JaxBandster

I rarely have to confess and I'm not sure I'm confessing now! LOL I stick to my meal plan religiously. I rarely eat during the day just because I forget or am too lazy to cook anything so I drink a lot of Water. At night I try to keep my portions small (don't always succeed), eat mostly meat and veggies and very little in the way of carbs. My doctor requires me to stay below 30 gms of carbs a day and I almost always am well below that. Last week I started having some major sweet cravings. It's been four months since I indulged my sweet tooth. I may have stolen a bite or two of a dessert my husband was having, but have yet to have a full blown decadent sweet fix. Well this weekend my daughter made these huge icing covered sugar Cookies. (I'm talking 5" across!) I decided that now was the time I was going to allow myself to indulge without guilt and I did. It was unbelievably yummy. Took me 20 minutes to eat it as I ate the icing first and then the cookie! LOL By the time I was done I actually couldn't finish the last bite because I just couldn't eat anything else sweet! I gave it to the dog. Yesterday we went to a baseball game and after having a hamburger patty and a salad with no fat ranch dressing on it I splurged once more and had an ice cream bar. (another one of my weaknesses). It is now Monday, I have gotten it out of my system, I don't have a sweet craving any more and I don't feel I need to forgive myself because I made a conscious decision to satisfy my sweet tooth. I'm back on track and ready to move forward again. It only appears to have cost me a pound, maybe two as I was in the process of dropping weight over the weekend but that's okay. I'll lose it. I'm not racing and I'm still on track to reach my goal well before the end of the year which was my timeline when I started. So, I can eat what I want in moderate amounts, indulge my sweet tooth once in a while so I don't feel deprived and I can still lose weight. I love my band!!!!!!!

Congratulations Jamie!!!! You are doing great! Keep rocking that band!!!!

Anavrin When is your surgery scheduled? I would definitely make the extra effort to be extremely good when it comes to carbs this next week so Dr. B can see that you are making a concerted effort to comply with their instructions. They will not hesitate to make an example of you when you do your group pre-op meeting. Post band people tolerate different foods differently. Some people can still eat bread. Some can't. Some people can eat scrambled eggs. Others can't. Some people can eat shrimp, others can't. You really just have to try things out for yourself. I still eat rice and potatoes. I avoid bread as I really don't want to take the chance of getting stuck. When I eat rice, I usually don't have any more than a quarter cup. I may have a few bites of potatoes. I try to keep it to a minimum just because they are carbs, but I love my rice and potatoes so I allow myself to have them every now and then. I certainly don't eat them the way I used to!!! You will be on the low carb diet until two days before your surgery, then you will go on Clear liquids for the remaining two days then nothing by mouth after midnight the day before surgery. Dr. C and I get along great. But I'm also not the kind to take crap. I'll dish it right back especially if I feel I'm being accused of not following the rules. This weekend, after four months of really being good, my daughter made these huge icing covered sugar Cookies and I had really been having serious sweet cravings. I decided I was going to have one, I was going to enjoy the hell out of it, then I was going to resume being good. I ate it. I got the craving out of my system. It was wonderful and yummy but now I'm satisfied and I'm not going to need to have anything like that for a while again. I may pay for it by gaining a couple of pounds for a few days, but I know that if I deprive myself too much that I will eventually fail. If Dr. C wants to yell at me for having one large cookie in four months then I will yell right back at him. I'm doing really good, but I know me and know that if I don't give in to my sweet tooth every so often, that it will eventually beat me and I will begin to binge. This way, if I decide to indulge, then I am the one who is in control. But having said that, 99% of the time, I do follows the rules by the book. So, do what you are supposed to do. When you go into that office, you want to be able to hold your head high and not cower in because you haven't been following the rules.

Jacksonville Weight Loss Center (Drs Cywes and Babtista) do the surgery for $14,450 (self pay) at the Surgery Center in Jacksonville Beach. I went in at 7:00 and was home by 11:30. The hospitals are traditional a more expensive route and if you are self pay you want the best deal possible. Sometimes you HAVE to do it at the hospital if you have some serious health contraindications but if you are otherwise healthy then I would highly recommend the surgery center (outpatient) route.

One more thing I forgot to mention. Your Atkins shakes MUST be the Atkins Advantage Shakes (low carb), not the regular ones. They are too high in carbs.

Dr. Baptista didn't do my band but I can guarantee you he is good if Dr. Cywes works with him. Dr. C doesn't seem to be the type to settle for mediocrity. The pre-op diet consists of a low carb diet for 3 to 4 weeks out prior to surgery. You will need to keep your total carbs (not net) to less than 30 gms a day excluding green leafy vegetables. You do not need to count the carbs in those. You don't have to worry about calories, just carbs. Two days prior to surgery you will convert to a clear liquid diet only. You will use your Protein Shakes primarily after surgery especially in the mushy phase or any time after getting back on regular food when you may be in a hurry or are very tight. I use them a lot for Breakfast and right after a fill when I am making the transition back to solid foods again. It is extremely important to follow the pre-op diet as you need to shrink your liver to make the surgery easier on both your body and for the surgeon. The area where they place the band is right behind the liver. If it is too fatty and swollen it can make the operation more difficult and more dangerous. The liver stores excess sugar in the body which we generally have a lot of as we consume so many carbs in our daily diet. The body can't use all the sugar we consume so it stores it in the liver and as a result the liver gets larger and also more fragile. The doctor's will show you a picture of a swollen liver at your pre-op appt. You will then clearly see why it is so important to stick to the pre-op diet. Their pre-op diet is a lot easier than some I've seen. You just have to eat a lot of meat and veggies. All you want in fact. You will go through carb withdrawal which isn't a whole lot of fun. Take some Tylenol to help you through the headaches and other discomforts. You may have some slight nausea as well. For a few days you will feel like crap then slowly but surely you will begin to feel better and in fact you will feel great!!!! You will also begin to feel less hungry. I was really amazed at how much better I felt and how much hunger was diminished after about a week of being on low carb. I swear by it now. Hope this answers all your questions, and maybe a few more!

Becca you are so cute and such a natural in front of the camera!!!!!! Great job!!!!!!!!!!! And OMG I loved the nervous squirrel picture in the 2nd episode!!! I was cracking up!!!!

Becca!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <POUNCE> See what happens when you pop up? Everyone comes out of the woodwork complaining about the same damn thing! LOL I also have that 50 lbs left to go syndrome. It doesn't help that everyone is telling me how great I look and I look in the mirror and think, "Yeah, I'm looking pretty good!" But then I also still have these massive areas of fat in the thighs, hips and tummy and know that I need to get that remaining 50 lbs off! I've actually been on a plateau for the past three weeks as well. Been driving me crazy because 90% of the time I behave myself so well. I manage to stay away from carbs, eat lots of Protein, make good food choices, increased my Water consumption, etc etc etc, but the stupid scale wouldn't budge! The past couple of days it has decided to go down a half a pound a day each so maybe I'm finally breaking through. If not, my third fill tomorrow should do the trick!!! I believe I currently have 6.5 cc's in my large band which can hold 14. I have had good restriction, I certainly eat less than I used to by a LONG shot but I sometimes wonder if I'm still able to eat too much at a sitting. For instance, tonight I had a 6 oz filet mignon and two scrambled eggs with cheese in them. I was able to eat it all. I'm still quite full though six hours later and find that I'm rarely hungry throughout the day as long as I'm continuously drinking my water. I did have a battle today with carb cravings. ANY carbs, whether they be sweets or bread or Pasta. I was at the grocery store today and had a more difficult time than normal staying focused especially when I had to buy my daughter cookie mix and icing for the Cookies she was wanting to make for her classmates, then having to smell them when she baked. So far I've managed to hold out. In fact I kept telling myself, tomorrow is fill day and you won't be able to have any of that so just hang in there!!! I did and I'm glad I did! My next battle is exercise. I love to walk but I can't due to my plantar fasciitis, so I need to get on my bicycle and ride but haven't done so yet. I HAVE been much more active though, working in the yard, mowing, weed whacking, pulling weeds, etc. and I also steam cleaned the carpets yesterday in the house. This is stuff that I could have never done before so I'm really enjoying being able to get around easier. Okay enough of my gabbing. Going to go watch Becca's tummy movie! LOL

Hi Tina! Congrats on getting your band and your success so far! Don't be surprised to hit a plateau two to three weeks after surgery. It seems to happen to most of us, usually right after going on to the mushy part of the post op diet. You are right about the hard part coming up but you seem to be doing well so far. Keep drinking a lot of Water or other no calorie drinks, drink your Protein shakes and eat protein when you get to real food and the hunger won't be so bad. Good luck!

Sue, What time is your appt on Friday morning? Mine's at 9:45. I'm going to try to remember to bring a book this time! LOL

Katie I'm sorry to hear that Dr. C was such a butthead to you and your daughter. That wouldn't have made me very happy either. His heart is in the right place but he can sometimes get way overbearing without giving patients the benefit of a doubt. It sounds like you are progressing normally. You only had surgery last Thursday. You will probably be sore and feel different feelings for as far out as a month. I had esophageal pain six weeks after surgery I believe due to my hiatal hernia repair. It finally went away but it really bugged me for a while. We all heal differently and at different paces so give yourself a chance to heal. Keep walking as much as you can, keep drinking fluids, take Gas-x for the pressure. You will feel a little better every day. Congratulations on getting your band!

I'm here too! Definitely frustrated as I've been on a plateau for three weeks now. I have an appt for my next fill on Friday morning and I've only lost 5 lbs since last month. If Dr. C gets on my case about cheating I'm going to give it right back to him as 90% of the time I make good food choices. I usually struggle to get anywhere close to 800 calories a day and rarely exceed 30 gms of carbs. Yes there are times when I treat myself but they are extremely few and far between. I can eat most anything but usually not very much. I eat off a small plate anymore and can rarely finish what I put on my plate. If my problem is anything it's that I'm not eating enough! I have decent restriction right now. I like that I'm able to eat but not eat to much. I really feel I am at close to perfect restriction for me. I'm going to go in for the fill and maybe get a small tweak but I don't want to be uncomfortable. Both Dr. C and Dr. B have a tendency to over react when they see a slow weight loss. I'm sure they see plenty of patients who try to eat their way around the band, but I'm definitely not one of them. I have a tendency to plateau for a while then I will drop right after my monthly cycle. Don't know why that is but that's the pattern. I haven't started yet this month unfortunately so for once I am actually eager to get started again! LOL On the bright side! I am now in a size 16 jeans!!!! I get tons of compliments from old and new friends a like and I really feel like I'm starting to look good again. I just wish I could get down to my first goal of onederland. I haven't begun to exercise yet and I'm thinking that may be what's needed to get things going again. Anyway, that's my story. I would LOVE to try and make the meeting. What time does it start again? Please let me know. Hugs to all!

No restrictions before, clear liquids for about 1/2 a day, then I can have protein shakes. I can do mushies about 24 hours or so after that, then regular food on day two. He always warns me to be conservative though and retest things that I ate before as I may have more difficulty with them after I am tighter.

Don't worry, we'll be here to cheer you on when your yacht gets to the first buoy!!!!! LOL

Well that's kinda cool. I have to admit I didn't know what the heck it was either! LOL Is that something like a super delegate? LOL

Can I get in on that too??? I hit 219.5 today. Onederland by July 4th could be doable right? It's a goal anyway! According to my FitDay chart I should be 183 by July 11th! (That would only be 13 lbs from my goal weight as well!) Holy smoke, can you imagine beginning your weight with a one instead of a two???? I can't remember doing that it's been so long.

So does kinky sex burn more calories than vanilla sex? Just wondering

Kristy Fills are a progressive kind of thing. You have only had one fill. It usually takes three or more to get where you want to be. I have had two fills and will be getting another one on May 2nd. Right now I can gulp water as well and usually don't have any trouble with normal bites of food. I do get full quicker however. In the interim between fills, once you have lost the restriction you had right after getting your fill, work on eating Protein. Make sure that your Snacks are not soft foods but more dense. lunch meat, cheese, boiled eggs, etc. Protein stays with you longer and helps satisfy your hunger. Stay away from carb laden snacks as they will only intensify your cravings. Drink lots of fluids as they will also help with your hunger and will help flush your system out as well. You can do it. You won't fail. And the band won't fail you either. I know many people who have named their band Patience, and for good reason. LOL Keep us posted how you are doing and congrats on the weight loss so far!

LOL I do have a waist now don't I?????? LOL Sweet! Somehow it's always harder to see the changes in yourself.

I don't know! LOL My doctor has me on low carb. That's the only thing I can attribute it to. Well that and usually not getting above 800 calories a day! LOL Just working hard. Have definitely increased my activity by working the yard a lot. Have just begun to drink more Water. But haven't started an exercise program yet. Probably at the point where I need to. Just trying to figure out where to fit it in my day!

Good deal. If after the liquids and mushies you are still having trouble then I would contact your doctor to see what he says.

I don't mean to look so serious in my current pictures but the wind was blowing hard and the sun was in my eyes! LOL I definitely still have a ways to go but it's a heckuva sight better than I was back in October!

Hi Becca! I've missed you! Let's see if I can get this to work. Before at my highest weight (277 - October 2007) Current (220 - April 2008) Before face shot (December 2007) Current face shot (April 2008)

Of course you're noticed! You're a victorious valentine!!!!! You're looking great by the way! Was just checking out your pictures on myspace!

Me too!!!!