btrieger

You may not need a third fill. I just had my second on Friday and think it may be my sweet spot. You can enjoy food and beverages but be careful not to eat and drink simultaneously. The drinks reconstitute the food you just chewed well and cause stuckness and sliming. Good luck and bon voyage!

The liquid diet only hurts if you tell yourself it does. You will do great. You've got the right attitude.

Congrats! You sound like you are doing great. Keep up the good work!

Good luck and trust me, the time will fly by. Keep a positive attitude and your eye on the prize.

... and doing great. I've lost a total of 121 pounds since September 18 and 26 since being banded almost 3 months ago. I've been away from this site for a while because I have OCD and got caught up in that retarded Farmville game on Facebook. The weather here has also been great. So, I have been spending a lot of time outside, walking the dogs and cavorting with neighbors. The weight loss has slowed from the 3 pound average loss I was doing weekly but it is still dropping. I even gained a pound or 2 in a few weeks only to lose it the next. I didn't let it get me down. I am at 244 now, that just happens to be the lowest I have gotten to both previous times before gaining it back. That is not going to happen this time. Phyl (my band) won't let it. I had my second fill on Friday putting me at 7 cc in my 14 cc band and I may be a bit premature in saying this but I think I may be at my sweet spot. It let's me eat enough and hammers me hard if I over due it. Also, I learned that drinking while eating not only washes food down but more often it reconstitutes what you just chewed the hell out of and makes it get stuck. I spend quite a bit of time sliming these days because I am not doing what I know is right. Live and learn. I've been contemplating a tummy tuck. I brought it up with my nutritionist and he said that a good PS wouldn't do it until I was at or near my goal. My goal is 170 pounds, which is next to impossible. I think I am going to hold out until I get down to 215 - 220. I am guestimating that I will lose an additional 20 pounds with that surgery. Well, I'm off to bed if I can there without stopping at Facebook.

Hi all. I am keeping up to date with the goings on. Not much to report on though. SSDD. If you are on Facebook and haven't friended me there, my email is triegerb@verizon.net.

I think you are a lot braver for "chickening out" than those that aren't ready for surgery and go through with it anyways. Life is not a race. Take your time and have the surgery when you are ready or don't have it at all. I lost 95 pounds prior to surgery and I was NOT dieting. Dieting sucks!!! I simply cut my portions by about 25%; cut out all fast foods; and started walking 20-30 minutes a day.

You have some wonderful suggestions here but please call your surgeon or pcp and ask their advice. I WOULD worry if I didn't shit (I think BM sounds dumb) for 2 weeks whether I had eaten or not.

5 pounds during 2 week liquid and mushie diets. 16 pounds total so far with first fill in 2 weeks.

Productive Burp The Water thing takes a little getting used to. Start now; don't drink water with your meals but take a sip here and there if you need to. Eventually you will find yourself taking less sips. Drinking is not a problem though. I guzzle water like it is going out of style outside of meals.

Sorry for the abandonment but I am hopelessly addicted to a stupid game. I just read 3 pages and tried to catch up. Aside from the addiction to Farming, I am doing great. I'v been cutting the dogs walks a little short to get back to the farm. So, you aren't the only ones seeing less of me. My farm is as big as it can get and there isn't a lot more challenge left in the game. So, hopefully the addiction will wane. Dotty and Shammah rhymes with mama, I will add you on Facebook and send you the link to the others just in case you don't have them yet. Stacie, your incident sounds just like mine last week in a japanese restaurant. I don't know about you but that is exactly why I got banded. I needed something to pull the reigns in when my eating got out of control.

Congrats on doing the right thing MrMom. I am personally insulted every time I see somebody try to justify their cheating by saying, "everybody cheats". Like the others that have stated here, I did not cheat one crumb on my 3 week pre-op or 2 week post-op diets.

I'm in North Fort Worth. It seems that 50% of the Americans on this site are from Texas. It is a very tall order if you wan to try and keep track of all of us. :thumbdown:

It all sounds normal to me. I was unable to burp as well. I looked into it here and it seems to be common for the first couple of weeks after surgery. As for the sharp pain, is it outside your body or inside? I had a very sharp pain that was coming and going and finally narrowed it down to where I had "ripped" my skin. Basically a very painful stretch mark.

My surgeon and nutritionist drove home the point that men should be getting at least 63 grams and women 50 grams of protein a day. These numbers almost jive with what your "former" NUT told you. Where did you get the 60 - 70 number for women? I play it safe by making sure I get at least 70 grams a day and think more is better but am interested in your source.

NewHope Bariatrics DFW I am in no way associated with that site. I am just passing it on.

Check out this post. I listed it step by step. Let me know if you still need help after this. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/ticker-tutorial-pictures-41782/#post1384706

I too am usually in a hurry. 1 or 2 Dannon Light n Fit yogurts usually satisfy my until lunch.

Every patient is different to every doctor. I got the go ahead to do blended/pureed foods at 1 week post-op. I got the ok to eat normally following my 2 week post-op appointment.

A time machine

I was told that the only thing I should never have again is carbonated beverages. There was a huge list of foods to be careful with but was told to try them out at home if I want just to see how they react to the band.

You jump started your metabolism. Some of my biggest losses have followed nights of binge drinking. Not very often mind you. Your metabolism sits there thinking you are going to give the same old amount of calories to burn and has become efficient at burning just what you give it. But when you give it more than it is expecting, it jumps into overdrive. That is why some people suggest eating more when you are at a plateau. Who cares anyways? You are losing again!!!!

Congrats!!! I had second thoughts about correcting your math but figured it was for the better. You are only 67 pounds from 180!

Congrats!!! Somebody needs to arrange some kind of DFW meet up. So, we can all get together every couple of months for support and bragging.

It's all part of the game. the best thing to do is try and stay positive. I gained a pound for the first time in 6 months last week. I lost 6 this week and did nothing different. Go figure.