Before versus 8-mos post-op photos

Jean, the transformation is awesome.  Thanks for posting your encouraging pictures.  You are dong a great job. Z

Jean, "Pretty pleased". . . I would hope that is an understatement. WOW! is more like it. You are a shadow of your former self. Congratulations. What a wonderful summer season this will be for you. We had 100 degree weather for a couple of days last week. I mowed the lawn in  the evening while it was still in the 90s and barely broke a sweat. I used to sweat just getting dressed!

Jean...you look so wonderful!!  WOW what a difference! Congratulations!! Hugs, connie d

Jean, You look terrific.  Did you have trouble in the beginning?  I got my 1st fill last week and I feel some restriction but 2 hours after I eat I'm hungry again.  Yesterday I couldn't stop eating.  I'm also having trouble not drinking with my meals.  I like to take a couple of sips to wash the taste of the food out of my mouth.  I wonder if I'm not sabotaging myself.  Like I said before, you look abo****ely TERRIFIC.  I hope I have the same success you're having. 

Peggy, I'll be honest: I've been hungry all along.  My band is VERY tight now, I can barely eat 1/2 cup of food at a time, and I still get hungry two hours after I eat.  So I plan small, healthy snacks into my daily calorie allowance (1000).  When I have good snacks I'm less likely to graze on junk. If you visit the lap-band forum, you will find many people having the same experience as you are.  It can take 2-3 or even more fills (depending on the size of your band and the amount of the fills) to get good restriction, and until then, losing weight is all about old-fashioned dieting.  I felt the most restriction after my 2nd and 5th fills (in fact, had to have some of the 5th fill taken out).  My first fill made a difference in that certain foods started getting stuck in my stoma, but it wasn't until the second fill that I noticed a difference in how much I could eat. As for drinking with meals, I'll admit to taking 1-2 small sips (not gulps) of water after I eat, usually when the food was spicy.  Then I immediately go brush my teeth to get rid of the taste of the food, then set the timer for 30 minutes so I know when it's OK to drink again. Jean