HeatherinCA

I feel like mine have shrunk a tad, I wear an 11, I'm finding some are too big now. I feel like I probably wear a 10.5 which doesn't exist haha

I know it's hotter than hell here too. Gym works.. or I like work out videos. Leslie Sansone, or if you are brave some Jillian Michael's haha Good luck I just kicked my butt back in to gear. It's hard! But we can do this. It's a long process, but just gotta hang in there, besides, what other option do we got!? This is a last resort!

If you are hungry after 2 hours, then you will need a fill. You should be able to go 4-5 hours when you are filled properly. You aren't doing anything wrong, you just don't have enough fill to control the hunger yet (you'll know when this happens.. it just dies haha). Don't worry about the volume of food, worry about the calories . The band isn't supposed to really restrict the amount of food you eat. BUT, when you aren't hungry, you can be satisfied on less food. This is what I eat typically. Mind you, my band is not temperamental, and I don't have any stuck issues. I pretty much just keep it under 1200. I feel it helps me when I get sort of in a routine, if you change it up all the time you are constantly counting calories Breakfast 2 eggs (prepared with cooking spray) 1 bagel thin 1tbs cream cheese or oatmeal lunch Egg white salad (trader joes has this, it's 100 calories for a whole tub!) or chicken salad or some type of Protein 1 cup Watermelon Crackers or a bagel thin or a Lean Cuisine dinner Usually a lean cuisine/healthy choice entree 1 cup fruit Dessert/snack Something around 100 calories, ice cream bar, or pudding or something. Or maybe almonds if I'm craving during the day. But I really don't need to snack. It's about 1100-1200 calories.

Yes, the first like 4 days you hurt so bad! The pain was far worse than I expected. Because it's your stomach, everytime you move, or get up, or sit down or go to the bathroom it's very painful! Also I was pretty worn out. The car ride home from the hospital was the worst ever (It was about 80 miles from home). Not to mention you aren't eating anything so you are a little weaker than normal, your can't really shower or get dressed properly.. I started going out day 5 and I felt ok. Day 2, definitely not.

Myoplex Lite, Choc or vanilla. They are all fairly gross though aha and all taste kind of the same. I'd also get some Isopure at GNC since it's fruit flavored.. something different. I don't, and never have done bars. Too many calories for me, unless you are replacing a meal. I get enough Protein from food.

I feel your pain, I feel like I was poorly informed before I had surgery.. even though I did research.. nothing really properly explains how the band works. All it does is control your hunger, the rest is up to you. Sure if you can eat tiny amounts of food and stay low calorie then don't count calroies, but I know for me, I could easily eat 2,000 calories in a day, with my band. So I have to count them. If I had known that, I'm not sure I would of gotten the surgery. I was under the impression I could eat like 3 bites of food so I'd lose all this weight, false! There is no way to lose weight that is a miracle! I wish there was. Did your mom eat junk food when she had her stomach stapled? Probably not... You can try using it as a tool? You spent all this money, mind as well see if you can work it out! Check your hunger levels, if you aren't hungry, don't eat, if you can go 4-5 hours with out physically needing to eat, then you don't need a fill. Try to eat less food and see how you feel, make healthier choices...I mean come on you do have to be realistic, even if the band was a miracle worker you STILL couldn't eat McDonalds and not exercise. Skinny people don't do that! That's why they are skinny. I know I know you don't want the mean responses, but you have to be realistic too! What do you want people to say?

I liked tomato and butternut squash also cream of chicken, and sounds weird but the campbells nacho cheese soup is good haha

Listen to your doctor #1. #2, it takes about 6 weeks before weight loss starts, regularly. You are healing right now.

I'm the same way. We just have to hold ourselves accountable. But it's hard!

food doesn't really sit in the pouch anyways for more than a minute or so.. don't worry. Just keep track of your calories I eat a good amount of food too. Trust me, it'll be really uncomfortable if you over eat WAY too much. Also yes, the fills will help with your hunger, that is their job.

With insurance or without? With insurance you pay close to $3,000 out of pocket for surgery and anesthesia, plus all the appointments, tests and stuff before hand, and then your fills after. Even with insurance it's quite an expense. I think without insurance it's between $13,000-$16,000.

A bit excited, but mostly a resentful.. I was mad that I had to get weight loss surgery. Also I was unsure about eating 3 bites of food for the rest of my life (which is totally untrue, at least for me... not sure why they tell you that..) But overall, I was at peace. I knew it was what I had to do. I had given up on everything else.

First off, let me say, it's not NEARLY as bad as you are thinking. It's a little confusing at first, but it gets easier, when you figure out how your body is taking things. I felt the same way going into surgery. I have a normal life, I eat every single type of food. I don't eat tiny bites, I don't chew till it's mush. Now, obviously everyone reacts differently... so I can't speak for your body. Basically, with fills, you just aren't hungry, which makes it so much easier to stick to a diet. You will lose weight if you stick to your diet. People come on here and complain, but they aren't doing what they need to, if they say they are, they are lying. You can't eat junk food and expect to lose weight, it doesn't work like that. The band is just a piece of plastic, not a miracle worker. This is a lot of work! A lot of learning and dieting, but you can do it Also, yea if we could do it on our own we would have haha I've lost and gained the same 50lbs many times.

Well, you don't have THAT much to lose... not sure why you'd need the bypass? But, the bypass does much more work for you. I always saw the bypass as an option for someone who needs to lose like 200lbs, where they need more help than the band can provide. The band is mostly willpower, but it helps control your hunger so you can have an easier time dieting. But really, it's up to you!

I threw away some, donated some and gave some away to those who needed them I asked on my blog and some people wanted some stuff.

This is a pretty good one. http://lapbandtransformation.com/Adjustments.htm Overall.. the only thing I don't really do it drink carbonated beverages. and I TRY not to drink with food, I do occasionally though. I'm talking physical things.. not things like "don't have milkshakes" that should be obvious lol Everything else is really up to how you personally wanna lose weight... if you wanna do low carb or whatever.. that's your choice, but the band doesn't care..

It is a diet.. well a "lifestyle" I think all we've heard about the band is very misleading... it doesn't do that much, just helps you control your hunger, so YOU can make better decisions. Like, if you aren't hungry and you walk by a vending machine.. you are less likely to get a snack. but could I still get the snack and eat it? You bet. Once you know what you can eat, it becomes a little more second nature.. you aren't constantly thinking about it as much. Fact of the matter is, most food is just bad for you, and has tons of calories. You can't expect to be skinny and eat junk food. Skinny people don't. Or for skinny people i know, if they eat a meal of junk, that is all they eat ALL DAY. As a fat person, I eat 3 or more of those meals. This isn't a miracle cure. You should start over, follow the rules, log your food. You will lose weight. I'd place more emphasis on what you can do to lose weight, not what the band is doing.

I gave it up about a month before surgery. For me, I can't drink soda so I don't need caffeine. Very rarely I might have some coffee. Apparently it's not good for your appetite and your hydration, thats why no caffeine. Regardless, it's not good for you mind as well give it up.

No carbonation! You will just feel like complete crap if you drink carbonation. I have enough gas and burping without it. I'd wait on alcohol till you are on full solid foods. I do it now and then.. but it's not usually worth the calories.

I wouldn't intentionally eat more, I kinda somewhat give myself leeway on the weekends, because I'm eating out and stuff. Also I know for myself, I cheat, I cheat a lot, I don't need to add in a specific high calorie day. I'm sure we do it all week long whether we realize it or not. Regardless you have to burn 3500 calories to burn a pound, intentionally eating more won't help you lose weight.

I did mine from my liquid diet. Basically when I started my lapband journey.

Well, how do you work with your band? Does it give you a lot of trouble? (like getting stuck a lot) If not I'd say leave it. Also you never know if the amount of fill will be the same when you refill it.. might take months to get it to the right spot again.

Oh of course. It's just the band isn't very drastic, and doesn't do very much work for you. It's a much bigger battle to lose that much weight. I was about 300 when I started. It would just seem endless to me if I had 150+ more lbs to lose on top of the 125 I am already trying to lose. I 100% know I would give up before I lost it all. Since you are supposed to drop most of the excess weight in the first year. I would want more help than just hunger control if I had that much weight to lose. Regardless just drink away!! Just not while you eat. Sometimes you might feel a little bloated or gassy if you drink tons and tons. But nothing harmful, it's just how the band feels.

Everything evens out and becomes steady after about 6 weeks, then it's up to you on how good you are on your diet.

Just because you can eat anything doesn't mean you should, eat 1200 calories a day. Or you wont lose weight. PERIOD. The band isn't there to stop you from eating. You have to be accountable for what goes in your mouth. You can't complain about no weight loss if you aren't eating a proper diet.