xavier

I have Blue Shield California and thats why I had to self pay...they suck but its probably different for you. I wasnt fat enough and had no comorbs.

I got all my meds the night before and stayed in a hotel. I had my surgery in an outpatient place so I didnt stay overnight. I took a cab back to the hotel and I was fine on my own.

It took me a long time to get good restriction because i didnt want to drive down to LA to get a fill! 5 hours and crazy traffic! Anyway I have great restriction now with about 8ccs in a 10 cc band. I have had good restriction before but it loosened up as I lost weight and probably lost fat around my band. When I had my surgery the doc gave me some laprascopic pix of the band and WOW was there a lot of yellow nasty fat lumps on my stomach! It looked like the band had a billboard-sized Allergan sign on it! Anyway, I wonder what it looks like now.

Well I eat the same as before my band only a lot less and some better choices most of the time. Please dont go on a diet as that hasnt worked for us in the past! Even though I keep my band pretty darn snug, there is nothing I cant eat, except, well, breakfast! I am very tight in the morning so I do have a protein drink....otherwise regular foods the same as my family. I do always recommend a blog by band_groupie called the sweet spot for anyone who wants to hear straight talk about the band from the very beginning to end! Its very funny but she really keeps it real and she has not dieted or exercised, just made changes for a lifetime. Good luck!

Great post, thanks! I have tried to only make changes I thought I could keep up for a lifetime. And serious exercise just isnt one of them. I have a plump dachshund I take for some walks but thats it. The changes in what, how, and how much I eat I know I can do forever!

Sometimes uncontrollable heartburn can be a clue but its not definite. Mine was seen on CT scan I had for something else.

That head game you describe in your blog is what I call 'the internal monologue' and I have to say its nearly quiet these days. Not only was it a promise to be perfect, then it was, ok I ate whatever, so now I have to do this exercise or not eat the rest of the day. I'm sure you know what I mean. It was constant and I guess, for me, it was there for 20 years! (I'm 48) Anyway I still hear some of it once in a while but probably 98% less! And when that voice says "You shouldnt have eaten that, or its bad that you didnt go for a walk" the next voice says calm down, you are at a normal BMI now and you dont wake up obese tomorrow because a few normal but not-so-good choices! I LOVE being a normal weight about as much as I love the almost quiet internal monologue! Good luck...be persistent! I also self payed and it was the best money I ever spent!!

Great job! I call those the 'decades' like you were in the 60s (think of Austin Powers, shag baby!) and now its Elvis and poodle skirts! Congrats on a new decade...I was even thinking of picking out a costume for a Halloween party I am going to based on my decade...no one else would get it but who cares?PS:Stay off that scale a couple of days so a normal tiny fluctuation doesnt put you back in the 60s and ruin your day!

Dear Wiley, For once, I agree with someone who is at a plateau and thinks they dont need a fill! Well, that being said here's my advice for what its worth. I totally know what you mean about the snack foods, they go down pretty easy and they are not good. I have mentally told my self that I can have anything because any restrictions or dieting is just no good for me and it leads me to the snacks. So I instead have foods I MUST eat and those are the proteins. For me that is mainly beans, tofu, and fish but you get the idea. I MUST eat those at the beginning of every meal (or whenever I want to eat regardless of mealtime or even hunger) and then usually after that I cant eat very many snacks or whatever else. I just mentally cant have no-no foods - it just makes me want them more! So now I have MUST-HAVE foods and they keep me out of trouble for the most part. Also (for what its worth) I have a glass of wine after dinner and it really curbs the snacking...I think I would be a skinny alcoholic! But for a lot of people, any alcohol lowers their ability to say no, to snacks or whatever else! Good luck...you posted a very interesting situation and I will be interested to see what others say... PS: There are two ways to turn on your metabolism in the morning: eat (not an option for me either) or exercise. Even a 20 minute walk will do it.

Dear Soexcited, I get stuck on yogurt too and I really cant imagine why! The truth is I dont like it very much but the Greek has so much Protein I would like to eat it regularly!!! Weird huh?

I would think a bariatric doc would know how to calculate it based on your info. The Body Bug and devices like it tell you how many calories you burn each day rather than an average of what you probably burn every day.I know some people love these devices and the calculations but if you are loosing weight you are burning more than you are putting in, if you are staying the same they are equal, and if you are gaining then intake is greater than expenditure..right?

My opinion is to press on with it tight! It will loosen up as you lose weight...

My band is nice and snug and I try to get 900 calories in per day. It is easy to slack and eat less because I can only eat tiny meals. You have two choices: Burn more with exercise (yuk!) or get filled so you take in less. Good luck...its a lifelong struggle!

My fill doc says generally if your band is half full or less its like not having the band...hang in there!

Lately I cant find the chewable Pepcids which I had really liked. There are a lot of generic versions of it that taste bad! Oh well not that big of a deal I guess...

If you go to my profile and click on the posts I have made you'll see that this has been relatively easy for me and I feel have almost no will power. My band is very tight and yes, I do struggle with heartburn but I have never dieted or exercised. I have just eaten ALOT less because my band gives me the bitchslap I need if I overeat! I truly have a weird feeling sometimes like I dont have gravity pulling me down anymore...I would do this all over again in a heartbeat...even the self pay!!

Those are fantastic pix, thanks so much for posting them! I am also wondering about your port...you are skinny with a small waist now so I would expect to see it unless they revised it to a low profile...mine sticks out like a golf ball!

Low impact is better for anyone. Jumping jacks, like running just pound on your joints and all your soft tissue sags. For those of you who love to run, great, but walking has all the same benefits if the distance is the same, it just takes longer.If you are quite overweight of course all the pounding is even worse. I would recommend stationary bile, elliptical, or anything in the pool which is mostly NO impact!

I felt EXACTLY the same way. I lost weight many times over 20 years but always gained it back plus a few! Why would I succeed with the band (paid for out of pocket, no less!) when I had failed so many times before? Well, thats impossible to answer but here I am not only at a normal BMI and wearing a size 6 but, absolutely 100% sure I will never gain it back. I have never gained more than two pounds through this whole journey...I LOVE this band!!!

My band was empty when it was placed but the doc said it does provide some restriction (or it can) and that it seems to press on the vagus nerve which reduces appetite. I think that was true and it lasted me about six weeks.

For me, whenever I have gotten a fill that gives me good restriction, I have also got bad heartburn...its shocking how painful it can be, even waking me up! Anyway I take Protonix these days and usually never eat after 6pm. If I do any night snacking at all I take some Pepto before bed or I know I am going to wake up with chest pain that feels like a heart attack but is really reflux! Its all worth it and usually after I lose a few pounds my restriction loosens up and the heartburn resolves, or at least to the point of being totally asymptomatic with Protonix.