Betsyjane

I just don't think 75 grams a day makes sense unless you are a serious weight lifter!

Er, I haven't attended. And I feel funny about watching them..... But I know where there's an amateur night at a men's club, if you want to try it. Actually, I have no idea where there's an amateur night.... Does anybody need some of those chair bows that you put around chairs for a party? I should have asked before I put them on ebay.... I bought them and never used them, so they have to go!

Maybe it's an urban legend, but I do know that artificial sweeteners or sugar will raise your blood sugar and lead to cravings and a roller coaster of energy.....

NVGirl---You probably won't be having it after the band! No carbination recommended!

I succeeded and failed at my assignment. The folks next to 24 hour fitness have a nutritionist with no formal training, who will talk with us, but in the course of a 2 minute conversation about nutrition, it was recommended that we take pills for stress, pills for digestion, cleansing herbs, vegetable drinks, etc etc. And nothing about actual FOOD. I know this is probably a long shot since everybody is committed elsewhere, but 24 Hour Fitness has Pilates and Yoga. I think I pay $25 or $30 a month and all the classes are included in the price. Just in case you want to buddy up for exercise, The have cycling class step class weight lifting to music kick boxing aquarobics abs class dance and barbells class salsa moves Each day of the week is different. Pilates is both daytime and evening. Yoga is only daytime right now, but there is a stretching class evening... Aquarobics 2 nights a week. No Tai Chi yet, but they're open to suggestions. They also teach pole dancing.... :-) I just did the weight lifting class this morning for the first time. My legs are rubbery but I got through it and had a great time. Most of the classes are open to all fitness levels, and they tell you in the class descriptions if it's intermediate or advanced. It's not all Babes in Bras, which I like...... I figure it's a good place to hang out and do a lot of different things....

My Dr. says to get all my calories from dry foods so I have the feeling of fullness. I like Protein shakes, but I hate putting all that artificial sweetener in my body...It raises my blood sugar and gives me cravings. And it never gives me a full feeling. I doubt if our bodies can metabolize the super high protein shakes above 25g. Seems like we're just asking the liver to work overtime for no benefit with those. I'm looking for a good pure whey product without flavorings or sweeteners, and I pan to add that to my salads, etc.

Stephie We're all been exactly where you are. But some of us have waited years and had even more failed diets before we figured out what you are figuring out now. No matter how many infomercials say all we need to do is exercise and diet...or we're lazy...we know that we have tried and tried. There comes a point where you just have to say that your body and brain are wired differently and you have to mechanically fix things. I used to just hate that I didn't have self control. I just hated it so badly. And I was sure that getting the band was the easy way out. I was so wrong. It used to be impossible. The band just makes it hard work. But hard work I can succeed at. And that boost my self esteem. Now, I don't have the cravings and the food seeking, but I still have to face my demons and do the right thing. But I CAN for the first time in my life. Some days are still a struggle. Some days are perfect. All days are better. On average, I'm losing just under 2 pounds a week. You'll still have to struggle with the depression that comes with back injuries. I have to struggle with Lupus. We all have our own stories. I had to learn about being happy no matter what I wiegh, but it sure is easier weighing less! But losing weight will surely also help your back, as it has helped me. Start by reading everything you can. It's an interesting journey and a huge learning curve. Best wishes. Keep posting and reading.

Can't do this Sat. after all. But I can the following Sat. If you go this week, I'll be interested to hear about it. I've never had a delayed reaction before. Can't figure out how that happened. I'm going to try the wieght lifting to music class this morning.....

Yeah. Spivak will walk you through the whole thing..... I'd do him first and then get your TO DO list together.

Had a great time tonight with you guys. Unfortunately, I had a delayed reaction to eating the rice, and lost some of it on the way home! I'll start my assignment tomorrow morning...one more reason to go to the gym!

Ah, they're dropping like flies. I'm heading out to Nara Thai. We'll toast you guys and wish you were there.

You'll lose more easily at first and then will need exercise to keep losing. Get in front of the TV and dance or do a tV exercise show! No regrets. You know, if I see one more infomercial or talk show that says all we need to do is exercise and eat right and we'll be fine, and if not, we're lazy...I'm going to slip a band! Or hear one more person say I took the easy way. I didn't tell people at first, and now I'm very cautious who I tell. Fat is the last acceptable prejudice and people are generally uneducated or miseducated. Or they want to help by constantly asking if I've lost weight or if I'm eating too much. I've learned to only tell people when I have the time and inclination to also educate them. That works for me.

I have had bouts with prednisone for my Lupus, and overall, gained 80 pounds. Grrr..... I'm amazed how many people who have been on prednisone end up getting lap bands. Somebody needs to do a study. Following the post op diet takes work. The difference for me before and after banding is that it used to be impossible. Now it's just hard work. Hard work leading to success. Come join us if you can! (We're wandering over to eat Thai food tonight at 5:30....)

I'm a Spivak girl! You go to one of his free seminars and he will do a presentation about it and answer questions. Then, you can also pay $100 to have a private consult with him that same night, and I'd highly recommend it. He'll act like he has nothing better to do in his life than to sit and talk with you and answer questions. You can get the times of the presentations on his website. IF insurnace covers bariatric surgery, then they will probably be looking for a BMI of at least 40, or a BMI of at least 35 with other related medical conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes. Dr. Spvak will go over that stuff at the presentation too. Spivak requires practically nothing of you before surgery, compared with many Drs, and he'll prepare the report for your insurance company about your past weight loss attempts. His staff will walk you through it. I'd suggest 1) Go see Spivak and let them deal with insurance and guide you. 2) Read everything you can around here and start learning. It's a journey with a huge learning curve. I'm still figuring it out, and am so pleased I did it. 3) Find a local support group for lap band and start going. (Go to the home page here and look down toward the bottom for USA Support Groups.) Oh, regarding fills. There are a few people who lose weigh and never have to have a fill. But that's unusual. Fills are mostly no big deal, and you'll look forward to them to get just that right amount of restriction to stop your hunger and cravings.

Hey bikergrammy! I spent 3 weeks in Thailand last year, about this time last year! I love the culture, took the cooking classes, went rounding up gems, at the street food and had the street and spa massages. If I didn't have ties here, it would have been tempting to stay for a few years. It's a wonderful culture. Ya gotta love people whose phone book is alphabetical by first name. Welcome Mommyto2. I'm in Huffman. Come have a meal with us when you can! Who's your prospective surgeon?

You're still new with the band. You'll keep adapting to it over time and learning more. And you'll get sick of undoing your week's work on the weekend. Truly living the bandster lifestyle didn't happen to me until after my 3rd fill, and I'm still learning. Just the other day, I realized that whenever I have artificial sweetener, I start craving sweets and carbs! It's a process. One of the peopleat the fill center told me that I need a fill if I find I'm "food-seeking". I think that's part of it, getting the right fill. I think the other part is that it just takes time to build a new lifestyle. You'll probably also find that when you choose your exercise, you might meet other health-conscious friends to hang out with sometimes, so look for something social, like Jazzercise.

It's like an alcoholic binge, isn't it? Like an alcoholic who falls off the wagon, you just hope the binges will get shorter and less frequent. I have read in other posts about people who aren't losing and who are helped tremendously by endochrinologists. I think you're on the right track. You might want to search here for those posts and get the details.

You guys will get a kick out of this. This weekend I drove my Mom to her best friend's birthday party in another state. Mom is 90. I was getting tired on the drive up, so I put my ipod shuffle on...It's all my upbeat workout music. Mom wanted to hear what it sounded like, so she put it on and was surprised that I had a lap band song on there. What? A lap band song? Mom doesn't hear well. So she started singing it in that overly loud off key way that we all sing when we have headphones on.... it was Donna Summers...."Lap band. Lap band for loooove. Yes it's my lap band lap band toniiiiight....." __________________

OK. I have to know. I've seen that Kevin Trudeau infomercial on the 100% permanent weight loss cure book. If anybody bought it, tell me...what's the secret? I won't spend the money on what I know won't work, but I'm sooo curious.

SaWatDi. (That's Hi in Thai) I missed the last get together, so I'm soooo looking forward to seeing everybody!

Don't those infomercials just make you crazy??? We just need to exercise and diet and we'll be fine, and if we don't, we're lazy! Grrr.

My doc didn't have me on ANY pre op diet. So my guess is if you are less than perfect, you'll be OK. I do Slim Fast Low Carb in the can because it has the least of the bad stuff as far as I can tell.

I decided to quit telling people. They always want to know what I weigh now. The other thing I got was that I was taking the easy way out. Bull. The band just helps me succeed at all the hard work.

Pouch Dilation: I thought I needed another fill. I could eat way too much. so I went to the fill person and she just added .2cc. Then I drink the barium and we watched it on the fluoroscope....just sit there and not go through! She compared my last flouro pic with this one, and my pouch was much bigger this time (pouch dilation). I was scared! I thought I had ruined the surgery! She was so calm, like she sees this every day. She said to go back on liquids for 3 days and it would go back to normal, and she was right. I guess if it goes on too long it can become permanent, but the pouch stretching is a fairly common thing. I thought and thought about everything I had eaten...Had I ignored signs I was full and packed that pouch with too much food? Well, it turns out that the last fill that I had was a bit too much, and even Water was sitting too long in the pouch before going down, stretching the pouch. Some people even have their band unfilled and start over to let the pouch shrink. I didn't have to. I had been slugging down a Protein Drink in the mornings (I'm an early riser), and I'm one of those people who have a lot aof restriction in the early morning. So I changed my Breakfast to a few hours later, and just sipped on water before breakfast. I might have done better getting a bit unfilled, but as it turned out, I was losing weight, so the band lossened up a bit on it's own as I lost stomach fat. Anyway, I'm where I need to be....

Oh yeah. About that ice cream thing. I'm experienced enough with the band now that I love it when my husband gets a bowl of ice cream or any dessert. He gives me the first bite and I'm satisfied and really enjoy it. (But I couldn't have done that at first....)