Hey all.

So there's a bunch of us in this group, all split up into our different banding days. I was thinking that it might be a good idea to have one master thread as we move through the month, in which all of us could post as we go, from the pioneers going on March 1st to the finalists on March 31st.

I'd love to talk about our anticipation and any worries as we approach our banding date, for people to talk about exactly what happened from the moment they walked into the hospital door until the second they walked out, about how recovery is going, about weight loss and plateaus, about non-scale victories and challenges.

I was thinking that if we all contribute to one thread, it'll form a more substantial channel for information and support. At the moment, I was thinking that we might be too spread out into individual date, and that a central thread would be a really good backbone for the group, in addition to the date-specific threads.

What do you think?

Fenton

I am so glad that someone brought up the issue of stinky breath on full liquids in another thread. Man, I have been breathing dragon fire since Tuesday! I brush my teeth at least 6 times a day, yet I am pretty sure that I can melt steel with the slightest breath! So not sexy.

Thanks for thinking of ketosis Fenton, I was thinking that it might be just the protein intake. Any ideas on how to counteract this without brushing the enamel off my teeth??

I think brushing your teeth a lot and keeping hydrated are really important. I only had that problem in the early days after banding, when my food and Water intake were really low...

You could chew gum, and I also had the occasional Lemon and Pomegranate Icebreaker, which helped.

I'm sorry, it's true - who CAN resist ground pigs' hearts and livers? Particularly with chocolate...

Yep, thats all it would take to keep me on my diet!!!

I had my 2 wk appointment today and the grand total is 15 lbs, I am happy. Nurse had an attitude but I "smiled her to death". Doc. also moved me to mushies so tonight I had blended broc. and cheese soup, it was heaven!! He told me to stay on mushies for 4 wks so I am going to need alot of ideas. I was told my band is a APS band, and already has a little fluid in it. Going to have to research it some. I have scheduled my next appointment for 05/30, and he told me I would receive a fill. He wanted me to return in 4 wks but DH are leaving for Hawaii on the 17th of May and I want to enjoy myself!!:tongue:

Hey all. I just got back from a Garba for my Indian friend that is getting married on Sunday. Wow! I've never been to anything like that. Dancing, eating and drinking . Ya I did them all. a bite here and bite there. Too much drinking. Alot of dancing!!!. Im tippsy and happy and probably not going to like myself in the morning. I don't even know what I ate to log it.

O well I had quality of life!!!

Night all.

A

Hi all you march bandsters! I just had my first fill a few days ago and am doing so well! No more hunger...and so far I've lost 20 lbs since my surgery on 3/4. How is everyone else doing?

Not only do I wish I have had my surgery (the office staff neglected to tell me that I had to do a sleep study that took forever to get approved-even longer than my LapBand approval-, scheduled, and results...), but you all are so great. I love reading about you all and you support each other so much. You are hilarious and touching. Best of luck to all of you!

Maybe I will be lucky and get my surgery in April...

Best of luck to you angelic 1. Those last minute changes really stink. I hope you are banded soon!

OK guys, I have not been making the best choices lately. I don't know what has happened, but it's like a switch went off and now I am falling back to my old eating habits. I am cheating...eating ice cream and chocolate. A little healthy and a lot more junk.

I am only cheating myself. Why am I doing this? It is so frustrating. The scale has moved back up 3 pounds...I know, not the end of the world, but not too easy on the eye. I need to get back on track. I need to stick with the program and stop hiding while I eat. One of my sons is the diet police...I literally hide and munch so he can't see me. I've always been a very secretive eater and worked very hard on changing this behaviour for months before surgery.

I will do better today! I will not hide and eat. I think I'll go throw away those Easter chocolates that the kids have not eaten, but I keep eating. The kids don't need them, and neither do I.

Thanks for reading if you got this far, I just needed to kick my own butt a bit.

Christine

Christine -- now that you kicked yourself -- give yourself a hug because you've done something wonderful for yourself and its going to be fantastic in the long run, short run we'll all have bumps in the road. Have a good day and SMILE!

My first week back to work and I feel like I was run over by a bulldozer . I now have a cold or flu (thanks to my 4 yr old grandson ). I watch the grandchildren the week before I went back to work and he was sick . I loved being with them and would do it all over again knowing I would get sick and feel like this.

HEY AMANDA!!!! HOW'S THAT 'QUALITY OF LIFE' TODAY???? SORRY, AM I TALKING TOO LOUD FOR YOU???

Lise - your blog is FANTASTIC! I'm going to refer anyone who asks about the band to it. Upbeat, very active, lots to look at and think about. And CONGRATS on the weight loss!

Angelic1, hang in there! Everything'll get sorted out; just be patient for a little longer!

OK, let's all line-up and give Christine an ass-kicking!

Not really. But sort of.

When I met the doctor prior to banding, we discussed ways people cheat the band. I told him how much I love chocolate and ice cream, and he told me that the major way people cheat the band is with chocolate and ice cream, both of which can slip past the restriction.

I have two responses to Christine's situation:

1. Please don't allow a slip-up to become an excuse for just giving in. Your slip-up lasted a few minutes - it doesn't mean the day is shot, and that you might as well just go nuts. It doesn't mean the week is shot, heck it doesn't even mean that the HOUR is shot. You slipped up, notice it and move on. It was a choice, and even if you ultimately felt overpowered by your choice, it was still a choice, and next time you can choose to go in a different direction - and you know that.

2. I love ice cream and chocolate intensely - I have an ice cream maker, I make great ice cream, I love every form of ice cream treat and dessert, I've taken many classes in chocolate, and traveled the world looking for the best. Being banded doesn't mean that my love for chocolate and ice cream is finished. Nothing is FORBIDDEN, it's just a question of managing that desire. I don't believe that two pieces of chocolate taste better than one, or that finishing a pint of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia brings more satisfaction than eating three tablespoonsful.

But you know that. The question is, how are you going to stop yourself from doing that again? If you post in here, people like me will give "helpful" feedback, and express concern, and this will, at some level, be stressful, and make you want to hide away and munch in secret even more.

And that's your choice. But you don't have to make that choice, and you're capable of making the other, better one.

If you haven't seen it already, I think it would be worth looking at the CAMP site that (Harley, was it?) posted:

CAMP Basics

The site offers several simple techniques to retrain your eating habits, and is really great, I think.

At the end of the day, though, this comes down to you sitting there in front of the chocolate or the ice cream, up on the ledge, getting ready to jump.

And if you keep jumping, you're going to have to ask yourself, "Why do I want to be fat?"

Cathy! How disastrous! I hope you feel better soon.

Also, Christine: yeah, it would be a good idea to get rid of that leftover Easter chocolate. Opportunity is the first part of temptation.