Saraboo

Sara checking in at 198.6 Down .4, but I have officially lost 100#'s so I'm happy!

They did a complete unfill and sent me in for an emergency Upper GI. We had some issues with the actual images; they didn't have the program at the one office to open up the documents, but it did show I had a slight slip. I lost my job not too soon after, so we decided to take it really easy with the fills. It took awhile to get back up to restiction again. As soon as I have insurance again, I'll probably go for another. Just to be sure.

It could have be that you didn't need 1.5 for your last fill. It seems a bit aggressive to me. You may need to be somewhere inbetween those two points.

*ooops* Sorry bout that. Changed what my goal weight says. My bad, lol. Name, real or screen~ Sara Age~26 Weight on April1st~199.0 Goal Weight for April 29th~193 Exercise Goal for April~ To get my butt to the gym more often, and stop making excuses Dietary Goal for April~ focus on getting my Vitamins in Personal Goal for April~ figure out where my relationship is going Date Banded~ 11.9.2009 Total Weight Loss Since Banding~ 99.6

You can try blending up some thicker soups. One of my favprites is potato soup blended up. you almost get a baked potatoe feel to it. There is also in the Food and Nutrition forum, a whole section dedicated to pureed foods. Anotehr favorite is ricotta cheese and spaghetti sauce cooked together. Yum Yum

I feel that way all the time when I look in the mirror. I started out at a tight 26, and I'm down to a size 16 pant/14 dress, and I feel huge all the time. My belly seems like it is the same size. It really is vey frustrating. And it is very much a head thing. Because I have also looked in the mirror wearing certain clothes, and thought," wow I actually look kind of skinny."

Name, real or screen~ Sara Age~26 Weight on April1st~199.0 Goal Weight for April 29th~199 Exercise Goal for April~ To get my butt to the gym more often, and stop making excuses Dietary Goal for April~ focus on getting my vitamins in Personal Goal for April~ figure out where my relationship is going Date Banded~ 11.9.2009 Total Weight Loss Since Banding~ 99.6

I feel your pain Pattie. I had a slight slip due to the same things, but my dr was extremly sensative to doing fills after that. After we did a complete unfill, we went very slowly. Which has been the best thing possible. Just make sure you're getting your water and exercise in. You can try swiching up your calorie intake. Have 1 or 2 days a week where you up your calories, and like 1 day where your drop them. It will help keep your metabloism guessing. And switch upi your exercise. If you usually take walks, use the elliptical, or try some weight training.

I think he most basic way to explain it is, weight loss causes horomone changes, which in turn mess with your cycle. For some, it's a good thing, for some it's bad. Personally, my cycle has gotten shorter, and my last period was a light 3 days. That is a big big difference from how it was before. Your cycle will eventually even back out again, but it may ake some time.

I haven't quite reached that point yet. But I would say take pictures of the rashes, print them out, then mail them to yourself. Don't open the envelopes until you need to show the proof. That way the pictures are dated, and show that it's been an ongoing thing,

Her blog is one of my favorites, and I use her recipes all the time. They're great!

My band always gets tighter when I get sick. Coincidentaly, I woke up feeling cruddy today, and I can barely keep water down. Though, my sister made me mashed potatoes, which normally I can't do, and they are staying down. But, yes, when I get sick, I am normally on liquids for a couple days at least.

Congrats!!! I'm jealous, lol. I've been stuck at that same place now. I've been bouncing between 200.4 and 205. That 199 is so close I cann almost taste it, lol. But again, Congrats!!!!!!!!!!

You aren't really going to have restriction at first. your body is still in the healing stages. Unfortunatly, until you start getting fills, you are going to be hungry. This is when portioning out your food ahead of time is key. Measure out your food, focus on your protein, fruits and veggies first, and then carbs. If you are still hungry an hour later, drink some water. You only want to eat if you are truly hungry. It's hard to realize sometimes what actual hunger is, and head hunger. A year and a 4 months out, I still have issues with that sometimes. When you are portioning things out, if you have to, use a measuring cup. Or, weight watchers has some serving spoons that are peasuring cups added on. I'm not sure if they have them any more though. When I need to portion stuff out onto my plate, I use my measuring cups I use for baking. Good Luck.

Hmmm, sweet stuff. Depending on what you do for protein shakes, you can play with those a lot. I make mine with a scoop of whey protein, ice and milk, then stick it in the blender. I like to add a scoop of peanut butter for extra flavor. With vanilla, it tastes like a nutter butter almost, and with the chocolate powder, it's a new take on a peanut butter cup. If you have a pinkberry around, or something similar, a small size ith fresh fruit and yogurt/carob chips are great too. I like adding sliced almonds to mind. Helps satisfy the sweet tooth, and I don't feel guilty about it.

The best thing you could do is call your doctor. Everyone is going to have a different opinion. All I could say is try and make sure you can get in as much nutrients as possible. Try and get your protein in. I ended up getting really sick a week after my last fill, and liquids is what I was stuck with, I was so tight. I made chicken broth, and just tried to stay hydrated.

You would know it if you were sliming. What you are is stuck. Try raising yoru arms above your head, or walking around. You're not going to get relief until whatever it is comes back up, or finally moves down. If you were sliming, you'd have stuff coming back up, but not the food.

It sounds like heartburn to me. Have you tried Tums, or something similar?

I tweaked the recipe some, and used the same basic idea, but used buffalo sauce instead of tomato sauce, and topped with a little bit of provolone cheese. Baked at the same time and temp, and my family loves it too. Yummmy

NSV means Non-Scale Victory. Like when the scal doesn't move but you drop a pants size, or you can cross your legs normally when you couldn't before, you don't have to use a seatbelt extender on an airplane anymore, etc.

My Dr. had me taking pills the day after surgery. the pain meds he rescribed me were pills. Even on my tightest days, I can usually get a pill down. I even just strated taking fish oil pills, and those suckers are huge!

Asparagus I can do-had some for dinner actually. Potatoes are kind of a hard one for me, i usually can only do them if mashed, and only then in a small amount. French fries are a no go for meat least from white potatoes. I do a little better with sweet potatoes. Corn and peas are big NO's for me. Makes me sad, lol. I tend to do ok with apple chips, oranges are eh, pineapple is a touch and go one for me. Meat wise, i CAN NOT do ground hamburger. In any way. I switched to ground turkey, and had no problems with it. Other than the ground beef, I don't really have issues with meat, unless it's really dry.

You know, I really don't do anything extra special. I eat the same things the rest of my family eats, for the most part, just in a lot smaller ortions. With the exception of the nights they have a rice based meal, or something else my band just doesn't tolerate. If I'm cooking, I'll try to get healthier food in to the meal as a whole, but generally nothing extra special. I do have to admit, I am a total foodie. I love to cook. I'm fine with having just a small taste which is great, but doen't work for everyone. I love finding new recipes to try. It's getting me to try more vegetables, which is good. Asparagus is my new fave As for working out, personally I hate cardio, and do the bare minimum, and lately I've been focusing more on weights. That's been one of teh big things for me; I always do better when I'm going to the gym regularly. Other than that, I do everything the same it seems. What about you? Have you done anything extra special?

For me, it's corn, and peas that give me the biggest issues cooked. Lettuce is now a no for me, which sucks because I LOVE salad, and I can only do celery if it's been peeled. Suprisingly, I don't have too many issues with asparagus, and it's become my new favorite veggie. And I've done broccoli in soup, and it goes down fine. Yummm. Lol.

TaxasNurseMom is right. You don't want to eat until you're full. We, in general, don't have the correct conect of what full actually is, usually. Right now is going to be one of the hardest parts of your journey. You have yet to get restriction, and you're going to feel hungry. Portion out your food ahead of time. Take time when you eat your food. Stop when you don't feel hungry. By full, what do you mean? Do you feel like you can't eat another bite or you'll burst?