A thread for super-sized bandsters - starting BMI over 50?

[Smeeper 0]

Well, if you are ever interested, I've been a member of a WONDERFUL PCOS support group thread on the Soul Cysters website. Let me know and I'll send you the link.

39 is amazing too! Keep up the good work. How many fills are you working with right now?

[waterlily1072 5]

3 fills, I am at 7.5cc's and I am pretty close to the elusive seet spot right now, and yes please send me the link that would be awesome thankyou :tea:

[Smeeper 0]

I've had two fills and am at 1.5ccs I had my second fill last Tuesday. The weight (minus the gain from AF this past weekend) is just falling off me... and I couldn't be more thrilled. I swim everyday and eat about 1000 - 1200 calories a day.

Here is the link to the first page.

http://soulcysters.net/ladies-losing-large-100-lbs-vol-3-a-154346/

[Smeeper 0]

Just checking to see if my new signature works

[fatmikeslim 1]

ladytonya , I am more than 40 lbs heavier than you now , and i have been banded for 2 months , truefully i havent weighed till today in years , I have lost 4 pant sizes in two months (from a 54 to a 46 as of today).And i did have to go to mexico to have it done.(i am a full time student and unemployed ) so i dont have any insurance .I would have walked to the moon if i had to to be banded , and would do it again since i have had it done . i am glad to see that you made an apt.for the dr. Get it done . i wish i would have done this 10 years ago .

[lifelongband 0]

I am so proud of each and every one of you!

I have been overweight for many years. I am pre-op. I should be having my surgery in August and my mother-in-law told me about your sight, she had her surgery about 6 months ago. I am at a current BMI of 56. I have lost about 40 pounds in the last year (I quit drinking diet coke). I have never been able to lose weight. I bounce withing 10 pounds either way. I have been practicing eating Protein first and then eating veggies. I can't believe how fast you go to the carbs. I am just waiting on my psych eval and then I can schedule. I thank you all for your comments, it really helps a lot.

[kimkimmie 0]

Good morning... I have a BMI of 50. I am a horrible eater, but must say I love everything I eat. I will be making a huge change to start eating dark meat chicken with no skin or some fish or Protein Shakes and adding fruits and veggies and not doing too much with carbs. This is a whole other planet to me and why I did the WW flex plan over core... With WW Flex I could eat anything as long as it was 32 points. But alas I have messed that one up by overeating when I ran out of points if the opportunity arose.

I want to lose the weight. I am scared about the eating and the possibility that I will take on that debt (self pay) and not be able to do it. My hubby already asks me if I am using the $700 treadmil I just bought in March... yeah, I did for a while, but not so much now (I need to use it! Maybe tonight ! Well this is going to cost 10 times more, so I absolutely have to make it work. I am so afraid to give up the food, I am sad to think that I cannot eat some of the foods that I love after the band.

I really need to get my head right!

I know some of ya'll used to eat like I do now before losing so much weight with the band. How did you transition? How hard was it. Did you suprise yourself, or did you know up front that you could do it?

I tried WW Core, and can usually only do it a week at a time because I get tired of the food choices, and these are really pretty much the only food choices that I can have if I am banded, and it won't be for a week, it will be for the rest of my life!

I guess the band will help me to give it all up, since I won't be able to eat that stuff without getting sick, and if I can tolerate some of it I won't be able to eat as much! Luckily I don't drink calories with the exception of milk, and I can pretty much avoid chocolate and icecream... maybei can have the low fat kind once in a while as a treat.

I'd like to see a thread where people post what they eat each day for all meals, do you know if there is one on here?

Thanks for listening!!! I want to be successful, I want to be 'not fat' andi honestly want it more than I want to eat yummy foods, but it is a very close race sadly.

~Kim

[waterlily1072 5]

Hey Kimkimmie,

Good news is you really don't have to give up as much as you think I thought that way too leading up to my surgery. Everyone is a little different but the only things I've had to give up are bread, Pasta and dry sticky rice, Oh and fast food chicken gets stuck even the healthier grilled kind so I gave up on that. Bottom line is you don't have to feel deprived you just won't be able to eat nearly as much. It is kind of like the ww flex, except the band counts for you hehe. And when it worries you, just ask yourself what is more important, food or your life?

[ladytonya 0]

Kimkimmie, I am asking the same questions. I know how much I love food, but I also know how much I want to lose all this weight and how much I want to be a mommy! This is still one of the things I'm worried about. I am scared to death of the psych exam because I KNOW I have an unhealthy relationship with food. I'm dreading going to the phsychologist because I'm afraid of the types of questions she will ask and I'm afraid she'll say that I'm not psychologically fit to have the band surgery without some therapy or something. I love food and I know it. One thing I know that I have going for me, however, is a relatively recent change in attitude toward food. I used to just love to eat. It didn't matter what it was, I wasn't picky. I just loved loved loved to eat. Now, not so much. It's not the eating that I love, it's eating good food. If I could eat Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Outback, etc. every night and Melting Pot and good sushi once or twice a month, I would be in heaven! When I have to eat lunch and don't have any money to go out, I am just eating because I know I have to and I am hungry. If it weren't for that, I could take it or leave it. I have no clue what the psychologist is going to do with all of this information, but I know that I really want this surgery and that I know that I can make it work for me!

[kimkimmie 0]

Kimkimmie, I am asking the same questions. I know how much I love food, but I also know how much I want to lose all this weight and how much I want to be a mommy! This is still one of the things I'm worried about. I am scared to death of the psych exam because I KNOW I have an unhealthy relationship with food. I'm dreading going to the phsychologist because I'm afraid of the types of questions she will ask and I'm afraid she'll say that I'm not psychologically fit to have the band surgery without some therapy or something. I love food and I know it. One thing I know that I have going for me, however, is a relatively recent change in attitude toward food. I used to just love to eat. It didn't matter what it was, I wasn't picky. I just loved loved loved to eat. Now, not so much. It's not the eating that I love, it's eating good food. If I could eat Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Outback, etc. every night and Melting Pot and good sushi once or twice a month, I would be in heaven! When I have to eat lunch and don't have any money to go out, I am just eating because I know I have to and I am hungry. If it weren't for that, I could take it or leave it. I have no clue what the psychologist is going to do with all of this information, but I know that I really want this surgery and that I know that I can make it work for me!

Are we related? That is how I feel. When you were little, did your parents restrict what you could have and how much? I wasn'r alowed to go in the fridge and eat in case something was a part of a meal that my mom was planning to cook. Restaurants were not everyday and often we went for special occasions. Now I eat at restaurants every day! I am just like you where if I can get the yummy restaurant food I will get it whenever I can even if I am not hungry, and if it is something I don't like, I typically will not eat it even if I am a little hungry. Now if it something that is just 'ok' like a grilled cheese I would eat it if I was hungry and too tired to run through a drive through or something.

I don't know what the psych will say about this.

~Kim

[Smeeper 0]

Can I just add something here about the failing at Lap Band when you've failed at all other things? One thing I told someone in another support group forum... there's a huge difference (even though you need to eat responsibly after the band as well) from having this or just simply doing a diet without this tool... and that difference is the physical discomfort you are going to feel from eating too much or eating the wrong foods that don't agree with your new stomach, or not chewing properly and not taking small bites.

Having the band is a learning process, especially as you get more fills. Before my first fill I could still eat breadsticks at Olive Garden. After my first fill.. nope... PB and slime here I come and it was awful and I will NEVER do that again.

We are like Pavlov's dogs. Maybe not so much a ringing of the bell triggers our salivation, but the concept of conditioning yourself to the responses you'll have eating certain ways and eating certain foods really will give you an advantage after having this band.

There is also, something about being a self-pay that makes you strive really hard to make it work. I was a self-pay. Of course, I'd strive really hard to make it work without having been a self-pay, but if you're going to dole out $14k+, you sure as hell better follow the plan. At least that's been my mindset. This is a great plan too, because, some of the things you couldn't eat before you can ... but you eat them in moderation. I've been off the sugar for so long, the sugar problem isn't really an issue for me, but I can eat some of the veggies and fruits that were not low carb approved now and I'm fine and I'm still losing weight.

Please, don't get discouraged.

As for the parents - they are my biggest weight enemy. Every day of my life has been a constant battle with the grudge I hold against them for making me feel like the fattest living human on the earth. I love them very much, but when they (fat also) decide to do a diet... I relish in the fact that they are going to fail and I hope that their failure is quick, because they made me feel like poop for a very very long time. Mean, I know, but the truth. I have sooo much resentment against them on the fat front.

This band has set me free.

Debbie

[Smeeper 0]

Why do you have to go to the psychologist? My doctors office doesn't require it for lap band surgery, since you aren't altering your internal situation. They do require it for RNY and DS and whatnot, but not the band. With those, you are actually making a physical cutting/change to your body and that's why they require it. They want to know that you are mentally able to make such a huge decision.

Strange. I didn't see a psych doc. Maybe you should revisit the issue with your Doc?

[ladytonya 0]

A lot of insurance companies require a psychological evaluation before they will approve the surgery. My understanding of the reasoning is that they want to be sure you will be "psychologically able" to make this lifestyle change. I don't understand why it's necessary, either. The band will be there. I can eat less or I can be in pain.

On the parentals, I had two extremes growing up. My dad thought I was a fat pig who would never amount to anything. Both my mom and dad and most of their families are all overweight as is my sister. My dad's sister has actually had RNY. My dad tried to stop my from eating. My mom, on the other hand, would reward everything with food. Still does even though she doesn't realize it. We can have a conversation on the phone about how I've been doing with food and whether it's good or bad, I'll walk in the front door and she'll immediately offer me something to eat. My birthday = spaghetti. My sister's birthday = the local seafood buffet. If I made good grades in school, dinner at Red Lobster. My rewards have always been food. The best was back when I was on WW in high school and actually lost 50 lbs. When I lost that 50th lb, we shared an enormous hot fudge cake at the local ice cream parlor. Plus all of our family events revolve around food. Family reunions, births, deaths, graduations, weddings, everything. A very large lunch and dinner will be had by all, or not even just lunch and dinner. When there's a death in the family, everyone goes to my great aunt's and we all just eat for two days.

Yeah, that psychologist is really going to love getting her hands on me! I don't care. Whatever I have to do to get the band, I will do it. I know this is the right surgery for me and it will work! I will make it work!

[Smeeper 0]

Heh. From what I've been told (my boss' daughter had RNY several years ago) the psychological exam isn't that bad. I was relieved that they didn't require it (even with insurance) at my doctor's office. They do, however, require the 6 month supervised diet if you have the insurance to cover the surgery. But, I didn't and so I didn't have to.

Here is how it has always been in my family. My parents were both fit as teenagers. As years went by... blame put on pregnancy (mom) and alcoholism (dad), my parents are pretty hefty people themselves. My entire life I've never seen small parents, except the pictures of them as teenagers and when they got married.

A typical time for me with my Dad was "the entire family is going on a diet because Debbie is fat." Excuse me? The entire family (except my brother) is fat. Why is it now my fault that we all have to change our eating habits? Then they don't change them anyway.

A typical time for me with my Mom (a nurse) was taking me to the doctor who would tell me I was fat and that I needed to lose weight and then giving me all these different diets and/or pills to try. So, instead of my mom straight out telling me I was fat... she relied on the doctor to do it for her.

When I was 21 I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and finally had a reason why I was trying all these years to lose weight but with no good results. 11 years later, today, my mom says "Well, your father is just beginning to understand that being overweight wasn't a choice you made."

Who cares? I mean, come on Dad... you're a fatty. Not everyone chooses to eat ungodly amounts of food and most of them certainly don't do it consciously. Why is it so easy to point out my obvious problem with obesity when you are dealing with your own? Grrrr.

So, she tells me the other night that she's joining WW and I said, "good luck." and left it at that. Of course, my brain was saying, "HA HA HA, you're not going to be able to do it. You're going to fail and it will make up for the two years you and Dad PAID to have me on Jenny Craig and I lost only 20lbs and it was your fault because every other night you were sending me to Baskin Robbins to get you ice cream or sending me to the grocery store to get chips and dip so you could have them for watching a movie and then telling me 'oh this will just be a good test of your willpower.' Screw you mom. Screw you dad."

Oh wow. I feel better. Hehe. Thank god I didn't have to see the psychologist.

[LapBandit 5]

I know some of ya'll used to eat like I do now before losing so much weight with the band. How did you transition? How hard was it. Did you suprise yourself, or did you know up front that you could do it?

~Kim

Yep, I was a terrible eater. My biggest flaw was that I would always skip Breakfast then most of the time skip lunch and by dinner was ravenous. A frozen pizza should feed how many people??? One, me. Then I'd eat ice cream and chips while watching TV at night. I did that forever.

I had to come to a realization that I'm not happy with my body and that it wasn't healthy any more. That was motivation factor #1 toward getting my butt in gear. Then I realized "what exactly was I afraid of giving up?" Was it the same old junk food I had spent the last 10 years stuffing into my face??? I'd tasted it many, many, many times before and so now it was now time for me to taste all those strange lookings healthy things that I had always bypassed in the grocery store! That was motivation #2.

For me, personally, I still have an occasional moment of weakness but for the most part my "tastes" have changed and I actually crave the better food choice because I know it makes me feel better. When I slip up and eat something fried or not that great of a choice it makes me feel tired and gross. That's motivation #3!!!

I hope that helps! You'll do great!