JulieNYC

Roller derby -- HOW COOL!! Tell us more. How did you discover this love? Happy bandiversary. You're doing great and your goals are just beautiful. Here's to reaching them all in year 2.

Jenny, I started trying to run when I was in te 240s. I didn't run a lot because I knew it wasn't good for my knees at that point, but I would run very short distances to get my heart rate up -- something like 60 seconds of running, then 4 minutes of walking, for about 30 or 40 minutes total. Then when I felt like my body was at a better weight to handle more consistent running, I did the "couch to runner" program that you can find under the "training" tab at coolrunning.com. If memory serves, it's a 12 week program, but I extended it by several weeks, meaning that anytime I got to a level and didn't think I could go to the next level yet, I just kept doing the level I was on until I thought I could progress. I really didn't want to get injured or push things too hard, since I was still quite heavy for my height. Anyway, by the end of the program, I could run 3 miles comfortably and I started running local races with some friends. Those took me to Onederland and now here I am about to train for a half marathon! You can do it -- check out some training programs and see which one fits you. I'm so impressed that you bike. I've never been able to. I'm a little afraid of the speed and a lot afraid of the bike seat (wink). All, I'm not technically supposed to run for 5 more days, but I couldn't stand it last night, so I did a SLLOOOWWW jog for about 10 minutes. It felt SOOOO GOOOOOODDDD! It was wild to run and not to have my stomach flopping around. Strangely though, now I feel my thighs and butt flopping around and I never noticed them before. Tradeoffs....I slept without my binder last night too and slept great. I'm really on the mend. I had my annual exam with my band doc yesterday as well. From my esophogram, he really felt my pouch wasn't emptying fast enough, so he took out .5 cc's, taking me from 10.0 to 9.5. I can't tell a difference in hunger, but I do seem to have a little less trouble in the burping arena, so he must be right. I could probably have another 1/2 cc backed out at some point to be super safe. All I want is long-term band health! I'd never had an unfill before (I'd been at the same fill level since week 7 -- last June) so it was a new, albeit uneventful, experience. At his direction, we talked a little about my goal weight as well. The goal he had on his charts for me originally (just based on average weight loss, I think) was 204! He said that he thinks I fall into a particular "type" of patient and that he saw me losing quite a bit more weight in year 2. I asked him where he thought I'd settle and -- without hesitation -- he said "I really expect you may well settle somewhere in the teens." THE TEENS?!!? He said he thinks I'll get to the 30s pretty uneventfully, then will have the thighplasty that will take off probably 15 lbs in skin, putting me in the teens. Yah, whatever. That's eeons away. I think I look pretty darn good in the 50s, so I don't even know what to say about someone thinking I could weigh in the teens. I'm going to just emotionally put that on a shelf and not worry about it. I'm eating like I plan to eat for the rest of my life and exercising like I plan to exercise for the rest of my life, so my weight will do what it wants to. Whether I lose 10 or 50 more lbs -- either is truly fine. That's it for me! Hope to hit the gym again tonight -- making up for last month.

ONE session down. My first day back at the gym was uneventful. I was SLLLOOOWWWW on the treadmill, but I got my time in and I'm not in pain, so tomorrow I'll speed up a LITTLE. Happy May to all!

I would be comfortable to travel abroad after 6 weeks. I'd be comfortable to LIVE abroad after about 6 months. Anytime I'd travel or live abroad, I'd make sure I was with someone trained to take out my fill if I needed it in an emergency and make sure I traveled with the correct needle, for emergency use only. This would be a great question to discuss at your surgical consult too! Good luck.

Woohoo! It's May! I'm going for GOLD this month, guys. I'm starting a gentle walk on the treadmill tonight and in a week I'll start slowly running short distances again. I can't wait to get with the program again. Well, I lost 4 lbs on our one week calorie count/food challenge. I can't ask for more than that, I suppose, particularly as I ate over the goal 2 of the 7 days. I had my yearly esophagram today and I go for my annual checkup with Dr. Fielding (and reading of the esophogram) tomorrow. I'm a little scared. I have no symptoms, but I fear esophageal dilation or a slip, just because they're always possibilities. I'm sure everything is fine, I'm just a worrier. The radiologist said to me -- while taking my pictures (so while he was looking at my band) "So, are you having symptoms? (pause, pause -- at least in my head) Or, is this a routine test?" Of course I took that as him seeing a problem, when it would be perfectly logical for him to ask that looking at a completely normal band. Anyway, I'll feel better when tomorrow is behind me. Happy May to all!

Molly, Why don't YOU start the new thread! I think a different member should start it every month, when possible. Of course, if you don't log on before noon or so, I'm likely to start it because I can't keep my big "mouth" shut about whatever is going on, but if you log on first, please start it! Julie

Tracy, I want to do a little experiment with you to try and save you some anxt that might be (hopefully isn't, but might be) ahead. You game? You already know everything in this message, but I'm going to say it all in a particular order. OK, here goes. Think about this feeling that you're having right now -- the feeling of being full on just a little bit of food feeling. Think about it really hard and remember it. Now, believe me on what I'm about to tell you. Ready? You are probably going to lose that feeling very soon -- maybe even within a few days. When you lose it, it's going to be scary and you're going to doubt whether you'll ever get that feeling back. Now, comes the good part -- YOU WILL get it back. You will. I promise. You'll just have to wait it out until you get a good fill level, then you'll have it back and it'll carry you through a lot of weight loss. Why is this crazy girl bursting my balloon of low-cal happiness, you ask? Because I want you to have the easiest time possible through "bandster hell" and I hope that if you preempt the feelings of fear and doubt that naturally come when you lose that feeling of easy fullness (by believing you can get them back), that you'll have an easier time. No matter how much we prepare, losing that feeling of easy fullness is always scary and traumatic. I want that to be minimized for you. Believe me -- you'll get it back. Read this post again if you get scared down the road when you lose that feeling, ok? WOOHOO! Go Tracy! You're on the road to recovery. I can't to watch your progress.

OK, here's my big news. I signed up for a HALF-MARATHON on September 9th (Chicago)! Dad says I can start walking again on the treadmill on Thursday and can start running in a couple of weeks if the walking goes smoothly. So May is my month to get back up to running 5 miles comfortably, then June-August I'm going to train! Nothing like running to knock these last 30-40 lbs off me! WOOHOO! I'm so pumped. Can't wait to be able to get back on the exercise bandwagon. Anyone want to join me in September? Boo? Dawn?

Tracy, take care of yourself -- you can be babied for a few more days and not clean the floors again, ok? You're doing great though -- WOOHOO! My advice is to not worry about the calories at this stage, whether low or high. I don't even think you need 500 if you don't feel like eating them. Try to get SOME protein, but don't force anything you don't feel like. A few short days of low cal and low protein isn't going to jeopardize your muscle tone and you (like all of us!) have plenty of energy in storage. If you feel bad though, certainly drink some calories -- like juice or liquid protein. It's not worth feeling bad to save calories at this stage. I'm just saying don't force calories simply because they're low for a few days while healing....

WOOHOO Terri!! That's fabulous! Dancing bananas-with-Elvis-hair for you for completing the April challenge! Rock on! :Banane52:

You look PHENOMENAL, Libra!! Way to go -- what a difference. You're gorgeous!

I ate something yesterday that didn't agree with me. I think it was a jumbo shrimp. I only ate one and I didn't throw up, but something was bouncing around my pouch all last night. So, today it's liquids. I had a tasti-d-lite for breakfast (it's a local fake icecream place -- 60 cals for a small cup and a couple of grams of protein -- not the best choice but I thought it would feel good on my stoma), and a tomato soup with whipped cottage cheese mixed in for lunch. 260 cals and about to repeat the lunch for snack. Yesterday I had an even 1000 cals. I threw away half my SF jello pudding snack to not go over by 30 cals....

Thanks Elisabethsew! Well, today was a big SV day for me. I met my original goal, which was to lose half my body weight. Today I weigh 179 and I've lost 179 lbs. So, I set my final goal, which, for lack of a better reason, I set at 136, which is the highest weight at which I'll have a NORMAL bmi. My plan for getting there (if I can, and if I can't, that's SO FINE too -- whatever my body wants at this point, you know?) is to just live life, keep up my running program, and get to the high 140s. Then around Christmas, I'm going in for the second half of the PS. That'll be a thighplasty and a butt lift. Dad says he'll take 15 lbs off with that because I have so much extra skin on my thighs. I wish I could have it done before then, but with the change in jobs coming up, the first time I can get that much time off is going to be the holidays (where I can use the built in days off to get me from having 2 weeks off to almost 3 weeks off, which is what I need for that surgery). So that's the update!

Let me clarify for Beachgirl, since I have the larger band. If you were banded in the US and not through a clinical trial, you should have an Inamed band (Inamed is now owned by Allergan). Inamed bands come in three sizes, referenced by the diameter of the band as well as the amount of saline each holds. The smallest is the 9.75 cm band (diameter), which holds 4 cc's of saline. The middle size is the 10 cm band (diameter), which also holds 4 cc's of saline. It should be noted that most doctors will fill above 4 cc's on either of those bands if the patient needs it. They will actually hold much more than 4 cc's before bursting. I've heard of people having 6 cc's or more in either of these bands. THEN, there's the "VG" or "Vanguard" band. It is 11 cm (diameter) and holds 10 cc's of saline. Like the smaller band, this band can be filled beyond Inamed's recommended capacity (perhaps even to 20 cc's, though I've never heard of anyone needing more than 14 or so). The VG is also a little different in design, as rather than having a smooth ring that holds the saline, it has more of a quilted, or "pillow" design, which was designed to minimize pressure on the stomach and avoid slippage, erosion, etc. If there is an even larger band by Inamed (or if you were banded outside of the US, in which case there are numerous other bands that hold larger amounts), I can't find it detailed on their website yet. I've heard (on this forum) that there is a brand new band, but I haven't heard much about it yet or now it's different. Find out from your doctor exactly what you have. You'll find that the idiosynchracies of your band experience may line up more with those who have your same band, so it's useful to know. For example, I find that those with the VG have fewer problems with textures of foods (there's no food I can't eat at least a little bit of), but more problems getting to the perfect fill level.

Oh Kat, I am sending you my strongest virtual hugs. Rick's depression is so understandable and there's probably nothing you can do other than love him and hold his hand until you both see how this stabilizes. Please keep us posted. The hospital is a scary place and my thoughts are prayers are with you for bringing him home soon. Big hug. Molly, you're going to do great managing your new fill level. As you experience this unfill, would you share a lot of detail on the difference between 10 and 9? I'm considering backing off my fill just a little and my fear (obviously) is losing the dampening of the head hunger by just a tiny unfill. Keep me posted on how much more, if any (and I hope for you that it's not any!), you have to fight yourself with just a little bit less fill. Dawn, I reached my goal of losing half my body weight this morning, which means it was time for the new goal. I decided to go for the honest-to-goodness goal, which would have to be a normal BMI. For me that's 136. If I get to a higher weight and it fits, there's no way I will feel like a failure. I will have still lost 200 lbs, right? So, 136 it is. It's just a number (I'm convincing myself). If I ever hit it, it'll probably be after my thighplasty (which I'm planning to do in December). Dad says he can take a FOOT of skin off each of my thighs. That's probably 15 lbs right there.

You look GORGEOUS! I mean, absolutely stunning, happy and healthy. Way to go, Lianna. WOOHOO!

4-3: JenRN - 263/257/223/150 - 40 total 4-3: jenn28 - 282/265/229/165 - 53 total 4-3: Picardy3 - 298/300/257.5/150 - 42.5 total 4-3: tipper - 300/290/259/165 - 41 total 4-4: Sugar1 - 311/289/231/150 - 80 total 4-4: DeltaDawn - 358/184/179 - 174 total 4-4: Dak – 255/251/205/150 – 50 total 4-4: Angels - 264/255/235/? - 29 total 4-4: Harpseal Al - 327/295/220 - 34 total 4-5: Boo - 208/203/165/132 - 43 total 4-5: siestaqh - 180+/177/117/110 - 63 total--NO MORE BAND :-( 4-6: Disneynut - 290/287/260/125 - 27 total 4-7: Guysis - 234/170/134 - 64 total 4-10: JulieNYC - 358/179/136 - 179 total 4-11: Vickie1177 - 320/297/267/137 - 53 total 4-11: tellymelly - 240/235/143.5/140 - 96.5total 4-11: Fel0816 - 307/284/265/to get under 200 - 42 total 4-11: dsrjrr - 231/230/210/130 - 21 total 4-11: truckinmama - 262/234/160 - 28 total 4-11: waterlily1072 - 354/273/150 - 81 total 4-13: Nursekathy2u - 358/356/335/175 - 23 total 4-13: NJgirl - 248/230/188/140 - 60 total 4-13: Miper70 - 217.5/187/145 - 33 total 4-17: Amourette - 22.5 total 4-17: Jeepergurrl - 242/192/140 - 50 total 4-17: MelAnne - 245/207/150 - 38 total 4-18: KAYBEE-284/198/180 -86 total 4-18: Danaclark2 - 270/260.5/259/150 - 11 total 4-20: TrustUfirst - 210/205/177/135 - 32 total 4-20: Omamoon - 220/211.5/179/130 - 41 total 4-20: KimInMD - 288/288/228/156 - 60 total 4-21: Yoda - 273/257/194/150 - 79 total 4-21: kristielynn - 310/302/237/150 - 73 total 4-22: alisonb - 286/270/176 - 16 total 4-24: Eficka - 125/117/95/69 - 27 kgs/66 lbs total 4-24: Ceparano- 255/270.5/201/170 - 69.5 total 4-24: Kat - 289/281/203/165 - 86 total 4-24: hlj25950 - 262/257/200/160 - 62 total 4-25: momof2boys - 270/266/237/145 - 33 total 4-26: Bostongurl - 264/244/184/150 - 80 total 4-27: tinaj - 226/221/210/150 - 15 total 4-27: lookingout - 185/178/165/101 - 20 total 4-27: flowergoddesstn - 214/204/190/130 - 24 total 4-27: Dimples0323 - 284/284/241/145 - 43 total 4-28: Susan4794 - 283/228/150 - 55 total 4-28: bluehill - 333/228/150 - 105 total 4-28: Irish Girl - 225/214/150/135 - 75 total 4-29: Momofsixkids - 238/188/140 - 50 total *today I've lost exactly HALF my body weight!

WOOHOO, scale moved again. One more lb (actually, just 0.2) and I'll have lost half my body weight. I think my next goal will be my final goal. I set a lot of mini-goals throughout this process, but it's almost time for the final goal. I can't decide if the final goal is 158 or 149. I want to set a goal I can meet, but I don't want to under-shoot. 158 would be an even 200 lbs lost. 149 is arbitrary. 136 is what it would take to not be "overweight." I just don't know. Maybe I'll set it at 158 and if I want to go lower later, it's not like a ticker is binding....

For me, it was all the reasons Wheetsin said. Let me expand on the role the band's adjustibility played in my choice as a high BMI patient (68) too. I had serious concerns about regain for me with the RNY. I was a bulk carb eater. I would eat large quantities of nachos, burritos, pizza, etc. and I was very worried that over time I would stretch my RNY pouch and be one of the fairly substantial statistics of RNY regain. For me, the adjustibility of the band gave me security that I could always have it tightened if I was eating too much. Bandsters can lose a lot of weight. Unless you're at immediate risk of death from your weight (in which case some docs recommend the DS for fastest weight loss), there's no reason not to be banded. I lost more than 170 lbs in a single year and am still losing. And I'm FAR from the only one. That said, the RNY can be the right choice for some. It just wasn't for me.

Betty!!!! Overweight!! You skinny little thing! You're in the 60s!! SOOOOO EXCITING. Dancing bananas for you! They're swimming because you look so great in your swimsuit! ;) Boo, congratulations on the scale victory as well, WOOHOO! As for me, I did you all wrong today. I had a HUGE court victory and the clients took me out to lunch. I ordered pretty healthily (lump crab salad -- Betty, I eat fish too, but it's a recent thing, as encouraged by my band doc) but I would have to really estimate my calories for the day -- not what I intended for my personal challenge. I have a feeling I'm under 1000, but not by much and maybe not at all. So, I'll go to Monday instead of ending our mini-challenge on Sunday to make up for it. May the scales be with you.

Ugh. I got hungry and ate some cheese, so my total is now 970 for the day. Better go to bed....

Juli, I remember exactly -- I told myself I wouldn't run until I was under 250, then only in small amounts. So when I hit 249, I started running light intervals, like 30-60 seconds, then walking 3-4 minutes. If anything ever hurt, I backed off, because I knew I was still way too heavy to really run. When I got to about 220 I could really run with almost no issues. I ran my first race (4 miles) at 215 or so. My second race is what took me to Onederland. I can't wait to get healed and see what running with no pannus is like. It's going to be incredbile, I just know it!!

WOOHOO! Way to go!

Oh Molly, I know how that feels. When the scale goes up and it was a perfect diet day, it's bad enough, but if you ate something you already felt wasn't on your plan and you gain from it, it's so hard emotionally. And it's ridiculous -- like you said, you only ate 1600 cals! That's still well within range to lose weight, not to gain it! The scale's just having problems. I bet it straightens out in a day or two and rewards you with a few lbs to boot. Hang in there. 867 calories for me today and no cheese. I did eat some peanutbutter pretzels (250 cals) that weren't the best choice. I was in a meeting past snack time and was hungry and that was all that was there, so I caved. I still met my caloric and protein goals for the day, so it's fine. It's a good thing I didn't have that morning snack that I wanted.

SillyWilly, I went with the pink one. I have on the green one today though, if that makes you feel better. Kareyquilts, Yeah, I guess in hindsight the surgery wasn't so bad. If I was at goal, I'd be having my thighs done TODAY. The results are so worth the pain. And I want to wear pants! Also, you asked about exercise. I can start working back up to running when 6 weeks are behind me. So, 2 more weeks to go (today is exactly 4 weeks from my surgery). I'm looking forward to it because I'm not sleeping well and I think it's from not exercising -- at least in part.