Too Tight? Too Bad, Sucka

That's essentially what my surgeon told me when I called this morning to ask for his opinion. He wasn't quite so harsh about it, but I wouldn't say he was overly sympathetic. I told him I could only have liquids right now, that the ricotta cheese/spaghetti sauce concoction went down quite grudgingly last night.

"That's not entirely a bad thing," he said. "I'm not going to open you back up so you can eat. I'm seeing you in, what, three weeks? It'll loosen up. As long as you're not dehydrated and not totally miserable just stick with the liquids."

At first I was pretty pissed about this. I mean, the whole point of the band is that you can eat, just less than before. But the more I thought about it, the more I figured, why not just go with it for a few more weeks? I'm not having reflux, I'm not throwing up, I am just really restricted. I won't stay like this forever because the band always loosens up as you lose weight. And oh boy am I losing weight.

I've lost six pounds since last Sunday. Some of that has to be fluid, but still... there are worse things. I'm going to a friend's wedding in a few weeks, and some bonus pounds lost would be great.

So for now at least, I'm going with it. I had 2 oz of yogurt for breakfast and a cup of blended black bean soup with a dollop of sour cream for lunch. Lots of protein. I'll do my mashed up avocado later to get at least a little veggie in there.

We'll see how it goes.

Post-Fill Update

OK, this is getting irritating. I was starving this morning but didn't make a shake, so the first thing I had to eat today was a mashed-up avocado at 11.30 am. It went down OK (it was realllly mashed, not thick at all) and then I had a little hummus. Ran out to do some errands and now I just sat down with some refried beans and I can feel the two bites I've taken just sitting there.

I really hope things settle in a little more because I would like to go back to eating regular food again. If it's still a problem I'll call the surgeon on Monday but I'd love to loosen up a bit without losing any fill. We'll see...

On the plus side, I'm down another half pound this morning.

LOVED all your indiscretion comments on the previous post. You guys are funny, and sometimes it's nice to know I'm not the only one who isn't always on the straight and narrow in this process.

Sunday marks three months since my surgery, so I'll recap for those thinking of doing this. It hasn't gone exactly as I expected and hoped, but it is going.

Spill the Beans - Your Worst Indiscretions Lately?

OK, so I'm happy my weight loss has kicked back into gear after a lonnnggg (one-month) period of going nowhere. I'm currently on liquids and terrified of messing up because I "cheated" with some cottage cheese last night and had a bad stuck episode. That's bullshit, by the way, getting stuck on cottage cheese. I was so pissed.

Yesterday morning, when I knew I was going for a fill, I HOUSED two soft-boiled eggs and a slice of rye toast. I rarely, almost never, eat toast anymore so that was a real departure for me.

Then I got in the car, opened the garage door, got out of the car, ran back into the house and grabbed the last Cadbury Creme Egg I've had stashed. And I ate it on the way to my fill. Oh yes I did.

Not unlike alcoholics who show up at rehab with a half-empty bottle of vodka in the car.

Just for fun, what are your worst indiscretions lately? Keeping in mind, of course, that our worst indiscretions these days are a far cry from pre-band foodfests.

Help! What's Going On?

I got a small fill yesterday, bringing me to 5.75 ccs in my 10 cc band. I had a bad stuck episode last night on a little cottage cheese - my worst stuck incident since surgery. I really need to get some papaya enzymes to keep on hand.

Anyway, after the cottage cheese finally went through I wasn't able (and didn't want to) finish my soup or wine, so I just went to bed.

This morning, I'm sipping a protein shake and it's sitting there, taking a long time to go through. Feels a little swollen.

Am I too tight? Do I just need to chill out and let this fill settle in? I need some advice from experienced banders.

**UPDATE** I weighed in at 229 this morning, a new low and a new decade. Yay! However, I'm starving so I'll see how another shake goes down.

It's Amazing

It's only been 11 hours, but I am amazed by the difference 0.25 cc's is making. That's how much my surgeon agreed to add today, bringing me to 5.75 cc's in my 10cc band. I was a little disappointed, I had hoped he'd take me up to six.

But I am sitting here waiting for the three *very* small bites of cottage cheese I took about 10 minutes ago to go through. Not a terribly comfortable feeling. There's some sliming. I have some soup and wine here, but I"m not sure I'll get any of it down.

My surgeon was happy with the eight pounds I've lost since my last visit on Feb. 25th and very cautious not to overfill me. Of course I'd love to goose things a bit and get the weight coming off faster, so we compromised on the .25 cc fill.

Everything worked out beautifully today - the fill was fine, I had soup for lunch and the kids were excellent at Lion King. They really loved it, it was fun to watch their reactions to the show.

My left shoulder pain came back, for the first time in ages, while I was sitting in the theater. Stuck around for about 30 minutes, then went away. So far, it hasn't come back.

**UPDATE** It's 10.40 pm and the cottage cheese finally went through but I can't eat anything else. Going up to bed. Man, that was uncomfortable.

Seder Monday, Last Supper Tuesday, Liquid Wednesday

The seder went pretty well, although I was kind of hungry so ended up noshing on matzo through most of the service. Then the matzo made me thirsty, and things got a teeeny bit awkward when my father-in-law instructed us to take a sip of wine and my 7-year-old yelled, "MOM! Why's your glass already empty?"

But hey, we moved on. And my baby was totally on the help-mom-be-less-fat bandwagon. She melted down in a sea of tears and baby boogers and I had to take her home before dessert was served.

All in all, not a bad night.

And somehow, by some miracle of I don't know what, when I stepped on the scale this morning it showed me down again, to 230.5 or 230 (50/50 ruling by my top-notch scale). I counted the 230.5 on my ticker. But it makes me nervous. Usually I know what to expect on the scale, and this loss surprised me. I don't know why it makes me nervous, but it does.

Today, however... let's just say I've been really cognizant that tomorrow is my fill. And while I know I need it and am more than ready to bring it on, there's been some last suppering going on. ALL DAY LONG. I won't get into the details, but calorically speaking I am off the charts today.

It's been a crazy-ass day. The Hubs continues to suffer from the flu-like malady that has swept through our house. Baby is still sick, 4-year-old is recovering, 7-year-old came into my room at 4 am crying that his voice hurt. Turns out he's got strep.

My fill is at 10 am tomorrow. I'm a little bit worried, because I leave immediately afterward to take my 4-year-old to see a matinee performance of The Lion King with one of his school friends and the friend's mom. I'll be on liquids only, which isn't a huge deal but in the back of my mind I'm kind of panicking that I'll get overfilled and spend the entire three-hour performance horking into a sink in the theater. And then still have to drive out of Times Square at rush hour with the friend and his mom.

Plus, I have to plan our Easter menu and make sure it's band-friendly. Anyone have suggestions?

Sometimes celebrating all the Jewish and Christian holidays is fun; often, it's exhausting. The Hubs and I never anticipated that when we got married.

The Challenge Begins!

Per the Memorial Day Bathing Suit Challenge, I took a picture of myself on the scale yesterday and shipped it off to Kristen at I'm With the Band. That's the first time I've EVER taken a picture of a scale reading, and you better be sure I erased all traces of that photo after I emailed it. But things in cyberspace never really die. Sigh. So when I run for president someday it'll show up in the National Enquirer - MME PREZ EATS WAY THROUGH JOB STRESS! DOCS SAY SHE"LL BE DEAD BEFORE END OF TERM.

Tonight is Passover seder with my husband's family. If you've never been to one, you need to know just one thing: BIG meal. BIG. Good thing I have a fill on Wednesday.

Dinner Party

Scale was up two pounds this morning. Sigh.

I can't say I'm surprised. We went to a dinner party with old friends last night, and while my eating wasn't horrible, there was A LOT of wine. I drank gallons and gallons of it (OK, probably four glasses over the course of four and a half hours). I woke up this morning with a headache and dry mouth for the first time in years. So the weight gain... probably not nearly as bad as it could have been.

It was fun, though. I was a little nervous because the hostess had mentioned she was serving pasta and meatballs, and I really haven't had much pasta. I ended up eating a few meatballs and ate around the pasta, no one noticed and it worked out great. It was a relief. So much so that I celebrated with another glass of wine.

Inexplicable

I weighed in this morning at a new low, 231.5. Go figure.

Oh Boy

I didn't have a terrible day, but I didn't have a good evening either. After a day of reasonable meals, I had tostitos with ranch dip, a cookie and two 100-calorie snack packs.

Bleh.