2muchfun

So, why haven't you gone in for a fill? Seems like that's what you need? I took 5.5 months to lose my first 30. tmf

You really should not be eating solid foods. If you get stuck, you could ruin your surgery. What did your doctor say to eat? Most of us are on liquids for a week or two and then soft or mushy foods for another 2 weeks. It's not a matter of keeping food down. It's the fact that you haven't learned to eat like a bandster yet and if you get food stuck and you throw up. Thowing up causes your stomach to go into convulsions and your band is sutured into the lining of your stomach. The sutures could tear away and then you would have to have surgery again. I know you're hungry but this is a time to obey the rules. Drink more shakes or if you have to, try some egg drop soup. It's very satisfying. And, call your surgeon or nutritionist. tmf

Just below you is a post from someone who is 3 weeks post op and she struggles to eat 500 calories a day. She's never hungry. You sound so much like me and many others who have posted here. I was starving. Sometimes the surgery can cause a lot of inflammation around the band area. This makes it difficult for many to eat. I think I had a good surgeon as I never experienced any swelling and wanted to eat from day 3 on. Yes it's normal and yes you must obey the rules. I've seen posts from people who didn't follow the rules and getting stuck this early could be disasterous. Drink your protein, drink your broth, heat up some Lipton noodle soup and only sip the broth. Nibble on sugar free popsicles and crystal light. Welcome aboard. tmf

Never happened for me. I was starving 3 weeks out. I could eat all I wanted but fortunately the band reigned me in. tmf

Your lapband journey will be filled with peaks and valleys. It's not a steady consistent stairway to skinny heaven. There will be plateaus, setbacks and many victories. Here's a quote I read a few months ago. "In my case, the most fearful thing I had to do in order to succeed with my band wasn't switching to skim milk, surviving a liquid diet, or giving up bread. The most fearful thing was giving up my emotional attachment to food. In the nearly 5 years since I was banded, I've made a lot of progress with that, but the attachment is still there. It forms one of the innermost layers of my turtle shell. Working on that layer will probably be a lifetime job for me. At times I'm not even sure I truly want to get rid of it altogether. At times I'm afraid that if I shed my shell completely, I won't be able to survive. On the other hand, I seem to be doing fine without that thick old b***h layer. So I'm going to pay attention to my dreams rather than my fears and pray for a miracle. And why not? It can't hurt to try!" Pay attention to your dreams, ignore your fears. You're wasting precious energy fretting over milk that has never spilled. tmf

Congrats to both of you. Why don't you fill out your profiles so we can help you when you come online? The pre op diet can be brutal so don't be strangers. tmf

ONEderland, here you come! tmf

Did Metz or his staff direct you to one of the support groups? There used to be one at St Joseph's and there's always one at Skyridge and Swedish. Swedish is always 2nd Monday of every month. Ask his staff if they recommend one of the support groups. You have some unique issues and it might be good to air them out and see if anyone in the group has had similar issues? These groups are very informal and they are very receptive to new and soon to be patients. Good luck and welcome to the board. tmf

So good to see you taking control of your future. Wise decision. tmf

I know you've already heard this, but you will need to take smaller bites and chew into a paste. Except donuts. Flour will concentrate into a plug so don't eat them for that reason and for all the other reasons. I know what you mean about eating dry foods. I struggle too, but if I take a very small bite(baby spoon size) and chew, they go down. Or, I add wing sauce to the chicken or salsa or some other low fat, low carb soupy sauce. tmf

You can always call your doctors office and request to move your visit up a week or two. All they can say is no. If you throw in some desperation you might get better results. And if your doctor allows you to contact him/her directly you might have more success. 7 weeks is a long time for some of us. Mine was supposed to be 6 weeks but I got my doctor to move it up one week. And I did get a fill. tmf

Most docs like to sneak up on restriction. It takes some time before you get the habit of taking very small bites, chewing till your tmj aches and doing it all very slowly. You may be different but most of us took months to get that habit conquered. And the battle goes on every day. I know, I was like you, I wanted to put the pedal to the metal and get this journey started. tmf

10 lbs is average so maybe you misunderstood him or were you reading between the lines? That's a rather odd response from a bariatric doc? tmf

48 hrs liquids, 24 mushies and then back to regular eating. BTW-Hey did you cut your hair, you look different, very nice but different tmf

First, this is going to be a long journey and you will have hills and valleys. It's not going to be a steady stairway to skinny heaven. And I mean looooonnnnggg journey. So never fret over a week or two setback. Carolina is right. You can no longer gulp your food or even liquids. Some of us can, but you sound like you still have a lot of inflammation around your band so slow down and take it easy. The clear sticky stuff you PB'd(productive burp) is your body's mechanism to aid stuck food through your esophogus. More on that when you start getting fills and get stuck. It's OK to spit it out. It's not OK to have PB with every meal but it will happen many times if you are normal. tmf

Most of us take in at least 64 ozs of fluids a day. That's 4 lbs of Water. It's very easy to retain 25% or more of that with meds, sodium and carb intake in just one day. Don't obsess over such small weight fluctuations over one week. Maybe over 2 months? tmf

I was hungry the very next day. I don't think there is a limit to clear liquids. Just try to keep the caloric count low and stay away from fruit juices or beverages with sugar. tmf

Are you drunk? You're not new? I've responded to some of your posts. You've been posting for over 2 months and an earlier topic looked like an add on Craigslist? tmf

It's not holding onto fat, it's holding onto water. Most of our weight loss the first 30 days is water/fluids. Foods, medications, menstrual cycles(not me ) all play a part in how much water we bandsters retain. The most fat any of us can lose in a week is around 2 lbs unless you run a marathon a few times a week? Average after the first 3 months is probabaly closer to 1 per week. It's very easy to add on 2-4 lbs of water in a single day depending on the foods we eat, sodium intake and exercise. So don't sweat not losing for 5 days. I went 3.5 months without losing but like another poster said, I spoke to my dietician and got my 3rd fill and I started losing weight again. tmf

Egg drop soup got me by. Not entirely liquid but try to keep it on a spoon.

Drink a Protein shake or broth. Just follow the Dr's orders. You will feel hunger until you get a fill that moves you closer to the green zone. We have a fellow forum member whose slogan is: Until there's restriction....It's just another diet. And I assume you're still on liquids? tmf

Yes I am. November 3rd. tmf

Well, I really wouldn't want to be a banister, but being a bandster is mighty fine! tmf

Had to post this. I've been at a plateau for about 5 weeks now. No fault of the band, it's me. I live in Colorado and it's harvest time here. Corn, zuchinni, green chili peppers, cantaloupe, green beens, fruit of all kinds and the list can go on and on. For me, this is worse than the Holidays. Only during the Holidays the temptations are truly bad foods for you. Now, it's fresh fruit and veggies. Can't help myself and eat more than I should. I'm not apologizing, I'm probably boasting a little Oh, I'm not gaining any weight, in fact, I think as soon as the harvest is over, I can drop 3-4 lbs in a few days. You know when you get to that point where if you were disciplined for a week you could break that plateau? That's where I am but I don't wanna right now! LOL... If you're like me, click the LIKE tab. Just curious how many of you out there love natural foods? tmf

Today is my 9 month bandiversary too. Down 47 with 33 to go. Yes, it sure slowed down didn't it? I've been at this same weight for 5 weeks now but I'm taking responsibility for the plateau. If I could be more disciplined in my food intake I think I could drop 3-4 lbs in a few days. It's harvest time and I love the fruit and vegetables that are available right now. I'm eating well and eating healthy but I'm eating a little too much. I may go back in for a small fill myself. Seems like everything goes down too easy right now. But, going to Mexico in 2 months and don't want to be too tight so I think I'll wait till after the trip or even January. Losing 2-3 lbs a month till then is acceptable to me at this point. tmf