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Wowzaa...Friday sucked. Flat out one of the top (bottom) ten work days I've ever had. In one decision, I cost my struggling company about $40k that it sincerely doesn't have. I was a basket case on Friday and it took me long into the weekend to get a grip on my mood. Objectively, I knew about 2 hours in that it wasn't truly my fault and about 4 hours in I had determined that with the information I had at the time, I would make the same decision every time. But it took me about 24-30 hours to adjust back from my bad attitude. I was mad at EVERYBODY although I did do my darnedest not to show it. I slipped a little, but my truly awesome friends rallied and even tried to cheer me up with crazy You Tube videos. :thumbup: But by Sunday, I was all better and today is just another new workday. I have a lot of responsibility in my job and a lot of high expectations. Occassionally, I'm going to make a mistake and that is just part of life. The good news is that we may have legal rights to retrieve the money so that would be even better!! Regardless, we have all learned a lot from this experience. Moving on to Sunday...I went shopping. (Sidenote: finallyincontrol, I think you were the one that said that I love to shop? I thought of that repeatedly during the day. HA!) I now have plenty of clothes to get me through the next 20-30 pounds, I think. One of my friends here at work told me I look very SLENDER in the outfit I'm wearing today. ME...slender? Uh, okay. Huh. I will take it!! I figured out last night that I wasn't going to be down this week at my Monday morning weigh in. I even had a fill this week...a teensy weensy one, but a fill nonetheless. I ALWAYS lose a couple of pounds at least on a fill week. But I guess I have reached my first dreaded plateau. Y'all know I'm not one to sit around and find out. So...yes, I have a plan! I ordered a Body Bugg last night and it should be here sometime this week. I'm committing to a new 8 week plan. I'm not technically starting until next week since I don't have the bug which I have already named Jax (after the badass biker on Sons of Anarchy). I was going to name it Bicho (meaning bug in Spanish), but I was afraid that everyone would think that I was calling it a bitch. :smile2: I will use Jax to accurately determine calories burned during the day as well as log my calories consumed. I'm committing to using Jax for calories burned for 8 weeks. I'm committing to recording calories consumed for 4 weeks, because I honestly don't think I can get myself to do more. Hopefully after 4 weeks it will become habit, but committing to 8 weeks for something I absolutely hate to do is too overwhelming. Additionally, I'm committing to doing 20 minutes of beginner yoga 4 times per week. At least 3 of those times must be in the morning before work (because I think it would be really beneficial). Honestly, using Jax for calories burned is a no brainer. Once I got over the thought of spending $300, using it will be no big deal. Getting myself up (just 20-30 minutes) earlier in the morning is going to be a little more challenging, but I used to do it all the time. I know that once I get through a couple of weeks, I will be able to do it. Recording my calories consumed is going to be the real challenge here. Technically, it was supposed to be part of my first 8 week challenge, but I gave it up after a day and decided that I would only do it if I gained weight. I'm such a sucker to myself!! But I thought if I lowered the committment to 4 weeks, I might at least get out of the gate. I'm going to visit my brother and his family for Labor Day. They know I'm doing this and saw me at the highest at Christmas and then again 40 pounds lighter at my grandmother's funeral. There are over 5 weeks until that vacation and I would very much like to lose 10 pounds. That is a lot for me since I typically average 1.8 pounds and I seem to be slowing. BUT it is very doable. That would put me at around 70 pounds lost and only about 15-20 pounds from my lowest weight ever as an adult. I can do this! Thank you all for your good wishes and support. It makes ALL the difference in the world!

Tried on a size 16W jeans...Got them on but couldn't close them...OMG it's looking good....I have another goal, to get into those jeans by Sept 1........Still loosing weight on first fill....(6/21/10).:cool:

I'm a woman and I love lifting heavy. I am doing it now to build more muscle before my surgery. Intermittent fasting also helps. Not sure it works with WLS, but I think I read someone doing IF and weights too. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App The only way to build muscle requires the intake of carbohydrates with the Protein. And also try carb cycling. One day higher one day lower. it plays with the insulin levels on your blood and helps promote muscle growth. Lot of this. Carb cycling throws your body into a guessing game and can help break up plateaus. Do your weights on higher carb days and cardio on lower carb days. If you can't break it up at least save cardio for the end. My rule of thumb when lifting is that regardless of how many sets you do (3x10, 4x8, etc) you do not want to be able to get all of your reps on the final set. People think if you can't get all your sets you're lifting too much. The idea is to keep at that weight until you can do all those reps. Once you don't feel challenged then go up in the weights (only 5-10# depending on the lift you're doing).

For me its more of a size then a weight. I would like to get down to size 8/10. If thats at 200lbs great, if thats at 150lbs that even better.

10/17/08 Here is my "Ah-ha" moment. (a bit lengthy) I have just realized that eating is not supposed to be fun. No...I know what you are thinking. Well I know if it was me two weeks ago I would be thinking that it may not be fun, but I enjoy it. I always saw eating as fun. Entertainment. I used it as a reward for myself or a consolation. I would put the kiddos to bed when they were little and then sit down with my favorite show and a plate of garlic bread and enjoy. If work REALLY sucked I would come home and sit down and eat ice cream or pick up McDonalds on the way home because I "deserved" it. Eating is not supposed to be fun. I thought going out with friends and having fun equaled eating. I started my pre-op diet on Monday. I started it earlier than I needed to and I have lost 8 lbs since last Friday. Wow I felt great...but I had that nawing desire for a last supper. Come on surely some of you can relate. That last...I can't eat this for months......can I ever eat this with the band......last supper. As of tomorrow no bread, pasta, rice or potatoes. I ate great all day. I went grocery shopping and did it. Guess what. IT SUCKED!!!!!! I had garlic bread and frozen pizza. (My staple) Not only was the garlic bread not satisfying, but the pizza tasted...well, flat. That is the only way I can describe it. Flat! It tasted worse than ever before. My taste buds would be much happier if I had eaten veggies and chicken breast. I wish I could puke. I hope I remember this feeling forever! So not worth it! I know that I will want crappy food again. But I feel like I am a step ahead of where I was before. Now listen to this. Are you ready? Eating is for survival. It is to get enough nutrition to live. That is its main focus. I know this sounds simple, but I have been oblivious to the obvious. (Try saying that three times fast.) It is not a reward. It does not console us. It doesn't take away boredom It doesn't listen to our problems. It is a fair weather friend....actually not even a friend at all. It is that bi*chy girl in jr. high that we thought liked us, but only pretends to until she can stab us in the back. I am ready now. I am ready to start the rest of my life. I am ready to try to forget this "last supper". Actually I guess I want to remember it forever.

10/17/08 Here is my "Ah-ha" moment. (a bit lengthy) I have just realized that eating is not supposed to be fun. No...I know what you are thinking. Well I know if it was me two weeks ago I would be thinking that it may not be fun, but I enjoy it. I always saw eating as fun. Entertainment. I used it as a reward for myself or a consolation. I would put the kiddos to bed when they were little and then sit down with my favorite show and a plate of garlic bread and enjoy. If work REALLY sucked I would come home and sit down and eat ice cream or pick up McDonalds on the way home because I "deserved" it. Eating is not supposed to be fun. I thought going out with friends and having fun equaled eating. I started my pre-op diet on Monday. I started it earlier than I needed to and I have lost 8 lbs since last Friday. Wow I felt great...but I had that nawing desire for a last supper. Come on surely some of you can relate. That last...I can't eat this for months......can I ever eat this with the band......last supper. As of tomorrow no bread, pasta, rice or potatoes. I ate great all day. I went grocery shopping and did it. Guess what. IT SUCKED!!!!!! I had garlic bread and frozen pizza. (My staple) Not only was the garlic bread not satisfying, but the pizza tasted...well, flat. That is the only way I can describe it. Flat! It tasted worse than ever before. My taste buds would be much happier if I had eaten veggies and chicken breast. I wish I could puke. I hope I remember this feeling forever! So not worth it! I know that I will want crappy food again. But I feel like I am a step ahead of where I was before. Now listen to this. Are you ready? Eating is for survival. It is to get enough nutrition to live. That is its main focus. I know this sounds simple, but I have been oblivious to the obvious. (Try saying that three times fast.) It is not a reward. It does not console us. It doesn't take away boredom It doesn't listen to our problems. It is a fair weather friend....actually not even a friend at all. It is that bi*chy girl in jr. high that we thought liked us, but only pretends to until she can stab us in the back. I am ready now. I am ready to start the rest of my life. I am ready to try to forget this "last supper". Actually I guess I want to remember it forever.

There's a thread on here about taking the easy way out and how many people who have not had WLS or any type of weight problem see it as a shortcut. But for me personally, I almost feel like I took the hard way. Let me explain: I feel like with all of the fad diets, crazy exercise routines, weight-loss pills, "miracle" cures, weight-loss is even harder, even for the average person looking to lose 10-15lbs. While I do love my band and wouldn't trade it for the world, I almost feel like it sort of blinded me to the reality of healthy eating and nutrition. I hopped on the low carb band wagon really hard. I ate no fruit, no high carb veggies, was strict strict strict until about 3 months ago. During the first 6-7 months I lost amazingly, and I am glad that I rarely hit a long standing plateau, but at the same time I feel like I was almost put behind a mask; my brain went into this "food is evil; carbs are evil; high calorie foods are evil" way of thinking and now that my weight-loss is pretty much in a range I can deal with, it has been hell trying to break these thoughts. I never thought it would be hard to tell myself it's okay to eat carbs. It's okay to eat chocolate. I can eat anything I want. But the fact is that food is not evil. Food didn't make me fat. In my case, overindulging with little to no exercise made me fat. Yesterday I had an Oreo truffle; that's right. A bunch of freaking Oreos mixed with cream cheese and covered in white chocolate. I ate it; devoured more like it and then I felt an immediate sense of guilt. Why? Why does eating something sweet make me feel guilty? I'm not sure. But within a few minutes I came to my senses and realized that ONE truffle was not going to kill me. I was not going to gain 5lbs from it. It's funny how I've gone from being a food lover, to a food hater, and nowadays I am slowly, but surely, training my brain to realize that no food is bad. Nothing; none of it. And plenty of people on here will disagree, but I've allowed more "junk" food into my diet and I love it, but the sense of guilt still lingers. I can't wait until the day where I feel skinny, can eat whatever I want, and not second guess my choice.

Today it is 44 days until Spring. I'm not sure what I was smoking when I wrote 31 days but I'm glad to see some extra days to get some more weight off. I am at 374 when I was at 372 last week. I want to get out of the 370's NOW. I have been playing in the 370's since November. That is unacceptable. I have to say I got serious again in Decmber about losing weight and I have been pretty consistant with losing. See a gain last week was discouraging and I try not to let it bother me but it does. I am doing well with eating and exercising but I know I can do better. 10.3 (384) 10.10 -2(382) 10.17 ? 10.24 -2(380) 10.31 +3(383) 11.14 -10(373):der: 11.21 +4(377) 11.28 -1(376):confused: 12.5 +3(380):mad: 12.12 -2(378) 12.19 +1(379) 1.9.07 -3(376) 1.17 -3(373):clap2: 1.23 -1(372) 1.30 +2(374):bored

Girl, I hear ya! I have had several "food funerals". If it helps, everyone I have talked to says that their tastes changed dramatically after surgery so that they actually crave the healthy stuff! I certainly hope this is the case for both of us. I find making small changes here and there are adding up to be big changes. Like, switching to low-cal salad dressings, drinking Water instead of sweet tea, doing 10 minutes of cardio and gradually building up the amount of time, etc. I believe trying to make a bunch of huge changes at once can be a recipe for disaster, at least for me. At any rate, I wish you all the best and know you are going to do great. Keep seeking out support. We can't do this alone!

My surgeon told me research shows only 5% of patients make it to goal weight. And to remember the surgery is only a tool. The sleeve will help you loose 60-80% of your excess weight. He also told me to set small goals(ie. 10 lbs or 15 lbs a month) and do not think this is the "cure all". I wouldn't stress over lbs and time limits, you don't want to become discouraged.

Will I'm joining the club. My last visit with the surgeon was on July 19, 2010 that's when I was given the date for Surgery. I'm also concern about the insurance approving the surgery.

Hello my fellow Bandsters, Yesterday was the big day for me. I had to be at NYU at 6:30 am. I was waiting untill after 8 to be taken in by a nurse. My surgery wasnt untill approx. 10:45am I went in to the operating room, I was sooo nervous and scared. Everyone was really nice there, they saw that I was nervous. They calmed me down and were very gentle, untill the stuff through IV made me loose control. I tried to fight it...but it was stronger than me. I woke up 1 hour later in the PACU. My throat hurt and my lips were so dty. They rightawy offered me a cup of ice chips, it was the best treat. I was really confused when I woke up. I wanted my DH to come to me, but they didnt let him stay for more than 5 minuts. I dozed off again for 40 minuts. I felt my incision, only the one in the belly botton. (I had the SILS) Around 1:45 I was finally taken up to a recovery room, where I finally got to see my DH that I so desperatly needed by my side. I didnt really have bad gas pains, just slightly. It was deffenatly bothered more by my incision pain. I kept on drinking and drinking. I thought that I didnt have the band put in, everything went down so easy. I have 2 cc's in my band already. I didnt start walking around untill aprox 3 or 4oclock. I didnt have the strength. I was shaky when I got onto my feet. But very soon I got udsed to it and actually walking helped me slowly to get back to myself. Before they discharge you, you have to pee a certain amount. I just couldnt pee, as much as I had the urge to I couldnt. They took a sonogram of my bladder. It was full. It sometimes happens the nurse said, that the Anesthesia causes you not to be able to go to the loo. Only after 9pm did I finally manage to empty my bursting bladder. I was so happy that they finally let me go home. Most of the women on the floor went home already severall hours before. It was great to go home. I must say I didnt expect it all to be the way it was. I was afraid of the gas pains which I thankfully didnt suffer from. I guess everyone is different. All in all it was a great experience!:scared2: Today I had 3 plates of Soup, 1 snapple and 1 ices and I feel stuffed. I guess I am banded. I am looking forward to see the numbers on the scale running down. I wish all of you the best! Any questions that you have I would be very happy to answer.

My surgeon gave me a script to go get a sleep study, his office gave me the info for several clinics and hospitals that I could use. I just picked one at the nearest hospital and I called to schedule myself. I didn't need a referral from my PCP. I'd rather have my band surgery 10 more times and go through the gas pass over and over again than go through another sleep study. It was hell, the wires and gross jelly were making me so itchy, the position I had to lay in , voices in the hallway, my neighbor getting up to pee every hour (we shared a bathroom) my hair in my face, the thought of the creepy tech watching me in his little booth all night, all made me crazy! I didn't feel like I slept at all. In the morning the tech said he thought at one point I was gonna get up and leave because he saw how annoyed I was getting. NEVER AGAIN!

I had my gallbladder removed years ago and I always told people it was the easiest surgery I ever had - I was up and walking by 10 pm that night. I would have to say that my VSG was comparable. I was up and walking within hours. I know many people complain of shoulder pain afterwards (and I had that with my Lapband surgery also) but I did not have it with the VSG surgery. I had pain meds prescribed prior to surgery and took it only a few times afterwards. The two days I was in the hospital though they administered it pretty regularly and I did not balk at that. They also gave me shots in my stomach to avoid blood clots. I was taken very good care of at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, FL through the US Bariatrics program. They really are experts and I think that definitely contributed to my overall positive experience after surgery and beyond. I've had numerous other surgeries - cesarean section (comparably the worst of all), Lapband, tonsillectomy, gallbladder, both elbows, etc. My VSG experience was better than my Lapband one also. Hope this helps.

I have aetna, I did not do the physician administered diet and exercise requirement, but was diagnose wit CHF in April 2015 and have been on a diet and exercise regiment since then. My cardiologist wrote a letter stating this and explaining that this surgery is medically necessary. Of course because this plan was to help my heart not to get approval on weight loss surgery it is not documented as need. I submitted it anyway to Aetna for pre-certification on 01/22 i found out today I was denied I have a BMI of 40 and sleep apnea, CHF, and now borderline diabetic. I have now wrote a letter to Aetna which I faxed today hoping they will reverse their decision. Any ideas on possibility of this????

I had the nutritionist and psych appts....today was pre-op day and they drew bloodwork for labs, height, weight, vital signs. 10 more days!!

Hi December People, My surgery date is December 10. I'm excited but scared. I'm 66 yrs old and hoping I handle recovery well. Luck to all of you! Cilia

Any tips on the liquid diet Thursday afternoon will be my last meal. The time for surgery will be here before I know it getting myself prepared

I am 19 days post op and Im eating tuna, yogurts, eggs, any kind of soups, and of course shakes.

I chose the sleeve, which was also what my surgeon felt was my best option. I'm peri-menopausal and I've had severe anemia in the past, so I didn't want to have the malabsorption that RnY creates, since I'm in dire need of Calcium because of my age and Iron because of my medical history. My BMI was 40.5 and my only co-morbidities were hypertension and sleep apnea. I've always been very active, so I wanted the surgery that would give me the best chance for weight loss with the least possibility of causing drastic changes in my ability to be active. I'm only a couple of months out of surgery, so I don't know yet if I made the right choice, but I feel good, I'm down 38 lbs since surgery and I feel the best I have in 10 years. Good luck in your decision, I struggled with it for months but finally made the decision and it was a relief to stop swinging between VSG and RnY.

Yep, that's why things exploded with the "small hands" fiasco in the GOP presidential primary. You don't want to be the kid in middle school with a micro-penis. But what's really important is balls: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/mens-health/11461172/Size-matters-the-benefit-of-having-big-balls.html You can tell who has the smaller package by catcalls (any lady who'd ever thought a guy is compensating by being loud is right) http://www.aol.com/article/2015/10/22/science-reveals-alleged-connection-between-catcalling-and-testic/21252630/ But checking out package size has a long history: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2011/04/01/bringing-back-the-codpiece/ If you want to see how it is not done...http://www.hulu.com/watch/388106#i0,p66,d0

I'm in the middle of pre-opt testing for VSG and im doing some research on the vagus nerve. For about 10 years I've had this weird thing happen to me from time to time. At times I can be walking fast or lifting something or just plan eating something and I feel this weird fluttering around my cheat and stomach. Sometimes it feels like something smacks into my esophagus and at the same time my heart beat changes and this happens so quick, like less then a Minute. Sometimes it leaves me out of breath , short of breath, at times I think it's it may be taquicardia. It's scary. When it happens I have to move around or drink water to feel better. At times I'm short of breath and after that have a BM and it feels like it was gas and I have to pass. The fluttering Also happens around or before my period. So I don't know if its a change in hormone levels, weight, or heart problem. I weigh 318 pounds and have a "small" hiatal hernia(don't know if its gotten bigger) also I have sever GERD. I'm looking into VSG because I'm not ok with RNY and all the complications . I was researching and started reading about the vagus nerve and the symptoms all sound suspect but then again they all mimic the same symptoms, GERD , hiatal hernia Etc. has anyone gone through this and had VSG ? Can anyone give me advice on what to do about getting tested (what kind of test to ask for) and or of its ok to have the VSG with vagus nerve disorder? Thanks

Hi all, I am new here. I will be banded on 04/20/10. I am nervous/excited. The only emotion I can compare to this countdown is getting married and the birth of my children. I think that is because I now this is my "rebirth" and new beginning. I will post again after surgery. I needed to lose 11 pounds before surgery, which I have done. I would like to lose 80 pound more. I love reading all the entries - it is soo important to know that WE are not alone. Best of luck everyone. :tongue_smilie: