I'm here to help...

[cattoy71 0]

Hi there,

I have my first post op surgery appointment on Monday, and I'm just wondering what to expect.

[Great2BThin 5]

Hope you thoroughly enjoy it! Keep us posted on what you will be doing. I love my volunteer jobs...3 days a week at a hospital and the other days filled with my Family Readiness Group leadership position. They both keep me going.

What do you do at the hospital? Maybe you have some ideas as to what kind of volunteer jobs there are, though I will only be in bariatrics

Hi there,

I have my first post op surgery appointment on Monday, and I'm just wondering what to expect.

My first post op they just checked my incisions and went over my surgery, my band what to expect going forward. And then I had to go over to the hospital for 2 post op nutrition classes. Good luck and congrats on your band!

[bochs 0]

Hi to all tonight (Monday). Today it was highof 48 degrees. I put on my coat and hat and went to the park and walked 2.4 miles anyway. It actually felt pretty good. I would way rather walk outdoors in the cold, than in the heat. I took the leftover swiss steak and today I made a pot of Vegetable Soup. I added some extra vegetables. I can not get roast meat down so I ate around it and ate all of the vegtables. Sure was good tonight on a cold night. then I ate some grapes. Where is Joann Marie? I think thats her name. She is usually on here quite a bit. Long, it sounds like you are loosing really steady. Janet, I am glad you are back. We like to talk to you. I will talk with you all later. Have a good evening.

Beckyo:biggrin:

[phyllser 3]

Hi to all tonight (Monday). Today it was highof 48 degrees. I put on my coat and hat and went to the park and walked 2.4 miles anyway. It actually felt pretty good. I would way rather walk outdoors in the cold, than in the heat. I took the leftover swiss steak and today I made a pot of Vegetable Soup. I added some extra vegetables. I can not get roast meat down so I ate around it and ate all of the vegtables. Sure was good tonight on a cold night. then I ate some grapes. Where is Joann Marie? I think thats her name. She is usually on here quite a bit. Long, it sounds like you are loosing really steady. Janet, I am glad you are back. We like to talk to you. I will talk with you all later. Have a good evening. Beckyo:biggrin:[/quote

95+ here today.

It'll be cooling off soon and then we'll wish it was hot again!

[Great2BThin 5]

Hi to all tonight (Monday). Today it was highof 48 degrees. I put on my coat and hat and went to the park and walked 2.4 miles anyway. It actually felt pretty good. I would way rather walk outdoors in the cold, than in the heat. I took the leftover swiss steak and today I made a pot of Vegetable Soup. I added some extra vegetables. I can not get roast meat down so I ate around it and ate all of the vegtables. Sure was good tonight on a cold night. then I ate some grapes. Where is Joann Marie? I think thats her name. She is usually on here quite a bit. Long, it sounds like you are loosing really steady. Janet, I am glad you are back. We like to talk to you. I will talk with you all later. Have a good evening.

Beckyo:biggrin:

becky, How do you make Swiss steak??? That is something I remember my grandma making in Wisconsin.

[JoannMarie 0]

I am here! I am here! I've been lurking for a few days, enjoying all your messages.

It's been getting cold here in northern Missouri, too. We'll have our first hard freeze tonight, but the temps should moderate later in the week and we'll be back up in the 60's, says the weatherman.

I am just waiting - 37 days to go as of tomorrow morning. I'm reading a book by a psychologist called The Emotional First Aid Kit, recommended by my band psychologist. It deals specifically with WLS patients. He recommended I buy this book so I have it to read now and refer to later after the surgery. It has really been helpful - lots of suggestions for dealing with head hunger, exercise motivation, dealing with parties and holiday activities, etc. I can see why he wants me to refer to it later - I know when I hit a wall I won't remember the valuable tip I learned last night when I read that paragraph... We are all such creatures of habit and it's really hard to redirect ourselves into new habits. Author says one of the hardest habits to acquire is to exercise. We find lots of excuses to avoid our workouts. It's also the number one most important factor in keeping this weight from coming back. To all of you who are so good about exercising - my hat's off to you. I believe that is going to be one of the most difficult things for me.

I have 37 days. I will be on my recumbant bike for 30 minutes in the morning. I will check back with you and report in.

[JoannMarie 0]

Sorry that posted twice. My LBTalk is acting strangely tonight...

[Charlene K 1]

Hi Y'all! Just checking in. My daughter had back surgery last thursday and I have been taking care of her and our newborn grand daughter(two months). Had I not had this band a few months ago and lost weight i would not have been up for this task. Feeding, diapering, bathing, rocking a baby is hard work. My daughter cannot lift or bend for three weeks. She is alot of pain because she is nursing and cannot take pain meds. Anyway, I am kinda reverting back to old habits. I did eat a piece of cake and PB'd. I haven't been writing down my calories either. The one thing I have kept up is walking. Today I started out the morning with turkey sausage from Jimmy Dean. It is good. So, maybe today I can get back on track. I am not going back to a life of misery. There.....now you know how my journey is going.

[IndioGirl55 32]

Good Morning Gang

I got to the gym last night 1st time in 2 weeks - my trainer wasn't too hard on me thankfully... But I think my calfs are going to be sore :0)

Charlene - I am glad your daughter made it thru surgery ok. Yep taking care of babies again :0)... Hugs for that - and sometimes life happens but I can tell you something - even though you are writing it all down and pb'd on cake - you are thinking a little more about what you eat and how your react to food - which is more that you did before the band - the band will help keep you honesty that's why we have it and you will find (well at least for me) stress has a way of tightening you (ie pbing on cake)..

Becky - There are some meats I can't eat either some times but others time I can - sometime my fish goes down real easy - other times it doesn't.. Fickled band... But you are doing great..

Ok I am swamped at work so I need to get it in gear - just wanted to ck in cuz I didn't yesterday - so say the least the drama that I was afraid was going to happen has started...

I will ck back later - love to you all..

[hopefulebndr 0]

:confused:Any help, assistance, or comments would be appreciated.... I am worried. I was banded in JUNE. I had one fill July to 2.5cc and then to 4.5cc - I only lost about 15 lbs. as of mid August ----- NO RESTRICTION. Today, after being gone for a month oversees I came back to get another fill - I'd lost NO weight since my last fill and in fact gained back 3 lbs. so I am at only 12 lbs or so LOST. So today he said he filled me to 9cc - I asked ... "my god, how much more can you put in there? and he said you have a big band - 20cc... this is after I got a huge lecture on that I wasn't supposed to be eating anything, I wasn't controlling portions, and that I had probably lost all the weight I was going to loose, etc., etc., - he basically scolded me the whole time. I told him I had no restriction and he commented that I wasn't supposed to, that first I needed to not eat more than a few bites at each meal. I am totally frustrated and confused. I have had no control over my portions, I admit it, but I have had no restriction at all to help me out. He is basically telling me that my band is working because I won't stop eating. HELP HELP HELP.... what can I do now? I now feel HUGE restriction and am sipping everything and I definatly feel a difference. Do you think he is just trying to get me motivated? Is it normal to NOT have restriction and NOT loose weight during the first few fills. I feel like a big failure - PLEASE HELP!!

[bochs 0]

Well hopeful, it is possible to not have much restriction at first. It sounds like your Dr. gave you a pretty large fill. My first was 1.2cc, 2 was .05cc and third was .05cc. My restriction is not huge but after this last fill I can finally tell that I am getting full easier. My band also tells me to slow down if I eat too fast. You may have too much restriction. I would wait a while and go very very slowly with foods and chew, chew, chew and see how it goes. Hey Long, the way I make swiss steak is,

One large swiss steak or Large chuck roast

onion- cut up small

green pepper-cut up small

celery-cut up small

a few carrots cut into slices

three cans of stewed tomatoes.

Brown meat real well in a little olive oil. Add all vegetables and tomatoes.

Bake for a few hours on 350 until liquid has mostly cooked off. UM UM GOOD!!! I doubled all of this, had half of second roast left so the next day I dumped it all in Soup pot, added package of frozen mixed country vegetable (corn, green Beans, carrots), some Water, a little v8 juice, salt and pepper and Wallah! dinner number two has arrived. The Soup was wonderful!. Beckyo:thumbup::thumbup:

[bochs 0]

Any way, I wasn't done talking yet. tee hee! Tonight (Monday) went to Toys r Us for a while trying to pick up xmas toys for my grandkids before the crazinesss begins. It won't be long now. Big shopping day here is Nov. 11th. I have alot done already. I started in January and hit some really good sales throughout the year. My kids just started houses soo I got silverware, sheets, etc., etc. I went and took my 2.4 mile walk. My daughter thinks I need to bump it up to one more time around which would equal 1.2 = 3.6 miles. I am still tired at 2.4. I am recouping alot faster now but some days it is still hard to get around that park and it has one very steep hill. Anyway from 9-26 to 10-26 I lost 7 lbs but only 3 1/2 inches total. The inches are coming off slow this month even after all of that walking. I still am totally convinced that exerecise slows your weight loss down. My dd says it might but it is turning to muscle. I guess I don't quite get all of that. But I will keep up the walking anyway. I need to shut up for tonight. Talk with you all tomorrow.

Beckyo:tt2:

[IndioGirl55 32]

:confused:Any help, assistance, or comments would be appreciated.... I am worried. I was banded in JUNE. I had one fill July to 2.5cc and then to 4.5cc - I only lost about 15 lbs. as of mid August ----- NO RESTRICTION. Today, after being gone for a month oversees I came back to get another fill - I'd lost NO weight since my last fill and in fact gained back 3 lbs. so I am at only 12 lbs or so LOST. So today he said he filled me to 9cc - I asked ... "my god, how much more can you put in there? and he said you have a big band - 20cc... this is after I got a huge lecture on that I wasn't supposed to be eating anything, I wasn't controlling portions, and that I had probably lost all the weight I was going to loose, etc., etc., - he basically scolded me the whole time. I told him I had no restriction and he commented that I wasn't supposed to, that first I needed to not eat more than a few bites at each meal. I am totally frustrated and confused. I have had no control over my portions, I admit it, but I have had no restriction at all to help me out. He is basically telling me that my band is working because I won't stop eating. HELP HELP HELP.... what can I do now? I now feel HUGE restriction and am sipping everything and I definatly feel a difference. Do you think he is just trying to get me motivated? Is it normal to NOT have restriction and NOT loose weight during the first few fills. I feel like a big failure - PLEASE HELP!!

hopefulebndr - Sorry for your struggles..

I for one can eat anything I want - I have restriction - I choose to eat healthy - lots of fish (I like it) veggies - rice etc. IMHO the band is a great tool - but it's only that - a tool - the band its self isn't going to make you lose weight - only you can do that by choosing healthy foods - you can't keep eating high fat - high sugar foods - the band will let you eat these things and if you choose to continue to eat in this manner you aren't going to be a band success story. IMHO 75% of the work is up to you and the other 25% is the bands job once you get proper restriction

It was stated if you could do this pre-band then you wouldn't need the band - to a point I agree as the band is a Portion Control device but that’s all it is - you control the calories - if you want to be successful you have to make a commitment to changing your eating habit and add exercise into your life. It's not that one piece of cake that made you fat - it was eating the whole damn thing. You can still have cake, candy, fried foods - but only occasionally - not ever day. You have to allow wiggle room (not room enough for another person) to live a normal life - but you have to retrain your brain too.

The band is no diff than any other program out there - Some will succeed on WW - Jenny Craig - LA Weight - Bypass & Lapland surgery - but there are those who didn't continue with their commitment to change their eating habits and they will not succeed. Again this is my personal opinion formed from the data on the band and bypass - there are people out there that were either banded or had bypass and have put all the weight they lost back on - Why - did the surgery fail (they would like you to believe that it did - but it didn't - the tool worked) it was the person who chose to go back to their unhealthy eating habits. Plain and simple

Please make a determined effort to comply with your band and the eating plan that your doctor has given you Each Doc's instructions are different - and each patient must follow their doctors instructions

.

It's great that you are only eating 1 slice of pizza instead of the whole thing - but IMHO this is a lifetime lifestyle change and you can't just rely on the band - you need to learn a new healthy way of eating in combination with the restriction that your band provided if you are going to be successful in the long run.

As fat people we have BAD eating habits - these eating habits have to change. You have to do some of the work too by making healthy food choices and adding exercise.

We do understand how hard this is – we have been there - we knows it's hard to refrain from eating

Sometime some of us just don't understand why people who go through all the hassle of surgery - don't take things seriously - that they don't understand that they are going to have to work at this.

I am a fat chick too - I know all the excuses why we can't do thing - it's just too hard - that why you were banded to have the tool to help (operative word help not do it for you)

You do have to work - and we want you to succeed - we really do.

I am working this - and I feel so much better - and We want this for all of you - we want you to have the "aha" moment..

We aren't perfect - but we understand that we have to change our old mindset and do the work - we want you all to understand this too.

You will find alot of us banders giving tough love - we aren't going to sugar coat it - You need to step up to the plate and take responsibility for yourself

You may want sympathy, but what you NEEDED was someone to tell you the truth. That's what you get from the experienced bandsters

This medium can be very difficult sometimes, because there are no visual or audio cues to help you. So, pick yourself up and get back on the straight and narrow. Make that committment and you will be successful.

[Donna113 2]

I just typed up a long thank you note to Janet for reminding us to the true key to success and "poof" the forum sent it into never never land! Argh

Anyway, thanks a bunch Janet.

[Charlene K 1]

Janet, thanks for the TOUGH LOVE. I need to hear that about once a week.