jetti

You sound very much like me and to me it sounds like you do not need a fill. You are losing between 1 - 2 pounds per week which is the healthy way of losing. You are not hungry in between meals and you are making good choices when it comes to your foods. If you bump up your calorie intake try to also add a little exercise to the mix. You are doing great so why get a fill when you dont need one...save the room in your band for when you stop having restriction and need a fill or 2 to help you out. good luck

Happy Birthday Eileen!! Ugh I am thinking about going for my first fill and I am so unsure! I really need a kick in the ass right now...I am doing fine with my meals but its the little snacking that is killing me right now and I dont think a fill will help with that. A piece of chocolate here and some Peanut Butter there and add in a few pretzels and spearmint leaves and I am killing my weight loss :-( I guess in reality I dont need a fill just a little more willpower to stay away from that stuff on a daily basis. sorry for the rant/babbling have a great day ladies!

welcome Julie!!! Come over to the NJ August thread - bunch of great ladies over there some from NJ and some not but they are all great and have wonderful info!

Hugs to you and your mom Trish. you are all in my daily prayers

Welcome to the board Julie!! I had some of the same doubts as you did when I was going for the surgery but for me it is the best thing that I could have done for myself and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Good luck!

good morning ladies I just wanted to let you all know that Michaele - NJsoldierwife - and myself are planning on meeting up on Sunday August 17th for some lunch/coffee/chit chat is any of you NJ ladies would like to join that would be GREAT!!! even if you dont live in NJ and want to travel up that would be awesome. I believe we will be meeting somewhere down in or by Howell if anyone is interested let me know.

Betty you can keep all the hot weather. its kind of hot here in NJ and if its going to be this hot I need to be back on the beach in DR not at work...damn it!! some of you ladies wanted to see progress pictures of me and since I am computer challenged and my computer sucks - surprisingly enough I work for a technology firm. You guys can check out my myspace where I have pictures posted from pre and post surgery. they are not labled as such but if you look around in the albums you can see the changes. have a great night!

where in NJ are you from NYCFun? Im about 15 minutes away from the city

NYCfun - welcome to the family!! I was in the same boat as you - Im 5'8 and was at 277 and climbing when I finally said enough is enough and went for the surgery. for me it was the best decision I ever made. Good luck on your journey

Trish, Diane and everyone else - thank you so much for you kind words!! I never thought I would lose the weight like I am. It has not been easy but it sure as hell is worth it!! we are all worth the effort. I will try to post some before and after pics sometime soon. Michaele - I still have a hard time seeing myself skinnier then I was before surgery. it doesnt really hit me until I look at old pictures and I wonder why I didnt do this sooner. Most of the lovely ladies here are not from NJ but I am. I live up in Essex county and would have no problem driving to meet up for a little chit chat with any of the NJ chicas. I dont personaly know anyone else that had the lapband surgery so sometimes it can get a little lonely not having someone to talk to about the numerous things we have to deal with. hope everyone is having a great weekend. I have not left the house yet today...this weekend was my time to catch up on the sleep that I didnt get on vacation.

welcome to the group Michaele!!! the ladies here are very helpful with anything that you can think of to ask. Your husband and all of our soldiers are in my daily prayers - give him a big hug for me when he comes home. Donna - I wish I had the secret to my weight loss but im not really sure what im doing that is so different. I dont have a fill so im sure I over eat on occasion but I do work out 4-5 times a week and make sure im eating right. I do still eat some bad things but nowhere near what I did before surgery. I somehow managed to lose 13 pounds while on vacation. I was only eating 2 meals a day but I was eating dessert with both of those meals :-0 I guess dancing for 3-4 hours every night helped out alot. but no matter how it happened I will take it!! have a great weekend ladies!

happy friday ladies!!!!

kat - im sort of a home body too. I missed my bed and shower a few times but now I really miss the clear blue water, white sand and of course the boys so I would rather go back to the island then be here. Driving for the first time in 3 weeks today felt so weird and I so did not miss sitting in traffic!! I hope the boys that got hurt have a speedy recovery!

Marko not sure if you are still looking for a surgeon but I used Dr. Bertha out of Florham Park and loved him!

Hi chicas!!!! im back from vacation and not happy about it at all. I had a blast and actually lost some weight. I seriously thought I was going to gain but some of my bottoms were fitting loose and when I got home last night everyone said I lost more weight. so when I got on the scale at home and it said 192 I almost pee'd myself!!! I am offically in onderland!!!!!! I usally base my weight of the scale at the gym because the one at home is always off by a few pounds but I will round up to 195 which I am still over the moon about! I guess that is what happens when you dont eat breakfast at all AND eat dessert with both lunch and dinner!! good thing those cakes were in little bit sizes and I limited myself to 2 or I would have really been in trouble. but I guess the dancing with all the boys worked off some of the calories :-) I spent the last few hours reading a months worth of posts on the thread and cant remember a damn thing right now...sorry. I do remember that Kat had a rodeo that sound fun and someone - I think Pat - is going through the process of having a breast reduction. can I have whatever they take from you because if my boobs get any smaller they will be just pennies!!! Im going to have to come down to VA and have some drinks with you ladies one weekend...I dont drink but you ladies sound like a blast and I love to travel so why not? Happy belated bday trish!!! Donna - good luck hitting your goal before returning to school...youre doing great!! hi to sherry, Diane, betty and all the rest of the girlies!!

Happy 4th ladies!!! WOOHOO its thursday but its kind of Friday!! :-)

in my opinion this is not true. I did my 6 month supervised diet just because I knew it was needed for insurance reasons. I didnt lose any weight nor did I really make changes to my eat or exercise habits - Im not saying this is a good thing but its how I did. and I feel that so far I have been successful with my band. For me the band changed something within me and I am a new person. yes I still eat somethings that are not good for me but even skinny people eart "treats" every once in a while.

Good luck Josh. I wish I had this done when I was 19! My advise would be to make sure you have all of your liquids in the house so that you dont have to worry about going out to the store to buy them after surgery. I made sure I stocked up on sugar free jello, crystal light, sugar free ice pops and chicken broth. your doctor may give you other items but you get the idea. another good thing to have on hand is a heating pad. it helps with the shoulder pain from the gas. aside from that just try to relax and make sure you are getting a little walking in after surgery to help with the gas pains.

I was very worried that I would fail with the band. but the band is there to help you and for me it does just that. you can over eat with the band but it wont be a pretty picture if you start to vomit. maybe your eating is out of control because you think that you wont be able to eat again after surgery? I know that I would have continued to gain had I not got that bad so even if I only lost 30 pounds it would be a step in the right direction. dont sell yourself short by thinking you wont be able to do it. you never know what you can do until you try!! good luck

Juli you are one of the people on this bored that I look up to. you are always so helpful and informative. your weight loss has been amazing...keep up the great work

just popping in to say HI!!! hope all you wonderful ladies are doing great!

Why did I wait so long to be banded??? I wish I did this a few years ago when I first started researching weight loss surgery more so I wish the band was around in the states when I was in my early 20s so that I could have lived my life then! I got weighed yesterday and so far I am down 70pounds and I know that without the band I would still be at 277 or higher. If you are reading this and are considering getting banded my advise to you would be "DO IT" run dont walk to your PCP to get the ball rolling! Being banded is not easy but honestly neither is being 277 pounds. You choose your own battles in life and I choose to battle/work with my band not my weight anymore. if you think you dont have the willpower to do this dont doubt yourself before you even try. I had horrible will power with dieting before getting my band but since I have been banded I feel like a new person. I dont have a fill so I probably have less restriction then most bandsters but that doesnt mean I eat the way I did before. my mindset has changed along with my body. I no longer get the cravings for fast food and chips like I did before. I still do eat chocolate and ice cream oocasionaly but not everyday and not in the quantities I did before. I feel like I value my life so much more know and think more about what I am eating because I am worth the effort. Good luck to all off my fellow bandsters and those on the journey to a new you!!!

ellendeette I get tears in my eyes just knowing that I still have so much life ahead of me and I am finally able to start really living it the way it should be lived. Between the ages of 18-22 I loved to go out dancing. I was still very insecure because I was heavy but dancing was a release for me but as the years went on and I got heavier I hated going out. I would get out of breath and my knees would hurt after 1 song. well a few months ago I started going out again and I can dance the night away just like I love!!! I have not been the weight I am now since I cant even remember when and I dont plan on stopping anytime soon. I think the reason I didnt do WLS many years ago when I first heard about it was because back then it was just gastric bypass and even though that was the only option that I knew about I knew it was not the option for me. The band has been such a lifesaver for me and I know I would not be where I am today without it. I still have a ways to go but I feel confident with my band by my side that I will get to my goal and be able to stay there.

donna from what I know most doctors know what you are not going to be able to get all that protein in during the first few weeks because you are on liquids only. and you dont want to force yourself during this time that you are still healing. when you move on to full liquids it will be easier to get it in by adding in a shake here and there.