Angelyco

I would get really nervous if my doctor stopped checking the current fill level. I've already had one bad fill with him where he checked the fill level, then instead of putting that back in PLUS 1cc, he ONLY put 1cc in. If he hadn't checked my fill level during the next visit, we never would have known, and I would have been 4ccs off. But I guess that says something about my doctor that I don't completely trust him with my fills anymore

I started at 444 and I'm 5'6". I didn't want to have the bypass because it's so extreme to me, and permanent. Too many bad reactions to food even if you only want it once in awhile. I've struggled a lot so far with my band, but it's partially my own fault and partially my doctor's office. I know many people on here who started over 400 and are doing just fine. I think one guy here was 700 pounds when he started, so you definitely aren't the biggest bandster

I missed the first hour of the show last night, so I'm a bit lost on the whole "Tracey can't lose weight" thing. Last week I was upset that it was between the Orange and Red team, I really like the Orange team and I love Sean, the youth pastor. He was really sweet. This week, I actually didn't really care one way or another between Black and Brown. It's strange because I'm usually gung-ho about wanting one of the two teams to go home. It's a strange season so far. Here are two articles I came across on MSN this morning that I thought I'd share with you about Helen and Jackie (the mom from the Orange team last season) are doing now. Helen said she's gained 15 pounds back, and I'm so glad she did, she looked absolutely sick at the finale. Helen: Subway - Fit to Boom Jackie: Subway - Fit to Boom

Week 2 was incredibly boring and I kept nodding off during it, and I just now watched Week 3, so I stayed away from the spoilers until now :thumbup: I REALLY wanted Tracy to go home! How on earth did she lose 11 lbs when she hasn't been working out? It seems like the numbers this week were more like Week 2 numbers, when Week 2 was absolutely insane. I totally didn't see the Antoine/Alexandra thing coming, it wasn't obvious at all during the show. Tracy's going to wish she went home, everyone hates her now, and for good reason!

I finally got to watch it tonight, I refused to read this thread until I was caught up! Dan is definitely the crush, you're right, I think the rest are all married. The big tearjerker moment for me was the whole scene with Tracey's crash, it really got to me. What killed me the most is that she was in the lead for MOST of the race! She's one of the smallest women this season (if not the smallest--haven't seen her weight yet) and SHE was the one who turned out the worst from one mile. I thought it was a little unfair for Dan to win the race though, he's been working out for 6 months, the rest haven't exercised in years. I don't really have a favorite yet. I remember last season I didn't care for the green team until a few episodes in, then Tara started kicking major ass! My first impressions were "oh boo hoo, you used to be a freaking model." I still <3 Tara more than any other contestant, ever. Jillian was on the morning radio show I listen to a few weeks ago so I already knew that the theme this season was second chances, and she said how even she broke down and cried during the first episode. I also knew that she and Bob would be training together. I'm VERY interested to see how this plays out. I was hoping Tracey would be back by the end of the episode, so I'm curious how that will work, if she'll be on restricted exercise and what not when she gets back. I'm very proud of Coach Mo for accomplishing as much as he did by himself, AND not having as much time to work out as everyone else :thumbup: One question though--last season they were advertising that they were looking for another trainer as well. What happened with that? Anyone know?

I weighed myself last night and I'm down to 402, so I lost 6 pounds since my fill so far. Since I weighed myself at night, I expect 402 is a little higher than if I had weighed myself this morning (ran out of time). I've officially broken the 40-pounds-lost mark that has been eluding me for so long. I'm really going to buckle down the next few days and try try try to get under 400! I didn't get my walk in last night, I got held late at work and only had enough time to get laundry done. It's supposed to rain today, but hopefully I can still get my booty out there.

Finally have another loss to record! I lost 6 pounds since my fill, and hoping more come soon.

I don't follow my program's food plan because it doesn't work unless you have good restriction, but these are the guidelines I was given: 5 oz. of food at each meal, no more than 2-3 oz. of meat (this is barely over half of a cup--I don't know anyone who would be satisfied with this unless they have perfect restriction) No Pasta, rice, or potatoes--that means no whole grain versions either, I've asked. In general these are fairly low-calorie foods, so to cut out even whole grain versions to me is a bad idea, but I'm not into the low-carb thing either. No sugar. I have a whole little packet they gave me of acceptable foods and portion sizes (or "exchanges") and how many exchanges I could eat and when. I find their plan too restrictive and not filling enough so I just watch what I eat and try to choose healthier foods. If I actually measured and weighed everything, I would go crazy, but that's just me.

Good morning, Junies! I'm going to weigh myself tomorrow morning for the first time after my fill last week. I'm hoping I can finally break the 400 pound barrier! I'm still struggling a little bit with learning the difference between feeling full or if something just isn't going down smoothly. I'm afraid I'm mistaking the feelings for the latter and then just forcing food down my band or stretching my pouch. Why am I so afraid of being hungry? I seem to eat more than I have to because I'm afraid of getting hungry too soon later on. It's the same reason I still over-order at restaurants and such, I'm always afraid it won't be enough, because that's how it's felt my entire life. I am slowly learning though. This morning I ordered a breakfast sandwich from the cafeteria in my building and I kept staring at the "home fries" in the warmer. It's so hard to convince myself that I don't need more than the sandwich--in fact, I ate half of the sandwich and put the rest in the fridge (even though I wanted to finish it), and now I have breakfast for tomorrow. I think I could have actually stopped after a few bites, but it's the same thing as what I just said; I don't know if it was because a bite didn't go down well, or because I'm full enough. So frustrating. I'm also going to try to make it out for a walk after work, but it's supposed to storm. The forecast for pretty much the next week is rain, and I'm tired of it! We've had more rainy days this summer than sunny ones, which is unusual for this area.

I haven't lost anything in almost two months...how depressing I got off to a good start. I don't think I'll be able to lose 31 more pounds in the last month! I just got a fill though so hopefully I'll lose a little more this week.

Hey Junies! Once again I disappeared for awhile, so I thought I'd check in. I just had another fill last week and I'm up to 8cc in what we are probably sure now is a 14cc band (yeah, it took over a year to finally get an answer to how big my band actually is!). So far so good, but usually after fills I have good restriction for 1-3 weeks, then nothing again, so we'll see. I'm starting to get really frustrated, I started at 444 lbs. and I still haven't been able to get under 400. I haven't weighed myself since my fill yet but I was at 408 last time I weighed in. Now that I know I have the biggest band I'm starting to have doubts about it; I'm starting to do a little bit of research to see if it's possible that my band just might be too big for me to get the kind of restriction I should have. 14 months and only 36 pounds is just ridiculous. I'm so happy for everyone who is at goal or getting close! You guys rock!

I few months ago I downloaded Seasons 1 - 6, and I'm up to Season 5 right now (I've watched bits and pieces in the past, but never a full season until this one). I think I would be in withdrawal if I didn't have all this catching up to do! I wish I didn't know who won Season 5 though--it kind of skews my view of the entire season.

Because mashed potatoes are yummy... :thumbdown:

Today's my Bandiversary and I'm officially 38 pounds down. Not too proud of that, but I KNOW the next year will be much better!

Today is my Bandiversary! I lost 9 pounds since my fill last Wednesday, which is amazing. I'm down 38 pounds total now, which I'm very disappointed for a whole year gone by. But considering all the problems I had getting fills, I should just be happy that my numbers are finally shaping up. I got a little freaked out last night, I was able to eat quite a bit of pork and mashed potatoes, and I was afraid my restriction was loosening already. DH suggested that it's because of the mashed potatoes, since they should go right through, and to only worry about the pork I ate, which wasn't all that much if you take away the potatoes. I'm still a little nervous though, I was so happy that I was having such great restriction. I did have to give up my first food the other day--breakfast burrito (in which they grill the tortilla, I think it's too tough to go through my band). Sad, but that's 800-900 calories I can do without!

Stopping in to update--I lost 9 pounds since my fill last Wednesday! :thumbdown:

Hey all! I have been trying out this new thing called the "Strap Perfect" for a few weeks. I bought it at Walgreens for I think $15 for a pack of six (CVS sells them too). The funny thing is that it advertises that it's for shirts that you need a racer-back bra for and to enhance your bust up to another cup size, neither of which is why I got it. I bought it because my shoulders are too round to hold up my bra straps--I think this may be a common issue for us plus size gals, so I wanted to share this. It takes a little while to get used to (which is why I waited so long to post about it), and the straps are a little tighter on top of my shoulders, but it sure beats having to pull my straps up all day. One of the bad things about big girls using it is that if I want the little plastic piece down lower on my back so the straps are further apart on my shoulders, I have to get DH to do it for me. For this, the box suggests putting the bra on backwards near your waist, putting the clip on, then turning the bra around and putting your arms through the straps--and this does NOT work for anyone whose waist is bigger than their bra :thumbup: Very minor problem though, compared to what I really use this for. I'm not trying to sell these or anything, I just thought some of you may be interested if you have the same problem with bra straps that I do! The website is http://www.strapperfect.com if you want to read about it some more.

I can't wait for that day, Jachut!

Long, you look awesome! I'm so proud of you!

Hey all I just had my first non-liquid meal since Wednesday and it was so delicious...as always after liquids! I've had LOTS of gas (both ends...) and a little bit of pain after my fill. I didn't have any pain with my last 3 fills, but from what I researched, this is probably just pain from swelling and should go away soon. If it doesn't go away in a few days, I'll call my doctor. I only ate half of my meal tonight, when usually I eat the whole thing (we went to Boston Market). It was a conscious choice though, I didn't feel that achingly full feeling I usually get when I eat too much, even pre-band. I think it was because I wasn't super hungry when we got dinner, so I couldn't really tell the difference when I was satisfied. Does the "full" feeling feel different when you're restricted vs. before? If it is, I think I need to tune into whatever that feeling may be, or I'll never stop when I need to.

I got my fill today. I should have been at 4cc after my last fill, so imagine my surprise (and not-so-surprise) when my surgeon only found 1cc in my band. NO WONDER I HAD NO RESTRICTION!! He said that he put 1cc in last time, and I told him then it should have been a total of 4cc, so I think what happened was at my last fill, he only put 1cc back in instead of an ADDITIONAL 1cc. I don't think it was a leak, since I had absolutely no restriction after my last fill, and a leak would have been gradual. So now I'm up to 5cc, which is great, because I was afraid he'd make me work back up slowly. Usually I'm only on liquids for the day of the fill, but since he put so much in today, I have to stay on liquids for a few days. Praying for restriction!

I absolutely will have to get at least a lift. I don't remember ever having "perky" breasts. Mine have always sagged and it's gotten worse in the last few years. Depending on how much they shrink as I lose weight, I wouldn't hesitate to have a little padding put back in (I've heard of docs taking the leftover lipo fat and putting it into your breasts instead of implants). I really don't think I could do real implants though, it's just too unnatural and dangerous. I'm a DD now, but it's mostly fat. I have no idea what cup size I'll be when I'm done losing weight, hopefully a C.

I weighed myself today (my 412 was from May 1st) and I'm back up to 415, so that will be my starting weight. I updated the spreadsheet - though it looks like someone wiped out my numbers before I updated it today. Strange.

Unfortunately the best my coordinator could do was try to convince the scheduling lady to schedule me without fighting about it. Between my coordinator and my surgeon, they got her to schedule me this time. When she called me, she had an appointment for me, no arguing about getting a fill. She said the doctor told her to just put me in since I've been having so many problems getting fills. It worked this time--we'll see what happens in the future. I have to see my doctor before I can get another fill, apparently every few months they have to have my weight recorded for the insurance company (they also seem to think that if you don't lose enough weight, the insurance company will stop paying then, too. That's completely counter-intuitive, since you need fills when you AREN'T losing enough weight!) I'm still considering going to another doctor, but I just really don't want to go through the hassle and cough up another $350 for their nutritionist (which I won't go to anyway).

I had one fill 3 months after my surgery that was included with my surgery cost (and that's the soonest my program allows your first fill). Then I found out my insurance required a $250 copay for fills and I just didn't have the extra money. In February my insurance changed so now I don't have any copays at all, I've had 2 fills since then. It's such a battle for me to get fills because the lady who does the scheduling is an insurance nazi and is so sure that the insurance will stop paying for fills if you get them too often (though I've NEVER heard of this happening to anyone here). My program also usually restricts people to getting fills every 3 months, but my surgeon says to schedule it whenever I need one, but then I run into the scheduling nazi. It's been tough. As to why I only have 4ccs after 3 fills, that was just what my surgeon gave me. But my program coordinator has been TRYING to help me out and told me to insist on a bigger fill this time--at least 3 more ccs. She even joked that she wants me so tight that I have to come back for an unfill--I can only wish!