CarrieRN2006

Hello everyone! I am finally getting back on track with my food and so I am ready to start concentrating on exercise. I was wondering if anyone has tried the Turbo fire. Lets be honest at 270lbs no exercise is easy and on the videos the people are like 120 to start so i was wondering if anyone closer to my weight has tried them and are they too hard at this weight or did you do just fine? They look like a blast but really hard so before I waste my money, I wanted some opinions! Thanks!

I was banding in Oct of 2009. I immediately did an amazing job of losing. I started at 302 and was down to 270 but never went below. since then i have fluctuated from 270-282. i have found all of the tricks. I feel like I can not eat a meal without a drink, which is a HUGE problem. the feeling of having the food sitting on top of the band is not a feeling I like so i feel like this is never going to work for me. I told my husband (who is VERY supportive) that i do not want it anymore and just want to get all of the saline taken out. he told me not to give up that i just need to start doing what i am supposed to be doing (while being supportive, he just doesn't understand how hard that can be) I am looking for someone in a similar situation or that has overcome this situation. i recently purchased the biggest loser game for the xbox kinect and like it a lot and have lost 3lb since i got it. I have been a member but never really blogged. looking for new friends and support. i feel like a weight loss failure at this point because not only can i not do it without help but i am not doing it WITH surgery....my self esteem is at the end....Help!! thanks for listening...

Honestly I have no idea how I drink with my band...It just works. occasionally when I do, it causes me to get sick but mostly I am fine. There are multiple reasons why i am not successful. The first is the obvious of not following the rules. Secondly my follow ups were here and there after the first year...mostly my fault. But as far as my doctor-he abandoned me. I saw him in Oct and he was like we can do this blah blah blah...I want to see you next month. Then like a week later I got a letter in the mail that he left and was replaced. I failed to make an appointment like a dumby and just kept pushing it off until now. I hope that I can get back on track. Thank you for your support and good luck to you sbaillie-Welcome to the forum! I am glad you turned to other banders for support! Congrats on your giving up sugar-regular pop is my downfall...I am weaning myself back off of it! It is so hard when you have these little voices in your head thinking everyone is judging you. I know i am so guilty of it! I know that everyone I care about is super supportive but I still cant get those darn voices out of there! I seriously need to get back to where I was immediately post surgery and I have been doing a lot of reading on this new website according to eggface that someone early suggested. she is amazing. She has SO many recipes and so many different ways to incorporate your protein whether its food or shakes. You should check it out. I hope your son is ok and good luck to you! Keep in touch!

the world according to eggface is the site and she is incredible! as soon as I started reading I told me husband we need an ice cream maker hahaha! She is a ton of information!!

Melissa- Thank you for all of the amazing references in your post. I started checking them out and I LOVE eggface. She has so many recipes and helpful hints. I appreciate your encouragement/advice and preaching is different than being negative haha.

yes

I appreciate everyone's kind words and wisdom. It is definitely a relief to hear that I am not the only one struggling after the surgery. Meats are really hard for me too so I usually stick to shredded chickens, tuna, or crab meats. If i cut pasta up small enough, it has seemed to be an easy food to keep unstuck. I think at this point in my journey, I am to the point that I would much rather grab for something that goes through easy like "junk" food then take the time to work on a high protein meat. I think one of my biggest issues in this situation is that now that I am over the immediate period and back to work and my daily routine, I find it hard to take the time to plan anything so I am just grabbing at what works. I am also the type of person that hates leftovers and gets bored easily with the same foods. I noticed that a lot of people have a routine down and eat the same foods for breakfast and lunch. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make it less boring???? Any websites/advice is welcome. I need to make this commitment to myself to take the time out of my busy day. I am a nurse and hear everyone else's stories and struggles all day. I care about people and their outcomes but somehow keep pushing myself to the back burner. We all need to put ourselves first.

My story: I am a 26 year old female from Pittsburgh, PA. I am a registered nurse at a local hospital. I am married to my high school sweetheart-married 3 years, together 10.5 years. When I was in high school I went through three deaths of people that meant the world to me: my maternal grandfather (Jan 2000), maternal grandmother (June 2000) and then my father (Nov 2002). I have always been overweight but the stress and depression in my life sent me to not caring about most of anything esp what I ate. Also within the last couple of years I was diagnosed with PCOS and my thyroid is borderline hypoactive (as if my family history and childhood obesity wasnt enough LoL) I consider myself a happy person in most aspects of my life but I am miserable about my weight. I am an emotional person and I find that food is comforting. Throughout my life I have used food for every emotion and so do most of the people around me, which is why this journey is so hard!!! Anytime we celebrate/go out its around food. After getting married and feeling constricted on my honeymoon due to my weight, I decided that I needed to make a big change. I started looking into weight loss surgery. In Feb 2009 I went to the local seminar to learn about my options. I was scared to death but my husband was really supportive and went with me. I did not tell anyone about going besides him and a close friend from work. We went and I decided on the lap band because in my opinion it was safer, less invasive, and seemed to be a slow progressive change that could be reversed much easier than bypass. My husband and I discussed the options and he was 100% supportive on whatever decision I made. I started doing the preop requirements and finally started telling people a month or so before the surgery. my mom was mad at first. She has been overweight most of her adult life so she understands the struggles but I think at this point it was more of being scared that I was going to have elective surgery and she had heard a lot of horrors stories post op. After I sat down with her and explained my side of the story, she did not agree with my decision but did agree to be supportive. I am also very lucky to have an amazing mother in law that jumped on board the day of my surgery to support me as well. I was banded October 21, 2009. I lost 20lbs the first two months and I was feeling so good. I almost made it to my 30lb mark and I fell off of the boat. Since then I have been between 20 and 29lbs lost. I just cant seem to make the scale go to the 30lb lost mark! My husband is really supportive but he doesn't understand what I am going through. He is overweight but nothing like I am. We keep making commitments to each other to get on track and lose weight and eat healthier but so far it hasn't lasted long. I know everything that I NEED to do, its getting the motivation to DO it that is the problem. I can make 100000 excuses as to why this isn't working for me but the real answer is that I am just not doing what I need to do. The band is tool but it can not work alone. I am looking for someone, positive, that has been through this similar situation and has found a way to overcome it and be successful. If you are interested please please please let me know! I know this was like a book but I wanted to put everything on the table before someone took on this situation with me. Thank you for your time :heart:

One of the things you have to understand is that the port is sutured to your muscle. So now the muscle is trying to recover and so is the band. Every time you move, those muscles are as well. I hope that helps to put it into perspective. I am almost 2 years out and there are times when I can still tell the port is there and it is sore because I lean onto it or move a certain way. good luck with your journey

There are a lot of times when i hate eating now, but there are also times when i miss the things I loved the most so I am frustrated. When you first get banded, it seems like no one is hungry. when I was in the hospital and they gave me clears for the first time, the nurse was like eat and i was like I am trying! haha...but eventually the swelling will go down and you will want to eat again. then you start filling and its the same process over again. I think for the most part though, everyone will agree that you will feel that the weight and your body are more important and pleasing than what foods you are missing. just dont get into the habit of drinking while eating, its a TOUGH habit to break-I am struggling. when you are throwing up what you eat, it does take away from eating it. one of my favorites before surgery was a hoagie, now I cant eat them because the bread and everything is too much-one bite doesnt even make it down. If you are truly going to be happier with less weight and a healthier body, then the sacrifice is worth it. good luck on your journey, know that we are all here for support.

By petunia not having the band yet, it is hard for her to say what kind of experience she IS going to have. she is looking from the outside in at this point and cant say well this is what is going to happen and this is what you have to do. There are a lot of foods that work for some but do not work for others. God made us all different and we are going to be different with this. I understand where Petunia and wheelchair are coming from but the problem with this is we are all here for SUPPORT and it sets a lot of people off because those words, even if they are harsh reality, are not SUPPORTIVE. People come on this forum to get encouragement and support and POSITIVE thoughts. The way it comes off is NEGATIVE. No one wants a person to tell them they are dumb, fat, and stupid. We all need help and maybe negative is the way wheelchair and petunia like their support but most of us prefer friendship and positive support. Obviously not everyone that has had this procedure has the same experience.

I am in NO way an expert about protein shakes but the protein powder that i have used is Wonder Slim. I first did the powder from my doctors office but the taste made me want to gage. There is a metabolic weight loss doctor in my area that uses a similar product to wonder slim that is her own protein but the people that I know that went to her were VERY successful and say that the facts and taste is the same. I get mine from dietdirect.com they are 10.99 for 7 packets. they have 15 grams of protein, 24 Vitamins and Minerals, 100 Calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 7 grams of carbs, trans fat free and saturated fat free. I have tried all of the flavors and chocolate and cocomint are my favorites.

Petunia-I appreciate your blunt honesty on this matter. there are a couple of things to say about it. First of all, you were not banded yet. If/when you are banded you will learn that it is MUCH easier said than done. The people that get banded do because they are having a difficult time losing weight. A lot of people (me included) have a warped perception of the band. It IS a TOOL not an easy way out. You need to make an ENTIRE life change which is what a lot of us have trouble with in the first place. The exercise and the dieting is still the main component. no one, including doctors come right out and tell you that. They tell you that you need to change it, they make it as important as it obviously is. Yes it will help you to not eat as much but at this point, if you eat slow enough and certain foods you can still eat the same amt at that you were previous to the band. I hope for your sake that it is as easy as you think it is because like you said, it is a procedure where you risk your life. Having the knowledge and following it are two totally different things. I am a nurse and definitely know what to be doing and what the risk are of going through my life the way I am. I am still young which is why i chose this route. I need the type of tough love that can be supportive as well. As far as "putting on my big girl pants" I agree with June May-we DID put them on which is why we chose to have this procedure in the first place. This forum is for SUPPORT which is why most of us come on here. While a lot of what you said was truthful it was not very SUPPORTIVE. I hope that everything works out the way you THINK it will but if it doesnt, you will need support and the people on here provide that. No one is perfect.

hey everyone...i appreciate your comments. I hate being a failure. everyday it makes me feel like a terrible person because I feel like everyone around me is thinking...wow I thought she was banded and she didnt lose a thing. I know that I lost 30lbs and that is a biggest success than without the band, but I still feel terrible. Thank you for the support and since I posted this originally I have fallen off of getting on this website for support. I dont know why, I am on the computer all of the time. Since i lost that support, I am feeling awful because I fell BACK off track after losing 6lbs again. I know I have personal support from my friends and family but they didnt have this procedure done like all of us have. Trying to stay on track is a journey that we need to stick together to achieve! Thank you pixi for your suggestions they are def. something I am willing to try out to get back on track.

Jennifer-congrats on your banding date!!! This is only the beginning. When you have ups and downs you will need support. I made the mistake of giving up for awhile and wasn't losing and stopped coming on here for support. If you do not have the 100% support you need outside of this, at least stay up with this forum for support. I have never met so many nice people that are willing to encourage you through all of the ups and downs of this journey! I am sorry that your family isn't 100% but they will hopefully come around. When i first told my mother she was really saddened and upset but I think she was just upset that I was going to be risking myself to a surgery, not necessarily that i was having the wls. The morning of my surgery-my husband, mother, and mother in law were all in tow and SUPER supportive. but that morning, my husband was taking my day of surgery pictures and said-i changed my mind, i don't want you to do it. I am not taking you-what do you say now? (he was joking with me) and i said well, screw you-this isn't about YOU, its about me and I will have my mom, your mom, or I will drive myself! hahaha. It really is about YOU not them. You have a life to live and no one deserves to be unhappy or unhealthy if they can and want to choose otherwise! My breaking point was my honeymoon when i felt out of place and couldn't take in the beautiful vacation I deserved because i felt overweight, ugly and like i was holding back because of my weight. good luck with your journey-keep me updated and if you need a friend-I am here for you!!

Kevin, do not lose hope. Think about the fact that you were 45lbs heavier at one time and if you did not go to get your banding, odds are you would still be 45lbs heavier-if not more. I have been heavy my entire life and have played the dieting game many many times just to gain it back and more until finally i was so fed up with myself, i needed to do something different and thats when i made the choice of the surgery. I am sort of in the same situation. i was banded in Oct 2009 and have lost 20-30lbs fluctuating because i gave up on myself. I recently decided that I need to suck it up, quit feeling sorry for myself and DO something about it. First I thought of the same thing I told you-if I didn't make that change, I would be heavier than i am now. Secondly i jumped off of my butt and did something about it-I got a new exercise program. I started doing the Biggest Loser game for the Xbox Kinect. I know its so hard when you feel tired but i just pushed myself to do it and since about a week and a half ago-i dropped 6lbs! I feel great and it helps me to make better choices. I am like I just worked my ass off to get those lbs off-no a cookie is NOT worth it! grant it, we will always make bad choices once in awhile but we are all human! good luck with your new start...if you need friends/support just friend me! I am trying to get more support on here myself because even though my family/friends are super supportive-they didn't have this done so they will never truly understand! :welldoneclap:

I agree with cocoa! I let it get the best of me for tooooooooo long and got a point where I did not care. Now i am back on track and am wondering why i let it get to me!! Sometimes you plateau and sometimes you lose a lot! just get back on and stay positive! Good luck with your journey!

Hello Isabella....from your post it seems that you have not had the surgery yet. i do not know how long it is until you are having it but you should meet with a certified dietian before the surgery. After the surgery is when they give you all of the information (at least for me) I believe you are just to be sipping on clear liquids throughout the day at first, this is going to prevent vomiting and also help you to stay hydrated. they discourage straws d/t gas. A lot of people say they don't even feel like that. Your surgeon will decide when you are ready to progress, i am sure they are all different. I also suggest that you get all of your shopping before the surgery because as you can imagine you are not going to want to come home and shop or send someone out to do it. you need all of the support you can get!! i got this list off of a website of common things people get and tolerate: tea, non-acidic juice, sport drinks, chicken broth/bouillon, beef broth/bouillon, skim milk, low-fat yogurt, diet Jell-O, sugar-free pudding, protein powder, chewable Tums, and chewable multivitamins. I hope this helps and feel free to ask more questions! you need to 100% before getting on this train-believe me...i dont think i was ready.

Banded: 10/21/09 Pre-op/Surgery/Current/Goal 302.6/294/273.2/140 I am new to blogging so bear with me. I have always been overweight as long as i can remember. Obesity runs in my family. Everything that i would do revolved around eating. Family outings started with a meal and ended with a meal and when i would go out with my friends the first question was always "Where are we going to eat?" In 2002, I lost my father to cancer and fell into a depression. My comfort and support was over course food. After his death, I graduated high school and entered nursing school. In nursing school, you have no time to do anything. I had to work so my week consisted of Monday-Thursday school all day followed by studying all night until i had to wake up and do it all the next day. Friday-Sunday was working and studying so of course all week long was whatever you could get fast, grab it and eat on the run. the pounds just added up. I got engaged in 2007 so of course dieting and worrying was my priority just like everyone else in the world when they get engaged...all my dieting did was make me more anxious and eat more. We went to beautiful Riviera Maya for our honeymoon in 2008 and it was a BIG wake up call for me. Everyone was gorgeous there and i felt like I was missing out d/t physical limitations. After we got back, i made a promise to myself that I needed to change something. This is when i started to seriously consider surgery instead of ANOTHER unsuccessful diet. I attended my seminar in January of 2009 and continued to seriously consider surgical intervention. I was nervous and anxious about not only the procedure but telling my loved ones that i was going to go this route. my husband, of course, attended the seminar and knew the entire time but no one else knew until i finally decided that I was going to go through with the lap-band. i chose the lap-band over gastric bypass because i felt it was a safer procedure with a quicker recovery and being a nurse, i did a lot of research. I finally told my loved ones. My mom did not take it well, as expected. i believe it was more of a concern for the risks of the surgery rather than what the reasoning was. After about a week, she became supportive, along with everyone else in my life. I cleared everyone and was approved and scheduled my surgery for October 21, 2009. I started my journey on October 7th at 302lbs (BMI: 47). I started my pre-op diet and lost 8lbs. I went into surgery on October 21st at 294lbs (BMI: 46) with Dr Uchal at Allegheny General Hospital in my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. I had a small setback when i went to get my first fill in December. He couldn't hit my port to fill it. He had to take me under fluoroscopy and still couldn't fill it. My port had flipped post-op somehow so i had to go back into the OR for a small procedure to flip and re-suture the port. Finally I was on track and started to lose again. I lost 20-30lbs by the beginning of 2010. I plateaued and started to get discouraged. I never could make it under 270lbs. I started to feel like a failure and my self-esteem got the best of me. I have had low self-esteem my entire life. I started to feel terrible and instead of going to Dr Uchal, i started to give up. I didn't follow-up like i should have. when i finally brought myself to follow-up, he filled my band a little more and told me to follow-up. Before I could get my appointment set up, i got a letter that he had moved his practice out of state. So this gave me another excuse to not follow-up since I wasn't losing. i have to find a new doctor to follow up with. Finally, I decided to step back and take a good look at my life and i realized that i was no happier now than i was prior to my surgery. The only positive for me was that i did not gain a lot of weight back. i just stayed between 275-280lb. About a week and a half ago, I decided to suck it up and get back on track and get the happiness I deserve. Its time for me to start thinking about myself first instead of last. I am a nurse so all day at work, I think about everyone else and listen to everyone else's problems. So with my husbands support (that never stopped in the first place) we went out and bought he Xbox Kinect and the biggest loser game. It kicks my butt. It is so hard but its just what I needed to get back on the weight loss boat! Since I have started this program, i got back into he lapbandtalk website for the support of others and lost 6.7lbs! Well since its has been so long since my procedure and I have never blogged, my story is a little long...but truthful! Hoping to stay on track and be as successful as i know I am capable.

Hi Marcy-first of all congrats on your surgery and success so far. After reading your first post, it really hit home. Since i have had the surgery I have lost 20-30lbs...but my surgery was in 2009. This is really discouraging in the first place because I should be extremely successful at this point but I fell off of the boat for a long time after my first successes. Everyone in my life is supportive but i do know what you mean. sometimes people that are not in this situation dont understand that their 'support' sometimes comes off as pressure. Everytime I talk to my mom she is like so how much have you lost? I finally told her that I didnt want to talk about it and i stopped weighing myself because at this time, i was feeling negative. she has been overweight as long as I have been alive so she understands the struggles of weighloss but I feel like she expected my band to be a miracle worker. She doesnt understand that sometimes I need mental support with it as well. after not losing for awhile, I had a follow up with one of my doctors and i lost 8lbs since the 6 months prior to seeing her and i was talking to my mom and she said wow...think of how much you wouldve lost if you just exercised...this is why this site is so nice because we can get the support we need from people that are going through the same things. I think we just need to push everyone else aside and think about number 1. Since i have started looking out for me and not caring what everyone thinks, is when I pushed harder and has lost 7lbs in the last week and a half. good luck with your journey. If you need help, support, or just a friend-contact me