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.

GE Mom, I'm on purees too. I've had tuna fish with a hard boiled egg added in. That alone gets me a ton of my protein. Breakfast is usually Quaker weight loss oatmeal, lunch seafood salad or egg salad. Or I'll take a baked potato and mash up the inside with a little melted cheese and some low fat sour cream. I'm liking mushies much better than the liquids!

Hey Guys!!! I'm so glad we are going to do the monthly thing, its a great idea! I have also been stalled for the last 4 days at 25 lbs down I think we'll all start losing again once our bodies adjust to our new routines.

My Oct. 1st goal will be 8 lbs, 2 lbs per week sounds reasonable.....

Today is my first day back on real food. I had a Chick-fil-a sandwich (no pickles) and a small order of fries. I ate very slowly and tried to concentrate on chewing very well. It took me about 45 minutes to finish and now I feel FULL. This is awesome!!!!

Before my band, I would go to Chick-fil-a and get a sandwich, large fries and a 12 pack of nuggets. The nuggets I would eat in the car on the way home. When I got home I'd inhale the rest in about 5 minutes. This is so much better.

My first fill is scheduled for Sept. 20. I'd also like to lose 10 pounds by Oct. 1 but I'll be happy as long as I maintain until my fill. I just really don't want to gain anything.

Hello everyone - I haven't posted lately - I am in Nursing school and it's a bear!!! We have our first test Tuesday - I am soooooo nervous.

I was banded 8/14 and just went for my post op appointment and my scales at home said I lost 12 pounds that morning - but their scales said I had lost 8. What a bummer. I was advanced to semi solids - which they call soft foods. That is anything except red meat, popcorn, rice, tortilla chips, any uncooked vegetables, etc... I have to wait until the 10 week mark for that.

I can have any white meats, plus lean ground beef, any fruits minus skins, and anything soft - like eggs, turkey on wheat pita bread with LF mayo - yum - had that for lunch today. I am so excited to be at this stage. And I even had a very small piece of birthday cake yesterday (it was one of my instructor's birhtday). I haven't had any real problems - with eating anything except sometimes I get a lump in my throat and have to sip a bit of Water to help it pass. I did have half of a cheeseburger patty (no bread) the other day and it was so good.

My hardest thing is not drinking during meals - I have always drank lots while eating and now I do feel like I might choke or something - I hate feeling like something is stuck and I am paranoid about it so I drink.

I also was a coke - a - holic before - but haven't had any carbonated beverages since before the surgery and I am fine with it. I drink water, crystal light, tea (with splenda) and coffee.

Like a lot of you - I am at a stand still too. I was 230 at surgery - lost down to 218 - and now I am at 220 and have been there for a bit. I don't feel the restriction either like I used to and I get so hungry now. My fill isn't scheduled until the last week of Sept. so I am with Serndipity with 8 lbs as my goal for October. That will put me at 212. (Then maybe I will be brave in November and go for 13 pounds - LOL).

I want to definately be in Onederland by Christmas!!! GOOD LUCK TO US ALL!!!

Hey bug - you and I are very close in age and surgery dates - are we close in weight too - sorry you had so much trouble with Fluid weight at surgery - glad to hear it's all better.

Well guys - I have rambled on and on... time to study some more. Talk to you soon. This was a great idea to do a new thread each month and stay in touch. You all are awesome - and plus we don't have to worry about asking silly questions to the oldtimers in other threads - this one is all our own - YIPPEE!!

Hi Everyone....

Thanks for starting this thread.

We're all having that same little plateau thing going. I guess when you lose 20 pounds quickly, it's just natural for your body to have to "catch up", so to speak. I feel better, knowing that it's happening to everyone. I've been stuck at the same place for a week, too.

Hang in there everyone. Concentrate on your looser clothing or non scale victories or anything other than the scale. It's hard, I KNOW. Boy, do I know. It'll come off. It always does. If we work the band like everyone else here on the site, we'll break those plateaus eventually.

We have to "band together"! Pun intended.

All that being said, I'm still going for five pounds this month, with a goal weight of 227 by September 30.

Hugs all around to all the ABC crew.

I also just want to remind everyone what the "old-banders" say--the first 6-8 weeks is mainly for healing--not necessarily to lose weight! But--I think we have all set very reasonable goals for the month of September--so we just totally rock!:rockon: Maybe reading all the other threads has helped us be more realistic--or maybe we are just waiting for our first fills to see dramatic or progressive weight loss.

Keep up the good work!:cheer2:

Congrats to everyone :clap2: I try to keep up with all the posts but have been having a rough time. Well I'm down 18lbs since surgery 8-9-06 and now on solid foods. Very small amounts of good quality foods. I actually love it, i have been eating fish, chicken and lots of veggies, so far my fav is grilled mushroom and onions YUM :hungry:

Well I'm gonna try and set a goal for October 1st for 15lbs it might be alot but I think it will help push me.

Hey guys,

I am going to set a goal of 10lbs by october 1. I too have hit quite a plateau. ...frustrating. Didn't lose anything last week and bounced from 14 lbs down back to 10 lbs down now back to 14 lbs down again.....Hope I start to lose again soon. I did have a bit of a set back. I was at work on Monday and carrying a stack of papers to a meeting. My Water bottle slid off the papers onto the floor and when I bent down to pick it up, i felt like i tore a stitch inside or something. I have been in tremendous pain since. Went to the ER yesterday, per the weight loss center and saw the doc. He said I've just been over doing it. I have been pushing myself quite a bit...so laides, please take it easy. I feel like I'm in more pain now that I was 3 days post-op! Labor Day weekend plans are scratched because of it...i'll just be laying low on the couch. Be careful everyone...remember, you're still raw in there...don't overestimate what you can do so soon after surgery.

Glad to see everyone is doing well though!!!! Keep up the good work everyone!!!

I'm supposed to still be on pureed foods until week 6. I'm having a problem with dinners. I'm doing the high Protein shake for Breakfast, yogurt or shake for lunch, but dinner is a challenge. What are y'all doing for dinners in the mushy stage?

I am on full liquids (anything you can drink through a straw). I have really been craving protein lately and am not a big fan of the protein powders. WARNING - The following sounds gross!!! I have pureed/liquified roast chicken and port tenderloin (at differant times, not together) to date. It doesn't look like much, but the taste is heavenly and it is PACKED with protein. I am sure if those meats taste good liquified, then pureed would definately be good.

Also, try going to the food catagory here on LBT. There are some very interesting recipes on there for every stage of the "game".

Hope this helps!

Hello again!

I can't believe we're all battling the post surgical plateau! I thought I'd be one of the few but it's wonderful (not that we're plateuing) that we're at the same place at the same time. The coordinator for my doctor in Mexico e-mailed me today and in my reply to her told her that my weight loss had stalled. She said it is extremely common and that after the first fill I would notice a difference.

With that known, I'm wondering if I should lower my goal? I'll have to give that some thought over the weekend. I'll be working all weekend so I won't have time to indulge in typical Labor Day weekend eats - good for me!

Thanks for some of the new ideas for mushies - I'll have to try them. Tonight I made a casserole of sorts using Stove Top stuffing, blended chicken and some extra chicken broth to make it super moist. I don't think there's a huge amount of Protein but something about this time of year makes me crave comfort foods. The weather here has gotten cooler and rainy and I want hearty chow!!!

Michele - way to go on nursing school!!! I just finished in May of '05 and what a relief, I'm just now getting the urge to read a book for pleasure. I've never read so much stuff in my life but that's what helped me on the tests more than anything. I followed along in the books during lecture and highlighted "important" stuff, then I'd read all the chapters a day or two before the test, and then get together with a few people the night before to quiz each other on stuff we thought might be on the tests. It worked pretty well! Good luck and I will certainly understand if you can't post too often!

Okay - Surby - where are you????:cry I truely hope everything is okay....

Talk to you all next week!

Andy Liz

hey, here's all my friends! thanks for starting this up for us losin'it.

Libra...could you give us a little more detail about your 1st fill.I don't want to be noisey,but the more info. the better. I'd love to have a better idea of what to expect.THANK YOU!!

be well everyone------chrissie

Can anyone tell me how to do the darn ticker?!?!?!

I feel so plain up there!

Well Here Everyone Is!!!

I'm Hoping This Month Brings No Weight. I've Lose 12 Pounds Since Surgery And With No Fills Coming Till Oct 1, I'm Hoping To Just Maintain

Queen we couldn't start the party without you. I'm hoping for 10lbs by Oct 1st. I lost 19lbs before surgery and only 2lbs more since then. I have a post op visit scheduled for 9/15 and hopefully a fill the following week. I currently have absolutely no restriction.

hey, here's all my friends! thanks for starting this up for us losin'it.

Libra...could you give us a little more detail about your 1st fill.I don't want to be noisey,but the more info. the better. I'd love to have a better idea of what to expect.THANK YOU!!

be well everyone------chrissie

Hey Chrissie, here is my first fill in more detail. ( I was really tired this morning, LOL) It's really pretty simple and fairly painless, I just hate being stuck with needles so I was tense.

I was put on a table that tilted 90 degrees so I was practically standing. Then my doctor cleaned the area around my port and injected something to numb the area. Then he inserted a needle with a thin tube on the end (it reminded me of my epidural when I had my son) Then they lowered the imaging screen over my stomach and my doctor showed me the band on the monitor. I had to drink a few sips of a barium solution (yuck!!!) and they could see how much was passing through the band. While looking at the screen, the doctor slowly pressed the plunger and inserted the saline through the tube. That was pretty much it. He took out the tube and put a band aid on the puncture. It didn't hurt other than the shot to numb the area, and that didn't hurt much at all.

Now I'm looking forward to some weight loss since I was stalled for a bit.

Hey Chrissie---If you go to the lap band FAQ--there is a thread in there that lets you know how to do the ticker thing. Make sure when you cut it you do not cut the url. then paste to your sig, then make sure you save sig. It is a little complicated--but that thread really explains it well!!

BTW--I did get your note--thanks! Weird about the fainting thing--never did it before from drawing blood--just the excitement of getting the band! lol

How are you feeling? Hope well!

Joliesmom--Dr. Miranda didn't tell me about the tomato Soup early! Did she even tell you (or any ORTIZ patient) when we could do mushies? The instructions pretty much go from 1 week Clear liquids, 1 week add Protein shakes, and next week add tomato soup. Do we even get a mushie stage? I sure would like it now!!! I am finally hungry!!

:hungry: :hungry: :hungry: :hungry: