NewLife'sGr8

How exciting! Congrats on getting off all those yucky meds & taking charge of your health. You're well on your way to your new life! Yay!

I caved into the sugar craving during Halloween. Still battling it. Not really winning. Trying to choose chocolatey Protein bars but occasional chocolate pudding and dark choc candy bars slip in. Thinking about getting over to the Vitamin store for a body cleanse regimen to detox it (and the sugar cravings) out of me.

I'd slowly and progressively put on the pounds transitioning from being in pretty good shape with an active lifestyle, including an active career, to a sedentary job. 5 lbs one year, 7 the next, and so on. Add to that my then-life-stuff: a draconian workplace, a tumultuous relationship with my ex just to pick up and drop off the kids, financially just struggling by, going to college full-time and doing side projects for my company that was put on hold for steady income & insurance, I gained more & more, the pounds packed onto me faster year after year. I got pretty large, my highest weight. I was miserable. I got winded going up and down the steps at work and wasn't exercising. Aches and pains from a sedentary lifestyle. Fast forward to a Followup on an annual physical exam. The PA told me my cholesterol and triglycerides were so high & literally, off the chart, the machine couldn't calculate my exact numbers. I was told I could pop off at any moment from a heart attack or stroke. wow! That hit me hard. I was also hobbling around & had to get a knee scope to clean up an old dash-board injury surgery from a car accident I had I was embarrassed to run into people I hadn't seen in a long time. I felt fast & ugly. The shock in their faces said it all... Also, My eldest daughter was expecting my 1st grandchild and I wanted to be around for a long time to enjoy my growing family. Plus, my eating was out of control- trying to fill empty emotional spaces with food. Always hungry. Never full/ satisfied. I was also buying a lot of stuff I didn't really need. Trying to fill those aching, empty spaces I needed to get my life back under control, for myself and the ones I love. That's when I began researching WLS options which were fewer back then. Pretty much bypass, RNY or band. I thoroughly researched and decided the band was right for me. Made the app't & off to pre-WLS program I went. Yep. Did counseling. Mostly better- not eating or buying stuff to fill those empty spaces now. They're still there. I've just embraced them as a part of who I am, just like my band, and embraced myself for who I am too.

Ive never heard of a tantic scale Awesome data I wonder if my Bariatric Center has one? hmmm

I should use mine more Thank you for reminding me!

Gurgling is the 'secret handshake' for bandsters Embrace it

Congrats on your amazing transformation! Good WIN!

Mine does too skittles. My surgeon told me they could "bury it deeper" if I want. It gave me a shudder to think about "burying it deeper" in me. I'll probably just wait for the inevitable PS to get it repositioned, i.e.: buried deeper I think they place it on the top muscles because they have to get those needles through our thick fat and into the port for fills when we're newbies

There's that moment during weightloss when I notice- like really notice- that my waist is curved way in on the sides. There's my waist! No denying it. I noticed it a couple weeks ago but just catching a quick glance in the mirror in a rush to get ready to go. When I looked, really looked, well datum! My waist looks pretty good on me. It curves way in. I'm curvy- but not in a fat-way. My waist is quite a bit higher than I thought it was. My belly button is lower than I thought it was, too, no wonder after 2 C-sections and a couple rounds of weightloss. That's probably why I thought my waist was lower; because they tell you to measure your waist around your belly button, or just near it. Also, I'm petit, so maybe I thought my waist was lower to the ground, like me. ha Who knew? Now I know where my waist is- after all these years lol

Thanks everyone for your support & likes. It's truly amazing when we see ourselves as we are- in our transformative states A bit of a shock to see & acknowledge

Miaoreo, I hear ya about one more surgery.... I have body issues that will need another surgery too You can get your sides to suck in without surgery. Make an appointment with a good doctor of physical therapy and tell them you want a defined waist and whatever other issues you want to correct. They'll be able to give you exercises that address your specific body issues. Different from a body trainer, Doctors of PT also factor in your individual medical/health issues and devise a program to meet your individual needs working around and/or strengthening your weak spots to help you bring it all together- without surgery or until you're able to have the surgery.

I Didn't see this thread until later... Otherwise, I Would've posted my thread: NSV A Waist in here, instead creating a new nsv thread oops

I found my waist.

I'm pretty sure if a surgeon does a procedure, they're required to maintain the band (fills/unfills as needed) for their patient for as long as they have the device. Not sure about the rest of the story- if you move away or the doc dies or whatever. something to check into to help inform your decision

Thanks for the recipe & website! Great find. Looks SO Yummy! I'm def. going to check out more recipes here woohoo!

No pain at all here with the tightening / fill. The numbing needle hurt worse (burn) than anything else. They only other thing for me was the heeby-jeebies watching a big needle jammed into my tummy. Some PA's aren't very delicate about it. LOL I got used to it and that doesn't bother me anymore. Good luck!

My band was installed empty. I was told it's because of all the inflammation and swelling from the surgery has to subside, plus my surgeon sewed a flap of stomach over the band to prevent slippage later on. Probably good to not add unnecessary pressure on the stitches until they heal really well. Once the swelling went down, they started with a small fill. Kind of pissed me off- I was SO hungry! They allow each fill's swelling/ irritation/ inflammation to go down before another fill & see how you're handling the graduation back to solid foods. Made sense to me so I went with it

If you buy your paper / non-perishable products at the big box store you'll have more money in the end for healthier foods. Especially feminine products and TP, but also alum. foil, plastic wrap, cleaning supplies, shampoo, etc. I know it's tough when you're first starting out but eventually, you're all stocked up on this stuff, then buy on rotation what your running out of next, 1st. Don't wait until you're depleted and have to buy at the reg store- less for more money. I've used plastic grocery bags for garbage bags so have eliminated the need to buy expensive garbage bags. what has always gotten my goat was buying stuff I'll just throw away- like feminine stuff, garbage bags, TP. You'll get a much better quantity per dollar for big box stuff this way. I used to do a stock-up on non-perishable supplies once per quarter (every 3 mos) or so. You now have a bigger budget to buy healthier foods. It's true, the non-healthy processed foods are cheaper which is a shame. you can build your bigger food budget on the back end this way. When I was a young mom on a low budget, I discovered buying a whole turkey, whole chicken, ham, beef roast, etc was a lot cheaper than buying it all cut up, de-boned, skinned, etc. You basically pick a cooking day and go to town roasting, baking etc- then freeze portions. Next to that, buy family packs & freeze portions. I still do this even though I'm just one now. When you buy in-season, buy in bulk fresh & freeze portions for later- or try canning if you haven't. Saves big time & better quality foods cheaper. If you can, make a day of it for seasonal "You Pick"s like apples, berries etc then go to town cooking & freezing.

Well hugs girl. I'm glad your on your way to getting back on track, complication-free & where you want to be. Good thing Ins. is covering it. Whew

TW42 Sorry to read about your ordeals. I wish you the best possible outcome. My surgeon took a bottom flap of tummy or whatever it was, then stretched & stitched it up over the bottom of the band to prevent slippage. Thank goodness I haven't any slippage issues 5.5yrs out. It seems to me that 5'5" at 113lbs is underweight though I don't have a height/weight chart to compare. I wonder if the ins. will cover it if you're underweight with a low BMI. Most important is to be healthy in our new bods. We want to rock them for a long, long time. Remember to stay hydrated. It's tough. Hard to get daily water/ liquids requirement down during the day, I know. I got really sick last summer from dehydration; dizzy, felt faint like you, had to grab door casings & furniture to keep balance, uber tired. Scary. What does your doc say? Mine said to hydrate + Gatoraide & it gradually got better thank goodness.

You're SO worth it! You're well on your way. Congrats on the milestone. Keep us posted

Congrats on your amazing success and happy bandAversary. You look terrific. Very GQ. Nice job. *Applause!

Bandora: There's people in my office who do the same thing; draw negative attention to me by stating something inappropriately loudly- while making it a back-handed compliment. It's because they're insecure/ threatened by the weightloss. Many people, family sometimes even, feel threatened when we burst that fat-bubble they've always felt most comfortable keeping us in. They're afraid we'll be, or are, smaller than they are or they overly-negatively judge themselves based on how good they think we're looking. That's THEIR problem- not ours! Back to the question: If not done as described above, being called 'skinny' or 'tiny' catches me off guard due to years of negative self-image. Even though I'm not perceived as fat anymore, I've been fat for so long and on and off throughout my life, that I don't yet see myself as 'skinny' or 'tiny'. I'm not used to it yet, so I get thrown off hearing it. I have to somehow get rid of those outdated recordings in my head

Thanks for this post and for everyone's great ideas! I usually just do a cup of coffee with milk for breakfast cuz my band is tight in the morning. I usually eat around 10-11am. I do Yogurt parfaits, layered w/ fruit. Can whip up the yogurt with Protein powder before layering to boost protein. I like Mesa Sunrise Cereal. All natural, no preservatives or added sugars, multi-whole grains some of which already have protein in them naturally. Milk = more protein & you can also add Protein Powder to it. I also add fruit & nuts. banana and walnuts taste awesome together and so does blueberries and almonds. Nuts are an awesome source of hi-quality protein. No worries about fat-- it's the GOOD fat! I buy those little pumpernickel 'cocktail' bread loaves - thin sliced & generously spread Neufchatel cheese (same as cream cheese but with 1/3 the fat) on 2-3 toasted squares of bread and top it with a healthy serving of thin-sliced, smoked salmon with 3 little capers on top. mmmmmm..... Of course, milk-based Protein shake with added fruits and supplements in the nutria-bullet is quick & easy too. One thing i love but it has to be made in advance is an 'eggs in a nest'-type dish. It takes awhile (about an hr &1/2 to 2 hrs) to make but is so yummy it's well worth it: you have to keep stirring through the whole process to help get the steam/ moisture out at each step. - reduce a big whole onion & minced garlic cloves in 2 tbsp olive oil in a deep frying pan until clear -add 1lb fresh mushrooms. I like baby portabellas, but any kind works. reduce until liquid is gone -sweat in either 2lbs fresh spinach or 1lb spinach & 1 lb kale. fold it in gradually as it reduces. reduce until liquid is gone -add 1cup (recipe calls for heavy cream but use light, 1/2 &1/2, whole milk, 2%, or 1/2c milk product & 1/2c greek yogurt- whatever you feel comfy with but not skim cuz you have to reduce this until thick & not runny) - salt, pepper & nutmeg to taste - pour all this into a baking dish -use teaspoons to divide the mushroom / spinach mixture to create 12 "nests" - crack a dozen eggs to fill the nests. it's ok if they run over the nests. Just make sure your baking dish is around 2-3" deep - bake in pre-heated, 425degree oven for 15-17 min. varies according to taste and oven variations -take out of oven & grate parmesan cheese over the whole thing let stand a min or two to melt. - divide the eggs in nests into 12 individual servings. YUM-O! I put one egg in nest into small storage containers for individual servings to heat or grab-n-go for later. Usually 1 of these is plenty for breakfast. Can do 1-2 for dinner, depending on what else you serve with it.

Generally speaking, I think the bypass, sleeve, rny, etc. are recommended for people with high degree of morbid obesity and/or high BMI. That said, I've noticed a lot of bandsters who started with high weights and have lost over 100# - some up to 165# or more LOST. It's a personal decision. A few good questions to Factor in are: -what are your health issues? Are you at high risk of death from stroke/heart attack and need a quicker weight-loss to get you out of the risk-zone? -how patient are you? You'll need more patience with the band as the course of weight loss is generally slower than mal-nutrition methodologies. Also, getting to your 'sweet spot' of band fill can be frustrating -Are you someone who likes to have a Plan B? Banding is reversible whereas the mal-absorptive methodologies are either more difficult to reverse or not reversible at all. - The mal-absorptive patients face a lifetime of ingesting many supplements daily, whereas a multi-Vitamin & for older patients, Calcium supplement, are sufficient Whatever your choice, you'll be happy with the results as long as you follow the WLS new life plan. Best luck in your WLS journey. Keep us posted.