jenibeni

Hey Tina, I actually ended up not going, I got caught up in a book and lost track of time and by the time I noticed it was 7:45...haha. It is good to know that they are almost every Tuesday though, so I can go when I need the help. I've been at 229 for four days. Sigh. Go down, scale! It's probably because I lost a ton of weight the first couple days and I'm holding Water because I'm on my period, but still. I know it's just a number but I'm motivated by numbers :eek: I talked with my best guy friend last night about my surgery. He was super happy for me and excited for how skinny I'm going to be. I've always told him when I was on a diet or if I'd lost weight, and he is the person who always notices first when I lose weight (even if it is just 5 pounds). I'm really excited he is supportive of me!

Hey Eli! (You said anything... :thumbup:) Welcome to Lap Band Talk. This place is great for questions and finding support. You might want to check out the special subforum for people who are in their twenties...I personally like reading more about people in my age range because it's more relatable, y'know? Do you have a date scheduled for your surgery yet?

40 pounds! That's super amazing :thumbup: Good job, Happy!

I can do weekends for the walks! We may have to do some more extensive planning (for example, I spend about 25% of my weekends out of town) but we can work it out. Even if we could only do once a month on the weekend, it'd be good. I was reading that there is a support group in Hollister. I forget where I read it, but I think it was on here. Maybe check into that for a weekday solution?

Hey Minxz! Is Good Samaritan hospital too far for you to go? It's off of 85 at Union. There are some meetings on Tuesday evenings we could do there, or perhaps we could all find a place for when we do our bi-weekly walking that is close for all of us. It would be nice to have a "veteran" in the Bandketeers :thumbup:

I looked it up on Good Sam's website and it seems that the 16th is a weight loss seminar. The first and third Tuesdays of each month are weight loss support groups. The second and fourth Tuesdays are WIP support groups... I'm not sure of the difference. Here is the description from the page: Bariatric Support Groups - WIP Coaching Suppport Tuesday, December 8, 2009, 7 – 9pm Good Samaritan Hospital Grey Trailer by East entrance, 2425 Samaritan Drive, San Jose, CA 95124 Free WIP (Work in Progress) Weight Loss Surgery Coaching Support Second Tuesday and Fourth Thursday every month. For pre- and post-ops in their first year to 18 months. Work with our life coach and other patients to find your personal success strategies after weight loss surgery. Appropriate for pre-and post-op individuals. For more info, call (408) 559-2514. I think I might go tonight! Tina... next Tuesday is coming up fast! Are you ready? Do you have your gas-x? I have a whole extra box, I didn't use it so much. Good news, though... my gas pains in my shoulders are gone! I thought they'd never leave, but I realize I haven't had one in about a day and a half now. Jeni "The Bandketeer" Beni (Not my last name but I needed a last name to have a nickname in quotes in the middle of hahaha)

I think my body is really, really good at losing weight quickly at first. I've lost 20 pounds overall, 3 of those being pre-op. So, since surgery (11 days) I've lost 17 pounds.

Soexcited, I move on to mushies on the 17th. My doctor is very conservative with the healing process, so I have ten dys each of clear liquids, full liquids, then mushies before I move on to solids.

Chilli sounds fantastic. I'm so glad you've successfully moved onto the mushie stage! I moved into the full liquids stage today, and my pudding and protein shake with milk are so delicious. I ate about half a pudding cup and I think I'm full... I don't feel hungry, but I'm beginning to feel something in my chest that makes me think my top stomach is full. I don't want to push it on the first day, so I'll stop here.

Hey Nicole, Oooh I didn't know Good Sam had a lap band support group! Count me in, I'll definitely go. Do I have to register? I live in downtown San Jose, near the convention center. I was banded on 11-27 by Dr. Aceves down in Mexicali, MX (boy was THAT a long drive!) I'm 10 days out and finally on my full liquids. I'm enjoying a chocolate Protein shake made with 1% milk... 34 grams of protein, not bad! I've also got some sugar free pudding today for my afternoon snack and when I get home I'm going to have creamy carrot Soup. I'm so excited to be able to have a bit more variety in my diet! I'm also going to make spinach pea soup with some chicken stock and heavy cream. I'll let you know how it tastes :thumbup: Jennie

Nicole, Believe me, I have that exact feeling! I keep asking myself why I even ever considered making it more difficult for me to eat food... I love food! It's delicious! I could eat it all day! Then I remember that's partially the reason I'm in this mess now. So I calm down, and sip my Water. I think we're both "grieving" food right now... we can't have it, we want it, and we're used to getting it. I've never watched Food Network before my surgery and now it's the only channel that I want to watch because I like to look at the different foods I can have once I'm all healed and on solid foods, and then I think about what I can blenderize, then I see a recipe I can eat while on the full liquids phase... and so it is helpful, in a way, to get me thinking of more tasty dishes to help the process along. That was a lot to write but I have a lot to write on the subject! Haha. Jennie

Hey diamndgrl! Yay, now there are three of us :thumbup: When you and Tina are all healed up, do you want to organize a time to walk and get together each week or every other week? I think I do really well with people-interactions, and we could swap tips, recipes, etc.

S: 236 C: 232 G: 216 (4/20) 16 pounds to go :wink2: How are your challenges going, Mr. Rice Guy, chocolate_snaps, and Erin?

I had a weird experience today... I work in an office and it was a really long day (everyone but me had to get to work by 1:00AM), so I decided to treat them to pizza. I'm waiting in line at Costco to pick up the pizza, and the person waiting next to me is making conversation and asks what I ordered. I told him a pepperoni pizza, and he asked me, "For yourself?" Normally I would have been somewhat offended, but I realized a couple things... 1) It wasn't for me and I wasn't going to eat any of it (still on liquids) 2) In the past, it may have been all for me. I happily told him no, that it was for my coworkers. I didn't really feel offended at all because I was so happy knowing that I wasn't buying a whole pizza for me. A total stranger doesn't know that I've lost 15 pounds, but I know, and that's what matters.

(2/20) 18 pounds to go :wink2:

What is helping me avoid all those holiday goodies and candy is the fact that I'm still doing my post-op liquid phases. It's difficult having two jars of candy (chocolate and hard) in front of me! Before my surgery there were days when I would eat 4 or 5 bite size chocolate bars and 3-7 hard candies. Gross! Now I will stick to my Protein drink and broth... haha. I'm actually going to be the evil one and bring in Cookies for the office. It's weird, ever since I've been feeling better after surgery all I want to do is bake and cook for people! I think it might be because I miss cooking meals for myself so I want to still cook them...but give the food away. Anyways, I'm in for 20 pounds by Christmas.

The past couple of days I've lost 2 pounds each day, but I know it will slow up soon. It's a good motivator to stick to my liquid diet, though! I've moved on from clear liquids to thin liquids, which means I can have a watered down protein shake. Mmm, protein, how I've missed you!

I haven't had any sort of bowel movement since Thursday morning. I kind of miss it! Is that weird? Down 11 pounds total. 89 to goal. 11% done! I wish I had a faster download speed... haha. Geek alert. I'm at work this morning, but I think I'm going to have to leave early. I don't feel well at all...my jeans are still too tight over my swollen stomach, even though they fit perfectly 11 pounds ago. I just want to wear sweats to work :tongue2:

Day 4 is here... and still some pain by the port and gas pain in left and right shoulders. I feel hungry, but I'm going to get some popsicles to try and combat that. This morning when brushing my teeth I forgot and swallowed a bit more water than I wanted to, and it hurt for a second but after that I was fine. I had some low-sodium beef broth last night which I added onions to to give it some more flavor, then I removed the onions before drinking (I gave them to my roommate to use in a recipe). Now I'm sipping on the rest of it... I feel really hungry, but it seems I can't sip fast enough to get rid of it.

Got my band on Friday! Got to the hospital about 7:00, was in sugery by 9:30, and out of recovery at 12:30 or so. I slept in about hour long naps with a quick walk in between. Ice chips were amazing the first day, and the chicken broth today was extra good. My pain is mostly near the port, but also some gas pain in my chest. It took about six hours to drive halfway home, when it should have taken only four so I'm a bit wiped out. We are stopping for the night in 45 minutes where I can walk around and recline in a nice chair instead of the car (though I am fortunate that my dad's car has heated seats). Anyways I'll keep checking back in when I can! I'll also post pictures of my port and band (they did a barium swallow to verify placement).

I'm going in this Friday, 11-27! So very, very excited. My dad and I are going to wake up at 2:30AM and drive down from the LA area to Mexicali... I hope to meet some other people at the hospital, but I don't know if anyone else is having surgery that day. It would be nice to have a buddy!

Aw I posted in the group but it seems that I got looked over. Here is mine, sans surgery weight, because I haven't had mine yet (Nov. 27!!!) LBT NAME jenibeni Height 5'3" Surgery Date 11-27-09 Starting Weight (preop diet) 249 Surgery Weight ??? (shooting for 235) Current Weight 240

You're welcome! Just think... feel bad for 4 more days, and then get your band and all that hunger will be over. 4 days is definitely worth it :bored:

Soexcited, that might just be it. Less calories, a bad time of month, changing weather... all could add up to a nasty feeling overall. Stick to your diet as best as you can and take a nap if you can fit one in! Or go for a brisk walk. Both will give you energy, and exercise sometimes helps with cramps.

Thumbs up to Odjii! Counselor, I'm sorry to hear you're in so much pain :bored: Hopefully it gets better as the day goes on?