KarenIn

Hi Everyone Thought you might be interested to see my "after" photo that the hospital posted on their website. There are four pictures that scroll - I am the woman in the black blazer. www.methodisthospitals.org The lapband is really the best thing I ever did for myself. I never thought it would have such a major positive impact on my life. I wish you all the same success.

Just want to wish everyone that celebrates the Christian holidays a :thumbup:. Remember.... Eat to Live - not- Live to Eat.

You are doing great - over 90 pounds down. Doesn't it feel wonderful. I know my knee feel amazingly better since I lost the weight.

Majj I hope you enjoy the Easter holiday and the birthday party. I am going out of town for Easter to visit my daughter and her family. Of course, I always look forward to seeing my six year old grandson. They live about 2 1/2 hours from my home, so I don't get to see them nearly as much as I would like. Then the next weekend they are coming to my place to see me in the sucess story style show from my weight loss program. Isn't that exciting!!! I would have never quessed I would be "modeling" before I had the Lap Band. The weight loss center also made a TV commerical with me, and a newspaper ad. It very odd seeing my thinner self on TV. You never know one day you made be doing similiar things. Keep up the great work.

Majj Glad to hear that you are doing well and the weight is starting to come off. Wow, the birds are fantastic!

Hi Majj I am so glad to hear that everything went well with your surgery and you are feeling good. Now you are on your way to looking great and feeling even better. I look forward to seeing those new lower numbers on your tracker. Good Luck! Karen

Welcome Pickles123 We love to have new people join the group, so just jump right in and post. I think you are doing a great so far. Keep up the good work and try not to compare yourself to others. Everyone loses at a different rate, but end the end all that matters is that you end up healtier. KarenIN

Wow! You got a date so quickly. Congradulations! I will be thinking about you. Keep in touch, and let us know how you are doing. We want to hear about your success. Best Wishes Karen

Hi Majj Below is a typical menu for me. Breakfast Steel Cut Oats with a 1/2 scoop of Protein powder, a few rasins, and a few walnuts, cinnamon, and splenda brown sugar blend Or, a smoothie made with light yogurt, frozen fruit, splenda, and about 1/2 or skim milk, and a scoop of Protein Powder. Or, scrambled eggs Or, cottage cheese and fruit Usually, lunch comes to 300 to 400 calories Lunch I make up batches of low fat protein foods on the weekend when I have time and freeze them in one cup plastic containers to take to work, so that I don't go out and buy too much food. Some of my favorites are. Turkey Chilli Black Bean Soup chicken Stew No Crust Quiche Turkey meatloaf I have a piece of frest fruit that is in season. Right now, I love Honey Crisp Apples. Usually, dinner comes to 300 to 400 calories. Dinner Grilled fish, I really love salmon Grilled chicken salad with a small 3 oz can of tuna Salad with feta cheese Every now I have a small beef steak I try to have a vegtable with my dinner. Again, dinner usually comes to 300 -400 calories Or, if I go out to eat I look for low fat grilled food. I try to stay away from white flour, potatoes, white rice and refined sugar. On a special occasion, once in a while, I will have a very small dessert. I find when I eat sweets, I just want to keep eating, so I stay away from them most of the time. I found that once I started losing the weight, and feeling better I didn't want the sweets as much. That's not to says that sometimes I don't crave things, but I try to find a healthy subsitute when I have cravings. Hope this helps, and have a Happy Valentines Day, Karen

Majj It's good to lose weight prior to surgery. It will make everything easier for you and the doctor. I find that not only did the band itself help, but the support of the staff at the clinic was most helpful. Not to mention the accountabilty. I sure didn't want to show up without losing something. The weather is really mad here, just outside of Chicago. It's about 28 degrees and has snowed about 6 inches today. We expect another 6 inches before it's over. What is the weather like in Australia? Hang in there. You can do this!

Majj Welcome, and Happy Birthday a little early. I am so glad you found our group. It's sounds like we had similiar joint problems. Losing the weight with the LapBand has made an amazing difference. I had my surgery 3 days before my birthday. It's the best birthday present I ever recieved. Keep in touch....

Congratulations, and, best of luck!!! I'll be thinking about you on the 22nd, and looking forward to hearing about how you are getting smaller and smaller.

Go to the blue bar at the top of this page, go to thread tools, and mark subscribe. Then you will get an e-mail every time someone post. Hope that answers your question. If not, let us know. Karen

Hi Cat Lady I was 61 when I had Lap Band Surgery. I can't think of enough ways to tell you how glad I am that I had the surgery. My only regret is that I didn't have it sooner. With any surgery there are risks, and only your doctor can really discuss how much risk there is to you. I was in the hospital overnight, because I also had two hernias repaired. I was only off work for one week (desk job), and really only had one day that I didn't feel to good when I was home from the hospital. I meet one lady that had the surgery who had many complications and spent a long time in the hospital; however, she says she would definately do it again. She couldn't work before because she was so overweight, and now she is back at work and really living again. For me, it has made me so much more mobile. My back, hip, knees and ankles were so painful that I really stopped doing so many things that I used to enjoy. Now, I can do all those things and more. I feel at least 10 years younger! Now I am look forward to a much more active and enjoyable retirement. Good luck with your decision. I think we all had the same concerns before surgery, so don't think that you are alone.

I can eat bread, but choose to only have bread very occasionally. I try to stick to a low carb life style, and so I don't eat much white flour, rice or pasta. I had some angel hair pasta last night and it was not a good experience. It ended up getting stuck and was pretty painful. I quess I didn't chew it enough, or I ate too much. I haven't had too many things get stuck, so that doesn't make me want to have pasta again any time soon. Hang it there, as you lose the weight you will be able to be more and more active. I can't believe how much more energy I have now. I just had some sugery on my bladder and can't exercise for a while per doctor's orders. I really miss my walking and biking! I thought I would never say that a few years ago.

Welcome PB78640. Glad to have you and the other new ladies join are little group. We are all here to help each other out. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from?

Barb There are a number of places on the internet where you can track what you eat. I use a free website - www.sparkpeople.com, and I believe you can track at www.fitday.com. I find that this is a easy way for me to track my food, because it adds up my calories,and Protein, etc. I also track how much liquid I am drinking. Keeping a record of what I eat truly helps me.

Welcome Barbara! We are glad to have you join us. Sounds like you are doing very good so far. I'm certain your doctor will work with you to determine when you need a fill. Every one is different. Just remember it's not only how much you eat, but what you eat. Stick with the healthy lean Protein, and low fat dairy. Stay away form the fats and the high carb foods., and track everything you eat. Keep up the good work, and keep in touch. We are all hear to help and support each other.:ohmy:

madegraw WELCOME! Sounds like you are doing great to have lost so much in a few months. Tell us a little bit about yourself. I think you will like this group. All the best of luck to you on your weight lost journery.

Nancy I see you just had surgery a few days ago. I hope you are feeling well. Let us know if there is any way we can help support your journey.

Phyl :thumbup: You are looking fantasic! By the way, I love your t-shirt.

Phyl I am in Schererville, In, not near any major university. There are regional campus of Purdue and Indiana Unversity here, but not all that near to my house.

Hi everyone: Good to hear from you Don. I am healing well from my bladder surgery and go back to work Monday morning. I am so ready to get out of the house! I don't honestly know if I am thrilled to go back to work, as I have been off for three weeks and will be swamped. I was able to drive on Wednesday to go for my bladder surgery follow up, but then we had a snow storm and the roads were a mess so I was not comfortable going out alone driving. Looks like the weather is clearing up today (Saturday) so maybe I can get out for a while. I hope this doesn't sound like I am bragging, but I am so proud that I was asked to model in a fashion show my Lap Band Surgeon puts on to show sucess stories. They also use photos of those selected for posters advertising the Restart Center Weight Loss Program at Methodist Hospital in Merrillville, IN. The fashion show is April 10th at a banquet center in town. I would never in a million years imagined doing this 18 months ago at a BMI of 53 and weight of 322 pounds. My only worry is that I can't exercise due to my surgery until the end of February. So, I am going to have to be extra careful with my eating and try to find places to walk safely indoors in the mean time. Take care everyone, Karen

Roxie When did you have the LapBand placed? Have you ever had a fill? How much do you want to lose, and how much have you lost to date. Karen