks out walking their dogs and cleaning their front yards. Great idea for a thread. Dee

I'm the same. I can see it very visibly but no matter how much I lose I know my tummy area will never be seen in public, ever.... so if it doesn't bother me I won't bother it.

I'm having the same problem. I have no energy at all. i would love to exercise as much as possible but I just have no energy at all, so I will be checking this thread for suggestions and I will ask my surgeons office when I go for my 2nd fill. Dee

Very encouraging post for a change. You are beautiful too. congrats!!

That's good. I'm glad you were not offended. I did read that you LOVE Mustard, continue to enjoy it. In the meantime this silliness has overtaken Jessica's thread so I'm out and won't be back. Sorry for the hijack Jessica. Dee

Wrenbird no need to be offended. We were only going by what you said in your first post where you clearly said that you don't measure your food because all you eat is a bowl of lettuce and some whole grain mustard and then later you eat a stick of celery or an Optifast shake. What you said there is clearly not enough food for most people and is clearly not a healthy way of eating for most but as you said your Dr. (:blushing:) has approved your way of eating so if you and he like it that's all that matters. Dee

You're very welcome Christina. Hope you feel better today. It will. Try to walk if you can I heard that helps a lot and take some Gas-X chewables if you can. Feel better today ladies. Dee

Ok, that's good when I had surgery I could only have clear liquids at first like broth , Water, clear lo cal drinks, sf Jello. Thankfully, I was not hungry at all so I just sipped my water and lived on CL and Diet Snapple. That's when I lost my most weight. After a couple of weeks the hunger started to kick back in. Don't worry about the eating just make sure you sip your water or drinks to keep yourself hydrated. In the next few days you may feel like a bite or two . Like my Hubby says "it is what it is!!" Enjoy your weekend and feel better. Dee

Wow, this was shocking to me and I have read your response but still that is a very sparse diet. I hope after your unfill you can have more Protein and variety. You won't last like this but on the other hand yeah, I use to eat like this too when I was 22 and desperate to lose. That's what bought me to being at this point in my life having to have WLS to control my weight. I wish you the very best Wren. Dee

No, you don't have to force anything down. That would go against the purpose of the band. Enjoy this time where you are comfortable with not eating much because that will be over soon . When you're able to start your mushies you can eat your Protein and drink your Protein shakes. Did your surgeon tell you to have protein shakes now? or should you just be having clear liquids anyway? Different surgeons different directions. In any case relax you'll be ok.

They mean well, but that's funny because that's how I can tell I'm losing or have lost some over night. I look at my fingers and if they're not puffy I know I've lost or haven't retained Water.

Right now you should be chillaxing, healing and taking it easy. You just had surgery give yourself time. You will probably be not hungry and not be able to take in much for a while. Your stomach is all swollen so you can't take in much anyway. Give yourself time. Keep some fresh Water near your bed and sip on that constantly to keep yourself hydrated. When I first came home from surgery I also was not hungry and I loved that feeling for a change and I basically just had water and Diet Snapple or Crystal light. You have time to worry about getting in your Protein and Vitamins and all that stuff. Relax!! Dee

I was coming in to say this ^^^. At 5'4" and 250 lbs you may not feel morbidly obese but you are. I am 5'2" and 250lbs and I didn't feel or look like a morbidly obese person meaning I was not round I was shapely and had a waist but just big hips and thighs and a gut and spent a fortune on clothes to hide my fat. However, I was morbidly obese and still am. Check with your insurance right away and proceed. Dee

WHAT!!!!! You should have said " I think you should have a vasectomy!! Wow, just wow!!

I made some shrimp scampi today. I was going to make it with some whole grain Pasta but I decided to put it over brown rice instead. I was only able to eat 2 shrimps with about 2 tbsps of brown rice before I started feeling it up in my throat. My favorite one pot meal is Perdue shortcut chicken breast strips ( I keep these in the freezer all the time) with some fat free cream of mushroom soup and a bag of frozen mixed veggies. I simmer that all down together... of course i season it with a little seasoned salt , garlic powder and black pepper. I serve it over brown rice and sometimes sprinkle a few of those crispy fried onions on the top of it. Yummy!!! Dee

No problem, I was so confused by this whole thing I had to seek help too. Failure is not an option for me and you neither. I just consider myself off to a slow start and I'm hoping in the next couple of months or so the losses will pick up. If I had not had my surgery I highly doubt I would have lost 26lbs. Even though I wish it was more . I worked so hard for this so I'm going to push myself into a grateful mode. Dee

There is a very inspirational lap bander on Youtube. I think she's from NJ but her Dr was Dr. Geiss (I think) and she has done a phenomenal job. She is one of my inspirations in my journey. Her name is Skymoon1982 check her out if you haven't already. Dee

I have a Vitamix which I had before I ever seriously considered surgery so I use that and i love it. Thought about buying a Magic Bullet but my surgeon said to stop drinking my Protein . They want me to eat my protein so I'm on that right now.

No , nothings wrong. We are the fortunate ones . I had no pain either after surgery. I credit that to a good surgeon. It takes most bandsters a while to get to the "sweet spot". I was banded 8/16 and I have had 1 fill. I am tight in the morning but towards the evening I can eat quite a bit. Sometimes I feel like I was never banded too. If I didn't clearly see my port I would wonder. Just follow your Dr's instructions and try to stick to plan as best you can. Hopefully we'll get there. Dee

Why do you feel the need to correct people's ignorance or try to change how they feel? I was just on another site that I frequent where a woman was asking about dating and being her word "a fat girl" . Someone came in and said if you're not happy where you are "just lose the weight, it's just that simple". I responded back but then again someone came in and backed her up. Weight and those that are overweight and obese are the next favorite group to ostracize , criticize and feel superior over and people that have these feelings will not change unless it affects their own lives. It's just like racism . Laws can change what people say and do in public but it can't change their hearts. I probably would have looked at them and caught their attention just to shake my head and walk away but to say anything to such ones is futile. Save your energy for yourself and the journey you're on . Manda87...you can show them better than you can tell them. You've already lost 71lbs which is enviable and anyone with half a brain would congratulate that keep on marching to your goal and see what doofus says then. Personally, I laugh at people that make comments about something that they don't know anything about. Pure ignorance!!!

Thanx, I had no pain at all. I asked for a pain killer the night of my surgery hoping it would put me to sleep but not for pain. I didn't go to sleep but I was ok staying awake dreaming of how I will look now that I'm banded. I had no pain then but I am struggling now to find a regimen so that I can start losing consistently and have the energy to exercise as I should. Herraven...there is a lap banded woman that has a vlog on youtube . I think her name is Butterflybegins. She is at goal and her port is about where mine is and it sticks out like a golf ball too but I think she's like me . If it doesn't bother her she's not bothering it. She is on there in a bikini but I will never be out like that so I'm OK. I'm too mature (code for old ) and my thighs are too big to do that. So, as long as I look good in my clothes I'm cool. Dee

Your port is probably placed in a different location than mine. Different Dr's use different placements. My port is kinda in the middle of my chest , I would say btwn my breasts more toward the lower right side. I can clearly see it under my skin . It doesn't bother me .