SunnyRachel

My lower body never seems to want to lose weight. Everything above the belt gets smaller, but the butt, thighs, and lower legs are soooooooooooooo slow.

Hi, Sandra! I'm not as far in my journey as you are, but I have been seeing the same issue, that old habits want to creep up on me again. I'm wishing you lots of strength to be able to resist those urges and get your mind focused again. You are doing so great! Congratulations! Let us know how the Special K Water is. Does it help take the edge off of things like they say?

In my pre-teen years, my mom married this very abusive man. That was hard enough to deal with, but what I felt more, I think, was that for the first time in my life, I felt deprived of foods and beverages. Not that we weren't fed, but the extras that I was used to were not there. As an adult, I came to terms with the fact that an abundance of food represented success and power to me. If I could go out to eat and order whatever I wanted, I felt good. I hope you do get to the source of your pain and problems. It seems like you are on the right track. I worried too that I was not mentally prepared either, but I find each day that I am getting better at talking myself out of getting food just because I can. It's not perfect every day, but I know that without the band, I would be eating way more than this. I'm just saying, please don't throw out the surgery just because you think you won't be able to do it. I hope the counseling will help you sort things out, and together the band and counseling should bring you to a healthier place. If you want a buddy to talk about your abusive past, I'll always listen. I wish you lots of strength and peace. Please take care. You can overcome this. :laugh:

I always felt good having a baked potato or mashed potatoes. I know, starch is bad, but hey, I couldn't eat that much of it, and I'm avoiding starch now that I can eat real food again...but it made me happy at a time when I could have little else. I'm also a sweet junkie. To avoid turning to the comforts of ice cream, I mixed up a batch of instant pudding with unflavored Protein powder mixed in. It helped me get my protein down and I felt like I was having a treat. Hang in there! You're doing great!

From the beginning before surgery, I was told not to expect to lose the weight quickly. It took a while but I fixed that into my brain. So I was not upset during Bandster Hell when I went for my second post op and only showed a three-pound loss, but then my surgeon seemed like he expected me to have done better... so WTF? ha ha ha I was pretty proud of the three pounds. :laugh:

I think it's just the body's way of pushing out foreign objects. Kind of creepy though!

Flirty and BK, I hope you both are feeling better soon. BK, maybe ask the doc if it's okay to have some Immodium? That usually helps me out when things are exiting too quickly. Haven't had it come up yet since banded, so don't know if it's harsh on the stomach. The packaging could tell you though. Get lots of rest and feel better guys!!!

Ah, poor fat man! But I bet he won't be missed! Have a good surgery! I hope you have a nice, smooth recovery so we can quickly get to know the new man. Hope he's as funny. LOL

Welcome to the forum! I hope you find lots of helpful information here. If you can, drop by the chat room sometime. It's a quick way to get some answers and meet some really nice people. I wish you a smooth journey! Take care!:laugh:

Well, I always seem to lose weight from the same place first, right around the ribs and my face, but the one place that really lets me know I'm doing better and always cracks me up is my "shelf". It's this bump-out section at the top of my butt that looks like I could carry a tray of food on it or a couple toddlers. When my mom sees me she goes, "Hey, you're losing your shelf!" I turn and go, "Yeah, it's not sticking out that much now, is it?" ha ha ha Keep up the great work! Congratulations!

Hi! That's a great loss during your post-op phase! Congratulations! From what I've read and heard from others, and experienced myself, there is a little period of time once you start feeling good after surgery and before you start getting fills that you seem to not move the scale much or at all. It is very discouraging, but it's not unusual or indicative of failure. For me, I noticed my clothes fitting looser, but no scale movement for a few weeks. I had my first fill, and now the scale is starting to move a little. Don't forget though that the expected amount is 1-2 pounds a week. I really had to embrace that in my head when doing my goal setting. Things will fluctuate, and I'm sure you will notice differences soon! I hope this was helpful a little! Take care!

I had the same issue in two areas, as did my son when he had stitches in his head. Don't tug...it's holding the inside together. I clipped mine too. Calling your doc, even though far away, is a good idea since it's bothering you. Congrats on your surgery! I hope you keep healing nicely!

Oh my gosh, now that you post this, I think I did worry most about, "What? I can't drink an extra large Baja Blast from Taco Bell anymore? What will I do at my favorite pizza buffet too???" That's really sad. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to be a pig anymore. I will add though, with any surgery I have, I've always really worried about dying on the table. That's just me though. lol Thanks for this interesting perspective!

Happy Banderversary!!! Your progress is really inspiring! Thank you! Congratulations!!!!

I hope you get some relief. *hugs*

First off, congratulations! I wish you a smooth surgery and an easy recovery! I live in PA, but work in MD, did not have surgery with Dr. Greene, but wanted to say hello just because I'm kind of a neighbor of yours. I'm in Baltimore almost every day. But I did want to comment on the kids issue... I was given a time frame too about surgery, but then when I got to the hospital, many staff members there made it pretty clear to me that my surgeon was always running behind by at least an hour. My husband thought he would have enough time to get home to the kids (I stayed overnight, so I didn't matter. lol), but he was rushing out there... five minutes after he left, the doctor called him on the cell phone to say that I was done. ha ha ha So it might be good to just have a backup plan for getting your kids home in case of those incidental things. I look forward to hearing about your progress!!! Congratulations!

Wait, wait, wait.... I think BethFromVA points it out well... most of those posts include a phrase like, "I know I shouldn't have eaten this....but...." So perhaps we can't blame the surgeons out there for not giving the education. I think the best we can do as a group when talking to people with questions is always emphasize that they should have good communication with their medical team and actually follow their instruction. So when someone is considering the surgery, they first should ask themselves if they are compliant patients.

Hi Pretty Potato! (But after Plain called you Tater, I keep thinking of Ron White though and, "They call me tater salad." Sorry!) Welcome to LBT! Congratulations on your surgery and progress! I look forward to seeing you around and I wish you lots of success!

It's great you are doing so well!!! Congratulations!! I say go for it...just try on that suit. You might surprise yourself!

Okay. Okay. I am making a simple list here of what I thought was the worst, but like everyone else says, it's worth it to me. I'd do it again. 1. GAS!! (OMG I have so much more gas.) 2. The fear in my head I had of my first fill, even though it was just a pinch and does not really hurt... I was still scared. 3. I either did not chew well enough or ate meat that was too tough or I ate it too quickly on two occasions and felt like I was stuck. It felt like a rock was in my stomach. It was so painful. Then the slimes came and I thought I was going to vomit. I tried so hard not to vomit. That probably was the longest 10 minutes ever! 4. The gas pain in the left shoulder the first couple days after surgery was unpleasant. 5. When I woke up on the table after the surgery was complete, I felt like an elephant was on my chest and the pain was incredible. Luckily that only lasted until I got to recovery and got some pain meds. That's it so far. I'm pretty happy. Everybody though experiences it differently, and in different degrees. I wish you all the best!

First, congratulations! I hope you have a successful surgery and a smooth recovery!! I think your question makes a lot of sense. It's a great one to ask, and I'm sure you will get lots of different answers. In my personal experience, I can say that that kind of discipline was easily found, but not easily kept. I could lose weight for a little bit, but then give up quickly and fall back into old habits. That's how I failed... not being able to stick to any plan. For me, the band has been an attitude adjustment. I have only had it for a short while now, only two months, but it has eliminated most of my desire for high calorie foods. Sure, my favorite foods still all sound good, but I look at them now and it is a lot easier to turn them down than it was before. Throughout the day, I don't feel deprived or hungry at all. In fact, what I always thought was hunger was just a mental illusion. Nobody really knows what the band will change for you until it's actually in place. Most of the time you won't feel different at all... but then pretty quickly I bet you will soon discover the difference it makes for you. I hope this was helpful. I wish you all the best!!

Yeah, I want to know too, what was up with those beans? ha ha ha I know my grandma didn't make you those beans, so they could not have had a pound of lard in them! (I so miss my grandma's beans...:thumbup:) (Oops, didn't read the comments that followed first before opening my big mouth again. Sorry!)

Well said! There's those of us that take the gentle approach and would rather hold your hand and give you a hug and tell you everything is going to be okay, and there's those of us that want to shake you and say, "What the heck are you doing??? Are you crazy???" lol Both groups though, I hope you can see, just care about each other, total strangers, and just want to see each other be successful... whether with tough love or cheerleading. I'm glad we can all be open and honest with each other here. :thumbup:

Ewww, that was what I was afraid would happen... and was relieved when it didn't...so I'm so sorry you went through that! You are so brave though! Congratulations on your progress and your fill. I wish you lots of continued success!

That is so wonderful! Congratulations! It is very inspiring. I hope you keep having this happy problem.