GoingforGoal

I'm thrilled w/ the TT and it's not even at 100% Such a relief having no more extra skin to disguise I went from a DD to B. Although I'm not sure I'd to ba if I settled in at a size E hahah

Right now I tried on some bras for fun and came up with 32-34 DD's as a minimum. But this is premature because I'll have to wait for them to drop to get a real idea of what size suits me best. As long as these guys drop another few inches (which I know they will lol) I am happy with the results. I was actually uncomfortable with the small chest I had post band (maybe b's??) as I was always a bigger chested girl and that is my comfort zone. It's the round projection that is just so 'off'. And again patience is not my virtue lol. But everyone says around 3 months is when you get to your 'norm'.. so I have yet another countdown to start (Smiles)

Hi Comfy Blue and welcome to the LBT community! I think we can all relate to your struggles in our own way. When I look back at hs years I was probably in the 140-160 range and remember wanting to lose a mere 30 lbs. That grew to a whopping 100 years by time I got the band. Looking back 30 lbs was nothing comparatively. It's all a matter of perspective ey lol. But no more looking back, just look forward. I am an emotional/stress eater and the band has helped me tremendously with controlling that aspect of my bad habits. Even if you 'stress eat' you'll be relieved to learn you can't overindulge and that's the key. Preop nerves are normal. Nothing wrong with being extra careful. Do your research, get referrals and have faith that you are in good hands and all will be well. See you on the other side Good luck

Honest feedback. I see what you mean, but it's the clothes not the body. I can tell instantly you are not overweight. Your clothes are so baggy it's giving you a fluff factor. I know if you buy some tight fitting jeans and a much smaller shirt to show off that silouhette you would look absolutely perfect. You look beautiful

Take away my pregnancy and accident, lost 100 lbs in 1 yr

I dont understand what you mean Whats wrong with not using punctuations again I mean it takes so much energy Dont you agree ehehhehehe

Sayyyyy Whaaaaaaat? So there's been bandsters who have acquired gastroperesis and they suspect it's because of the band and it's constant pressure on the vagus nerve. I would only surmise that the band could worsen your condition, and than what? I'd have a 2nd consult before proceeding. Get a very clear understanding of the rationale as to how this is safe and how the doctor's do not anticipate any complications w/ the band. SOmething sounds off here...

Liquid calories sure, however, a great source of Protein. Necessary if you are incapable of actually eating the min protein levels and/or need additional calories because you are inable to eat (or are not hungry enough to eat). Common sense says that if you are experiencing side effects of undereating than the 'eat when you are hungry' approach is not working for you. There is such an individual spectrum here. Whereas one person who eats only when hungry takes in 500 cals another will take in 1000 cals. The body has a basic metabolic demand despite your hunger. Signs of insufficient nutrition are things like lightheadedness, shakes, nausea, lethargy etc. Please report those symptoms to your doc and say what is plan B? Banded or not, malnutrition poses as many problems as excessive nutritional intake. Best of luck

If you have alot of lower body fat or are planning on any future cosmetic surgery I would wait. Just as a precaution. Skin elasticity, stretching and/or removal will effect the result of the tatoo. I have one on my upper right shoulder where I never had much fat so there's no difference after the wl. So it just depends on the location?!?!?! PS What are you getting

I listen to literally everything, but if you haven't yet heard of this guy...check him out (PS I LOVE acoustic covers)

Ale, I just got your email. Sorry, now it makes sense. No, there is no need to loosen the band. I had quite a bit of CS done (tt, arms, breast lift and implants) at the same time and both my CSurgeon and my Bariatric surgeon said there was no need. Additionally, I was pleasantly surprised postop that I had no issues w/ my band. I could have sworn it would have been tight, but nope. NO stuck issues nothing. Hope this helps

This is my current fav from the Voice: Preston Pohl's cover of Electric Feel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AjFGO3F-54

Typically gas pains start around day 2-3 and can last up to a week on average. Just keep walking, use a heating pad for comfort. Also, because of the pain you may feel less inclined to take deep breaths, but force the issue to avoid lung infections

Hi eat Sounds like you overexerted yourself. Just listen to your body. Once you feel any strain, stop. I'm currently recovering from cosmetic surgery and it's the same. You do something because you feel up to it but than your muscles are sore afterwards. Just take it easy and try to rest those sore spots. If you actually did anything major like ripping out stitches, slipped the band etc it's going to be acute pain, not soreness. Never hurts to share this w/ your doc but follow your instincts (which yours sound spot on)

Ditto the previous posters. But I would strongly encourage the band for us emotional/stress eaters. I too stress ate. But let me share the difference before and after the band: Before: I get stressed, I eat..and eat..and eat..and gain 5, 10, 15+ lbs at a time until the stress subsides. After: When I was banded I had suffered a severe car accident. Resulted in 3 disc herniations, sciatica, immobility and intensive rehab for 8 months. Stress and diet do NOT go together for me. I simply can't do both. But with the band, I am not able to eat huge portions. So typically I would eat a whopping amount of Cookies etc I could only have 2 with the band. Or I would eat a few bites of a normal meal (normal meaning something you give no care to how many g of fat, cals etc are in it you eat it for taste alone). I ate like that for 8 months and gained ZERO pounds. See the difference. The band has helped in several ways specific to emotional eating: 1) It prevents excessive consumption 2) it helps with weight maintenance (because youre only kidding yourself if you think you should lose whilst eating like crap) 3) having the band has given me alot of time to work with my food choices, eating habits AND learning diversions to stress eating. It has given me a sense of focus which is very hard to do when you don't have any tools to help with self control.

Everyone's ports are different. There are some people who have lost such excessive weight that when you take a pic of them their port is protruding out so much it's very evident. Again, different for everyone

Exactly. For the first time in my life I am in control of my eating. I would say I eat 90% clean and 10% is free choice. If it goes over 10% I compensate throughout the day, no biggie. Nothings off limits. But I don't over eat or try to eat only pizza, milkshakes and ribs all day long ahah.

Nothing too strict will work. People fail to remember, we are not talking about will power for a few months, a year or even a few years. We are talking 5, 10, 25, 50+ years of future eating. EYEROLL lol We haven't even entertained geriatric issues when you lose taste buds. It's very natural for elders to put sugar and salt on their foods just so they can taste their food. What are we going to do than? Food for thought lol

hahaah we all have our secret dirty addictions lol I'm not a big salty fan, however, I recently discovered Kellogs new popcorn flavored chips. It instantly subsides any cravings for salt and is quite tasty. I expect zero nutrition from this..but it's much better than eating chinese (for example) to satisfy my salty tooth. As for sweets...that's another zinger. And I love things like SF icepops, 100 cal Cookies etc. Just enough to make me feel satisfied w/out sabotaging the diet.

ahahah ^5 that was awesome lol I always appreciate someone who can laugh at themselves

Hi Well here's an interesting thought. Speaking of cheating the band...sometimes don't you think the band cheats us? (smirk). So in my post I spoke to 'tricks' I use when I need to consume healthy foods like chicken. I simply add tomato sauce for instance. Nowhere in bandland rules does it say you can't add flavor, you can't have foods that could be labeled sliders on occassion etc. But it does say, get your protein in. So on those terrible days when the band is just naturally tight I get creative. Again, like chicken with tomato sauce to help moisten it instead of risking getting stuck. There's a huge difference between cheating the band to get all your fav foods in, and than cheating the nature of the band when it prevents healthy eating. I also believe, any extremist who thinks they are going to maintaing a 100% pure diet for 10, 20, 40+ years is unrealistic. In the beginning we run high on idealism. It makes zero sense why you would go thorugh this operation simply to sabotage yourself. However, years into the band you recognize that moderation is the actual answer and can be accomodated in your normal diet. ie a handful of m&m's. Again, we are talking food choices. Not other habits like overating 2+ cups of food, drinking your meals (ie milkshakes and cookies) etc. I just want to make that clarification because "cheating" can be implied in different ways

This is one of those posts that can head south real quick. But I'm going to put my own spin on it. I don't cheat my band to cheat it. However, I bend rules to actually achieve nutrition. For instance, I too have issues w/ dry meats so I almost always eat certain meats with a sauce to moisten it and allow it to pass more easily. Technically, sauces are calories, sliders etc. But depriving myself of essential Proteins is my concern, not the added 15 calories of sauce. Also, when you are at goal weight and are maintaining, you eat a crap load of things you didn't in diet mode. Just today I had a strawberry shake. Now, If I ate this because it was an easy slider, or if I am counting that as a meal xxxxxxxxxxx wrong. However, some foods I wouldn't touch prior to goal are now more permissable in small amounts and intermittently. Noone needs to be self righteous here. We all have foods (even healthy ones) we struggle with and want to find ways to incorporate them into our diets. My only advice is to not have too long a list, introduce these foods nor methods too soon after being banded, and compensating calorie wise when you are knowingly cheating. Life, banded or not, will always be about moderation. Stick to your rules, give yourself permission to live and enjoy life, but don't make either excuses. If it doesnt work for you (ie gaining weight) it's time to nix it. Things I dont condone the most is overeating, eating knowing you will be pb (ie bulemia) etc. That's something you'll never hear me endorse