waterlily1072

Are you sure it's your band? I can't imagin being able to feel it! Is it maybe your port you are feeling? I know some surgeons like to place the port right under the sternum. If it is your band I would think that would make you pretty unusual.

Hi everyone I find out sometime this week if I made it to the top ten to be tested then at some point the top 3 to be interviewed. I know I have a good chance as along as they are willing to deal with the switch from temp to perm which can be a pain. Meanwhile this is week 3 in the position on a temp basis and I think it's going well. Yesterday on my lunch break I ran home to grab my gym clothes and went to pay my gym bill then after work I headed over there and did a short but intense workout. Ududally when I walk I go for 30 minutes all on flat surface. Yesterday I did a decent size incline for 15 minutes and for a hcnage was sweating like a pig so I think I did good even if it was a shorter workout. The scale is not budging yet but then last week was not a stellar week for me with adjusting to a lot less time to cook and t.o.m. those candy cravings just about killed me. I really was craving cookies but at least I didn't go there, lol. Hopefully if I can get to the gym each day this week I will see some progress! Have a great day everyone

I am sorry you are hurting but chicken probably wasn't a good choice for a soft food as it is one that many experienced bandsters even have trouble with. For the soft food stage try fish, ground beef, beans that sort of thing. I have to say I am surprised that your doc ok'd you to soft foods at 16 days post op most are just starting mushies at that point. But just take it easy if something hurts don't eat it again for few days or a couple of weeks and when you do experience pain or irritation to your newly banded stomach stay on liquids the rest of the day to hopefully avoid a pb. Good luck and grats on being banded

Christine you hit TWOTERVILLE!!! WAHOOOOOOO

Thanks Angela I wonder if we are having these issues with junk food because we are just tired of the diet mentality after a whol eyear of it and needed a vacation from it? Well I've had my vacation now I need to get back to eating healthy. I have been in my temp job at the fire station for 2 weeks now and I really like it. Next week I am going to be hitting the gym on my way home from work each day! I aplpied for the position permamnently and I really hope I get it, that right there would alleviate a lot of my stress to have that regular income and structure to my day. Well if I don't get this job I am sure to get another Have a gret weekend everyone!

Hi everyone Grats to all of you who are doing so well! I don't even know where to begin with individual notes so I am just lumping it all together. I am struggling with motivation big time. I just keep floating into old habits of junk food and sadly that stuff just goes right thru. I have good restriction, I can't eat very much real food, the trick is choosing the real food over the chips and candy Most of the junk is now out of our house thank goodness now to resist buying more of it. My weight just keeps fluctuating between the same 5lbs, normal water fluctuations. Work is good but has me tired as I am not used to working again yet. I will try to check in more often as you guys help me stay at least close to the band-wagon if not on it Happy Friday

:clap2::clap2::clap2: WOW Angela! Great Job! :clap2::clap2::clap2:

Of course you can join us Susie! Please do!!! I am failing miserably at getting to the gym. I need to fix that pronto! I had my first day at a temp job yesterday, today is day 2! I am enjoying work, but I too have been eating around my band and I need to stop that last week, lol. Today is a new day and I will do good today See ya'll later

Good job to all of you who have lost this week that's great! I am still plateaued. I know I need to get to the gym and knock out the junk food. It's things like crackers, cookies, cake, chips, and candy that are getting me. A little everyday adds up to no weight loss I am working a new temp job so I'm not home much and when I am, I'm sleeping!

I've never heard of a surgeon placing the port on the rib cage, most put it on the left or right side between the waist and lowest rib or right below the sternum.

Yay Wahoo!!! It's JUNE THE FIRST MONTH OF SUMMER!!! I don't care what they say about the 20th. As fas as I'm concerned the second June 1st is here it's SUMMER :confused:

You must have misunderstood, there are different sizes of band some only hold 4cc's and others hold 10cc's. They all close down to the same diameter when full of saline. I understand there is a larger 11cc band now too. Inamed currently makes at least 2 differetn sizes that I know of. Then there are other brands too that are available outside the US.

Welcome to this new month's challenge all you April Bandits! I think we should do the bronze silver and gold again so that we can accomodate all fitness levels. Bronze - 14 sessions of at least 35 minutes Silver - 18 sessions of at least 40 minutes Gold - 23 session of at least 45 minutes If you need to do more or less than this just put it in you signature what you personal goal is and let's go get 'em this month!

Chris, first of congrats on the 10lb loss I have noticed that cereal with milk makes my first bite syndrome far worse and can even get me sliming a little bit. When I choose to have cereal I eat it dry. Try drinking sf hot cocoa first then munching on some dry sereal it fills you up fast and is pretty easy to eat. As for salads ye they do seem to go down like water try to limit your salads to only include free foods (raw veggies) and stick to ff low cal dressings. I like the kraft free italian, it is almost calorie free and totally fat free.

Rice I can do in small amounts, so you should be able to still do a piece of sushi even with decent restriction. I find that even the no no food like bread and rice you can still do in really tiny amounts, like one bite. Just don't make it your first bite, lol. Nuts sometimes are uncomfortable, chew them well and it'll be fine Salads are a challenge for some people, when I was too tight I couldn't do salads at all, but normally I can. The nice thing about starting out unfilled and slowly reaching good restriction is that it alows you to learn as you go. Kind of like a tricycle to a bike with trainers to a full fledge bike then a ten speed, lol. You will get to where you know exactly what your band and stomach can handle. Beef I have to chew for so long it just isn't worth it to me anymore, but I do like the low fat canned roast beef from costco, yum chicken needs to be really tender, all 3 of my PB's were on a piece of chicken! I don't know what falafel is so can't help ya there Have a great day everyone!!!

Faith, I am positive your liver is nicely shrunken, in a healthy way of course As for adjusting to the chewing, for me I didn't have to work on it at all, it just sort of happened. Maybe I'm strange but I am beginning to wonder if maybe my body hates PB'ing so I just don't but honestly I think I've had a total of 3 and like maybe as many as a dozen sliming sessions. I know what you mean about how things taste when chewed to mush, it will affect what foods you choose to eat post band believe me. The good news is that because we are eating so little we can afford for those things to be a little higher in calories which helps with the taste a lot.

Faith, what you have accomplished pre-band is nothing short of amazing! It will get so much easier once youa re banded and have some decent restriction going on :confused: Speaking of which I am back at 9.5 as of noon today, yay! Hopefully the weight will start to come off again. The good news is that despite my unfill and struggles getting back to my sweet spot I maintained through all of that and am right where I left off

I asked a friend of mine who has lost 200lbs in the last 2 years when she first was able to look in the mirror and actually see a change. Our discussion that followed help me to see that I never saw myself as I was at my biggest. I would look at ladies that were a size 22-24 and think that I looked like them when I was a 34! I stopped seeing myself as I was at that point. Mentally I guess I couldn't handle it so I blocked it out. Now I see ladies that are size 34 and I think wow, that was me! It is at those times that I am truly greatful for my band and my weightloss. I am hoping that this next year will yeild great joy when I look in the mirror and see the changes that are to come.

Thanks Carol the interview went great! It is just a first interview of probably many before I get an actual job but still, I feel great! Christine, lol, at the sliding off thing, but you will be surprised all that walking may knock off a pound or two as long as you stay away from the pure sugar and deep fried stuff, good luck and most importantly HAVE FUN :confused: I am getting ready to leave for my fill appointment in an hour, looking forward to having real restriction again. Yipee!

Lor I am sorry you felt that people were being negative towards your eating solids so soon but don't panic! My surgeon said that the main (not only) objective of the post-op is to prevent any vomiting. He then comapred the band to a wedding ring, after it has been in place for a while it seats itself. This is important because if ever you have a slip in the future an unfill will usually allow the band to shift back into it's groove that it has formed. So bottom line is that the better you stick to your post-op diet the better your odds at not having a slip and if you do slip better odds at an unfill fixing it. Since you can't go backwards and undo whatever it is you ate, move forward with a fresh dedication to follow the post-op diet. We all fail at times and that's ok, just pick yourself up and try again.

well... 1. I have this too, but honestly I barely notice anymore. I think that because our stomachs are now an hourglass shape that we get a bottle effect going on. Fill the bottle and trapped air is forced to come up and out, or down and out, hehe. This is just my theory on why it happens. Oh and mine aren't audible unless no one is talking. 2. Well from what I understand we are not supposed to have heartburn with the band, it is often a sign of being too tight and sometimes of a slipped band. Since your surgery was so recent I would guess that maybe you are just swollen and that is causing you to be really tight at the moment. Your surgeon should be prescribing you an Rx for that, or in your case a new one or a new dose for the time being. If it continues then continue harping about it till your doc listens, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. 3. Vomiting is so not fun under any circumstances. I have to admit the idea of getting the flu scares the bejeebies out of me. I can tell you that you really are capable of throwing up. It takes a lot of force to get stuff up past the band and it's better to avoid it altogether by taking anti-nausea medicine. I have heard of people having a slip due to a bad flu so do yourself a big favor and buy the suppositories

Thanks for wishing me luck Betty and Julie The interview went really well as did the testing they made me do. It is only a temp agency so I still need to wait and then interview for any individual company that I may be placed with for a temp to perm position, but this was a great first step! Tomorrow is my fill and I am so excited and relieved that I will finally have restriction again. I hate being able to eat! lol, never thought I'd say that!

It's ok Betty I know how you feel. It is really hard, especially on a holiday weekend when there is lots of food sitting around, to pretend you have restriction. I ate too much, a burger and potato salad and jello sallad oh and watermelon too. Yikes, not getting on the scale today, tomorrow at the surgeons office I won't have a choice but I will deal with it then. Today I am going on a job interview, yay Trying to break back into the world of work. I think a job will really help me lose weight. I won't be home around snacks all day so I can't graze. And of course this fill should help a lot!!! Wish me luck today ladies It's only a temp agency but it has been so long since I've worked I have no strong references anymore, just 3 very weak ones. So here I go! A year ago I wouldn't have had the self esteem to walk into a job interview. I was too afraid no one would hire me because of my weight issue. Now today that doesn't worry me at all! Wow what an accomplishment Have a great day ladies. I won't be making my bronze goal this month, but I will be trying again next month One of these times I will get there!

Wow Libra 14's! That's great! I was bad this weekend but tomorrow I get my fill and then everything will be great I just know it! In the mean time I am a bit nervous. I haven't been on a job interview in years! They asked me to bring 3 professional references and I have a friend who was at one time my supervisor at a different company than she works now and my husband (I am his admin for his business) oh and a letter from a former temporary employer. It is really weak and that makes me nervous. It is so hard to break back into the world of work! I called all the places I used to work ages ago and none of them keep records dating that far back! And none of them have the same people working there to remember me either. OK I am done whining, lol. Hope everyone is doing well!!!

Ugh bbq #1 over and I ate half a hamburger, some pasta salad (1/2cup) and 3 small pieces of cake that added up to one big piece of cake (had to try some of each ) Then in the car on the 2hr drive home I ate a bunch of candy as the kuids and dh were passing it around the car. I'm sure I didn't make any progress today and now I feel yuck from all the sugar. Monday's will be better because I won't have the sugary desserts or candy around. That in itself will be a big improvement. Hope all of you are enjoying your weekend. Oh and glad to hear that LapBandit is doing ok