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Tamra that's great! My hubby modified the pre-op meal plan to include a few hundred more calories and followed it with me and he has lost over 40 lbs and is at his goal weight. It's a great plan for anyone to follow!

And there's no co-pay!

Tamra, I weighed in every 2 weeks to track my progress and so it would be in my chart. You don't need an appt--just walk up to the counter at the medicine dept where your PCP is and tell they you're in the bariatric program and want to have your weight taken and recorded in Health Connect so it will be on file. They'll just have you wait a minute or two until a nurse has time and they'll call you back, weigh you and that's it! Just remind them that you want it put into Health Connect so your surgeon can see that you're doing it. It shows motivation and accountability and is a great idea!

Great pics Riley! Did they get married the weekend that you were camping? I saw tents in the background, that's a fun idea!

I'm finally having to learn to slow down and COUNT my chewing also, Tina. Until now I haven't really had to worry about it too much but I can tell that now that has changed since my last fill. I'm glad that it happened to me too (ONCE! just ONCE!) because now I know what it is and why it happens and what I need to do to hopefully avoid it! It definitely isn't something I want to get used to and I can't imagine how frustrating it must be for Tina, Pam and Riley to have it happen so often. UGH!!! right? But I can also understand how disheartening it would be to have to go in for an unfill too...this band is a trickey little thing isn't it?

Hey girls! So, I was originally assigned to Dr. Fisher and I had my surgeon consult with him and he assigned me my goal weight. I started at 297.5 and I was 287 at my appt, he told me to get to 270 and then he'd schedule surgery. When I was supposed to have my pre-op appt with him it got cancelled at the last minute because he had to go out of town. They offered me an appt with Dr. Baggs and I had confidence in any of the surgeons and had read good things about all of them. From then on I was a Dr. Baggs patient. I really liked Dr. Fisher and he reminded me a lot of my dad, he seemed very caring and fatherly to me. I'm sure you'll like him. Good luck tomorrow! I can't wait to hear about how the appt goes and what your goal weight will be. Dress LIGHT tomorrow! :thumbup: Tina and Riley--I'm so sorry to hear about all the work stress. I hope you guys can stick around there longer and don't get laid off any time soon, I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya!

Tina I feel like I could've written that last post! All of a sudden last night and today my fill seems to have kicked in! I almost got stuck on some fishies this afternoon ( I know I should've have been snacking anyway so maybe that's good thing since I only got about 10 of them down!) and then at dinner tonight I SLIMED for the first time EVER!!! I made eggs, hashbrowns and bacon for dinner and my plate was just 1 egg fried in Pam, 2 pcs bacon (center cut and only 20 cals a slice) and 1/2 a hashbrown 70 cals (the ones that look like from McDonalds that I baked in the oven). Everything went down fine and about 5-10 minutes later I started getting that stuck feeling and was like "uh oh..." and then I felt like I had a bunch of spit in my mouth! I stood up over the sink and just kept spitting, but no food came out. I felt like it wanted to come up but it wouldn't and once I actually felt a little gaggy like I was gonna puke! So I stood there over the sink for about 5-10 minutes spitting clear spit into the sink until the feeling passed. Thank god it didn't last very long!!! I think my problem is that I haven't had to be totally anal about chewing 30 times per bite, but now that I'm 7.5 cc's my band is much tighter and it's reminding me that it's there. I'm GLAD it happened--ONCE--because I know it's really working and I know what sliming is. I don't want it to happen ever again though, lol! I'm gonna get my measuring cup back out too and make sure I'm eating the right portions. I know it was fine what I ate tonight but I just think I didn't chew enough. I gotta get better at that!

Riley I feel your pain! I tried to chase down a cheezit that was feeling like it was gonna get stuck with some water and it just made it worse! No fun!!

LOL Tina! I ate 3 cookies today too dammit! How is it that stuff like cookies and crackers and chips go down fine but I ALMOST got stuck today on a teeny tiny piece of nectarine! So weird... It makes me feel better to know you ate some cookies too, makes me feel normal! My food was fine all day until those little suckers...oh well, I'll do better tomorrow!

I could totally do Fairfield, as long as there was a few weeks notice to make sure we're not going anywhere and that Bri is cool with having a date day with Sophie on the weekend. I feel like I'm ready for a lunch date/get together. We've been gone so much that I haven't been able to participate in the group activities very much this summer and I MISS IT! Does anyone want to try to get together in Sac this week or next? The only day this week that I CAN'T do it is Wednesday...the week after this one I'm totally available. Anyone?

That's a good question Riley! I actually asked my PCP because she knows me and my health and has a longer history with me. She also has my mom and 4 of my sisters as patients and she said that the bmi chart says I should be 144 but she knows that on my frame that would be too thin. She says that with how my family holds weight (most of them are thin and weigh more than you would EVER think) that she'd like to see me anywhere between 155-175. I was SO glad to hear that!!! So, my first goal is to be under 200, then to be 175, and then eventually maybe I can get to 155. 155 seems so impossible to me because I haven't weighed that since high school! I was always an average sized gal and didn't gain weight til after I got married, but even when I was a size 10/12 I still weighed about 165! I think you should ask your PCP cuz your surgeon is probably just gonna give you the weight that the BMI chart says you should be and that is total crap! BMI charts want us to be anorexic!

Candra, who is the nurse appt with on the 31st? It could be your CM appt! That's scheduled with Liz McLaren in Richmond...how cool would it be if it was already that appt?! You should check again and see who the appt is with! Sorry I couldn't make it today, this summer has just been really really busy. Everything is kinda dying down now and Sophie will be starting school in 2 weeks, after that I'll be much more available for get togethers and the monthly Kaiser meetings. I miss you all!

I'm hoping to not EVER see my ticker to UP again! But--I promise to change it for the better or worse. If I'm going to be accountable for my weight loss or gain, what better place to do it than here!?

Loving mine too Tina! I'm sure you're right, it's probably all water weight, but I'll take it! With all the trips we've taken and the splurging I've done I haven't been under 230 in a couple weeks! I just didn't want to change my ticker cuz it was hella depressing. I just ate 1/4 cup of cream of wheat w/ a little bit of better 'n peanut butter in it (i know, i know, but I always do a day or 2 of mushies after a fill) and I'm totally full! I haven't gotten full off a 1/4 cup of food in forever, and this is coming after a day with NO food at all! Maybe this will be the fill where I really start to feel like I have a lapband!

Morning ladies! I'm so excited to have breakfast, and curious how much restriction I'll feel yet if any. Last fill it took about a week to notice the biggest change, but I still could tell a difference the day after, just not as much as later in the week. I love the day after a fill! I was 233.4 yesterday morning on my scale and today I'm 229.6! Almost 4 lbs lost overnight!!! I'm gonna keep it off this time! No more vacations for a while and I'm just finishing my period so the water retention is almost gone too. I can't wait to be solidly in the 220's and to be well in to the 70's and on the way to 80's (pounds lost). I'm gonna go make some breakfast, talk to ya later!

Hey girls! I had my fill today too and got .5 cc's, so Dr. Baggs said I'm up to 7.5 cc's. I'm hungry today!!! Can't wait to start eating a little tomorrow and seeing if I can tell a difference with my fill. I'm also going to the Aug 20th group fill, and so is Candi and Nicole. Only 4 weeks from today! I'm hoping to lose 8-10 lbs before my next fill.

I'm ready for another .5 and I think I might be good for a while. I'm really gonna be perfect this week (I've gotten a bit lazy with measuring my food since we've been on lots of trips) and see just exactly how I feel after eating the amount we're supposed to. I just started my period today and I'm up almost 5 lbs from that...pisses me off! I hope I'll get rid of some of this water weight before Thursday but I'm not gonna stress over it. I know it'll be gone in a week!

Hi Pam! Our fill is this Thursday the 23rd, I think there are a bunch of us going that day!

LOL, Nicole! I just noticed my shadow a few weeks ago and was laughing with Bri at how much smaller both of our shadows were. Pretty cool!

CONGRATULATIONS RILEY!!!!! :) I'm SO stinkin' proud of you. I can't wait to be in the 90lb club with ya! You go girl! Sometimes our bodies just need a little break, don't you think? Keep it guessing!

That's a big ass frog!

Nicole, at first I thought I wouldn't mind but then I remembered how frickin' hungry I am for that first 24 hours and I want to have the energy to boogie board and hike and play and I know I won't have it with no food in me. We're still planning really healthy good meals with lots of physical activity so I think I'll be okay! I'm just putting a list together right now and am gonna pack up tomorrow so we can leave at 8am Friday morning.

Hey girls! I got my appt moved to next Thursday's (the 23rd) group fill also. We're going camping this Friday and want to leave early in the morning. I also don't want to be on liquids the first 24 hours. That would suck and I wouldn't have much energy to do fun stuff! So I guess I'll see most of you next Thursday! WOOHOO!

Hey girls! Sounds like you all had a great time at lunch, your pic is so cute and you're all looking amazing! I can't wait til the next meet-up. We'll be coming home tomorrow from our beach vacation. I've had so much fun! We've been to the beach every day, reading, playing ping pong, going on hikes, relaxing in the hot tub, eating lots of junk (chips, ice cream, cookies...bad, bad). I'm kinda afraid to weigh on Monday morning! I'm gonna have to be awesome and kick butt all week cuz I have a fill on Friday and want to be the same or less than I was at my fill a few weeks ago. I'll post some pics when I get back! Have a great weekend. :frown:

Hi girls! Just checking in real quick, there's too much to read so I'm just saying hi. We're having a great time and I've been so much more active this trip than on any of the other 25 consecutive years that I've been here--it's awesome!!! I've taken tons of pics and will post some when I get back. Have a great week!