Hi November bandsters!

Let's keep this going to support our efforts though out the wonderful we are soon to begin. Let's start with the date we are being banded and where?

Our weight and goal weight...

My date will be November 7

Dr. Aceves

I weighed myself this morning and I have gained!!! :faint:

Starting weight 225 (highest ever!!! )

Goal 150

10/26 Jdru (Jessica) 215/215/125 Dr. Hansen (Honorary Nov Bandster)

11/1 melany72 Dr. Hargroder

11/2 DeniseC (Denise) 226/219/130 Dr. Carbonell

11/2 prbrooksie 252/252/150 Dr. Malley

11/2 Kym828 (Kim) 278/278/175 Dr. Ortiz

11/2 pebbles4388 249/249/150

11/3 Jess333 (Jessica ("Lil" Red)) Dr. Ortiz

11/7 AngelaT (Angela) 225/225/150 Dr. Aceves

11/7 Jackye 225/225/150-45 Dr. Rumbaut

11/8 L8BloomR (Karen) goal: -105 Dr. Francis

11/8 dpingl goal: -92 Dr. Hoehn

11/8 niecyrenee goal: -232, down 8 Dr. Pitt

11/9 Keekahari (Kee) 280/245/175 Dr. Moazzez

11/10 FullofGRACE Dr. Curry

11/10 alix_1 (Alix) 222/222/140 Dr. Garza

11/13 swilborn (Sherrie) Size 22/???/140 Dr. Rodriquez

11/14 ahaizlip (Amy) goal: -129 Dr. Liu

11/17 Asmallerchick (Kelly) goal: -200 Dr. Aceves

11/20 Diana_G 234/234/145 Dr. Huacuz

11/20 Veggestyle 275/?/150 Dr. M

11/20 Laurba

11/21 Jess02 (Jess) Dr. Rumbaut

11/24 aussie_bandit 153kg/153kg/75kg

11/30 Inner_me (Chris) 350/350/200 Dr. Cahill

I'm not griping about losing 15 pounds. I'm griping because the 15 pounds were before and immediately after surgery, but now I'm just struggling no to regain it! Looking forward to my fill......

quote]

I hope I did not imply Griping. That was not my intention. So what is everyones goal? expectations?

I've been pretty hungry too, and I've found 2 things that work pretty well for me. First - egg drop soup. It's kind of thick and has lots of protein, so that keeps me full for a while. And for flavor I put in a ton of tabasco - but I've been doing that with everything. (I'm still on liquids). Also soft boiled eggs hit the spot for me. Smash them up with a little butter - yummy. Again - high protein and warm and gooey.

Hi Marni,

I've lost 10 lbs since leaving hospital last Thur and can't believe how fast it's coming off but I know it'll start to taper off soon.

I'd be more than happy at losing a stone a month but this might be asking a lot too so as long as the scales keep moving in the right direction I'll be happy.

I think I'd get disheartened with losing 1-2lbs a week as I'm only on 800 cals/day though but seeing the scales moving is an incentive to keep being good.

Take care,

Yvonne

x

Yvonne,

What's a stone equal to in pounds? I keep seeing this on posts from UK, Australia. Thanks for the eductional assistance.

Hi mamamanikay,

A stone is 14 lbs

Yvonne

x

I totally understand how everyone is feeling hungry. I am beginning to start that phase too, and I will not be able to get a fill until January 5th. I am struggling with how to deal with it, I dont have much advice besides keeping healthy snacks and healthy drinks around. It is really difficult for me to exercise right now b/c it is freezing outside here with a lot of snow around, also I dont have a membership anywhere (really cant afford it)....

Cassandra,

One way I keep my exercise going during inclement weather is video tapes. Kathy Smith and Leslie Sansone are two of the fitness instructors that have produced indoor walking tapes and there are probably others. If you're a member of a local video club, those types of stores usually have exercise videos availble for rent/purchase. On occasion, I also order exercise videos from http://www.collagevideo.com/

Hi mamamanikay,

A stone is 14 lbs

Yvonne

x

Hmmm. I think we should adopt this in this country. 4 stones overweight sounds so much better than 60 pounds. After all, 4 is less than 60.

(Kind of like the old joke: which is heavier, a ton of metal or a ton of feathers.)

Tom

Okay I am just curious if anyone else is experiencing what I am and if it will last (God I hope so ). I am only 10 days out from surgery, have lost 13.5 lbs . It hasnt been that long ago that I was this weight, but now my energy levels are way up. The fatigue I had before is gone. I want to get out and go and do things. I want to clean house. (I want to do alot of things I am sure I shouldn't be doing yet ) Is this energy normal? Will it last? Is anyone else experiencing it? I love this feeling . I haven't felt this good in about 100 pounds. I am just hoping it will last til I get 100 pounds (or more) off. Would really love some feedback on this. :director: Thanks

Hi,

I fell off the wagon last night and had a chinese chow mein. Now that I know I can eat without any problems it's going to be much harder to stick to a liquid/mushies diet for the next 3 months till my first fill. :help:

Anyone else having problems?

I'm trying to be good today, last night wasn't about hunger - more just wanting. I'm fed up at having to wait all this time for a fill, seems like torture when I'm reading on here that you guys are being filled much sooner.

What do you all think?

Yvonne

x

OH! Just remembered - I also put on a pound so it's like every old diet all over again - lose some then put it all back on and then some more.

Yvonne

x

Hi,

I fell off the wagon last night and had a chinese chow mein. Now that I know I can eat without any problems it's going to be much harder to stick to a liquid/mushies diet for the next 3 months till my first fill. :help:

Anyone else having problems?

I'm trying to be good today, last night wasn't about hunger - more just wanting. I'm fed up at having to wait all this time for a fill, seems like torture when I'm reading on here that you guys are being filled much sooner.

What do you all think?

Yvonne

x

3 months on liquids/mushies would drive anyone totally crazy! Each doctor clearly has their own course of treatment and it's important to follow your doctor's recommendations. I guess I was fortunate as I was not placed on a pre-op liquid diet (I had lost ~30 pounds in the 7 months preceeding surgery), only had to eat light the day before surgery with no dairy product for dinner the evening before, had nothing the day of surgery, jello the next morning and then onto a mushie diet for 2 weeks, then a week of soft food and since 3 weeks post surgery, I've been on normal foods. I do eat much smaller quantities and am careful to chew well, but I've had no complications from the food. Now, my weight loss hasn't been as dramatic as some (16 pounds in 4 weeks) but I also don't feel deprived or have the urge to eat things I'm not suppose to. I'd MUCH rather have a slower, consistent weight loss and be able to actually lose what I need to, even if it takes much longer, to not have the feeling that I'm missing something because of my diet.

I'm scheduled for my first fill at 6 weeks post banding (12/18) which is a few weeks sooner than he normally does it (usually the first fill is around 8 weeks) but since I've had no problems tolerating any foods, the surgeon feels it is the right time. I tend to agree as I do find that the same amount of food is not filling me up as well as it did a week ago. I've been pretty strong to resist the temptation to eat more as the one time I did go out with friends, I either ate too much or too fast and the pain in the chest was uncomfortable. Not intolerable but enough to remind me to slow down and eat less. I did eat 1/2 of a chocolate chip cookie yesterday at work, coincidentially brought in by someone that had the full gastric bypass in February. (She said she loves to bake but if she keeps them around the house, she'll eat them so she bakes and then brings them in for all of us to get fat on. <G>) (To give a reference, she's lost 92 pounds since surgery 9 months ago. That's just over 10 pounds a month and that's with the bypass. Her primary care doctor and surgeon are thrilled with her weight loss, as is she. Thought it kind of put into perspective our own accomplishments, especially considering the band is FAR less radical than the bypass.)

Tom

OH! Just remembered - I also put on a pound so it's like every old diet all over again - lose some then put it all back on and then some more.

Yvonne

x

So far I have been lucky. Not really hungry, not craving things, but also not trying to eat through the band. In our support groups, the doctors, dieticians, and nurses told us that the most important thing to remember is the band is a tool not a fix-all. It is important to follow the diet given to you, not cheat, and eat very very slowly. The latter one seems to really be helping me. I have learned to take really tiny bites and lay my fork/spoon down between bites, chew chew chew, and allow the food time to travel down my esophagus before I take another bite. MY nurse and doctor say that if you really want to, you can ultimately eat through the band and eat whatever you want. I am so afraid of getting something stuck or getting PB that I have not even tried things that were questionable about hanging. My only guilty pleasures were a tiny (emphasis on tiny) taste of my finace's key lime pie and my daughters chocolate cake and ice cream. And it just honestly wasn't that good. Anyway, hang in there Yvonne. Don't give up. Remember this a fight for you life and you havent even got the gloves broke in yet. And its definitely a fight worth winning!

Well, I fell off the wagon tonight. I had a nice juicy burger and vanilla milkshake and it was delicious !

And I'm paying for it. I feel pain between my shoulder blades (a result of eating too much, in my case).

But I honestly feel that falling off the wagon from time to time isn't such a bad thing. I am relearning how to eat and I am bound to mess up every now and then. It's to be expected.

Hang in there ! You have lost 10 pounds in such a very short time. You're doing great.

Well, I fell off the wagon tonight. I had a nice juicy burger and vanilla milkshake and it was delicious !

And I'm paying for it. I feel pain between my shoulder blades (a result of eating too much, in my case).

But I honestly feel that falling off the wagon from time to time isn't such a bad thing. I am relearning how to eat and I am bound to mess up every now and then. It's to be expected.

Hang in there ! You have lost 10 pounds in such a very short time. You're doing great.

I also fell off the wagon...I had some problems eating rreal food, and my aunt had a Xmas party...I ate taSTES OF EVERY SOFT THING THERE WAS TO EAT INCLUDING DESSERTS! yIKES! i HOPE i AM BACK IN CONTROL TOMORROW!

Hi Ang and fitz,

I'm so bloody relieved not to be the only one to have a wee cheat. Thanks for posting you girlies you've put my mind to rest. I didn't even enjoy the meal - but couldn't stop eating it at the time, then as soon as I was finished I hated myself and all the next day. That was yesterday and I was really good all day and lost that pound I gained - thank god.

I was just panicking thinking well I haven't been filled and can eat normally(first time I'd tried since being banded) so what's to stop me eating what I fancy all the time - like before the band. But now I realise it was just a wee slip and I was over reacting as usual - I'm a bit of a worrier!

I'm jealous of all the people out there who have been and are getting filled - I just don't understand why I have to wait so long for mine, feeling sorry for myself - slap me!

I suppose I'll have other bad days - but getting back on the diet is more important than the odd slip.

Thanks for reading and posting.

take care,

Yvonne

xxx