Allison0927

you will learn plenty about restriction and fills and everything in between if you do your bandster homework and read and read and read everything on this site!!!!

lol i'm not what you would call a healthy vegetarian - i just loathe meat/seafood and think it's disgusting. Prior to surgery i ate all kinds of junk food/pizza/pasta/mexican - i just didn't eat it with any meat/seafood. now, by force, i cannot eat the processed stuff and can only eat the fruits/dairy- yogurt/string cheese, Protein shakes, and some salad/veggies depending on the day - i think you will do well with this surgery - i find the more natural the food the easier it goes down keep in mind i did not have restriction until about 4.5 months in = so prior to then i could eat about anything - it takes a while to hit restriction in many cases and up until then it's all will power and you may have a couple months ahead of you of eating whatever you want.

a heating pad works wonders for everything - the gas pain and the incisions. It was truly a savior for me in the first 4-5 days after surgery when the gas was still killing me.

i did not want to be "gutted" and i knew the only thing keeping me from being thin was overreating at meals (i was not an all day snacker, not a sugar/sweets person) - literally i would just eat too many calories at one sitting - the band does exactly what i need it to do - no more and no less- it physically stops me from overreating at a sitting. 110 pounds later in less than 9 months i'm confident i made the right choice for me.

too bad you do not live closer you would hit the mother load at my house - i am 5'4 and have drawars full of 18 and 20 jeans/capris/shorts - all very cute and many barely worn that i need to get rid of...

i'm lacto ovo vegetarian - and good thing i am because once i hit restriction i found that dairy (yogurt, low fat string cheese, etc.) all go down easier than the soy fake meats which from my understanding get stuck the same as real meat.

i had united health care - no pre-op diet - nothing more than proving 5 years at 40 or higher BMI (i had no co-morbid conditions or health problems). I was on the operating table exactly 3 months to the day i attended the seminar. If you want to speed everything along - do what i did and move everything else in your schedule so you can take the very first appointment available for everything you have to do - surgeon consult, nutritionist, psychologist etc. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!!

re: the line/scar down the thigh - brachioplasty is the same problem - you're exchaning the bat wings for the line/scar. Still, i'm going to do it - will at least look better in clothes and if i have to wear 3/4 length sleeves even in summer so be it...

LOL the only reason I knew what she meant was I caught a similar act (or request for it - I forget) on the reality show that whitney houston and bobby brown had a few years ago. That was the first time I heard such a thing and about lost it - with my jaw on the floor wondering how such a thing could go on. WOW - lol looks like it is more common than I thought.

6 months and a week ago, i had no health problems even with a 47 BMI - BUT i felt so disgusting. I hated clothes. I wore things just to hide myself. I knew I had a pretty face but that all others saw was the fat. Today, 6 months after surgery and 88 pounds later, I feel INCREDIBLE. i am all about what i'm wearing, my make up, I feel just plain unstoppable. I want you to know that yes there can be complications. I have experienced none so far (truly this is thanks to GOD and following my surgeon's instructions) - but they can happen. I am very, very sorry I did not do this 10 years ago (I'm 38). But i cannot dwell on that. This is a LIFE CHANGING thing if you let it be. I truly wish all of you the best of luck in your decision and if you have the surgery - the best of luck on your journey. It TRULY is a journey. God bless us all!!!!

From one good Catholic to another - God bless! Ha - see you were scared to tell them for nothing everything was fine!!!!! Good for you!

Many of our surgeons tried to talk us out of the band and into something else- same thing happened to me - they have their own personal statistics to worry about and have many incentives to want people to lose the max amount of weight - however, there was no way i was doing anything but the band and i stuck to my guns. 100+ pounds and just over 8 months later my surgeon is more than pleased. Listen to your surgeon but also listen to yourself and your instincts. Don't let anyone talk you out of the band if you were intent on having that instead of the others.

great news and glad things are going so well - keep it up!

LOL I love this topic and the posts. I agree that 9/10 of bedding anyone you are attracted to is confidence and the art of seduction as Lito said. I think I'm smoking hot but do want some nip tuck at this point to put me over the top... LOL

THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!!!! GOOD FOR YOU.

Best of luck tomorrow - you will do great - the surgery is the easy part!!!!

My understanding is that the last supper is the night before the pre-op diet starts not the night or day before surgery

I agree B-52 but will add that I still hold fascination for certain food - maybe that will never go away - and I haven't been turned off by all food entirely and still get hungry or head hungry at times. However, none of that matters - my entire focus is losing weight then maintaining it - whatever it takes to do that, including overriding my own temptations, I will do. Period. I'm not faulting people for speaking openly about fears/concerns about never having a certain food again - but I would fault them for choosing not to have surgery because of it - or constantly giving into temptations so that the band fails for them, because now that i've tasted success with the band and weight loss - I cannot understand how anyone would choose food over thin-ness (even though i used to do the same thing pre-band). But, that's just me.

Great story - probably hard for you to share all that but glad you did. I am a successful, highly educated professional and worried about the stigma of the surgery but decided screw it - if anyone wants to judge me let them - why should I care. Friends, family, and even some clients that I am close to having worked with them for so many years, have all been EXTREMELY SUPPORTIVE. Obviousy I only know what people tell me to my face and do not know what goes on behind closed doors - BUT really - who cares? Everyone (with the exception of your closest loved ones who would do anything for you) in the end does what is best for themselves and that is all you are doing. I can relate to a lot of parts of your story - even 100 pounds ago I was told all the time (by men and women alike) that I was beautiful - I was always very careful to dress for my size and had tons of friends (told I have a great personality but will sound braggy if I say it outright LOL). BUT I knew to be truly happy, confident and complete I needed to lose the weight. I had no health problems at all going into this - I just wanted to look better and be more confident. 8 months and more than 100 pounds lost later - you can bet I feel unstoppable. Tell people or don't tell people - either way just follow the plan and lose the weight and everything will be better than fine for you. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!

I am at restriction and I always eat popcorn at the movies - I get a small - but I can usually eat about 1/2 of it. It's one of my occassional treats and i hope i never have to give it up. You will be able to have many of the foods you still like - sometimes they will slide through, sometimes they will get stuck and sometimes you'll decide that they just aren't worth the trouble and/or pain. It's amazing how major weight loss can help you quickly get over any mourning for food. I know it has for me. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!! :wub:

Heating pad helps!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

I remember being that excited!!!! Good for you - you'll do great!!!!!

YEAH!!!!!!!!!! EXCELLENT PROGRESS!!!!!

i would not worry about the food part of it - even the foods that eventually you know do not agree with your band - can be hit or miss depending on the amount of ccs in your band, the time of day, your time of month, etc. Even then, you can still eat them you just may have a little pain from eating them (your choice if you want to take a few bites bad enough). Literally, the biggest thing you will notice is not so much what you can eat but how much of it you can eat - and it's far less than you previously ate - WHEN you hit restriction which may not be until 1-5 months after surgery depending on how quickly your surgeon is willing to add ccs to your band.