hope2bhealthy

i absolutely love the baby cereals. i'm fond of rice without bananas. then just add milk and splenda. yum.

my surgeons office dealt with all the insurance stuff. i just brought the info from my doctor to the surgeon, and they took care of it. no problem with insurance.

it's only been a few years for me since i fit in these jeans. 2 or 3 years. but guess what. i put them on last night and they fit!!! yeah! still not wonderfully, but i can get them buttoned and they aren't too tight breathe (they just make my upper belly roll bigger). they still don't fit like they used to yet, but 3 weeks ago i wouldn't have been able to get them anywhere near buttoned. these jeans were my comparison jeans (i've been trying them on every few days to see if they fit yet) so now i KNOW i've lost weight. Yippee!!

do you think that it is a good idea to quit exercising? if you are having problems losing weight, perhaps you should keep exercising, and eat more calories, focusing on healthy foods. maybe you are one of the ones that need more cals to lose weight.

is it your insides that burn, or your skin? if it is your skin, it could be your nerves healing from where they were cut during surgery. i have a softball size area of skin under my port scar that has nerve damage. it was numb for the first week and a half, but then it started burning when it was touched. now it's sort of almost normal. doc said it was just the nerves healing, and you often get a burning numbness from that. kind of like a sunburn, or like when you touch your food when it coming awake.

also remember that the BMI is just an index, and the suggested weight might not be appropriate for where you want to be. i know that my goal is about 15 lbs heavier than the max for my height. if you get daunted with the big numbers, focus on small goals. i get totally daunted, but i've just been counting off the years since i've been a particular size. it's been about 5 years since i weighed 270, which is what i weigh today. if i lose another 10 lbs, it'll be more like 7 years since i weighed that. i'm not really goal oriented, but i do notice achievements, and these small ones have been keeping me motivated.

for about the first week, i had the most overwhelming urge to eat a salad. go figure. still haven't had one yet.

so, i'm not going to suggest that everyone go out and shout their surgery to the world, particularly if they aren't comfortable with telling other people. i understand where you are coming from. however, i have no problem telling people about my surgery if they ask, and i wish i would read about more people that felt this way (i know many do, but many others don't). many people don't know anything about WLS, or that they might have the option to have it. i thought about surgery for at least a year or two before i called my insurance on a whim. i never thought that it would actually by covered! that's 2 years that i spent gaining even more weight, and worrying about losing weight, and spending my money on jenny craig and weight watchers, when i could have spent that same amount on my surgery. perhaps if i had heard more about it from real people, i might have asked about it sooner. i also think that WLS today has a stigma attached to it. this is the reason that i hear so many people say that so and so isn't supportive of them having the surgery. at first, even pushing 300 lbs, i thought that having the surgery was admitting failure. it was admitting that i couldn't conquer my weight problem on my own. but the more familiar i became with the surgery, the more comfortable i became with the idea. if more people knew that people they know or are friends with have had this surgery, the more comfortable they will become with it. i also think it's important to tell people positive stories to counteract the negative ones that are out there. everyone probably knows someone that heard it thru the grapevine that so and so had a bypass and lost a lot of weight but is sick and can't eat anything. or so and so has problems with their band. you hear these stories because it's hard for people with problems to hide it. you don't hear about the ones that are healthy and happy, and these are the majority of people. so, my point is, don't worry about the people that don't support you. once you lose some weight and they see how happy and healthy you are, they will come around. worry about the other ones that might benefit from a positive example of WLS, or know someone that might. because if you went on weight watchers and lost 100 lbs, you wouldn't be ashamed to tell anyone about it.

i don't have high blood pressure. mine is usually normal to low. however, lots of times when i go to the doc, it can show up being higher because they usually take your BP right after you walk into the room. walking around is going to raise your BP. ask them to give you a minute or two to sit there before they take your BP. during this time, and while they are taking your BP, close your eyes, clear your head, and focus on taking deep even breaths to slow your heart rate. don't talk. it's like a mini meditation. you'd be amazed at how much this can help. it usually can take me down from a 140/90 or so to a 120/80 or lower. it's not a miracle worker, but it can make a difference.

I'm just curious what how the body bugg system works, and how useful it is. I've seen that some people on here have them. I've been to the website, and it wasn't very self-explanatory. Any body know anything about them?

that sounds awesome. one more question: do you have the armband and the digital watch looking thing? i'm not sure what the watch is for. also, do you wear it when you sleep?

It seems like you are saying that 3 miles 3-4 times a week is somehow insignificant. It's not. 3 miles probably takes you most of an hour, and your doing it 3 times a week, so this is good exercise. it's a lot more than many people do!

The idea that eating a meal as big as a sandwich is too much food to get to goal weight seems really ridiculous to me, at least for most normal people. People without bands lose weight, and they eat sandwiches, AND they get to their goal. if you can't eat a sandwich and still lose weight, you are using your band as a crutch. exercise! make healthy food choices! but eating only 500 cals a day should not be necessary to hit goal.

i had gas pains for the first week. some of the gas was in the body cavity, but some was in the stomach and intestines, too. the gas from the body cavity works its way into your intestines to leave the body. and i had lots of probs burping or farting for that first week. the gas x helped sometimes. the walking didn't help any. for the most part, i just had to take pain meds for the gas and go to sleep. that was the only thing that i WAS taking the meds for.

just to clarify: when we say band erosion, it's not talking about the eroding of the silicone of the actual band. it means that your band starts eroding INTO your stomach, and it can be serious. your stomach is continuously shedding it's lining. essentially, you have a new stomach every day. so, if something is limiting that replacement of the lining, it can thin the area around the band. i don't know for sure, but this could be how aspirin can lead to erosion. if you aren't satisfied with the care that your surgeon is giving you, have you considered finding a new surgeon? especially if he says things like "choose between being thin and taking pain meds". i know you have your date set already, but you really need to think about if this guy is the right surgeon for you. is he going to take your health into consideration and work with you to find a safe alternative, or is he just going to stick to his guns and be an a$$ about it? on the other hand, if you do lose down to a healthy weight, you probably wont need to take aspirin everyday, and your arthritis will likely be better too.

there are 2 ways to lift weights. you can lift a lot of weight on each rep, and do less reps, or you can lift less weight and do a lot of reps. if you lift a lot of weight, you are going to bulk up, like a weight lifter. if you are overweight, you probably don't want to do this, unless you like that look. however, if you lift less weight, but do a lot of reps (say 3 sets of 20), you won't bulk up, you will tone. lifting weights this way will give you long, lean muscles, not big ones. this is the type of weight lifting that we should probably be doing. but whichever you choose, lifting weights is important. you will tone your muscles that you have, and build up weak ones (like your core muscles). and the more/stronger muscles that you have, the higher your metabolism will be (muscles burn calories even when they are at rest). can you lose weight without exercising or lifting weights? sure. will you have the hot bod that you envision without them? nope. even skinny people can be flabby.

i'd have to say i agree with Plain. there are some essentials, like getting some tylenol and some gas x (the strips taste like crap, but the cherry flavored chewables are really not bad at all). but bbq tongs to wipe your butt with? first, you wont likely be wiping your butt for several days, because you won't be crapping. second, i had absolutely no probs wiping my own butt, thank you. and a kitchen timer to remember to take a sip every 15 minutes? i guess if you need a kitchen timer anyway... A seat belt shoulder pad isn't necessary, b/c you'll likely have the seat laying down anyway. just bring a pillow from home if you want one. don't know why you'd need wet wipes. probably won't need cough drops at all (i didn't), and a little bag will be enough if you do, unless you just like to buy in bulk. like morgan said, definitely don't need stool softener (if you haven't crapped yet after a few days, don't take stool softener. the diarrhea will come without it). the Soup at hand cambell's Soups are actually a really good suggestion. they are already liquid, and a nice size. creamy tomato is wonderful! i wouldn't go out and buy sweats that are a size larger. you just need whatever you have at home. pajamas or sweats or gym shorts and a tshirt. if you don't have any of these things, then maybe you should get something. but not a size bigger (unless you believe that super tight clothes are your size). the slippers are a good idea. also, something that isn't on your list is one of those grabby hands things for picking stuff up. that would have been very helpful. i guess you could use the bbq tongs for that, but not if you've been wiping your butt with them (which you won't need to). also, you're probably going to be sleeping alot in the first few days, so there's not a real need to go out an buy a lot of movies or books. you'll try to watch a movie and just fall asleep anyway from the pain meds. so rent a couple, or just watch what you have at home. (unless you just really want to buy some movies, then by all means, go ahead.) sorry for tearing down your list like this, because it was great for you to put it together for everyone. there are some things on there that i wish that i had thought of before my surgery. then again, going to the store to get them got me out of the house. a lot of the items are unnecessary, though, and there isn't any point in going out and spending money on it if you don't need to. and if there is something that you didn't get that you really would like to have, you can always send out your helper.

i'm going in for my first fill today and i wasn't told whether or not i can drink before a fill. i'm not even sure if i can have water. does anyone know what is typical before a fill? this is also my first pre-op visit.

so, i can personally dispute that nutritionist's claims with several personal stories. their were 3 times in my life which i lost a significant amount of weight, and not one of them included me changing my eating habits. 1) summer of 2001 i worked as a camp counselor at a girl scout camp. i walked alot taking the girls to and from activities, and i swam at the lake or pool everyday, but i didn't do anything strenuous. i didn't change my eating habits. i lost 50 lbs in 6 weeks. of course, once camp was over, i gained it right back because my exercise level went back down. 2) the next summer, i was back at camp. lost 30 lbs in 6 weeks. same scenario. 3) the next summer, i went on a 18 day kayaking trip in alaska. now, my eating changed on this trip, but calories probably increased (high cal food for energy). i lost 30 lbs in 18 days. so, anyone who says that exercise won't make you lose weight is nuts. obviously, if your exercise level isn't way up like mine was these summers, then you might need to decrease your calories too if you want to lose alot. but exercising alone will do it.

dolphin - or vitamins, you can get flintstones vitamins. they were recommended by my doc. i heard that most of the liquid vitamins taste like crap. there is also a low-carb slim fast that has more protein than atkins, and i think they are a little creamier and stick with you a little longer. SF has 20 more cals than atkins, but they come from protein. they only make them in cans, though, not in a powder. my post op instructions specifically said not to put anything on my wounds until after the first visit. i'm not sure why, but they didn't want me using neosporin. that might not be universal, though.

i'm 17 days out, also. all of my little scars DID have knots under them. i just felt them again to check, and they are mostly gone. i think that the knots could also be dissolving stitches, which could account for mine not being there anymore.

my theory is that no matter what type of swimsuit you wear, it's going to be obvious that you're overweight. no swimsuit can hide it. so i wear a bikini and get a good tan! screw what anyone else thinks.

so i'm just wondering how all of yall are feeling and if you're excercising regularly? i know i should be, but i'm not. also, i'm wondering what everyone at this stage is doing for exercise. just walking, or anything more strenuous. i'd really like to go back to my yoga class, but i just don't think it would be a good idea yet, seeing as something pops near my port everytime i bend down without holding my side. has anyone had a fill yet? i'm going in for my first one on thursday, and i'm just wondering if anyone who already got one actually got restriction from their first fill. ok, hope everyone is doing great!

so, I was wondering if anyone had a sure fire way to rid yourself of the CO2 gas pains. I'm 3 days post op, and this is the only thing that is still hurting a lot. I'm up and moving around a lot. I've tried gas-x strips and they didn't do anything. Last night I slept on a heating pad for half the night, and that didn't help either. I'm going to make myself some hot tea, because I heard that hot drinks help. Does anyone have any other advice? The gas is bad enough that I'm still taking my pain meds every couple of hours, but they make me go to sleep. I feel fine otherwise and don't really want to sleep all day, particularly since that keeps me from getting up and walking around.

so, this really isn't all that relevant, but some doctors not only make 4 incisions, not 5. i have one big scar and 3 tiny ones, one of which is in my belly button. i'm not sure why this would be different, or why they would have needed a 5th hole when they can get away with 4. maybe my doc is just a really gifted surgeon, and it's easier with 5 holes. i've also heard a lot of people talking about being black and blue after surgery, and i didn't get a single bruise. anyway, i'm just curious about the 4 vs. 5 holes.