anglov

Being honest here, I drank 2-3 20oz bottles and 2-3 cans every day. Yes I said every day before surgery. I started cutting back and replacing it with Vitamin Water Zero. I have been soda free since March. Occassionally I will take a sip of my hubby's soda but that's about it. I was told the bubbles can stretch the pouch and can be uncomfortable. Not worth finding out.

That's awesome on your weight loss! Don't worry about the fill. If you are doing that well and not hungry you may not get a fill. Usually with the first fill you really don't notice a difference after the first day. At least I didn't. I've had 2 fills and Monday they said I was in the green zone and didn't need a fill this month.

I was banded on May 12th. I had gone to my reg doctor because of the severe knee pain that was so bad I could barely walk. She took xrays and said my knee had no cartilage on one side and that was arthritis. Which is still true but I think the deficiency is the real cause of the severe pain. I will update on my blog after a week on my progress.

I pack a lunch bag everywhere I go. I keep two bottles of Vitamin Water Zero, one of the frozen. I have 100 calorie packs of cheese cubes and snack packs of grapes/apples. Slim Jim meat and cheese for a last resort.

How about a grilled chicken breast? Baked beans? Turkey burger? I have a great recipe for that, very moist if you eat it right away. Vitamin water Zero is fantastic! No cals, no sugar. The flavor "Rise" is like tang. It is my favorite plus it has a little bit of vitamins in it. Win Win.

Sounds a little like a blood sugar issue. I get that way when my blood sugar is not right. I am diabetic though. I hated the doctor's shakes. They were nasty. I have the GNC lean shakes and added a scoop of Whey protein. Those were good. There is also Myoplex protein drinks. They are in the grocery and come in vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. The strawberry isn't bad. Tastes like strawberry milk. If you switch to something granier you may give up. How long after surgery are on you liquids? I was only on them totally for a few days then I was allowed to start adding foods. My pre-op diet was only 2 weeks but because my blood sugar kept dropping too low and I had those symptoms I was allowed some protein each day like a chicken breast.

Anything and everything is possible. Everyone is different. I was told at my 1st fill that I may or may not feel a difference. It would take several fills to get me to the green zone. Call your doctor's office if you are worried about it. Stressing about it will only make things worse when it is an adjustment phase. Keep a log and see what, when and how much you are eating. You might need to change that up a bit and/or exercise more.

Thanks I will check that. My lapband doc prescribed it and it is the size of a small country and very chalky. There is NO WAY that will go through my band. Thanks for the heads up.

Just yesterday I responded to a blog about someone who was potassium difficient with a great website with potassium rich foods. Ironically, today I go to the doctor and since I hadn't had a call about my labs from a month ago I asked. Turns out the lab never sent them over. My motto...no news is not good news, it just means they haven't gotten the results and I need to call about it. So she calls me back and said she knows why my joints and bones have been hurting. See I just thought it was because I lost weight and the tendons were stretching in a new direction, hence the pain. WRONG!! Anyway, the labs showed I am potassium and vitamin D difficient. The vitamin D is the worst. My doc said they have never seen it that low in many many years. We should be at "30" and mine was "8". So now I have to take presciption meds for both. The potassium pill is the size of a horse pill. Guess I am crushing that one and the vitamin D is 50,000 IU and is a tiny little thing. Crazy! Anyway, make sure you get your vitamin levels checked. Low potassium leaves you achy, tired and dizzy. Low vitamin D causes bone loss, joint pain. Explains a lot. She said I should be feeling spectacular soon after starting the meds. I will let everyone know. Now on to my visit. I lost 8.5 lbs in 3 weeks. I felt so guilty on vacation because I was eating a small (salad)size plate of food at each meal. I wasn't hungry for 5-6 hours after but I thought I was overeating and in desperate need of a fill. Turns out that is exactly how I should be eating and feeling. I am in the green zone and didn't even realize it. The green zone is not eating tiny amount of food and being satisfied. It is eating 1250 cals a day in the way of salad size plates of food and not being hungry for at least 4 hours. I was so glad to find out I need to eat more. She said "see you ate more food and lost more weight in 3 weeks." AND I am bloated if you know what I mean and that usually means weight gain for at least a week. I was thinking all wrong about my food intake. I was so happy. I go back in a month to see how this stage is going. Wish me luck! Oh my total loss now is 45.5 lbs.

Thanks everyone! Small victories do add up!! And it is the things you normally wouldn't think about like the bathroom. Junibug...email me anytime. I am curious as to why your first fill is not until August 12th? I know all docs are different but I am going for my 3rd fill tomorrow. If you are hungry it is most likely because you haven't had a fill. I wonder if they added fluid to your band at surgery and that is why no fill for so long? I truly believe it isn't anything you are doing wrong. You desperately need a fill would be my guess. Let me know what you are eating, how often and how much. Maybe we can come up with more filling foods for you to tide you over until your fill. I would be glad to help any way I can.

TK, remember that those are 38 lbs you no longer carry on you and that is a good thing even it if has been a year. The fact that you are ready to get this back in motion is a good thing. Have you been back for a fill lately? A suggestion is to get back to the beginning starting with your doc's office and see if maybe a fill is a good idea. Take another look at what you are eating and how often. After a year and this is your first Pb then that is pretty good. I have learned in my short band life that when I have pain eating I need to take a look at what I am eating and how I am eating. It shouldn't hurt. I understand the whole thing about thinking people think you are lazy for having surgery but they just don't realize how much work it takes to live this life. I would be happy to help you anyway I can. I am no expert but sometimes an outside perspective helps.

Most everyone automatically thinks bananas when it comes to potassium. This website shows more foods that are high in potassium. High Potassium Foods Cantelope, melons, raisins, avocados, beans all have higher potassium levels than bananas. Beans are good for the band too. Even yogurt like the greek has more potassium than bananas. I hope this helps and I am glad it was nothing more serious.

I have lost 44 lbs so far and I don't see a difference when I look in the mirror and I don't see a big difference when I put on clothes. Why? Because 44 lbs, while a huge loss, is only a drop in the bucket for what I NEED to lose so the clothes difference is not happening all that fast. It is a little discouraging when no one notices that I have lost weight too. I wonder if they don't notice or they feel since I had weight loss surgery I don't deserve to hear it since it was surgery and not dieting. That would be the ignorant ones who think this surgery is an automatic fix all. But that is another blog topic all together. To combat that, I take notice of small differences other than the scale or clothes. My blog at http://anglovato.blogspot.com/ gives my accounts of small differences I am noticing that, well, give me the boost I need when the scale or clothes aren't. Start keeping track and you will be surprised at just how well you are actually doing when other measuring means do show it. :mad:

Ahh...The 10 Commandments of Lap Band. All very true.

ok I am still considering the "phone food day"! I have never heard of having a food cheat day together on the phone. What you said was so true. I have told this story before, I know someone who had gastric bypass. They have lost quite a bit of weight from where they were. I have however seen them on several occasions purchase a 10" three topping pizza and eat it all. I have seen them at a luncheon get THREE plates of food at once and sit down and eat it all. This was AFTER gastric bypass. You are what you eat and I guess you eat what you are. Fat eats Fat. It's a bad situation all around. I think lapband has saved my life. I have a new outlook and understanding of food. I too have people that look at me differently but not in a good way. No one has mentioned that I look like I have lost weight. I have lost 41lbs so you would think someone would notice a 41lb weight loss. A little disheartening but I am not doing it for them. I get the feeling that they are maybe jealous that I did this. I also think they believe I am lazy and took the easy road by having surgery. These people have no idea how much work we have to do.

I have rice, pasta and bread. I was avoiding it and my nutritionist said we need some carbs for our brain function. Ask your doctor office but nothing is off limits really. The soda is off because of carbonation causes pain/discomfort. I have heard of some that still drink it. Everyone is different. I had a sandwich for lunch. Went down no problem. I had bread with dinner(same skinny sliced bread as lunch) and it got stuck. It's a crap shoot.

My theory is that for so long our bodies adjusted to carrying this massive amount of weight and the muscles stretched to accomodate it. Then we lose weight and they contract in a different direction hence the pain.

I only saw my doctor one time for about 20 min then for a few minutes after surgery. I haven't seen him since and I am okay with that. The office staff is wonderful and they handle everything. I haven't had any issues and if I did they are available 24hrs a day. YMJackson is right. The doctor is only there to do the surgery. His office should be guiding you through the rest. Is there a support group for your area? The hospital has a support group meeting once a month and my surgeon attends every month. I haven't been yet because of my work schedule but I have talked to others that have and it is very helpful. I have had 2 fills and a nutritionist appt at that office and am very happy. I am not concerned if I don't see my doctor. Remember though, every doctor is different on what they want you to do and what plan to follow. It is a very WIDE difference.

Makes perfect sense. I absolutely understand about the stretch marks and itching. There are days when I want to claw my skin off and then it goes away. I get so dry and itchy and then I notice that my wide large stretch marks are not so wide and large anymore. You are lucky with the hanging skin. I have a lot in the stomach area but I had that prior to surgery. As I have joked before, that is what duct tape is for! Just kidding. Keep it up and keep enjoying the amazing results!

I have found that if I don't prepare food and portion it out for the week for lunch I don't do so well. I end up having a long period of time between meals and feel sick. I am in training this week and didn't prepare my meals like I would normally. Don't get me wrong. I bring my food from home, I am just not bringing something satisfying. So then, I am hungry after a few hours and end up stretching that time out until dinner because I didn't bring a good protein snack with me. I do this it seems every other week. Next topic. Pain. My knees, hips, back, legs. For years I have felt twinges, dull aches, sharp stabbing pains. I was always told, LOSE WEIGHT. Well I have started to do that and well, it hurts even worse. Go figure. Turns out I have arthritis in my knee and I have been advised no treadmill or walking long distances. Stationary bike or water exercises until the knee is better then try the elliptical. Not a good prognosis.

I went in Thursday for my 2nd fill. My 10cc band now has 4.5cc in it. I go back in 3 weeks again for another fill. I will be probably need two more tweaks she said. I am down 41.5 lbs! I feel great! I met with the nutritionist and she said I am a poster child for what to do right. That made me feel good. My lunch cooler is a great idea and is what keeps me on track all day long. I work four 10 hour days each week so I am there for dinner every day. I eat breakfast at home but take enough food to eat every four hours. It has been working great for me. I don't even think about eating out unless I want to. No vending machines. except when they have these cheese cubes/grapes cup. I do tend to buy those for a snack. My suggestion is to be prepared. I eat what I want when I want it. I just eat everything in moderation and yes my weight loss is not fast but it is steady and I am not suffering for it. I am not struggling at all because I am not putting too much pressure on myself and I don't set high expectations either. Be realistic in your goals otherwise you are setting yourself up for real disappointment and failure when you really didn't need to. Think about it. Did you gain all this weight overnight or even within a few months? No you didn't. This was over years and years. Why would you expect to lose it in a few months? You may WANT to lose it in a few months but that is not healthy or realistic. My doctor said I should aim to lose 40lbs a year to be within a goal range in 3 years which is right where the Lap Band should have me. I am already at the 40lb mark for this year and I am not reaching for the stars when setting my goals. Good Luck to everyone.

Thanks everyone for the kind words!! Sandradee, I told everyone in my unit at work, 13 people, plus a few others and I am sure they told people and so on. My family knows. At first I got a lot of comments about the band and what I should or should not be doing. Right after surgery when others would eat they would say things like "oh I'm not inviting you since you have your special food or I won't offer you anything since you have special food to eat." I sat a few down and said "okay, what and where is this special food you speak of?" I had to explain that I can eat absolutely whatever I want I just don't eat as much of it. The key has been for me to stop mentioning the band. I don't talk about it hardly and now everything is back to normal. It will take time and honestly not one has said one word about noticing my weightloss which is a little disheartening but I am not looking for validation so that's okay. Turns out a few are eating 1200 cal a day. I am sure they think I took the easy way out and they are jealous and make comments behind my back that they struggle and I don't. They have no idea how much of a struggle this is at times and also I don't blame them because I would probably say the same thing if I were them. Sad isn't it?

And I don't mean depressed. I was banded 5-12-10 and am DOWN 18.2 since surgery for a grand total of 36.5 since March. It has been a road full of bumps and ruts. Some of the potholes were HUGE. I am making it though. I am not discouraged and I am not looking at this through "rose-colored" glasses. I have seen some banders go into this thinking this is the miracle cure. We know better. I have seen some upset because they aren't dropping 10lbs a week. We know better. The point of WLS, well at least it should be, is to lose weight to be healthy. Now think about it, if we are told that with the lap band we should be losing about 2 lbs per week, why would we even imagine that 10lbs a week is normal? If you sent unrealistic goals or have unrealistic expectations then you are setting yourself up for a major disappointment. I have realistic goals and you know what? I AM HAPPY with my band and how I am doing and I am happy doing it. I am to the point that I don't think band first before I eat. It is now a habit and everything just falls in place. I don't project I AM BANDED anymore. I am just me. They see me, not the girl who had band surgery. We are all successful no matter what!!

I had a lean protein meal on days when I just couldn't handle it. My surgeon said my liver looked great. No issues at all.

My first month after the band was hell! OMG! My mood swings would have given you whiplash and then I would have knocked you head clean off. I pure mean and nothing less. I am hoping this month won't be that bad. I was in so much pain that I even tried the pain meds I got from surgery and they didn't make a dent in the pain.