Melissannde

I don't see any ads at all. I have an ad-blocker. I suspect that Junk food goes down easier because it's so processed. I'm sure the doc is also correct about the sugar content. If you're so tight that "real food" is hard to get down.. it might be time to think about a slight unfill. Doesn't have to be much ~ .2 cc can make a big difference. Just something to consider. :thumbup:

If you really must indulge...look for Pop chips. They're not fried, not baked.. but popped. Much lower in calories than regular and much tastier than baked. I can find small bags (100 calorie) at Books-a-Million and larger bags at Target.

I don't know what "brand" of band you have, but the allergan lap-band website recommends 4 to 6 weeks for the first fill. A Safe Procedure for Healthy Weight Loss | LAP-BAND® You may still have hunger issues even after the first fill. It often takes 3 or more to get to good appetite suppression. However, everyone is different and you might be one of the ones who gets hunger dimming with the first fill. Personally, I'd let the stomach heal more before the first fill, but I understand the anxiety about feeling too much hunger too. Follow what your doctor recommends plus your own good judgment.

emerald has 100 cal packs of almonds. jack links has 50 cal packs of jerky (teriyaki steak). I sometimes buy the pre-sliced apples & caramel Snacks.. and throw away the caramel.. they come packaged separately. I agree with above poster than cheese sticks do well w/o refrigeration for a good long time. thinking.... boiled eggs might be ok for a few hours. you could pack them with a "blue ice" thingy to keep them cool. I sometimes think we obsess about keeping things "cool or cold" too much in this country. Of course it depends on the food....but I grew up in a household that never refrigerated mayonnaise and in the deep south w/o a/c!! No doubt I refrigerate it now.. but my mom never did and we didn't get ill. Were we just lucky? I don't know.

It's been my (very unscientific) observation that people who are required to do a pre-op diet hit a plateau much sooner than those who aren't. Basically, there's a period of time when weight loss is relatively rapid and if the patient is required to do a pre-op diet, that's when it occurs. If not required to do a pre-op diet, then the weight loss proceeds afterwards. Again, this is just my thoughts from reading others posts and I've had a nurse working in bariatrics confirm this as an unofficial observation. It's also true that the more weight you have to lose, the faster it comes off in the initial months. :thumbup: About the only good thing about being SMO I guess. LOL Now that I'm only a little bit more than 200 (215 to 219 these days) I'm lucky to lose 1lb a week. At the beginning of my journey I was losing at an average of 4lbs a week... would love to have that rate again, but I KNOW it would be unhealthy. :thumbup: And no, I wasn't starving myself to loose at that rate.. my food choices had just changed so dramatically.

I don't drink shakes as a regular thing. I much prefer to get my Protein in "real food". However, sometimes when I'm pressed for time, I will grab a RTD shake. I do like the Muscle Milk LIGHT.. but only in the vanilla or strawberry creme. The chocolate is nasty IMO. If the RTD light comes in other flavors I haven't found it in my area.

I currently take Centrum Chewables, but I'm moving back to either BA or Celebrate multi's when I'm finished with them. You know that the Bariatric companies will send you samples if you contact them? Either free or at very low cost so you can try them before you make a big commitment. Building Blocks is another one to try. Celebrate, B. fusion & Building Blocks will all send free samples. BA will sometimes.. I've gotten free one time when I filled out a survey at my doc's office. Other time I had to pay a small fee.. around 5.00. Good luck on finding something you can tolerate and afford. :thumbup:

My son would have a cup or bowl or whatever of ice cream this past summer. I'd get a spoon and have one spoonful and that was enough to satisfy my desire .. all I really needed was a taste. Then I'd go into another room where I couldn't see him eat it and get busy doing something else. This strategy might not work for everyone.. works for me.

I made an bad judgment call yesterday.. bought a box of saltines to have some to eat with my lunch. BAD BAD ME.. I probably ate half the box yesterday. :sneaky: I'm such a carbaholic when it comes to crackers & chips. If they're in the house, I have a hard hard time staying away. I'm up 2lbs, but I'm hoping that's mainly water weight from the salt and it will be gone again by Next Monday. :w00t:

Congrats!! I would like to make Wonderland by Xmas.. but I'm not sure I will. Valentines day for sure. :laugh: Wouldn't that be a sweetheart of a gift to myself?? :biggrin:

Some people advise that if you pb, you should go back to liquids for 24 hours. I don't always do that on the first spitting up episode, but if I do it more than once, I do ease back on the solids. I eat Soups and things like that for a while to let my band settle down a little. Having recurrent pb's can cause the band area to get swollen and then when we try to put more solid food down, it just causes more problems. I know since you just came off Mushie/soft foods this isn't what you really want to hear, but thought I'd mention it. If you continue to have issues, you might want to consider going back to an earlier eating stage for a bit. Nothing magic about 24 hours, you could need 4 hours or 48.. we're all individual and have to learn what works for us. Hope you are able to eat "normal" foods soon. :laugh:

Not ALL surgeries require unfills. But it is advisable if you are prone to nausea with anesthesia. Personally I would rather have a little taken out pre-op than risk slipping my band from post-op N&V.

If you've lost weight since your fill it's totally normal for the type of foods you are able to tolerate to change. We not only lose weight on the outside, but around our stomach too.. so effectively the band becomes looser and the tightness changes. :laugh:

That has happened to me, mainly when I've taken an afternoon nap. It's like waking up from an overnight sleep all over again. Can't easily eat until I drink something warm. :laugh:

I was in pretty bad discomfort for 2 weeks after banding.. and significant weight loss didn't start for me till 3 weeks after banding.. I agree with Dave, you need to go have a heart to heart with your surgeon.

I don't think you're getting enough calories. Our bodies become extremely efficient at conserving energy when it doesn't receive enough fuel. The first 3 weeks after surgery I only lost about 2lbs. I had to get back on regular food before the weight loss really took off. I started at 384 lbs at my pre-op visit, 383 day of surgery (March 9), 381 on March 28. A month later on April 29th I was 350lbs. I am now 19 months out from surgery and this morning before Breakfast I was 215. Two choices, either keep on as you are and be patient or try upping your calories just a bit (I'd try for somewhere between 1000 and 1200.. assuming you are average height..) and see if that helps. If you are exercising, do something different, either more or just a different routine. If you aren't exercising, start moving. Even just walking will make a huge difference. If you think "I don't have time to exercise".. au contraire.. we can build exercise into our daily lives with small actions. Make yourself walk one whole circuit of the store before you start putting stuff in your cart or basket. Park further away from the store. Return the shopping cart to the store when finished.. don't use the corral. Take the silverware one fork at a time from the dishwasher to the drawer. Do lunges across the floor when putting them away. Sweep your carpet with a broom instead of a vacuum (uses more energy). Carry the laundry one piece at a time to be put away. Hang your clothes outside if you live where you can have a clothesline. While none of these alone is a huge calorie burn.. over all they add up. Walk your dog. Don't have a dog? Ask your neighbor if you can walk theirs. Be creative. :laugh: Hang in there.. if you follow MOST of the bandster guidelines MOST of the time, the weight will come off.

I weight daily just for the curiousity of it all.. BUT.. I RECORD my weight only weekly... so I don't give the daily weights a lot of importance.. I just do it cause I wanna.

My friend on another support group saw Dr. Simpson (the author of the article in the original post) yesterday and she questioned him about the "no drinking for a period of time after eating" rule. Here's what she reports: "I asked him, if the pouch empties within just a few minutes of eating, why do we need to wait an hour to drink anything? His answer was that he doesn't tell people that any more. (ever since it was learned that it empties so fast anyway.) He says you just don't want to wash your food down with liquid. It's even ok to sip something while eating. That made a lot more sense to me." So, there's one doctor's opinion on the subject. YDMV (your doctor may vary). As always, follow your doctor's rules/guidelines as best you can. :thumbup:

I have no idea on your doc's protocol on length of time between fills. Mine will not do one any closer than 4 weeks apart. The only way to know about your doc is to call and ask. My nurses are great about answering questions like that over the phone. Don't beat yourself up over the pizza, life happens. Just try to do better next time. Maybe you could get a little lunch size cooler and keep string cheese & apples & deli meat and that type of stuff in it for your use while ya'll are in the throes of moving. I'm betting though, that you're expending so many calories moving that the pizza won't wreck your goals at all. Or make yourself some flatbread pizza. checkout Flatout Bread – Better Than Sliced Bread for ideas.

There are times when I can feel the Water start to "pool" up and then I know I need to take it slower. However, most of the time, I have no issues drinking water..hot, cold or room temp. I drink cold water almost every day during workouts.. no problems. I drink hot tea or hot water before meals.. no problems. You'll learn what works for you as you go along.

usually burps, but can be a sigh or a runny nose.

You don't "HAVE TO", but it's not a bad idea. It all depends really on how severe the episode was, IMO. I've had little ones that are like "ok, that piece of broccoli that I didn't chew very well is gone.. let's finish lunch" and I did eat the rest of my food and did fine. Then there are the times when it's "oh my god, where is the phenergan cause I can't stop heaving". THOSE I definitely do not try to keep eating regular food. As time goes on and you live with your band longer, you will learn how to handle each event. No harm in being cautious.

I've eaten them post banding and before getting to the fill level I have now, but I use the "thin buns". I could probably eat part of one now, but definitely not the whole thing with the bread.

bumping the spreadsheet again: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tYmPkphTP9YKZEc8WCbyoHQ&authkey=CNrR4dQH#gid=0 I don't like Monday weigh ins.. weekends kill me!

Thanks for sharing that.. very interesting. yes, yes, a thousand times, YES!