JaimeSTL

LOL WTG! And yes, it makes me so mad to hear how "strong" I am. When discussing the food problems with my husband I know that he thinks this has been easy for me. He should know firsthand it hasn't been, since he got to listen to all of my whining about being hungry and all of that on the liquid diet. I have a friend who has a 40 BMI, dr suggested lap band, etc., and she tells me, it isn't easy for me like it is for you. Blah! This has been anything but easy for me, but I was given the chance to change my life and I'm taking full advantage of it.

Jacqui, I agree with everything you are saying. For me, when I went to the extreme of having surgery, that was it, there was no choice but to comply and lose weight. I have a very hard time understanding the self-pity and noncompliance. I have often thought, if I can do this, almost anybody can do it. I had no discipline, no ability to tell myself no, I ate uncontrollably. I have a true food addiction. I've had people tell me straight out that the only reason I have done so well is because of my age. That makes me so angry. I am working my butt off--this is the hardest thing I've ever done and I will not fail. I am very strict with myself and hold myself accountable for everything I eat, even when I have a bad day. I'm not perfect, I'll never be perfect. I eat pizza and chips and candy--just way smaller portions and not nearly as often as before. I really don't feel like I'm doing anything special. My husband is having issues with his blood sugar and needs to make dietary changes. I get so exasperated with him because he just keeps eating and drinking all the things he shouldn't. He tells me, I'm just not as strong as you. Strong? No. Just really determined to lose this weight, get healthy, and live a full long life. I couldn't go on like I was before surgery and the memories of that time push me to succeed.

My surgeon and insurance have the same requirements--BMI over 35 with at least one comorbidity or BMI over 40 with no comorbidities. My surgeon wants patients to be at least 100 lbs overweight. When I went to my seminar he addressed self-pay issues and didn't mention whether or not any of the requirements are waived for self-pay. I see a lot of tickers on here and really wonder why someone would have surgery at certain weights. But we don't really know everybody's histories, if they have yo-yo'ed for years, if they have medical problems, etc. I also can see where the band can be a preventative because if your weight is only going up, why wait until you need to lose 150 lbs if you can do it when you only need to lose 80?

That's a great problem to have, Michelle! I really hate being between sizes. I am constantly hiking my pants up because I am not going to wear the too tight ones. I'm getting to that point with my current size very quickly. It seems like just last week this size was snug and this week, they are falling down. I tried on a smaller size and they will button but are way too tight to be comfortable.

I was on liquids for 5 days pre-op and 10 days post-op. I lost 27 lbs in that time. I gained back 8 lbs in 10 days once I started back on food and didn't lose anymore until after my first fill at 4 weeks post-op.

Here are a few pics of my progress so far. 2/23 pics are 5 days pre-op at highest weight of 350 lbs. 5/26 pics are at 3 months out at about 288 lbs. 6/18 pic is one I took yesterday of myself at 281 lbs. I usually take them once a month so it isn't an "official" 4 month pic yet.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to call my doctor before my next scheduled visit. I saw him on May 7th and had to practically beg for a fill. He didn't think I'd need it because I was losing so well. And because of that fact, he said to come back in 3 months. My next appointment isn't until August 6th. My fills were very aggressive. The first was 3.2 cc and the second was 2.5 cc. I have a 14 cc band. I fill up quickly but I don't stay full very long and I end up hungry between meals. I try really hard to either not snack or have a very healthy snack (cheese, fruit, etc). I had fill #2 on May 12 and I've lost about 16 lbs since then. However, right now I feel that a lot of it is willpower, plus I plateaued for 2 weeks and just broke through that. I will not go backwards so I'm just going to end up hungry a lot if I wait. I keep telling myself I should just call, but then I keep thinking, he's not going to want to do another fill now because of how much I've lost. I don't have the time to waste to drive out to the hospital, wait, etc., just to be told no. I also don't want to get too tight and then need an unfill because I like being able to eat a decent amount of food. But I don't want to lose any progress. What do you think?

You look great, Ezma! I love your new do!

I couldn't agree more. It's one thing for doctors to have different aftercare instructions, but quite another for one to say, "I'm supposed to be on liquids but I ate a piece of chicken" or "I'm a week out and just ate cookies, candy, cake, a shake....." It is really just stupid and dangerous. Why bother with surgery if you can't follow the guidelines? We all know going in what to expect afterward.

This is the website: Calorie Calculator When you enter your information, it will give you what your BMR should be for your weight and height. For me, it gives numbers over 2200 per day but there is no way I'd go anywhere near that. LOL I tweaked it, using the same basic premise. Make sure to click where it says "7 day calorie cycle (zig-zag)." This is what the site says about zig zagging: "*Calorie cycling provides same amount of calories per week, but 'tricks' your body by constantly changing daily calories. This helps to prevent or break plateaus. Guideline only." I also found this one: NY Times Calorie Calculator This one tells you how many calories a day you should get to lose a certain amount of weight by a certain date. Pretty cool. It won't let you get too aggressive and calculates about 1.5 lbs a week. It told me that I could be at GOAL by my 1 year bandiversary if I stick to 1200 calories a day!!

Bread, bagels and pasta are things that aren't going to go down well for most bandsters. I'm not surprised those things came back up with good restriction. Ideally, you should be able to eat enough solid food, but I'd stay away from the bready, doughy type of foods like that. If you got stuck or PB'ed today, I'd do liquids the rest of the day, then try regular foods again tomorrow. Just be cautious, eat slowly, chew well, and stay away from things you know don't go down well.

Congrats on breaking your plateau!! Hopefully now you'll just keep going down down down. I was looking at this website that tells you how many calories you should eat a day to lose weight and it recommended a "zig zag" pattern. Basically five days you stay on your regular plan, one day you add a few calories (the numbers it gave me said to add about 200) and one day add even more (about 500 more for me). That is supposed to result in optimal weight loss. I'm trying it to see if it works out. My base will be about 1000, then one day go up to about 1200, then one day about 1500. I'm not sure if I can manage 1500, but I could let that be my "treat" day.

Yes! I feel like that lot. My husband keeps commenting on it, and also on my increasing confidence. I very rarely had good days before.

I also have PCOS, diagnosed 9 years ago. I took Metformin for several years, off and on. Both of my children were conceived with only the help of Metformin, the first after I couldn't even get pregnant (or even just ovulate) on Clomid. With my second child, I was on it for approximately a month and got pregnant (after ttc for almost 2 years for our first). My doctor doesn't want me on it right now because of the possibility of blood sugar crashes since I don't eat much now. I've been losing well without it so I'm not interested in having the side effects of it right now.

I have to agree with Irene and StLouisGal. If that is all you are getting in, that isn't nearly enough. How are you getting in all of your protein? Maybe if you just can't get in more food you could add some protein shakes for more calories and protein. I won't lose if I go under about 700-800 calories.

I think I answered my own question. I always have oatmeal for breakfast (Quaker Weight Control banana bread--so yummy!) and I never have a problem with it. But this morning, I must be really tight and it is hurting a little going down. How weird. I haven't really had that sensation before. I'm glad I didn't call earlier this week when I thought about it because I'd probably be too tight.

Good luck Ezma! You'll be in my thoughts.

I've had both of my fills under fluoro. They are always super early in the morning, so I can't eat after midnight the night before. It is pretty much the same as StLouisGal's experience. You drink some white stuff (Barium, I guess) and the doctor watches it go down. Then mine will inject the saline until the flow slows down. I've had two very aggressive fills (3.2 cc and 2.5 cc) because he can see how things go through. It gets tight, but not too tight.

Way to go, Karen!

I think I'd rather see taxes a little higher than continue to have such a high deficit. Why leave that for our children to clean up someday?

Yep, I completely agree. I also think that her policies would've been more family friendly. I also really liked her stance on Autism (my 6 yr old has Asperger's). I was very sad to see her treated so badly--this country can be very sexist. All the traits that were so despised in her would be embraced if exhibited by a man.

I count my calories to keep myself accountable. I don't see it as a big deal. I just pull up my program once or twice a day and input what I've eaten/will eat and make sure I get what I need protein wise. If I eat even a bite of something I log it. Before this, I had no idea what a portion really looked like or how many calories I ate so logging has been very helpful to me. Will I do it forever? No, I doubt it. But right now while I'm actively losing I will.

I've been losing a lot of hair, probably since about mid-April. I talked to my surgeon about it when I saw him on May 7th, so it was before that. He said that as long as I'm getting in my vitamins and protein, it isn't band related. I've read that it can be caused after anesthesia. This is similar to the hair loss I had after I had my kids. It seems to be getting better. When I got my hair cut last month, I asked the stylist and she said that if it is thinning it is very even because I didn't have any bald or thin spots. Fortunately I have very thick hair so it isn't noticeable to anybody but me. My surgeon suggested the hair and nails supplement from GNC but I haven't tried it yet.

I am a Hillary supporter, but now that she's out, I'm supporting Obama. I'm crossing my fingers for an Obama/Clinton ticket.

Crystal, I just went through the same thing. I lost like 1 lb in 2 weeks, 2 lbs in 3 weeks, played with those couple of lbs up and down, then FINALLY dropped under that a week ago. Now I've lost 4-5 lbs in a week. What worked for me was what others have said worked. I upped my calories one day then dropped it right back down. I didn't really do it purposely, but my son had his birthday party and I had some cake and pizza, then the next day I went right back to my plan. I was scared to try that because I didn't know if I would be able to cut back down. I told my husband I'm considering the "eat what you want one day a week" method.