Surgery on Dec 12th everything went great. Dr. fixed a few things wrong with me and I feel GREAT!!! It took me four years to come to this decision to lap band. I had to have emergency surgery after my hysterectomy four years ago and it happened to be Dr. Machado doing the surgery. She told me I was a perfect candidate for the surgery.

Four years later here I am....HUNGRY!!! I am afraid of stretching out my pouch. How much and how fast should I be drinking protein and water? Can I eat, wait, then eat again? I am hungry and I need to be able to function at work (use my brain) Is it super easy to stretch it out or is it something that happens when you don't follow protocol? I am happy and lost 13 Lbs already and haven't gotten my first fill yet. Hopefully on the 11th of January I will. I am hoping that I won't be as hungry after that.

Cannot wait to be somewhat "skinny" hahahahaha

You won't stretch your pouch at this stage. You have no fills, so the food is not staying in your pouch.

You need to follow the "diet" your Dr. tells you to follow. If you have eaten in the way the Dr. tells you and you are still hungry, ask yourself it is is true hunger or "head hunger". You may go through a very hungry stage (Bandster Hell) untill you have a couple fills. Untill then you need to "diet".

Okay, thank you. I am learning the difference between head hunger and tummy hunger. It is a hard process. I have lost 16lbs so far so that is good. This must just be my hungry stage. I figured that the food wasn't staying in the pouch but am paranoid as i am so excited about this new journey in my life. Dieting sucks!!! hahahahaha Trying to follow the Doc's plan exactly. Is there such a thing as too much Protein and should I be drinking protein when I am hungry if I have reached the 60 -80 grams a day already? I notice that Water helps too, but am afraid of drinking too much and stretching.

Thanks for your advice.

protein is key ......you will get sick of the shakes and things, but you will find that even if the protein puts you over your calories or anything else you are counting, the weight will still melt away. I drank many many many protein shakes in the first year. .....Breakfast, "snack", or just when I felt like I needed something. I never considered a protein drinks any sort of a "cheat".

I stuck to my doc's rule of shakes should be 150 cal or lower and 15 or more grams of protein. If you get sick of the milky type order some Nectar brand fruit flavs.

The most difficult time of the day is when i cook for my family. Everything smells so good and I get angry that I can't have any. Then my mind starts telling me i am hungry. gggrrrr It is good that there is this forum where i can talk to experienced banders. Makes me feel even more confident that I can do this. Does the needle for the fill hurt?

For me the needle isn't bad at all. It's like getting a shot in general. Once the needle pokes through the skin you don't feel it because it's inside the port. It is really much nicer than I thought it would be.

It's tough at first when others around you eat things you can't, but it gets so much better. Now those foods that other people in my family eat don't bother me at all. Just last night I cooked a very nice meal for my family that was all things I can't eat. I was happy to cook a tasty meal for them ...... it made me feel good. I made myself a little salad with some Protein in it and got satisfied just fine.

Much of the first part of the journey is attitude. You have to think positive. Instead of thinking, "poor me, I can't eat that anymore." , say to yourself, "It's a good thing I can't eat that anymore because that stuff made me fat."

Very good advice. thanks!!!