JaimeSTL

What a great post! Your experience has been very much like mine. I've also lost 66 lbs and my BMI has gone down 11 points. I feel very fortunate that I haven't found any foods that I can't eat and I have had a very smooth road so far. For quite a while I thought something was wrong with me because I could eat a small healthy sized meal, but I realize that is the best for my body and health.

Ouch! I'm so scared of that happening. The last few times I've had a headache I took Tylenol meltaways instead of trying to take something I had to swallow. I've heard that you should stick with liquids for a day after you get stuck. Hopefully that will help. If it keeps hurting, I would call the doctor.

Well said! People keep asking me how I've managed to lose 66 lbs in a little over 3 months. I really don't have a magic formula or think I'm doing anything extraordinary. I follow the band rules, I limit my treats (I don't completely cut myself off, but I find that if I allow a little, I'm ok), I drink my Water. Maybe I've been really lucky. I don't know. But for me there is no other choice--I made my choice the day I signed up for this. Not having restriction is HARD--I've been there and I'm sort of there right now. But outright refusal to even try baffles me.

Oh, that just sucks. I'm sorry that happened Ezma. Does the doctor think it flipped or what? I know there is a thread on that on the complications forum. I hope it is an easy recovery for you.

I don't think I burp as much as I used to. Sometimes though, I let out a huge one. Yesterday I was having lunch and my stomach started hurting. All of a sudden, this huge burp came out. I was really glad I was alone in my office.

I forgot to post my 3 month progress pictures when I took them. The first pic of each set is pre-op, and the 2nd pic of each set was taken on May 26. Sorry these are so tiny. I'm not sure why that happened. If you click on them, you can see a bigger version.

I also have Empire BC/BS. I haven't received anything out of the ordinary for my surgery, but they didn't pay for two of the pre-surgical tests I had done. The hospital has you come in and do all the testing on one day and they submit to insurance on multiple bills. One test wasn't covered and I knew that, but the other should have been. I called Empire and found out that the provider billed under a diagnostic code that wasn't covered, but there was a covered code on the same date of service. The customer service rep resubmitted to the claims adjuster to see if they could pay under the covered diagnostic code. About two weeks later, I got a new EOB showing they had paid that part.

Wow, you look amazing! You are doing so awesome!!

Thanks Ezma. I'm glad to have an outlet for the emotions that this brings. I loved that Weight Loss Simulator. I showed my husband my "after" model and asked him what he thought. He seemed pleased. LOL This weekend, I was looking on a plastic surgery site and picked out my ideal after weight loss and plastic surgery boobs. I think he thinks I've gone off the deep end. :smile:

You look great! Way to go!!

Why are the trigger foods in the house? My husband and kids know that there are some things we can't have in the house because just the thought of them makes me crazy. For example, I don't allow any soda in the house. Just the smell of it makes me want it, plus my kids just don't need the crap either. Everybody in my family is eating better and getting healthier because I am. My kids are both thin, though my 5 year old was starting to get a little chunky because she's very drawn to sweets and I do not want her to start down that road because I have been there all my life. I'm not here to say anybody is or isn't working hard enough for their band. I don't know where you got that from my post. I did say that it takes some level of work. I'm the opposite of Jachut--I don't like to exercise, I'm very clumsy and hurt myself in the stupidest ways, and I'm completely uncoordinated. So I choose to do the lower calories, track what I eat, etc., to balance out the amount of exercise I do. If you aren't willing to exercise or to watch your intake, how can you really expect results? I am sure there are people that won't do well with the band. I was worried I would be one of them. I have PCOS and insulin resistance which has contributed to my weight gain over the years and I was really concerned that those things would hinder my loss. I think that most people who go through WLS have done years of yo-yo dieting, and have crappy metabolism. I would work with the doctor and nutritionists to find ways to boost your metabolism, find optimal restriction, and work with the band. In your case, if you feel you're eating slider foods and too restricted, how about a complete unfill and work your way back to restriction slowly? If you haven't already, I would request a swallow study to make sure you haven't had a slip. But that's just me and my opinion if I were in your shoes. If you have a strategy that you are happy with, good luck.

Earlier in the thread you said you'd get RNY if you don't lose weight. How will you cope with wanting chocolate then since you can't eat it or you'll dump? Why not just eat a small piece of chocolate and curb the craving. I have to agree with the others who have said that it seems like people are looking for an easy way out. With any weight loss method, you are going to have to do some of the work.

My mini goal isn't for this week, but for this month. By the end of June, I want to be down (at least) 11 more lbs for a total of 75 lbs lost. I've been on a plateau for the last couple of weeks but I finally broke it and lost 2 lbs in the last 3 days. Hopefully it keeps going down, down, down.

Wow, those are all great!

I used to be able to eat 4-5 slices of a large pizza plus breadsticks, now I eat 1-2 from a medium (2 only if I really need a fill). I also ate a 10 piece McNugget, large fry, and a cheeseburger from McDonalds, plus a huge soda. I hardly ever go to McDonalds now, and when I do I get just the patty from a grilled chicken or maybe a burger (again, just the patty) and a couple of fries. No soda. Usual dinners used to be a large serving of meat (probably 6-8 ozs and usually always red meat) and a large serving of potatoes or Pasta of some type (more than a cup probably), then multiple Snacks until bedtime because I never felt full. Now a typical dinner is 3-4 ozs of lean meat (chicken or turkey usually) and a small baked potato. I'm not a big veggie fan, as much as I try they just feel weird. I used to never eat Breakfast, but now I always do (usually always Quaker Weight Control instant oatmeal in banana bread flavor...I'm addicted). I always drank soda or lemonade all day long, now all I drink is Water or an occasional glass of milk.

That sounds awful! I'm glad you're feeling better. I went through a series of tests on my gallbladder because I had some weird symptoms but everything was normal. My surgeon said I may have to have it out later after loosing some weight. I asked if they could just take it out all at once but he said that insurance wouldn't pay because he had no evidence that it needed to come out.

You are so cute, Tara. I can definitely see the weight loss. Congratulations to Marcie!

Wow, you look great!

You look great!

Yay, congrats! You'll be at your final goal in no time!

Looking good! Keep up the good work!

Well, that wasn't my first time out completely. I've had McDonald's with my kids a couple of times (I order a grilled chicken without the bun or mayo) and we've had pizza a couple of times. I've always accounted for the calories and adjusted the rest of my day accordingly. I have no idea what the nutritional information was on my chicken tenders though so I just had a normal dinner and decided not to stress over it.

I was banded by Dr. Minkin at Des Peres Hospital. I highly recommend him. There were no upfront fees either.

You look great!!

Today is my 10th wedding anniversary. My husband and I decided to go to lunch to celebrate since we would be kid-free all day. I wanted to plan ahead so I looked over some menus online. We decided to go to Applebees and I was going to get the garlic herb chicken off their Weight Watchers menu. Then I decided I REALLY wanted some chicken tenders, so I ended up ordering the chicken tenders basket, with fries. I ate two of the tenders and most of the fries. Oh well. I'm not going to beat myself up about it. It was soooo good too. LOL That was the first time we went out to eat since my surgery, other than fast food a couple of times and pizza once. That is huge for us because we used to eat out at least 3 times a week, often much more, before I had surgery.