AlienBandit

I fell off the wagon and hard a few weeks ago because I need an unfill badly. I never got back up after that. I stressed for a few days making things worse so I just said to hell with it. I am not stepping on the scale or stressing about my weight until Jan 5th ( when i get back from vacation). After that I will focus on losing more weight. For now I am happy to maintain and proud of the goals I have achieved this year.

You are already recognizing that you made a mistake and want to fix it. That is great! We all have our bad days. A little coffee drink is much better then a big feast at a fast food restaurant or a large amount of fried foods etc. Just accept that it was a mistake and promise your self you will follow your doctors orders etc. It takes a long time to change our eating habits and ways with food and drinks. However a little treat every once and a while isn't that bad. I enjoy a cafe mocha sometimes or now that it's winter a hot chocolate here and there but I then eat very healthy after and maybe cut out a carbish food. I learned not to stress over that and be thankful it wasn't a 1,000 calorie meal instead. When I stress I make even worse food choices so I just accept and move on. Also in terms of the straw, I have heard that you can't drink through a straw something to go with gas or bubbles in your stomach and something about it can cause a slip or something I don't know. My doc never said straws were bad.

I used to measure my food out sometimes but also tried to listen to my stomach for full feeling etc. After a while I stopped measuring because I was using smaller dishes so I guessed them to be able to hold 1 cup worth of food. I would never eat more then what those items would hold. A few weeks ago I was baking and grabbed what I thought was my 1 cup measuring cup to get flour only to find my true 1 cup measuring cup still in the flour bag! Turns out I had been measuring and eating up to 1/2 a cup of food and I didn't even know it. Everyone is different really because our stomachs are different, our bands are different and our fills are different.

I have restricted myself from many things since being banded. However I would cheat every once in a while. I set of goal of 140 lbs by Christmas and was getting really disappointed I wasnt going to reach that. Then I decided to look on the brighter side and be happy for what goals I have met this year. As a reward i decided to declare myself bandless and just do whatever I wanted until the new year when I can try to finish reaching my goal weight. I have found since I have done this the things I do eat that are "bad" I don't even like anymore. I have eaten some bad things I did enjoy but also found i didn't want to eat a lot of them. Not because I knew it was unhealthy but because a few bites were satisfying enough. Even though I say to myself it's ok to eat fast food etc I still find myself at the end of the day craving chicken and salad or eggs over fried chicken etc. As a bonus with all my bad eating I haven't gained any weight sometimes you just gotta let your hair down and enjoy life a little. Don't stress over the small stuff

Any time you lose a lot of weight fast you lose your hair. A few years ago I dropped 50 lbs in 3 months and went to the doctor with half the hair i should have had in a bag instead of on my head. I was freaking out but he told me it happens with fast weight loss. Increase your Protein, slow your weight loss and you should be ok. I didn't lose a lot of my hair as fast this time around losing weight because it took me longer to lose the weight.

Everyone is different as our bodies heal different. I slept on my stomach maybe a week after surgery but after banded the second time I slept on my stomach right away. I understand how hard it can be when you can get comfortable. It was hard for me to roll onto my stomach but when I finally did things felt better. Good luck

I am so glad I live where there are no reeses pieces. I swear if I did I would eat them all the time. I love Peanut Butter and they are so good. I think a little snack is ok but in moderation. Maybe next time go to the movie theatre and get a smaller bag or sneak in a small bag so your not eating a lot. As for popcorn my band has days where it loves it and hates me but kernels popcorn ( caramel etc) always goes down easily. I think the band needs to be wired to our brains and our stomachs

You can do a quick internet search of lapband vs realize to see some good info. Also those are not the only bands out there. Here is a little info and photo of some bands http://alienbanditinkorea.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/bands-very-important-please-read/ Depending on where you are some bands might not be FDA approved or used by many doctors in your area. If you have any specific questions it might be easier for us to help you out. There is TONS of info!

I have 17 piercings and I usually have to take all my piercings out. When I was first banded I had just gotten a piercings a few weeks before so I refused to take the piercing out. The nurses kept bugging me but then I talked to my doc and he let it be ( it was an ear piercing). Other times I have had surgeries I usually have to take everything out but I have always left my nose piercing in, sometimes my nipple piercings and sometimes that one ear piercing. It depends on the surgery I am having and what my doctor says. I would ask your doc to see what he says is ok to stay in. If you explain that you just got a new piercing he might just tape the piercing and or tell you to get the clear plastic things instead of the metal in the piercing.

You should probably ask your doctor. My port used to be able to move a bit. I don't know why but my doctor was never concerned because it only moved around a bit. The first time it happened it felt like a little pop in the area. Then it hurt for a while but went away. When I saw my doc about it 4 days later he said things were fine.

All bands and doctors are different. My first band didn't mind me eating on my flight I could even eat chicken. I am flying again this week and my flight is 17 hours. No eating the whole time? Hmmmm I don't know. I am going to see how my band feels. If it gives me trouble at my first bite I am obviously not going to try to eat more. I am packing some Protein powder just in case but I am almost at the point of being too filled with my band. My doctor says that eating is possible but you should listen to your band. Also will you have a fill then? if you don't have a fill or don't have a lot in your band you might not even have any problems at all eating.

After my first band, my port never hurt at all. However when I was banded the second time my port hurt, and it never went away. I talked this over with my doc and even had an ultrasound and he said my port looked good. It was difficult to do many things even like working out and sex was a problem too. I had my port moved when I had my mini tt and since then I haven't had any pain. We are thinking my port was hurting because of its location and where it was stitched. Maybe that is something you should ask and talk to your doctor about. The band isn't supposed to make you in pain and restrict things in your life. Hopefully you can figure something out.

When I was banded the first time I waited a few weeks and then slowly drank just little amounts of alcohol like wine. I would drink it and Water at the same time ( not mixing) The second band around I drank a glass of wine a week after being banded and couldnt even drink half a glass it hit me hard. I think its better to wait a while ( guess I should take my own advice:P ) But of course ask your doctor first. My doctor says small amounts of alcohol is ok.

When it comes to alcohol it depends on what mood my band is, to what I can drink. See my doc has never said drinking was bad so I drink on occasion when going out etc. Since being banded I have become a big wine person. Maybe you can try to find a sweeter wine. I prefer a sweeter white wine which is nice with meals. If you cant find one or dont want to try, here are a few suggestions. White russian Baileys and milk Vodka and orange juice Vodka and cranberry juice grapefruit juice and vodka Pina Colada Bloody Mary martinis Whiskey sour Amaretto Sour Happy Anniversary

I live alone and told no one of my surgery so I had to find my own ways of getting out of bed. My bed isn't too high so at first i would lie at the edge of the bed. To get up I would roll on my side and slide out of bed kind of ending up on my knees that made it a bit easier to get up. Or I would put one leg under the mattress on the side so I would use my leg more then my stomach to get up. It's a challenge but you can probably find a way that is comfortable for you to get up.

Going to the bathroom always seems to be a problem for bandsters after being banded. There are tons of things you can take like fiber supplements etc. I like to use benefiber, the kind I have can be added into almost anything and it is odorless and has no flavor. It also had b Vitamin in it which is an added bonus. here is a photo of what it looks like http://alienbanditinkorea.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/presents-presents-presents-bikini-photo/ Great for when your on liquids

I have PCOS and can totally understand you. Luckily (or maybe not luckily) I found out i had pcos nearly 10 years ago when I was 16. I gained so much weight in such a short amount of time and was on tons of meds like acutane trying to help with the symptoms of pcos with no luck. Finally a doctor told me what I had but the diagnosis didn't really help much. Yes I was able to control the symptoms, but losing weight was impossible. I did weight watchers ( started when I was 11 years old!), Dr Berstein diet etc. I could lose weight but could never keep it off. Moving to Korea made things even worse because Koreans eat rice 3 times a day, they see fast food as a snack (as in go to Mcd's eat a big mac meal then go home for dinner ) because they believe rice has to be in a meal for it to be a meal. Finally I got fed up and looked into getting banded here because it is cheaper and back in Canada my bmi was never high enough to be considered for surgery ( luckily or again maybe not so luckily I was overweight but never got really obese). After being banded I lost a lot of weight at first ( 20 lbs in the first month I believe) but the rest was a struggle. After 4 months I lost about 50 lbs but then after that it stopped. Mind you I was banded oct 2009 and lost my band due to erosion Feb 2010. From February until July I had no band ( but had a balloon in my stomach instead while my stomach healed) so I didn't lose any weight. In April I went home for a visit and bought a whole new wardrobe. After being rebanded in July I have lost maybe 5 pounds yet my clothes from April just a mere 5 pounds ago and 8 months ago don't fit! Moral of this story, its hard to lose weight with PCOS but you also need to remember that though the scale might not be changing, your body is This is a slow process for us but it is also good because that gives your body time to adjust and change slowly as well. Even bandsters without PCOS sometimes have a hard time losing weight. Just don't give up hope. You can do this At least the scale isnt going up.

My port used to be to the left of my belly button. Right beside it. It used to stick out and you can see that in the photos on my blog. I didn't like that so I had my port moved. I thought it was in the same spot just under my muscles but my doc moved it even more south. I have heard of port being located near the ribs, all docs place the port in different areas. If you don't like the location and plan of having plastics you can ask for it to be moved.

I am terrible when it comes to grazing! When my apartment is set up where I don't have to walk through the kitchen I am fine, I can stay out of food that way but right now my apartment is a long rectangle so every time I want to go anywhere in my apartment I walk through the kitchen. This path then promotes me to stop and see what there is to eat etc. I used to end up eating more then I should even if I wasn't hungry. It is still hard to kick that habit but what I do is keep only fruit in plain sight so I might grab that as I walk through or keep s.f pudding or Jello in the fridge at eye level. That way if I am just looking in the fridge for no reason at all I will grab the pudding, jello or even a little cheese to nibble on. I am so close to goal and having a little trouble losing the rest of the weight so I am working hard to kick the grazing habit but I think as long as what you graze on is healthy, and high in Protein etc it should be ok. Damn you kitchen Damn you!

I did a lot of research before my mini tt and I read somewhere that dial soap is something you should use before and after the tuck. It helps prevent infections etc. I started using it 2 days before my tuck until few weeks after. I did just that and could have had my stitches removed a mere 3-4 days after surgery because I healed so fast and never had an infection or anything. Out of all of my incisions from my surgeries ( 13 incisions total) my tummy tuck was the fastest one to heal.

For me it always seems around Christmas time that I fall off the wagon badly. I have found the best way to get back on track is to revamp everything in my life top to bottom. First I start by doing the 5 day pouch test. I start on a Monday and go til Friday. This limits what kinds of food I am allowed to eat etc. While I am watching my food closely (and checking my band because when I fall off I always wonder if I need a fill etc) i go crazy with grocery shopping buying all healthy things and Proteins etc ( I do this on the Sunday before the pouch test starts) During the week I go through all my clothes and items around the house getting rid of the junk ("fat" of my apartment). To get my exercise routine back in place I set 3 alarm clocks around the apartment so I have to get up to turn them off. Of course once I am up the dogs are up that means a walk outside and by then I am so awake I might as well go to the gym. By the time the week is done, my mind set is better, I am eating good again, I know whether I should call my doc for a fill or not, my apartment is a little empty and more organized, I have a list of new clothes I must buy (always in a smaller size for more motivation) and I am back in my exercise routine. Falling off is easy, getting back on track is hard. It may take a week but that is better then nothing

Doctors don't want people to set ridiculous goals. I think that is mostly a western thing. My doc out of habit of having mostly Korean patients said I could get to 60kg if I wanted. I think that is way too low and I said I wanted to be 63-64 kg ( about 140 lbs) at 5'6 that is a good weight. I am having enough trouble getting to 63 kg never mind 60. Try to set a goal that you will be comfortable at not only what your doctor says. Just like the bmi charts are not always best to follow you might not want to completely listen to your doctor about what goal weight you will be in the end. Many people lose weight and reach their doctors goal weight and then lose some more. As long as your losing in a healthy way and your doctor approves losing more then 50% of your excess weight is ok. I started at 210 ( not my highest weight though) and want to weigh 140 I can't imagine stopping at 175 lbs! That would have been so disappointing!

The balloon is only temporary. Therefore once you have it taken out you might gain weight again unless you stick with better eating habits etc. I found it to be a huge pain. It didn't help me lose weight ( I had it between my bands) but it did help me maintain my weight ( so I am thankful for that). If anyone ever finds this and has questions feel free to ask. Also February to July 2010 on my blog has my experience with the band. The best advice I can give anyone is don't eat before flying with this thing in you. It HATES flying

My band is actually the opposite with alcohol. I never used to really have a problem while drinking but recently whenever I drink my band closes up for days! I mean not a little but a whole lot. Sometimes even drinking tea after a night of a few drinks is hard. Just like our bands and fills are different so is our tolerance for dinner foods, drinks etc. I am actually going for another unfill in a few days because my band is getting tighter over time and it is becoming unbearable to even have a sip of wine at dinner every once and a while.

I used to be almost filled with my first band and have nearly nothing for restriction. Even at 10cc in an 11cc band, I could still eat bread, pizza etc. My second band things were different. I got good restriction at 6cc in a 10cc band but now that I am 10lbs from goal I am finding I need unfills. I already went for an unfill 6 weeks after I got a fill because it was too much. I had 1cc taken out. Now I am at 5cc and still finding it to be too much. I am going to probably get another .5cc taken out. I have no idea why these happens but I have read a lot of bandsters getting unfills once they are near goal. I'll ask my doc for his input on it. p.s what band do you have that is 5cc? I have never heard of that size band.