Acadia

I posted a wrap recipe in the Vegetarians board I started. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/123054-vegetarians-and-vegans/

You may also consider eating fish instead of chicken and alternate sources of Protein like Beans, tofu, etc. Vegetarian options of meat often go down easier than actual meat.

I had 1 cc taken out on Tuesday, much better. I get full on 1 c of food, still get stuck if I drink and eat at the same time, but that little unfill was what I needed. I suggest getting an unfill of about 0.5 cc to see if that helps.

An unfill is absolutely necessary - and you will feel so much better. I was where you're at for the past two months, I had a 1 cc unfill on Tuesday - SO MUCH BETTER. Instant relief. It sucks to crave healthy food but only able to eat things like popcorn. I was totally there.

Jachut is on the mark. Situps, squats, lunges, pushups, situps, leg lifts, triceps dips, lifting heavy objects (a paddle with two gallon jugs hung on each end) perfect for curls, jumping jacks, jackknives, hikes, bicycles in the air, all sorts of yoga moves. Think military - most times they don't have equipment, they use body resistance only.

Yes you can get to the gym. Lift weights that are heavy enough that you can only lift them 8-10 times before you can't lift more. Most people make the mistake of starting small with 10 lbs or less, but think about it - if you carry a kid around, grocery bags, anything more than 30 lbs, then you shouldn't be using 10 lbs weights. Talk with a personal trainer at the gym to get a plan, or go up to someone who looks like you want to look and ask them if you can have some time with them to talk about how they got to where they are because you want to get there too. They may not be able to meet with you that day but it's unlikely they'll say no.

As I posted in another thread: Skin is a living organ. It responds to what you do to it and to the tissues around it. Losing weight slowly (2-3 lbs a week), weight lifting (building muscle), cardio (losing fat and providing oxygen to muscles), eating well, drinking a lot of Fluid - all help your skin to regain its elasticity and shrink up. It's not a guarantee you'll lose all the extra skin, but it will minimize it dramatically. Weight lifting and muscle building will be your best and most consistent option. Around one week out from surgery start walking regularly. Around three weeks out start body resistance exercises (squats, lunges, wall pushups, leg lifts, etc.). Around six weeks out you should be healed enough for heavy weights (if you can carry a 30 lbs bag of groceries without issues you shouldn't be lifting 5 lbs weights) - lift the heaviest weight you can for 8-10 reps. Don't work the same body part more than twice in a 7 day period, and never within 48 hours of each other. When you lift weights you tear the muscle, those 2-3 days off give the muscle time to heal and get bigger. If you do the same workout every day the muscle never has time to actually heal. You can also start pushups, situps, the plank, etc. now. You should feel good enough to do those. Add in heavy cardio, interval training, arc trainer, running, etc. But never do cardio before weights, always after weights, and never more than an hour. And consume Protein BEFORE your workout, at least 30 minutes prior. It will give your body the energy it needs to consume at the end of your workout after you've burned through the fat it can use - otherwise your body will start to consume muscle and you don't want that. If you aren't sure what to do, head to a gym and talk with someone there who looks like what you want to look like. They will share what they know with you. Don't be embarrassed, they'll appreciate that you are making a change.

I second Kymbethin's advice. Focus on cardio and fat loss right now - not muscle building on your legs. Muscle building (squats, lunges, etc.) will make your legs bigger initially. You'll get enough of a leg workout doing cardio. Burn the fat, your legs will show. The more leg exercises you do, the bigger your legs will be until the fat is gone.

Skin is a living organ. It responds to what you do to it and to the tissues around it. Losing weight slowly (2-3 lbs a week), weight lifting (building muscle), cardio (losing fat and providing oxygen to muscles), eating well, drinking a lot of Fluid - all help your skin to regain its elasticity and shrink up. It's not a guarantee you'll lose all the extra skin, but it will minimize it dramatically. Weight lifting and muscle building will be your best and most consistent option. Around one week out from surgery start walking regularly. Around three weeks out start body resistance exercises (squats, lunges, wall pushups, leg lifts, etc.). Around six weeks out you should be healed enough for heavy weights (if you can carry a 30 lbs bag of groceries without issues you shouldn't be lifting 5 lbs weights) - lift the heaviest weight you can for 8-10 reps. Don't work the same body part more than twice in a 7 day period, and never within 48 hours of each other. When you lift weights you tear the muscle, those 2-3 days off give the muscle time to heal and get bigger. If you do the same workout every day the muscle never has time to actually heal. You can also start pushups, situps, the plank, etc. now. You should feel good enough to do those. Add in heavy cardio, interval training, arc trainer, running, etc. But never do cardio before weights, always after weights, and never more than an hour. And consume Protein BEFORE your workout, at least 30 minutes prior. It will give your body the energy it needs to consume at the end of your workout after you've burned through the fat it can use - otherwise your body will start to consume muscle and you don't want that. If you aren't sure what to do, head to a gym and talk with someone there who looks like what you want to look like. They will share what they know with you. Don't be embarrassed, they'll appreciate that you are making a change.

A few things: Keep a food journal. People tend to eat more when they work out to compensate (it's usually done unconsciously). I recommend TheDailyPlate (gold plan). It works on your phone and online. If you do cardio every day, do interval training on the treadmill, walk for 5 minutes at 3 mph 0 deg. incline, then go up to 3.2 mph at 0 deg, then up to 3.5 mph at 0 deg incline, then down to 3 mph but increase incline to 5% (never go higher than 8% you'll strain your knees), and so on. Increase the speed, decrease the incline, but keep it between 3-4.5 mph if walking. Intermix arc trainer cardio and elliptical once a week each. Arc training is preferable to all others. Bikes are pretty much useless. Start weigh lifting - purchase a few personal training sessions if you have to - and do weight lifting every OTHER day. Never exercise the same body parts more than once a week. If you're looking for a personal trainer find someone who has the body you want, and go from there. Take measurements - the gym can help with this - take measurements of your body fat percentage (calipers are best), neck, biceps, forearms, wrist, chest at breasts, chest under breasts, true waist, belly button, hips, thighs, calves, ankles. Track your measurements every other week. Chances are you'll lose inches before you lose a lot of lbs. Start with that, that should help you get back on track and see where you're doing well and where you can improve. One of the most important things will be to talk to someone at the gym who is in the shape you want to be. Tell them your story and what you're trying to do and what you want to achieve - it's very rare that you'll find someone who doesn't want to help.

There's a very specific reason your Dr tells you to do clear liquids, then other liquids, then soft food, then mushies, then soft solids, then solids. Your band is sutured to your stomach and your organs are moved around a lot during surgery, everything is swollen, sore, healing - for 4-6 weeks - watch a video of the surgery if you want to see what happens. If you are pushing it now - you will not succeed in the long term. If you continue the way you are going right now - chances are you will tear the sutures, you will stretch your pouch, you will likely overeat and end up vomiting, and will slip your band. Everything you're doing now at 9 days post op is a signifier of what's to come. You're heading down a very bad road. Back up - go back to liquids for a week. Start fresh and learn to live with your band. Keep a food diary, keep an exercise diary, keep a diary of what you are feeling and experiencing every day. During the first four weeks I couldn't eat more than 600 calories a day. Protein shakes, Soup, Jello, popcicles - that's how I lived. And due to that diligence, when I was over filled for two months (unable to get an unfill due to billing issues) and was vomiting almost every day, my band never slipped, never moved, my pouch never expanded. My experience those first 4-6 weeks allowed me to weather a bad couple of months without damaging the band or my stomach. And don't consider another surgery, based on what you've said, even if you had a sleeve done or gastric bypass, you would have overeaten. This may sound very negative but it's the truth and consider it tough love. You're either going to do this or you're not. Make the decision now, before you cause yourself all sorts of problems.

The straw ban is primarily for other weight loss surgeries, not so much for Lap Band. My Dr. confirmed this, says that most Drs just apply blanket statements because they don't have as much experience with Lap Bands. Straws will help a lot of people get more fluids in (especially if you have sensitive teeth). Sure you might get a bit more gas, but it will be minimal unless you're drinking carbonated beverages with that straw or dairy (both of which cause gas). Drinking with a straw won't affect you, I drink everything with a straw - EVERYTHING - to keep staining off of my teeth. No issues at all. Even gulping with a straw. You won't stretch your band or pouch. Air goes in - air comes out. One way or another.

It's nothing you can stop, it's your body's natural process. You can help minimize it by keeping a glass of Water near by and drinking that before bed and when you get up. Our bodies make all sorts of noises, nothing to be embarrassed about.

Remember, when a man has a naked woman in front of him all he's thinking is, "Awesome! I have a naked woman in front of me!" Flaunt what you've done, if you're confident and you just go for it, all he'll be thinking is "THANK YOU!!!" ; )

Stick to fluids all weekend. Don't eat solid food. All of that dry heaving has caused swelling even if you can't tell. If you start dry heaving again - provide something for your stomach to bring up - Water. So that way your stomach is pushing against something and won't strain itself. Try to have things like popcicles and such with sugar in them so you can get calories and keep your sugar up. Soup (without chunks of anything), Jello, all the stuff you had right after surgery. If, at any point, you can't keep fluids down or can't keep your saliva down - get to the Dr.

My Dr. has me on Prilosec OTC for six months following surgery and I haven't had a single instance of reflux.

mnguest: A sweet spot (green zone) is generally considered being able to eat 1-1.5 c of food and be full for 4-5 hours. That food should include moderately solid Protein (moist chicken, tofu, etc.). If you can't eat those foods (soft solids) then you are too tight. ltfmsg: I wasn't able to get back to have an unfill due to billing issues, but I learned how my band worked in those two months and I ate for nourishment and not cravings. I didn't crave bad foods because I knew they wouldn't tide me over. If you're going in for your first fill ask for it to be done under fluoroscopy (that also allows them to check how everything is positioned) and ask to drink 1/2 c of Fluid - while the needle is still in - so you can make sure you can still keep it down. That way your Dr. or the practitioner can remove some if needed. And remember, a fill doesn't always activate immediately. It can take up to four weeks to get the full impact. So if you feel fine on the fill day, four weeks later you could be too tight. So make sure you can gulp that Water, not just sip it. For me it takes two weeks to get the full fill impact. And if you experience any moments of not being able to keep fluid down or saliva - get to the hospital. Not being able to keep fluid down is a worst case scenario and requires an unfill. Your ER may not do them though so talk to your Dr about the procedure to have an unfill if you get one on a Friday and have to go through the weekend. I was able to keep fluids down just fine, I just couldn't eat many solids and couldn't eat and drink at or near the same time (not necessarily a bad thing). Cocoabean: I absolutely noticed a difference in how I was losing weight during those two months. I lost, granted, but I know I was eating "bad" foods (Cheetos, Popcorn w butter - specifically for calories). I craved salads, fruits, and veggies but couldn't eat them. And my weight weight up when I had a day of eating "bad" food. The salt content, the fat content, it was horrible. Then on top of that, those foods led to several gall bladder attacks. I am a huge advocate of going in as soon as possible when there's a problem and now that I have my billing issues figured out I will not hesitate to go in immediately if I'm ever over filled again. Generally people will gain weight if they're too tight because all they eat are sliders (which are generally bad foods). I was no different. In those two months I also realised the difference between being physically full and being nutritionally full. The latter is always so much better. I was able to stop eating with food on my plate, without guilt. Though not a great experience I can say that being too full was a good experience for me overall because it really helped me learn how my band was working, what to look for when too tight, how to control my eating, and how to eat for nutrition and not for cravings. mominoc: It sounds like you need about a 0.5-1.0 cc unfill. You should be able to get down - and keep down - small bites of those foods. Not that you should eat them all the time, but if you can't keep those down - can you keep vegetables down like broccoli? More fibrous foods?

It would help to know the following: Are you keeping a food diary? Are you exercising? What are you doing? How often? How many calories are you eating? What's your Fluid intake? For females, are you still menstruating (causes weight fluctuations every month)?

Something I've found that helps when I do get stuck and start sliming (salivating too fast to control) and I can't PB, I take a few big drinks of Fluid and it dislodges the item that is stuck and comes out like projectile vomit. It totally empties the pouch. Though vomiting is bad when it generates from the stomach, this is a quick force out of the pouch only - not the stomach. So your pouch basically acts like a bellows and pushes hard against its contents and since there's something stuck, the fluid goes down around it and everything comes up. During the past two months while I was too tight this was incredibly helpful for me, I did this almost every other day because even some liquids (if they were too thick like some soups) would get stuck. I just had an unfill and visible swallow test done and my pouch is perfect, band is perfect, and that's after two months of almost daily "force clearing" of the pouch. I don't recommend it, but if you are really and truly so uncomfortable you can't stand it - it is an option.

I'll be having an ultrasound and HIDA test on Tuesday to find out if I need gallbladder surgery. On one hand I'm looking forward to it to know if that's the issue I've been experiencing, on the other hand I'm not keen on another surgery. But, it will be nice to not fear that horrendous pain.

If you can still swallow your saliva then, fortunately or unfortunately depending how you look at it, you will be fine until Tuesday. It won't be comfortable but you're not in danger of anything. Drink hot tea, sips of it, with honey added. The honey is for calories and for healing (if your stomach and/or esophagus are getting irritated the honey will help) the hot tea will go down easily in tiny sips. Go to the drug store and get glucose tablets, suck on those every now and then to keep your blood sugar up. Don't eat anything, don't even try. The less vomiting the better. When you go in have the rest of the fill taken out, ask the Dr. to leave the needle in while you drink 0.5 c of Water, if that goes down well - without any pain or issues - then he can stop. If you have any discomfort at all - have him take more out.

It's unlikely you stretched it, especially if you didn't get stuck. However, you'll want to learn the signals for knowing when you're "one bite away" from being full (nourished - not physically full) so you can stop when you're actually done eating. Everyone will overeat now and then, even when it's hard to do so, it's human nature. The whole 'this is a tool' thing is right, it's up to you to use it.

Great to hear!

Right now I can eat too much so it's a matter of will power to eat healthy and eat less. I'm hoping the next 0.5 cc will be perfect. It really is surprising, especially when you realise that 1 cc = 20 drops of Fluid.

Because there are a lot of posts about how much of a fill to get, if X ccs is a normal size fill, if getting X ccs removed will help, etc. I wanted to start a board about people's experiences when they had 1 cc or less too little or too much in their band and what a difference that fill or unfill did for them. My experience was that I started around 2 cc in my band (passive surgical fill), my first fill was done six weeks after surgery and was 1.5 cc. With 1.5 ccs I went from being able to eat anything to getting stuck on some rice, some Pasta, and not being able to eat pizza or bread easily. Then on March 23 I had 1 cc added, I went from being able to eat 1-2 cups of food down to eating 1 tsp - 2 Tbsp per meal and throwing up almost every day. Unfortunately, due to billing discrepancies, I wasn't able to get an unfill until two months later (May 24). Every day was horrible. I had no energy, couldn't eat, couldn't take my Vitamins the entire time, barely got half of my fluids in, a portion of my Protein. I dreaded eating but also wasn't very hungry most of the time, but if I was, I was starving and resorted to Chai Soy Milk because it was easy to drink, stayed down, and had a good amount of protein, some fat (very little), and sugar so I had some energy. I had to force myself to vomit almost every day because everything got stuck - even Soup got stuck some days. Granted I lost 10 lbs during those two months but I ate soup, Protein shakes, soy milk, ice cream, Popsicles, Cheetos (they are mostly air), and popcorn (also mostly air). I only ate small amounts but I ate food that truly wasn't good for me and that I didn't want to eat but I did because those were the only things that would go down and stay down. I'll be going back around June 23 for a 0.5 cc fill and that should bring me to the perfect level. So I can tell you that 1 cc can make a difference. And 0.5 cc can make a huge difference. And if you're too full, go in, ask them to remove 1 cc - it may be all you need. I'm sure there are others with stories about even less that took them from almost there to perfect and from horrible to perfect.