Lower BMI Bandsters!

[Bikergirl 0]

Tulips: I would submit to insurance anyway, only because you wouldn't have lost anything if they say no. I was so motivated to loose weight at the beggining of the year - walked 2 miles and haven't walked since. Bought a whole bunch of healthy food and over indulged myself in them (the healthy stuff) When I totalled up the calories I ate healthy - they were just as bad as the thick fattening foods.

I am tho' glad that you are motivated to loose. I don't want to discourage you from doing it without the band. We will support you either way. But keep in mind that we are here for you....NO MATTER WHAT.

We are going to hold you accountable. So to do this I am going to ask that you post every night. I want to know what you ate/amount/cal and what execercise you did. Knowing that you have to do this every day may keep you on track.

I would like to request this of all our members to this thread. If I know that I have to post what I ate (good or bad) I will be a little more cautions on my selections. Yeah I could lie about it, but who will it hurt, you or ME!!

Veronica - Glad to know you are feeling well! Are you hungry at all or do you feel satisfied with just liquids? Keep up posted on your progress.

Tonia - what kind of insurance do you have?

I've decided that if my blood tests come back showing I have diabetes or high cholestoral, I will try to get insurance to approve me. If it shows nothing, I don't think my chances are very good of getting approved. I've already started to lose weight and want to keep it going if the chances of insurance covering it are low. I've already lost 6lbs. I'm 5'2 and weigh 187. I'd have to gain less than 10 lbs to have a bmi of 35 for insurance purposes. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be hard for me at all.

I am surprinsingly motivated to lose right now. I am so scared I won't be able to do it on my own. I'm even more scared that if I do lose the weight I won't be able to keep it off. Story of my life. We have booked a cruise for August and I'd really like to look decent when we go. This October my DH and I Celebrate our 10th anniversary. I dieted before the big day 10 years ago and got down to 133 -- I haven't seen that # on the scale since. I hope to hear about my blood work today. I'm not sure what I want it to reveal.

[Bikergirl 0]

Veronica, I can't do the onions any more either...my husband is glad for that cause he didn't like them anyway now he doesn't have to worry about me cooking with them anymore. lol

Yeah - the burger was wrapped up and I kept sitting it in front of the dog. Then he opened it to eat it and I got sick to the stomach. I thought to myself, this is good. I use to smoke (for about 2 yrs), when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter - now I hate the smell of cigarettes. I'm hoping that I can do the same with the bad foods.

The good thing about the band, if I see a medium pizza, I could eat it all by myself. With the band, if I did eat pizza, I will not be able to eat the whole thing. I don't want to fall down this tunnel, but I'm glad to know that I cant eat as much as I use to.

[toqu 0]

Tulips, I have Beechstreet (Preferred Benefit Administrators)

Needless to say they are OK with me

[momlambert 77]

Can I join your lower BMI group, please...pretty please! I'm being banded on March 19 if all continues to go well. I'm actually having second thoughts but am feeling better after being on LBT for awhile. I see these big loses and get all excited but I need to be realistic and I think this group helps me keep things in perspective--I'm sure from what I've read from you guys that lower BMI's lose slower than higher BMI's. Right? That's okay if I plan ahead and am surprised by any larger weight loss.

Have any of you reached your "ideal" weight? That's also something that worries me a lot--really getting down to the ideal range. It seems lots of people get "stuck" before they reach their goal.

Anyway, thanks for the thread and good luck to all!

[tulips 0]

Veronica - Thanks so much for all your good advice and support. I really appreciate it! I will post what I ate each day and how much I exercised (if at all). I think that will help me be accountable.

I hear what you are saying about submitting to insurance regardless. If they say no, though, I'm that much further behind in losing. I have a lot to lose between now and August.

I will post again later this evening. Hey, how are you feeling? Fill us in on how it's going for you.

[ser123 0]

OWIE guys!

I am a little over a week out from my fill. At first I didn't think that I was that restricted but as the week has worn on, I can tell I was more restricted.

Fast forward to today, the first day of that time of the month. The weirdest thing about all of this for me is that PMS is the opposite for me. I am not hungry at all. I have hardly eaten for 2 days.

Normally I would be fine with that, but Saturday I competed in an Adventure Race and spent 4.5 hours on a mountain bike. My heart rate monitor said I burned 4500 calories. I really haven't eaten much during the last 2 days. I went jogging tonight so I decided I should eat some turkey even though I wasn't really hungry. I haven't eaten since noon ant it was 8:30pm.

I got out about 3 oz of turkey and started eating on it. I ate about half of it and was done so I gave the rest to the dogs. About 5 minutes after I finished, my stomach started cramping pretty hard.

I PB'd, slimed and had stomach cramps for about 25 minutes. It really hurt. I haven't PBd for quite a while and I haven't had pain like this before.

So, I guess the lesson I learned from this is if I am not hungry I am not going to force myself to eat, even if I think I should eat.

Hope everyone else is doing good!

[tulips 0]

I got a call from a nurse at my Dr.s office. She said my blood work came back with "fabulous" results. My cholestoral is low-- 167 I think. My blood glucose level (diabetes) is also low -- not even borderline. I really don't have any other comorbidities. Unfortunately, I'm not going to pursue the lap band at this point. I have already started losing some weight (only 6 lbs), but even that puts me under a 35 bmi.

As far as my diet goes, I was on the treadmill for a little over 30 minutes. I did a combo of running and walking with an incline. I skipped breakfeast -- I know that's not good, but I was in a hurry. lunch was super healthy -- a bean burrito and soft taco from Taco Bell (yes I'm being sarcastic). For dinner I had a salad with grilled chicken.

I hope everyone is doing well. Honestly, I probably won't stay on the board much longer since I'm not going to pursue the band right now. You guys are great and I hope all reach your goals soon!

[Bikergirl 0]

Momlambert: :welcomeB: , glad to have you. I just got banded on 3/1 so I'm still a newbie. But so far I'm doing great. I appreciate my band and want to do right by it so that I can achieve weight loss. Feel free to post with us anytime.

You are right this thread was a life saver for me.

Can I join your lower BMI group, please...pretty please! I'm being banded on March 19 if all continues to go well. I'm actually having second thoughts but am feeling better after being on LBT for awhile. I see these big loses and get all excited but I need to be realistic and I think this group helps me keep things in perspective--I'm sure from what I've read from you guys that lower BMI's lose slower than higher BMI's. Right? That's okay if I plan ahead and am surprised by any larger weight loss.

Have any of you reached your "ideal" weight? That's also something that worries me a lot--really getting down to the ideal range. It seems lots of people get "stuck" before they reach their goal.

Anyway, thanks for the thread and good luck to all!

[Bikergirl 0]

When I left the hospital they gave me a little tablet - It has Breakfast - lunch - dinner - excercise - other. I use it to write down all my food and activities. Maybe you can do that so that you can keep track on what works for you from week to week. If you see a weight loss one week but not the next, you can look back and see if you ate more or something different. You will know what foods you had a good weight loss on.

Veronica - Thanks so much for all your good advice and support. I really appreciate it! I will post what I ate each day and how much I exercised (if at all). I think that will help me be accountable.

I hear what you are saying about submitting to insurance regardless. If they say no, though, I'm that much further behind in losing. I have a lot to lose between now and August.

I will post again later this evening. Hey, how are you feeling? Fill us in on how it's going for you.

[Bikergirl 0]

supergenius: I'm so sorry you had a bad experience. Hope you feel better. Maybe a slimfast would have gone down a little better and gave you than "FULL" Feeling. I am so glad you shared this with me. I have to learn. You will be a goal in no time with those type of workouts. Good luck.

OWIE guys!

I am a little over a week out from my fill. At first I didn't think that I was that restricted but as the week has worn on, I can tell I was more restricted.

Fast forward to today, the first day of that time of the month. The weirdest thing about all of this for me is that PMS is the opposite for me. I am not hungry at all. I have hardly eaten for 2 days.

Normally I would be fine with that, but Saturday I competed in an Adventure Race and spent 4.5 hours on a mountain bike. My heart rate monitor said I burned 4500 calories. I really haven't eaten much during the last 2 days. I went jogging tonight so I decided I should eat some turkey even though I wasn't really hungry. I haven't eaten since noon ant it was 8:30pm.

I got out about 3 oz of turkey and started eating on it. I ate about half of it and was done so I gave the rest to the dogs. About 5 minutes after I finished, my stomach started cramping pretty hard.

I PB'd, slimed and had stomach cramps for about 25 minutes. It really hurt. I haven't PBd for quite a while and I haven't had pain like this before.

So, I guess the lesson I learned from this is if I am not hungry I am not going to force myself to eat, even if I think I should eat.

Hope everyone else is doing good!

[Bikergirl 0]

Since being on the liquid phase - slimfast have been helping me to feel full longer - maybe you can grab a few and you can grab one of those for Breakfast.

Good Luck with you weight loss challenge - Remember we are here for you!

I got a call from a nurse at my Dr.s office. She said my blood work came back with "fabulous" results. My cholestoral is low-- 167 I think. My blood glucose level (diabetes) is also low -- not even borderline. I really don't have any other comorbidities. Unfortunately, I'm not going to pursue the lap band at this point. I have already started losing some weight (only 6 lbs), but even that puts me under a 35 bmi.

As far as my diet goes, I was on the treadmill for a little over 30 minutes. I did a combo of running and walking with an incline. I skipped breakfeast -- I know that's not good, but I was in a hurry. lunch was super healthy -- a bean burrito and soft taco from Taco Bell (yes I'm being sarcastic). For dinner I had a salad with grilled chicken.< /p>

I hope everyone is doing well. Honestly, I probably won't stay on the board much longer since I'm not going to pursue the band right now. You guys are great and I hope all reach your goals soon!

[deckedout 0]

Susan,

I'm kind of having the same problem, and my last fill was back in December. The past few days I have been having to push to get up to 1200 calories. So far today I've managed to get down 1000 and it is almost 8 so I just won't be eating anymore.

Seems like I get really tight for a while, then it loosens up for awhile then tight again. Doesn't really seem related to TOM either.

I have increased my exercise and I don't know if that has something to do with it. hubby and I have started training for a half marathon we're gonna walk it.

When I am really tight, but know I have to eat something I usually go for cottage cheese. I also found some Pure Protein Bars. They have 19 grams of Protein and 180 calories. I get them at Walmart, the smores are the best and chocolate chip is pretty good. Peanut Butter is awful. Blueberry crumb is good if you like blueberries. I have one that is peanut butter marshmellow. I haven't tried it yet. hopefully it will be better than the peanut butter. They only cost 117 at walmart and go down really easy.

[ser123 0]

bikergirl and deckedout,

Thanks for your comments. Again, my PBing is about me not thinking. Everyone says chicken (turkey) is a problem food so I shouldn't have picked it.

I tell you, I am a person who has eaten mindlessly for years. I am learning to think and then eat, but I definitely need reminders now and then apparently.

It is 11:30 where I am so I am off to bed. My stomach is still sore so I may be on liquids tomorrow.

sleep well everyone...

[Karyn 0]

BGB- Thanks for the info about the fills!! I really needed to hear it.

Bikergirl- Hope to see you at Dr Spiegel's support group meeting 3/20

I haven't been online much lately. But I just caught on my reading of this thread for the last few hours!! LOL

I'm glad to see the newbies that came on board. And glad to hear everyone is doing well!

I had, what I thought was my first fill on 2/22/07. The Dr Spiegel told me that he actually gave me a fill and the time of my band (1.4cc). So he gave me another .6cc. Unlike, some of you....I've been struggling not to PB and slime. After I eat only about 2-3 bites, if I even think about sliming, I will have too! I'm trying to be patience and give my fill 2 weeks to loosen up or something. It isn't like I can't keep liquids or food down, I just have been PB more than before. I try to eat slow, chew well, and concentrate, but it just doesn't always work well. I was debating on get it unfilled, I just wanted to see if anyone had in input or similiar experiences with a fill. I have lost another 5 lbs since the fill...but....I feel like I am eating nothing- no calories!! Any encouraging words??? I need it!! I just have been feeling like it shouldn;t be this restricted!

Thanks...

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

HI all,

I wish I was like you and hardly thought about food. I do pretty well in the day time, but in the evenings, all I do is think about sweets. That was the way it was before I was banded. The only time it went away is when I was on liquids. I am getting really discouraged.