Greetings! 11 days post-op

 Hi all, I'm new here.  Just joined the site three days ago and have been reading, reading, reading.

I had my gastric band (plus hernia repair) on May 29 and I must say...I feel great!  I've recovered quite well from the surgery, I only have some mild discomfort and pain now and then.  I'm logging my food and exercise on myfitnesspal.com.  I've having trouble eating all my calories at this point -- I made it up to 1000 yesterday but the norm has been about 700.  When I eat so little I tire easily, and with two small kids and an active lifestyle, it's frustrating.  I figure I'll be able to eat better once I'm fully healed.  I am a little annoyed that I've only lost 2 pounds in the last week.  I need to stop weighing myself every day!

I'm very hopeful about my life-long weight struggle now.  I want to make sure I stay on track, so I'm so glad I found this site to help with that.  I'm currently looking for a therapist who specializes in bariatric patients to help me deal with my demons.  One thing I fear is transfer addiction.  Now that my food fix is unavailable, what am I going to turn to next?

Anyway...hi to all, I'm looking forward to getting to know you all.  :)

My hardest part was continuing to eat by the clock and not when I was hungry. My NUT kept telling me not to worry about how many calories I eat this early and to focus on drinking LOTS of water and only eating when I am hungry. That means I am only eating 500-600 calories a day and the NUT is ok with that as longs as I get my 60 g of protein. It is still working for me and I do not get hungry for 6-7 hours. I am never hungry when I wake up. It took me two months to quit eating just because it was "time" to eat. It is hard to beak old habits.

My husband has been very supportive and there are many meals that we do not eat together!

Try it!

i had the band with a hernia repair also. my left shoulder and neck hurts alot. 3 on a scale of 10 for pain.

I agree with Beachbunny on the pain. The hernia pain lasted longer then the shoulder pain. Wearing a bra did not help so I got rid of that for a week and it really helped to let that hernia I vision heal quicker.

 Thanks for all the responses, it's nice to feel welcome.

So strange not to feel hungry...

I had a delicious protein smoothie w/banana, yogurt, strawberries, & passion fruit for breakfast, around 9am.  Now it's almost 3pm and I'm just starting to feel hungry enough to have lunch.

Sounds like you're doing great!  Welcome to the Losers Bench! 

It was hard for me to get enough calories in initially as well.  & a lot of lapbanders do not see rapid weight loss the first few weeks after surgery.  Some even see weight gain.  There is a lot of swelling in your body right now & it's playing tricks on your tummy.  Where you will really see the weight loss kicking in is after a fill or two.  For now, just keep those good habits you've got going!!! 

Seeing a therapist will be sooo helpful.  Alcohol and shopping are the xfer addictions I hear about the most.  Alcohol was not a problem for me as I rarely drank anymore by the time I'd made the decision for surgery.  Shopping?  Now that one did grab me about 9 mos postop.  My hubby has to travel a lot for work.  I'd already restricted myself from watching the shopping channels, but I discovered Amazon.com.  Yikes!  Found a great therapist who helped me see what I was really stressing about & recognizing it. 

When I got my lap-band I was so hopeful and scared at the same time.  What if this was one more thing that was not going to work?  My biggest plateau was at 250.  I'd made it down to 250 a few times with Jenny Craig, WW, personal trainer, gyms food plan, but could never break it or sustain it.  It'd become a real mental block.  You'll have those.  But it's so awesome when you break through them!!!  I think my next one was 230 & the next major plateau was 200.  Now I am fighting for the 170's.  My band got me down here.  It's really up to me and my committment to eat properly and exercise - as to whether or not I'll go further.  But I feel better than I have in years!

Take care and keep us posted!

Ambelina, I just saw this post, sorry it took me so long to respond!  Thanks for all the great insight and encouragement.  I'm 15 days post op now and feeling great.  So great, in fact, that I have to keep reminding myself that I only had surgery 2 weeks ago and I need to take it easy!