BetsyB

If you're able to last 4 hours between eating, you're doing really well! I know I need a fill when I am starving after 1.5 hours or so. I've got good restriction now, and my stomach is asking for something well within four hours. So, yes--you're normal! It's okay to have small, healthy Snacks between meals. (Shhh. My doctor is a three-meals-a-day guy; it's one of his recommendations I respectfully and very cautiously bend to meet my own body's needs. He would agree that I'm one of his more successful patients--and that those who do best tailor his recommendations to work for themselves, so I feel comfortable with this.)

The scale does fluctuate from day to day--it's just one of those things. Female bodies, in particular, bounce around a bit. As long as you're seeing a downward trend, that's what matters. A lot of people will tell you that the postop period, before you achieve restriction, isn't the time to worry about weight loss. I disagree. I think it's exactly the time to build new habits--ones that will serve you well when you do have restriction. If you're not measuring or weighing your portions, it's not a bad idea--at least for a while, so you get a realistic idea of amounts. I journal what I eat on Fitday.com. I know that some people find journaling to be an onerous task; for me, it's not--it's just part of my routine, takes a couple of minutes a day, and helps me make sure I get enough Protein (which I would not, if I didn't keep track). That said, it sounds as though you're losing at quite a nice pace. You can expect that to pick up as you add exercise. Be sure your doctor is okay with Tae Bo at your stage postop; I got clearance for walking immediately, but was asked not to do other exercises until after my 4-week check (after which I was cleared to exercise with no restriction). I think that exercise is every bit as critical as changing the way you eat---maybe even more so. I can't emphasize enough how important it is, for me, to exercise daily (at least once; I prefer twice). It's important for loss, it's important for health, it's important for stress reduction---it's just essential. You don't have to choose something punishing--pick something you like well enough to stick with, then try new things every now and then. You may be surprised to find new things you love--or you may find that it's just something you tolerate. Either way, DO IT! What kind of eating plan does your doctor recommend? Mine was pretty liberal about reintroducing solids (pureed protein at 3 days postop, for example), but very, very conservative when it comes to what his patients eat. The plan I follow is restrictive, but is very effective; I'm down 80 since mid-January, and am just now in my first real plateau (I've had a couple of one-week spans without loss, but am now coming up on 2...so I think my body is finally saying, "hey! you're not feeding me as much!" My entire relationship with food has changed, but I still enjoy every bite I take, and make sure that the foods I choose are ones I love, and prepare well.) If you're interested, my eating plan is in my visitor messages in my profile.

Sweet car!

Adding in heart-healthy fats will make a HUGE difference, esp. with all that exercise.

It's probably pretty unrealistic, Erin. Continue to do what you need to do to lose---and know that you'll be closer to your goal than you are now. That's really the best any of us can do----we do the work to lose, and accept the losses we get. Don't set yourself up for failure and disappointment. Keep things realistic.

He wants me to get 65 g protein/day, and prefers that I use only 1 shake toward that goal. I've found that I lose and feel better when I get 80-100 g/day. I have two Protein shakes a day. (I have them warm, and they are critical for me---the warm liquid dissolves my supplement capsules so they don't get stuck.) I am one of his most successful band patients. His stance is that those who do the best learn how to tailor the rules to their needs.

I focus on Protein and nonstarchy veggies---for my family, I add a potato (or rice or Pasta or whatever starchy side dish) to basic fare of meat/poultry/fish and veggies and/or salad. When I make them something like pasta as a main dish, I pull out some of the meat and sauce and skip the pasta, or I have something else entirely; I do try, though, to have pretty much what they're having (unless I've had a recent fill, in which case, all bets are off, when it comes to solids, for a few days). I do make Soups and chilis a lot--we all enjoy those. I add bread and/or salad--and skip the bread.

I weigh myself daily. I don't intend to change. Over time, the number becomes less important---observing my change in response to the scale has been really helpful to me. It has shown me that the emphasis on weight as a measure of worth is changing. What jumps out at me about your post is not that you weigh yourself a lot, but rather that you have not had a fill because your loss is steady. Why is that? Why is loss the only measure your doctor uses? Are you feeling restriction? Or are you white-knuckling it? I lost steadily from the very beginning, but because I was dieting. The goal was to reach a point where I was losing steadily, but (while still mindful of amounts and quality of food) not feeling as though I was starving myself. I bring this up, because my obsession with scale and numbers pretty much vanished when I reached that point. I would talk with your doctor. If you have not had a fill, and are still stuck in the diet mentality---then you will have behaviors like the scale obsession that are part of that diet mentality. Perhaps between the two of you you can reach a decision about how best to use your band so that you can let go of behaviors that are not working for you.

How many fourteen-year-olds do you know? The name of the game in early adolescence is noncompliance. It's part and parcel of the developmental stage. It's an utterly inappropriate time for weight loss surgery---and I would run fast from any surgeon willing to perform it. A couple of years--really, just a handful of years--can make all the difference in the world in terms of success. It's hard enough to follow the rules as an adult. 14-year-olds are just stretching their wings; defying authority is a bona fide developmental task. Supporting them during this phase involves limiting the chances they will fail or harm themselves. To me, that means postponing things like bariatric surgery.

I was encouraged to walk immediately after surgery. Within a couple of days, I was outdoors walking--albeit not as far and fast as preop. I was not permitted to do other forms of exercise until after my first postop check.

I know it's frustrating, but very few people lose within the window of time you're occupying. Surgery is an insult to the body--there's swelling, your body is still dealing with Fluid retention (from meds, from anesthesia, from IVs), and so on. The lactose intolerance must be frustrating! My surgeon didn't advocate cream soups---so I avoided that issue. I've found that making my shakes with almond milk has been a good solution for me.

Done. Love Wheatens.

There's no way to answer your question, really, without knowing what your weight is, your goals are, and what you are willing to give up or do for additional loss. You say you need to lose, but are okay with a maintain--which is it? I personally will not be satisfied until I reach my goal. I didn't have surgery to sort-of succeed, or to do it halfway, or to learn to be satisfied with less than I want. I exercise religiously, and haven't even given my sweet tooth a chance. It would get the better of me, too---so unless it's a birthday or holiday (or something that really is a once-in-a-blue-moon REAL treat--one that is worth it), sweets are just plain off-limits. You may not be willing to make these changes--but maybe you're willing to modify them in a way that does promote loss.

Over time, I have noticed a correlation between pounds and inches lost. But that doesn't mean they consistently come off together. At times when my weight has plateaued, it's very common for me to see my measurements go down. Sometimes, the body just needs time to regroup and redistribute a little--then loss resumes. (OTOH, I don't think that most people who aren't seeing a general downward trend in weight see much of a downward trend in inches--you have to be doing something to see the change. Eating properly, but plateaued, or exercising, or something to promote the loss.)

The weight you gain from solid food will not be a fat gain--it will be related to the fact that solid food creates bulk in the intestine. Really, there's no sense getting worked up about the weight of this matter. It's...well, just shit. You need solid food. Liquids bypass the band, defeating its purpose. Your caloric intake will remain low. You will lose weight. Will there be a brief temporary upward blip? Sure. There's a good chance there will. But it's...just shit. And you will cope with it, and then you will watch how your good food choices still promote loss---because your body will, in fact, lose fat even if your colon houses some waste. It'll be okay--really.

My doctor has his patients wait 4 weeks--but does not give any fill at the time of band installation.

At four days out, it may be too soon to tell how the fill will ultimately work for you. Especially since you seem to have had some difficulty that likely exacerbated swelling. If you can keep liquids down, you don't have to worry. What I'd do is stick with those for a few days, to let things calm down, then gradually ease back in to food. Once the swelling has had time to calm, you can better assess how the fill will work for you.

I have a very high pain threshold, but was in considerable pain immediately postop. But my rating is UNmedicated. With medication (which I did use), my level was consistently kept beneath 3, which made walking (the BEST cure of all) easy. And that got me feeling better really fast. Don't be shy about meds if you need them. Just by comparison, I've had 2 c-sections, and banding was NOTHING ---really nothing---compared to them. Still, there was pain. But it was so easily dealt with. And it was very, very short-lived.

Did they check your blood glucose level? Polydipsia (excessive thirst) is often the first sign of diabetes.

Yup, works for me---no argument at all with everything he has to say.

It took me 10 days to really feel like myself again--but I was incrementally better each day after surgery. My son had his tonsils out on Day Three, and I had no problem going with him to the hospital, walking the long halls, waiting in recovery, etc. I think a day in court after 8 days is likely to be fine.

I didn't tell my husband until I got below 200. He never for a moment suspected I weighed more than that---which made me laugh, because he knows the BMI I needed to qualify, and how tall I am. He just never saw me as morbidly obese. I'd say that was a good thing, but really, he never saw me at all.

Caffeine was green-lighted at six months for me. I gave up coffee preop, and haven't gone back. I do however drink iced tea (and did so, on occasion, well before I was "allowed").

My doctor doesn't recommend reintroducing starches and grains until 75 percent of excess body weight is lost. I've reached that point, according to his goal for me--but because my goal is lower, I have not yet added them back in on a routine basis---I just don't miss them enough to do so. On rare occasion, because I'm now officially "allowed," I do have a taste of something, but have not had good success, stomach-wise, so I generally still steer clear. Not worth the pain of getting stuck. My one exception is that I will now order a piece or two of sushi with brown rice, rather than sticking only with sashimi. No problems there.

Well, the fill process is, indeed, a gradual one--they can't simply fill 'er up all at once, because a too-large fill causes excess swelling. So, the process of achieving appropriate restriction is frustrating. My doctor uses fluoroscopy for all fills--when I leave his office, my band is always appropriately "tight." Until I was toeing the line of restriction, though, I never felt that way--as the swelling receded (if there even was swelling; very early on, there was not), I felt the same as I had before. But eventually, you do reach a point where those incremental little fills start making a big difference. My doctor started out with 4 cc fills; now I think he's giving me 1 cc or less each time. (As you approach and reach your sweet spot, you might lose track of how much you have in your band and how much you get---it's not something I pay attention to any more, now that we're just fine-tuning.) I agree that your doctor's lack of communication is odd--bariatric surgeons tend to break the paternalistic, I-know-what's-best mold typical of surgeons in other specialities, and usually are more forthright. But it seems as though you've got an old-school dude who doesn't think patients "need" that pesky information. In your shoes, I'd very simply say, "I know you don't feel it's necessary for me to know, but I disagree. It's my body, and my band--and while I know you are doing things just the way they should be done, to me, information is important---and when you are reluctant to share it with me, it sends the wrong message. Again, I know you're doing things correctly--but your reticence to share sends my information-needing mind in a different direction. To work together effectively, I really just need some simple information. Not because I don't trust you, but because that very information is what allows me to trust you. In exchange, I will share with you information that allows you to make decisions about my care." And then do provide that information. Tell him what and how much you eat, and how often. Tell him how long you are satisfied. Tell him how many hours elapse, after eating, before you become ravenous again. This information will help guide him as he helps you achieve the appropriate level of restriction.