Ilovebeagles

Congrats! You've done a great job!

I do the Celebrate bariatric vitamines. They are about $15 to $17 for a one month supply they are a bit chalky. I saw a previous poster takes the Viactive chewables -- can't wait to give those a try.

I'm enjoying the warm weather; here in Michigan we have cold for so long when spring gets here it's as if we throw off the shackles.

I'm down 40 pounds and 2 sizes. It's been pretty exciting to haul out all my skinnier summer clothes and have them fit. I am also noticing that I don't get exhausted working in the garden and taking care of my flower beds.

I didn't do any real before pics. I did take one of myself in teh bathroom mirror right before I left for surgery, but it doesn't show much because I've got my warm up jacket on.

I didn't do any planned before pics because I was too embarassed if you want to know the truth. I had avoided the camera for so many years and I didn't want to see just how big I had gotten. And, I was a little afraid this surgery wouldn't help me and there would be no after photos.

That said now I'm sorry I didn't do before pics because there is a noticible difference. I love seeing before and afters of others, it is so encouraging and it would be great to have my own too.

As long as you are losing weight I would not get a fill. My surgeon bases the need for a fill on 2 things:

1. if you get hungry in a short time (2-3 hours) after eating a meal of dense Protein

2. if you are not losing weight

Elcee makes a good point though -- my surgeon and nutrionist say I should be eating around 1 to 1.5 cups of food, depending on what that food is. That is quite a bit more food than what I see a lot of bandsters eating. So maybe you are in the same boat.

Whatever you do, please do not get discouraged over this!

I get the feeling that a lot of people never received proper education about how weight loss works with a band from their surgeons and then they end up in a situation like yours and wonder what's wrong with them. My surgeon was very upfront with me about expectations before surgery.

Here's what he told me in a nutshell.

The lap band people state that expected weight loss is about 1lb per week once your band is properly adjusted.Which my surgeon is in total agreement with. Any weight we lose prior to this is basically dieting. So look at it this way, you've have some great success without your band helping you much at all! Give yourself a pat on the back.

Now for my personal story:

I was banded in August last year. Including pre-op and those first several weeks after surgery where I had good restriction due to swelling, I lost 12lbs. And then..... I slowed down to losing a tiny fraction of a pound each week. We are talking like a 1/4 of a pound, sometimes 1/2 a pound until I reached good restriction, which was in April.

Since my 6th fill in April, my restriction level has been terrific. It makes all the difference in the world. It seemed like it took me such a long time to get there but it was worth the wait. Now my weight loss has increased to about 1lb a week. Once in a while it's 2lbs a week.

Please hang in there!

Hi there,

I think I would've been okay at 2 weeks out to do this kind of a vacation. If your 12 yr old is pretty self suffient and can help with carrying things then you should do pretty well. Please keep in mind though, that you will probably feel like resting more -- and it sounds like you've got a great place to do that.

At the 2 week stage, most people are on soft foods so you that will be much nicer for you than liquids. I also found that I had a little more energy when I transitioned from liquids to soft.

I hope everything goes well with your surgery and that you have a lovely vacation.

I've never had this problem -- it's only for bypass patients.

Congratulations on all your hard work!

Hi,

I know, this is such a big step!! It took me a long time to decide too. My main reasons for finally going ahead with it is that it finally hit home to me that I just could not lose the weight on my own -- that was really hard to accept. BUT, now at 9 months out I'm so happy I went ahead and got my band.

Best of luck to you!

Trixie

Great! Thanks for sharing.

I sympathize with you. It is really hard until your band is adjusted right -- and it does take a while to get it filled just right for you. It sounds like you are definitely trying to make better choices than presurgery. Maybe your meals don't look exactly like they will (in content and size) once your at your optimal fill level, but you are on your way!

So, please just hang in there and keep focusing on making better choices than you did before the surgery and moving more than before surgery and you will see some more weight come off. It might not be a whole lot, but hey it's certainly better than you were doing before having the surgery, right? Once you get the band adjusted the weight loss will be a bit easier because your hunger will be better managed.

Take Care,

Trixie

Hi Mary!

I'm from Michigan too! I had my surgery at GHP in Grand Rapids, where did you go for yours?

I have had the same issue as you -- I have the larger 14cc band and it seemed like it took me FOREVER to get it adjusted to a good point -- that event happened with my 6th fill last month. I'm not sure how much I have in there -- forgot to get the amount he put in last month, but when I went in for that fill, I had 10ccs in.

Please hang in there, I know it is so frustrating! I was beginning to think that somehow I screwed something up inside and that I end up a failure. My surgeon assured me that some people just take a lot more fills and time to get to restriction. You will get there eventually. In the mean time, I see by your ticker that you have done a great job losing weight on your own with very little help from the band. Kuddos to you for all your hard work!

Congratulations!! Have you got your surgery date yet? Before you know it you will be on here posting how wonderful it is for you to do all those things with ease that are difficult now.

Take Care,

Hi Renee,

I got my band "installed" last August after years of thinking I could lose the weight on my own. I am so glad I did!

Life after the band (or any wls) IS different and it takes getting used to. Sometimes I just want to shove something in and eat, but I am FORCED by my band to take tiny bites and chew thoroughly. Sometimes food comes back up if I try to eat too quickly or eat too much -- there's a learning curve to all this for sure, but it's been so worth it.

You can check out my blog below for some more real life insights of someone living with the band.

Good luck to you : )

Congratulations! You are doing so wonderful. Happy Anniversary :thumbup:

I'm a big believer in exercise and have always done it despite being overweight. I shudder to think how much I would've weighed had I not been active!

Here's what I do:

Free weight strength training and core work every other day. This means one week I do it 3 times, the next week is 4 times.

Speed walking 6 days a week for 30 minutes and elliptical workouts for 20 minutes a day 5 or 6 days a week. In the winter I tend to do more on the elliptical, but now that it's nice outside I prefer to get my exercise outside.

I also take care of an 800 sq foot garden and several flower beds for about an hour a day 4 or 5 days a wee , so that keeps me pretty busy too. But that's what I call "fun work" : )

I was doing pretty much all of this for years and years prior to surgery and now that I've lost weight I actually need to do MORE to get the same effect because it burns less calories moving a lighter body. I think those have never done much exercise presurgery and then start doing at least something will see really good results scale wise. Any kind of extra movement will help.

Terrific!!

Hi there, (sorry, this is kind of long...)

You pose a very good question! I am 9 months out today and just last month got to optimal restriction, even though it took me a long time to get to this point, it was worth the wait! NOW I know what everyone meant by staying not hungry for 4 -5 hours after a meal and only being able to eat tiny meals. It's fantastic!

So what is life like for me now?

Eating wise: most of my meals are just under 1 cup of food. (No way can I eat a 6 inch sub) I simply cannot eat more, of anything (well except for probably ice cream, but I've not tried that and lettuce) or it is horribly uncomfortable. Getting used to that is a real head trip. Somedays my eyes see a good sized salad or really any kind of food and tell my stomach they want to eat all of it or even most of it. No can do!

My dietictian from my surgeon's office really discourages the concept of "cheating". I can have a small special treat now an then so long as it is just that: a small, special treat. That is not cheating, it's what we call normal. When is the last time you've ever seen a normal weight person that NEVER eats a treat? So, once in a while (every week or two) I will have a 1/3 to 1/2 of a cup of some kind of dessert -- comepletely guilt free.

We have pizza night at our house on Fridays and pre surgery I could eat 3 or 4 slices of a large pizza (sometimes more). Now I can only eat 1 very small slice. It's hard to get in enough Protein for that meal, so I will sometimes have a protrein hot chocolate that day to get in a bit more or eat heavier Protein for Breakfast and lunch or a protein snack at 3pm.

Now, I very rarely feel the need to snack. Before surgery I would be starving 2-3 hours after a meal and always want a snack morning, afternoon and at 5:30 (we eat supper late).

Here is a typical day's worth of meals for me:

Breakfast (one of these)

(Yogurt Mix of 3 ingredients)

1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt

2-3 Tbsp granola

1/2 cup of fruit

1 egg, 2 ounces ham, 1 ounce of lowfat cheese

1/4 cup of steel cut oats, 1 cup milk, 1 tsp brown sugar

Lunch:

1/2 cup tuna or chicken salad made with lowfat mayo

6 whole-grain-lots-of-Fiber crackers

Garden salad with chicken (1 cup of lettuce and 3 ounces chicken) Sometimes I make this southwest style with blackbeans and cheese.

dinner leftover which would consist of 3 ounces of baked chicken, pork, fish or beef and 1/3 cup of veggies and maybe a Tablespoon or two of mashed potatoes.

Hope this helps! If you would like more details you can check out my blog in the link below.

Hi there,

I just wanted to say "hang in there" to you and hopefully offer some encouragement.

From the amount you can eat, it sounds like your band hasn't been adjusted tight enough yet. I was in your position for 8 solid months, eating much better and smaller meals and moving more and the scale was oh so slowly crawling downwards. It seemed like I would never pick up the pace and that I would fail. I felt especially discouraged after reading about so many people on these boards that were losing way above average.

Good news: you are doing pretty well, at least by my surgeon's standards and the Lap Band makers! It's been 29 weeks since surgery and you've lost 20lbs. That averages out to .68lbs a week. My surgeon and the Lap Band makers specifically state that weight loss isn't even in the game plan until we reach restriction/green zone/sweet spot --whatever you want to call it. Once the band is adjusted to a good level, then you can expect a weight loss average of 1-2 lbs a week. My surgeon was very clear on this to me presurgery and I don't think all surgeons are very good about giving their patients the correct information.

Now, obviously, we don't want to go through surgery and start on this journey by laying on the couch and eating bon bons just waiting for the right level of restriction and the weight to fall off. Anything we can do to jump start our weight loss and get the scale moving before we get good restriction will be a big help. It sounds like you are doing those things already by eating less, eating healthier and moving more. By making those good choices you've lost 20lbs and have done a great job so far!

Just keep doing what you are doing and hanging in there. Once you get to a proper level of restriction, I think you will find that it helps you a lot. Now there is no way I could eat 2 cups at a meal and my small, usually less than 1 cup meals keep me satisfied a lot longer. The plus on all this is that my weightloss of .9lbs a week has increased to 2lbs per week. I think there is a good chance yours will increase too : )

Edited to add: if you want some ideas of my menus and what my portions sizes looked like at different steps through my journey, check out my blog -- link is below.

Hi Cathy,

It sounds like you are doing great on your pro-op diet. Welcome to the loser's bench! I hope you have a speedy recovery.

I felt something similar too, it ended up being my port : )

Hi,

I'm going to share with you what my surgeon's office shared with me:

A lapband patient is expected to lose an average of 1lb per week once proper restriction of the band is achieved. They fully expect the weight loss to go on for 1 to 3 years and were very honest and upfront with me about this before surgery. I am not sure all surgeons tell their patients this.

I am 8 months out now and had very little restriction until 7 months out and just now reached optimal restriction earlier this month. Up until now I've lost on average .9lbs lost per week. Now I am averaging 2lbs per week.

Based on a lot of what I read on message boards here and OH I gather that most people think an above average weight loss rate is the "norm" and what is expected. Of course you can always get faster weight loss by rigorous dieting and exercising and many people do and are very happy with doing that and that's okay too.

My point is that you likely feel bad because you think you are not on par with the above average losers, but you shouldn't compare yourself to others and start worrying or belittling yourself. I think you are doing awesome! Especially since you are not at a point yet where the band is helping you out as much as it can be; that makes a lot of difference.

This is sort of what I had for lunch today -- tuna salad. I eat mine on triscuit high Fiber crackers or some Kashi ones that are similar. But being on soft stuff, you could try to get in some veggies, they are important too. I had butternut squash with mine, about 1/4 of a cup.

It sounds like too tight and/or swollen from all your stuck episode. You should not be sliming like that. It means your food is getting stuck, and having a very hard time going down. I would just do the liquids for a couple of days like others recomend and then mushies for a couple of days. If after that you still can't eat real food than it would be a really good idea to check with your doc. Hope you feel better!