sandi2004

Hi - I'm Sandi and was banded almost 6 years ago. I lost 250 pounds and have been maintaining it for 4 years. I'd be glad to offer any help I can to you on your journey. don't worry about your 6 months pre surgery diet. It's after you're banded that is important. That's when you will have the tool that will assist you in your weight loss and new life. Please feel free to PM or email me. You may find some useful information on my blog. You may want to check it out at Sandi's Banded Living — My Lapband Weight Loss Success Story Let me know

Alli, hi, I'm Sandi and I was banded in May of 2004. I really understand where you are at right now and would be willing to do whatever I can to hlp you. It is quicker and easier to communicate by PM or email - sandi@banded living.com. I lost 250 lbs and have had to kickstart myself many times in the past year or so to keep from totally falling ff the wagon. I am up in Ventura so we are almost "neighbors". Let me know what you think.

I'll be happy to try to help you. First of all, congratulate yourself for the wieght you have lost and kept off! No, now REALLY do it!!!! OK, now you have given me all of the information we need to help get you back on track. If you are going to commit to it, why don't you make an appointment to see your doctor in a month, when you will have been back on track for a little bit? This will up the ante and also demonstrate to yourself your level of committment. Just a thought...you do what feels right to you. Next, you are super busy- I get it. There are ways to set up your food schedule so that it works into your hectic daily schedule. Again, another commitment required on your part- you need to plan....Your choice, remember, it's all about choices. Take a look at your kids.....now take a really good look at them...do they want their mom to be healthy and happy and able to keep up with them? I bet they do. ou had the surgery to help yourself so now you have to help yourself....Don't worry about the gym to start with. If you put too much more on your plate you will not have the mpotivatio n to do anything. You will be overwhelmed- which is exactly where you are. Work on one step at a time...let's look at food...do you make your kidslunches to take to school? Do you make them Breakfast? Do you make them dinner? You may want to take the next step and figure out what you can eat that is high Protein, low fat and low carb that would fit into those on the go meals..Send me your ideas..You are reaching out for help, are very frustrated and have alot on your plate, alot of stresses in your life that get used for permissions to self sabotage. what was your plan when you started? You can get back to it. I'll help you. Let's do one little thing at a time. My daughter is a single parent of 4 kids so I truly empathize with the 2 jobs, 4 kids, hectic, never ending stress. You can PM me or email directly. If you can find the time, take a look at the latest post on my blog about planning food...Agreed it's easier for me, I was only dealing with one persn's eating habits, but you may get some ideas on how to start planning. You can find it at Adjusting My Food Choices – Breakfast With Gloria Hang in there. You can do this!

well done Old One! Glad it all went so well. You'll be feeling great in no time. It took me about 6-10 months to drop all of my medications and now, every day older I get, the better I feel. Welcome to the rest of your life!

Been off the boards for a couple of days working very hard. In and out of the office, meetings, oportunities for bad choices and I have to say, knowing I will feel accountable to myself and everyone else out there helped me make decisions that were pro-health. so thanks to all of you for being out there. We can only do good things supporting each othe. My six year "bandaversary" in soming up on 5/28 and I am going to celebrate. I have NEVER in my life maintained a weight loss of any kind for this long, let alone a 250 pound weight loss. Jersey girl- congrats on your success moving that scale down. Old one, how are you feeling? Everyone else- check in when you get a chance.

Thank you for the kind words. while you are in hold and waiting mode,check out my blog at: Sandi's Banded Living — My Lapband Weight Loss Success Story Let me know if the info is helpful

Sound slike you are ready. I'll be here to help so reach out by post, PM or email anytime you like. With 6 years under my belt (should I say band) and maintaining for 4 I hope I have some words of wisdom along the way for those learning. By the way I learn something new every day. The great thing about this journey is it brought me even more in tune with my body thatn I was before. You may find some useful information on my blog of my journey at : Sandi's Banded Living — My Lapband Weight Loss Success Story Good luck and best wishes for a great new stage of your life!

please join us and be sure to post your questions as well - it helps us...

You should be back eating solids by now. That would include tuna, scallops, shrimp, chicken, other fish, turkey, etc. Softer foods would include yogurt, pudding, oatmeal, cottage cheese, refried beans,hummus, eggs, lentils, peanut butter etc. You can also use high protein bread, quinoa, couscous, corn tortillas and softly cooked vegetables to supplement the dense proteins. If you like, you can send me a PM or an email so we can converse one to one. I'd be more than happy to... Can you make an appointment with a nutritionist or dietician? since you are early in the process it would be a great time to get some expert advice. We all do our best, from our personal experiences and the knowledge we have gained.

Hi Millie: You can come on down and walk at the beach here!:wub: Seriously though, I'm here to help. It is very common sometime in the first 2-6 weeks to suddenly start feeling hunry again. This happens primarily because all of the surgical site has healed and any swelling that provided restriction is gone. It doesn't mean anything is wrong- it just means you are probablyr eady for a fill. Can you call to see if you canget in to the doctor's early? You may find some useful information on my blog at Sandi's Banded Living — My Lapband Weight Loss Success Story Take a look around and let me know.

Thanks for the kind words- please keep asking questions of everyone. We're all here for you! Good luck on your journey. Keep me updated on your progress.

I wish you luck and God's grace, but remember, it is not about luck, it's about choices- it IS IN YOUR CONTROL, once you have the band.

Thanks for the kind words about my blog. Yes, taking off the weight is "easy" - to a point. Every year we get older it is more and more difficult to get it off and keeping it off has ALWAYS been the issue for me, my entire life. Diets work. Sticking to them is difficult and the band gives you the tool that assists in keeping you eating smaller portions, but we still have to make the choices. A steady diet of ice cream would not result in any weight loss and our bands do not even begin to restrict the amount of ie cream we can eat. We just learn that ice cream is not a good choice (I know,, we already learned that years ago) and select something else that has less sugar, more protein and may actually be good for us. Take a look at this post about it being easy: Maintaining # 006: Banded Living — Is It The Easy Way Out?

Hi Lucy: Every doctor has their own rules for when you can go back on solids...My doctor has us on liquids for the rest of the day, then soft foods for the first meal of th enext day, then progress to solids. Just make sure you take small bites and chew everything very thoroughly. It's just like after surgery. Everything a little bit at a time paying close attention to your body. Your band will certainly give you a signal if you ate too much, too fast or too big a bite. So little bites and very slow and steady when you do go to solids. What does your doctor say? I suggest you follow his/her rules. Since this is new to you you may find some useful information on my blog, which is my story, starting from the beginning of my journey almost 6 years ago. You can find it at: Sandi's Banded Living — My Lapband Weight Loss Success Story Let me know if you find it useful.

Hi Heidi: Welcome - I would be delighted to help you any way I can. i see you have already been out to my blog, I hope you find the information there useful. As you have questions or concerns please feel free to post, or PM, or send me and email directly to sandi@bandedliving.com. It is a journey, with hard work and great rewards!

Welcome Old One - It's never too late! You will find this journey to be hard work, but fun and rewarding at the same time. Your only regret will probably be that you didn't do it sooner.:thumbup: Cat Lady: Hi. Everyone is correct- erosions and slippages do occur but they are rare. Have a conversation with your surgeon and ask him/her point blank about the complication rate of the bands he/she places. Also ask how often he sees slippages and/or erosions. The doctor should be very forthcoming with this information which will then increase yoyur comfort level a little. don't know if you have ever seen my blog, but I am blogging my entrie journey over the past 5+ years with the band...You can read it for both information and inspiration. I have put up some information that I hope is useful to all of you out there. You can find it at: Sandi's Banded Living — My Lapband Weight Loss Success Story I'm interested in your feedback.

It's not about at what weight you haveyour plastic surgery, but about being weight stable for at least 6 months. I had a lower body lift, and then many months later had my breasts and arms done. I can not have any work done on my legs due to having had a blood clot many years ago, so I am stuck with flabby legs and lots of loose skin.:thumbup: But, I have a flat tummy, great boobs for a 61+ year old woman, and my arms are "cut" because I also work out. I have my before pics (in the buff)- that's before plastic surgery, so if I start getting hard on myself because of my legs I just open up that private file and look at the pics and then at me in the mirror...."You've come a long way baby!":biggrin: I have written about my plastic surgery journey on my blog, and just in case you haven't seen the posts yet, you can find them at : Maintaining #002: Plastic Surgery After Gastric Banding Or……. To Nip And Tuck Or Not To Nip And Tuck Please keep asking questions. It is the BEST way to start getting educated.

Please be careful to not set your goals too high (or too low, as it were). I had to make sure I wasn't sabotaging myself along the way by making the weight goal unattainable. I am happy to see you have clear understanding of the milestone moments - under 300, under 200, but remember not to be too hard on yourself. It is a long journey, and I speak from my personal experience. I will help you in any way possible to reach the 140's, but that is going to take alot of work and is a ways off for you. focus on today and tomorrow and Celebrate every achievement! I'm blogging my entire journey from 424 lbs to 175 pounds at Sandi's Banded Living — My Lapband Weight Loss Success Story You may find some useful information or inspiration there. This is an awesome journey. Welcome!

Hi - my doctor has dealt with numerous pregnancies after banding. whjat he says is that he just removes all the fluid from the bands so that the women can eat what they need to. No problems, but he does caution that you want to look at when you plan to get pregnant vs when you are planning on being banded. If you plan on getting pregnant 6 months after you are banded he might tell you to wait f0r one or another. Please discuss this with your doctor.

I look forward to your PM's...you go girl!

If you have about 70% fo your calories come from good protein sources like chicken and fish I bet you could. I'd love to help you out. Send me an email or a PM....I'm here, have been successful and willing to help.

I am here for you. Please feel free to email me or send PM's. To get back on the "bandwagon" I go back to basics and that may work for you too. You just want to decide how far "back to basics" you want or need to go to get your weight loss in full gear again. A net gain of 20 lbs after 2 pregnancies is really pretty good and I'll bet it will come off pretty quickly once you get going again. If you want to start jounraling what you eat and how you feel you can send it to me daily or weekly.Whatever works for you. Or just keep talking...

I was responding to a forum posting by someone who was having a hard time. She was wondering out loud if weight loss surgery was the easy way out. Apparently, that’s what she was hearing from people in her life. I know I have worked very hard to get to where I am today, healthy and at a normal weight. EASY WAY OUT? I don't think so. After battling obesity from the time I was 2 years old, the band finally gave me the means to win the battle. Almost 6 years later I am still having little skirmishes although I am maintaining my weight loss. Take last night for example. I made a great dinner- some salad a piece of salmon and some quinoa. I know exactly how much I can eat, but still put too much on my plate. I also knew when I was full, but continued eating past it, and was forced to pay the not so pleasant consequences of a hard stop. Why do I still do that on occasion? I don't know, but every day, with every meal I still need to make the correct choices. And every morning when I wake up I am still amazed that I am no longer fat. Face it- we all have issues with food- I definitely do, and it will continue to be a challenge for me. That's why we are all out here on line supporting each other, learning from each other. I plan to go back to basics today- everything served on a dessert size plate because that's all I can eat! What was I thinking? The point is, I wasn't...mindless eating is what got me to where I needed the band to gain some control and I am not about to let it take over again. So now you have my two cents on Gastric Banding- Is it the Easy Way Out? What do you think?

That is fabulous. I laughed so hard I cried! May I share the BEST WOW moment I ever heard from anybody else with other people? Thanks for sharing.

It sounds like you are either too tight or are eating too fast, or a combination of both. There is no reason you can't make chili that you can eat. I make some great dishes like that- chili, stews, chile verde using pork loin or turkey or chicken and small amounts are very satisfying..Now the cornbread- that's a weakness for me too so I avoid it. what are you eating? This could be a large part of your problem with head hunger. if I don't get tasty, satisfying foods that are also protein dense I feel hungry and deprived. As to when you "should lose all the weight by" that is an individual thing and just don't set your goals so high that you sabotage yourself in the process. don't give up- you've ost 60 pounds- that's great...Go back to basics..Please feel free to PM or email me and since Imanaged to knock off 250 pounds while eating good, tasty foods you may want to take a look at my blog and see if you can find some useful information there. It's at Sandi's Banded Living — My Lapband Weight Loss Success Story