AngieB

For me it has been one of the things you adjust to as you go. With each fill you get a bit more careful and chew chew chew. It is not a bad thing, and it comes second nature now. One thing that I have noticed is when I am in a social dinning situation, I have to be extra mindful of my chewing. When I get inolved wiht conversation, I tend to swallow to soon. Yikes. Last nigh we had NY Steaks. I did cut my steak into eraser size pieces. Other wise, I do pretty good with bigger sized pieces.

Hi Andy - for the shoulder pain, apply a heating pad. The heat seems to help. Take short walks, to help work the gases out. I walked a lot and I didn't have a bit of gas pain. I was a very lucky gal!

I am hoping for the best outcome. I hope you don't loose your band.

Sorry for your loss.....breast cancer does suck!

B- 2 Large cups of coffee with creamer 100 cal L - 1 cup of grilled chicken and BBQ 300 cal ? 20 oz of water 20 oz of water

I would have to say yes. I would go back in and get more fill. I had 3 fills each 1 month apart. (my Dr won't do a fill any sooner than a month after your last fill.) It took me 3 months to get any sort of restriction. I could book my next fill but at $300.00 a pop, it is a bit pricey. So I will wait. It is nice to see the scale move. When I stop loosing I will book my next fill.

Mona - Glad the scale is moving for ya! That stinks big time that it took you that long to reach a good level of restriction. My last fill which was my 3rd finally gave me something to work with! I was soo happy. It really burst my bubble when the scale was not moving, or crawling at a snails pace. Plus the added pressure from all the people I have told. Anyway, this is the first time when I can see the scale moving at a speedy pace. Glad for it too! I hit the 250 mark! I see you are lower than 250!

So I wasn't thinking I was going to drop anymore weight. (especially since the night eater in me struck again last night) I was pleasantly suprised when I saw 250! Yay! I have been really being conscious about haw many grams of protein I am eating. The bandster diet is one I am still working on. I've had some constipation, or hard poop. So I like to have oatmeal in the mornings. Seems hard to get the protein in and have any room left for fruits or veggies. The other night I made a skillet of turkey burger, zucchini, fresh green beans, and a can of cream of onion soup. It was great to get some veggies in. I have been lacking in that area. I have noticed that when I do eat a salad or veggies that have been cooked, I can eat more of those without even feeling close to full. Other news. My parents are coming to visit Lil D, oh and us too.....It's a grandparent thing. We are more of a after thought or added purk to seeing Lil D. I love how they eat him up, and are the greatest grandparents! He is so blessed to have loving grandparents who really care. Mom's birthday was yesterday, so she will get her present on Saturday. A trail camera! LOL I love her and her odd gift requests. That's my momma! Gonna order her a cake today. I am not going to focus on my eating TO MUCH this weekend. It will be a nice break to live and eat what I eat. Then it's back to business as usual again when they leave. My next 10 lbs goal will mark the weight I was at when I got pregnant with Lil D. I will be so happy to see the 240's again. Ahh life is good. I am enjoying these 10 lbs goals. They are nice markers and a good reason to celebrate! I hit 250 today and that is really something to celebrate! Yippee! Pretty soon, I will be looking at the 250's in my rear view mirror! [img=http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee56/angieboyd/lapband%20pictures/rearviewmirror.jpg]

Carrie - I appreciate your comment. I am starting to see and feel the difference. Thank heavens we got the band!

Thanks Carrie - This is a big one for me. I had to take a picure to send to my husband, so I figured I'd plaster it here too! LOL Giddy Happy about it.

I am glad you can't get the August picture any smaller. When the pictures are to small they are hard to see!

I had a big nsv today. I can wear my wedding ring again! OI took a picture of my hand. The ring is snug on my finger, but it goes on and off!!! In the picture you can kinda see my finger is red. It's because I kept taking it on and off. =D> I was so happy to be able to wear it again! It's been 2 years since I took it off. So it was nice to wear it again. Feels good. I have set small reachable goals as well as big milestone goals. THIS IS A MILESTONE GOAL!

I was on my blackberry when I was looking at your pictures, had to go to the PC so I could see better! Holly those pictures are so good! You are very attractive and there is a big difference between the you then and the you now!!!!

That really stinks that you are not out of the "woods" so to speak. I can only imagine how being on mainly liquids would get to be old and worn out. Let's hope your stomach and band will make up and some swelling will go down. I am sure you will be happy to eat and not have heartburn or discomfort. Yeah, not wanting to loose anymore weight is a reality I hope to be at, only under better circumstances.

Hey Nicole - I was looking at Isopure yesterday. Do you order yours on line of buy it direct from like a GNC? I noticed some websites are more pricey then others. How long are you on liquids for? Are you still tight with all your fill gone?

I am wearing my wedding ring today! Woo hoo! I have not worn it since the middle of my pregnancy. It feels sooo good. I took a picture of my hand with the ring on and sent it to my husband. It is a tight fit, but it is on and will come back off, so I am wearing it with pride! (I have the lapband, and the OCC to thank for this!) I got on the scale this moring.....251! Coming closer and closer to my next set of goals! Sure does make it easier to stay on track when you begin to feel the success of the lapband. Food choices are much more simple for me to make. For a while I had a strange adversion to logging my food and calories. Since the gals on here started to do it, I have joined in. It feels good and gives me some food ideas as well.

Wow! You are looking so hot! Great job! Looking good!

I am glad you are working with your doctor. That makes me feel better. I think I tend to be leary with tight fills because my friend who lost her first band put the fear of GOD in me about it. Glad you got some good feedback too. I learn so much from posts. The posts I like the best are the ones that have many different points of view.

Funny you would bring up Greek Yogurt - I was reading about it's values yesterday! Something else I was checking out is Quinoa. Anyone eat any Quinoa? My husband family is Japanese and eats rice like a staple. I was searching for a healthy alternative. I am wondering if it is band friendly. Personally I don't miss rice in my diet. For the most part I do not miss breads, rice, pastas at all. Which is strange to me, because I thought I would.

LOL check out this video clip... http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2...chupacabra.KSAT

So, I am coming closer to saying bye-bye to the 250's! ( I love my scale so much, but in the next breath I hate that scale. ) I love it because I am a scale whore! Yes, I embrase my whorishness! Who cares. I get, "don't weigh yourself everyday" comments from people, but for me, I weigh. Everyday! Not only do I weigh in the moring, I weigh in the evening as well. Why!? Because it keeps me on track! I have programed my body through the years I have abused the ol' girl to pack on the pounds lightning fast. It's scary really. I digress....back to goals... [img=http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee56/angieboyd/lapband%20pictures/diet_lady.jpg] I am sooo close! 3 lbs away from leaving the 250's in the rear view mirror! I could just squeel with joy! Cha Cha Cha! Picture me doing the happy dance. The second goal when I hit 248.9 I will be at the 30 lbs lost mark! How great is that?! I am loving being a looser! P.S. the reason I hate my scale is it tends to vary a lb depending on what part of the floor it is on. Grrr. So not only am I a scale whore, I can be found moving the scale to different places on the floor. Yes, I am sure I look silly, but whatever. I use the heaviest weight each time. Example this morning, I saw a glimer of 251, but the heavest weight was 252 so 252 is what I go with. Ahh that darn scale, I do love her! LOL

Way to Go! Woo hoo! I love NSV =D> !!!!

I would ask your friend who is a nurse for more specific information. It is really easy to say, "they" this or that. Sense she knows the person, maybe you could talk to her, see where she went? I am a bit skeptical of information when it is generalized. There are cheaper surgeons in Mexico, and being a self pay, I was looking for the "best bang for my buck" so to speak. I choose to pay more and go to the best. You can decided for yourself, once you have the facts.

Hi Karen0604. I can see why you feel the way you do about the level of restriction. As the sweet spot can be something most of us have to dial into. I myself have had 3 fills and I have restriction, but I do not believe I am at my "sweet spot" if that makes sense. We all want to jump start our weight loss, but we want to be safe about it. Being to tight is a gamble. Something swells you may cause your band to slip. I am not the bands poster child. I have made mistakes, cheated when I was not suppose to and made poor decisions. So, that being said, I would like to say, please be careful. One of my friends has her band slip and it is not fun to say the least. She had her band removed and now has another one in place, but the entire event was very hard on her. I've copied some liturature for you to read below. The LAP-BAND® “Sweet Spot” — How tight is too tight? The adjustable LAP-BAND® allows doctors to tighten or loosen the amount of stomach restriction based on the patient’s individual needs and weight-loss progress. There has been much discussion about the LAP-BAND “sweet spot,” that point in the continuum of fills where the Band is filled just right. Since the Band’s function is to satisfy hunger, finding the ideal sweet spot will also help patients feel fuller faster. Finding the Sweet Spot There are many methods to find the sweet spot. For example, one method is to fill the band until the patient feels a slight amount of resistance to the flow of water when drinking. The Band is set so that anything ingested meets resistance, and the pouch fills with even water. The problem here is that there is very little room for error and even the slightest amount of swelling can create more resistance. The pouch emptying against severe resistance may ultimately lead to slippage. At Lap Band Rockies, Dr. Kirshenbaum’s preferred approach is to fill until resistance is just met and then reduce the fill by a very small amount. Thus, water can pass through the Band without any resistance and anything thicker than water, which is essentially everything else, will meet some resistance. Why Tighter is Not Always Better Contrary to popular belief, a tighter band does not necessarily translate into better results. In fact, a Band that is too restrictive may actually hinder the weight loss. Filling the Band tighter than the sweet spot is counter-productive because the patient then cannot tolerate solid foods (especially high-protein meats) that won’t pass through the Band. The patient must resort to mushy and liquid high-calorie calories that tend to pass too quickly, failing to produce sustained fullness and satisfy hunger. Ideally, the Band should be loose enough to eat a small amount of most meats. What You Can Do to Promote Efficiency The LAP-BAND® is a tool. Used properly, this tool is most efficient when hunger is satisfied. When the sweet spot is reached, solid foods will stay in the pouch the longest, mushy foods will pass through more easily and liquids will pass through quickly. To improve efficiency, patients can stop drinking about 10 minutes before eating, eat solid food and restrain from ingesting liquids for 30 minutes. In this way, the patient enjoys fullness for 30 additional minutes without any extra calories. Patients should also avoid eating “empty” calories (alcohol, ice cream, etc.) which promote inefficiency. Keep in mind: calories that pass through the Band without satisfying hunger are useless. Also remember that eating too fast can mask the sensation of early fullness and result in distress or even pain. Talk to an Experienced LAP