MissWhitzel

Hello everyone!! I'm Chrystal- from Austin, in the Lone Star state! :thumbup: I attended the seminar last week by Dr. Fass. I was super impressed, but I wished they had someone who went through the surgery to come and speak with us about their own experience. But I'm sure I will find alot more in here, and look forward to make new friends, and support system in all of you. And vice versa too! :blushing: I am only 27 and am morbidly overweight at 345 lbs. I've gone through so much of yo-yo dieting. I was always overweight- (since elem school) and I'm really tired of hiding behind all this weight and not living life like I should be! I'm tired of being unhealthy, having people judge me too quickly because of me being fat! I deserve better. My body & heart :blushing: deserves much better than this. Few friends of mine has been banded- they are happier, & most importantly, much healthier now. I am seriously considering the "go ahead" decision of getting one. My insurance covers I think, 80% of this surgery. I think it's worth every penny. Healthiness is my #1 goal out of this. I am skeptical about surgeries, but I think this is much better than gastric bypass. It's much less invasive. And it's reversible. I hope to learn much more as I go with the evaluations, testings, and researching before I make the final appt for the surgery date. Thanks for reading! :thumbup:

Hello guys--- Not a good post here from me but it's the truth and I need HELP. I feel like a FAILURE in my weight-loss journey. I've only lost 35 since my surgery 11/12/09. I am dealing with so many things and I really am struggling. I kinda lost my motivation and I am very depressed with my failure. I had 3 fills, and I keep postponing my fill appt's- I should have had 5 by now. I only have 3cc's in my band right now. I don't exercise like I should- I drink ALL the time with my meals. What is WRONG with me!? I am not doing this on purpose to myself but I just can't seem to get OUT of this FUNK and get going with my journey. I feel that I do have food addiction problem, and I really am stuck in this funk- I was so excited for my lapband and now I am regretting it- I know it's ME that has to WORK it and make it work... I just CANT find the motivation and am screaming to get it back. Any one of you going through this? How do you PUSH yourself to do better? I am very jealous of all of your successions, BUT i am very proud of y'all! KEEP it up, please don't be like me! <3

thanks for the suggestion but I'm not depressed nor need anti-depressant meds. I dont know where this came from but I appreciate the tips and all in case in the future I'd need it. :thumbup:

thanks everybody for the encouraging words!!!! it means alot that there are people that care and been there. I went in to get another adjustment- and I am feeling more restricted and focused on what and how much I eat. I lost 8 more since my last adjustment. YAY. I am slowly adding more exercise into my routines and now I have more time on my schedule (I work at a school, so I dont work full time in the summer) I've been telling myself if I want to go swimming I gotta exercise and sweat my a** off and then Im allowed to go for a swim- I even add an exercise into my swimming. it's helping alot. I just need to set a limit and keep going. thank you guys for the push of motivation!

Why I chose to get Lap-Band? It’s been a struggle my whole life trying to lose all this weight. I’ve been overweight pretty much my whole life. I don’t have an excuse why I’ve become this way, but I have to blame it mostly on emotional eating & low metabolism. I gotta admit I LOVE food! Who doesn’t!? But- I know I love food more than I should. Food is #1 worst addiction on earth. Because: it’s EVERYWHERE you go. It’s on TV, fast food is everywhere, it’s legal, and of course you have to eat to survive. There’s no way around it. I eat when I’m bored, mad, sad, or stressed. Food is my therapy. I gained ALOT when I started puberty. I didn’t like sports when I grew up; I was more of an artist than an athlete. I started to diet and exercise around my teen years, I never stuck by it. I would always give up within a month and go back to my bad habits. Then I went back to it again and failed again. I would lose 20 lbs then gain it back. I was yo-yoing with my weight all the time. I would try many different diets, and then I could not maintain at it. I was ALWAYS hungry… I tried and tried. Last year, when I lived with my parents in NH- Mom and I decided to do Weight Watchers together. I did lose 40 lbs and then when we moved back to Texas, I just stopped dieting and exercising and gained it all back! I was devastated. I was angry at myself for doing this to myself. I always have this issue on my mind, constantly- 24/7. In the back of my head I would be thinking of this and that- no matter how hard I try to stop thinking about it- it’s always in my face. I go to food a lot for comfort. I struggle everyday with this. I bumped into an old friend of mine that I’ve not seen in about 2 years; I could not recognize him at all! He lost about 100+ pounds. He was completely a different person, and I asked him how did you do it!? He said LAP-BAND! I was like, what is that? I had never heard of this procedure before. He explained to me about it and stuff. I asked him a lot of questions, poor him! Ha J I researched more about this procedure, because I’m a researcher and I love to research on new things. I saw that Lap-Band isn’t invasive like Gastric Bypass, and it’s irreversible. That got me hooked. Then I met another friend that also got hers done last year. I asked her more questions and she referred me to check out a seminar about the Lap-Band at the hospital with an interpreter provided. I called and found a seminar, and went to check it out. I was so intrigued about it, but I was also skeptical because I hate the thought of something foreign inside of my body. At the seminar, the surgeon gave a presentation and a slideshow all about statistics, facts, & how it works. He also brought a sample of a lap-band itself so we can get the feel of what it really looks like in person. I signed myself up to have the hospital to check if my insurance would cover for it, and etc. I heard back from them within a week, with the news that my insurance will cover 80% of everything. I gave this a lot of thoughts, talked about it with John (my darling & supportive boyfriend) and I decided it’s my last resort at losing weight and keeping it OFF. I want to be clear that Lap-Band isn’t my magic solution to my issues, but it’s a TOOL to help me feel full fast and control my meal portions. I wouldn’t be hungry all the time. I would still have to watch what I eat and add exercise into this. I don’t want people to think I got this procedure because I’m lazy or want an easy way out of this. It’s the opposite, because I’ve struggled all of my life with diet and exercise. I feel this procedure will definitely help me a lot, because statistics show that those people who go through this have much higher percentage of keeping it OFF than those who do it by themselves or with gastric bypass. I had to go through 4 nutrition classes, 1 exercise consultation, and 1 psychological evaluation as a requirement for my insurance to approve me for this surgery procedure. I started my 1st class in May, and finally got done with all these requirements! I am very excited to get my lap-band on Nov 10th! I am also nervous! I really hope I will become successful with this surgery. This is going to be a new chapter in my life and I am really looking forward to the road to healthiness! I want to thank my family, boyfriend and friends & lapbandtalk.com friends too, for all their support and encouragement throughout this period. Y’all rock!:crying:

thanks everybody for the encouraging words and the reality of this. :tongue2:

Yes I'm willing to give it all up- I've given up alot of things... And yeah, I've cut down the sizes too. It's the snacking in between and exercising more. and yes I really need to work out my issues about letting food go. It's not worth my life to be too attached to food. I am definitely looking into attending weight loss support group offered monthly at my hospital. I do drink wine at nights as well. I really need to cut this down too if i have to for awhile until i get my groove back on and try to limit it to weekends only. I am going to get up and try at this again, and not give up. thanks for the slap in the face... i do need this.

The last time I went for my last fill, I gained 7 lbs. I am afraid to go again and see another gain and feel depressed all over again. I am embarrassed to face it. I am also aware I am not ready to give up my favorite foods, and I am struggling with that. Sometimes I postpone my fills because my Dr is only available on Thursdays and it conflicts with my work and stuff. :Dancing_biggrin: I don't mind the questions; I need all the help I can get! thanks

Hello guys--- Not a good post here from me but it's the truth and I need HELP. I feel like a FAILURE in my weight-loss journey. I've only lost 35 since my surgery 11/12/09. I am dealing with so many things and I really am struggling. I kinda lost my motivation and I am very depressed with my failure. I had 3 fills, and I keep postponing my fill appt's- I should have had 5 by now. I only have 3cc's in my band right now. I don't exercise like I should- I drink ALL the time with my meals. What is WRONG with me!? I am not doing this on purpose to myself but I just can't seem to get OUT of this FUNK and get going with my journey. I feel that I do have food addiction problem, and I really am stuck in this funk- I was so excited for my lapband and now I am regretting it- I know it's ME that has to WORK it and make it work... I just CANT find the motivation and am screaming to get it back. Any one of you going through this? How do you PUSH yourself to do better? I am very jealous of all of your successions, BUT i am very proud of y'all! KEEP it up, please don't be like me! <3

Hiya back! :tt1: how u doing with your journey?

I got my first Fill today as well.... I wonder how much cc's did u get in ur band? I got 1-1.5 cc's. I ate soup with crackers for dinner, it went down fine.

Hey guys! Sorry I've been MIA in the past 2 months... I've been busy and the holidays and being out of town & also just started a new job- now I'm all settled down, about time! Anyway, I got banded 11/10/09. I had NO restrictions, was gaining and I finally finally FINALLY got my first FILL today. I hope this will help at least a bit for now. I ate cheese broccoli soup with some saline crackers today. It went through just fine. I believe my dr put abt 1 - 1.5 cc's in my band. I will go back on Feb 11th to get my 2nd fill. I really really really need to get started with more exercise now that warmer weather is here. I got a Wii from my parents for Christmas, I just need to buy a Wii Fit then I'm all good to go with the Biggest Loser game I bought recently as well. Hope everybody is doing better than I am!! I'm really hoping to do better this month... cheers! :thumbup:

Same story here, 28 and just got banded 11/10 and want kids someday! Gotta start focusing on me and get healthy and get in shape. :frown: I agree, connorsmom is an inspiration to all of us struggling with PCOS... :frown:

YAY! congrats on getting banded... welcome to our club lol Im glad to hear u're doing great and all. Take care!! :biggrin:

aww girl- sorry to hear u're in pain after 7 days... I guess it varies with everyone. I can relate with you about getting our period during recovery process. UGH it couldnt have come at a better time, eh!? DITTO- I bled way heavier and had my period longer than usual right after surgery - not usual for me! I wonder if it's because of that? Hope your cramps gets bearable soon. Take hot baths as much as u can! Keep walking, bit by a bit. I know the feeling of walking back and forth trying to not throw up. Been there- It will only get easier day by day. Hope you recover faster! I know what you mean by staying away from funny people! My roommate is an actor and a comedian- so I suffered with stifled laughters lol :thumbup: take it easy!!

Hellllooo! Banded on 11/10/09 in Austin TX and feeling great!!! Am feeling pretty much back to myself 100% now. I had gone through a painful week last week during recovery because my period decided to show up the day after my surgery- Gosh, I never want to go through that ordeal again, ever! But I'm glad It's over with and I am back to myself now. I also experienced hard time taking liquids first few days, but after 4th day- was fine and got my hunger back in about a week. Everything seems good- I had my first appt last Thurs on 11/19/09 Dr gave me two thumbs up, and LOST 26 lbs since pre-op diet!!! I'm hoping to lose 175 lbs. I have my first fill appt on 12/31 So I am on the mushies stage right now... I was so happy to be eating mashed potatoes, guacamole, hummus, pureed sauce with some ground turkey and ricotta, oatmeal, cream Soups, etc... :thumbup: Nice to see many people here supporting each other... that def makes our ride easier!!