2muchfun

You know, I think I got all the same info but it was so spread out from different sources that it was difficult to keep it together. Something simple like this would have been a big help. I saved it to my desktop so is it OK with you to pass it on to someone else who might need some guidance in the event you are not watching the boards? tmf

Don't take this the wrong way but there are many bandsters who would trade places with you before surgery! Now I wouldn't cuz I can't walk in heels! tmf PS. I like your liquor cabinet. Is it a real antique?

Yesterday: Bfast= 1 scrambled egg, one slice of bacon I made twice this much and had to refrigerate the rest. Lunch= Some almonds, 3 slices of deli meat Snack= one apple in the morning and some beef Jerky in the afternoon. Dinner= Green Chili Stew/pork 6 ozs, over a burger. I'm surprised I ate the whole thing? Today Bfast= 1 fried egg, smothered in 4 ozs of green chili stew and pork. Snack= 1 pear Lunch= 2 slices deli meat, 4 shrimp w/cocktail sauce. Dinner=Leftover Filet Mignon 3 ozs(all I could eat), spinach and veggie salad w/olive oil, balsamic vinegerette, some crumbled feta cheese, Dessert= 1 Dove dark choc passion bit. tmf Ditto on no processed crap! I also spent an hour on my bike going 10 miles today and also did 20 minutes of strength conditioning this morning. Similar day yesterday.

The massive infusion of drugs is what set me back for a week. I was dopey and confused for a week. Stay tuned to this site and speak up when you have questions? Don't panic if you get real hungry in a few weeks, it's normal(unless you're one of the lucky ones). tmf

I'll bet you two are the only cheaters ever to post on this board

I was always a potato, chips, bread carb guy. I like sweets but I'm not missing them and I do give myself a couple of Dove dark chocolate pieces a week. They're only 40 calories. I miss french fries and a good sandwich occasionally. But, I never had the withdrawals. There's plenty of carbs(good ones) in carrots, nuts, Beans and many veggies so I get enough. I try to keep them all on the low side of the Glycemic Index scale. tmf

I've always been a fast eater. One of the hardest things for me to do is to slow down and eat small bites. Sometimes I eat small bites but I'm shoveling one more bite in before the first one has a chance to squeeze into my pouch. I start many meals this way and it only takes 3-4 bites for my pouch to remind me what a schmuck I am. I don't want to say I'm stuck, I'm just not able to eat anything for about 15 minutes while the food I've crammed down my face is being painfully squeezed through the band. I'll learn and it's all me I know. tmf

I bought a VIc Magary program. It's basically the Paleo diet and a how to video on exercising. But it's extreme exercising. I like it because it's only 10-15 minutes. I find it easier to for me to find 15 minutes in the morning and hit it real hard. It's really intense which has a lasting metabolic effect that carries on long after the workout. It's not for everyone and it was difficult for me to even start but I'm building endurance and muscle too. tmf

Looking forward to your future posts.

Isn't amazing how often these events happen? I've been dodging lunches with old friends and weekend BBQs for two months now. It's so funny how friends contact me and want to see how I'm doing over a lunch? Egad, no way. I'm doing great and don't need the setback. I think I'd be OK in a restaurant as I can order what I want where at a picnic or BBQ there are way too many temptations. I think many of us come by our propensity to make any friends or family gathering a food based fiesta, honestly. Many of our families did the same and some of our parents didn't pass on those genes that tell our bodies to stop eating. tmf

I've spoke here many times of how I lost 12 lbs the first month and then didn't lose any more weight until fill #4, 4 months after surgery. I'm on fill #6 now and I'm in the green zone. No reason to panic or be discouraged. it will come as soon as you feel some restriction. My favorite quote for newbies and folks in bandster hell: "It's just another diet till you get restriction" tmf

What kind of food is stuck? Overeating shouldn't cause you to be stuck. Not chewing adequately, large bites, dry chicken, beef are all foods that can get stuck for a while. tmf

I ate when I was in bandster hell. The band kept me from eating as much as before and I concentrated on healthy foods. I didn't gain or lose but I didn't suffer either. tmf

Be sure to check out support groups in your area while at the seminar. You can meet people in person who have gone through this and those that are just starting. tmf

Honk, LOL, I would go to target to pick up some veggies and stop off at the taco bell(inside the store) and eat 2 tacos before going home to make dinner. tmf

FYI-You can cheat the band and eat around it. It's not a foolproof tool. Ask your friends why they failed and ask them to be honest. It could be many reasons such as reflux, gerd, band too tight? We have many people who post here who have lost very little but I haven't seen any who have doubled? The only way that can happen is if she never got a fill or the fill didn't produce restriction and she continued with their bad eating habits. If you are an addictive person and feel you can't stop yourself from eating an entire cake in an evening, you should reconsider as you may not be ready for this? Don't mean to be cruel, just blunt. If you are not ready to be healthy, consider weight watchers? tmf

It's too much to expect as well as nearly impossible. You have to use 3500 calories more than you consume to lose 1 lb. If you burn 2000 calories a day and consume 1300 calories a day you have burned or used 700 more than you took in. 700 X 30 days= 21000 calories burned in a month. 21000/3500= 6 lbs lost. Of course if you consume fewer calories and exercise more those figures can change but not by much. The weight we all lost in the first 6 weeks is mostly Water retained by our bodies. It's still less weight and it's still a good thing. tmf

Byrd, if you have restriction you would know it so maybe not? If you still feel like you need a fill then you don't have enough restriction? For example, I know I don't need one as it's hard enough just eating an apple, tuna fish, deli turkey, salad, most any meat. tmf

Everyone is different. How much do you exercise? How hard do you exercise? What do you eat? Are you eating around your band? If you have no restriction the band isn't doing much for you I assume? tmf

Someone else once said, "It's just a diet until you have restriction". Then it's still somewhat of a diet. You just need to eat nutritious foods after restriction to lose weight. You may have to be aggressive with your doc if this fill did nothing. Call them and tell them you need another. 9 months is too long for only 30 lbs. tmf

I had my 6th fill 10 days ago. I started feeling restriction with fill 4 but 5 and 6 really did it for me. I'm only out about 6 months from surgery. Many of us have to tweak the band a little. In fact, I may have to untweak mine by .2 ccs if I can't find the foods that won't get stuck. tmf

I've never understood the 30 minutes before you eat rule? Why? The Water passes through immediately and should cause no problem right? Regarding the sipping during eating, I think we all have so much time to lose so much weight that experimenting with just sipping may help some people who get stuck easily. If it results in all food being passed through the stoma and no satiety I wouldn't continue the practice. I did read somewhere that the esophogus massages the food into our stomach and of course the pouch would be doing the same. There's some indications that these palpatations are condusive to sending a message to the brain that the stomach is satisfied. One would think that for those people we all know of who are "naturally" thin, they may need fewer palpatations to reach that satiety level than most bandsters. tmf

My recovery was easy and no problems. A fill is when the Dr injects your port with a saline solution to add Fluid to your band causing it to squeeze your stomach. Go to youtube.com and search for lapband fils. There is a gaggle of videos on fills, surgeries etc. tmf

Skyvic is right. I forgot about stretching the pouch. So often I get the first 3 bites stuck for a few minutes and I remember thinking this one time that I'd just take a big swig of Water to wash it down. Ouch and ewww! Pain and a mess on the floor before I could make it to the sink. Won't do that again. tmf

My doc says not to eat a big lunch before coming in and eat about 3-4 hours before my appt. So far, so good. tmf