tonya66

I 100% totally agree!

I did a Master Cleanse last month, are you doing the one with lemon & maple (grade syrup? I think I'm going to do it again next week after my fill on the 17th, since I have to be on liquids anyhow.

I updated my original list (see the very first page of this thread) under my name, and you are added now. Welcome! How are things going?

Okay - lets start the list again. I've gotten really behind in updating everyone - sorry, but things just come up and its hard to keep up with all the post sometime. Here is my list, is there anyone that I missed? If so let me know and I can add you. This will save me from hours of reviewing all the old post. Txpeaches - 1/02/07 1721Summ - 1/02/07 Jenslapband - 1/02/07 Irishamerican - 1/02/07 Angyl2314 (Jen) - 1/03/07 Kellie Reachell (Kellie) - 1/03/07 Skmsu (Susan) - 1/03/07 Cricket - 1/04/07 Babygotback (Audree) 1/05/07 Fiyagirl (Sherry) - 1/05/07 Tinabartlett - 1/05/07 Maillady2 - 1/05/07 Susantunanoodle (Susan) - 1/08/07 Eldonh - 1/08/07 Honeylin - 1/08/07 Tulip - 1/8/07 Girlinnyc - 1/08/07 SeattleEbeth - 1/09/07 Moog24 (Michelle - 1/09/07 PinkyBandito - 1/09/07 Bhamguy31 - 1/09/07 Cdgmom (Amy) - 1/09/07 Travelbug - 1/09/07 Zevesther - 1/09/07 Klo (Kathy) - 1/10/07 Wph74 (Whitney) - 1/10/07 Angelburch - 1/10/07 Mindful (Paige) - 1/10/07 Mikeomando -1/10/07 Roses733 (Rose) - 1/11/07 Loridee (Lori) - 1/11/07 Sheilamj1fan (Sheila) - 1/11/07 Justine717 - 1/11/07 Patp98465 - 1/11/07 Mommi-hammi - 1/12/07 Rms78645 - 1/12/07 Inner_me (Chris) - 1/12/07 Cjkerr (Carole) - 1/12/07 InTheBreeze13 - 1/12/07 Saraincincy (Sara) - 1/13/07 Lala - 1/15/07 Happylady - 1/15/07 Patsygrn - 1/15/07 Andrea1973 - 1/15/07 Sula - 1/15/07 Smilliegal - 1/15/07 Peacej - 1/15/07 Slate2633 1/15/07 Pinky12202 (Linda) - 1/16/07 Marjon9 - 1/16/07 Sula (Shawn) - 1/16/07 Reesh - 1/16/07 Soon2bthin.com - 1/16/07 Bandqueen - 1/16/07 Chunky Monkey - 1/16/07 Muttman - 1/16/07 Amy - 1/16/07 Enterprise01 - 1/17/07 Revolution - 1/17/07 Prissever - 1/17/07 Sunshine2 (Tonya) - 1/18/07 5jacks - 1/18/07 Imsusie0929 - 1/18/07 Stephanee - 1/18/07 Shellyfromohio (shelly) - 1/18/07 Ddcokk85 (Lisa) - 1/18/07 Phlyinphebee (Rene') - 1/19/07 Nicknack34461 - 1/19/07 Shayne9927 (Shayne) - 1/19/07 Lap - 1/19/07 Deb-Texas - 1/19/07 Mammaw - 1/19/07 StacyinToyland – 1/19/07 Cinward2001 (Cindy) - 1/19/06*** Jun0610 (Maria) - 1/22/07 Rsbell - 1/22/07 Purposedriven4 - 1/22/07 Ds5001ds - 1/22/07 Nursiepooh - 1/22/07 Kilopitre - 1/23/07 RidinmyHDdream (Carol) - 1/23/07 Zuzu - 1/23/07 Nella337 - 1/23/07 Redstart - 1/24/07 Nomophat - 1/24/07 Lauriann - 1/24/07 Shesha - 1/25/07 Edieday (Edie) - 1/25/07 Huberslave - 1/25/07 Rockergirl - 1/25/07 A.Isabella - 1/25/07 Donnalynncrain - 1/25/06*** Shues138 (Andrea) - 1/26/07 Jeanettej505 - 1/26/07 Bandida - 1/26/07 Susanjuneau - 1/26/07 Stacyrh - 1/29/07 Charlottesweb91 - 1/29/07 Trishd - 1/29/07 Mom of 3 - 1/29/07 Monsoleil98 - 1/29/07 Nurseratchett (Joanne) - 1/29/07 Sherilynn - 1/30/07 Texasbighair - 1/30/07 Gig8 (gigi) - 1/30/07 Cchristys - 1/30/07 Ladyleo868 (Christine) - 1/30/07 Kima - 1/30/07 Rsbg1 (Ted) - 1/31/07 TracyV - 1/31/07 Callieanna - 1/31/07 Sportsscribe - 1/31/07 Your247realtor - 1/31/07 1bunni4me - 1/31/07 Thatgirl - 1/31/07 Mfw1941 - 1/31/07 Brew2000 - 1/31/07 Lapbandhopeful - 2/02/07<O:p></O:p> <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Hello STacy, I used to do the list, but then got really behind but consider yourself a member of the January Bandsters and welcome!

Stephanee, you really are my twin! I am back down to where I was in the past, I tend to stay in the 190's. I used to feel "skinny" at this weight, although I wanted to lose more, I felt confident. Now, I still feel fat like a huge cow. I think the reason is I know I am going to lose more - Maybe my brain is telling me don't stop now? I'm not sure, I just don't feel like I have come far in some areas, but then I look at my stats, and say, I've lost 50 lbs. But then the negative side of me tells me "yes, but its just the same weight you gained before". Anyhow, I'm working on this and working on staying positive.

So glad to hear you are home and recovering!

LOVE IT! Well Said!

I have about 30 to 50 carbs a day, and it has worked great for me. I take a powder form called Daily 5 that I mix in with some lite apple juice (about 6 oz) and it gives me my entire amount of veggies and fruit needed and only has 2 carbs, of course the apple juice has some. But I try and stick to under 50 carbs a day. I used to do Atkins very strict and stayed under 20 carbs, but now that I'm exercising more, I find that I need more carbs.

Congratulations! YOU did the work, the band was just your helper. Exercise and eating right, congratulations! Hopefully I can reach my goal in a year as well. Your a great inspiration for uns newbies! Can you share your success story with us? Have you always been overweight? What was your typical menu? What type of exercise did you do? Did you have stalls? What was the hardest thing to overcome? We would love to hear your story!

How to Lose 22lbs or 10kgs in 28 Days Without Starving or Training Like an Olympic Athlete!' By Stephen Smith BSc If you seriously want to lose 22lbs or 10 kilograms in 28 days then you must perform all of the principles exactly as recommended. Unlike the recommendations in my book, ‘Look good, feel great!', where you can pick the principles you want to use and ignore the rest and where you can even modify the principles to suit your lifestyle, these principles must be followed exactly as they are outlined. If you want extraordinary results, then you must be willing to put in an extraordinary effort! I realise that some people may be thinking, ‘But it is impossible to lose 10 kilograms of fat in a month!' I agree- it is! However, the truth is, it is impossible to only lose fat on any type of weight-loss program. You will always lose a combination of fat, water, stored carbohydrate and some muscle. Furthermore, most people who want to lose 10 kilograms in the first place are generally retaining excess fluid anyway, so a system that helps get rid of the excess fluid is certainly going to accelerate their results. Perform 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise morning and night. Yes, you read that correctly, morning and night- 2 sessions a day… every day! No excuses. We're all busy, we all feel tired some mornings, but if you're serious about getting amazing results, then you must be willing to do everything necessary. When we talk about aerobic exercise, we're talking about exercise! Not walking around the shops, doing the gardening or doing housework. It must be exercise, which means your breathing rate increases, your face goes red, you sweat, you get tired- simple! Some examples of aerobic exercise include: walking (pounding the pavement at a brisk pace- not dawdling), cycling (stationary bike is ideal), swimming, rowing, stepper, cross-trainer, aerobic classes, boxing, etc. Use ‘thermogenics'. There are several very effective thermogenic supplementson the market that can accelerate your progress towards your goal. Those containing caffeine, green tea extracts and an extract from a plant called coleus forskohlii are the most effective. They will boost your metabolismand promote the release of fat from the fat stores. ‘Scorch' by MAN Sports is a good example. It contains a combination of 7 powerful herbal ingredients specifically designed to boost your metabolism, burn body fat and increase your energy. Unfortunately though, thermogenics are not ‘magic pills'. You can't expect to take a couple of thermogenic capsules and then go home and eat pizza and drink alcohol and expect to get results. Thermogenics only work when their use is combined with a good nutrition and exercise program. Take 1-2 capsules twice a day; once prior to your morning exercise session and once with your lunch. Don't take them later than 4:00pm in the afternoon because they may keep you awake at night. Before using thermogenics, see your doctor first and obtain their approval. Do not eat anything for 30 minutes after the completion of any exercise. As a result of using the thermogenics combined with the exercise, your metabolism will remain elevated for some time after the exercise session is finished. This means your body will burn fuel at a faster rate than normal. Any exercise causes the body to use carbohydrate (muscle glycogen and blood glucose) as a fuel source. This means that after the exercise is completed the carbohydrate stores in the body are low and the body will be forced to use fat as its fuel. If a meal is eaten immediately after the completion of the exercise session, the blood glucose level will rise, inducing the secretion of insulin from the pancreas. One of the effects of insulin is to stop fat burning in the body. Therefore, wait 30 minutes (but no longer because cortisol will rise) before having your next meal. Perform a weight training workout 2-4 times a week. Lifting weights is the most under-estimated way to lose fat fast! Now, before you start saying, ‘But I don't want to get big muscles!' or ‘I don't want to look like a man!', consider the following. The main purpose of lifting weights when your primary goal is to lose body fat is to preserve the muscle massyou already have. You see, muscle is the ‘engine' within which the fat, or ‘fuel' is burnt and maintaining or even increasing your muscle mass slightly will help ensure your body fat is burnt off efficiently. If you don't lift weights, your body will quite happily lose both fat and muscle as you drop the kilos. Lifting weights forces your body to maintain your muscle mass, therefore keeping your metabolism elevated and turning your body into 24-hour-a-day fat-burning machine! Incidentally, it only takes two 30 minute sessions a week to obtain the muscle preserving benefits of lifting weights. Have 5-6 small meals a day. One of the most common strategies people use to lose weight is to skip meals. Whilst reducing food intake is certainly an effective way to lose weight, having fewer meals is not the way to go. Many overweight people say, ‘I don't know why I'm overweight, I only eat once or twice a day!' Unfortunately, this is exactly why they are overweight. Having a mild calorie restriction is effective because if you consume less calories than you burn each day you will lose weight- simple! However, skipping meals forces the body to invoke its ‘Starvation Mechanism' because it thinks it is entering a famine. As a result, the body slows the metabolism to preserve energy. It also increases cortisol output and cortisol is the most powerful catabolic hormone in the body, which means it goes around the body breaking down lean tissue, particularly muscle. A loss of muscle slows the metabolism even further. Skipping meals also results in an increase in appetite, which forces you to eat larger amounts of food when you do eat. In addition to all these factors, the body also increases the activity of fat-storing enzymes, lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and fatty acid synthase (FAS), so when you do eat the food gets stored as fat. All of this results from simply skipping meals! By having a small meal every 2-3 hours throughout the day, your metabolism stays elevated and your body will happily burn fat all day long. Unfortunately though, most people are conditioned to having large meals and they automatically assume they will put on weight if they have 5 or 6 meals a day. The fact is, the ideal portion sizes for most people are actually quite small and in order to lose weight fast it is essential that you never feel full from a meal but you do feel satisfied. Also, most people find it difficult to have a meal every 2-3 hours throughout the day because they are so busy with work and/ or family commitments. Here are some suggestions to ensure you get your 5 or 6 meals a day. • Plan and prepare your meals the night before • Use meal replacements (protein shakes or bars) • Select foods that are quick and easy to prepare and consume Ensure each meal contains protein. Protein is a component of all cells and makes up over half the dry weight of the human body. Furthermore, the human body is a dynamic structure, which means it is constantly building up and breaking down tissue. Just imagine a bath full of water. At one end of the bath the plug is pulled out and at the other end the tap is turned on full. The water level in the bath doesn't change but there are ‘new' water molecules entering the bath and ‘old' water molecules leaving the bath all the time. The human body is exactly the same. If the body breaks down more tissue than it builds up, then it is said to be in a catabolic state. This results in the metabolism slowing down due to the loss of muscle tissue. Having a portion of high-quality protein every few hours throughout the day provides the body with a constant supply of amino acids- the building blocks of the body. This prevents the catabolic state, promotes an anabolic state (tissue building) and therefore keeps the metabolism ‘fired-up'. If only carbohydrate or fat is consumed for a meal, for example a piece of fruit (carbohydrate) for the mid-morning meal, then the body will still enter a catabolic state because it doesn't have the building blocks (amino acids) to re-build body tissues. Protein, as its name suggests, is of primary importance. Reduce your intake of high-density carbohydrates. Most high-density carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice and cereals cause a rapid rise in blood glucose. This invokes the release of insulin from the pancreas, which in turn stores the glucose. The body stores glucose in the muscles and liver as glycogen and once these sites are full, the remaining glucose gets stored as body fat. Not only this, but insulin also stops the body from mobilising and utilising fat for fuel (burning fat). So if you want to maximise fat loss, you need to keep insulin to a minimum and the best way to do this is by reducing your intake of starchy carbohydrates without cutting them out altogether. Cutting them out totally is a philosophy of many low-carb diets on the market. However, these are very hard to sustain long-term and may lead to nutrient deficiencies. Each day, have a small amount (1-2 serves) of high density carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, cereals); a moderate amount (2-3 serves) of medium density carbohydrates (starchy vegetables and fruits); and a large amount (5-6 serves) of low density carbohydrates (fibrous vegetables). [For a complete list of carbohydrates, see pages 136-138 of the book, ‘ Look good, feel great! ] Do not have a Treat Day. Since you are expecting an extraordinary result, it is essential that you put in an extraordinary effort. Accordingly, for the next 28 days you must follow the plan exactly as it is outlined without deviating. This means you can't allow yourself to indulge in any ‘forbidden foods'. This also means avoiding alcohol for the entire 28-day period. I know this may be hard for some people but let's face it, it is only for 28 days! By committing to the plan and disciplining yourself to see it through, you are ensuring that the results will follow. Plus, the disciplines you create to help you achieve your physical goal will have a ‘carry-over benefit' to other areas of your life as well. I wish you the greatest success in achieving outstanding results! * Before using any nutritional supplement, speak with your health care professional.

How to Lose 22lbs or 10kgs in 28 Days Without Starving or Training Like an Olympic Athlete!' By Stephen Smith BSc If you seriously want to lose 22lbs or 10 kilograms in 28 days then you must perform all of the principles exactly as recommended. Unlike the recommendations in my book, ‘Look good, feel great!', where you can pick the principles you want to use and ignore the rest and where you can even modify the principles to suit your lifestyle, these principles must be followed exactly as they are outlined. If you want extraordinary results, then you must be willing to put in an extraordinary effort! I realise that some people may be thinking, ‘But it is impossible to lose 10 kilograms of fat in a month!' I agree- it is! However, the truth is, it is impossible to only lose fat on any type of weight-loss program. You will always lose a combination of fat, water, stored carbohydrate and some muscle. Furthermore, most people who want to lose 10 kilograms in the first place are generally retaining excess fluid anyway, so a system that helps get rid of the excess fluid is certainly going to accelerate their results. Perform 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise morning and night. Yes, you read that correctly, morning and night- 2 sessions a day… every day! No excuses. We're all busy, we all feel tired some mornings, but if you're serious about getting amazing results, then you must be willing to do everything necessary. When we talk about aerobic exercise, we're talking about exercise! Not walking around the shops, doing the gardening or doing housework. It must be exercise, which means your breathing rate increases, your face goes red, you sweat, you get tired- simple! Some examples of aerobic exercise include: walking (pounding the pavement at a brisk pace- not dawdling), cycling (stationary bike is ideal), swimming, rowing, stepper, cross-trainer, aerobic classes, boxing, etc. Use ‘thermogenics'. There are several very effective thermogenic supplementson the market that can accelerate your progress towards your goal. Those containing caffeine, green tea extracts and an extract from a plant called coleus forskohlii are the most effective. They will boost your metabolismand promote the release of fat from the fat stores. ‘Scorch' by MAN Sports is a good example. It contains a combination of 7 powerful herbal ingredients specifically designed to boost your metabolism, burn body fat and increase your energy. Unfortunately though, thermogenics are not ‘magic pills'. You can't expect to take a couple of thermogenic capsules and then go home and eat pizza and drink alcohol and expect to get results. Thermogenics only work when their use is combined with a good nutrition and exercise program. Take 1-2 capsules twice a day; once prior to your morning exercise session and once with your lunch. Don't take them later than 4:00pm in the afternoon because they may keep you awake at night. Before using thermogenics, see your doctor first and obtain their approval. Do not eat anything for 30 minutes after the completion of any exercise. As a result of using the thermogenics combined with the exercise, your metabolism will remain elevated for some time after the exercise session is finished. This means your body will burn fuel at a faster rate than normal. Any exercise causes the body to use carbohydrate (muscle glycogen and blood glucose) as a fuel source. This means that after the exercise is completed the carbohydrate stores in the body are low and the body will be forced to use fat as its fuel. If a meal is eaten immediately after the completion of the exercise session, the blood glucose level will rise, inducing the secretion of insulin from the pancreas. One of the effects of insulin is to stop fat burning in the body. Therefore, wait 30 minutes (but no longer because cortisol will rise) before having your next meal. Perform a weight training workout 2-4 times a week. Lifting weights is the most under-estimated way to lose fat fast! Now, before you start saying, ‘But I don't want to get big muscles!' or ‘I don't want to look like a man!', consider the following. The main purpose of lifting weights when your primary goal is to lose body fat is to preserve the muscle massyou already have. You see, muscle is the ‘engine' within which the fat, or ‘fuel' is burnt and maintaining or even increasing your muscle mass slightly will help ensure your body fat is burnt off efficiently. If you don't lift weights, your body will quite happily lose both fat and muscle as you drop the kilos. Lifting weights forces your body to maintain your muscle mass, therefore keeping your metabolism elevated and turning your body into 24-hour-a-day fat-burning machine! Incidentally, it only takes two 30 minute sessions a week to obtain the muscle preserving benefits of lifting weights. Have 5-6 small meals a day. One of the most common strategies people use to lose weight is to skip meals. Whilst reducing food intake is certainly an effective way to lose weight, having fewer meals is not the way to go. Many overweight people say, ‘I don't know why I'm overweight, I only eat once or twice a day!' Unfortunately, this is exactly why they are overweight. Having a mild calorie restriction is effective because if you consume less calories than you burn each day you will lose weight- simple! However, skipping meals forces the body to invoke its ‘Starvation Mechanism' because it thinks it is entering a famine. As a result, the body slows the metabolism to preserve energy. It also increases cortisol output and cortisol is the most powerful catabolic hormone in the body, which means it goes around the body breaking down lean tissue, particularly muscle. A loss of muscle slows the metabolism even further. Skipping meals also results in an increase in appetite, which forces you to eat larger amounts of food when you do eat. In addition to all these factors, the body also increases the activity of fat-storing enzymes, lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and fatty acid synthase (FAS), so when you do eat the food gets stored as fat. All of this results from simply skipping meals! By having a small meal every 2-3 hours throughout the day, your metabolism stays elevated and your body will happily burn fat all day long. Unfortunately though, most people are conditioned to having large meals and they automatically assume they will put on weight if they have 5 or 6 meals a day. The fact is, the ideal portion sizes for most people are actually quite small and in order to lose weight fast it is essential that you never feel full from a meal but you do feel satisfied. Also, most people find it difficult to have a meal every 2-3 hours throughout the day because they are so busy with work and/ or family commitments. Here are some suggestions to ensure you get your 5 or 6 meals a day. • Plan and prepare your meals the night before • Use meal replacements (protein shakes or bars) • Select foods that are quick and easy to prepare and consume Ensure each meal contains protein. Protein is a component of all cells and makes up over half the dry weight of the human body. Furthermore, the human body is a dynamic structure, which means it is constantly building up and breaking down tissue. Just imagine a bath full of water. At one end of the bath the plug is pulled out and at the other end the tap is turned on full. The water level in the bath doesn't change but there are ‘new' water molecules entering the bath and ‘old' water molecules leaving the bath all the time. The human body is exactly the same. If the body breaks down more tissue than it builds up, then it is said to be in a catabolic state. This results in the metabolism slowing down due to the loss of muscle tissue. Having a portion of high-quality protein every few hours throughout the day provides the body with a constant supply of amino acids- the building blocks of the body. This prevents the catabolic state, promotes an anabolic state (tissue building) and therefore keeps the metabolism ‘fired-up'. If only carbohydrate or fat is consumed for a meal, for example a piece of fruit (carbohydrate) for the mid-morning meal, then the body will still enter a catabolic state because it doesn't have the building blocks (amino acids) to re-build body tissues. Protein, as its name suggests, is of primary importance. Reduce your intake of high-density carbohydrates. Most high-density carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice and cereals cause a rapid rise in blood glucose. This invokes the release of insulin from the pancreas, which in turn stores the glucose. The body stores glucose in the muscles and liver as glycogen and once these sites are full, the remaining glucose gets stored as body fat. Not only this, but insulin also stops the body from mobilising and utilising fat for fuel (burning fat). So if you want to maximise fat loss, you need to keep insulin to a minimum and the best way to do this is by reducing your intake of starchy carbohydrates without cutting them out altogether. Cutting them out totally is a philosophy of many low-carb diets on the market. However, these are very hard to sustain long-term and may lead to nutrient deficiencies. Each day, have a small amount (1-2 serves) of high density carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, cereals); a moderate amount (2-3 serves) of medium density carbohydrates (starchy vegetables and fruits); and a large amount (5-6 serves) of low density carbohydrates (fibrous vegetables). [For a complete list of carbohydrates, see pages 136-138 of the book, ‘ Look good, feel great! ] Do not have a Treat Day. Since you are expecting an extraordinary result, it is essential that you put in an extraordinary effort. Accordingly, for the next 28 days you must follow the plan exactly as it is outlined without deviating. This means you can't allow yourself to indulge in any ‘forbidden foods'. This also means avoiding alcohol for the entire 28-day period. I know this may be hard for some people but let's face it, it is only for 28 days! By committing to the plan and disciplining yourself to see it through, you are ensuring that the results will follow. Plus, the disciplines you create to help you achieve your physical goal will have a ‘carry-over benefit' to other areas of your life as well. I wish you the greatest success in achieving outstanding results! * Before using any nutritional supplement, speak with your health care professional.

***bump****** This is too good to get lost, so I'm bumping it

I'm almost 3 mos out and scars are shrinking, they are still visable, but not as big. I have 5 tiny incicions. I forget I have the band until I look at my scars, I don't feel the band at all. Sometimes if I take too big of bite, its a little tight going thru and it reminds me, Oh yes, I have to take smaller bites. I love my band!

Hi welcome Shelly - yes, we newbies are always looking for some long term banders on the board - looks like you qualify since you have crossed over the 2 year mark.

Also, I would say slow way down on eating. Even though you hungry and its hard, slow it down. I found that I ate to fast and I too don't get the full feeling until later, and by this time, I'm miserable. I started slowing down on eating, and setting my timer for 20 minutes. When the time goes off, I stop eating - no matter if I still feel hungry. I wait for 30 minutes and everytime, 30 min later, I'm full. It takes a good 20 min for that nerve in the upper part of your stomach to tell your brain you are full. Just a suggestion, its been working for me.

Go Stephanee! My band twin! I went to the doc last week too and he told me I compared to his Gastric Bypass patients with the weight loss. The average for them at 3 mos was 50 lbs and is where I was, so I was happy. I'm going for my 2nd fill 3/17 and I won't need much, I still have restriction, just not as much as I would like. I'm so glad you doing great, you are over 1/2 way to goal!

Oh, Karin, thanks for your sweet words!

Bfast - SF yogurt, low fat cottage cheese mixed Lunch - Dinner - Exercise - Notes - I took the day off yesterday and ate what I wanted, I had some of those 100 cal Reeses snack packs a few times yesterday (one for breakfast), and ate a fried chicken tender (My moms fried chicken) for lunch & dinner. I usually don't eat fried stuff, but Hey, I took a day off. lol. I didn't exercise, I didn't even care yesterday. I'm back to eating right and eating light today and will be exercising tonight. I am going to try and take my 2 month post op pic tonight.

I went to see my doc a week ago and he was totally amazed at my progress and stated that I compared to his Gastric Bypass patients, their average weight loss on 3 months was 50 lbs, which is where i am. So, I'm keeping up with the gastric bypass patients. That is exciting. I'm sure I won't be able to keep it up long term. Good luck on your decision, either surgery will help you become a healthier person. I know there are more side effects and long term malapsorbtion with GB, however, if you follow the doctors instructions, you should be okay. And if you choose Lap-Band, you can succeed too!

Most of the statistics I've seen are at the 5 yr mark, that state that Gastric Bypass & lap Band are even usually at this time, as far as weight loss. The reasons the reports I've read say that Gastric Bypass bodies adjust to the malapsurption and the stoma stretches and the bodies absorbs more calories, and since the stoma stretches, they eat more. My accountant who had Gastric Bypass 3 yrs ago told me she is now going to get the band because she is gaining weight and eating the same. I have a friend who also had Gastric Bypass and hasn't gained anything, looks great after 2 years, but she watches what she eats and exercises. So who knows. For me, I ended up doing Lap band because of safety issues, my DH would not agree or support me on GB, but was accepting of Lap Band.

Wow, 2 yrs! and a size 10/12 - great job!

Breakfast - light apple juice with daily 5 mixed in, 1 cup of coffee with whipping cream and DeVinci SF syrup Snack - 6 little cheese cubes - total less than 1 oz, 10 almonds Lunch - 3/4 cup of pasta salad with chicken in it dinner - Had dinner over friends house, ate a very small amount of speghetti with italion sausage & meatballs (ate 1 meatball), had salad, a bite of cheesecake, and a mini cream puff - not the best diet choices, but I think I handled the situation okay and didn't over eat. Snack - 100 calorie pack of reeses snack pack (mainly reeses cerail and a few peanut butter chips in it) - getting close to TOM, will need to work on my sweet tooth. Exercise - 5 am - 33 min on treadmill, 2% incline, 212 calories, 1.67 distance Suppliments - Daily 5, Viactiv Multi-Vitamin, liquid Vitamin b-12 Notes - Weight this morning 196.4 - When I get out of the 190's I will truly believe that the lap band works! For me, in the past, I always get stuck in the 190's, then I get discouraged and gain weight back again, so this will be the test, will I make it out of the 190's? I'm thinking I will :puke: . When I do, I think everyone on this board will feel the earth move, I will be jumping up and down with so much joy!

Breakfast - light apple juice with daily 5 mixed in, 1 cup of coffee with whipping cream and DeVinci SF syrup Snack - 6 little cheese cubes - total less than 1 oz, 10 almonds Lunch - 3/4 cup of pasta salad with chicken in it dinner - Had dinner over friends house, ate a very small amount of speghetti with italion sausage & meatballs (ate 1 meatball), had salad, a bite of cheesecake, and a mini cream puff - not the best diet choices, but I think I handled the situation okay and didn't over eat. Snack - 100 calorie pack of reeses snack pack (mainly reeses cerail and a few peanut butter chips in it) - getting close to TOM, will need to work on my sweet tooth. Exercise - 5 am - 33 min on treadmill, 2% incline, 212 calories, 1.67 distance Suppliments - Daily 5, Viactiv Multi-Vitamin, liquid Vitamin b-12 Notes - Weight this morning 196.4 - When I get out of the 190's I will truly believe that the lap band works! For me, in the past, I always get stuck in the 190's, then I get discouraged and gain weight back again, so this will be the test, will I make it out of the 190's? I'm thinking I will . When I do, I think everyone on this board will feel the earth move, I will be jumping up and down with so much joy!

I got up this morning at 5 am and made it to the gym - now, lets see if I can do it the rest of the week too!