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I had surgery on March 8, 2011. I have been working my a** off (literally!) I am so proud of myself - I will say it because I deserve it! I have a good restriction right now. I watch my calories but, honestly not too strict with it. I eat low carb, high Protein, don't do bread or Pasta at all. I don't deprive myself, if I want something I have it. A small portion of it. I started working out about 8 weeks after surgery. I work out 4-5 days a week, two of those days with a trainer. I love it. I went from a tight size 26/28 to a 16 (!!!!). I started this journey at 371lbs and now weigh 256lbs. I want to get under 200 and then I will decide on a goal weight. I wanted to share some pictures to show my progress. I love my band! Sorry if the pictures are huge - I was having trouble resizing!!! Before (02/2011) During (Thanksgiving 2011)

That is great you made the choice to have the Band. I was banded Oct 12th this year and down about 36lbs and I just now started to go back to the gym so very excited. I chose this vs the other because you don’t have the nutritional issues and you lose slower so less skin issues. This has been the best decision ever. This is a tool so eating like we did in the past will not fix the problem. The band basically makes you control your portions as we could not do that on our own without. So you see it's a tool not a miracle fix. I have looked at food in such a different light now. I view it as fuel and not the medicine I need to deal with stress or depression. I wish you the best and stay in touch. The surgery is pretty easy minus the recover week. You will have pain from the incisions but that is about it. Take the pain med's, try to move around after surgery and you will be fine. Bring a soft small pillow or blanket to the hospital; you will need it for the ride home under you seatbelt between your tummy!! See ya on the other side!! LOL

My first thought would be the "Christmas Challenge" but that isn't politically correct and may be offensive to persons of other religions, of which I am one. "The environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, but with respect for the religious persuasion of others who choose to practice their own religion as well as those who choose not to practice a religion at all Challenge" was way to long. So let's just go with "The Holiday Challenge".

I was soo in your shoes a few months ago, very frustrated. I was banded May 2011 with a 10cc band. I had almost no restriction at 3cc, some restriction at 5cc, then aftar my last fill, which put me at 6cc I have MAJOR restriction. I'm eating very small meals. At Breakfast I can't have anything solid so it's usually a Protein shake, lunch is Soup, then a small dinner, Lucky if I go a day without some vomiting. I'm finally loosing some weight, although it's still slow going. I know I need to have a slight unfill but I'm waiting till after the first of the year. Good luck to you. Remember we are all learning as we go.

If you want something Water resistant get the Jawbone UP. It won't help you in the pool though. Swimming is a different action. What you can do with the FitBit is press and hold to time the activity then go into the site or app later and mark that you swam and what you did then it will calculate the calories of that time period. Both are $99 and if you can, I suggest getting both the FitBit Ultra and the Jawbone UP for different reasons. If something is a benefit on one, it doesn't exist on the other. But the two together make for an amazing pair and it's only $198 total for both if you can afford it. Otherwise go with the one that has the better features for your life. The benefits of the UP are: ----------------------------------- - Built in alarm (it will buzz your wrist to wake you up when you are in a light sleep between 30 minutes prior to your wake up time and your wake up time). - Syncs with your iPhone if you have one. - Allows you to take pictures of your meals then asks you about two hours later how you feel so you can eat better by what makes you feel better (generally lower calorie foods and smaller meals make you feel better). - Can be worn all the time and is water resistant so you can shower with it (I'm too scare to). - Calculates light vs deep sleep. - Allows you to set vibration reminders to move every 15, 30, 45, 60, etc. minutes. The benefits of the FitBit are: --------------------------------------- - Amazing website with a ton of functionality - same for the iPhone or Android app. - Wirelessly syncs with the website any time you get near a computer that has a base station connected (so you can get a spare base station for work if you want). - Is small and no one knows you have it on. - Counts flight of stairs. - Shows you, on the device itself, your daily and minute-by-minute stats. - Shows movement when you're sleeping so you know if you moved a lot (restless sleep). - There are a lot of products that integrate with the FitBit. I've had a FitBit for two years now and bought one for my mother and sister. I've had both the original and Ultra - the Ultra is worth it for the stairs. I've been using an UP since its release, and I like the alarm function and light vs deep sleep, and vibration reminders - but beyond that it gets in the way, is out in the open all the time, gets caught in my hair and on clothes, has no online monitoring (apps only), and doesn't track calories / Protein, etc. If you can only get one - get the FitBit Ultra and use the website and apps along with it.

You may need another fill I went from 3 ½ cc and being able to eat anything to 4 ½ with a lot of restrictions Its amazing what a difference the small amount can make But how much weight are you losing? My doc says as long as I lose 1 to 2 pounds a week I don’t need another fill

You still don't have enough Fluid in the Band. Maybe next time you will feel the difference. In the meantime go to myfitnesspal.com you will see other people's diary, and see what they are eating, and trying to get by.. This is just another part of your journey, until you do feel Restriction. Puking ? you don't want. If you do to much, and swell up, then they could take fluid out, and you start over again. I had that done in the beginning of the month. For now do a lot of Proteins, they help kill the Hunger Beast. I am Losingintime on the site, write to me, and I will friend you in if you like. Shirley.

I have the same thing. It's no big deal, he put it in, and he should be able to access that port is what I told him... It's on a slight tilt. Not Flipped or anything. It's do to the way he sewed it in. I have been stuck 10-12 times with no shot for pain. Talk about Black N Blue ! It took a Nurse to say her port is 4 fingers down from her incision. Dr. never figured this out. Next time you go in for a fill watch were they are from your incision, tell them to measure that as how many fingers from the scar is the port ? they will know what your talking about, and they can tell you. Then you tell them whenever you go in to make your fill easier.

My surgery date is 12/6/11 the day after my husband's birthday. We celebrated it early since he understood I was a little restricted on the date due to work. My Pre-surgery diet has gone well, day 5 and I am down 14 pounds (think I peed it out). Thanksgiving was not as bad as I thought it would be, I was already on the pre-surgery diet for 2 days by then. I nibbled but nothing more. Didn’t really want anything. Good luck everyone! Lytha

Thanks so much for the chart...I'm 50% yellow and 50% green. Here are some ideas of articles I'd like to see... how much weight a person can really expect to lose once they have had surgery. Tips for planning meals and organizing your life to be successful. A article about nutrition needs after surgery and what foods are the most nutritious and fit well in the eating plan. Maybe an article on strategies for people who have 100 pounds or more to lose. An article about excess skin and hair loss after surgery. Thanks for this web site...it has helped me so much in my journey!