lovinlife4eva

Carbs Carbs Carbs. If I am eating the right amount of calories and eating slow and not losing, it is usually carbs. They have a tendency to try and sneak into my diet. Even if you are not over doing the carbs, cutting them will help you move past a plateau. Change up your exersize also. If you walk the same amount every day, or do the same machines at the gym, try doing a couple of aerobic classes or hiking. Look for any way to throw a curve ball at your body!!! Best of luck!

Good for you!!! I was self pay (care credit) also!!! It is worth it. Congrats, you've taken the first step!!

My last blog was a total rant about the 260's and how I hated them. Well, I still hate them because of how stubborn they were, but I am proud to say they are GONE!!! Infact the 250's will be gone soon also:biggrin:. Look out 240's, I killed your older brothers and in 2 lbs I am comin for you!!! haha(evil laughter!)haha. I am 27 and for the first time in my life I feel in control. I still have temptation and still give in once in a while, but all in all I am in CONTROL. I am able to say with confidence that I will get out of the 250's and then I will get out of the 240's and on and on. This is not a diet where I am holding my breath until I fall off the wagon. I am consistantly losing weight and have been for nearly 4 months now. Yes, it was slow at first, and yes I got discourged, but wow I stuck with it!! I cant believe this is really me, losing weight and in control. For so long it just felt impossible, and now it is reality. WOW :thumbup:

My advice is no different from any other here, get a new doc! I had a doc when I was a little girl who made fun of my size and weight in front of my mom and my older (skinny) brother. Doctors who are not compassionate towards their patients struggles tend to do more harm than good. That being said, I do have some words of caution. I am relativley young, 27, and I was banded 3 months ago. Before my banding I would get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about shopping. I highlighted half of the victorias secret catalogue and put together tons of outfits in my mind. I saw myself 100 lbs lighter and 100lbs cuter. That was a driving force behind my surgery. Fast foward to 1 month post op. I hit rock bottom. I thought I would get banded and my life would be instantly changed. It was NOT. I actually gained a few lbs post op. I looked no different and had NO restriction. Yet another failed diet, and this one cost me 12 grand!!!!!! For the first time in my life I actually experienced depression. It was scary. Now, 3 months post op and I am doing much better. I have lost 25 lbs and am soooo glad I got banded. I am telling you all of this b/c its hard pre op to understand what being banded is like. You just get hyper-focused on actually getting banded. Here's the deal, post op you will still be on a diet. You will have to say no to foods that are delicious and that you can still eat (ice cream, melted chocolate, french fries, etc). You will have to excersize. At this point, the band makes it impossible for me to eat: *fast *bread {bread, pancakes, muffins, pizza dough} *large bites *pasta *large quantities All the other food issues I delt with before I still deal with now. Having the band has helped me change, but it did not change me. If you can truly understand and acknowlage that this will be alot of work and you are still ready to make that commitment, then you should get the band no matter what your age is. Sorry to be long winded, I just dont want you making the same mistake I did. :rolleyes2: Best of luck

I have great restriction, but I can still eat more than 1 1/2 cups of food at a sitting so I am going in for a fill on monday. However, I am losing about 2 lbs a week so i am pretty happy and this is what I eat. B: 2 eggs, 2 tky sausage patties L: 2 frozen ckn patties with lite ranch D: varies, but usually a meat (meatloaf, ckn, italian sausage) a small portion of carb (wheat couscous, smashed cauliflower) and a green veggie. I will eat, if I need a snack, string cheese, nuts, or a protien bar. At night I will almost always eat a sugarfree popsicle or jello. It sounds like I have this all figured out, but I did TERRIBLE before I got restriction. I gained a few lbs post surgery b/c i could eat anything and lots of it. I can remember reading about what people ate and how it sounded so simple and how hard it was for me at the time. It is a process but one day you wake up and you realize that you ate GREAT all week and you didnt even notice. It is a fantastic feeling and you will get there.

I agree with betsy and jingle, OUCH OUCH OUCH! It feels like if you ever swallowed a giant pill and it went down sideways, except much more painful. I also do alot of sliming which is not plesant. Also, like betsy said, I have given up foods I used to proudly proclaim I could never live without {bread, I dont even want them. I nearly cried before my surgery at the thought of not eating saturday morning pancakes with my hubby and son, but now its no big deal. I make theirs, maybe lick some batter off a spoon, and then make my 2 eggs with turkey sausage. As for sandwhiches, I threw up 3 times in the Subway bathroom and NOTHING is worth that. No more sandwhiches for me!!!!

Banded June 26, 2010. Had a very rough start. I had no restriction and for 6 weeks I wished I had not gotten the band. Now I wish i had not put myself through torture for the first 6 weeks. That is my biggest regret. I had VERY high expectations and they were NOT met right after surgery. I should have relaxed but I didnt and I actually ate worse right after surgery than I did B4. Now I have great restriction and I am losing and happy:thumbup: :redface:I regret being a total psycho for the first 6 weeks:redface:

Mike, I totally agree with you about the preachy people. I spiraled out of control after my surgery because of frustration and depression. I had done major surgery and put my life on the line and for 6 weeks I felt NOTHING!!! I began to make jokes that I didnt even have a band in. I would come on here, and I was desperate, and people would say the same thing, " this is a tool, make better food choices, this surgery is not a magic cure....." I would just cry, like there was something wrong with me. If it was all about better food choices I would have just done that and saved myself the 12 GRAND!! Obveously it is about better food choices, but I needed a **** load of help. Well good news, I got the help i needed. I am 10 weeks out and I have GREAT restriction. I had 2 fills so far and I have 6.5 cc in a 10 cc band. I can no longer eat any bread or pasta. I finally feel like I am how I am suppose to feel. In the past 2 weeks since my most recent fill I have lost 6 lbs. I was where you are and it will get better. Like everyone else said, you should be frank with your doc. I was self pay and I got 3 months of free everything (fills, check ups, nutritionist). I explained to my doc that I wanted to be nice and tight by the time my free fills ran out. I wasnt asking him to go against his ethical code, but just give me my money's worth. He agreed and I will get one more small fill B4 my free fills expire. Best of luck !

The day of my surgery my hubby came to the hospital with me and waited in the pre surgery hospital room with me for hours. I was such a basket case that the nurse brought me my pre surgery meds early (a mix of meds to relax you). Then as they were about to take me back I began to cry as if I were saying goodbye to my hubby for the last time. I was thinking about my beautiful son and had a horrible feeling. This was made worse by the fact that I chose to do this, unlike previous surgeries. I truley felt like they were rolling me off to the morgue. Honestly, that was the worst part of the whole thing. I, obveously, made it through the surgery fine. Ever since then it has been a breeze. If I hadnt put myself through all that pre surgery crap, the whole experience would have been a positive one. Try to understand that this is minor surgery, as far as surgeries go. You WILL be fine!! Good luck!!!

264.8, 262.2, 263.6. I cant get below 260. I am not doing well with my weight loss. 5 weeks post op and not losing really any weight. I always level out at 260 and have for 3 years. I hate 260, I want to weigh 250 something or 240 something, but not freaking 260 something. So tired of seeing that number!!!!:cool:

So can I have red bull? I know carbonation is out, and I havent touched it since my surgery, but what about the very lightly carbonated beverages? If you have ever had red bull you know it does not have nearly the amout of carbonation a coke does, it dosent burn your throat or bubble up if your pour it in a glass. In the intrest of full disclousre, I will admit that I am asking because I like drinking red bull with vodka. I drink sugar free red bull so it does not have many calories. I havent had it since surgery. My doc cleared me for the occasional drink at my last visit and I am going out for the first time this weekend. I understand about the calories and the decreased control over my willpower, and I plan on having only one or two drinks. So has anyone had red bull or heard if it is safe for the band?

Im sooo glad to hear all of your responses. I did really feel so alone 2 weeks post op, I hope none of you do!! Trust me, I went through a really tough time. Now, 1 week post fill, still feeling great. Hunger is not an issue, so food is not an issue. So thrilled about how I am feeling! Laylas grandma, everyone is sooo different and you may not have the same experience as I did. My doc has me fill out a form explaining how much food I can eat at one sitting and how long after eating I stay full. If I can eat more than 2 cups of food and stay full for less than 2 hours then I get a fill. Im sure your doc has guidelines for your fills but if you have restriction you may not need a fill. Many banders lose lots of weight b4 they need a fill.

Am I the only one who likes the restriction feeling? I was banded 6.28 and had my fill almost one week ago on monday 7.26. I have gotten something stuck almost everyday, since the fill( im still learning what an how to eat). Dont get me wrong, getting things stuck is very uncomfortable, but I like it. I am satisfied with such a small amount of food, and one bit of the wrong food gets rid of my appitite all together. Never in my life had I had this feeling about food! If there was ever a time when I didnt overeat or have a second helping of cake it was out of willpower and determination. I have never actually not wanted to eat a ton of food. Maybe Im weird, but I like the pain. Like I said, it hurts sooo good!!!