JanetC

I've never heard the milk rule, though I like it, lol. Gotta have my milk! I have heard a lot of folks say they drink Breakfast. I'm not banded yet, but there's been enough that do it that maybe it's an understood rule, lol. :rolleyes Sounds to me like she's just covering -- and not terribly well.

They normally advertise that it's whey or soy on the container. I suppose they might just put it in the ingredient list, though all of 'em I've seen have it in huge letters.

Hi Charlotte! Welcome to LBT!! I was from Colorado... before my husband drug me down to Texas. Sorry I don't know anything about Dr Smith though.

Congrats!! Can't wait to join you! :eek:

Grats on making it this far!! Hang on, you're almost there! :eek:

Yep. Been there done that. Tried it all. Therapy, hypnosis, acupunture. I try to keep an open mind, lol, which means a lot of, um, interesting attempts, haha. I've often been successful at losing the weight, just never successful at maintaining. To tell you the truth, I'm just tired of it all & am hoping the band lets me just eat less and not obsess about food all the time. But, like BigPaul, we signed up for a "Program". For one year, we have unlimited nutritionist visits, unlimited fills, quarterly physical therapy appointments, monthly support group meetings & bi-weekly (bi-monthly? 2 times a month, lol :guess) psychological group sessions. And the truth is that nothing they've said so far is new to me... but I'm choosing to hear it as though it were new, and to take it out & examine it & perhaps finally come to term with stuff & get on with it. No guarantees though. I've failed enough at weightloss to not want to set myself up for more mental anguish. **shrug** Honestly, if the band just keeps me from gaining, I will have won!

I know what you mean about gym-rats. The teacher of my spin class gave me grief about only doing 15 minutes of the class & then moving on to a treadmill. At least I was moving! And then I found out that the bikes were only rated for up to 250 pounds, lol. I'm lucky mine didn't collapse under me! :eek:

((( Hugs Jody!! ))) Sounds like you're really having a tough time. Seriously, go all liquid until you can get to the doc. Get some nutrition into you! Atkins shakes don't taste as good as SlimFast (imo), but they're better for you! And if you can get to a nutrition store, get some Zero Carb Isopure liquid RTD (ready-to-drink). 20 oz of nothing but Protein (my favorite is blue raspberry). http://www.naturesbest.com/index.html?section=Shopping&id=3004&catSec=208&pid=17666&-session=thisSession:1D4B1A90BFBBA646F5E6D2810B1352B3 As for the nurse, chalk it up to being a skinny-minny her entire life & not understand the trials of an overweight person. Pity her for her ignorance & if you can educate her so she doesn't hurt someone else, go for it! Whatever you do, don't let her get you down! She totally doesn't get it. Good luck, girlie, and get to that doc soon!!!

I can't really speak to the "cheating" on the band, since I'm not banded yet. But I can say that I'm weak. I can't even follow the pre-surgery diet for 3 weeks. Change that. I couldn't even follow it for ONE DAY!!! Augh!!! I have, however, decreased the amount of calories & increased the amount of Protein... and hopefully will have the required 10 pounds off by my Thursday appointment. (**Gulp!**) That being said, I have ZERO will power. I've dieted my entire life... and finally gave up. I decided to just accept that I was fat & get over it. **Sigh** Then someone offered me the hope of The Band. Ya know, I think I almost hate it! I'd given up hope & was just waiting to eat myself into the grave. Now I have hope back & I don't know that I'm ready or willing to deal with it! Twisted, but true. Anyway, I'm getting off point, sorry, lol. Right now I'm hanging onto my "diet", such as it is, through shear will power. I'm hoping that I make it to next Wednesday & my banding. If I can make it that far, I'm hoping that the fear of hurting my healing stomach will get me through the first 6 weeks until my first fill. Then I hope that fear of PB'ing or sliming will get me through until I feel restriction. Because if the fear doesn't win... **sigh**... have I mentioned I have NO will power? :eek: I am hoping that I can learn to eat with the band & not fight it... and make good food choices most of the time. Our surgeon says that they hope for us to make good choices 95% of the time. Woot!! 5% room for error (read that cheating!). :grouphug: I think I can live with that!! :pray2: On an interesting side note: Have you watched the naturally skinny eat? They almost always START with the best stuff... and leave the stuff they don't like for last, so they don't mind stopping. Pretty much the opposite of what I do! All that being said, I appreciate you all... both sides of the issue. Thanks for letting us all air our pains, hurts, fears & angers. It's great to have a sounding board!!

((( Hugs ))) & white lights coming your way! Hang in there & keep yourself occupied!

Wow, you're gorgeous!! Maybe take up some night-time activities? Ballroom dancing has always sounded fun to me. :bananajump: Just make sure they don't have refreshments with the class, lol! Good luck! You can do it!! (And you're an inspiration to all of us!)

What fun! It's great to see that we're really not alone! :bananajump:

14.5, that's awesome!! Keep it up! :target:

Wow, that took guts! Be sure & post a link when it comes out! :crazy: I'm glad to hear the PS went well & that you've got a flat tummy! I'm totally jealous!! :target:

Welcome to LBT, grats on your banding & that's awesome to barely gain weight on non-banded vacation!! :target: Hang in there on the liquid... the end is in sight! **whew!!**

Oh my goodness she's cute! I bet you just want to hold her & cuddle her!! I'm with Diva -- I like Bandit, lol. 'Cuz she'll steal your heart. :target:

The band is a permanent part of your body, unless you have surgery to have it removed. The fills come & go as needed. Some surgeons fill "aggressively", others not so much, depends on your surgeon. The fill is just the saline that they add to the band to inflate it (and thus create restriction). Some surgeons charge per fill, others have a yearly package deal. Hope I answered your question somewhere in there! I do believe I got to rambling. Oh, and grats Pianoman!! I'm glad to hear it works in the end! :clap2:

Oops, sorry, that was aimed at Dorcas. She had surgery last week.

((( HUGS!! ))) Doc!! Let us know how the time tracking goes, if you do it. The wisdom you're gaining now will help others soon!

And remember, 4-6 weeks after any surgery is healing time, not weight loss time. Keep reaching for Protein & give yourself time! (I'm not banded yet, so can't speak to the fill / unfill. )

My last scale was $40, but it got stuck at 235, lol. I thought I was maintaining (not happy, but not gaining)... then I went to the doctor & weighed in at 315, hah! I threw the scale away that evening (after rechecking... yep, 235!!) I've sworn off scales, just doing the measuring thing & weighing in when I'm at the doctor's. Thanks for the chance to vent! Hehe.

Our doc requires us to spend 1 night. Hehe, he's super-duper careful of obese patients. I'll let him pamper me. My biggest worry at the moment is that I won't lose the stupid 10 pounds to get started. My husband lost 10 pounds & I lost 1 at last count, lol. We don't have a scale big enough (of course), so I have no idea where I'm at, lol. Next Thursday is our Pre-op appt, so that's the do-or-die day. :bananapowerslide: Can't believe it's really happening!! :bananapartyhat:

That's awesome news about the first series of tests, Vines! Glad she's looking for the underlying problem & not just treating the symptoms! Take the new meds & try to stay centered. Waiting is the pits! ((( HUGS!!! )))

Happy Bandiversary!! I consider 40 pounds a success in any year!! Let alone one with complications! Keep up the great work!

Sending you happy thoughts & sending your insurance carrier a kick in the rear to get 'em moving!