Melissa S

No, nothing yet. I'm SO nervous.. my stomach is in knots!!! My primary Dr also submit to them a letter stating that she has monitored my weight since August.. I'm really hoping that will be sufficient..since I did not go thru a program...

It's all I've been thinking about too!!!!! Does your BC/BS require you to have a 6 month medically supervised diet?? On my way to have my endoscopy yesterday I dropped off more supporting paperwork proving my attempts at weight loss (it included emails back and forth to my primary Dr from 8/06 to current regarding diet, exercise, and requested lab work to check thyroid and lipids) as well as my gym payment record (goes all the way back to 8/05 to current)... hopefully that'll do. Keep your fingers crossed!!! While I was at my surgeons office yesterday dropping off the paperwork..the insurance girl was on the phone with BC/BS for my surgical auth... I was more nervous about the auth than I was about having the endoscopy!!!

Don't be frustrated... I know EXACTLY how you feel.. as required by my surgeon I stopped my birth control pills 1 month prior to surgery and got my period right away... and it was BAD. Everytime I moved, it got worse...so for an entire week I did not go to the gym and I ate like a pig with a tape worm... I showed no will power at all. So this week its back to the gym..back to the protein shakes, salads and low fat, low cal everything. Just gotta pick up where you left off. I also kinda work out a "deal" with myself. If I slip up and eat junk... then I make up for it by exercising for an extra 10-15 min.

...and tomorrow will be even better...

Mary... don't beat yourself up over what happened yesterday or the day before. It's in the past and it can not be changed.. HOWEVER... you can change the future. My fiance reminds me of this alot. I used to beat myself up alot...for example.... "I ate pizza and didn't go to the gym yesterday" :cry Can I change what happened yesterday? Nope. Can I learn from it? ABSOLUTELY!! Thats when I say.. "I'm gonna have a better day today"...I drag my behind out of bed...make myself a Protein shake/fruit smoothie and get dressed for the gym. BEFORE I have a chance to talk myself out of it (which I'm also good at... "I have so much to do today" or "I'm too tired" or "Ohh.. lets see who's on The View today" haha). Keep your head up!!!

I'm scheduled for 5/14!!! I'm very VERY excited. My Dr does not require a 2 week pre op diet... only 2 days of clear liquids before. I'm already dieting and exercising but I think I'll take it upon myself to do a 2 week protein shake pre op. Cant hurt, right?

BetsyJane.... it is HIPAA violation if medical information was released without signed consent of the patient...however, if the patient signed a waiver allowing the release of this video then they are in the clear...with no violation. I have several different takes on this video: 1. If the patient did not consent to the release of this video..then WTF is wrong with this Dr??? 2. Its very clear that this girl had unrealistic expectations of the Lapband surgery. As it has been stated by many people here... it is a TOOL.. not a CURE. Sure did sound like it did work for her... 60lbs is a lot to lose... most likely she hit a plateau and didnt want to work for the rest. 3. It is understandable that her original surgeon did not want to preform yet another weight loss surgery on her... and it IS true..and I've seen it on many times, you CAN most certainly out eat bipass surgery. And, yes...it is her own fault...no one elses. 4. I am using this video as a lesson to myself. I've yet to be banded and i DO NOT want this to happen to me. I'm willing to change my life..for good.

I havent updated my journal for a while now... last week was BAD. I stopped my BCP's as I was supposed to 1 month prior to surgery ...and right away my time of the month started... worse than ever before. I was NOT a pleasant person to be around. Fiance asked if he should check into the PMS hotel... I suggested he should. Poor guy. Needless to say I ate like a pig with a tape worm...and didnt dare try to go to the gym because the cramping was so bad...the more I'd move the worse everything got. Friday I got a call from both my surgeons office and CHIRAS ... neither got my pulmo clearance... so I called the office.. and got "oh, well.. .your Dr wont be in until Tuesday..she'll write your clearance then"... uh.. NO. I was told that they could cancel my clearance appt (which took 6 weeks to schedule) if they did not get this... I was LIVID. They promised to call me back.. which, they didnt. Thankfully I was able to keep my clearance appt, which was this morning at 8:30... and I'm GOOD TO GO!!! AND I lost another pound.. 5 pounds total so far.. I swore I gained weight since I ate awful and didnt go to the gym in the past week. I was very excited.

I havent updated my journal for a while now... last week was BAD. I stopped my BCP's as I was supposed to 1 month prior to surgery ...and right away my time of the month started... worse than ever before. I was NOT a pleasant person to be around. Fiance asked if he should check into the PMS hotel... I suggested he should. Poor guy. Needless to say I ate like a pig with a tape worm...and didnt dare try to go to the gym because the cramping was so bad...the more I'd move the worse everything got. Friday I got a call from both my surgeons office and CHIRAS ... neither got my pulmo clearance... so I called the office.. and got "oh, well.. .your Dr wont be in until Tuesday..she'll write your clearance then"... uh.. NO. I was told that they could cancel my clearance appt (which took 6 weeks to schedule) if they did not get this... I was LIVID. They promised to call me back.. which, they didnt. Thankfully I was able to keep my clearance appt, which was this morning at 8:30... and I'm GOOD TO GO!!! AND I lost another pound.. 5 pounds total so far.. I swore I gained weight since I ate awful and didnt go to the gym in the past week. I was very excited.

i can relate!!! i've been eating like a pig with a tape worm for the past week.... didnt help that my time of the month decided to drop in a whole week early!!!!

Yes, I had to pay a program fee of $600...which covers quite a few appointments and classes that I am required to attend. They said once I pay I can submit it to my insurance and they may reimburse me for some of it. I would ask them exactly what the program fee covers.

looks good to me!!! i noticed that it has a heart rate monitor... which comes in handy.

Yesterday after I logged my journal I met with my best girl friend... We went to a local place... had a chicken sandwich, a few fries and 2 pints of burbon stout. My favorite!! I'm getting my beer in before I'm cut off!!!!! HAHA!!! This morning I had a banana and pineapple smoothie w/ vanilla unjury. I had leftovers for lunch... about a tbs of cole slaw and some mac and cheese. Yeah, I should have made better choices... I'm gonna get moving and go to the gym....now that the monsoon of a rainstorm has passed.... I have not weighed in a week and a half... I'm afraid of using my home scale... its not so reliable and I dont want to give myself false hope or be disapointed...

Yesterday after I logged my journal I met with my best girl friend... We went to a local place... had a chicken sandwich, a few fries and 2 pints of burbon stout. My favorite!! I'm getting my beer in before I'm cut off!!!!! HAHA!!! This morning I had a banana and pineapple smoothie w/ vanilla unjury. I had leftovers for lunch... about a tbs of cole slaw and some mac and cheese. Yeah, I should have made better choices... I'm gonna get moving and go to the gym....now that the monsoon of a rainstorm has passed.... I have not weighed in a week and a half... I'm afraid of using my home scale... its not so reliable and I dont want to give myself false hope or be disapointed...

i've had weight issues since I was about 8. I've tried everything... For me I dont think that there was a last straw.. it was a combo of everything. Health issues were starting to pile up. I had high BP and chest pains from stress, but I'm sure being overweight did not help that any, my knees ache, my hips hurt when I lay on my side for too long (only time that happened before was when I was pregnant and gained 80lbs). At first my fiance and I had a long distance relationship so I was flying at least once a month to visit him. There is nothing more embarrassing than a flight attandant wispering in your ear "dear, do need a seatbelt extention"??? At the time I did not need one...It has been 8 months since I've been on a plane, and I know I would need one now! I want to be healthy. I want to be able to watch my daughter grow and have children of her own. I want to be able to be one of those silly old ladies who is doing the electric slide at her granddaughters wedding (yes, that would be my grandmother..haha). At the rate I've been gaining I would not be able to do any of these things. I started looking into lapband surgery....and I havent turned back.

I have the sit-down type of bike ..... it has a full sized seat (lord knows i need that!! HAHA) with a back rest. I love it. I also find it painful to use the other type of bike... the narrow seat is a killer!

I made it to the gym yesterday for an hour (25 min cardio/35 min resistance training). It felt good....but my shoulder really started to hurt when I came home. I ate well yesterday.. no slip ups. This morning I had a strawberry smoothie made with 1 scoop of vanilla unjury, 1 1/2 cups of skim milk and about 2 handfulls of fresh strawberrys. yum. I only had half of what I made... I figure I'll have the rest for a mid-afternoon snack. For lunch I made whole grain brown rice with steamed veggies and chicken..added some fresh garlic and soy sauce. I didnt finish it all..but I finished when I was full... but not stuffed. I'm really working on getting myself to only eat when hungry....and not because of random ques...such as time of day (noon means lunch, 5pm means dinner), associations (cant have a burger without fries, or go to the movies without getting popcorn). Most times when I eat, I am honestly hungry. The hospital called yesterday to take personal info for the surgery... I'm counting down the days.

I made it to the gym yesterday for an hour (25 min cardio/35 min resistance training). It felt good....but my shoulder really started to hurt when I came home. I ate well yesterday.. no slip ups. This morning I had a strawberry smoothie made with 1 scoop of vanilla unjury, 1 1/2 cups of skim milk and about 2 handfulls of fresh strawberrys. yum. I only had half of what I made... I figure I'll have the rest for a mid-afternoon snack. For lunch I made whole grain brown rice with steamed veggies and chicken..added some fresh garlic and soy sauce. I didnt finish it all..but I finished when I was full... but not stuffed. I'm really working on getting myself to only eat when hungry....and not because of random ques...such as time of day (noon means lunch, 5pm means dinner), associations (cant have a burger without fries, or go to the movies without getting popcorn). Most times when I eat, I am honestly hungry. The hospital called yesterday to take personal info for the surgery... I'm counting down the days.

:help: OK, yesterday was Easter (big family gathering) and I did better than I thought I would. Actually, I really wasnt hungry. I had a little cole slaw and a little mac and cheese...then had a little lemon fluff (light crust, a cheesecake mixture and whipped cream). I came home and had chocolate mousse. :faint: Got up this morning and I had to have some bloodwork done so I was fasting until around 11am. I was STARVING...and went into pig-out mode. I had more chocolate mousse, a roast beef sandwich and coleslaw. Did I really need the chocolate mousse??? NO! I wanted to make it out to the gym today..but I have SO much laundry to do. I'm going to at least try to ride the stationary bike at home for a bit. I really hate when I get this way.. I'm starting to see some weight come off... so apparently what I've been doing is working... but then I slip up into my old ways. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

:help: OK, yesterday was Easter (big family gathering) and I did better than I thought I would. Actually, I really wasnt hungry. I had a little cole slaw and a little mac and cheese...then had a little lemon fluff (light crust, a cheesecake mixture and whipped cream). I came home and had chocolate mousse. :faint: Got up this morning and I had to have some bloodwork done so I was fasting until around 11am. I was STARVING...and went into pig-out mode. I had more chocolate mousse, a roast beef sandwich and coleslaw. Did I really need the chocolate mousse??? NO! I wanted to make it out to the gym today..but I have SO much laundry to do. I'm going to at least try to ride the stationary bike at home for a bit. I really hate when I get this way.. I'm starting to see some weight come off... so apparently what I've been doing is working... but then I slip up into my old ways. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

thank you all!!

Does anyone know if I can have popcorn once I'm banded?? It's my new snack and if I have to give it up... I'm going to start on it now.

Its the weekend..and yes, I slipped up. Friday night I went to dinner with my fiance and without being unfair to those who are already banded... I had ALOT of things I shouldnt have had at all... we went to Red Robin. Enough said. I did make it to the gym for an hour in the morning... but that hardly makes up for my feasting. Today is Easter.. so to all of those who celebrate.. have a happy one. We will go to my grandmothers for dinner....and seeing how my fiance is muslim and I cant stand ham... I'm making a roast of beef to take with me...very tender and very moist.. so I'm hoping eventually after I'm banded I can have it again. I thought I was doing good by not making a basket for my 12 year old daughter... well, she comes back from her grandmothers with a huge one... The jelly beans were calling my name.

Its the weekend..and yes, I slipped up. Friday night I went to dinner with my fiance and without being unfair to those who are already banded... I had ALOT of things I shouldnt have had at all... we went to Red Robin. Enough said. I did make it to the gym for an hour in the morning... but that hardly makes up for my feasting. Today is Easter.. so to all of those who celebrate.. have a happy one. We will go to my grandmothers for dinner....and seeing how my fiance is muslim and I cant stand ham... I'm making a roast of beef to take with me...very tender and very moist.. so I'm hoping eventually after I'm banded I can have it again. I thought I was doing good by not making a basket for my 12 year old daughter... well, she comes back from her grandmothers with a huge one... The jelly beans were calling my name.

I have decided to go from a hand written journal/food diary to one that EVERYONE can read....and relate to. I will also post new recipes as they come to me... I can be quite creative... so check back!! My name is Melissa, I'm 31. I have a 12 year old daughter who is the best kid ever!!...well..depending on the day! HAHA... I'm also engaged to an amazing man who I love with all my heart. Our wedding is on 11/10/07. I have been overweight since I was around 8 years old. I was never big on sports and I loved to eat.. bad combo. I never really went on a diet until after I had my daughter. Of course I did the Phen/Fen thing... lost about 65lbs.. and looked great! When the reports came out about the dangers of the drugs I stopped taking them and up went the weight. I've been allergic to scales for the most part of my life, I rely on my pants to tell me if I have gained or lost weight. Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes bad. Saying that.. my lowest size was a 10, highest 20/22. I'm currently hovering around 18/20... REALLY hoping to hit the size 18 soon.. I have some really cute spring clothes from last year to wear!! My last attempt at losing weight went very well. I began working out for about 45 min a day/5 days a week. I also had a strict diet of no sugar, low fat, low cal meals.. a typical day for me would be a breakfast of fruit smoothie made with low fat yogurt, a lunch of salad with fat free dressing and cottage cheese and grilled chicken, and dinner would be some type of grilled or roasted meat (normally chicken, turkey or fish)....I'd also have a piece of fruit and maybe a hand full of pretzels to snack on.. Seeing how I was allergic to scales I do not know the exact weight loss... but I did go from a 22 to a 16. Thats when I met my fiance, got comfortable in our relationship..and out went the diet and exercising. I gained it ALL back. This time I've had it. I thought about bypass surgery, but I really did not like the idea of my insides being "cut and paste". When I heard about the lapband surgery I took my time and really researched it..and found it to be much more appealing than the bypass. I attended my first lecture at the end of Feburary and that started my journey. So, today I got my rear out of bed and went to the gym.:clap2: I did 20 min. of cardio on the treadmill and 25 min of resistance training. It felt good. When I came home I had a home made smoothie..made with fresh pineapple, orange juice and a half of a banana..I also added a half scoop of vanilla unjury protein powder... yum!! For lunch I had a small "taco salad" using about 2 tbs of ground turkey, a sprinkle of cheese, lettuce and tomato....no shell. Not bad. ...I'm off to do housework... a never ending task. 3/5 1st Consult 3/19 Cardiologist 3/20 Life skills class (1 of 3) 3/26 Cardio stress test (PASSED!) 3/27 Life skills class (2 of 3) 3/28 Program Psych and Nurse appointment 4/2 Psych clearance 4/3 Pulmonologist 4/3 Life skills class (3 of 3) 4/23 Final Dr appointment for surgical clearance 4/25 GI Endoscopy 5/14 SURGERY!!!!