Sunta

I'll post what I had yesterday, which is representative of a normal day for me: Breakfast: Balance Bar Lunch: 1 small slice of pizza Snack: 1 oz. Indian snack (chick pea flour, rice, spices, high-protein) Dinner: homemade Indian lentils (3/4 cup) and homemade paleek paneer (Indian spinach and cheese; 1/4 cup) and small piece Indian bread 2 glasses of wine

Oooooh ok. I will move on and not try to figure it all out. It's too confusing anyway!

If I can't follow the story of what happened to cause all of the banned members, even after I've read all of the posts, does that mean I'm dumb? I wonder sometimes about my ability to follow stories. I can never follow James Bond movies either...

Hi, Congrats on your first fill! We were banded around the same time and I think we live close too (I'm in Philly). I think esophagael dilation is when the esophogus gets too big and then stops functioning correctly. But, I think they would have seen it on the x-ray so I bet everything is ok. If your surgeon and x-ray tech said everything was fine, you should not worry. Good luck.

Can we go back to talking about lesbian things?

I had a small slice of pepproni pizza. For Breakfast I had a Balance Bar. Both were delicious. I can't believe that's all I've eaten and I feel full and satisfied so late in the day!!!

I would never ever cheat, but I have an open marriage so it's not an issue. It's been working out beautifully for two years (we've been married for nine). I don't believe humans are naturally meant to be monogamous, and that if we added all of the people who either have an open arrangement, live a polyamorous life, and all of those who cheat, the percentage would be staggering. Even though I don't think monogamy is "natural", I think it is a very wonderful choice and deeply respect all of those who are in monogamous relationships (aka: please don't flame me! LOL!) This is just what works for me and my DH.

Hi everyone, thanks for the nice words! It really means alot. One of these days I will figure out how to post a picture or two. For those who asked about the weight limit on epidurals, it's the same for epidurals, treadmills (that you buy in the store; I don't know about gym treadmills), and memory foam mattresses: 250 lbs. I remember when I thought I was going to have a baby (before I found out about my husband's infertility) and I was horrified to learn of this weight limit. But now I can happily say I am under that (even if I don't need the epidural!) Take care everyone! --Becky

I really enjoy a glass or two of wine before dinner every night. It loosens everything up and I can really enjoy eating without pain. However, I do have to watch the empty calories and find I do tend to drink too much when I'm out socially or at a party. The one or two glasses I have each night has not affected my weight loss thus far though.

I drink right up till I start eating, don't drink at all during eating, and resume drinking 1 hour after I eat. I thought that not drinking with meals would be the most difficult rule to follow, but so far it's been no problem at all. As long as I hydrate well in between meals I am fine. My doctor's instructions state to stop drinking 1/2 hour before eating, but that has turned out to be impossible for me due to my hectic and unpredictible schedule. I also like to have a glass of wine or a hot liquid directly before I eat because it helps everything go down so much better (especially the wine!)

Hi, I've been wondering lately, when food gets stuck, exactly where is it? Because I've been thinking that food is supposed to kind of sit in the small pouch and then slowly drip through the hole (stoma) into the big stomach, right? So when it's stuck, is it in the esophogus? Or is it stuck in the hole? Is it stuck in the pouch? Because some food is supposed to be in the pouch for awhile anyway, right? Anyone know?

Usually a restaurant meal is now anywhere from three-four meals for me. I have problems eating it all before it goes bad, so I've taken to ordering appetizers. The only problem is that the darn appetizers are so big that it's still two or three meals. I'm definitely considering getting my card laminated and starting to use it from now on because I hate wasting so much food when other people are starving. Sometimes the childrens menu looks fine and appetizers rarely contain balance like veggies and are often fried. I'm trying to eat home cooked meals alot more often now too.

I made a really good dinner last night I wanted to share. I boiled up some penne Pasta I steamed some frozen brocolli and then put it in the blender and pureed it I took a square baking dish and layered the following: The cooked pasta, followed by sliced cheddar cheese, then the brocolli puree, then a package of soy nuggets (fake chicken nuggets), then over the top I poured on a bunch of mushroom broth (the recipe I altered was for chicken divan and called for cream of mushroom Soup but all I had was broth) I baked it at 375 for 30 minutes. It was sooooooooooo sooo good. I also made sauteed cauliflower with garlic, tons of fresh ground pepper, salt, and paprika done in butter. Yummmmmm. It was a great dinner.

Hi Penni, I just have to share this with you now because it's the right time. Before I got banded my husband and I were looking through all of the before and after pictures and when we clicked on yours, my husband exclaimed "Wow! She's GORGEOUS!" and to top that off, he actually asked me to go BACK to your picture when we got to the end!!! So I'll swallow my jealousy and say you are not the only one who loves your features!!! LOL! Best of luck with whatever you decide. --Becky

Hot liquids are great for helping food to go down. They definitely loosen the band for me. My doctor did tell me that alot of his patients are tighter in the mornings and that warm liquids can help. I usually try the following technique when I can: Hot liquids before AM meal. Hot liquids before lunch One or two glasses of wine before dinner All of these things seem to help alot. My theory is that they relax the muscles involved in the esophogus and open everything up. --Becky

Hi Sarah, When I was in the process of pre-banding I found out my surgeon had only done 40 bands. I was definitely scared, but he had done thousands of laproscopic surgeries and tons of bypasses. Band placement is considered by some surgeons to be a "breeze" compared to most other laproscopic surgeries. I don't want to be cavalier about it, but I heard one person say her surgeon said that "placing a band is like clipping a toenail". I also heard from a few people on here who were their surgeon's first and they're doing great. As for me I'm about six and a half months out and knock wood, I seem to be doing fine. My doctor was also attended by a doctor who had placed over 100 bands so that made me feel better. I think sometimes the surgeon might even be more careful when they don't have as much experience. --Becky

There's no way I would have suceeded without the band. I did try for 26 years (started dieting when I was 10). After 26 years of failure, I have finally lost 50 pounds with the band and going strong. The reason why I would not have ever succeeded without the band is because I was always ravenous. In the end, hunger would always take over. Always. It's easy for people who don't have a weight problem to say "why don't you just diet and exercise", but they never look at the evidence, which is that diet failure approached 100% over five years. Weight loss surgery is the ONLY proven method of losing weight and keeping it off long term. The evidence is overwhelming, yet somehow people will still find a way to argue. I went through the same thing myself and tried to remain patient with the naysayers. No one here can tell you what to do and in the end it's your decision, but I would encourage anyone to just examine the facts and the evidence before deciding not to persue the only proven method of permanent weight loss. Take care and keep us posted.

Hi, I do agree 100% that thin people are way less hungry than I used to be. I refuse one shred of responsibility for my weight problem and believe wholeheartedly that some physical/genetic problem caused me to be starving all the time. Now that I have the band I FINALLY have something that causes me to be alot less hungry. I've lost 50 pounds and finally feel that there's hope for me. All I ever needed was something to make me less ravenous. I am NOT saying this is the case for everyone, so before anyone starts once again saying it's actually my fault and I have to take responsibility etc., let me reiterate that this is simply the case for me and I do realize that there are people who feel their weight issues are their own fault and that is fine. But in my case, having something which makes me full for the first time in my life, is nothing short of a miracle and I know thin people are definitely not as hungry as I was.

Take 1 package extra firm tofu cut into "steaks" (you can get about 5 slices from one package) Marinate at least one hour in Sweet Baby Ray's bar-b-que sauce Grill outside on the grill Fight everyone else for the last piece!

Breakfast: 7 ounce Dannon Light and Fit Smoothie Lunch: about 1 cup of Indian food (spinach and cheese, chicken, chick peas about 1 cup total) Dinner: TBD but a normal dinner would be 1 small slice pizza and a bit of salad, or 1/2 a sandwich or a small piece of fish and 1/4 cup veggies. Snack: Sometimes if I'm hungry between meals I'll have a balance bar, a small bag of beef Jerky, a handful of soy nuts or regular nuts, or an ounce of cheese.

I am so upset right now I don't know what to do. This morning I received a letter from my doctor stating that his practice has decided to stop participating with my insurance company! I was banded in February of this year and have been to his office for fills and even an unfill. Now I have NO coverage for any aftercare! I called my insurance company and they said it's my doctor's decision and there's nothing they can do. Apparently there were some negotiations that went wrong between my doctor and the insurance company (Blue Cross Blue Shield). What will happen to me if I need an emergency unfill again but can't afford it? Or God forbid I need to have my band removed in the future? I am devastated.

Much love to Dawg and P-nut is all I have to say.

Your post made me cry, it's so inspiring. You know, back about eight months ago I started following the picture thread closely, and it's such an amazing delight to see everyone just shrinking away including you. Congratulations on seeing that skinny woman! I hope I'll see her in the mirror myself one day...

My last straws were when I stopped fitting into chairs with arms, booths at restaurants, and movie theater seats comfortably, coupled with the inability to walk a block without being winded. Currently I'm a little over six months out and have lost 45 pounds. I'm cautiously optomistic...

I do the "take small/normal bites and chew till liquid, then swallow in stages" technique and it works pretty well for the most part. When I PB, it seems to be more from problem foods than from bites that are too big.