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@@pr_pitbullgrl Yes, but not at much as I should. I walk a lot (about 45 minutes to an hour daily), but I need to incorporate more resistance training. I haven't done it in about 2 months... (I had to have surgery to remove kidney stones last month and have been on restriction. I got cleared for regular activity 2 weeks ago but I still had pain.) I'm gonna give it a go tonight, though. Congrats on your loss as well!! 10 pounds to goal is awesome!

i was banded 12/11/12 and have been doing ok. I spent last month playing with the same two pounds...ugh. Had my 3rd fill this past Monday. Spent the day shopping today with my daughter. She convinced me to try a black eyelet lace dress on so I grabbed a large and off I went. I started taking it off the hanger and noticed it was a medium but decided to give it a try. Much to my surprise it fit!!!!!!!! My daughter then said to me, "can I get that surgery?" (she is almost 19 and is obese as well). Not sure where to go from here......

Keep wanting. You'll have amazingly little say in what your body does. Keep following the guidelines, doing what you believe to be the best you can do, and over time the weight will come off. Everyone on this board would love to see a steady weightloss. I'm going to guess that 5 - 10% actually do. And just IMO - 40% of your intake as carbs is a little high. You've lsot 28 lbs in 2 months. 14 lbs per month, that's 2 lbs per week on average. Sounds about right to me.

My Surgeon required 2 wks liquid diet. He said the larger the liver the higher the risk of it being accidently knicked during surgery. I also lost 10 lbs during the 2 week liquid diet...Which gives you a nice jump start on the weight loss process. Everyone I have talked to said their Dr. required the 2 weeks liquid. I always tend to go with better safe than sorry...I would probably go on 2 weeks liquid anyway. But, it is entirely up to You. Best of Luck with Your surgery!!

What's happening is that your liver is burning off the alcohol. The results would be the same if you tested after drinking vodka. It does not necessarily mean you are out of ketosis. Alcohol can actually increase your ketone level in some instances as it's burned off. But you are burning booze, not fat. Two glasses of decent wine have at max maybe 8 to 10 g carbs. That will only toss you out if you are right on the border of your body's ketone max limits (which do vary).

About 10 days for me....

Gastric Bypass (with Hernia Repair, and Gallbladder Removal) on 10/2. I still have tummy pain but besides the 2 bouts (tears) I’ve had, it’s going pretty well. On 10/15, my doctor will let me know if I can have puréed food and I’m really looking forward to it!!

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).

10 DAYS FOR MINE

NOT AGAIN since the other days post #45......... the saga continues, a day in the life of...... i showered, dressed etc walked around the house i know i'm forgetting something, i know i'm forgetting something, i ........... eeek i finally remembered i had a PCP appt at 10:30 (it was 9:15) running around like a chicken without a head (get the visual!!) called dr office to say i might be a little late for my 10:30 she said your appt is at 10:00 not 10:30 i told her i might be a few minutes late i know her well, and she nicely said if i can't make it by 10:00, that's ok but we'll have to reschedule really was understandable, but i needed to see him then!! i was "kindof" speeding "a LITTLE - "kind of" like being a LITTLE pregnant ) still driving carefully - hmmm like that women above who was careful too!! i got to doc 10:00 on the DOT receptionist smiled i sat down and waited, and waited, and waited and........35 minutes later!!! too funny, i should have known you "usually" have to wait at docs which really is understandable and ok so, why did i drive quickly like a mad man to the docs office LOL ya got me babe!! film at 11:00 LOL kathy

I have never heard of that either. Something doesn't seem right about that. Not everyone is the same - as we know from the posts we read here. Some take one or two and some take many more. How can they say that 3 will work for every patient?? I too have 10 fills that are included in the cost of my band. I'm hoping I don't have to have that many... but who knows?? I would check with your surgeon if I was you - maybe the nurse specialist meant something else - could she have meant that 3 fills were included, or covered, in the cost of your surgery and any over that you might have to pay for??? Don't get stressed out about it - check with your doctor. Good luck to you. Take care. Becky

My moms on her 2 week Pre-op low fat diet. We can't find any fat free salad dressing that's low in sugar also. I found a spray dressing that's low fat (1g for 10 sprays). Is that ok to use? Also, are artichokes ok to eat? They weren't on the list. Thanks everyone!

Protein shake - Peanut Butter 1 scoop whey Protein Powder (vanilla or chocolate) 1 cup Skim Milk 5-6 Ice Cubes 1 TBSP Peanut Butter (or any nut butter) 1 tsp cocoa powder 1 tsp instant coffee 1 tsp vanilla 1 pkt Splenda Mix in Blender 30-45 seconds or until smooth. SMOOTHIE: Omit peanut butter , coffee and cocoa and add 1/2 cup fresh or frozen fruit. Can also substitute 6 oz fat-free yogurt for milk and use vanilla whey protein powder instead of chocolate. Makes two 10 oz. servings. :clap2:

Hi, Judy, I passed along your message to my husband. I think he's going to e-mail you so you can e-mail the poem to him. That's really nice of you! It must have gotten jammed up in the spamblocker. It sounds like Mark is doing great! I've lost 10 pounds myself, which I'm happy with because I tend to lose at a snail's pace and 10 lbs. in two weeks works for me!

Hmmmm...my story...how to keep it succinct?? I was born in ...just kidding! When I look back at pictures as a kid, the only time I looked chubby was at about 8, following some family stuff involving my sister. BUT, when I hit high school, I must have had an anorexic way of thinking, because I always knew I was fat. Being fat then was needing to lost 10 or 15 lbs, which I was able to do, but obsessed about my size. I have always been stocky, and not built like the other girls, and it just about ate me alive....this went on for YEARS. I think I now know that the mental torture can be just as damaging, whether we need to lose 100 or 20 lbs. I don't say that lightly, because I was a mess, but not super high up on the BMI scale...I get in my 20's and become pregnant, and get the largest I had ever been...all over. No cute bb ball tummy for me...I was pregnant EVERYWHERE. I dieted with WW, lost it, then had another baby a few years later. I never got all the weight off before that....So, I hit about 30, go through a NASTY divorce, deal with a little boy who has bipolar disorder...finish the divorce, finally stabilize my son, then I crash...bad. We think fibromyalgia was triggered. For the last 10 years, my weight has gone up, and up and up until I hit about 85 lbs overweight, and such a slow metabolism that it took an act of god and congress for me to lose even a pound. In '03, I joined WW online, lost a lot, but the day I got sick of counting points, it all came back, plus another 20 lbs. During all this , for various reasons, I would come across pictures of me as a young woman, and become even more depressed, hopeless, and overwhelmed. It got to the point where all my efforts were fruitless, because the scale never moved. I knew I would never have, nor was a canditate for bypass, and every January for the last several years, I was going to begin and conquer the weight. Didn't happen, couldn't happen. I only felt comfortable being around people "bigger" than me...I would run into someone I hadn't seen in years, and just KNOW they were wondering what in the hell happened to me...I got puffier and fluffier. Little by little,this all chipped away at what body image I had...a horrific place to be. Fast forward to August '07. I saw Big Medicine with a show that had a band. I ran to the computer, researched, and was STOKED. Within 10 days, my surgery was scheduled....HUGE financial sacrifice, but I was already sacrificing myself to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, mental issues, and self loathing....$10k was a small price to pay for health and sanity. The first 20 lbs fell off..and each time I got on the scale, the needle had moved..I was finally happy and motivated, plus getting healthier, and wearing clothes I hadn't in years. I am sure you all have felt that, so I won't even elaborate! Now, comes the real work, the exercise, the calorie watching...but, for the first time, I actually want to move around and burn some calories...and I now KNOW I finally have the tool!!!!! Since I am a lower BMI bandster, I am sure that many BMI bandsters can't understand my whining. It's like when my mom is upset about the 10 lbs she has to lose...good grief. But, once we hit obese, I don't think it is the pounds that eat us alive, but the struggle with (whether this is truth, it is how we perceive it)...lack of discipline, why are we such idiots that we can't just do this "ourselves", knowing exercise would help, but truly knowing it won't chip much off, knowing we would look and feel better if we could just get it together, feeling worthless because we can't keep the weight off...why can't we??? The list goes on, but it is torture, nonetheless. For the first time in years, I have hope, but also the evidence that I will get there...this time, and for good.

Hi and welcoem to LBT! Are you on a pre-op diet? The next 10 days will pass before you know it. Good luck!

I've heard several people on the board talk about DaVinci Gourmet sugar free Syrup and I finally found some yesterday. This stuff has no calories, no carbs, no fat...just 10 mg of sodium per 2 tbsp. I got the vanilla and kahlua flavors. I used some in my coffee this morning and it was pretty good. Just wondering if anyone could share some creative ways to use it, other than coffee. In greek yogurt maybe?

THANK YOU !! I was banded on 11/19 and have been struggling with what to eat .. I've had a won-ton soup from the chinese place EVERY DAY ... Starting today - I will try YOUR way

I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. I have been missing in action for a bit but that is becasue of the holiday traveling. I see that our little group is growing. I was supposed to get my 1st filled yesterday but the office was packed. He is a popular a loved dr our Dr K so I rescheduled for Friday. Trina1122, I hope you feel comfortable with Dr K. As you can see we are all very comfortable with him and he is an incredible Dr. His bedside manner is fantastic besides the fact that he is very knowledgeable. He is very complete in his explanations and is not afraid to answer the hard question. I asked him point blank how long he had been doing this, I asked him about his experience, his staffs and the people at the hospital. I even asked him if he had had any problems or whether he had had any legal action against him due to his practice. He was honest and I even confirmed his information later on. If you are self pay all of your expenses in the surgery will be included so as 3 fills and as many calls you need to make to his office or visits to make sure you are taken care of in his fee. They have some suggestions as to where you can go for financing and of course they accept credit card payment except AMEX. It is always nice to explore your financing options as you could get a different interest rate by different sources. They will work with you in regards to whether you have your financing done now or later. Their request is that you have payment for them 10 days prior to surgery. This is a major surgery so make sure you do your research. The more informed your are the more comfortable you will be. Who knows you may be one of Dr K's groupies too!! I read the postings since last week and while we are all either losing a lot or not, and learning how to deal with our fills what is inspiring to me is that we are persevering. :clap2:To me it has become more about my relationship with food and how I have to learn to respect it and my band helps reminds me of it. Losing weight is a secondary very nice effect of it. It is nice to be back. Please be safe

Starting today, I will make no excuses. I must be accountable for my decisions, for where I currently am in my weight-loss & sleeve journey. I owe this to my body, I owe this to my experiences, I owe this to my loved ones and I owe this wholeheartedly to my whole being. In order to do that, I will set simple goals and accomplish them. No more lofty goals. Weekly goals because I get bored easily. My goal for the next 1 week, starting tomorrow, Sunday June 22nd through Saturday June 28th, my goal is to workout 4 times this week and post on my blog, daily. Here's to week one!!! As of this morning I weigh 242.8lbs. At point of surgery I was slightly over 300lbs. I am currently a size 16 (tight). Beyond health my vision is to be a slender size 10 (slender for me as I am 6ft tall.)

Hello fellow May Lapbanders! Here's my update: I am doing quite well. I am now 10 days since my band and I feel pretty good. I have been able to eat some really ripe soft fruit, and scrambled egg and homemade potato soup. I love getting to eat something finally. I found out that I still eat too fast. I am learning to eat just a small amount and more slowly, that's the key. You can always eat something again in a couple of hours. I have lost 7 pounds so far. How are the rest of you May Lapbanders doing?

Hello my May bandsters. I just wanted to give everyone an update. I had my second fill of 2 cc on November 15th under fluoroscopic. Hopefully, the next time, my doctor will be able to find my port in the office with more weight loss. I will not be able to return until May because I lost my insurance when I started a new job. I pray that my doctor is in the network. I would hate to lose her because she is a great surgeon and she keeps me motivated. To date, I have 4 cc in my band and I have lost 60 pounds thus far. This past week has been tough for me. I have only been to the gym twice. I have to keep motivated during the winter months which is hard for me. I have about a 30 minute commute and after I pick kids up from activities, it is just easy for me to come home and relax instead of going to the gym like I should be. I set my weight loss goal for 25 pounds from November 15 - January 14, 2012. I don't know if I set my weight loss goal too high or not especially during the holiday season. I really want to accomplish it though which means I need to workout more. I hope to at least lose 10 pounds during December but it is going really slow. The good news, I started out wearing a size 28 pants and now I'm down to a 22. My shirt size was 4x and now I'm wearing a 2x. I was wearing a 46DD bra and now I'm wearing 42DD. I have make some really great accomplishments and now I just have to stay on track especially since I'm will not receiving another fill. I'm good at where I'm at now and I don't know if another fill will be needed but time will tell. I'm really loving myself right now. I think my husband is feeling some insecurities but he does not have to worry because he is the one that motivates me to keep going. After my second fill, I have been having some increased vomiting but I know what I'm doing wrong. I'm eating foods that I know that I can't have. After vomiting, I tell myself I'm not eating that again because I know that I can't have it. Well, I have went on long enough with my story but this is my update. I'm just keep pushing and pushing

Thank you. I went for my first fill on Saturday and feel silly for being nervous about the pain. I would give the pain a 1/10. It felt exactly like a blood test, other than the wiggling of it. How are you getting on? You had your surgery the day after me we are weight loss twins haha

I just got good news today. My wife told me her latest labs say she no longer needs cholesterol meds! She shed her need for diabetes medicine even before getting out of the hospital after her Roux N Y surgery. I got the sleeve and I have kicked my diabetes medicine as well, the disease that had a great deal to do with my dad dying at the age of 46. I am on the edge of ridding myself of high-blood pressure meds. Another 10 pounds should do it. My resting heart rate is down 30 BPM, my heart is happy. I know WLS does not affect everyone the same but it sure is great that it can kick these bad boys out of your life.

I am reading way too much and making myself CRAZY! First I had my surgery all scheduled with Dr Ortiz, then I set up surgery with Dr. Rumbaut because it shaved off 3 hours flying time and I believed he was right up there with Ortiz, but I couldn't get the express passport in time. Now I have read and read and read all these damn postings till my eyeballs are popping out and am thinking - maybe I should go cheaper and get the hospital experience somewhere else in Tijuana- maybe Dr. Ortiz is too arrogant and they do treat you like cattle with dollar signs and no follow up at all and that damn lady witht the 10 page posting makes you think Dr. Ortiz' Mother is the wicked witch, so now I am juggling: Dr. Valencia, Dr Rodriguez, Dr. this. Dr. that..!! All I need is your basic experiences - nice facility, nice hotel, fair treatment, some genuine care, authentic concern, good price? PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR EXPERIENCES - I WILL PICK FROM THESE AND THAT WILL BE IT ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!!