This has been discussed into the ground, but I want final clarification as to when we should stop drinking liquid before eating.

My doc said stop drinking liquids 1/2 hour before eating, which I've always done (and if memory serves me well, that's how we do it on this board??) However, after reading on the other board that people drink right up until they take their first bite, I'd like some feedback. Their theory is that liquid passes right through to the bottom stomach, so it helps make the bottom stomach feel full. They don't feel it's necessary to wait 1/2 hour to eat. Then again, they're only eating 1.5 cups of food per day, and in my opinion anyone would shed weight no matter when liquid is consumed with that restricted intake.

Does anyone here (that doesn't follow strict caloric intake) have significant weight loss and success by drinking water right up until you start eating? It would sure make life easier.

what other board are you all talking about that is so negative???

This is a total guess, but I "think" it is Smartbandsters

okay...thanks...I frequent obesity.com lapband board so I was hoping it wasn't that one, cause the people there are great....like here....

Obesityhelp.com is awesome.. It is what started my whole process with this band. I have a profile there. I am not sure how you look at it, I mean I can, but I am not sure how to tell you to look at mine. Member name is Terry Evans. I spill my guts out whenever I feel like I need to type on it. I still don't know how to get my picture on there. I need to update it. I have read how to get my picture on here, but get interupted so often I just give up. Maybe someone out there can say it so simple I could understand what to do. Guess I am not to smart. I put a picture on this site once and it came out huge. that was embarassing. I am eating like a pig.... I really need some help. I am beginning to feel like I used to when I thought everything was hopeless. I talk big, and try to help others and now when it comes to me, I am falling like a star out of the sky.:think :think I really don't know what I am doing wrong. I am watching what I eat, protein first, etc. But I am NOT losing. So lets hear the advice.

Terry,

When was your last fill? Could that be why you are not losing right now? I know once I had my fill I started losing again (2 pounds a weeks since my fill) Drinking alot of water is key for me too, the more I drink the more I lose it seems. What about exercise? Sometimes even though were are eating right if we don't exercise we wont lose . I'm fortunate to have only been banded 3 months so the weight is coming off with minimal exercise but I know as I get futher out the weight loss will slow down and I will have to kick in with the exercise more frequently. Just my thoughts..

Good Luck

You have had an awesome weight loss! Please give yourself a big pat on the back. I, also spill my guts here. It's so wonderful to realize that you don't have to do this alone. We're here for you, just like you'll be here for us. What part of Texas is Zephyr located in?

I don't even remember when my last fill was. I went to Austin to get one,and my surgeon said no..... I had lost a few lbs and he thought I didn't need it. Ironically, I gained about 8 lbs since then and have worked hard to get them back off... Now I have gained back again. so I am yo-yoing with the same 4 to 8 lbs. that can't be good. I talked to my surgeon recently, because I was just petrified I had erosion or band slippage. I still don't know for sure what the burning in my tummy is. I went to him and he sort of acted like I was wasting his time... Really ticked me off. All he wanted to talk about was the new people coming into Austin that are going to do fills for "anyone" under fluro. He thinks they are just in it for money, etc. (worried about his money i guess) I kept trying to make him understand that i was concerned about my band because my stomach really burned , etc.. but from talking to me he decided that I must have an ulcer. so he wanted to set up another Endoscopy , and I just can't keep driving 2½ hours one way to have consultations and then go back for the Endoscopy. I tried to make him understand that I didn't have any vacation time or sick time left, but he said he couldn't make it happen that day. (looking at my band) since then I have gone to just a regular MD and he gave me some medicine and it seems to be helping the burning in my tummy. But..... I am eating way more that i used to, and i am convinced now that maybe the surgeon was right, I have an ulcer and i need to wait to get a fill. I can tell my stomach is a little fatter and i am just a little panicky, after all, I have never had control over my excessive eating, and obviously i still don't. And no, I haven't been exercising. the last time I rode my bike, I came home to my favorite little dog having a seizure and she died. i felt like if I hadn't been gone I could have saved her. An excuse, maybe, but it has been really, really hard on me to lose her. Man, I may cry now... Sorry this is so long... I really need to talk... i wish we lived closer and could have a slumber party like girls used to and just talk, talk, talk.... I did get one of those above ground inflatable pools and I exercise in it. Believe it or not, i shake and wiggle in that little thing until I am actually almost winded. It is just a little depressing to see people that had the surgery in 2004 already passing what I have done.. Don't get me wrong, I am super happy for them... I just need to get my self together and get with it again.

Zephyr Texas is just a few miles from the geographical center and is know as "Central Texas" If you know where Brownwood is, it is 10 miles from there. Texas is so big...

Well, hope you aren't tired of reading this .

Terry, I can relate to your situation, particulary about your doctor not giving you the attention he should have. Knowing you were driving several hours, he should have been prepared to do any and all testing. That really burns me. I'm losing slow and steady, but I know there will be days when I struggle. I'm still struggling with eating slow and small. Lately I've been burning the candle at both ends and missing sleep. When I'm deprived of sleep, I feel hung over and nervous, and when I'm like that, all my good food behaviors go down the drain. I'm putting huge portions on my plate, and even though I throw away a lot, I know I'm eating more than I should because I'm feeling odd sensations around my band, also. Then again, my port removal incision is still trying to heal so maybe that's what bothers me. Either way, I worry and fret about my band every time my stomach feels afunk. But I'm done worrying. I'll have to keel over in pain before wondering if I have slippage, because I'm driving myself batty. And I'm so in love with my animals that I'd be devasted in your situation. But you have to stop blaming yourself on your dog and continue living. We all only get a short time here, so regardless of when or how he went to the angels, you still have to go on. I worked my butt off in the pool yesterday myself. Actually feel sore thighs and calves. Take it easy on yourself. xo

Thanks Delarla,

I appreciate you and everyone on this board and I am soooo glad I found it.... I am struggling with bad choices right now... Breakfast is a good example... I can usually only eat about 1/2 an egg , sometimes the whole one and a piece of bacon... Sunday.....I ate 2 eggs and 2 bacon strips and might have eaten more but got up... Then I went to town to do some stuff and at lunch I ate a pint of "real" ice cream.. then I came home and ate about 1/2 of a pork chop.... I didn't eat anymore till night time and I ate a huge bowl of homemade chicken and noodles. I weighed 213 this morning... My lowest weight is 204, which means I have gained 9 lbs... But I am having to do some stressful stuff right now so I am going to try to not be so hard on my diet. But I am going to start my old thinking again and stop the real ice cream, etc...(beer, and pina colada's I didn't mention) The other stuff shouldn't hurt me.. I have been drinking way to many pina colada's with alcohol and virgin ones too. they are Real high in calories... But darn I love them... They go down so well with a burning belly.

My daughter had a wreck Friday you guys... She had a 2004 Mazda Tribute and an older Calillac hit her in the side. She was turning (her fault) going about 4 miles an hour and he was speeding and he hit her so hard it flipped her car into the air and it landed upside down. On the good side of this, the seat belt held her in tight and it has a roll bar, and it didn't hurt her much at all. Thank God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She had 8 stitches in her elbow and that is it. The reason I am even telling this, is because I get so wrapped up in this weight loss, lap band , stuff that it consumes my life literally. I get pissy if I gain, I worry if my belly burns, I over react lately to everything.I drive everyone around me crazy saying, "Do I look like I have gained, wonder why I haven't lost any, do you think I will lose anymore, etc........ God helped me put things back into perspective, and I realize that it wouldn't matter if I weigh 700 lbs (you know what I mean) as long as my family is ok, and etc. It brought me to my knees, I am humbled and appreciative of my wonderful life I have been blessed with. I won the life lottery...lol..... I am so lucky... I am sorry for getting so carried away about what I look like and how much I weigh. Don't get me wrong, I care about it, but I needed to calm down. I don't know. Maybe the new attention made me want to strive harder to lose more, and then I got impatient. Wanted to lose more and lose if faster.... Anyway, girls, (and guys) when you get to this point, be careful and don't run the people that love you away , don't get carried away... This is an important journey, but don't let it consume you....

Like I said, I am lucky.... I got brought back to earth....without damage..lol....too much anyway..

Terry Evans

Terry: I am so thankful that your daughter was not injured severely in the car wreck. That is a scary issue. I will keep both you and your family in my prayers.

Glad your daughter got a couple stiches and nothing more! Lucky girl.

Body image: I live in the desert where in summer the temp averages 110 for months on end. I used to hide my arms cause I hate them, but years back I said "screw it" and let them flap in the wind in tank tops, but I always held them at my sides so nobody could see the underside/underarm area where the flab & stretchmarks are really jiggly. However, I've lost 40 pounds and I don't want to care any more, so yesterday I swam with a bunch of friends & teens in my pool. I was flaying my arms all over, throwing kids, playing volleyball, tanning my armpits! I noticed people would peek as if they weren't really looking at my flappy arms as I waved them or played beach ball. They must look pretty gross to them, but the more I raise my arms in public, the faster people will get used to seeing white, jiggly, marked flesh, and the faster they'll stop looking at us like we're freaks.

GREAT ATTITUDE! WE CAN ALL LEARN FROM IT....

Also!!! You are a pretty girl Delarla, most people will look at the flappy arms first, and then they look at the person, and then, amazingly, they don't see the flappy arms anymore.. ... Only the person inside them... By the way, flappy (lol), you can call me "apple belly". I look half decent everywhere until I stand up and you see this floppy, hanging down over my "area" belly.... Only, it is still big and floppy too... Hmmmmmmmm how about that visual? We may as well laugh.......Can't change it yet!!!! Yet, is the key word here..........lol:p

Hey Lisa,

Thats funny about your arms. Since I have always been heavy, like everyone else I want to be comfortable. I have always worn shorts and tank tops without even hesitating. Funnier yet I have never found a bra that fits comfortable. They always roll up my back and it feels strangling. I am not big chested so I have always just gone bra-less. I figure if people don't like what they see they can look somewhere else. LOL. I am also the neighborhood nudist. I live in a 4 plex (2 on top and 2 on the bottom), I also have a hot tub. I refuse to where a bathing suit in my tub. I will turn off all the lights, wait for it to get really dark and run and JUMP in. I am sure I have been glimsed at in my escapades at some point but I refer back to my earlier philosophy. I startled one shy male neighbor so bad he didn't come out of the laundry room for an hour, I swear.... LOL. Poor fellow, and he had 3 little girls and a wife so I didn't figure he would be too shocked. I do try to be somewhat discreet but accidents happen. Best wishes, Teresa

You crack me up, Teresa! I thought I was the only fat nudest! I swam in shorts and t-shirts since childhood. The day I bought my first house was the day I turned nudist. I've been busted nakey a couple times, but you are right, it makes them stop looking! They are more embarrassed than me. Hah!

Sacijo, thank you, and you're too cute! How are we pronouncing your name? My dog is Sachi, but we call her Sachi Joe or Snapper Joe. I keep thinking I'm talking to her here.

Yesterday I wore 22s but today I'm wearing my old 26 jeans. But what's funny is that they're getting trapped in my sandals. When we lose weight, our clothes get longer. I've always had trouble finding pants that come to my ankles so I can only buy tall sizes. Tall sizes only come in basics - jeans, black & blue slacks, an occasional beighe. But now my tall pants are gettting to long because they're hanging low... clothes sliding down the body RULES.