MrRiceGuy

Wow! Great job. You look amazing.

That's awesome. I love being able to pull clothes out of the closet that I couldn't wear. I'm sure those 18's will be loose on you in no time! Keep up the good work.

Dr.Feiz. He just joined the forums. Please feel free to message him giving him a piece of your mind http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f11/has-anyone-been-banded-drs-philippe-quilici-michael-feiz-la-ca-35371/#post1179029

I'm just quoting my surgeon when I say that, literally he just said exact analogy this past Saturday when I asked him about this exact thing. If that's the case, then I'm being misinformed. I just figured he's a doctor, and well, I and you are not. But if it's bad advice, don't take it. I just am quoting what I was told

I agree with the above statement about how full your band is. I know for me, I can eat whatever I want. Which is a bad thing. I have no trouble with rice, breads, or anything. It just shows I need more of a fill. Just know that you can have sushi again (i do), but high carb foods are how we all get into this mess to begin with.

Drink whenever you need it. The no drinking before and after meals is mainly to make you feel full for longer. But if you're parched and need to drink, do so. For those that don't know, consider it a Water slide. If you go down a wet slide, you go faster. And if you get stuck, the running water behind you will push down. Same thing with food, you drink before, food will go through faster. You drink after, it forces the food faster. The general rule of thumb is 30 min before, 1 hour after. I just drink if I'm thirsty.

Haha, that's true. Half of the time they're so tanked themselves they dont remember any of it. But for me, I guess old habits die hard. It's a hard transition for my friends to see me, the biggest party animal of all of them, to ease back. But as of late, people started noticing my weight loss and I told them it's because I quit drinking so much beer and junk, and now they're all supportive. I was just trying to put on a face like I'm the same ol' guy, but I realized "that guy" is how I became the person I am today (or was pre-band).

Hey Dr. Feiz, Nice to see you on here. Most of my concerns I've already directed with yourself and/or Marissa. I'd be happy to talk more about it more in private, though. And for the record, I'm 100% satisfied with my band thus far. I love how it's helped me so far, and excited to see what I'll do with it in the future. Feel free to shoot me a private message for more details. Thanks, RJ

So, what did you decide? I saw you're in so-cal getting banded. Where and by whom?

I use CareCredit and love it. Compare it to a retail store card. You get it because of some great financing deal like '18 months no interest'. However, it, like retail store cards, will charge you for interest for the full term if you don't pay it off by the financing deal term. Any remaining balance after the "special deal" financing is at a rate of like 24.99% APR. So, don't use unless you're getting a good "no interest until" deal, and can pay it off in time.

Yay! Well congratulations! I too was banded on 'Friday the 13th', but last month. It's been a great journey thus far, I hope yours is the same. Feel free to ask any questions if you have any.

I hate to say the obvious, but I would contact my surgeon if I were a similar situation. That doesn't sound normal from from anything I've read, but I'm real early in my band-life to know.

I'm starting to realize it's my own weakness giving into the pressure and trying not to change the good ol' times. In my group I've always been the "frank the tank" kind of guy, and now I'm so conservative at the bars which draws a lot of attention in my circle. I do appreciate all the advice. I've been following every trick mentioned and it's helping me get through this week of travel. I just want to get my fill next weekend and be back on liquids. That way I'm not as hungry all the time.

okay, maybe i exaggerate what i'm intaking because what i'm taking in is worst than what i usually take. here's an example for today, i had an order of buffalo wings, I ate 5 of them, and had a long island ice tea. I also had a couple fries (picking at them). I'm upset because I'm eating this crap vs healthy stuff. As for drinking, I nurse a 1-2 drinks all night while everyone else downs several beers. I just hate how people start calling me out when they're drunk and I'm trying not to come off as "lame". I don't know. I do appreciate the support you all are giving me and hope that I'm not the worst bandster ever.

yea, i'm a little nervous that i feel little to no restriction have of the time. i don't eat HUGE quantities, but the quality of food i've been exposed to is lacking. i know i need to be better, but it's just so hard because i work with people that literally force things down my face. Let me give an example... one of the girls were with orders a sampler platter at the bar. Too much for her. She gets drunk and expects others to help her finish it. Well, everyone helps but me. I don't want to... but she will scream obnoxiously saying "eat it". And I shrug is off laughing thinking its all a joke, but she keeps insisting, "eat it" and people are like, "just eat it so she'll shut up". Next thing I know I'm eating nachos and I'm not even hungry. Blah. I'm so weak!

I got banded almost a month ago. I started out so strong for the first couple weeks, worked out all the time and was dropping weight like crazy. However, the past 2 weeks I've been on travel for work, and am literally living out of restaurants and hotels. No time to work out because we've been working 16 hour days. At the end of the day, we usually end up at a bar to "unwind". Well, being that no one know I'm banded, and I don't want them to suspect anything, I've been consuming with them like I would on prior trips (pre-band). Eating bar food, drinking lots, and having good times. I've been doing my best about ordering healthier food and trying not to finish my meal, but don't always do well. Well, needless to say, I hate myself for giving into the temptation because I'm so early in my journey and still have a lot to go. Are there other people out there that are giving into temptation to hide the truth about their band?

Wow. Great job. You look awesome.

That's a good one I forgot to mention, my nice watch I've had to tighten to the next loop for it to fit. I'm so proud of all of us.

I'm really bad on counting calories. When I stick to straight liquids and Protein shakes and such only, I'm at about 800 calories. When I'm actually taking in mushies and real food, I'm probably more like 1200 calories a day. But I'm super high in protein, 100g minimum. Taking multi-Vitamins and Calcium everyday too.

I love it, I got 3 awesome NSV's this past week: 1.) I went home to Vegas to visit family and my brother and his wife (who don't know I'm banded) both said I look awesome and like I've lost a lot of weight immediately when they saw me... and I believe they meant it because they kept mentioning it. 2.) My size 50 belt that I usually wear doesn't fit anymore. I had to punch a new hole into the belt for it to fit. 3.) I got home from my trip and my wife said '(I) looked so hot when (I) walked through the door' and then raped me...twice...wait that's probably TMI.

I talked to my doctor 1 week post-op and mentioned that I feel like my liquids are just going right through me, he ordered mushies 1 week post-op, and moved the rest of my diet plan up as well. So I'm actually on mushies and some safer solids only 2.5 weeks post-op. All seem well. For the most part I am on a liquid diet except when I'm super hungry. I feel great, stay full for longer and have been dropping weight like crazy. I'm happy!!

I had my surgery on Feb 13th, and I feel 100% back to normal. I still feel my port some, but no more gas pains, no more sore incisions, I still have good restriction as far as portions, already down 35lbs. I promise you all it gets better from here. Good luck!

I think my overall experience with Dr. Feiz's group is sub-par. After comparing my experience to others, I feel like I got robbed. I had limited or no information pre and post op, a poor surgery day experience, and stuff of that sort. I'm not sure if it's because I'm an insurance patient or what but the assistant I was working with kept assuring me that it's normally not that bad... then why was it so bad for me? Err!

I keep hearing these restrictions for clear liquids and such, and I'm a little nervous because my doctor never mentioned anything like that. It was just liquid. No restriction on type. I hope I didn't misunderstand anything because I've been having protein drinks and soups since day one post-op.

It seems like the more people I encounter, the more diverse answer I hear for how long on post-op liquid and/or mushies diet. My dietician said 2 weeks of liquids, 2 weeks of mushies. My surgeon said 1 week of liquids should be fine and 1 week of mushies. I was banded on Feb 13, 2008 and can't wait for real food. What were you told and what did you do?