DesertRose

You're so right. Drinking while eating washes everything down so you eat more and you're hungry sooner. It's simple physics. When you don't wash the food down, the nerves tell the brain the pouch is distended and that cuts off hunger with a feeling of fullness. I found this list for gastric by-pass patients, but I am going to give it a try, with the exception of rule # 3, because I cannot chew/eat fast without the PB effect. IDEAL MEAL PROCESS (rules of the pouch): 1. The patient must time meals five hours apart or the patient will get too hungry in between. 2. The patient needs to eat finely cut meat and raw or slightly cooked veggies with each meal. 3. The patient must eat the entire meal in 5-15 minutes. A 30-45 minute meal will cause failure. 4. No liquids for 1 ½ hours to 2 hours after each meal. 5. After 1 ½ to 2 hours, begin sipping water and over the next three hours slowly increase water intake. 6. 3 hours after last meal, begin drinking LOTS of water/fluids. 7. 15 minutes before the next meal, drink as much as possible as fast as possible. This is called "water loading," IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN DRINKING OVER THE LAST FEW HOURS, THIS 'WATER LOADING' WILL NOT WORK. 8. You can water load at any time 2-3 hours before your next meal if you get hungry, which will cause a strong feeling of fullness.

Talk to your surgeon and tell him/her everything you've written in your post. Be honest with your Lap Band team, reach out for support. That's what they are here for and what they're paid to do. If you don't feel like posting, at least read the forum. Don't give up. As we age our metabolism slows way down and it's much harder to lose with each passing year. I used to be able to drop 10 lbs like THAT *snapping fingers*. Those were the good ol' days. Now, even with the band, it's very hard. I've even been diagnosed as metabolically resistant. However, I will not give up and will continue to eat right and exercise. Even if I takes me two years, I will do it and so will YOU! :thumbup:

You really don't have to tell your supervisor, manager, etc. anything if you have an HR department. All I did was go through the HR department and they did the rest. They approved my time off, so then I emailed my supervisor, who was new, and told her I'm taking a week of for a minor female surgery. When I got back she asked me what kind of surgery. Totally inappropriate question, but I stuck to my guns and said it was a female thing. I did not go into detail, I did not have to lie and I did not have to put up with any crass remarks. Always remember, your HR department is there to protect you from idiot management who would otherwise make your life miserable. If you work for a small company and don't have an HR department or compliance hotline or anything like that, you still have the law on your side. :thumbup:

Congratulations on your weight loss! Wow. This thread was a real eye opener for me. The one thing that I've had to be proud of, when it comes to my physical appearance, is that people have always told me how young I look. They even ask, "what's your secret?". I tell them, drink lots of Water, live a clean life, don't do drugs, don't smoke, etc. It never occured to me to tell them to GET FAT. I'm not even close to that 100 lb. mark but the first place I started losing was in my face. Before I knew it, I was seeing crow's feet that I never knew I had. But, I will take looking 'well seasoned' over MO anyday! :eek:

Many of us have gone through the same thing and have become very frustrated. Everyone is different. Some people will have great restriction with 1 or 2 fills, others have no restriction until they have 4 or 5 fills. As for me, things in my life got turned upside down lately with my job and financial situation. I was due for my 4th fill and the dr. called to cancel...I have not been able to get my appointment re-scheduled to this date. This really discouraged me and for the last couple of weeks I've completely stopped following the Lap Band rules. I have not been making proper food choices, I've been drinking to wash food down so I could eat more, and I have not exercised! Well, I'm paying for it now because not only did my weight loss come to a screeching halt, but I even gained a few lbs! My own fault completely! No one to blame here but myself. With that being said, I am determined to get back on the "band wagon" and start eating right and exercising. With or without a 4th fill, I must make the right choices. Hopefully, you will too. :sad_smile:

I have placed a call to my dr. waiting for a call back. Hopefully I can get in by tomorrow at the latest. In the meantime for my own peace of mind can anyone answer me this? Yesterday I did a LOT of heavy yard work. Lifting rocks, moving furniture. Had to move a large rug outside to clean it and lifted it while it was still wet (very heavy). Now I am experiencing a weird pain in the port area and some pain in my shoulders. Each time I eat...I get a really weird pain in my left shoulder. Could I have done some damage? Has anyone else done this? I'm pretty scared here.

SaraJane is right. Losing too fast is not a good idea and even if you did have the surgery...there is a big possibility your weight loss will be very slow...depending on how agressive your dr. is with your fills, and many other factors. I do agree with you about trying it on your own. Some things to consider: How many years have you been over weight? How many other diets have you tried and failed? If the answers to these two questions are 5 or more. The surgery might be a good idea. If the answers are 10 or more, the surgery is DEFINITELY a good idea.

Great ideas!!! Thank you for posting. Good, healthy choices to keep you from making the wrong choices and you save money too.

Real butter is much better than any imitation. And you know what they say about margarine...one molecule away from plastic. There are some good recipes online for healthier homemade mayo and just about any other condiment you like. At least you know what is REALLY in what you're eating when you make everything (time permitting) from scratch.

Taking the stairs instead of the elevator! Yeah!!

1. Water, water, water - stay well hydrated. Can't stress this enough. 2. Walk, walk, walk - need to get the blood pumping and strengthen your heart and lungs. Very important for a speedier recovery. 3. Welax, welax, welax (Elmer Fudd here) :eek: It's a very hectic and nerve wrecking time. When you're about to pull your hair out, take a deep breath, count to ten and just try to enjoy the ride. Though it will seem like an eternity, your surgery date will be here before you know it. Good luck!!

What I would give to hear that my thyroid is overactive. No change in mine since the band. I've never heard of that. Keep us posted on what you find out.

Are you being paid, by anti lap band people, to write this? LOL - just kidding - really! Look, you haven't even been banded for 3 months yet. I've gone through the same things, but what keeps me going is reading this forum and learning that many, many people have gone through the same thing. Slow weight loss AT FIRST. Trying to find adequate restriction. Learning what to eat and what not to eat. Learning to make good food choices. We are all either there or HAVE BEEN THERE. Thousands of people can't be wrong. Give it time and do what you know to be right as far as the lap band rules. If you're the rebellious type, don't think of them as rules, think of them as guidelines. I donno...just don't give up yet. You will look back some day and be happy for every penny you have spent. Hang in there.

Maybe this would be a good time to do something radical like very low carb for week or so. The low carbing will help keep the cravings at bay until you get another fill. Just a suggestion. :tt1:

If you like eggs, I have lots of simple and affordable recipes. One of my favorite, to have something on the go: Quiche Cups Heat oven to 350 Spray muffin pan with Pam or other cooking spray In a bowl mix 6 eggs - or egg whites 1 cup chopped spinach (you can substitute canned spinach- drained) 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1/4 cup chopped onion (or not) dash of sea salt a few sprinkles of black pepper Pour in muffin pan and bake until tops turn golden brown. That gives you two quiche cups a day for 3 days. I would not make much more than that ahead of time. Simple and cheap and yummy. You can change up the recipe any way you like. You can buy a large bag of all natural boneless chicken breasts at Kroger (here it is Fry's) for 8.99. Let the chicken thaw, then boil in a large pot with some oil and salt and pepper. Once the chicken is done, save and freeze the broth for Soups or whatever. Shred the chicken. Divide up into 5 equal parts. (please forgive my rambling- I type the way I think). Use one part for chicken salad. The other part for a chicken/broccoli/cheese casserole. Another part for chicken fajitas. The list goes on and on. I freeze what I don't use that day. My chicken is cooked ahead of time and I can get at least 5 meals out of one of these bags. I will stop here because I could go on forever...:tt1: