Erin Marie

They low ball it for you so you don't get discouraged by a far far away number. They do what's realistic as a first time goal and according to the statistics on LB surgery. MOST patients lose 60% of thier excess weight and keep it off, so 190 is probably around 60%. But I can tell you, any weight loss feels amazing. I was around 290 first starting out too (5'5") and I was tired all the time. 11 months later I'm 80 pounds down and it's incredible, the difference. I have energy! I could stop now, honestly, but I have a dream weight. Good luck! You'll do wonderful, I know it.

I have not been considered "normal" since the 2nd grade. There was no period where I managed to loose the weight, I've always been fat in my memory. All I have are pictures of a healthy four/five year old. I can't remember a time where I was below 200, ever. In highschool I remember being 244 or there abouts. I am six months post-op and am down about 55 pounds. I think that is nice and slow and just perfect. It took over 15 years to pack on this weight, I can wait two or three to get it off. Good luck on your journey. It is possible to succeed!

Yesterday B- Special K with 1% milk L- Fried pork tenderloin (3oz) and green beans D- Beef pot pie without the pie part (6oz) S- Two pieces Hershey miniatures, 1 ghirardelli truffle I have no excuses for the fried tenderloin. I'm really sick of the dining services dry chicken. I get stuck every damn time, no matter how much I chew. So I caved on meat that seemed moist, but it was only greasy... ugh, I can't wait till I leave the dorm and get to cook my own moist meats. No excuses for the chocolate either. I've been sliding...

As alarming as it is, you need to watch how you consume liquids as well as solids. You've trained yourself to go slowly and listen to your body while eating food, which is why you had no problem eating. But taking a huge swig of Water and swallowing, I've found, has the same effect as eating something too fast. The stomach rejects it. This happened about an hour ago? In another hour drink a couple tablespoons of water SLOWLY. If you reject it, wait another two hours and try the water again. Swelling should have subsided by that point and you'll be fine. If you still can't keep down liquids, that's an emergency call to your surgeon. (I had an experience almost EXACTLY like yours and this is what the nurses told me to do.)

It takes more than one attempt to love the elliptical. It's pretty easy to let the machine go too fast for you... weird since you're the one propelling it. But you have to command your own pace, sometimes telling yourself out loud to slow down. I view it as an endurance machine and a huge cardio aid... I do the interval mode for thirty minutes. I find that I burn more calories than on "weight loss", also strange, haha! The first time I got on one it was two years ago at a YMCA and I hated that hunk of metal :biggrin:. Now it's my best friend. Go figure.

You look wonderful! And happy! Congratulations! Is that a terrier I spy in the corner there :wink2:? A cairn or...?

I was banded in mid May and after about three weeks the restriction that came from the surgery alone faded. Because my doctor was very light with fills, only about a cc each visit, I didn't reach a similar restriction until the end of October. I was in your shoes, and only losing weight through sheer will to not gain while banded. Since then, it's been (dare I say it?) cake to control my hunger. It took a lot of fills and five months to engage this tool, but it was so worth it. I can look at myself in the mirror without feeling disgusted or unlovable now. Real quick, I want to clarify something you said... "I am losing weight but only because I am watching everything I eat." Even with the band at a place that recreates that original restriction...watching what you eat is unfortunately still very much necessary. I fill up quick, but I could easily choose to fill up on cake instead of chicken. With or without the band, with or without restriction, to lose weight I have to watch every bite I put into my mouth. Voice these feelings of frustration to your surgeon. Honest to goodness, they want you to succeed. If a fill will help you struggle less, you can bet they will try to accommodate you. Goodluck, fellow Bandster! HANG IN THERE.

I have so many... Chinese food is definately one. White rice. I really miss sticky white rice. A lot of grains, really. It's good that I don't tolerate them well now, so I don't give in for fear of getting stuck. Surprisingly, I'm okay with chocolate. I'm a broke college student and I recently found out how much better dark chocolate is for you than milk chocolate. I learned to love it... and I bought some really expensive (for me) 65% dark chocolate. One piece every other day or week is enough to keep me happy.

My six month anniversary was yesterday and I have to say that, upon reflection, it really was the best choice I ever made. I'm so much healthier, happier, I can look in the mirror without feeling disgusted, I'm on the verge of entering One-derland (hopefully before Christmas!) and... look at me, getting all teary! I'm down almost 54 lbs (since being banded anyway, before starting the pre-op diet I was 290!) and have 80 to go till my dream weight. Thank you Dr. Lee and the Bariatric Center of Columbus. You saved my life. And thank you to everyone on this board. You're all so wonderfully upbeat and positive. Just what I need as I enter month number 7!

Giving up carbonated drinks is critical. Whatever you do, do not give into to them. I am six months out and occasionally I will have 100% whole wheat Pasta or bread. The first word on the ingredients list must be "whole" for it to qualify as wheat. Otherwise it's just unbleached regular flour. When I choose to have a grain, I have to go super super slow, chewing really well and pause at least a full minute in between bites. It's a hassle, and I really don't crave the carbs like I used to (I was huge bread and pasta lover), so it really is every once in a blue moon. Maybe once a month?

Last week- 213.4 lbs This week- 211.4 lbs I honestly didn't expect that. My weight has been bouncing around between 214 and 212 all week (yes, I'm a shameless scale addict but I only count Friday weigh ins). I am skeptical haha. Tomorrow is my six month mark! Wow, what a journey this has been.

If the weight is not heavy enough I don't think it'll do much for building muscle. I pick ones that are slightly heavier than the ones that I think of as easy, and then I do repetitions until I feel the burning. Usually twenty. If my arm feels like it's going to fall off (lol not literally, just that nice warm limp feeling) I know I did enough... for that set. And then I switch arms or exercises. When the repetitions get easy, I increase the weight, not the number. So, I guess to be brief, heavier weight, same repetitions.

What isaviolinist said. They're called slider foods and they're what many of us ate frequently pre-banding. Think of extremely greasy or calorie laden food. They don't fill your pouch so you don't feel restriction and you continue eating food that doesn't make you full. It's a vicious cycle. If you follow your rules and diet guidelines laid out by your nutritionist, you'll be fine :smile2:. And you can always come here and ask, "Is this a slider food?!"

55 John337 -105 SpideyMom -70 hdmdavid -75 less-of-me -58 Oliviasmommy -25 tulsarealtorGB -38 ruguay -35 Sarahbellzz -34 Jennifer75 -55 Sbush70 -48 bkmom -34 naynayto2 -40 Mamadot -54 Mamabully -41 On the Way to Thin -44 DON14 - 102 carriemc78- 61 Foxxy-21 Epresco303 - 53 cheri634 - 46 klp713-30 bevanfranks -51 sailorChristy - 65 Hallelujah.girl - 40 justpeachytexas - 56 bmooney364-50 VLOslund -42 sapphire12305 -62 Erin Marie - 51 Total- 1486

It took me several months. I had everything asked of me finished sometime last fall, but I wasn't approved until Feburary of this year. Aetna fought approving the surgery tooth and nail. Finally the Bariatric Center sent in a pro-bono past WLS lawyer for me :w00t:.

At first I was a little embarrassed about it, but my closest friends all knew from the beginning that I was working on getting weight loss surgery and they were supportive (I had been obese long before they knew me and just wanted me to be happy). Then as my surgery date grew closer I began telling other not so close friends, and they turned out supportive too. Most recently, while in a Motivation class, some pretty big generalizations about overweight and obese people started popping up, so I spoke up and told the class about my band. Perfect strangers and peers. No negativity that I could glean. Just curiosity, mostly from the girls I had been talking to and the teacher, who was concerned for me nutritionally. I find that good people don't judge. They accept your decisions, who you are, all of it, without thinking themselves superior or thinking less of you. This pertains to not just a person's weight and how they choose to deal with it, but religion, sexual orientation, how you raise your kids, what have you. I hope supportive people start coming out of the woodwork for you soon. They do exist and you shouldn't feel ashamed of WLS. You did what was best for YOU and if others don't approve... well, that reflects more on them than you, don't you think?

My weight today is 213.4 lbs. I was 216 last Friday so that's 2.6 pounds. Crossing my fingers that this lasts! Congratulations everyone, whether you lost or not, this has been another week of taking care of ourselves .

SpideyMom, that sounds wonderful! I too am really missing rice, so that sounds like it would hit the spot. Thanks for the heads up.

Is she fine with her weight or has she struggled with it all her life? If it's the latter, I suspect that your success with the band has been making her feel insecure. I don't think it's so much a case of her trying to make you feel bad... rather she's trying to make herself feel better. Otherwise she'd be more open with her negative thoughts. Maybe sit down and have a talk? Establish that you love her very much and that her being there for you has made all the difference. Depending on how the conversation goes, invite her to work out with you and swap recipes :thumbup:.

B- Fiber Plus Antioxidents Dark Chocolate Almond. Mmmmm <3 L- 5 oz chicken salad on eight wheat crackers. D- 1 oz pork loin, 1 oz steamed vegetables S- 2 pieces of 63% dark chocolate I meant to eat way more at dinner but I guess I went too fast because I PBd and lost all drive to eat. Tomorrow I'll be perfect with my protein!

It certainly sounds like you've had great success with the band! I'm glad. Congratulations and welcome to the site :thumbup:.

I fit into size 18/16 jeans. The 18s are loose after an hour or so, but the 16s are too snug. I'm a 17 haha! I never imagined going from 24/26 to 18/16 in six months. I'm blown away. The reality of it all hasn't caught up to me yet. I still feel like the fat girl, but things keep happening to contradict it! I'm so happy I could cry. Oh, and I never cut the size tags out of anything anymore. I used to because they embarassed me so I'd claim they were itchy. Not even my mother knew why I really did it. Now I leave them in my shirts, my pants, my underwear XD. I love staring at these new numbers before I get dressed in the morning. (Not really a NSV, but I thought I'd share.) Reneek: That's wonderful! Nothing like a new bra AND fitting into an unexpectedly smaller size to put a skip in your step. Congratulations!

It's different for everyone. For me, I didn't start going through bandster hell until one week after my first post-surgery appointment. At first I was really frustrated that I hadn't received my first fill but in hindsight, it was for the best. The longer you give your stomach to heal and adjust to the band the less likely complications will be. Also frustrating but equally important are tiny fills, 1 or 2ccs. To survive your hopefully short lived stay in Bandster Hell, avoid the scale. It'll do nothing but mock your lack of weight loss and drive you toward empty calorie, slider foods. Instead, stay as closely to the healthy Protein rich meals you're currently on and don't kick yourself when you have to eat more to be satisfied. That just means you're ready for your fill :thumbup:. Hang in there! There is light at the end of the tunnel.

My surgeon explained that it was the carbonation. It creates gas in your pouch that can aid in causing complications down the road. It's also excess calories and artificial sweetners that you're better off without. If you're missing flavor, I would recommend Crystal Light. The peach tea is quite delicious and I find that I only need to use half a pack to get my hit of flavor!

B- Slimfast LowCarb chocolate Protein shake. I don't normally drink my Breakfast or protein but today I just wasn't in the mood to nibble on a bar. I never finish when I'm not committed to eating it. L- One 5/6 inch flour tortilla with bell pepper (red and yellow), refried Beans, lettece and a sprinkle of cheddar. One mini reese cup. I've been good for a the past few days so I treated myself. 44 calories feels like a cupcake LOL. D- I will probably get the grilled chicken sandwich and throw out the starchy bread, as usual. They get some sort of vegetable, carrot or corn. Maybe even a fruit, like grapes? We'll see!