ca7696

I'm curious if you still enjoy food after the lapband. Obviously the quantities are much lower and there are certain restrictions on what you eat, but does food still taste good when you eat it... or do you miss food and the way it used to make you feel?

NO, before being banded would think about food all day and plan on where we were going out to dinner, my whole life was what and where i was going to eat..... now food dont excite me. I know I HAVE to eat. I eat just about everyhing I ate before but in a hell of a lot less quantities. breads are the only thing I dont really eat. but when we go out to dinner now ...i am like ok what ever not the food rush i had before....... I guess thats a good thing and why I was morbidly obese before

I am down 156 lbs I had surgery on 10/2/2009 and was 361 lbs I lost over a hundred pounds in 7 months I am currently at 205 lbs two years after being banded . I was down to 186 lbs but looked too skinny( wow did i actually say that....too skinny....lol) and scrawney so now im comfortable at the 205 lbs

OK, I know this has probably been asked before but... I like to drink beer on the weekends and I'm know that I shouldn't drink beer after the surgery because of the calories but... Is it ok to drink beer on the weekends or something? How is beer drinking after being banded?

I guess everyones different..... I was a very big guy 361 lbs and used to drink a 12 pack during a football game or a case or 2 on the weekends.............. i loved it now 156 pounds lighter I will occasionally have a few beers during the game or in the summer out on the boat... I just drink them A LOT slower I get bloated when I drink too much. on the average i will have 2 or 3 beers when im drinking.... i think the most i ever had since being bandedd was about 5 in the course of the night...and i just felt so uncomfortable............ but at least i am saving a ton of money on beer!!

This is a challenge for me. I love to drink while I eat! Just talking about tea or Water. My doctor said not to so my food doesn't liquify therefore staying fuller longer. What do you do? Thanks!

i Agree with the others I was brought up in a Italian family always lots of food and lotrs of drinks(Ice tea, soda. etc etc ) plus a giant pitcher of Water on the table.....this is the hardest thing for me personally,,,,,, It has been two years since my surgery and I lost over 150 lbs... and I still havnt learned .... I still do at times drink right after or sometimes duriing my meals..... and I regret it I feel bloated and sometimes I bring up the liquids.... I always say im never gonna do it again i will wait the half hour till i drink......dont know when ill ever learn... I try and drink plenty of liquids well before my meals sao im not as thirsty at meal time,,, it helps a little......im slowly getting there but this is my only real trouble ive been having....

wow...its been 2 years since my surgery(Oct 2nd 2009) I started out at 361 lbs and I am currently at 205. I originally set my goal at 225. I got as low as 187 lbs but my wife (and I ) thought I looked "too boney" so iam comfortable at 205 . I went from a very very tight 48 inch waist to a 34-36 inch waist I was in a tight 2x (sometimes 3XL) shirt and shorts I now get mediums in shorts and some medium or large shirts. I had a fill in july of 2010 then started eating more and putting some weight on so in feb of 2011 i had a fill they put 1mm fill in . my band was too tight and i couldnt eat or drink comfortably so after 10 days i went back and they removed 1mm, so technically i guess you can say i havnt had a FILL in over a year.

I do eat some more than I did, but I have sooooooo much more energy and I am constantly doing physical stuff, activities around the house. I no longer come home from work and sit on computer or couch and watch TV, I mow the lawn lanscape take dogs for walk ride bike..... all the thing i did when i was younger( and thinner)... its great having all this energy. when it snowed last winter I was shovelling for over 2 hours and I stoped because i was done not tired. a few years back i could do it for 10 minutes then had to wait for the kids to come around nd pay them because i was not physically able to do it.

I hemmed and hawwed at having the surgery but two years later i have my life back and I am so glad I did it and wished I had the surgery years ago....hope i didnt bore everyone with my story, but I am proud of sticking it out and so glad of the outcome and want to thank everyone on the forum for your support and encouragement throughout my journey... thank you all again and if anyone has any questions I will be happy to help out in any way I can and give back to you all who gave me the encouragement i needed .....Carmine

OMG I finally broke the 200 pound mark. I am currently at 194 my lowest weight since 8th grade. I remember when I got below 300 pounds and it brought tears to my eyes....when i got the band last October never did i imagine in my wildest dreams that ONE year later I would be down a 160 pounds and be below 200 pounds. I still have a hard time believing I am buying a medium pants....down from a tight 3XL. I am very happy that I finally had the band, it has changed my life for the better and i am totally convinced that it also added years onto my life. thank you all for the support and answering those"DUMB" questions I had.........

I love tacos unfortunatly one year later i have problems sometimes with the soft ones........the hard ones no problems at all!!

congrats...its a great feeling when your old clothes are too big huh???

I think everone of us feels like we made a mistake right after the band operation. as you start loosing more and are able to do things you couldnt because of your weight ,,,it all will be worth it.... the begining is the toughest, like everyone said all doctors are different what they say u can have.. I lived on won ton Soup just the broth no dumplings and cottage cheese whipped type...... good luck and keep thinking about how youre gonna look and feel one year from now!

your 4th fil in 2 months??? i got fils every 6-8 weeeks, that just seems like a lot. anyway.... you have to take very very tiny bites and put down your fork inbetween bites, take your time I had a hard time in the begining, I was eating too fast and taking to big of a bite. Just give yourself time between bites to let the food go down, eat slow and when you full you stop....good luck and take it slow:thumbup:

congrats!!! I know that feeling, and better yet my wife does not have to have my legs and *ss pushing into her seat area also......... just so much more comfortable to fly now congrats again!!!!

Congrats!!! 100 pounds in a year is awesome...its a lot easier to loose weight when you have a few hundred to loose as i found out the more you loose the tougher it is.......someone who has to loose 100 pounds can loose 20 pounds quicker and easier than someone who has to loose 20 pounds..... your doing great keep up good work

I have two friends who had lap band surgery, one the insurance paid the other paid $13,000 out of his own pocket. they both lost close to 85 pounds in about a year.....and now 2 years later they BOTH put over a hundred (100) pounds back on! neither one goes for fills anymore and havnt in over a year.I keep telling them and trying to get them to go for fills but to no end. Why would you not go and maintain the band especially if you paid for it out of your own pocket??(he is not rich by no means)...I will keep trying with them...but in the mean time they have showed me how important it is to stay on top of things and keep up with your fills!!! and whenever i feel that im eating more and not getting full I know its time for a fill..so people..... Please stay on top of it and get your fills

good luck not much to it the give you a fill then a taste of Water to make sure its not too tight and fluids can go down... then my doc tells me just liquids for the rest of the day, I do shakes and by dinner time i am able to take Soups also.. for me personally the first two or three days i eat very little then im very full after that im fine............good luck and keep getting those fills

thanks all!! and congrats to everyone who is changing their life for the better and not letting food rule our lives

last week (October 2nd) was my one year anniversary. I am EXTREMELY happy where I am at today weight wise. In the past 6 months I am doing things that i havnt done in over 20 years!.I finally fit in a regular swing at the park,I can buy jeans right off the shelf in ANY store that sells them, and i can (and did) buy the Puma and Nike sneakers that i always wanted(they didnt come in wide widths) yes, even my feet got thin...lol,and would you believe an XL shirt is big on me...me a guy who wore a "tight" 3XL before.

I had to have some other surgery last November in a hurry for nerve damage and couldnt have that till i lost some weight, so my doctors "aggressively" with tighting the band. well it worked I am down about 145 pounds in a year. I feel great and have tons more energy. THIS WAS THE BEST DECISION I EVER MADE!..I honestly believe without the band I would have diabetes, a heart attack/stroke or death within a couple of years............ and many thanks to everyone in the forum for helping me with my "stupid" questions and sharing your experiences. this is a great forum and it helps lots of people out ..thanks again:thumbup::puke::thumbup:

same here I didnt have a bowell movement for about 5 days or so and I was starting to get worried...... butt in the end it all came out ok....LOL(sorry couldnt help myself)

my doc told me not to use a straw....he said with a straw its easy to take in too much liquids at once..................I always use straws .......... and I always feel like the liquids are stuck...when will I ever learn??? anyways im using them less and less

I had a few beers about 3 weeks after surgery and I was fine... you just have to nurse it and not take big gulps I sipped mine and one beer lasted me about 30 minutes or so...I noticed that I do get bloated very fast from the carbanation... I drink a couple of beers just about every weekend out on the boat and have not had any problems so far as long as I take my time and know when im full!!!

Before the surgwery on a good(or bad) day I would drink close to a case of beer in a day.......those days are looong gone. now I have one or two to socialize and also get the taste of one. over the course of a afternoon I might have one and that will be enopugh or i might have 2 or 3 ...just take it slow and know when your full

My sleep study (s) test were nightmares. I dont snore but I never slept thru the night. I also had some facial nerve damage and during the first sleep study at about 2:00 am the nurse came into my room and told me I have to put the mask onfor the 2nd phase, Other than the nerve damage I am very claustraphobic so the mask lasted about 30 seconds before i ripped it off. long story short I left and drove home around 2:15 am in the morning.

after getting the results my doctor ordered this million dollar specialy made mask for me to wear and some valium to take before hand. I take two valium at 9:00pm and I get there at 10:00pm and pop another valium and it takes about 45 minutes to hook up all the wires . then I put on the mask. and I keep telling myself relax. I last about 10 minutes before I go crazy and pull the mask off. at 11:30pm my wife had to come and get me cause I couldnt drive. I was so afraid and worried that because i failed the sleep test(twice) the were going to call off my surgery. I didnt sleep for 3 days at all until I went back to the doctor. Then he told me that they wouldnt cancel my surgery cause of the sleep test..I felt much more at ease after that. I just had tyo make sure the anesteshologist knew about my sleep apnea before the surgery so he could take extra precautions............ but now I sleep like a baby right thru the night. not having all that weight pressing against my lungs also helps out...lol

congrats having been thru that knowing that feeling and worrying about asking for one sucked!!! I am verrrrry happy for you.................FLY AWAY!

Also thank everyone in this forum...it has been a great way to express myself and talk to others who are going or been thru the same thing as me. thank you all again!!:thumbup:

To me it seems like the actual weight loss was the easy part....the psycological part is the tough one for me....when I make food like crabcakes I still put 4 in the oven...even though after 1 1/2 or 2 im stuffed!! when i have Cereal I pour a huge bowl and only eat half. oatmeal I will make 3 packets...and I only eat one till im full....

and buying clothes I dont go for the 3x's but i look at the 2x's and for some strange reason I cant buy a xl thinking it will be tight on me.... when in reality its very loose and big on me.. and shorts or pants I have trouble in my mind buying XL when I do they are usually big on me also...I just cant seem to allow myself to buy or even look at Large shorts.....I am very thankfull that my wife buys me size large...but when she does i tell her there going to be tight to take them back, after she insists on me trying them on...they fit fine and I keep them.................I dont know i am just not there mindset wise, that im not overly obese anymore. and when i see myself in the mirror , I look like I lost a few pounds but certainly not one who lost a 130 pounds. even though people I havnt seen in a while tell me i look "Skinny" I just cant except it....because to me I am not...in my mind.................thank you for just let me venting some....

In High School I was 6'1" 215 and not a ounce of fat on me......I realize now 25 years ;later 215 will not look the same as it did then...I still have a bit of a stomach on me and once i get the somewhat flat stomach back then I will be totally happy regaurdless of what I weigh...'''like I always said I dont care what I weigh.I care how I look...I mean If i have a flat stomach and broad shoulders I wouldnt care if i was 230 or 200.....:bolt:

went to the doctors for another fill on tuesday and dropped a few more pounds. I am down to 227 from a high of 361 lbs. went from a tight 48 inch waist to a loose 36 inch waist... all since October 2nd 2009 only10 months ago...I was feeling pretty good about myself until the doc pulls out this little chart and tells me I am still obese... I have to loose 1 more pound and then I am just..OVERWEIGHT.:smile:... I am 6'1" tall broad shoulders ( played all sports in HS) there is no way I want to be "normal" weight which is 189 for my height.:smile2: I would look like a bag of bones.:ohmy:..... I thought I would be happy at 225 and I am but I dont want to go below 215 lbs....my High school days weight.....