Having trouble staying focused...

I had my lapband procedure on 1/27/11 and I'm still in the phase of healing before the first fill. I'm having so much trouble staying on track because I'm hungry all the time. I know that I have to stay focused. I just need a little encouragement. I don't know if I've lost weight or gained because I refuse to purchase a scale. I become too obsesive with weighing when I have one and the moment I don't get the weight I expected, I get discouraged. I feel like if I could loose weight by mere dicipline, I wouldn't need the lapband in the first place. This is harder than I thought.

It's really tough until you have your first fill.  Hang tough, you'll make it!!

Thanks, that means a lot. I've already went to the store and purchased healthier foods. My husband is not on my diet kick so I still cook regular foods which is why I strayed away in the first place. I'm back on point now.

I'm close to where you are, and feeling like a hungry failure. I do have my first fill on Monday, but am afraid I will have gained weight from the first 10+ lbs. I lost. I am exercising, and I've REALLY cut back on sweets. But that is about all of my successes. I too don't want to weigh.  I have a real problem with night munchies.  It kicks my butt nightly.  I feel your pain.  I think they call this part bandster hell and say it gets better.

Hang in there, it will get better.  Your body is going through a lot of changes and it really does not like it.  If you get on the scale out of curiosity remember you had surgery recently and you are very swollen still and your body is still healing. 

Stay the course and some days will be harder than others but keep up good work and remember this is about making positive changes in order to get your life back.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Thanks, you're right. I guess I'm going through food withdrawal LOL! And just like a drug addict, my body is trying to trick me into eating bad again with constant hunger. I'll be Ok. I just don't want to get back to point A.

This is a very tough time, no doubt. I was constantly hungry, too. It gets better once you are back on real food. The time until a fill gives you good restriction so you can be satisfied for 3-4 hours, is called bandster hell for a reason because it is! To my knowlege no one has ever died directly because of this but I was pretty sure I would. Plan your meals and snacks and use them to yoiur best advantage. You are probably on soft foods, still, so try to get your protein in food form and not shakes. The shakes are great to supplement, but they do nothing toward satiety. I stopped using them as soon as I could.
Quaker makes a weight control instant oatmeal with extra protein but no sugar, that may be an option. Get with your nut for suggestions.

Even though you don't weigh you might try to measure your self. Some times that is great encouragement.

Keep coming here frequently, it will help with focus, and give you much needed support. It also helps to write down all the reasons you wanted to have this surgery and what you hope to acomplish with it. Read that list at least twice a day. It helps.

Good luck, Sue

Thanks for your encouraging words. I was previously on a site called Lapband Forum where the people weren't so nice. Had I posted this thread there, I would have been attacked in every angle. I even had someone respond to one of my posts by saying "Oh no! I actually lost weight after my surgery, I must have done something wrong!" They were brutal on that site. Don't get me wrong there were many nice responses also, but unfortunately the bad ones left such a bitter taste in my mouth I just left that site. I'm glad I found this one.

I worry that you call what you're doing a "diet kick".  A "diet kick" is what we've all done, all our lives, and which never worked.   With the help of your lapband you are embarking on an entire lifestyle change.   That means new ways of eating and incorporating exercise into your life for now and forever if you want to be successful.

You are doing great by recognizing that you are pre-fill and are going through "bandster hell" at the moment.  Hang tough and know that when you DO go for your first fill and get on that doctor's scale you will have lost several pounds and will continue to lose as you follow band rules and get out there and MOVE.  You don't have to join a gym and go nuts with exercise - just start out walking a couple of days a week if that's more your style.  ANY movement is good movement!

I commend you on your acknowledgement that having a scale in the house will drive you nuts, so you don't have one.  Very, very smart.  Too many people obsess about that stupid thing and let it sabotage their resolve.  You WILL win this war, and you will win it with or without a scale.  Let your scale dictate how you feel on any given day, however, and you're just asking for trouble.  In the beginning I weighed once a month, on my bandiversary, and saw 10 and 12 pounds disappearing each and every time I stepped on the scale.  Now THAT was motivational!!

YOU CAN DO THIS BASIMAH!!!!!