karen_karen

mem thanks for your supports gratz on getting banded. truthfully i dont know if the excerises gets any easier its hard to get my butt up out of the house and go to the gym but i do find myself doing it alot more and harder like i would go slower and my heart rate would be pretty high now i have to go faster to maintain the same heart rate i did before. so i guess in a way it does get easier but you have to go faster or heavier to maintain the heartrate. i been working on running and its hard. but usually i do about 5 to 10 minutes on the treadmill running my speed is around 6 usually and i also do about 30-45 minutes on the elipitcal and that is hard too my trainer gots me doing it with no hands and every 5 minutes i have to go as fast as i can for one minute (that really puts a strain on me it takes me the whole 5 minutes to get back to a normal heart rate and then im back to doing it fast again sucks lol) but i do know that everyday it will get me closer to my goal and i keep thinking that so i can keep going. i also go in the sauna to relax and sweat my butt off. i also have a personal trainer for 3 times a week and she really works my butt there are days where i have trouble bending down to sit on the toilet. but its a good feeling since i know it will make me better. she gots me doing alot of balancing excerise and core. my problem is i have a big stomach so no matter how many crunches or situps i do wont go away without the cardio and sadly we cant choose where our bodies take the stored fat from so i keep going and hopefully soon enough it will take that damn fat away from my tummy lol...

thanks for your support guys.. and for questions i have gotten banded on july 3rd of this year. only suggestion i can help as a general suggestion is "POSITIVE PEOPLE MAKE POSITIVE OUTCOMES" my friend tells me all the time when im down and im in a plateau "what are you going to do about it" and that really gets me going to try harder because i control my eating habits and i control my life and excerise. and i am going to do something about it. other then that i can answer any questions you do have about your journey and im more then happy to help you with any question or concerns you have. also i like to congrat you guys on getting banded its a big step. i dont know about the normal part i still dont feel normal but if your talking about when will you feel back to your old self. well eveyrone is different and some are longer then others. i was in the longer range it took me about a month to get back to myself. i dont know how much cc's the doc gave you wendy but i didnt feel hungry the first few days but after that i was so hungry all the time and soups and jello didnt do anything for me i ended up eating when i wasnt suppose to not alot but i did eat normal foods like in a week (now please dont take that to heart because i know its very bad and its can be bad for you) i never had pb even from the beginning only felt something get stuck like twice and i dont really think anything got stuck really but some hot tea help my throat with that. (i think my throat was sore) good luck and thank you for your support and commments if anyone needs something that i can answer for them please let me know and i would love to help in any way i can. we all need support in some way or another...

Last week i got weighed and measured by my trainer to see how i have been progressing and i can say i hit ONEDERLAND!!!! i have lost about 25 inches totally of my body (10 inches of that is my waist) and lost almost 10 percent of my body fat. when i started my journey in july i weighed in at 265 and last week friday i weighed in at 199. i still got a ways to go but i just wanted to share my success on here and maybe it will motivate someone else who is thinking about doing this. this is not a miracle band of any sort. i have had 2 fills and dont even have 5 cc in my band and yes i can eat like a horse sometimes and i can eat anything i want but i choose not too. i watch what i eat and i also excerise pretty much daily. i cant believe i have gotten down this much!! the other day i went to the mall and saw some jeans on sale 50% off so i decided to try them on. my friend tells me get a size 10 i was like no way i cant fit into that im still close to 200 lbs. then she said just try it i picked those up and also a 12 and a 14 (i wasnt sure what size i was but i knew my 16's were falling off my a**) and i tried on the 14's first and they were too big so i tried on the 12's and i couldnt believe they actually fit..OMG then i went to the 10s to try them on i knew they werent going to fit. well im half right and half wrong. i couldnt believe i was able to button them up. another OMG.... well i didnt exactly look like a model in them lol they were way to tight and i have to prob lose another 20lbs to be able to fit in them nicely but im almost there. i cant believe 2 more sizes i will be in the single digits again in jeans. when i weighed in at 185 i wasnt even in 12's or anything i was like 14's so i have to say i have to give probs to my personal trainer for shaping my body. i got so much to go i got atleast another 10 percent to go in body fat and maybe another 40 to 50 lbs depending how i look at the weight. if im in a 8 i think i will be happy and satisfied. just got to get rid of this baby/beer belly. lol .........

Last week i got weighed and measured by my trainer to see how i have been progressing and i can say i hit ONEDERLAND!!!! i have lost about 25 inches totally of my body (10 inches of that is my waist) and lost almost 10 percent of my body fat. when i started my journey in july i weighed in at 265 and last week friday i weighed in at 199. i still got a ways to go but i just wanted to share my success on here and maybe it will motivate someone else who is thinking about doing this. this is not a miracle band of any sort. i have had 2 fills and dont even have 5 cc in my band and yes i can eat like a horse sometimes and i can eat anything i want but i choose not too. i watch what i eat and i also excerise pretty much daily. i cant believe i have gotten down this much!! the other day i went to the mall and saw some jeans on sale 50% off so i decided to try them on. my friend tells me get a size 10 i was like no way i cant fit into that im still close to 200 lbs. then she said just try it i picked those up and also a 12 and a 14 (i wasnt sure what size i was but i knew my 16's were falling off my a**) and i tried on the 14's first and they were too big so i tried on the 12's and i couldnt believe they actually fit..OMG then i went to the 10s to try them on i knew they werent going to fit. well im half right and half wrong. i couldnt believe i was able to button them up. another OMG.... well i didnt exactly look like a model in them lol they were way to tight and i have to prob lose another 20lbs to be able to fit in them nicely but im almost there. i cant believe 2 more sizes i will be in the single digits again in jeans. when i weighed in at 185 i wasnt even in 12's or anything i was like 14's so i have to say i have to give probs to my personal trainer for shaping my body. i got so much to go i got atleast another 10 percent to go in body fat and maybe another 40 to 50 lbs depending how i look at the weight. if im in a 8 i think i will be happy and satisfied. just got to get rid of this baby/beer belly. lol .........

Last week i got weighed and measured by my trainer to see how i have been progressing and i can say i hit ONEDERLAND!!!! i have lost about 25 inches totally of my body (10 inches of that is my waist) and lost almost 10 percent of my body fat. when i started my journey in july i weighed in at 265 and last week friday i weighed in at 199. i still got a ways to go but i just wanted to share my success on here and maybe it will motivate someone else who is thinking about doing this. this is not a miracle band of any sort. i have had 2 fills and dont even have 5 cc in my band and yes i can eat like a horse sometimes and i can eat anything i want but i choose not too. i watch what i eat and i also excerise pretty much daily. i cant believe i have gotten down this much!! the other day i went to the mall and saw some jeans on sale 50% off so i decided to try them on. my friend tells me get a size 10 i was like no way i cant fit into that im still close to 200 lbs. then she said just try it i picked those up and also a 12 and a 14 (i wasnt sure what size i was but i knew my 16's were falling off my a**) and i tried on the 14's first and they were too big so i tried on the 12's and i couldnt believe they actually fit..OMG then i went to the 10s to try them on i knew they werent going to fit. well im half right and half wrong. i couldnt believe i was able to button them up. another OMG.... well i didnt exactly look like a model in them lol they were way to tight and i have to prob lose another 20lbs to be able to fit in them nicely but im almost there. i cant believe 2 more sizes i will be in the single digits again in jeans. when i weighed in at 185 i wasnt even in 12's or anything i was like 14's so i have to say i have to give probs to my personal trainer for shaping my body. i got so much to go i got atleast another 10 percent to go in body fat and maybe another 40 to 50 lbs depending how i look at the weight. if im in a 8 i think i will be happy and satisfied. just got to get rid of this baby/beer belly. lol .........

hi i had my lapband done at the beginning of july and i can say i was sick for atleast a good 3 to 4 weeks. i also felt very depressed especially looking at my stomach with all the incision cuts. couldnt believe what i did to myself to lose weight. but here i am now 66 lbs lighter (and i worked for it pretty much daily at the gym and a personal trainer 3 times a week) i really was down alot and didnt know why did it afterwards (plus all the pain and sickness didnt help much with the depression) but now i dont regret it it gave me the strength to progress and taught me how to eat right and also excerise. so i understand how she feels and you just have to tell her to keep her head up and and bare through it i know its hard trust me i was right there in july but now im fine i can do anything anyone can do and hey the other day i went to the mall and tried on a size 10 jeans and it FIT. (didnt look to great on me but i could button them lol) but im a size 12 for now and i will only get smaller. and it is so worth it..

i would love to go not sure where i will be in 2010 but im sure i can make time for something like this so please keep me updated on this and let me know when and where

i say do your appeal and also write a letter to them about why you need the lapband. i was 5ft7in and i weighed 265. keep trying and appeal because it is totally worth it. i got banded in the beginning of july and im down to 205. dont give up

hi i have tricare south and i too was denied the first time. what i did was get a recommendation from my pcp and also from the doctor that did the surgery and i also wrote them a letter about why i needed the lapband. and within a few weeks i got it approved. also you have to have a bmi of 40 and i had to gain a bit of weight to make it so you might want to do that as well.

hi well i am looking to find someone to buddy up with i currently live in keller texas pretty much in forth worth and i have gotten banded on july 3rd 2008 and have lost about 36 lbs and excited about losing more. i would really enjoy talking and meeting with other people like me in this area to exchange info and make new friends since i have only been here for about 6 months and really dont know anyone. so if anyone is out there that would like to make a new friend and share experiences with send me a message.

yes ma'am they do have a pool and a hot tub.

what i do not sure if this will help but if i eat to much i excerise and it helps alot seems to get the food down quicker.

hi i was banded on july 3rd and i weighted in at 265 and as off yesterday i am down to 210....

just my mind going!!!!!!!! i see alot of post about how people arent losing and everyone is just telling them you need to get your fills and you will lose weight. ok everyone says you just got to hit that sweet spot. you have to get the fills. lets say you dont hit your sweet spot until you have 7cc's or 8 cc's in you 10cc band. when you finally do reach your goal a year or maybe two later what will happen the doctor is not going to take the fill out they gonna keep it in. now from my experience you learn to adjust to your band and eat and the band loosens over time. (now i might be wrong about that) not really loosen but you can eat more over time. lets say you gain 50 or so lbs back in the 3rd year and then you are full up on your fills and cant get anymore what will you do then? i believe the band is there to help us and remind us why we have the band as well as help us feeling fuller with a smaller portion. but if we count on fills and not excerise or learn to adjust to a healthier eating habits then wouldnt we just gain our weight back? what will the band be for then? i dont know everyone always saying go get fills your not there yet once you hit it you will be on your road to weighloss. but in my opinion wouldnt you rather have less fills and adjust your lifestyle so you dont have to rely on the band. in 5 years what would happen? to me we would be in the same position we are in now. so yes i believe its important to do what we dont like to keep the results(as in eating right and excerising). this is the sole reason why i didnt do the gastric bypass. you dont learn to eat right when you have the bypass. you have to adapt to your stomach which forces you to lose weight but if you think about it what will happen to you 5 years when you can eat normally or close to it? you gain and you have no means to lose it again because your not forced to wouldnt you rather be in control of the whole thing instead of getting controled? i dont know know i just hear alot of blame on the band. to me i see that we have control on what we want out of life. if your happy being 250 lbs with a bmi of 40 then gratz to you and i will support you. but if you complain about the band and state you are not losing because you just dont have any restriction and just dont take the control back and get offended because people constantly tell you that you have to excerise and change your eating habits then why complain? am i being to harsh about this? im not trying to be mean to the people that get frustrated with there weighloss and restriction but have you ever thought why the weighloss slowed and what you can do to see more results for the future?

truthfully getting the band got me to rethink all this. no i dont think i would lose any weight without the band and the reason for that is because i was not motivated and i was negative. getting the band made me realized what i wanted in life. at first it was more im so tired of being fat i didnt care about my health or anything. i just didnt want to be fat anymore but i didnt know how to fix it. now being banded i did realized i have to change my lifestyle regardless and it got the light bulb on in my head. it taught me to care about myself more and treat myself better. i dont think i could have done that on my own. now yes i think if i didnt have the band i could lose weight but whats done is done and no reason dwelling on it. the band gave me my life back gave me the confidence and strength to become a better person as a whole and not just physically

i dont see that cloe's mom i understand that there are cases where there is nothing we can do but gain weight. everyone's metabolism is different but i dont see that other countries having such an issue on obesity as we are in the united states. 100 years ago you didnt see many obese people out there in the u.s. its all about the eating habits. they didnt have fast foods or all the snacks and junk food they could eat. also they were more active in there lifestyle then we are today. so i see that we forgot how to eat correctly and to stay active. and yes im one of them obese people but i dont blame society or call it a disease because it can be preventable in 99% of the time. i do believe we got where we are for making the wrong choices and i am here now trying to turn it around. and i can tell you my metabolism is not there im 30 just had two kids within the last four year. but i do feel my body changing once i started eating right and excerising. and i mean changing as having more energy less stress more happier, etc..... and i dont see anything wrong with taking that slip up here and there and moving forward afterwards. what gets me is people are quick to blame something or someone and not look towards themselves.

yeah if they wanted to charge me for an hour worth of work for 700 buck i would go find a network doctor and bring it in. no there is no 6 month diet on tricare you just have to meet the requirements

i do dry im not one to get in a bathing suit right now and i dont want to get soaked. but i guess in a way you can do either. helps with the toxcins in your body and one thing sweat is good no matter how you do it

you can get a eval through a network provider for tricare and take that to the surgeon to cover that. i was lazy and did it through the doctors office and paid 150 for my eval and 60 for my excerise consultant so that way i get it over in one shot.

is this not what you wrote? Everybody keeps saying you have to exercise and you have to eat right. If I could do that I wouldn't have ever had any reason to get the band. I got banded so that I could slowly train myself to do these things and have the band act as a tool to assist me by limited the amount of food intake at any given time and helping me stay full. then you change and say you excerise and eat right (small amounts) not understanding what you are trying to say. to me it seems you are trying to justify this to us you dont have too. im not trying to be mean or rude im trying to get you to understand you have to change in order for the weight loss to happen. right now you are very negative and i hope you can change this around you need to be positive if you want this to work. also its pretty simple math a lb=3500 calories so in order for you to lose weight you have to burn those calories some way or another. secondly you have to take in less calories then you eat in order for you to burn the excess. at the same time you have to not get yourself in "starvation mode" i got banded on july 3rd and i had two fills no i dont feel restriction yes i can eat bread easily yes i can eat anything i want without chewing like a horse. i get hungry within 2 to 4 hours. all this is true i was like you the second month post op i was so frustrated and pissed because i didnt lose a lb. i was bummed for like two weeks. wasnt sure what i wanted to do but i did realized that im in control of everything. so i started excerising do i like too of course not. do i need too yes. i needed motivation so i got myself a personal trainer. did it cost alot YES but then i look if i didnt start excerising and trying to eat healthier then where would i be now. would i still be in a slump would i just complain about my non weightloss? i dont know what i would feel or do if i didnt excerise. but dont matter because its the past. now i feel million times better and ready to take on another day. everyday i struggle and i think about it everyday and i choose to do something about it i dont want to be fat and unhealthy i want to be healthy and slim. HOT AND SEXY as i like to call it.

not trying to be mean or rude but you got this band for the wrong reason you wanted the band to do the work for you and truthfully seems like you should have done the gastric bypass. only part you got right is YES THE BAND IS A TOOL nothing more. you are looking to blame this band because you eat to much and you are not using it for what it is meant to. im not surprised you gained 5 lbs because your idea of this band is wrong. when you got the band you did the easiest thing (got it put in) now this is the hardest part the next year is the hardest part and its a struggle daily. you HAVE to excerise and eat right. you are wanting to change your lifestyle and get healthy but your not willing to take responsiblity for it. you cant sit here dwelling on the past and think it will change over nite or even change slowly if your not willing to put the effort in it. think about it you got this band to change your life but your not willing to change because your waiting for the band to do it for you. well your going to have to wait forever if that is the mind set you have. lapband is a life changing procedure and you have to take it that way. you didnt get overweight over nite and you are not going to lose over nite. the band is there to remind you what you are doing and helps you to say no thank you to that extra food. its not going to burn the extra calories its not going to stop your eating habits its there to remind you and keep you on track. sad truth is YOU and only you can make success for yourself. you are going to have to excerise you are going to have to eat right. every success story you hear on this forum notice they had an excerise routine and a eating routine. i hope you understand where im coming from and please dont dwell on your faults or you not losing weight just learn to accept them and afterwards ask yourself what can i do to change this? how can i make this work for me? and make a plan for yourself that you can stick with and work from that and better it each month. this is not a contest you dont have to lose fast you just have to change your life and the weight will come off.

just wondering if anyone know of any good support groups here in forth worth or dfw area. i have gotten banded in austin so i dont know of any in this area.

look im going to be blunt. excerise and eat the right foods. you got something good your youth your metabolism is way higher then a 30 or 40 year old plus you havent had a child. dont sit here dwelling on what you did fix it make it right. you cant change the way your friends eat but i sure tell you if your friends see you taking this seriously then you will prob have your friends eating the same way sooner or later. you have a chance to change your life for the good and sabotaging yourself is not a good idea. everyday will be a struggle and everyday your going to want to eat that extra burger but you have to think about it as what are you gaining from eating it instead grab some apples mcdonalds has apples with carmel just eat the apples. they even have salads or wraps. im not saying its the best option but you have to work with what your given. you made the easiest decision on getting the band now its the hard part and that is changing your lifestyle excerise excerise excerise. i dont even like excerising but i do it because i know i dont want to be 265 lbs again and i think about 3 months ago and here i am weighing 211 and i keep thinking wow i lost more then what my oldest child weighs. i saw in a post where they said go see what pork loin looks like when you have 75lbs of it. i say go look at what you want to lose and then go ask for that at the counter to see how much meat that is. do you want to carry that around with you or do you want to get rid of it.

annie i say excerise it will help with the emotional eating and the stress of everyday life as well as losing weight. for the first month it will feel crappy but after the inital month it will be great and you will find yourself just excerising just to relieve the stress

hi i have tricare prime and i started my process in feb and got banded on july 3rd i originally got denied for the surgery but i did an appeal and it got turned around and i got approved once i got approved i was banded two weeks later.