Me and my battle with the bulge (Gastric Band)

[janehastings]

Maura

Hope your fill has made things better for you, and its nice to read so many great posts on hear about all your weight losses so glad i came across this site xx

 

[Maura]

Maura

Hope your fill has made things better for you, and its nice to read so many great posts on hear about all your weight losses so glad i came across this site xx

hi jane, am pleased to say my second fill has settled down and can feel restriction which i am delighted about. am conscious now of my portions becuase of restriction. i am so pleased. how r u getting on jane xx

 

[Maura]

Maura: yes i managed to pick up a black leather small corner sofa from the local car boot for £60, brand new with 2 small scratches on it, which ive managed to fix...BARGAIN!!!

Im waiting for my provider to ring me back and i have decided to book a 2nd fill. I only want a small amount put in (maybe half a mil).
Ive just managed to scoff a pork pie from my husbands bakery, band slack all day today so ive eaten quite a bit really. I definately should not be able to eat this amount, so ive got to have 2nd fill. Im already pre-empting the first 2 weeks to be hell like my 1st fill.

£60!!!!! OMG. any chance you cod book me a wee holiday with that sort of price lol. 2nd fill was 2 ml, thats 5 in total and can feel restriction. am working with band too as i think that is important too,. going to do a pile of ironing here and then onto my wii for the zumba... its zumba time lol

gd luck on ur fill. stay off the friggin pies tam lol. stay focused. i had problems swallown after this fill just like u had but its all settled thank goodness. take care

 

[Tamgredan]

Im not too pleased with myself at the moment. I have put on 2lbs this week, the first weight gain since the op. I have had the week off work and went on a weekend break with the family and "thought" i had eaten ok, but on reflection with my hubby i have eaten far too many slider foods (cake, crisps, pies)
I know im doing this as im really struggling with solids.
Some days a salad will go down fine, but the day after a few bites and im being sick.
I have decided to write my eating down in a diary and log what gets stuck and when. I thought i was getting to know my band, but its all changed recently.

Yesterday i had weetabix with fresh berries for breakfast (good), then got a chicken breast from the canteen with some peas (good) but this chicken got stuck so i had to be sick (not good), then by 3am i was starving so went to the vending machine for a chocolate bar and packet of crisps (very very bad) but knew i would get these down.

So my plan for today is weetabix & berries for breakfast, tin of soup for my lunch as this is when i may be tighter, the ill try a salad at 3am when i know i get hungry. Ill see how this goes.
Im not sure if working nights, then swapping to days on the weekends is actually a factor in all this.
Im going to see how my food diary helps over the next few day, and if things improve then all is good and ill probably go for my 2nd fill next monday.
If i keep getting foods stuck ill cancel it.
I know im eating really slow and chewing really well so this is not a concern. When i start a meal, the first 5 bites are very small and chewed a bit too well and i leave about 2 minutes between each bite. 'Usually' this allows the rest of the meal to go down ok.

Im now a size 22. I put a new top on last night for work and it looked good. I was in a size 26 no so long ago, so its coming off and overall im chuffed to bits with myself. In the past, at this stage, i would have fallen off the wagon by now and failed miserably BUT with the band as you can see im still motivated and trying my best to understand it.

Fingers crossed this food diary helps me understand more.

 

[janehastings]

hi jane, am pleased to say my second fill has settled down and can feel restriction which i am delighted about. am conscious now of my portions becuase of restriction. i am so pleased. how r u getting on jane xx

Hi maura

Glad to see things have settled down for you after your fill, i have only 5 day to go now till my band is fitted getting worried now xxx

 

[Tamgredan]

My plan has worked so far today.

I had 2 weetabix with fresh berries (good)
Soup and fresh fruit salad (good)
Healthy cereal bar (good)
chicken salad (good)
1000ml water (good)
3 coffee (not so good)

No problem eating my soup at my usual 'tight' time, so ill do the same tomorrow.

 

[MrsPill]

I'm so glad you are getting to grips with your band again. I think sometimes we just like to push the boundaries to see how far we can go (in diet terms anyway) and you're just finding out what doesn't work for you too. Have you watched the thing on Youtube about The Eight Golden Rules? You probably have but I watched it the other day and found it quite inspiring. However, theory and practice are two totally different things aren't they!
You still continue to inspire me
Take care xx

 

[Tamgredan]

Another sucessful day

sliced fresh pineapple (good)
2 Weetabix (good)
Vegetable Soup (good)
Fruit salad again (good)
Shortbreak cake thingy (not good)
Pot noodle (not good)
1000ml water

Was in a big rush to get to work tonight so didnt have chance to prepare a salad. Just got home and had a pot noodle as i really fancied one.

Everything went down fine today. Having soup at my 'tight' time is evidently working and saving me money too as im not buying foods in the canteen and wasting them.

Also with the fruit and water im peeing lots more which always helps me with weight loss. Im feeling slimmer already after 2 days!

 

[Tamgredan]

WENT FOR 2ND FILL YESTERDAY

I went to liverpool to see my provider and sat down and started to tell her how the first 2 weeks after my 1st fill were very hard with being sick and foods getting stuck. I then told her how it improved but noticed tightness in the mornings and how only last week it changed again to tightness in the evening. She immediately told me she was not going to give me a fill.
I then explained to her that i had tweeked my diet and was eating soup when my band was tight and not had any problems in 5 days now, but portion sizes were big.

When she heard me out, she said that i was very knowledgeable on the band and was pleased that im looking at my situations and changing to get the best. I told her that i only wanted 0.5ml which she gave me.
We than started chatting it occured to me that every evening at 7pm i chair a meeting in work which can be quite stressful especially if there are many problems i need to address. Immediately after the meeting i have my lunch, where im noticing the tightness. So, im going to try and have my lunch before the meeting and see how i get on with that.

Yesterday i had some soup and did feel more fuller after it than i did a few days ago. This morning ive tried to eat a yoghurt, but it was going down really slow - so i added some water to it and it went down fine.

Dear me, this band lark it quite hard work BUT in all honesty its keeping me motivated too. I cant remember the last time i was still motivated about a diet / eating habits after 3 months!!

In terms of exercise, i dont know why im not doing it. Seriously how hard is it to find 30 minutes to do some....i spend over 30 minutes checking my facebook each day? I evidently need to find something i enjoy doing.

When my provider done my stats yesterday, i had gained 1lb in muscle which is very good as 1) im getting my protein and 2) i must be doing something right.

Anyway, 3 days of liquids so hopefully a good weight loss this week!

 

[MrsPill]

I love your diary Tam. I'm 5 days post-op and I'm terrified to start eating again and anyway I can't for a good few days yet. But the thought of getting something stuck or PBing really frightens me so reading your experience is invaluable. Truly helpful. Keep it going x

 

[Maura]

I love your diary Tam. I'm 5 days post-op and I'm terrified to start eating again and anyway I can't for a good few days yet. But the thought of getting something stuck or PBing really frightens me so reading your experience is invaluable. Truly helpful. Keep it going x

hello mrs pill. how r u getting on. havent been on in ages and have to catch up with all the latest. how was ur op xx

 

[Maura]

stay motivated tam xx

 

[Tamgredan]

2.5 days on liquids and had to give in! I had a jacket potato with loads of butter last night and it went down fine. Admitely i ate it really slow and savoured every bite. I did notice getting more fuller but continued to eat and by the end i did feel very very full.
I can feel a difference with thia 0.5ml in that every bite i really do have to wait for it to go down before the next bite, but i wont know for at least 2 weeks yet if my last fill is anything to go by.

I also went on my exercise bike last night for 30 minutes and done lots of walking in work.

Really looking forward to hitting my 40lb loss (maybe in the next 3 weeks) and seeing 16 on the scales! I know once i get into the 16 stones i myself start to see a big difference, i even get into a size 20. Its such a nice though knowing for a fact that i will get there - that is the beauty in the band. Im taking my time and not rushing, not exercising like a mad woman and not restricting myself with foods. This weekend im going to measure myself aswel as ive not done it in a few months.

 

[soon2Byummymummy!]

sounds like you have good restriction tam fingers crossed for ya x

 

[MrsPill]

Keep it going Tam. 40lbs is tremendous! xx

 

[Kazziehill]

good luck with everything luv kaz x

 

[Tamgredan]

2lb off this week.....and loads of inches have gone!

Yes, as said the other day i was to measure myself this weekened.
Ive lost 6" from belly
6" from waist
5" from chest
2" from thighs
1.5" from arms

Im so pleased with myself, and today as it was sunny i put on some white lines trousers, a fitted white cami and a green cardigan (cant quite let go of them yet) and everyone noticed that my waist looked slimmer. I just felt great, and its nice knowing that this just isnt a faddy diet and ill keep going.

In terms of my fill on monday, im absolutely confused and need to ask some advice on the main forum. The last 2 days when ive been eating, after about 2 or 3 bites im getting this tightness under my boob and it feels like something has got stuck, but nothing is stuck. Im wondering if this is restriction???? Ive always thought that restriction would feel like im very full (like i used to) but im doubting this now. This new feeling im getting is making me stop eating as continuing is very uncomfortable. Im not in any pain, but you just dont want to eat anymore. Today i made myself 2 weetabix as i was starving hungry. After about 4 teaspoons, i got this tightness feeling under my boobs and just didnt want to eat anymore. Is this restriction??? Is this just the band being tight today????

So breakfast was tiny. Lunch time i made myself a chicken korma ready meal and after 3 teaspoons i got the feeling again so gave up.
Dinner time was BBQ at my mums and i managed quater of sausage, 1/8th of burger, 1 tomato and about 7 cherries over 1 hour period.
By 9pm i got hungery again and as its was "family TV time" i got out the jaffa cakes and had 3.

Ive also noticed my port alot today. Normally i dont know its there, but today ive been getting some twinges in the area.

Anyway, overall a good week. Lets hope next week is just as good

 

[Mgoody]

Hi tam - I'm really new to this being only 3 weeks post band but I had that exact feeling last week when i went on to soft food - just like something was stuck but it only happened after I had a portion of lamb broth . I posted on here and Mazza advised that's what restriction feels like ! My provider also confirmed this. I always thought that I'd get the "normal" feeling of fulness but apparently that's it !!

Love you diary btw - been most helpful - congrats on the 2lbs :0)

Michelle xx

 

[MrsPill]

Well done Tam...2lbs is brill.
I'm still on liquids but I've been off work and have read the worlds library on gastric bands ..haha... and I'm sure I've read that the 'full' feeling is totally different to before- its like a tight feeling in your mid-chest area rather than that 'stuffed couch' feeling of before! My guess is that you're full but you may want to hear that from an experienced bandster x

 

[soon2Byummymummy!]

hi Tam i would say it is restriction you are feeling i get the same feeling and after a few mouthfuls i just dont want the food