Hi Guys,

I got my lap band on Sept 15 - I felt great up to now ... however last night I started feeling muscular type pains in my stomach (at the top center incision area) everytime I move - this may have been caused from me moving too quickly. I am wondering if anyone has felt similar type pains.

Sally, my doctor recommends 800 calories per day as ideal and never over 1000. Also keep carbs under 50 as ideal and not over 60. I rarely go over the 800 calories and 50 carbs. If I do I don't worry about it as I don't do it every day.

I'm getting a little frustrated...I know we are all different, but I keep seeing that everyone has lost anywhere from 25-40+ pounds. My weight loss has gone soooo slow. I've only lost 5 pounds since 9-26 even though I have followed my calorie intake. I've been exercising also and know muscle will replace fat and the weight will not show down.

Just out of curiosity, how many calories do ya'll eat? I just thought it would go so much quicker than this because I've gone from 3000-7000 calories a day to 1200.

I'm with you here. I see everyone losing and i'm at a standstill.....even gained a few pounds when i transferred to soft foods. I was banded on 9-19 and had my first fill on monday. She only put 3 cc in and said it wasn't much but it's what they normally start you off with the first fill. Honestly, i don't feel much restriction and i have another 6 weeks to go before my next fill so it's going to be very very difficult to keep control.

I've not been doing so well with exercising but now that i've been given clearance to do any exercise (especially abs), i have started doing aerobics and toning this week. Hoping for the best.

All I can tell you is don't get discouraged. As soon as I went to mushies, I stopped losing weight too. It was a good 6 weeks before I started losing again. I got my band on 9/15, got my first fill on 10/29. Right now I have 2cc in a 14cc band - and I'm getting no help from it at all. I'm earning every lb. I loose. I struggled until last week, when I lost 3.6lbs, and I've lost another 3.4lbs so far this week. I'm having a really frantic week at work, and I'm sure that is helping too!

I was at a stand still when I went on soft foods for almost 3 weeks then I lost 4 pounds. Now I am at a stand still again, lol. I have weighed the same amount for a couple weeks now. I have had my first fill and have 4 ccs in a 14 cc band so I am not getting a lot of help from it. I am exercising a lot lately so I am hoping the muscle mass is accounting for some of the weight. My size 16 clothes are fitting really comfortable and sort of loose. My bras are too big now though, lol. I wish it would leave my stomach first and then the boobs but whatever . I don't have another fill until Nov. 29th so I am glad it will be after Thanksgiving.

Thank you for your advice! It's great to be part of a group where we're all in the same time frame of surgery and can support each other.

I've started exercising as well......i do lead a pretty sedentary life but i push myself to at least get some aerobics and toning in every day.

With 3cc in the band, i don't really feel much restriction. It takes me less than 15 minutes to complete a meal and i've got no problem getting in much more than the 1/2 cup some here have difficulty getting down. These next 6 weeks are going to be long ones.

I'm getting a little frustrated...I know we are all different, but I keep seeing that everyone has lost anywhere from 25-40+ pounds. My weight loss has gone soooo slow. I've only lost 5 pounds since 9-26 even though I have followed my calorie intake. I've been exercising also and know muscle will replace fat and the weight will not show down.

Just out of curiosity, how many calories do ya'll eat? I just thought it would go so much quicker than this because I've gone from 3000-7000 calories a day to 1200.

My surgeon has me on 800 calories / day. I see him tomorrow for my first fill. I've lost 14 lbs in 7 weeks and that is 2 lbs/wk which is what the doc told me to expect. I lost 12 lbs before surgery working with a trainer for a total of 26 lbs since I decided to change my life. Some people here had a band and plication (an additional procedure to restrict the stomach space). As long as I am losing at all, I try to see the positives. My clothes are looser. I feel better. I've gotten rid of one med. Exercise is key for me. If I slack off of it at all, my weight loss drops off as well. Maybe check with your surgeon's office nutritionist and see if she has any advice. Stick with it! We'll get there.

Today I hit a milestone. I now weigh what I weighed July 2010. I am trying to set little mini-milestones to keep my motivation up. My first goal was to get under 300 lbs. I accomplished that 4 weeks after surgery. At 7 weeks, I have hit this 2nd goal. My next goal is to weigh 270 lbs which is what I weighed in 1996. At 2 lbs / week, I should hit that by the end of February. Does anyone else have these little milestones or do you have your eyes on the final prize?

Janice, I have little milestones I keep in my mind. Fifty pounds lost by Christmas, which I think is going to happen, and getting into the other side of the closet with a size smaller pants by then. Congrats on making your milestone.

And just wanted to say, this is my favorite thread here where we have gotten to know each other and are in similar places in our journey. We are a great group as Sept 2011 bandsters.

Today I hit a milestone. I now weigh what I weighed July 2010. I am trying to set little mini-milestones to keep my motivation up. My first goal was to get under 300 lbs. I accomplished that 4 weeks after surgery. At 7 weeks, I have hit this 2nd goal. My next goal is to weigh 270 lbs which is what I weighed in 1996. At 2 lbs / week, I should hit that by the end of February. Does anyone else have these little milestones or do you have your eyes on the final prize?

I'm doing the same, Janice. Right now, my goal is 260 by 1/1/12. I am currently 274, so... hopefully! If I keep up at my current pace, I can make it.

But yeah, I found that breaking things up into mini goals is really helpful.

Is anyone else keeping measurements? Someone told me to take my measurements before surgery, because sometimes dropping inches is more easily measurable than dropping pounds. I have to say, that's true. When I "stalled" on the transition to regular fills, I was still dropping inches. It was a way to help avoid frustration.

NSV today! I did a 2 mile fun run on base today and finished it! There were not a whole lot of people behind me but there were some and s few of them were active duty service members! They had a free slurpee truck and I actually had the small one after the run and it tasted so good!

Way to go, Dawn!! You did great.

I threw this topic out on the general forum, but I'd love to get input from everyone in this group as well, since we're all on the same time frame with our bands. I've definitely got more to lose than most (if not all) of the group, and I'm having to earn every lb I lose.

I have an opportunity to go to Hawaii in February with my family, and I'm really leaning towards not going - and the main reason is that I'll still be huge. Even if I'm optimistic about how much I can loose before February, I will still be at least 100lbs overweight. I won't be able to do a lot of the things I want to do, like kayak and zip lines because I'll still be too heavy. Can anyone relate to my anxieties on this? Am I letting my weight hold me back from living my life? I'm so confused about something that should be simple. I'm afraid if I don't go, I won't have another opportunity to go again, since I was divorced a year ago - and it's not somewhere I'd go by myself. In a perfect world, I'd have a choice between this year and next year - but the world is not perfect, and it seems to be now or who knows when!

Way to go, Dawn!! You did great.

Thanks! I walk/jog a lot but today the fronts of my thighs are hurting! I guess I ran faster than I normally do, I don't know but they are sore, lol.

Today I am only do the mile walk for Pancreatic Cancer instead of the 5k run. But next year, watch out, my running shoes will be on!

Hi Pugs

I think you should go. I'm 5'2" 240 currently so prob more than 100lbs by all those charts. I fit in a plane. I wear a bathing suit. Since I hit my 40s I do everything I can. I just don't have the inhibitions I had when I was younger. I wouldn't make the zipline weight but I could get in a kayak. The world is full of different sized shaped people. Embrace what you love about your body and focus on that You should go and enjoy. Feb is still months away and such

great motivation to keep your eye on the prize. Take every

opportunity in life to enjoy it. Don't hold back