Cingulus

Finally…fill number 4 seems to have done the trick. I have been working closely with one PA at my doctors to find restriction. Each week I have been providing them a detailed food and exercise log. We reviewed my food log and how long 8 oz. meals were lasting (2-3 hours) and agreed that another fill was appropriate. However, they took a very different approach this time. Instead of picking a fill amount and then seeing how it went over the next few weeks. They drained the entire band and then refilled the band while I was drinking water until it would not go down anymore them they backed things off to let a little go through. Prior to this I have felt a definitive ceiling on food consumption (10-12 oz) so I can’t complain that it was not helping…but I never felt like I was experiencing restriction. This is the first time after a fill that a protein shake has had to be drunk in stages. I have gotten away without chewing everything to death; I have certainly slowed down and did chew much more than in the past. However, going forward I am definitely going to have chew much more carefully. I am back to liquids for a few days and finally feel confident that I will be finding a long lasting restriction experience this time. It is good to feel that I am finally getting what we paid for…Despite not having had a full restriction experience before this, I am thrilled with the things the LapBand process has done for me to this point. I am down 98 pounds so far, including pre-op, and have 78 more to go. My goals is to get the last 78 done over the next 6 months and then stabilize for a few months, so I can use our annual shutdown in December to get some PS done and have those 2 weeks to recover for the New Year. It is pretty clear I will have to get reductions on the waist and my “moobs.” (sorry…probably under the heading of TMI)

As a recent poll shows this site is about 75% Women. I wanted to post a good article on Girls Getting Guns :confused: Bodybuilding.com - 5 Weight Training Facts Women Must Know To Look & Feel Better! - Shannon Clark Hope it helps, Shaun

That is awesome...Congrats.

Hey, My trainer asked me to put this together and I wanted to share.

I like grape and green apple

Great News :thumbup:

Generally speaking lack of change is the problem with exercise. I would change up your exercise routine as a first step.

I love them and always carry a few in my computer bag and car. Pure Protein Blueberry and Strawberry are great. SO is the Elite Cookies and Cream.

I have never heard that? I uses straws all the time :thumbdown:

It will always be you...the band is a helper. I like to think of it as safety net under a trapeze, it will help catch you by you still have to make the leap and let go of the past to to grab the new life.

congrats it will only get better

This includes me pre-op diet as well I lost 45 pre-op in about 6 weeks and the rest since Jan 27th.

It is when you have found a level of band fill that reduces your food intake to the ideal 8 oz/1 cup and it lasts 4-6 hours so you can reduce your meals to 3-4 per day. I know it sounds kind of odd, but you have to experience to know it, but you will have no question when you feel it. :thumbup:

I have not used soy. But I have very good luck with egg white protein as well as whey.

I don't know anyone who does not have doubts. In the end for me, the part the put me over the edge was if I don't change what I am doing to lose weight I can't expect different results. This program takes conviction and you need to be motivated to follow the guidelines, do the exercise and keep focused during the Bandster Hell phase before you hit restriction. In the end it was not easy, but it was the best thing I ever did for myself.

same for me about 3 weeks

As I think about my banding experience it reminds me of a football season. You have training camp where you get your head right, study the play book and get your body ready for the season. Obviously, I correlate this to the pre-op phase of the LapBand. We all find teams (Doctors), get focused (shrinks, blood work etc.) and get our bodies ready (per-op diet) for the season opener. During this time we go through a roller coaster of thoughts, experiments, doubts and moments of conviction…but we persevere. Then, the big day arrives and we kick-off weight loss season…so nice that this works with the WLS acronym we use :thumbup:. We are then off to the play the first game in the season of weight loss. Like football, I feel the first half of your weight loss target like the regular season. You have to win these games to qualify for the playoffs, but they are a means to an end. We live through those tender days of the post-op, the really tough days of bandster hell and then we find some level of restriction. During these days you are playing games with pounds…some days you win and some you lose, but you keep grinding it out and before you know it you are half way there. These battles are not always very glorious, or fun, but they are required to get to second half of the goal. I call this the play offs. This is where the band should really earn its money. I have lost the first half of the weight at least 4 times in the past 20 years. It is the second half that is where I have failed, or to use this blogs vernacular…I get knocked out in the first round of the play-offs. I crossed the line into the play-offs a few weeks back at 88lbs down. I have dropped another 13 in the past few weeks and sit at 101 lost, 75 to go. This to me is the play-offs. This is where we separate the winners from the losers...or should I say the big losers from the “band approved” losers. I don’t know about you, but I refuse to accept the fact the band will only help me lose 50-60% of my excess weight. Hell, if that was the case I could declare victory at this point. However, that is not why I did this. At 5’8” and 272 pounds I still have a BMI of 30 and would still almost qualify for surgery. Needless to say, that is not what I signed up for. I have cross one of the major miles stones of 100Lbs lost (per and post-op), but I still have 75 more to go to hit my goal. What is next? Now is the time to step up the game, make the workouts more intense and more varied to keep the weight loss engine going. Craft a more targeted diet with lower fats, better carbs and higher protein…I am now running about 160G/day…got to love MuslceMilk CytoSport 45g/bottle for 300 calories. So I am stepping up the game in play-offs. I don’t want to lose in the first round anymore. I want to loss enough to be fit, normal, proportional or whatever you call it. But 272, is not that, so I have told my LapBand the season is not over and we still have at least 75 lbs of work to do.

This is wonderful to hear. Too often we do not Celebrate the victories. Shaun

As I think about my banding experience it reminds me of a football season. You have training camp where you get your head right, study the play book and get your body ready for the season. Obviously, I correlate this to the pre-op phase of the LapBand. We all find teams (Doctors), get focused (shrinks, blood work etc.) and get our bodies ready (per-op diet) for the season opener. During this time we go through a roller coaster of thoughts, experiments, doubts and moments of conviction…but we persevere. Then, the big day arrives and we kick-off weight loss season…so nice that this works with the WLS acronym we use :w00t:. We are then off to the play the first game in the season of weight loss. Like football, I feel the first half of your weight loss target like the regular season. You have to win these games to qualify for the playoffs, but they are a means to an end. We live through those tender days of the post-op, the really tough days of bandster hell and then we find some level of restriction. During these days you are playing games with pounds…some days you win and some you lose, but you keep grinding it out and before you know it you are half way there. These battles are not always very glorious, or fun, but they are required to get to second half of the goal. I call this the play offs. This is where the band should really earn its money. I have lost the first half of the weight at least 4 times in the past 20 years. It is the second half that is where I have failed, or to use this blogs vernacular…I get knocked out in the first round of the play-offs. I crossed the line into the play-offs a few weeks back at 88lbs down. I have dropped another 13 in the past few weeks and sit at 101 lost, 75 to go. This to me is the play-offs. This is where we separate the winners from the losers...or should I say the big losers from the “band approved” losers. I don’t know about you, but I refuse to accept the fact the band will only help me lose 50-60% of my excess weight. Hell, if that was the case I could declare victory at this point. However, that is not why I did this. At 5’8” and 272 pounds I still have a BMI of 30 and would still almost qualify for surgery. Needless to say, that is not what I signed up for. I have cross one of the major miles stones of 100Lbs lost (per and post-op), but I still have 75 more to go to hit my goal. What is next? Now is the time to step up the game, make the workouts more intense and more varied to keep the weight loss engine going. Craft a more targeted diet with lower fats, better carbs and higher protein…I am now running about 160G/day…got to love MuslceMilk CytoSport 45g/bottle for 300 calories. So I am stepping up the game in play-offs. I don’t want to lose in the first round anymore. I want to loss enough to be fit, normal, proportional or whatever you call it. But 272, is not that, so I have told my LapBand the season is not over and we still have at least 75 lbs of work to do.

OK, I know it is a cheesy line, but in the first “The Fast and the Furious” Vin Diesel says “…I live my life 10 seconds at a time and for those ten seconds nothing else exists…” That is kind of how I feel about my life with the LapBand right now. I am staying focused on going from 290 to 280 to 270 and so on. I am also letting many other things go. I am focused on my food log, keeping my macro nutrients in the proper balance and making sure that I getting to the gym everyday possible. I have found myself declining invitations or showing up late to events so it does not interfere with my gym schedule. • Monday – Personal Trainer Day (Weights and Cardio Intervals) • Tuesday – Boot Camp Class • Wednesday – Personal Trainer Day (Weights and Cardio Intervals) • Thursday – Boot Camp Class • Friday – Weights and Elliptical • Saturday – Weights and Spin Class • Sunday – Yoga and Elliptical We have our quarterly sales review next week, and I declined the team dinner invitation for Tuesday night because I did not want a big meal (but now that I have restriction it would be very small) nor did I want to skip my training schedule. I know it is a bit obsessive… I don’t feel like I am giving up life, it is simply a high level of focus on a major goal in my life…much like pursuing an MBA at night. Sacrifices have to be made to get to the goal. So, right now I am living my life 10 pounds at a time.

Thanks for the kind words...we do have to move ourselves up the priority list to make this work.

OK, I know it is a cheesy line, but in the first “The Fast and the Furious” Vin Diesel says “…I live my life 10 seconds at a time and for those ten seconds nothing else exists…” That is kind of how I feel about my life with the LapBand right now. I am staying focused on going from 290 to 280 to 270 and so on. I am also letting many other things go. I am focused on my food log, keeping my macro nutrients in the proper balance and making sure that I getting to the gym everyday possible. I have found myself declining invitations or showing up late to events so it does not interfere with my gym schedule. • Monday – Personal Trainer Day (Weights and Cardio Intervals) • Tuesday – Boot Camp Class • Wednesday – Personal Trainer Day (Weights and Cardio Intervals) • Thursday – Boot Camp Class • Friday – Weights and Elliptical • Saturday – Weights and Spin Class • Sunday – Yoga and Elliptical We have our quarterly sales review next week, and I declined the team dinner invitation for Tuesday night because I did not want a big meal (but now that I have restriction it would be very small) nor did I want to skip my training schedule. I know it is a bit obsessive… I don’t feel like I am giving up life, it is simply a high level of focus on a major goal in my life…much like pursuing an MBA at night. Sacrifices have to be made to get to the goal. So, right now I am living my life 10 pounds at a time.

I have found that the quality of sushi can vary significantly. Also ask for things like Poki or for other chopped varieties. Second, I ask for belly or middle cuts.

Great work...Keep it up

I had 2 false starts on the band. If you can make it without it great. If not, it will be there if you change you mind. It is a non-trivial decision and should only done when you know it is the right choice for you.