Vikki

That is the way I feel because some days are really tight and others aren't as much. So I am trying to just figure out what I am doing wrong for my body and why I am not dropping the weight. My body is as stubborn as I am and so I am having a fight with myself>>>>>HA HA I need to just bump up the exercise and keep it up. I am great on it for about a month then........tend to slack and start the ol I will do it tomorrow......which ends up......a week. Thanks for the encouragement you guys. I try to visit this site to remember I am not the only one on the weight loss journey. I have to keep my head high and make good food choices and be happy for what I have loss thus far. I am trying to keep track of everything on fitday.com. I just love that site!!!

Hi May Bandsters, You guys are all amazing. I love reading this thread. It has really a lot of people in it. I was banded last Nov. If any of you are Southern California locals I have coodinated a meet up this Sunday. We are meeting at Anaheim, Downtown Disney at the Rain Forest cafe this Sunday June 10th at noon. If anyone would like to come please send me a message as I am trying to get a big enough table for all of us. It will be nice to meet other bandsters face to face and hopefully we can set up a group to meet up every once in awhile to exchange stories and advice. If you are interested email me at vikki4mymail@yahoo.com I hope to meet some of you.:hippie::cheer2::banana

I wanted to send a message on this thread that if you are a Southern California resident we are going to have a meet up this Sunday. I have just gathered locals from this site and Lapband2gether of people that want to meet each other that have had the Lap Band done or a couple of them are wanting to ask question because they are thinking of having it done. We are meeting this Sunday June 10th at Anaheim, Downtown Disney at the Rainforest Cafe at noon. If anyone is interested in joining us please send me a message at vikki4mymail@yahoo.com so that I can get a big enough table for all of us. It will be nice to share stories and get advice.

Vikki--how are you doing? Hopefully things are going better for you. Connie- I am doing okay. Still have not lost any weight and I am still frustrated. I am sick of people asking me how much weight I have lost when it is the same number as a month ago. I feel like a looser right now. Why is the band not working for me?? I thought I would drop at least 75 pounds by now and I haven't even reached 40. I took Tom's advice on the granola bars and got some South Beach Diet bars. They are not as yummy as the yogart granola bars but a lot more protien. I do tend to lean towards the shakes a lot to get my protein threw powder. I just am a chicken to eat solids anymore. I went to have egg fu young at a chinese food place the other night and after about 5 bites I ended up in the bathroom for 25 min. I get scared after that happens and stick to soft or liquid. I have got off the exercise track and I am going today back to jogging at the park. I have lost inches more than pounds so I am trying to look at it that way to be more positive. I am going to see if I can drop by the end of the month and if still at platue then back to DR. to get a tight fill. I talked to my Dr. last week and he said the next fill I get he will sit down with the nutri to get some meal ideas and discuss what I am eating in detail to figure out a plan for me. I hope everyone is feeling good. Tom- where are you??? Are you doing okay??? How is that hand??

Okay, we are meeting this Sunday at Anaheim, Downtown Disney at the Rainforest cafe at noon. I am hoping to have a big enough table to seat everyone. We might have to sit at two tables if there are a lot of people that show up. I am going to take everyone's info so I can send it out and we can meet up again. If anyone has a pool we could do a pool party BBQ thing this summer. If any of you have any questions about the meet up please email me. Thanks and I can't wait to meet the bandster locals of Orange County, LA California.

Yes we will be meeting on June 10th at noon at downtown Disney at the Rainforest cafe. I have a table set up for 15 people but might need to get a bigger one. Send me an email so I can add you to my dist. list. vikki4mymail@yahoo.com I hope to meet you guys there. Here is a picture of me so you guys know what I look like. I have red hair and freckles. Look forward to meeting everyone. :confused:

Thanks Marni. When I say 5 meals I really mean eat 5 times. My breakfast is usally a yogart granola bar, Lunch is a cup of soup or chili, mid afternoon is another granola bar then dinner which is usually soup again or something soft. Then if I am still hungry I will have a protein shake with a scoop of powder, ice, soy mild, banana and a spoon full of honey. That is usally what I have. I have been snacking on chips too much lately. I have noticed how easy they go down so when I get a cup of soup I will grab a small bag of chips. The last week I have tried to STOP that habit. I guess I do need a fill and will have to schedule another one. I have 4cc right now and felt almost too tight at first then it seemed to loosen up after a couple of weeks. I sure wish I could afford to get a personal trainer to really mold me. I have felt the difference in my cloths but don't have to get a new wardrobe yet as they are looser but not falling off yet. I am down almost two sizes since surgery. I guess I will have to watch the salt a little more. Do you guys have any good homeade soup receipies for me? Thanks

Tom- I sure hope you feel better soon. Between your not feeling energy and now your hand I don't know how you do it. How in the world do you work a full time job and take care of everything on your farm????? I sure hope you feel better soon!!! Anyone- I really need some help from you guys today. I am really, really depressed today about my progress. I know that I am less than I was before my surgery but I have been at a platue forever it seems. I am around 218 for about 6 weeks now and I am trying soooooo hard to get down into the one hundreds!!!!!!! I am trying to eat well and get my protein first. I am trying to do the small 5 meals a day and exercise for at least 45 min 4-5 times a week. I just can't get the darn scale to go down!!!!!!!!!!! I spent the weekend with my two girlfriends that are thin and feel like such a fat cow right now. I get in like this of why does it seem like everyone around me eats what ever they want and they stay normal size and here I am obsessed with every little bite and I am a BIG GIRL!!!! I am trying so hard to loose this weight and it is the fight of my life!!!!! Seriously. Do any of you have any advice on what you see really kick start the weight loss. I just don't know what to eat anymore. I guess it is not what my body wants to loose weight but the just stay at a stand still. Please help!!!! I would appriciate any advice you could give. I am not good at making my own food. I am really loving soups and chili but I guess they are the wrong things. I love the protein shakes from the powder. Thanks!!!!!!

Betsyjane, my husband has restless leg syndrome and drinks monsters and coffee all day. I tell him that makes it worse but he tells me it doesn't. He usually ends up sleeping in three different spots all night from tossing and turning. He takes Advil PM before he goes to bed also. I feel like I wake up with a hang over if I take that stuff. I hope everyone has a fun weekend planned. I am going to Rosarito, Mexico with my kids and some friends. We are staying at my girlfriends aunt's beach house that is right on the sand!! It will be so nice This is what it looks like right out of the back porch. Everyone be safe and have a nice weekend!!!!:clap2:

It is very hard to figure out what your body needs in to get the weight loss that you want. It is pretty much trial and error at first. I was banded last Nov and have lost 35 pounds. A lot of others off of the Novermber site I go to have lost almost or at 100. I too get to feel like why is it so hard for me to loose weight when I am eating 1/3 of what I used too why isn't my body just shedding the pounds like crazy. A good thing to do is to track everything you put in your mouth on fitday.com because you don't realize how much you might be giving your body in calories. I try to stay between 1200 and 1500 calories a day. I love to snack on chips and I can eat them fine so it is a problem of extra calories that I don't need. You get in the habit of just finding soft things to eat but they might be high in sugar and calories. I have hit a couple of long platues but I notice if I really step up the exercise it does help kick start my very slow wieght loss. Honestly I keep telling myself the slower I loose the more time my skin has to catch up and I don't look loose and saggy. It is an obsession to track every little calorie and every bit of exercise but since we are on the weight loss journey it is what we have to do. Good luck to you and you can send me a private message if you have any questions. We all hit platues and it is a detective case to try to figure out how to get out of them.

If I could put my two cents in I would say the exact same thing. I love my Dr. in Mexico but if I could have had it done in the states I definitely wish I had. I was desperate to get it done and loose weight. But now that I have it and have been lucky to not have any problems I read of others that have had medical problems such as port infections and thier stomach rejecting the band so band removal. If you have a Dr. in the states you know it is an approved band for US Dr's so if emergency they will treat you. I have to drive 3 hours to go get a fill and then it takes all day to go and get out of Mexico just for a 5 min fill. If you have a Dr. in US that is only charging 13,000 that is a really great price. I was told it would cost me 20,000 in US so that is why I choose Mexico. But I don't have any after care here in US. Good luck

Hi there May bansters, I was on your page reading all about your journey to band land. I was banded last Nov the day after turkey day. I am at the 6 mth mark now and couldn't be happier with my band. I know exactly what you newbies are going threw. You will only be sore for a couple of weeks I promise. Some of you might be battling with shoulder pain too. I know I had a lot in my left shoulder and it ached like arthritis especially when I would drink. I guess your nerve that is touched sends signals to your shoulder as a pain.....it is weird. I wanted to say to you guys that you are all amazing and you guys have reminded me how excited I was once I finally had it done and over with. You are scared but excited. I have had two fills so far and lost 35 and 50 to go. I am at a platue for about 5 weeks now and that is frustrating but I just am trying to focus and exercise as much as I can. I don't know if any of you are Orange County, CA locals but I am setting up a meet up at Downtown Disney in Anaheim on June 10th if any of you are interested you can sent me a private message and give me your email address. If anyone has any questions let me know. Truely the only support I get is from this site because I haven't told too many people that I had the Band done. I hope you guys feel better soon. The best thing to do is to walk around as much as you can. Good luck to you May Bansters....................YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :heh:

Hi Angela, Yes as I am still planning on Disney. The thing is I haven't received that many replies from the invitation. We will just have to see who shows up. I will send out another email to everyone next week and see what responses I get back. I would say about 5 people have responded with a yes. Even if it is a small group it will be nice to meet others that have been banded and share stories. Can't wait to see you again. How is the weight loss. I am sooooo stuck at 220 it isn't funny. :faint: I will loose a pound then gain 3 then loose two and gain 1. I guess I need to do more planned meals everyday instead of convient meals from food places.:hungry: I have never been one to cook much.

Hi Everyone. I was away in Phoenix, AZ for mothers day but celebrated it last Thurs. with my kids. My mom is out of town so only got to talk to her on the phone. Tom, you are doing sooooo goood. I can't wait until I get to a point that people are telling me there is nothing left to loose!!!! It hasn't really been too noticable yet on the weight loss. I did have an ex boyfriend that is in our circle of friends say that I am looking really good. That was a nice ego booster. I am going to try the calcuim/magnesium combo. I tend to get so sore after work outs and that would really help. I hope they have it in liquid form. You guys have the best advice. I haven't been able to loose much and hoping to get back on the exercise this week to help drop. It is so hard and I have been so hungry lately. I am really trying to do the 5 small meals a day to help control my hunger. Hope everyone is doing well. Connie, I will keep your sister in my prayers. That is very scary. What caused that? Is it something that would have developed over time or just all of a sudden? How old is she? very scary.

I can't live without my beautiful kids!! I can't live without their smiles and kisses. I can't live without hearing them giggle and giving them a hug to make it better when they cry. Happy Mothers day to all you mom's out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:banana :cheer2: :cheer2: :bounce:

I wanted to WISH everyone that is a Mom Happy Mothers Day!!!!! I wanted to share with everyone a picture of the reason I am a happy mom. My children are the joy in my life and they are the ones that make me want to be a better me. Our children learn how to be adults by example. So I want to be a good mom and be a good example and by doing this I strive to be a better me. My kids are a blessing from God and I thank him every day for letting me know the joy and love of being a mother. Being a mom is the hardest job there is but it give us so much joy, love and happiness it is always WORTH IT!!!!!!! Have a great weekend everyone. :banana :cheer2: :bounce:

How in the world can you live on 600 calories a day and feel like you aren't going to faint. I am really having a hard time with staying around 1200 calories a day and that is half. Everything I read up on weight loss tells you to not go under 1000 a day or your body goes in starvation mode and you won't loose weight because your metabilism stops because of it being in starvation mode. Our bodies are very tricky and in a need to survive it does really weird things. What was there example of their daily diet. Do they feel they need to be really tight to keep at the 600 calories and to not over due it? I am just going to move to India and live off of bugs and water!!!!! How can we do that in the city where good is so readily available everywhere we turn. Going out to eat and having food in the house??? What did they say they do to keep at the 600 and not over due it?

I am with you guys. I thought it was going to really curve my appitite a lot more. I am still struggling with hunger. My brother had bypass two years ago and keeps telling me that hunger is mental not physical and I need to look at it that way. The honeymoon per say is over with the band and now I too feel like I am reverting back into old habit like chips. I LOVE CHIPS!! Not a sweets person. Chips go down fine. So I find myself snacking on bad things such as chips. I am struggling with my weight loss. I have been between 225 and 218 for almost 2 months and 2 fills. 4 days ago the scale said 218 then today the scale said 224??? I want to get down to the 100's sooooooo badly. I am exercising a heck of a lot more than I used too. Trying to be good with food choices. Trying to not over do my portions. Reading up on weight loss and exercise that boosts metabilism. I am actually feeling exausted with obsessing so much on it. I know that if I back off even just a little then I will gain weight. I am trying to stay focused. I am trying. It is just a lot harder than I had originally thought when I got the band. I tend to see others on the site with much more lost and wonder what is wrong with me??? What am I doing wrong? Why is it so hard to get to the goal weight that I should be at. Why is it soooooo HARD to get there and if it is so hard to get there how in the world am I going to stay there. I am reading self help books to try to be happier with ME inside and OUT. But it is the struggle of my life. I am a mom and a wife and work full time. I am a good person and try to be the best I can be but when it comes to just ME it is just sooooo difficult to achive my goal. Do you guys feel this way too. I do try to take it one day at a time and need to stop weighing myself in the morning because it tends to make me mad instead of happy most of the time. My brother lost 200 pounds from Bypass but has to deal with a huge side effect of dumping syndrome so that is one of the reasons I chose the band over bypass. My body is as stuborn as I am I guess. I will reach my goal...........I have to just keep repeating that to myself. It could be by next Sept. or next year. Hope you all have a great weekend!!! I am traveling to Phoenix to visit a girlfriend who had a band and lost all her weight. Then had a tummy tuck and looks great. She is a big support for me and knows how hard it is to loose the weight. I have to look at her and say it can happen..........it can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All that and you are pregnant!!! OH MY GOSH!!! How scary has that been!! The port infection in your body does not effect the baby? I am so sorry that you had to go threw with all of that. Your original Dr. that put the band in wouldn't reimburse any of the funds you have had to face? That is just so awful! I hope that you have a wonderful healthy baby and that you can get the band removed safely. Has it been hard to eat at all? I know one of the girls on my November bandsters page just had her band removed because her stomach totally shut down because it was just rejecting it. She has been in the hospital 4 times in the last two months because she couldn't even get liquids down and they finally just took it out. Good luck to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I actually went to Dr. Ramos Kelly at Obesity Busters and he is a great Dr. What kind of infection did you get and how did you get it treated? Did you have to pay for treatment out of pocket?

I had a great experience in Mexico and the facility was very clean. I was treated very well and did not get any type of infection. The thing is if you live really far from your Dr. and you do have any complications or infections you have to find a local Dr. that will agree to treat you. That is the risk of having it done in Mexico. Nataliesmom.......what Dr. did you go to in Mexico? I am curious to know who it was that treated you so poorly? I would try to find a Dr. that is local to do your fills and follow up before you have the band put in. I have had two fills done by my Dr. Ramos Kelly and he always takes very good care of me. Dr. Ortiz is very popular on this site and have never seen anyone say anything negative about him. Just make sure you do a lot of research on the Dr. you pick and if your not too far come visit them and see there medical facility to make your decision. Good luck!!!

Misty, I am sooo so sorry for your removal. Thankful that the Dr. decided to go ahead and take it out because it would have just gotten so much worse. I am glad you are feeling better every day and you have been threw so much. Just be healthy and remember that you need to take care of you!!! Good luck and let us know how you are doing from time to time.

I am sorry if I didn't respond to your email. Send me another one and say on there that you want to be added to our distribution list per my request on OC meet up on LBT site. We are meeting up at Downtown Disney on June 10th Sun. at 12 at Rainforest Cafe. We would love you to join us. This is a first time meeting so it will be nice to meet others in our area. Hope everyone has a great week. It has really warmed up and it makes me want to loose more so I can wear the tank tops this summer!!!!! Flabby arms NO MORE!!:heh: Vikki4mymail@yahoo.com

Thanks for your advice guys. I am only planning on wearing them for special occasions like Sat. night type of events. I actually found it for 13.99 on the As seen on TV web site. Why they charge so much on the other site is ridiculous. So it will arrive in 3-4 days and I will let you guys know how it fits and if it just makes it so you can't even breath. I am sooooo glad its Friday!!!!!! WEEE HOOOWWW Have a great weekend everyone!!!!:clap2:

Quick question for you girls. I was thinking of getting the Slim n Lift which is a girdle that is from right under your bra down to your knee. It is suppose to help those bulges in your back. It is 60.00 and is AS Seen on TV product. Have any of you ordered this and is it worth paying that much. I want to show off my weight loss but can't stand the rolls under my bra line on my back........... Thanks girls!:fish: