Catherine55

Congratulations on coming this far already!! From what I've seen for myself & the other bandsters I know, the band works like a charm if you follow the rules by & large. It's a great tool, and I can't imagine having been able to get so close to goal (and counting!) without it! Best wishes to you!! Catherine

Sending you best wishes today!! Welcome to Bandland! Catherine

Hi, Jessica!! One of the things I liked the best about lap band surgery are that the statistics are so much in our favor for keeping off the weight! I've been banded for about 16 months and am just over 3 pounds from my goal. It's been a great ride, and I am really glad that I decided to get the band. I can't imagine having come this far without it. I've been keeping a blog since right before my surgery. Link is below -- feel free to check it out. I have links to a few other really good blogs in there as well. For me, that was one of the best ways to research what it would be like, and I found reading other people's blogs really helpful. Good luck with your decision! Catherine

Whatever! I literally JUST ate a cookie. If I want one, I have it -- but I typically just have one. I don't approach this as a diet -- my overall strategy is just to make good, healthy food choices. I may have lost slower than others, but I'm only 3.4 pounds from goal, and my slower rate of loss has given my skin time to shrink (I am not going to need plastic surgery). Make sure that your wife understands that this is a marathon, not a race. It does not matter AT ALL how quickly you get to your goal, as long as you are regularly losing and moving toward it. Stick with what you like on the exercise front. That's what keeps us exercising! The weights idea isn't a bad one though -- Maybe you can throw in a day of weights every other week -- or do some yoga or something less hard on your body to round it all out (plus, the stretching would be good to balance you from the running). There is no one way to do this -- am sure you will settle into the path that works best for you. :thumbdown: Best wishes, Catherine

That is so awesome!!! It was such an incredible feeling to hit Onederland!! It happened for me last March, and I just stood there, crying tears of joy on my scale. It had been too long since I'd seen a 1-anything on that scale, and it was such a fantastic milestone to hit! I think I treated myself to a massage and some new jeans when I hit it, but I can't remember! So excited for you!!! :thumbdown: Catherine

CALL YOUR DOCTOR!!! Seriously, this is a doctor-worthy thing -- and your doctor can give you much better advice than we can! Catherine

I did mine in Monterrey, Mexico with Dr. Roberto Rumbaut -- price including hotel, airfare (for myself and my mother) and meals was about $9,000 all in. The hospital is brand-spanking-new and gorgeous, the level of care was amazing, Dr. Rumbaut is a bandster and arranged for my after care here in NYC before my surgery, and I had a private room. I was freaked out about the Mexico thing, but then I met someone who had gone to Dr. Rumbaut and told me about her experience. Also, his office staff will spend a LOT of time with you on the phone when you are deciding, and I really appreciated that. Good luck with your decision! You can see photos of the hospital at the begining of my blog. Best wishes, Catherine

I disagree with the person who said that you have to limit eating out with the band. I eat out multiple times a week (I live in NYC) and it's not a problem. I just order good quality, healthy food. I am 15 months out and 3.4 pounds from my goal. I know fully well that I could not have stayed on the straight and narrow for all of that time without my band. And, I love knowing that the statistics tell me that I'm going to keep it all off. I had some doubts right before I got banded -- and one thing that really helped me was to make a pro/con list. Once I laid it all out on paper, my decision was really clear. I recently wrote a post for another bandster about this. Feel free to check it out -- there is a link to my pro/con list in there. Best wishes for your success, Catherine

Congratulations!!! Be sure to take before photos and your measurements now!! You will definitely want them as you work toward your goal! :cursing: Catherine

I didn't tell my work why I was having surgery -- I basically told people about it by saying . . "Hey -- can you give me some advice? I need to tell [someone else] that I'm going to be out for surgery, but I'm pretty private and I don't want them to ask me all about what it's for -- I just really don't want to talk about it. What would you do?" That actually worked really well. Also, if you're not going to tell people about it, be sure to let it slip to someone who talks a lot that you are dieting NOW. That way, they won't necessarily associate your weight loss with your surgery date b/c people will have seen you working on your diet long before you were out. I hope that helps! Honestly, most people are so focused on themselves that you really don't have to tell anyone about the surgery if you don't want to. Catherine

This is a really good point. You should line up your after care stuff before you have your surgery. Dr. Rumbaut has relationships with two different groups of doctors here in NYC, and I decided to go with the doctors at NYU who co-wrote Fighting Weight with Mohammed Ali's daughter. I worked with Dr. Rumbaut's office to coordinate the after care, and had an appointment for my post-op check-up scheduled before I even had my surgery. The fact that he was able to get me in with such a great team also gave me confidence in him. I've been really happy with them. Not sure where you live, but you should see if whoever you decide to use in MX can hook you up with a good local doctor for fills & such. Best wishes, Catherine

Marcox, I still eat burgers every now and then. I don't order them out, since sometimes the meat gets me stuck, but every few months, I'll have one at home. I can't finish a whole one, but eat about half (without the bread) and that takes care of the craving. I also eat Mexican food regularly . . no problems there! I just order the stuff that works well with the band. Hope that is helpful! Catherine

Congratulations on your surgery date, Curlicue! No need to worry too much -- I can still eat just about everything I used to eat . . I just eat less of it! The only food that doesn't work for me that I've just stopped eating entirely is soft bread that "gums" together after you chew it. So, I don't eat bagels anymore (though I could have some toasted bagel if I wanted). I still eat red meat though I'm careful about when I eat it b/c sometimes I get stuck on it. As for getting stuck and PBing, it doesn't happen to me that often . . maybe once every other month? I'm not sure. More often, something will be sort of stuck, I'll slime a bit, and it will eventually go down. It's a little gross, but it doesn't happen often enough that it's a big deal. Honestly, the benefits of the band are so great that none of that stuff really bothers me. I was surprised to find out that it's not as hard as I thought it would be. I'm 15 months out now and 3.4 pounds from goal. GOOOOOOOO BAND!! Best, Catherine

Congratulations on your decision!! I'm 15 months out and am so happy with mine. . am only 3.4 pounds from goal as of yesterday. The band really works if you work with it! Best wishes, Catherine

Yes -- I went to Dr. Roberto Rumbaut in Monterrey, MX because I had a friend who went to him and had a great experience. I also had a great experience and was very impressed with his staff, the gorgeous new hospital, and Dr. Rumbaut and his team. Dr. R is a bandster too, so that made me even more comfortable. If you click on the link to my blog (below) and go to the beginning, you can see photos from the hospital and read about how it went for me. Good luck with your decision! I am about 15 months post-surgery and am only 3.4 pounds from goal!! Best thing I ever did for myself! Best wishes, Catherine

WAY TO GO!!! 50 is such a huge milestone!! As for the mini goals, it really depends on how much you have to lose. You lose more at first, slower later. If I average it out, I lost just under a pound a week, though I definitely had weeks where I lost 2 or so pounds at the beginning. Just set a goal and don't be afraid to readjust when you see what your rate of loss is! Congratulations on your awesome achievement!!! Catherine

Ugh . . that's a tough one. It's one thing to go out, but to have to eat every meal in a restaurant while you're still on liquids? That sounds like bad timing. Can you postpone it by a month? BTW, check with your doctor, but I was fine to have a glass or two of wine a week after surgery. Definitely don't drink beer. It's SO uncomfortable to have the bubbles stuck below the band!! And, BE VERY VERY CAREFUL not to drink to the point of being hungover, ever. You do NOT want to throw up once you are banded, especially not while you are still healing! That said, you can make this work. You'll have to look at menus on-line before the trip and go places that have soups. I called ahead to restaurants when I was on liquids and arranged for them to puree my soups, which worked just fine. If you get a game plan for eating together, you could make this work. But, that said. . you'd probably enjoy it more if you went a month later. Have fun! Catherine

Lisa, you are doing so great! And, you're losing at about the same rate as I have. Slow and steady wins the race -- and it's great that you're getting in so much good exercise! Don't worry about the mirrors. I am sure that you are already looking at a new and improved version of yourself, and that you're just getting better every time! P.S. OK to smash the Wii . . that would make me crazy!! Catherine

A few things I loved. . pureed turkey chili (thinned out with some chicken broth); mashed potatoes with nonfat Fage yogurt; poached salmon (waited until the end of mushies for that); yummy soups (I put some recipes in my blog); sweet potatoes. I know. . I totally overdid it on the carbs, but it was like heaven after clear liquids! Bon appetit!! Catherine

I struggled over this -- I used to drink Stoli O and soda (low calorie, yummy), but because you shouldn't have carbonation with the band, anything bubbly is out. I normally just stick to wine now, and that works out just fine. That is what I would recommend doing. Have fun tonight! Catherine

I follow several of the above blogs (Hi, Amy and Dee!) and have kept my own one for the past 15 months. It's a fantastic way to keep track of your progress and an incredible source of support and encouragement! Link to mine is below! Catherine

No -- but I used Dr. Roberto Rumbaut in Monterrey and was very happy with him, his staff, the hospital and the results. Catherine

There are some statistics floating around about how most bandsters lose a certain percentage (I forget what) of their excess weight. But, based on the bandsters I know and whose blogs I follow, my impression is that everyone who works with their band does very well. My personal experience is that -- after failing on every single diet I've ever done (and there were countless), I finally found a great solution with the band. I am 15 months post-surgery and. . as of this morning. . . am only 5.2 pounds over my goal!! It was hard for me to imagine 15 months ago that the day would ever come when I'd only be 5 pounds (OK, 5.2) overweight. I can not imagine that I could have lost 70 (OK. . OK. . 69.8! lol) pounds on a normal diet -- or that I would feel so confident about my ability to keep it off. I hope that this will be your experience as well! Best wishes, Catherine