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my dr and nutritionist told me: 1. drink all your Water 2. take your Multivitamins 3. use a good moisturizer all over every day 4. do weight training (make sure you have muscles to give you nice shape as the fat goes) see this article for some interesting discussion on the subject The Myth of Loose Skin

can't speak to any "boredom" with food--i guess i'm still of a mind to think that's a blessing. as for snacks--i keep beef jerkey and nuts of all kinds on hand. (good Protein, low carb). congrats on your successes so far. be well.

good morning, i was looking for information on skin elasticity issues connected with weight loss and found the following site. perhaps there's something interesting for you there. i have not (for 43 years) been interested or concerned with "lotions and potions." perhaps that's a contributing factor to why i allowed my weight to get so out of control. at any rate, when i began my band journey, one of the things that the nutritionist recommended was including things in my diet (Water and vitamins/minerals) that were good for the skin and hair from the INSIDE. one of the things the psychiatrist recommended (yes, mine was actually good for something...) was including behaviors that were good for the skin from the OUTSIDE, like buying the "better brands" of body wash, pampering one's self by bathing rathr than showering (funny how much nicer that seems when one can actually fit in the tub...) and using lotion REGULARLY (and ALL over). so for a change, i started doing what they said. i drink all the water and take my vitamins/minerals--nothing special there, just the chewable stuff for "older" folks , and EVERY DAY i use moisturizer (I use Nivea skin firming moisturizer--i love the scent. i also use "Burt's Bees" body lotion--but my husband really likes that one, so i have to be careful. (which is another nice change...) anyway, see if the information at this site gives you any insight or help. hope it does... The Myth of Loose Skin

read this recently and wanted to share it with you all. Making Peace With My Body|Catholic Exchange this article, "Making Peace with my Body" got me thinking about "Satan's lies and all his empty promises." i hope it is interesting and useful for you.

i wonder how many other folks' doctors have told them not to weigh themselves at home. my surgeon told me he wanted me to get RID of my scale and only be weighed at my office visits. he said that too many folks worried about what the scale said and didn't work diligently enough at following the behavioral rules we need to learn so that the band will work well for us. no, i didn't actually get rid of the scale, but i don't weigh every day and i do follow the rules pretty faithfully--i have missed out on a lot of the angst that this thread talks about, because i don't see the day-to-day fluctuations. i recommend it to you. it has been truly liberating for me to just follow the rules and let the weight at the doctor's office be a "surprise gift."

hi, i was told that was one of the signs to watch for (perhaps you're slightly over-filled) and that if i experienced it following a fill, i was to call my dr's office to let them know. i encourage you to let your dr know.

Jorge, first, congratulations on taking the steps to get you where you are. remember that this thing is a tool and you need to use it the way the doctors tell you. DO NOT LET EMBARRASSMENT STOP YOU FROM MAKING THIS TOOL WORK FOR YOU!! You deserve better treatment from yourself! Your doubts and fears are normal. we all have them. Some of ours are stronger than others, some of us have more of them than others. Sorry, guy, you're "normal." Enjoy them if you like, dump them otherwise. (I didn't think mine were helping me anymore, so i got a lap band and love it instead of keeping my doubts and hating them.) You DO have the power to use this tool successfully. you DO have a right to allow yourself to be successful. whatever you have in your life or in your past or in your choices, you DO have the right to dump the stuff that isn't working and adopt behaviors that lead you to happiness. My Doctor was VERY clear with me. the first period of time after surgery and until my fills got me to a good restriction, they don't really EXPECT you to lose weight. A lot of people do, but a LOT of people don't. Adjust your expectations--it sounds like yours might be excessive. Be gentle with yourself with your expect ions, be strict with yourself to follow your banding rules. GO GET YOUR FILL!!!!!!!!!! I'm looking forward to your next post where you tell us you're seeing the success you've earned by USING this tool well.

Thanks for letting us rejoice with you. It's a fine life and your hard work proves that you deserve a fine life.

hi. this was a concern for me early on and one that i asked my surgeon. he said that the ideal restriction on our bands (and of course, that's unique to each of us, right?) was to allow us to consume around 1000-1200 calories a day. the benefit of the band and following the banding rules was to enable us to consume ONLY that number of calories and not FEEL like we're starving. if you consume less than 800 calories/day, your body will go into starvation mode and you will not lose well. i had an experience with this after my latest fill. just couldn't eat much and had to re-learn my eating habits. (my doctor told me that with each fill i might have to re-learn--sometimes we get a little sloppy when the restriction starts to ease with our weight loss...) so i had to use the protien shakes to supplement until i could consume enough protien/calories from solid food. so, yes, if you make poor choices or don't pay attention to the protien/calories you ingest, you can run the risk of putting yourself in starvation mode--but it's not just the band, it's our choices of what to put in our mouths and taking responsibility for managing that. your band shouldn't prevent you from being able to eat sufficient calories. if it does TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR or FILL CENTER staff. as always, use what works for you and leave the rest...best of luck.

what do your doctor, nutritionist, and office staff tell you when you talk to them about your habits and your progress? if you're not telling them what you've told us, you're not making them do what you're paying them for. that's why we pay them money for this tool--so they can help us.

hey, becky i'm anne and am from boerne. dr gonzalez did my procedure also (feb 08). welcome to the club. don't forget there are other kinds of broth--beef broth is much better, and alternating makes everything more palatable. good luck on your journey!

no, i take no medication.

congratulations, stacy. it's so good to read the success stories as well as to share in the information that everyone's questions/answers provide. keep up the good work.

don't wait. CALL YOUR DOCTOR.