steph_co

Grrr. I don't know how much good these are going to do. Like I said, I don't have a really good before pic. The best I could find was my pic a couple days post-op of my incisions. You can kind of see the stretch marks to (MY) left of my belly button. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/sanncmd/Time%20Progress%20Photos/scars2daysPOb.jpg I just took this one. Not a great pic and I don't think it does justice. Crappy camera phone and in a badly-light office bathroom. LOL Probably can't tell much of a difference. My marks weren't TOO bad to begin with, but you would have been able to see them had my tummy been bared. Now I don't think they are as noticeable in person. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/sanncmd/Time%20Progress%20Photos/scars3mopo.jpg MAN...does that stomach get ANY smaller? :thumbdown:

I didn't specifically for this. I wish now that I had. But I can look around at pictures I do have that I took for like my scars or my full body shot I took in my undies and see if you can see the stretch marks. LOL Let me see what I can dig up...

I did use our bread maker for the cinnamon bread. You can cook them in the oven, but I'm kinda lazy. :thumbdown:

I have heard from a friend that Tricare South will not cover Lap Band. If anybody could expand on that for me...or maybe that would explain to mynmann if you're on Tricare South? My DH is former Army, but I know very little about Tricare.

I didn't have them get stuck...but french fries. I used to LOVE Wendy's french fries. Didn't have them from pre-op until about a week ago (3 months of fry sobriety) and I thought I was going to gag. NASTY.

I have lost a small bale of hay. I look forward to losing a total of a 2-month old horse plus a brain! HAHAHA

Metal piercing rejection by the body is not uncommon at all. But having your body reject the band...not as common. There ARE possible complications such as erosion that I guess would be like your body rejecting it...but the rate is low if you have a doc that knows what he/she's doing. Martin, I have not PB'd once. I have good restriction, I can eat a cup or less and be full for 4-6 hours. I have eaten too fast, I have taken too big of bites, and I have not PB'd. I have had the stuck feeling, but it goes away soon enough. Just never had anything come back up the hatch. So really, it depends on the person. But if you follow the rules of what foods to eat or not eat, chew until mush, and swallow small amounts...the likelihood of PBing is greatly decreased.

First off, when you have good restriction, your stomach will adjust your pain level for you if you eat too fast. So that reminds ME to slow down and chew, chew, chew. I am a major boredom and emotional eater. When I'm being GOOD, I just try and find something else to do with my time. For boredom, I picked up a few hobbies (most recently has been this board and the Sims2). For emotions...I think the thing that has helped me the most is talking to my husband. He's my best friend and I can really share anything with him, so I share with him kind of like he's my "sponsor" like I'm in AA, or something. I tell him I'm wanting to eat Cookies, he gives me ideas of better things I could eat. But I also think it will help me to get in to see a counselor. I'll be working on that this week to find somebody...oh, the pain. I'll just have to make myself stay away from the fridge on this one.

I have definitely noticed a difference in the heifers. They used to be full grown, now they are slimming down. I don't have a recent measurement and since I've lost 15 lbs since the last measuring, I think there's a difference. I wear boots for work that go 8" up my calves and they have DEFINITELY gotten looser. DH and I have the same boots and I HATED seeing the huge gaping opening that was the top of my boot compared to his. That has slowly gotten smaller and smaller as I have had to keep tightening the laces to keep my socks from falling down.

I found my doctor through the Lap Band website and investigated from there. I liked his bedside manner, his frank talk at the seminar about both Lapband and RNY, and I like his curriculum vitae (doctor speak for resume). And I liked the price and most of his staff. I didn't look any further after that. Kind of like finding the perfect pair of shoes...if they fit, why would I keep looking?

You know....I was reading to surgery day and waiting for the point at which her mom knocked her over the head or drugged her and shoved her onto the gurney. Since that didn't appear to happen - why the hell wouldn't she have just NOT GONE TO THE HOSPITAL TO GET IT DONE. I could slightly, kind of, sort of believe it until I got to the surgery date and it just "happened." This got me, too. Even if that were legal, just go to another doctor! They'd be more than happy to take it out for you!

I noticed from my most recent 3-week bender that food really affects my mood. When I was eating high carbs and refined sugar, I was moody. I had a short temper, I was depressed, and my sex drive was low. It was really weird to feel that out of control just because of what I ATE. I have dealt with depression for most of my life. It seems to come and go. But really, the biggest difference for me is when I change my diet. When I'm eating low carb, I have less of the spikes to deal with and my mood is SO different. It's hard for me to even remember feeling that down in the dumps. I have to just remember in the future when I'm in a funk like that - no matter how hard it may be, I need to get back on track with my diet and I just plain feel better. Which, of course, makes it easier to get moving with exercise, which helps make endorphins, which makes me feel even BETTER. Don't be so hard on yourself, either. 24 lbs lost in 3 months??? That's easily at least 2 lbs per week, which is the recommended loss. That's fantastic! As for tools...like Longhorn, I like the 60 calorie puddings. I also like part-skim string cheese for munchies. And I do the Slim-Fast shakes. Or when I need to switch it up for flavor from the Slim-Fast, I do Muscle Milk. Boiled eggs are also great anytime. I have an egg-boiler that I can cook them in the microwave. If I'm feeling hungry and just have to have something, pretty much any kind of Protein I can find really helps.

OK, so I'm at the 8-week mark of using the stuff. BUT...I did have several days in there when I didn't use it at all (kind of went off track on EVERYTHING). I had red stretch marks and they are almost completely faded to a light color. I think you'd have to be standing close to me in the right light to see them now. I do want to add that I didn't ONLY use the Revitol as a means of repairing my skin. I also use a supplementation, skin brushing and moisturizing regimen to help my skin along as I lose the fat sitting under it. It's supposed to help my cellulite and spider veins, too. My spider veins are fading (I never thought I'd be able to say that!). I only had one noticeable spot of spider veins on the inside of my right knee...but it's fading already. I'm hoping to end up with near normal looking skin by the end of all this. Maybe if I were faithful with this skin regimen I'd be further along by now...who knows.

OK, so I had to measure today. LOL I'm at my 50 lbs lost mark. ARM DATA TABLE Name....... Start (in) .....Now (in) .....lbs lost .........lbs to go Foofy ...........16.................14.5............31.............. 86 Zannie ..........23.................18 ............100...............84 Nurseamy.......15 .................9.5............ 82............... 0 Sweethot...... ? ..............12&13.5 ...........81 .............26 Jachut...........?................. 10.5 ..............?................0 Luluc........... 15.5 ..............11.9 .............38 ............37 Steph_co...... 16 ................13................50.............53 JulieNYC .......19.5 ...............9.75*..........217..............5 xxlaneyxx.......17..................?.................?..............1 27.9 *Brach

I'm getting ready to go home from work, Rhea...but I want to respond to your post...don't think you're being ignored. I'll be back online in 12 hours.

Sorry to be anal. But I had to fix it because I was at 35 lbs lost when my arms were that size. I'm down 13 more lbs since then - they are probably smaller, but I don't have a measurement, yet. Just wanted the numbers to reflect accurately for my weight vs arm size. ARM DATA TABLE Name....... Start (in) .....Now (in) .....lbs lost .........lbs to go Foofy ...........16.................14.5............31.............. 86 Zannie ..........23.................18 ............100...............84 Nurseamy.......15 .................9.5............ 82............... 0 Sweethot...... ? ..............12&13.5 ...........81 .............26 Jachut...........?................. 10.5 ..............?................0 Luluc........... 15.5 ..............11.9 .............38 ............37 Steph_co...... 16 ................14.5..............35.............68 JulieNYC .......19.5 ...............9.75*..........217..............5 xxlaneyxx.......17..................?.................?..............1 27.9 *Brach

The ones I have now are usually much less under my control. That's always fun. LOL

It's a continuous stream from your port to the band. There is no valve that keeps all the saline in the band. So part of your total ccs that you have in your band is actually in your tubing. I don't imagine it's very much. But maybe that would explain why bands are said to be able to hold more ccs than the cc number given for the band?

Unjury also does the sample packs: Welcome to the UNJURY Homepage

To get the fluids in for the day, it's really easy if you have an egg timer. Set it for about every 10-15 mins and take sips. I had a hard time getting in all my water, but it sure made me get in MORE water to have that little reminder.

Not bad at all. I do have to watch what I eat if I want to lose weight rather than maintaining...so I am, in essence, dieting to lose. Which reinforces what you'll hear all over this board about the band - it's a TOOL, not the solution. But it is a fantastic tool. It's easier to stick with a diet plan when I get full faster and stay that way longer! You can do this.

When I started, my arms were 16". When I measured after 35 lbs of loss, I was at 14.5". I have no idea what they are now. I didn't do measurements this month (bad month). But when I do them next month on the 15th, I'll be sure to let you know!

WHOA....I would be talking to your nutritionist about the only 250 calories. That is not enough. Even if you lose weight on such a low amount, a good portion of it is going to be muscle because your body is not getting enough of what it needs from food. If you don't feel like EATING more, then maybe try Protein shakes to supplement. I would ask your nutritionist for a MINIMUM caloric intake amount. Eating such a low amount can also affect your bones as you lose weight because your body will start to pull nutrients from there, as well. In addition, 250 calories will be incredibly difficult to maintain long-term. Better to learn now how to make healthy food choices that fill you up and give you a good daily number so that when the initial push of motivation wears off, it's easier to follow. You may want to google how anorexia affects your body because that is essentially what you're doing. There is no way you can get all of the nutrients your body needs from 250 calories per day even WITH supplementation. If I sound harsh, it's only because I'm really worried for you. That does not sound healthy at all.

I'm not really a tea fan and I STILL like Snapple's Diet Peach Tea.

Oh, my gosh - that is such a good idea. LOL I think I love you, Jacqui. I am going to give this a shot and if it works for me, you are my new hero. I have the hardest time getting off my ass when I have my 3 days off from work. And yet I KNOW that there are things that NEED to be done at the house. Because I do hardly anything for the house, neither does DH. OMG, this just might work. :thumbup: