pugsx3

I found out yesterday that my company will be closing the division I work for by May 28th, and I will be losing my job as well as my insurance. There will be a transition, so some people will be let go sooner, but there are no specific dates, so we don't know who will go before that, or who will be here 'till the end. I got my lapband 9/15/11, and am still getting fills every month as I'm not feeling any restriction at all. I've got 6.5cc in a 14cc band, so there is still plenty of room to go. My surgeon charges a lot of money for a fill (it's over $600 for the appt. and the fill) - but my insurance paid for most of it - my cost was only $41 after I met my deductible. I know if you go from insurance from one employer to another the new policy can't call it a pre-existing condition - but I'm not sure how that works if I go from a company plan to buying my own insurance. I'm worried that my fills will become a pre-existing condition, where they would no longer be covered. Has anyone been through this or know anything about it? I will have the option to buy Cobra, but it will be way more expensive than buying my own insurance independently. Also, if anyone know's about Cobra - if I do go that route, I need to know if it's just a continuation of my current plan, or if I'm starting over. I've already met my deductible for the year - do I have to start over with that deductible, or does what I've already paid cover it? Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Laura's final weight is 212. Although it's a lb short of my goal, it is 10 lbs for the month - and to be totally honest I don't deserve it.

I bought it, and I love it - but I'm a sucker for technology. The main thing I like is that I can download all my info, and add all kinds of insane statistics to it. I take the reports I create from the download to my surgeon every month to show him exactly what I'm doing. He doesn't really pay much attention to it, but he gets a kick out of it, and he at least knows I'm trying and I'm committed. The other thing I really like about it is the food report. It gives you a pretty picture in the form of a pie chart which breaks out proteins, fats, and carbs for the week. It's a good way to see what you need to change. The other stuff on the premium site are more for comparisons to the "average" fitbit user - so they don't provide anything really specific to push you into anything different. I supposed if you were less than average it could motivate you - but otherwise I don't find a lot of value in them.

This is an awesome idea - I love it!! I have a friend who wants a band, but her insurance excludes wls of any kind. She can't afford to do it on her own, so I'm going to suggest this to her!

Down to 216 - a bigger victory than any knows. My friend's husband left her, and she never saw it coming. She has no family, so I am her only support. I've been with her almost constantly, eating out almost every meal of every day, and not exercising. I've been MIA on this challenge to date as I've avoided the scale because I was afraid of what it would show. It's not likely that I'll make my goal - but things are starting to settle down, and getting back on track at least with eating. Hopefully next week I'll be able to get back to exercising and get back on track!

I agree with those that have said don't call yourself a failure. Even though your up a few lbs, you have still lost 61 lbs. If you don't think that isn't success - go to the grocery store and put 61 lbs of butter in your cart - cause that's what you lost!!! Your mind can play bad tricks on you if you let it. Remind yourself of your successes every day, and don't dwell on the slip ups. I got my band on 9/15, and for the first time my band is letting me know it's there, but only if I eat too fast or don't chew well. I can still eat huge amounts of food, I'm just choosing not to because I really want to take control back of my life.

I was banded on September 15, 2011, and by all accounts I'm doing very well. I'm making healthy choices, following all the band rules, and I'm exercising. I've got a 14cc band, and my surgeon will only give me 1cc at a time, so I've been at 4cc for the past month. I had another fill on Tuesday, and I got him to give me 1.5cc this round, and am now up to 5.5cc. At this point, I have no restriction, the only reason I know I have a band is because I paid the 10% insurance didn't cover. I know it's only been two days since the fill so I understand that this fill may get me to a point where I will at least feel something resembling restriction - but nothing yet. I'm not to the point where I'm giving up and saying that this isn't going to work for me, but I am at the point where I'm saying I did this to get some help and #$&it I want help now! Right now, I feel like my life is focused on denial. I'm not eating what I want to eat, I'm eating what I should eat, all in proper portions. I'm constantly hungry, and I'm always thinking about the things I'd rather eat even though I plan my food a day ahead and stick to the plan. If I didn't plan, I'd end up making bad choices. I quit eating after I've eaten my allotted portion, and I'm still hungry. The last time I actually remember feeling satisfied was after going out to dinner with a friend, and I ate the full restaurant portion. I explained this to my surgeon, and asked if I should see a psychiatrist, because I'm committed to making this work, and I'll do anything to get there. He doesn't think a psychiatrist will help, that my problem is about the lack of restriction, and once I get there I'll be fine. Add to this the fact I've been at a plateau for a couple of weeks now and I feel totally and utterly defeated. I log every bite of food I take, and wear a Fitbit activity tracker to monitor my calories burned. There has not been one single day that I have consumed more calories than I've burned. In fact, it says that I should be losing about 3.2 pounds per week, which of course I am not. I had the stomach flu, and weighed the morning it started, ate a very small Breakfast before getting sick. Didn't eat or drink for two days, weighed before I started eating & drinking again and I gained a pound!!! I know it's a plateau but I just want to scream!! I've lost 80 pounds since I started my preop diet, something I should be thrilled with and proud of. Instead I'm focusing on things I have not achieved yet, and the foods & portions I'd rather be eating. I look in the mirror and I'm still completely disgusted by what I see, because lets face it, my shape is still a blob (no curves). I look at my BMI, and I need 1 more pound to be just "obese" instead of "morbidly obese", so no progress there either. People never acknowledge to me that they can see I'm losing weight, & I don't think I look much different than when I started. I'm still wearing my biggest clothes because I can, and I can't afford new clothes every time I drop a size. I've gone from a comfortable 26 to a snug 20 as I did have to get a new pair of jeans, which just doesn't seem like a lot to me - as ultimately I need to get to a size 8. I am so negative and down lately that I can't even stand to be around myself. If anyone can offer advice or suggestions to get me out of this negative cloud, I'll be forever in your debt!

Name, real or screen~ Laura (Pugsx3) Goal weight for March 30th~ 211 (Onderland by the end of April????) Weight on March 1st~ 222 Age~ 51 Dietary goal for March~ More protein, less carbs Exercise goal for March~ 10,000 steps per day Personal goal for March~ "Fetch" dinner no more than once a week - that is make my own meal - not fast food or restaurants Date banded~ 9/15/11 Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~ 83 - yeah!!! exactly half way What is your favorite outdoor excercise/activity~ Swimming

It happens to all of us, you just have to accept the fact that it happened, and take control back as soon as possible. One bad meal is exactly that - one bad meal. Don't make it two! I find the best way to get back on the wagon is exercize. It's always hardest to take that first step, but once you do, you won't want to ruin all the work you just did with bad food choices. I have not hid the fact that I have a band from anyone. For me, it makes it easier to justify why I'm doing what I'm doing, and most people accept it and leave it alone. I grew up in an Italian family, where life is centered on food. If you don't have 3 servings, then you're insulting the chef/cook. By telling them, I've found they don't push food on me like they used to, and are very supportive and encouraging, even those that disagree with my choice. You know your friends best, so only you can make the decision of whether to tell them or not. The other thing it does is keep me accountable. If I had surgery and don't lose the weight, then what would people think?

Laura at 222 today - YEAH I made it!! I seriously doubted I'd get there as recently as Sunday, but I really kicked up the exercise and it worked!

Way to go!!! Congrats!

JoJo and Sharillo, I'm jealous!!! I'm thrilled to see the success for fellow September people, I just want so badly to feel something, anything resembling the green zone - but so far I could still eat just like before the band. I've got 5.5cc in a 14cc band. I just got the last 1.5cc added last week. For the first time, it's sending signals that I'm eating too fast, and not chewing enough, but that's only if a chug a glass of ice Water first. I've stopped eating after my appropriate portion since the fill, so maybe it would stop me at some point, and I just haven't pushed my luck to find out. I just know I'm hungry all the time. I've been so frustrated that I just want to scream. And of course, I'm obsessing over food like crazy. I feel like my life is all about denial right now - all the foods & quantities I shouldn't eat but want to, and all the goals that just seem to escape me. I wish my surgeon would be more aggressive with the fills, but I all but broke out in tears at my last fill appt to get the 1.5cc. I'm doing well at losing the weight, but it's because of my efforts, not because the band has given me any support yet. I just get frustrated as I haven't hit a goal in a while. I'm .8lbs away from the next one, which will be the half way mark for me, so hope and pray I get that this week! I also tell anyone who will listen that I have a band. I don't care what people think - I wish the band was "easy", and I'd be just as proud of having the band if it was. How I get there doesn't matter, as long as I get there. The same people who judge me for taking the "easy way out" will judge me for being fat. Either way they're going to judge me, so I might as well let them judge me for having my weight under control!

Thanks to everyone for their ideas and support. I continued to obsess all weekend, but I did let go a little bit. A friend asked if I wanted to go out for dinner Friday night, and we wound up at tgi Fridays. I checked out all the nutrition facts, and decided on a petite sirloin with two sides of ginger lime cole slaw, which brought me to a total of about 1100 calories for Friday. Saturday she talked me into looking at cars (I really need a new one, and was planning to use that as my "reward" for making it to Onederland). Found out they've got 0% financing for 60 months plus cash back, so now I have to decide if I should get it now or wait a couple of months per my original plan. That has totally preoccupied my thoughts, which I think was the best medicine of all. I've been eating in moderation - probably 1000 -1200 calories a day. I also bought a Leslie Sansone walking dvd and got a kettlebell with an intro dvd as well to change up my workouts. I will add that I LOVE them both. Not quite as boring as walking on the treadmill, and I felt more energized from doing them. The best news is that the scale did move - not a lot, but the 1lb I had gained is gone, plus one more, so I'm technically down a lb. It's not a lot, but I'm ok with that as long as it's a downward trend, which it is! I sincerely hope that this funky mood is gone, cause as I said, I couldn't stand myself!

To add friends, go to the dasboard page, and find the My friends section. You can "find friends" via facebook or via email. I don't know how to add a friend based on their web page. I would love to have this group as Fitbit friends, so anyone that would like to add me, my email address is pugsx300@gmail.com. I have a facebook account, but I don't use it except in cases of emergency, and I'm not sure what my username is. I'd guess it's either pugsx3 or pugsx300, so it's safer to go by the email address!

My mantra has always been if you want different results, you've got to do something different. This is exactly why I chose to get the band in the first place. So when the scale gets stuck, I tend to decrease consumption and or increase exercise. There is only so much of that you can do before you just have to accept that you just have to wait 'till it gets unstuck. I definitely have trouble not accepting the fact that there is nothing more I can do. Next month I will ask him about the possibility of leaks. He does back out what's in there before adding more, and he did confirm that I'm up to 5.5cc. I have no idea how much tubing there is that leads to the band, so I don't know how much is in the tubes vs how much is in the band - I just know that I don't have enough! I had done some research last month, and found some documentation from Allergan that they recommend 4cc for the first fill, and another 3cc for the second fill. I showed it to him, and told him that leads me to believe that the majority of people will need 7cc to feel anything. He said I was wrong, and that I could do a lot of harm by filling to fast. I do trust him and his practice very much, and would absolutely recommend him to others, though I do have to admit, that I sometimes wonder if he's not padding his income by doing a dozen small fills instead of two or three larger fills. And Holly you look FABULOUS! I won't allow a picture to be taken of me let alone post it because I hate the way I look. I long for the day I can look like you so I can post a picture!

I wouldn't be upset if I weren't working as hard as I am. I do "indulge" in moderation if I've got a craving that won't go away. Most days I will have 1 or 2 hershey kisses as I'm a chocoholic, and yes, I do log them, and every other bite of food I put in my mouth. Last time I lost weight (140lbs), it came of much easier, I think because I didn't expect to be successful. My mind set now that I have the band is that it should come off. I didn't think I had unrealistic expectations, but maybe I do. My goal has been 10lbs a month, and until recently I've been able to get there. Unless something big happens in the next week, I'm not going to make it this month. I'll try switching up the daily calories to see if it helps. I've just been pushing myself so hard that I've cut myself back so far that I'm only eating 600-800 calories a day. If I'm not losing at that, I can't understand what it's going to take to get this weight off. My schedule does not allow much optional time for me. I get up for work at 4:30am, take care of the animals then get on the treadmill for about half hour. Then get ready & go to work. Get home from work 6pm ish, take care of the animals again, get on the treadmill for another 45mins, then come up and prepare & eat dinner, clean up the kitchen and any other household chores that need doing. After that I may sit for half hour or an hour max before I go to bed around 10pm. Not much time for me to fit anything else in the day. When the weather gets better, I plan to walk at lunch also. Weekends are just as full with stuff to do, some stuff you just gotta do, mixed in with fun stuff too. I usually manage to get in 45-60 mins of walking each weekend day as well - but if I'm going to miss a day, it's going to be the weekend. Maybe work has something to do with this funk - I don't know. I won't go into it, but suffice to say I work for someone who hates me, in an industry that's dying, and I don't have a lot to keep my busy during the day, but I'm thankful that I still have a job in this economy. I'm taking classes again part time so I can change careers at 51, but it will probably be another year before I'll be able to make that jump.

Laura down 1 lb - very discouraged. Had the stomach flu Sunday, and gained a lb. after not eating for two days. I weighed myself Sunday morning, then got sick, and weighed again this am. Can anyone please explain this?

I don't use myfitness pal, but I do use loseit. Right now, the sync only goes from the fitbit to loseit. They say they're working to sync from loseit back to fitbit, and it should be coming soon, but right now its only one way.

At least we're consistent!!! LOL!!! It would be really bad if we said two different things!

Sorry you're disappointed after I told you how much I swear by mine. I don't get the immediate statistics on the website regarding activity, but I'm ok with that, as I usually check them when I get home from work. I also keep the website open at work, and log my food as I eat it. If you can't access the website while you're at work, do you have a cell phone that you can use to log info? There is an app for that if you want/need it. I'm not sure, but I don't think you need a wifi connection to upload the data. You can't walk within 15 feet of it to get it to upload without wifi, but I'm pretty sure it will upload if you put the fitbit on the base while it's plugged into any computed with an internet connection that it will upload the info. To set it up for sleep, just press the button on the fitbit itself and hold it till the timer starts. When you wake up, press and hold until you see stop for it to come out of sleep mode. If you forget one or the other, you can edit it on the website. You also have to go to the website to see how many calories you burned, so in order to get a good number, you need to get the data uploaded first. You don't have to do anything to reset for a new day. It's got a clock built into it, so it knows which day to apply activity calories to. If you want to check your status during the day, you just have to press the button on the fitbit to cycle through the numbers. It does give you the calories burned for the current day. I thought it defaulted to show you everything, but maybe you need to go to the website set up in order to get it to show that info. If you need any more help, let me know. I can pm step by step instructions if you want to let me know what you're having trouble with!

I have BCBS-IL, which I think would be similar and I went round and round with them before I finally got an answer to that question. The answer was that the surgery was approved as medically necessary, therefore any and all "maintenance" required would also be covered. My surgeon covered 2 months, but the third month got submitted to insurance, and never got processed. My surgeon billed $650 for the fill, and I flipped out at the thought of having to pay that monthly. It turned out it was a "glitch" in the BCBS system, and it ignored claims from my surgeon. My surgeon was fine with waiting - but I was freaking out! I've got my next fill on Tuesday, and I had to demand an answer before I go, cause I can't afford it otherwise. Once it finally got reviewed, they only allowed $410 - but that's still not something I could absorb monthly!

If you're serving as an inspiration for others to improve their health and their life - I say be proud of it, and encourage and support others any way you can. If you can help others, that's a big NSV in my book. If they're successful, I guarantee you they won't care how you did it. If they're not successful, then maybe you would consider letting a few extra people in on your secret, and can inspire them to take the next step - but that's totally up to you!

I just started getting them. When I got my band I needed to lose 160lbs, and I'm just about half way there - so it's 80lbs for me, and the comments are still pretty scarce - and are only from those who don't see me daily. I had lost 140lbs a few years back, and I was looking pretty good, when I had to have surgery, which kept me off my exercising or 9 months and the weight all came back. I question if people are afraid to say anything thinking I'll just gain it back again!

The only thing Fitbit does not record is fills, and I pretty much use it for everything. There is a Journal where you can enter misc. information, so you could even use the Journal to keep track of fills. I find it's not great to use on my android phone, but it's very easy from a desktop or laptop. My surgeon recommended the Lose It app for my phone, and I think they've got a much bigger database for food, so it's sometimes easier to log food on that site. Right now, you can sync your fitbit account with Lose It, and they're supposed to be working on getting food logged in Lose It to go back to the Fitbit. I can't wait for that!

Laura here - down another 3lbs to 227 - Yeah! I'm pushing myself really hard to get to 223, which will be exactly half way for me!! As for the bad habit, I want good habits to replace the bad ones. I still have a constant mental struggle to make the good choices. I don't have any restriction yet - and I pray it gets easier once I finally get there, but for now it feels like I'm denying myself everything that's good!