Betsyjane

Ha! within minutes of sending hubby the sex/calories thing, he called me. Wants to know how many calories I want to burn in a day...wants to be supportive. Said he'll be home early.

Spiegel's fills are done at the Surgicenter, and they are nice folks there. You might not have to see Spiegel...... I go there as Spivak's patient, and like them.

I have great news! My last fill worked! For the first time, I am not struggling. I don't have to try to eat correctly while pretending the band is working. It's working! Things have gone from impossible to possible with hard work. I'm eating the correct foods in the correct amounts, and I'm not guilty, hungry, or food seeking. No pain, just satified and full. I know there will be challenges ahead, but today I feel like I've been let out of a cage. I feel emotionally lighter. I can do it with this tool. I suppose being a weight loss failure, I was accustomed to struggling, feeling guilty and the like and sweated it out far too long when what I needed was that sweet spot fill! Took 2.5 months, and this may just be a honeymoon, but I'm loving it!

Well, fellow November bandsters....It has happened. I have restriction. I feel just great! It took 3 fills, but I am comfortable, not hassled by food, and feeling like it is not impossible anymore, just good hard work. Couldn't be happier. Getting my protein in, getting the right calories, and going to the gym. I know I'll have struggles, but today I feel like I've been let out of a cage.

Calories burned during Sex is hilarious! I forwarded it to my husband. Better than the gym.....

Kbattal surely knew that self-filling would be controversial when he posted it. And it has been. I am glad it was posted and found the thread interesting until it became condescending. Now it's just base and boring. Bye all.

I'm a multimeds person too. Be sure and ask if all those pills can be crushed since you'll have to crush your pills to take them. They'll tell you to try taking them with applesauce to cut the bitterness. Didn't work for me. I found that taking them with a swallow of water and then FAST getting my chewable vitamin in my mouth, is best for me. I take two GNC Solotron vitamins. They taste lemon lime without an aftertaste.

Can we go back to the graph for a minute. I'm really confused. what do the millimeters have to do with it? 200 mm is ABOUT 8". What measurement is that? Thanks in advance for any help.

Mine didn't absorb into the band, but they said I lost fat around my stomach so my band was loose. Same effect. I go for fill #3 tomorrow. I feel like I'm really close to my sweet spot, since I have good restriction in the mornings (but none any other time). So in the meantime, I'm doing what I can on my own...and enjoying small successes like actually going into a convenience store and JUST buying a bottle of water!

I'm going for fill number 3 tomorrow. I think 3 is going to be the charm for me.

Congrats Angela! You're in ONEderland!!!!!!! I work out at 24 hour fitness. I found that the ones right in the city are trendyt, and the ones in the outskirts are very relaxed...normal people in sweats.

Oh dear. Here's where I get in trouble as a cook. I don't use recipes. I mix and taste until it tastes right..... I'd say the base is cashews and flax seed and everything else is in smaller quantities. That's about as close as I can get.

I have this amazing all purpose seasoning. It makes mushies and solids taste great...on fresh or grilled veges, in with eggs, mixed with goat cheese if you eat cheese, on tomatoes, on fish.... I use my little Blakc and Decker chopper, but any grinder will do. Sunflower seeds, cashews, ground flax, garlic, sea salt, cilantro, and any other favorite herbs. It's got some oil to it, so it feels really hearty and sinful in your mouth, and makes everything really satisfying without providing enough of anything to add up to calories.

OK. 6:30 PM Monday the 5th at Humble City Cafe. Lets shoot for monthly meetings. And I'm game for whenever anyone wants to start mall walking!

I come here for support, not for name calling---center of attention or total failure----it's all the same. We have all been failures managing our weight, and we're all trying to find our way. Let's be humane to each other. If you can't be humane, take it to the Rants and Raves section, please!

OK. What I expected to feel is what I feel in the morning...a sense of fullness after the right amount of food. From lunch on, I can sit quietly and chew small bites...and I don't get any sensation. In the morning, I get the sensation of fullness, but it only lasts an hour. I've been wondering if the sensation is something I neeed to develop....maybe after eyars of shoveling it in, I'm a bit dead to food cues? Really don't know if it's me or the need for a fill...... I do know that I can eat foods that other have problems with, and they go right down, big or small bites, chewed or not. I keep thinking even if I'n desensitized to food cues, I should at least feel something physiological, like PBing..... Did you all have any trouble sensing fullness at first?

What do you think? The fluoroscope shows I'm filled. And I don't have restriction except in the morning for awhile.

Yep. I put it in a chopper and then store it in a baggie.

I love Muscle Milk light! But I had to stop buying it. I need all my calories to be nonliquid to try to get some feeling of restriction.

It's a difficult juggle for me. I don't feel restriction excpet in the morning...so I eat too much during the day, without help from the band. then I kick myself for not following the program, and convince myself I just need to do better. Then I decide I could do better with a fill. But Idon't know that because I haven't felt much restriction since I was banded in November or after 2 fills since. The circular thinking of a fat person who hasn't had much experience of weight loss success in life........

I haven't named it.....

I don't know about your insurance, but my understanding is that you qualify if you have a BMI of 40 or a BMI of 35 plus other medical conditions like diabetes.

I use chewable Tylenol for pain. It's not as good as some of the anti-inflammatories, but my pain isn't as bad since I've been banded, so it all works out.

I have Lupus and I'm developing a good days/bad days routine. On good days I go to the gym. On bad days, I do a routine at home that includes lots of stretching, and work out on the exercise ball. If you hate exercise, start with a good stretching and meditation/relaxation routine that feels good. You can do those while you start on the patch and need to deal with the stress of not smoking! I think quitting smoking was the hardest thing I ever did in my life! I certainly don't make light of it, but it probably does need to be top priority. I too take care of aging Mom and gobs of animals, and I know where the energy goes, what energy we have..... Start putting exercise into your daily chores. Bend and stretch to put food down for the animals. Walk with your knees slightly bent to make it harder. Think of ways to do the whole animal routine as an exercise. Think about it being YOUR time to exercise nonstop without adding time specifically for exercise. After all of that is in place and the patch is working, then start thinking about other exercise...later!

I have Lupus and have the same problem. If I go at it much I end up with a fever, pain, and fatigue. I'm thinking of planning two kinds of workouts...those for good days and those for bad, so I don't just give up completely. I think the bad day exercise will involve a home workout with alot of stretching and maybe a routine on the exercise ball.....