happy2lose

Aw, congratulations to you! What a great feeling!

I am in total agreement with this statement! I also have thyroid disease and a very slow metabolism and must count calories, carbs and protein to keep losing regularly. Everyone is different! I have to exercise like crazy to drop weight as some people don't have to exercise at all.

I was scared to have the surgery but I knew if I didn't I stood a greater risk of death from obesity. I have lost 85 pounds in 8 months. I have done this while dealing with some pretty awful personal stuff and family tragedy and did it without turning to food for comfort. I am proud of myself today. Having this surgery has been one of the best things I have ever done for myself.

I don't measure or weigh anything except myself haha

LollyMoe, I am so, so sorry for your losses. It is so hard to deal with it this time of year. You sound like a really nice lady and I hope you have a very merry Christmas.

Congratulations on your commitment to be healthier. I know making a decision is tough so I am very happy for you. Good luck with your journey.

Before you are so quick to correct me on my post, I think you need to realize that potatoes contain 63 grams of carbs. This is more carbs then I choose to eat in a week while trying to lose weight. Since you are still in the very early stages of your journey perhaps you should be focusing on better, leiner Protein choices.

It appears you are still in the mushy stage??? If so, try and focus on lower calorie soft foods. I have not eaten potatoes since my surgery 8 months ago because they are too fattening. You can eat oatmeal with some Protein powder added to boost the Protein. Fat free Greek yogurt is very high in protein. You can have cottage cheese, beans-excellent, low cal source of protein. Get creative. Make some home made chili for the cold days.

You should call the doctor's office and tell them you need another fill. Each and every doctor's fill schedule vary. But if you say you need a fill they should listen to you. FYI, Only in the first couple of weeks did I lose 3 pounds or more. The loss does slow down. Now I am lucky to lose 1-2 pounds each week and 1-2 pounds is what doctors say is normal.

I too am finding the holidays difficult to deal with. Not so much because I miss the food but because of the people that I have lost. I always get depressed this time of year, but this year it seems harder then years past. I wonder if this is because I am not turning to food to comfort me as I have in past years. Not really sure! My friend, she owns the Curves I work out at, told me that maybe I wouldn't lose any weight this month and I should just focus on not gaining. This comment really made me feel much better. She's right, so what! I'm still working out, I'm eating better, not perfect-just better then years past. She also told me to be prepared to get back on track in January. Well, I decided myself to get back on track that very day and I did. No more excuses for me! No more excuses not to work out everyday, no more excuses for having a margarita or two, no more junk food. Like Nike says, JUST DO IT! Words to live by don't ya think!

This is exactly my plan of attack and seems to be working okay. I really don't eat any fruit. Well, I do sometimes have a banana with Protein Powder but haven't in several months. I stayed pretty focused on protein for the most part but have begun to sway from this approach lately. I just eat the foods I can tolerate but just don't each much of it. I've finally started to lose again this week. Yay!

Hey Elfie, Years ago when I was going to Lindora I would fast a day each week but I'm never going to diet again and fasting just seems too much like a diet to me. A weird thing is going on for me though, I just don't have an appetite lately and I don't really care if I eat. I just can't seem to make myself eat the foods I've been eating for the past 8 months. The good news is that I finally lost a pound. Seems like forever since I've lost. Not really, it's only been a month. Let us know tomorrow how the fasting worked out for you. Maybe it will change my mind about fasting.

Erin, Just do it! You know what you need to do, make a plan and follow through. Don't allow yourself any excuses that would allow you to deviate from your plan.

Pattygreen, With all due respect, and I'm not really sure you deserve it, GET A LIFE!

I'm sure you are having a swelling response! My surgeon has me do 2 days of liquids after a fill. I recommend you try doing at least 1 day of liquids to try and reduce the swelling around the band maybe even 2 days before making the decision to have an unfill. My guess is you will be fine after the liquid days. I was filled too tight last month and it was miserable. Because of the cost and distance to my surgeon I tried to do liquids for a couple of extra days before deciding to spend another 10 hours in the car to pay and have an unfill. The nurse told me after the unfill that I would be back within 3 weeks for another fill and sure enough I am headed back to Mexico tomorrow for a fill.

One of my customers is on the way in with a basket of holiday cookies for me. Ugh! Sweet of him but I just don't have the willpower to bring them home to my family and have them sit in my kitchen calling out my name. I will give the cookies away before I even leave work today so they aren't around to tempt me. You have a long journey ahead of you and you need to realize that if you had will power you wouldn't be 400 pounds. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh because I really don't mean to be, I'm just brutally honest and have no filter and little will power. Try not to set yourself up to fail this early on. Don't subject yourself to bad foods until you feel you are mentally prepared to handle a situation where these foods are available. This is something I am trying to do for myself. If ordering food in a restaurant is too difficult for you to order healthy then don't go out to eat. You need to set up methods that will work for you to deal with food and the excuses you make to allow yourself to eat bad things. One thing I do when ordering out is tell the server to hold the potatoes or pasta. This will help me not to give in to my weakness once the food is placed in front of me. This being said, you are only human and you will make mistakes. I just believe in setting limits early on to minimize these mistakes. I'm sure you haven't stretched your pouch. It would take repetitive eating in that manor to damage your pouch or band so relax. Have a great day!

Actually, I learned the opposite. Salads ARE slider foods. A slider food to my recollection is a food that offers little nutritional value and will slide past the band enabling us to eat more then we should. Lettuce is all Water, nothing more. There are however better choices we can make salad wise. Mixed greens and spinach offer some nutritional value and actually offer more taste.

In my opinion you are hungry a little sooner then most but definitely not abnormal. You will feel less hungry after you get some restriction. With each fill it will get a little better. I really loved the vanilla flavored Matrix Protein Powder, The chocolate not so much. My favorite thing to do with the powder is put it in the blender with a little non-fat milk, ice and a banana to make a smoothie with it. You can also add it to oatmeal later on for that extra Protein boost. Hang in there, better days are coming your way. Donna

I asked my surgeon this very question. He said the size of the band placed depends upon the sized and shape of the stomach. I had little fat around my stomach therefore he chose the Allergen 10cc band (holds 4cc fill). I believe there is a little more to this though. Because I was self pay, I chose a fantastic, highly regarded surgeon in Mexico because I couldn't afford it any other way. It is my theory that he was using up old band stock. My band is the older generation lapband. I was concerned about this at first but I now realize that because of the band I have (smaller), with my first fill I already had great restriction and began to lose steadily from day one. I have returned to Mexico for all of my fills which are done under Fluoroscopy and have had no complications thus far. I hope this has answered your question Sally. (oops! Sorry)

Neener, You have to realize that your tool isn't yet working the way it is suppose to. It won't work until it is filled to proper restriction, which may take some time and several fills to reach. However, little by little as you gain restriction you will eat less and feel satisfied on very little food. I recommend that you only eat those foods that are beneficial to your body and getting healthy such as good solid Protein, veggies and Fiber and drink the required amount of Water each day. Avoid pizza for now since it is taking you 3 slices to feel satisfied. Later on, you can safely add the occasional slice of pizza. For now it is recommend that you count your calories and stay away from fatty foods. You are going through bandster hell right now and I guarantee you that everybody that is banded has gone through this to some degree in the first month or two. Hang in there and keep your chin up. It does get much easier. In the meantime, if you are battling head hunger, I advise you to change your focus immediately. Take a brisk walk, do some chores around the house, anything that will take your mind off of food. This band will work for you. You just need to be a little more patient. Donna

Elfie, we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this issue because it is not simple math! If it were, there wouldn't be so many people wanting or needing WLS.

I hate them too. I wore a pair for the first time in years just a month ago and I was soooo uncomfortable. I had already done my hair and makeup before putting the pantyhose on and once I finished with the arduous task of putting them on, the curl was gone from my hair and I was all sweaty. NEVER AGAIN!

Yes, true! Besides, we all get anonymity balls online LOL

So now that I am clear on the conversion, Wow! You really got a large fill. As long as you can eat and drink with your current restriction you should do really well.

Back in my younger days I used the HCG injections and it did work well. I don't know anything about the book you mentioned or the Dr. from Italy.