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Hey girl! How ya been doing?! Is that you in the photo?! You look great! I asked my doc on the phone when I made an appt. so she said to stick to Protein Meal Replacement bars or shakes. So I'm going to try that. I found these really nice cottage cheese and fruit combo thinggies in the yougert isle that I eat for a snack that give me some good protein.

I haven't heard about this before, but maybe if you google it?

Hey Joen, I think each individually person is different depending on their age, how long they have been overweight, how overweight they are etc. I had one doctor tell me that because I have been overweight my entire life I would most likely have saggy skin and would need plastic surgery, but I had another doctor tell me that because I'm still fairly young (27) my skin should still go back and I shouldn't have a problem. I think your best bet is to lose weight and find out!

Hi there, You should really speak to your doctor about those things because each situation is different. My doctor has always told me that Protein is the most important, but we also need our fiber. So both are important. I have used the 100% Wey protein and I like it for the most part but its a bit gritty. I'm going to try a new kind that I found online, you can PM me if you would like the link.

I think most people get them from tickers.com but just do a google search for weight tickers and you will get some different websites. You create your own and then you can copy and paste the link into your signature.

Welcome to LBT! I'm glad you found us. Wow 5 teenage girls..you must be a saint! I wish you luck with your surgery please make sure to come back and let us all know how it went. We will cross our fingers that it all goes well. I know how hard it is to stick to a pre op diet. Good luck!

Congrats on your 25lbs! That is excellent! And welcome to LBT! Are you talking about the tickers that everyone has in their signature?

That sounds really yummy, I'm going to try that soon!:biggrin:

Hey Rondi, This should be fine. I really like to use the natural peanut butter. This actually sounds really yummy.

That sounds yummy...I can't wait to try it!

That is great! 26lbs is really awesome! It's good that you have realistic goals for the future but it feels really good to know that you have had success so far. Keep it up!:smile2:

Congrats!!! That is awesome...make sure to keep us updated.:smile2:

Hey Robert, I love that post. There is a commercial for a gym where some larger women are looking in a circus mirror and seeing a slimmer self, they also see the reflection of a hot guy behind them but of course when they turn around he's not the hunk they saw, they make the comment that he should go to the gym too. I love it! My brother in law is just as over weight as me, but my mother in law said that was ok because he was a man, and continues to harp on my weight. It's all about society and how it is percieved. Kudos for you for taking things into your own hands and not listening to the negative comments.:smile2:

Hello all, It's been awhile since I have posted. Things have been very hectic for me since our move, but I thought it was really important that I take a few minutes to share my experience. As many of you remember, I was banded April of 2006 in Portugal. My husband is Portuguese and I lived there for 4 years. We recently moved back to the US in July of this year. During the year or so that I was banded in Portugal I was very discouraged because I had little to no weight loss. I thought I was doing things wrong. I had to have port revision surgery in October of '06 and had other set backs. I was very discouraged, and the 25 or so lbs I lost in the first months after my surgery I gained back. I had 3 fills of 3 cc's each and was supposed to have my VG band nearly full. Yet I still felt no restriction. As I said we recently moved back to the US and I went to a Fill Centers USA in St. Pete Florida. I discovered that my band only had 3 cc's in it. The fill specialist said that she doubted it was a leak since there was still 3 cc's in it. She thinks that my band doctor in Portugal missed my port twice and only actually managed 1 fill! So for all of this time, I hardly had a fill, and I had no restriction. The fill specialist was great, she gave me another cc and I noticed a difference right away. I have another appointment with her on the 30th of November for another adjustment. I am keeping my fingers crossed that with the proper restriction I will finally begin to see some weight loss, after almost 2 years of banded life with hardly any success, I hope that I will have something to report here soon.

Thanks, appreciate the support!

Wow! I'm glad to see this thread took off. I have been so busy with my move back to the US from Portugal. I was an ESL teacher in Portugal for 2 years. I taught all ages, children to adults. I now teach 8th grade Reading in Florida. But I'm thinking of moving to 5th grade next year. ESL teachers you may already know this website, but www.onestopenglish.com is a great resource. They have free lesson plans and printable flash cards. My school has a Tuesday Night Family Night and I actually teach parents of my students who don't speak English and I am always using that site. Great to see some teachers around!:clap2:

Allrighty people.....one of the perks to moving across the ocean? Ya can't take the cars with ya. I have ordered a new 2008 Mazda 3 i-touring that is completely loaded! And the best part? It's purple!!!! Hubby was initially against the color since he said he could never drive it (to girly) but I won him over in the end! It should be coming in mid July so thats perfect timing for me. Here are a few photos, its black cloth interior (they had leather option, but leather in Florida..ehhh...)

Denise, As you can see I have the same problem, and it is VERY frustrating. I was banded April 26th and lost the majority of my weight on the post op diet as well, even though I have gained some of it back. It is very hard. I'm not sure what i'm doing wrong but i'm going to make an appointment to see the fill doctor and see what else we can do about it. I didn't pay all this money just to fail at this too. I'm going to try to work harder at eating the right foods and I'm going to get my butt to the gym and see if that doesn't make a difference. Besides, it's summer, so it's off to the swimming pool for me!

Hey there florida bansters. I am moving back to the Winter Haven area (Polk County) I'd love to find other Central Florida bandsters to hang out with and chat with. I'm hoping to see a band doctor out of Orlando when I move back. I hear he takes blue cross and blue shield which is the insurance I will have when I get back. Hopefully he can help me sort some things out and get me back on the band track. Any one see that doctor?

Hey isabelle,kuebel, and Jan, welcome to BTT! I think the lunch issue is always a problem because of how short a lunch period we have. slikchik it's nice that you have so many friends that understand what your going through. I'm not sure if any one at my new school has had any sort of wls. But because my mom works there I have the idea that they all know I had it done! We have block scheduling and I have 1 planning period thats an hour and a half. I have asked for the midday planning period so hopefully I can just eat much lunch then and not have to worry about rushing. Well i have scheduled a visit at a fill center in St. Pete for the 15th, so hopefully I can get tightened up and back on the road to losing. Moving from country to country is so stressful I can't wait until it's all over with. How is every one else doing?

Wow! This thread has really taken off. It's so good to see it. The website is http://www.garfieldposters.com/ and at the bottom there is a link that says create educational posters here. Just click there. I thought they were sooooo cute. I think I'm going to get the Mrs. so and so's classroom rocks and the have you used your brain today one. So cute! Yep it sure is in Polk County. I will be working at Boone Middle School. My sister also works there, she is the para for the esol teacher. She works with most of the disabled kids. You may even know her. I almost had a pb once, I was eating a snack on our 10 min break and about 5 minutes in something got stuck, and 5 min later when class started it still hadn't gone down, I went up to class thinking it would go down, since it was the beginning of class the kids were talking and playing around and I just stood there until it finally went down. Most of them didn't even notice I was standing there until I started talking. I don't have to much of a problem with students turning in stuff. But I really like that policy that LLSibley mentioned about 10 points each day and on the 3rd day it's a 0. I will probably adopt that policy myself. If your going to teach overseas you will probably only find work teaching English. Most places require a certification, but if you get that, then its really easy to find work. I have a friend teaching in Chile right now. Just search for TEFL or CELTA. (different places call it different things) There are loads of websites. Good Luck! Well I am 3 weeks away from moving. I need to do some serious packing soon. I have made a mini goal to try and lose 10lbs before school starts in August. So as soon as I get to the Sunshine state I need to get my behind in gear.....wish me luck!

I was only off work 3 days, plus the weekend in between, so a total of 5 days..... and I'm a big baby about these things, but I was fine. I'm sure a week will be plenty of time, but every one is different. Good luck and keep us posted on how you are doing! School is out for me on June 30th, and we are flying out to Florida on July 4th, I don't think my new classes start until August 13th, but I will probably be up there earlier to start arranging my room and what not. I need to buy some posters and decoration stuff. I found these really cool Garfield that they personalize with your name, they say stuff like "Mrs. So and So's classroom Rocks!" and "Mrs. So and So's classroom...Privlidges....abuse them and lose them!" Totally cute with Garfield and Ode. I think I'm going to order one or 2 of them for my room. Other then that I am just getting ready for the move to the states and getting things all ready. I'm going to try to have some down time and rest after the move before work starts again and after we get all our stuff sorted out. How is every one else doing?

it's when the doc does it under an x ray type machine and they can see the band and the liquid passing through it.

On the first visit ($250 i think) i was told the fluoro is included. I'm glad you had a good experience I have heard good things and bad things about the fill center usa, but I have only heard good things about the office in St.Pete. I'll be making an appt to see her some time next month. Volley...remember we are only supposed to be losing 1 to 2 lbs a week, it's not supposed to come off super fast like with bypass patients. So don't beat urself up. Keep up with the exercise and watch what you eat and eventually it will all come off. 5 times a week...man you go girl :clap2:

I can totally understand! I'm from Florida and all though high school it was beach and pool parties that I skipped because I didn't want to be seen in a swim suit. Even on my honeymoon cruise I didn't go in the pool or swim in the crystal clear waters on the beach. Some of us are just destine to lose at a slower pace, but don't give up, there is a ton of support around here and we will make it though some how. :hug: