MistyD65

Agnes, with that kind of support from your husband paired with your own determination and the good head on your shoulders, you are going to be one of the successful Bandsters! I'm sure of it.

What a caring husband you are, to come in here to prepare YOURSELF for your wife's surgery and post-op! Her life is going to change, and yours along with it. But it's a wonderful change, and one that will be easier for her with your loving support. Misty

Way to go Edel! Daily Plate has really made a difference for me too! Last week:230.2 This week:226.6 Loss of 3.6 pounds. I took off what I gained on vacation last Friday, plus one more pound!!

Make sure to fill out your Bandster profile. This is something new, apparently, and different from your regular profile. (See the "View My Bandster Profile" link under my pic? If you don't have this, you haven't filled out the Bandster Profile) You can get lots of points towards the contest by filling out the different parts of the Bandster profile. Good luck!

Biscuits (I'm assuming you mean Cookies in "American"), chips and sweets are unfortunately what we call slider foods - they go down easily. If you are finding yourself turning to those because the good-for-you foods are causing you to vomit or have pain (assuming you are taking small bites and chewing well), you very well may need a slight unfill of your band. It is the hard Proteins, Fiber and good carbs that will help make you not hungry. It is very common to see people gain weight, not because their band is too loose, but because it is too tight. They start to concentrate on eating the easy, high-calorie sliders foods. So, if you continue to have problems with the right foods, even after being careful to take tiny bites and chew well, please see your doctor to talk about having some Fluid removed from your band.

I'll just address the questions and issues you raised, rather than debating the wisdom of having surgery at your weight/BMI... Hope that gives you more to think about, and maybe answered some of your questions.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that your kids are sick! Hope they are better soon. It's so easy to slide back into old habits during times you are out of your "routine". I was out of town for about a week and put on almost 3 pounds due to eating out a lot. A good bit of that is Water weight though, I can tell. My feet and ankles were really puffy. It is so hard to break free from the "food is going to make me feel better/feel happier" trap. I'm so much better than I used to be, but not as good as I'd like to be about it. I can still get sucked into eating too much of something I really like. Here's to a better week for both of us!

4WLS, did you have your 2nd appointment yet? I'm anxious to hear how it went. I hope Dr. Bonnor gave you more time and attention. I went in with a notebook with questions for the first several appointments after my surgery, and he took the time to answer them all. I would be sad to discover that he is shortchanging post-op patients in favor of new patients, so I'm still hoping your experience with him was a fluke, just him having a bad day. He IS generally conservative with fills, and I appreciate that about him. It seems like one of the things people have the most trouble with is being too tight too soon, then staying too tight and eating slider foods. And I've read many posts from people who, several weeks after a fill that they thought was not enough, suddenly found themselves too tight. There just seems to be no predicting how fills will affect you. Anyway, let us know how it went and how you are doing. :biggrin:

Hi Sally. Welcome to Bandland Just keep telling yourself "This, too, will pass." You are just 3 days past major surgery. I slept in my recliner for a week, mostly because I was afraid of rolling over in my sleep if I slept in my bed. Be patient with yourself and know that you WILL feel better soon. The nausea is probably left over from the anesthesia. It takes a while to completely get that out of your system. The fear is normal. Just keep coming here to read and post. You'll find encouragement, commiseration, suggestions and support. Hang in there honey! It's worth it.:tongue:

Had a gain this week, but there's no mystery behind it - I was traveling all last week and wasn't making good food choices. Lots of sodium and fat and little exercise. Also had 2 more fairly mild PB episodes - I still tend to eat too fast when I am hungry. This week will be much better! Last week:227.6 This week:230.2 Gain of 2.6 pounds... it could have been worse!

Check your daily calorie count to make sure you are eating enough. I was in a plateau for a while and it actually took upping my calories to get me started moving downward again. If you use The Daily Plate to track your food, you can enter your current weight and your goal (lose 1 pound a week, lose 2 pounds a week, etc.) and it will suggest the number of calories you need to eat daily to meet your goal.

Great job everyone! I was tempted not to post today, because I had a slight gain, but I figured I might as well...helps keep me accountable. Last week: 227.0 This week: 227.6 Gain of 0.6 lbs Not quite sure why I had the gain. I was within my calorie range, but I will say some of my food choices weren't great. I also think I need to start getting more of my calories earlier in the day. I get to the evening and find I need more calories to get to my recommended amount, so I'll eat pretty late. This week is going to be rough because I'm going to be traveling and eating out a lot, but I'm going to try to keep in control. We'll see what the scale says next Friday!

Wow, that really doesn't sound like him at all. He must have been having a bad day, but I'm sorry it seems to have gotten taken out on you. I hope your next appointment is much better!

I do think age will be on your side. Another factor could be the length of time you have been overweight. I've been between 100-150 pounds overweight for just under 20 years, so no, I'm not expecting my skin to spring back to normal. It's just something you'll deal with when the times comes. For now, focus on how healthy you are getting!

I've never had a problem with using a straw. I get an iced green tea from Starbucks just about every day and use a straw for that - no trouble with extra gas or feeling any kind of impact on my esophagus or pouch. Guess it's just one more example of how personalized this surgery and its effects are for everyone.

It's Friday again! I'll get us started. Last week: 227.8 This week: 227.0 Loss: 0.8 lbs Almost a pound. I was hoping for more, but a loss is a loss. I'm still not eating as many calories as The Daily Plate recommends for my goal of losing 2 pounds a week. I think I'm going to experiment this week with adding another 100-200 calories a day. I'll still be at least 50 below their recommendation. It's kind of mind-boggling that I could lose more by eating more, but it worked when I started TDP. Stay tuned for results!

I was teasing him the other day about how his picture pops up like a jack in the box on his website. lol He said he wasn't too sure how much he liked that! He is so easy to talk to, and really takes his time and listens. I've never felt like he was trying to rush me out of the office.

I LOVE Curves! I've been going since last October, and I go Monday-Friday. My club has the CurvesSmart system, which is like an electronic personal trainer on each machine. It coaches you on each machine to make sure you are working at the proper level in range of motion, repetitions, and exertion. I definitely work up a good sweat, have my heart rate in the fat-burning zone, and burn between 400-500 calories at each 30 minute workout. Even without the CurvesSmart system, the way to get the most out of the machines is to work hard enough in the 30 seconds you are on each machine so that the last few reps are hard to finish. You want to work that particular muscle group to fatigue. If it is time to move to the next station, but you feel like you could do another 30 seconds on the machine, you aren't working hard enough. I probably wouldn't go to a regular health club as consistently as I go to Curves. I really recommend it!

You are doing great Stacy! Congratulations! I'm very happy with my band too - started at 304 on 8/4/08 and am down to 227 now. I just bought a size 16 dress - was in a 26 before surgery! I'm about halfway to goal, and have never lost this much before. I actually can see the light at the end of the tunnel. You ought to come join us in the August 08 All Stars official forum down in the Monthly Lap-Band Support Groups section. I think this link will take you there. August 2008 Bandsters - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum We've got a great, supportive group of bandsters there!

Chapter 1 in How to Dissuade New Forum Members from Coming Back **sigh**

Well, it appears now that the Home tab takes you to the Forum page. When I posted my initial question, the Home tab was still the Home page (recent posts, pics, etc), and there was no quick way to get to the main Forum page because the Forum tab was gone. They must be doing some maintenance on the site. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's all fixed on Monday. And I think the site managers usually check this thread. It's where I've always posted questions like this in the past, and they've been dealt with.

What has happened to the Forum tab that used to be after the Home tab up top?

Have you tried opening Quick Links at top right, Edit Signature, then just selecting and deleting the things you want to delete? Then make sure to click Save Signature under the Signature Picture box. That worked for me.

Way to go, BDS!! Last week: 229.2 This week: 227.8 Loss: 1.4 lbs Creeping down, but at least it's down!

Does your doctor require a specific protein shake? I used several different ones - Designer Whey makes a clear, fruity one called Protein Blitz that tastes GREAT! Comes in grape, orange mango, and tropical punch. I only used ready-to-drink shakes during my liquid phase. The other brands I used were Lean Body by Labrada and Muscle Milk.