Well ABC (August Band Crew) members we have made it to the end of our banding month. Each and every member has been very supportive during our procedures and the post-op period, but now is when we will REALLY need to lean on each other for support more than ever. Now the real work of working the band begins and I am sure we will all run into a hurdle or two or three (you get the point) along the continued journey. So, here we go!

Please post your short term weight loss goal for October 1st. I think little goals are where we should start for now so we don't get too overwhelmed.

:gluck: and to all.

I guess it is inevitable. I'm at day 12 and suddenly feel so hungry. I'm on liquids for 9 more days (the straight to solids) and I think I may need to cheat and add some mushies. I still feel like I fill up easier. But the hunger comes back so much sooner. Like after an hour I'm ready to eat again. I hoped I'd be a no-fill type. Although, how can you really judge restriction until you've had solid food, right?

I guess it is inevitable. I'm at day 12 and suddenly feel so hungry. I'm on liquids for 9 more days (the straight to solids) and I think I may need to cheat and add some mushies. I still feel like I fill up easier. But the hunger comes back so much sooner. Like after an hour I'm ready to eat again. I hoped I'd be a no-fill type. Although, how can you really judge restriction until you've had solid food, right?

My Dr. allows us to eat mushies starting day 3, I think I started around day 5. I don't know if I could have survived this long on just liquids, so you are very, very disciplined. Good Job!

I still have the same restriction as I did on day 3, so I can only take in about 4oz. at a time. I never have anything to drink with any meal, however my lunch seems to pass through and digest the fastest, breakfast and dinner last a long time. I added a low carb, low sugar, protein supplement (from a previous diet) at about 3pm and it seems to work for me perfectly. It's cappacino flavored so its like my afternoon pick me up.

I don't want to suggest you go against your Dr.'s wishes. Try call and telling the nurse that you are getting too hungry and want to eat every hour. I bet she will tell you, you can add a few things.....

Um, confession. In the spirit of moving into mushies. I just had a small dairy queen cocoa fudge sundae.

oops.

It was, quite seriously, the most AMAZING thing ever!!

So Faybie, you do mushies with nothing to drink. Maybe I should try that until I move to solids. I haven't been avoiding drinking since, well, all I do is drink my food.

Um, confession. In the spirit of moving into mushies. I just had a small dairy queen cocoa fudge sundae.

oops.

It was, quite seriously, the most AMAZING thing ever!!

tee hee! I won't tell..... I will be having a dairy queen vanilla cone soon. It's a bit out of the way or I would have already done so.... =P

I have been doing terribly. Since the 3rd or 4th I have been able to eat whatever I want with no restriction at all. I started eating solids because mushies weren't cutting it. I have no problem with them other than mental I feel like I shouldn't be eating that yet, but I'm not satisfied any other way.

I try to do liquids for breakfast/lunch/throughout the day, but I do eat "real food" for dinner. Albeit much less than before, so why am I feeling so guilty? I don't feel anything different, so am hoping I haven't done any damage.

I get my first fill on Friday and can barely wait!

Oh and BTW, can anyone else feel their port and is it tender in that area still? (banded on 8/24).

I have been doing terribly. Since the 3rd or 4th I have been able to eat whatever I want with no restriction at all. I started eating solids because mushies weren't cutting it. I have no problem with them other than mental :girl_hug: I feel like I shouldn't be eating that yet, but I'm not satisfied any other way.

I try to do liquids for breakfast/lunch/throughout the day, but I do eat "real food" for dinner. Albeit much less than before, so why am I feeling so guilty? I don't feel anything different, so am hoping I haven't done any damage.

I get my first fill on Friday and can barely wait!

Oh and BTW, can anyone else feel their port and is it tender in that area still? (banded on 8/24).

I can still feel my port and I was banded on the 15th. Every time I bend over for more than a second it starts to hurt. I think it just happens to be in a location where my belly roll creases when I bend (Sorry for the nasty visual, LOL!!) I can feel the hard scar tissue around it.

I'm thinking of getting my second fill as well. I'm giving it to the end of this week to see how I feel and if I lose any. I haven't lost anything in over a week. I'm doing the treadmill three times a week, (never exercised prior to surgery), eating about a cup of food per meal, (trying to keep it low fat, high protein) and trying to drink a lot of water. I thought I should increase my liquids and see how that goes. It feels like I'm swimming now!!! I'm weighing myself again on Friday, if I didn't lose, I'm calling the doctor.

Hope everyone is doing okay. BTW, I sort of had an ice cream cone. My two year old had one and I had to keep "cleaning up" the dripping ice cream so he wouldn't be a mess. Ah, a mother's work...:biggrin1:

So Faybie, you do mushies with nothing to drink. Maybe I should try that until I move to solids. I haven't been avoiding drinking since, well, all I do is drink my food.

I haven't had anything to drink with any meal since banding including my liquids. I really do think this helps me stay full longer. I thought it would be hard to do and it was hard the first week just because its a natural reaction to reach for your drink. I would accidentally reach for my tea or water on occassions. Now, if im at home or work, I make sure nothing is near. If I am at a restaurant, I make them take away the glass. The waiter usually thinks I am crazy and I have had one manager walk over and make sure I was being taken care of properly. LOL.

I have been doing terribly. Since the 3rd or 4th I have been able to eat whatever I want with no restriction at all. I started eating solids because mushies weren't cutting it. I have no problem with them other than mental :girl_hug: I feel like I shouldn't be eating that yet, but I'm not satisfied any other way.

I try to do liquids for breakfast/lunch/throughout the day, but I do eat "real food" for dinner. Albeit much less than before, so why am I feeling so guilty?

I had something that wasn't necessarily "diet" like last night and felt guilty all night until this morning when I was discussing it with my husband. A light bulb went off, I didn't choose the band because I wanted to not eat regular food the rest of my life.

I had a half of a handful of what I was eating, where normally I would have a HUGE bag all to myself. As I look back, I have absolutely no reason to feel guilty or upset. I was completely satisfied with my half of handful and that is JUST AMAZING.

I'm down 25 pounds as of today and very happy with the band. I too am eating things I shouldn't be. Like a vanilla frosty from wendys! It was a SMALL! hahaha. I want a fill for sure though. My next appt is Oct 3rd so that'll be the 2 month anniversary of having the band. I can eat anything I want right now. Bread, pasta, rice. Anything! I do find it harder to eat anything but mushies in the morning. I still haven't PB'd but I have had the tight feeling in my throat and chest. Do NOT like that.

You're all doing great!!!

Hi August Band-ettes.....

Sounds like everyone's kind of going through the same thing. Feeling hungry, waiting for the first fill, feeling guilty.

One of the things that helps me with the guilts is to post all my "food" on Fitday.com. I find that I'm not eating as much as I think. I've been pretty much keeping at 1,000 cals p/day. A far cry from the 2,800 I was eating pre-band.

Well, I had an exciting day today. My first day on mushies (although I did have some for dinner last night - confession is good for the soul), and I had scrambled egg beaters with feta cheese. OH ... it was like the best thing I ever ate.

Here's a question...how can you have mushie chicken? I need protein and I am not that hot on cottage cheese. What have you mushie eaters been doing?

tee hee! I won't tell..... I will be having a dairy queen vanilla cone soon. It's a bit out of the way or I would have already done so.... =P

Be very very careful! I had a soft serve cone on the boardwalk in Atlantic City when I was in the mushies phase and boy oh boy my body did not like that. I had cramps and uh....well....no pb'ing....but it did come out...if you get my drift.

Hey PR--I have a confession too! I have started on solids a little early! I just had to have some solids yesterday--so I had some, then ate liquids for the rest of the day. Today I have been even worse!!! Oh well, hopefully doing it just three days early won't be too bad!

For any Ortiz patients---I am getting a fill on October 21st. My plane lands in San Diego at 9:30 am and then I'll be leaving same day at 5:00pm. If anyone is going around then, maybe we can share a taxi, trolley, etc... I may be meeting up with one other person--so the more the merrier!! If interested let me know!:girl_hug:

Everyone keep up the good work--we're doing great!

For those of you with 5 cc bands how much did you get at your first fill?

I'm getting a fill on Monday so I'm really just wondering how much to expect.

Well, i had my first fill today. It was quick and painless. They put in 1.5 cc. It was really cool to watch. I am on clear liquids for 24 hours, full liquids for three days, and mushy three days after that. Then, I will be on regular food. :clap2: