Bandista

Sauté garlic, onion, carrot bits in a little olive oil, salt and pepper, add in the quinoa and let it pick up those flavors then chicken stock to cover plus an inch, let it cook 20 mins or so.....buckwheat is another of these amazing grains,,so high in protein (actually not a grain, a berry!).

Sauté garlic, onion, carrot bits in a little olive oil -- add in the quinoa for a minute to pick up that flavor then pour in chicken stock. So high in protein and delicious. Buckwheat is another one of these amazing grains (actually it is a berry!).

You're here, you're ready -- be sure to pat yourself on the back for surviving catastrophe, for your initial decision to be banded and getting that first chunk off -- and know that stress is stress, even "good" stress. Choose yourself now.

Happy New Healthy Allie! Aye, aye, Captain!

Happy (almost) One-Year Bandaversary -- and congratulations on your weight loss and all the hard work it has taken to get to this place. Best wishes!

Hi Starfish and welcome to this forum -- I've learned so much here and am looking forward to getting banded three weeks from today. I know it will be a lot of work but I'm used to that -- what I need is this tool to help me finally be successful at losing this weight.

I fill up a 32 ounce bottle almost to the top with water and put in a splash of unsweetened cranberry juice (Trader Joe's has a good one that is not expensive) and a capful of aloe vera juice. It's a nice thirst-quenching drink and very healthy.

Hi there......getting excited! And a tad nervous. Congratulations on your date!

Yippee, so happy for you. I am Nov. 5th -- we will be November bandits together!

Hi there, so sorry you're having this pain today. The tea suggestion above sounds good on many levels including caffeine -- could it be that kind of headache, getting off meds, post-anesthesia, etc.? As for the gas (and I'm pre-op, know nothing!) some one on here a while back got relief from the "happy baby" pose -- do you know that one? Or maybe laying with a small firm pillow under your shoulders, head and neck back, arms wide, so that chest area really opens and any trapped gas can move. Hope you feel better soon! Be gentle with yourself, take the time you need to really recover......

Hi Jakki, congratulations! Glad to hear you are doing well. Wishing you a speedy recovery and easy entry into band world. Right behind you!

Hi there KC Gal -- congratulations on this big step toward a healthy happy future! Take good care of yourself, the walking, sips of water. I am so excited to be banded three weeks from today. We'll be fall bandies together. Best wishes!

Hi Kat, welcome -- and your entry reads like the inside of my brain at times. I can be so diligent and I am an expert dieter but at this point my weight is not going to come off. I have tried everything. Very excited to be having a band placed three weeks from now. Hddn, I'm going to get that book! My son cannot have dairy and husband is gluten-free (celiac) -- I am so much better when not having either of those. And sugar of course. I do have some trouble with the elimination of entire categories of foods -- I can be a bit too restrictive with myself in that way and there has always been a bounce-back. What I'm hoping for from the band is not to be thinking about food all the time, to listen to my body and eat what I need to be healthy but no more than that.

Hi Misty, excited to have so many people to bounce ideas off of and for general support. This has been enormously helpful to me as I've been going through the process of appointments, etc. My surgery is three weeks from today and I feel well prepared mostly because of being a part of this forum and reading all I can. Exciting times ahead!

Thank you! I may need to go to a smaller cap while getting used to my band -- and Schiff is a good company as I recall. I've been taking New Chapter Wholemega -- wild Alaskan salmon, no farmed oils. Now the calcium -- those are not only big and chunky but they are kind of chalky, too.

Hi B-52, those look pretty familiar! Thanks so much. I guess it will be a leaning process once banded but I'm glad that I probably won't need liquid everything. Love my fish oils -- need them to move! See you've got your vitamin D there, good. Calcium, etc.

I have liquids but hope not to take them as I know pain medications usually have more side effects than they do good for me......we will see. But if I take them I will be careful about digestion and I will get off fast before any mood issues arrive.

Mine was a standardized test, multiple choice and about 200 questions with many repetitions...and a general chat....easy.

My surgery is three weeks from tomorrow and I'm so ready. In some ways I feel like I've never been this ready for anything. And yet.....today I was at therapy (started this summer in tandem with the LB process to make sure my head is ready) and I started thinking, well maybe I can do this without the band, what am I doing, why surgery, maybe i should just do therapy, etc. Well, I know why. Because I'm 52 and I'm a hard worker. I am diligent and committed but I've not been able to lose this weight despite everything, and I've got to. I've just got to, so I can have a really great few more decades as healthily and happily as possible. I need the band. I need this assistance. This is my brain not even on full pre-op diet yet -- I think it is quite the roller coaster. And like you, I think PMS may be at play. That's a whole other conversation, the worries about LB placement coinciding with my period. What else can I think up to worry about in these weeks prior to surgery? I'm going to try to let myself be at peace about the decision and just shed whatever I can in advance. You are going to do beautifully. Know that you are not alone and that many best wishes are being sent your way!

Oh thank you; that is good to know. I am just not sure what to expect.

Thanks for this important reminder. I have been on a low dose of BP medication for some years -- sometimes I wean myself off so I don't bottom out. I am pretty sure I won't be needing the medication much longer but more importantly it might actually be dangerous! Hope you are feeling better -- great that you knew to check in with your medical professionals!

Best wishes to you -- you are on your way. Once your band is working well for you it's all going to be so much easier!

Not sure where you are geographically, but where we live the light is changing quite a bit and that seems to make every one tired. From here on until Solstice every one is a bit more internal and in need of LIGHT. Even the dogs are layabouts these days as the weather grows colder. I think it's an adjustment. Add to that the surgery and changes in your caloric intake -- it's just a signal that you should take it easy. So happy for you to be two weeks out. I can't wait -- in five weeks that will be me! Take good care of yourself!

Lisa and Sasha -- beautifully said! Know that you will let them know in just the right way and they will be proud of you. I agree that it's about you, not a reflection on their own bodies. I have been struggling with this issue of telling as well. Our 18-year old son has already been through so much anxiety about his father, who has had major issues resulting from a car accident many years ago. Last year he was in the hospital for 17 days getting his spine rebuilt and prior to that when we were seeking out a surgeon it was pretty dicey around here. I am committed to telling our son because I want him to always come to us with anything going on in his own life. We are all together for the ups and downs and it's important to keep the communication lines open both ways. I'm trying not to let it be a dramatic event in our lives. He will encounter so many people in his life who have weight issues and I think it's important that he knows the decision is not an easy way out but it's a tool I need to get healthy. I have told him I'm going in for an overnight for a procedure on November 5th. When he didn't ask what for, I didn't volunteer further information. I will let it percolate for a while and as the date draws closer we'll talk some more. I don't want him worrying about me and I don't want him caught off guard either -- a careful balance. Good luck with your surgery next week and with this decision for a healthy future. I hope you have a good week getting prepared mentally and not stressing; you're going to do beautifully. Best wishes!

Out of the mouths of babes -- you raised him right! Slow and steady, slow and steady....it's all happening......have a great Monday!