JulieNYC

That's WONDERFUL! Congratulations to you and your family. I'm with the rest -- post a picture when you can!

I think this thread is particularly important for those pre-bandsters who are hesitant about getting banded because they fear needing a revision surgery at some point in the future. That was definitely me, pre-band. I was ok with succombing to surgery one time, but for whatever reason, thinking that I might have to have a second surgery at some point kept me from committing to getting banded. At some point (and I certainly feel this way post-band) I realized that surgery -- even if it has to be done more than once -- is just one day and a few days of recovery. It's NOTHING compared to staying 300+ lbs for a lifetime (and a shorter lifetime, to boot). Let's see, so I stay 300+ lbs the rest of my life and my life is cut short by 20 years and the quality of the years I get is not maximized, or I get the band and live a long healthy life, but POSSIBLY for 3 days for a revision surgery and recovery if needed. Check, please.

Consider getting a can of unjury Protein powder and mixing that with milk and fruit I want to say my Unjury was about $20 and a container would definitely last me 2 weeks if I were mixing it with milk, so overall, a pretty cheap diet and much better tasting than Optifast. Good luck!

I'm with Heather. If they're not going to be supportive, you can always tell them later but you can't un-tell them. You're doing the right thing and you know you are, so just tell them you're going on a mini-vacation with your sister then worry about what to tell them later when they notice your weight loss. You're going to do great!

jgandg, This is the toughest time to be a bandster. You've just had major surgery and you feel like you deserve to be losing a ton of weight, but you just plain don't have any help until you get your fills. This time is for healing. Please don't forget that. If you can stick to a low calorie diet, you will lose and that will be great, but if you can't, just be sure to stick to the consistency of foods your doctor requires during this period and worry about losing lbs later when you have a fill. If it makes you feel any better, I didn't lose ANY weight during the 3-6 week post-op period (once I left liquids and before I got a fill). That said, I'm just shy of 6 months post-op and just shy of 100 lbs down. I tell you that because you shouldn't worry. This IS going to work, you just need to pass the next few weeks and then be diligent about getting to a proper restriction level. Best of luck!

Name...............Christmas…...To Go A1ikou...............240...............XX Aza.....................299..............XX BPM..................230...............XX candy444..........299................23 Elisabeth...........275................22 Ericsmom.........250.................XX Indianlight........280.................22 Josette...............340................31 JulieNYC..........235................29 LapBandit.........250.................28 Libra.................270................23.8 Mariguita..........290................XX NatesMommy...275................XX Waterlily1072...275................24

j.s. I have an intense relationship with my beloved elliptical machine. The first time I got on it, I could only do about 10 minutes and my feet fell asleep and I felt generally like I was going to keel over. This was pre-WLS for me -- I'd been working out for a while before surgery. Anyway, my stamina grew quickly and I was able to do about 40 minutes on level 3 within a month or so. I didn't really get much past that until I dropped some weight. Now I can do 60 minutes on level 10, though I usually only do 40, then switch it up with the treadmill or another cardio machine for 15-20 minutes. Or sometimes I just do the elliptical and go home. Point being, you'll build enough stamina to do a full cardio workout before you know it. Hang in there! * I thought I should add that my machine goes to level 25. Some only go to 10 and I didn't want you get the wrong impression of my meager fitness!

I think it's widely discussed, but I've never seen any medical data on it. I don't personally believe it's true for me. I do think this may be one of those things that may be true for some people's bodies and not true for others (hence the wide debate). My nutritionist said in her experience (my surgeon has done more than 4000 bands and she sees all current patients) the most successful female bandsters eat about 800 cals/day during the weight loss phase and about 1000-1200 lifelong. That was shocking to me, but in my personal experience, she's been right so far. _______________ Starting Over, again, passing on the formula my nutritionist gave me, she said you need 0.36 grams of Protein for every lb of IDEAL body weight. So I'm 5'2 and my alleged "ideal" body weight is no more than 130 (haha). So I need to eat 47 grams per day. She told me to aim for 50.

It took me 3 years of research to get banded because I was worried about the possibility of having to have a revision surgery. It's a legitimate risk and I understand your concern -- revision surgeries are sometimes required with the band. But in those 3 years, I gained another 75 lbs. and I became worried enough about my health to have that outweigh my concerns about potentially needing a revision surgery. Now, post-band, what I can tell you is if I have a regret, it's that I didn't get the band in year 1 of research rather than year 3. The surgery was so minimally invasive and such an easy recovery compared to carrying around the extra weight I was (and still am) carrying. I can seriously tell you that if I had to have surgery every year for the rest of my life to maintain the health of my band (which is absurd -- of course I won't need surgery that often -- I probably won't need it at all), I would STILL do it in a flash. I feel like a new person and I'm only 1/2 way to goal. My advice is get banded. If you need a revision (and you probably won't), so be it. It'll just be one day out of your new thin life. I wish someone had said that to me 3 years ago. Then again, maybe they did and it just didn't resonate. Maybe it's part of getting ready to accept the change that you'll go through emotionally and physically. I don't know. Good luck on your journey!

((((((Spydr))))))) You're going to do GREAT. It's going to feel wonderful when you realize you can ride any ride you want to -- I have no doubt you'll be able to. I can't wait to hear all about it on Sunday! Please come back and post. We've all been there, whether on rollercoasters, airplane seats or movie theaters. But at your current size, there's no issue. I can't wait for you to believe that too! Congratulations on your weight loss.

The definitely don't cancel your surgery over it. These are medical professionals and they're not even going to blink over it. I think Chrispygal gave you the perfect advice. Congrats on getting banded!

Tami and Malice, I talked to the nutritionist at my doc's office about this and she said not to fight it. As long as I was getting in enough Protein most days, she said not to worry if I was only taking in a few hundred cals (some days I don't want more than 4-500). She doesn't believe in "starvation mode" (though there's no medical evidence one way or another on that and there are certainly different views) and believes that the less you eat, the quicker you lose, period (again, as long as you keep protein levels high enough to prevent muscle loss). I track my calories, even on bad days. Some days (maybe 4 per month) I eat 1400-1800 cals, most days I eat 800-1000 (18-20 days per month) and a few days I only eat 400-500 (6-8 days). It's working ok so far and I feel great on all the days (except sometimes on the 1800 cal days when I feel like the old days), so I'm not chaning my ways until it quits working for me. I think a lot of bandsters worry about this problem. I'm interested to hear what others think about it. Tami, I'm from AL too (though I've been living in NYC for a long time)!

Hi Julie, Yes, definitely check out the food forums. Just as a teaser though, my favorite fat free item is fat free black Beans with salsa and fat free sour cream with a little fat free cheese on top. It's good for the mushy stage too. YUM! You're going to do great. Congratulations on making the decision to get banded.

Go Sugar Go! I know just how you feel. My surgeon told me not to expect to get much below 200 with the band period (though he was clear that it was up to me and I could lose more). Anyway, we were banded at about the same time and I'll race you to the Century Club! Wink,

You look SO FABULOUS! I'm with everyone else in that you were gorgeous before and now you're an awe-inspiring, head-turning knockout! I'm so, so happy for you.

My doc says you can't stretch a pouch with liquids. They don't stay in the pouch long enough. You might get that too full signal if you drink too quickly, but some say that's actually a good thing -- something to try to do to turn your hunger off -- not a bad thing. My opinion is that your pouch can't hold 3 cups. It's draining before you can drink the full 2 cups. Particularly true since you don't have a fill yet, so your stoma is still large enough for liquid to really drain straight through. No worries! Congratulations on getting banded and here's to a speedy recovery.

Good for you, Susan, for getting on your treadmill even when you're feeling yucky about your diet. That's GREAT. I've thought I'd lost my fill twice only to find that in 3-4 days I was fine again. I've started charting on my calendar how food obsessed I am every day on a scale of 1-10. I'm hoping, that way, I'll be able to tell better when I need a fill versus when I'm just having a bad couple of days. I don't know if it'll work or not, but I'm trying it out. So I did my "new and different" activity today. I finally got my turn at the "wave" cardio machine. I kind of liked it. It's the same motion as roller skating, so I felt a bit like a kid, which is fun. What I didn't like about it was that since it was more challenging strength-wise and less challenging cardio-wise, I couldn't get my heart rate up to where I like it to be for maximum calorie burning. I'm sure it's great for tush-firming, abs and inner thighs, but it doesn't burn the overall calories of my beloved elliptical machine. Anwyway, so I did it for 20 minutes then moved over to the treadmill and alternated 1 minute of walking and 1 minute of running for 20 more minutes (I only ran 7 minutes because towards the end I needed 1.30 recoveries instead of 60 seconds). I think I might alternate this routine with my elliptical because I think overall it was just as good a workout, but different muscles. I go to the band doctor tomorrow for my monthly checkup. I don't think I'm getting a fill (but I probably will next month). That's all my news!

Sherilynn, I eat out for dinner about 3 times a week, and I eat with my work colleagues (none of whom know I'm banded) at lunch usually 5 days a week. if you eat slowly and order knowns, you'll be fine eating under any circumstances. I PBd at a restaurant on Saturday, which was the first time I'd thrown up in public. It came on quickly (it was TOM for me and I wasn't paying attention) and even under those circumstances I was able to excuse myself to the ladies' room, where I had to wait in line for a stall and was able to keep it under control until one was available. I know this sounds scary, but it's really not. It was a worst case scenario and it was still not a big deal.

That's PHENOMENAL! Congratulations!!

I made it to the gym today with every intention of trying the "wave" but there are only 2 of them and they were both taken. Ahhh, my beloved elliptical won out again....

Eficka, 80 consecutive minutes on the treadmill gives you great bragging rights when you come here to log it, but it just counts as one of your 17. I think our focus is just getting ourselves to the gym (or moving outside, or whatever) at least 17 times during the month. We have to move for 35 minutes for it to count, but we all try to move for longer when we can. Keep up the good work and keep us posted on how you're doing. Your pictures are such an inspiration to me!

Yea Indianlight!!! Come on across the border!!

Name...............Christmas…...To Go A1ikou...............240...............XX Aza.....................299..............XX BPM..................230...............XX candy444..........299................XX Elisabeth...........275................XX Ericsmom.........250.................XX Indianlight........280.................XX Josette...............340................XX JulieNYC..........235................32 LapBandit.........250.................28 Libra.................270................25.2 Mariguita..........290................XX NatesMommy...275................XX Waterlily1072...275................XX

Goooooooooo Boo! Go! 8/10 -- ahhh, that sounds fabulous. I just bought my first XLs in "normal" stores yesterday (Ann Taylor, the Gap and banana Repulic all fit -- even one L in Ann Taylor). That felt good too.

Well, I guess I need your support with what's going on in my life right now as I've been pretty much bawling for 2 days straight. If only I could get control of the emotional and make a rational decision, that would be great. In the meantime, FYI, when you cry all day, you have NO desire to eat and I've lost about 8 lbs in 10 days. So here's the deal. For those of you who don't really know me, I'm a lawyer in NYC. I used to work at a huge law firm without an out-of-control lifestyle and I gained 100 lbs in the 2.5 years I was there. I loved the challenge and the work but could not let my health spiral further out of control so I went to work at a "boutique" firm to the tune of a 40% pay cut. I still make plenty of money to meet my needs (though I can't afford some of the luxuries I'd like, such as being able to buy an apartment in Manhattan). I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my current job. I love the actual work, but most importantly, I love the people and the atmosphere. They are the closest thing to family I'm going to find without actually moving home (Alabama) or getting married (which I obviously can't control as I haven't met the right guy). I suffer from depression and it's the most controlled it's ever been in my adult life at least in part because that omnipresent sense of loneliness that I've always felt is pretty well plugged up by my support network at the boutique firm. I love my job. For better or for worse, and I'll spare you the details, the best possible work opportunity (if I were looking to change jobs) fell in my lap this week. Really, it's fabulous. My salary would INCREASE by (yeah, not increase to, increase by) six figures. The work would be interesting and fabulous. Plus, the firm is very international, which means several international trips a year (Munich in October if I accept). The job couldn't be better -- If I were looking. So the problem is (1) how emotionally attached I am to my current job and (2) how much of my support system (including my weight loss support system) is wrapped up in my current job. On the one hand, I fear that if I take the job, I am destabilizing my life at the time I need it to be most stable - i.e. the weight loss phase. I know I can get another job any time I want to (if, for example, the issue is money), it just won't be as perfect as the one that's currently being offered (they're only looking to fill one space -- immediately -- and it's unlikely there will be turnover in, say, a year). On the other hand, I think I may be using my weight loss as an excuse to stay somewhere that is comfortable when it would be best for my career to move on, as sad as it would make me. Thoughts? Thank you in advance.