al0vely

I will be 52 in a few months and had my surgery November 19, 2010. I have opted not to tell anyone outside my family other then my supervisor and one friend that I had the surgery. I don't want to be judged as I did this for me and no one else. I am losing weight slowly and have no complaints because I don't look at this as a diet and consider the band a tool to help me eat less which it is doing. I hope to start exercising in a couple of months when I feel my arthritic knees will cooperate. Until then I get all the exercise I can stand shoveling all the stupid snow we have been getting this winter.

I have had 2 - 1 cc fills and didn't feel anything other than the discomfort from the numbing needle. I didn't even stay on the liquids only as I was supposed to do this past Monday ... makes me think I will need a few more CC's in my band to feel some restriction. I know everyone is different and I'm grateful for no complications thus far.

I read some of the posts on LBT and read where people have lost 50+ pounds in 2 - 3 months and I'm wondering how do you do that. I am going at a slower pace which is within my doctor's expectations of 1 - 2 pounds per week. I would rather lose it slow and steady rather than fast and end up losing my hair or have other complications. For me a pound lost is one more pound than I have lost in many years.

i talked to the nutritionist last Friday at my 2 week post op visit and she looked at me like I was crazy when I asked how many calories should I have per day. She said my surgeon's philosophy is that you don't count calories but eat until your are satisfied / full. I also asked what foods can I not eat ... she said none! After 4 weeks they expect I can eat anything I would like but just eat much smaller quantities than I did pre-surgery to feel satisfied. This does help me to take off some of the stress of meeting some targets but I have self imposed from 1000 - 1200 calories because that seems to be a range I have read from this site for many people. I am using the Spark People site to track my intake and it helps me track fat, carbs, etc. relatively easy. I never have gone over on my calories and most of the time I am eating less than 1000 calories per day.

I am on week 3 and haven't started to exercise yet ... I keep saying I'll get there. Friday was my last day on the liquid diet and I have 4 pounds since then which has me scratching my head. I am tracking my food eaten on the spark people website which also helps me track my protein and carbs ... I have put in a goal of 1000 - 1200 calories per day and it calculates the goals for carbs, fat, protein, and cholesterol for me. I haven't managed to reach any of those goals yet but hope to be able to get it figured out this week ... but it is hard to do thus far because I am not able to get that much food down before feeling full. On Friday when I went for my 2 week post op visit my nutritionist said I am still swollen inside and healing.

Bayareanan ... are those numbers correct in your signature. If so I want my LB removed and get what you got to lose 100 LBS in 14 days.

I love the Isopure ... my favorite flavor is the (pineapple, orange, banana). I hated the green apple ... but liked the orange and grape. I am at 2 weeks today so I can progress to the mushies and I still have 4 bottles of Isopure left which I plan to drink to help make sure I can meet my Protein for the next few days. I returned the 2 green apple drinks I had from my case and bought me some GNC multi-Vitamins which I hope I like better than the one a day's.

If you have the time available don't go back for at least a week! I think most people that go back sooner have other drivers for the decision than they feel good enough. I had my surgery while I was on vacation so I was able to have 9 days of recovery time before I returned and that was good. The gas problems didn't go away until day 5 or 6 for me.

El-Diva ... I am with you we are in bandster hell. I am completing my last day of the liquid phase. I have my first doctor visit tomorrow @ 2 weeks post op and I can move on to the mushie phase. To be honest I'm not planning to use the blender ... the thought of blended foods makes me nauseas. During the liquid phase I tried some soft foods on Thanksgiving day (mashed potatoes, green Beans, cranberry sauce) and it all was absorbed well. A couple of nights ago I had a baked potato and last night I had some tuna from a pre packaged option. I returned to work this week which has helped but the first day was hard to sit at my desk all day. Other than the two soft foods I added this week I drink a 20 oz. bottle of Isoprol Protein drink, a glass or 2 of Water, and have a fruit cup for lunch. I am not too hungry most of the time because I am always drinking something to try to stay full. I haven't started any exercising because I honestly don't feel like I have the strength to do so ... it takes all I have to complete my regular daily routine.

I have been getting hungrier by the day ... can't wait until the "mushy" stage. I am not planning to blend anything though ... I'll eat tuna or canned chicken each meal but no blending.

OMG ... I still have stitches and you guys are scaring me. I am allergic to the stupid bandages and my stomach is a wreck from those ... some areas look like a rash and some look scabbed over. I haven't put anything on them because I don't want anything to get in the incisions.

Here are some links that may be helpful on what to eat: http://www.lapband.us/lap-band-diet.html http://www.aboutlapbandsurgery.info/lap-band-diet.html http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/lapband/postop/diet.htm My surgery was on the 19th and I find that I am getting hungrier by the day. GRRRRRR.

Yes but I wonder if I am just starving myself to lose weight. Before returning to work I was having Protein drink (40 grams), a fruit cup, and maybe Jello cup for a day. I have lost 16 pounds since my surgery but feel it is from starvation because I am not getting any significant calories. I have never been a coffee drinker so that is one thing I didn't have to give up or be missing. I am an iced tea drinker and I have give that up for now also just because I am trying to get my Liquid Protein down during the day plus a little Water or tomato juice (10 - 16 oz)..

I am on day 12 and have not tried any meat ... and I can hardly wait. I ate a baked potato last night because I am so sick of the stupid liquids. The worst for me was some cinamon covered walnuts my boss brought in. Those things filled me up for HOURS.

I don't see the point in doing weight watchers with the band as it only adds the food tracking accountability element. Why not use some other method of food tracking that is free and doesn't confuse the tool with the diet ... such as SparkPeople. SparkPeople Maybe you could always keep some high Protein drinks such as Isopure with you for the days you are deficient. It sounds like you really need to plan your days better as a previous poster had said to make sure you have what you need. I don't have as hectic a schedule as you do but because I don't like a lot of different foods I am going to have to plan well to get my food in I feel.

Wow ... can they correct the band to get you restricted again? Good luck to you.

I hope it worked out good for you. I ate some vegetables yesterday ... for T-day and it was as good as a steak. I am back on liquids today plus I had 3 snack crackers ... I am starved. I am supposed to go 2 weeks liquid, 2 weeks mushies, then regular food. What a long road to eating again.

You might want to checkout the passport requirements yourself. I was under the impression that passports were required as of 2007. I sure would hate to get stuck in Mexico. No passport is required to get in to Mexico but you will probably need it to get back in the US. Here is a link I found which may help: Passport RQD

I was banded on the 19th and I knew today was different because I could drink cold Water with no spasms. But I also noticed that I was starving and the liquids I was throwing down the hatch were not satisfying. I went to a friend's house for T-day and I fixed me a plate using the desert plates she had. I had one spoon of mashed potatoes w/gravy, one spoon of sweet potatoes, one spoon of green Beans, and a few slices of jellied cranberry sauce. I died and went to heaven! I chewed the green beans well but the potatoes were already smashed up so they didn't any help and the cranberry was like Jello. That kept me full for about 2 hours but I am hungry again. I ate a small fruit cup and then started drinking water. Tomorrow I will start with the Protein drink again and water to see if that can keep me pacified.

Today is only day 6 for me so ...nothing doing but liquids. I usually have my family at my house but not this year. I called a friend and asked if my daughter could come to her house for the traditional dinner. This is a small sacrifice for the good of my goal ... and it is good to know that during the Christmas holiday I can eat some real food. I will go to my sister's house at that time and enjoy friends and family.

I have gas pains ... had my surgery on the 19th. From what I read here it is normal for you to have gas from the surgery.

When can I have ice Water again with no spasm? I miss something cold to drink so baddddddddddddddddddddddd.

I was drinking ice Water the first couple of days and noticed I was having spasms with each drink. I found a website with an answer to my problem: "Cold beverages cause the pouch to spasm, start with warm fluids or fluids at room temperature.' My link