KatieKateKate

Love this idea! Count me in! I like the Water idea...having such a hard time getting mine in with the small amount i can drink at a time, waiting before and after meals, etc... or maybe a Protein challenge? that's another tough one to get used to since we have to get in such a large amount everyday.

I've been having the strangest conversations with people about my band lately. It seems that not many people have any idea what the band is or how it works or the great things it can do. That's cool, I'm all about educating people and sharing the joyous news of this wonderful tool...especially because it took me 5 years of researching band vs bypass before I came to a decision to finally do this and it was a huge decision that affects every part of my life on a daily basis. Heck yes I'm more than happy to talk about it! That's not the strange part... The strange part is when people ask me why I chose the band over the bypass; I give them my reasons and they go on to reveal that they have had the bypass...and then jump my case about how wrong/stupid I am and how the bypass is so much better. I'm confused by this response. Pretty sure they asked me for my reasons...and that's what they are...MY reasons...for what I chose to do with MY body, for MY health. WLS is a very personal choice. I don't begrudge anyone the right to make their own decision about what's best for them. I'm happy for people who felt bypass surgery was the right choice for them, I just don't happen to be one of them. I'm having a really hard time understanding why I'm spending so much time defending my decision. People have gotten ANGRY with me about this topic, even aggressively so. :drool: I understand people who've never had any weight issues not understanding that WLS was the right choice...but people who've had WLS...in any form...themselves? It just baffles me. Is this just me or has anyone else experienced this too? If so, what do you find is a good way to diffuse the situation quickly?

Thanks Mary! That's usually what I'd do. If it had just happened once or twice I'd figure it was just that person's problem and call it a day but this is repeatedly happening to me. 3 ladies I work with had bypass...2 of them I had no idea about until incidents such as this...one cornered me at a mutal co-worker's house and just wouldn't let the subject drop no matter what I said. My surgeon sent me to a neurologist for headaches I was having post-op and his nurse had bypass and went off on me about it when we were reviewing health history. 2 friends of a mutual friend (confusing much?) had bypass and similar conversations ensued...and on it goes... Usually I'm not easily bated and can blow bad attitudes off as the other person's problem, but this is getting ridiculous already! :drool: Maybe from now on I'll just know better than to say anything when someone asks my reasons cuz I'll know it's a trap! :tt2:

I keep a journal also, it started as a way to track Protein to make sure I was getting enough, and I'm still using it for that, but it's also a way to keep me honest, make me think before I put something into my mouth, and have as a reference for my dr and nutritionist for those times when the weight isn't coming off as it should. (Hello longest run-on sentence ever! lol) I'm keeping it simple and writing everything down in a notebook I carry with me wherever I go. Lapband does have their own food tracking system which is one of the tools you get to help you on your journey after you registed with their site, but everytime I've tried it, my computer has crashed. Does anyone know if I need special software to use it or somerthing cuz it looks pretty cool.

Surgey day (7/21) 386.2 Last Week 370.6 Today 370.0 My scale hasn't moved in a week! Frustrating!!!

I was banded the 21st, so I'm also about 3 weeks out. Moved from mushies to chicken and seafood last week. Tomorrow I get to start eating veggies again!!! Had no idea I'd miss salad this much. Lost 16 lbs in the first couple weeks, but now my weight loss has completely stalled. The scale has not moved in 4 days!!! I'm getting super frustrated, but trying to hang in there and keep on track. It's hard when I'm feeling no restriction. I have the AP large 14cc band with no fill yet. My doc is SUPER conservative with fills (her own words) so I'm hoping to talk her into one at my next appointment if this lack of weight loss keeps up.

Been thinking about this a lot lately but didn't see a thread for it, so decided to start one! Below are the things I'm losing along with the weight and gaining in the process... I'm Losing: The clutter in my house (must be more motivated to rid myself of everything unnecessary now, not sure) Toxic relationships Negativity I'm Gaining: Confidence Hope Cuter clothes in smaller sizes! I'm sure there are more and I'll definitely be adding to this list as time passes. Can't wait to hear your contributions as well!

I've always wanted to go skydiving but am terrified of the parachute snapping while i'm mid-air due to my weight, (maybe an irrational fear, maybe not) so when i'm 100lbs down, i'm taking the plunge!

I think this is a great idea! Since I'm only 2 weeks post-op, i'm still in the 4-5x range and don't think anyone needs my clothes, so I'm sending them to a friend of mine who's considering surgery...but will definitely check back as I lose to see if anyone would like to swap.

I've had an unexpected but wonderful NSV lately. My skin, hair and nails have never looked better! I've spent litterally hundreds...if not thousands...of dollars on shampoo and face washes due to my super oily skin/hair but after my band and adopting my new high protein, low...well, everything else...diet, my hair is nice and soft and shiny but not oily! and my face no longer looks like a grease slick. Plus my nails grow and stay that way instead of chipping off down to nothing. Thank you protein! Love my band!

my dr didn't stress vitamins either since there isn't the malnutrition like there is with the bypass, but the nutritionist said i needed to take them anyway. I just pop a chewable flinstones complete (the purple bottle) and a walgreens brand calcium plus d (also chewable) every morning. I keep them right on my bedside table so they're the first thing i see every morning and i don't forget!

Surgey day (7/21) 386.2 Last Week 379.0 Today 370.6

Great! Thanks! I sent them an email so I guess we'll see what happens. Did you like them enough to buy after you'd tried them? Also, my friend just told me about a Protein Shake she drinks called Body Fortress whey Protein. Has anyone else ever tried/heard of this? Does anyone have opinions on whey vs soy or is all pretty much the same? The only Protein Drinks I've really had since this process started are the Medifast ones I bought from my surgeon to do my preop diet, carnation instant Breakfast (if that counts as a protein shake), Special K (the Water & the shakes), and I've tried two flavors of Isopure. So far I haven't really been impressed with any of them without some serious doctoring up. I could really taste the whey in the isopure and the others were super gritty (the special k water is tasty though). The Medifast is probably my favorite, but is sooooo expensive and only has 15g of protein.

Is there a link you click on or something? I couldn't find any mention of this on their site...I even tried the search option. Maybe I'm just being an airhead??? lol Thanks!

I would check with your surgeon to be sure, but it should be fine...or at least my surgeon was all for it when I suggested it at my last appt. Some fruits are actually a Protein source as well and can give you that added boost.For example: Frozen peaches have 2g protein. I use mostly frozen because they make my shakes a little more like shakes without a ton of ice to Water them down...and because the nutritional information is all spelled out for me on the package so I don't have to guess. Hope this helps! :biggrin:

I'm going to jump on board too...if a little late. Banded 7/21 386.2 on surgery day 379.0 @ dr. appt. today! Hope this keeps up now that I'm not restricted soley to Clear liquids.

WOW Bunz!!! 10lbs! That's awesome! So excited for you! Hope you get to feeling better soon. I just had my first follow-up today and am down 7. =)

Since I just got banded the 21st, this is a ways off, but I'm so looking forward to the day where I won't have to tailor my environment to fit my body, but can instead go anywhere I want. As it is now, I limit myself from doing things I'd love to do because of the anxiety I have about not fitting in...and by this I mean: ~I ALWAYS offer to drive when going anywhere with friends because I know I'll have a seat in the car I fit into, with a seatbelt that isn't too small ~I only go to certain restaurants because I know that I can fit into the booths/the chairs won't break ~I always sit in the aisle seat at the movie theater (when I bother to go) because I have that extra space to spill over into ~I don't fly because the seats are small and it's embarrassing as hell to ask for the seatbelt extender while everyone stares at you ~Forget about amusement park rides (which I LOVE) Can't remember the last time I even went to the fair was ...and sadly, the list goes on. I can't wait for the day when I will feel confident accepting any invitation to anywhere without having to first preplan or "scope out" the location. What a sense of freedom! Thank you LapBand!

I was just banded this past Tuesday the 21st, but I'm counting the fact that I went through my closet pre-op and got rid of all the clothes I'd been holding onto for YEARS because they ranged in size and I had the comfort of knowing that if I yo-yoed up or down again, I'd at least have something to wear. No more!! I'm going and staying down from now on! No looking back!!!

Oh my Gosh! I totally do that too! Love it! :biggrin:

Hi! I'm Kathryn (also known as Katie, Kate, or Kat) I'm 27, single with no kids and live in Montana. I was banded the 21st of July and am feeling many things about this new journey. Joy, Fear, Nausea, Anticipation, Failure, Excitement, the list goes on... I've been overweight my entire life...no seriously...I was 10 pounds 3 ounces when I was born and it kept going up from there. Being that everyone else in my family is also big, it wasn't that big of a deal growing up...or maybe I just won't let myself acknowledge just how traumatized i am? =p As I got older and the weight kept piling on, (graduated high school at a little over 300lbs) I decided I wasn't going to live the rest of my life this way and decided to do something about it. Sadly, I didn't choose the healthiest route but still managed to starve myself to down about 220...which remains to this day my lowest adult weight. Of course the pounds just came right back with a vengance and I managed to hit my all-time highest weight of 426 lbs about 3 years ago. I could have died!!! Especially considering the fact that I've never really seen myself as "obese"...which sounds crazy...but is one of those unfortunate side effects of being overweight your entire life; you know you're bigger than most but don't really put much thought into just HOW big. Since that shocking discovery, I've tried (and failed) at a multitude of diets including, LA Weightloss, Slim Fast, MediFast, and Phenteramine (the half of Phen Phen that is still legal in the US). The Band is something that I had been toying with for about 5 years but didn't really get serious about until I got so frustrated by only being able to lose small amounts of weight just to gain them right back with the above mentioned diets. I'm hoping that this is a life long solution that will allow me to experience everything I never knew I was missing out on before. I'm so excited to be a part of this forum and the Freedom Fighters! It looks like we've got a really great group here!

I was banded July 21st, 2009!

~ Wear everything in my closet that still has tags on it because I outgrew them before I had a chance ~ Run around the park with my nieces and nephews for more than 5 mins at a time ~ Not be the "fat friend" ~ Actually LIKE the way I look in pictures ~ Go hiking, camping, rafting, etc...(i.e. everything my friends do for fun during summer around here) ...and the list goes on. Great thread! Thanks for posting!

Greetings! I was also banded Tuesday the 21st. After researching this surgery for 5 years before deciding to do it, and lurking in the chat rooms for the past year, I had no idea I was going to have this many questions about things! I guess it really is different once you actually do it! My surgery went well, but I'm so paranoid about messing something up that I've mostly just stayed in bed and not had more than Water and Jello since tuesday! i did hop on the scale yesterday and was quite disappointed to learn that I had GAINED a pound. Hopefully that was just some kind of sick cosmic joke though. lol. Have my first post-op appt Monday and will be sure to ask all the things I had no idea I needed to know...like band size and if there was a surgical fill or not and report back. =) So, that's my story. Glad you posted this thread! Congrats on your band and hope to hear more from you as time goes on. This is a really cool website and I think it will make all of our lives easier as we go through this. My friends, family and co-workers have been amazing, but can only do so much as they haven't been here themselves, so it's great to be able to chat with folks who have.