mariecarmen

I started around your weight and have lost close to 70 lbs in 9 months. I'm 50 years old and my skin has seen better days and isn't nearly as elastic as it once was. I'm researching tummy tuck surgery right now but if the insurance doesn't approve it I'll live without it. I'm pleasantly surprised that I don't look like I'm wearing a suit of saggy, flapping skin when I'm naked. I'm no candidate for a belly shirt or a thong, but no nearly as bad as I thought I would look at this point. Try toning exercises as you lose to firm up as much as you can.

I would do it again in a heartbeat. 9 months after banding I'm down close to 70 lbs. Lost it in fits and starts. TOM effected weight. Plateaued for 3 solid months, very frustrating. This isn't a magic bullet, it's an adjustment to a healthier weight, lifestyle and relationship with food. That doesn't happen overnight. Someone on the board has said this isn't a sprint--it's a lifelong journey. Remember that when your scale seems stuck for awhile. Just keep on doing the healthy things your surgeon's office directed and eventually you'll get there.

I've gone out socially and had drinks with friends. As my band loves liquids, drinking is not a problem. I do feel the effects of the alcohol very quickly. Maybe my limited capacity has something to do with it, or maybe because I have limited food in there to soak it up. Consider the calories in alcohol--it's very easy to drink your calories, especially if you're impaired.

I buy the Isopure flavors at GNC at the beginning of the month when it's all 20% off with the Gold Card. I wouldn't call them gross, but they're a little intense for me. I find if I add an equal amount of water, it's easier for me. Definately an acquired taste, not a drink that suddenly pops into my mind like, "Hey, wonder if there's any Isopure in the fridge, I could sure go for a cold one." Not hardly. But you can only drink vanilla and chocolate protein shakes so long.

Hysterectomy is scheduled for 8/7. I have a consult with the plastic surgeon on 6/22. Let's see what he thinks and, more importantly (unfortunately) what the insurance company thinks. Till 8/7, I'm going to do everything I can to tone my abdominal muscles and drop my remaining weight.

Dr. Phil once said lateness is nothing less than arrogance. At first I didn't agree. Then I thought about it and yeah, WTH? If you know everyone is meeting at a certain time, who the heck are you to hold everyone else up? People who are chronically late make me very, very cranky. Okay, I'm done ranting about your sister's lateness. I drink right up til I start eating, then I stop. This practice may keep you cool when you're waiting for people to arrive.

Pacomamma, I sent you a PM. MC

Dr. Kwon is great-- compassionate and attentive. But it's his office staff of nurses, dieticians, social workers, nurse practioners and secretaries that help you get through and cheer you on along the way. You'll like Dr. Kwon but will LOVE the staff.

Here's my experience with pouch stretching: I was losing weight at a reasonable rate for the first 5 months without major problems. About 6 months out my head started playing with me and I would eat waaay too much, too often, not the right foods. Looking back I'm positive I'd stretched my pouch out of proportion. Lost my way for about 3 months--weight would fluctuate by 3-4 lbs weekly, no exercise, no sense of goal. I just floundered daily while people I hadn't seen in awhile gushed about how good I looked. Maybe that's what made it easier to stray. But I was still 30 lbs from my goal. I made up my mind to get back on track. Did 4 days of liquids only, figured if I couldn't handle it I'd go for another fill. I joined a gym with a friend. Went back to my basic instructions from my post-op days. Guess what--12 lbs lost in 2 weeks. Still doing shakes for Breakfast and lunch. Reasonable dinners. Occasional ice cream for dessert. I think my pouch has shrunk again. But it's gotta start with the head. The FAT part of my brain leads me into temptation and trouble if I let it.

Being the only heavy person in an extended family of normal to thin people, I didn't tell them about the surgery while I was going through the pre-op testing and evals. When I got my date (a Wednesday) I called my mother and made arrangements to visit for the weekend. As always, she asked if there was anything special I wanted her to cook. Anything special? I had a list! She and my aunt had 6 meals planned and I enjoyed every bite of all my favorite foods, knowing it was a "goodbye party" for me. After dinner on Sunday, I told everyone about the upcoming surgery. They were supportive and intrigued . . . and amused by my meal requests, which now made more sense to them. I'm blessed that my family has been cheering me on from the beginning. And now that I'm wearing a 12-14, they've become a great source of hand-me-down clothing, too!

I did a protein shake for breakfast and lunch. A Dannon Light & Fit (60-90 calorie one) around 3pm 4 oz meat and unlimited vegetables for dinner. Took a walk everyday. I lost close to 20 lbs in 3 weeks but it wasn't easy. I just kept thinking about the surgery.

For me it was surgical gas pain that manifested by sharp pain in the back shoulder area. It lasted about a day and a half and eased up by using the heating pad on the area alternating with walking around and moving my arms. I experienced no abdominal gas pain--the kind that's relieved by passing wind. That would have been easier to handle, I think. I had no pain from the incisions if you're wondering. Just a little tugging sensation when I stood or sat down.

You'll learn. For some it's the hard way, like you describe. Others take advice better and don't push the rules. I've spent enough time bent over the sink praying and watching slime drip from my mouth and tears from my eyes to have learned several things: Soft bread is 100% off limits in any size, amount of chewing, period. Toasted or hard bread (crust, for example) is a gamble that can only be taken late in the day. Pasta and rice are equally risky. Dry chicken taken in bites over the size of my pinky nail can be deadly. I will never attempt carbonated soda.

Hey, that's MY belly! 9 months later, my incision lines are just little pale lines. And there's a whole lot less belly than before!

Like BJean, I really appreciate all the support from this thread. Looks like we're all getting very close to our goal weights. I lowered my goal from my surgeon's 162 to my own 150. Like Mim, I want to see how I feel at 150. Everyone I know says I don't need to lose anymore, but they're used to seeing me in a size 24 so now at 14 I look great. But there's still a bit of flab that I can afford to lose. I've been exercising with a friend at the gym and that's made an incredible difference in the way I feel. After a nearly 3 month plauteau I started losing again. Wow. Looks like I'm headed for a hysterectomy. See, I have an excuse for not being able to hold my stomach in! The surgery alone might put me close to goal. My GYN suggested a tummy tuck at the same time. Looks like I'll begin researching the insurance options. Remember how much fun it was to get the lapband covered? This should be a real picnic, huh?

The more I think about it and read your responses, the more I'm leaning toward trying to get the insurance coverage for both procedures at once. We'll see if they see it our way. DrewsLou--you're right--might as well be in a lot of pain ONCE rather than twice! And that's why God gave us narcotics.

I found walking and swing my arms helped a little. Maybe it just distracted me into thinking I was doing something useful. In any case, it took my mind of the pain. I also took a few hot showers and let the pulsing Water hit my back shoulder area. That felt good for awhile, too. It does hurt but thankfully, it doesn't last forever. It just feels like it does. Just keep telling yourself you're going to be thin soon and the pain will be a distant memory.

Liz, do you mind me asking how much weight you lost? MC

Hmmm, I edited a sentence and now there are a bunch of codes in my question. Sorry if they make the contents difficult to read.

Krystal, I've just read 7 pages of posts and wonder--where are you? How are you doing? You've been an inspiration, please post again.

I joined Planet Fitness a few days ago and went Saturday morning for the first time. I did 10 minutes on both the treadmill and recumbent bike to warm up, then the 30 minute circuit. Wrapped it up with 10 more minutes on the treadmill and 3.5 (was shooting for 10 but OH, MY GOD, IT HURT!) on the elliptical machine. I noticed the circuit training sign said not to do it two days in a row. What's the best way to make use of this gym membership? Go every other day? Concentrate on some machines one day and others the next? The first time I'll be able to do that Personalized build your schedule class is Friday. I don't want to lose motivation till then, but I don't want to do harm to myself either! Thanks, MC

I was banded last September. I can moderately gulp liquids without a problem except first thing in the morning--it's slow sipping till about noon when things loosen up. Liquids tend to back up on me, if I drink too fast. If I take too big a drink I have to wait till the pressure eases up before considering the next taste. You'll see how you feel--your band is not embarrassed to let you know when you've done something to displease it. Overall, slower and smaller is better--both with eating and drinking.

I came to the site today looking for an answer to this very issue. I haven't lost a single pound in over 2 months! Granted I'm not being the ideal bandster, but Gee Whiz, I'm not taking in anywhere near the calories I did a year ago while maintaining a HUGE body mass. I keep thinking, this can't be it. I can't be at my set-point weight already. 60 lbs gone is great, but not what I want. So, starting Monday (come on, tomorrow's Mother's Day and you know I can't make unrealistic promises to myself) I'm going back to the Lapband Drawing board. How should we do this--with a calorie, exercise, attitude challenge? Just a statement of recommittment? Let's support one another, all of us Stalled Bandsters!!!!! Wagons, ho . . . . .

I guess this is where I chime in with "everyone's different." The band is a tool, your tool. You have to decide how to use it--not the nurses, not your mother, not even your doctor really. It's a little bit of plastic and it's job is to restrict your intake and help you feel satiated longer. There are ways around both of these things as you will find by reading some of the posts here. With everything in life, you can follow the directions or choose to figure out a way around them. All I can say is that till you've lived with your band awhile, it's important to follow your doctor's recommendations. Later, use common sense, commit yourself to a healthier lifestyle, seek support and enjoy your life. Jack always reminds us that this band journey is not a sprint, but a marathon. If it takes you 2 years to lose the weight, so what? Do it at your own pace and remember this is a lifelong journey. And that journey can include bread, birthday cake and sweets. Just don't overdo it.

Try keeping a bottle of Water with you at all times. I drink a cup of very warm water in the mornings to help loosen my band and hydrate my stomach. Followed by a cup of coffee and my Protein shake. I sip from my 32 oz water bottle on the drive to work and throughout the day. It's always empty by the time I return home. I keep a large glass of water next to me while watching TV or sewing and sip constantly. Like anything else, it will become a habit.