howdybooth

I drink my Protein drink on the way to work - about 7:30 & have my Greek yogurt between 9:30 & 10. I have a cup or more of mixed spring salad, with a 1/4-1/2 a cup of chicken salad for lunch about 1. I try really hard to have lite cheese & a fruit around 3 & than cook whatever for dinner. I also have a weight watchers snack (ice cream - that kind of thing for a snack). I try to eat about every 3-4 hours & I don't take longer than 1/2 an hour to eat. At the end of that time, I through it away And remember, it's 1/2-3/4 cops of chewed food. I pretty much follow weight watchers. If you been on that program before, there's no reason to stop now!

Tracy - I don't mind answering any quesitons. Feel free to email me at anytime. Could I have stretched the pouch to the point that it wont work? - it's highly unlikely that you've stretched your pouch. Especially by just eating soups and yogurt Would I know if the band has slipped? - Yes I think you would......nothing would stay down - which is pretty much the same as being too tight What if I cant eat solids... and I cant lose on liquids? - Of course you can lose on liquids - that's why they have medfast - you just don't want to! You want to be able to eat soilds. Some people have to be on liquids for several days after a fill. Pretty much my first year I could only have Protein drinks for Breakfast. I don't LOVE Protein Drinks - but I drink them because I want the protein. EAS Myoplex Lite has 170 cals and 20 grams of protein. Do other people have these experiences? - yes and no! LOL that's what's so interesting about the band - everyone is different. I took me about a year before I thought I finally had it figured out......then this past 4-6 months.....it changed again. Here's the deal for me......I always get in 55-65 grams of protein EVERY day. I don't care how you have to do it: protein drinks, fat free greek yogurt (I like dannon vanilla - little cals and 12 grams of protein. Between my Protein Drink and my yogurt, I get 32 grams of protein for breakfast......more than half my days worth. The protein helps keep you full and helps you keep you hair and build your muscle once you start really getting into your exercising. When things are feeling tight - I also eat fat free refried Beans with cheese - a staple in Texas. LOL Another favorite of mine is spring mix salad with fresh chicken salad. Roast a chicken, remove all the skin and de-bone, chop up the meat, add onion, celery (chopped very small) & lite mayo if you want. It's a great way to get green veggies and protein. Or just by one from the store and do the same. I tend to have trouble with eggs, but not with shrimp......go figure. And here's my weakness - bread - any kind of bread - so I needed to stay so tight that I just couldn't eat bread! Now, since I've reach goal, I had 1/2 cc removed and I can eat more - including a slice of thin crust pizza.....which is a big deal for me. I have gained 4 pounds - but with the humidity here - I'm just swollen. But I will tell you that since I've had some Fluid removed, I've been a little freaked out about being able to eat more food. But, I'm slowly getting over that! Another thing - once you get that first fill that really restricts you - you can no longer eat the way you were - you are limited not only on quantities, but also types of food. Before my first fill, I was able to go eat Panda Express - Seasame Chicken. After the fill - NOT AT ALL! And I was pretty frustrated - but my frustration came the restriction coming 3 months after my surgery.....I felt I should have been that tight from the begining. So if you think your too tight and can't keep anything down.....it could be you just need to change what you are eating. Also - I signed up (on my laptop and my iphone) with Livestrong.com. I enter in all my food and exercise every day while I was losing. You put in how much you want to lose a week - mine was 2 pounds and it tells you how many cals you get a week to hit your goal. Also - I didn't eat my extra excercise cals - I just left them on the table. Sorry for the rambling - I was bound and determined not to pay $9800 out of pock and for each of my fills and not lose my weight....

Jes Lynn, so proud of you! As you start reading the different post you will find your success at loosing so much weight isn't the norm - so pat yourself on the back. Now it's time to work on your self esteem! Go see a counselor for cognitive behavioral therapy! You've been through a lot in your life and you haven't even lived that long. Therapy is a great way to help you overcome some of your problems.....as for dating......once you meet someone that you feel comfortable with removing your clothes he will only see the beauty of you. I've been married for 26 years to a great guy - one who married me when I was a size 8 and still found me sexy at size 26 and STILL finds me sexy at size 10 - with all my saggy skin LOL! Then, start investigating a way to get yourself tightened up........look at medical schools, newly practicing plastic surgeons.........you never know who mighr be willing to help a confident, successful young woman! Good luck - I'd love to here about your journey!

Here's what I did - first - my surgeon is a general surgeon - lapband is the WL surgery he does and it's only about 5% of his business. I told him I wanted to be very agressive with my weight lose and the tightness of my band. I know me - if I can eat bread - I'll eat bread - so I kept my band really tight until I hit goal. I recently had 1/2 a cc removed and can now eat just about anything, but in very limited quantities. Ask your doc for an agressive fill. I'm assuming you set up and guzzle down Water like your still in college and drinking a beer. My doc has me drink as he is filling and only stops filling when I let him know that the water is at the base of my throat. We sit there a wait to make sure it passes through and if it doesn't he will remove some. If it passes too quickly, he gives me a little more. But I've had as much as 1 full cc during a fill. I have been as high as 7 cc in my 10 cc band, but have some removed twice in the last 6 months.....now I'm back to 6 cc. If you have to pay everytime you go in (as do I) then just ask your doc to be more aggressive.....but remember. Make sure the water passes through before he removes the needle (no sliming) and be prepared to eat very lightly.....1 oz of very moist meat, greek yogurt, Protein drinks, salads.......no breads, no pizza, no Pasta........AND always, always eat your protein first!!! Don't want to lose your hair! And if you do go agressive - it will be tough and a shock at first......but I just couldn't be 18 months out and only have lost 30-40 pounds. I've lost 110 and I'm at my goal.....I'm still technically 20 pounds overweight, but you know what? I don't care! I love the way I look and feel and I'm very healthy! Good luck - I'd love to hear what your doc says when you tell him you want an agressive fill!

Meliwriter, so sorry you don't have the family support. I think they are just envious.......I come from a large family. My mom and all 4 of my older sisters have had by-pass surgery. Only my mom and one sister lost and kept off all their weight. One is bigger than before her surgery, one lost and has kept off 180 pounds, but is still 60 pounds over weight and one lost 200 pounds but has gained back 60. I'm the baby sister and was always the "little" one until about 10 years ago. I decided on the lapband because I could adjust it.....once I could start eating a whole slice of pizza - in I went for a fill. I've lost 110 pounds in 18 months and have been totally supported by my sisters and my mom. They are very happy and always tell me how great I look. But, they also know how hard I've worked to lose that much weight in 18 months (weight watchers and exercise). I think they admire that......they pretty much depended on the restriction to lose weight. My suggestion to you is to keep your head up - don't allow them to stop you from attaining your goal. You have nothing to worry about. If I were you, I'd go get a fill and start the road to losing the rest of your weight. Losing weight is more mental then anything else and you don't want to allow anyone to get you off track! Remember - there is always some one here that will love to give you all the support you could want! ((hugs))

Not sure why everyone feels the need to explain everything, but if you must, try this: A) I'm trying to cut back on how much I eat and don't want to fill up on a drink before I eat this lovely dinner I'm trying to cut back on how much I eat - so I'm only going to take a very small portion As for the job - the lap band - the portion - remember, guys are different - they don't really care, hence your guy not telling his friend anything. Now if the friend was a woman, she would have been all about the what, whens and whys. Don't think this out too much.......it is what it is.......you can always try: "It may not look like it, but I'm working on cutting my portion by half. " If they ask more questions - ignore them or say you're not comfortable talking about it. Otherwise, just tell the truth for goodness sakes - which is: I CAN'T EAT VERY MUCH! End of story.

I've had two unfills because of acid reflux - one in January and again just last week.......I can now eat just about anything - only just a little. But - I decided to push my band and see how much I can eat (I'm at goal, but still want to lose 5 lbs so I can flex between 5 over or under). I ate too much before going to bed one night and had acid reflux. Didn't do that anymore! I now know my limit.....the point to this is - if you eat too much - tight or not tight - you will have acid reflux. You most likely need that half cc back or at least some of it. Especially if you are only getting acid reflux at night. You also need to get counseling! I see a physiatrist and have since before I decided to get lapband. I over ate for a reason and if I couldn't do that anymore - what would I replace it with, would I fail to use the band correctly as a tool, or I should I work out why I over ate and learn to overcome it. You need to find a physiatrist who can give you prescription meds and get counseling (whether with a lapband group or one on one). Only then can you overcome this over eating cycle. I see far too many people fail with the lapband because they don't work on the reasons behind the over eating..... Good luck - I hope you get the help that you need.

Congrats! It only gets better! I couldn't believe when I got to a size 12 and now I'm a 10 - that's almost an 8 - which was my high school size! Not planning on going that far! Keep up the good work! Happy to be a 10, Terri

I'm at goal and had to go have 1/2 cc removed from my band today. Not because I keep losing weight, but because I can't eat solids......started about 6 weeks ago. It reached a point where I could only eat oatmeal, yogurt, and Soup........Asked my doc about it and he said that after removing the 1/2 cc, if it continues, I might have to have an x-ray because my band may have slipped!!! I asked how that was possible......I don't throw up......did I do something? The answer is NO! As you lose weight, your stomach gets smaller and smaller. The band is only stitched on the front of the stomach - can't get to the back of it to stitch. So the band can fall or slip at an angle - high in the front and low in the back, as you stomach gets smaller and smaller, which doesn't allow for a proper opening. So - if you do have a band slippage - it most likely isn't your fault.......well - it is because you've lost so much weight!! LOL One other thing - I'm self paid, but if I'm having stomach problems - he can go in to "look" around and fix the problem - and insurance pays!

You're doing great......my surgeon isn't big on waiting too long before adding mushies and then full food. I had surgery on a Monday and on Wednesday I was eating fat free fried Beans (this is a staple for me!!). By the following Wednesday I was on full foods. You will find it hurts if you eat too much! I had my surgery on the 16 of the month and my we had our youngest son's b-day on the 24 - I tried eating a cupcake and thought I'd die.....tried drinking Water hoping it make it dissolve faster.....bad mistake - vomited it all. Don't worry too much about band slippage... we hear about it but I've never really known anyone personally that's had it!!! Not sure why some people do - but a large majority of us never had it.

I was very open about it and sometimes I regret it and other times I think, "what else would I say". If someone, who is over weight, ask you how you did it - what do you say? Diet and exercise? That just doesn't seem fair - after all, we had it done since diet and exercise didn't work for us.......

I guess it's like beging pregnant - every one things it's ok to pat your belly! lol

Wow - you are both "normal" people! Don't judge ourself so harshly! I bet you're both wonderful people! The surgery is a way to get HEALTHY - not to make you feel better about yourself or at least the inner you.......yes, it's nice to be able to purchase clothes anywhere - but I promise you - you are still you on the inside! And I can't say it enough - MANY of us have experienced depression (some sucide) as we lost the ablity to eat.......or tried to adjust to how people treat us differently! So please - love who you are now - because that will be who you are once you lose your weight. Don't get me wrong - the weight loss is GREAT - but at the end of the day - I'm still me......jus sayn'

This weekend was my time to decide to unfill or leave it alone.........I've decided to unfill some! Really tired of not being able to each much. Not sure what was going on this week, but 4 spoonfuls of soup - done; 2 small bites of chicken - done; forget leafy green veggies - or any kind of veggies. I was able to eat better before my previous fill last August......I'm going to talk to the coordinator or the doc's office and get advice....

Good question and it doesn't appear you have gotten any answers or suggestions. I'm at my goal and still pretty restricted and still losing. I think I'm ready for some of it to be removed......not so much to eat more quantity, but more variety. I too still get stuck......sometimes I can eat a mixed salad with chick salad and sometimes I can't get soup down......I think I've totally agravated my pouch and maybe just need to give it a rest......back to liquids for a few days........just don't know. What I do kmow right now is I'm not gett in enough calories and feeling kind of weak. My hubby is ready for me to get some removed........maybe I am too......Guess I'll try my talking to my doc's office or my coordinator about life after goal.

You go Rebecca - it's a long journey! But you can make it! Good luck and keep us posted! If you will, post on our personal page - that way we don't have to hunt you out! LOL

But if someone asks you about your weight loss - don't you tell them the truth? I mean, you wouldn't tell them that you only diet and exercise, would you? That just always seemed unfair to me. I mean face it, the reason we all had surgery is because we could no longer lose by diet and exercise alone........or at least that's why I had it. I weighed the same for 25+ years and gained weight over the last 10 years (40-50).....or should I say, gain-lose, gain-lose, over the last 10 years, until I could no longer lose.....hence the band. I've always been honest, if someone asked, it just seemed this week that people had gotten pretty brazen when approaching me..... Maybe, I'm just having a bad week and will be better next week LOL! I think I'll just learn to say thanks and if they are bold enough to ask how, I'll ask them to send me an email, and I'll be glad to explain.........

I decided on the band because I could have fills. I've had family members that had bypass and gain back a ton of weight; I've had friends that had the sleeve and not lose all the weight. But, I do have a friend that lost 186 with the band and has kept it off for almost 5 years now.......It's been 18 months since I had my band and I've lost 110 lbs and I'm at my goal. I've had 4 fills and 1 unfill (about a month after the last fill). I paid for the surgery myself and went to a general surgeon that I know and fills are extra ($125). You can keep the band forever - no reason to remove it.......but if you needed too, you could unfill it or remove it.

Rebecca - get consuling! Before my surgery - I had started seeing a psychologist. I had been seeing him for about 18 months when i decided to have lap band. We discussed my reasons for wanting the band and he supported me 100%, but he did warn me to be on the look out for further/deeper depression or thoughts of suicide. He said that there have been more and more studies being conducted with a link between bariatric surgery and depression/suicide. At first they thought it mostly occured with people having by-pass and thought it might have to do with absourbtion issues or production of seritonin, but later learned that it was also occuring the people that had the band. So, please don't hesitate to talk to a professional about your problems. I decided on a psychologist only after my wonderful GP ran out of his knowledge of drugs to help me - he is a great doctor, but depression isn't his speciality. I can tell you how proud you should be - and you should be and most likely are - but, what you can't change with weight lost is that inner core of who you've been for a very long time - no matter how much weight you have lost. See a specialist - they can better help you than anyone of us here on this site! Good luck!

I discovered something this week......after 18 months, I'm finally sick of hearing how great I look. Here's what happened, just this week: 1) I posted my before and after pic on my facebook page and received an email from a total stranger asking me how I lost weight and begging me to help her. I was shocked because I have my FB page blocked so you can see very little about me........I discovered later that she is a friend of a friend who showed her my pic; 2) I was on the elevator at work with one of our Sr. VPs discussing business when we stopped and someone got on. That woman ask me if I was Terri and when I said yes, she proceeded to go on and on about how great I looked, that she'd seen my before and after pic and what had I done - once again - someone else had shown her my pic - and this woman wasn't over weight, she had a family member that was and wanted to know what I had done so that she could share the info; 3) When I walked into a class I was about to teach, my boss said - here's Terri - isn't she beautiful.........all the trainees in this class were from out of town and I had only previously met 2.......so what, exactly were they to say? They had no idea why my manager was calling me "beautiful"! Very uncomfortable. 4) My manager and I had a disagreement on how to teach a class (my manager is from an older generation) and we couldn't convince the other that we were right. In the end, she said: you've done such a great job changing your outside - maybe it's time to work on your inside. I SUGGESTED she not go there....... 5) and finally - on 4 different occasions this week, someone came up to me, while eating lunch with my dear friend who struggles with about 50 extra pounds, to tell me how great I look. Each time I was more and more uncomfortable.......so I'd say a quick thank you and then try to ignore them in hopes that they would move along and not start asking a bunch of questions. Anyone else feel the same? After all - we are still the same people on the inside - aren't we? Or am I wrong?

I discovered something this week......after 18 months, I'm finally sick of hearing how great I look. Five different things occured: 1) I posted my before and after pic on my facebook page and received an email from a total stranger asking me how I lost weight and begging me to help her. I was shocked because I have my FB page blocked so you can see very little about me........I discovered later that she is a friend of a friend who showed her my pic; 2) I was on the elevator at work with one of our Sr. VPs discussing business when we stopped and someone got on. That woman ask me if I was Terri and when I said yes, she proceeded to go on and on about how great I looked, that she'd seen my before and after pic and what had I done - once again - someone else had shown her my pic - and this woman wasn't over weight, she had a family member that was and wanted to know what I had done so that she could share the info; 3) When I walked into a class I was about to teach, my boss said - here's Terri - isn't she beautiful.........all the trainees in this class were from out of town and I had only previously met 2.......so what, exactly were they to say? They had no idea why my manager was calling me "beautiful"! Very uncomfortable. 4) My manager and I had a disagreement on how to teach a class (my manager is from an older generation) and we couldn't convince the other that we were right. In the end, she said: you've done such a great job changing your outside - maybe it's time to work on your inside. I SUGGESTED she not go there....... 5) and finally - on 4 different occasions this week, someone came up to me, while eating lunch with my dear friend who struggles with about 50 extra pounds, to tell me how great I look. Each time I was more and more uncomfortable.......so I'd say a quick thank you and then try to ignore them in hopes that they would move along and not start asking a bunch of questions. Anyone else feel the same? After all - we are still the same people on the inside - aren't we?

Stan, you will go through many changes on your journey.......from clothes shopping to attending a party.......everything will be different. I just hit my goal today - I started out on November 16, 2009 at 5'8'', 290 lbs. Most people didn't think I had enough weight to lose to warrant the band - but than again, most people didn't know how much I weighed. Now they see the difference when I show them the before and after pics. I did have a problem with my husband during the last few months getting on to me for not eating enough......we finally visited our GP together and I had the Doc look over my blood work and finally tell my husband to chill out - my blood work was great and I was fine! So he's now let it go - and I never did find out what his problem was......but I truely think he was worried about my health. Enjoy your journey and one final word of advice - watch out for depression - clinical depression has become VERY common with bariatric surgery and something that doctors are begining to study. Many of us are over weight because we are emotional eaters.......if you use your band correctly, you can no longer keep that as a comfort. But, doctors can help you through the rough Patches. I think a big reason the band "fails" people is because of depression. Good luck.

I did it!!! 110 pounds gone and I'm at my goal! My new focus......toning up!

Well - 4 pounds to go and I'm at my goal. Will I need to get some fluid removed so that I quit losing? Anyone else at this point yet?

I would ask how aggressive your surgeon is with fills. Mine was very aggressive and I loved it. My first fill didn't really do anything and I ended up gaining weight after having lost 17 pounds on the pre-liquid diet. So - ask if you can receive agrressive fills! Loved my band being tight - was never hungry and I've lost 105 pounds since 11/16/09 - only 5 more to goal!