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Well i go to the doctor today. Another fill i would imagine. I am not loosing like i should(at least that is what i think) My weight this am on my scale (yeah totally naked and before i've eaten anything is 215.8) I am curious to see what their scale says. I have been really REALLY good. I have been tracking everything! i eat on my daily plate. I get 1174 calories a day and i have been going to the gym in the am after i drop katie off for her second bus. I do the treadmill for 20 min then the stair walker machine for another 10 min. Oh according to my daily plate if i do that i get about another 150 calories for the day. Sometimes i use it most of the time i do not. I think that this time i am going to make it. I think my head is in the right place now. Before it really was not. HOWEVER i do need more fills because it is my willpower keeping me going not at all my satisfied feeling in my tummy. So once i get that i really should be doing good. I have set a mini goal, i want to lose 15 lbs by the time i go to CA on Feb 14th. Then Sal and i are going into NYC on March 13 14?? I would like to be down another 10 by then so lets see. First goal i should be 200 and second goal i should be 190 ONEDERLAND as everyone would say. I post tomorrow to record my band fill. :confused:

As you get closer to your goal weight, the harder it gets to lose those lbs. Go back to your basics...are you keeping a food and exercise journal? review what your intake is and your exercise pattern. you might need to increase or possibly decrease your kcal intake or increase your exercise time, or you might have to "shake" things up a bit by changing your routine with both food and exercise. Don't beat yourself up to badly, plateaus are expected. 2 lbs in a month is better than nothing. My loss started to slow and then was doing nothing. I started with the food and kcal, then went on to change up my exercise...I'd start to lose and then nothing for weeks, so I shake things up again...I have finally started to lose again so we will see how it works out. Also, check your measurements alot of the time even though we may not be losing lbs, we do lose inches. Good luck!

Hello I had my sleeve August 16 and have lost 171 pounds. Dr Almanza is just amazing and I'm extremely satisfied.

How are your clothes fitting? Have you taken your measurements? I have lost very little weight in the last several months, however, I'm down sizes and inches. The scale doesn't tell the whole story!

I put off my life for a year post-op. I didn't feel like my weight was low enough to seek out a new job, get out and have fun, or try dating. I think it's pretty common, much like the way people order a new "as seen on tv" exercise tool. And then wait for it to arrive before starting any kind of exercise program. I know I've done it. Get my free eBook - The Top 10 WLS Fears and How to Kick Their Butt!

I got to a place where I had to. Because of my weight and mobility issues, I am on disability and am unable to work. Even now, post-surgery, I know there are things that I can't physically do. But, I can look forward to a time that I can with confidence now that I have had the surgery and am starting to see results.

Hi there! I would suggest speaking to someone in your HR department at work. When they set up your benefits they pick and choose what they want covered. They should be able to tell you right away if weight loss surgery is covered. Hope this helps! ~Amanda

ask them to send you a copy of the policy on weight loss surgery, so you can read it yourself. also find out the greivance process for challenging this.

Hey everyone- im 10 days post op and lost quickly in the first week. Seems to be slow now and Im kinda getting discouraged. Im happy with the weight I did lose but Im starving all the time and I yet to find my filler. Today I made chicken riggies for my family and i mashed up some chicken and im eating that now. I havent felt nausea or sick yet so is it too early to start eating. I have been on liquids and had mashed pot yesterday- does anyone know why I shouldnt be eating this or is it going to harm me. I need help starting to have doubts and my struggle is just yet to begin. Please help...thanks guys

So I modified my breakfast for the last couple of days to see if that would help and it worked. I have strawberry mini wheats in soy milk and some banana. Went down great. But I have not lost any weight 5 days. In fact, I went up by half a pound and I am really trying hard not to freak out. So I worked out longer today. We shall see how I did tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Thank you. I have been feeling like crap lately not losing any weight. My boyfriend says to step the exercise up a bit to see results. I guess I'm not eating too healthy either. I need to work the program to the T.

i got the news monday that i will have surgery july 24. i do want the change in my life but i keep asking myself why can't i just loose the weight on my on. why has it come to this. i can usually just drop pounds. so for the last wk i have been having migraines. i guess i just don't want to fail. is this normal to feel this way.

You guys are so kind. I don't think he was missing my port. The port is actually very obvious, and it seemed from my side of things that he was in the port. I could even feel the sensation of him hitting rubber, if that makes sense. It was just weird that he was in the port but couldn't get the saline to inject. He seemed truly puzzled. I was getting worried that the port had flipped or something, but thankfully it hadn't. Thanks for the cheers about my weight loss. I am continually surprised and amazed as the scale goes down and down. I was so happy today to see that the 30 pound loss was still there. I keep expecting the scale to go back up, like I haven't really lost how much I think I have.

I went to a play tonight with my sister and found myself sitting between her and another gal who was also a large lady. If I hadn't lost all the weight, I would have never fit between them...and all three of us would have been very uncomfortable. Even with my sister and this other lady spilling over into 'my space', I was fine. How many times can I say thank you for this band? How about every single time I fit somewhere that I used to not be able to.

Hello, I have been researching this topic for a while. I am almost ready to start the process. I have decided on gastric sleeve and I will soon be going to my first information session at either Banner Gilbert or Bridges. I am leaning more towards using Banner based on what I've read here and their website and they are closer to my house. However first I am looking for a pcp who approves of weight loss surgery. I am never sick and so I haven't been to a doctor in years except for a chiropractor and ob- gyn. Instead of picking a doctor at random, I would prefer to start with a doctor who approves of weight loss surgery. Does anyone have any suggestions near Gilbert, Arizona?

So I have been banded since Feb 2008. I have only once had too much Fluid and completely unfilled to help the swelling. Then I was filled again. This past January and February I got bronchicitis and coughed for two months. They took some fluid out becuase I felt too tight. A few months ago I got more put back and felt like I was at the sweet spot. But did not lose weight I even gained. I got sick one night from eating bread and threw up. Since then I have had NO resctriciton at all. I can eat whatever I want. It is like I lost all my fluid. So I went to the doctor. He said all looked well and gave me a fill. So I waited my three days before eating real food. Again no resctriction, that was a week ago. I have made another appointment to see the doctor again. I just don't feel right. Today I started to feel pain under my left rib cage and pain in my back. I am wondering if I slipped but slipped upwards? Any one have comments or similiar story. I just feel like something happenend. How can you go from having rescriction to none at all.

Well, I've just returned from my contract of 5 weeks and it feels good to be home. I was happy to see that I lost 9 lbs just by cutting back on soda, drinking more water and decreasing my fast food habit...YEAH BABY, YEAH....However, two things that I was diagnosed with last year has returned; vertigo and Pilonidal Abscess. So, last year I was at work in the middle of delivery and I almost collapsed. I couldn't stand, sit and I was sent to the ER. MRI cleared, blood work cleared , no inner ear infection. Doctors believed it was either stress ( I worked 3 jobs , 1 full time, 2 part time jobs as a nurse) or my weight. I was off work for 2 months and over the next couple of months it will come and go, my last flare up was in September 2011 but Friday evening, my boyfriend had to help me inside, today it's much better thank god. Something else I need to take care of in the coming months. The Pilonidal Abscess was the most painful event that took place last year...nope ...my gallbladder was the worst. However, it was the most embarrassing. As a L& D nurse I never heard of this disease and my research when I was diagnosed made me realize that my weight may have led to this predicament. However, I thought when I had surgery done, it was all removed. I mean I spent 4 weeks having my BF do my dressing and now it seems it has returned...sigh....now I'm doing more research on the matter and it looks like this thing is here to stay. My hope is, if I lose weight, maybe it will decrease my flare ups. If you have no idea what a Pilonidal Abscess/Cyst is, look it up ...let's just say it's to do with your behind. Anyways, I have two weeks off before my next contract, thus, I need to do all my pre-op test during my time off. I decided before I do my pre-op that I'm going to do a month long natural cleanse, as a type of preparation for my new way of life. I know it sounds corny but, ( hoping not to jinx myself) something is clicking up there. I'm saying no, when I would say yes. I'm stopping when I'm full and I'm not beating myself up if I slip. I just hope that this is not temporary. However, when I got on that scale and i saw that I lost 9 lbs in 5 weeks I was very proud of myself. Moving on..so today, it's about starting my cleanse, entering my weight and pic on the forum and taking pictures and measurements. I need to buy 2 weeks worth of shakes, so that's what i'm doing this week, including going to doctor's appointments and going to Curve. I made out a plan and I'm sticking to it as much as possible and so far, i'm doing pretty well...going to find a pic for my profile...not of me of course, that will be for another time...maybe a pic of my beloved pug:)

I can say I bruise easier than I used to after losing the weight. Less cushion, I guess. My labs are fine, so it's not that. You should probably talk to your doc and maybe get some labs as bruising can be caused by Vitamin deficiencies. Think they did 3 month and 6 month labs on me anyway. Maybe a part of your follow up appointments?

So many of us got this surgery because we were parents who wanted to do right by our kids. As you lose the weight, is it changing things for your kids? What do they think about it? At our house: -no more junk food anywhere in the house -my son has to eat Protein first (he would have lived on just bread if you let him) -we went to the state fair where I was able to walk all over and was less tired than him -my kids are our biggest supporters and they're seeing us succeed. That makes me happy. Cute NSV. I've been slopping around in 2xl pjs. Loose, unsexy, old. My husband gently reminded me that I could now buy sexy lingerie if I wanted? (If I wanted, not he. Sneaky!) I bought some L sizes pjs. I feel they cling to me too much. I asked my 13-year old if they were too tight. Here's his answer: "Wow! (Waves hands in hourglass shape) They look just fine to me!" Hahahahaha!

If you are doing any strength training then you are building muscle which will weigh more and coming down from 6x per week to 3-4x per week will make a difference. Once your body recognizes this it will adjust accordingly. Drink Water. They say that you only need about 25-30 min of cardio and 15min weights and large muscles burn calories/fat faster, so do leg weights.

I'm in the same neighborhood as you guys. I'm 5'11'' and at my highest was 275. Even at that weight, I didn't consider myself that obese (until I looked at the charts). I'd walk, even play racquet sports and remained reasonably active. For me, what pushed me over was that fact that my weight kept creeping up year after year and, when I really thought about it, things were getting harder. Airline seats were shrinking, I was watching more tv rather than getting out and stuff that I used to do like skiing was plain off the table. It seemed like 39 was way too young to throw in the towel. I wanted to loose weight for good, not just go through another diet and gain cycle. So there you have it. I was sleeved YESTERDAY. I'm alive but in a little pain. Looking forward to getting through the next few days and onto the good stuff.

I have been having problems with my weight going up and down recently. Only about 2 to 3 pounds. I was exercising 6 days a week but was told to decrease my exercise to 3 to 4 days a week because I was having symptoms of dehydration. Anyway, for two weeks straight, I stayed at 256. Then I lost to 252. Then I have gone up and down from 252 to 256 this past week. Today, I was at 255. What could be going on? I am sticking to my diet and I am exercising but not 6 days just 4 a week right now. Should I increase my days of exercise? I alternate cardio and weights/crunches etc. what is your take?

The story you are about to read may be hard to believe. It is the kind of story that would occasionally make it into my email inbox, and I would scan it briefly before clicking delete and muttering about how this kind of junk gets past my spam filter. If it hadn't happened to me, I wouldn't believe it. But it did happen to me, and I pray that you read this and consider what it says. A few weeks ago, I was watching my favorite Christian television station. The show was a talk show-type discussion about hormones. I almost changed the channel, but something (Someone) made me stop and listen. The woman on the show was named Dr. Barbara Hoffman, and she was talking about her line of bio-identical progesterone creams. They discussed how progesterone balanced estrogen, and how it was very important to choose bio-identical over synthetic. Synthetic progesterone can do all kinds of awful things in the body, because the body just doesn't always know what to deal with it. This includes birth control pills and shots. I began to think back over the past few years, about how my health began a downward spiral after I had my son. Then it occurred to me that it was after I had him that I started on the depo-provera shot. I started to research progesterone, and came across all kinds of literature that talked about how progesterone deficiency can cause all kinds of problems, including some that were hauntingly familiar: fatigue, weight gain, mental fuzziness, painful periods, cravings for carbs and sweets, and body pain, to name a few. And on other pages, I read that depo-provera will cause the body to stop producing its own progesterone, since it is a synthetic form of the hormone and causes the body to think it has enough. After about a week of research, I decided to go ahead and order the cream that I had seen on tv (Better Heath Naturally ProHelp Moisture Treatment Cream). I figured that I would try it out, and if it made me feel bad I would stop, but hopefully it would help me with some of my fibromyalgia symptoms. When the cream arrived, I went ahead and put it on as per the directions on the container. That day, I didn't feel any different. The next day, I used the cream again, once in the morning, once in the evening, as the directions suggest. I thought I could notice a little bit of a difference, but brushed it off as being psychological. The third day, I woke up, went downstairs, and started making breakfast for my son before I realized that my body didn't hurt. At all. I went through the day without saying anything, because I again thought this must be a psychological thing, or I was just having a good day, or something like that. But my boyfriend noticed that I was much happier and seemed to be in less pain than normal. And after a few days, I had to say something. I had almost no pain. I was able to play with my son for the first time without hurting. I had tons of energy, and I just felt good. It just felt so good to feel good again. Then I noticed that I was starting to go longer between meals without being so hungry. While before I was counting the minutes until the next meal, now I could go for hours past "meal time" and not even notice. But what really got me was when I passed up chocolate. My son brought home some Easter candy, and was trying to feed it to me, but it just didn't sound appetizing. When it hit me that I had just passed up chocolate, I had to run and tell everybody I knew about this stuff. I have gone about a week now with no cravings at all. When I eat, I actually feel full before I am done, and it has helped me cut down on some of the high-processed carbs that are so bad for me. I sleep better at night, even though I have stopped taking my sleeping medication. Plus, I am cutting down on the meds that were previously keeping the pain in check, and am still feeling great. I feel happier, and my son loves being able to play with me without being afraid of hurting me. The scale has been going down steadily, but I have noticed that my body seems to be changing a lot more than it was. However, I'm confident that it will start going quicker soon, since I am more active and eating less. I know that no single thing is a "magic bullet" for everyone, but I just had to tell you all about how this cream has helped me. I am including a link below to the site where I bought it, and also the site of the manufacturer where you can read a little more about it. If you are considering trying this, please do some research first. Some women do fantastic on this stuff, but some don't. But if you are one of the ones that are helped by it, then it is so worth it. http://shop.daystar.com/ http://www.bhnformulas.com/

First thing I did was ween myself off coffee. I knew I had to give up caffeine and from past experience, I didn't want to go through it on top of recovering from the surgery and all the other adjustments. Sounds silly, but I suffer from at least two weeks of a bad head ache when I quit coffee. Next, I started researching for a good nutrition supplement plan for post surgery. I have a lot of food allergies with artificial sweeteners being a big one. I wanted to find high quality vitamins in powder or liquid form that didn't have additives that I could mix into protein smoothies I will make myself. I finally found a great multi, a calcium complex and plain whey all in powder form. They have no added sweeteners or flavors. I have made smoothies with them and they are delicious. Now, my pre op diet doesn't begin until Dec. 10th, so I have been making the most of my last few weeks of diet freedom and been enjoying whatever I want (except coffee)....my last hurrah, guilt free! Crazy, huh? Yes, I have gained a couple more pounds...Dec. 17th will be the real beginning of my new life!

These are all great tips and will hopefully motivate me! I'm pre-op as well- I've got my 3rd of 6 monthly check-ins next week and am just starting to tackle the other pre-op appointments. I'm very out of shape now but just last year I was in fantastic shape from frequent barre classes. I'm at that place where I haven't worked out in so long and have gained so much I'm scared to go back but I do really want to be more physically fit by the time I go for surgery (likely March or April.) This is my first post!