Positive people unite! This thread is being created for the sole use of positive people to give positive reinforcement to others in the group that we care about. We know that we may disagree on some issues but we will offer constructive criticism, objective suggestions, we will always give kind support even when delivering the occasional (but necessary) kick in the pants.

Hi TJ ...

Awesome weight loss! Congrats

I love the community spirit here as well... thats why I love to check in daily...

I have a question for you guys. I have had two fills and have some restriction. I haven't ever pb-ed or thrown up, but now I often feel the food "scrape" through the stoma. I haven't been stuck but I can feel the food move through very slowly and it is uncomfortable. Do I have enough restriction? How will I know when I do?

TJ ! Great to hear from you again. You are doing so good! Keep up the great work and attitude. Pop in on us here when you can.

Bree, Restriction is partly personal choice, but if you are not hungry (true hunger) between meals I would say that is pretty good restriction and where you should be.

If you are hungry between meals and find that you can eat too much, then I would say you need more restriction.

Hi everyone. It's offical, I can't keep up with everyone. Last night before bed I read through the last few days of posts. It's great to see what everyone is up to, what you are trying and dealing with and all those new milestones - woohoo!

More rain in New England today. It's time for the ark! Anyway I've decided it's time to work a little harder to get into the lower end of my weight range for the spring/summer, so I could use you guys to help cheer me on. I'm journaling and using my "don't eat with your hands challenge" (I put it up on my blog as a challenge). So yesterday, what I noticed, is that despite being tired, and fighting off a bug, I bought the kids popcorn at the movies and I did not eat one kernel of movie popcorn; one kernel is never the problem; it's how one leads to half the bag... Instead I planned and brought a protein drink, which seemed to help with my enrgery and resilience. I hope everyone has a great day.

Monday is here whether I want it to be or not. My weightloss has really slowed down , but I'm still happy about it in general. I really hope I can drop a couple pounds by Friday when I have an appointment with my lapband doc. I have not been in to see him since September. I don't need a fill and kind of think it's a waste of gas to drive all the way to Denver, but I guess it is good to check in.

I'm going back to read & respond to all--but I start at the end and move backwards, so of course your post, TJ, stood out and definitely needs a BRAVO! Way to go on your great loss!

Hi everyone! I'm 5 days post op and doing ok. I was great on surgery day. Thank you, injectable pain meds and many sweet nurses and PCT's! When I got home Thursday it was downhill. I just felt terrible Thursday eve into Saturday morning. But, with a trip to the surgeon and some liquid lortab instead of the percoset she originally prescribed that I couldnt keep down, things are slowly looking up. I've lost 8lbs somewhere between the day before surgery and today. So far, my band and I are learning to get along

Hit my halfway point today. 73 lbs down, 73 to go. Not bad as it has been 5 months since I went to the seminar and 4 since surgery!

I have gone from a 54 waist pants and 3XL shirt, and tonight bought 42 waist jeans (at Old Navy no less) and a LARGE polo shirt (XL and 44 are the comfy size but the L/42 fit)

WAHOOOO! So exciting -- good on ya! :-)

Today, I put on my "progress shirt." It's a shirt I noticed I was wearing in two of my fat pictures, so now I put it on just for comparison. It's not the greatest progress shirt because it's not form-fitting, so I did switch to a second option, but anyway, today I could really see a difference in my face (or maybe it's actually MY NECK that I see! Ha!):

Karen--Are you waiting to eat until you get hungry? Today I ate breakfast as usual about 10 am and then I got busy at work and I couldn't eat until after 2, now I have triggered the hungry monster and he will be with me the rest of the day. If I eat when I first feel the "need to eat" then I am fine but if I wait until I am HUNGRY! then I am ravenous the rest of the day, I know when I get home tonight I will either 1. overeat and still be hungry or 2. eat the right amount and be hungry the rest of the night. I was not prepared with my snacks and now I will pay for it tonight. It might just be me but it might help you, just a thought....

Leigha -- I think you hit the nail right on the head. I think I am waiting too long, especially when I'm at work, I think that makes a huge difference in why I'm not feeling satisfied like I should after eating. Thanks for pointing that out! Honestly, I think that is my issue most of the time. I just need to throw in a cheese stick somewhere so I am not so ravenous by the time I get to lunchtime. I am like watching the clock and waiting for 4 hours to come and I shouldn't really be doing that if I'm that hungry.

Sorry to hear about the incident with the sandwich. It sucks when you REALLY want something but your band won't let you keep it!! I've had trashcan days like that here at work too and they're not fun. Hope you're feeling better!

OMG--that pic of you and your bike??? GIRL you look awesome! Honestly, chickie, you don't need to lose another pound! WAY TO GO, GIRL!!! :thumbup:

TJ — Congrats on being half way to goal! That’s so awesome and you should be so proud!!!

Amy — welcome to “the other side” and congratulations on your surgery last week! How are you feeling?

Hey Jacki — nice neck LOL! Seriously, WTG —LOVE the progress shirt!!

Hang in there HB, it slows down quite a bit, doesn’t it? Some days I will lose 1 lb or nothing (which is a victory not to go the other way), but others, I’ll lose 3. Tricky little thing this band is. You’re doing great, so don’t get discouraged!!

Gloria—I agree. It’s so tough to keep up with everyone. I am now in Word drafting my post praying to GOD I don’t miss anyone LOL. We are a LARGE group (no pun intended LOL)

Bree— I have also had 2 fills (4.2 total ccs in a 14 cc band) and I was sliming/PBing quite a bit after the second fill, but realized that until then, I hadn’t had restriction, so I was still taking bites that were too big and eating too fast. Now I’m worried that I need more fill since some times I can eat way more than I should (but others, I can barely get anything down). My doctor defined restriction to me as being able to eat about 6 ounces of food and feeling comfortably full, and the full feeling lasting every 3 to 4 hours. Are you losing weight? Is this happening to you at certain times of the day or all the time?

Betsy — Things are going down easier (as usual) in the evenings. I had no problem getting a piece of papa john’s chicken club pizza down on Friday night, but hey. I worked out and had the calories available and let me tell you, that pizza was GREAT! And since it had bacon and grilled chicken, a nice amount of protein! It’s amazing being able to eat ONE piece of pizza (I was a 3-piece girl). Holy crap, it hurts just thinking about it! It’s weird, some days I’m so ravenous, others I’m cool. I guess I’m expecting this band to keep me from feeling hungry ALL the time, and that’s just not the way it should be. Dear Lord! My only concern is that sometimes I actually feel more hungry when I eat and it seems as though I can keep going over 6-8 ounces (I don’t, but sometimes I am not satisfied after the small amount we are supposed to eat). But I am so tight in the morning, that I know another fill would have me spitting my own saliva into a trash can in the mornings because I wouldn’t be able to get that down LOL. I am still working on it. Thanks for asking!!

Bob — I got sick and thought of you yesterday — how’s THAT for a compliment :-)!!!! I had my first public incident yesterday! It was at a bridal show of all places! Freaking dj comes over with extra cake and says TRY THIS! It’s HEAVEN! So, I really hadn’t had much to eat (and I am PMSing big time), so I took a tiny bite of chocolate cake). It was some kind of gourmet cake that had a raspberry flavor—like a black forest almost, so I took 2 more small bites. No sooner did I take the last bite, one of the producers comes over and says, “Slow—make sure you are going slow” (she knows about my LB and is one of my FB friends, so she knows all about my tendency to eat too fast). Of course, I was sliming, holding it in and didn’t want to run to the bathroom, so I grabbed 2 cocktail napkins, hid behind the booth and spit it out, not realizing I had a gallon of slime and I underestimated the amount and of course, thick slimy chocolate that I couldn’t “break” ! Luckily, no one saw, but some of it landed on the dj’s tux bag (but since it was the S.O.B. who gave me the cake, I giggled to myself about payback LOL). Anyway, WOW! I had 3 bites and they weren’t that big — jeez, talk about SCARY!!!!

Wanna befit@40 — Welcome! Trust me, it’s a GREAT thing you’ve had no issues yet! Be thankful :-)! Looking forward to getting to know you!

Cocoa — sorry to hear you had computer problems. Glad you’re back! I’m sorry to hear about your boss considering retirement. It is terrible when you gel with someone and you have a great relationship and have to start over! Hopefully it was a comment made due to the stress and he will change his mind!! I’ll keep my fingers crossed!

Jacki,

Wondering how you were able to get the 3 stages side by side and onto your signature?

<<<Bree— I have also had 2 fills (4.2 total ccs in a 14 cc band) and I was sliming/PBing quite a bit after the second fill, but realized that until then, I hadn’t had restriction, so I was still taking bites that were too big and eating too fast. Now I’m worried that I need more fill since some times I can eat way more than I should (but others, I can barely get anything down). My doctor defined restriction to me as being able to eat about 6 ounces of food and feeling comfortably full, and the full feeling lasting every 3 to 4 hours. Are you losing weight? Is this happening to you at certain times of the day or all the time>>>

I am at 8.5ccs in an 11cc band. I am losing weight regularly. I think I might be tight enough, at least for now. I can eat anything I have tried but drier meats cause that "scraping" sensation. Nothing has gotten stuck but it feels close sometimes. I think I am afraid that if I don't get another fill in a week and a half I will stop losing so well and I don't want that. But I don't want stuck episodes either. I don't have a problem with hunger since the band (but I still have some head hunger).

Hello to All ....

I'm just checking in right now and saying hello .

I'm home from work today with a bug, and need to go back to bed.

I'll be checking in later on today / this evening. I hope you all have a wonderful day !!

I have been following the thread and decided to post. I am fairly new, so I will not have tons of advice, but thanks to everyone with great advice and support. When I have a question--I come to this thread first. Got my answer about weight lifting and muscles--thanks BetsyB.

Good afternoon everyone, well, I was going to say hi individually but since Karen did I won't repeat it. Well I finally went out to eat today for lunch with friends, (since the surgery I have only ate out with my husband and son).

It is so beautiful outside today, sunshine and 66 degrees. My husband went fishing yesterday and came home with catfish again, I have about 15 pounds of filet's in my refrigerator waiting to be vacuum packed. I wish y'all lived closer so I could share.

I have good news about my band, for the last 10 days or so I have not been trying to diet, when I got my band I did the full court press and really worked it hard. Well when I got to 153 or so I thought I would take a break and not try so hard, I am kind of happy with things like they are. So I am still logging and measuring my food but netting about 1200 calories instead of 800-900, plus I have a glass of wine if I want one. (But I did pass on the trip to the ice cream shop last night) This morning I had lost a pound anyway, 1 pound in 11 days, and here is the important part, WITHOUT TRYING! I haven't lost a pound without trying in my whole adult life, I cant tell you how much hope that gives me. Before every.single.pound. was a struggle. Now I can just make the right food choices and wait 11 days and lose a pound! Holy crap! Its a miracle. For those newbies who are thinking "What the hell have I done?" just wait the ride just keeps getting better.

Thank y'all for being here, there is no way I can explain this to someone who hasn't gone through the same struggle. :thumbup:

Hey Leigha -

Thats so awesome!! Congrats :-) I can honestly say that the first 80 pounds that have come off of me have been without any effort on my part. I'm sure thats why its taking me so long for it to come off. I was banded almost 16 months ago. I'm sure if I had worked it, I would have lost it a lot sooner. And I'm sure thats why I'm stagnant now. So if I want any more to come off, I'm gonna have to really crack down. Yes, I'm starting to walk more, as the weather is finally cooperating. And I don't buy junk food at all. Well, my one current weakness is Sunflower seeds in the shell. I go thru stages. Sometimes it's microwave popcorn. My stages usaually last from a week to 2 months or so. But i rarely ever indulge in sweets.

I can't bring myself to drink protein drinks, or much of anything else other than water. So my protein is strictly solid food based ie... Meat, Soy, Yogurt, Cheese, Fish, etc... I fight with salads, and most veggies. This is vewy dishartening for me as Veggies are my very favorite food group. I also can't eat very many fruits anymore either. That Also bites.

SORRY!! Got off topic. I think its the meds I'm on LOL

Anyway, Do you guys have a way of preparing veg that may work for me? What salad "Stuff" Works best for you? Any help at all would be wunnerful :thumbup:

Well, I need to go lay down so I can get back on the road to recovery...

Thanks Bandsters !!!!!!