vickyd

I also got mine from my surgeon's office and agree with what everyone else said about the children's menu. What I have found to be helpful is to ask if I can order a lunch sized portion when I am out for dinner. Lunch portions are much smaller and thus far no one has refused my request (and they haven't even asked to see the card...I just explained that I had WLS and they agree to let me do it). The other option is to order a dinner portion, ask for a to go box when it is served, set aside the portion you should have and box up the rest. You will be able to get 1-2 meals out of the leftovers...

I can finally add myself to this post!!! As of this morning, I have lost 101 lbs since starting my pre-op diet on Nov 18th, 2010 :success1:

Hi everyone! I just wanted to pop in and post a quick update...I'm now 11 days from my one year bandiversary - I started at 325 lbs and as of this past weekend I AM IN ONEDERLAND!!! I still have about 22 lbs to reach my goal but I am so happy to see a "1" in front of the number on the scale! I am also exercising a lot - my favorite is Zumba and I am also running/walking a 5K so I'm very happy!!
I hope everyone is doing well as we all approach our badiversary...

Ok, I'll play...
I wish I had known that when you move from the post op liquid diet to mushies that your weight loss can stall.
I wish I had known that you can't just take the suggested calorie range from the nutritionist and follow that and lose at a good rate. I had to spend several weeks tweaking my calories to find the right range for me to lose effectively.
I wish I had known that some people can never just eat until they feel full. Evidently, my full notification system is faulty because if I eat until I'm full then I will be miserable later.
I wish I had known that I can't eat whatever I want (only less) and lose weight.
All in all, I'm thrilled with my band. Never in my life have I been able to lose 86 lbs and feel confident that I can keep it off!

I don't really miss the bad foods but if my husband or sons are eating something that is tempting but not something I should be eating then I ask for a taste...that satisfies my curiosity and I don't feel like I have to eat more than that. It has actually turned into sort of a family joke with everyone offering tastes of their food whenever they have something I don't normally eat.

Ditto with the "satisfied" feeling. If I eat until I feel full (what I have always called full) then I have over eaten and will feel horrible later. From the beginning, I have weighed and measured my food (if I'm at a restaurant I portion it out by eye) and just eat that amount...when I'm finished I am no longer hungry - that is my new "full"

I realize that not everyone will agree with my saying this, but here is my .02...
I think it's well and good that our NUTs and PAs give us advice about what to eat, how many calories, etc but this is really a personal journey. What works for me may not work for someone else. Rather than trying to stay within the calorie/protein/carb range they gave you, why don't you try some different things and see what works for you? Try raising your calories a bit, lowering your carbs, increasing your Protein...small "tweaks" can get things moving again.
You don't say if you track your food, but I find this to be very helpful. When my weight loss has slowed down I can look back at my food journals (I use myfitnesspal.com) and see what changed in my diet. During a recent stall, I looked back and realized that my Protein levels had dropped...most surgeon's suggest 60g per day but mine wants 80-120g per day which I was doing at the beginning but I looked back and could see that my protein was averaging 60-70g so I made a conscious effort to increase my protein simply by substituting my normal Breakfast with a Protein shake and it made a huge difference.
Yes, this band is a tool but many of us aren't given a complete instruction manual on how to use it. This isn't a tool that you can do steps A, B, and C and get results...you need to work with it to figure out how to get the best results.
Good Luck!

I have my food journal public...I'm vickyd205 on there.

First of all, I'm not going to read you the riot act about what you are eating...you know what you are doing wrong. The problem I see is that you have unrealistic expectations of what the band will do for you. That said, the fact is that you have already had surgery so what can you do to put things back in the right place?
1. Stop comparing your weight loss to your mother's. You had different surgeries and trying to compare your weight loss to hers is just going to frustrate you.
2. I realize that you don't want to count calories but, quite frankly, not counting calories isn't working for you the way you would like it to so maybe you need to try it. I use myfitnesspal.com to track mine (they also have an app for IPhone and Blackberry)...it is really not too difficult to use because you just need to type in what you are eating and select the item (I have rarely found any foods that are not already listed) and it is really easy to keep track of.
3. As far as exercise goes, I know what it is like to live in a place where it gets very hot...you need to find something you can do inside at home that is fun. Do you have a Wii or an XBox? I have a lot of fun exercising with both - I bought the Kinect for my son's XBox - because it is more like playing a game than exercising. I know you don't want to do it, but reality is that you will need to do it at some point in order to reach your goal.
4. Recognize that although you haven't lost the amount of weight you would have like to have lost, you have still lost 40 lbs, which averages out to 1.82 lbs per week. That rate of weight loss is right in line with what you should be losing with the band (1-2 lbs per week). You are actually losing faster that many people have lost after surgery so be proud of what you have accomplished!
In the end, the band probably wasn't the best surgery for you because it will never allow you to lose weight without some work on your part so you have two choices...get a revision to the sleeve or bypass or decide that you are willing to put the work into making the most of the band you have.
Good Luck!
edited to add: You don't say how much fill you have in your band, but if you can eat a double cheeseburger and a medium fry then you definately need a fill...

I consider myself a very successful bandster...I had surgery 6 months ago and have lost 84 lbs. As others have said, most of the posts on here are from people who need help or have questions so don't base your opinion on that...it's the nature if the forum. For some good success stories, check out some blogs...I would suggest Lapband Gal, Chronicles from Band Land and Once Upon A Time in the Land of cheese and Sunkist. All three of these ladies have had wonderful success with their bands and are very inspirational.

You need to do the research and choose the surgery that is right for you. I started out needing to lose about 170 lbs and it was suggested to me that I look into the sleeve. I told them that I had done the research and felt strongly that lapband was right for me...they never mentioned it again.
As it turned out, I was one of the lucky ones who felt some restriction from the start...the PA at my surgeon's office told me I'm losing at the same rate as some of their bypass patients (averaging 2.9 lbs per week ) so I definitely think I made the right decision.

I agree with Cindy. My husband would tell you that he is most definitely enjoying the side effects of my weight loss

Just be careful who you tell if you want to keep it a secret with a few exceptions...I had not originally planned to tell my MIL but she planned a trip to visit us over Thanksgiving which was right after I started my liquid diet. Since there was absolutely no way to hide the fact that I wasn't going to be eating while she was here, I ended up telling her about the surgery. She was extremely supportive (and continues to be) but even though I asked her not to tell anyone because I wanted to keep it private, I have since found out that she told her brother and my sister-in-law...and they told people... so now there are quite a few people out there who know about my surgery even though I wanted to keep it private. When I asked her about it she just said, "Oops! I guess I have a big mouth, don't I?" I also had an issue with my husband telling some of his co-workers...he said he was just so proud of how well I was doing that it slipped out. Needless to say, I was furious with both of them for many reasons...the biggest reason being that they didn't respect my wishes not to tell people.

Definitely start the process of getting your rash documented. I don't know what your insurance will cover down the road toward a Tummy Tuck but the more documentation you have about the rash can only help. There is a powder called Zeazorb that you can get from behind the counter at your pharmacy (but doesn't require a prescription)...it works well for skin irritation.

A lot of us have spend the majority of our lives comforting ourselves with food. I can't speak for you but is it really bread that you are so upset about losing or the ability to comfort yourself with food in general? It is normal to feel some anxiety but in order to be successful you need to develop the skills that will help you cope without using food.
That said, I don't think you can say for certain right now that you have to give up bread. Yes, there are a lot of people who can't eat it because their bands don't tolerate it well, but there are also many of us who can eat it if we choose to. My band tolerates anything (with the exception of dry meat) so if I want to eat a piece of bread, I can do it as long as I take small bites and chew it well. Some people can't eat plain bread but can eat it toasted. The only way you will know for sure is by waiting to see what your band can and can't tolerate.
Before surgery, I was a carb addict...my favorite things were Pasta, pizza, chips, bread, etc. Then something crazy happened...during my pre-op diet, I noticed that I wasn't as ravenously hungry as I expected to be and started to wonder if the difference was due to the lack of carbs in my pre-op diet so I decided to try to maintain a low carb lifestyle after surgery. This has been a great decision for me because I am not hungry (and never really had major hunger issues after surgery) despite only having 1 fill during the 5 months since surgery and I don't feel the need to binge eat (which I did often before surgery). I thought that giving up those foods would be horrible but since I made the decision (not my nutritionist or my band) I think it made it easier for me to deal with.
Just my .02

It is true for some and not for others. After surgery, you initially have swelling going on so most people aren't hungry but once the swelling goes down you could fall into one of two categories...1) those who feel immediate restriction simply by having the band in place (unfortunately these people are the minority) and 2) those who feel absolutely no restriction and feel as though they can eat just as much as they did before surgery. For many people it can take several fills before they start to feel restriction so until that happens you may feel that you are doing all of the work to lose weight with no help from your band. There is no way to predict what your experience will be so you need to be mentally prepared that you may be hungry until you reach proper restriction...at that point, your band will help you to be able to eat much smaller portions and be able to go 4 hours or so without being hungry.
That said, the band does really help...never before in my life have I been able to lose as much weight as I've lost. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

I think it is different for everyone. Personally, I don't want my band so tight that I am PBing all the time. I have had one fill and consider myself at a good fill level - I eat 4 oz Protein, 1/2 cup veggies at lunch and dinner (breakfast is usually eggbeaters and turkey sausage) and I can go 4-5 hours without feeling hungry. There are no foods that I can't eat (including bread and pasta) but I choose not to eat bread, Pasta, potatoes and rice because I have found that I lose better (and feel better) if I keep my carbs under 40g per day. Regardless of fill level, you still need to find a way of eating that works for you and that you can stick with...in the end, willpower is still a huge factor (at least for me).

It is very normal to be sore for a while after surgery. You need to call your surgeon and request liquid pain meds. If they won't call in a prescription for you (although I would be shocked if they wont) you can also try OTC liquid pain meds - Liquid Tylenol was recalled but CVS has a store brand that works well. Also, try using a heating pad on your stomach off and on throughout the day. That really helped me with the muscular pain. A little seepage from your incisions is normal...I wouldn't worry about that unless it gets a lot worse.
Rest as much as you can, don't forget to sip on fluids throughout the day and walk around as much as you feel up to (it will help with the post-surgery gas)...I hope you feel better soon!

I was afraid you would all say to see my PCP...I HATE seeing my PCP (he's a real jerk)...I guess this will be the push I need to find a new PCP...

Vicky reporting in at 274.6 - down 5.4 lbs thanks to my first fill this past Wednesday! I also hit the 50 lb loss mark so I am VERY happy!!!

My weight today is 289.4 (name on the chart is Vicky) - down 4 lbs from last week and 9.6 lbs from the start of the challenge...and all this with no fill...WOO HOO!!! :D

Well done, Dave. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Well done, Dave. I couldn't have said it better myself.

I agree with the others that you need to set your expectations with your husband. He needs to understand what you need from him if you confess that you slipped a bit and ate something you shouldn't. If, after you communicate your needs to him, he continues to act the same way then I would just stop sharing those things with him.
On a more personal side...The other day, my husband and I had a long conversation in the parking lot of the grocery store...he was thinking that I was starting to slide into my old habits of overeating and he said something about it. I will admit that my first instinct was to get defensive about it but his comments made me realize that I had not taken the time to educate him on what and how much I was supposed to be eating based on my discussions with my NUT. Once I explained it to him, he backed off...I realize now that he was trying to be supportive in his own way and I need to stop being so defensive and try to understand what his concerns are. I think it was a real eye opener for us both...