Ladybandito

Floridays, nice to see your comment here; I have been missing our posts. You look fabulous!

I originally was scheduled for gastric bypass, and canceled before surgery. My BMI was on the lower side, with co-morbids, but I just really was afraid to re-route anything in my body. I was unhealthy, but besides weight related issues, my body has been good very good to me. I did nothing after that for about a year, (except try new diet programs), and then made a consult to discuss band/sleeve options. I liked the band's short surgery time, the recovery time, and the "adjustability" of the band. Even though my surgeon has had good success with the sleeve, too, I was really concerned that it may not work for me (common thought) and then what? With the band, I can get adjustments as needed, which I see as a positive. Lots of people have been successful and happy with all WLS. And all WLS have their unique risks and complications. Do as much research as you can and find the one that "feels right" to you.

Thx Alex, I know you guys are working overtime on this ... And overall, I really like all the surgeries in one spot! Xx

I eat sunflower seed butter. More protein, less carbs, tastes even better than peanut butter (and I love the stuff too)

I can't even open mine up...

I have same issue as above. 13 notifications and "no permission" to use?

I'm a gal, "lady," who planned to be and now is much smaller "Ito" suffix here in Hispanic infused CA, and I have a lap"band." I put a lot of thought into my screen name, LOL.

Ha! Hi all. Took me a few weeks to realize that it wasn't my Internet connection that was making LBT never load, it's a whole new app!! I'm a slow learner sometimes! Otaknam, I would feel so lost and abandoned if that happened to me; at least you have a new doc that seems to know which way is up. I've heard that over time some of the fluid can evaporate; that's why we continue maintenance fills after reaching goal sometimes. I have an appt next week: will update you on what I find there. Chrissy, good to see back on; life gets hectic sometimes.

I eat Chia seeds (sprinkled on just about anything or eaten by themselves). They work great for producing a soft bulky BM and clearing out toxins from the intestine.

Looking great! Congrats to you!

Whoo-hoo! Fantastic results and a fantastic attitude!! Good for you!

Hi everyone. Hi Nicole. Glad things are settling in for you. I'm doing well. Exercising a lot and dropping sizes. Weight is hanging steady at 160-163, but I must be building a lot of muscle because my size is shrinking. :-) Happy Halloween!

Very, very good info. He also has videos on You Tube.

Beautiful!! High-five!

Breakfast -- Greek yogurt with 1Tablespoon of Chia seeds. I love, love Chia seeds; they keep me "regular." lunch -- 2 poached eggs with wilted spinach and tomato slices on 1/2 toasted English muffin. dinner -- Mexican shrimp cocktail (Shrimp in a cold tomato juice, with lime, chopped onion, cilantro, and chopped avocado), saltine crackers, and half a chile relleno. I was at a restaurant, and the cocktail was about 1-1/2 cups including liquid. I ate about half of it, maybe. Snack -- Chia seed pudding (chia seeds with Water, allowed to gel, with drops of English toffee stevia liquid sweetener). It's good, filling, has Fiber, Protein and lots of antioxidants. In between, I drank 2 bottles of water before breakfast, 1 before lunch, 1 before dinner, one before my pudding, and 1/2 of one right before bed. My early ones I drink plain. The later ones I add Dasani flavoring drops.

I bought a Snuggie (feet pajamas and a hood) last winter ... And I live in California! :-D

Your story is my story. Up and down weight over the years. VERY good at dieting, horrible at keeping it off for any length of time. I truly spent much of my adult life either on a diet or thinking that I should start one, and feeling bad about that. I am a couple inches taller than you and fluctuated from 130 to almost 240 and in more recent years could not get under 180 no matter how hard I tried, I researched WLS for 2 years before getting banded 1/18/2012. Was it worth it? God, yes. I really can't explain the power and control it gives you over eating, but it is the first time in my life I can eat like a "normal" person. And maintain! I am currently maintaining at 160 pounds, and I am pleased as punch. In my opinion, I think the band works very well for those who have dieted successfully in the past (because it does require following a diet of sorts). The key is that you don't gain it all back immediately (I don't know about you, but I could lose 10 lbs in a month and then gain 5 back in one day?!!) and with the band, that just hasnt happened for me. I've lost slowly, but it's always been a downward trend for the past 2 years. I hear your frustration, and been there. Yes, the lap band helped me. Tremendously.

Wow, That's great!!

Good question; would like to see some vet responses, too. My personal thought is that you probably need a bump-it-up tiny fill. I have not had a fill in a while, and have an appt in November. Until this month, I was thinking, I'm good where I'm at (maintaining easily). Now I'm thinking I will ask my doc what he thinks. I'm not gaining per se, but I am thinking about food much more often than before. I, too, have a fear of being over-tight. From what I understand, though, it is possible for a small amount of Fluid to shift or evaporate after a long period of time -- hence the need for followup appointments.

Yay! Congrats to you!

I went the pre-packaged way .. Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, taco bell pintos and cheese.

In a heartbeat. But sooner, before my last 20 years of failed diets.

I don't eat anything 3 hours before I go to bed. And I always have a small glass of water before retiring to flush my pouch out. Even without a band, it's not a good idea to eat and go straight to bed. A doctor once told me hat is what sumo wrestlers do, to gain fat. They sleep a lot, and pork out just before they sleep so it all converts to fat. Not sure if that's really accurate, but it stuck with me, lol!

Just to throw another point out there... Someone's post above mentioned that American's still have the choice of whether to enroll through an exchange or get a job with employer-offered plan. Let me tell you, first-hand, as a small business owner with about 30 employees, my opinion. I just got through notifying my employees of their alternatives regarding health coverage. We were required -by law- to give them the information provided us by Oct 1. Basically, it was that they must have insurance next year or be fined, and where they could get it. There were no cost estimates, because the exchanges in CA weren't up and running until the next day. HA! Then I received a packet of about 100 pages from our current provider offering all types of options: keep our employees on current "grandfathered" plan, which will increase 12% next year (and has increased 8% and 12% the two years prior) AND receive NO tax credit as a small business with less than 50 employees... Or enroll our employees in one of a number of exchange plans (at the same cost or higher and with far less coverage) AND get a tax credit for the business. We decided to stay with our current plan for now. We may change later by necessity. Many big businesses are being forced to change their health benefit plans already; seriously, it is important to control costs when you run a business, and health care benefits are a huge cost right now. I seriously believe that jobs offering healthcare will be faded out in the near future, as more and more transfer to the exchange. But that was the original plan everyone voted on anyway, right? Please realize that no, you may not have the choice to get a job with health care. And to answer the poster who said we are repeating media snippets .. I would like to say, no, this is real-life experience I am sharing with you. Believe me, I'd much rather be tending to sales at work, than more government imposed regulation paperwork. This is probably the longest post I've ever put on here. I'm sorry, I've been working a 60 hour week and I'm tired and I'm disgusted on a number of fronts. (But I am NOT stuffing my face, thank you band!) But, like the Canada-man pointed out, we all get used to whatever we have access to sooner or later. Shoot, even folks in third-world countries make do with what they have available. It takes a while before hot Water begins to boil .. If you're sitting in it, you get used to it and don't even notice. Just my 2 cents. It's been a long week.