SoccerMomma73

Typically tomato soup is okay for a full liquid diet and not allowed on a clear liquid diet. I reread your post after typing that and see it says you CAN have tomato, you're just not sure if you should due to the acidity. Oops! Have you had any problem with reflux since surgery? Does tomato soup typically bother you? If you're doing fine and it hasn't been a problem in the past I'd probably go for it, a sip at a time, and see how you do. If it has ever given you issues previously I'd stay away! Good luck and welcome to the club!

Glad I could help. Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow (or surf right along). I think between weeks 2 and 4 I lost a total of 1 or 2 pounds and wasn't thrilled with the whole thing but I'm now just shy of 8 months out and 80 pounds down...it DOES get better :party:

You need to do a search on here about bandster hell...you are smack dab in the middle of it. BH is that time a few weeks after surgery where you're swelling goes down but you don't have any (or have very little) restriction from your empty or nearly empty band. Do some research and you'll feel much better. As said above, this is the time for healing and learning new habits, not for focusing on major weight loss. Many people lose very little the first weeks/months after surgery, a few lose none or even gain. I was not prepared for this period. I went in to surgery expecting to immediately have a small stomach and be barely able to eat, I was, for 9 days...then all hell broke lose and I was starving to death. My doc/nurse/nutritionist had not warned me about this. I started thinking I'd made the biggest (and most expensive) mistake of my life...then I googled "2 weeks post lap band and starving" and found this forum and it all clicked. Follow your doctors orders, don't eat what you are not supposed to, your body needs the time to heal. Exercise and get into a regular routine exercising, your body needs it to boost your metabolism and lose weight, it will also help maintain your weight once it is gone. Get your Protein in...most of us here don't lose when we aren't getting our protein, it's essential. Drink drink drink your Water....be patient. Take a deep breath and relax. I read on one of your posts that you're about 2 weeks post op and down 13 pounds and feel like that's not fast enough. Oh child are you setting yourself up for misery. The band is not a miracle (well, not true, I actually think it IS a miracle but even the band can't make fat vanish) and does not make the weight disappear over night...it took years to get where you are and will take time to get where you want. 1-2 pounds a week appears to be average, it doesn't sound like much, but if you're consistant with it, it can be 100+ pounds in a year...which is huge, PLUS, your chances of keeping it off this time are so much higher! Try not to obsess about the numbers, do your best to help yourself, but don't set yourself up for disappointment, you have to be realistic with your new band. It takes a while to reach restriction and takes a while to develop new/better eating and exercise habits. If you are willing to work with it and make the changes you will succeed but it does take time. Good luck, I know it's hard, we all want it to come off fast, but it does take a while.

Keep in mind everyone's metabolism is different and some might lose at 800, some might lose at 1200, some might lose at 1500...the more active you are and the longer you stick with it the better your metabolism is, so that definitely helps but it varies a LOT from person to person. Good luck!

I would say more pressure and discomfort than anything EXCEPT when trying to sit up or stand up...that was painful, but only for a second while I was in the process. I had forgotten since my c-section and gallbladder surgeries, how much you use those stomach muscles when you're trying to get up. I was at home, alone with my then 5 year old taking care of him completely on my own by day 3. I was a little tired and achy but really that was all. I took pain meds once or twice during the day the first 4 days then only at bedtime the next 3 or 4 days (had a little trouble getting comfortable, I'm a tummy sleeper). On average, I'd say the pain was a 3-4, occasionally a 5, when trying to sit/stand maybe an 8 but just for a sec and once I was up it was all good again.

Jen-like I said above, I had a bit of a mourning period. I realized about 5 or 6 weeks in that I wasn't myself...I was just kind of blue, nothing terrible, but not my happy cheerful self. Eventually I figured it out. I have spent my entire adult life filling the gaps with food...when I was sad, I ate, when I was happy, I ate, when my heart got broke, I ate...and suddenly I couldn't eat. I hadn't been cooking much and I really missed the whole concept of a good meal so I started cooking again. Completely different than before, focusing much more on quality than quantity instead like before when it was all about how much I could make so I could fill myself up. I can buy better stuff because I don't have to buy as much. It took a couple weeks to pull myself out of the funk but I filled it with exercise and playing with my six year old son and I am awesome now. Food and I have a MUCH better relationship. I enjoy good food, but I'm no longer the obsessed teenager following it around worrying about it all the time. In a way, it makes me feel free :redface: My doc had talked to me pre-op about my relationship with food but I was not prepared for what I felt, it was truly, on many levels, like losing my best friend. Good luck!

Each fill is a baby step in the right direction. While I didn't reach good restriction until #3 (and I feel blessed to have found it that early) with each I got full a little faster and ate a little less...even if I didn't get full when I should or stay full as long as I should, with each fill it got easier and easier. A lot of this is a mental game. Try to keep your chin up and find the good in all of it or you can totally psych yourself out and sabotage yourself. Good luck!

1-that 2 weeks out I'd be starving...I knew it took "a bit" to find restriction...I didn't realize I'd feel like I was starving to death before I got there. 2-that I was losing what I thought was my best friend (food) and would have a mourning period where I felt lost...it wasn't terrible, just very, very unexpected. 3-how freaking good it would feel to start having clothes fall off and not be avoiding mirrors any longer. I have NO regrets (except maybe not doing it sooner). And nothing has been terrible by any means. Recovery was a piece of cake and I a thrilled with where I am at this point.

You are such an inspiration. Congrats on your success so far, you are doing great! Keep up the good work and keep us up to date! Come on 210's!!!!

Go elfie, go elfie!!! I'm curious to start solids and see where my restriction is at, when I'm on liquids I notice very little unless I'm super dooper tight (which I don't wanna be, ever, again). My docs office has changed their lapband diet so I'm now supposed to eat 4 meals a day (before they said no snacking, no snacking, 3 meals but no snacking ever...) So, hey, I'm supposed to eat more! Not sure how I'm going to work that with the work schedule but we'll see how it plays out.

I'm curious who is doing her fills. And why she is still getting fills if she's this full? Something isn't right and she needs and appointment with her doc/PA/NP whomever, not for a fill, but to sit down and discuss her problems and yeah, she probably needs a slight unfill. Now, I personally know several people who keep their band so tight they can barely eat and vomit frequently....they want to lose the weight faster (but in fact a couple have sabotaged themselves and are gaining because they're living on crap). Life with a band should not be miserable. You SHOULD be able to go out and eat a fairly normal meal with your family and not be miserable. Good luck with everything! On an average day I kinda forget my band is there....it's fairly amazing actually.

She added 0.7 today, so half of what he took out last month. Between the adding and subtracting I've forgotten exactly where I am but it's somewhere around 7.1 which puts me somewhere between my second and third fills way back in Feb/Mar. Oy. I'm on liquids through tomorrow so I'm still thinking the Bob diet is the way to go.

That's it, I'm going on Bob's diet too darn it!

My band does not like snot! Anytime I'm congested or stuffy I'm tight. I'm one of the freaks that had an unfill months after a fill. My last fill was in March, kept getting tighter until I had a little taken out in June, then totally obstructed and got dehydrated in July and had to have an emergency partial unfill....the doc is still not real sure what happened. y first fill since March is tomorrow, we're gonna go slow but I'm a tad bit anxious after the whole dehydration incident. Good luck!

10 pounds, 6 weeks....I think I was about 3 1/2 weeks and I forgot about it for a sec and reached down to grab a 60 pound 5 year old...and quickly remembered... I say better safe than sorry. And, you CAN hold hime propped on a pillow on your lap, you just have to get someone else to put him up there... Good luck!

I stayed in the hospital gown with another one on backwards when I got up to walk, which I did often...so often they quit counting and told me I was "obviously going to handle this without problem" which, hey, is exactly the type of patient I want to be. My first post op request was "may I PLEASE put my underwear on????" I took a book (which I didn't read), my cell phone and charger (which saved me from boredom), lip balm (#1 necessity), pillow for the ride home (#2 necessity), toothbrush/paste, hairbrush, deodorant (#3 necessities). I wore leggings, a sports bra, and long/oversized t-shirt for the ride home.... It was a very uneventful hospital stay (which is the best type to have). Good luck!!!

AHHH!!!! Back for a refill tomorrow...and nervous as all get out. I say I'll stay on liquids for, oh 12 months or so but we'll see :thumbup: Jacki-as long as you are happy with your progress nothing else matters right? Congrats on your success so far!

I never actually "saw" myself in a mirror before. If I did my hair or make-up, I looked only at what I was working on. I never looked at "me". Now I look at me and think WTF?!?!?! I'm learning to focus more on the positive but I do ALWAYS see the negative. But now, in addition to bat wings and a saggy belly I have boobs and a waist line. Bat wings and sag can be hid in clothes. Boobs and waist can be accentuated in clothes....it all works out. Learn to love the new you. It will take time. But for every negative, find a positive and eventually, hopefully, you'll focus more of the positives. Good luck!

TBS there ya go, much better attitude and it will take you far. SOOOOOO much of this weight loss thing is mental. You stress and worry and you stop losing. You don't lose what you expect, you get upset, you stress, you worry, you don't lose weight. See a pattern? The whole band experience is very very different for each of us. Thirteen pounds in a week is HUGE. Go to the store, put 13 pounds of hamburger in your cart and stare at it...and think "this is what came off me in 7 days?!?!" sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. (the put it back because it will take you FOREVER to eat 13 pounds of meat now). I average 1-2 a week. Then I gain 2 and hold it for 2 weeks, then I lose 4 and stay there for a week...it is incredibly unpredictable. Even when I'm sure I ate the same amount and exercised the same amount the weight loss/gain is never the same...that'd be way too easy :rolleyes2:. Keep your chin up, as I said before, with your determination you will do great. But there is a HUGE learning curve with this thing and it really does take a while, sometimes months to reach your optimal level. I hit good restriction at 3 months and feel lucky that I found it so early (and then lost it, long story involving swelling shut, dehydration, and a partial unfill) and am anxiously awaiting a refill so I can do more than maintain. I have talked to many on here that did not find good restriction for 6-9-even 12 months. And a few who had it from the first fill, so here's hoping you're one of the lucky ones that hits it early on! Good luck!

I have a spot on my butt that is now "bony" and hurts when I sit for long, I'm constantly shifting around.....is this what it's like for "normal people"?? I still have padding every where else. How can I possibly have a bony spot in the one and only spot I need a cushion???? Three days 'til fill!! Woohoo (and yet petrified at the same time!) I've been in Memphis for the last day and a half. It was a blast and we walked until we almost died so good exercise (in the 100+ degree swelteringly humid weather). But we also ate, and ate, and ate....Sooo...I'm not weighing until Monday and then only so I'll be prepared for the docs office on Tuesday so I don't break down and sob if it's not decent. Have a lovely weekend and GO TEAM BAND!!!! Rah rah rah! (hey, so Bob didn't end up requiring cheerleaders but I'm determined to get it out somewhere)

1-2 pounds is the average yes, but hey, on this diet it is permanent, on the other 300 I tried before it was always temporary, even when I lost 5-6 in a week...it always came back. This time it's not. Slow and steady wins the race ladies. You are both healing at this stage. Believe it or not weight loss in the early days of being banded tends to be fairly slow for many of us. Yes, your body goes from 3000 calories a day to 1000 (or so, give or take) and yes it slows down for a while and tries to hold on to each and every one of those calories. Go through and read old posts from new bandsters...most of us did the exact same thing and had the exact same thoughts. I think we all just expect it to be falling off. Follow your doctors diet. Eat/drink your Protein. Do your exercise. Drink your Water. It will come off and it will improve. Don't give up and try not to get frustrated. If you're like most of us it took you years to get to this point and the weight is not going to all come off over night. Again, slow and steady. But it does get better! Good luck!

Okay, so I wrote this long detailed "what the hell are you expecting" post then decided it was too harsh and deleted it. You are, after all, new to this. So, I will try to remain calm and help you out, if possible. First, I do not know you or your circumstances, I don't know your current weight, height, how long you've had weight issues, how much you plan to lose, etc, so I don't really know where you're coming from. So this post is for early lap band in general, not you specifically. Second, I'm very concerned with how well your physician prepped you for your surgery. There appear to be some gaps in your band knowledge so hopefully this will help fill them in. Average weight loss with a band is 1-2 pounds a week. MANY of us lose little to none the week of surgery and the first few weeks following, many of us lose little for many months while trying to reach restriction. Typically early on in banded life, weight loss is slow then picks up as restriction is improved. Thirteen pounds in a week is amazing, hugely dramatic, and well beyond the norm. And, actually, if I read your post right, you lost the 13 pounds in 4 days...just over 3 pounds a day, that's over a 10000 calorie deficit each of those days...that's, well, almost crazy. Was this your pre-op weight or post-op full of IV fluids weight that you've counting as your starting weight? Muscle has mass. If you're starting an intense exercise program, you are going to gain muscle (which in the long road does lead improved weight loss but sometimes looks ugly on the scale). Weight loss with the band is not consistant. I'll lose 4 pounds 1 week, gain 1 the next, lose 2 the next, none the next, etc...Also hormones, stress (emotional or physical)...there are a lot of variables to weight loss. It took most of us years to get to our current weight (or pre-op weight), while it would be nice for it to just all fall off it ain't gonna happen! If you're expecting it to you will likely be very disappointed. The band is a way of life, and it is often a slow journey. Most of us lose the weight with each pound kicking and screaming to stay where it is. Now, take a step back and re-read your post. You are a week in from being banded and you've lost 13 pounds. THIRTEEN POUNDS?!?! You should be jumping up and down celebrating not being hard on yourself. Be realistic. Don't expect miracles. And enjoy the journey. At times it's a pain in the ass and very frustrating but it's also a heck of a lot of fun to rediscover yourself. Good luck. With your determination you will do well, just don't be so hard on yourself!!!!

I am single and my son was 5 at the time of my surgery. I spent 1 night in the hospital and then 2 nights at my parents place (I only wanted to stay 1 but they insisted...moms....). Other than not being able to lift him (he's a snuggle bug even at 6) I was fine to take care of us alone after that...slow and slightly achy but fine. The night I came home from the hospital my son had a GI bug and was throwing his toenails up....we could have managed alone but it was REALLY nice to have mom send me to bed while she stayed up with him. I would say at least 3 days of help would be good, you'll have some sore days but you can likely make it on your own after that. GOOD LUCK!!!!

FYI, check on the potassium, a lot of them are slow release and shouldn't be crushed....yours may be fine but just wanted to warn ya! Congrats on the loss too!!

We really should have a LBT potluck sometime soon!