MacMadame

Oh my, we totally have to convince CC to do a tri! Today was my rest day. So I rested. :huh2:

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KimKins is a scam. Kimkins Scam The Kimkins Diet Scam | Scam Types dot Com Timeline of the Kimkins Diet Scam Story

I started doing pilates once I felt my incisions had healed, my stomach didn't hurt, and I had no weight restrictions any more. So about 2 months out. I was back at the gym in two weeks doing cardio though and I was walking as soon as I got home from surgery.

Nothing can eliminate them but muscles will make them firmer/less floppy. I.E., it disguises them. Plus swimming is fun!

Welcome to LapBandTalk! My mom was stuck in Dubai for 4 days a few months ago. Someone stole her passport and she couldn't get out! :huh2: But she said she had a great time while she waited for all the paperwork to go through.

Welcome to LapBandTalk! Skin -- hard to say. Genetics, age, starting BMI, etc. all play a part. Mine comes and goes. Some days I'm certain PS is in my future and others I'm thinking I'll escape. The swelling took me a while to get rid of. A couple weeks at least. It's hard to remember... it seems to LONG ago even though it wasn't.

Welcome to LapBandTalk! Sounds like you are swollen and already getting some restriction even without a big fill. Good for you!

Wow, they didn't even take your weight?! Okay, then I have no hesitation to say they are full of crap! There are formulas on the web that will take a guess at your body fat percentage based on a lot of inputs. But they are just a guess. You need to know your actual body fat percentage based on an accurate test. Calipers generally aren't accurate enough. But the ones where they pulse electricity through you (Bioelectrical impedance) are decent and the Water submersion ones are the best. The thing about the ones like I have in my scale (Bioelectrical impedance) is that they are thrown of by how much water is in you. I get very different measurements if I measure before I pee and then immediately afterwards.

It's normal to have cold feet close to your surgery. I think you need to think about the reasons you decided to have a band in the beginning and the reasons you think a sleeve might be better now and then do a Pros & Cons list to clarify your thinking. For myself, I started out wanting a band because all I knew was band and bypass. When I heard about the sleeve, my immediate reaction was that it was too permanent. I liked the fact that you could take the band out if something went wrong. But over time, as I did my research, I came to realize that *all* WLS is permanent, even the band. I also came to realize that people only get bands taken out when the bands do bad things -- things that other surgeries don't have to deal with because there is no mechanical device implanted in your body. In the meantime, it became clear that insurance would not pay for my surgery. As a self-pay, the idea of having to pay for a band and then pay to take it out and then pay for a different surgery was too scary. Unfortunately, the odds of this happening were too high for me to think "oh that will never happen to ME". Recently released figures show that anywhere from 25-40% of people with bands end up with a re-surgery. They don't all end up losing or replacing their bands, but a lot of them do. Those odds are too high for me to be comfortable with. So I gave the sleeve a second look and, when I learned more about it, I was sold. Advantages I see for the sleeve: -Removes the part of the stomach that makes ghrelin, the hunger hormone (so you don't have a ravenous appetite) -Removes the stretchy part of the stomach so regain due to the stomach getting too big over time is not an issue -Stomach is fully functional, so no dumping as with bypass, and Vitamin supplementing is not as critical (though you still need to do some, particularly calcium). Also, there is no stoma so food doesn't get "stuck" per se (as it does with lap-band and bypass) -Long-term risks are minimal; much less than lap-band. -True restriction from day one - no living in Bandster's Hell while trying to find your sweet spot, no getting your sweet spot and then losing it, no never finding the sweet spot so you are basically just dieting (which you can do without a band) -Better average excess weight loss than the band, similar to bypass Advantages to the band: -Adjustable (if your sleeve is too small or too big, oh well) -Less short-term risk (no risk of leaks or strictures in the first 3 months) Hope that helps!

Well, you can eat around all the surgery types. If you really want to. But I don't think it's easy to eat around a sleeve. I'm almost 4 months out and can only eat 3-4 oz. of food at a time. Even at one year, most people can only eat 4-5 oz. of food at a time. That's not a lot of food. I've noticed that bypass patients can eat a lot more than us. I have friend with bypass who are a year out or more and can eat a cup of food at a time. I don't think I'll ever be able to do that.

It's a myth. An oft-repeated myth. If you get the Protein powder over 130 F, it will change it's texture, but the protein is still fine.

These are SO EASY to make and they are a nice treat. They are low in sugar, okay in carbs and ... unlike most muffins ... actually have Protein in them! Mix 1.5 cups of Reduced Sugar Cake Mix 1.5 cups of Protein powder 1 - 15 oz. can of pumpkin -- not pumpkin pie filling, but plain pumpkin It will seem like it will never mix, but all of a sudden, the mix will turn into a sticky mess. When that happens, spoon into mini-muffin pans that have been pre-treated with PAM or some other cooking spray. Bake at 385 for at least 9 minutes or until done in the middle. You use different cake mix and protein powder to get different flavored muffins. So far I've made: chocolate Muffins - Devil's food Reduced Sugar Cake Mix and Chocolate Protein Powder banana Muffins - Yellow Reduced Sugar Cake Mix and Banana Protein Powder. The Banana muffins, in particular, were to DIE FOR.

Congrats! Me too. I'd get a second opinion. I've heard those assesments they do at the gym can be quite inaccurate and 135 lb. of lean muscle means you'd be as muscly as a female body-builder IME. (I assume they included your bones and organs in that 135, even though they called it "lean muscle.") What's an ute?

I don't know a lot about FL surgeons, but I do know that Dr. Gagner is in FL and he's quite well-known with an excellent reputation. I live in the Bay area, which has some of the best bariatric surgeons in the world, and yet couldn't get a lot of info about doctors in my area. I think it reflects where people on the board live more than what's available, at least in my area.

I saw lots of families out walking and biking today on the "recreation trail". I guess that's what thin families do. Maybe my family should try it.

Road my bike about 14 miles.

No. I see people who do substitute their addiction to food for exercise, but they are not the ones going to the gym 4-5 days a week for 45 min. They are going for HOURS and *every day*. Your body craves what it's used to. So if you exercise and then you don't, your body tries to get you back to exercise. But that's not an addiction IMO. An addiction is when you used an activity or substance to deal with your emotions to the point where it negatively impacts your life and you aren't in control any more.

Everyone has trouble with the tickers! Here's a tutorial: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f5/ticker-tutorial-pictures-41782/

Connection with the staff is important IMO. I went to one seminar and by the end I wanted to kill the dietician. Not a good sign. I knew I wanted Dr. Cirangle to be my surgeon within about 10 min. of his seminar.

Welcome to LapBandTalk! I don't know anything about lap-band surgery in the Dominican Republic. But I know that lots of people go to Mexico and get good deals that are legitimate. The main thing is that a real lap-band costs around $3000. So the surgery should be costing at least 2x that (in US dollars). If it's too cheap, that means they are saying they are using an Allergan or J&J band, but they aren't. Hope that helps!

Welcome to LapBandTalk! I gained about 10 lb of Water weight in the hospital and then probably another 2 more from going of my blood pressure meds. Ugh. I was so frustrated. But everything is going gangbusters now.

Welcome to LapBandTalk! This is a great place to figure out what it's like to have a lapband. Read in all the sections and ask questions and you learn a lot.