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I also havenot had any major weight loss and I can eat what I want. I will not wait for satiety before I stop and decide that I am going to loose weight.. I know that I need to exercise and watch what I eat and I am doing that now. This is week 6 for me so it is now time to start big time and do what i need to do. Yes, I can eat every thing too... like you can, but I have learned that in moderation, every thing is ok so I eat a bite, and that satisfies my desire to eat it. this was major surgery.. we have a goal. we have a tool and I am using it to my fullest advantage..

Right there with ya.............. My scale hasn't moved in three weeks--I get my first fill on the 25th (2 days)....and am praying that will jump-start a little more loss............. Working/Waiting toward/on that 'Green Zone'...........

Wow I don't want to sound holier than thou....I'm morbidly obese and definitely have eaten too much for years. But why on earth would you eat pizza so close to your surgery? If your surgeon didn't tell you what to eat, then you need to find a good support group. If you were told to follow a post-op diet, why try to circumvent it? You may need a little therapy work so the band will work for you. I know our surgeon requires people to have an appt with a therapist 4-6 weeks post op. Maybe something like that would help you. It is miserable to be hungry, but worse to damage yourself internally!

no no no ... not that wee ... the Nintendo Wii. DH and I finally found one a couple of weeks ago and I absolutely love it!! the one we bought comes with the Sport Pack and has Tennis and Boxing (bowling, golf, etc too.) according to my body bugg, i burn anywhere from 9 - 15 cals a minute while doing the boxing. (to compare - i do about 7-9 cals / minute on the elliptical / bike) it is an amazing workout and i recommend it highly.

So, my questions to all of you are: 1. Do you regret having the surgery? Not in the slightest! 2. Have you had any complications because of the LB? Nope. None. 3. Is there anything physically you can't do anymore because of the LB? Stuff my face with a cheeseburger and french fries in 3 minutes flat.... 4. What foods and drinks are off limits now or can you not handle because of the LB? No drinks. Have even had carbonated drinks without any problem. As far as foods...I steer clear from breads right now because I have a GREAT restriction, but before this I COULD eat bread. Nothing is off limits if you can successfully get it down. 5. Have you had any negative side effects? Yes. Horrible side effects....my checkbook is smoking and my bank account is depleted from all the new clothes I have purchase in the last three weeks after dropping 40+ pounds! :biggrin1:

OKAY, I HAD MY 4TH FILL 3 WEEKS AGO. I THOUGHT EVERYTHING WAS GOING PRETTY GOOD. I AM NOT SURE IF MY FILL HAS GOTTEN A LITTLE TIGHTER OR WHAT. I CANNOT EAT ANYTHING W/OUT IT COMING BACK UP. I EAT SOUP WITH ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS. I CAN ALSO EAT JUNK PRETTY GOOD AS WELL. I TRY TO EAT OTHER THINGS, BUT IT ALWAYS SEEMS TO COME BACK UP. I GET THAT TERRIBLE PAIN IN MY LEFT SHOULDER AFTER ONLY ABOUT TWO BITES OF FOOD. IS THIS JUST GOOD RESTRICTION, OR IS IT TOO MUCH RESTRICTION? ANY REPLIES WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. IF IT IS TOO MUCH OF A FILL, HOW DO THEY DETERMINE HOW MUCH THEY TAKE OUT? I HAVE ALSO BEEN AT THE SAME WEIGHT OF 200 LBS. FOR THE PAST 3 WEEKS. I THOUGHT FOR SURE I WOULD BE IN THE 100'S IF I WAS AT GOOD RESTRICTION. THIS IS JUST VERY FRUSTRATING.

As stated I am getting my first fill tomorrow and I have some questions. First when I had the surgery for almost 2 weeks it was amazing in that I was full all the time. I lost like 18 lbs and my appetite came back with a vengence and I gained almost all of it back. Is this normal and what can I expect from the fill and does it hurt a ton. Will:confused::car:

I'm 4 weeks post surgery today and 5kg down :-) a total of 9kg including the 4kg lost before surgery . First fill in 3 days .

I was banded April 2, 2007... now 6 months later, and 4 fills, lost 70#.... Breakfast... was 1/2 Atkins pre-mixed shake in a can. Lunch........ was Mexican shrimp cocktail (soup of tomato base avocado pieces, white onion fine chopped, spices/herbs, and shrimp/cut in three pieces each) maybe about 1/2 cup?? Dinner........ was "Steak and Shake's" veggie/beef soup-1/2 cup?...(very little beef, it was too dry) and a tiny burger patty-no bun-with mustard relish on it. And now it is around 9:15 pm. and I am still quite full! I should have eaten only the soup for dinner.... I got the patty of burger for added protein....it was fried --I should have skipped it and I would have been fine. Good luck on your journey.

The clothes issue is bugging me now too - it was a novelty at first. But it gets expensive. I'm at the end of my journey and just losing those last few pounds, but the trouble is, 6 or 7lb now takes me down a dress size. I just bought a few new pairs of jeans six weeks ago and they're enormous on me now, I need new ones. I dont know where my weight loss will stop either, I'm not really trying to lose anymore. But enjoy it early on, you'll get more wear out of what you buy at the start of your journey and looking forward to the really great stuff you want to wear is a big part of it. Inching closer to that is so exciting.

50% is head hunger. Once you get past 1 week, it will get better. Hand in there. You can do it, just look at the long term (and I am telling myself that constantly too).

I started having problems straight away, though not with the band itself. The shoulder pain that some people experience for 2 weeks afterwards plagued me horribly for 9 months. The doctors denied it being anything to do with the surgery . . . but it wasn't there before, it's a symptom and it was there right after . . . I'm no mathematical genius, but I can figure out the probability on that one. The band basically wasn't working. I could eat as much as I could before. We got it tightened and I could still eat a big plate, tightened again, same thing with the occasional PB. We went for another tighten and when I had a sip of Water I vomited it back up, so he loosened it slightly. Now, there weren't as many clinics around when I had this, the nearest one being 4-5 hours away and me being . . . 16 by that time. I couldn't eat. Or at least, it was rare. What was common however is for me to vomit at least 16 times during a meal. Then I started vomiting at night, while I was asleep. Last night, for example, I ate a few hours before going to bed, and in me pre-bedtime ritual I actually forced myself to vomit up some food that I could feel stuck, to hopefully avoid it later on. No such luck. I woke up at 6 this morning, choking and swallowing my own foul tasting vomit. I go to the bathroom and vomit up black liquid. I don't know why it's always black, but it is. Time and stomach acid have made it taste . . . like I just dissolved some painkillers . . . it tastes chemical and rancid. There is a plus side, I was 109 kg (239 lbs) and am now 69 KG (151 Lbs). I've still got more to go. I now live in Sydney and am going to my fill doctor on the earliest appointment, which is the 3rd of October. I hope that I can find a happy medium or being full, but not vomiting all the time. I've been banded for 4 years, since I was 15.

Well Blues and Laury, I am being banded on the 11th also. When I see pictures of myself, i wonder when the point came that I could no longer recognize myself in pictures, my face is so fat! I had a picture taken with my sons around 4 years ago and showed it to a coworker, she said it looked nothing like me, i was around 60 pounds lighter. I still see myself that way, but NOONE else does! We will get there. I am starting my preop 2 week prior to surgery.

Hi, I had my sleeve surgery on August 6th, 2012. I actually tried to get the lap band back in 2006 but due to insurance regulations and morbidity-lacking qualifications, I was unsuccessful back in 2006. Jump forward a couple of years to 2012 and I finally had the right insurance and actually had some morbidities that helped me get the desired surgery. I kinda felt alone having to do this surgery because none of my family members have had some type of weight loss surgery, or had any friends that has gone thru this type of surgery. My husband was not very supportive in my decision and basically said "why ask my opinion when your mind is set already". Pretty much it was a true statement. All of my friends, coworkers, and mom stated that I didnt need the surgery, "your beautiful just the way you are". I appreciated all the kind words and concerns BUT none of them could even start to comprend what I see every day. Im not talking about being on a scale, Im talking about seeing myself in the mirror every day. Before finding this site, I started blogging my thoughts, my journey on www.blogger.com (Rhelm of Droopy). I hope you take the time to check it out, you will see my pre-surgery picture and my monthly pictures that I try to update on the 6th of every month give or take a few days. Lets make my first blog entry short, my consultation weight was 235. My two-week liquid diet before surgery weight was 210. My two-week follow up weight was 191. My two month post-surgery weight was 189 and just this past Tuesday, November 13th, I weighed in at 176. So give or take, Im losing 10 pounds a month, Im going to be honest, wish it was more but Im happy nontheless. Clothes are starting to be baggy, I've gone thru alot of clothes and have given some to the salvation army. My face is alot thinner and thou my double chin still is visibily seen, its not as much as before. In my blogs I mention how a chubby girl notices weird things. I noticed that my inner thighs got thinner. By this I mean, when I walked my thighs would rub sometimes even chaffe from the friction. I guess you have to be chubby to understand this feeling but now I have notices that they dont rub as much as before. There are so many things that a chubby girl notices that a slimmer individual would take for granted. Yes, I have lost some pounds, BUT I'm looking for particular things in my weight loss and they may seem weird but it's something I personally want to see. Im not saying that everyone is the same, Im saying these are things I want to see personally in my "transformation". They are, naturally the weight loss, duh who doesnt! I want to see my collar bone popping out, I want to see the bone on the top of my shoulder's popping out, I want to see my torso start slendering rather than see my love handles sticking out or as I call them "my arm rest" defining my pants. I hope this makes sense because honestly in my head it does lol. Getting rid of my clothes gave me anxiety. I kept telling myself "no save that or save this, what if you dont loose your weight, you wont have any clothes". I swear my mind is my own worse enemy. I did however get rid of alot of clothes and kept telling myself "you will loose weight". I was an 18/20 and currently Im a snug 14. My tops that I normally would buy in a XL or 1X are falling off my shoulders. My pants that are 16 or 14/16 are real bagging in the crotch area but I refuse to buy any clothes for the simple reason that Im going to try to reach my goal weight and to be buying clothes every time I go down a size is just really crazy. I dont know about you but I know I surely dont have money growing on my tree in the back yard. So yes, Im wearing baggy crotchy pants, and the shirts/blouses I have are in the 14/16 range in size. I actually went to the store yesterday and just window shopped. Funny how I would like a blouse and automatically would look for a 1X or an X-Large when clearly I could possibly may fit in a Large now. My mind is so used to being a certain way that even thou I see my full figure transformation I refuse to see my Skinny figure transformation. My mind is my worse enemy! Im not going to lie, I am my own worse critic, I still see the chubby me every day in that mirror. You would think that im on a scale daily to see my progress BUT im not. I have fear of gaining and a bigger fear of not losing. Make sense? Im not saying that this will happen to you, Im telling you that this is what Im dealing and going thru on a daily basis. Im glad I found this sight, I hope that I can read some of the blogs and in some way compare notes, take pointers on how someone is dealing with particular things, find some sort of comfort knowing that Im not the only one that may feel this way or that way and most importantly, find moral support that we may have in common.

If you are hungry and not losing weight then you need another fill. YOu should be losing a minimum of 1 lb per week.

I got my 1st fill a month ago. He put in a little over 1 cc in a 4 cc band. I have trouble eating. I can eat soft, mushy food fine. But if I eat solids, I get a golf ball feeling in the chest with pain after 4-5 bites. Don't even mention chicken. Everytime I eat chicken, after 2 or 3 bites I get pain and end up PBing. I feel I am too tight. I was talking with a friend who had gastric bypass and she said I was just right. I should just eat 4-5 bites 6 times and day and make sure I get enough Protein with shakes. I thought this was a life style change and that is not the life style I want. I thought you would be able to eat 1/2 to 1 cup food total each time and you lose weight by controling volume consumed vs dieting. I have not lost weight in the last 2 weeks. Most of the mushy stuff is higher in calories and fat (potatos, noodles, ice cream ..) Please advise. do you think my band is too tight? Is my friend right? Are my expectations wrong? I just don't know what to do.

Hi All, Well I am on day 5 of the pre op 3 week Optifast diet, I am into Ketosis I believe as the hunger pains have quit and I do not have so much of a headache. I was cruising along until the weekend. It is not so bad at work where you have other tasks but a relaxing weekend at home is MURDER. I am not hungry but I miss eating so much. Hard to believe how much we have come to rely on food. It is all I think about! I am enjoying the shakes and playing around with them. What all have you done to make it more palpable? And the Veggies... I am trying with stirfrys etc but am getting bored so any ideas are appreciated to flavor things etc... My favorite now is a bit of strawberry sugar free Jello powder in the vanilla shake and tons of ice in the blender... very good!

I'm so jealous...I can't exercise at the gym until 6 weeks post-op!!! LOL

I've been restricted for about 6-7 weeks and have had instances of stuck food/slime/expelling it... Over the past few days, I'm choking on my own slober. I can't even hold down grits or oatmeal. I've heard of restriction kicking in a few weeks after...but this is rediculous. Not worried about anything...yet. It's only been 2 days. I've also heard that restriction only lasts so long so I'm hoping to wait this out. The worse thing I could do is get an unfill only to find this was temporary swelling or something. But go with your gut instinct. Call the doc if you need to.

Where were you banded Sherrylynn? At my clinic, if hunger has returned and weight loss stopped, they will start our fills at 4 weeks. The physicians and staff have recently updated the post-op progress and diets. I had my first fill at 4 weeks, and the second 3 weeks later. I will be trying to arrange my 3rd fill for later this week - it will be a smaller increment, but I'm not quite there. The weight loss really won't start until you have reached a proper retriction - this takes time. Hang in there and check to see if you have to wait another 3 weeks before your first fill - it seems a bit long. Cindy

still follow the diet, well minus some cheating here or there. I am trying to exercise, mostly by walking. I am doing the walk away the pounds dvd. You know the one. With that skinny lady and her skinny friends. Makes me want to sit down with a ten pack of Reese Peanut Butter cups and just watch! (like I could even eat three of those candies!) I think I just need to snap out of my winter weather funk and embrace that nice weather! Btw~ Thats ok for a guy to sneak into the girls threads. At least we know that it is something that never changes no matter what size you are :-)

Are you exercising? Are you still following a diet? Yes, everyone is different, but if you are stalled, there are things you may be able to do to get the scale to start moving again...

Yes, it could be that your lower BMI is the reason. Here in the US some doctors do a pre op diet or some version of it, and some don't. I was required to do a two week. There are people who do one week, or two days before surgery. It varies. Best of everything with your journey.

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