Candle

Hmmm ... I've never heard this before either. Not to generalize but it does seem like a lot of African American women who are overweight, tend to have a pear shape. Larger thighs, butt, and lower stomach. It seems like weight in that area is the hardest to lose. It sure as hell has been for me!!!lol! <O:pI also suggest checking out obesityhelp.com. In the Lap Band forum, a lot of people have their picture for an avatar and there are a number of African American women who have been very successful! While I think it is important for a doctor to be honest and up front with you, it seems like yours isn't being very supportive. Is he trying to push you into RNY? I know sometimes that happens. Have you visited more than one Band Surgeon? I think if you put your mind to it and have realistic goals, there’s no reason for you to not be successful. <!-- google_ad_section_end -->

I agree that your portions don't look too big, just not the best choices. I've not heard that about waiting for 1 year for alcohol. I'm not a big drinker but do love wine! I just have to be careful because it can aggravate my GERD sometimes. You can eat mussels but not fruit? Aren't mussels super rubbery? As for the fruit - you can blend a few berries in milk and make a smoothy. You can bake apples with a little cinnamon and brown sugar. You can squeeze oranges and have fresh OJ. Most people do ok with melons. As long as you add more veggies, I wouldn't worry *too* much about the fruit part. A woman should get a minimum of 60 grams of Protein a day but most docs suggest at least 70-80 grams. Do you think you are getting that? Protein really does keep you full longer and carbs just make you want more and more and more ...

Thanks guys My BF is dead set against PS. It scares the crap out of him. He's one of those people that has always been skinny and just doesn't understand. He keeps saying - "You need some weight training. Sit ups. Push ups. You'll see, you won't need PS. You're very young." When I ask him where he thinks all this extra skin is going to go, he doesn’t have an answer – lol. I show him before and after pics of people and make him watch the PS parts of Big Medicine with me. It still hasn't sunk in that I have been over weight since I was in the 2nd grade. I've done so much damage to my body; it depresses the hell out of me! At my highest, I got just over 300lbs. Right before surgery, he argued with me about the title "morbidly obese" saying that is for people that weight 500lbs. I showed him the BMI charts - a BMI of 50 is morbidly obese!!! I love the naive little jerk though - lol! I secretly love the fact that he has a little tummy now and could stand to lose about 10lbs!! I have 5 more payments on my car and then that $400 per month is going to the PS fund. If I still have the same insurance when the time comes, they won't cover a dime.

Why would he not stitch it in place?!?! It sounds like you over worked your abdominal muscles. I've done the same thing working out. My port is still a little tender sometimes. I'm the opposite ... from day 1 I've been poking at and playing with mine - lol! Let us know how it goes.<O:p</O:p

I don't know what some of the stuff in your list is (crisps, pot noodle, pot moule marniers, brioche) but I'm seeing A LOT of carbs and not enough Protein or veggies/fruit. Watch the calories on the wine too. I *think* a 4-6oz glass has around 80-100 calories. There are a few threads where people post their daily menu. That might be helpful to you. Do you log your food? I like fitday.com and a lot of people seem to like thedailyplate.com. I think you might be surprised at the calories in some of the stuff on your list.

Thanks! You should be able to make it with no problem. I have faith in you! Once I hit the -100lb mark (which will put me within 20lbs of my GOAL) I am going to have to re-evaluate my goal. My body is NOT shaped like it was in my early 20's, when I was last in this weight range. I know I'm going to need some PS so that will help a lot but I look at myself naked and think "there's no way another 40lbs is going to do it." I was busting out of a 26/28 in pants and now I comfortably fit into an 18 but it doesn't feel like my stomach and mid-section have gotten any smaller. I could probably wear a 16 if it wasn't for my gut! The legs and ass of my jeans are baggy. Anyone else obsessing about PS already? Now I understand what people mean when they say they don't feel complete in their weight loss journey until they get PS. At the start of this, I said I'd just be happy to get under 200 and now I want thin thighs and perky boobs and a flat stomach. Never happy - lol

My goal is to be at -100 by my birthday 4/12/08.

Woo-Hoo!!!:whoo: You are doing so great! Keep it up.

Yup - recently he was over my shoulder telling me a story when I was on here and he saw my ticker. *blush* He's known all along my biggest goal is just to weigh less than him so he's been really curious how much more weight I want to lose! He's about 180lbs.

14cc is the AP Large Band

I try and watch my carbs but I don't get too crazy about it. I have PCOS so low carb works really well for me. I average about 75 per day but I do eat a lot of fruits and veggies so a lot of it is "good carbs". I indulge here and there because if I don't - my cravings will take over. Last weekend I had Taco Bell AND we went out to eat at TGI Fridays, where I had a choc/peanut butter desert. I was a bad girl but I'm working really hard not to beat myself up over it. Skinny people indulge in treats, just not EVERY DAY and in the quantity I used to. Maybe get drastic - go back to Bandster 101. Do a liquid diet for a week and mushies for a week. Cut out the soda! Keep exercising! Walk those pooches for a few miles every day! Tape copies of the $15,000 bill to the fridge and pantry so you have to look at it every time you grab for something. Don't bring any money to work so you can't eat out. Maybe seeing a therapist would be helpful? It's a daily struggle but you can do it!!! <O:p</O:p<!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Explain to these people (or just remind yourself) that the band isn't only about losing the weight but KEEPING IT OFF! Yes, you've been able to lose weight in the past (most of us are in the same boat - professional dieters) but you've never been able to keep the weight off. So far I have been really successful with no restriction. Before surgery my BF made a few comments about trying diet and exercise one last time and since surgery he's asked a few times if I feel like I did all this for nothing because I'm not really using my band yet. The answer is NO!! For me the band is all about maintenance - the part we all seem to fail at. In most cases gaining back more than we lost. The band isn't for everyone but it does help A LOT of people and if you really work at, you will be successful! You're so close to surgery now a lot of these fears are going to creep in - this is normal. Hang tough - the surgery will be over soon and the real journey is about to begin! I’m so excited for you! Best of luck.

I also use Dr Geiss but I'm don't think they will see patients from other surgeons. It doesn't hurt to call but I'm fairly confident. (many Band docs seem to have this policy) If getting into the city isn't a problem - NYU has an amazing reputation. There's also a Dr Garber in Huntington (?) who has a good rep. I think he does mostly RNY but a good number of bands as well. Good luck on your search.

How have you guys been going about setting and meeting goals? Do you not set goals? Do you reward yourself? How are we doing Crazy Ates?! Staying motivated? I've found that a big motivator for me has been having a vacation or big event scheduled so I could set a mini-goal and work really hard towards that date. Surgery in Aug: - vacation to FL in late Oct. That really pushed me to lose as much as I could before vacation. - Christmas. I knew that at the beginning of Dec I was going to be seeing a lot of people I had not seen since surgery. (I live in a different state now) That really pushed me to stay motivated after my vacation. - vacation to Vegas in mid Jan. Another vacation in a few weeks kept me in check over the holiday and has kept me motivated now. I'm scared ... I have nothing left after Vegas - lol! I think I'm going to hint to my BF that I want to go to Atlantic City for my birthday in April. I really want to be -100lbs by then!!!

Val - I hope you feel better soon. I had a really easy recovery and was feeling back to normal in under a week. It did take me awhile to get my energy level back though. I didn't know Dr Geiss was using the J&J band now. Thanks for the info. I was banded by him in Aug and got the AP band.

Right on, Mindy!! I also had trouble getting insurance approval and offer to help anyone in my situation* right here on the board for all to read. If *all* you really want to do is HELP people - why not share your info publicly? *People that live in NY <!-- google_ad_section_end -->

I made some. They came out GREAT! I used 1/2 crunchy pb and 1/2 PB2. Yummy!

I've made the lollipop comment about myself a lot lately. lol!

I know it feels overwhelming and I probably made a few similar posts but you'll get there! I kept track of everything and including the 6 month doctor supervised diet, I had 19 appointments and 2 sleep studies. Spending about $1500 in deductibles/co-pays. ... But my insurance paid for everything else and here I am months later - down over 75lbs - all that pre-op stuff feels like it was a life time ago. Good luck!

I had to do a 1 week liquid diet (but on my own decided to do almost 2 weeks) and lost 14lbs. I include that in my ticker. The first 3-4 days really sucked but once I got all the sugar and carbs out of my system, it wasn't so bad. It really jump started my weight loss and prepared me for the post-op diet.

This is me too. A stupid apple :tired BL & TT are in my future without a doubt! I'll probably need lipo on my side-boob/back fat too.

Congrats!! I know you've worked really hard for it! Specially those last few lbs!

Wow - 6 months? I haven't really had a chance to talk to my doc about this in depth yet. She did tell me that the Vitamin alone doesn't help some people. I haven't really noticed any difference but it's only been 2 weeks.

1000 per week? I take 500 per DAY.

Not yet but my PCP recommended I get one the next time I come in. I just had blood work done and mine was low. I just started taking the B-12 500mcg sublingual dots.