julie.ann

Well put me down for -2.4 This means I have finally dipped below the 180 mark. YAY!

Julie, Are fluids going down ok? Is that causing you pain? First of all stay hydrated. If you haven't slipped and you are just very tight all of the sudden then stress could make that worse. I would call the doctor. If not today then first thing Moday morning and stay on liquids. Again stay hydrated and get some protien drinks to keep strong. You don't want to stop calorie intake or else by the time you get to the doctor you will be weak. Sometimes it takes a few days...even up to two weeks for my fill to really hit its full power. That could be the case. I think that being too tight is a possiblity. Keep us informed. I know that I don't post much, but I do follow along. Take care.

You mean high protien low carb? ABSOLUTELY! Really that is what we should be on anyway. Think of the bandster guidelines. Eat Solid Protien first Follow with veggies. We can't eat much so if you ALWAYS start with solid protein and not eat unless you are hungry that will take care of things. It works amazing. You still have to eat healthy when you aren't watching your carbs, but it will cut the weight fast. I eat lean meat mostly and that helps too. Really any healthy lifestyle of eating will work great with the band as long as you stay away from the soft and liquid calories.

MYTURN: I know that is frustrating. Maybe you need to cut out all carbs to get a jumpstart. I can't believe my scales said 179.5 today. GOOD-BYE 180's!!!! The weekend is the hardest for me so I will have to try to be extra good so those numbers don't come back on the scale! I can't wait to surprise my family next month with my weight loss!

The pouch test is going back to the basics. It will help get carbs out of your system to help with cravings and the theory is that if you slow down and give your pouch time to rest it may help shrink a little if you are stretched. Some will do this to jump start their loss, some do it after they fall off the wagon to get back into the lifestyle. You should be able to search it and find more on it. That's just the little I've heard of it.

Sunshine - You know reflux can be a sign that your band it too tight. I would call Dr. K

Cut our ALL carbs (stay under 10-20 a day) and eat only protein. that will drop you pretty quickly. All lean meats (Chicken breast and turkey cooked in a health way...baked) This will also kick cravings by the end of the two weeks too. get on a site like www.sparkpeople.com to keep track of what you eat. It will count your calories, carbs and protein for you!

I live in Pratt. I use the term obese based on BMI. That is generally how the medical community measure obesity. >40 BMI is Morbidly Obese 30-39 is Obese 25-29 is Overweight <25 is Healthy I think I could use a tad out of my band, but my doc is 7 hours away and I don't want to go that far. I just have to be careful. I get support from this website and I have recently told some friends that I have been banded. I'm glad to hear things are going so well for you. Let me know how the support group is.

Yiou know Angie I think that everyone fights this to certain degrees. This is why my weight loss has slowed. The best way to battle cravings is to get it out of your system. The more sweets I eat the more I crave. A couple of days ago I decided that if I was craving sweets I would satisfy that with a chocolate Protein shake. I know....no liquid calorites allowed, but it is the lesser of the two evils until I get those carbs out of my system. The same with bread Pasta rice and potatoes. I don't eat them and haven't in so long that it doesn't bother me anymore. I would also suggest an online food journal if you don't have one already. I use www.sparkpeople.com. Thedailyplate and lapband also have free versions as well. It has really helped me to be accountable for every little bite I put in my mouth. I think about putting it in my food journal and seeing my calorie count and carb count increase and I know it isn't worth it. I also try to weigh daily and update my ticker with EVERY TINY LOSS. I know daily weigh ins aren't for everyone, but they work better for me. I was slipping. I wasn't weighing everyday and not keeping strict accounting of what I ate and I could tell. My weight loss slowed to 1/2 lb even one week. I haven't had a gain yet, but in the first 5 months I was very very good and averaged about 3 lbs a week. Even in the past 3 days the weight loss is better and I am making better choices because I am back to following my rules. Low carbs is the way to melt off the fat. You also have to realize that you can't go back to high carbs, just a balanced diet. Again my food journal has helped me to learn what that is. Good luck. You have the drive and in my opinion you have fought half the battle and that is learning the difference between real hunger and head hunger! I believe it is the people that can't tell the difference that don't succeed.

Well I joined the century club last month! Happy to be here! I am slowing down because I am getting lax in following the rules. I am getting happy with how and I look and less motivated, but I trudge on. I love the gym and if I could run without my hips hurting I thought about doing a half a marathon. Maybe some day.

OMG. I live near Wichita and had surgery with Dr. K (www.lapbandrockies.com) He is great! Best decision I ever made!

Eartha, I live about 45 minutes from Hutch. I just found your post. Hope everything is going great.

Julie. I don't know how things are for you now but I would recommend Dr. Kirshenbaum in Co. www.lapbandrockies.com He accepts self pay only and his price (unless it has changed in the last month or so) is only $9950. I went through www.surgeryloans.com I don't know with bad credit how it is at the least the price is less than most and he is the BEST. I love him and it is worth the 7 hour drive for me. His fills are only $15 after the first 3 months so it costs less to drive there, spend the night and come back than it does to get a fill in Wichita (which is very close to me.) Good luck. I love my band!

I am weighing in at 181.9 today. That is my lowest so far. I haven't been eating very good with my daughter making bad descions and dealing with her 15 yr old atitude. The last two days have been better and I am back on track. I'm still hitting the gym and you should see my arms! I have definition! I started a weight training program that I had them build for me. WOW! What a difference. I'm off tothe gym. Have a great week end. I can't wait to hear how everyone else is. BTW.....I have LESS than 40 lbs till goal!!!!

Well, Put me down for -0.9 I hope that is the smallest number I see for a loss each week.

You can vomit or "PB" which stands for Productive Burp. This can happen if your band is too tight and/or you take too big of bites or eat the wrong kind of food. It really matters how much you listen to your band. If you continually make bad decisions then you may vomit alot. The more you vomit the better chance you have for a slipped band. You ahve to listen to the bands. She is in control! If she says no then don't you can't force it. If you test the issue to prove YOU are in control then she will push back and prove that ultimately she is!

12/21/08 My name is Julie and I am a food addict. I thought I had my problem under control. I thought that I had learned so many lessons that I could jump back on the wagon if I ever took a little sip from the bottle…so to speak. I had a Christmas party to go to on Friday. It went okay. Not great. I had a half of a dinner roll. Except for an occasional thin crust pizza I have not had any bread of any kind for 2 months. I didn’t even want to know if it would go down. It was a dinner party and they served steak. If it wouldn’t have been for the drink I had and the bread with butter I would have stayed under 1000 calories and been okay with the carbs…but I did eat and drink those things so I guess that’s how it is. The next day comes and I weigh in and I lost another 0.9 lbs. I realize that it will probably take another day to see the damage on the scale. I did good at breakfast and took my lunch to class with me and I was a very good girl. Pizza for supper…not so good. Today I have screwed the pooch….so to speak. (Can I say that here?) It is Sunday which means I am home all day and the gym is closed. Sundays are my hardest days! I ate leftover pizza for lunch and then …..we made Christmas cookies. I feel like a toad for the first time in a month! I half heartedly did a cardio Firm work out for 30 minutes today. Not a great work out. Oh here is the kicker…Are you ready…I was only 0.2 lbs away from my New Year’s goal. The gym is closed Wednesday and Thursday this week and next week. I want to go out and eat everything I can get my hands on. Almost like a last supper before I hike my butt up back onto the wagon. I’m not going to. I have to hit the gym in the morning if I can get up though. I have class tomorrow night, so I can do it then. It would have been better it I had gained a smidge back after eating badly just to teach myself that I can’t get away with it. I have to go back to those lessons I thought I learned. 1. DO NOT EAT UNLESS YOU ARE HUNGRY or unless it has been 5 hours since your last meal. 2. PROTEIN FIRST then you can have your HEALTHY side dish. 3. STOP EATING BEFORE YOU FEEL OVER FULL! 4. DO NOT EAT BETWEEN MEALS 5. DRINK YOUR WATER but not during or right after meals. 6. YOU WILL NOT SEE THE RESULTS YOU WANT UNLESS YOU WORK OUT! 7. Getting the lap band doesn’t make you lose weight. YOU STILL HAVE TO EAT HEALTHY AND EXERCISE! Time for a reminder Julie! Eating is for survival! It is to get enough nutrition to live. That is its main focus. It is not a reward. It does not console us. It doesn't take away boredom. It doesn't listen to our problems. It is a fair weather friend....actually not even a friend at all. It is that bi*chy girl in jr. high that we thought liked us, but only pretends to until she can stab us in the back. Memorize it! Put it to song. Make up a dance…I don’t how you remember it… LIVE IT! Okay you addict, get your big butt back on the wagon! Stop putting it off. Remember YOU ARE AN ADDICT! Oh you were so proud of yourself for 2 months. Well the jokes on you. Two months is not enough to give you permission to go back to your crappy eating. It only took two months to take off 45 lbs. I bet it would only take 2 months to gain 45 lbs. Didn’t you have some NSV along the way? Remember what it felt like to sit in a chair and feel like you didn’t know what to do with your fat stubby arms except cross them over your too big belly? Remember how it felt when your husband put it arms around you and you felt like he had to try too hard to hug you? Remember the first time you crossed your legs in YEARS. Maybe not as comfortable as you want, but you did it without even thinking. Remember putting those size 22 jeans in the give away and lounging around the house in the size 18 jeans. Remember putting on the shirt that hasn’t fit you in years. Do you really want to be back to that person that you see in all the pictures that have been taken of you over the past years? Remember when you started out and your goal was to feel comfortable sitting on the bleachers watching your kids play ball. Have you even thought recently that you have felt more comfortable doing that? What is more important to you? A slimy greasy piece of pizza and doughy cookie dough that sits in your stomach and makes you feel like crap or feeling great about yourself. What is more fun? Seeing how long you can go in between meals without getting hungry and being surprised by how little took away your hunger….or greasy butter garlic bread with a bowl of sodium filled tomato sauce. You are paying $265 a month for 5 years to have this tool to help you be healthy. You are so cheap…do you really want to throw all that money out the window for a crappy meal that will make your chest hurt and your feet swell again like they had been up until a month ago? Go to bed now and when you wake up you need to decide what you are going to do with the rest of your life. Are you going to live the life of a “user” or as someone in “recovery.” It’s all your decision Julie. It’s up to you to be a wonderful, healthy successful person who loves not only life, but herself as well!

I was a Diet Coke Addict and drank Coke up until the night before surgery. it wasn't hard for me to quit because I dont' want to take the chance of stretching out my band. My doc even said that people will try to sit a soda out until it goes flat and then drink it, but there is still carbonation and so they could stretch their pouch. I want to recommed the wal-mart brand of Crystal Light---- Pink Limade. It is my favorite! No calories and I drink it more than I drank water and I used to LOVE to drink just water. It also helps me satisfy my sweet tooth and gives me taste so I don't notice the hours I go without food.

16801 E Iliff Ave Aurora, CO 80013 (303) 284-0364 Not far from the office at all.

I know someday I will get PS, but I have another 4 1/2 years until I have my lapband surgery paid off so I will have to wait until then unless something else happens.:thumbup: Depressing to know that it will be 5 years before I can get this extra skin taken care of and my breast will keep sagging until then too. I want the headlights back on bright instead of pointing to my toes. I think I would even be happy with my body now if I could have PS. I think I would be able to fit into a size 10 then (I am wearing a size 12 now) and I never even thought about wearing a size smaller than that. I remember wanting to wear a size 16 and couldn't imagine fitting into a size 14. (Don't get me wrong I would rather have extra skin than 100 xtra pounds!!!!) I am getting to the point where I can tell a difference in my shoulders and face. I look in the mirror now and think, "Wow! Is that me?" I think my double chin has practiaclly dissapeared and I have cheek bones. I even wore a tank top when I went golfing with my hubby yesterday!!! That is a NSV! :w00t: While lying in bed last night on my side my hubby started to "caress" (for lack of a better word) my hip bone. Not like when I started to feel my hip bone when I tried, but it is really THERE! I was kind of complaining about being fat last month and DH tapped my rib cage. I told him that hurt and I rubbed the spot and he said, 'That's because I hit bone, not soft stuff." It kind of surprised me that he was right. :biggrin: Another NSV.....I like the way I look in my swimsuit. Now don't get me wrong, I don't have a two piece or anything. It is a solid one piece with a little skirt, but I feel good in it! Who would have ever thought. :eek: This week end has been a bad one for me. I am dealing with a lot with my daughter and I used food. I will be okay. Weekends are the hardest for me. I will be back on track starting now and the scale will keep moving. [ATTACH]126[/ATTACH][ATTACH]127[/ATTACH] High /Surgery/Current/Goal 285.5/ 271 / 182.8/ 142.5 Banded - 10/29/08 Four fills - 4.7cc/10cc