elcee

I don't know if you are pre or postop but I would say with this kind of attitude you may be in for a major dissappointment.

Maybe I should relent/repent! There are a couple of religions that have caught my interest that I could possibly consider. 1. The beliefs of the ancient Greeks or Romans. The tales of their Gods are so exciting - why limit yourself to 1 when you could have lots! 2. Witchcraft( white magic only). The thought of riding around on a broomstick has always appealed to me. And now that I've lost weight dancing skyclad around a bonfire wouldn't be too bad either! 3.Voodoo. There are a couple of people that I would have loved to have stuck pins into. 4........... I suppose I should behave. My apologies if I have upset anyone but as someone said earlier this is the rants and raves section.

These "answers" are exactly why I am not religious. I am not going to defend or argue then one by one- that would be a pointless exercise. neither of us would change our view.

LOL. Not for the spiritual aspect. I think the quickest and easiest way of making new friends especially when you move to a new town is to join a church. The other way is to be a Mum of a young child.As your kids get older it gets harder to meet people and make new friends.

I have lots of reasons for not believing in God or religion. In no particular order. 1. Religious differences have been the cause of most major wars. 2. Many people have been persecuted or killed in the name of religion. 3. Bad things happen to good people. 4. Bad things still happen whether you believe and pray or not. 5.I know the difference between what is right and what is wrong and can choose the right way because it is the right thing to do not because I am scared of what may or may not happen to me once I die. 6. There is so much pain and suffering in the world that if there is a god either:- a) he is powerless and unable to prevent this so why worship him or :confused: he sees and allows it to happen anyway so again why worship him. 7.Churches have far too much money they don't need mine too. I would rather support a charity of my own choice than donate money to a wealthy organisation to invest in more art and real estate. There are more reasons but that is enough for now. Having said that though I can see the value in religion for a lot of people.I think going to church is a great support network and sometimes I wish I believed just for this aspect! Its also a great form of mind control for the masses! Years ago a friend of mine read a book on ways to get rich. The final chapter was entitled how to got obscenely rich(or something similar). The answer was to buy a tent and start preaching. I wish I had acted on that as it does seem to work! Please do not try to convert me - many have tried and failed!

Amen! LOL

Possibly your blood sugar is really low. Light headedness and nausea can be signs of that. Not sure about the burping! That's something I seem to do all the time since being banded.

It doesn't sound right. I would tell you to call your Dr but you saw him today. Did you ask about it, tell him how bad you feel? If not why not - Dr's aren't psychic!

Humming bird what do you eat. After looking at your list there doesn't seem to be a lot left!

You may have a blockage. Don't worry about food at the moment the most important thing is Water so that you don't dehydrate. Are you able to drink or does that come back up too? You are probably very swollen from all the PB'ing.If you can't keep water down try sucking ice chips as these may help.If that doesn't help then you need to see your Dr fairly urgently for a small unfill - not being able to eat isn't a major problem - not being able to drink is! Hope you feel better soon.

There isn't a limit to the number of fills but there is a limit to the amount of saline that can be put in. Here in Australia Dr's like to take the slow and steady approach so we tend to get lots of small fills e.g .2ml etc. in the US Drs appear to be more aggresive and seem to put in bigger fills eg 4ml etc. Also every person is different and the amount that they need to reach their"sweet spot" will be different.I have a 10ml band and only have about 3ml total fill. Some people have far more than this. I believe with a Realize band that more fill is required to reach restriction and that some people even have more fill in than the supposed band capacity. So the bottom line is don't worry. If you feel you need a fill go and see your Dr and they will work out what is best for you. HTH

I also used to be a big grazer.If I was at home and not working i would be back and fore to the fridge all day. With the band i am not really hungry so I do a lot less of it but I haven't stopped completely.I think a lot of it has to do with boredom/habit rather than hunger.On the plus side when i do feel the need for a snack I try to take the time to think and choose something that is healthy and won't ruin my"diet". I usually eat a couple of nuts/seeds, yogurt, nestle diet or crackers with some protein.

If you choose the right type of bread it is not empty calories.Wholegrains are good for you and they do help to keep you regular among other things. This in itself can be quite a problem for a lot of bandsters, particularly ones that focus on Protein and forget some of the other food groups. I agree though that things such as garlic bread are just empty calories. And ANYTHING that you eat too quickly once you are banded will cause you problems - not just bread!

Why do you need to have the fluid taken out? Surely so long as you inform the anaesthetist etc they should be able to work with it.

You are unlikely to have stretched your pouch as without fills the food still passes almost straight through. I am surprised though that you are eating chicken breasts already. They are not normally part of the post op diet until about week 6 or 8. Are they on your surgeons diet for this stage? Chicken can cause problems so be careful.

Its a very common problem - bread is on the list of problem foods and a lot of bandsters can't eat it at all. Try wholemeal rather than white bread and also try it toasted as that usually makes it easier to eat. The problem with fresh bread is that it can form a doughy ball that gets stuck at the stoma.

i have never heard of this before. The lap band diet goes through stages from liquid to mushy to soft to solid. To get through all the stages normally takes between 6 - 8 weeks. there should be no reason why you can't eat meat although once you start having fills and getting some kind of restriction it does get harder. What you need to ensure is that the meat is tender(try slow cooking methods), moist(it goes down better with some kind of sauce/gravy) and that you only take small bits and chew really well.

I have never been told that I can't use a straw.I would suggest that you try drinking with a straw prior to the event and if it doesn't make you uncomfortable go ahead and drink your cocktail through a straw. The only downside is that for some reason drinking alcohol through a straw seems to make you intoxicated quicker - so just be careful!

I'm 153cm which is just a tad over 5'. My surgeon never gave me a goal - I think they are happy once your BMI is in the healthy range. I currently weigh 54kg which is approx 119lb but I'm aiming for 52.5kg 115lb. I am by no means skinny and still have some excess weight around the middle.

Himow I would have to agree. Mels diet before was a lot closer to what my dietician recommends than it is now. The point of the band is not to starve oneself - you should still be able to eat a good variety of healthy foods in small but not miniscule portions.

Try making and cooking your own meals. Most convenience meals tend to be sliders. They have very little solid Protein in them and seem to consist mainly of carbs. I think the only reason they are lean is because they have nothing in them - sometimes you are lucky if you find three small pieces of meat! If you make meals yourself ensuring that you have some good quality, solid protein (meat,chicken etc) then it is likely to fill you up for a lot longer. Also remember that you won't feel full in the way you did prebanding. What you are aiming for now is to stop eating when you are no longer hungry. HTH

!!!!! I don't think anything was put here for the use of mankind. I prefer to take the view that we should be caretakers. I don't see why animals shouldn't go to "heaven" too - if it doesn't have any animals then it must be a pretty awful place and not one where I would want to be!

I am in total agreement. Exercise is good for you and has lots of benefits yes but it is not essential for weight loss. You also need to be careful of the type of exercise you choose if you do follow a formalised exercise regime as lots of sports people suffer injuries. Even playing Wii can be dangerous. LOL. I know I should do more exercise but I am happy with the loss/rate of loss that I have achieved by only doing the "incidental" kind.

I have heard that this fixes the problem most of the time.Good luck

Andrea it is actually 63.8lb as 1kg = 2.2lb. You have done really well - congratulations.