Lap Band Update

Yesterday was 6 weeks since my LapBand surgery and I'm feeling great! The first week was rough, I was on liquids for 2 weeks and IT. WAS. HARD.!!! It is imperative for the healing process, but that didn't make it any easier! At two weeks I could start soft foods, I had some baked fish and a few bites of macaroni and cheese from Luby's. I ordered some green beans as well, but they weren't soft enough for my "soft foods" diet. This past Tuesday I went in for my first Fill, they inject saline into my port and it tightens my band. What a weird feeling! I could feel it traveling from my port, through my tubing and tightening my band! I took a few sips of water, the band was too tight, they removed some saline, took a few sips of water, felt great. I now have 2.5 cc's of Saline in my band. I can tell a big difference since then, it's definitely helping to keep me satisfied on smaller portions. I have a 900 calorie goal everyday, before the fill I was going to bed VERY hungry every night, but since my fill I have yet to hit 900 calories and I am not hungry! I still have to work at it, no doubt. I have to CHOOSE to eat my lean proteins first to get my 60 grams of protein everyday. If I wanted to, I could eat chips, dips, ice creams, lot of high fat/calorie "slider" foods; foods that go easily through the band and don't fill me up. I'm hoping I'll be in the "Green Zone" soon; this is the zone for lap band patients where their band is neither too tight or too loose. If you are too loose (Yellow Zone), your band is too open and food goes straight through, you get hungry between meals and aren't satisfied. If you are too tight (Red Zone), you are unable to eat healthy foods without getting them stuck, sometimes people in this zone actually gain weight because the only things that don't get stuck are "slider" foods (i.e. ice cream, chips, dips, etc). In the Green Zone I should be able to eat approximately 1 cup of food or less and stay satisfied for 4 hours until my next meal. At each meal I start out with my protein, eat that, then I can eat my other foods. It's definitely a learning experience! I have to take VERY small bite, like baby size bites, then Chew, Chew, Chew. I can't drink with my meals because that flushes the food out of my stomach quicker, at first I thought that would be really difficult for me, but I really don't miss it now. For sure, weight has NEVER come off this fast! I feel great! In total, I've lost 45 pounds, 10 of those pounds were from my previous weight loss, so, since August 10 (when I started my pre-op diet) I've lost 35 pounds!