LapBandFan

I have a quick fix for me (finally) for my icecream cravings:cool: .... I have a severe addiction to ice cream and have recently discovered making my own snowcones with sugarfree koolaid. This feels my need for something cold and sweet while saving many many calories and fat grams!! A bonus is that it is an alternative way to get your water in too! My fav is grape! Just a little hint for anyone needing to get away from the ice cream! While I will still allow myself ice cream on occasion, this will be a quick fix for my need daily.

I have been blessed to have been banded since 2003, used Walter Rose, MD at Chattanooga, I live about halfway between Knoxville and Chattanooga. Lost 140 pounds maintained but with daily committment, you have to use the band as a tool and it will be that way until I pass on....I am still a food addict :wink2: but the band has been so helpful. You still have food demons even 5 years out like I am, but the band helps with that and you have to be committed every day for the rest of your life to maintain. :smile2: I am a member of our local Curves for Women gym and try to go 3x per week and love the facility and the SMART machines and the support they give and the accountability. I currently follow low carb diet (combination of south beach and weight watchers core plan). I still need to lose 50 more pounds and with the band and the Good Lord's help, I will succeed. Good luck to all of you and the ones about to be banded. I used Dr Rose and he is a very good surgeon and I would highly recommend him to anyone.

Guy, I feel your pain, :w00t: I hate it when I stop losing as well. Sometimes I will go back to full low calorie liquids for a week and it jumpstarts my wt loss again. Also really try getting all your needed Water in, I notice my wt loss halts and stops :laugh: if I am not getting all the water in I need (I usually aim for 80 oz per day). I am 4 years post lapband and still struggle with night snacking which sabatoges me. If I do eat at night, I try to do no carb, low cal stuff. Good luck and hang in there. :thumbup: You have done great so far.

Ladies, Well, it has been a while since I posted here, still doing Curves and loving it. I have lost a total of 20 pounds since starting there in April this year !!! I have not been able to go the last 3 weeks and went back yesterday and boy oh boy, I could tell I had not been in a while. LOVE those SMART machines, I hate not seeing the green light (The goal) on each machine and now am determined to lose at least 10 more pounds by Christmas. Anyone want to join that 10 pound challenge with me? I hope you all are still going regular and loving curves. Let's try to post here daily to encouarge one another. Keep it up Curvy Girlies, lets burn some fat today! :laugh: Good luck to all of us on our goals! My daily goals: Drink at least 64 oz Water Work out at Curves 30 or 45 minutes per day 3x per week, walking 1-2 miles on treadmill on off days or 30 minutes Write down daily food intake. First wt loss goal: Christmas Challenge: Lose 10 pounds by Christmas 2008 Second wt loss goal: Lose 60 pounds by my 6 year Bandiversary date in February.

Just tell your PCP that you will be a less risk insurance wise if you can go ahead and get the lapband and get your weight under control before your health suffers from the effects of the weight whcih are inevitable over time! Good luck and do keep us posted.

My local fees at my gym are $34.00 per month.

Jennywren: please see my thoughts in your quote below. I have been crazy busy this week and dealing with an aging parent with some nerve problems this week so not been able to check the posts here. ~~ Lapbandfan Good luck and do keep me posted! What did you find out so far about what portion you will have to pay? Have you talked to your doc since the seminar? I would go forth with a mean determination to get it done! that's just me!

Everyone is different, but I still do Protein drinks one of the morning 5 years from my surgery. Just gotta get in the needed protein and especially right now for you while you are healing from your surgery. Helps with not having as much hair loss (if you get enough protein) What about trying the Protein waters that are there? Also to get in my protein while in the mushies stage of the diet right after surgery, I would heat up a can of chili with Beans and add some Water and put it in the blender and make it soupy. Looks pretty bad but tastes Like chili and has good amount of protein. Good luck and hang in there, the days will be here eventually when you can get on regular foods again, just with the lapband limitations.

Bandster Gal, Just keeping moving shows your motivation, even when you don't want to or feel like it. I have the same problem lots of days. I have a great support team at my local Curves and hope you do too. They will push you with encouraging words and remind you what your goals are if you want them to. I need that! Accountability to others is the ONLY way that I continue to lose, if I try to do it on my own without someone to report to regularly, I fall off the wagon and get ran over by the wagon! :wink2: See my last post about my first workout on the Smart machines, they are gonna be awesome!

Well, here to report had my first workout at curves on the new smart machines and woah momma! It was more of a workout than I ever did before. It makes your strive to see the green light stay on constant!! But of course, I had some yellow or amber colored lights (means you are not going hard or fast enough) At the end of the workout they took me to a computer and showed my progress and calories burned, etc, which machines I needed to work harder on, etc, next time. WAY COOL. Well, have a great night Curvey Girlies! Keep us posted on your workouts and good luck on wt loss.

First off BIG congrats on your 80 lb loss , that is great! Second, make sure it is okay with your physicians before starting Curves. Just talk to the owner/trainer of your local curves and see what they think, I know where I go, there are some ladies how are allowed to skip certain machines due to the same reasons you mentioned (knees). Keep moving, don't give up! I am sure you will find a place there at your local Curves as they take into consideration these existing health issues, so I say go and try!! :wink2: Keep us posted here on when you join!

Baboomer, Yes, Curves will be very helpful and instrumental in helping after you are released to exercise again. The support there is awesome :thumbup:and love that I can get a good work out without having to go to a regular gym with prissy bony teenagers/college kids and men working out too. Take care of yourself and good luck and do stay active here on the board and hopefully on this thread too! :wink2:

I have an 11 cc band and have 9 cc of Fluid in there. My doc says he will keep adding more as much as it takes to get me where I need to be, and right now the 9 cc is doing the trick, full only after a few bites of food. My doc always does his fills under flouroscopy machine in the xray dept and has said nothing about doing an Upper GI, just looks at the band under fluory every time I get a fill. Good luck and congrats on your 100 pound loss!!

I am with Marie, Leslie's are the best, encouraging and not hard to do, either on a treadmill (watch while I walk) or just walking in place. Continue the great work all of you! You all are doing good!

You cry when a child crawls up in your lap that you never ever had before! Sitting at a small booth in a restaraunt, I was astonished when my husband said "Hey, did you see what you just did?" Thinking I had spilled something or messed something up, stand looking awed when he says "you got in and out of the booth without being "stuck". Wearing the seat belt while driving which is a legal requirement in my state, where before when being pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt had to pay a fine! These are just AWESOME feelings. :thumbup:

Lost 2 pounds this week! WOOHOO! Long way to go, but I can do this! Name_____________Weight Now____Goal_____lbs lost aJoneen............230.........220.......3....... Bea1128............220.........199.......5..... Babs0101...........185.........170.......0....... blesdbyonmzur......159.........148.......4....... BTTRFLI1432........221.........210.......6....... Bunkey1965.........205.........195.......7....... Chocolate_Snaps....260.........240.......0....... Darr5380...........168.........155.......2....... Epm316.............209.........199.......0....... erikadawn..........199.........175.......0....... FloridaGirl........235.........215.......0....... HeatherO...........165.........155.......7....... JennyPoo...........169.........159.......3....... KarenG.............162.........158.......4....... KathyStrick........305.........290.......0....... Lapbandfan.........258.........230.......2 pounds...... Leslie2Lose........219.........209.......5....... LessNLess..........144.5.......140.......0....... LilMissBand-Aid....234.4.......225.......5.6..... Lunabeane..........212.........200.......9....... Luu2008............219.........189.......14....... Luv2Laugh..........232.........212.......0....... luvinke............206.........190.......0....... mamato3............199.........184.......6...... mcgreen............189.........175.......0....... mdgarcia31665......225.........200.......0....... MollyMolly.........192.........182.......2....... mominlv13..........305.8.......300.......10.2.... MSnika3............228.........204.......4....... NANAbanded.........225.........199.......4....... Ninja..............204.........189.......5....... NukeChik...........221.........199.......6....... Ollie..............242.........210.......0....... Redtulips..........188.........180.......6....... Renewedhope........174.........155.......5....... ronni_NC...........243.........220.......0....... slgandera..........185.........173.......7....... StartingOver.......220.........205.......5....... Sunshine2..........187.........170.......2.3..... want_so_bad........170.........155.......0....... Sades..............186.........180.......6.5..... Sadie..............216.........199.......4.......

I would advice you just stick with what your surgeon told you, I walked during my 6-weeks after surgery, I was told to not do any other exercise except walking until after that first six weeks. Just my opinion. Good luck and Welcome to BandLand! WOOHOO for you!

Glad it passed, it is an awful feeling but do follow the instructions to do soft mushy foods for several days. The minute I get that "stuck" feeling (which lessens after you teach yourself to pay attention to chew till it is nothing before swallowing, like retraining your brain to chew! LOL) I usually sip on hot tea until it passes, the heat of the drink usually opens up the stoma a little more to help it pass (at least for me) Good luck with your journey, you ar doing GREAT so far!

Ladies, As I posted before, I am doing Curves and love it. I did weight and measure yesterday and down another pound :lost1lbs: and 8 more inches overall. :thumbs_up: that makes me down 11 pounds since joining in April! I hope you all are still going regular and loving curves. Let's try to post here daily to encouarge one another. Our Curves just started the Smart Machines yesterday and I am so excited to be able to be "watched" and get feedback daily on calories burned, etc per workout. Keep it up Curvy Girlies, lets burn some fat today! :thumbup: :thumbup: Good luck to all of us on our goals! My daily goals: Drink at least 64 oz Water Work out at Curves 30 or 45 minutes per day 3x per week, walking 2 miles on treadmill on off days. Write down daily food intake. First wt loss goal: Labor Day Challenge: Lose 10 pounds by Labor day Second wt loss goal: Lose 60 pounds by my 6 year Bandiversary date in February.

Hi Kim, Congrats on your surgery, How are you feeling? If you get gas take Gas-x and chew them until they arenothing before swallowing and move around as much as possible to get rid of the gas pains, usually most people have the gas trapped between their shoulders and back. Keep in touch. I had my surgery in Chattanooga at Memorial by Dr Rose in 2003. Hope to hear back from you and your progress! Good luck!

Julie, I see you are on WW core with the band, I am thinking of doing it, I have books from last year where I started WW meetings but then dad got sick with cancer and I had to stop going to the meetings. Am i correct in thinking you can eat any fruits listed when you are hungry and not have to count the points? Thanks for any info. Lapbandfan