hopeinapril

I get a lot of hiccups and they hurt! I used to get them when I was a teenager, but not so much recently, until I was banded!

See ya all tomorrow at 8:45 am. I can walk Monday and Friday. I will try to go to the meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday is a health fair and they will have displays and such. I want to go both nights. Hopefully, my son's father will be OK with that. Yuck....fell off the wagon today. I am dusting myself off and getting back on. I definitely need a fill. There is a possibility I may call to try to get an early fill.....

Hi Shamrocks! I love how supportive everyone is in this group. I am so very happy that I was banded with everyone! Fenton - love your description of a pb. It reminds me that I must chew, chew, chew. Christine - hey lesson learned! I know I couldn't keep girl scout Cookies in my house. I just donate a few boxes to the troops. That way I support both the troops and girl scouts! Now is the next new minute! I actually had a bad experience with a chicken nugget. I decided I was going to eat 2. Well, apparently I did not chew the first one enough, I got a little chest pain while I was chewing the second one. I spit it out. There is NO WAY I would have ever been satisified with only one chicken nugget before!!!! Well, I continue with my mushies, which I am enjoying. I am moving a little to some soft foods. Ironically enough, I am keeping some of the liquids in my diet. It is so easy to get a ton of Protein with a protein filled drink. I still like the skinny monkey and make that periodically. Conversations with myself. Well, heck, why not! I do it all the time, whether internal or actual out loud talking. Sometimes it is just like "back away from the refridgerator". Other times it is "good that you walked almost 3 miles today". Kerri - all the best advice has been given about your sister. Way to go with your plan. I am in awe of you! I guess we will all have to deal with jealousy sooner or later. I have a friend who has always been jealous the moment I weigh less than she does. It is a shame because we have known each other for years. She was actually quite negative about the band when I first started talking about it. I have not yet told her that I am banded. I just didn't want to deal with the negativity. But...... we used to walk with each other and I have started walking with other folks, so I am guessing that I should confess so she can walk with us. Oh well..... Happy one month bandiversary to all the March 25thers like me! Hard to believe it has been a month. My life has changed dramatically!

:biggrin2::thumbup::tt2::sad::thumbup: Happy one month bandiversary everyone! As of Tuesday I had lost 10 pounds post op and almost 15 pounds pre-op. No fill yet. I have my first on 5/7. I'm still on mushies, which is good. I have a little restriction, I think. I can't really eat much more than 1/2 of mushie food. I can drink all the liquids I want. I don't know if my stomach shrunk since I was just pouring liquids down or if I have real restriction. I still have another week of mushies! I find it hard to believe it has only been a month. My life has changed so much! I don't care that I am loosing weight slowly. I figure at this pace, I'll loose 100 pounds in one year. To me, that is astonishing! I have never lost that much weight in one year. Anyway, yeah us!

Cool Kim/Lynn! See you both at 6. Kim - I am not a marathon walker! They kicked my butt the first time I walked. I huffed and puffed. We keep up a pretty good pace, but we are walking! We usually meet by the trash bins near where the walking path begins.

Hi Everyone! Fenton - cool quizmo, that spoon. I have to admit I like gadgets. Bummer that a lot of folks are hitting a wall. But, good to know that it is a journey. I loved Diva's next minute is a new minute. Very good thing to keep in mind. I am doing the mushie thing now. I have to admit to keeping some liquids in my diet. I have gone out to restaurants twice in the past 2 days. Everyone thinks I am a cheap date now!

Hi! Anyone interested in walking on Friday? How about Sunday morning? Let me know!

Scar tissue is a good answer. I can't see my port, so.... I just have a scar.

Greetings! Congrats Fenton! I also love to read. I'm writing down the name of your book and will check it out. Well....today was scale day and I am down another 2 pounds. I am almost 25 pounds down from the end of January. I am thrilled! I actually tucked my shirt in today. That is something I have not done in a while. I never wanted anyone to see the bulges of fat! Bummer about the bat wings. That is something I want to avoid (if possible). I'll have to check out the exercises.

Howdy! The walk last night was good. There were a few sprinkles, but that wasn't bad. I can't go tomorrow night, but will walk Friday if anyone else wants to go. Welcome Kim! Nice to have someone who is further along on the lapband path. Life is moving along ladies. Now that I am eating mushies, I feel like I have some restriction. Very cool.

Greetings! Thanks Delaware for posting the meetings information. I'll be there tonight to walk. Hopefully, the rain stays away!

Greetings Shamrocks! I have to say that even though my scale isn't moving down as fast as I like, it is moving down. I will take that any day over the other choice. I only weigh myself once a week. It was driving me crazy to do it any more than that. I actually had a neighbor ask me if I was loosing weight. It was nice, but I don't truly expect anyone to notice for a while. I was pushing it on my clothes. I was probably a size higher than I am wearing now, but just refused to buy any more clothes. The good news now is that my clothes are starting to fit better. We have a clothing exchange through my local support group. I hope to give to it (and get some new stuff) in the fall. I think they are having one next month, but I don't see that my clothes will be that loose. I (like most of us) also have multiple sizes in my closet. I hope I buzz through them quickly. I got rid of all the "regular" sizes about a year ago. I realized that if I do get to a size 10 or 12 I will happily buy myself new stuff. I also have pain on my left side below my ribs. I don't feel my port. It is in a chubby spot for me. I still feel aches and pains at times. Mostly when I am very active. Especially if I moving up and down. I agree that a lot of us are not healed on the inside yet. It is why I am being extra careful. Walking today was fun. I don't know that I will walk every day, but walking about an hour 3-4 times a week might work out better for me. There are just a couple of days in my week that I don't have any spare time. Well, shamrocks, my one month bandiversary is coming up this week. Hard to believe it is here already!

Hi! 6 p.m. on Monday and Friday work for me. The path in Newark is behind the Pep Boys. There is a Road, I believe it is Willa Rd. There is a park called Delaware Technology park. If you look right next to the bridge (where Library Road is) you will see the path. It actually starts on the top of the hill where Willa Rd and Library Ave. intersect. I can show you some time if you like. I don't remember any carb guidelines. Of course, now I have gone through 2 programs. I start the mushies on Tuesday. Right now I have only protein and fluid intake guidelines. I keep meaning to email the dietician about whether I need to count carbs or calories as well.... I guess it gets more complicated when you move from the liquids. I will have to say that I did Atkins and lost 100 pounds. It was tough at times to keep my carbs at 20 or below. I think I would have to cut out all the milk products. They have a lot more carbs then I could handle if I limited myself to 30 carbs a day. I know I ate a lot of meat and cheese. I ate low carb veggies like cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts. The walk today was good. I think the first day is always the toughest. I look forward to increasing our speed and endurance! I guess we can meet at 40/896 tomorrow at 6.

Well, as of Wednesday, I have lost 10 pounds since surgery. Congrats everyone on the downward trend of the scale!

Hi Teri: FYI, the gall bladder pills.....My docs give anyone who still has a gall bladder the pills for 6 months after surgery. The studies show that many people who have lapband surgery and DON'T take the pills have a high percentage of a chance of having gallstones and end up having the gall bladder removed. I have to admit that the idea of enduring another surgery is not one I want. It is not that I had a bad experience. I honestly believe now that most of the reason it took me so long to recover was that I had a hernia repair as well. I certainly didn't bounce back like some folks! Anyway, that is a long way of saying that my doc gives the pill to anyone who still has their gall bladder.

Howdy! I'll be there Sunday morning. I can't walk Wednesday, I have a prior commitment. I can walk on Monday or Friday. (I know Friday is probably a bad day, but it's worth a shot)

Hi Shamrocks! I can't remember who asked about the gall bladder pills. I have to take Uso Forte for 6 months post surgery. Without it, the chances are good that I would end up needed gall bladder surgery. YIKES! I have to admit that the stuff is nasty. I crushed up the pill about 5 days after surger and choked it down with applesauce. The next day I went to a different pharmacy and bought the liquid kind. It is still pretty nasty, but the amount you take is much smaller and easier to choke down. Fill schedule: I think the docs are as different on this as they are about everything else. My docs will do a fill at 4 weeks if you beg and cry about hunger. I have my fill set for 6 weeks. I see them monthly after that and I believe they will give you fills monthly. I'm looking forward to my fill on 5/7. I had to go to a chinese restaurant yesterday. I HATE all you can eat places. I really don't want to pay to serve myself! Anyway, I ended up eating the chicken from the chicken and broccoli entree. I have to say there really wasn't much else that I could eat. I did try a spoon of wonton Soup, but it didn't taste good. I doubt I ate 1/2 cup of food, so I guess the band is working. I felt full. I don't think I had any restriction. I think my stomach is just used to tiny amounts of food. Well, I overdid the exercise on Wednesday. It took me until today to recover. I think I won't overdo it again. It is hard to stick to an exercise schedule if you can't walk without limping! Scrappy! What wonderful weight loss. I'd jump up and down if I lost 5 pounds in one week. I'm lucky if I loose 2! Keep up the good work!

Hi everyone! I'm glad for this thread as well. I move onto mushies on Tuesday. I sort have some mushies anyway. Yesterday I was away for a funeral. I thought I had planned well, but...... We all went to a chinese all-you-can eat place after the funeral. I avoided these places pre-surgery. I really didn't eat much, but my goodness was there a ton of food. I ended up eating some chicken from the chicken and broccoli entree. Actually, I was full pretty quick. I'm not sure if I just shrank my stomach or if I do have some restriction. When I eat mushies it seems I can eat more. I am starting to exercise as well. I think it helps. I feel gyped about the weight loss considering how low my calorie intake is and compared to what I used to eat....... I should be dropping more weight. Ah, well, I guess it just takes time.

Hi Delaware: I can walk tomorrow. Do you want to walk at 896/40 or in Newark? The only time that is bad for me is 1-2 in the afternoon. I have to admit I would prefer to do it in the morning.

Hi Everyone! Hi Jessica: I just sent you an email. Let me know if you have any other questions. As far as the seminar, it is not required, but you may want to attend one. I actually saw Dr. Peters and then later that night went to the seminar. It was a little redundant, but I did get some new information and a head start on getting my surgery. Fairy: Good idea. I have toyed with the idea of getting a ipod or MP3 player. I have music on my phone, but never really thought about using it. I may now! Oh and don't worry about the insurance rant. I HATE my company. It drives me absolutely nuts I had to pay for this surgery. I will use what influence I can to get my company to change carriers. Laura: Congrats on being in the under 25 club. I am pea-green with envy. :tt2: Delaware: Last night you mentioned being weak and light headed and such. I had one experience about that before and then again today. Today was a little different. I went to the store and bought some Protein stuff. I finally ate 2 lo fat cheese sticks because I wasn't getting any better. That seem to help. According to Sam, (Dietician), we have more protein needs the larger we are. The numbers they give us are minimums. Even though I always hit the minimum, I think I need close to 90-100 grams a day. If I were you, I'd call the doctor's office. They may move you up to mushies! :tt1: Walking - OK, I have to admit that you guys kicked my butt last night. When I routinely walked 3 times a week, I got up to 3 miles an hour. Last night we started at about 3 miles an hour. It motivates me to walk more this week so next week I am not huffing and puffing and sweating like I was. Good note - some cute guy said hi. I didn't even see him until he said "hi". It made me smile.

Hi Denise! Welcome to the club! I know that there are quite a few of us banded on the same date. Some of them hang out in the post-op forum. I still have some pain at the port site and right next to it. How wonderul that you are getting your first fill on 5-1! My fill date is 5-7 and I can't wait. I am trying not to know that I really have little restriction right now! I am still on liquids, but have added a few mushies. I am really trying to avoid regular solid food right now! WELCOME!

HI Shamrocks! Mindovermatter - HOLY COW!!! I am self pay as well.....but, my goodness. I think I'd be afraid after all you have been through as well. Good luck with the fill. Come on back and lets us know how it goes! Sheri - lol, my parents used to call me their tax baby. As an adult I laughed and said if I was born 12/31 I'd be their tax write off baby. I have to admit that I am happy the years our birthday is on Sunday and then the tax day is on the 16th. It's funny because I think that helps folks remember that it is my birthday. But, I have to admit that I Celebrate my birthday for at least a week. Some times the whole month! :crying: Well fellow shamrocks, the scale did move a little down when I stepped on it today. I am close to 23 pounds down since the end of January. I am happy about that. Since I have been rather pathetic about exercise, I am starting to do that and hope that the scale moves. I honestly don't think this whole weight thing is strictly calories in and calories burned. At least, not for me! I seriously doubt that I have hit more than 1000 calories a day for almost a month. If it was calories in and calories burned, I should have lost more! I really believe my body does better on the low carb thing. I am trying to incorporate that in my liquids. (I managed to loose 100 pounds doing Atkins and kept it off for 2 years) I guess this is a learning process. I am so looking forward to being restricted!! By the way, what is the "Rep Power" beside our names? Anyone know???

Thanks everyone! I Celebrate my birthday for about a week or so, so even if the wishes are a smidge late, I take them! :crying: I'm looking forward to walking with you all tonight. It goes so much quicker when there are people to talk to. I have tried to take a radio or something, but the reception is always not that great. Sometimes when I walk by myself I am distracted, but some times I am counting every .1 mile! See ya all tonight!

Hi Sherri! Happy tax baby birthday greetings! Today is my birthday as well. I am thrilled to be celebrating as a bandster! Hi Hungry - So sorry that you are feeling this way. I am feeling pretty hungry these days at times. I am suppose to be on all liquids, but eat a little bit of mushie food each day. Keep at it. It will get better! I'm sure some of the folks with more experience than I will give you some great words of wisdom! Shamrocks! Today is a great day for me. I got my birthday present early and am celebrating the fact that I am a bandster. I knew this would be a process. It is an education every day. I am a little sad that I can't seem to stay with the liquids, but I am still slowwwwwwly loosing weight, so it is all good. I am looking forward to my first fill which will be 5/7. My doc puts us back on liquids for 2 days after a fill. I should be on soft foods by then, so I don't see that as a big deal. I am finally getting my act together with the walking. I have some lapband walking buddies and we are walking tomorrow. It should be wonderful to get motivated and see some of my lapband buddies in person. I have to admit that I put on sweat pants and take off my bra when I get home. I still have a some sensativity to the incisions and port area. The bigger clothes make me much more comfortable. Well.....that is it for now. I notice that we are loosing folks right and left. I guess they don't have anything to say or are outside walking. :biggrin: