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

JDub! Snap out of it!

I'm not sure if I'm following you, but if your calorie excess is 300 - 500 calories a day, you'll be putting on a pound a week at the most. The bump in your weight has to do with salt and Water and probably some kind of female hormone thing that I can't even bring myself to consider.

But ARE you really taking in 900 or fewer cals a day? I agree that those mashed potatoes could be a problem - besides, aren't you sick of them yet? Why not try picking up some Lean Cuisine or similar dinners and pureeing them? Why not try some Protein shakes with a little yogurt and banana? There are some items for recipes in the mushy stage elsewhere on the board.

But really: watch your intake like a hawk, keep your water intake up, and keep on walking. The exercise will really help you through this part, and make you feel good.

Are you keeping a food journal?

I know as soon as i started eating mushies i gained 6 pounds i think my body was in a stravation mode on the liquids and once i started eating real food my body just held onto them calories. I am only eating around 1000 a day and i havent started losing yet. i also have notice that my legs and feet are a little swelled. I was taking a high blood pressure pill that also had a Water pill in it, and the dr cut that in half so now i think im retaining water. I have started walking the past 4 days so i think by next week i should be losing again. well i hope so or ill be on here gripin.

I think we could all start off by saying hi im (insert name) and i am addicted to food. I have ate in secret. But we are all here to change that behavior and come out of hiding and we will do better. we will lose and we will no longer have a food addiction. we can and will overcome!

Christine I think we've all been there to one extent or another......I did horrible secret eating things.....buy two packages of oreos....eat one and put the other in the cabinet with two or three Cookies out of it....so no one would know I ate the whole package.

I always figured anything I ate in my car didn't count.....I could mow through a bag of chips or candy on the way home from the grocery store.....then stash the empty bag in the outside trash before anyone saw it.......and I always threw the receipt away so no one could check and see what was on it......even though NO ONE has EVER looked at a grocery store receipt.

I'm so glad you're working through it......I'm trying, too!

One thing to think about are the "LBT's"......and I'm not talking about Lap Band Talk this time.....it's "Licks, Bites, and Tastes"......as much as we'd like to think they're all freebies, fact remains....they're NOT.

I agree that keeping a totally honest food journal....if you eat one chip, log one chip.....if you have another one an hour later....log that. You may surprise yourself.

I HAVE to stay away from those kinds of foods for now.....even a bite will send me in to a tailspin....I don't have an off button. I've tried to file a warranty claim.....but alas, no call back.

JDub! Snap out of it!

I'm not sure if I'm following you, but if your calorie excess is 300 - 500 calories a day, you'll be putting on a pound a week at the most. The bump in your weight has to do with salt and Water and probably some kind of female hormone thing that I can't even bring myself to consider.

But ARE you really taking in 900 or fewer cals a day? I agree that those mashed potatoes could be a problem - besides, aren't you sick of them yet? Why not try picking up some Lean Cuisine or similar dinners and pureeing them? Why not try some Protein shakes with a little yogurt and banana? There are some items for recipes in the mushy stage elsewhere on the board.

But really: watch your intake like a hawk, keep your water intake up, and keep on walking. The exercise will really help you through this part, and make you feel good.

Are you keeping a food journal?

Fenton, I do keep a journal online, and I put every single thing in the journal. So that's how I know I havent went over 900 calories per day. With my workout, my net calorie intake is about 400-500. When I reviewed my journal today I noticed that there is alot of sodium intake. I drink a lot of Fluid...protein drinks, slim fast, and water is what I take in for fluids. May sound funny,but I cant stomach yogurt,and I've tried to puree something as simple as chicken noodle soup and gaged. Before the surgery, I was considered a picky eater. Just so happen that the things I ate were high in fat, carbs, cholestoral, etc.

P.S. Yes I'm sick of those fricken mashed potatoes, but they are the only thing that doesnt give me nausea.

banded mar 25 and doing great,I have had no nausea and very little gas.I have none now.I can burp and drink pop does this mean my band is not working.Also how do I get all those little weight grafts i see on all the replies

No, mylah, it just means you're able to burp and drink pop!

At the moment, you don't have much in the way of restriction - your band is probably empty, so it's not squeezing your stomach, so you can burp and drink pop at will. However, everyone says you should try to avoid pop because it'll stretch your stomach, and then you'll be able to eat more food without feeling full.

When you get your first fill, Water will be injected into the band to tighten it. You'll still be able to burp, but it'll be harder to eat a large amount of food.

How is your weight going?

Okay guys, I am in crisis mode here, and I need some serious backbone, so let me have it!

A little backstory: I used to live alone. Fabulous for doing a restricted diet, since what crosses my threshhold is totally within my control. I am a person where as long as something isn't here, I won't eat it. If it is here, I will inhale it with extreme prejudice. Two days before my surgery, due to a little financial hiccup, my lil sis and her fiance moved in with me for 6 months. No biggie, I have tons of space, glad I could help.

But, they are fast food junkies. McD's, Wendys, Steak N Shake, Rally's, White Castle, Charley's Steakery, Pizza Hut. Just for frame of reference, in the week that they have been here, they have purchased something from each and every one of these places and brought it into my home. They try to be discreet, eating in other rooms, but I know it is here. And I smell it. No worries tho, I am a warrior! lol. I drink my shakes, I drink my soup, I drink my protein water, I am officially a good little girl.

Today though, my sister crossed the line into my scary place. She nonchalantly announces that tomorrow, since the weather is great, they are going to just 'throw a few things on the grill'. In Lisa speak, this translates to 'We are going to torture you until you regress to the age of 2, are crying incessantly in the corner, sucking your thumb and begging for your Mommy'. BBQ, people, is my crack. Seriously. I am pretty sure if asked, that I would give my right leg for a nicely cooked slab of ribs, a charbroiled burger, a grilled chicken and apple sausage, a precisely cooked 2 inch thick Kansas City cut bone-in Ribeye. I think I would grill my bfast cereal if I could figure out how to keep it from falling thru the grates. And she knows this. I know that the world does not stop turning because I am on a rough stretch right now, people still gotta eat. But am I wrong to feel that she is out of place!?!??!! She tries so hard to be careful every other time, but now she tells me 'Lisa, you just had surgery. You will have to deal with things like this'. So basically, suck it up. I have just one more agonizing week and I move on to the Nirvana that is mushies. I am on liquids for goodness sake and she is is going to bbq? Ugh, maybe I am just being way to selfish. I don't know. All I know is that since she has said it, all I can think about is food. Real food. Crunch and texture and flavor. The subtle nuances that make the taste buds dance in sheer delight. Then I drink strained cream of chicken soup with unflavored protein powder and chase it with an Isopure. I know this will end soon, but I do NOT know how I will make it another week. I do NOT know how I will make it through tomorrow. And I do NOT know how I will refrain from throwing my sister/Satan's Minion into the flaming hot coals, lol. Any inspirational thoughts or sister recipes are appreciated. HELP!!!!

Your sister is wholly out of line. It's really unfair - and possibly reflects an unconscious desire to sabotage you - that, in your own house, she is insisting on tantalizing you.

You have two choices:

1. Confront her and ask that she not have a barbecue for at least a month, at which point you might be able to have some grilled food.

2. Pack up your Protein shakes and yogurt smoothy and leave home for the day.

Neither of these is ideal, but she's already created the situation, and it's up to you to decide which of those options would be less psychically painful. You could also ask her why, exactly, when she's living in YOUR home, when you're on a critical ALL-LIQUID DIET which is VITAL FOR SAVING YOUR HEALTH she would choose to come in and deliberately set up a barbecue meal, knowing how much you love that. That's just f'd up.

Really, if that's the sort of thoughtlessness you can expect from her, perhaps you should consider urging them to find some other place to live, somewhere where they'll be able to barbecue to their hearts' content.

I'm new to this thread. I was banded March 24, 2008 by Dr. Singh in MD. So far I've lost about 13 lbs. I did not have to do a pre-op diet. I'm wondering if 13 lbs is normal or if I should have lost more by now. I have not been really active - though more acvtive than usual. IF this blasted rain ever stops I want to start walking the track evryday with my five-year old. After my six-week follow up I want to join a gym. Forgive my violets. I like the shamrocks - where do I find them?

You're losing a pound a day! That's EXTREMELY fast! You'll soon slow down to losing a couple of pounds a week or so...

Wow Lisa, I just read your post about the bbq. I partially agree with Fenton. Don't leave your home, tell you sister than she cannot bar-b-que. That's way too much temptation. My five- year old wanted spaghetti when I was about five days post-op. I love spaghetti. As much as I wanted to make it for her, I knew I could not handle the temptation so I didn't do it. After I reached a week and a few days I was able to do it, but I had to immediately freeze all leftovers. Speaking of leftovers, do you honestly believe that your sister will bar-b-que and there won't be any leftovers? That's about two-three days of torture - not one. Put your foot down and tell her NO! Its ok to love yourself and her too. No need for guilty feelings. You are going to have to deal with issues like this, but not in your own home. Yesterday I had to attend a housewarming luncheon with cake, hot wings (my favorite) subs and all the other group pig out accoutrements. The only thing that got me through it was a cup of thinned tomato soup and the knowledge that I get to have mushies either Monday or Tuesday (Do I count the day of surgery as day 1 or do I have to wait until the next day?).

As a side note, maybe your sister's financial problems stem from the fact that she spends too much money on fast food and bar-b-ques. Just a thought.

Hello all, I was banded on the 20th of March, I am glad to be a part of this group! How do I get one of those pictures that says banded in March with the shamrocks?? I am down 23 pounds!!!!!

As a side note, maybe your sister's financial problems stem from the fact that she spends too much money on fast food and bar-b-ques. Just a thought.

Lisa, The Diva is right! This is exactly what I was thinking... I, too, have a sister like this (manipulative and financially strained!), and she and her family are coming to visit next week. :regular_smile: (Fortunately, I'll be up to soft food by then and will be slightly less stressed dealing with them. Phew!)

It's your house, your rules. Sorry, sister. Too bad, so sad! If they want bbq so badly, they can go out to a restaurant to eat it (clearly not a foreign concept to them), or take their stuff to a park and bbq on a public grill! :biggrin:

Hello all, I was banded on the 20th of March, I am glad to be a part of this group! How do I get one of those pictures that says banded in March with the shamrocks?? I am down 23 pounds!!!!!

Hi, all you have to do is copy it, go into edit signature and paste it!

PAID OFF!

After what seemed like FOREVER (really only five days).....IT MOVED

and I'm officially down TWENTY POUNDS!

Ah, it feels good!