La_madam

My Mexican Meatballs are in the crockpot, I will let you know how my family liked them tonight, I'm serving them with refried beans and a ceasar salad.

Here is a thread I started that may offersome advice Best of luck to you http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=9148

OK! Summers is over, Vegas Bash is behind me..I'm focused and motivated this Monday morning GAME ON!

Summers over the Vegas bash is behine me it's Monday Morning Sapt 12th GAME ON!

Me too! Today is a brand new day and the start of getting back on track. Summer is over the bash is behind me. I got on the scale this morning to see the damage from the weekend and I was amazed I lost 1 lb ((How the hell did that happen?)) My goals are similar to Lisa's Except for the sodas and booze part, No more chocolate lots of Water, lots of Protein and less carbs and no eating after 6:30 for me. I can do this!!

Kevin, Good Attitude, and you are right on, it takes sometime 5cc's to 6 cc's with the larger band to get to the level of restriction where it feels right. Many here who have the larger band have stated just that. My friend who has the larger band he had 3.5 cc's his first fill and had 2 cc's his 2nd fill and now is just right. There are several people here who have the VG band, you can do a search at the top of the page justtype in VG band and alot of threads will come up on the topic. Best of luck to you

The banddoes not restrict chocolate no matter how tight you are PERIOD! This iswhere your head has to do some of the work and not rely on the band, if you rely on the band to restrict chocolate, it wont unless it is chocolate cake There are foods that no matter how tight we are the band just does not restrict, all ofthe soft foods and chocolate falls into that category. Maybe you should seriously go and talk with a counselor and get to the reason why you sabatoge yourself with chocolate. Obviously the band is doing its job if you have restriction when you eat Proteins and the right foods, you just need to do your part now and get clean from the chocolate. I'm not a perfect bandster by any means, I eat chocolate but I have some self control. However I ate like a "pig" this weekend in Vegas, I ate chocolate and to my amazement I got on the scale and I actually lost 1 lb, go figure! How about finding an OA meeting in your area that may help you, you can do this, you know what oyu have to do, now you got to just do it! Get the help you need to do it! Dont give up, you have been blessed with an awesome tool .. use it to the best of your ability.

Lynn, Best of Luck to you today, I hope it all goes smoothly for you

I was very impressed with Lisa's new business, she gave us a first hand show of it while there for the Bash, our own private Slumber Party.What a perfect business for Lisa, she is a natural, she has the perfect personality for the job, She is going to be a huge success, I'm going to have her here to Cali for a weekend for a Slumber Party. All of us handled it with dignity and grace, no embarrassment or awkward moments, however we did laugh our ass's off at times, and um my hubby loved the bussom buddies balm and so did I WOW! Tonight is Love Mitten time, going to give my husband a massage while burining my phermone candle , he is going in for some tests today, has been having some health problems so this will be great to relax him after a long stressful day. Oh and I scratched my "love lotto" card that I won and here is what it said 69, in the back yard after work, since neither of us are working until Wednesday, guess we will have to hold off until then

* Phew* I'm home and I'm exhausted. Had a great time! I'm so happy I had the chance to get to know all of you, Crystal , Christina, Terri, Jenna, Francesca, and Lisa thanks for being such an awesome hostess..I made it through the airport security check with my new "toy" in tow, he passed it through theX-ray machine, then passed is back through as if he was doing a doubletake, I' was sweatin' it that he'd pull it out and ask what the hell it was, Lisa I think you are going to be a huge success and make tons of money in your new business. Your personality fits perfectly with your venture, Francesca- thanks for the company and for the rides , I feel like Ive known you for years. Vines, you are one hell of a smart woman, AMAZING! ( she blew our minds with the guessing who we are game) Christina- You are beautiful, lots of fun, love your laugh Jenna- you got lots of spunk, fun times to be had wherever you go I'm sure Terry - Good heart you have, loved the scrapbook, you have done awesome with your band looking at those before pics Ricca - sorry we missed you but hey I understand completely

My Condolences to you and your family

I'm a very happy Ortiz/Martinez patient. www.obesitycontrolcenter.com

afer your fill, be careful with hard boiled eggs, that is something I can not eat

Warm water seems to open me up but cold water or cold beverages seems to tighten me, that is pretty much the norm for alot of us, How is it when you eat solids? Are you able to keep it all down, one sign of slippage I was told by my Dr. was that whatever you eat or drink will come back up instantly, not being able to keep anything down. vomiting

Vines, what in the world are you nervous about? If it is anything like last years bash you are going to have so much fun! See you tomorrow Vines

I'm happy for you Alex That is such great news. Thanks for sharing it with us

Call me strange, but I tell anyone and everyone who ask..Iam so proud of my success. Not to mention the more who know the more focused and motivated I am. It keeps it real for me while out in public. I make such better food choices when I am around my peers who know of my band I think the reason for that is I do not want to be judged by what I eat, so it helps me to stay on course. And the best part is I'm able to help others by telling everyone. I have sent 5 people to Dr. Ortiz and 2 too their own doctors who were covered by their insurance. I own a restraunt so Iam around food constantly and alot of my customers are obese , they have watched my transformation over the last 17 months..We all have our reasons for telling or not telling.

That is great news..I'm so glad you were the responsible bandster and called your doc when you knew something was not right. I hope this works for you..So happy to hear you are feeling better and able to drink water

That is a very hard question to answer.. Everyone is so different, I'm sure I could eat a whole lot more then I do but just because I can does not mean I do I eat when my stomach is growling, I then eat until that growl goes away. For example it is 2:30 here and so far all I have had today is 2 scrambled eggs with chorizo & cheese scrambled in it with a tsp of sour cream. Ive been up since 3:30 a, this morning and go to work at 4:30 am I ate around 8:30 am My tummy is starting to growl a bit now so I will go have a slice of cheese to tide me over until dinner at 6:00 I normally eat lunch at 1:00 which is a small salad with 1/2 chicken breast. but to day I had no time busy work day for me today.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs or egg whites with 2 sausage links, or a veggie omelette with a few small pewices of cantaloupe or honeydew Or scrambled eggswith cottage cheese, I have no carbs in the morning, it is strictly Protein, carbs in the morning is a sure way for me to graze and be hungry all day long. Lunch: Small salad with 1/2 chicken breast or Tuna scoop with a few crackers and sliced cheese dinner : whatever I cook for the family, meat veggie & fruit or salad sometimes a rice or Pasta as a side dish. I do not do well with rice or pasta.., I have eliminated the bread from our dinner table.

Babs, I say go get another opinion, go se the other Dr. ...for your Dr. not to check your band while you were there to see if the 1cc was still there is horrible knowing the emotional state you were in, he could of very easily eased your fears of you having a leak and putting your mind at ease. If they feel you are being difficult, it could be because they are giving you the run around did they ever think of that? What a horrble ordeal, I feel for you. Hang in there and do not stop until you get anwsers, this is your body and your band and you have the right to know the facts PERIOD!!

Anyone who thinks getting the band is the easy way out is crazy. There is nothing easy about this, you can still eat around the band,you still have head issues , it does not cure emotinal eating, you can still NOT exercise, you can have complications ( I know I have) You have to give up certain things like carbonation and NO drinking with meals, small bites and chew your food to death, vomiting on a piece of food that is not chewed well enough, sliming, golf ball pain in your chest, reflux at night etc...nothing easy about this and anyone who tries to tell you otherwise, tell them to walk in your shoes for a while.

I do not know exact direction but here is the streets. Hope to see you tomorrow

If it were that easy, there woldnt be an epidemic on obesity in the U.S. People who are jelous are insecure about themselves, she may be in fear you will leave her in the dust once you lose your weight. I can bet if she was obese and had the chance to get the band she would, she may be jealous becasue you are getting the lap band and she is not .Dont let her sway you from your decision to a happier healthier life.

Have you tried Tenessee bandsters in Yahoo groups, http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/TN_Bandsters/ or http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/tennesseebandsters/ Maybe someone one one of thesegroups can help you find a local Dr. in your area. You can also email Don Mills at Inamed and ask for a list of Tennessee Dr.'s in your area , you will have to call them all to see if they wil ltake on patients banded in Mexico Don.Mills@inamed.com