catfish87

Wow....everybody should watch. Thanks for sharing!

Seems as though you are off to a great start! Congrats! No need to be nervous...you'll do fine. Start off with some soft "real" foods....preferrably at home or somewhere you have a chance to take it real slow. Chew, chew, chew. Thats one reason why you're not filled to the max to begin with....a learning process. If you have a stuck episode, its not fun, but not the end of the world either....once again, a learning process. I'm going on 4 years and still learning. Enjoy the ride!

Sounds like you're getting real close to me....that feeling of not being "hungry", thats what it is for me in the green zone. And when I do eat, feeling satisfied on a small amount of food. As mentioned above, overshooting and getting too "full" on restriction, should not be a goal. You don't need those adverse indications to feel satisfied. Losing weight because you're not eating all the time, in large quanities, is the goal. TMF is spot on as usual, fluoro can help a lot, although I'm guessing your doc may use it if she added 3.4cc's at your last fill. Seems like a rather agressive amount to do blindly. My last two fills consisted of .2cc's each....I was already close. That small amount made a huge difference.

Such an awesome post Terry! Keep climbing, my friend!

There you go! You're doing awesome! I've been reading your posts and know your desire....can "hear" it in the words you write. It just takes time to gel with different restriction levels. But YOU ARE doing it! Congrats and keep it up.... I get to visit my home state Saturday...The Kentucky Derby!! And thinking I'll be in Madisonville in a couple of weeks to visit my sister, and probably visit the old farm in Greenville too. Many good memories of western KY.

I love it! 2 tbsp has only 45 calories, 1.5g fat, and 7g of Protein...I often mix it in FF Cherry Greek yogurt. YUMMY!

I LOVE the dannon lite and fit nonfat cherry greek yogurt. I even will sometimes mix in VERY well 2 tsb of PB2 (you gotta try it!) 125 calories, 1.5g fat and 17 grams of protein that way....OMG, delish! Can you say dessert.

I WAS the same way.... I only started cycling a little over a year ago. I couldn't even do 3 miles without being out of breath. I KNEW it would help this process of weightloss, but still....me exercise for any long term??? Never dreamed it possible! I too, hated PT (running) while I was in the Army. Because I knew it was something I HAD to do, a requirement. Thats whats different now.....I WANT to do this, I ENJOY cycling... It may be hard to imagine now, but I really MISS it if I can't due to some issue. Sounds crazy to me too. I'd suggest this...find ANYTHING you enjoy, ANYTHING to get moving....does not have stress your knee, maybe just upper body for now. Start out at YOUR pace so as not to get discouraged. Slowly at first....your don't have to kill yourself for it to be beneficial. Get that heart rate up a little at a time. Then try and find someone in your area to be a buddy if thats helpful, hopefully they would enjoy what you are doing as well. Similar fitness level or possibly just a step above. A MOTIVATOR, if you will. Then, COMMIT to doing that routine/exercise for one month....ONE MONTH doesn't sound like forever, and is a much easier committment at first. Make NO excuses for that one month. At the end of that month you will feel so good about yourself, an accomplishment to improve your health, that I'd lay odds you'll want to do ANOTHER month.....and WANT for me, was the key to it all. The feeling you'll have that second month, third, fourth...Hey, now you're at a YEAR and look at you go! AMAZING what that one month can do....... I wish you much success on this journey.....

Yes...kinda like a live xray showing your restriction level while making adjustments.

Congrats on your loss! My doctor uses fluoro now, and got me pretty close during the first couple of fills, which were appx 3cc's each. That also gave ME a chance to adapt to the correct eating habits. After I got real close, my last two were .2cc's at a time. Tweaking it as you refer to. I like that I haven't had to have any unfills due to being too tight. I'm very much in the green right now.

I agree that the 30 minute "rule" has changed/evolved. My surgeons office still preach it. I now drink with my meals, AFTER my food is through my band. I think it HELPS me to slow down and take longer for my meals, thereby eating less. As long as you're not using liquids to force food through, to allow you to eat more/faster, what could it possibly hurt?

</p>Oh could I get started on that.... FLUORO fills are the ONLY way I know of where you take the guessing out of it and actually SEE what your restriction level is. Im not one here to beat up doctors, but think about this. IF your doctor says "you are at correct restriction because most people feel correct restriction at XXXcc's in their band", I'd be worried. There are thousands and thousands of folks on here. What's the one thing repeated so often? "everybodys different!!!!" What if your band isn't providing you correct restriction? How will they know, by guessing?? It doesn't have to be a guess! Fluoro fills are so simple, they just require a machine that most doctors don't readily have in their office. It's like a live xray, they adjust your band while they watch your restriction. As for why its not used more often? I think it eventually will be a standard. I hope so for the benefit of all. Heres a link to my surgeons page describing fluoro. http://www.hoab.org/...louis-missouri/</p></p>

"Happy, NO hunger, satisfied on band sized portions"....hopefully, you tell them exactly that. They'll know exactly what to do....NOTHING! Congrats! You're gonna do great!

Oh no....do NOT give up! Why are you saying you are forcing fluids? Are you having physical trouble drinking Water? You have a lot of usefull info.... YOU know what your calories/protein are since you said you are tracking everything. So with that info, You can figure what you should be losing. I don't know your age, but lets assume your 43, like me. And lets assume, you're somewhat active. Given the info from your profile, height/weight, your BMR is 2000 calories per day to MAINTAIN your current weight. If you are taking in 1400 per day, you should be losing a little over a pound per week. 2000-1400=600 600 x 7 = 4200 calorie deficit per week. You can punch in your real age and activity level here http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598 Now back to your band, I'd make this suggestion. If as you said in an earlier post, your band isn't doing its part, TELL your doctor you want a fill using fluoro. If they refuse, GET A DIFFERENT DOCTOR TO PERFORM IT. I know from first hand experience, not something some one told me or something I read in a book, FLUORO FILLS CAN BE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD. I would NEVER have gotten help from my band without fluoro. Unless a DR is claiming to be superman and can see your restriction level, THEY ARE ONLY GUESSING without using it.

Why does your doc "FEEL" you should be there? Does she do your fills with fluoro where she can see your restriction level, or is she just guessing?

It COULD be, or it could be something else. If it persist, call your doc and discuss. But, kinda keep track of what you've eaten a couple hours before it comes on and see if you detect a pattern. If I have a meal consisting of a lot of carbs, say a dessert/flour products like battered fish/potato/etc, I notice that sleep monster coming soon after. I don't limit carbs, just notice how I feel after a lot of them.

Since you are a month out from surgery, have you possibly started eating more carbs? That can cause delayed fatigue an hour or so after consuming.

You got this! Only 4 more days! One day at a time.

That pool sounds like it might be a great suggestion. As mentioned above, maybe try other exercises that don't stress your knee. I've been following the progress of some paraplegic veterans on their "Ride 2 Recovery". Handbiking/handcycling is one exercise they use...seems to be working well for them. Some gyms have them. Maybe even your local VA center would have one in their rehab/workout room you can use? Getting that metabolism going will really help. Anything and everything you do will help. Just find what works for you...call or go visit a gym and ask them what they recommend for folks who have knee problems. I'm sure they will be happy to help. Best wishes!

I think aftercare is a VERY important factor. Probably more so than with other WLS. I personally would only recommend surgeons who use fluoroscopy for fills. Not necessarily every fill, but at least most. I think its that important.

8.8 in my 14cc band to get me to perfect restriction.

Awesome ride Terry! I know EXACTLY what you're referring to....I always try to check out the flags and ride into the wind the first half. It doesn't take a lot of wind to make a huge difference.

What a great post!!!!!!! We were banded very close together, and I, like you, got on here and read long before I decided to start posting some. As you said, seen the folks who were successful, how happy they were and tried to learn from them. ( I was really hardheaded! ) So now...a good time later, its wonderful to see you post this...almost like returning the favor to those who did it for us. I sure hope there will be someone just like us who gets on here and reads your post and realizes they too can be just like you....a SUCCESS STORY! They too can win, with dedication/determination like yours. Congrats, Congrats, Congrats! Well done, my friend!

Here's my opinion: You mentioned you're not at correct restriction YET, so if you want to lose BEFORE you to reach that correct restriction, you'll have to control your calories by dieting....YUCK, I hate that word. But, it doesn't have to be a diet forever.... Here's a summary of what I replied to in a post last night: I started tracking/logging my food/exercise on Jan 14th. I'm using LOSEIT....Not, repeat NOT to limit what I eat, my band does that now, but I was just curious. Here's what I have found over 3 months. I averaged eating about 1750 calories per day. Average calories burned exercising was appx 600 per day. So my Net was 1150 calories. During this timeframe, three months, I went from 252# down to 218#, for a loss of 34#'s. Everybody says a pound equals 3500 calories. THEY'RE right! My BMR 2950 TO MAINTAIN: according to the Mayo Clinic website http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598 My Intake 1750 1200 calorie deficit for 90 days = 108,000 calorie deficit. 108,000/3500 = 31 And I lost almost exactly that.

CCornell87, It took me a looooong time to get to this level of restriction and be able to control my hunger/eating ( a lot of head hunger/bad habits ). I've been banded over 3 1/2 years, so PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't get discouraged. It takes time to figure this thing out and change what we've been doing for YEARS. I almost gave up on this thing about two years ago. My band had an installation issue. I did the diet thing for the first several months, losing about 70#s or so, then my willpower dwindled, lifelong eating habits returned, weightloss stopped and I actually increased some. FINALLY, my doc started doing fills with fluoro and we figured out my issue, he corrected it, and I'm doing much better. Even and INCLUDING with head hunger. Because I am at correct restriction. Being close and being at the correct level made a big difference for me. THIS IS SUPPOSED/DESIGNED TO BE A LIFELONG DEVICE, so if it takes some of us longer to find that sweet spot and acheive our goal....thats ok. Never, ever give up!