How's everyone doing??? I'm doing surprisingly well. Have started "light cardio" this week (sooo glad to be able to do some exercise again) but not lifting or golf for another 2 weeks. I'm not having a hard time with hunger, either. I seem to be sticking to 1100-1200 cals. per day (at least 60 grams of protein) without much difficulty. The bummer is that I only lost one pound this week. I know a loss is a loss, but I've been at this calorie level before on other diets and lost better than that! I know lots of factors going on with the surgery and all, but it's a little disappointing to be doing so well with the food and not seeing results. I guess I am more of a slave to instant gratification than I realized :thumbup:. Not calling it bandster hell, either! It's just like being on any other diet, but with hope at the end of the rainbow. 1st fill scheduled for 2 weeks from today. If I still was having this easy of a time with my diet, I might question whether I really needed it, however, I've decided to get it. I may wake up one day and REALLY need it and I think I would at least like to have one or two fills behind me rather than just starting the whole process. Can't wait to read about everyone's progress!!!

Hi:

I'm jealous of how good you are feeling .

I had band #2 put in on 7/20 after my stubborn slip wouldn't fix itself after 3 months and some weight gain. I'm still very lethargic and am still having alot of shoulder pain, but this is probably because I got a head cold two days post op and I went back to work on day 6 (new job - had to).

I remember having alot more energy the first time around, but I also had been on a liquid diet for ten days pre-op and weighed 287 pounds. This time I thought it would be alot easier because I weighed 208 and didn't have a pre-op liquid diet and the port was fine and left alone. So, maybe it's the all liquids post op that's doing this. Or, it could be that I'm just pushing myself too hard and first time I had two full weeks off.

Anyway, best wishes to you. Hopefully you'll reach restriction soon and be on your way down on the scale. You're really not expected to lose much weight until you reach restriction and then you'll find you have to remind yourself to eat. Believe it, it's true.:thumbup:

Take care.

Sue

Edited August 3, 201016 yr by Sue Magoo
forgot why band #2 done.

Hi, I was banded on July 19th also. So glad to hear your doing so well. Im feeling good also. Just increased my walk to 3 miles yesterday and start swimming tomorrow. I seem to have my hunger under control also. Warm tea seems to curb the hunger if it starts to creep up. I get my 1st fill till Aug 31 (6 wks post-op) I take it 1 day at a time and enjoying the journey. I know I will have my challenging days especially since I have not had a fill yet but I will take it as a learning experience & not banster hell. Keep us posted on how you are doing would like to follow along with someone who has same banding date. :thumbup: Good luck & success to everyone recently banded.

let me add that I decided not to weigh myself at home. My Dr. told me the 1st mth to concentrate on healing and the weight will come off once I start getting the fills. That does not mean im not watching what im eating just dont want to discourage myself. Keep up the good work!

Magoo - Hope you start to have more energy, soon. I'm sure getting a cold didn't help matters! Was glad to read about not losing too much before restriction. I know that this is the "bonus" pound period...that it's all willpower at this point, but sometimes you need to read it "fresh" to have it sink in again!

IsaBella - congrats to you. Would love to follow each other along together. I think I am going to have my husband hide the scale. It just isn't moving very much these days (but it's not going up :blushing: and I'm getting frustrated. I have to remember that I just started exercising again and it's not as intense yet as I'm used to. I think a better goal for me to focus on right now is just not gaining any of the preop weightloss. I don't really want to weigh myself everyday, but I can't help it...if I walk pass the scale in the am and I can whip off my nightgown...I'm on it, ha! This is going to be a lose one week, stay the same the next, then maybe a bigger drop later. I think weighing monthly seems like the best idea at this point. I am now approaching the start of my cylcle and know that it always is messed up with that! I get my first fill on Aug 16 - 4 wks. out. Will let you know how it goes!

Hi I was banded on July 15. Can I ask if you have a monthly cycle? I had my first period since the surgery and I went back and forth with 1 pound for about 5 days. Now I am done with my period and in the past 3 days I have lost 3 pounds. I think we as women really have that as a disadvantage that we just sometimes can't put our thumb on it as the root of the problem.

I noticed you said 1000-1200 calories. My dr told me I could have 1000 b/c of my height but all the lit that the office gave me told me to stay b/w 600-800 so ever three or 4 days I try to eat as close to 800 as I can that day. then the others right at 1000. Maybe try "shocking" the system so it isn't getting to use to the same caloric intake.

Good luck

I haven't even started counting calories. My doc said to just focus on liquids period so that my stomach could heal...that I could focus on weight loss later. I was banded on 7/30. I'm learning that things have gone pretty well for me compared to some other folks, so I've been fortunate so far. I hope I feel the same after my first fill. I'd rather not have as tight a fill and not lose as quickly because I can be comfortable and kinda eat normal than be filled too tight and deal with nausea, vomiting, etc. I'm a big baby.

I figure if I just can't eat what I USED to eat quantity wise then I'm waaaay ahead of the game. I was a pretty healthy eater, but I could PUT IT AWAY!

Hi I was banded on July 15. Can I ask if you have a monthly cycle? I had my first period since the surgery and I went back and forth with 1 pound for about 5 days. Now I am done with my period and in the past 3 days I have lost 3 pounds. I think we as women really have that as a disadvantage that we just sometimes can't put our thumb on it as the root of the problem.

I noticed you said 1000-1200 calories. My dr told me I could have 1000 b/c of my height but all the lit that the office gave me told me to stay b/w 600-800 so ever three or 4 days I try to eat as close to 800 as I can that day. then the others right at 1000. Maybe try "shocking" the system so it isn't getting to use to the same caloric intake.

Good luck

Yes to female Q! I should start in a few days. I did drop another pound (finally!) today. I have lost 5 since my surgery. It's not a bad start at all...I just hovered so long that I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to drop! Also, walking my "big walk" everyday so far this week as well. Live in a very hilly neighborhood and have a 3.5 mile route with killer hills. I am sweating like crazy when I'm done! I really want to start lifting weights again, too. Have to wait till after week 4 for that . When I did my supervised diet of 30 days, I logged and counted meticulously. I averaged around 1300 cals. per day and I lost 9 pounds in one month. I figure if I stay below 1200 now, I should be able to lose at the 1-2 pounds per week. The reason I am "worrying" about calories now is that I have advanced to be able to eat most foods and I want to make sure I don't gain any of my pre-op pound lost:thumbup:. I am back to logging in everything (on my Droid...love it!). I figure I will be "on a diet" until restriction kicks in~~which could be months~~ so I better start being accountable now! I hope that when I reach restriction some of the "effort" might ease up. Meaning, that I just will eat when I'm hungry and it will be at a level of calories that I can lose this weight! I have a mini-goal to lose 15 more pounds (onederland:lol:) and then I am going to start RUNNING!!! Can't wait to feel the runner's high again...it's been YEARS for me. Ran a half marathon 6 years ago...now look at me:mad:. Oh well, I'm back in charge of me again!

Hi:

I'm jealous of how good you are feeling .

I had band #2 put in on 7/20 after my stubborn slip wouldn't fix itself after 3 months and some weight gain. I'm still very lethargic and am still having alot of shoulder pain, but this is probably because I got a head cold two days post op and I went back to work on day 6 (new job - had to).

Just wondering.... did insurance pay for #2? Did you have to "re-qualify"? I'm a self-pay.... just worried about any problems in the future.

2beskinny - I want to start running again too! Actually, I was never a 'runner'...more of just a 'jogger', but I used to love it. Now it's physically uncomfortable because of the extra poundage...Prior to the 4th of July the hubs and I were gyming it and I was mainly using the elyptical...then on occasion treadmilled it. It's so hard to get back into...but when I used to jog all the time I loved losing myself in that rythym.

A half marathon sounds pretty cool. That would be a great goal for you again.

2beskinny - I want to start running again too! Actually, I was never a 'runner'...more of just a 'jogger', but I used to love it. Now it's physically uncomfortable because of the extra poundage...Prior to the 4th of July the hubs and I were gyming it and I was mainly using the elyptical...then on occasion treadmilled it. It's so hard to get back into...but when I used to jog all the time I loved losing myself in that rythym.

A half marathon sounds pretty cool. That would be a great goal for you again.

OH, I'm definitely a jogger, too ! I know what you mean...it's just not something that's easy to do when you are bouncing and jiggling all the way down the street. Very hard on your body, too, so getting some weight off before we start back up is very important to me. I was working out at a gym a couple of years ago, ended up just going in for the elliptical all the time. I then "invested" (and yes, I mean invested - bought a Precor!) one for home. It's been four years and between me and husband gets used quite a bit. Love that machine! I like to rent dvds of television series I'm usually too busy to watch and the time flies by while I'm working out :tongue2:

OH, I'm definitely a jogger, too ! I know what you mean...it's just not something that's easy to do when you are bouncing and jiggling all the way down the street. Very hard on your body, too, so getting some weight off before we start back up is very important to me. I was working out at a gym a couple of years ago, ended up just going in for the elliptical all the time. I then "invested" (and yes, I mean invested - bought a Precor!) one for home. It's been four years and between me and husband gets used quite a bit. Love that machine! I like to rent dvds of television series I'm usually too busy to watch and the time flies by while I'm working out

I used to be a jogger also. Love to get lost in "The Zone" I did the L.A. Marathons 7 & 8 years ago. 1 of my goals is to complete it once again. Starting off slow. My exercise consists daily 3 mile walk with my dogs, Treadmill 30 min evening (also watch dvd & time sure goes by fast) I just started swimming at the gym yesterday:thumbup: but looking forward to starting weights so that I do not stay to flabby. Im sooo excited for all of us. Im really happy to be able to talk and share with all of you. :smile2:

The Precor's are NICE! I had a cheapie elyptical for a while, but we didn't really use it because there wasn't enough resistance and it was too noisy. My husband actually enjoys the gym (I do NOT) and he motivates me to go. My company pays for my membership, so it's something I can't really complain about.

Klisa - what an awesome perk - fitness club membership!!! Isa...we should cyber run together...I totally want to do the marathon again this year (will be 7 years ago that I did it). Did you do the whole thing???? You rock! I also can't wait to start doing weights again. I really have to work my arms! I NEVER wear sleeveless shirts and I'm hoping that when I lose, I can have nice toned arms and not big ole' batwings. I have looked at pics of the surgery scars from that surger and it makes me weak in the knees, same for TT. I can live with the loose skin on my tummy - who's going to see that anyway except me and my hubs. When I was 32 years old, I lost all my weight on Phen-Fen (great stuff, too bad it was deadly) and I had the loose skin belly. I have had twins, so I think that it's pretty unavoidable. But the arms???I am praying that I can get them back on my own...that scar is too nasty to have to try and hide all the time...give me the dumbells instead (except that I know that always doesn't work :redface:

Klisa - what an awesome perk - fitness club membership!!! Isa...we should cyber run together...I totally want to do the marathon again this year (will be 7 years ago that I did it). Did you do the whole thing???? You rock! I also can't wait to start doing weights again. I really have to work my arms! I NEVER wear sleeveless shirts and I'm hoping that when I lose, I can have nice toned arms and not big ole' batwings. I have looked at pics of the surgery scars from that surger and it makes me weak in the knees, same for TT. I can live with the loose skin on my tummy - who's going to see that anyway except me and my hubs. When I was 32 years old, I lost all my weight on Phen-Fen (great stuff, too bad it was deadly) and I had the loose skin belly. I have had twins, so I think that it's pretty unavoidable. But the arms???I am praying that I can get them back on my own...that scar is too nasty to have to try and hide all the time...give me the dumbells instead (except that I know that always doesn't work :redface:

Let's cyber run together! I did complete the marathon both times. The 1st time I trained for a good 6 mtns & was a piece of cake. Was not in pain during or after at all. The 2nd time totally different experience. I did not train to much & then I slipped 3 miles in but I was determined to finish. I walked the remainder of the 23.2 miles with leg cramps and I could not stop cuz the charlie horse wld kick in bad. I over hydrated and I finally stopped at 24 miles medical tent & was treated but I finished with ice packs wrapped around my calfs. 7 1/2 hrs. I was in pain for about 2 wks and had busted capillaries from my ankles to my knees. SOOO anyone planning on doing a marathon...TRAIN,TRAIN,TRAIN. It can be an awesome experience.

OMG - Isa, you are a CONCRETE woman! Tough stuff! There's no way I would have kept on in that marathon if I was in tons of pain!

2beskinny - you think the gym is an awesome perk? The best perk is that I work from home full time! I've gotten spoiled. Normally folks who are a good distance from an office WFH, but in all honesty, it would only be a 30 min commute for me...I love working from home. I need to just make sure I take care of my job as much as possible! It would be no fun to enter the real world again right now! :party:

I'm wondering how much loose skin I will have too...I guess that partially depends on how quickly we lose? I don't think I'll lose quickly...never have...There have been too many times where I have busted my butt at the gym for 2 hrs a day 5-6 days a week and avoided all sort of fun foods only to lose 10 lbs in 4-6 months. Ppphhhttt!! I was really strong though!