tonya66

Thank you guys for your compliments. I think its important to take a before picture, sometimes we might not feel like we're losing weight, so we can compare our pics and see the difference. I can't believe my stomach was sticking out so far in my before pic, I looked like I was pregnant! I just had dinner, my tummy is hurting a bit, I might have over ate a bit, I had about 2 oz of salmon, a spoonfull of sweet potatoe and a bit of the inside of my neighbors homemade eggrolls. I'm stuffed! I'm headed to the hospital to visit my great aunt, then back home to bed - I'm getting up at 4:30 am tomorrow to head to the gym! I want to be there by 5!

Okay, as ugly as I am, I am going to share my before pic and my 1 month progress photo. Remember - I'm a work in progress - I still have a long way to go!

I'm looking forward to this journey!

Not sure if these will come out, and sorry if they are so big, I don't know how to make them smaller? I'm down 17 1/4 inches lost this month. I've lost a total of 41 pounds including my pre-op diet.

Today marks 1 month since the birth of my band (Bandilicious). I measured and I've lost a total of 17 1/4" in 1 month off of my body! I lost 4 inches off my waist and 4 inches off my hips! And I lost every place else too! Now my weight loss includes my pre-op weight, so I don't want anyone to freak out and think they haven't lost as much - but I am down 41 LBS.To me this is so great, I am 41 pounds lighter since the day I stepped on the scales back on November 22, 2006. I remember thinking when the nurse weighed me that today was going to be the fattest I would ever be! And I was right! I started watching what I ate, not always did I follow that, I had lots of the "last meals". Ice cream, pie, you name it, but I was conscious of what I put in my mouth for the most part, however I never turned down an invitation to go out for lunch at work. Oh, and I had my share of Cookies & milk for a late night snack. The closer it came to surgery, the more serious I got and I believe I was able to lose around 21 lbs before surger, but then gained some back - I kinda bounced back & forth. I think my total weight loss since surgery is around 20 lbs for those of you wondering. I'm happy with that, I'm happy most of all with the 41 lbs I am down since Nov. 22nd. And I am totally thrilled with the inches melting off of my body. Now that I am 1 month out, I am so happy with my changes. I am looking forward to being under 200 lbs by March 17! (Thats my goal). I had some minor problems, I was sore for longer than most people, I had horrible visions problems after surgery, I continued for 3 1/2 weeks to have port pain when I exercises. And now that I have been introduced back to solid foods, my body is struggling with that as well. I can only eat about 5 bites of anything and then I'm full right now. I get naucious if I eat anything more. I'm due to have a fill in a couple of weeks and right now there is no way I could get a fill, I'm so restricted. I still struggle with my Water, but getting better week by week, I also struggle getting my Protein in, but that is getting better. I'm choosing foods that are higher in protein. Now, I can't wait to see where I am at on my 2 month anniversary! I know the weight loss will slow down, I really hope it does to help with the sagging skin. I have 61 lbs to hit my goal weight but I am giving my self an entire 18 months to get to goal. If I get there sooner, I will be thrilled, but I don't plan on getting there until next summer. I know there will be stalls, and I'm anticipating them to happen pretty soon. I am starting my heavy duty, kick some butt, stand up and be counted for, exercise program tomorrow. I'm headed to the gym at 5 am! Okay, just checking in and letting everyone know how I did the past month. Talk to everyone later..........

From what I've been told, it take constant overeating to stretch your pouch. I was told that is one reason not to drink carbonated beverages, that the gas build up can stretch the pouch. I seriously doubt you have stretched your pouch so soon. The way you would tell if you stretch your pouch is if you were at your sweet spot, and you hadn't lost any weight and you continue to be able to eat more. Thats my guess. The doc could probably tell to when they did your fill if you were stretched out.

If you fill like you have restriction, I would not get a fill. You don't want to be overfilled on a cruise. Especially if you get something stuck, could make your trip misserable. I think if I were you, I would wait until after vacation, and then get your fill.....

Welcome - I've added you to our list. It should be updated next week sometime. Congrats on the weight loss!

My weight today 206.8, even with Aung Flo visiting, I lost! Before /today Waist - 41 1/2" / 38" = lost 4 1/2" Hips - 51" / 46 1/2 = lost 4 1/2" Left Thigh - 28" / 26 1/4" = lost 1 3/4" calves - 17" / 15 1/2" = lost 1 1/2" left arm - 15 1/2" / 14" = lost 1 1/2" breast - 43" / 40" = lost 3" under breast - 37"/ 36 1/2" = lost 1/2" TOTAL INCHES LOST = 17 1/4" BEGINNING WEIGHT = 248/206.8 = lost total 41.2 lbs (pre-op & post op) What an incredible month it has been. I still have lots of restriction and still working on getting enough water in and protein in. I love my new tool!

My weight today 206.8, even with Aung Flo visiting, I lost! Before /today Waist - 41 1/2" / 38" = lost 4 1/2" Hips - 51" / 46 1/2 = lost 4 1/2" Left Thigh - 28" / 26 1/4" = lost 1 3/4" calves - 17" / 15 1/2" = lost 1 1/2" left arm - 15 1/2" / 14" = lost 1 1/2" breast - 43" / 40" = lost 3" under breast - 37"/ 36 1/2" = lost 1/2" TOTAL INCHES LOST = 17 1/4" BEGINNING WEIGHT = 248/206.8 = lost total 41.2 lbs (pre-op & post op) What an incredible month it has been. I still have lots of restriction and still working on getting enough water in and protein in. I love my new tool!

Good for you! We are almost the same age I noticed, and our BMI was pretty close to the same. How tall are you?

Welcome Law Bandster! I'll add you to our master list! You're doing great! I agree with you, self dicipline plays a big part in this, even though our little band friend is there, he is not always working - especially before you get a fill. Exercise is also important, the book I'm reading says you should exercise EVERYDAY for 30 minutes, some type of exercise, swimming, walking, something. This is the area I must work on! Welcome again to our group and congrats on being banding and losing 21 lbs forever!

Welcome Helen, I was banded in January 18, '07. I'm loving every minute of it. Yes, the Protein shakes do suck! I'm so glad to finally be moving off of them. I've finally started my real foods! I'm trying to choose food that has good protein in it, yogurt, Beans, lean meats, eggs. Thats the key with getting your protein in. Congrats on being banding and 9 lbs lost forever - what a special day 2/14 will always be for you.

What your feeling is normal. I felt the same way, I was a basket case the month leading up to my surgery. The night before the surgery when I knew it was finally here, I finally was calm. I have told very few people too, I'm so glad I haven't told that many people. Good-luck with your new journey in life, It has been the best decision I have made in a long time - so far!

Hi Donna, welcome. I just got banded 1 month ago, I started my journey in November, and things moved pretty fast. What you have to do with your ticker is, after you create it, copy the URL (I think it is the first one), then come back to this forum, at the top you will see "quick links", go to edit signature, then add it there, scroll down and click the button that says SAVE SIGNATRE, and it should work. My insurance paid for my surgery, but if I would have had to pay for it, I think I would have come up with the money some how, some way. It is so worth it!

Andrea - I'm so glad things are going great with your mother again. That releives a lot of stress with you I'm sure. Good job on turning down the choc strawberries - they are my FAVORITE! The thing I've noticed is when I first got the band, the first 2 weeks were PURE HELL. I wanted food so bad, I dealt with the head hunger and struggled with it, I drooled over every food commercial, I mourned the loss of food, like someone died! Once I started my mushy's, I've been a lot better. Now, I am dealing with NO DESIRE to eat. I start eating and all of a sudden, I am tired of it already. I'm still eating 1/2 cup of food, somedays maybe a bit more, and some less. I'm still waiting on the "hunger" to kick in. I'm sure it will, but so far, NOTHING. I'm wondering will I need a fill at 6 weeks? The only problem I have with my obgyn, is I asked to get some bc pills, I only take them 1 or 2 x's per year, mainly to switch up my cycle in case we are going on a trip. She wouldn't give me any, I'M TOO OLD! Now that sucks! I'm finished having children, my DH took care of that for us permanently. But I felt like someone slapped me in the face when she wouldn't give me BC pills. I know I'm 40, but I never really thought of me as being old. I guess it was a real reality check. Good job on the walking program. My goal next week is to kick up my walking, I'm going to try it back on the treadmill and see how I do.

You should be so excited - your almost to ONEDERLAND! I am going to weigh on Sunday, I can't wait to get to 199! I hate when the doctor has to move the scales to show I'm over 200. Just be careful with the nuts, they are higher in calories, but they are filling, just eat them very very slow. You might even measure them out so you know exactly how many you are eating.

Last night, I'm sitting on my couch, just relaxing. Without thinking I crossed my legg, after I did it, I realized, I can cross my leggs now, comfortablly! Wow!:clap2: Its another NSV for me. I hadn't tried in so long to cross them, or I could cross them and it cut the breath out of me. But now, I feel so feminane when I can cross my leggs. I just had to journal this down.

Okay, you probably have the 10CM not 10 CC. CC's is the amount of saline it can hold, the cm's is the length/size. Many get confused with the 10cm band thinking is will hold 10cc's. The VG band is actually I think 13cm, which holds 10 cc's. I was reading up on it and it works best for higher BMI patients. It takes longer to get to the sweet spot. The 10cm band is much smaller, holds less saline (4cc's) and you usually get to restriction faster. My doctor said the average amount of fills it takes to get a restriction is 3, some more, some less. So I wouldn't worry if you don't feel anything yet, that is only normal. Just try and survive until your next fill. What you can do for your hunger pains inbetween meals, try and find a low carb/low cal snack. Maybe some string cheese (part skim), not sure if you can eat nuts, but a handfull of almonds always had curbed my appetite too. Also, if you can stand it, maybe a cup of hot broth between meals (me personally, I don't know if I can ever eat broth again, lol). Your doing goodl!

Do you know what size of band you have? I just read a story of a lady that has had her band Ithink for 6 mos, she had the 10cc (VG) band, it holds 10cc, she is at 9.5cc and finally has restriction. I know my band is a 10cm - which holds 4cc's. Hang in there, do you know how soon you can go back for another fill?

I bought his book off Amazon.com, I received it within 5 days. Very fast. I also bought gastric lap band - the minimally invasive surgery, Eating well after Weight Loss Surgery, and Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies. His book is the very best out of all of them! Its called, Lap Band for life.

Sissy907 - I too had a hiatal hernia repaird. My hernai caused my stomach to be pushed up into my ribs. I had stage 4 Esophogitus, the beginning stages of Barrets Esophogus (which can lead to cancer). I had misserable heartburn for years. I have had the lap band now for a month, he repaired my hernia, pulled my stomach back in place, and stretched my esophogus. I woke up from surgery with absolutely 100% no heartburn. I haven't had any since. Not even when I sucked on a piece of my SF chocolate. I love it! I'm down almost 40 lbs, including my pre-op diet. I haven't even had my first fill yet. The surgery has done wonders for me. I'm so happy I chose Lap-band over RNY.

I am in the process of reading a great book by Dr. Ortiz (I was not banded by him). He makes a statement, the band was not created to give restrictions for liquids or mushies. It only works on solid food. I know it takes practice to get it down, I know it takes a lot of work to eat solid foods, especially the healthy ones. However, that is what the band was created for. It will give you the most restriction. Also, I think we have to clear our minds to thinking how much we should be eating, and listen to what our bodies tell us how much we should be eating. Sometimes 2 or 3 bites is all we can eat, so we must stop and try not to force it. Other times, we may be able to eat more. Good-luck lafoose. Keep in touch with us so you can get your support.

Congratulations! I hope others that are feeling frustration read this. I know so many are so concerned because they have the 10 cc band and are at 6 or 8 cc's and still don't feel restriction.

"You can eat whatever you want, as long as you eat 1/2 grapefruit afterwards." Oh my, that one had me gain 10 lbs! I used to carry 1/2 grapefruit everywehre with me, and eat it immediately after eating my fried chicken. How about all the "diet pills" in the magazine. The warnings they place on them "Do not take this unless you are extreme overweight, it can cause massive weight loss". Oh, if I could have all the $1,000's I've spent, I could have self paid for my lap-band, and had plenty left over to spare! And I got sick of this one - "Low Carb is not Healthy", or "eat anything you want, just in moderation" - Or Just diet and exercise! Duh.......you dummies, don't you think I tried that?