Catherine55

Welcome!! That is really so nice of you -- I'm sure your husband must appreciate all of your support! I can recommend a good book for you -- it's called Weight Loss with the Adjustable Gastric Band. I bought mine on Amazon.com and I found it really helpful. Best wishes, Catherine

You are on full liquids, right?? No reason for you to be hungry! Go and buy some turkey chili from a Soup place (or some other hearty soup) and put it in a blender with some chicken broth to thin it out a little. You can use Greek yogurt (I like the Fage brand) as sour cream. Yum! You do not need to go hungry during this period -- time to start finding some soups that you like! One thing I will say is that . . if you put hot soup in a blender, REMEMBER NOT TO CLOSE THE TOP ALL OF THE WAY, or it will pop off and splatter hot soup everywhere. I have some good soup recipes on my blog -- the Mexican chicken one with cheese is really good, and you can blend it before eating. Hang in there! Catherine

Welcome! And, congratulations on your surgery! Mine went really well, too -- I just had that nagging shoulder pain afterwards, and that was the worst part (the pain was no where near as bad as I thought it would be)! I hope all continues to go really well for you! You are in for some exciting positive changes. Catherine

Ug, yes . . the gas pain! Horrible stuff! That's interesting that Dr. Fielding is doing the 2 incision surgery with one through the bellybutton. I go to Dr. Ren (his wife, who shares his office) for my follow-up work (had my surgery in Mexico with Dr. Rumbaut. I had the 2-incision surgery, too, but the main incision is about 2 inches long, so it's not quite as attractive as if it was hidden in my bellybutton! Be sure to say hi if you see me in the waiting room at the Dr's office. You'll be feeling much better in a day or two. Congratulations on your surgery! Catherine

Welcome to the club! I gained 5 pounds during "Bandster Hell," too! A lot of people gain during this time. Don't worry -- just stick to the diet as well as possible and any gain will come off once you are filled to decent restriction. Hang in there! Check out everyone's stats -- plenty of us who gained like you are doing have lost a ton of weight since that time! Catherine

I also had 75 lbs to lose when I was banded last October. So far, I'm 52 pounds down, and I'm only nine months out (almost to the day). Exercise is NOT a problem -- I do a very boot camp program that involves running, weights, pushups and situps, and have not had a problem at all. Also, my doctor told me it was fine for me to do this. (Check out my blog if you want more info.) I love my band. I love it that it was a less invasive surgery than the bypass and that it could be reversed if I hated it (which I don't). It helps me to manage my hunger and stops me from overeating. I also love it that most people who are banded do not regain their weight later on. For me, this was a great decision and I am very happy with my choice. Also, since you only have 75 lbs to lose, bypass seems pretty drastic to me. Definitely ask your doctor about that. Best wishes for you to make the decision that is best for you, Catherine

Best wishes for a safe surgery!! Welcome to band land! :thumbup:

I finally hit the 50 lbs down mark this morning!!! I am finally back in the 170s -- I haven't seen that number for YEARS!!!! I am so happy right now, and so glad that I decided to get banded. I could never have gotten to this point on my own. I now have only 24.6 more lbs to go to get me to my goal of 155 (with a super goal of 145). What a great feeling!! I just wanted to share it with you guys! BTW, it's taken me nearly 9 months to lose 50 lbs. I saw the other day that someone was lamenting only losing that much, but I feel really good about it! If I hadn't been banded, I probably would have put on another 10-15 lbs during that time, and today I'd be beating myself up mentally because nothing fits. Instead, I'm cheering and doing a little happy dance because almost nothing fits (it's all too big)!! Catherine

I know that some BCBS plans cover the surgery. I went private pay (about $8K), but my insurance covers my fills anyway, much to my happy surprise! Definitely call up your carrier and ask -- you probably have to do a 6 month physician monitored diet before you can qualify for coverage. So, better to figure that out now and start the clock ticking while you are making up your mind! Best wishes, Catherine

It took until I was about 25 lbs down for anyone who didn't know about my surgery to notice. That was more than 10% of my body weight (I started at 230), so it sounds like that may be the magical point! Definitely take your measurements if you haven't already. It feels great to be able to see how many inches you are losing, especially when (a) the scale is moving slowly; and ( you have a hard time seeing the change on yourself because it is so gradual. Photos are good landmarks, too! Congrats on being 30 down! Catherine

Some time before I hit 50 pounds down, my shoe size went back to an 8 1/2 -- when I was at my heaviest, I was wearing a 9. Catherine

I'm there too -- 2.85 ccs in my 5 cc band did the trick! No pain at all, and I can eat enough so that I don't look weird when I'm out to dinner with people who don't know I am banded. I could be better about not drinking with my meals though! Catherine

Definitely take your measurements so that you have something to chart your progress against! It's so fantastic to be able to count all of the inches you are losing (not to mention interesting to see where you are losing from)! Also, one thing I did that one of my lap band books recommended was to write out a "Post Op Plan for Success." It's just a list of the things I committed to do to help myself make the most of being banded. I posted it on my blog about a month ago -- feel free to take a look if you are interested. That was very helpful. Also, I printed out a calendar and marked out my pre-op diet, post-op liquids and mushies phase. I found it helpful to have it all right in front of me like that, and that also helped me figure out how to deal with social commitments during the weeks right after surgery. 2 days of liquids is not a bad pre-op diet at all. I had to do 3 days, and it was totally fine. The only thing that was stressful for me was being around other people who were eating. I carried boullion cubes in my purse and found it really helpful to be able to have some broth when I couldn't avoid being with others who were eating. I hope that helps! Congratulations on your surgery! Catherine

Not to worry! Scientifically speaking, if you follow the rules and get an appropriate fill, you can't help but lose weight! I love my band -- it has made this process so much easier. My loss has been slower than some, but I am still very thrilled. If I had spent the last 9 months un-banded, I'd probably be up at least 10 lbs from my starting point, instead of down more than 50! Best of luck to you, Catherine

BTW, I also really recommend taking your measurements now so that you have a record of your starting point. I've really enjoyed seeing how many inches I've been losing, especially when I go through a plateau. The pro/con list was great for calming me down when I was having doubts, too. And, in retrospect, the things I was scared about turned out not to be a big deal at all. :cursing: Catherine

Hi! Congratulations on your decision!! I was really nervous before my surgery, too. One thing I did was to make a pro/con list and I even took it into the hospital with me, just in case I wanted the reassurance of reading it! As it turned out, everything was just fine. The surgery really wasn't that painful (only real pain was from the gas they used, and it wasn't that horrible). And, 9 months and 50+ pounds later, I can tell you that it was completely worth it!! I blogged about my surgery back in October and posted my pro/con list about a month ago -- feel free to check it out! (Link below.) Best wishes to all the newbies who posted on here!! See you in Bandland! :cursing: Catherine

Hi! Welcome! I am 38 too, and from TX -- but I live in NYC. Glad to have you with us! Catherine

Welcome!! I don't know how to put in the ticker -- I just put my stats in my signature line. To do that, click on your profile, and in the line below your avatar (or where an avatar would go), you'll see "Customize Profile" or something very similar. Click on it, then select "Edit signature." Good luck! Catherine

BTW, that was freaking rude, uncalled for, and completely insensitive. Not nice! You may want to think very seriously about whether you will tell people about the band if you decide to get it. Lap band weight loss is slow and steady (which is the healthiest way to do it & gives your skin a chance to keep up). Also, during the first few weeks after surgery and before your first fill, there is a period called "Bandster Hell" when you can eat what you like and your weight loss is very likely to stall (quite a few people . . including me. . gain a few pounds then). Anyway, I can just see this girl saying something rude during your first month or so like "Wow. . all that money for weight loss surgery and you're barely even losing!" I wouldn't want you to feel demoralized by something like that. Catherine

Heidi, my starting stats were very similar to yours -- 5'6", 230 lbs and a BMI of 37. I was banded on October 23rd and am down 51 pounds as of this morning! I have gone from a tight size 20/1X to a 14, and am still losing and motivated. I attribute a lot of that to the benefits of being banded. The band has been a Godsend for me. Of course, I've had to watch what I'm eating and (finally) motivate to exercise, but having this little device that makes me think about what I'm eating before I stuff it in my mouth and that prevents me from overeating has been fantastic. It has kept me on the straight and narrow counteless times where, if I wasn't banded, I would have ordered the wrong thing or overeaten. I know myself well enough to know that I could not have been perfect on a normal diet for 9+ months -- much less still had the desire after 9 mos. to keep going! But, with the band, it's been so much easier. And, I know that, statistically speaking, I am going to keep off the weight this time, whereas more than 95% of regular dieters gain it all back and more. I hope you find a good solution for yourself! Feel free to check out my blog if you want to see how someone with a similar BMI & height did. I also have a link in there to Lise the Loser's blog -- she also has similar stats (and looks amazing)! Best, Catherine

Good for you for going to the meeting! That is great! I agree with Pachelton -- this site is a great resource -- not just for information, but also for support and encouragement! I put a bunch of posts about my surgery, post-op plan for success, foods that work, etc. on my blog. Feel free to take a look if you are interested. I did a lot of my pre-op research by looking at others' blogs -- there are some great ones out there, and it gives a good idea of what to expect. Best wishes, Catherine

Wonderful!! Congratulations and best wishes for a safe surgery and speedy recovery! Be sure to pack lip balm for the hospital. Also, definitely take your measurements (chest, waist, hips, thighs, calves, lower arm, upper arm, wrist, ankle) today and put them in a spreadsheet (or even just a notebook). It is so great to see how many inches you lose as you go -- especially if you get in a phase where you are not losing pounds (but are losing inches). It's very motivating! I put my measurements in an Excel spreadsheet and I also have my weight in there. I update every time I lose and do my measurements about every 10 pounds. I definitely recommend doing this! Best wishes, Catherine

Welcome to "Bandster Hell"! Don't worry -- just stay on your diet the best you can. This period will end as soon as you get a fill that gives you decent restriction, and you won't be so hungry anymore. Hang in there -- everyone goes through this! Catherine

I stalled a lot when I started working out seriously (I am wrapping up 8 weeks of a hard core Boot Camp workout program) and it really bummed me out. But, I had taken my measurements, so at least I could see that I was losing a lot of inches b/c I was building muscle and losing fat, even though the scale just stayed the same. Once my body stopped building so much muscle (b/c I was more fit), I started losing again. I did the math last night and will share it with you here: Up to May 21st (first day of Boot Camp), I was averaging 1.43 pounds per week. Since then, my loss has been as follows: Weeks 1-4 of Intense Workout: .55 lbs/week (with zero lost for 17 days in a row during that time!) Weeks 5-6 of Intense Workout: .5 lbs/week Weeks 7-8 of Intense Workout: 2.2 lbs/week So, take a look at your measurements for now and keep up the great workouts! Eventually, your body will get used to the muscle and it (since muscle helps you burn more calories) should speed up your metabolism and help you lose even better than before! Catherine