newdicarlo

Soups, salad, ice cream, chips and salsa...salad and ice cream are the tough ones for me to avoid.

do you still have your gallbladder? this sounds like a gallbladder attack to me. Your gallbladder produces bile to digest the food you've eaten, thus the timing would be right. And the pain is right in the middle of the chest. I had mine out 9 wks postpardum with my first child. Worst pain ever! :thumbup: You might want to make an appt with a gastroenterologist, as they can do an ultrasound to see if you have stones. There are a couple threads on LBT about all the people with gallbladder probs after getting the band, you might want to check those out...

Thank you. I was only 7 when it happened, but my sisters, my mom and I have all experienced side effects from it, (I used to "swallow the wrong way" at least once a week and cough my head off, things like that) it just makes sense that a smaller esophagus wouldn't need to be "tightened" so much...

My MD said the WW Smart Ones are the best in terms of calories and Sodium, so if I need them for convenience, I get those or Lean Cuisine. I always look for the ones with high Protein and low carb count, although I'm a Pasta lover so I sometimes get ones with noodles. I like the chicken parmesan (eat the chicken first and then a few bites of noodles) and others that have chicken and veggies. I found that since I've hit my sweet spot I cannot finish a whole meal.

My first fill my MD put in 4 cc's which was too tight (immediate heartburn, sliming on my saliva, chest pain). He took out 2 cc's and we did fills slowly after that. Now I have 4.4 cc in a 10 cc band and I have hit my sweet spot. I can only eat 1/2 to 3/4 cup of food and I'm full for hours. A small esophagus runs in my family (my grandmother died from choking), so I think this might have to do with why I don't need a lot in my band...

I finally hit 75 pounds! Just yesterday, and today, another pound. The scales seem to have caught up with what I'm doing, and I think I finally hit my sweet spot--I can only eat about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of food at a time and stay full for 5 or more hours...so THIS is what it's supposed to feel like! well, it's a DAMN good feeling!!! :thumbup: I might actually make my goal...

Hungry for me is feeling that gnawing feeling of emptiness in the pit of my stomach, complete with growling. Usually I can tell if I'm really hungry because I get grouchy and snippy. All the girls in my family are the same way (mom, sisters, daughter...). Usually if I start to feel hungry the first thing I do is check the clock. If it's only been a couple hours since my last meal then I know it's probably head hunger or thirst, not true hunger. If it's been 4-5 hours, then I know I'm truly getting hungry, not just bored. I got the way I am by eating when I was bored and boy, it's a tough habit to break!

I also don't deny myself if I want ice cream--but again, it's all in how much you eat. I can get by on one or two bites if we're at home, and if I go out I get the smallest (usually kiddie) size and have that with lite ice cream if possible. And that almost daily habit has turned into a once or twice a week bite or two rather than a daily bowl. Certainly more manageable and definitely satisfies without ruining a whole day of hard work. I have found though, that since getting the band, things with real sugar seem SO much sweeter than before, sickly sweet even. Just a nice side effect to keep me away from treats!

I know how you feel. Every month it happens for a few days I eat everything in sight! Puts such a pinch in the weight loss to retain all that water and eat things you wouldn't normally even look at. I can always count on the start of a plateau during that week. I did find that upping the amount of water consumption does help a little, but it takes about 5 days to get the body to pee it all out!

In the past week I've gotten stuck on tilapia, chicken and lobster. Hamburger with no bun went down fine, as did very tender steak and pork. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the foods. Sometimes I do fine with them, and others I'm PB'ing the same foods. Ugh, it's just so hard to know what's going to work. And I don't know about the fill next week. I'm staying full (if I can get rid of this head hunger) for 4-6 hours if I eat a good meal--and if I can dinner down...if I can't get it down, I'm looking for a snack a couple hours later...:biggrin:

Hmm, this makes sense, I do drink most of my water before 5:00 and then not as much in the evening. We usually eat around 6:00 though and I'm having trouble getting stuck on things that usually dont' bother me like the solid proteins. It's troublesome to have to miss most of dinner with my family because I'm sliming in the bathroom! I'm supposed to get a small fill next week, and I'm not sure if I should?

I am noticing a pattern of being tighter at dinner time than I am the rest of the day. I am getting stuck on the first few bites of protein and don't want to eat after that at all. I know typically people are tighter in the morning. Has anyone else experienced this? Anything I can do?

I was banded on March 2 and cruised the last week of April. I had never cruised before and didn't know what to expect, but it was easier than I imagined. We tried to go to restaurants where I could order off the menu to be sure I could get lean Protein in. We went to a lunch buffet one time. I also would ask for the starch to be replaced with a green veg at mealtimes. I had a bite or two off my hubby's plate if I couldn't resist something. One thing to remember is that you will have restriction by then. I only had a little. Just stick with your regular routine--protein first, the green veg and then carb if necessary. Just because the food is there, doesn't mean you won't be able to watch people eat. If you are satisfied, it shouldn't matter. I do think it would be a little strange to have someone leave the table when the meal is served...

Most people don't feel any restriction with one fill. do you know how much was put in your band? I didn't start to get restriction until the 3-4th fill...my MD said to eat until you are full, you can't hurt the pouch at this point (as long as you are following his menu guidelines). There's no way to stretch it because it is basically emptying right through the band into the stomach as soon as you eat. With no restriction to "hold" the food in, it wouldn't be possible to stretch the pouch--unless you are consistently overeating. As everyone will say, this is "bandster hell"--it's the time from surgery where you can still eat as you used to, and until you get restriction, you can't expect to lose weight--if you do, it's an added bonus!

I couldn't agree more with the pp. I started walking about a month out of surgery and started with about 20 minutes every couple days and now am up to about 40-45 minutes 4-6 times a week. I feel guilty when I miss it! Keys are to start slow and increase 1-2 minutes at a time. Pretty soon you will want to do it because you can see how good you feel and how muscular your legs and butt look :w00t:! I've even bought some walking DVD's for this fall and winter and have used them when it's blazing hot outside.

I'm really surprised no one on here has mentioned Craigslist? I've sold all my old clothes there to one woman. I was lucky enough to find someone who loved everything and I would call her has I lost more weight. She ended up getting a REALLY nice wardrobe for about $325 overall--but I also could use that money for new clothes that I needed. I'm lucky enough to work from home, so I'm in big T's and shorts all day, but I did get a few outfits for when I have to go in the office or out to dinner. I just bought 4 pairs of yoga pants for the fall at Old Navy, and spent $12-15 on each pair. It is fun, but I feel the same--it's hard for me to spend money on clothes I know won't fit next year. We don't have a Ross, but I have also tried Goodwill several times, but everything I find seems to be off-season and I don't know what size I might be when the next season rolls around. I've gone from a 24 to an 18 which is now getting to be a little too big. I also bought the yoga pants in an XL, put a pair on the other day and they are going to be too big soon too, I might have to return some and just get a L...haven't been in a Large size in like...14 years...since i was a freshman in college!

I'm having the same problem, but I also feel like I'm close to my sweet spot...I'm scheduled for a fill in one week, should I be concerned with only getting a little fill, or do you find you need a bigger fill with this issue??

I'm in! But, I have two weeks left of my Labor Day challenge...I have 7 more to go, and although I'm pretty sure I won't make it, will those pounds count towards the Turkey day challenge? I'm wondering if I should up my goal a little or not...

Halloween is next, but we should do a Thanksgiving challenge! it's always hard to maintain/lose over the holidays, it would be good to have a goal to work towards...

OK, so I probably won't make another 10 pound loss in two weeks, but I just broke another plateau, so I'm hoping for at least another 5...I've done 18 since June 1 and that's with a week at the beach, a couple weekends out of town...

My sister is someone who can see and feel things really well. She has a guardian angel who sometimes sits at her kitchen table and has helped her in dire situations. For example, my sis was just out of college and on her way to a job interview. She was running an errand and when she went back to her car it wouldn't start. She tried for a few minutes and was beginning to get upset because she was going to be late for the interview. No one was around and all of a sudden this little Indian woman was at her window and leaned over and said "put your foot on the gas and turn the key". It started. And my sis got the job. The other thing she told me was that when her daughter was a baby (about 5 months old) she would wake up every night around the same time and scream. A couple of times sis woke up right before and felt something next to her bed. One night she woke up and reached out and felt a space of freezing cold air. it moved and she felt the end of her bed go down like someone was sitting on it and her husband was in the bed right next to her! Then it left the bed and woke up the baby again! The next time it happened she felt the cold air again and yelled at it to "leave my baby alone! we can't to anything for you, get out of our house!" and suddenly the two shelves in her closet fell to the floor. She and her hubby can tell this story and it gives you chills! But her baby didn't wake up screaming anymore either... And the last story she told me was that when she was in college she would wake up in the middle of the night and all her closet lights would be on and she could see someone standing in the corner. she would get up to turn the lights in the main room on and the lights in the closet would go off and the person would be gone...She had her own room in an apartment, and when she would go to bed obviously all the lights were off... Her stories scared me for so long, I would get scared just laying in bed. I didn't get over it for a couple years. I was just afraid that I had the same "gift" she had and didn't know it yet...I do NOT want to see any spirits or ghosts!

Salad. I realized it last night when I ate a BBQ chicken salad (homemade) and matched what my husband ate...the night before I was stuck after three bites of pork steak. Guess I need to slow down on the roughage! I try to avoid the cakes, cookies, etc. altogether but sometimes I'll have a bite here or there. And I have a scoop of frozen yogurt with fresh berries if everyone else is indulging in mint chocolate chip--but that's only if I feel hungry and like I need something. I also found pasta like spaghetti is a slider for me so I try not to have pasta very often. I at least will eat the sauce or meat first so that I get my protein in.

GNC's 100% Whey powder was the first I tried, and it is good. However, they also have "Wheybolic Extreme 60" which absorbs better and has less calories and carbs per scoop. They taste the same and it is a little more pricey, but they usually have "buy one, get one half off" deals, and you can save an extra 20% the first week of the month if you have a GNC discount card. Just my two cents...

it's amazing to look at all these great numbers! I'm down a few more and have quite a few to go, but it's exciting to see the right numbers go down and the right numbers go up for a change!

Remember turkey too! I get thick-sliced rotisserie turkey breast from the deli, wrap it around a piece of swiss and dip it in balsamic vinegar for a quick snack. I also make my own "protein shots" with a sugarfree pudding cup and add a scoop of chocolate protein powder. You can do this with yogurt too. Also, edamame (soybeans) are high in protein, as are beans like a previous poster stated. Another favorite snack is apple slices dipped in peanut butter...mmmm....