shortgal

YES! we'll be waiting to see them. It's such an inspiration to see everyone's photos. I check the "Before and After" thread every day for new photos!

Ghost: Well I think you've hit the nail on the head for ALL of us! My biggest fear is not getting to goal ( I know that will be hard enough) but staying at goal. I was actually hoping for a "bumper" of five pounds lower than goal in case I "rebound" a bit. I think it's all our biggest fear. We've failed so many times before, why would it be easy for us to believe this will work, permanently! Solutions:?? Getting back to basics? Solid Protein, low carbs, eating slow. Getting rid of any junk in the house and not bringing carbs in for a while. I recently found everyday, I was so looking forward to and waiting for the moment in each day, that I could add in an Atkins Protein Bar. I mean, I was clock watching for that 3pm snack! That was it. I knew it was a food I better limit in the house for awhile or until I at least get a better fill! It was an ok food choice protein wise, but I was just spending too much time thinking of when I could fit one in to my calories. In the beginning of being banded, we are so geared up for the journey and then we start to get back into our social lives and old habits creep back in. How do we learn to control the appetizers, the wine, the meal and dessert that's being served? So much to learn and work at. I know I will have to learn all these new skills. How do naturally thin people do this? Isn't this the same as learning to ride a bike, anybody can do it? Let us know how you decide to work at this, maybe you can help someone else, like me!

All these threads and the forum in general have helped me so much. My first "welcome" from an oldtimer etc. so I try to pay it forward. (really, I just have way too much time on my hands lately) LOL. Reading about being overfilled has already helped me to understand the signs, in case it ever happens to me. so your post might just help me one day, too! I hated to see that you and others were suffering and living with your tight bands, not eating, suffering socially and PB'ing into bags and cups. Who signed up for that when we got on the operating table? Not me! I've seen you "paying it forward", too! :thumbup:

To lose 80 pounds and keep it off is a HUGE accomplishment. I think we all need to consider if our goal weight is reasonable, given our obvious love of food. The entire population is not meant to be a size 6 or 8. We are all different and we have to ask ourselves if we are really willing to put in the effort and exercise that's needed to get to those low goal weights. Ask yourself, will your life be that much better at twenty pounds less than you are now? Weighing 150 or wearing a size ten seems something to Celebrate, not beat yourself up about. I'll bet a year before you were banded and someone said that you'd weigh 150 or wear a size 10, you'd have told them they were crazy, but here you are today at exactly that place. And that's a great place to be. Celebrate it! Re-evalulate your goal and if you really think it's realistic, we're not in high school anymore :thumbup: then go for it, but understand that it will go slow, even 1/2 pound every two weeks would be a victory. You are much farther along and have more success than I, but I wanted to offer another opinion. Remember you weigh 80 pounds less than you did before, so it takes fewer calories to maintain that new weight and even fewer to lose more. You have both done a fantastic job. I hope to be as successful.

Susan, I knew you would help someone else and you did. MARKT, please let us know how you make out, your info will surely help someone else that is suffering.

Sounds to me like I DON"T need a bodybugg, but I do need a job! A physical job! LOL! Have only taken a decent walk twice since being banded. Rain all day today and temps are 10 degrees below normal. I HATE winter! and if anybody needs a fill, it's me! Tomorrow is the day! Good Luck with your buggs!

Everytime you think of the donuts, just pretend in your mind that you are opening the waist band of your pants and throwing the donuts in, because that's where they eventually end up anyway.... right on our hips and butt! I used to work in a primary care docs office and this was a huge problem for me. The drug reps would bring treats donuts, muffins, big lunches ( always with dessert). Patients would bring candy and treats, too. I gained twenty pounds working there and it contributed to me leaving the job. The environment was toxic for me! I had to stay out of the ktichen at all times and even began leaving the office and skipping the "free" lunch. Bring a yogurt or small snack with you. Good for you resisting again! Your band is working with you.

Congratulations! It is hard for others to understand what a victory this is. I ordered a pair of large petite pants on sale from a catalog and thought, I'd probably have to wait a month before they fit, but they did! I must have looked at the label five times, to be sure I was reading the tag right! Hard to wrap my head around these things to, but they feel so good! Onward to size medium one day!

My surgery was late afternoon, I spent the night and was released the following day by noon. My husband drove me home. You could probably be dropped off at the hospital or clinic but i would advise that someone pick you up at discharge.

I attended a local seminar sponsored by a baritric surgeon. They started me on the path and made recommendations to the nutritionist, pysch eval, etc. Time line can depend on your ins. and what they require, your surgeons availability, as well as your ability to make appts when they are available instead of needing a late afternoon or Sat appt. etc. If your ins requires a six month supervised diet plan first, it will take longer, obviously. If you are self pay, things can usually go a little quicker.

Thanks for the link and suggestion. I plan to order the Beck Solution that someone mentioned on the forum and I'll get this one too!

If dry chicken is a problem. Take chicken breast and put them in half and half with chopped basil for about 1/2 hour. Take them out of mixture and Then coat them in some breads crumbs, ( whole wheat ones would be healthier) and then broil them. The 1/2 and 1/2 and bread crumbs add a few calories, but keeps the chicken moister and then I eat the left over the next day for lunch, so I get my Protein in. If your band is tight, grilled chicken might be too dry. I remember the days of working and having kids, activites, all the family stuff, definitely tough for meal planning and prep. Maybe get that old crock pot out again and make some stew or chili that helps keep the meat tender.

What a great story. Glad you shared it with us. I think sometimes the Dr's underestimate what we can do with the band. Everything in life has some successes and some failures. You are obviously a success in so many ways, size 6 is just one of them!

You've had a major success, losing 100 pounds! I guess we all get complacent now and then, even my "thin, normal" friends gain 10 pounds ocassionally. You know I never thought to ask them for advice on what they do, as I guess it was hard to relate to someone that needs to lose ten pounds when I needed to lose 75-80 pounds. I know for me, the "war" with my weight will never be over. I might win a few battles along the way, but the war will continue. I guess if I really think about it, there are worse battles I might have to fight. Severe illness, cancer, sudden loss of employment etc. so I guess we need to see the glass half full more often. But no doubt it IS hard! Reading the forum helps me to stay on track as well! Let us know how you make out and what works for you to get back on track. I'm sure it will help somebody else, too.

Your fill is still new, so it might loosen up a bit. If you struggle too long with not being able to eat solid food, or if you develop reflux /heartburn, please let your Dr. know. Have you tried softer meat. Turkey meatloaf, chili, tuna salad, eggs or chicken salad? Maybe that would sit longer in your pouch and give you some variety from the cottage cheese? I hope you feel better soon.

Thanks for letting me know. I was worried for you. I hope you'll post after your physical and hopefully your (and your dr's answers) will help someone else struggling with this.

No offense taken. Even if we're not all veteran bandsters we are all veterans of excess weight for a long time ( especially at my age). No doubt our head plays a huge part and I'm sure the OP looking for help will get more solutions from all different perspectives. I just offer what works for me as my issues might resonate with someone. I do the same from the forum, some suggestions won't work for me and others do. I was hoping to offer some motivation as well as a plan and how to implement it. How do you stay motivated? I see you're almost to the one year mark. When do you find it the hardest to stay on plan? I totally expect to have setbacks along the way and especially once I'm at goal. I know those mind games that start once we believe we've reached the "goal" so now we can eat again. I also like to read a new book that motivates me to get back on track. But I believe starting back at step one with basic banding rules is the first step I will have to use over and over. Solid Protein, veggies, chew slow, small bites, no drinking for one hour etc. Now exercise, that is my one big issue to work on!

Have you had a recent fill?

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f8/tricare-approval-54626/ that's a link to a recent thread about tricare. Try searching in the "insurance" section for more.

You can't tolerate large fills but when was the last time your fill was checked. Perhaps some fill has evaporated over time? If you're not eating the "easy" foods becasue you're too tight, then you are able to tolerate the right foods but are choosing the wrong ones. Sounds like you're just back to craving carbs. Detox from the carbs by doing two days of Protein drinks of high protein full liquids. Follow that by three days of high protein solid food. That will help rid you of the carb cravings and you should be able to get back on track. Every morning during this five days, ask yourself if you want to go back to the old days when you weighed 100 pounds more. To make this work, plan the best time to start this detox and be sure to get everything you need ahead of time. shakes, broth, sugar free popsicles and sugar free Jello ( just like after surgery). Have the solid protein ready for days three to five. chicken, salad, veggies, tuna, cheese, fresh fruit. And very important, get rid of the junk in your house. We are addicts, we cannot control ourselves when these foods are in abundance in our environment. An ex-smoker should not keep an open pack of cigs. next to them and we cannot keep our addiction readily available either. Pack it up and give it away or throw it away (and pour something nasty on top of it, like your coffee grounds) Everytime your scale goes up more than seven pounds just repeat this process and keep that junk out of the house! Good Luck and you might want to start a new thread when you start your detox and see if anyone wants to join you. There is almost always someone else on the forum with the same problem.

Too much is not a specific number, everyone is different. But signs you are too tight are not being able to get liquids down and reflux. After a fill, you can get initial swelling so two days of full liquids, followed by two days of soft food is advisable to wait for any swelling to go down. Then you try firmer foods carefully. small bites, wel chewed and no drinking with meal. With restriction it might be more difficult to get food to go down, that is kind of the point. If you are past five days of the most recent fill and if you got food stuck often, you might have irritated the esophogus and need to let it rest a day or two by drinking liquids. If this is going on for awhile, then you might be too tight and need a slight unfill. What kind of foods are you eating and when was the fill?

Why not ask this question in the South Carolina section. Look under "support" section and then USA and then SC. You find people that live in SC now that might know those Docs.

The easiest way to find out if you have coverage is to call the number on the back of your ins card and ask if weight loss surgery is covered under your policy. If they say yes, most likely their requirements are a BMI of 35 with at least two co-morbidities, like the diabetes etc that have been mentioned or a BMI of 40 with no co-morbidities. If you do not meet the requirments then self pay is your option.

We all have such different tastes. Why not buy a few and try them? My husband likes Muscle Milk and I like Atkins shakes. some are pre-mixed and others are powders that you mix. You'll also find lots of recipes using the powders under the food and recipe section on the forum.

I really hope you'll make an appt with your Dr. The empty calories are bad for your nutrition and the alcohol is bad for your liver. Perhaps your Dr. could do an LFT test by bloodwork. It's a liver function test.