Kareyquilts, Mimin, Ghost & BJean The Final Push

[juliegeraci 7]

Hi Jacqui, I have the same fear. My doctor only took out .02 of my fill which is litterally 2 drops and I am gaining weight. I see him next week to figure this all out. I need restriction to lose but I seem to get too tight. Wishe me luck trying to find my sweet spot.

[Frangipani 1]

Hi Ladies,

Just checking in to say Good Luck!!! I look forward to following your progress and I know that you will all rock this challenge :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:!!!

Karey, your diet sounds very interesting -- thanks for being our "guinea pig"!!!!

Even though I'm not quite at goal yet, I share all of your concerns about maintenance. I'm sure there will definitely be some additional learning experiences ahead with this band as time goes on........

[BJean 16]

julie: The only reason I asked is because I have found that my band tightens when I fly. I guess if yours didn't, that has nothing to do with your problem.

Good luck with your adjustment. Hope you are able to get it just exactly perfect. I'm going tomorrow too. In some ways I dread it because I usually spend a week of sporadic tight and loose episodes after an adjustment that keep me on my take-small-bites-and-chew-chew-chew toes. :thumbup:

[juliegeraci 7]

Hi BJ. Right now I'm at 3.18. 3.2 is too tight for me but I am starving. I can't imagine that .02 which is litterally 2 drops of saline can make that much of a difference. I am going to have a barrium swallow in a couple week so we shall see what is going on. Wish me luck. Julie

[BJean 16]

Julie my doc swears that a drop can make a significant difference. He's seen it time and again in his practice. He said that when he first started realizing it he just could hardly believe it, but as time went on, with some people, it is very accurate. So now he is very conservative with fills. He would rather take it slow and easy than get someone filled so tight that they can't swallow their own saliva.

Btw, he also says that if someone is too restricted it can cause such a problem that they actually gain weight because the only foods they can keep down are ice cream and chocolate and other super high calorie stuff.

This fill business is tricky and trial and error is about the only good approach, except for things like your barium swallow.

Doing a barium swallow should tell you a lot and get you where you want to be. My doc avoids xrays/floroscopes, etc., if he can, but only because they're expensive. He does say that they can be an invaluable tool.

Hope your test reveals all! bj

[jjsmiles 3]

I'm sending out postive, lucky "vibes" your way Julie.

[juliegeraci 7]

Thanks JJSmiles. I am going to order a barrium swallow to see if my band is in the right position when I see him next Thursday. I just don't see how you can go down literally 2 drops of saline and starve to death! Fickle band!

[TexasBecky 1]

Wow Becky, you're an inspiration! Way to go. I'd love to weigh what you weigh. Can you share how you did it? If you've already told your story and I missed it, I apologize.

karey: you're doing it?! I hadn't read that you made the decision. I would love the details too. And how did you find your doctor? What do the 500 calories a day consist of? You sound like an ice cream freak like me. A day without ice cream for me is a day to be proud of! It's as important to my success as exercising is, I think. At least for the time being. Someday I WILL be able to have one scoop and feel satisfied!

Thanks BJean. I wish I had some secret trick. I am 5'9" and thankfully, have a naturally speedy metabolism, so exercising regularly just really kicks it up to high gear for me. I eat just about anything I want in small amounts, exercise at least five days a week, follow the band rules, and the weight has come off. I could stand to lose another five pounds or so to have that magic 25.0 BMI, but there will be another round of plastic surgery in my future, so I'm happy to stay where I am for now. My neck is bordering on being saggy already, so I fear losing too much more.

[kareyquilts 1]

Drat those saggy necks! What I can eat on my diet: Breakfast: HCG injection, wuloong tea or yerba matte tea; snack: 1 apple, orange, 1c. strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries or 1/2 grapefruit; lunch and dinner- 4 oz. lean meat, 2 handfuls of salad and veggies. Everything needs to be eaten by 7 pm., No Salad Dressing only balsamic or apple cider vinegar. 2nd snack- same fruit. Supposedly the HCG makes you feel full and gives you a sense of well being. We'll see won't we? Not sure how to find a doc in your area. I think I googled, HCG diet and the city. That's where I would start. I'm very up for this and hope it works. If not, I'll just count calories and get my Body Bugg prescription working again!

[Boo Boo Kitty 3]

Hey ladies

I wanted to drop by to send my support, love and well wishes. Those last 20 pounds are the hardest ever, but I know you girls can do it! You have all made it this far and all are so amazing nothing can hold you back!

xoxoxo

[kareyquilts 1]

Thanks for all the support!

[cori in wa 0]

I'm no where near where you ladies are, but wanted to jump in and offer my support. I'm struggling with the last 7 pounds to be at half-way-to-goal so I'm really looking forward to hearing how you all are doing this.

Karey, be careful! I know there are some positive results with that HCG diet, but I've heard about some negative side effects/problems as well. Glad you made a decision that will work (hopefully!) for you, but please, be extra careful.

Julie, sending you good wishes in finding the perfect spot and that the fill/unfill works! A co-worker was over filled, was starving all the time, and was gaining weight. A slight UN-FILL worked best for her so maybe keep that option open as well.

MimIn, I hope you have a doctors visit in your immediate future! That is a whole lot of water/fluid weight and it can't be good for you. I know Fluid retention is to be expected, but holy schmoly, that is a LOT! You be extra careful too, ok?!

Wishing you all oodles and oodles of success!

[BJean 16]

Thanks for all the support! When you lose enough to get out of the original pain you're in, and you're feeling amazingly better, it is too easy to go on cruise control. Especially with the band since it is not as hard to overeat as it was before the band.

I'm finding this next step on my journey to be very hard. The motivation isn't as strong much of the time and so I fight that. I look so much better but when I see myself in a really honest mirror, I am surprised to see that I am still fat. Then I think about what I weigh and I know there's no way that it's acceptable! And I remember how much I've lost and I know that if I lose the rest, I will feel even that much better than I do now.

I need to strap on that Body Bugg again. That was really helping me and I need to do what karey said and restart internet prescription. Okay! I'm doing it!

Good luck to you all this week! Thanks for your push in the right direction Wasa!

Cori there's a lot of wisdom in your post.

Karey if you are able to stick to that diet for even 2 weeks, you will see a significant loss. All the fruit reminds me of the Beverly Hills Diet that I did a couple of times. I had trouble processing that much fruit, but I wasn't hungry. I'm like Cori, if you start feeling the least bit weird, check in with the doc. I know you're smart and you won't take any chances!

[kareyquilts 1]

OKay, I'm going to be careful. I feel very positive so far. Today starts the very restrictive calories. I've been to Water aerobics and will do pilates with a trainer this afternoon. BJean: I love my body bugg, I really like the feedback. I think I just needed to be more honest in posting what I was eating and measuring everything. I do believe that I was letting my frozen yogurt treats with my 9 year old get to be too often and too much! Live and learn! Have a great day all! Ghost are you out there?

[mcgreen 0]

good luck to you all!

Karey- I've been reading about the HCG diet and it is very intriguing- I'm looking forward to reading about your progress- I know you can do the diet! Think back to how restrictive the diet is preband and post band - those weeks will make this hopefully seem like (for lack of a non food word) ... CAKE!

I'm 21 away from a normal body weight for my height. My PS told me I don't need to lose more weight (having a LBL and BL in the fall; need inner thighs and arms as well) but I have a hard time believing he's going to cut away 21 lbs so I'm going to try to lose 10 more and see how things go post op.

you all can do it!