Jodi_620

I slice and serve a "bandster-size" slice of pizza, not the pre-sliced serving. The size of a slice that you would have eaten pre-band is not necessarily going to be the same now. I find that if I put the appropriate amount of food on my plate to start, it really helps me to mentally accept how much I get to eat. Like Saundra, I always use a salad/bread plate to make my meal look a little less sparse and to keep me from piling too much on. I look at what I have and slowly eat and savor it and am for the most part satisfied. Sometimes when it is really yummy I want more, but I tell myself that I can have more at my next meal. Or, in the beginning, I would tell myself that if I still want more in an hour then I can have it. I will say that this problem does get easier as you get used to being more disciplined. Also, I can not enjoy hand-tossed crust pizza anymore. I can't eat much before I get that stuck feeling. And I have to chew it so much that it loses its appeal for me or sometimes I just get stuck and slime for 1/2 hour. Thin crust works much better, I make my own with whole wheat wrap bread. The personal size pizza is about the size of a tortilla and I slice it into four pieces. I can usually eat two slices of that.

Thanks Taninvver, I love my band! I hope the same for you too!!! And albiet a little premature, Welcome to Sterling! I've lived in different parts of the area (Ashburn, Leesburg, Herndon)for 22 years now but I was always drawn back to Sterling and that is where we decided to settle when we bought our house 11 years ago...I love it here!

Loved the "Hairball Mexican Style" comment Rachel! OK, I have a sliming story for ya, kinda funny (it is now, anyway) . We had a snow/ice storm a month or so ago. By noon, the main roads near my work looked pretty clear so I decided to go ahead and go home for lunch. (I have a dog and I like to go home and let him out midday) I did well at first but the residential streets in my neighborhood were horrendous and on my way home, just as I started to go down this ice covered hill near my house, two very stupid men on foot stepped out in front of me! I, of course breaked too heavy then turned into the curb to avoid hitting them and got a little stuck (my truck, not my band, LOL). I got out of it (with no help from the morons who caused it) and went on home to eat. The stress from driving and the anger at the stupid men had me tight. I was running late and I ate in a bit of a hurry, so the food didn't go down too well. But I ignored that gaggy feeling and rushed out the door to get back to work. And as I am driving, I start to slime. I kept trying to make it go back down but it wouldn't. I usually keep a bottle and napkins in my car but due to the weather, I was driving our 4WD pickup and had no "emergency spit kit" in it. It was not safe to pull over and the only thing that I could find in the truck was a pair of DH hunting socks... DH still picks on me for that! Sometimes in the morning he'll get out pair of socks and jokingly peer down into them and look a me suspiciously :ohmy:

Nothing carbonated. Otherwise, yes you can drink. The no drinking rule in general is because you are taking in liquid calories with little nutritive value. So you should make a choice that is as low cal and/or low sugar as you can get. My personal choice is Vodka and sugar free Cranberry juice but there are many other mixed drink choices out there. You also could have wine. Some say that driking can throw the metabolism off for a few days. I don't drink a lot but enjoyed quite a few on my last vacation and didn't find that it set me back on weight loss any. Either way, it is personal choice to let loose on special occasions and personally, I would go for it. Good luck on your "Tax Day" surgery (that is my DH's B-day) and have a wonderful and safe prom night!

I'll say!!! Out of 75 posts, you have linked to Bariatric Advantage website in pretty much all of them. Yet you almost never even mention Lap Band. I called my doctor to verify and he said that first, since Viactiv has so much Vitamin D (which helps you absorb Calcium) it works just fine. He said that Citrate does absorb more easily on an empty stomach both absorb well when taken with meals, something I did not know. Carbonate is better taken with meals because it relies on stomach acids to be absorbed but it still works either way. But considering Viactiv has twice as much Calcium and Vitamin D for less money, I'll stick with what works for me. I buy mine locally and with coupons I can get them even cheaper sometimes. Lets be fair here, that is ALL you come on here to talk about. We all appreciate good advice from fellow bandsters and even future bandsters. But when you come on a Lap Band website and never discuss the topic at hand but always push the same website, people are gonna be suspicious of your intentions. It was pretty clear to me that you were not a Lap Band patient.

My surgeon recommends Viactive, what is the benefit of buying from Bariatric Advantage? Viactive-500MG Calcium, 500 IU Vitamin D $6.99 for 60 BA-250 MG Calcium, 125 IU Vitamin D $9.99 for 60 Flipman416, I have asked this question in the past. Have you been banded? All of your posts seem to boast the Bariatric Advantage products but you never seem to actually talk about the Lap Band or experiences related to it.

I am sorry to hear that he is not being supportive. Do this for you first, also do it for your kids and husband. It is an improvement on your health and well being and trust me, that will far outweigh the food restrictions. My quality of life and my health have both improved so much in the past 10 months and that is refelected on everyone close to me. The few close family members who were not behind me in the beginning are my biggest supporters now. They were concerned about the risks but now they see the benefits. Good Luck!

No, just because you were too tight then does not mean that a fill now will make you too tight again. Two fills ago I was too tight and had to go back and get some taken out. I did fine for about six weeks then I felt like I needed another fill and although I was a little worried I would go back to being too tight, I went ahead and got one. That was over 2 months ago and I have had no problems with it. Your stomach changes as you lose weight; fat around it disappears and this can cause the band to get looser...perfectly normal.

I had pain! Maybe it is because I also had hiatal hernia repair along with Lap Band. I also had breathing issues and esophagal pain related to the hiatal hernia repair which added to my misery. Mine was day surgery/outpatient surgery as well. I had my surgery on a Friday and went back to work 1/2 days the following Thursday and Friday and full time the following Monday. The first three days were pretty painful but the pain meds certainly helped. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain and my surgeon told stories of patients having surgery on Friday and back to normal life by Monday and I read similar stories here so I guess I went into this thinking it was going to be a breeze for me too. I don't want to discourage you though, it all has been so very worth it. Move around as much as possible as soon as possible. Have some loose clothing that won't irritate your incisions. Prepare a place where you can sleep propped up if necessary (I could not comfortably lie flat for more than a week). Plan on being out of work for at least a week, if you are fortunate enough to feel better sooner, then fine...but be prepared. Good Luck!!!

My biggest fear was failure. To go to the extreme of surgery and still fail at weightloss would have been mortifying to me. I wasn't afraid of death. The way I saw it, the surgery is very minimal, the death rate lower than many common low-risk surgeries...the odds of something happening were pretty low. But considering my family history and my pre-op weight the odds of me developing serious health problems and/or living a short life were pretty good if I didn't have the surgery. There was a little concern about possible complications but no so much as the fear of failure.

The RDA is about 55% of your daily calorie intake, that is a little high for me. I don't count carbs grams I try to get quality carbs from natural sources like fruits, veggies, oats and dairy. I avoid the white starchy carbs like pasta, potato, rice, sugar and white flour. I always try to have a protein with my carb too. I generally don't buy the frozen dinners due to the high sodium but I know that South Beach had some frozen dinners that were pretty good in a pinch. It is healthier and probably cheaper to buy some fresh meat, veggies and fruit and cook and freeze your own meals.

OH YEAH!!! That is quite normal. I never wanted anything so bad in my life and I fought my way through pre-op tests and approval then as the day got closer I started to wuss out. On the day of surgery, I was sitting in the hospital bed with my gown on and I so wanted to just jump up and run out of there, gown and all! But I can't even begin to relay how happy I am that I went through with it.

Possibly...31 is a little below the guidelines but you could call around and see if a surgeon would do it. If you would be using insurance and they have set guidelines that you do not meet, it is unlikely that you would be approved though.

Congratulations to you Cubs Girl 17!!!! How wonderful for you. I sure hope I can join you in reaching goal soon. I refuse to get my spring wardrobe before the rest of the weight is gone even though my current clothes are getting pretty baggy.

My total weight loss goal is 97lbs. For the majority of my weight loss I lost an average of 2 pounds per week, 8-10 pounds per month. I was 20 pounds from my goal within 8 months. (77 pounds lost). Once I hit 20 pounds to goal the weight loss slowed and became more erratic. But am approaching 10 months since surgery and only have 10 pounds to go!

First, you should try measuring as well as weighing. I just mentioned to another poster earlier today that in the beginning my clothes started getting looser even when the scale was not moving. Otherwise, don't focus so much on weight loss at this stage. The first six weeks are for healing. You could very well still have swelling and Fluid retention from surgery. Be patient, follow the rules and as you start using your band, weight loss will come.

Anyplace that sells Vitamins.

Height is an important factor in your question, I am 5'4". The strange thing in the beginning was that people were commenting even when the scale was not moving. I thought they were just being nice but then I realized that my clothes were getting looser without changes in the scale...still haven't figured that one out yet, but I know that other bandsters noticed the same thing. At any rate, I would say that at around 30 pounds it started to become pretty noticeable.

No problem, I remember being a little alarmed by the pain of that incision too. Just watch for signs of infection (swelling, seepage), Your doc will probably take a good look at it on Thursday. Good Luck!

It will vary depending on your doctor, all I can tell you is what I paid. My consult with the surgeon was $470, that covered pre-op consult, nutritional evaluation and follow-up, support groups, and insurance coordination. My psych evaluation was $500.00. My insurance covered all other pre-op tests: Upper GI at the radiologist Bloodwork, EKG and surgery release from my family doctor. Mine didn't require sleep study so I didn't have one, but some surgeons require it. I would think that your insurance would cover the above. If not, you would need to call around and find out the costs.

I am not sure about the bulging. I had a little swelling which I was told was fine as long as there is no seepage or severe redness. Pain is normal. I had almost no pain with the other four incisions but the port-site incision was quite painful. Although it improved every day, it took about a month to completely go away and even after that, certain movement could cause a little pain.

Yes, I had hair loss too. My shower drain was backed up twice during that time. I would run my fingers through my hair and get an alarming clump of hair and was picking hairs off my shirt for weeks. You are right at the peak of the typical time frame for hair loss. Hair loss typically starts 3 months out, (in your case, it probably started with slight shedding in early January). As long as you are getting enough Protein and Vitamins, it should slow then end within 3 months (or for you, early April). Even though you have been careful to get your vitamins and protein, there is a third possible cause for hair loss and the only treatment is time. Your body has gone through a huge change in diet and a surgery and it is probably in survival mode. It has shut down processes not necessary for survival (hair being one). It should recover soon and hair loss will stop then you should notice new growth. Try not to stress out, I know that is hard when you ar finding handfuls of hair but too much stress may slow down recovery. My doctor assured me that in all his many surgeries, not one of his pateints went bald due to post-surgery hair loss...all recovered and regrew the lost hair. I recommend you try a "Hair, Skin and Nails" supplement too-something with around 3000mcg of Biotin. I can't say for sure that taking it helped stop my hairloss but I can say that as my hair has grown back, it has become very thick and healthy.

Just go here: Weight Loss signature tracker

ebar822, 3-4 seconds sounds about right.

I had no apetite for the first full week. I had to force myself to drink. I drank in small sips as much as I could manage to avoid dehydration, sipping on Water, broth and just a little Protein shake. I did not measure, I just sipped throughout the day. After that the swelling went down and I was just fine. At that point my appetite came back and I was sooo hungry with one more week of liquids and two weeks of solids to go.