OfferRocker

You're welcome Dreamer. Best of luck with your journey

Good Luck, Dana! You sound like you're ready to start your journey. Congratulations!

Hey everyone. A challenge sounds good to me. Now that I'm over my cold I think I'll do an exercise challenge. I'm really struggling with that right now! Kellie---what kind of trouble are you having. Are you using tickerfactory.com? If so, once you have created your ticker, copy and paste the URL code onto your signature page and it should work. If you need any help, let me know. Maurdan--I too could use some breakfast ideas. That seems to be the hardest to be creative with.

Jill---I like the poor man’s steak idea. I’ll be trying that soon. <O:p</O:p <O:p</O:p Mpov---I’m glad your first fill went well and you're feeling restriction. I'm not sure if I'm having head hunger or real hunger between meals. Anyone else having trouble distinguising between the two? I still have to keep measuring so I don't overeat because I feel like I can eat more than I should. :noidea:<O:p</O:p <O:p</O:p Gerbera---thanks for the info from your dietician. I have a fear of dialating my pouch or the band slipping. I guess if we are following our doctors orders and being careful we’re gonna be fine. <O:p</O:p <O:p</O:p Take care everybody! You know what I just realized. Valentine’s Day is coming up and I usually get chocolate!!!! I’m curious to see how my hubby handles that situation. LOL.<O:p</O:p

I'm so excited. :biggrin1: I have enrolled in a cooking course that is specifically for bariatric patients. The woman giving the class had bypass surgery but she her class is for both lapband and bypass patients. The classes start in March I think, or was it February. Anyway---I will pass along the recipes and ideas as I get them! It's hard to figure out what to eat these days. Jill---I've been eating alot of canned chicken and tuna, with a little sweet pickle relish and lowfat mayo. The density of the chicken and tuna fills me up and the mayo helps it go down. Or I take a few slices of turkey or ham and spread a little low fat cream cheese on it and roll them up. For dinner it's usually something I have put in the crockpot, whether it's beef or chicken. There are some great low carb recipes at bariatricbytes.com. I've made the crockpot chicken and the crustless pizza and they are excellent! Yesterday morning I put some frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot and smothered them with Campbell's Special Request cream of mushroom Soup and a package of Lipton onion soup mix. You cook this for about 6 hours and before you serve, add about a cup of low fat sour cream. It tastes good and chicken is moist and easy to eat. I haven't checked lately, are there any good recipes in the Recipe section of this forum? Take care everyone!

Hey everyone! I haven’t been checking in as much due to a nasty cold. :sick I wasn’t sure what to take for it with this band so I chose Dayquil since it has Acetomenaphen (sp?) and not aspirin or ibuprofen. Has anyone else had to deal with a cold/stuffy nose? And what did you take for your symptoms? <O:p</O:p Kirsten---I think it’s a great idea to do a new tread every month. I find it easier to keep up with everyone when there’s not so many pages. <O:p</O:p Gerbera----I’m sorry your first fill experience was so tramatic. Hopefully from now on they’ll do your fills with the fluro and not prod around. My first fill was 4cc however I have the VG band which can hold 10cc. So I think the fill amount depends on the size of your band. I also have not been getting posts through my email. I depend on that to let me know if there is any activity so I’m not sure what is going on. Hmmm. . . <O:p</O:p Steph—thanks for the yum.com website. I could eat chicken every day! <O:p</O:p Kathyb---congratulations on your walking achievement! I admire you---I’m still trying to force myself to get on a regular exercise program. I have the equipment---just need to make myself do it! You’re an inspiration!:clap2: <O:p</O:p Kaydot---When is your first fill? I’m sure that will help. <O:p</O:p Okiefamily---Let us know if your 2<SUP>nd</SUP> fill helps any. I’m still measuring my food after my first fill and I feel like I could eat more but I’m not hungry for a while after I eat. Not sure if I need another fill yet.

Hey Bandiva---I'm glad your fill went okay and your home safe and sound. kaboom---17 pounds is a lot--don't sell yourself short. Good luck with your fill. I get a little shoulder pain when I have gas, so maybe that's it.

Kirsten---are you sensative to salt? If so, the four pounds was probably Water retention. It'll be gone soon. Hang in there! mypov---Wow! one size down in jeans! That's fantastic! Congratulations! BabyGotBack--Congratuations on your 17 pounds!

:happybday: :mad: Ibreham---I hope you enjoyed your birthday!

Have a good time with your friends, Annie. Can you just eat the toppings off the pizza? That's easier said than done, I know. But maybe that will satisfy you enough so you don't have to tell yourself "Bad Annie."

Annie---Kirsten's right. It's not that bad and you'll do fine. Kirsten--I have the same fear about eating too much and stretching my pouch which is why I measure out 4 oz of what I am eating. Then I can either eat all of it or some of it but just not going over 4 oz. It's hard when you go out to dinner though so I'm not doing much of that right now.

Steph---good luck with your fill. You'll be in ONEderland in no time! I'm still in TWOterville (sounds like I've been eating a lot of Beans LOL) and will be for a while. Kristin---Have a great time dancing. Do you have a Torrid's in your city. They have some cute clothes although some are a little goth--but I've found some cute shirts and skirts there. Congrats on your continued weight loss. WC--you haven't done the wrong thing. It's only been about a month since your surgery---just give it more time. My sister was banded about a year and 3 months ago. She told me it took a while to find that "sweet spot"--where she had just the right fill and the weight started dropping. And everyone is different in the way that they lose. Hang in there!!!

Congratulations. Wow! What a great success! I'm doing a happy dance for ya right now! Thanks for the inspiration!

WC--I'm at a plateau right now so that is what I am struggling with. I'm hoping the fill will help me over the hump. Are you having trouble getting all your liquids in? Kirsten---did you have any Fluid in your band right after surgery? Mine was left unfilled and then they put in the 4ccs. Wow! Mine seems like a lot compared to yours. I am feeling really full right now with just the liquids I have been drinking. Nothing has come back up thank goodness!

Dee--congratulations on your weight loss since your fill. I had my first one today and I'm hoping this gets me off the plateau I've been on for about a week. Mine was a little different from yours but it sounds like we have the same results. mypov---hang in there! You'll have your fill before you know it and on you way off that stupid plateau. I have immediately starting filling restriction after my first fill--I haven't felt this since right after surgery. itsuptome---I'm not looking forward to a PB. If bread is what made you PB I think I'll avoid that--thanks for sharing your experience. I know what you mean about not having the room for fruits and veggies. I'm anxious to see if anyone has any ideas. BTW---apparently I have the VG band which can hold 10cc of Fluid. Today they injected 4ccs. Have any of you found out what size your band is and what amount was first injected. Just curious!

Best of luck Pamla! Congratulations on your decision!

Congratulations and best of luck on your weight loss journey.

Kirsten---thanks for your input about the pills. I’ll just keep splitting my pills and drink plenty of water. Or I’ll crush them up and put them in some sugar free pudding. (That suggestion came from a friend who worked in nursing home.) <O:p</O:p SMJ---Welcome and best of luck on your journey. <O:p</O:p Bexleygal---I agree, it sounds like you need a fill. I’ve found that drinking a lot of water when I start to get hungry (which is about 2 hours after I eat) can help a little bit. I’m in the same situation and am hoping that once I get my fill that hunger will go away for a while. <O:p</O:p <O:pStephanie--Good luck with your first fill. Mine is on Tuesday and I can't wait. :clap2: </O:p <O:p</O:p <O:p</O:p

LBT has been a great source of comfort for me. It helps to know there are others that are going through exactly what you are going through. The bandsters that are ahead of me have helped me with what to expect at different stages. I don't, however, follow any other advice other than my doctors. I have gotten some great recipes from LBT.

I'm having my first fill this Tuesday. Did anyone that has had a fill had problems with getting their pills down? I have been cutting mine up but I'm still afraid they'll get stuck.

I've never tried Equal---Just the Splenda. There are other sugar substitutes out there too. I'm going to be trying Nature's Crystals from bariatriceating.com with some of my low carb cookie recipes. I think it's made to bake with and is similar to Splenda. I believe it's made of Malitol--which can have a laxative affect. All the more reason to "eat just one" tee hee. Donna

Hi Doriana, By now you may have tried one. What do you think? I found them to be pretty filling.

Hi everyone , I was just banded on Dec 26 and I was wondering if it is normal to be more hungry than normal,(may be in my head,lol) and able to eat anything? I am trying to stick to everything I should but could eat a horse if I had a little ketchup,lol I am being good but just wondering if it is normal . Hi Jaqui----I just read your post about seeming to be more hungry after your surgery. About a week after my surgery I felt hungry too. I was craving so many things and it was around Christmas so there were so many goodies around. It was HELL!!! I would think it is very normal to still be hungry after the surgery whether it's head hunger or physical hunger. Hang in there! Are you on solids yet? That helped me---once I was able to get some dense Proteins in like chicken and beef (pureed), I didn't seem to crave things so much.

okiefamily---I did the same thing with pecans. I made some sugar free spiced nuts and ate almost all of them (about 1 1/2 cups). I was glad when my husband came home and had some. And you don't need a spanking--just a fill. I know what you mean about the restriction and Water intake. Right now I can get so much down with no problem. My first fill is on the 23rd so we'll see what happens. CONGRATULATIONS on your 3 pound loss. That's excellent!! Kaydot---My mom told me about Eucerin for Extra Dry Skin. She's says it's kinda greasy but she uses it all over--even on her face. I tried it while visiting her and it's great but haven't tried it on my face yet. She's uses it at night. The water thing has been a struggle for me too. However once I was told by my dietician that drinking more than 4 oz of water at time would not stretch out the pouch, then I've been much better. Again, I'm not sure how it will be after the first fill.

That's sounds good Fancy---I'll have to try that tomorrow! Thanks.