isaviolinist

I think you should wait and see how you feel. Its great that your husband has a party he wants to go to, but you're having (pretty major) surgery, so theres a good chance that you're not going to want to sit in a car for 4 hours. My mom's closest friend was having a party the day after my surgery and she cancelled her RSVP. If you push yourself too hard after surgery, there is a greater risk of complications. Good luck.

I think a lot of people feel that way! You may gain a pound or two or three even when you start on real food, but just stick to proteins and healthy choices, and you'll continue to lose. Congrats on your 21 pounds! What a great start :w00t:

Thanks Restless. I'm really hoping that I'll get some really good restriction at my next fill (Aug. 25th) and the next 45 will come off as quickly as the first 45!!

This sounds horrible. Please post what happened when you get back from the ER. I really hope everything turns out ok...

My surgeon won't perform surgery on someone who is still smoking (and I believe he even says that the patient needs to be abstinent for 3 months prior to surgery). You are taking this opportunity to get healthy with your weight, why not extend that to your lungs? I've never smoked but I think I would be so sad to get thin and healthy and then die from complications of another unhealthy addiction I had. Plus, presumably you'll want to start working out once you get your band (or before you get it is even better). I can't imagine running on the treadmill or trying to get a hard workout on the elliptical if you can't breathe from smoking. My fiancee used to smoke, and I told him I wanted him to be around for our kids and grandkids and for me. He quit cold turkey that day. Its been over a year since he last smoked. It is possible, you just have to want it.

At first I was trying to keep my carbs under 30 a day. I wasn't really sure what the right amount was, what constituted a low carb diet, etc. but thats what I started with. It was kind of easy to do when I was literally just doing clear liquids (clear broth, crystal light, etc.) but when I got to protein shakes it was impossible. My protein shake has a few carbs in it (maybe 4 or something) and the skim milk has between 11-13 so I was getting 16 carbs or so just from one shake. Plus, I don't eat chicken or red meat, so fish and tofu are staples of my diet. Tofu has a few carbs (not much but a few) as well. Basically, I took a step back and said, "is tofu unhealthy? is skim milk unhealthy?" etc. And both of those foods (as well as any other food I eat with carbs) are very healthy. So I got much less anal about it. I rarely (or never, for some of the foods) eat breads, pastas, fried foods (french fries, fried fish etc.), sugary foods so my carbs are no longer coming from those sources. Every 2 week I give myself a treat (usually ice cream). At this point I'm averaging somewhere between 50-55 carbs a day. I've lost over 45 pounds since June so it must be working. Thus, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing until it stops working for me!

I officially started counting on my pre-op diet (which ended up being 3 weeks long).

I agree. You need to speak to someone (therapist, nutritionist, etc.) because poor eating choice/bingeing+laxatives = eating disorder. Good luck and I hope you can get some help soon.

I've decided that I'm going to give myself a treat maybe every 2-3 weeks. And it'll probably be ice cream. This is so my head does not feel like I am depriving my body of anything. And then of course, it helps prevents those moments of overboard, binge eating. Maybe try something like that for yourself? Good luck and let your slip go. Tomorrow is a new day!

Congrats on your upcoming surgery!! Welcome to your new healthy life! Good luck!

I swear by the elliptical. I love it. And recently I've started doing different programs (there is a weight-loss setting, cross country, uphill, etc....they basically offer just varied levels of resistance and challenge) instead of just sticking to one. When I can afford to have a piece of gym equipment in my house, that will be the first one I buy!

My surgeon told me I should begin exercising when I went to my first post-op appointment 5 days after surgery. I didn't really start then - I probably started 2-3 weeks after that and I try to do 7 days a week (30 minutes on the elliptical) but sometimes it ends up being 5-6 days a week.

Can you do this program on a treadmill or is it really meant for outdoor running only? This sounds great - I kind of want to try it now!

I agree with all thats been said! And this place is a great place to come for support from like minded people. Also, it looks like (from your ticker) that you've lost a significant amount of weight already!! Focus on that when you get discouraged and just keep on truckin'! Congrats on your weight loss so far and good luck with the approval process! Keep us updated! :cool:

I love the movies. I go pretty regularly. I munch on bottled water and thats about it. Sometimes my fiancee gets a hot dog or something but he always finishes it before the movie starts so hes not eating during the movie (sometimes that makes me wish a little that I were also eating during the movie). I do give myself a treat occasionally but I try not to associate it with the movies, and rather just be mindful while I'm eating (if I eat during the movie, it will be completely mindless).

I set my ultimate goal weight (130 pounds) based on what is healthy for my height. I could actually be 115 pounds and still be within the healthy range, but I thought 130 was a good start. I didn't talk much about it with my doctor, I just decided on my own. My first mini goal is 215. I just chose that because on my last diet I got to about 219-220. But couldn't move past that. I thought it would probably be impossible to drop below that, so I'll feel really good when I get to 215. The next goal after that will be 199 (I haven't been under 200 in such a long time...I don't even remember when the last time was). That will feel SOOO good! I cant wait! :cool:

I have 5 incisions. One above my belly button, one on the right side of my abdomen, one between my boobs, one to the left of my belly button (port incision) and one below that and further to the left. The port incision is about an inch and a half long. I'll probably be able to see it. The others are all less than one inch. I'm not sure if they'll be really visible forever, but I'm sure they will be much less visible 5 years from now than they are now.

I don't know anything about the distilled Water thing - I've never heard of it. I also can't say whether or not your doc missed your port. You can find out by having him draw out the 4 cc he already put in at your next fill (he probably already does this) before adding more. If approximately 4 ccs come out then he hit the port. It seems like you would know if you were getting injected with something and it was going into your skin or muscle rather than the port. I will say that a lot of people don't feel restriction after their first fill. I got 5ccs at my first fill 2 weeks ago and I really don't have much restriction at all. So you probably just need another fill. If you have legitimate reason to feel that your doctor injected Fluid into your skin or muscle and did not hit the port, you should probably schedule a follow up with him right away.

I didn't pay very much - just my program fee (300.00 I think) and some copays. There were some preop tests that my insurance wasnt going to cover but since I was a student when I was banded I made less than a certain amount that year, which entitles me to some kind of thing where all my preop testing stuff gets paid for. I'm so glad I wasn't really working while I was a student lol and I'm glad I got the band while I was a student. Thank goodness my insurance covered the procedure - otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get it done (I have enough student loans as it is). And I wasn't interested in going to Mexico to have it done (under any circumstances).

Hi - I was banded a day after you. I had the burning sensation for a little while when I pulled or turned too forcefully or too much. I think it was the port hooks (I have Realize band) sort of pulling against the fascia. But the thing is, after 2 week it went away. I definitely waited a pretty long time to sleep on my stomach. I don't ever have that burning sensation anymore. Its seems concerning that you're still experiencing it.

Good! That was really just my personal choice - I know on my post-op diet sheet they definitely listed cream soups so I know they're okay to eat! Enjoy!

Hi. I was banded this past June. I had my first fill almost 2 weeks ago. So far, I've had just minimum restriction. I just had an experience and I wanted to ask if anyone else has experienced something similar: This evening I made broiled salmon fillets. They were probably between 8-9 oz. each. When I had it for dinner, when it was piping hot, I was able to finish the whole fillet. It was a very moist piece of salmon, it fell apart when you put the fork in. Just now, I had a little more however it had been refrigerated since dinner. I got that kind of "full" feeling after just 4 ounces (half the fillet). I'm assuming this is because the salmon was a little less moist since it was cold? So I guess my questions is, do you judge your restriction level and whether or not you're at your 'sweet spot' based on how hot foods go down or cold (since it seems there is such a big difference)? I also don't eat chicken or red meat, so my primary diet consists of seafoods and tofu (which makes me think I'll probably need more restriction than someone else who does eat meats). Perhaps this is why I don't have much restriction after my fill. Thanks in advance!

It was probably 5 hours or 5 and a half hours after the first serving. I think I've come to the conclusion that I'm really just not tight enough and so I'm looking forward to my second fill on the 25th.

I weigh multiple times a day. I'm compulsive about it. Trying to cut down a little.

I've never tried cream of celery. Cream of potato is good but post-op, even though the time was really for healing, I did my best to stay away from it because of the carbs. I figured, with 3 weeks of a pre-op diet, my body finally adjusted to not really having carbs, so I didn't want to start eating them again really. I ate it once but I strained all of the potatoes out. It is very good though.