Hi All!

Thanks again for the warm welcome! :w00t: I have found so much helpful information here! I am still in the ‘research’ stage although I have pretty much made up my mind to have the surgery. So I was wondering can you all share what a typical day (or a few days) is like in the life of a person with lapband is like in terms of your food (portions, etc.), fluid intake, and exercise routine. I am still playing catch up on some posts but I thought since some of you are at various post-opt stages it would still be a good re-post if this has already been discussed. Thanks!

Hello there!!!!!!!!!

Basically I start my day off with a small cup of orange juice or milk at approx 5:30 in the morning. I am usually not hungry this early. I am at work by 7:30 and still not hungry. Around 9:30 I am starting to get hungry and I will have yogurt or oatmeal. That keeps me satisfied. I will eat lunch around 12:30 or 1:00 and I can only eat 1/2 of a cup of chicken and veggies. I have dinner no later than 5:30 because I like to be at the gym by 7:00. I know its crazy but my gym is so crowded that I can't get to the machines before 7:00 so I don't even bother. Its quite annoying. This is where I have problems because after I work out I am hungry again. I work out 5-6 days a week from 45 mins to an hour. I am an extremely slow loser but my starting weight was 226 and I am 5'8. The best part about being banded is not being hungry all day. I do not drink the 8 glasses of Water a day because I am not that thirsty. My doctor told me not to worry about it. He says if you are thirsty then drink. I was trying to force myself to drink a lot of water and was literally making myself sick. Its hard to eat out with frinds because no one knows that I have the band. I have to eat slowly and take small bites and everyone stares at me like I am crazy. I hope this helps!!!!!!!!!!

Great post! I feel like I eat allllll day long that would be a nice change. That is my most biggest challenge with WW by like 3 pm I am done with my points even if its a good food day! Thanks so much!

I haven't been banded long enough to give you a true picture. Give me another couple of weeks, and I can tell you. I go for my first fill in 2 weeks and will then truly know the life of a bandster (I hope). Right now I don't really have any restriction so I am in "bandster hell" where you have a band, but it isn't really doing anything to help with hunger. I am only walking right now. I won't be released for real exercise until my 4 week post op appointment.

I hope that you are able to find all of the information that you will need to make up your mind about getting a band.

Well let me tell you all of us whom are banded are different. With me a typical day for me is welll ummmm, Normal. I have been doing the special k cereal thing. And what's so funny pre-band a bowl of cereal would never have filled me up in the morning. Although I eat a little more than the serving size. The service size is not enough for my 5 year old daughter, lol. I have been banded since July and I have not lost as much weight as I would have liked. I will be going in for my 4th fill on tomorrow, and I am hoping for better restriction after this fill, hopefully. I have very little restriction so far, I have yet to reach that sweet spot. I do and get "stuck" from time to time. That is the worst part of be banded to me. I had a "stuck" episode on last Sunday, I literally thought that I was gonna stop breating. I apparently ate a piece of beef roast to fast :tt1:. I slimmede all over then place, then :puke:i ......instant relief. So you really have to chew well and eat slowly. So far it has not been bad at all. My surgery went very well, I had very little pain, just some discomfort. Well just wanted to let you know a lil bit of what I go through. Not that bad huh? Well TTYL. And good luck on your journey.

I haven't been banded long enough to give you a true picture. Give me another couple of weeks, and I can tell you. I go for my first fill in 2 weeks and will then truly know the life of a bandster (I hope). Right now I don't really have any restriction so I am in "bandster hell" where you have a band, but it isn't really doing anything to help with hunger. I am only walking right now. I won't be released for real exercise until my 4 week post op appointment.

I hope that you are able to find all of the information that you will need to make up your mind about getting a band.

Thanks for your reply! There is sooo much information out there but I like hearing it from people who have been through it! One quick question if you don't mind me picking your brain-Is there a reason why you have to wait the 2 weeks for the first fill? I have seen the term "bandster hell" I didn't realize that is what people were talking about! I did see another post where someone's Dr. gave them diet pills during that period to help with the hunger did your Dr. offer that? Or did you ask? I go to another seminar so much to think about!

Edited October 8, 200817 yr by LastOptionAtty

Well let me tell you all of us whom are banded are different. With me a typical day for me is welll ummmm, Normal. I have been doing the special k cereal thing. And what's so funny pre-band a bowl of cereal would never have filled me up in the morning. Although I eat a little more than the serving size. The service size is not enough for my 5 year old daughter, lol. I have been banded since July and I have not lost as much weight as I would have liked. I will be going in for my 4th fill on tomorrow, and I am hoping for better restriction after this fill, hopefully. I have very little restriction so far, I have yet to reach that sweet spot. I do and get "stuck" from time to time. That is the worst part of be banded to me. I had a "stuck" episode on last Sunday, I literally thought that I was gonna stop breating. I apparently ate a piece of beef roast to fast . I slimmede all over then place, then :puke:i ......instant relief. So you really have to chew well and eat slowly. So far it has not been bad at all. My surgery went very well, I had very little pain, just some discomfort. Well just wanted to let you know a lil bit of what I go through. Not that bad huh? Well TTYL. And good luck on your journey.

Yeah that's not bad at all!! I told the Dr. at the seminar I went to that I have a veryyy low threshold for pain but she assured me they gave the best drugs around lol Re: the sweet spot, can you tell me, when you or your Dr finds it does it always stay the same or will it change as you lose weight? Also are you losing/have you lost the average 1-2 pounds a week and feel like that isn't as much as you want?

I think what I find the most eye-opening about the seminar was that the Dr. was very, very candid that the band gives you a little edge vs. gastric which gives you a lot more. I am not a fan of slicing and dicing my insides but of late my eating habits have gone downhill and I need to really get it together. I am trying to get my workout back to where it was last year and then tighten up the diet but thank you for the candid post because its always better to get information first hand! :sad_smile:

I did see another post where someone's Dr. gave them diet pills during that period to help with the hunger did your Dr. offer that? Or did you ask? I go to another seminar so much to think about!

My surgeon doesn't like diet pills. :sad_smile: I was told that I had to stop any diet pills 1 month before surgery, and that I am not to try taking any more. Basically they told me that during my clear liquid and full liquid stage, to eat as much sugar free Jello and sugar free pudding to get satisfied. They said that they didn't care if it took 9 cups of pudding. Just for me to not stay hungry. I just started soft foods. I am still not really limited on how much I am allowed to eat. The only restriction that they put on me for now is to not drink for 45 minutes after eating. I am just trying to limit my portions because I haven't really lost as much weight during these weeks after surgery. :smile: I have PCOS, so I am sure that is making a difference in my weight loss.

My surgeon doesn't like diet pills. I was told that I had to stop any diet pills 1 month before surgery, and that I am not to try taking any more. Basically they told me that during my clear liquid and full liquid stage, to eat as much sugar free Jello and sugar free pudding to get satisfied. They said that they didn't care if it took 9 cups of pudding. Just for me to not stay hungry. I just started soft foods. I am still not really limited on how much I am allowed to eat. The only restriction that they put on me for now is to not drink for 45 minutes after eating. I am just trying to limit my portions because I haven't really lost as much weight during these weeks after surgery. :sad_smile: I have PCOS, so I am sure that is making a difference in my weight loss.

That makes sense I was shocked to read the thing about the diet pills anyway! Let me ask another question when you drink liquids do you feel the same in terms of fullness as when you eat the pudding? That's good that you can now have soft foods. That is something they didn't give us as a hand out what kind of foods/liquids we would be able to have. I am trying to wrap my mind around 14 days of liquids! :smile:

That makes sense I was shocked to read the thing about the diet pills anyway! Let me ask another question when you drink liquids do you feel the same in terms of fullness as when you eat the pudding? That's good that you can now have soft foods. That is something they didn't give us as a hand out what kind of foods/liquids we would be able to have. I am trying to wrap my mind around 14 days of liquids! :eek:

I have to be honest and say that the fullness was different. The shakes and broth left me floating. I would be sloshing around after drinking my shakes (I was required to use Glucerna). The pudding at least gave the illusion of eating (I missed chewing). I felt awful for the first 3 days. On day four, I was no longer hungry. We actually were given two booklets with examples of what can be eaten and when. Our nutritionist visit was actually in one of the hospital's WLS center. It was guided towards lap band. I also had a pre-op class with the surgeon's office that went over eating guidelines. Hopefully, if you decide to do this, your surgeon will give you that information. Most of the doctors pre-op and post-op diets differ so don't worry if your information doesn't match someone else's.

Yeah that's not bad at all!! I told the Dr. at the seminar I went to that I have a veryyy low threshold for pain but she assured me they gave the best drugs around lol Re: the sweet spot, can you tell me, when you or your Dr finds it does it always stay the same or will it change as you lose weight? Also are you losing/have you lost the average 1-2 pounds a week and feel like that isn't as much as you want?

I think what I find the most eye-opening about the seminar was that the Dr. was very, very candid that the band gives you a little edge vs. gastric which gives you a lot more. I am not a fan of slicing and dicing my insides but of late my eating habits have gone downhill and I need to really get it together. I am trying to get my workout back to where it was last year and then tighten up the diet but thank you for the candid post because its always better to get information first hand! :eek:

Girl the pain is the least of your worries, you are gonna be so glad to be banded, you won't worry about the minimal discomfort. Well as for the sweet spot, it's good restriction. Meaning I will be unable to eat a large about of food in one sitting. So the less I eat the more weight I loose. Right now I have very little restriction. All of us are different some people hit their sweet spot with just the band and no fill, and others my need 1,2, or 3, but in my case I am going on my 4th fill, so I hope this is it. Oh yeah the fills are nothing, just the little sting of the local, that's all:thumbup:

I have to be honest and say that the fullness was different. The shakes and broth left me floating. I would be sloshing around after drinking my shakes (I was required to use Glucerna). The pudding at least gave the illusion of eating (I missed chewing). I felt awful for the first 3 days. On day four, I was no longer hungry. We actually were given two booklets with examples of what can be eaten and when. Our nutritionist visit was actually in one of the hospital's WLS center. It was guided towards lap band. I also had a pre-op class with the surgeon's office that went over eating guidelines. Hopefully, if you decide to do this, your surgeon will give you that information. Most of the doctors pre-op and post-op diets differ so don't worry if your information doesn't match someone else's.

Its sounds like you used a excellent WLS center! This hospital I am looking into seems very hands on like what you are saying. They have a nutritionist you are required to meet with before and after and there is a program fee of $150.00 that covers that as well as unlimited dietary consultations with her for 1 year. They even require that you pass a nutrition test in order to schedule surgery! :wink2: I guess that's a good thing:closedeyes:

Man oh man you ladies are so helpful! Thank you! I am thinking I may want to start adding some protien shakes or slim fast type drinks and Soup to my diet now just so it isnt a total shock to the system!

Girl the pain is the least of your worries, you are gonna be so glad to be banded, you won't worry about the minimal discomfort. Well as for the sweet spot, it's good restriction. Meaning I will be unable to eat a large about of food in one sitting. So the less I eat the more weight I loose. Right now I have very little restriction. All of us are different some people hit their sweet spot with just the band and no fill, and others my need 1,2, or 3, but in my case I am going on my 4th fill, so I hope this is it. Oh yeah the fills are nothing, just the little sting of the local, that's all:thumbup:

That's my issue I am a volume eater I don't have a favorite anything to be honest I can just eat and eat and eat. WW & therapy did help with that but as soon as I slack up like I started trying to date more my working out or cooking falls off and everything falls apart. I need to give up men for Lent this year! :wink2: Good luck with fill #4!!! :cursing: You are brave I am such a Scaredy Cat :cool: You are now my lap band idol!!! Looking forward to your updates!

A day in the life for me is:

I usually skip Breakfast or have a yogurt if I get hungry. I am typically not hungry until around noon...but I like to have *something* before then. I currently am on fill number 5 and I am really tight! I am even contemplating an unfill...as I have to eat slow and chew really really well...My days generally look like (samples of what I'll have):

Day one -

Breakfast - oatmeal and Water or coffee

Snack - yogurt, a few mini pretzels

lunch - soup and a cheese stick

Snack - a few pretzels and cheese stick

dinner - a small portion of whatever my husband makes... (usually meat and veggies of some sort) and/or Protein shake

Snack - sherbet

Day two -

Breakfast - Protein Shake and water

Snack - yogurt

Lunch - grilled chicken and gravy

Snack - orange juice and cheese stick

Dinner - grilled chiken and gravy

Snack - sherbet

On the weekends, I splurge a little and have a few bites of "junk food" - pizza, cheesesteaks, subs...MIND YOU - I mean literally 1 or 2 bites...it either gets stuck and comes back up, OR I don't have an interest...my mindset about food has changed soooo much. It's really crazy! (in a good way)

Rules for me are - as much protein as possible. I have to have my meat with some type of broth or gravy or it gets stuck and comes right back up! So I try to get good sources of protein in there and be sure to take my Vitamin.

I wish you the best of luck!! Feel free to ask any questions! :thumbup:

Oh WoW I have been reading your blog for a minute and just checked and saw the update today!!! I love your honesty!!! Congrats Lexy you look GREAT!!!

What Protein shakes do you use?

Edited December 17, 200817 yr by LastOptionAtty

I use Optimum Nutrition - I get it from GNC...tastes ok - it's unflavored...I think they are all chalky...so I jsut chug and go! lol