travelgirl

Ok, this is bizarre, I've switched to ground turkey wherever I can get away with it (dh doesn't like it except in sauces and chili...) but not because it's healthier, but because it's been $1.00/lb CHEAPER than beef. Even the el-cheapo 73/27 beef. Go figure! But I do find that I'm buying more expensive healthier foods in a lot of cases, and spend about the same on groceries as I did before. My pantry looks WAY different now, though.

If it were me, I would see if I could find another surgeon for a second opinion. If you in fact do have a slow leak, there's omnipaque that they can use for a fill, and that can help. Otherwise, they should be able to replace the leaky port or tubing or band, whatever. There is no reason in the world that you should have to be filling your own band every 10-20 days.

What are the requirements for your insurance? Mine only required that my BMI be 40 or higher, and 2 co-morbidities. Glad to see you've got the ball rolling!

That's right. And I'm easily entertained. LOL! Maybe we'll attract some attention from our cohorts if we keep it up.

Yayyyy!!!!

Sounds good to me! The Lone Ranger and Tonto. Can I be Tonto?

I am staying on plan today because the almighty scale is still moving in the right direction, and I don't want to sabotage my efforts. losing, you must be SO excited, and nervous, and excited, and nervous! LOL! I'm nervous and excited for you!

I agree, I like this site better, with this one exception. *shrugs* No matter, though, because Alex has been so kind as to agree to adding a sub-forum just for Christians. He's awesome like that. :rolleyes2:

You'll have a port for as long as you have a band.

We'll have to figure out a way to run around the site with a cyber banner....

One of the things that gets me is that a few times when someone tried to start a new Christian themed thread, a non-Christian felt the overwhelming need to point them in the direction of an existing thread. This one is a prime example. The 3rd post on this one is directing them to the other thread: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/christian-bandsters-42609/ That poster might have felt that they were only being helpful, but it seemed almost to say "You need to just keep posting in your own thread, and quit trying to start new ones." Especially since this thread is not the only example of this. I just get tired of seeing it. I hope I am not giving the impression that I'm a poor little wounded soul over this, I'm just tired of it. I frequently visit another site that shall remain nameless that doesn't have this undercurrent. I just wish this site could have the same feel to it. And pippinje: I just have no comment for your last post.

LOL, I thought you might. Really, though, if you look for us, there's still quite a few of us still here. CALLING ALL INCOGNITO BANDSTERS!!!! Hello? hello? *chirp* *chirp*

I'm playing 2 sets of volleyball tonight, does that count?

Go Patriots! I'm a Green Bay fan, so I can't bring myself to root for the Giants. :tongue:

Incognito!

My journey started at 285 lbs with a 10 day clear liquid diet, which sucked, but I survived. I lost 11 lbs on the pre-op diet. Surgery went well, felt like hell for a few days, but survived that as well. Progressed along to solid foods on my doc's schedule. Proceeded to lose about 50 lbs in 4 months, and then lost another 10 lbs very slowly, down to about 222. Then starting in June, the scales came to a screeching halt, and then much to my horror, started creeping back up, all the way back up to 237. Clear up until just over a week ago, I kept telling myself that I needed to lose the weight I'd regained before going for a fill. I finally kicked myself in the pants and made a fill appointment, and the scales are back down to 231 today! Goes to show that it ain't over 'till the fat lady is a skinny lady!!!

No, I didn't cheat on my pre (or post) op diet. Some surgeons will stop the surgery if your liver is too fatty, and at the very least, my surgeon uses that as a barometer to whether you're serious about changing your life. My surgery and the rest of my life were too important to me to screw around and not follow his instructions. After all, it's only a few weeks of your life, anyway, right? It's not forever.

Thanks! I think I will go ahead and buy that DVD and give it a shot. Hey, if nothing else, I will have spent some quality time making myself look silly, right? SO, my next question is, can it be learned from a DVD, or do you really need to have an instructor/trainer?

I do think that you have probably been oblivious to it, mostly because you don't care about the issue one way or another, so you're not sensitive to it. I've been around quite awhile, and there's enough people here that are anti-Christian that I have chosen to stay mostly out of those discussions, because MY personal faith is not up for discussion, and I won't have someone bashing my faith. I can defend it if I choose, but for me, this forum isn't the place for that. Rose, thank you. Your post was very eloquent and well said.

Wow, Patty! I just watched the video, and it really hit home with me. I'm completely in tears! You look totally amazing, and you were very eloquent. Thank you!

The only thing I can say is that exercise is the key! The thing that gets the scale moving for me if I'm eating right is to get up off my arse and exercise!

Here's a link to what I have from Amazon. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Fitness-Body-Ball-Resistance/dp/B000B76IG2]Amazon.com: Bell Fitness Body Ball Resistance Kit: Sports & Outdoors[/ame]

The one I bought (I think it was Bell brand) came with a 30 minute workout DVD and a resistance band. It's pretty fun!

Well, it very well could be the cause. High blood sugar starts a cycle in the body... When it comes down, it triggers hunger, or cravings, and when you eat something sweet, your blood sugar goes right back up, and especially with little or no Protein with it, there's nothing to stabilize it, so your sugar will crash, causing the sugar/carb craving again. The best thing to do to stop this cycle, is to stay away from sweets, or when you're craving sweets, eat something very low in sugar/carbs and high in protein along with a small amount of whatever you're craving. The protein helps to stabilize your blood sugar so it doesn't come crashing down after the initial high. Being diabetic does not mean that you have to cut out all sugar and carbs from your diet, but it does mean that you have to find the right balance for your body. I was diagnosed with diabetes during my pre-op testing, but with the life-changing surgery I was about to undergo, my doc decided to wait until 3 months after surgery to decide whether to put me on meds. My a1c before surgery was 9.7, and 3 months after surgery, it was 6.3. Since then it's been under 6 every time. No meds. I still check my sugar 4 times a day, and I watch for trends. I actually do better when I incorporate good carbs (veggies, oatmeal, a few whole grain foods, and brown rice) into my diet as opposed to trying to stay completely away from them. When I do that, and slip up, it throws my blood sugar into a tailspin that might last a few days. But, all that being said, everyone is different, and I think it's all about finding the right balance for your body, which takes time and dedication, but you can do it!

Do you feel that's necessary?