I've been doing this for way too long. Since September 2007 I have been on the liquid diet in one form or another and it's really, really starting to drive me nuts.

Maybe it's because I'm sitting here at work and everyone, everyone has decided to eat at thier desks today and I can smell burgers, fries, enchiladas and a myriad of other things.

I know I can get past this. I know I need to lose 15 more pounds and if I just do it I will go under the knife again, learn to eat again and all that jazz.

I know even after the band I can't eat burgers and fries (at least, I shouldn't), but there is a difference in having that choice. Right now it doesn't feel like a choice ( even though it is). Right now it feels like a prison sentence.

I know, I know. I'm bitching for nothing. I'm gonna keep on keeping on, but sometimes it's just SOOOOOOOO frustrating.

Okay, panda rant over. I'm going to go have my lunch shake and remember the chick eating the fries shouldn't be either. She's just about the same size as me and is going to regret the additional 10-20 pounds at the end of the year.

I don't want regrets this year, no, not again and certainly not over a plate of burgers and fries. :biggrin:

How do you get through the cravings?

(Oh yeah, now I'm really done.)

Edited May 29, 200818 yr by pandagirl

i hear ya. liquids are rough.

i try to chew some flavored sugarfree gum (like orbit) when i want to chew something. it's not the same, but it helps.

also, today i have major cravings for sushi (oh yummm). my buds wanted to go get some for lunch today, so that's probably where it started. i sipped my chicken broth as i scrolled through the sushi place's website. i felt a little better knowing that i didn't spend $20 on sushi today, and the craving subsided a little bit.

you can do it!

hey yo god girl, i have no will power you do larry

You have done FANASTIC in my book. Many of us complain about 2 or 3 weeks of the liquid diet. You should be so proud of what you have done. I KNOW i WOULDN'T HAVE LASTED. I hope you get your band soon.

I am so proud of you for staying strong. You can do this!!

It is great that you can stick with it. It would be sooo hard doing liquids since September '07.

By the way, why do you need to do liquids for so long?

It is great that you can stick with it. It would be sooo hard doing liquids since September '07.

By the way, why do you need to do liquids for so long?

I wieghed 385 when I got there and they wanted me to get to 330 before the band. I dunno. They were pushing for me to get the bypass, maybe they thought if I couldn't get to 330 that I shouldn't have the band?

And I guess it's just taken me forever to lose the weight. I was originally on a 2 shakes then salad/meat for dinner. I lost 15 pounds the first month, got to 330 by December. I could have had the surgery in January, but opted not to because I had a guest coming and I wanted to be able to go out with her, eat if I wanted, etc. ( I ended up getting my g/b taken out that month and was bed ridden during her stay anyway.) By that time February was booked and I really, really didn't to have the WLS right after the other one.

During this whole time the Surgeon told me to stay on the diet and I did for the most part, but even so I had a couple days here and there off. I didn't go crazy with it, but it was still enough to maintain my weight rather than lose.

Then I got my date. They went in and couldn't finish it. Said I needed to lose a few more pounds, so back I went on the diet.

I'm kind of stuck at 312 at the moment. It's driving me nuts.

Oh man, was that a long explantion. (Sorry)

I am so proud of you for staying strong. You can do this!!

Thanks Susan, every pat on the back helps!!

You have done FANASTIC in my book. Many of us complain about 2 or 3 weeks of the liquid diet. You should be so proud of what you have done. I KNOW i WOULDN'T HAVE LASTED. I hope you get your band soon.

You should see how I react when people DO complain about 2-3 weeks. Then I remember it's still hard and I was complaining then, too.

i hear ya. liquids are rough.

i try to chew some flavored sugarfree gum (like orbit) when i want to chew something. it's not the same, but it helps.

also, today i have major cravings for sushi (oh yummm). my buds wanted to go get some for lunch today, so that's probably where it started. i sipped my chicken broth as i scrolled through the sushi place's website. i felt a little better knowing that i didn't spend $20 on sushi today, and the craving subsided a little bit.

you can do it!

I've been in the sugar-free candy aisle a little too much. I love, love the Lifesavers, the Werther's Originals and the Nips, maybe a little too much, LOL!!

hey yo god girl, i have no will power you do larry

I think we all have it, just for some of it it comes in little spurts. But yeah, I've gone a long way. How's your WLS been going?

Thanks for the explanation.

You are doing great. Specially making all of this progress on your own before banding. I think banding is difficult for a lot of people at first because it involves dropping long-held habits and going from eating whatever you want (except for maybe a brief pre-diet term) to having to restrict everything. You already have this part covered and should have a much easier time with banding afterwards. When you finally get past the mushy stage, you will begin to eat again in a healthy way that will be such a relief after an incredibly long time of having the liquid diet. Kudos to you for sticking with it.

The best part about this is that with the help of the tool, weight loss should be no big deal for you since you are already doing an excellent job pre-band.

Banding may not be the "easy" out that some people say, but realistically . . . at least for me, it is a much, much easier way for me to get to my goals. I have slain the hunger demon, now I can concentrate on following bandster rules and getting my exercise in :0)

Best of luck to you . . . just think, by this time next year initial banding experiences and months of liquid diets will be behind you. If you could speak to the future you one year from now, just imagine how interesting that conversation would be :0)

Why is your weight such a big issue? Im 322. I hope they dont come with that same excuse for me. I mean do you have to be a certain size for the band? Wow. But, I am so proud of you for the long effort on the liquid diet. Ive only done it for 5 days now, and yes its hard, but the first 3 days were the hardest, then, the cravings changed, and as long as I sip some broth, that gives me the salt I have been craving, and really I end up ok. I still want food. Anyway, I would love to know more as to why they cant go ahead with the band. That would drive me crazy.

Why is your weight such a big issue? Im 322. I hope they dont come with that same excuse for me. I mean do you have to be a certain size for the band? Wow. But, I am so proud of you for the long effort on the liquid diet. Ive only done it for 5 days now, and yes its hard, but the first 3 days were the hardest, then, the cravings changed, and as long as I sip some broth, that gives me the salt I have been craving, and really I end up ok. I still want food. Anyway, I would love to know more as to why they cant go ahead with the band. That would drive me crazy.

I've been told the way I carry my fat is the issue, not the weight itself. I've seen bigger people than me in my Surgeon's office. But, I carry most of my weight in my stomach, kind of like a pot belly man. I have relatively thin arms, legs, face etc and look very much like an apple on sticks. I wouldn't worry too much about it. My situation is a fluke. She's only had to stop one other surgery in her WLS career and that was due to some other complication. ( I don't know what it was though. If I asked I can't recall her answer.)

Thanks for the explanation.

You are doing great. Specially making all of this progress on your own before banding. I think banding is difficult for a lot of people at first because it involves dropping long-held habits and going from eating whatever you want (except for maybe a brief pre-diet term) to having to restrict everything. You already have this part covered and should have a much easier time with banding afterwards. When you finally get past the mushy stage, you will begin to eat again in a healthy way that will be such a relief after an incredibly long time of having the liquid diet. Kudos to you for sticking with it.

The best part about this is that with the help of the tool, weight loss should be no big deal for you since you are already doing an excellent job pre-band.

Banding may not be the "easy" out that some people say, but realistically . . . at least for me, it is a much, much easier way for me to get to my goals. I have slain the hunger demon, now I can concentrate on following bandster rules and getting my exercise in :0)

Best of luck to you . . . just think, by this time next year initial banding experiences and months of liquid diets will be behind you. If you could speak to the future you one year from now, just imagine how interesting that conversation would be :0)

Thanks Heather,

I think I know all of this, but I stumble when it comes to social eating. I never realized how much food I am offered at work until I started all of this. I calculated it one day and think the if I ate "right" every where else, I'd still gain 10 pounds a year from eating everything offered.

Yeah, a year from now, this will be an amusing story to tell other Bandsters. I'll do some Zen meditation and see if the future me will give me a pat on the head and tell me to quiet down. :biggrin2: