Hello Lapbanders! I have been banded for a year this month. Went for my yearly check up and got a small fill. Things are really going well and I am very happy with my band. I am always looking for information about the band because I firmly believe that knowledge is the key to success. I am very active on a few other lapband sites and this one gets mentioned a lot! So here I am. Look forward to meeting new friends!

Hi - I'm happy to hear that you're doing so well a year in. That's awesome - congratulations! I just posted before reading yours that I'm five days in (versus your 365+ days in) and I'm having a hard time today. I think I'm hungry and I'm feeling down. Just curious if you went through that and how you worked through it in the early days if you did. Thanks for inspiring...

Hi Allison.... congrats on your surgery! You did it! I looked at your profile, and you don't have that much to lose which is good because once you start taking off the weight, you will feel better about yourself and have the motivation to keep going! I did not have any symptoms of depression, but I have read where some do. It could be just effects of the surgery, but keep an eye out for it. Especially if you have not had symptoms prior to! Stay connected to people here on the site. Nobody knows what you are going through better than other lapbanders! Support is key throughout the whole process.

You will start feeling hunger shortly afterwards. And you will be even more hungry once the swelling from the surgery goes away in about another 2-3 weeks! It surprised me and I wasn't prepared. So keep your head in the game and keep motivated to diet, diet, diet until you get enough fills that you start to feel restriction. It's different for everybody, but it took me 4-5 fills (about 5 months out) to even start to have restriction! I plateaued in the 180's for 6 months! But I wasn't discouraged. The band made itself known when I ate too fast, took big bites, didn't chew well, etc.

Right now, just concentrate on the liquids/very soft wet foods with protein! Protein and fat which will keep you from getting hungry too fast. Stay away from carbs as much as possible as the body turns them to sugar and then you want more a few hrs later. That's how most of us got fat to begin with! So do those Protein shakes and puddings, cream Soups, etc. Put your Protein powder in coffee or tea, whatever you can figure out how to get it in. For fat, I use coconut oil. Just a tsp up to 1 tblsp helps. But not all day obviously! So you don't get constipated.... lots of Water obviously and then most use Miralax (Clearlax at Walmart!). Works great until you can start eating solid foods.

Start moving around.... walk, walk, walk! Eating the right foods, at the right time and exercise will be your standard routine from here on out. So get your head in the game! If you need more help with nutrition, dieting and exercise, try joining SparkPeople.com. There are 2 Lapband teams out there. Great bunch of people. And Spark has some great diet, nutrition and exercise info. Love Spark! Look me up.... Mdgardengirl!

Hope this helps. Keep in touch!