1st Solid Meal after Fill #1

Just finished dinner and did OK. I stopped before I felt full because I am so afraid of the dreaded PB! I hope I never experience it, but am afraid I will one of these days. I had 1/2 piece of baked Tilapia...maybe 3 ounces, some brown rice with sauteed mushrooms (1/2 cup),  some spagetti squash with grated cheese and a few slices of avacado. I ate it from a 9 inch salad plate and it was pretty full. I feel OK now. Not full but not hungry either. Although I do feel  pressure where the band is. Not sure if that is fullness or some sort of GERD pressure thing.

First Fill

First fill went well and was much easier than I thought it would be. A numbing prick, then the fill needle, where he removed what was in the band, (2cc that I never knew was there in the first place) and added 1.5 cc giving me a total of 3.5cc. So, we will see how this works for me. My next fill appointment isn’t until March 10, six weeks away so you know what that means? It means I am going to have to be very diligent and controlled if I am to lose some weight by my next appointment. The good news is, I did not gain any weight since surgery and am still at 250. I am really happy about that, because I thought I for sure gained a few pounds. (can't believe I just said I am happy about being 250!)


What is amazing is how easily I have fallen back into my old eating habits. My portion sizes have changed and are smaller, but I still eat the same stuff. I cook with EVOO and butter, still use ½ and ½ in my coffee, tarter sauce on my fish and ranch dressing on my salad. (and those are only a few of my bad habits) They are all high fat foods and all wrong. It is amazing my weight stayed the same.

So, it is time to strategize and get busy. And change what I am eating. It’s time to concentrate and make weight loss my priority. I didn’t have surgery or a contraption implanted in me to stay the same!

My goal for my next appointment is to be at least at 240. 10 lbs in 6 weeks is doable don’t you think? Actually, my next goal is 238 which is a 10% weight loss. So that is what I will strive for.

Excited about fill and thinking about Sally

Can't tell you how excited I am for my first fill tomorrow... I will fill you in on how it goes. I really hope I get a decent amount so I can feel "some" restriction. 

Also thinking about Sally Hammilton  (Sally's Blog)  and what she is going through with her medical tests. Saying a prayer that she will be OK.  She is very inspirational and helpful to a lot of us. Good Luck Sally...you have a lot of positive thoughts coming your way.

Countdown to 1st Fill...

  I am counting the days...6 to be exact, until my first fill! I feel like I have just been waiting in a holding pattern and doing nothing the last month and really need to get the band working to help me start the process of losing weight. It is very frustrating!

My eating habbits have somewhat changed, but honestly not enough.  I am relying on the "band" to help me make the changes and to keep me on plan.  It is very easy to fall back into old habbits and eat the way I used to especially without restriction. Sometimes I feel it is like I didn't even have surgery. I am a bit disappointed in myself for not having better "selfcontrol" and staying on a good eating plan now, but I honestly don't have it in me, and haven't for a long time....THAT IS WHY I GOT THE BAND...CAUSE I NEEDED HELP, RIGHT? So, I am going to give myself a chance here, get the band "working" for me with the proper fills and see where I go.  One thing is for sure, it is very encouraging reading about other's successes here in our little blogworld.

Lap Band Support Group

Went to my first post-op lap band support group meeting last night. There were only 3 of us there along with the psychologist Jackie, who runs the meetings. One lady was a year and a half out and the guy was only two weeks out. The lady has lost only about 70 pounds in the year and a half and still needs to lose more. She has had issues with GERD in a big way, and has had about 9 fills over that peroid. Jackie told us they actually have patients who have lost nothing after being banded. They go for one fill, don't lose, get discouraged, then never come back. Can you imagine? So, I mentioned I am worried about gaining some weight back during this period of no restriction, and Jackie then asked me "Well aren't you staying on the plan?" And I had to answer truthfully, that I am not. I am pretty much eating like I used to before surgery, with a few exceptions and of course my quantities are somewhat more limited.  So, today I am back on "plan" and paying attention to what I am eating again. I need to start writing what I eat down too. Do you guys do that and find it helpful?

Jackie did ask the other woman if she was happy with the band and on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the best) how she would rate it. She said she would give it a 4, and knows she would have never lost the 70 lbs without it. 4 is good in my book, better than average.  So I am keeping the faith and looking forward to my first fill on Jan 27.

Restriction in the New Year

I need some restriction in my head and my band! It seems I am pretty much eating almost as much as I was pre-band the past few days. I have no restriction other than the band itself and as long as I chew things pretty well, everything seems to go through OK. And my portions are much larger. I did have a bad experience yesterday with a corn muffin. Came home and wanted to have a bite of something with some tea before getting ready to go out for NYE. The muffin was a bit dry even though I had butter and maple syrup on it and I (unconsciously) took a bite without chew, chew, chewing and it got stuck. Wow did it ever hurt. So, I stood up and moved around a bit and took a few sips of tea and it passed. But boy was that a reminder that I have to be fully aware and conscious of everything I put into my mouth from now on. That is the reason for being banded in the first place right? My first fill is scheduled the last week of January, so I am really concerned about how I am going to control my calories-portions from now until then. I am really stressed and sad about my darling Dad too. I see his health deteriorating so quickly and I am a stress eater so I am afraid I will sooth and comfort myself with food in the coming months. I have lost 15 pounds and don’t want to screw that up. I would even be happy if I could at least maintain it until my first fill. This is the New Year and a new way of life for me, so I am going to concentrate on goal setting and being being aware of what I am doing regarding food and what I chose to eat.
How did you guys get through this time? Any suggestions? Hope you are all well and wish everyone the best in the New Year!

New Years Week~ 1st Post-op Visit with Surgeon

I feel like I am eating like a human once again. I am not sure if this is good or bad because I am reverting to some of my old eating habits, although I did eat a small chopped salad (mostly lettuce) yesterday which was refreshing and crunchy. My portion sizes are much larger now too as is my appetite! So I need to remain diligent until my first fill.


I see my surgeon for my first post op visit tomorrow. I will be exactly 18 days post op and I am wondering if he will give me a small fill. I think he normally waits until 6 weeks post op, but since I am tolerating food well, and eating more, and hungry every two hours, perhaps he will get me started. I will let you know what happens. I will weigh in tomorrow too. I don’t feel like I have lost any more weight since surgery which is about 12 pounds down total since the pre-op diet.

The things I am having a hard time with at the moment are (1) drinking enough liquid. I am lucky if I can get in 32 oz a day. I have never been a big water drinker, and 64 ounces seems like more than I can handle. (2) My protein is coming in around 40 grams a day. Need to keep working on that too to get to 60. I also see the dietitian tomorrow. My other issue (3) is writing everything down in a food journal.

In the back of my head, I keep thinking like I have every other holiday season in the past, I will start my diet after the New Year! Some habits are hard to break.

Good luck and Happy New Year to all of you this week and I will let you know if anything happens at the surgeon’s office.