happygirl65

It is hard. It was the hardest part for me hands down. What I started doing was making some Soups (like my chicken tortilla soup) and eating the broth which was so much more flavorful than the canned stuff. I would also make smoothies with vanilla yogurt and a few frozen berries, that was also yummy. Cottage cheese was allowed on my liquids so I started adding other flavors to it to spice it up a little. I have to say though I am not sure I would have done as well as I have done so far if it weren't for the "detox" from the carbs that I went through during this phase. It REALLY helped me a LOT with not having cravings so much once I went on real foods. Infact many things became too sweet! Good luck you will get through it just hang in there.

Try the special K protein powder drink mixes...they have a raspberry lemonade and a kiwi strawberry that are both good. They add 6 g protein to a bottle of water, are yummy, low calorie and the protein will really help with the hunger!

Walmart and Target carry a line of sports bras...got some that are comfortable they are like made of spandex material and are better and holding the girls up than the cotton ones. I wore a 44 D and they work well for me. Tight going on but then don't creep anywhere.

The ONLY thing that will help this gas pain is walking because that helps to metabolize the gasses trapped in your body. It will travel around. I walked a ton and always felt better after. I was always weak and didnt want to but when the shoulder pain would come on I had to and it helped. Hang in there by the end of week two you will hopefully feel right as rain.

I am going to describe it and ask the doc but I am now almost certain it is just the feeling of the band being "tighter" because it is happening more early in the day now and I think it's sudden onset/increase is due to the hormonal changes of that time of the month. Yeah...one more thing that PMS gives me...lol. So I am just trying to go with more soft choices and it seems to help. Not really fun though. I hope it doesn't make me have to put off my fill for another month but whatever the doc decides is best. I just keep telling myself that.

Been paying close attention to the feeling all day...I am thinking it is gas because when I burp...it gets better....how odd!

It is VERY common for people to hit a plateau when you go back on regular foods, just keep being good to yourself and making good choices and it will catch up in a good way. Expect 1 to 2 lbs a week from now on when you are not on a plateau, and get a tape measure to take your measurements, that will tell you better than the scale in terms of weight loss as well. Yes you will see pounds dorp off but you will see inches even when the scale stalls! Hang in there!

My doc says heartburn is not normal and to report it but what I am feeling doesn't exactly feel like heartburn and at times it doesn't make sense for it to be heartburn... 1. It feels this way first thing in the morning 2. Feels this way when I am hungry and at that TOM it is worse Is this the description of "feeling tight"? that I have read about? I just feels like there is a 10 lb weight on my chest...no burning, no nausuea or sick feeling...but I just don't know what to call this feeling. Can anyone relate?

My experience hass been a very positive one...but no matter how much I read and researched I didnt know: 1. How deep the emotions were and how hard it would be to get through those first few weeks of liquid food. No one could have prepared me for that. 2. I thought that the band would stop you from eating too much, it doesn't. The food passes rather quickly and you can eat more...doesn't mean you should so self control is still the priority now that it always was. 3. Just how quickly some of the non weight related things would improve...this has been excellent, just a month ago I had my surgery and I now sleep better, walk easier, think more clearly, my memory is improved. This may not be true of everyone so quickly but it certainly has been an important step toward a healthy future. The issues I had with food before still exist but it gets easier everyday to make those healthy choices.

couple of days...then it slowly gets better. Thicker liquids and protein helps...creme of chicken soup....protein shakes etc.

It is very likely a fear of change. It's pretty normal for spouses to be afraid that you will change so much that you wont be the same person anymore and there is a certain safety in feeling that while you are heavy they dont have to worry about someone else "wanting" you. It is sad but it is the truth. I can't honestly say if it were my hubby losing the weight that I wouldn't have the same fears, but it is the communication that makes all the difference. My husband still can't stop buying chips and other snack stuff. I just have to be strong enough to say too bad....I just don't eat that stuff...period. We still serve a stuffing, or rice, or potatoes or pasta at meals and I just don't eat those. It was harder at first and still is hard to say no to potatoes but I am committed to my goal regardless of what foods I am exposed to. I was banded on the same day as you and trust me when I tell you, coming off the liquids and going into the solids your loss slows down but it is still losing even if he can't see it. It took losing nearly 40 pounds to get my husband to see a difference. He is insecure about himself and scared but we keep talking and I hope it will get better. Until then I know I CAN COUNT ON ME, and in the end that is all that matters, even if it makes it harder. I am not going to let anything be an excuse why it's ok for me to fail. I can't and wont.

Try campbells soup at hand tomatoe next time they are having something like that...it rocks! If you add in some italian seasoning...even better! Yeah for the band working!!!

My deepest and most heartfelt condolences. It is so hard to lose someone we love. I recently lost a family member too and it is always hard to deal with it. I will think ...today I can deal and have a normal day...and then something happens that reminds me...sigh. So sad. I am sending you virtual hugs. What I would like to say is that every single day we make choices to move forward. To continue breathing, to get out of bed and face the day. Our loved ones that have passed would want us to go on, and do everything we can to continue to live our lives and treasure the gift we have been given of our precious lives. We still have the choice to make the most of it each and everyday. You have to love yourself enough to know that you are worth the effort no matter how hard it is. I would also ask your therapist about possible anti-depressant meds. It really can help especially when you have suffered a tragic loss. So consider that...but if you decide not to, then just do the best you can to take good care of yourself....start with one new thing a week....this week I will sleep 8 to 9 hrs a night....every single day this week, and when you master that....this week I will drink my 6 full glasses of Water....and when you have mastered that pick something new like cutting out processed foods again, exercising etc. Baby steps is a sure way to make things stick, just start out with the easy things and let those successes help you gain momentum and motivation. Every tiny thing every single day will help you get where you want to go. It's all worth it. The very first step is beleiving in yourself and willing yourself to move forward even when it's painful to do so. I wish you every happiness and success. (((HUGS)))

benefiber...and of course fiber in your diet

awesome

second opinion...definitely. You should go with a doc who's values are in line with yours.

OK, first of all...breathe! This is not the end of your life as you know it, just a change. Yes it is a major change, yes it will be very different, but the foods you love are not leaving the planet. They really aren't. So...let that sink in firstly then we can talk about the emotional aspects of eating. I honestly didn't think I was an emotional eater. I didn't think food was that important to me but after surgery during week 2 of liquids I had a couple of melt downs just because I couldn't eat the food i wanted to eat right that minute...I stayed true to my diet but had actual tears over the foods I couldn't eat right then...which I later gave myself a mental smackdown for but I have to own those feelings. After particularly stressful events I would eat more than I should for dinner, not always unhealthy stuff, just way more of it than I should. I am an emotional eater. I am watching for triggers now and distracting myself but like you before, food was the center of my life. I still have to plan my meals in order to stick to my healthy plan, not planning for me is planning to fail so I have to do it and stick to it and then I am fine...gives me that control. One thing I do want to address however that I wish someone would have told me before the band is that the band will not make you eat less. You have to choose to eat less. You have to measure it out and know you are not getting seconds. You have to do that. The band will make it so that your appetit is surpressed for a longer period of time than it would hav been before when you eat 4 oz of meat and 6 oz of veggies. That's all. It's not about restricting what you can and can't eat, it won't stop you from eating until you are in pain, and if you can't get that under control before surgery you are looking at slips and erosion complications that can be very serious. I would honestly try really hard to measure out your portions and be done...not as small as you will post band...but practice limiting yourself right now. Distract yourself when you feel the emotional hunger come on, try to recognize what those triggers might be for you, at the very least journal everything you are eating now so you can be truly honest with yourself about what your current habits are, and what things will need to change. I beleive the band was the best thing I have ever done for myself and I am seeing a lot of success and it is a lot easier to just eat my one yogurt for Breakfast and be done but it does nothing for me when I have an emotional attack that makes me want to eat. I have to wrangle that stray thought in myself and battle with that. The band can't help me with that. chocolate will go down just fine, as will other snack foods that I just have to choose not to eat. There are still daily and hourly choices invlolved with being successful. I wish you every bit of luck and happiness on your journey. It is worth the effort I can promise you that, but it's really all up to you. The band is just a tool that dims the appetite, that is all. Just know that going in and put your expectations in the right place and you will do great!

The grammer was horriffic, not lending much to its credibility...and Laura Bush at the top...red flag...lol

Thanks for posting that. I do beleive there is a lot of real information that we just can't find pre banding. I have seen the attacks on people getting really defensive about the band and it seems silly to me. Theres no such thing as a one size fits all answer. The really great thing about your choice to go with the band is that you can now have it removed because it is not working for you. I also recently learned from my docor (who participated in a study) that said the food doesn't even stay in your pouch for more than a minute. WOW...I also thought pre-banding that filling the small pouch made you full and you would stop eating. Not so. You can eat and keep eating as much as you dare. The food doesn't stay in the small pouch that's why. You have to measure your portions and use your own self control a lot more than I thought I would have to. Don't get me wrong, it's still working for me, but a lot of what I thought about fills and sweet spots are different through the actual experience. It's not about restricting how much you can eat. It's simply about letting your appetite be suppressed a little longer than it otherwise would have on a small amount of food....still effective for me so far but certainly different than I thought going in. I love that you also state your diabetes is under control and you have learned a lot from this experience. I have no doubt you will be successful because you have learned so much. People often put too much emphasis on a number on the scale. Success in life is measured so differently! Best of luck to you in all your future endeavors.

That is a victory! Give yourself a big hug

I am going to schedule massages at 10 pound intervals. I guess I owe myself 2 now since the beginning of the year....or perhaps a 2 hr massage and I might throw in a facial to pay myself for the 14 I lost pre-surgery.

Hi all, So I have decided (before banding) that I will do the climb for cancer this year in Flagstaff...with my friend from work who does it everyyear. Her mom died of cancer...my grandmother did...everyone pretty much knows someone...but basically its like 8 miles up a mountain...they do have buses if you just cant make it. But I am inspired to make this trek with her this year. I want to be under 200 pounds by then which in itself will be an amazing feat. Right now I can do 2 miles on flat ground fairly easily but this is quite a hike in already high elevation (7500 feet near the bottom) I am a bit worried about it and wonder if anyone has any advice as to the best way to train for this event.

This is a great topic. I am one month post band...my husband is also obese and keeps asking me to "help him" lose weight....but when we are at Reblobster and he orders an enourmous plate of shrimp I am thinking...shrimp not so bad...butter sauce...bad...I tell him to watch it...he says...special occations...devours it....then I remind him that the third basket of rolls he is eating is gonna set him back another 450 calories...he doesn't want to hear it. Watching him eat all of that does actually inspire me because I used to do the exact same thing. I used to eat three or more of their cheddar bay biscuits (not 12 like he did) and I actually worry more now than ever about him. Because I didn't have any of those biscuits he ate them all. It was making me proud of myself but at the same time sad for him. Like watching a train wreck in super slow motion. It's sad.

Be careful of thinking that high calorie days have you losing. It's hard to imagine but it can take a few days for the effects of what you are doing to show on the scale. Sometimes you do need to shock the body a little and two or three days of increased calories are fine to break a plateau but then you need to get right back to the good you were doing before. Be careful of weighing everyday too, it's not a good thing. It can fool you into thinking that the bad stuff you ate the day before wasn't so bad...when actually the two pounds down you see was the week beforee of being good and following your plan. Losing a pound is a cumulative effect of eating less over several days....keep that in mind. Weight loss and changes is hard and confusing especially with the enourmous train wreck of information out there, just stick to your plan, get back on track and you will continue to do great!