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My mother in law always goes way overboard at Christmas, and amongst the myriad of other gifts I got, she gave me a few new tops. They were medium, so I figured I would be able to wear them in a few months. Just for kicks, I tried them on when I got home and to my utter shock, they fit! I am wearing one now as I type this. I love my lap band!

Ok Everybody! Christmas is officially over. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I ate what I wanted today, just not as much as I would have in the past. I hope you all indulged a little too if you really wanted to. But now, lets get it back on track tomorrow. Dont do what we have in the past. Dont say "Well I'll just wait till the end of the year and start fresh." Get back on track tomorrow! Get to the gym or get on whatever exercize routine you generally do. Get back to the healthy eating too! Last year I would have been making every excuse in the world not to get back on track but not now! I am determined that this process is a life change not just a temporary diet. I feel very motivated and empowered to make the right decisions to keep this weight off. So tomorrow get off that couch and get moving. It will be so much easier than waiting. Sittling around eating wrong and not exercizing for another week waiting for the New Year will only make it that much harder to get back on track! So what will you do??? Will you change your life forever? Keep your goals in mind? Or will you put it off and make yet another unkept New Years resolution this year??? Lets do this once and for all!!

After you are banded, you have little to no restriction until you get a fill. It may still take a couple of fills to reach your peak restriction. My surgeon and nutritionist said BEFORE surgery that "you" would probably not lose any weight right after surgery and not to be surprised if "you" gained weight. Their goal for us patients were for us to maintain our weight though. If we lost weight that was awesome. I was banded a little over 2 yrs ago and I remember bandster hell. I had complications and I could not have a fill for over 5 months after surgery! But with dedication, eating right, and working out, I did lose weight.... just very slowly. After my first fill, I dropped weight very quickly. That restriction is wonderful!! It really helps with the dedication! You should be getting your first fill within the next week or two..... and you will feel much better.

I honestly believe that it is because of the exercise. I do the Wii fit for at least 45 mins a day, resistance training of some sort (free weights or bands, I just got a medicine ball for Christmas that I can not wait to try out) and 45 mins of cardio a day. I try to make sure my calories are between 1000 and 1200 each day and that I am getting my Protein. That is really about it. If I want something though, I do not deny myself of it or I find I will want it until I have it. Exercise is key though

I have no clue about insurance. I'm self pay ... $10,000 through True Results in Houston, Tx. One thing to consider when thinking about getting banded in Mx that you will still need to get fills after your surgery. A fill is when your doctor's office adds Fluid to your band after your surgery. Will you be going back to Mexico every month till you hit the green zone or can you find a doctor in your town that will fill you and how much will each fill cost. I'm newly banded (6 months) and I have have 3 fills so far. I'm scheduled for my fourth fill in January. Anyway, hope I've been a little helpful!

Getting ready to go to moms for Christmas dinner. Hope I behave. Lost aboutv4 lbs this week.

Like Jack, I really enjoy my collection of small side plates that I eat off! I have an everyday dinner setting of plain white plates that the family uses and everythign to match - a variety of tiny bowls and such - just the kind of thing you can buy the pieces separately for. I use them for Cereal and yogurt and such, I know their capacity and my whole family eats off smaller plates (but not as small as me) - but I have a collection of various ones that I've seen and liked, some meals look great on a red plate, and a stir fry on a black plate is quite special, all the bright vegies lol. So yeah, just a bread and butter plate does the trick for me. Its just for me, I couldnt afford to indulge my crockery obsession for the whole family! And I get bored, I wouldnt want to buy a whole set and just have to use that anyway. It might sound a bit unhinged, but it really adds a bit of zing to ordinary everyday meals for me.

Also getting banded Jan 3rd! Today is day 5 of the pre-op diet, and its just now starting to get easier. It's been hard having to go to holiday parties and be surrounded by food and not be able to eat any of it (yesterday there were bagels and lox on my dining table, a huge test of my willpower to not eat any!). I'm excited to ring in the new year (sans alcohol, unfortunately) knowing that the year will be filled with weight-loss accomplishments. Good luck to the rest of the January bandsters, and happy holidays!

I use the shot protein and it works very well, and it comes in a ton of flavors. these are the ones I use: Super Protein Shot 26gm protein, New Whey liquid protein 42gm, and Profect protein supplement 25gm. They are a a bit sour but a lot easier to go down, flavors make a difference my favorites are blue raspberry, fruit punch, and passion fruit. ensure has a dietbetic counter part with protein no sure of the name.

Thank you. I definitely agree with you. Sometimes I let others sway my opinion or shake my confidence so when I see such negativity I get really discouraged, but you're right; it is very mental. All of it. And I just got banded on the 15th. Best decision I've made in my life so far. Ten pounds down and 47 down since I started my journey and I've never been happier. Or healthier. I hope you have a good holiday and congratulations on the surgery! The staple removal was easy-peasy. Not painful and it was really fun because I got to see my stomach without the Patches on it for the first time, haha.