girlie2shooz

good morning everyone, what i know of myself, eating was a punishment for being fat if that doesn't sounds crazy i don't know what does. everyone has this inner ego and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. it just comes out in different venues. i am pretty normal (?) and when i get stressed i tend to eat and then eat more for not facing issues head on, so i am recognizing my eating issues, and taking control and not being LAZY. making meals when they need to be made instead of taking the easy approach and grazing. the band is a tool and will only work as well as i want it to work for me. but that is just me.

i am very fortunate to have the insurance that covered me, otherwise i would be SOL. yah same method of madness for me, no carbs slim out the fatty liver so i am doing the same, except this moring i put instant pudding mix in my protein shake instead of jello for flavoring and holy moly, i don't think i will be hungrey the rest of the day! mental note on that one......g2s

well you got it planned out so that is half the battle, good for you. what kind of eating options do you have before surgery? i have heard that banding in MX includes a lot of luxuries that we dont' have here so maybe an even trade. how long have you had a surg date?g2s

I am in reno and being banded in reno, so i don't know if that really helps. i am 1 week away from surgery, countdown starts today. i have been on the preop shake dealio for a week now it it aint so bad. i am aware of a few co workers who have had their procedure in mexico and they all seem to be doing well, the only negative thing i have heard is getting a doc for fills after the procedure. hope that helps. g2s

oh FF that is way to funny!! hahahahah G2S

i think he MAY HAVE had help. if he didn't then good for him. i might be able to spend 8 hours a day in the gym, and have someone prepare my meals for me too if I had a bazillion dollar contract. yah then it would be easy to keep it off but that aint reality for me. still all that money could take you to some pretty good restaurants, tee hee. who really knows but that is a good question that i have thought about as well. It is all about the band helping me succeed and I am glad for that! Woo Hoo g2s

March 5th for me and i can hardly wait. i will be so glad to have a tool that really helps and get the monkey off my back. i eat very healthy, too much, but healthy. i enjoy running and being outside so teh band is just what i need to help me lose the fat i have fought my whole adult life. I am just wiggling and wish it were 3/5 tomorrow. congrats to all of the march bandits!! woo hoo, heres to all of us.....****raises protein shake in glass*** Salud!!

well that is a lot of protein powder. try using milk and sf jello and make a shake, or add to cream soups as you have done already. you can add it to apple sauce after you are banded and add to sauces you may use later in your regular food phases. right now i think you may be limited to the milk because of pre op. i ad mine to milk and use sf jello flavors and sf pudding. i am on pre op and will be until 3/5/08. then it will be again after surgery, however my surgeon does allow anything that can be poured from a spoon so that is a very good thing, i need to have some other flavors in my daily routine. oh yah yogurt may be a good thing to add it to as well. keep us posted on yoru creativity. good vibes g2s

Good Morning! Try contacting your employers health insurance to find out exactly what and how they cover the procedure. Then talk to your HR person and find out when open enrollment occurs. also, make sure your emplyers insurance will accept a previous 6 month weightloss program for their coverage. and as far as the man in your life, sometimes others judge what they don't understand. he may not understand but he should support you. g2s

thank you GG, i have fought this monkey all my life (44 y/o)as you said and tried it all. i do enjoy running so i got the exercise down, and I do eat pretty well (just too much) so I agree the band is the tool i need. however as i listed in my last post, there is tubing length to be factored in and after 6 months the fills are gonna cost me $200.00. i am very satisfied with everything so far, but i can see where the fills are a golden goose. so thanks for the info, the office there appears to be pretty supportive in regard to success. g2s

i thought the same thing and i will be banded in march. from what i gather from others daily food logs, that they have so graciously posted, protein drinks still play a pretty big role in teh daily food intake. as we get thru the phases i believe typical days become semi routine with certain staples every day. that is my plan anyway......one day at a time and that is all we can do. g2s

okay so is the nurse aggressive inn her fills? the reason I ask is because there is a distance of tubing that also needs to be filled before the fill actually hits the band. i am seeing him pre op this thursday so i can ask but was just curious before hand? are you pleased with yoru results? g2s

don't know a thing about LV area, but I am in reno and we have a great team at Western Bariatric. They are part of the centers of excellence, so if s.nev doesn't work come see these guys. Western Bariatric Institute :: Home i believe, or just google it.

happy fingers, that last post should have read.....curious about his fill practice. ty

gg you still out there? if so how did you like dr. sasse for yoru surgeon, how about fills? he is my surgeon and i am surioius about his fill practice. thanks g2s

that was awesome, thank you for sharing. i am scheduled for 3/5/08 and i am very excited but have some nervousness. i have had surgery with anesthesia 2x in my life and the "happy juice" was great for the apprehension. I felt after surgery that I missed out on a part of my life for having no memory, but other than that they went well. it is very nice to hear you did so well and don't have complications. to what do you attribute your success for feeling so good after surgery? physical exercise prior, amount of excess body weight, etc? thanks for sharing, g2s

here is my response to others, and my man got it today...............try losing 15 lbs and keeping it off for a year. i could feel the resistance he had for thinking of what that might be like. i feel he now has a better understanding, he has been supportive all along, but now he has a bit of understanding for the weightloss/maintain issue that we all live with. give it a whirl, and if peeps don't like it well that is their dealio. g2s

call the insurance company with your approval letter in hand and ask the question. Remember who is telling you this and what their motives may be, but you are ultimately responsible so don't leave yourself at risk. You need to know and have your piece of mind, so make that call with your approval letter in hand and ask BCBS if they intend to honor that approval for exactly what they have approved. go gettem girl. g2s

i am scheduled for banding 3/5/08. i have been on the old liquids now for 2 days and can actually say i am doing okay for the short term, however, the 2d day after surgery my doc says i can go to anything that will pour from a spoon so creativity is the key. if it can get into a blender it is gonna go. i don't mind the protein drinks, but man i need something with some real food flavor. so here's to you all, we can muscle thru this, we never have to do it again!!! Woo Hoo! g2s

i use it with either soy milk or 2% milk. I add some sf jello for flavoring and voila! i just bought a new product next to the EAS in walmart that has 43 grams of protein, muscle something?, and will try that tomorrow. ihave heard really good things about it but everyone has different tastes. i shall give my review when tried. g2s

when my surgery center called and told me i had approval and scheduled my surgery, they sent me paperwork and included was an access code to a computer generated video in regard to the surgery. it was very informative and answered a lot of surgical questions as well as overall expectations of comfort, weightloss, eating, etc. i wish they had handed me this a few weeks ago prior to meeting with the surgeon. ask if your surgeon has access to Emmiready, that is the video. it is very simplistic but really covers a lot of the basics before and after. So research it and research it some more, you will be glad you did. it is much better to educate yourself then rely on others. this site is a pleathera of info, use it to your advantage. and revel in knowing you have a tool to a healthy life style!! woo hoo! g2s

have you purchased the bariatrix from western bariatric in reno nv? i think it is a great product, however, very expensive. what is the breakdown of protein for the product from GNC?

they are very good and i have used both 2% milk and soy milk. i think the real milk is better for me because i get some of the fat i need in my diet as well. they soy is great for extra protein, but sometimes i just like milk. it is all personal preference. the EAS powder comes in vanilla and chocolate, i like the diversity of the vanilla and the flavors you can add. orange vanilla is great, and the instant coffe added is really good too. being creative is half the battle. enjoy. g2s

greetings, i use EAS whey protein powder purchased at walmart. 23g protein, 2g carbs. my doc recommended prior to and after surgery. something like $18.00 for the BIG jar. works really well. i mix in about a tablespoon of sf banana strawberry jello as well. woo hoo!

the hoop jumping took the longest. i got all my appts finished in about a month and then my surgeons office sent my docs to BCBS for approval. that is what took 5 working days. the sooner you can get all your pre submision appts finished, the sooner they can submit to BCBS. and don't skimp on your co-morbidities. if i even experienced one co morbidity only one time, i included it on my paperwork. reasoning......if i am experiencing this now at 34.5 BMI how will that increase with a higher BMI? don't minimize your symptoms, don't over inflate them, but don't discount them either. example: my hips hurt after running. I have run my whole life to keep my weight under some kind of control, well they hurt because i am fat and the impact is increased as my weight increases. it's not from running, it is from weight and being fat. so make sure you tell yoru doc everything, it builds a better case for you to submit to BCBS. best wishes g2s