Bandista

Yippee! So happy for you -- what a milestone. You will be doing cartwheels one day, I know it. Congratulations on all the hard work that brought you to this place.

I hope you feel better soon -- pre-op here and no ideas for you except the obvious, like whether your pillows are weird and creating neck problems, and maybe you would enjoy a Popsicle carefully melted so no icy chunks go down but you still get the cold on your throat. Best wishes for a quick turnaround!

Yippee! The pants really do say it all. I think I'm going to use pants for my measuring stick, too, rather than obsessing over the scale. You look terrific -- living your life and HAPPY. Hip, hip, hurray -- go get 'em!

Hilarious! Just when I'm wondering what the he#^ll I'm going to wear to a dinner "thing" tonight. Love the description of looking like you rolled around in a children's birthday party -- been there!

Happy Happy! This is what I hope for -- that tuning in. Yippee!

GF is epidemic at this point -- notice how many restaurants have GF menus, etc. We were in Italy a few years ago and the public education campaign for celiac awareness was very evident. Our modern-day wheat is not what wheat once was -- it is hybrid, disease-resistant and making many humans sick.

Hey there, congratulations on your band over bypass. One day at a time! And here's to recovering self-esteem, to being clear and happy. I'm looking forward to that. Best wishes for a speedy recovery and gentle progress.

I catch myself thinking, "oh maybe I can lose the weight without a band." But then I realize I have been trying for twenty years to do just that and I have not been successful. For me, I think this is the missing link. A tool to help me do what my body wants to do anyway -- shed the weight and get healthy. In order for me to sustain a low calorie regime long enough to lose this much weight, I need something to dim my appetite. It's a way for me to learn to listen to my body again. I still plan to enjoy my food but a very small amount is going to do it for me. Today I met a nurse at the hospital who was helping me with another procedure (colonoscopy) and I told her I would be coming back soon for a lapband. She told me she has a band and then she looked sort of sheepish. She said it's been hard for her, that she hasn't lost all the weight she expected. BUT she has lost 60 pounds in the year she's had the band and has not gained any of it back. I wish I had lost 60 last year. Her disappointment is what I hear from others on this forum from time to time -- that they have slipped back into old eating habits, things like ice cream or chips, sodas. For me, I just don't get that. I feel like doing something as drastic as having a surgery to get a band is such a serious undertaking. I will not be compromising my band to satisfy momentary addictions and then feeling disappointed and unhappy afterwards. What would be the point? The idea for me is to have a whole new grasp on my health -- to be exercising and doing everything I can to take care of my body. Eating clean, sleeping well and getting back in touch with my body. It's missed me, but I'm showing up now. I can't wait.

You just made me sit up straight and get my pelvis tilted properly, neck back! What an interesting test, too! Fascinating, these human bodies of ours. Here's to that lean muscle mass and feeling good inside and out....whoops, just had to sit up straight again.

Hi Flipper, you are in good company here as far as overeating and having tried everything. We have all been there. I am getting ready to be banded and it's been so helpful for me to be on this forum for a few months of really listening to different people's perspectives and stories. I also decided to get a therapist to go with me through the process and it's been good to pinpoint the trouble areas for me (stress eating, anxiety, prepping myself with food before something I don't want to do, etc.). Just identifying those things has helped me stop doing them -- the noticing is huge -- and I know when I get the band I will be able to stop and think if I have those old instincts to head out to the kitchen for "something." I really want to be healthy so much more than anything else. I can't wait to drop the weight I've been carrying for a long time, even though I know it's going to take a while and it will be a project. Still, I think it's going to be easier than what I have now, which is a daily battle with food intake and the consequences of overweight. Best wishes to you -- look forward to hearing how your appointment goes. Keep us posted!

If people can fill out their profiles a bit that would be a good way to get to know each other a little better. Mine is quite vague and no real picture, but the stats are all there: I'm 52, live in the US, New Hampshire, 5' 6" 246.1 pounds today, goal 150, surgery date November 11th......WE ARE GOING TO ROCK THIS!

This is great! I found the invite and joined the group. Thanks so much. Looking forward......let's have some fun opening these new healthy chapters in all of our lives. Very exciting!

Wishing you a speedy recovery -- I am right behind you on the 5th of November. So exciting to be beginning this journey at last -- congratulations to you!

Well you've found them! Lots of great support and info here. I am pre-band but in less than three weeks I will be a fellow bandit. Can't wait! How are you doing? Best wishes for speedy recovery and easy entry into new life of health first.

Yippee! Here's to pants that don't fit for the right reason -- congratulations!

I pay good money....oh, wait, that's right, this is a FREE service to people like me who get so much information and support -- how about a big THANK YOU to all of the people working hard behind the scenes to retool the site. We appreciate you! Miss the blogs, too, and look forward to seeing what's new. Best wishes.

Good your you! My FB photo is of me when I was nine so I sure know what you mean. Here's to health and happiness and sharing that with the world!

Hi Latty, congratulations! And you, too KTigger -- big day here at last. I can't wait to be there a few weeks from now. Well, you know what I mean -- really we all can't wait until it's over and first fill has taken place, etc. Best wishes for speedy recovery(ies) all!

Hope you feel better soon! I am not looking forward to this but I know it will be worth it all in the long run. Best wishes!

Okay, heading off to the basement for an abbreviated workout. I have 3-4 days of intense working out (for me, anyway) with a cousin -- 20 bike to warmup, 40 treadmill, 20 BowFlex -- but I need to do something on my own on these other days, even if it's just a nod in the right direction. Oh, and doing my husband's PT exercises with weights in bed each morning. After a year of thinking these look like excellent exercises for any one needing core work, I finally got my own little set of hand weights. These exercises are amazing and now he's working harder, too.

Hi Maddy! So happy for you. Love those basics -- I'm really looking forward to being able to listen to my body's signals and respond appropriately. That whole dialogue between my belly and my brain got so messed up so many years ago. I know I am not going to be eating for fullness but for satiety and that is a subtle thing (and where the measuring cups and clock come into play!). Way to go on the exercise. I know just what you mean about getting through the stiffness. I have arthritis that improves with exercise but it's not easy to get over that initial hurdle. Trying to retrain my brain to crave the exercise the way I have craved food in the past, but for now it's just a matter of doing it anyway even though I don't want to and then being so happy afterwards that I did.

Hi Julie, I started researching the band in June and am getting mine placed in November so my process was about five months even though my insurance had no pre-op requirements. There was a mandatory info session only held every two months so I had to wait for that and then all the other appointments (for me it was Program Coord., nutritionist, psych eval, surgeon then date for surgery). I've used the time to really read people's stories here so I can understand how best to be successful myself. And I've been working out a lot during this time, too, trying to turn into an exercise machine to prime my body for the new mode. Best wishes to you -- keep us posted!

Congratulations -- I wish they'd call and move mine up -- time to get this show on the road! Good luck with the pre-op diet. Nice to get a chunk off prior to surgery and shrink that liver to make band placement easier. I start my formal pre-op next Tues. then surgery 11/5. You sound very prepared -- great that you went off soda and you are weaning off caffeine. I've been doing some of that myself and identifying behavioral weaknesses (stress eating, evening drink/snack habits, etc.). Good luck to you -- keep us posted!

Ack, did it again! s a u t e

Sorry, that first word is sauté! On my iPad....