ericsmom

500 calories seems quite drastic...when I want to kick things into gear I just put myself on Slim Fast shakes for a couple of days. I add extra protein powder to my shakes to boost up the protein. Sometimes you have to take in more and move more to get the weight loss to kick in, too. I don't really know what to say, except that 500 seems drastically low... Okay, I should have kept reading to see that you talked to your dietitian. Yes, 1200 calories a day and at least 60 grams of protein is what I have heard, too. It makes more sense. Kari is right, you want to lose the fat, not the muscle. I think as long as you are controling your intake and exercising, your scale should start to move. Keep us posted on how you're doing.

Congratulations! It's a great feeling, isn't it?! I, too, was a 4.0 graduate and it was a great feeling. You should be VERY proud of yourself! Keep up the good work!

Congratulations! It's a great feeling, isn't it?! I, too, was a 4.0 graduate and it was a great feeling. You should be VERY proud of yourself! Keep up the good work!

I used fitday.com religiously when I first started my journey. I loved it. I liked that it was just a running total of the day and you could enter in custom foods. I stopped using it, and I think that is a big reason I have slowed in my losing...I am vowing to start using fitday.com again. I think it will help me stay on track. At least there are choices out there for everyone's preferences and needs.

Karen - best of luck to you tomorrow...I'm sure you are as prepared as you can be for your surgery. It's great that you found LBT before you had it so that you could benefit from all of the great advice and support that goes on here. Be sure to let us know how you are doing! We're all here for you!

First of all, congrats on getting your surgery date! It won't be long until you're in bandland! I was on a 2 week liquid diet prior to my surgery, but some people are only advised to do liquids for two days prior. Just do whatever they tell you to do. Yes, anesthesia is better now and you will, I am sure, come out of it just fine. One time I was sick with what I thought was a touch of the flu and I did a lot of self-talk to make sure I didn't throw up. Yes, it puts strain on the band, but I don't think it would be enough to make it slip. I didn't feel naseous at all when I woke up, just tired from the morphine! I slept a lot that day and night in the hospital. I was home the next day by 10am. Best of luck to you...keep us posted and make sure you find the June Bandsters group - you'll get to know your fellow June Bandsters and build a special bond between all of you. Hope this helped

I sleep with a CPAP and if I lay on my back, it is off to my right. I usually fall asleep on my right side, but I have a pillow pushed into my back. I have really bad arthritis in my knees, so the nights that it is bad, I fall asleep on my back with my knees on pillows. I didn't notice any difference in how I sleep with my mask. I've never been a stomach sleeper, even at my skinniest may years ago... In the begining, I was the same way...I go to sleep on my right because my port is on my left. But as I have dropped the lbs, I can sleep on either side. I never did not sleep in my bed after surgery. I see your surgery is tomorrow, No Worry, so best of luck to you...you'll get it all figured out. Everyone is different.

Sending you good luck vibes...everything will go great. I had to do liquid for two weeks before my surgery, but dropped 14.5 lbs in those two weeks, so it was worth it. Keep us posted on how things go for you. Good luck!!

Hi Julie - looks like you're halfway to your goal!! Glad to hear you're keeping to your WI roots even though you've moved away. I'm an import - grew up in the Twin Cities and have lived in Superior for 19 years.

Kari - I didn't realize you were having such a hard time with your band! I hope you find out what is going on when you have the unfill...this tool is supposed to be the best thing you've ever did for yourself, and not be something you wished you had never done. I am sure you and your doctor will figure out where to put you at so that you are comfortable and can hold food down. Mary - I'm experiencing allergies these days, too, but I haven't noticed a correlation between that and being too tight. I am just blowing my nose a lot!! This time of year when everything is budding is so hard on so many people! Keep us posted on how you're doing. I seem to have the hardest time with pork chops and breads...I had a No Name Steak the other night that was awesome...so tender! That's my favorite meat. I have to be careful with chicken - I do fine with it if I remember to chew it up well. Everyone really is doing well for being 10 months out from surgery! Keep up the good work!

Connie - Sorry to hear you've had nerve damage, but glad to hear it's very rare. I saw the knee surgeon three years ago and he wouldn't do the surgery because of the weight. I am so thankful for this band because it is my saving grace in being able to have this surgery now. I hope you are able to have your other knee done sooner than later. Elisabeth--your advice is encouraging. I really don't have a good leg (knee) to rely on while I rehab one, so two are almost a necessity. You're right though...one surgery, one anesthesia, one hospitalization, and one recovery. I am touring the rehab facility on Monday. I want to be able to visualize where I'm going to be. With 10 weeks to rehab, I should be in okay shape to return to my secretarial job on August 27th. Once month from today is the big day!! I'm sure I'll be scared the days before, but for now I'm very excited. Every day the pain gets worse and they are taking away my Naproxen 10 days before surgery, so I'll be really sore, then. I'll keep you posted...thank you for your words of encouragement and support LBT is the best!

I tell anyone who asks or compliments me on my weight loss...anyone who has questions I am ready to support them should they decide to pursue the band.

Yes, it is permanent damage that doesn't get better, even with weight loss. It is degenerative, meaning it will continue to get worse, osteoarthritis. Both knees are bone on bone and the cartilidge is mush. So even thought I've lost over 100 lbs, the pain doesn't go away. I take the maximum amount of the anti-inflammatory pain medication Naproxen and I get shots of cortisone every two months to the day as that is the closest I can get them. The cortisone only provides relief for three weeks and then it's like someone in the universe flips a switch and they start to hurt agin. Then I have to bite the bullet for the rest of the time until I can have shots again. I was just curious if anyone else has had the same experience as me :eek:

Hello all - checking in...saw the dietitian today...we talked about strategies to stay on track when I'm in the hospital and the rehab center. I want to still be able to have my shakes. She said to have the knee surgeon write a prescription for my Slim Fast and then they should supply it for me for my meals at the rehab center. That is very cool! I really like them and want to stay on track by having them the once or twice a day I have them now. We also talked about how I come on here for support and how we all seem to be in the same boat lately...weight loss has slowed, but we know it's not going to come off as fast as it did in the begining. It's a lot more work now than it was in the begining and it's nice to know I'm not alone in the struggle. I have to start taking Iron pills 3x a day starting tomorrow. She warned me about the constipation I am bound to experience (oh - pardon the pun!!). I am not looking forward to having to stop my Naproxen either. 10 days before surgery I can't take my anti-inflammatory pain pills. I am already very uncomfortable, so by then I should be in a lot of pain. So once I have the surgery I can have all the pain medication I am allowed. I'll have an epidural for the first 48 hours and then other pain medications after that. That's about all from here - busy at work. My exercise this weekend was to clean my spare bedroom and move all the stuff that accumulated in the room away from my excersie bike. Now maybe I'll use it more. Have a great day tomorrow!! :eek:

Beth - sounds like you had a wonderful day with your daughter. Way to go on the NSV!! I'm sure it felt good to get that size 18 on! I have had a long day of doing a lot of nothing...I finished a project someone hired me to make and I entered all my email addresses into my new lap top and now I've been cruising the Internet a bit. Time for me to head to bed. Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

Thanks!!! It's definitely slowed, but it's steadily coming off...God Bless the Band!!

btt - anyone? Bueller??

I was just reading Mark's post...when I went in to the hospital for my sleep study I was falling asleep during conversations, at the computer, at the wheel... During my test I quit breathing for a whole 2 minutes except for a quick breath...I quit breathing 183 times in 88 minutes. I was very sick. My CPAP has saved my life. I wear the mask, but I'm used to it...just call me "Mama Vader" LOL!

I have severe obstructive sleep apnea...I've used a CPAP for about 3 years now. Even though I'm down 105 lbs, I'm still using it as I have more weight to lose and I'm not ready to give it up yet. I think many people who are overweight have sleep apnea. What is a bipafor?

Congrats on entering bandland...sounds like you're doing well your first few days. Good luck to you!

Chris - WOW!! You look great! You look so happy

Hello all - not much time to write right now...just read through everyone's latest posts. I am sorry to hear that so many of us are struggling right now, but I think it's a huge accomplishment to even be able to acknowledge what we are doing and to ask for support and help. I, too, haven't been doing as well as I could be. Yes, I've had great success losing just over 100 lbs in 9 mos., but it has slowed to a snails pace because I've been eating things I shouldn't and not riding my recumbant bike like I should. When I go for my bilateral (meaning both) total knee replacement surgery on June 15th, I think the physical therapy will be a great contributor to my starting to lose again. I need too snap out of this sabotaging behavior and get back to the basics. Beachgirl, I'm so sorry for the loss of your grandbaby. I hope your son is doing okay and that your soon-to-be daughter-inlaw is okay as well. Jessica - we're all here for you! We're all here for each other I'm off to bed - I'll check in tomorrow.

Hello all - thank you so much for your well wishes for my knee surgery It's on my mind all the time now, just like when I was wating for the band surgery. Thank you also for your prayers for my dad and my family. He's had a good week - sleeping has been difficult, but his days have been alright. Everyone is doing well. Leona get better. It's National Scrapbooking Day, so I'm off to a girlfriend's house for the day and evening

OMG! I can't believe you were in so much pain! Don't they numb the area with a local anesthetic? I do, and I don't feel a thing...I would go through the roof if they didn't use that. I think your body was in starvation mode getting so little calories...you should do better now that you can eat more I have GREAT news...I saw the knee surgeon this morning for my consultation and I am on his calendar for June 15th for TWO total knee replacements! We're doing the minimally invasive procedure where they don't cut the quad muscle and they use an epidural to manage the pain. My DH and son are leaving on the 17th for Boy Scout camp for a week and I don't want them to miss that, so when they release me on the 19th, I'm going to go to a rehab center for the week while they are gone. The recovery time is much quicker. I have almost 10 weeks off in the summer, so I am using this time to rehab myself 24/7... He was impressed with my weight loss and happy to hear of the success with the band. I want to be down another 10 lbs before the surgery, so I'm going to do shakes for Breakfast and dinner and have only lunch and a snack at work. I am nervous and excited all at once. I can't wait and I know it will be here before I know it. The middle schoolers are done with school June 8th and I work until June 14th and then I go in the next day so I'll have the maximum amount of time to recoup before going back on August 27th. I have a lot of friends who also work for the school district and have the summer off, so there are plenty of people that can drive me to my appts so my DH doesn't have to take time off of work. On a sad note - my dad was diagnosed with cancer last week. Boy, it's so hard to say that... My dad has Stage 2 Low Grade Follicular Lymphoma Cancer. It is NOT in his blood or bone marrow (he had to go through a VERY painful bone marrow harvest to check it) and it is very treatable. He started chemo yesterday. He'll do 6 cycles of 3 weeks each, but they will do another CT scan after the first two cycles to make sure the 10 centimeter (4") mass is shrinking like they expect it will. After it shrinks, then they will do radiation as it's too close to the intestine and pancreas right now to go with radiation right away. It is NOT in the pancreas. It is under the right lung in whatever 2 or 3 lymph nodes are there. He originally went back to the doctor to see them again about the persistent cough he's been having...they still haven't figured out why he has it, but it is a symptom of this lymphoma, so it could be related. When they didn't see anything wrong with his lungs they moved the CT scan lower and scanned his upper stomach and intestinal area and that is where they found the soft tissue mass. They did find two little nodules in his right lung that they are going to just keep an eye on, but they aren't worried about them...they said his lungs looks good. So they did a biopsy of the mass first and then did the blood and bone marrow tests to make sure it hasn't spread. They say it has been slowly growing for about 2 years and had he not gone in with the cough they wouldn't have found it because he feels totally fine otherwise. He says he's a tough Norweigan and we're gonna kick this thing. He said the testing has been going on about a month, but they got the final results on this past Friday. They are extremely optimistic and he is going to the Hubert H. Humphrey Cancer Center in the Twin Cities, so he's in good hands. If you could add my dad (Ralph Ross) to your prayers, I would be grateful. That's my VERY BUSY up and down weekend. Thanks for listening, my friends!

Yeah Susan!! Congrats on making your mini goal! And happy belated Birthday!