chicamam1

This post brought tears in my eyes. I know what its like to want to be healthy for my kids, to be here to raise them and to see my grandchildren grow up eventually. I was so scared of dyin staying on the path i was in gaining weight and not stopping. Very sad situation. However, the band as changed all that and I feel so much better and able to enjoy my kids more although i do have other health issues the weight loss hasnt helped. but im ok with that. My chances are much better now. I dont want to be without them even tho i know i will go to a better home when i die. I want to raise them and teach them right, thank you for your honestly and i wish u the best of luck and will keep u in my prayers.

Hello, My name is Tia. I am happy to share my success story with you. I was banded 9/15 and have lost 80 pounds. I started at 274 and 5'2and now am to 194. I feel so much better and more healthy. I exercise 5 days a week and lift weights. The band is so awesome. Its the best decion I have ever made? Have I had some issues, yes, but the benefits have totally outweighed those situations. Its all a journey and u live and learn. I have no problem with what i eat and i treat myself once in awhile to foods i love. If you follow the rules , follow the lifestyle, and exercise it will work for you. Not all are fast losers and that is ok. Its intended to provide steady weight loss 1-2 pounds a week. Read the boards they are so helpful and so is the chat. Good luck on your journey

best thing to do is not have a drink by you while u eat. Its important not to wash the food out of the pouch. I know its not an easy thing to do but i know u can :thumbup: Its esp hard for me after eating a spicy meal but i get through, i get used to it. It will get easier with time. practice makes perfect.

Boy i know sometimes this journey can be so frustrating! and there have been times, the breaking down crying thinking is this all i will lose? Even fast losers go through all that! I would also be very frustrated in your shoes too but here is the bottom line. U need to call and make an appt. u need a fill and that might help jumpstart your weightloss again. that is how the band is designed. How much can u eat at one sitting? u mentioned what u eat but not really how many oz or cups that equates to. a bowl of oatmeal can be subject to opinion. IMO if your eating more than a cup u probably need a fill. The upping the calorie thing really does work. Ive done it and it didnt even affect my weight loss then when i went back, it did show some movement on the scale. Also, constant exercise. I have found the less I have to lose, I have to exercise everday or the scale wont move period. I wish u the best of luck. please dont give up. U got this band for a reason and like someone else said there are health rewards with that 40 pounds gone, and also your doctor is there to support u. hang in there and call ur doc. trust me, the stop wont be forever, as long as u stay motivated, u will get to goal u can do this!!!

I would suggest ignoring the areas you dont want to have anything to do with .. such as forums for non lap band related issues. Just because this is a lapband site doesnt mean the whole site is dedicated to only talking about lap band. there are plenty of supportive threads u will find.. I for one enjoy chatting with my buds and sometimes not about the band, just having fun. same with posts.. So just dont go to the area u know isnt dedicated to lap band and then you wont get so upset. have a great day

was banded barely below 50 bmi.. now I sit at 37. Still unhealthy but a huge drop im so happy about. I do feel the band has been successful for me in achieving weightloss, healthy eating, and a more healthy me. Some of the medical problems however are not being resolved, which just means they arent related to my weight. But i will be more healthy to deal with them! Ive 67 pounds in almost 4 pounds and feel so much better. This has changed my life and I am forever grateful

nice job!! that is amazing and not much longer ull be at goal!! wohooooo for u.. I as well hit my half way mark and its surreal. Let us keep on being motivated. exercise our azzes off and we are gonna be there by summer!!! im proud of u and keep up the good work

This is really up to you.. My personal opinion is this alot of peeps get stuck on pasta as it expands so not the best food choice although once in awhile is ok. Also for frozen dinners I do not eat them just because the carbs in them are almost always over 50 carbs with sugar and real high sodium. Plus you want to find something that will help you reach your protien intake per day. I think good solution to meals on the run would be to make a huge batch then freeze single servings to take with you to eat. But I do know peeps who eat the frozen dinners, I do not just because the carbs scare me and I have edema so the sodium is a killer.

for me. It was my health. I was borderline diabetic, high blood pressure, major edema in my legs, totally out of shape, could barely walk.. joint pain. I feared if i didnt do something I would of been dead in 5 years because the strain on my body was so bad. I wanted to be able to see my kids grow up and raise them. granted you never know when your time is , but if i can eliminate any risk to that im all for it. I want to become the me I know i am on the inside. the one who plays sports and is competitive and kicks butt and to have my body be capable of what i ask it to do. To be able to go to outings with my kids and not get tired but mostly for me. I just want to be healthy.. I havent been skinny since i was 18 and im 33 now and what a liberating feeling that will be to be able to do things I havent done in so long.

please keep us updated on how things progress. I hope whatever is going on, that its fixed soon. Maybe you only need another fill I dont know but I know you can do this. and everything will be ok ( i hate when people tell me that ) lol

the band can be a strong tool yes.. if you eat solid protien and not slider food. the band will tell you when to stop and you will get sick if you overeat. so in that manner yes it will help. Yes you can eat around it. this is what I have found life changing for me. Instead of eating a whole bag of chips at one sitting I only have like 5.. If i get a small kids hamburger I only eat half. Most the time I eat healthy but I admit im a big red meat lover lol. However.. When you got good restriction it is a great tool and powerful. and it will help you. None of us were successful in the long road which is why we all had surgery in the first place. All I can tell you is I lost 64 pounds in three months, No way I could do that on my own and cut down my portion sizes like I have!!

couple things here.. one the question is. if you dont feel full but were you hungry still? There is a difference. Also if only eaten and walked away and still felt hungry that probably allowed time for the food to pass quickly and you didnt possibly eat enough causing you to get hungry again.. only real way to figure out is to sit down uninterrupted for 20 min to eat a meal

some ideas are solid protien such as chicken, steak, turkey, pork, etc. try to think of anything you would have to chew more frequently insted of per se. egg salad. i hope that helps

after my second fill it brought me to 5.5 cc in my 10 cc band. nothing has come up yet but i do feel super tight. when i drink water it sits there in my chest and can cause some pain, then will go down. My question is. I need to eat and im hungry but i feel so darn tight. is there a way to loosen it up in the morning so im able to get anything down?

The chinese items i get are bbq, the fat content is a little high but it offers low carb and protien, Also ask to see if there are any sugar free low carb options. I know a chinese place here offers that and I got the chicken cashew. It was pretty good.

i like the 100 calorie mini bags of popcorn. I havent tried any other of the snacks

Gosh im sorry for that disheartening news.. There are still some options as far as financing goes if you can get a loan and then make monthly payments. i know one is care credit. Other is to get private insurance if you can, and one that would cover the surgery. Gl and please keep us updated.

i have some size 24 and 26 jeans and some dress slacks, along with some nice size 26-28 shirts. Some are very dressy as i wore them to work but very adorable. Most of the shirts are from Lane Bryant. If you are interested please let me know and if you need pics i can sen dthose too. Those clothes are in excellent shape and most of them are almost brand new bought less than 6 months ago.

i am not but I want to congratulate you on your future banding coming up :biggrin:

this was a great article. there are alot of ideas what good restriction is which i can tell you as confused the heck outta me. right now, the most i can eat is 1/2 cup, but I can eat anything I want. I dont really have an issue with anything going down. This article as helped me as Ive been told because I dont pb, dont have slime, can still eat bread sometimes that im not properly restricted. What this doc would call perfect restriction is where im at now. and im losing 1-2 pounds a week it seems now. Ive only had one fill and had a 4cc fill. I go back in on dec 15th. The band as worked in controlling my hunger and portions are definatly small. I feel better now with where i am at thank you :biggrin:

Good luck with your new job and congrats on moving to Bend. I hope everything works out for you :thumbup: I would recommend finding out what insurance u will have and then u can go to their website to see their medical policies on gastric bypass surgery. Also the employer should be able to give u a book of which procedures would be covered.. That is a place to start anyway.. stay in touch and welcome to bend

i dont understand that food has to be stuck to be working. I havent really ever got food stuck cept once chicken nugget went down kinda rough. Right now there is no food I have found that gets me stuck. yet I can only eat about 4 oz at a meal to get full, and cept the last two weeks which have slowed down, I have been losin weight pretty consistently. I can eat bread, which i do rarely, but when i do it goes down fine. Some people would tell me Im not at proper restriction but I cant fathom eating less than I am now. Only reason i want another fill is to jumpstart my weight loss again. Maybe im the rare case who is restricted but doesnt get stuck. who knows.. anyway. I see both sides here I really do. Tom, hang in there, Is there a fill center by you? You obviously have done a great job losing 79 pounds. Fantastic. U definatly need a fill, Yes we need to learn to work the band I agree and I think measuring portions is great and a wonderful tool. None of us are in your exact shoes and obviously you dont like the fact u can eat so much and you want restriction. I really think u need a fill. If you are not restricted at all, that makes it tough and IM sorry your doc is not giving u a fill. This is your band that is in your body, and I feel if you need a fill, that is your choice not your surgeons. I would definatly try to eat more fresh foods even if that means cooking on the weekends and freezing and storing. Protien first as you already know. ( ps i eat black pinto beans i love them ) they break down more slowly since they are complex unlike empty cards. I feel for u Tom, and obviously u want things to change and I hope you get your fill soon and gl with everything.