Allison0927

DO NOT GIVE UP!!! IT IS WORTH THE WEIGHT (I MEAN WAIT! LOL)

i'm lacto ovo vegetarian - no meat, poultry or sea food but i eat dairy. For my mushies i did vegetarian refried beans (low fat cheese and sour cream on it - maybe salsa) - light mashed potatoes/butter, light yogurt, protein shakes (I do EAS AdvantEdge Carb control - strawberry, vanilla and light chocolate), morning star fake chicken strips (the grilled kind you would put in a stir fry - i ate a ton of them during the soft food time after surgery). I would dip the strips in low fat sour cream yum!

phatkatblue - i'm reprinting my "tips" from another post i made (at 95 pounds lost LOL people are probably tired of me posting a success story at every 5 pounds LOL) For anyone wanting my "tips" to the loss - here they are: It took me 5 fills and 4.5 months to feel ANY restriction. I now have 8.5ccs in 14cc band. I do not know if I'm in the green zone but I do have restriction and things get stuck and "hurt" going down when I do not chew well enough etc. This helps me psychologically because it makes me more disinterested in food (i.e., takes the "sport" or "fun" of eating away - which is what got me morbidly obese to begin with). Per my surgeon I'm at 800 calories per day - I stick to this about 85%-90% of time. I have a "cheat" day about once every week to 10 days. I go to about 1200 calories or so on that day. My surgeon and nurse care manager at health insurance both say this is actually a good idea as it keeps the body from plateauing (sp? LOL) by shaking things up a bit. I've hardly exercised - my guilty little secret is that I am waiting to "kick in" the exercise when I hit a plateau which I have not done yet. I know, I know, this is not good - it's my one "bad bandster" issue but I know I'll HAVE to do it at some point either because of a plateau or to maintain once at goal. I tell anyone that asks me how i'm losing the weight about the band (and I educate them on it when they seem interested/ask questions). This works for me because I care way too much what people think and it holds me very accountable - in other words I'd do about anything to avoid the embarassment of gaining weight when others know I had the surgery. Again, this works for me - not everyone. That's about it. YOU ARE ALL TRULY A BLESSING AND I LOVE THIS SITE. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! you are doing fantastic - keep up the great work!!!

LOL - chalk that up to MEN. Oh well. I understand about having "go to" frozen lien cuisines on hand in case there's a dinner foul up. They are not exciting - but they get the job done! =)

best of luck to you - you will do fantastic!!!!

I can tell you that i've had 5 pound swings (both plus and minus) within just a few days - maybe 2-3. It's a combination of stuff - but i know for me it's mainly about my period - ovulation, ramp up to period, during period, then a couple days after when i'm coming down - for example this past sunday (4 days ago) i weighed 183.4 today i weighed 178.2 - on the same very accurate scale - same time of day (i always weigh no clothes first thing in the morning after using restroom before drinking a drop of water or doing anything else). I know that food/calories did not create that 5 pound swing - it was other factors - in this case timing of my period. Like everyone else said - chalk this one up to lesson learned on the food - and keep it in your thoughts next time you're tempted. BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF US ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!!!

little trick that works for me - may be worth a try - every "once in a while" (maybe once a week or 10 days) go way up in calories - you will post a gain the next morning (i know - i weigh religiously every morning - once a day) then immediately go back to your 1000 calories or less per day - (i'm on 800 calories per day per my surgeon) for me it "shocks" my body back into weight loss and prevents plateaus - and bonus it's something i know i can keep up forever (knowing i'll always have a cheat day here and there). I'm 98 pounds down - 7.5 months from surgery - and hardly have exercised. It's working for me - just thought i'd pass it along....

you are already doing fantastic on your supervised diet - that is an excellent indicator of how you will do with the band. KEEP US POSTED!

good luck to you! no problems with my esophagus so far - but only 7 1/2 months out so who knows. By the way - i'm now down 98 pounds - closing in on 100 - feels good i'm not going to lie =) BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!!!!

FANTASTIC!!! very good to hear stories of people banded 2+ years (rare on this site). Long term information is badly needed. You should be very proud of your accomplishments and I wish you continued success on your journey!!!!!

heating pad for the stomach and back for the gas pains - gas x does not touch the gas - because it's not intenstinal it's in the torso from surgery - the heating pad and liquid pain killers were the only thing that worked for me - not even walking although it's important to walk for a lot other reasons. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU - YOU WILL DO GREAT!!!!!

Just a hopeful note for all the would be bandsters out there and the newbys. I never EVER thought I'd be posting something like this - I had read others' successful posts and still thought "that's them but i'll never get there". WELL... HERE I AM!!!!! I cannot believe I'm closing in on 100 pounds but it's happening! I'm so, so grateful to every one of you on this site that encourages and helps and spreads positivity. This site is wonderful and a big part of my success, I am sure of it. For anyone wanting my "tips" to the loss - here they are: It took me 5 fills and 4.5 months to feel ANY restriction. I now have 8.5ccs in 14cc band. I do not know if I'm in the green zone but I do have restriction and things get stuck and "hurt" going down when I do not chew well enough etc. This helps me psychologically because it makes me more disinterested in food (i.e., takes the "sport" or "fun" of eating away - which is what got me morbidly obese to begin with). Per my surgeon I'm at 800 calories per day - I stick to this about 85%-90% of time. I have a "cheat" day about once every week to 10 days. I go to about 1200 calories or so on that day. My surgeon and nurse care manager at health insurance both say this is actually a good idea as it keeps the body from plateauing (sp? LOL) by shaking things up a bit. I've hardly exercised - my guilty little secret is that I am waiting to "kick in" the exercise when I hit a plateau which I have not done yet. I know, I know, this is not good - it's my one "bad bandster" issue but I know I'll HAVE to do it at some point either because of a plateau or to maintain once at goal. I tell anyone that asks me how i'm losing the weight about the band (and I educate them on it when they seem interested/ask questions). This works for me because I care way too much what people think and it holds me very accountable - in other words I'd do about anything to avoid the embarassment of gaining weight when others know I had the surgery. Again, this works for me - not everyone. That's about it. YOU ARE ALL TRULY A BLESSING AND I LOVE THIS SITE. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!!!!!!!

it's weird - my surgeon actually tried to talk me OUT of it - and pushed (slightly) gastric bypass - but i had already done all the research and had my mind made up before i even met with him. He just thought i had too much to lose for lap band - but he is thrilled with my progress so far. I think people need to listen to the surgeon but also their own instincts - we all know ourselves better than anyone and what "works" for us. You are doing FANTASTIC and should be really proud of your achievement.

You are doing fantastic and your pics look awesome! Good for you - soon we'll both be members of the centurian club (sp?) LOL - there should be a special gold lap band ring (like a super bowl ring) for the 100 pound loss - LOL!!!!!

your son is doing awesome!!!! i have not locked in a goal yet - the surgeon said 120-130 before surgery but that would only get me to 157 or 147 - when i'd really prefer to be around 130 or 140 tops. we will see - i'm taking it one pound at a time =)

thanks so much everyone - yes i'm super excited to be in this position. Every single time i see someone who I have not seen for months the first words out of their mouths are how fantastic i look - it's a great feeling and certainly beats me feeling ashamed to see people i had not seen in a long time! I just wish i had felt more confident back in September to go to my 20th reunion - i was down about 50 pounds or so at that point and still felt too heavy/embarassed. While I'm a good 40-50 pounds higher than i was in high school right now - i still would have gone at this weight - thinking most people put on weight since HS so no biggie... LOL Oh well.

I am 7 months out and 95 pounds down - and i weigh daily without fail on my bathroom scale after using restroom (and naked) first thing in morning before getting in shower. My weight can fluctuate within about 3-4 pounds overnight - in other words there have been major short-term swings over the months. Sometimes this is due to me having more calories the day before, bloating before/after/during ovulation/period, amount of salt/water retained in my system, alcohol night before (like I'm dehydrated the next morning - my weight is falsely super down by a few pounds - but it's all regained the next day from hydrating). Take heart - I do not know many people who go down on the scale every single day - there are going to be fluctuations - (and different scales always produce different results). Just stick to what you are doing and you will get to goal!!!!

7 months and 95 pounds later and no complications (yes they may occur in future but so far so good). One of best decisions I ever made. Good luck with whatever you choose!!!!

i have a 14 cc band and did not feel anything at all til 7.5 ccs and got no real restriction until 8.5ccs. Took 4.5 months of fills. You are likely going to have the same - the bigger the band the more saline needed for restriction. Best of luck to you - you will get there!

I drink usually one night a week - it's water, ice and a shot of absolute - then i add crystal light - i think you will find that is as low of calories that a drink gets and it's non-carbonated. I feel the effects slightly more - but likely because i weigh less and there's usually less food in my stomach. Enjoy your cocktails! BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS! the first appt is just talking and a good time for you to come with prepared questions.

awesome congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i went through that - and gas x did not help at all - they say that is only for intestinal gas not the type of gas they pump into you for the surgery. The gas hit me hard and was extremely painful from about days 3 to day 7 or 8 after surgery. After that it went away for good and i've never felt it since. You will see that this is temporary and you will go back to normal - it's just that you have to suffer through these few days. Believe me - 92+ pounds and 7 months after surgery that pain was a small price to pay. Well worth it. BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF US ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!

I can't believe it - I've never lost 50 pounds in my life - usually stop at 40 pounds on all prior diets. I was so happy to see this on the scale this morning. 3 1/2 months out of surgery - I'm thrilled with these results so far. BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF US ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!