lisacaron

@@ljones4521 If you have had success with this diet before give it a go and let us know how it goes. Most of us have a certain amount of fill in our bands and we choose to eat solid forms of Protein to stimulate the band as the food passes through and satiate hunger on smaller quantity for longer amounts of time between meals. There is nothing wrong with drinking your nutrients, I would just watch the calories since some of those shakes can be a whopping 6-700 calories in one drink. I can see the need for fats in our diet when eating solid foods but I wonder how that would affect liquids since the protein is pretty much already broken down there is little for the actual digestive system to break down further and thus it should be distributed through out the body more readily and the waste also removed equally efficiently. Some fats are necessary for the health of the body and joints, but I try to limit some of the fats I eat because I want my body to burn my excess fat first rather then any fat that comes from my diet. In the consumption of calories as I understand it the body will burn your carbs and excess fats eaten first before dipping into fat stores.

@ it is fine to be you, of course it is who else would you be? The trouble with food "addiction" and using food to mask or sooth our selves emotionally is that it does not actually help us heal from what it is that is making us feel badly. In the end eating only makes us feel badly for failing ourselves yet again. So one of the issues you mentioned is that your marriage is not good, and from reading the rest of your post I take it that self esteem and self worth are not very good either. You feel judged by your family and friends and worst of all by the reflection in the mirror. You, yourself. A good therapist might be able to guide you along through some of these areas but the first steps always start with ourselves. Only we can make the changes, in our behavior in our outlook and in the way we cope with and respond to things around us, both positive and negative. So the first step is that you are going for this surgery. You are doing it for YOU and you alone. Your doing it...why? Can you take some time to write a bit of journal? Why are you having surgery? What do you hope to get from this surgery? What is your plan of action to stay the course? Will you follow doctor's orders? Take some time during your pre-op and write down your plan, how you feel about it and what you hope to gain from it and what challenges you might face as you start walking down this path to a new and healthy you, and what your coping strategy might be as you encounter these challenges? What will you do? How will you respond? Why? How can you respond differently? When I am emotional about something and I would normally turn to food, I now try to not jump to that comfort "food" but to find something that makes me feel good. I might take a drive with all the window's down and the music up, or I might put on a pair of headphones and find a quiet corner and tune out the rest of the world. If I am able I might get a massage or a pedicure or I might just take a nap. In extreme cases I will take myself to the beach at night and just stand on the sand looking out at the ocean and in all it's vastness I am but a tiny grain of sand and my problems are even smaller than that...this always makes me feel better. Most of the time doing something else that I love that's just for me in that moment helps to fill the emotional void and release my stress and I feel better, so try to fall into that rather than the ice cream box. If I still feel that I need to have that ice cream though...well I just have it and I don't beat myself up about it after. We need to treat ourselves with TLC all the time especially when we are upset or emotional. Good luck on your journey I suspect you are going to do just fine!

Yes, yes yes. The port seems always to be a "sore" spot for me. Not that it hurts all the time but more that I hit it and rub it the wrong way often. When I get a fill sometimes it's a bit swollen where the needle goes in and but mostly it's from my everyday things. For me it's hitting and leaning into my desk at work which sits right at the port site. Sometimes it's from something I pick up and carry too close to my tummy like the laundry basket. Don't worry I doubt you did any damage to it, it can just be a sensitive area for us.

I would have to concur with all the statements above. I had a nice fill in my band a few months back and was doing great just starting to feel like I was where I wanted to be. Then I got sick, tummy virus going around caused my husband to have to take out all the Fluid in his band (he got it the worst vomiting uncontrollable) and I had about 1.5 cc taken out for precaution. Recently I had that put back in and I'm again at that "green" zone and it really does take an adjustment in your eating and your habits to prevent that PB or stuck feeling from happening. Having the fluid out and the band relaxed a bit over the last few months allowed me to eat quickly and things I might not eat in the way I was eating them. Like a steak or chicken breast just cutting chewing and going for the next bite. Now I have to be sure I cut small, chew well, swallow and then start cutting the next bite. Back to those early band mechanics that we can forget all too easily. Give it a chance, and see if you can make some changes in your mechanics and food choices to help ease the PB affect and get your numbers moving again.

Nope, addressing the issue if worrying about a foreign object in your body.

Ah all I have to say is don't go looking for trouble because you will usually find it. Just go with it enjoy the weight loss, take care of yourself and your band, live your life and be happy!! Life in general is just too short to be worrying about it, if a problem arises deal with it then and don't worry. We have enough saggy skin we don't want to add wrinkles and worry lines to it

Thank you to everyone for coming out to spend the afternoon with us. It was wonderful to meet you all!!! Big thank you to Alex for coming out and spending the afternoon with us as well. Hope to see you all again at our next meeting in NYC August 2nd at the Atruim. Stay tuned for info on the July meeting on Long Island!!!

@@Tinaree You know at first I was thinking OMG am I really going to go back to the gym? I wrote on another thread about my experience at the gym before even thinking about WLS. I had a personal trainer who was one of those very fit and muscled guys. I was at about my highest weight ever, but I sucked it up because I wanted to be healthy and fit and I made the appointment had my fitness tested adn signed up for training. Unfortunately I had other larger issues then my weight at the time and ended up needed surgery and I stopped going to the gym for a long while. Now after my surgery adn losing a bit of weight but still overweight, I am back at the gym and in the pool doing aqua fit classes. I walk in and through and out of the locker rooms and sauna in my one piece (no skirt) bathing suit and I feel GREAT about it! when I miss a class I am upset with myself because I love going so much. At first I thought I can't change in front of these Barbie dolls...they are all going to eye ball me walking through to the locker rooms all those muscled toned people and you know what I found..they all are so passionate about fitness they all want to help me get fit and healthy even more! They are my champions and I feel good about showing up every time I walk through the doors. I go to LA Fitness so it's not a small gym, and I use several over the area not just one gym and those "regulars" now know me by name and face and they are always nice, and if I'm not sure of a machine or a workout routine they take the time to stop and help me out. I just love it and I bet soon you will too, cause I NEVER thought I woud like let alone learn to love going to the gym!

I was like you and though I had some co-morbitids they were not symptom related. However after losing weight even a minimal amount I felt more energetic and I am able to do so much more. I am motivated to get up and get out there and do 100 more things then I do in an average day. For those who know me they know I cannot and do not sit still and I don't stop. I am always on the go doing something learning something doing 100 things at once and now I am doing 200 I have also learned to shift things in my life and make myself priority #1 where before I always made myself last on the list and that never feels good. So yes taking care of myself and having more energy and being able to do more in a day and give back to the community etc. makes me feel good and I would not feel that way if I had not lost the extra weight that was holding me down just for the sheer physical inability to get things done.

Prior to my surgery when I was just about at my highest weight I joined a gym with my husband I an contracted with a personal trainer. I want to let you know that having that trainer really helped me with learning what my body could do and how to do it without hurting myself. I was not one to shy away because of my weight, as I was very excited to have someone who was looking out for ME at the gym. Now during this time, I ended up having to stop going to the gym and seeing the trainer as I was sick and needed to have surgery that took some time to recover from. Currently I am back at the gym. I use LA fitness, along with the gym I have at work. I go to an aqua fit class 3 times a week. I am able to move and jump and do cardio in the pool with minimal affect to my joints. I am looking into contracting another trainer at the gym for a more tailored work out. If you can afford to having someone who knows you and your weight and your restrictions, they are able create a program that is designed just for you and tailored to your body and your needs for weight loss or muscle growth etc. I was never a big gym lover in the past and used to think I would not fit in...but I have to say I have found them to be very comfortable places to be even being unfit and overweight there are people out there who want to champion your fitness.

We will be holding the July Bariatric Pal support group for NY/LI on Long Island. Stay tuned for information!!! You can always PM me directly if you would like to take an active role in helping set up the meeting!! Look forward to meeting you!

I'm sorry that you have to go through this, and I'm sure that you are feeling pretty alone and sore about the whole thing right now. It's great that you are able to reach out people here and get some solid feedback and have a place to vent your feelings. I agree with what @@PdxMan had to say in his post. Often there are underlying issues at the heart of our behaviors, and the only way to find out what they are is to have an open and honest conversation about them with the person. That is easier said then done. Part of your journey was probably a psych eval, and if the behavior continues and becomes troublesome to you and/or your marriage and family it might be wise to give that Dr. a call and maybe they can help facilitate the conversation with you and your husband. Good luck with everything, take care of yourself and give yourself the extra TLC you need right now.

I would not tell my pre WLS self a thing because she would not have listened to me anyway! What I do tell others before their surgery now, is not to be afraid it's not the end of your life or the last time you will eat or eat your favorite foods. Your relationship with food may change but it will be for good. After surgery you will eat again and you will enjoy the food you eat that much more as you take the time to enjoy each bite and not shovel through it.

Awe you are just too sweet

@@enjoythetime So the trick for you my friend is not to add more food to up the calories but to eat things that are a bit higher and denser calories so your intake is the same amount in volume (portion) of food but the calorie content is higher. @@PrettyThick1 you have done amazing so far, but your body is not going to know that you want the switch to dim now that it's in burning mode. To do that you have to do the same as enjoy and that is to eat foods that have a denser calorie content. They don't have to be "junk" foods either just foods that rather then 100 calories have 200 or more. With WLS the last thing we want to do is change our volume of food and stretch things or reduce Fluid in the band and be out of the green zone but to help your body slow down, chose foods that are higher in calories and relax on the cardio a bit. Work more now on the muscle tone, lift some weights take a couple of days recover between and you will see that you will start to tone, and the weight loss will slow down and/or maintain. Give it a try...

@@Lah15 Good for you for reaching out! Not every spouse would do that for their partner. I could understand where you might even be upset and offended by some of the things you have been going through with your significant other right now. While she is going through lots of changes, and yes the mood swings are going to be part of it if she is/was an emotional eater and also because the body chemistry is changing. Body fat holds major amounts of hormones and estrogen as you lose that weight the hormone levels in your body are changing as well and if your sensitive to this it can and will affect your mood. If you can get your partner to recognize this in herself when she follows up with her Dr. she can speak to them about it as well and there might be something they can help with to off set the mood swings in these initial phases for her and for you. There is help out there and neither of you have to suffer through it, and it sounds like you are both suffering right now. Try to talk to her about speaking to the Dr. about the mood swings, and go from there. Best of luck, and keep up the great support!!

Great post, as there are many Dr.'s now that are part of the Bariatric practice Endocrinologist in particular who are considering these drugs and supplements to aid patients in weight loss. I know two of the newer drugs that have been approved by the FDA are : Qysimia which is a Phentermine/topiramate mix and Belviq which works as a serotonin booster. One of the more popular diet supplements that has been going around my office as of late is the Garcina Cambogia supplement that is touted by Dr. Oz. There are a couple of ladies taking the drug here who I would say are seeing some results and I am not sure what it is about the supplement but from what I have read it also acts as a serotonin booster and fat burner combined. However some of the behaviors that I see from these ladies is more akin in my mind to Anorexia then it is just in trying to diet and keep weight down. They are scary skinny, gym rats who obsess about that 5-10 pounds. I say that not to be judgemental it's just an observation, I am not so not sure how this supplement would work for someone who is overweight starting out. There is one lady who wanted to try it..and I was curious to see how it might work for her, however her Primary Dr. said NO she was not to try using the supplement due to other medications she is on for certain co-morbidity's. I have personally experienced Qysimia which at a low dose is ineffective and at the higher does left me jittery, with high blood pressure, red red (cartoon like) red eyes, aggressive and angry. Needless to say that did not work for me at all, it did curb hunger a bit but the Lapband does that without those side affects. I'd be interested to read others experience with any of these supplements and medications.

Plastic surgery advocate here! For me though I don't think there is much hope...since I have a huge muscle there that is not going anywhere fast. I have had this "double" looking chin since I was a skinny little kid, developed the muscle playing woodwind instruments in the Orchestra from the age of 7. You would think oh a muscle great you can tighten it up...yeah still not such an awesome look, if I don't lift my head up in a photo..I end up looking like a old cabbage patch kid. So if the jowls start to droop…let me tell ya I’ll be in the surgeons office weight loss or not. Not all muscle growth is good…lol.

Oh I love this idea! @@JustWatchMe great post! I have lost the equivalent of 3 spare tires!

I’m sorry but I beg to disagree with you here. Being obese while it is not happening in a heartbeat is very much a medical emergency and the cause of death for many. Equate it with slow moving cancer if that makes you feel any better about the severity if not the emergency of the obesity epidemic.. I am not the judge or the jury; it is a personal choice to be overweight? Really? Think about self righteousness and judgmental thinking here and how that reflects upon you. You have not changed your tune on your judgment of the disgusting nature of smokers, (which I am not, nor have I ever been just FYI) and that could apply to the overweight in your statement as well. If it was my “personal” choice I would choose to not be overweight ever or at all. I don't have regret about not having my surgery sooner, or not having someone "save" me because no one could do that for me. It was a choice I made for myself. I can tell you that doctors have told me time and time again to lose weight though none have helped facilitate that until I sought out WLS. Saying and helping a person to reach that goal is vastly different. I don’t sign up for a Dr. to be allowed to tell me I’m fat any more then I would sign up for the neighborhood kids to make fun of me for being fat. (not that they have or do) They have an obligation as Dr.’s to tell me how my weight is affecting my health end of story. As a parent and a person I have the same obligations to tell someone their health is in danger. Now mind you I don’t walk around shouting "hey fatty put the cheese burger down slowly and step away". Or post the hotline to the local fat camp or WLS center on the bumper of my car. I am still overweight myself, and in kind I think that when a person is struggling it is easier to hear from and talk to someone like me who understands where they are and where they are coming from then it is to hear it from the 5 foot 6 120 pound Dr. that sees me for 30 minutes as needed or yearly for annual checkups. (Who by the way is actually a close personal friend, but I still would rather hear from you who has walked a mile in a fat ladies shoes then I want to hear it from her.) I pose the questions because I don’t think we need to be silent even if we choose to be silent. I am not ashamed of my WLS or my weight. I had to lose weight, I couldn’t any other way try though I might I was doing more harm than good by going down and up and down and up to my body. I am not insecure or self righteous I do think when someone needs a loving nudge in the right direction it says more about the person who wouldn’t give it then it does about the person who is willing to put themselves out there and speak up. It is true we can’t “save” anyone they have to want to do that for themselves. Everyone has to make choices, and we can choose to sit in silence and thinking that it’s all their problem not ours or we can speak up when opportunity avails itself, share experience, offer insight and education where perhaps none may have existed before. Judge not lest ye be judged be the saying…. @Skinny_Krissy and I personally found your post very judgmental of me.

I understand where you are coming from, but I ask you this question..if you saw someone coughing their lungs out light up a cigarette would you ask them not to smoke or to consider stopping or cutting down? Why is that when it comes to “certain” behaviors we feel entitled to say something and do something but when it comes to other behaviors that are just as harmful we feel we can’t or shouldn’t say anything? I am obese, I am still losing weight. I would not like to hear someone say “hey Lisa looks like you are putting on a bit of weight” or for someone to ask me “what are you eating these days, cause I see a bit of gain not so much loss” Sure those types of blunt comments never feel good, but what makes it better when the Dr. tells you? Do they have some super power that your friend or your sister doesn’t have? We “know” your right we do know it and no one knows more than that person does, but you know what sometimes we need that reality check to snap us out of whatever blinder we have or blocking our view that moment. Sometimes it’s our very own scale that snaps us out of it and ‘nough said there, but sometimes it’s my husband who will say are you really hungry for another bite of…. And sometimes it’s me who has to stop my 21 year old step son from making a third Peanut Butter and jelly sandwich because it’s like watching the asthma patient light up a cigarette. I can’t and I won’t just sit there and watch you continue to hurt yourself. If it’s a matter of life and death and you feel compelled to help someone by telling them about WLS then you should do it. You could be saving a life; you could be saving knees, hips, diabetic conditions, sleep apnea, heart attacks and strokes. You would help someone who was having a heart attack and give them mouth to mouth wouldn’t you? So why wouldn’t you open your mouth and help guide them in the direction of health before it comes to that?

@@Mrs. Goodridge Great work on doing your due diligence and not letting up on them for a minute! More people need to advocate for themselves and ask questions and make sure they are in the right place for the right surgeries. Your story is scary, and it can happen. I know my Dad and my husband and others get annoyed when new Dr. and nurses come in to the room asking them what they are there for and they have to repeat their reason time and time again...but it's better to keep saying why you are there then someone thinking you are there for something other then the actual reason you are there!! Good luck with your bypass and let us know how your doing after your surgery!!

What a happy Friday for you! Congrats on your approval!!