IAmJacksLapBand

It is only 40 lbs for me and I am a new bandster. Some days I wake up and look in the mirror and smile. Others I see someone bigger than when I started. If I feel like I have had a great week and the scale confirms it, I honestly look different to myself. I know one day when I see that goal weight, actual muscle mass, and I walk into a store without "Big and Tall" in the name I have arrived. There is no magic answer to when your head is going to catch up with the reality and the plethora of compliments around you. Hang in there... you are on a great path to your goal.

Large ravioli cut into small pieces, farfalle, bowtie, and angel hair all work for me. I try for whole wheat versus enriched for band reasons and the nutrition. I had a coworker's home made lasagna last Friday and it was a huge mistake. No matter how much I chewed it got stuck and sent me into a panic. Great job on avoiding the Pasta for so long!

I wanted to share my "Living to Eat vs. Eating to Live" story of this week. My iPhone broke so I went to get it fixed. I didn't want to cook so I stopped by SubWay. I grabbed a footlong chicken breast on wheat with tons of veggies. I know this is not normally possible for a bandster to eat. But I bought it for the "value." On the drive home I opened up the first 6 inch portion. I munched on all the veggies slowly and picked the chicken out by the piece. I stopped and noticed I was full. But the bread sitting there kept talking to me and I started to eat the bread. A few moments after the first few bites I started to hickup and knew I had put more in than I needed. I ACTUALLY PICKED UP MORE food AND STUFFED IT IN MY MOUTH. When I realized what I had done I spit it out. Then I took the rest of the sub from the paper wrapper and threw it out the window (I didn't want to litter with the paper but the food will decompose easily). I could have really hurt myself just because I love food and didn't want my $5 footlong investment go to waste. Jack was right that the band is only part of the solution and we have to learn how to change almost everything we ever knew about food.

You are awesome. Thank you for the reassurance. I said that I can feel it but now I want to see it. I just thought that 30+ lbs would have been alot more visible. Can't wait to see what the next 30 may actually look like. My doctor says we are headed to 220 and I never remember seeing that on a scale. I can not imagine what that looks like but I am sure it is far better than what I have now. My most cherished NSVs will be when I can fit in a coach airplane seat and also ride roller coasters again. My company bought out a theme park for us next week and I can't ride any of the coasters... YET! :devil_smile:

My surgeon does multiple weight loss procedures. I told him I would only do the Lap-Band. He laughed in the face of other surgeons who push one procedure over another. I walked into his office and told him I had been preparing for LB and making the behavior and lifestyle changes needed in advance of meeting him. He said both procedures would be beneficial for me but the LP was going to take more work because of my size. I told him I was fine with that. He said larger people are often pushed away from the band because of likelihood that the weight will not all come off so easily. My surgeon will place a LB in a patient 50+ BMI like me only if they are in the right mindset to make the changes required to be a good bandster. I agree that you should see another surgeon to get another opinion. I am much larger than you from a weight standpoint though everyone height/weight combination creates a different set of circumstances.

My first adjustment was on Monday of this week. When the band was placed it had 2 CC in it. On Monday, my first fill was an additional 6 CC. Total of 8 CC in a 14 CC band. I feel wonderful. When they first put it in I could feel it choking the stomach but the feeling passed quickly. I wake up and the band is snug so my Breakfast is small but adequate. As my day goes it it loosens up so my lunch is a little bigger. No problems at all. I was amazed at the amount they put in but it seems to be just right for me at this time. I have a lot to lose, about 160 lbs more so my surgeon is taking a fast approach to getting me to the green zone.

I started April 12 at 409 lbs. with my highest at 412 lbs. Today I am 379 lbs. I feel wonderful and have not been at this weight since 2005. I am excited to keep seeing the scale drop. When I was that lower weight I was wearing 3X size shirts and 48 inch waist pants. Today my sizes have not changed at all despite the loss. I am still in 4X to 5X shirts and 54 inch waist pants. I have seen slight changes in my chin and fat around my neck. My shoe size has changed and I am not uncomfortable in a non-wide shoe. When did other men start to see the more apparent physical changes?

Just got home from a 6 hour drive each way to see my surgeon for my first adjustment and I have mixed feelings. I remember when I left the hospital he gave me the "this is not a time for loss but a time for healing" speech. It has been 7 weeks and I expected him to be really proud of the 32 lbs gone since the start of the 2 week pre-op diet. I have lost about 16 since surgery. The past three weeks I have neither lost nor gained. He said he expected me to be 50+ down from the pre-op based on my weight and the initial Fluid in the band at placement but that 32 lbs was still a great start. My thyroid could have some effect on it I am sure. We then talked about my hunger, eating schedule, food choices and all seemed pretty well. He said the first adjustment goal was to get me fairly tight and pair that with a Meal Replacement diet for the next month to shock/jumpstart me back into losing. Goal for next 4 weeks is 10+ pounds. He had me do an abdominal crunch so he could locate the port and he got the needle in on the first try with no pain at all. The injection of the saline felt really cool as I could feel it fill around the band and close up the pouch. Water went down just fine. I received 6 CC in my 14 CC band. This gives me a total of 8 CC. I had a Protein shake right after for breakfast and it filled me up. Hunger for lunch was 5 hours later and was a cup of tomato Soup which was filling as well. I can go back to solid food tomorrow. I am sure I will make him proud at our next appointment.

April 27. Down 32 from my highest and 29 from the start of my preop diet that began April 12.

I was banded on 27 April and my first adjustment is next Monday, 14 June. For the past two weeks I have been holding steady... only about a pound variance. I took before and after pictures and can see some slight differences and the scale says I am down 32 lbs from my heaviest. I am so scared to gain any of it back. I have noticed my appetite has returned and I am having to be careful about how I schedule my food during the day. I decided to move my largest meal to lunch to decrease the hunger I had from having a smaller lunch and larger dinner. I also eat some foods that give me trouble on purpose because they sit in the pouch longer instead of slipping right through the open band (ex. chicken salad, turkey dog, finely chewed beef jerkey for a snack). The feeling is satiety for a very long period of time. Last week was vacation and I ate more than I have been, but did not gain anything thanks to all the theme park walking. I have had so many positive experiences since 27 April that seeing the scale increase would just ruin those feelings. This adjustment will be the only one I have with my surgeon as he is 6 hours from my home by car. I hope we can make some progress towards restriction. I know he will be proud of my work thus far. Hang in there and let us know how that adjustment works for you.

I am now six weeks post op and the initial weight loss has stopped. I am now packing back on the pounds. My weigh-in this week was plus 1 lb and now I am plus 3. I am finding the time between lunch and dinner to be the most difficult. So when I get to dinner I eat more than I need to because I am so hungry. With the suggestions of others I am going to try and increase the Water intake and more "free" foods such as low and no cal veggies. Also will start working to eliminate all the iced tea and artifical sugars that I have been so reliant on now that I do not have much soda. I am still eating less than what I did pre-band but it is not enough to help me lose weight apparently. I also know this is not a time for major loss but for healing and getting used to the band. I was just trying so at least some slow loss or maintaining. I was not expecting to gain anything. There is still time to meet my challenge and I have my first fill on 14 June.

Thank you so much for the helpful comments!

I was banded 27 April and have vacation at Disney this Friday. But I am mentally prepared to control myself regardless of what my travel companions do. We then have a Disney cruise booked in February 2011 and cannot wait to get back on a cruise. I love all the food selections and am looking forward to having restriction and being able to sample all the foods I like but not be able to finish them all. Since banding my appetite has returned but I cannot wait to get that full feeling again after a small portion. It was great for the few weeks that I had it.

I was losing until this past week. I have been drinking less Water and more iced tea with artificial sweeteners. I also have had an increase in processed foods. Over the past few days my scale reports weight gain of 6 pounds and I have not had but 1 bowel movement and less frequent urination. I am thinking the weight gain may be a reflection of the lessened trips to dispose of waste and that the lack of bathroom visits has me retaining waste. Any suggestions on how to get my digestive system back in gear? Any supplements or foods that will aid me?

I love my sushi. I have not had a fill yet so I assume it will take a little more skill once I have one. My dietician advised me to be careful with the rice to make sure I do not have too much at one sitting.

I step on the scale several times a day to see what it changing during the day and to try and see what type of errors my scale makes. However, only my tuesday morning weigh-in in the same outfit goes into my weight log. I actually weigh six times and take the average to try and compensate for the scale measurement error. Since this tuesday the scale says I gained 6 pounds... which has to be an error. So I just take it with a grain of salt and keep working to the next official weigh-in.

I try and vary everything I can to keep the body from getting used to any one thing. Time in cardio and resistance changes each time I am at the gym. I also change my calories... right now I try to stay around 1200 which is lower than needed for my size. But some days I give it less and other days more. I found that just plain variety helped me continue to lose. Keep on the great work.

I do not have pain in that particular area. But exercising in general leaves me with a little more tenderness than I had before the surgery. I think it is because I am able to move more during my exercise sessions and I am using parts of my body that I had not been able to in the past. I consider it pain worth having. And congrats to you on such great success since your banding!

You may order from the kid's menu at most quick service and table service locations... but you will be limited to FRIED chicken strips, hamburgers, and PB&J sandwichs in most places. Stick to the adult menu to make sure you are picking healthier and smarter options. The buffet price will most likely not be able to be changed. The reason is that the lower children's price is more aimed at the choices the children are expected to make from the buffet combined with the amount of food they are expected to eat... mac/cheese, chicken fingers, fried, etc. You may ask for a Guest Service Manager to see if they may be able to provide a discount to the check for your medical situation; possibly 20% as a good gesture. We used to offer that when I worked there. They may decide not to offer any compensation as we are free to enjoy the buffet for what we want. Not everybody with a regular size stomach goes to the buffet to pig out. I will be there next week and will give you an official report when I ask myself.

Inspirational is what you are. I started with 192 lbs to lose. I have lost 30 since my pre-op diet to one month after surgery. I have not weighed under 380 since 2005 at the earliest. I hope to be able to continue steady loss and maybe be as successful as you. I feel so much better and noticed that I had to order a size 50 short instead of the old 54 or 56 for my vacation next week. But my tummy is still gigantic, no change there yet. But it will come if I work for it. Thank you for helping to keep us here in the 200+ forum motivated and on track.

I have one every few days. Takes me 8 hours to finish a 20 oz bottle. I used to have 2 or 3 in a day. Mostly I stick to water and iced tea with no sweetener. That way I don't have to worry about all the crazy burping.

Bill, The wedding picture is wonderful. Best of luck as you get back into the swing of things and lose the 15 again. I am starting high at 412 lbs. I am at 379 lbs. and one month post-op. I have always wanted to run and have set a small goal of a 5k in January 2010 around a weight of 340 lbs. I will be doing the 5k during the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. I have to maintain a 16 minute mile... and I think I am currently in the 20 minute area. I am excited to participate in my first running event.

You really do have a great start here with this 25. I think your body may be getting used to what you are giving it. My personal trainer, surgeon, and dietician reccomend mixing things up a bit to get your body to reset. Try eating more calories than you usually do one day, and then less than normal the next. Adjust your exercise from a jog to a yoga or weight training session one day a week. Even drop the Protein intake one day and focus on a balanced carb/protein ratio (7g of protein = 15g of carb). Before I had the band I would do this when my weight loss would stop and it got me going again. Since I've had the band, and its only been a month, I did this for a few days and was able to bring some loss the following week. Keep on going, we all know you will get over this hump.

I just recorded my week 2 results in the spreadsheet. Down 5 lbs in a week! This is my best week yet other than the 1st week after surgery.

The white fibers are part of the Protein complex I believe. It may actually be a sugar substitute that solidified. When you shake it they go away but come back. It was part of the reason I did not like the texture.