xavier

We are really on the same page! And you are right about the soup...otherwise when I eat out with friends I get distracted and eat too fast...and you know the rest!

Maura, Dont you need to update that ticker?? LOL! Congratulations...you rock!

I loved my surgeon and had no complaints about him or the fills but it was too far a drive so I went for a fill to someone closer...OMG she fills you WHILE you are drinking water and when you choke she says, "Perfect!" She has been exactly right the two times I have gone to her! Perfect restriction, about 5 or so pounds lost per month, and then after I lose 15 or 20 I get looser so I went back. The second fill helped me lose the last ten to normal BMI.

Honestly I think I have some genetic predisposition to being fat because my skinny Mom pretty much lived of coffee, cigarettes, and martinis to stay thin. Second I think I actually dieted myself to obesity by consistently losing weight and then gaining it back with a little extra each time. Thats why I have never dieted or really exercised with my band. I just eat less because my band doesnt let me overeat!

First eat eggs, cheese, and tuna salad from Quiznos. Second go to the health service doc for advice and help. Next take the doc's advice to the food service director. You have special needs and I bet they can help you if you are nice about it. You might help a lot of other people on your way. Last. if you have to, get a short temporary job to either pay for a fill if you need one or to buy some healthy food.

The only times I stalled I needed a fill. I needed to eat less because I was too lazy to exercise and I refused to diet...dieting is what made me obese, I think!

I eat a lot less food so I do poop less often. Generally thats ok and i wouldnt call it being constipated. I do eat a lot of beans which I guess are very high fiber since I dont eat meat. On the advice of a fellow very successful bandster i eat a couple of those Russell Stover fake sugar chocolates every day and that keeps things moving. Those fake sugars pull water into the colon and that keeps things moving.

It makes me sad to see the bad advice of some of the dieticians! Some of them are basing their advice on very outdated info! Unless you are chasing it down, killing, butchering, and cooking it yourself you really dont need to be eating meat. Even Mike Tyson is a vegan! I'm not saying its bad to eat meat but for dieticians to encourage meat eating is not nutritionally sound!

Hiccups are a spasm due to irritation of the diaphragm...are you having reflux symptoms?

I had Dr Oliak in Orange and he was awesome!!! His staff is so nice, I self payed and would do it again!

I guess I am an old bander but breakfast just doesnt go down. My band is just like my wedding ring - in the morning its super tight and at night its loose. I wish it was the other way around but I just have to struggle against the nigh-snacking urge!

First spend lots of time here. You will get tons of info, brutal honesty, and lots of support! Second I always recommend my favorite blog which takes you through the very first (insurance approval) steps all the way through losing and maintaining a hundred pound loss without ever dieting or exercising. She will make you laugh till you cry and she will answer every question you dont even know you have yet! Good luck! Her blog is called: thesweetspot by band_groupie

I have always lived in fear of belts! It never occurred to me through all this weight loss until I saw this thread that I might actually be brave enough to try one!

What about your record of paying them? That might help. Next would be the threat of suing. It wouldnt be worth it to actually pay a lawyer but sometimes just the mention of either a lawyer or the threat of filing a complaint with the better business bureau will shake them up a bit. Good luck...I think they are bullshitting you because theres nothing in it for them.

Sleep apnea may do it but the labs wont. I had none whatsoever so I had to self pay...I know I'm lucky I could scrape up the $ but I would self pay or maybe sing on the street corners to pay for it all again...its the best thing I ever did after 20 years of being obese!

Please ask your doc about this and be careful of peoples advice here. Calcium is what is in arterial plaques that cause heart attacks so there are new recommendations for calcium supplementation which every woman used to be encouraged to take for bone density...you are gorgeous and have amazing hair but your heart is more important! Good luck...

My stomach growls like crazy but for me I had to teach myself that this is not the same as being hungry. Yes maybe the big stomach is hungry but I think its just food from tthe pouch moving down. My stomach growls so loud its embarrassing and I used to think I was hungry but I have realized I just wanted food (who doesnt?) but I was not actually hungry....its weird!

I had hernia repair with my band too but I dont think theres any way to tell which is causing you pain. I thought I had a complete reflux cure but it did come back for a few weeks or even months when I got fills that gave me restriction...it was ALL worth it! Good luck1

You probably wont feel full or fuller until you get to your green zone of fills and this can really take a while. This is called Bandster Hell and it is the worst part. You have been through all the prep and the surgery and you feel like you dont have a band! Hopefully your doc is not too stingey with fills and you will get some restriction soon, in the meantime try to be nice to yourself and not blame yourself when the band just isnt helping you! Good luck!

My doc says if you cant eat it in 30 minutes, you dont need the rest of it.

I have had that too on and off. I am not sure what it means. I can see if you are putting liquid on top of food but I can be completely empty in terms of eating and liquids still snag up on me. But I have learned to use it to my advantage if I am in the mood to overeat. I eat what I consider a reasonable portion but I want to eat more...I have a few sips of liquid and I am done! I cant eat more so it kind of works for me!

Glad to hear it...glad to hear you are willing to suffer a little by going one teaspoon at a time! Lots of people here cant seem to tolerate that even though its temporary. A lot of people have gone for a unfill for reflux...I would rather (and I do) take Protonix that be overweight. My heartburn is subsiding as I am losing weight and the band is loosening up but even if I had to be on meds forever, its better than being obese. I was just reading a very long thread of what people are generally eating every day and more than 90% of the posts (in my not so humble opinion) were a brutal midevil diet! WoW! If I could do that I wouldnt have had to lasso my gut! I eat all regular food and if I overeat I get a well deserved bitchslap from my band!

Dear Getting on track, Dont get discouraged...it make take some time to kick in or you may need more fill. I have even heard of people getting more fill than the capacity of their band because there is always some Fluid in the port line. Someone here said the band does 10% and the rest is you...if that were true I would have wasted my 15K because I self payed and have little to no will power. I would say my band does 90% and I do 10%. My 10% is putting Protein first but other than that I eat all regular food, I have never dieted or gone to the gym. My band only lets me eat one piece of pizza instead of the whole thing and I need that. For me its ALL about restriction...not how 'satisfied' I am or how long I stay satisfied. I eat 5 or 6 tiny meals a day and yes I still eat some junk and I have never given up wine or cocktails! Good luck!

I forgot to answer about whether I expect to continue to lose. Yes I think I will lose a little more based on what I am now eating and also I am 145 which is the first normal MBI for me. That is not a good place because for me even a normal up-fluctuation to 146 is 'overweight' and even though its silly, I dont want to live on that borderline! I hope to lose 3 to five more but I like my body how it is and I dont want to lose any more boob!

Cynthia, You will get a lot of support here and all your questions answerd to each of our best ability. I consider myself lazy and with no will power so if it worked for me....good luck, friend!