TulipStar

Welcome Tena! Congrats on your upcoming band date. You are going to love it!

The seminar can be really helpful. I actually went to 3 different ones (for a different Dr. each). Each time people asked different questions, so it was extremely helpful!

It's for weight loss. However, I don't eat that sugar free crap. Aspartame is just gross. Splenda is ok, but I still try to avoid it. I just don't eat a lot of sugar.

It depends on the damage. Initially your dr. will unfill you (either partial or fully) and put you back on liquids to see if it heals. If not, then you might have to have further surgery.

Don't stress about losing weight right now. Honestly, you aren't really supposed to be losing yet if you don't have restriction and your main focus shouldn't be that. Your body needs to focus on healing itself and to do that you need to have calories. What about protein shakes? You can make it with whole milk to up the calories. I actually gained weight when I moved into the mushies stage until I got my first fill. My dr said this was normal and to not stress! (easier said than done, I know)

I have a recipe for pizza crust and you can just replace the regular flour with whole wheat flour. No need to let it rise! I suggest using a LARGE 14" pizza pan though, or else cut the recipe in half because it becomes too doughy. 3 cups whole wheat four 1 (.25 oz) package of dry active yeast 2 TBLS vegetable oil 1 tsp of salt 1 TBLS white sugar 1 cup warm Water (110 degrees F) 1 TBLS Extra virgin olive oil 1. Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. Spread out on a large pizza pan. Top as desired. 2. Bake at 375 degrees C (190 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

OMG, this sounds sooooooooooooooooooooo good. My mouth is watering.

I cook about 2-3 meals a week in a crock pot when I know I won't have time later in they day. One good recipe is chicken chili: 4 chicken breasts 1 jar of salsa 1 cup of chicken broth 1 cup of chili Beans chili powder to taste cook in slow cooker/crock pot for 4-6 hours on high, or 10-12 on low. Also, I cook a lot of food so that I can have leftovers and don't have to cook everyday.

I don't follow the "rules" by avoiding carbs. I get conflicting info from my surgeon vs. after care dr. So, I just eat a lot smaller portion sizes of whatever I want (or can tolerate). A typical day for me is like this: breakfast: coffee lunch: Soup (small campbells microwaveable cup) dinner: Whatever I have made for me and hubby. Usually things like, chicken chili, chicken w/ veggies, stir fry, etc. Dessert: ice cream (regular or lowfat) This is pretty much it. I don't always follow it and some times I eat totally bad (like on holiday or when traveling), but it is working for me. I am usually really tight in the morning, so I only "drink" until my band loosens in the afternoon.

I could handle milk just fine before. Immediately after surgery I couldn't. I had to drink lactaid for about 2 months post-surgery and then I was fine. Now, I can drink regular milk again. It was just a short-term side effect.

I say go for it!!!

I am only 4 lbs away from ONEderland.... for the first time in my adult life, I will be under 200lbs!! yahoo!

Yes it works... we all have food issues, right? I would suggest doing some counseling/therapy after you get the band. I had to deal with "head hunger" and had to deal with the emotions I was feeling. I found that instead of dealing with my emotions, I would try to "feed" them to make it stop. I have come a long way and if it can work for me, then it can work for you too!

my husband makes comments all the time. We have been together for 12 years and this is the lowest weight I have ever been. I just try to reassure him that I love him and nothing will happen. I will just have to prove it! :crying:

I've been there...especially lately. I upped my water intake. I think I might have been dehydrated. I feel better since I started drinking more water.

Hey slimmy, I am still about 50 lbs from goal, so I haven't thought about PS yet. I think I am going to wait and see what happens. I would like to try to get this skin to suck back up through exercise, if possible. About 5 years ago I lost 100+ lbs and i had this apron of fat around my stomach that really irritated me. So I had plastic surgery then to have it removed. At that time, I was still quite heavy, but "normal" size for me and I weighed about 10 lbs more than I do now. Anyway, they removed 12 lbs of skin and fat at that time. It really helped because it was so lopsided, I couldn't fit into clothes and loose skin really hurt my back. I don't know about AU doctors or prices. You have done great! Good luck!

Its honestly so different for everyone. I lost 100 + pounds when I was 24 and was working out 6 days a week and had some excess skin, especially the apron of fat around my stomach. So I went and had my stomach skin aka "pannus" removed. Sometimes, it takes a while for the skin to suck back up, so if you stick with the tonig and exercise, once all the fat is gone from under the skin, it might pull back up. Also, you should moisturize moisturize moisturize!!

Trust me, I know how you feel! #1 I have been fat all my life too. I weighed more than I do now (207 lbs) than I did when I started middle school at 11 years old!! I have no idea what I will look like in the 100's and it has scared me to death, but I am really excited to find out! #2 Just see what happens. You might have skin that sucks back up. I have skin that bothers me but it feels a hell of a lot better than being 100 lbs heavier! You should seek out some counseling or do some self-study to deal with the emotional reasons you eat. I did a workbook that was really helpful called "don't diet, live it!" and it really helped me to understand why I reached for food, stuffing my emotions, etc. You can do this! Good luck!!!

That is so awesome!!I hope to reach 100lbs lost by my 1 year bandiversary! Congratulations!

Immediately after banding i could eat almost anything. Once I started feeling restriction I surprisingly found that I can't eat eggs anymore. I miss them so much!! another thing I miss is a sandwich. I would kill for a turkey sandwich.

I am 5'5 and weigh about 207 now and wear at size 12 or 14 dress. I think a lot of it depends on your build. I am thicker in the middle (apple shape) so I wear smaller pants, but larger tops.

Wow, you really look great! You look so thin :biggrin: Congrats and thanks for sharing!

If you can only eat a 1/2 Dannon yogurt I would say you are too tight. Also, if you are leaning towards liquids only that is another sign you are too tight. The band is meant to give you restriction but by eating real food. I would call your dr!

I weigh every day in the morning when I wake up. Unless I know I ate too much the day before and know that I might have gained...then I avoid the scale!

I take a chewable pre-natal.