monicaleon18

Hello, I live in Richmond, TX and was banded on Sept 20th by Dr. Hollis. If there is a group out there I would love to join... just let me know...

Hi Everyone, Hope all are doing great and getting ready for the Holidays! I had my 3rd fill on Wednesday and now have a total of 4cc in my band. I have lost about 9 pounds since my last update and am SOOO happy. My highest weight was 268 and now am 222, that's a 46 pound lost so far =) I was banded on Sept 20th. I had some people ask me how I did the 9 pounds in a month…all I can say is the treadmill… I signed up for my first 5k for Jan 16th and have been doing the c25k program and I promise it is working. I also have changed the way I control my portions by buying 1 cup size containers… I have a Protein shake for breakfast, coffee and 30 oz of Water all before lunch. At lunch I eat my 2 containers full of a meat (1 cup) and a veggie (1 cup) and then start my 2nd 30 oz of water again. Around 3pm I start to get hungry and I have my snack (yogurt, pudding, cheese, or fruit). Then I start on my 3rd 30oz of water that holds me until I eat dinner. My dinner is the same as lunch and about 30minutes later I do my workout and finish my 3rd container of water. I have been doing this for a month and I feel great. So now I am drinking 90 oz of water. My end-of-year goal is to loose 50 pounds and I am only 4 pounds away and am really excited and proud of myself. I share all this because I want to let you guys know what works for me. It took my 3 months to figure out how my body reacts to different foods and activities (or the lack of activities), I am really happy to have found a good routine. I spoke to my doctor about it and he loved it. He says I am his biggest looser for the Sept banded patients and that makes me push even harder. I was always the girl that was in last place… so it feels wonderful to be doing the right thing and being recognized by my surgeon. I want to wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas. Remember to take it one step at a time and to take a look back at where we were 3 months ago… that should be fuel enough to push us forward. I will post again when I reach my 50 pound goal… I can't wait!!! Moni

[1. how many cc's you have in your band I have 3.5 cc and I go on Dec 15th for more =) 2. do you feel you have restriction- what does that mean for you? I have some… Let me explain… if I eat fast or don’t chew… I feel it. But for me to say wow I can’t take another bit… nope… I actually see my plate and say stop eating now… and the difference now is that I feel contempt. 3. are your calories tending to stay below like 1600 (or what are your calories generally.) I am way below 1600 calories… more like 1000. I really don’t count… I just know it… the times I count it I am always below. 4. what is your weight loss like. I was banded on Sept 20th and I have lost 41 pounds as of this AM. My mini-goal is to have lost 50 pounds by New Year… 9 more to go… 24 days!!! 5. are you hungry between meals. It depends on what I eat. M-F I have a protein shake and coffee in the AM so I definitely feel it by noon. Around 3ish I make myself a banded frappachino… that is what I call it. Lol 6. are you exercising, and how much Yes… doing the c25K… I am signed up for my first 5k on Jan 16th 7. how much water are you drinking? I am drink about 60 oz of water a day

Hi Everyone! I got my 2nd fill yesterday and I feel no difference… I actually think my doctor is very careful with fills… my first fill I only got .7cc and yesterday I got 1cc for a total of 3.5cc (Doc put some fill the day of surgery). My scale has been moving up and down like crazy… I gained 1 pounds, lost 2, gained 1 and now I am back down 2… so I am the same weight I was 10 days ago when I last posted… so frustrating… but when I look at the BIG picture I have to say that without the band… I would have probably gained 10 pounds… so that is what I need to focus on. I am making Thanksgiving dinner so I can try to “be healthy” as much as possible. I figure if I cook, I get to have control of “most” of the calories I will eat. It is so hard to go to friend’s house to eat because you never know what they put in the food. So I guess I will be doing most of the cooking from now on… at least I love to cook and don’t mind it at all. Less than a week till Thanksgiving… have a safe one. Moni

Hi everyone, I was banded by Dr. Hollis on Sept 20th and have lost 37 pounds so far. I am really happy with my band and with Dr. Hollis and his staff at True Results. I think the only issue is the small amount of cc that was put in my 1st fill (.7cc) so I hope to get a lot more next week when I go get my fill. Hope everyone is doing great! Moni

Hello Nacol, I used Dr. Hollis and he is wonderful. I was banded on Sept 20th of this year... so 7 weeks out and I have lost a total of 37 pounds!!! The support staff is wonderful! Let me know if you have any questions. Moni

Hi All, Yesterday was my weigh in day and I lost 2 pounds since last week. I am currently doing the C25K program and it is not hard, especially because I get to rest a day in between. 3 days a week for 30 minutes is not bad at all. Next Thursday I get my 2nd fill and I can't wait... I hope it will help me reach my End-of-Year goal... only 13 pounds to go... We can do this!!! Remember one step at a time! Moni

Hi Everyone!!! I am proud to say I started the Couch 2 5K program on Saturday and it went great. Tonight is my 2nd day in the program… and Mondays are my weigh in dates… I lost 2 pounds!!! I am so excited… Today I will start looking for a 5k race so I can sign up and so I don’t give up, which in my case is very important. I used to tend to get excited and then loose momentum and that is why I got to weigh what I did. This time I have to keep the excitement going… so what I did was to go to my mom’s house and do some shopping in her closet :thumbup: My mom has an exaggerated amount of cloths… all new and all sizes. You see she gets cloths from her employer (she is a nanny) and as her boss goes up and down in weight she gets frustrated and gives away cloths to my mom. Anyway what I did last night was to get sizes 12, 14, and 16s and my goal is to put them away by size and as I loss weight I will give the bigger cloths away to a local charity. I actually did that with my sizes 22 and 20, boy did that feel good. Now I am in between 18 and 16 (last week I wore 16 jeans) and I tell you… that feeling was wonderful. This is really working for me and maybe it might work for you… but getting on that treadmill has my scale moving in the right direction!! By the way where is Brian? Brian let us know how you’re doing!!! Happy Birthday MissJoany!!! :thumbup: Banded Theresa… 1 hour might be too much… but if you’re interested here is the link to the couch to 5K I started… Cool Running | The Couch-to-5K ® Running Plan I also downloaded a podcast that not only tells you what to do, but you can upload it to an iPod or burn a CD and listen to music… takes all the guessing out and you don’t have to keep your eye on a watch… MP3 Podcasts Hope this helps…:thumbup: Remember let’s take it a step at a time! Moni

Hi Everyone, Can I still join… I know we are only 56 days away from the NEW YEAR, but one of my mini-goals was to loose 50 pounds by the New Year. I am only 15 pounds away!!! I met my Halloween mini-goal of loosing 30 pounds!!! Today I downloaded the Couch 2 5 K and can’t wait to start tomorrow. We have about 8 weeks, so if I manage to loose 1.6 pounds every week I can reach that wonderful goal. I am so excited to have found you guys… I love all the posts!!! Let’s take it one step at a time and stay focused on the goal. :frown: Moni Pre-Op weight: 268 Surgery weight: 253 (Sept 20th, 2010) Current weight: 233

Hi Everyone!! I found out a HUGE secret!!! How to help us get the “hurt”, “discomfort”, “pain” feeling go away when we get food stuck!!! Are you ready…? Papaya Enzymes Chewable Tablets!!! I had an episode the other night and ran to the internet to see what I could do… I read about these tablets and how they help break down protein. So I went to CVS Pharmacy and found them in the vitamins section. I bought them for $8.50 for 250 tablets. The bottle says to chew 3 at a time, but a person on YouTube says 4 will do the trick. So last night I had another stuck incident and I got the 4 tables out… and in less than a minute I was normal. No more pain, hurt or anything!!! I waited about 3 minutes and continued eating normal… slowly and chewing a lot more and had no more problems. I am so excited and couldn’t wait to tell you guys about my experience =) Here is some info: What Is Papaya Enzyme? BySabah Karimi Papaya enzyme is a potent mix of proteolytic enzymes derived from the papaya fruit, and offers several health and digestive benefits. The enzyme can speed up certain chemical reactions within the cells, and also breaks down certain types of protein. Papaya enzyme, also known as papain, has practical and medicinal uses. People can enjoy its benefits by eating raw papaya fruit or taking a papain dietary supplement. I put some tablets in a zip up baggy to keep at the office and another one to keep in my purse… just in case. I hope to not have any more incidents, but if I do… I will be prepared! On a non-scale victory… I put on my first size 16 today (Friday jean day at work). At pre-op I was a size 22 and 268 pounds. Today and only in week 5 post-op I am down 35 pounds (233) and happy… I started walking this week and noticed a 3 pound loss, so my friends… walking is my best friend right now. I hope this little secret helps you in any way. Have a wonderful weekend and stay focused, NO Halloween CANDY!!! Moni

Hi Everyone! Yesterday I got my first fill and the process was OK… thankfully they numbed my stomach before they started the process because they could not find my port!! They had to use the X-ray machine to find it. So I got another shot about 3 inches from the original one and then they got it. I had 1.8cc in my band and they added .7cc for a total of 2.5cc to be honest I don’t feel the difference yet… we will see when I start the solid food stage (today is liquids, tomorrow “mushy” food… Saturday real food). The doctor did say I am doing great on the weight loss and to make sure I exercise at least 3-4 times a week. I know I shouldn’t be I keep weighing myself every morning and today I was pleasantly surprised with 1.5 pound loss since yesterday… so now I am 31 pounds down from pre-op!!!! I also have to share that I am in a size 18 pants!!!!!!!!!!! I was a size 22. I found a women’s charity that will pick up items/cloths every 2 months so I am happy to donate my size 22s tomorrow when they stop by. Let’s keep up the great process we have so far… one day at a time. I have to say that I appreciate all of you guys, it is so great to be able to share our experiences, concerns and wins with people who truly understand and can relate. I feel this journey would not be the same without our support group. Thanks everyone for sharing this journey with me. :wink2: Moni

Hi Everyone! Tomorrow is my first fill and I am nervous!!! But I can’t wait to feel full. So far I have lost 29 since pre-op and 14 since banded on Sept 20th and couldn’t be happier!!! I got a treadmill as a “banded” gift from my parents yesterday and am excited to start my workouts tonight. I’ll let you guys know how it goes with the fill… Keep up the good work! Moni

Hello All, I have finally hit the famous “plateau” =( I gained 1.5 pounds and lost 1 then gained .5… I am so stressed and hungry. I go next week to get my first fill (Oct 20th) and I tell you Wednesday can’t come soon enough. Last week I outdid myself moving some tables at work and opened my port incision. I went to the doctor and he didn’t stitch or bond it… just said… “No exercise because I don’t want any sweat to get in there. Keep it covered when out of your house and no lifting more than 5 pounds”. I was like… I have a hole in my belly!! Are you really going to leave it like that? Sometimes I don’t understand doctors. Needless to say, I think the lack of exercise is causing this up and down. I am so hungry and can not wait to fill some restriction or at least the “OMG I can’t take another bite” thought… cause at this time all I can say is… “More please” Sorry for venting…I really am happy with my band… since pre-op I have lost 28 pounds… 15 pre-op and 13 since banded on Sept 20th. I just like seeing the darn scale move down… not up. Welcome to the group Rambunctious and great receipt! Brian, were are you? Please share your first fill experiences… the good and bad… I have to confess I am a little scared. Let’s take it one day at a time =) Moni Overall Goal

Hi I live in Richmond, TX with is 20 minutes from Houston. I was banded on 9/20/10 and have lost a total of 28 pounds including pre-op! This has been the best thing I have done! I did want to see if they are any groups near Houston that we can meet to chat and be eachothers support system. If you can let me know I would to even start a group if needed. Insurance Approved: Aug 23, 2010 Start Pre-Op Diet: Sept 6,2010 (268) Banded: Sept 20, 2010 (253) Current weight: 240 Surgeon: Dr Ken Hollis -True Results

Hi Everyone!! I'm so happy that Brian moved us over to this forum... THANKS Brian! Welcome to all the new members! This is my first ost in this forum, so I think I will write a little about myself and how I've been feeling... I am 36 years old, married, no children (weight related). I started this journey and have never looked back. I was banded on Sept 20th and so far hae lost 28 pound since pre-op (15 pre-op & 13 post-op). My doc filled my band a little the same day of surgery so my next fill is on the 20th of Oct. I am really looking forward to it because I am feeling hungry about 3 hours after I eat lunch or dinner. Usually in the am I am tighter so it is not bad. Hope all are doing wonderful... Monica

Hi everyone!! Well today is 1 week and 1 day since banded and today is the first time I feel constipated... this is horrible!!! I was loosing about 1.5 everyday up until Sunday when my mom made me a black bean soup!... Huge mistake! I think it is the cause of all my constipation and not loosing any more weight since Sunday. I really can't complain because I have lost 10 pounds post-op, but it does feel bad when you don't see the scale move... so I have decided to not weigh in on a daily base and just weigh in Mondays. My first Dr. visit is in two weeks which will include my frist fill. I do love my band and can not wait til I start with my trainer in 1 week! Congrats to those banded already and much luck to those who are getting it done today and this week!