hah131

I am by no means an expert, but I thought I'd try to answer some of your questions, as well as your last post. I, too, was like you. I really didn't feel full until I basically ate until I was almost sick. The biggest thing that has helped me with the band is eating SLOWLY...whether it's putting my fork down between every bite or just entertaining myself with other things to make me eat slower; the slower I eat, the more I allow myself to feel what I'm actually eating. I can't necessarily say I feel 'full' with the band, but I'm slowly learning how to note when I should stop eating. I noticed that people don't talk about how they feel after eating as in depth as I thought they would: What does it feel like after eating the 1/2 cup of food? I actually do try to stick with 1/2 cup or 4 ounces (depending what it is) of food per meal. I'm only 5.5 months out from surgery and haven't yet been given the go-ahead to increase my portion sizes. I have had many meals that have been more than that amount, but I try to stick with that as much as possible. I also supplement in between breakfast and lunch and then lunch and dinner with a Protein shake. I'm a vegetarian, so I make sure I have at least one Protein Shake a day. What does it feel like to be full? I tried to answer that above. I don't necessarily know if I have the feeling down yet, but I can definitely tell when I'm at the point where I shouldn't eat anything else. What does it feel like to be stuck? I've had the stuck feeling a few times...to me, it's a pain in my upper chest, and I can feel the food like a big dough ball in that area. What does it feel like before you throw up? I've only thrown up once, when I decided it was ok for me to eat a bunch of triscuts; my mouth started watering like crazy, and I went to the bathroom to spit it out in the sink...I bent over and all of the sudden I just threw it all up. It didn't hurt; I didn't wretch. It just happened. And then I felt fine afterwards. What does it feel like when you drink Water and if you drink it too fast? I was told over and over at the dr's to sip my water. I am a gulper, always have been. I actually have no problem gulping water like I used to. I don't eat 15 minutes before or an hour after I eat, so my stomach is generally empty when I drink. I don't feel anything different when I drink fast. How do you exercise during matinence? For example if you do 2 hours of exercise per day while loosing weight do you have to continue to do that much exercise during maintenance to keep the weight off or do you pull it back a bit so you don't continue to loose weight? I, obviously, am not at goal yet, but I'm only 40 pounds away (fingers crossed that'll happen soon); on the exercise front, I just wanted to put in my 2 cents. I exercise basically everyday (with rare exceptions) for at least an hour, sometimes more. I fully intend on continuing with the exercise when I'm at goal. I might back down to 5-6 days a week instead of 7, but I think doing an hour a day is feasible for the long haul.

i'm not in the ft. launderdale area, but i just turned 32 on tuesday; had surgery september 28 and have lost 61 pounds since then. i have to stick to my dr's prescribed diet strictly, and i work out pretty hard almost everyday...but it's been soooo worth it. 40 more to go... i'd be more than happy to email if you need someone to bounce things off of...

i was due for my 4th fill march 3rd. i had some restriction with my 3rd fill, but i was really hoping this fourth fill would do the trick for me, especially since i struggled quite a bit this month. today my dr's office called and said something came up, and my appt needed to be cancelled. the soonest date they have to reschedule is APRIL 7th! this is the second appt in a row that the office has called me to reschedule. i'm so frustrated! how can they call to cancel and then not have anything for over a month?!?! does anyone else have problems with their surgeon cancelling appointments? up until this point, i haven't had any issues with my surgeon and his team, but i'm getting really frustrated with them cancelling appointments, especially because it's so hard to get one!

thanks again for the advice everyone! i called first thing this morning and talked with someone different and voila, i am now rescheduled for thursday (the same day i was originally scheduled for) at 2:15 instead of 3:30. i still feel very frustrated with the dr's office, but i'm super grateful i was able to get a closer date!

thanks for the feedback! i'm only five months out from surgery, so i didn't know if this was just commonplace; and i didn't want to come off too aggressively to the dr's office. however, i just find it really hard to believe that there isn't an appointment between march 3rd and april 7th when they could fit me in for the 10 minutes it takes to get a fill. i asked the receptionist to let me know if anyone, at any time, cancelled before then, but she didn't sound overly enthusiastic about it. i'm going to call the office first thing tomorrow and basically beg for an earlier appointment. i really appreciate your comments!

thanks, annie. yes, i always eat my protein first....i'm a vegetarian, but i make sure every meal has protein in it...eggs, tofu, fish, etc. i also wait 15 minutes before i eat and an hour after to drink anything. i'm hoping it's just something random going on...i was really hoping for some restriction this time around since all the weight i've lost for the last four months has been on sheer willpower.

i just had my second fill on thursday and since then, i have been ravenous. i didn"t have any problems after my first fill and pretty much went about business as usual. i'll be four months out on tuesday and have lost 44 pounds since surgery, following the diet i've been given pretty closely. however, since my fill on thursday afternoon, i've been ravenous. i ate horribly thursday night and was starving all day long yesterday; i ate a lot of things i shouldn't have. has anyone else had this problem? i'm hoping it's just a minor set back, and things will settle down in a day or two; but i'm afraid to be ravenous when christmas comes around!

no piercings...i have my nose, tragus, rook, etc done, and they all have to come out...i don't know if it's universal, but i couldn't wear underwear in surgery. my gown, however, was huge, so i didn't have any problem covering up.

I get mine from www.betterlife.com. They are Adult's Chewable Multivitamin, Pineapple, and I actually think they taste pretty good. They are dense and not chalky.

i've been walking with shorts stints of jogging in between. i had worked up to jogging an entire mile without stopping. yesterday, i jogged three miles total for the first time since surgery and only ended up walking one mile...that's huge for me!

I was banded on 9/28/2010 and have lost 38 pounds since surgery...58 including my pre-op diet.

i had surgery on tuesday and went back to work that friday...i was pretty exhausted, but i made it through the day.

I was banded on 9/28. I felt that way and finally, after a week and a half, called my dietition. He said I needed to incorporate more natural sugars into my liquid diet - ie watered-down unsweetened applesauce, putting a little banana in my protein shake and then straining. It helped immensely. I finally had energy again.

Thanks for the insight. I feel fine otherwise, but the exhaustion is keeping me from exercising, etc. I want to be able to be up, doing things without feeling like i'm going to pass out!

:thumbup:Hi, I was banded September 28th, and I am on full liquid for another week. I was eating 1/2 cup every 2-3 hours until today when I was permitted to have 1 cup every 2-3 hours. The question I have is does anyone feel beyond exhausted, and how are you dealing with it? I went back to work the Friday after surgery, but throughout the day I have that, I'm so exhausted I'm drunk feeling. I can barely make it past 9 pm before I fall asleep. I'm making sure I get 80 grams of protein a day and am not really hungry throughout the day. I've also lost 11 pounds since the 28th. I'm just not sure what to do about the horrible lightheadedness and exhaustion. I'm going to call my dietition tomorrow, but I'd love to hear any advice anyone else might have. Thanks so much!