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April: Just received your note, have you been on Norco, it is a stronger version of Vicodin, I took it for several months until the knees got so bad and was not cutting the pain, also check with a drug book and go over your medications you are taking along with the Percocet you can also ask the drugest about weight gaining medications or possiable weight gain medications you are taking. They said at the class they could not say it would effect everyone that way but I did notice everyone in the class I was in was struggling with weight gain. Some times I think they think all we do is sit around and eat bon bon's all day. I talked to the Richmond office and they said I was too early to worry about not making mandtory appointments, and the only think I had to do was to be sure to get a weight to they with in the month. The Pill book I picked up was from Wal Mart and was cheaper then the book stores around here. By the way your address says Sacramento, is that where you are? I am in Shingle Springs need the new Red Hawk Casino. I will close for now take care. Sincerely Judy:blush:

I am so sorry that you were told by him that you couldn't be scheduled for surgery. I know that would have been the point of melting for me. I have had my share of emotional wrecks through this and yes they should know that we are putting our hearts and souls as well as a lot of time and money into this. I had to take the whole day off of work to drive from Rocklin to SSF for a half hour appt. I totally agree that they need to get this stuff happening up here. As for what I asked, I was requested by another woman to ask how strick they were going to be as far as weight goes. She too is going to see Dr. Le and is having trouble loosing the weight required. Having lost more than the required weight put me in a position of trying to ask without making him suspicious. So in trying to get the information for someone who asked me to, I decided to find out if they would cancel someone's appt for that time of the month. I mean when I even broched the subject I got a really funny look because I have lost twice their required weight loss. The look said "What do you plan on gaining a bunch back?" Having opened the subject I HAD to go somewhere. His response was that they have people banging down the doors and they don't have to give surgery to people who don't want to follow the program. He also said that they would NOT stop surgery because of Water weight gain for that time of the month. He said "we're not concerned with 5 pounds." I am sorry that he told me one thing and then denied you because of that reason. I truly don't think my question caused that and I would do it again because someone who was having trouble loosing the weight asked me too. If it were me, I would call and ask him (or email) if I could prove it was my time of the month water weight gain by weighing in at the class on the 27th would he schedule me? By the way, they are scheduling for late February. Again, I am so sorry that you got denied but I didn't break anyone's trust. I only did what was requested of me.

Could I have avoided years of weight gain and the pain of surgery by eating a little moo-moo? I realized not only do I not get enough Protein in my current diet on WLS, I never ate protein! My food intake was Pasta, pizza, and smoothie \ in that order. And maybe popcorn daily 100 calorie pop. I always stayed under my calorie count and I walk 3 times a week, but the scale was broke, it would only increase!! Now that I'm forcing myself to eat these (sorry not to offend) yucky animals snd chalky shakes, the scale seems to be fixed?? Ok I had to vent realizing I hate protein and miss my love of carbs, but they no longer taste the same. Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

I remember every single insult and person who felt it was their duty to " help " me with my weight problem. What they did not know is what drove me there besides putting food into my mouth. People who think that they can save the world by pointing out others obvious flaws according to them is a real turn off. Now by example a person can make a difference. It is much bigger then you need to have WLS. It is an adjustment that needs to be made from the money making food industry to diet companies to the government that do not promote good eating habits and food choices. It is many who do not have the funds to eat well a lot of folks don't have a clue how to in the first place.... Round and round we go..... Mostly it is a lesson to be learned and it is learned hard. When I think of all those people who looked at me sideways or laughed at me. Stopped their car in front of my house to stare at the fat girl gardening and so on. I wish I had kicked them right where it hurts..Like it hurt me. While they went away feeling like they had accomplished a good deed by making me cry. They were completely wrong. Giving advice freely without being asked is a whole lot of bad to deal with. Now if you are asked...Lay it out for them....Otherwise you don't have a clue what makes that person tick and what stage they are at in life. In fact I would say it would be a lot like how that Katie Hopkins of the UK comes across! This is the hardest addiction to fix. So I personally do not question anyone or judge anyone who struggles with weight as I have been there and done that and will fight the rest of my life this battle of weight gain and loss.......

Then you should talk to your surgeon about it and possibly get a slight unfill. Slider foods lead to weight gain and a band too tight leads to slips.

I was banded in 09 and am having my band removed in Sept. my surgeon said it barely slipped but my reflux was so bad they had to take out most of the fluid. I have already gained some weight and I have been strict on WW trying to maintain. Hoping to have the sleeve in November. I am angry too and fear having it out because of the weight gain. My self esteem is soo low right now it's depressing. Nicole I hope you start to feel better. You aren't alone .

Hi all, I'm a newbie to this site, looking for some help and advice and hopefully some answers. I had a lap band put in 7 years ago, I then had several complications and three revision surgeries and multiple infections. I recovered from all my infections and surgeries, started eating better and exercising. The weight was coming over but very slowly, I managed to lose 45 kilos and was feeling better, but disappointed with the slow weight loss (45 kilos over 3 years is not what I was expecting) (I have a lot of weight to lose - more than 100kgs) So after my annual consultation with my surgeon, he suggested a gastric sleeve. I was so excited, a good friend of mine had recently been sleeved and her results were phenomenal! Bring it on!! Band was removed after 4 years. 2 months of very careful eating and I was sleeved. I did everything right. Fluids for 2 weeks, mushies for 2 weeks, then small meals, gradually building up to solids. Here is where my problems begin. After I started eating, I never felt the restriction I did when I had the band. Over time my portions increased, I have never felt any type of restriction, at my 3 month post op review a temporary surgeon. (My surgeon after performing 6 surgeries on my poor tummy is no longer practicing) I was told the sleeve had failed and I wasn't losing the weight they expected me too. Instant Soul crush! I soldiered on and saw dieticians and doctors and no one to this day can explain what has happened. Fast forward to now,7 years after my band and small loss and 2.5 years after my sleeve and I'm back to my pre. Band weight. I have absolutely nil restriction. I can eat a full size meal and have gained back every thing I ever lost. I have been back to see 2 separate surgeons who have both said the sleeve looks to be fine, and have no answers as to why I'm gaining weight. (Have done 2 barium swallows) Both of them have recommended a gastric bypass as the only way I will lose weight. My head is really messed up. I don't know what to do, over the past 7 years I have had 7 operations 5 of them weight loss related (band in, port removed, port replaced band out and sleeved) Ive spent well over $30k on surgeries, Appointments hospital visits etc. and I'm really not wanting more surgery (I was told due to the difficulty with scar tissue, infections etc I will need two bariatric surgeons to operate on me doubling the cost of further surgery) Herein lies my issue. Do I risk it all, spend a small fortune (that I don't really wish to spend) in the hope that this may be the surgery to help me lose weight. Do I dare to pretend I can lose weight on my own (I'm 42 and the past 42 years have proven I can't) Do I try to be happy and live my life as a super morbid obese adult? I'll admit I'm scared, scared ill do it and fail, scared I won't do it and will be unhappy for the rest of my life, scared if I don't do it, my co morbidites will finally get the better of me I wa so sure the band was the way to go. It took me a very long time to come to the realisation I needed surgery to help me lose weight. It worked but I never had the success others did. Then , I was convinced the sleeve would help, and now I'm back to where I began all those years ago. My head is a mess, my body is a mess and I don't know which way to go...... Sorry for the mega long post, wanted to get it all out in the hope someone has had similar experiences and come through the other side ???? Ps. If anyone is reading this that is considering surgery, please don't let my post put you off. I'm a one in a million type person and no one else I know has issues like this. Ive made several great friends who have had differing weightless surgeries and they have all had great sucess. You will never look back ????

I feel you. I had surgery a month ago and have only lost 10 lbs. I'm sticking to the diet with no problems, I walk briskly at least 1 hour a day and I'm getting 60-70 g protein. In a few days, I'll be cleared to lift weights, which may help. My calories are between 600-800. That said, my preop (not the preop diet, but just my usual eating habits) were to use My Fitness Pal (used it for years!) and hit btw 1100-1200 calories a day. Well I didn't lose weight on that-- no problem following it. The dietician at the weight loss center told me I could eat 1800 calories a day and still lose weight. I laughed. Not true. I'd tried everything. I can only conclude from my own and others' experience that the solution to these metabolic issues doesn't have that much to do with calorie restriction. I suspect t has more to do with hormones and carbohydrate metabolism. My surgeon tells me that I will lose the weight. She is not worried I've only lost 10 lbs, for what that's worth. The only thing that has helped me lose in the past was actual, hardcore weight lifting. Heavy weight: deadlifts, etc. ! I was not skinny, and I spent 1 hour in the gym 6 days a week. I worked very hard to be a still overweight person. I never had a problem with carbo loading or junk food. All of this tells me that our metabolisms are complex. Perhaps it is the metabolism that drives eating disorders and not the eating driving the weight gain. The science needs to do better. Until then, I've found that eating protein like crazy, lifting weights (more than cardio), hydrating, and just eating like a normal person (healthy meals) is the only way to lose weight, and I never lose much. Perhaps that will change, but for now, I really really feel your frustration. In my own case, my post op is not too different from my preop diet. Both healthy- both protein and non-strachy vegetable rich. Both pretty low in calories. But I have experienced the serios weight lifting to help some-- and I feel better when i do it-- just be protective of your pelvic floor!

Shiny/skinny...Don't be too hard on yourself about the weight gain - our bodies fluctuate alot. It averages out over time...at least, this is the rationale I have decided to believe it! Hope your husband hears soon about the position...ideally he hears because he is successful. Keep us posted.

It's out. I had a stack sitting on the porch when hubby got home last night and he took care of it. Probably took it to work. My official weight this morning was 212. Ugh. A 3 pound weight gain this week. A bit of a wake up call. It's all my eating because my exercise hasn't changed at all.

@@chellede Your doing well. Don't stress it, you are going to lose and you are not that far out from the surgery date. TOM and sodium and 101 other things can cause weight gain on a scale. You could go the gym and have some lactic acid in your muscles and see a bit of gain so don't weigh ever single day. Once a week maybe hide the scale all the other days. Try to stick with what your doc told you so that your compliant and keeping your pouch at the right size. Take your time to eat what ever it is and enjoy the aroma, texture and flavor of the food. Keep up the good work!

Leisa - I always have time to talk. No worries there. When I started at Kaiser they had only been doing the band for about 5 months. What I decided was that they were more proned to wanting to do the bypass because they were more comfortable with it. Kaiser itself doesn't have a lot of their own statistics but the band has been very successful in aiding in weight loss. I myself have lost 126 pounds which is 100% of my excess weight. When I first saw my surgeon I had already lost more than 50 pounds (due to being on their pre-op for so long). He told me that he was very proud of what I had done but to not expect to loose much more. I asked him if he was saying this because the statistics said that. He said yes and I told him to hold onto his statistics because I was going to blow them out the window. At my pre-op appointment I had lost 70 lbs. I got the same remarks. I gave the same remarks. He now wants pictures. Kaiser at SSF is now starting to sing a different tune about the bands and at the last support group meeting I went to they were telling the bypass people that if they got where they could eat more food in the future and were gainig weight that they would have to have a revision. They said "but if you have the band it just a matter of adjusting it". The way they said it really made it sound like they were beginning to push banding. The lapband will give whatever you want to work for. There are no magic pills in this world and you do have to follow the rules most of the time. Do I never eat the "wrong" foods? Sure I eat what is considered wrong. I had birthday cake just yesterday. Do I do it all the time? Not a chance. But if you don't allow yourself to live life you will be setting yourself up for failure. What I have found is that I give a lot of thought to those times I have something special which makes me slow down and enjoy it. I also don't have that "I've failed so I might as well give up" feeling afterwards. I still journal my foods because it makes me feel more secure in the fact that I'm not eating mindlessly. Weekends are the days that I don't journal. I'm usually not near a computer and carrying a notebook isn't me. LOL The first thing I would do if I were you is get that thyroid adjusted. Hopefully they've got you on meds for it. It can cause more than just weight gain. I know it can cause lack of energy, depression and a bunch of other things. Make them fix that! Then I would go into the surgeon's office and TELL HIM what YOU ARE comfortable with. Ask him outright if he is uncomfortable with doing the lapband surgery. If he is, ask for another surgeon. They have more than one. This is your body and your surgery. The only way I personally would go with a bypass is if that is the only choice I had. It scares the c**p out of me. But that is MY opinion for me. I understand the lure of quick weight loss. But 126 pounds in 14 months is pretty quick in my opinion. The second thing I would do is go online to www.smartbandsters.com. It is a yahoo group and it has a lot of people on there that have been so successful with the band and can give you the statistics to knock your doctor's socks off. There is also a bariactric nurse on there named Jessie that had her band placed 10 years ago in Mexico. She's great at answering questions. There are very few reasons (unless medical) that people can't loose weight with the band. Everyone can eat around ANY WLS. The band has to be adjusted properly. My surgeon (Dr. David Le) was very causcious in sneaking up on the "right" fill. At first this frustrated me but now I'm glad he did. I have had no problems with my band. None! The only time it even speaks to me (scolding) is when I eat too fast, too much or something that is too dry. Otherwise I get the subtle signal of satisfaction that lets me know I'm done. This is restriction. A lot of people think that restriction is a stranglehold on your stomach. That's too tight. As far as depression about missing foods goes, not really. My biggest thing is I like the taste of food. Sometimes when I'm really enjoying a meal I get angry because I can't over induldge like I used to. But I'm learning to stop being the spoiled child and remember that I can take it home and enjoy it again later. Because of how I'm adjusted I can eat almost anything. It has to be WAY overcooked for me to have trouble. Therefore, I don't "miss" anything. I don't eat very many sweets anymore by choice. After not having them for a while they surprisingly don't taste as good as I used to think they did. BUT if I want a small desert, I have it. Like I said, a calorie is a calorie. If you count them, keep them limited, the weight will come off. However, I got where I would look at that high calorie food and think to myself that there wasn't much there and I would rather be able to eat something with more volume. Now I'm just used to not having that stuff and the band controls the volume. I think the only thing I had to do as far as getting my mind around it was to get where I believed it would work as I had heard. It does that. I also put it in my mind that during the period when I was waiting to be properly adjusted that I would have to continue to do the 1200 calorie diet in order to loose weight or just not worry about loosing weight until I was properly adjusted. That is an important thing because many people get depressed when they don't just magically start to loose weight. I made sure that the people who would be "watching" understood this. I also made sure that I was totally comfortable with my decission to do the surgery. There are things that will come up in your life after surgery that you'll want to turn to food for. After WLS you won't be able to. I suggest that you get the Beck Diet Solution (book). It isn't a "diet" but a book that addresses why we eat like we do. I thought I was a real emotional eater and found this to be helpful. Otherwise, I'm so happy with my band that I will have it with me for life. I take care of it so that I don't do a lot of throwing up or cause it harm. It's really easy to take care of it and have not PB'd yet. I would recommend the band for anybody. I wish they had had it sooner so that I would not have wasted so much of my life. Get your facts together. Do this by doing as much research as you can. The next time you see your surgeon, confront him with the "facts" and take a stand. This doesn't mean go in there and take his head off. It means that you can tell him that you've throughly researched the surgery, made an educated decision and if he's not comfortable doing the surgery/follow-up you understand and would be happy to see another surgeon. Plain and simple. If he's not having much success with his banded patients, then maybe he's not good at banding or he's not good at educating them. I didn't rely on Kaiser because I knew they were in the infancy stage of banding. I made sure I got online and found out the answers to my questions. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever asked them a question. But they have to start somewhere. Check out smartbandsters.com. Also, do a lot of research with your husband and arm yourself and make sure you are comfortable. You'll be ok. If you don't mind my rambling style of writing, feel free to contact me anytime. You can PM me if you want too. Take care and keep me posted. Ask any questions you want. Vicki

Hi, everyone! I’m 11 months post-op from VSG and I have a bit of a dilemma. I have not been losing any weight as of about 6 weeks ago. I’m 38, 5’5”, and currently yo-yoing between 177 and 178 during every weekly weigh-in. I still want to lose about 30 more pounds to put me in a healthy weight class. Nothing has changed with my eating habits - I still eat very small portions, mostly solid protein, and do not snack much during the day. Since the surgery, I have had some issues with orthostatic hypotension (dizziness from low blood pressure) and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), so I would be very surprised if my diet needed any adjustment right now. I should mention that I am coming off of ten years of disability for early onset degenerative disc disease, so other than twice-weekly physical therapy, exercise has been completely foreign for me, hence the excessive weight gain. I’ve had four neck surgeries and countless back injections and procedures. At my heaviest, I couldn’t stand for more than 10 minutes without excruciating pain in my lower back. However, in the last month, I’ve been feeling well enough to start seeing a personal trainer once a week and easing into a light workout routine (dynamic stretching, light free weights, strength training, etc.). I’m also walking more frequently and for longer distances. My question is this: could the lack of weight loss be due to rebuilding muscle from my new exercise regimen? Or should I try to adjust my food intake again and see what happens? I have my one year checkup with my gastric surgery team coming up next month and I plan to talk to them about this issue, but I wanted to seek out any advice on here, too. Thanks so much in advance!!

Fortunately, my husband is supportive of the changes I've made in my diet which are reflected in the foods that stock my kitchen. Junk food is replaced with healthy protein - based snacks and shakes. If we do splurge it's usually when eating out where we can split something and no leftovers are brought home. I haven't been hungry for the " trigger" foods but why take the chance? I get plenty of chances to exercise discipline at work where the cookies and doughnuts show up this time of year???? I don't think of this lifestyle as a diet anymore, since diets have a beginning and an end , usually accompanied by weight gain. I'm trying for sustained change in food preferences and in making exercise a part of my daily life.

I think that you need to do some research on your own. I believe (I'm not a medical doctor) that your pro's and con's list is totally inaccurate. All the research I have read reports that the sleeve has a lot less complications than the RnY. It is one of the safer wls out there. From my understanding the RnY is not reversible and people do regain their weight because their pouches stretch. In fact for individuals that are extremely obese, they would first do the gastric sleeve before the RnY procedure. I have a friend that had an RnY and she regained 40 lbs of what she had lost. Other people I have spoken with have had weight gain too. Plus there's a lot of dumping and malabsorption issues with RnY. Your friend has good intentions but is grossly misinformed....... Please do the research.... I love my sleeve and would do it over in a heart beat. BTW I have had no complications from my surgery. My problem is my head hunger and sugar addiction. If you have any questions, please ask.....

Your not alone in having a weight gain after a year or more. I'm a sleeve four and a half years out. I've had to work off a regain. This is just a set back. You can get back on track. You can get your body back in weight loss mode without being dependant on pills. My two cents on pills: Pills are not long term sustainable for weight loss. Majority of them don't work. Phentermine has side effects and most people gain weight once the prescription is over. Weight loss and maintaining is work. There are no shortcuts. some things to try: Log your food and stick to your weight loss calories and macros for the day You are over a year out. Get rid of the shakes. Real whole foods will keep you feeling more satiated. Sleeves can consume more food years out. Eat more veggies with your Protein to fill the extra space and keep your calories down. It will help with hunger Spread meals out 5 to 6 meals a day Get temptation food out of the house Keep healthy options for sweet and salty cravings in the house find counselor or therapist Join a weight loss challenge. If you use Myfitnesspal food log - download app here: myfitnesspal Just give me 10 days challenge: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10721257/just-give-me-10-days-round-66 January 2019 weight loss challenge on bariatricpal. (Feb challenge is in the works) https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/421742-❤-january-2019-challenge-❤/

So a brief little summary about myself. last year I started going to see dr. corn. I was approximately 300 pounds 27 years old 5 foot 4. I was struggling and out of shape trying to raise three young children. I was tired of not being able to play with them, not being able to fit on rides at the Carnival's, being made fun of and stared at. I was tired of being told you have such a pretty face and that being all. After a Couple visits I decided I didn't want to do the surgery anymore. Not necessarily that I didn't want to do the surgery but was too scared to do the surgery. My partner didn't want me doing the surgery because she was scared that I would end up looking sick malnourished and I would be unhappy with myself even more. We had a lot of family members who have had the surgery and have lost too much weight they look unhealthy they're always sick. She was scared of that happening to me. And in return I was scared. I don't want to be the weight that the doctor say I should be. They say I'm supposed to be about a hundred and thirty pounds. I would be happy being a 180 to 200 pounds. I still want to have curves I still want to feel beautiful but I don't want to be super skinny. But I know that I need the help. I have PCOS and in the last year I've gained another 38 pounds. I'm really scared that I'm to the point where I'm going to die. I think I've developed sleep apnea, im having a harder time walking, lots of swelling, short of breath and the PCOS is getting out of control. I've developed rashes from the PCOS. I will miss my period for 3 months and then have a really heavy period where I can't even leave the house. I just know my situation is getting worse and I've got to do something. And I'm not even eating a lot more than what I was a year ago. In fact I feel like I'm missing a lot more meals. But I know that the PCOS is what is contributing to the weight gain. I met a lady last month who had just had the sleeve done. She suggested that I look into the sleeve because you lose weight not as fast and therefore you have less problems with the extra skin. And I thought maybe that might be the way I want to go. I called dr. Koren and scheduled an appointment again. I get started July 13th. I'm scared to death. How do I keep myself from being scared of doing the surgery. I know it's what I need. I'm just scared of all the bad things that could happen. I'm scared of hating the way I look even more after the surgery. I have a ton of extra skin already and I don't want to have to be tucking it all in and wearing all different kinds of undergarments to hold everything in place. That's not going to make me feel better about myself. Help I need some advice. Sent from my SM-G530T using the BariatricPal App

Congrats!!! #1 thing is to make sure your OB is aware of your surgery. They may put you in a higher risk category to ensure that your blood levels are good and monitor your weight more closely than a normal pregnancy. I had the band with my most recent pregnancy and while you do need to increase your calorie intake, it needs to be as much good food as possible. So back to the basics: meats, veggies, whole grains, dairy, etc and take a really good multi-vitamin or prenatal vitamin. Your doc may also want you to supplement with additional Iron and Vitamin D since the babes tend to deplete those rapidly. This will be an exciting time for you. Don't stress about any weight gain you may or may not have; just concentrate on being healthy and your baby will reap the benefits!

Okay, interesting about weight gain. I have just had my sleeve for about 4 weeks. Converted from lapland. I can hardly get anything down, and I get satisfied. Obviously, I better enjoy this "honeymoon" because it appears the ability to eat more and want more creeps back in. Best to all of you for getting back on track. YOU CAN DO IT!

SLG, I'm glad you've gotten good news about your insurance. Keep us posted on your progress. I'm doing really well! I am down to 193 (192, actually after exercising and bathrooming) again. That's a 5-6 pound drop from where I was at the beginning of the week. I had just had a couple of really bad eating days, so I don't know how permanent the weight gain would have been. I do know, though, that it would have stayed high and continued to go up if I hadn't made some big changes. Now to just continue on down the scale! I'm ready to change my ticker back, even though I don't think it will stay long. Have a great day, Ladies.

Hello! Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm KatjaE and I just got my surgery date of August 27 -- about six weeks away. I'm a complete beginner here, but I think I'm ready. I'm more excited than nervous. I've already made a LOT of behavioral changes over the last year: -- In March 2009, I started exercising 6 days a week (33 minutes on a recumbent stationary bike). This did not lead to weight loss, but it made me feel stronger and healthier. -- In the summer of 2009, I stopped eating ice cream and started eating big salads almost every day. (This was a MAJOR change for me and my family.) This did not lead to weight loss either. -- In January and February of 2010, I had some brief but severe health issues caused by a drug interaction. This led me to change my diet in a couple of ways: ------ I started eating lots of plain yogurt and other dairy products with good bacteria (probiotics) to control some serious digestive issues caused by massive quantities of antibiotics during the hospitalizations. ------ I also cut way back on carbs because I learned (while in the hospital) that my blood sugar was a bit high -- not at the level of diabetes, but not good, either. I have lost about 20 pounds since February. I attribute the weight loss partly to the low-carb diet but also partly to the fact that I've stopped taking the medications that made me so sick in January and February. I believe that they might have caused part of my weight gain over the last few years. I am pursuing the lap band surgery because I want to control several lingering health issues: elevated blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea (I use a CPAP machine). These issues do not affect my quality of life a great deal right now (at age 43), but I think they will cause problems as I get older. So I want to fix them now. I'm curious to hear from folks about how they decided whom to tell about their surgery. My own preference would be to tell my husband and children, and no one else. I'm not sure why I feel this way. I don't feel ashamed of needing the surgery, but for some reason -- I just don't want to tell anyone, not even my parents, who I'm sure would be supportive. Maybe I just don't want people to be asking me afterwards "so how much weight have you lost?" I'm not really interested in discussing my weight with anyone other than my doctor. Well, I'm looking forward to hearing from some of you and to reading all of the threads on this board! Thanks for listening! KatjaE :grouphug:

Kat, I keep my calories ,which I am fairly faithful with writing down, between 1000 and 1200. I did weight watchers a couple years ago and it took me ten months to lose thirty pounds. Half of it came back real quick and I fought to keep the other half off while waiting to get the band in. That almost one year I was on WW, was very helpful in learning portion control and making good food choices. I weigh and measure my Protein at most meals at home. My downfall when I was on WW were the weekends. (*paragraph below) Now post band, I have a treat once in a while, but mostly I eat salad, meat like beef, (more often chicken), fish ( tuna, salmon, shrimp, sole or flounder) with a veggie. A lean cuisine for lunch, a yogurt, apple or a Protein Bar for a snack, maybe a 100 calorie pack. I dont eat much bread but I will have a piece of whole grain bread or a Fiber one bar for the fiber once or twice a week and my morning Cereal is a high fiber one b/c the high protein diets can be low in fiber. I'm great at not drinking with eating and waiting the hour but that is b/c I never drank much when i ate, so that rule was kind of easy for me. It seems to be more of an issue when I go out to eat, b/c the drink is in front of me. I wait one hour after a meal and I have a bottle of flavored Water. I actually find myself checking the clock when I finish eating, so I'll know when the hour is up. I get about three or four bottles of water in an average day and exercise with all the trips to the bathroom! I'm trying to make all these things a habit. I figure bodies like routine. If I used to eat b'fast everyday at a certain time, then my body and stomach expected that meal at that time every day. So if I subsitute a smaller portion and a higher protein, lower carb cereal at the same time every day, my body will get used to that and expect that and be happy with it. Same with lunch and dinner and the band is definitely helping my stomach to say, yeah this is OK. The message the band sends is a little weak, (I have to really pay attention) but with more restriction is should get stronger. Looks like you were recently banded. What food stage are you on? Is there a band rule you're finding more difficult than another? One that's easy for you? I see you went to Mexico. Many people on the forum have and loved the experience. Was that how it was for you? do you have a local Dr for fills or are you close enough to go back to mexico for them? Oops, this paragraph was supposed to be in a different place* A long Ct. winter meant not much walking (after surgery) which I was doing before surgery, just to prevent weight gain before banding. I have begun to start walking again, but not as regularly as I was last fall, but managed to walk three miles in just under an hour three times last week. I want to make it closer to five days.

Hi Everyone. My name is Mary and I live in Las Vegas. My band date is June 5th! I am married to the love of my life - we will have our 8th anniversary in October, but we met 33 years ago in Europe! I am a retired Army nurse, and then I retired a second time from the Healthcare technology industry. My husband is also retired from the Army and the federal government. We are now blessed to enjoy everyday together and to travel often. I became ill about 6 years ago and that was when the weight gain spiraled out of control. I have lots of things to look forward to and I want to be able to enjoy my health everyday. The lap band is the most important thing I can do to get my health back in order. I love that we have this group! I want to hear every detail about everyone's experience. I am scared about the procedure but NOT about the journey. Just want to get past that anesthesia! You are all in my thoughts and prayers. In a few days, it will be our month!!:sad:

Thank you MommaCEO for the 200 lb. issue. Maybe that is my problem. I'm at 202 right now and holding steady. Although for a fleeting moment, I was 200.9. That was such a great day......... Yes, the stall is still here. No weight loss in 12 days except for a 1 pound weight GAIN. Lots of others have experienced the same thing, from what I'm reading. And from what I see, the stall can last a week or two. Here is an article I found while obsessively looking for others who have stalled. I thought this was interesting... http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html#.U7FAqBYvvHj Okay ladies (any men following this? I dunno) it's Monday! Let's all get on here and tell everyone our progress! I would love to hear from you!

Hi All, My name is Holly. I'm 46 (actually had to think a bit before I remembered!! - Just shows I really am 46!), have been married to the same wonderful man for 27 years, and have a beautiful, kind, intelligent, hard-working 16 year old daughter. We are a homeschooling family living in southwest Louisiana and I am a licensed florist - currently unemployed by choice. I'm get tired of talking about my weight gain/loss/gain/loss/gain history so if it's ok I'll just post my stats. highest/surgery/current (total loss) 400+/403/343/ (-60) (Edited because I forgot to say some things)