Stitchy

Baby food? Yuk! Have you tasted that stuff? Bland. No flavor. I needed flavor for grownups. Get reaquainted with your blender. I loved blended/thinned soups. Very satifsying and yummy.

Barb That is just awesome! Congratulations. I'm hoping to be where you are at my one year bandiversary, too.

Another fill? Maybe. I would wait a few days. I have heard that ofter it takes a couple of weeks to kick in. Who knows why? Mine haven't, but I've seen plenty of posts about that. Being overfilled sounds miserable. As Stina said, the band is a fickle bitch. Take care.

Janey, that's wonderful news. The best NSV ever!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

You know now that you are not alone. When I was alone, I would stuff my face as fast as I could, as if it was over fast it didn't really happen. In the grocery store, I would also buy an ice cream goodie, or a candy bar and eat it in the car before going home so no one would know. Hard stuff to admit, but for us, maybe the start of healing?

It's not a hard and fast rule with surgeons. TriciaK posted the generally accepted guidelines. I think those are followed pretty closely if insurance is going to pay for it. Since you are about 75 -80 lbs over ideal, insurance probably wouldn't pay. But possibly, a surgeon would do it if you were self pay. Wouldn't hurt to inquire. I was 100 lbs over ideal weight, my BMI was around 37 and I have no comorbidities. However, since I was self pay, it was close enough.

If you haven't had a fill yet, you most likely have no restriction. You went through all of this to have the band work for you. Do it. The first couple of days right after my fills are a little dicey. Sliming, but no pb's. Then I eat too much/fast and have a golf ball. That cures me. I get right back to basics ... small bites, chew chew chew, no liquids and everything is OK again. If I would just do it right after the fill, I wouldn't have these problems. It is up to me, and I don't listen to my gatekeeper. You do better than I do, ya' hear?

Nana the thread killer! My hero!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

Why is popcorn forbidden, other than calories involved? The only thing I could see bad about rice cakes is just that rice is high carbs, but at only 8 calories, seems to me to be a good snack. BTW - I love my doctor. He said I can have popcorn!

So, ya' want a slap upside the head? You know, Eileenja, you have had this band long enough to know what to do. And you do! 60 lbs is amazing! I don't know how to get your head around this, but first be sure you have a good fill. Second, make a pact with yourself and go back to basics. Stop eating around the band. Mousecrazy said it. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. You are a big girl now. Take control of your life. Was that a hard enough slap?

Lisa I didn't have to do a pre-op either. I think it is your surgeon's discretion. I asked my clinic, I was told that they don't require anything unless you are over 300 lbs. (Lucky me!) Wear some really comfy clothes that will be easy to put on when you are ready to go home. Forget the bra - who cares, anyway? I also didn't stock up on a lot of stuff before the surgery. I had some Protein drinks, but didn't like them much. My doc only required Clear liquids for 2 days, so I had some juice and broth on hand. Also, some Jello. A really good thing is to ask your doctor for your liquid pain med prescription ahead of time so it is waiting for you when you get home. Also, some liquid Tylenol. Have some chewable Vitamins on hand. Other than that, you should be fine. You aren't going to be laid up for long and will be able to go the store to get what you need.

Your blender is now going to become your best friend. One of the things that helped me so much was blending some protein-rich Soups. Like chicken noodle Soup, or black bean soup. If it is too thick (you should be able to to drink through a straw - not that you need to), thin it down with broth or milk. Getting something that tasted like real food helped. Something else, think of growling this way. It's not really your stomach at all. Food doesn't stay in your actual stomach very long. It's your bowels. Things are different now and they make a lot more noise. I still have lots of growling going on. When were you banded? It would help us tell you what to eat.

I wouldn't stop drinking. The liquids are giving your body nourishment that you need to heal and stay healthy. If you lose any weight, it's just a bonus. It took you a long time to gain the weight and will take some time to lose it. It's really important to take care of yourself right now. Keep reading and posting. There is a wealth of information here.

I have had two fills. I have found that I can eat about 1/2 cup of food at one sitting. At that point, I start to wonder if I have had enough (just thinking that thought alerts me that I should stop). When that happens, I (try to) put the food in another room and just visit with DH over the rest of his dinner. I promise myself that if I am still hungry in 20 minutes, I can have the rest of it. If I am eating out, I ask for a take-home container right then. Am I able to overeat? You betcha'. But there are consequeces for that and they aren't pleasant. For me, my band is a gatekeeper and sometimes mean. If I leave my plate on the table, I will continue to pick at it and then I am in BIG trouble. Like you, stopping has always been my problem. That happened last Friday night. Couldn't eat anything for about 24 hours, although I was hungry. So, IMO, when you achieve a good restriction, if you pay attention to your own *stop* signals, you will feel satisfied and stay satisfied for several hours, but you will have to find your own tricks to get past wanting to continue to eat. When the *hungries* do strike, try Water first before looking for a snack. BTW - I am glad you found that you just have *first bite syndrome* and that warm liquids help.

I get tired of people posting that they eat junk/soft food and then complain that they aren't losing. Didn't we all KNOW that coming into this band?

I think my 40 lbs are gone for good. Haven't updated my sig and ticker yet, though. May I join your Gone for Good Club? I think mine are ... gone for good. Scary, though.

Phych eval - $200 Banding - $17,000 (included anesthesiologist, one year followup and fills)

Keep checking your closet. All that stuff you put away for "when I lose weight" will come back into your life. It's so fun.

I paid for my band, the insurance paid for the psych eval (except for co-pay of $15)

Robin - congratulations on your NSV's. Sometimes those are better than watching the scales. Simple stuff, too. Like being able to get in/out of a car without multiple pushes!

Excuse me. It sure looked to me like you were asking for help.

If you have a Trader Joe's near you, try their boxed Tomato and Roasted red pepper soup. I never liked tomato soup, and I hate peppers, but right after banding, I was so hungry. Someone turned me on to this wonderful soup. I had some today because I got a MAJOR golf ball last night that didn't go away until this afternoon. I soothed my poor stomach with it.

This is not meant to be mean, but you need to pay attention to yourself and what you are doing. Well, you can't not eat correctly and then complain about it. I expect someone told you going into this that you can't eat junk food and you can't eat just easy food. That is probably an explanation for slow weight loss. The stuck feeling. Someone on this forum touts aloe vera juice and also meat tenderizer to help break loose the logjam. I haven't tried it yet. It really does help to drink something hot before eating. Kind of relaxes the stoma. I suggest you go back to basics. Sooth your stomach and stoma with some nice blended protein-rich Soups, etc., for a couple of days, and then start over with small bites of Protein first (lube with sauces), then veggies. You don't have to do much cooking in the heat to eat healthy foods. You do need to pay attention. {{{hugs}}}

Left to right: 1. May 220 lbs 2. August 193 lbs

You are feeling emotional stuff, here. Logic doesn't have a lot to do with it. I don't think it sounds too weird. Look at the excitement a new mom-to-be feels, and often times post partum depressions arrives along with the baby. Confusing. There was so much excitement before. When I was younger, I was lucky enough to be chosen as a flight attendent. After six weeks of pretty intensive training, and being sent to my new domicle, the first night there I bawled. What did I think I was doing? Moving away from my family, etc. Also, I cried on my wedding night. I really wanted to be married to this wonderful man. Now, he really didn't understand! LOL! My daughter was so excited to be going away to college, and the same thing happened. We got her settled in, and she cried when we left. She didn't understand either. She really wanted to be there. You are so newly out of surgery. Eleven days isn't very long, and you may not see any progress for awhile. This is a time to be healing, not losing. If you do lose some, that's a bonus. Just, hang in there. Take good care of yourself. Keep posting. We will help {{{hugs}}}