B2010

From someone that has never stuck to any diet for more than a short time I can tell you this time around with the liquid diet was VERY different. When I've been on a diet before you really always know that you have a choice to eat what you're supposed to or not. The difference with this liquid diet was that I knew #1 i had a foreign object in my body and I knew that my liquid phase was essential to my bodies healing correctly. I didn't want to interfere or hurt that. Also, staying on the forum and reading peoples successes with the band following the liquid phase and I didn't want to ruin my chances of having the same success. And finally, you'll be surprised at how much it's a mental battle over a physical battle. you can read my blogs that I had during my liquid phase and maybe that will help to show you where my mind was at - at the time.

thanks I'll have to try the pineapple thing. I've been trying to drink hot liquids but doesn't seem to get things moving.

I've gotten my 3rd fill and feel major restriction - most likely too tight at this point. But remember hearing lindsey talking about hot sauce or something to open things up a bit. Since I just got the fill 2 days ago I want to give myself a few days of adjustment time and see if things loosen up a bit before I decide on an unfill. anyone have any suggestions?

The band gave me hope that I wouldn't have to be fat for the rest of my life. It gave me the opportunity or more FORCED me to evaluate my eating habits and become more aware of what it was I was putting in my body. Of course like some have said you can certainly cheat using the band and not lose weight very fast. I think we all go thru these moments of testing to see what we can and can't tolerate. I've been a consistent loser so far and it has been coming off slowly but I know i wouldn't have been able to do it without the band.

Awesome! congratulations on reaching your goal and getting over the plateau. I was also at my first plateau for about a month in the low 190's and finally broke free. It's so revealing to get on the other side of those plateaus but you're right you just have to stick with it and our bodies will move when they are ready and sure that we aren't going back to our old ways.

Honestly, I kind of plateaued at where you are now for about 3 weeks. And my start weight was similar to yours. I definitely am not losing as fast as some that have more to lose and have averaged sometimes 1 sometimes 2 lbs per week. Some weeks (like those 3) I didn't lose anything. I think if you're noticing the time between meals you're hungrier,and you can eat more then you may need a small fill. I think I'm kind of at where you are too - needing a small fill - but after I surpassed the 190 mark the last few pounds have just been coming off really fast. I did change my diet a little and incorporated more fruits and actually nuts to increase my protein and it has seemed to help a lot.

My advice is - don't work against the band. You will learn the tricks to get in the foods you WANT to eat but fight the temptations and work with the band. Don't wait until you're starving to eat. Still keep the bad junk food out of your house and eat solid foods.

I didn't experience any psych evaluation before my lapband procedure with Dr. Ortiz and staff. I'm sure if you're functioning and able to be in a rational state of mind enough to make the decision then that's all that matters. If you're on medication for it, just make sure to list your disorders and meds on the medical history application and I'm sure if there is any concern they will bring it up.

these aha moments are the biggest reward with the band. I feel like my eyes truly opened to how destructive my life had been and how destructive I had been to my body. It does physically force you to evaluate what you're doing and why and for the emotional and mental parts of the weight - i've seen more changes than i've seen on the scale. As for an upturn in my quality of life, I think it's slow process. I broke up with my boyfriend shortly after being banded and we had been together for about 7 years (and not married). I guess you just start realizing your worth when you look at you life around you and kind of what you've let yourself become. I found that as I got fatter and fatter that the person I felt that I was - was no longer there. I had been replaced with a quiet, passive, reserved, shy person that quite honestly became a recluse. I can say 4 months out from being banded, a lot of those things have changed and my self-esteem is higher than it's been in years.

I totally agree with the liposuction comment. I also have previously had liposuction and honestly the improvement (if any) is so minimal for those that aren't rail thin in the first place.

yea it's definitely something that doesn't go away. I've found that I was trying to find the things that went down easy during this time....ie....ice cream. Yea well that completely stalled my weight loss. So I started reading. I've never been much of a reader, but this has been a great escape and I'm finding that I truly do enjoy it.

I really appreciate your post. I got to my sweet spot fairly soon after I started getting fills and the weight had consistently been coming off. And even though it was coming off - granted slowly - like 1-2 lbs per weeks - my mentality was, if a little fill is good, more is better. Your post kind of reconfirmed with me about my unhealthy way of viewing weight and food. It's been 4 months since my surgery and although the band has forced me to deal with my overeating issues, it seems like the obsession just passed from food to how tight I could live with my band. Luckily - I have a good fill doctor. When I called and told her that I wanted to get MORE of a fill she asked some important questions to me like, are you able to eat more than a cup of food (answer no), was I able to pass food without restriction (again my answer was no), but I told her the weight wasn't coming off as fast as I'd like. And she said, this is more of a mental thing at this point. The band IS doing the job it's supposed to do and tightening it to a point where you won't be able to eat ANYTHING is going to halt your progress. She's right. When I started paying more mind as to what I was eating, how many calories I was "drinking" on a daily basis I began losing a little bit more. Enough to keep me satisfied. I'm glad I have a good fill doctor that isn't just in it for the money but also realizes that she's working with someone that has and "obsessive" behavior problem in the first place. I continue to learn lessons from this band about myself and the messed up ways that my mind has programmed to view weight, weightloss, and food.

eewwwwww the first time I ever "slimed" and puked was when I took ONE bite of white rice. Well should have known cause everyone says don't eat it but of course I did anyway I guess just to see. Sliming feels like this: You eat either something too much, too fast, or the wrong kind of food. For me I slime when I eat meat that has been re-heated in the microwave because it's just too dry. Or when I've eaten bread or rice. I also find that I end up sliming or getting food stuck or puking when I wait until I'm STARVING to eat because it's much harder to control how fast I eat - so I try to avoid this by eating at the first point of noticing I'm hungry. It's like your food sits at the top of your stomach (and you can feel this sensation) It feels like something is stuck and that you are overfull - even though it may be just your first or second bite of food. What I mean when I say it feels like you're overfull - is that before the band, when I used to eat eat eat to the point of a dull pain in my stomach then this is similar to how I feel when food is stuck in my stoma. So then you start getting this warm, slimy spit coming back up into your mouth. It happens to me anywhere from 15-30 minutes after I eat. And then it's the waiting game to see if what you've eaten is going to go down or come back up. So usually about 10 minutes after trying to wait the sliming out - I just go to the restroom and try to relax my esophagus so whatever is stuck can come up without the heaving that goes along with puking. Sometimes it comes up like a slimy deep cough sound, sometimes I've had to puke and heave, and sometimes it just slimes back up without any harsh heaving. Either way - it's clear that you've slimed - because the consistency is slimy

I can say that I definitely noticed a change in gas following surgery, but now 4 months out it has subsided. I also of course noticed major change in BM during and shortly after my 3 week liquid phase and I think that the time without any solid food kind of cleaned my system out. That was then - I think now that I'm 4 months out post-op things have returned to pretty normal. I've also had hemorrhoids but didn't notice any increased inflammation during any of my time since surgery. Maybe you need more fiber in your diet to get things "together"

I also started with what's considered a lower bmi, but honestly - I didn't want to struggle with my weight for the rest of my life and I needed some help with it. The weight has come off slowly since I was banded in March but I'm happy with the amount I've lost in the last almost 4 months. Bottom line is that I wasn't able to do it without the band and I haven't gained any weight back since being banded, so what's the harm in it? I don't care if people think I'm cheating or not "fat enough" to get the lapband. I think it's ridiculous that you have to be morbidly obese to qualify for it in the states. Who wants to wait until the health complications are so severe to stop a problem from escalating. I think that's a huge problem with our medical field here in the states. Waiting too long and then - trying to fix what could have been avoided in the first place. I say good for you, the lapband isn't an easy way to go - but I'm still happy I have it and I still feel like I made the right decision. Even for my mental health - i'm no longer consumed with thoughts of food all the time an that's been the biggest change overall.

Well I ended my relationship with my boyfriend (for the last 6 years) after my lapband surgery. I'm not sure why but, being fat I think is part of the reason I stayed in the relationship to begin with. we're still kind of on a rocky break up road but for the most part I'm happy with my decision to end it. The good thing is that this time during our break up I couldn't eat myself to oblivion and gain a ton of weight.

I've heard the "eat protein first" then whatever else afterwards - but does anyone have the issue of not being able to eat after protein? I eat protein first and then there is no room left for anything else. I guess this is restriction.