cdgmom

Okay ladies, Tell me what is involved in this boot camp thing. I'm 2 months out from my banding and down 25 pounds, but the weight loss has stalled since I started exercising (go figure!) I don't mind kicking it up a notch if it gets results, I got this thing for a reason - to lose one half of myself. Nice to meet everyone, looking forward to sharing the ups and downs with you (but mostly the downs on the scales!!!) - I did do my inches the other day and I'm down 10 1/2 which has helped me deal with the scale not moving. Later, Amy:) 310/285/155

EWWWWWWWW I had never even thought about where the Doctor was - thanks for the image - oh well, it was all worth it to have the band (I'm still trying to figure out just the right name for mine) As far as Protein - I put in a strong vote for the UNJURY - Chocolate is my favorite but it definitely is not tasteless - they do make one that is though. My husband prefer's the vanilla and he isn't even on a diet.

Man, there is a lot to catch up on if you miss a couple of days!!! Anyway, I had a great report at the Doctor yesterday -17 pounds!!! Woohoo!!! Now I'll have to figure out how to change my ticker. To all who haven't been banded yet - I just have to say - it has been great so far. I came to the realization that this new lifestyle is going to save me money in the long run. Last night I had a meeting that included dinner out at the end and I looked on the menu and my choices were a. soup for $3.50 (I didn't like the kind they had) and b. a baked potato for $5 - it was great! One word of advice is - drink your water and add some fiber - I had a bout with constipation last week-end that was killer and I don't want anyone to experience that - Have a great day. Audree, thanks for all the updates - where do you find the time!!!!!

Guess I was just excited about joining your group!

Hello everyone, I'm a newbie - my surgery was on 1/9/07 - I started out at 310 with a BMI of 51.5 so I'm in this for the long haul. Great news though - I've already made it to twoterville (love that name) when I went to my first follow up yesterday I weighed in at 293 - WOOHOO. So far so good, but it sure has helped reading all of the messages on this board and knowing that you aren't alone in the journey. The name is Amy by the way. Nice to meet ya'll (and yes I'm from Texas!) Later,

Hello everyone, I'm a newbie - my surgery was on 1/9/07 - I started out at 310 with a BMI of 51.5 so I'm in this for the long haul. Great news though - I've already made it to twoterville (love that name) when I went to my first follow up yesterday I weighed in at 293 - WOOHOO. So far so good, but it sure has helped reading all of the messages on this board and knowing that you aren't alone in the journey. The name is Amy by the way. Nice to meet ya'll (and yes I'm from Texas!) Later,

I had surgery on Tuesday and went in to work for an hour on Friday and then 5 hours on Saturday. I felt fine! I think it depends on how much you get up and walk around right after surgery!!! Good luck to you. Amy

I have tried several times to get my stupid ticker on this thing. Can someone explain (in very easy steps) how to do it! Thanks Amy

Hey Amy, Good luck to you this week - I was banded on the 9th, so far so good! Love your name, because I'm an Amy too!

If I get that one bite too many feeling, it seems like walking around helps. Hope your better soon Audree Later, Amy

Hey June, You can do your pre-op, every time you are tempted to cheat think about your liver!!! I cheated a couple of times on my pre-op, but when I started thinking about my liver and how important it was to shrink it up for the operation I did better. You CAN DO IT!!!!!! Amy:)

Hey everyone, It takes a little time to catch up with all the posts if you don't get online everyday!! Sounds like everyone is doing well pre-op and post op (with a few complications). Thanks Audree, for the info on erosion. I'm 6 days post-op and feeling great. It's amazing not to have hunger pains and to be satisfied with small amounts of mostly liquid food (I'm not crazy, I know it won't last forever). Today I had a staff retreat at the nicest restaurant in town with a catered lunch. I had made arrangements to have tomato basil soup as my entree. So while everyone else ate soup, and then their entrees and finished things off with cheesecake, I slowly ate my soup and it was great!!!!! I felt satisfied, and everything was okay. I also went out to eat after church yesterday to Souper Salad where they charge the one price no matter what and I told the guy that I had WLS last week and I could only eat a very small amount of soup and he needed to only charge me for a to go portion of soup - and he did! I've never been shy but I feel a certain empowerment with the band that I haven't had before. I just know I am going to be successful this time and I just made the decision that I have the right to ask for what I want and what is best for me. Just thought I'd share my NSV's (non-scale victories!) the scale victory this morning was pretty great too - drum roll please - for the first time in a year I weigh less than 300 pounds - WOOHOO - 12 pounds down (I know Cindy said not to weigh - but that's an addiction I haven't been victorious over!) To all of you that haven't been banded yet - it's only been a week and I already believe that this little silicone band is one of the best things I've ever done for myself. Later, Amy

Texasbighair - I love your name!! I got out and about today and had my hair cut and checked in with the office. I came back home exhausted but I think that is pretty normal. I have to work tomorrow for about 5 hours so I hope I can handle it. Does anyone that have their band have a weird feeling like you are being squeezed every once in a while??? I'm on day four post op, no hunger at all. Amy

Hey everyone, It took me a while to catch up with all of the posts since Monday. I had my surgery on Tuesday morning at 7:30a.m. - it went very well, the Doctor said my liver was okay so I guess I didn't cheat too bad on my pre-op, I actually was kind of paranoid about it so I made the last day all liquid even though I didn't have to. I'm sore at my incision ports when I get up from laying down or do too much - I was constantly sore where my port is until I figured out that my droopy left breast was laying on top of the incision. I'm now wearing a bra so I don't have that problem. I enjoyed the stomach symphony for the first time this morning - I had some major gurgling going on!!! I'm on clear liquids until tomorrow - I'm not hungry at all - it just all feels kind of weird. Glad to hear everyone is doing okay - good luck to those joining us in band land! Later, Amy

Hey everyone, Jen, you sound like you are doing great - I am very impressed!! Thanks to all our early banders that are telling us what to expect. Cindy, you are a wealth of wisdom - thanks!! I had an interesting dinner last night. My kids are at their Dad's this week-end so my husband wanted to take me out to dinner. I'm on my pre-op diet and allowed 4 oz of meat with 1 cup of vegetables for dinner so I opted for steak and figured I'd take half home. I ordered my steak medium thinking that a good juicy steak would not be on my diet for a very long time after the band. Well.... they totally overcooked it and it was dry and grisly, I have been trying to eat like I have the band and chew all of my food to mush. I couldn't even chew it enough to turn it to mush - it was gross, I told my husband that I would be spitting it out if I had the band and he better be prepared for things like that. Oh well, so much for a last chance steak! I didn't have to pay for it though, cause the manager comped it because he saw more than half on my plate and I didnt ask for a doggy bag. Counting down the days to band land. Amy

You have to try it - kind of like a soup-stew but definitely a Cajun thing! Usually Seafood or Okra in it - Yummmmm

New Orleans isn't completely what it was before Katrina, but when I went in the summer we still managed to find some good live Jazz bands in the clubs on Bourbon street and Jackson Square is always nice but the thing I love the most about NO is the architecture, all the wrought Iron and pretty balconies. Be sure and check out the garden district too! Have fun, go to the Gumbo House for the best gumbo!! Amy

Glad to hear you are doing okay Kellie! I'm counting down now - 3 1/2 days until I join you in LapBand Land. Keep us posted! Amy P 1/9/07 Surgery Date 310/310/155 (I'm throwing my scales away, so no weight updates until I go to the Doctor!)

Hey everyone Glad to hear that everyone that has been banded so far is doing so great, it is awesome to hear the details of what we can expect. Mine is next Tuesday and I am so ready - and starting to have the nerves kick in. I'm doing pretty well on my pre-op diet, Protein shakes and meat and vegetables. Not really hungry, just have the bad habits to break and head hunger to deal with. I did my pre-op testing and paid my part of the hospital bill $500.00 out of the bank account seems to make it all feel more real! I love reading all of the suggestions and comments - I am so looking forward to reading more as we continue on this journey. TxPeaches, it was the Hill Country Resort and it is an awesome hotel! Keep posting, Amy

TxPeaches, glad to hear you are back and were able to type a message to us (that in itself is very encouraging!) I just spent the last 30 minutes catching up - I'm at work again, the only time I seem to get to check in on LBT - Audree, your day is almost here - are you ready? I know it will be fine, I've had a couple of friends go through the procedure and that has been really a great comfort to me. I'm doing okay on my Pre-Op, NYE was a challenge, we went to San Antonio and had Christmas with my two best girl friends and their families - all 3 of us are overweight and vow to get it off every year. We stayed at the Hyatt on a family package deal that included a Buffet dinner - I managed to just eat salad and a few pieces of steak - so I count that as an NSV (non-scale victory) in the journey. My protein drinks taste good enough that I ordered the canisters of the chocolate and vanilla. I also saw a cousin of mine over the week-end that had gastric by-pass last April and has lost 115 pounds and she was very encouraging about WLS. I'm an open book kind of person so everyone in my life knows I'm having surgery next week - not one single person has said anything negative - and for that I am very grateful! Amy

Hello everyone, I am also consumed with the upcoming surgery and starting the lifestyle change. I started my pre-op diet for the third time yesterday and did better than the first two days because I added the Protein shake. I bought what the doctor recommended which was Unjury and I must say they taste pretty good. Their website is www.unjury.com if anyone is interested. I also purchase a Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies from there and it has a lot of great information. I still can't get the ticker thing to work - I'll have to ask a teenager to help me at home tonight! I want to get to know my new January Band friends, so everyone chime in and give a little bio on yourself. I'll start - I am 43 years old and live in College Station Texas. I have been battling my weight for all of my life losing and gaining myself up to a high of 310. I have 3 children who are 16, 14, and 8 and I married one of the sweetest men in the world in April of 2005 after being a Single Mom for 6 years. I have a lot of energy in my head and heart and want my body to be able to keep up! I can't wait to share the journey with everyone as we take this big step to healthier lives. Can't wait to learn about everyone else - Amy 310/310/155 (half of myself) Surgery date 1/9/07:faint:

Hello everyone, I was off of work since last Thursday and with two teenagers at home it is impossible to get computer time, but now I'm back at work and can catch up on all of the Bandster news! I started my two week pre-op diet today - after a failed attempt at starting yesterday - the leftover cookies, candy and Texas Trash (Chex mix to the rest of the world) kept calling my name - I'm doing okay so far. Reading this board and hearing of the success of Cindy and others is motivating me to try my best. So bring on the Protein shakes and say good-bye to the rest of it. Let's do this thing! I made a ticker but I'm having trouble getting it into my signature - any suggestions! Amy Band Date 1/9/07 310/310/155

Oh I just love hanging with the Popular crowd!!!!!! This should be a great adventure, but this one will end in success because we will stick together through thick and then thin!!! Amy:)

So glad to know that I am not the only one that is on LBT way more than they should be while at work - I just got my date 1/9/07 and my pre-op appointment is tomorrow! Looking forward to getting to know everyone. I must, must, must get back to work now...... right after I figure out how to do one of those weight loss tickers! Amy - 1/9/07 surgery date :) :D :)

I just got off the phone and have my date as 1/9/07 - we can be band buddies! I'm in College Station, Texas - there is a January Bandsters thread started - I'm going to look for it now! Amy