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I have been very busy and have not been on here in a month or so but i wanted to drop in and say hi and hope everyone is still losing. i also updated my signature somewhat and i wanted to see if it worked. i hate those url's when the don't convert to my lovely pics. I have lost 3 lbs i believe since last time i was on. it was not easy but somehow it came off. i have not been exercising like i should BUT i am starting with a personal trainer tommorrow. i'm excited but dreading it because i will be huffin & a puffin and that hurts. i live 80 miles from this trainer but i will be working and staying in that area for awhile so i thought why not? maybe by the time this temporary job is over i will have gotten in the groove of working out and i wilkl continue at home. we have no trainers here where i live so i have to grab this moment. better go, keep up the good work everyone and we will all go to the tropics together when we all reach our goal. how's that for an incentive. maybe i'll win the lottery and pay everyone's way, now that sounds great. see ya:thumbup:

stella have u reached your goal and are u drinking protein drinks for help with the nutrition. i use Unjury, choc is good, mix with van soy milk or water. this would at least get u some protein in while u are trying to figure out what the problem is. do u drink warm liquids before your meals? i found that this has helped me a lot. i have mucous in my pouch and if i dont flush it down with warm liquids then i have no room in my pouch for food. i had my surgery done by Ortiz also and some of the things he suggest have not worked for me. i live in TX so i go to Acuna, Mexico for my fills(my cheaper). I do think u need to go see a gastroenterologist for your problems though. it could be nothing but u never know. hope everything works out soon for u.

I'm 5' 2" also. how much weight have u lost> did u exercise alot and which kind, cardio or strength training?

hey ghost what is the SMMC LB support group chicas?

Thanks for the replys, enjoyed them. I have never received any support from Dr. Ortiz office nor have i called. I am in contact with the pt advocate for Dr. Martinez and Dr. Alvarez in Acuna. She has been helpful but some things differ between her and what i've been told and read on this forum. After my last fill i have learned what eating very little is all about. iwas very tight. it has been trial and error, slimed alot, threw up alot and had some discomfort but i have learned when to stop eating and to chew well. one thing that has been interesting is that i have alot of sinus(mucous) that i didn't know i had. When i throw up it is usually a big mucous ball. this usually only happens after 3 to 4 bites of food. Can't live on that! I now drink warm tea or coffee before i eat to rinse out the mucous so i have room in my pouch for some nutrition(food). i probably do not get enough calories in a day but i know i am getting protein because i use Unjury protein drinks. They do not leave me hungry 2 hours later. I am going Monday for a fill or unfill, not sure which one but we'll see. Sorry this was so long.

hi i am fairly new here but i had my surgery by Dr. Ortiz also. mine was on Sept 8, 2006. I lost 16 lbs the first month but then stopped losing. i am also a slow loser. Did you ever call ortiz for any support or did u buy his book for answers to any questions? I go to Acuna, Mexico for fills because it is cheaper and they use fluoro. My first fill in 3-07, i was told that my pouch was stretched out but now i look back and i realize that i had gulped the liquid and he had me closed off and the liquid had nowhere to go. Remember this was my first fill and i had no idea what to expect or do. i went months being frustrated thinking i had a big stomach again. Later i could eat whatever i wanted and i thought it was because of a stretched out pouch so why go for a fill. In Dec 07 i decided to hell with it, i was going for a fill anyway. Good news, I did not have a stretched out pouch and i was way past due for a fill. it urps me that i wasted all those months when i could have gone for another fill if i had not been misinformed at my first fill. oh well i'm back on track now. I am down 21 lbs from the day of surgery which is not where i wanted to be at this time but I am better that what i was. if u have any suggestions for me i would appreciate it. plus your tickler says you have only lost 5 lbs since your surgery. is this correct?:cursing:

NJ what i mean is to do 5-10 lbs heavier weights than normal for whatever muscle group u are working on. the reps would be 8-12 instead of 15-20 of lower weights. u have to build muscle to tone things up. when the muscles are alive and toned your body shrinks in because everything is tighter. get the book i was talking about, it explains everything. good luck!!!!

NJ, to keep from eating too much till u get your fill, try doing unjury Protein drinks. It really keeps me from getting hungry. they taste good even mixed with Water. i have started using chocolate soy milk with the choc unjury mix, yum yum!!! you can mix 1/2 a frozen banana with the vanilla and that is also good. Anyway it is a medical grade whey protein and it has 20 grams protein/serving and only 100 calories. it keeps me from any hunger pains for at least 3 1/2 hours. I also can't find a DR close by that will take another Dr's patient. the lab at one of their places charges $800.00 for a fill:eek: is that not rediculous, I live 5 hours away from my fill station also, i go to Acuna Mexico for $100.00 and that is with x-ray. i heard that if u walk 1 hour/day it will reset your weight set point. That is where i am stuck at. The weight i was for years and it fluctuates 4 lbs. i tried that walking but my first mistake was that i did 1 hour my first day:rolleyes2: Was i ever sore, i haven't done it since. i got the book another forum talker suggested called "New rules to lifting for women" it says to lift heavier weights at shorter reps to build muscle, tone the areas and speed up metabolism. you have a wedding soon so u might want to tone everything by adding some lifting to your cardio. i am also flabby, yuck!!! i just can't seem to make myself get in the sunroom & exercise. Get this, i have a treadmill, eliptical, gazelle, mini trampoline, Gold's gym machine, exercise balls, a TV w/a DVD player and plenty of exercise tapes. oh yeah i'm borrowing a Boflex right now, so i have no excuse to not exercise:angry: i'm lazy. i live in a small town so there are no personal trainers to hire. i rambled enough, ya''ll keep hanging in there, we will all be skinny some day.

most ins will not cover for chantix but it is worth it to try it. i can guarantee you are addicted because if u weren't u wouldn't even be having 4 or 5 cigs/day, u would be smoke free. are u in denial? I promise it works.:frown:

My Chantix was around $ 115.00/month but it was worth it. i feel so much better now, can breath better and i know it is not affecting my heart anymore. Sometimes i will have one with my friends and i fell really bad the next day. i see the difference in how i feel. i have a question about the calorie trackers online. i went to one and you can't put in the precise portions because i can't eat 1/4 or a 1/2 a cup of anything so the calories are not correct. i have to chose "1 serving" or cup measurements. my serving is nothing compared to a normal serving. how can u calculate the calories in 3 bites of queso & chips, or 4 bites of hamburger, or 2 bites of steak, or 5 bites of mashed cauliflower and broccolli? i have just been writing down what i eat and how much in a journal. i mainly concern myself with my Water and protein( i drink 3 unjury shakes/day with 25 grams Protein each). i know that i am getting less than 1000 cals/day but i can't eat anymore than that unless i eat candy, which i have no problem with. any pointers?? :wink2:

way to go Denise on the plateau breakage. that is hard to do. hang in there. i am at a plateau now but this too shall pass.

Try a prescription med named Chantix. it works, ask your Dr. for a script. that is how i quit after the band. Even having heart surgery couldn't convince me to quit for good but Chantix has done the trick.

to anyone who gives a damn, i slime alot and i have puked alot until i figured out when and how much to eat. i still have a tendency to not chew enough and then it comes up, eat too much & it comes up, forget not to drink 30 mins before eating & it comes up, eat something i know doesn't set well with me & it comes up. i always wondered about the ball of mucous i barf up. if that mucous wasn't in there i could eat more. HaHa Thanks for all the info, it helps to know that i am not alone on some of these things. Denise, i think that the key for me from here on out is to exercise, because the scales aren't moving(but neither is my body, :heh: ) good luck to all:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:

Then i'm in!!!! i had 75 lbs to lose, lost 17 since date of surgery, I qualify yehaw!!!!!

Well i haven't had any NSV's as of yet. and what is pb's or pd's i know what sliming is yahoo!!!

hey Beka i got ya beat, 8 months after surgery i had only lost 16 lbs. now thats frustrating and discouraging. i gained 12 lbs back when my stress level went up because i reached for ice cream(my comfort food) read my first fill story on page 94 and u will see how confused i was for months. i actually wasted months by not going for a fill when i should have, but as my story tells i was told that my pouch stretched. anyway i've lost 13lbs since 12/15/07 and that's because i can't eat solids until after 6:30 in the evening because that seems to be the only time of the day that the food doesn't come back up. Hang in there and revaluate your calories and if they are healthy ones. water is very important.

Denise, u have helped me with the things u post I'm proud of u for the weight loss u have had i know it is not easy even with a band. i am confused on how this forum works, do i just look on the forum every day for any reply and when i want to say something do i do a quick reply or a quote on that persons post or what??> Just wondering how to do this correctly

<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Surgery date-9/8/06 weight was 208. my highest is 213 current is between 192 to 195, it fluctuates alot. My last fill was 12-15-07 and i got tight, can hardly eat any solids. i am learning alot thru reading this forum. I'm getting more educated from this than Dr. Ortiz office. I have had very little support and really did't know who to call. i finally found a Dr. at Acuna, Mexico that i could go to for my fills w/fluro for 100.00. we also have a place at Lake Amistad just 20 miles away. Well his contact person (Barbara) has helped me understand some things(this is a very frustrating and complex way to go) anyway, at my first fill in March 07 i was not told to gulp or sip the barium, well guess what, i gulped it ONLY after he filled my band all the way. U talk about painfull. :faint:because i was so full of barium my pouch had no choice but to stretch out, the assistant mentioned that my pouch is stretched out. He sort of reprimanded me and told me to eat 4 bites and walk away. i told him i was almost doing that( more like 8 bites) but he said that my pouch would not have stretched if i was doing right. Well finally he let out some of the saline and i got relief. That whole episode confused the heck out of me and i got very confused, like "why did i do this if my pouch can stretch out so easily" and "why go for a fill if a fill will not help with a stretched out pouch" See the picture? In Nov i decided that i have to do something so I called Barbara and she suggested that i go get a complete unfill if my pouch was actually stretched and start all over, so i made an appt on 12-15-07. To my delight, it was a different Dr. and a very good looking one( i might add) i told him my last experience and he said that my pouch WAS NOT stretched out and that i was way past due for a fill was very thrilled to see some hope. I also sipped the barium not gulped, I can't remember how much he put in but i do have restriction. I was going to go get an unfill next weekend but i dont think i will now because at night i can eat some solids when i chew a bunch. i just need to get enough protein, drink the water, get my daily exercising in, and journal everything. I am now on the right track now so wish me luck!!!!!!!! :clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:

liz, I see thyat u are from San Diego and that Dr. Ortiz did your surgery, I am from TX but Ortiz also did my surgery. i have not gone back to him because i live too far away. did u ever get his book "Lap-band for life" it has always been on backorder every time i went to order it. is it any good? i had my surgery on 9-8-06 and havent done well, any pointers?

I know how u feel bandster 1007, U have to watch what kind of calories u are eating or drinking, fruit juices have lots of calories in them, they go down easy but ar fattening-look at the labels. Ice cream, now that is my weakness and my comfort food- i gained back what little i had lost when my sister and her dogs moved in with us. The dogs thought my green carpet was grass- go figure!!! anyway, we slow losers have to watch every calorie we consume, then we have to figure out if we are eating enough to keep our body from going into starvation mode and slow down our metabolism as if we need that. it's very frustrating but we have to find that amount of calories we can consume that will allow us to lose but yet not slow down the metabolism-ya almost have to be a nutritionist to figure this out. hey if u can afford it go see one- it may be the best thing u could do for yourself. my new years resolution is to walk for 1 hour every day, i read that it is the only thing that will change your weight set point, which in my case is where i stop losing no mastter what i do or don't do, so my set point needs to be altered befor i can go below that and hopefully stay there. hang in there and evaluate your calorie consumption and where they are coming from.

thanks for the reply Denise822, I will try to do better with my exercising.

hello, I am new to any kind of talk forum so I'm not sure that I am doing this right. Obviously I do weight loss the same way because I am ONE SLOW LOSER. Here's some history, Lap-band surgery on 9/8/06. Lost 5 lbs the liquid week before surgery, Stayed on liquid for 3 more weeks with a small amount of cheating. Lost 16 lbs during that time. total of 21 lbs so far, yeehaw! Don't get too excited yet because once I started on solids my weight loss stopped. I went through a very confused time. I ate 1/2 of what i used to could eat and nothing was coming off. My first fill was not untill 3/07. the Doc said I didn't need a fill and that my pouch was stretched. Boy was i discouraged. By the way, did I tell ya that my year has been very stressful, My mom is headed toward dementia and doesn't remember it. she won't sell her house and go to a retirement community, blah blah blah anyway I am the only one who has been taking care of her and she lives 80 miles away, not to mention I have 4 jobs and 2 kids in college. To top all that off in 7/07 my bi-polar sister and her 4 dogs moved in with my family, indoor dogs, stress level just went up again, i turned to ice cream and I gained 12 lbs back with lots of inches. I was thinking that if my pouch has stretched then why get another fill. I could eat a lot more food by this time but i thoiught it was because of a stretched pouch. I finally decided to get a fill and see what was going on. I have to drive 6 hours to get a fill. on 12/15/07 I got another fill and got 1.1 cc's. Doc said I was past due for a fill but how would i have known. He did get me too tight though, so i am having trouble eating any solid foods. Since my fill i have lost 5 lbs on mostly liquids, talk about a slow loser. That is where i stand today. I use Unjury protein shakes and their jello & pudding recipes. Anyone have any comments. Oh yeah, I don't exercise much.:cry

anyone there?

I'm new on here and i'm not sure i know what i'm doing.