Sharpie

I have bought quest bars individually at gnc.. the cookie dough one is the one I like the best.. other flavors are not great...and they are quite chewy... however they have the lowest amount of sugar of all the protein bars.. walmart does have a great selection I have bought muscle milk bars that I keep in my purse in case I get stuck somewhere that I can't eat....

Great Job... I know you are so happy to get to under 200.... I like your story...

I have been staying with the dannon fit and light greek yogurt.. all flavors.. the sugar content in most of the other yogurts is too high for me.. my nutritionists suggest 5 grams or less of sugar...

I believe you should consult your surgeon for those answers... I know there are a few who do fly on here but not sure about long flights...

Missy always inspirational... I hope your future journey is less rocky... as far as recipes.. emilybites is really a good site.. I made her crockpot brigiole... (italian rolled beef) and chicken enchiladas that were restraunt good...

I slept in my recliner (it has electric button to raise the foot part).. It wasn't too long before I was sleeping normally in my bed though...

That will be the person who says the Band failed them... when they have problems from drinking Mtn Dew (the worst thing you can drink)... at my support meeting a few weeks ago we had a lady who was 4 weeks post op who was disappointed in her low weight loss.. we asked her what she had to eat that evening and she said I only had 10 chicken nuggets.. lol

I used a heating pad.. it really helped .... it will go away but it takes time...

myfitnesspal.com is the best way to track your food ... your dr. should have given you some guidelines or if you have a nutritionist that consults you on a regular basis.. anyhow, you probably will do okay on 1200 calories a day or maybe less... I do 1100 right now and I lost around 1.5 lbs per week... concentrating on protein of course.. fitness pal will track that as well... my nutritionist says at least 60 grams protein and to keep your sugar intake low , 5 gms or less per meal...good luck

fantastic... I know you must be so proud...

my face first, then boobs.. but I am happy to lose some of them.. I have had to wear expensive bras for years..wide straps , etc. my shoulders hurt constantly.. now I am going down in size and I have a drawer full of bras that I have kept through the years.. so I think I am down to a 38 C.. looking forward to 34 B

asked my daughter who was a x-ray tech before she became a radiation therapist.. she says the band should not show up... but it's a good idea to tell the tech....

Hey, I live near Lake City.. actually about 20 miles -in McAlpin.. I had my band in January ..I can recommend a good surgeon in Gainesville...We also have a monthly support meeting I believe it's the 2nd Monday.. at the Lake City Medical Center 7 PM.. if you need to contact me.. my email is: charhorse@msn.com I think you are on the right path.. I am much older than you but I am very happy I had the band.. I have lost 45 lbs. so far and feel like a new person....

Scorpio if you're offended by my comments than you are way too sensitive.. I am not impressed with anyone's ancestry... We Americans are a mixed bag and I stated that people who come to our Country and like to complain or bash us need to go back to where they came from.. I stand by that statement so if you are offended that's too bad... Perhaps some of the European Countries you have been to have had good medical care.. I have not been to all.. just the U.K. and Germany... didn't find either particulary progressive..I still have not received an answer from you regarding why the affluent Europeans always come to the U.S. when they need specialized medical care... it's a logical question don't you think? maybe you don't have the answer.. to Vincereautmori: sorry we are suspicious but we have spammers who come on this site to stir trouble then disappear.. I hope you find your best option to your weight problem.. Best of Luck.

You and Ralph have done a good job.. you look great...

keep a heating pad on your back or shoulder.. I had left shoulder pain fromm gas and the heating pad helped alot... walking is a great way to relieve it as well.. like everyone says it will get better .. You will be on your journey to good health soon. take care

why are you offended? are you someone who has come to our Country and complains? as a matter of fact I am Native American descent.. so see ya later ... people are amazing and so thin skinned these days.. I still say if the Europeans are so great why do they come here for medical care? no answer for that? I think we had the best health care in the world.. but we will soon be another socialized medical country and will have to wait for surgeries and treatments like in other countries.. I have a friend who is from the U.K. she had to wait 6 months for Gallbladder surgery.. she was so sick.. doesn't matter I will take the USA any day....so sue me...

Oh if you had surgery in the U.K. I wonder if they didn't stich it right? but according to some on here they are so much better than U.S. surgeons.. I hope whatever is wrong you find an answer.. I'm like Missy doubt it could be in your bowels.. if so, you need to sue your surgeon..

If they receive such excellent care why do the rich ones come here? I have customers in Canada who hate their medical system.. just different strokes for different folks.. I think the U.S. has educated way more European Dr.'s than any country so gotta figure we have something they want...It's like people who come here because they want to improve their lives then spend the rest of the time bashing the U.S... all of them need to go back to their own Country if they dislike it here.

okay according to the profile on vinceor whatever their name is they have lost 316 lbs.. ??? very suspicious... I don't mind open discussions and opinions however I want to make sure we are getting a real persons opinion not some made up character... spammer? who knows... I just get tired of the constant negative stuff..

I would say Europe is usually way behind us in any medical issue.. that is why most affluent Europeans come to the U.S. for good medical care.. and yes they are mostly socialized medicine which will be our fate if Obamacare stays the law of the land..(praying it is repealed) but in the meantime I will stick to my U.S. doctors and 5% failure rate is pretty good...

I was told no straws too but I am gonna ask if that was for the early weeks after surgery... It would be nice sometimes to drink my smoothie with a straw but if my doc says no than I won't do it...

I also had the band after attending several seminars and discussed with other weight loss surgical patients.. I had some with bypass and some with sleeves and a few with the band in the group.. the banded folks seemed to have less complications.. sleeve is more radical than what I wanted.. by pass was out of the question for me.. I have a friend who had to have radiation and chemo and had a band, they emptied her band, she had her treatment without losing a ton of weight which is what they wanted to avoid...God forbid anyone should have to have treatment for cancer or any other serious illness and not be able to control their weight... I know that the by pass and sleeve people lose faster but the ones that I talked to did not look or feel healthy... so after that, I dec.ided to go with the band

The worse thing you can do is compare yourself to anyone else.. the sleeve is a different type of surgery and may allow the patient to lose quickly but I have several in my support group who have had the sleeve and they have difficulty with malapsorption and dumping... I am sure not everyone who had the sleeve is the same either... concentrate on healing and don't worry about # of lbs..

track your calories.. make sure you are not eating more than the 1 cup of food at each meal, get your protein in and lots of water. the band will not necessarily make you lose weight.. it's a tool to help you eat smaller amounts and keep you satisfied longer... myfitnesspal.com will work for tracking calories.. you would be surprised how that will help you...