malinda1229

Banded on July 15 2010...so i'm a few days short of 1 year...lost 62 pounds as of this morning. Did not have restriction until July 1 2011...yes thats right 15 days sort of my one year bandaversary! I'm now at a 6.5 fill - had a MAJOR stuck incident yesterday for the 1st time lasted 3 hours on a tiny peice of salmon skin. Yesterday i was questioning my decision. Today i woke up weighed myself and took a good look at my new body in the mirror and i now realize how far i have come and would not want to change my decision to have the band. I guess i had a moment!

I had sleep apnea and it was in my records - i never got the machine sine i was having the band surgry and figured it would go away. So getting the machine seem like a BIG waste of time and $$. So i tell everyone pre-op I DONT HAVE A MACHINE i get to the hospital and they want to know where my machine is. I DONT HAVE ONE. I knew i was going to be admitted for a one night stay BUT becasue I did not have the CPAP mahine i got to stay in ICU...best care anywhere. WHY 'cause the patient to nurse ratio was 1:2 and my nurses other patient was not very active so i got a lot of help and attention including a tour of the unit at 4am. I was bored and needed to get up and walk! LOL!

I have an issue when eating chicken when out. If my husband (who is a professional chef) cooks it not an issue..why? "cause its not dry! Trick dont over cook your chicken as most people do. If you are roasting a chicken cook it to160 - 165 at the most then take it out of the oven and let it rest for 10 mins.

OMG love love love Greek yogurt. Once per week I make my own from a gallon of 1% milk and I end up with 64 ounces or about 10 6 oz servings. I add fresh or frozen fruit - or nuts and honey for breakfast. I also cook with it I make a great yogurt baked chicken, salad dressing, taziki sauce for lamb or pork. I also use 1/2 milk 1/2 greek yogurt as a sub for buttermilk, use it as a sub for sour cream, i even make muffins with it. But my fav thing to do with it is make a cheese spread - it takes a couple of days but its low low low fat high protein and i spread it on the coco-pop cakes that are only 20 cals each for a disk bigger than a slice of bread - AWESOME!! If anyone wants the recipies just e-mail me at malinda@professorchef.com - i run a cooking school and we teach a class on this subject!

OPPS small but important point. NO SALT,, NO SUGAR, NO ARTIFICAL SWEETENER, NO MILK OR CREAM. I think this works because you wont retain Water...so we will not lose fat just water. I'll take it any way i get it!

My girlfriend gave me a copy of a 24 hour emergency diet and swore she lost 3 pounds. Well I thought she was smoking something. I looked at it and thought geez that's a lot of food but I'll give it a try. I have a copy that I scanned and you can e-mail me and I will get it to you but it is simple Breakfast 1/2 cup low fat Greek yogurt 1/2 cup berries pinch of ginger 8 oz of coffee or green tea - i did not drink WITH the meal snack 15 unsalted raw almonds OR 22 unsalted pistachios 8 oz of coffee or green tea - I drank herbal tea for the rest of the day lunch 3 cups of lettuce greens 3 oz of poached chicken breast or 3 oz of unsalted tuna packed in Water 2 teaspoons olive oil cayenne pepper vinegar 8 oz of coffee or green tea - I drank herbal tea for the rest of the day snack 6 cherry tomatoes 1 hard boiled egg ( ate these spaced out - not in one sitting) 8 oz of coffee or green tea - I drank herbal tea for the rest of the day dinner 3 oz of salmon cooked in 1 teaspoon of olive oil and lemon juice (add herbs to taste - i used dill) 1/2 cup of roasted sweet potato 2 cups of steamed spinach with turmeric or coriander 8 oz of coffee or green tea - I drank herbal tea for the rest of the day the dinner was WAY to much to eat in one sitting so I ate the salmon waited...then the spinach...waited then the sweet potato. I'm doing it again today and don't expect to loose 3 more pounds but may be one or 2 more. Good Luck to those who try! Malinda

i was banded on July 15th and I'm down 55 pounds as of this morning...i love my band!

I'm 4 months post-op and until thanksgiving i had not been stuck, PB'ed, slimed and I can eat everything. On Thanksgiving I think I just forgot about the band and ate either too quick or too much and had a 20 minute stuck episode. I think i was making it worst because my sister and her family were here and they dont know about the band and I'm not telling them! So as it was happening I was getting more and more nervous and came very close to sliming but had a great PB - then it was OVER! My sister kept asking what is wrong...I think i have a Brussel Sprout stuck in my throat - kinda the truth.

I was banded on July 15th have had 3 fills for a total of 5 1/2 ccs. I'm losing weight at about an average of 2 pounds per week. I have NEVER been stuck, never PB'ed (a little burp but not a PB), never slimed. I can still eat EVERYTHING, bread, pasta, rice. So lets consider ourselves lucky that we are not going thru what most do on this board! Who cares what "NORMAL" is its our normal! Yay!!

I've lost 46 pounds went into my old place of employment. and got THE LOOK from several people...you know the look they scan you from head to toe twice...mostly the women. Well the B*tchy ones. THAT FELT SOOOOOOOO GOOD! i did not care that they did not say anything i knew what they were thinking!

I go to Dr Roye in Providence - he is OK - HATE Annette his secretary. It is a large office and they do a TON of bands and bypasses so if you see a different doc you may not have to deal with Annette. Bottom line I'm not a fan of the health care in RI and had been going to Lahey in MA for years but a switch in my health insurance this past Jan forced me to Roye - I had done all the pre-op in MA.

OK so I was banded on July 15th I have lost a total of 46 pounds 26 since the surgery. I had a fill 6 weeks ago been doing OK still a bit hungry between meals. I have never been stuck never PB'd - nothing! Well last week; 5 weeks into a fill I started to fill up faster and stay full longer. The only thing that I have changed is I eat Breakfast around 9:30 - 10:30 so about 1 hour later than i had been and I have been drinking hot herbal tea instead of the decaf iced coffee. I dont want to mess this up I'm losing weight with no side effects. Currently have 5cc's in the 10cc band. any words of wisdom?

geezz I just did the math and I've lost 1.85 pounds per week. Sometime i feel like this is so slow..I thought I was a slow loser, but I guess I'm right on target and maybe should not mess with this. I can't believe after what I have read on this site that I have not had ANY side effects! I feel very lucky!

I was told NOT to drink from a straw. One day I realized as I was drinking my decaf iced coffee - opps I've been drinking from a straw for weeks and I'm not supposed to. Well I continued to drink from a straw for weeks after that. I was also noticing that wow I'm burping and well farting A LOT! Stopped drinking from a straw about one month ago - incredible difference. I no longer burp at all! Just my experience!

Does your BCBS plan REQUIRE a PCP referral...if not go direct to a lap band surgeon!! My BCBS plan did not require a referral!!

I love quinoa cooked in chicken stock - then I put it on the fridge and sprinkle on salad. Extra protein and tons of texture.

Sharon Osborne has the Lap Band years ago in the UK before it was approved for use here in the US. She did want a removal, however, opted for an unfill. She looks great!

Got on the scale today and I'm 1/2 way to my goal. Its all down hill from here. So excited! Just had to share!

Thanks everyone...how long did it take? I lost 20 lbs pre op so from 1.1.10, surgery date was 7.15.10 and as of this morning 22 pounds. Feels SOOO good!

I was eating too fast - don't know if i was "STUCK" but I was VERY uncomfortable. Did the chicken thing and it worked for me!

Try living with a professional chef...and our business Professor Chef (we run cooking classes!) Food Network and Cooking Channel on most of the time - surrounded by cookbooks - entering cooking contests - testing recipes. Now for the good news, I'm doing well with my band and he is losing without a band! I HAD to change my diet and had HAD to come along with me. I have lost 19lbs since surgery on Jult 15th he has lost 25 lbs!

So I had my second fill last 4 cc's in a 10 cc band Wednesday - I started to feel different Tuesday, filling up quicker and staying full longer. Is this in my head or have other experienced this??

LOVER LOVE LOVE them as well...have not seen the caramel ones i think i would like that flavor! Wal-mart had the best prices on them in my area!

OMG I so love Chipotle and have stayed away since my surgery....sheer willpower. I could see myself doing the same thing! Don;t beat yourself up tomorrow is another day!

Congrats...I like that feeling myself!