derbygirl

I have never owned a treadmill and I want to buy one, but the price varies so much that I can't determine what a "decent" one costs? Normally, I buy "middle of the road," but with treadmills, that's a couple of grand. Do I really need to spend that to get a good one? I tried looking at some buyer's guides online, but I got the feeling they were all bias because they always sell treadmills, too. I would appreciate any input.

As someone who wanted to have lap band for several years before I was able to afford it, those articles made me feel better back then. They gave me hope, and I'm sure that article will do that for many people. I think surgery patients get as much good press as others.

That's awesome, Drews!! :clap2:

Don't give up yet. Have you had a fill? You don't have much restriction yet, so you're probably pretty hungry. I would try doing less than 1000 calories a day if you can. I don't reach that calorie level unless I'm eating something I shouldn't. (Like yesterday when my family insisted on a Chinese buffet dinner.) Also, if you haven't paid attention to how much you're eating at a time, try that. My surgeon only recommends 1/2 cup per meal and only 3 meals a day. Sometimes this is difficult, but you will lose if you do. One more thing...until you have had a fill, stay away from carbs completely. They will just make you hungrier. Good luck and don't worry...

I have occasionally numbness, so thanks for sharing. I'll try to find a different vitamin.

This has me curious since I'm in the WFAA area and they didn't reveal the surgeon, however, when I had the surgery, I knew there were risks. There still ARE risks now that I'm banded. I've accepted that and if anything goes wrong, I'm not going to whine to the media about it because it was MY decision to have the surgery.

I've only been eating dinner, too, for the last month. I am an overeater and eating food just makes me want more--whether I'm full or not. But protein shakes don't do that to me, so that's what I have for breakfast and lunch. I do add some fruit in the morning though and a little peanut butter at lunch.

Heather, did you completely unfill to see if that helped?

I haven't picked a goal weight. Depending on where you're starting, you might not want to make a long-term goal because, if you're like me, you'll beat yourself up when it takes a long time to get there. I only do short-term goals so I'm never disappointed. Lap band patients lose about 70% of the amount they're overweight, but that's if you're really good and the band was put in just the right place and a lot of things you can't control.

Hi! I thought I was added to this list, but I guess not. I've lost 107 as of today!

Drew, I'm so excited for you!!! And I can't wait to see the Doll Ball pics! You're awesome! :rockon:

Thanks for the support, guys. I'm still pretty down today, but I've made some decisions that I feel will help me get through this. I've been thinking about seeing a therapist the last few weeks and I've decided I am definitely going to do that. You can be sure that mom will be discussed. This isn't the first time she's said something totally thoughtless and upset me. Also, I'm going to sign up at Curves this week, which is something I've been putting off for months due to my financial situation. But I will save money elsewhere--this is important. Wish me luck at the surgeon's office tomorrow. I have a bad feeling he's going to tell me to go on liquids for a few weeks because I've stretched the pouch. I hope I'm wrong.

I've been struggling for a few months. It started in March. It had been 12 weeks since my last fill, so I scheduled one. I lost about 10 pounds in a week. Then, once again, my hunger returned and my weight loss stopped. They didn't give me but about 1.7 cc at that fill. But that brings my total to 7.7 cc in a 10 cc band. Since I couldn't seem to control my eating when having solids, I started drinking Protein shakes for Breakfast and lunch and eating solids at dinner only. It did wonders for the hunger, however, I still wasn't losing anything. Today I talked to my mom and she said that everyone she knew who had the surgery around the same time as me had lost more than me. I was upset by that remark, of course, because it couldn't have come at a worser time. I am scheduled to see my surgeon and get another fill on Monday, but I'm scared I've stretched the pouch now from overeating. I'm starting to doubt that this band is really going to get me where I want to be. I've heard everyone say it's a tool, but how come I'm consistently eating less than 1000 calories and not losing for weeks and weeks? I'm scared and frustrated. :think

Oh, sorry...I was writing my post when Mrs. Husker was doing her's! hehe

Shaydee, I have a list that I made from suggestions I got here when I had my surgery. Here it is. I didn't need most of the stuff I bought, but I was prepared. This list should carry you through your soft foods phase. As for the Protein, I would try to find that New whey kind in the little tubes because I found it really hard to even drink much right after surgery. Here's the link so you can see what they look like. http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=YQ-1006I 1. Heating pad 2. Flexible ice pack (i recommend a couple so one is always frozen) 3. Liquid tylenol (they make adult strength) 4. Chewable or liquid gas-x (or melt-a-way kind) 5. A few books or movies 6. Comfy clothes (loose waisted shorts or jumpers) 7. Squishy pillow for car ride (guard against seatbelt) 8. A sports bra (doc said no underwire for a few days) 9. Protein shakes or drinks 10. Water/flavored Water 11. Blender/food processor 12. broth 13. Sugarfree popsicles and Jello 14. Crushed ice 15. Hot tea to ease abdominal tightness 16. Thermometer 17. Pill crusher if you take regular meds 18. 5 oz. Dixie cups (if your doc says no more than 4 oz. at a time) 19. Milk of Magnesium 20. Pepto-Bismol 21. Applesauce with no sugar added 22. pudding 23. Cottage cheese 24. Chewable Vitamins Ask at your pre-op for the pain med prescription so you can have it all ready to go when you get home, sometimes the pharmacy has to order liquid pain meds and it takes a few days to get them. I'm sure there's more ideas out there. Good luck to you.

It's just that I have such a long way to go and I'm scared I'm not going to get anywhere close to there. My 141-pound ticker is just my SHORT-TERM goal. I need to lose about 250 pounds total. Some people don't even notice that I've lost over 100 pounds. Sometimes it's hard for me to even see. I know I'm probably just being a big whiney baby but I'm just so depressed that I'm not seeing any progress.

Sorry to hear this. If I were you, I'd just drink 3 or 4 protein shakes a day--no solids. Just do the average pre-op diet. Most of us lose quite a bit during that phase.

Hey, I'm glad you guys brought this thread back up. I'm wondering how she's doing now that she's a few weeks post-op. How's it going??

My surgeon is really strict and WILL NOT perform the surgery unless you adhere to the pre-op 100%. This scared me into behaving myself, and as a result, I lost 24 pounds in two weeks. The first week was low-carb and the second week was all liquids.

I like the Snickers Marathon Protein Bars, even though they're hard as a rock, they really satisfy my sweet tooth. I chew them a lot but I think the pieces are somehow re-assembling into a gooey glob inside the pouch. Does that sound crazy? Anyone else have problems with bars--Snickers Marathon in particular?

Les, I see you haven't posted since August. How are things going? Curious because of the frowny face icon you used. We all eat different calorie levels here. 800 is probably just a rule of thumb your surgeon is giving his patients. It's a very do-able number though if you're filled properly.

I found this article on SparkPeople and wanted to share: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/motivation_articles.asp?id=346

Measure your food. I couldn't feel any restriction for a few months either. Sometimes I still can't. So eat 4-6 ounces of food and then call it quits. You might not feel full immediately. For some reason, it takes 40 minutes after I quit eating to feel full. Might have something to do with how I got this way to begin with.

Good luck! Don't be scared--it will be great. You should be excited!!

I actually did go back and read your other posts because it sounded so strange that you were trying to gain weight in order to lose weight. Amazing how quick the medical industry is to label someone "morbidly obese" but once they're asked to cut a check to fix the problem, you're suddenly not fat enough. Girl, I hate insurance companies--I'm a self-payer myself. Best of luck to you.