Hello! I am trying to figure out this forum and how it all works so bear with me! I was banded Friday, Dec. 3rd and have about 85 lbs. to lose. Diabetes runs in my family and I felt like a time bomb and have never been able to keep the weight off. It just crept up and up. I am very active and want to be able to exercise without the aches and pains. I am 5' 10" and 55 years old. I would like to stay in touch with those of a similar situation.

I had a great experience so far and had my band done as an out pt. procedure. I was out at SAM's the very next morning and haven't had alot of pain. Today I did laundry and walked at the mall. I plan to return towork for awhile on Monday. I was fortunate to also have had it done laproscopically and had a great surgeon, Dr. David Provost. All I can say is so far so good!

Hi All. I am loving all the posts especially from the last few weeks as we go through the banding together. Everytime I have a concern or comment, turns out someone else has also gone through it:) I am two weeks post-op (12/20/2010), down 7 pounds since surgery and 17 total since starting the pre-op diet. I do not have a fill yet but see my doc tomorrow. I started eating regular food within the last 3-4 days except no bread, no pasta, no rice, no chips (you get the picture...) and cannot get meat down without sipping during the meal (not supposed to drink for an hour before and after meals) even though I chew until my jaw hurts! So, does anyone have suggestions on how to work meat (chicken, steak, pork--I can do bits of hamburger OK) back into the diet? I.e. should I plan on something really mushy to eat at the same time (like mashed sweet potato with steak)? For now, I get my protein primarily through adding it to the 48-64 oz. of water I drink each day and eggs. Thanks for any help.

Heather, can you share a bit of info about this book? I'm looking for advice/recipes/techniques for how to eat properly with a band. Especially before i get my first fill in two weeks. Now that the honeymoon is over, my postop weight loss has ended, and I'm juggling between bandster hell and eating too much at mealtimes. That, and feeling like I'm on a "few pounds up, a few pounds down" teeter totter. I went to a local bookstore today, but found nothing about bariatric cooking. Anyone else have suggestions?

Thanks, everyone.

Dave

i found the book on amazon.com. you can buy it new or used. i bought used for 5.50 + shipping. i am looking forward to reading it also.

I was banded on 12/2. I stuck with 2 oz meals for my first few weeks. I stay away from all beef right now, it digest very slow and causes me to fill bloated for a long while. Thus during this time I can't drink for a few hours. I stick with lean turkey slices, ham slices, and chicken breast. Eat very slowly, takes me about 35 minutes when eating chicken breast and I take very small bites. My 3 year old grandson takes larger bites than I. Over all meals are not to bad for me. Supplemental protein is my issues, tried several but all cause me to fill uncomfortable with indigestion. Not getting protein in on a daily basis, this is getting better as I go along. Hope it gets better for you.

My scale seems to be mad at me, been plateaued since one week after surgery and even up a little. I think it is because I have moved onto purees. And it is driving me crazy, I put it away today and have vowed not to step on it 'til at least Monday, which is my weigh in day. I hope I can keep off of it, because it is making me depressed. I am just going to continue eating my purees and just worry about that and going to the gym. I honestly can say, I can't wait for the next week to pass, so I can start doing the weight machines again. My doc said last Wednesday in 2 weeks I can start lifting again. So another week of avoiding the large dogs at work.

I had a nice NSV today...I realized that the jeans I wore to work today were so loose that I could actually take them off without unbuttoning them! I knew they were getting very loose, but I had no idea they were THAT loose! So, during lunch today I went to Lane Bryant for a new pair (BTW, they are having a big sale) and ended up bringing home 2 pairs of jeans, 2 sweaters and 5 pairs of underwear all in a size smaller than I normally wear!!

This did wonders for my mood today because I have been very frustrated that the scale is not moving at all...I have been journaling my food (staying around 750-850 calories) and exercising and still nothing! My husband thinks I should try to increase my calories slightly and see what happens so I am trying to do that today. I am scheduled for my first fill next week so hopefully that will help!

Yeah on the the smaller size! I had my first fill today, it was painless! I hope I see more weight loss now, I am down only 1# in the last 3 weeks. I guess it's better than gaining during the holidays which is what I normally do.

Heather, can you share a bit of info about this book? I'm looking for advice/recipes/techniques for how to eat properly with a band. Especially before i get my first fill in two weeks. Now that the honeymoon is over, my postop weight loss has ended, and I'm juggling between bandster hell and eating too much at mealtimes. That, and feeling like I'm on a "few pounds up, a few pounds down" teeter totter. I went to a local bookstore today, but found nothing about bariatric cooking. Anyone else have suggestions?

Thanks, everyone.

Dave

I ordered Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies from Amazon and they had a variety of weight loss surgery books and cookbooks to pick from.

I am back on a liquid diet today since I had a fill and I am a bit hungry.

Joan

I saw my doctor today for my post op, took about 4 seconds haha, my surgeon is speedy gonzoles! He said I can start exercising more strenuously next week. I'm having my fill on the 20th. I thought it was interesting quite a few people in the office today. We chatted a little bit, one girl had the lapband a few years ago but said she wasn't losing weight anymore. (she was pretty skinny!), another guy getting the sleeve, and a mom and daughter getting lapband, they asked me some questions about it.

Heather, can you share a bit of info about this book? I'm looking for advice/recipes/techniques for how to eat properly with a band. Especially before i get my first fill in two weeks. Now that the honeymoon is over, my postop weight loss has ended, and I'm juggling between bandster hell and eating too much at mealtimes. That, and feeling like I'm on a "few pounds up, a few pounds down" teeter totter. I went to a local bookstore today, but found nothing about bariatric cooking. Anyone else have suggestions?

Thanks, everyone.

Dave

I found it at Borders it was buried in the diet section somewhere. I haven't cooked anything yet. It's really easy recipes for like fancy scrambled eggs, lots of soups, different sauces, then meat recipes but it says like how much to eat for each stage and how to puree it if you need to. Lots of recipes that have flavor but not fat. Different ethnic spices and things. I'm not much of a cook because I live alone and my kitchen is the size of a postage stamp, but i'm gonna try!

Started back to teaching on Monday and had to take today off. Working with 100+ hormonally challenged teens is stressful enough, much less when my body isn't at 100%!

I'm doing well otherwise. Getting in all my protein and sticking to mushies, exercising some each day (although I'm not to the 45 minutes a day that Dr Warnock wants me at), and most of the pain is gone.

Cleaned out my closet and got rid of all but 5 pair of pants, an even those are loose. My promise to myself is that I'm not buying any clothes until I can buy them from a non-plus size section of a store. That will be a huge victory!

Movie time ahhaha.

Hi everyone, I am new to all this but I am learning. I was banded Dec 1st, with pre op fasting starting November 17th I have lost a total of 64lbs. I feel I have given myself a new lease on life. I really have nothing to complain about, insurance approval was quick and I had found a great Dr. Surgery went good and was back at work full duty in a week and a half. So glad I found this, I do not have a support group yet close by but I am starting one at work. I am meeting people were I work that have had this procedure and they are not going to support group meetings. I feel like I need to try to start something with guidance from our Wellness director at work. Keep up the good work everyone!

Wow its so interesting what we're being told to eat and not eat. Thanks for posting what you're Dr's have told you. It helps me make decisions and not feel so bad. Glad to see another overseas bandster on here too- ckeely

I'm day 13 post op today and still rather scared to eat anything with lumps, even though I've been told by week 4 I'll be back on normal foods. I'm still blending all my food, but letting my soups become a little thicker. For lunch today I'm eating an avocado and plain yoghurt dip that I made and using an oat cracker to dip into it. I'm biting off the smallest amount of the cracker at a time and chewing it to a pulp

What I really miss is washing my food down with a drink. My Dr. didn't really go into this but from what I've read on here its not the best idea.

I'm staying away from rice, potatoes, corn and pasta due to the high carbs. I lost a lot of weight years ago by eliminating these from my diet, so I thought I would give myself a head start and do it again. I haven't been told to by my Dr. but I know it makes sense for me. I don't want to live forever without these in my diet if I don't have too though.

I'm on holidays now, so have to really watch myself. HeatherinCA- I think you'll be fine in Vegas. There will be so many other things to distract you I have a friend who was banded over a year ago now, but she said buffet were the best for her as she could eat small amounts and go back to the buffet but over a longer period of time. A set meal was harder for her to eat. I guess you'll just have to have a tiny spoonful of a lot of things- just for the taste Have a great time.

Anyone rewarding themselves for their losses? I usually always reward myself with food. So now I have decided that for every 7-10 kilos (14-22lb) I will buy myself some clothes a size smaller. I don't want to buy too many as I hope to not fit them for too long, but thought it would be a more suitable reward than food. What are you doing?

I am rewarding myself with inexpensive jewelry, music from i-tunes and books. As I get closer to my goal, I want to reward myself with clothes, massages and maybe an i-pad when I reach my goal.

Yeah on the the smaller size! I had my first fill today, it was painless! I hope I see more weight loss now, I am down only 1# in the last 3 weeks. I guess it's better than gaining during the holidays which is what I normally do.

Joan - How much fill did you get? Can you feel restriction yet?

Tomorrow is my first fill, and I need to find out why I'm having odd chest pain and headache when I breathe in super deep. Kinda creeped out by that.

Congrats to all the December Divas!

I love this thread because its so easy to follow along with others in the same boat.

I went to my first post-op yesterday and it only about 4 seconds, too, HeatherinCA!!!! haha

everything is going fine for me (knock on wood). No pain, incisions are healing nicely and not really hungry. I can feel my port though & I find it pretty weird. i've noticed that I start rubbing it absentmindedly. how weird is that? like rubbing your belly when you're pregnant.

anybody going to a support group??

Yea, I'm doing great no pain, no hunger.

I kinda want to do a support group but I'm not sure. I don't think I really need it, but it would be nice to have a buddy near by that I can bounce ideas off of

Joan - How much fill did you get? Can you feel restriction yet?

Hi Vicky,

The Dr. put in 1.5 cc. He said the band was pre-loaded with 3.0 cc. I feel a little more restriction. I am suppose to be on full liquids today but in my usual pushy fasion am back to regular diet. I did follow the liquids only for yesterday, the day of fill. My next fill is scheduled for Feb. 4th. When is your first fill scheduled?

Joan

Hi Vicky,

The Dr. put in 1.5 cc. He said the band was pre-loaded with 3.0 cc. I feel a little more restriction. I am suppose to be on full liquids today but in my usual pushy fasion am back to regular diet. I did follow the liquids only for yesterday, the day of fill. My next fill is scheduled for Feb. 4th. When is your first fill scheduled?

Joan

My first fill is scheduled for Wednesday the 12th...I'll let you know how it goes...

I don't know what is happening to my posts. Well the first one I lost as my husband asked to look at something on the Net in the middle of it and then closed it I then wrote another one and its not here!

I had my first fill (2cc) yesterday and it went very well- painless. Dr. told me to be on liquids for 48 hours and then resume normal foods. I'm feeling a little more restriction but not in the same place as the last couple of weeks. Its more in my upper chest and throat?!

I also now know where my port is I don't know why I thought it was directly under one of my incisions! Its makes more sense now why the area where the port is has been a little more tender than the rest of my tummy. I can't feel it unless I push quite hard down onto my stomach though.

I really hope I lose some more weight now. The scales have been up and down with the same kilo for over a week now I need to exercise more too!

DaleJR88- thats an amazing loss- well done! This is my support group! I would love to meet other bandsters however there are no support groups where I live and everyone who is banded keeps it to themselves. I think theres a girl in my office thinking about it as she started talking about the lap band the other day and knew how long the waiting list was at the local hospital. I think she might suspect I had more done then just my gall bladder out too

Hope you are all well and everyone keeps losing!