lizzy2150

Ten pounds since April 18 is excellent progress! I think that telling you that many patients don't need adjustments was a tactical error on your doctor's part--it set your expectations way too high! Most of us do need adjustments. I got banded on July 6, 2011, and I didn't get perfect restriction until about three months ago. I've lost weight slowly but steadily, but I've had to adjust my expectations to match my reality; I'm a slow loser. It's going to tak a while to lose all the weight I want to lose, and it's going to take work, but it can (and will!) happen. I think that you should read the forums on this site to get an idea of the variety of experiences people have with the band. You are doing just fine. Good luck!

I forgot to check in this week--but I neither gained nor lost. *sigh* 238.

Name, real or screen~lizzy2150 Age~41 Weight on November 1st~239 Goal Weight for November 29th~229 Exercise Goal for November~walk 60 miles Dietary Goal for November~continue recording my food intake every day Personal Goal for November~complete a NaNoWriMo novel (nanowrimo.org) Date Banded~7/6/11 Total Weight Loss Since Banding~29 lbs

I have a few things to contribute: First, you have a medical device implanted in you and you have the legal right to know exactly what is involved in it, including how much fill is in there. If they won't tell you, give them a written request for a copy of all of your medical records from their office and specify that you want to know exactly how much Fluid is in your band. They may charge you for the copies, but that's all they can do. Your doctor cannot legally keep your medical information from you. I think sometimes doctors need to be reminded of this. Second, telling you that you didn't lose enough weight to "earn" a fill is both obnoxious and defeating. If you haven't lost weight, are exercising, and are hungry in between meals, then it's a sign that you DO need a fill. Now, if you are not exercising and are eating slider foods to get around the band, that's another story. In my opinion, step one is getting your head right--are you working the band and exercising? If so, step two is getting your doctor's head right--and if she doesn't treat you with respect and give you the help you need, see if you can find another doctor. Honestly, if a doctor refused to give me information I requested, I would be pitching a fit. And refusing to give a fill on the basis of NOT losing weight is absurd, unless there's some indication that you're in the green zone but not working the band--if that's the case, then the dr. is right about not giving a fill. But she's still wrong not to give you the information about the amount of fluid in the band. According to my dr., although everyone is different, most people with a 10cc band hit the green zone somewhere between 5 and 7 cc's of fill. If you only have, say, 3 cc's, it might not be surprising that you're not losing quickly. IMO, anyway.

I didn't manage it by the 29th, but today I hit my monthly goal weight of 239. Hooray!!!!

WOOHOO!!! I DID IT!!!!

I'm in again! LOVE this one!

Rolls of quarters in your pockets when you get weighed?

I added unflavored Protein powder to chicken broth and beef broth and tea and apple juice and other clear liquids--I couldn't stand the Isopure drinks. Blech!

Hi, Larry! No published novels yet, though I have an agent. I write urban fantasy, primarily (think "True Blood"-type stuff) though I'm currently working on a young adult postapocalyptic novel. I'm a college English professor, so most of my published work is academic. Keep your fingers crossed for me on the novels.

I like these soy chips--they cover my "junk food" craving and are only 100 calories for a bag: http://www.revivalsoy.com/products/chips/index.html

Checking in at 240. I missed my goal by only one pound--and I originally thought the goal was unrealistic. HA!! My other goals: Exercise Goal ~ Use elliptical at least 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week--in addition to attending yoga classes every week. I did okay with this except when I was visiting family in California. But I walked a lot there, so I still did fine. Dietary Goal ~Track everything that I eat or drink every single day. I did okay with this except when I was visiting family in California. Personal Goal ~Get back to writing every day (this month: revise last novel). I did not do well with this one. I'm re-visiting it next month!

I'm actually feeling better tonight. The band is tight, but I don't think it's too tight now. I've been able to eat solid food in small amounts, so I think everything will be okay. I'm going to give it the weekend and see how I feel Monday.

I wrote this letter to a friend who is having her surgery tomorrow. It's nothing new, but it distills all the information I would have liked to have had in one place before my surgery, so I thought I'd share it. If it helps you, I'm glad. If not, feel free to ignore it. I know you’re having your surgery tomorrow. I’mexcited for you! I thought you might be interested in some of the things I’velearned so far. Having a lapband is different for everyone, but these are mythoughts at the moment: One of the best articles I’ve read about how the lapbandworks is here: Protein shake. I couldn’t make itwork that way. I have to treat it as a diet and track calories. The difference frommy previous diets is that I have been getting progressively less hungry ratherthan more hungry. I think this whole thing will be easier if you starttracking calories and protein as soon as you’re back on regular food. I usemyfitnesspal.com—if you want to add me as a friend there, my username islizzy2150. I set mine up for 1200 calories a day—and until my last fill, Iusually also ate all the calories I “earned” through exercise. Now I eat about 1000-1200calories a day total (I don’t use my earned calories) and am not hungry! I’m a night eater. I always have been. So I arrange my dayto accommodate that. I have coffee when I first get up and a protein shakemid-morning. For lunch I eat 100-200 calories. That leaves me most of thecalories for the end of the day, when I am likely to eat more anyway. Whateveryour tendencies are, try to work around them in a way that makes it easiest to useyour band as a tool. I feel better if I eat more protein than the nutritionistrecommended; she said 70-75 grams a day, but I feel best if I’m taking in90-100 grams. That may just be a personal idiosyncrasy, but if you feeloverwhelmingly hungry or are more tired than you think you should be, tryhaving more protein for a few days. It may help. Don’t forget to take your vitamins—I’m convinced that I don’ttake in enough variety of food to truly supply all my nutritional needs, evenon days when I am eating a wide variety of things. I regularly read lapbandtalk.com; there are a lot of peoplethere who have a lot of experience with the band. If I have a question, I postit there. I’ve gotten some great information on the site. The band works better if you exercise. I started by walkinga little bit every day. I joined the YMCA about six weeks ago and now take yogaclasses a couple of times a week and run 3 to 5 miles a day. So it took mealmost two months to really work up to exercising regularly. Remember that your ultimate goal is losing an average of 1-3lbs. a week. Some weeks will be better than others. But as long as you do whatyou’re supposed to, the weight will come off. From everything I can tell aboutweight-loss rates, I am a fairly slow loser—but the weight is coming offsteadily, so I stay pretty happy about it. That’s all I can think of at the moment. Good luck!