2nd fill today.

I was happy to get a fill today although he only put in .75cc in the 10 cc band. last month no fill month before 1 cc. I didn't have a weight loss this month and mentioned last month how hungrey I was aand needed it. I feel I wasted ean entire month cause the assisant wanted to see how I would do. I'm on liquids for the rest of the day and then go on pureed for a day. I really don't care for this doctor at all. He said not to have oatmel for breakfast, not to have cottage nor soups. They are sliders. I know that I asked what should I eat for breakfast. He said a piece of cheese or a piece of turkey some berries. I said I have egg salad and chicken salad for lunch. He said that is more like pureed food..too soft.. He said do water excercise after I said I try my best with excercise cause of the 23 rods and screws I have in spine.. Bottom line is this everything I said he said something differnet but then said well you have done well so far 3 months 25 lbs. Please give me a break/// We have a band cause we needed help not to give up food forever. Am I missing something here. I really didn't hit it off with him before the surgery and I'm happy I usually see the phy. assistant. I really need to be uplifted not discouged with all this can't have niothing....no pasta.breads. sweets..etc. wish I have been eliminating but we have to live and eat in the real world....I need feedback that I'm not going to lose it...













chesse nor yougurt

Spudd,

My Nut said if  you can eat breads, pasta or rice you need a fill basically I laughed at her for telling me that lol.

I eat all them things but I eat them in moderation .  And you are right we do live in the real world and you need to learn to eat them foods without making a pig of yourself and that is what I'm doing right now and I'm successful at doing that also .


The way I look at it is the cookies, the pasta, the bread , or rice isn't what made me fat what made me was fat was sitting down and eating like a damn pig that is what made me fat .   You cant sit down and eat serving after serving of them foods and not put on weight.

Now with the band I can eat them foods in small servings and I'm satisfied and happy with that. 

I dont believe in giving up foods for this band , now if the foods give me problems because of the band that is a different story but like you said we live in the real world and I want to eat like I live in the real world but to eat them foods in moderation and know when to stop.

I dont agree with your doc at all .  Oatmeal is great source of protein I personally dont like it I dont like the texture of it but alot of people eat it because it keeps you full.

I eat cottage cheese all the time its a wonderful snack for protein .  Gosh 1/2 cup of cottage cheese gives you like 12 grams of protein I believe .

This is just how I feel though.  I dont let food control me no more , I control the food that goes in me and I can still eat all them so called bad foods but in moderation, how often , and how much of them bad foods .

Thanks for the feedback...Some doctors just don't have bedside manner and he is one of them. He is very young. He just turned 40 on my surgery date. He is a fairly nice looking man..not my type but I think he is a little ****y. I think I will get the scedule for the meeting at the hospital so I can speak to the nutrionist there. I don't feel that the oatmeal or cottoge cheese slides down. they make me full and I use them as a meal not a snack. I hope I can get more excercie in this month and get this weight off...thanks

oatmeal has very little protein the most I have found is 6-7 grams.. a lot of people put protein powder in it to boost the protein level.

I eat oatmeal at time myself I love it but not often.. the best ratio for me is a complex carb protein mix.. so I will eat a toasted sandwich thin 1/2 a piece very toasted with 2 slices of low sodium turkey and 1 wedge of laughing cow cheese..

Again I'm two years out and my band is on the looser side but Spudd I didn't eat this three months out.. at three months out I ate just the turkey and cheese because I couldn't tolerate the band.

I think Steelers approach is great.. for her.. but in the beginning and heck even now there is certain things I can't eat in moderation because hello.. I'm a food addict. I eat a variety foods I don't eat super low carbs I eat every fruit and veggie I can get my hands on .. but I can't just eat two slices of pizza and be "okay" with it.. because then it triggers craving and I had two slices for lunch and then I'm going to want two more slices for dinner and maybe another slice as a snack.. so simply I can't order a pizza and be safe.. i can make a pita pizza at home and be okay with it..

So really my advise is really LOOK at yourself and your eating habits and listen to yourself and recongize you have triggers..

We are all individuals and we all face different food issues and different foods are sliders for certain people and for others not.. some people believe in eating 100 grams of protein a day or eating less than 60 carbs a day .. we are all different.. what's important is you find your own path.

Excellent post.

Hi - gosh, I hear your frustration...I don't think 25 pounds in 3 months is bad, although I think 35 pounds (fluctuating up/down a bit) in 3 months (for me) is not good...so it's all in our perspective.  Was that confusing to you?  It was to me...!  It's such a learning experience, the band, in knowing "when are we good with restriction, how should it feel, what works" that I am really just "learning" what to expect from my band and how to continue moving forward.  I love cottage cheese - it is HIGH in protein and I find a 1/2 cup serving to be extremely filling.  I do have 5 cc's in my 10cc band, however.  I had 0 @ surgery, 5 cc @ 6 weeks and this Monday, the 21st, he did not put a fill in because he said weight loss was good and steady.  So will see how the next 6 weeks go.  I eat a lot of soup from Progresso (Light) which I know they consider slider foods, too, but I find them easy and yummy.  I don't always "sip" all the juice - I like the actual food in the soup and usually add shredded cheese on top and I also might warm up some extra green beans to add with it if I need more filler.  I also love egg salad and tuna salad and eat that quite frequently with a WASA cracker & tomato slices at lunch and find that filling - how many (eggs) do you eat at a time when you make them for a meal?  One doeesn't seem like enough and two is too many.  Sounds to me like you are doing okay - if you don't see any weight loss in a week or so, call him and go back in - don't wait another 6 weeks for another fill...I will probably monitor my weight loss the next few weeks and how I feel on hunger level - if I feel it changes and I am getting hungry - to determine if I should go back to see him early...

Thanks. I eat 2 hard cooked eggs for the egg salad and sometimes I add some chopped celery really small. It gives it more substance. Also when I have the cottage cheese I always have some SF chopped peaches with it and its ymmy and satisfies me. I also love soups. I now they slide in but sometime I need tha nice warm feeling on a crappy day.. It is a learning experience for us and I don't like to have meat that might get stuck cause its dry. chicken I always use sauce and turkey meatballs are just my favorite with eith sauce or low fat gravy. I need to get more excercise in that it... I just don't think my stomach should be growling from being hungrey. I hope this little bit in my tube will work for me....my next appt. is 4/27. 4 wks.

Maybe it was your doctors tone.. but you should get defensive I just think he was suggesting you eat more "solid" protein.. actually egg salad would be a great breakfast.. cottage cheese is good but because it's mushy his thinking it won't be in your pouch for so long and you get hungry soon after eating. I think his suggestion is for you to eat a chicken breast or a piece of fish maybe not fish for lunch LOL unless your at home, otherwise your co-workers would hate you LOL but I eat about 3/4 of piece of chicken for lunch (I have NO problems eating chicken some people do) and a veggie. Or maybe make a turkey patty or eating turkey meatballs.. dipping them in sauce..

He has a point regarding soup I love chicken tortilla soup from Fresh and easy but I add chopped chicken in it to boost the protein content and to make it a tad chucky so it stays with me longer another good hot warm alternative is chili.. with the meat and the beans it sticks with you more.

I think the doctor is trying to give you suggestions.. I eat cottage cheese at times but for breakfast only when I'm not that hungry or as snack but cottage cheese wouldn't not fill me up for an "actual" meal.. but they that's just me..

If you think about it 25 pounds is really good for being at three months :o)  We are only suppose to lose one to two pounds per week that is it so 25 is awesome imo .

And you have to remember also Spudd since you are hurt and cant exercise your weight might not come off as fast as somebody that does exercise every day . But even if you lose 5 pounds a month you are actually doing very good for being a bandster :o)  My doc does not give a fill for anybody that loses 5 or more pounds a month because we are in the weight loss guidelines :o)

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As long as you are staying low on calories , low on carbs, low fats and you have no problems eating them foods and they keep you full me personally I wouldn't worry about what the doc says , sometimes you have to do what is right for you.  You are the only one that knows  your body not the doctor all he can do is advise :o) 

Unfortunately there is no sensitivity training in medical school, and no state includes good interpersonal skills in their doctors' licensing requirements.

I'm glad you posted this, because I think lots of people have similar experiences and need to know they're not alone. The more you participate here on the band forum, the more support you'll get to offset the lack of support from your surgeon. But now that I've said that, I'm going to give you a dose of my patented bandster tough love.

Did the surgeon and his staff not mention to you before your surgery that you would have to reduce your intake of pasta, breads, sweets, liquid calories and slider foods? Did they ever imply that your band was going to magically erase your interest in or ability to eat foods like that? I understand that your surgeon did a lousy job of delivering all this information to you today but from what you've described, everything he said makes sense to me and is consistent with everything I've been told about success with the band by various bariatric and fitness professionals (surgeons, nutritionists, social workers, etc.).

Yes, we have to live and eat in the real world, but don't completely dismiss the idea that you can change at least your small part of that big bad world, or change how you deal with it. Here's an example of what I mean. I shop at 2 of the 3 supermarkets in my small town; one is a local chain store and the other is a Wal-Mart Super Center. Both stores have cleverly located their bakery departments immediately inside the main entrance. At the Wal-Mart, where I buy most of my groceries, you have to walk through the bakery department to get to the produce department. Clever placement, huh? The baked goods there don't tempt me much any more but for the first year or so after my band surgery, seeing and smelling that stuff was torture. Yet I still kept walking through the bakery department on my way to buy produce. I wanted to tell the store manager to rearrange the store for me. I wanted to call up Wal-Mart headquarters and complain (like that would do any good!). Finally, finally it occured to me that I can avoid walking through the bakery department by taking an extra ten feet and going down the frozen vegetable/fruit aisle, and then enter the produce department at the back instead of the front.

Is someone forcing you to eat bread, sweets, egg or chicken salad? Is there some reason you need to keep that stuff in your house? Do you live with someone who doesn't understand how important your weight loss is? If so, time to give them a lecture! They've got to get with the program and help you succeed. Tell them if they don't shape up, Jean is going to come swooping in at any moment and inflict Band Boot Camp on them, and it won't be fun!

Jean

ETA: your surgeon's suggestion of water exercise is a great one. I tried that while on vacation a few years ago and it was lots of fun. Do you have a YMCA anywhere in your area? Check it out! And guess what? You're not going to be in the pool with a bunch of 19-yr-old babes in string bikinis! You're going to be exercising with real people like you and me...people of all sizes and ages who aren't going to judge your appearance or your skill because they're too busy thinking about their own problems.