Iulizbug

I have low sugar oatmeal in the morning, though sometimes I am too tight to get it down (like this morning...) (120 cal) low fat cottage cheese as a snack (75 cal) Lean cuisine for lunch (200-350 cal) Cheese stick for snack (70 cal) chicken breast with veggies for dinner (300 cal) (950 cal) ***I also eat crab meat, salmon,turkey, ham, roast beef, beef jerkey, egg beaters, soy chips and high fiber/low carb cereal quite a bit. ~Liz~ 03/10/06 241/181/150ish 5'7''

I HAVE TO exercise to lose. Even when I cut back on calories and watch my diet w/out exercise there is no loss on the scale. I came to terms with this at the beginning of my journey and do not think I would be sucessful with my WL if I didn't. I work out 5 times a week usually. ~Liz~l 03/10/06 241/181/150ish (60 lbs down today!!! ) 5'7''

PB stands for "Productive Burp" , which is caused when a person eats too fast or takes too big of a bite and the food comes back up because the stoma is blocked and it has nowhere to go. It is usually associated with a "golfball feeling" beforehand and is oftentimes controlled by simply letting the food pass and not taking another bite. If you have had a rough PB it is a good idea to go on liquids for the next meal or day if it was real bad b/c your stoma will be irritated and swollen. ~Liz~ 03/10/06 241/181/150ish 5'7''

I will stay. I have 20-25 lbs to go and love it here!! ~Liz~ 03/10/06 241/182/150ish 5'7''

I am down 1 lb this week. Finally the scale moves!!! ~Liz~ 03/10/06/06 241/184/150ish 5'7''

I am the same way. I used to use drugs heavily when I was in college and was thin and beautiful and felt like the life of the party. When I quit, I gained weight and turned to eating.....:hungry: Fast forward 3 years later I am losing the weight but now I want to shop...(Sigh..) It seems that people with addictive personalities will always have to deal with that feeling of boredom and void. ~Liz~ 03/10/06 241/187/150ish 5'7''

I tan twice a week and have no problems with it. I look much thinner with a brown glow than my normal albino white skin. I think everything in moderation is alright IMO. ~Liz~ 03/10/06 241/187/150ish 5'7''

Way to go Sunsett!!! That is such a milestone, you should be so proud of yourself! :clap2: I remember how ecstatic I was when I hit Onderland--like you I felt like I could acheive my goal and it wasn't so unrealistic anymore. Keep workin' your band girl!! ~Liz~ 03/10/06 241/185/150ish 5'7''

I live in Tampa Telly!! Do you want to go exercise somewhere together?? I know I could use a big kick in the butt from you....:eek: What do are you going to in Tampa? I will see Dr.Jessee for my 3rd fill on Monday but she is in Largo. ~Liz~ 03/10/06 241/189/150ish 5'7''

First off, Congrats on your pregnancy!! I think I would keep the restriction that you have to make sure that you dont' gain a bunch of weight--that is what I am planning on doing. Your body will hold on to some lbs naturally for the baby but the band should help keep you in check from gaining 50 or more. As long as you are able to eat all important foods that your baby needs, then I don't see how a fill can hurt you. I probably would wait until after the baby is born to get any further fills at this point though. Your baby needs all the nourishment you can give him/her. Good luck to you!! ~Liz~ 03/10/06 241/190/150ish 5'7''

So glad to hear that your fill went well for you. Yes, your fill of 1.5 ccs in considered in the normal range, if not a bit aggressive. Most docs fill anywhere b/w .5 cc-1.5 cc on the first fill. That may be why you got restriction from the first fill. I was filled the same way. My first fill was 1.5 ccs, my 2nd I was filled to 2.7 ccs and I have my 3rd *(and hopefully my last one for a LONG LONG time....) scheduled for 07/24. You may find that as time goes by you lose some restriction. IMHO the restriction that you have immediately after a fill tends to loosen up a bit with time. This is due to losing weight where the fat pad around your tummy and band is diminishing. Which is a good thing--LOL but you may need a tweak in a bit. Congrats on your weight loss and fill! :biggrin1: ~Liz~ 03/10/06 Dr.Ortiz 241/188/150ish 5'7''

Can add me to the "I need a fill list". -1 this week but have been teetering b/w 190-192 for a couple of weeks now and have noticed my appetite has gotten intense. Need more food to fill me up. It has been over 2mos since my last fill and I guess since I have lost 20 lbs my band is looser. Scheduled my 3rd fill for 07/24 so until then I will try not to gain....BTW Telly that ginger dressing sounds FABULOUS right now!!! :hungry: ~Liz~ 03/10/06 241/189/150ish 5'7''

Wow you are such an inspiration!!! I bet you just feel AWESOME right now!!!! I hope that I can be where you are in 17 mos!! :clap2: ~Liz~ banded 03/10/06 Dr.Ortiz 241/191/150ish 5'7''

Hi there Liz!!! Love your name..lol---Your surgery time will be here before you know it. It seemed like it took forever to get the ball rolling for me but I was done and banded in a couple of months. It does go quite a bit faster if you are self-pay but by all means try to get your insurance to pay if it is possible. Mine wouldn't so I went to Mexico and paid $8,500 with Dr.Ortiz and have no regrets. Keep your chin up and know that you are embarking on a great journey that will get the weight off and KEEP IT OFF for good!! Good luck to you! ~Liz~ banded 03/10/06 241/192/150 5'7''

Hi there...I only have that golf ball feeling whenever I have taken too big of a bite or have eaten too fast. It is the feeling I get right before I PB if I keep eating and don't listen to my body and quit eating or slow down. I have never had that golfball feeling w/out eating BUT I have felt a very tight discomforting feeling in my chest sometimes. When I have days like that I just have to be extra careful on what I eat and how fast I chew. Sorry--wish I could be of more help to you!! ~Liz~ banded 03/10/06 241/192/150 5'7''

Hi Lisa, No, I never had that feeling but it may be due to having such a tight fill possibly. I have never heard of a doctor filling you 3ccs on your first fill. That is an AWFULLY big fill. Most docs start out with anywhere from .5cc to 1.5 cc max. I know I probably would of been in a lot of pain if i was filled that much from the get-go. But then again this is only my 2 cents and I am not a doctor so I would definitely check with your doc about the pain ASAP. Good luck to you!! ~Liz~ banded 03/10/06 Dr.Ortiz 241/192/150 5'7''

Good luck Em!! Keep me posted.... ~Liz~

em1125, Sorry it took me so long to reply--been away from the board busy with work. You have hit on the EXACT reason on why I tried so hard and stuck through the tedious process with the insurance co. to get approved. WHAT IF there is a complication that arises the needs immediate attention?? Well I guess at that point I will have to bite the bullet and take care of it even if it is financially devastating to me. I have discussed this with my doc, Dr.Ortiz, and he implied that financial discounts would be arranged at that time if necessary BUT I am just trying to stay positive and hope that I am not in that 1-3% of people wilth problems down the road. IF there was any way that I could have had this procedure covered by UHC I would of fought it and stuck it out just for that reason--the possibility of other surgery down the road. That thought still scares the *hit out of me. I guess we must all do what is right for us at the time....For me it was surgery NOW b/c I was gaining weight at an alarming 1-2 lbs a week and would of been well over 300 lbs if I waited it out and jumped thru the insurance hoops for another 2 years trying to prove to them that I medically needed surgery. Good luck on your upcoming surgery. ~liz~ 03/10/06 241/192/150 5'7''

Definitely can relate to most all of those. In particular just going out in general has been pure agony for me up until my surgery. I didn't want to embarass my bfriend by being all fat and gross looking at parties, bars,etc. I was athletic and toned when I met him and we used to always go out but as I ballooned up to morbidly obese I never wanted to go out for fear of ridicule. The doctor was another big one I avoided. Hated the scales. And I think I am only in about two sets of pictures in the past 2 years b/c of my weight problem. I would always get them developed and just cry and cry.....pictures always give you a good reality check on how big you really are. You see what other ppl see when they look at you. not always a good thing. I am SO GLAD to have my life back!! ~Liz~ banded 03/10/06 241/189/150 5'7''

4 mo. out and doing great--No problem whatsoever except for the occasional PB induced by me eating too much or too fast. Lovin' my band!!! :confused: ~Liz~ banded 03/10/06 241/189/150 5'7''

Wantlapband, My surgeon told me since I had UHC I would have no problem whatsoever getting approved. I went into the whole ordeal thinking for sure I would be fine. Got down to the very end and somehow my cholesterol went down 15 pts even though I was in last supper mode and eating everthing in site :cry so I didn't have enough co-morbities with my BMI of 37-38 to get approved. My bariatric coordinator told me I could wait another yr and gather more documented weight loss attempts and try again but I was not willing to wait. I think that a lot of doctors feed us a lot of B.S. and that if there is a shot that we would not be approved regarless of what insurance co. we have we should be informed from the get go. I was misled and super-frustrated having to self-pay at the very end. I am SO very glad I didn't wait to do my surgery though. I already feel so much better. ~Liz~ banded 03/10/06 Dr.Ortiz 241/189/150 5'7'' banded 03/10/06

I put on 5 lb ankle weights on each leg and that jumped my BMI up 2 points. Still wasn't fat enough accord to my insurance co. but it did help me gain 10 lbs w/out sitting at home eating myself to death. You can get the ankle weights at Walmart for like $10. I wore big baggy sweat pants and took them off discretly in the bathroom and my PCP had no clue. Good luck. ~Liz~ banded 03/10/06 Dr.Ortiz 241/190/150 5'7''

Jennifer looked MUCH better in Friends. The curves are much more attractive than bones. ~Liz~ banded 03/10/06 241/190/150 5'7''

30 min elliptical and 15 min stair master today. Am going on vacation tomorrow so I need to get a good workout in before I leave. I am going to be in my friend's wedding so I need to look as good as possible since some of these people havent' seen me since I was thin YEARS ago. But on the positive note I lost 3 lbs this morning from my last weigh in which makes this week--6 lbs down!!:clap2: ~Liz~ banded 03/10/06 241/191/150 5'7'' 50 lbs down...40 to go!!! (Or until I feel good...)

So glad that your surgery went well for you!! You should weigh yourself soon. I did when I got back from TJ for my surgery and was surprised that I had lost 3 lbs from when I had left. Congrats and make sure you get lots of rest this week Alysha...:grouphug: P.S. --That pain you were describing is normal. I had it too but it went away in a week or so. ~Liz~ banded 03/10/06 Dr.Ortiz 241/191/150 5'7''