jono201

Of course not. You are a walking lawsuit. Not to mention any surgeon who bands you may also lose their medical license. At this board we care, that is why we looked at your thread in the first place. You wrote about having surgery at Bentencourt and we wrote Whoa!!! Do some researc first. Instead you disreguarded not only the experts that have actually had the band, but medical experts in the field. You ignored everyone-even the one that loves you most of all-your own mother. Someone mentioned that at 5'6' your future in modeling is slim, except for local print work-well that is true. Sorry to be harsh and stilfe your dreams but it is true. You come to a board for advice and ignore every shred of it given to you. There is a operation that will make you taller, have you looked into that? They re-break you legs every few months, I know it seems rather drastic, but so is getting a band at your weight and height. But hey- anything to look like Paris Hilton or whomever vapid waste of space is popular at the moment.

Before pictures!!!! Please.

pray for willpower

well PorkerChick-I think if you read through the previous posts it will become clear.

Oh one more thing-You have the nerve to use the handle PORKERCHICK. Sick. Is that what you think of others who are not 5'6" and 100lbs ?

5'6'- you want to under 100 lbs and you say you are healthy!!!! And you want to pay 8500 to get a band. I do not think it is a weightloss doctor that you really need. Plus, I have a sneaking suspision your post is a joke. If it is not a joke-I think you are a very shallow person to come on a website aimed at people who have real issues. Hey go to Benecourt I say-don't bother to do anymore research. Joke or not you are extremely shallow. Good luck.

Bush deserves it-fat people do not.

As a short time bandster-I echo this successful long term bandster above. Though none of us want to feel deprived, fast food is a major reason we and so many children are now obese. Stop the insanity-do not give those corporate A-hs your money. Just like the tobacco companys they exist to get you hooked and make money. Read the book Fast Food Nation, even my overweight friends who are not ready to lose weight yet,either quit fast food or seriously re-thought thier choice to eat it. Any fried chicken or HB you make at home will be much better for you. If convience is want you need, there are many other foods out there that do not kill. That said-I do miss my Big Macs and was really disappointed a few years back when Jack in the Box got rid of the Chicken Supreme Sandwich, but I finally reached a point where I chose life instead.

Ginger-that is so awesome!!!!!Your success will help keep me on the straight and narrow. See Dislexi-this site does serve a purpose.

I know I might get grief for this and I have not been banded very long. However, I just don't remember things like roast beef or pizza as part of the menu plan while the stitches inside the stomache heal. It just seems odd to start right out of the gate with the foods that made us fat in the first place. I for one do not intend to deprive myself, but I also want to give my body a chance to heal.

Do not forget his bashing of us "libreals."

you really should follow your drs advice cuz those stitches need to heal. the band is simply a tool-not a magic cure all and you really should not already be trying to trick it or test to see how much you can eat with it. Not to be mean or anything, but that does not bode well for future success. Check out some of the oldtimers websites and read how they lost and keep their weight off. many of tem talk about head hunger vs true hunger and how they taught themselves the difference. I am still learning to tell the difference myself. Another thing posters wrtite on this site is to drnk plenty of protein shakes-better one than just slimfast. I drink EAS but others drink MAX50 and there are many others out there. Everyone has their favorite, but it should a least have 25grams of protein per serving and hardly any sugar or carbs. Cream soup whippped in a magic bullet thinned with milk, also kept my hunger under control. Last Join a free website that tracks your calories-Sparkpeople.com of Fitday.com. Before I started keeping track, I was eating too much fat and too many calories. Good Luck.

that is a major reason I did not choose MX. I wanted to be close as possible to the doctor and did not want to be nickled and dimed to death for aftercare or if any problems arose. As a self pay, everything is covered for life time care-even if i want it removed. As for the original poster not losing-have you tracked your food using fitday or sparkpeople yet?

I am also three weeks post op. I suppose some would say I am lucky and already have restriction. I would say this is my training period. Since my band, I have not tried to eat like I used to, only try 1/2 to a cup at at time because I think of it as a tool. I practice everyday making good choices-this from a person who spent many years in the binge/purge cycle. I am by no means an expert, but check out some old timer threads or those threads in which a 100lbs or so were lost. The band is not magic-it only works if you work with it.

The shoulder and neck pain was the worst-and I was uninformed about it-However-it was gone in about 10 days and I suggest you do not overtreat it. For myself, getting the prescribed meds out of by body and only taking over the counter liquid tylenol helped my return to normal life.

One of my reasons for the surgery is that I am in the middle of changing careers and not only do I want to be a good role model, I also want to get healthy and look like I can handle the job. To be effective I will need a lot of energy and stamina. At first I thought that desire a selfish reason, but the more i lose and the healthier I feel, not to mention the self-confidence I am gaining, it was hogwash to feel that way. If I had this surgery sooner I would have realized by life goals before 45.

Teachlady-are you a teacher?

Wow-you have me beat-I thought I was the uber planner. Although I did not pre portion anything, I had all my tools and food laid out as I would need them and I taxed my little brain on every possible scenerio, planning for those too. I was upset that I was not informed of the whole gas factor or lack of poo factor (I am very regular after all and it scared me). I guess my point is I was very prepared for all the knowns and pissed about the unknowns. Oh-the other unknown-the neck and shoulder pain!!! the incisions were a breeze, but those aches were unexpected.

I am in school too and I told them it was a hernia. as for family-I told them no problem-they are all supportive in their own way.

I agree with all the above experts. Also join sparkpeople.com to track what you eat. It is free and oh so easy. I found that although I was eating enough protein, I was also eating too much fat so I adjusted my choice of proteins. Also as much as we like bagels and such-they are not complex carbs, but simple carbs, a definate no no for everyday consumption. Plus-did you know that most whole bagels are so big they are close to 600 calories?

Janine- I was the fattest person in my class from 7-14. The summer before 9th grade I stopped eating what my family ate and began exercising. Until I was 35 I more or less kept a healthy weight 5' 4" and 140-160. Then when I approached 40 I kept gaining and could not keep it off. I then moved back in with my mother and reached 200 +. I felt if I did not do something (And I dieted off the same 20lbs numerous times) I would end up like my love ones who are eating themselves to a early grave. We all have done a good thing and we must set a good example for the ones we love.

exactly-Although I was never a pasta fan, brown and sticky white rice have always been my favorites. Because i think of the band as a tool, I plan to severly restrict rice and make it a special occassion item. The band does not solve our food choices-it only works if we make the right choices.

I think the word VERSION says it all.

One day I saw my future in my mother's eyes. Although i was never 100 lbs overweight I became close and no diet kept the weight off. I saw them struggling to do normal things like fit in a car seat or walk up stairs and suddenly I was having the same problems. I knew if I did not act NOW it would only get worse and I would develop the co-morbisity problems they all had. I used savings for half and I borrowed half. 150 dollars a month was less than I spent on food. I also chose a dr with no hidden costs-pretty much everything is covered forever at 17000$. After trolling sites for months, I made the decision and had my surgery 6 days after my first appointment with the surgeon. The point is, no matter how much I love my family-I wanted a better future for myself and after feeling selfish for wanting the surgery and spending so much money, I came to the conclusion I was worth it.

Thanks-I am going to try that this week end. Remember-teaching is learning. As for putting off your surgery-in my opinion NO!! For me it just got to the point as to how long i was going to put things off and I just started to think NO!!! just do it. The first was returning to grad school and the second was my lapband surgery I felt that both these decisions were ones I just needed to finally act upon, rather then intellectually ponder. Of course I am single with no children (except my future students), so I understand that others may have to consider different things. I had my surgery during spring break and i feel i was ultra prepared both in mind and in what I needed in physical preparation. I was back in class a week later. In my opinion, if you are prepared both physically and mentally-do not put it off any longer than you have to. Late July is plenty of time to prepare. Do it for yourself.