Hi everyone and November 07 Bandsters in particular,

Day 13 today for me and tomorrow will be my two week anniversary since banding. Like most of you, my experience has been positive as I learn to live with my band. As a general comment I am thrilled with it and can’t imagine life without my band. Normally by about now in a diet I’d be pleased with my success, relax my guard and slip off the diet regime. But not this time, because of my band, slipping back isn’t an option for me.

Now back in the gym and on the tennis court, I’m now fully recovered. How little food I eat and how satisfied I am after small meals is amazing. For the first time in ages I feel real hunger before meals. Most of my weight loss was in week-1 but my loss during week-2 has been satisfactory too. So far I have lost 7 kg (15 lbs) since the operation. My belt is in two notches and I am wearing clothes that were too tight two weeks ago.

My doctor doesn’t believe in prescriptive post op diets, so luckily no mush and liquids phases for me. He says there is no way my band can slip the way he has it stitched around my stomach. After one week I could eat what I liked as long as it was chewed completely. So I have had an easier time than some of you.

Today was my first PB, just like I’d read on these pages. Salivating like mad, I made for the toilet and stood there wondering what to do when I just burped up the food into the toilet bowl. As easy as that. That’s an experience I don’t want to repeat, so I’ve learnt from it and will be even more careful in future.

December 1 I am scheduled for my first fill. Not sure I need it, but maybe things will have changed by them.

Thanks for all your posts and shared information. Keep up the good progress everyone.

Regards,

Phil

Thanks for the update, Phil! And congratulations on your amazing success!

I can't tell if I've had any success yet. I'm not weighing myself. My clothes feel a little bit looser but it could be my imagination.

Were you able to figure out why you PB'd? Was it the food or size of the bite or how well it was chewed?

Thanks and keep up the good work!:clap2:

Glad to hear everything is going well for you. I also will be celebrating my 2 week bandiversary tomorrow! I was banded on Nov. 5th and can 't believe how much better I feel. I am on a restrictive diet, but I don't feel deprived and I am losing quite a bit right now. When I see my Dr. on Wed he may move me to the mushy stage for Thanksgiving and the following week.

Last night I went out with some friends. We were in a Mexican restaruant and I was drinking Iced Tea and enjoying a night out. I didn't even feel bad that I couldn't eat or drink the margaritas. I did look at the menu and tried to figure out what I could eat in the future instead of my smothered chimi In years past if I was on a diet I would've talked myself out of it for a night and eaten, but with the band I had to really think about the outcome and it is worth it to wait. I was just glad to be with my friends out in public and enjoying myself.

Keep up the good work Phil and the rest of us Nov. bandsters!

Hi Phil,

Congratulations on your success and future success.

Thanks for the messages Longhorn, wnt2lose and sunshiny.

Well done wnt2lose on getting through the Mexican restaurant situation without over eating.

Power to you Longhorn. How on earth have you avoided weighing yourself? For me a daily weigh in is a positive reinforcement that I really benefit from. My weigh in at the doctors is my official weight though and I know I am 0.7 kg (1½ lbs) heavier on his scales. As for the PB cause – it was a bite of stringy chicken in pita bread. As soon as I bit into it I knew it would be trouble and I was carefully chewing it, but someone talking to me was waiting for a response - so I swallowed hurriedly and too soon and ….. you know the rest!

Well done everyone. Keep up the good work.

Cheers,

Phil

Phil:

I used to be a constant weigher whenever I was on a diet. I told myself that it didn't affect me if I didn't lose weight but it did. I'd follow my program but there would still be this negative aspect to the whole thing. I've always been a slow loser so that meant that I spent a lot of my time on a diet feeling down or disappointed or discouraged. That's bad enough for a relatively short-term diet but I'm going to be on this "diet" for the rest of my life! I decided that I do not want my measure of success to be the damn scale!

I'm as interested in losing weight as anyone else and I'd love to lose it quickly like anyone else but I just don't want the roller coaster of emotions that, for me, comes with stepping on the scale. Gosh, even when I lost, it wasn't enough! After a day of staying on my plan, drinking all my Water, getting in good exercise, noticing that something fits better or is too big, receiving compliments from friends and family -- after a day of successes, I step on the scale and feel like a failure because I didn't lose a pound? Not for me!

I come across post after post on this and any diet board from people who are upset and discouraged because they didn't lose or gained a couple of pounds since yesterday. Yet at the end of the month, they probably lost eight to ten pounds. I think I'll just wait until the end of the month and never know about the daily ups and downs.

Glad to hear you're doing so well, Phil. Keep up the good work.

That's a great attitude to have, Longhorn. I'd like my success to be more about a size than my weight, but we'll see how that goes.

Glad you are doing so well. You are the first person i have heard of that did not have to do a post- op diet.Lucky you. Donna

Great Job! Congratulations on your great recovery. I think I would be fearful too eat regular food this soon since my stomach isn't yet healed.

Glad to hear you doing great though. Longhorn my Dr told me that it is not so much the scale as the Bod Pod that I will have in 6 months. That is the test that shows your body mass composition we had to do it before our surgery and one 6 months out and then again at a year. This where you will see the change from fat to muscle.

I just want to be healthy and I think the body change will come with that. I am like you don't want to be a scale watcher. My scale here at home is 7 pounds lighter than at the Dr office, and it was an expensive scale...LOL

So I only will get on it to see if it is going down not so concerned about how much.

Great Job Phil. You are one lucky duck to able to eat what you want. I have to do 2 weeks liquids, 2 weeks mushies and then on to real food. It is not bad. I too, am celebrating my 2 week anniversary on 11/20. I feel absolutely fabulous.

Longhorn, I do not have the patience that you do. I weight myself every morning (naked of course) but I do not allow myself to be upset if it doesn't go up or down. Last year, I lost about 60lbs on NutriSystem and I weighed everyday and it allowed me to adjust my diet if I went up or down. I am looking at it positively instead of negatively and will not beat myself up. Also, I find that when I go down it changes my attitude; as well as if I gain.

Steph-How are you feeling? We hadn't heard from you and I was hoping to see you post how you were doing...been following you. Details girl!

Hey Phil, Friday was my two week anniversary. I'm interested in your post-op diet. You're so lucky! How much do you eat at one sitting? I'm curious how your tummy felt too, just out of post-op, when you were eating solids. Just wondering! I'm finding it extremely bizarre how there's so much variation between doctors in diets.

Hollyberries - I'm just like you when it comes to weighing - absolutely no patience and every morning naked! I'm finding it an encouragement rather than anything. I know there's days where I won't lose, but it's not as discouraging as all those other diets because I know I can finally lose with the band!

Linda

Tomorrow is my 2 week anniversary also. Doing great, feel great, except for one area that hurts when I move a certain way. It's somewhere near my port. I started feeling a little hungry between meal over the weekend, but felt better when I read that this is normal before your first fill. My first fill is on December 11. Looking forward to it. I've lost 14 pounds so far.

I was banded on the 5th of November too and I will have my first fill on the 11th of December.

I'm supposed to start on purees tomorrow,but I couldn't stand the liquid phase anymore.

I put a Soup that my DH made with Beans and chicken in the food processor. It went well. I've also had one hard boiled egg with cottage cheese and mixed it in the food processor. I also had another soup and mixed it in the blender.

I have 3 meals and one snack,sugar free pudding with Protein powder. My Breakfast is a Protein shake. I also drink lots of Water,especially before sleeping and after waking up. If I oversleep I start to feel sick.

I also have pain near my port on the right side,shen I have gas,need to go to the bathroom for #2,if I bend too much.

When I'm full i feel it around my waist and back.

does anybody feel this too?

How about the funny sounding burps from the bottom of your band!! ha! ha!

I don't have the energy for exercise yet.

Phil:

How can you have the energy for exercise already? Did you have your pita bread toasted or soft? Was it dry or did you have hummus on it?

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the updates on your own progress, comments and questions.

Longhorn I understand your rationale for not weighing yourself. Do let us know how you are going when you do have an official weigh-in won’t you?

lindata you asked how much do you eat at one sitting?

About 2/3 to 1 cup of food. After which I am completely satisfied.

>I'm curious how your tummy felt too, just out of post-op, when you were eating solids.

For the first week I primarily had liquids only. My doctor had said start with clear Soups, then thicker more substantial soups and work through mush and onto sold food. Because of all the posts here and a good challenge from Longhorn, I stayed on liquids until my follow up after week-1. My doctor drew a sketch of the band and how it was attached to my stomach and assured me it would not be slipping anywhere. After he re-confirmed I could eat small quantities of solid foods, I carefully and gingerly started. Felt fine, tasted great and very satisfying.

>there's so much variation between doctors in diets

Yes wonder if surgical techniques are different or if the liquids/mush diet is to jump start weight loss? I’ll ask when I have my fill on 1 December and report back to you all.

jelbel asked how can you have the energy for exercise already?

Seems like I am completely back to normal, if anything I am exercising more than pre-op because I am more motivated.

>Did you have your pita bread toasted or soft? Was it dry or did you have hummus on it?

Well, I am a bit sheepish about this but I know I can tell you all. I was at a work social function and there were waiters passing around trays of food and bringing drinks. Everyone was chatting and I was enjoying a few glasses of Water, but would have preferred wine. The item in question was a Middle Eastern dish called a Shawarma. Shawarma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and I thought I’d just have one bite. Never again!

Great weather in the Middle East after the long blisteringly hot summer. We are enjoying bright sunny warm days and cool evenings. Days are short though, sunset is about 5 PM.

Bye for now.

Phil

Phil-

I am feeling a lot like you-It seems I can eat anything as long as I chew good, I am even drinking milk/water with meals and still feeling full. I hope everything is OK as I obviously do not want to mess anything up.

I had surgery 11/12 and at 1 week post-op I have lost 20 lbs (including 5 in pre-op). I am feeling full after small meals and not really hungry in-between.

thanks for the updates everyone!

Phil, did you say you're in the Middle East? Wow! What do you do there?

Linda