Lucky # Sevens- July 07 Bandsters

[ShannonRT 1]

Hey guys! I'm a little ove 5 weeks out and need some advice.

I'm scared to get a fill!

My dr told me everyone's different in regards to fills. Some need one at 6 weeks, some not till 6 months. I can't imaging going 6 months!

So last appt he told me to call if I feel like I need one before my next appt (which isn't until the end of October). I think I'm too hungry and am eating a little too much. I get really hungry in between meals, especially between lunch and dinner.

I feel like my willpower will fail soon, but I'm still losing weight. So should I get a fill or not?

The other issue is this: I am self-pay and only 1 fill is included in the surgery price. So if this one doesn't do it, I'll be forking over the cash for all subsequent fills. But my dr does do it under fluoro, which I believe helps get it "right" in less fills, since you can actually see how tight it is.

[AppleBlossom 0]

Wow, Lots of excitement and messages again :eek:. Congratulations to all the newly posted weight losses. Let's keep it up!!!

Brandy- I think, if it's not broken, don't fix it. I do think 500 calories is too little. Lots of data backs that. The body will eat it's muscle before fat if it's under too much stress from lack of calories. But, if you're loving the results, no one says you can't. I don't always make the healthiest choices either! If your loss comes to a halt, I'd up the calories and activity.

Nichole- I have the same old habit issues. They are very difficult to break. I wish this "tool" was a little more stearn sometimes. I keep telling myself, progress, not perfection. I don't think any of us can complain with the progress.

Shannon- I'm not so sure that fluro always does the trick. I didn't feel like going to Mexico just before my kids went back to school, so I opted for a more local fill and she does not use fluro...I was really thinking I wasn't making the best choice, but I needed a fill badly. She did a Water method, similar to what others have mentioned and I think the fill is perfect. It's tight, I have to chew well and take tiny bites or I'll be reprimanded by it. I can drink perfectly though. Even in the am. I will make the time to go back to my Dr for the next fill just to see it under fluro, and make sure all is good. I think once a year for fluro is sufficient- but that's just my novice opinion.

I started something new today. Inline skating. It's pretty easy. I did it in my driveway to learn this morning and I'm going to our river trail in the morning. I walked a 3 mile trail today and it felt really good.

Great day everyone!

[phyllser 3]

Janet,

I am SOOO ready for my fill, also!! Mine is this week, Thursday & I can't wait!! I have very little restriction (other than my DH!! HA! He's relaxed quite a bit on that! ) I'm getting pretty hungry between "feedings"!! Some days are worse than others. And I am fighting "head hunger" a lot!! I did pretty good so far today. We had to get up very early to pick up our daughter & SIL from the airport (returned from Hawaii on a "red eye"), so we went out to Breakfast on the way home. I ordered a Sr. Citizen (2 egg) omelet with hash browns & english muffin. I could only eat half. I ate the other half about three hours later. Then I lasted 4 hrs and had a shrimp cocktail. I do okay with lettuce, and no problem with shrimp. I LOVE my seafood!!

I found a local support group last week. It was nice to have a face to face with other lap band folks. They told me about this "flat Iron steak" that the Fred Meyer stores here sell. We bought one the other day and it was nice and tender.

My brain is bouncing all over the place... things popping in and out... So here's another issue... There is a Mongolian Grill that opened up across the street from us. Their policy as stated online says "no sharing, no doggie bags". So I emailed them asking them to explain their no doggie bag policy and asking if I could order a child's portion. I've had two emails today from the manager and she refuses to give an inch. They have NO senior citizen's price and won't let me order a child's portion. She's adamant about the no doggie bag rule because they are an all-you-can-eat buffet. So now I understand that, but I explained the lap band surgery to her and she refuses to make any concession. Says she can't grant special privileges to certain customers. So I guess we just won't go eat there! We have eaten out quite a bit since my surgery and I have had no problem ordereing off the children's menu anywhere else!

Janet, my DH is happy about the PS area gas price you quoted!! It's very close to what we are paying here in the Seattle area. Two more months and we'll be heading south! I can't wait!!

[ssankofa73 2]

Only4Me

I haven't planned on attending the support meeting. I have to work late.

Hi Everyone!

Today was tough. I went back to work after having the summer off and I was extra sleepy. Not to mention thefact that I checked my weight and I'm up 2 lbs......not fun at all. Granted I'm on my period but its near the end of it and I usually start losing the menstrual weight by this time in my cycle. I'm also finding that I'm hungrier than usual and I can eat a lot more too. My fill is at the end of next week. I need to call my doctor and see if they can move it up a bit. I DON'T want to gain my weight back.

Phyllser

That Mongolian place just lost some good business by not letting u eat the children's portions. When it comes to customer service she sucks and possibly lost regular customers. Oh Well....thats the way some poor folks like to handle their business...or lack there of.

Walking record

25 minutes this morning before work and 35 minutes this evening after work. I'm trying to lose this extra 2 lbs I put on and I'm hoping that the increase in walking frequency will kick things in gear.

[Lynette617 0]

Phyl, so sorry the restraunt couldn't make special arrangements for us bariatric patrons, so it's their loss. I wonder if they have carry out????

If she was nasty about it, I'd let her know that you'll be letting others in on the fact that they shouldn't go there if they expect to get what they pay for. Our Golden Corral is like that. A nurse in my doc office had bypass 2 years ago, and she went there and tried to order a childs dinner buffet. They refused, so she said she'd be letting all of her patients at the office know about it. Now, they probably won't be going out of business any time soon, but we did go there to eat about 3 to 4 times a year and if you multiply that times the number of patients that have ate there in recent years, and their families, then you can see they are losing out on some business.

I believe as the trend grows here in the US for bariatric surgeries, that more and more food joints will realize that people are just trying to control their portions, and they'll have to bend the rules to keep up with the trend. Persistance is the key.

AppleBlossom, inline skating sounds like fun, but we don't really have anywhere here to do it. I bed you'll have some killer calf muscles after all that!!

Marcy, you're so funny. You've spent all this time raising those chickens, and can't even enjoy them. Oh well, you did get all the crab meat, which I'm still jealous of!! I'm starting to think you were a little "wild" in your pre-kids days with your comments about doing anything once!!

Shannon, that's a tough decision to make about the fill. I'd question myself as to whether or not I was getting all my Protein and liquids in each day before making a decision. If your absolutely sure you're getting all the requirements in from your doctor, then it seems it may be time for a fill. Or, you could try to up the numbers. If your doc requires 60 grams of protein a day, try to up it to 70 to see if it makes a difference.

For myself, I'm to get in 55 to 70 a day, but the more protein I eat, the fuller I stay. I can eat a 20 gram south beach bar and be hungry 2 hours later, but if I mix a shake with a scoop and a half of powder, which is 35 grams, I'm full for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. It may not hurt to try and start to figure out where your own sweet spot is, and how many grams it takes to keep you full for 3 to 4 hours. It may help you out with not needing a fill as often.

Chim, I'm having an ok day. It's another hot one here, but relief may be in the forcast for Thursday. At least I have one night of excercise behind me already this week, and tomorrow I'm going to a friends to swim for a few hours with Hunter and DH, so that will be another night.

Tonight is my night off, maybe, have to converse with DH on this one!!

Kathy, your trip is getting closer. I bet you're getting excited!!!

Jeanie, how's your new students?? I bet you come and are totally exhausted. I've only got one to deal with, and I can't imagine a classroom full of them!!

Dini, sounds like you're enjoying your time off. I bet Annafrancesca is getting spoiled rotten with her grandma right now!!

Sunny, where have you been lady. Haven't heard from you since the chicken salad!! Hope you're ok and it didnt make you sick or something!!

Cazulay, so the food got the best of you for a day. It happens, but today is a new day. Wipe your slate clean, and your conscious, and go right back at it. This has got to be a worse addiction than drugs, or alcohol, or tobacco, because we have to eat to live. But you'll be ok, we all will. Practice makes perfect, one day at a time!!!!

[Lynette617 0]

ssankofa, I admire your motivation to get out and walk everyday and post it at the end of your posts. Once I get going, it's hard for me to stop to, so hopefully, I'll be able to post all my excercise at the end of the posts here soon.

[ssankofa73 2]

Lynette

Thanks so much, girl.

Posting my "walking record" in a way helps to keep me accountable to others. Earlier in my bandster life, I read other people's posts about their excercise and it helped to motivate me to get moving. Some of the posts I read were from people who were way bigger than me or had lost a lot of weight (some even more than I want to lose) so it helped to give me the courage to get started. I'm hoping to do the same for other bandsters out there too. Plus, I'm hoping that others will post more of their exercise so that I can see what is "do-able" for big folks trying to lose weight. You guys would be surprised at how much motivation you all give me. There's a method to my madness, lol.

[Brandy 0]

I liked and agreed with what you said about Fluid intake during meals, except for this part here. Sorry, but I just can't wrap my head around taking half an hour to eat such a small amount of food. After my first fill, the restriction means I should only be able to 4-6 oz per meal. How to you stretch half a cup of food into a half hour experience?

My Doc says to chew well and eat slowly, but not to take longer than 20 minutes to finish your meal. Guess, that's so you don't graze. I don't take that much time, except when eating out, anyway.

[ShannonRT 1]

Thank you for the words of advice, Lynette. I do think I'm getting 60-70 grams of Protein per day and very rarely have a problem getting the Water either.

Just curious...how many of us Lucky 7's have not had fills yet?

[cate54 0]

shannon,

I have not had a fill yet and have lost 25 lbs. since my surgery on 7/24. I do however walk 10,000 steps per day and eat only until I am satisfied, not FULL as I used to do. I have seen my doctor twice since my surg and he told me some people don't need fills as quickly as others. I still take 1-2 Protein Drinks per day and I think that helps

Cate

[ssankofa73 2]

I haven't had a fill yet and I know that I need one.

[Brandy 0]

Hi all. My post-op outing went well I think. I ate 3 chicken wings for an appetizer. I ordered this Mexicali chicken thing with broccoli and cole slaw. The chicken had cheese, onions and peppers on it and it was pretty spicy, so I only ended up eating about 4 bites of that. And I ate about half of the broccoli and a few small bites of cole slaw. I don't really like cole slaw that much, but I wanted to stay away from the fries and potatoes!

I had a good time with my neighbors and enjoyed the ball game even though we lost.

I did pretty well not drinking with the meal, but the chicken was so spicy I did have a few sips of Water. Then after an hour I ordered some iced tea and accidently found myself drinking it through a straw. But it didn't give me any problems. I haven't had a fill yet. Does that have anything to do with it?

What's the issue with using a straw? I drink my shakes in the a.m. with a straw everyday.

[marcyinak 0]

Brandy - the straw can cause you to take in air...which causes bloating, burping, etc....it's like drinking a carbonated drink.

[phyllser 3]

Thank you for the words of advice, Lynette. I do think I'm getting 60-70 grams of Protein per day and very rarely have a problem getting the Water either.

Just curious...how many of us Lucky 7's have not had fills yet?

My first fill is Thursday. I'm very anxious. I'm ready!

[Frustrated 1]

Just curious...how many of us Lucky 7's have not had fills yet?

I go for my first fill on Friday. I'm ready for it. It's hard at the moment because I can feel my hunger increasing and my will power diminishing. I'm hoping the restriction will solve both of those problems. I've been fortunate enough not to gain weight, but it's halted for the past couple of weeks.

I do half an hour on the treadmill in the morning Mon-Sat. I go to the gym Tues and Thurs and so far it's just for half an hour on the elliptical. I intend to switch to some weights once I have the all clear from my doc at the fill. I also had my first Aikido class on Saturday and took it very easy. I'll be doing classes 3 times a week for an hour each once I get the go ahead as well.

So yes, I'm in the starting block and ready to race my way to a healthier and thinner me. :eek: