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Blog 93702
 

Recipe Of The Day! Strawberry Cheesecake No-Baking

Another guilt free dessert only 164 calories per slice. Looking for a nice dessert on a hot summer's day, I have just the one for you. Strawberry Cheesecake No-Baking will help keep your kitchen cool-no oven is needed. This cheesecake will be a big hit at your dinner partys, or outdoor Bar-BQ's. I am sure your friends and family will love it too. ENJOY!   Makes 12 slices Active Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes   164 Calories Per Serving   CHECK OUT MY BLOG FOR THIS RECIPE AND SO MANY MORE:thumbup: http://life-after-lap-band.blogspot.com/
Debra G

Debra G

0
Dance by the Light of the Moon
 

First position

It is 2:20 a.m. amd I should be on my way to bed. I would be on my way to bed except I am a confirmed night owl and occasionally an insomniac besides. Reports abound claiming that too little sleep leads to too much bodily padding- I reckon I could be a posterchild for that theory.   I view myself as a lifelong fatty until I look at pictures taken of me in childhood, much of adolescence, and even part of adulthood. If anything, I was a thin child, but my mother's cry of "hold in your stomach!" translated in my ears as "fat." Later on, she used the f word a lot in conjuction with me. If I reached for a cookie after school, she chanted "fat, fat, fat!" Once when she took me to the doctor for an emergency visit due to an inexplicable swelling of my mouth, he told me, "Tall girls are pretty. Fat girls aren't." I was approximately 5'6" tall and weighed about 145 pounds- a real ugly fat girl, for sure. To this day I wonder what it was about the late 1960s and the 1970s that made people believe anyone over a hundred and twenty pounds was fat?   Well, it's a cop out to blame it all on good old mom- heaven knows she had help from television and fashion magazines. By the time I was in fifth grade, I had embraced the horrible truth of my largeness, my hugeness, my all encompassing fatness. I was 5'1" and weighed 103 pounds back then. Occasionally I wonder what my life would've been like had I not developed physically two or three years earlier than my peers. Oh, well, what the heck. That was a long time ago and now is now.   I have always been able to lose weight, though as I passed forty it got harder to recover from the yoyo syndrome. Alas, I couldn't maintain the weight loss for more than a couple of years and sometimes far less than that. I ate too much, I ate the wrong things, I ate because food comforted me through depression, anxiety, anger, sorrow, and any other negative emotion that crossed my path. It's hard to argue with success and food was a very successful comforter. Alas again- the side effects eventually became unmanageable and to make a long story a little shorter, it one day became apparent to me that desperate measures were called for.   I knew if I lost weight, all those pounds would eventually come back and bring friends to stay as well. People may think that is a defeatist attitude, but doing the same thing over and over again in hopes of a different outcome is insane, and I had been repeating this scenario since junior high school. I decided to try to reconcile myself to living the rest of my life buried in more too, too solid flesh than my knees needed to be carrying around. It couldn't be any worse than losing seventy pounds and gaining back eighty over and over again.   I never considered bariatric surgery though I knew several people who had done very well with it and one who had regained the weight lost. Then back in August of 2009, I went to the doctor for my annual check up and asked casually what she thought of bariatric surgery. She promptly replied, "I think you are an excellent candidate for it and I will write any letters and sign any papers you need in order to have it."   Oooo-kay. So I started to consider it seriously. Okay, so I decided I wanted it done ASAP and PDQ as well. But there were interviews to be done, tests to be run, the dietician to see, the psychiatric evaluation to be done. That last totally cracked me up. The world is filled with all sorts of anti-social and/or violent people running loose on the streets and my insurance company spent $600 to make sure I was sane enough to have weight loss surgery. Actually, it was one of the more interesting parts of the preliminaries. A reasonably intelligent person with half a brain and a desperate need to have that surgery no matter what could dissemble with a clear conscience on those tests. Most people are not as oblivious as the Highly Educated Care Providers like to believe. When I did the oral part of the exam, on more than one question I told the doctor, "I know this is the answer you are looking for, but this is what I really think." When I went to see her to review the results, I cheerfully asked if I was psychotic. She answered, "No, but you are unconventional." That was good news, though not completely unexpected, and she passed me for surgery, which was even better news.   I didn't lose as much weight prior to the pre-surgery diet as the Powers That Be would've liked, but the surgery went forward. And I didn't lose as much during the post-surgical period as I would've liked, but a two week trip out of town put my first fill back and post surgery, I could eat whatever I pleased, though I tried to keep it under control. The first fill helped, the second fill was better, and I skipped a third fill for the time being.   My banding was done March 3, 2010 and as of last Monday, I had lost thirty pounds despite not managing to change all my bad habits. I don;t lose every week and that gets me down at times, but thirty pounds is thirty pounds and I'm not going to waste time whining because it isn't forty or fifty pounds.   I've spent a lot of time out of town eating meals that aren't healthy or wise, and I still struggle with sweets, specifically ice cream, which goes down beautifully and doesn't require chewing to mush. Sometimes I get sidetracked while I'm eating and take too big a bite and/or don't chew it properly. Ouch. Carbonated beverages have crept back into my life, though I limit them. I don't know why I drink them, especially if I've had something to eat. It hurts. I never thought of myself as a masochist, but sooner or later I get sloppy and... ouch. Drinking while eating is another struggle, though I don't seem to get hungry any faster when I drink water or tea with meals than when I drink nothing. I can't wait two hours after meals as suggested by the dietician, but maybe I can manage the thirty minutes expounded by some doctors.   Anyway, it's time to make the next solid effort to change a bad habit. If I ever actually manage to get to bed tonight, I have to weigh when I wake up and on Tuesday I go back to see Dr. Beckstedt. I know he's not the enemy who will sit in judgement on me if I haven't lost enough weight, but it does make me a tad nervous, the lingering fear of doctors who told me if I didn't lose at least two pounds a week they'd wash their hands of me and leave me to welter in my disgusting fat alone. I really have to wonder what those guys were thinking: tough love or reluctance to have anything less than outstanding success on their watch. I suspect the latter, but forty-five years of weight watching may have made me cynical.   And so, dear reader, should I actually have one, we arrive at the present where Llyra is 55 years old, weighs 210.5 pounds as of last Monday, and is ready to see what she can do about going down another ten by Labor Day.   Blessings on us all and may we triumph over biology, training, and our desire for chocolate ice cream cones with diet Pepsi chasers.   Llyra
Llyra

Llyra

3
Blog 89674
 

2 months Post Op

So I have not written in a while. I got my cast off. Yeah!!! I am feeling good. I have lost 30lbs so far. The weight was falling off in the beginning. However now I am slowing down. I am finding that I am able to eat more now. So I have been pushing the limits. Been cheating a little as far as breads go. I gave up bread and lately I have been having a slice here and there. NOT good for this girl to be messing with bread. I am really worried about not getting the results I need from this surgery. However 30 lbs is a very good amount of weight in 2 months. I just dont want it to stop coming off.
AndreaKoontz

AndreaKoontz

3
Blog 88213
 

My first "REAL" goal has been reached!!

happy,happy,happy!!!! I stepped on the scale and weigh 200lbs....woo-hoo!! July 19th!! I haven't weighed 200 lbs since before my son was born in 1993. Now I am setting goals in 20 lb increments. First time ever that I feel my goals are reachable!! I am so blessed to have gotten the gastric sleeve my only regret is that I didn't do it 10 yrs ago.....:rolleyes2: any way today is a great day!!
littlebsue

littlebsue

1
Share my world....
 

Well, I don't feel so bad.

Okay so as you guys know I was having a food meltdown, since I've been on my liquid diet, I have 5 more days of this. But i got on the scale just now, I started at 309, now I am 295....a total of 14lbs lost. Wow, I am going to go walking bright and early tomorrow morning that just gave me more motivation. I did do my Zumba on Saturday and it did make me feel more energized. Focus, Focus, Focus
HoneyBrown

HoneyBrown

5
Blog 93898
 

Second Runner Up!

Well, I didn't win photographer of the year, but I was second runner up, so I received $2,500! Better than nothing!!! And I'm pretty proud to be number 3 in a company of over 15,000 photographers!! :rolleyes2: Very happy! Next year...$25,000!!! :bye:   Tomorrow is my first fill! I'm driving back from Minnesota as we speak. Stopped somewhere in Wisconsin for the night. Probably have about 4 hours to go till I'm back in Chicago. Then two weeks to pack and move!!   Busy busy! But I love every moment of it.   How have you all been??   xo
maggs79

maggs79

3
Blog 95493
 

Hope

I have hope. I think. Looked it up and it means - 1 : to desire with expectation of obtainment 2 : to expect with confidence.   Yes, that's it - HOPE. Haven't had that for a long time. So thankful for my LAP-BAND® and my LBT friends - you're awesome support!   I'm feeling so much better - getting my energy back, eating well now, and feeling good about the weight loss and weight shift (I get measured in a couple of weeks so am real sure there are NSV there.)   Cleaned out my closet this weekend. Put the 'fattest' clothes together to the side - won't be wearing those ever again. Now everything in my closet fits. Also organized my shoes --- funny how my feet gained weight and I'm newly fitting into some of my old smaller shoes again. Fun!
Drake alp

Drake alp

3
Blog 78548
 

I?m so frustrated, discouraged HELP

So I had my surgery on Dec 8:bored: and I have only lost 16 lbs not good at all. I don’t know what to do I’m so frustrated, discouraged I have so many mixed emotions with this I don’t know what to do. I’m not going to lie I eat almost how I used to eat. I have had 4 fills my band is a 10 cc and I’m at 5.5 and I have no restrictions what so ever not even with bread. What I have been feeling is if I lay on my stomach in the middle of the night I want to throw up. To top it off this last fill that I had I feel like I’m always hungry all the time. I need some advice please help me I want to be a success like everyone on this page but I don’t’ know what to do.I’m so lost ugh I just get so upset:sneaky:. Sorry Band family but I need to vent…
ellaal01

ellaal01

6
Blog 82394
 

Approved but still no surgery date

I've completed all of my insurance company's pre-surgical requirements, submitted paperwork on Wednesday, July 14th and found out the next day that I was approved. Now I'm waiting for a surgery date. Once the doctors office receives the approval letter, then can schedule the surgery. Not celebrating until I actually get a surgery date.
losethemess

losethemess

0
Blog 87759
 

6th day of being banded.... not hungry at all. :redface:

I just got banded on July 13th.. (weird to say, lol) I know this is only day 6 but I have not felt hungry and when I do force myself to eat (soup/jello) I am full by the time I get half way through. I just wanted to see if this happen to anyone else ... I am not sure if my stomach is still swollen or if my Dr. put some cc in my band already. I go in on Wednesday for follow up I am sure they will tell me then. I can't get my 1st fill until August 23rd.. hopefully I will continue not being hungry until then!
Heather89

Heather89

0
Blog 87759
 

6th day of being banded.... not hungry at all. :redface:

I just got banded on July 13th.. (weird to say, lol) I know this is only day 6 but I have not felt hungry and when I do force myself to eat (soup/jello) I am full by the time I get half way through. I just wanted to see if this happen to anyone else ... I am not sure if my stomach is still swollen or if my Dr. put some cc in my band already. I go in on Wednesday for follow up I am sure they will tell me then. I can't get my 1st fill until August 23rd.. hopefully I will continue not being hungry until then!
Heather89

Heather89

0
Blog 88448
 

Got my first fill but can't feel any restriction

Got my initial fill on Friday. Doc ended up adding 3cc to my original 2.9 ccs. Couldn't feel the jello or water entering my stomach like I was supposed to. Today ate a whole can of vegetable beef and felt nothing. Maybe I should have eaten the can itself!! I know what full feels like, anywhere from just full to Thanksgiving full. Don't know how much saline my band will take, but I see further restriction down the road. Next visit in 3.5 weeks, unless my doctor has her baby early! Take your vitamins and move your butts, friends, or you will get scolded by your doctor every time! Anybody else not feeling the restriction?
azstonewall

azstonewall

2
Blog 90427
 

Why not sooner?

Have I mentioned to anyone that I am one happy puppy? I don't think I have been this motivated and excited in years! I am seeing some changes, and it has only been 1 month tomorrow. My starting weight right before the lap-band was 254lbs. As of today, I am 235.8. I was as heavy as 268, but lost some weight before the sugery, as everyone does.   It is funny to say, but I never felt that "fat" until I saw pictures of myself. Then, I wanted to run and hide. Keep in mind, I am only 5'3" tall. Most of my height is in my legs, and most of my weight is in my upper body so I was up there.   Today was my second day lifting weights at the gym. I did a half hour of cardio and then the 5 machines that are part of my rotation. It feels so good to be participating in life again. I am giving myself permission to sit on the couch and watch TV as long as I keep up my exercise program. On days I am not in the gym, I do lift 3lb dumb bells and use a tension band. So far eating has not been a problem for me. I may postpone my fill from Thursday to next week sometime. I don't think I need it yet. I'll decide by Tues.   I posted some photos to my "album" showing the start of my journey through today and I will continue to add pics monthly. Now instead of running from the camera, I am looking forward to a monthly record of my progress.   I am so proud of myself and anyone who is on this journey too. It is a lot of work, sweaty - hard work, but it will be worth it in the end. This is a new lifestyle for us and I for one am so up to the challenge.   I can't wait to see where I am a year from now. Once I have lost all of the weight I have to lose, I am going to have my breast reconstruction (mastectomy Jan 5th of this year), and tummy tuck. GO ME - GO US! Have a great Sunday and keep on trucking. We are all in this together.:rolleyes2:
Bklynike

Bklynike

7
Blog 97048
 

canadian insurance companies make no sense

Well today is my first post ever , I have taken out a personal loan to fund my surgery on August 12th in Toronto :rolleyes2: I am so excited about this new chance at my life but have to say a little angry about the fact that the canadian insurance companies complain about how much it costs them to cover obesity related dieseses but will not help pay for something that could be a lifelong tool for the cure to these problems . I have a relative that has diabetes and blood pressure brought on by obesity and they are willing to pay for all her ongoing medical care but not a one time cost solution ! I am just very happy that the interrest rates are so low right know and I was able to re negotiate my car loan and put my surgery in with a personal loan at only a few dollalrs more a month than i was paying before . Does anyone have any idea's to negotiate with the Canadian insurnace companies? I am with sunlife Cheers :bye:
cathy e

cathy e

2
Blog 92116
 

Strawberry Shortcake Bandit!

Yesterday at the food area of a conference that I was attending, I spotted one of those Hershey's Strawberry Shortcake bars in the freezer… (the vanilla ice cream on a stick covered w/tan and pink crumbles....you know? so good!) I grabbed it (telling myself "no! no!") I walked away with it like I had an illegal drug! I start unwrapping it, slowly. I only got a corner of the paper off and noticed that it had obviously melted at some point and refroze (is that a word?) I still tasted a nibble (didn’t taste too bad...but "no! no!" my little band said!) I tasted another small nibble - hand to mouth:tongue_smilie:... I never did put the pop to my mouth. I never did unwrap it completely. I looked around for the nearest garbage...Shucks, that one was for "paper only"!!! The other for "bottles only"! Where was the one for "things I'm not supposed to eat?" !!! Now I did feel like I was doing something illegal!!! Suppose someone spotted me throwing away a 'perfectly good ice cream', still wrapped no less!!?? :bored:Finally I found a trash can labeled "waste" and this was indeed a “waste”! So I discreetly chucked it in and got away from that area as fast as I could!!! Too funny:lol:
J_BandRanger

J_BandRanger

5
Blog 89559
 

Weird Circumstances

Yesterday afternoon I bought a WII fit. Didn't use it yet.   Anyways, on the way home I was hungry for ice cream for the first time in a long time. Kitty corner from the Best Buy strip mall is a McDonalds and an El Pollo Loco (which has a Tastee Freeze). I drive through El Pollo and order a fat free small vanilla cone. Not bad. I'm told they don't have any ice cream.   Sign? Probably. But do I listen? No. I have to drive around a block to get to McDonalds. During the drive a lap band commercial comes on. I quickly change the channel. I go through the drive through and get a chocolate dipped cone no less. $1.04 well spent!   I'm driving away and its hot out and my window is down. The vanilla ice cream melts fast and I have ice cream running down my face, my shirt. I got about 1/3 of that thing down before I had to pull over and throw it away. And then I have to walk into my townhouse, full of chocolate and ice cream all over me, carrying a WII fit!! The irony...........     What is up with that??? I don't even want to imagine.............. :rolleyes2:
sandradee0124

sandradee0124

7
Blog 65542
 

Wish me Happy Birthday!

Please Wish Me Happy Birthday!   It’s my Birthday and I will do what I want! Sound familiar!! Eat what I want!! I used too eat all I wanted and then some. Now I just eat what I want and what my band will allow and I am very happy with that.   Yes the new me has lost 110 pounds and is healthier then I ever imagined thanks to my Lap Band. I am going on a boat to a beach today. I will be wearing a bathing suit OMG. I would never have done this in past weighing in at over 250 pounds, thats just ugly. I am just a little feather now. I love it. I feel small, I look small and I am smaller than most of the people I know. I have never been so HAPPY in all my LIFE. I am living today.   I wishes all my band buddies and anyone who may read this to know it has not been easy! Nothing in this life has ever been easy for me. I have done this with the help from all of you and my band. Thanks for being there to help me. Best wishes imaluckydog
imaluckydog

imaluckydog

15
Blog 93702
 

Recipe Of The Day! Veggie Style Stuffed Shells

This meatless dish has so much flavor, you will make this over and over again. Give your family a different take on stuffed shells. ENJOY!   Makes 6 servings Active Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes   382 Calories Per Serving   CHECK OUT MY BLOG FOR THIS RECIPE AND SO MANY MORE:thumbup: http://life-after-lap-band.blogspot.com/
Debra G

Debra G

0
Blog 68418
 

Motivation has Left the Building

So apparently you can throw up 5-7 times a day for five months and not have your band slip. Still not recommended by any means, but my upper GI scan shows everything is where it's supposed to be. It also showed that I have zero restriction and that stuff is just flying through the band. No kidding. Maybe this is why I'm so damn hungry all the time?   With the nausea, the hunger, the puking and my doctor's apparent lack of interest in why I'm having so much trouble, I have to say I've lost all motivation to make this work. Every time I get remotely close to restriction, I start puking my guts out. I'm not too tight, we've got pictures to prove it. My doctor is baffled as to why six days out of seven food sits in my stomach like a lead ball until I puke it up, and on the seventh day I could eat the entire grocery store. There is no pain, just nausea. The food is not stuck. On an empty stomach I can put back a litre of water in less than five minutes... none of this 'small sips to feel it trickle through' required. Still haven't lost a single pound since the pre-op diet, which also made me sick.   Just once in my life I wish something would go my way when it comes to my health. Band problems are the proverbial last straw to years of constant pain, exhaustion and illness. It's not so much that I want to give up on the band as I want to give up. I'm tired; there's no more fight in me. All I have are memories of the things I've had to give up as I got sicker: soccer, bicycles, violin, piano, walking, school, jobs... 24 years of drugs, doctors and hospitals and I'm done.   I'm genuinely happy for those who are band success stories. Keep on going! :rolleyes2: Just because I'm too broken to be fixed doesn't mean that nobody around me can be happy. Maybe I'll make a last ditch effort to see if I can make some other surgery work for me. Given my track record of medical problems though, I don't think another surgeon is going to want to go anywhere near me. Time will tell.
onikenbai

onikenbai

8
Blog 88213
 

cleaning out the closet

Welllll....finally got busy on my closet and filled 4 large bags with my big clothes! Wow-didn't know I had so many clothes..lol. I am going to go through them now and get some to give away and some to sell (got to be able and buy more). I did find a bag of clothes I had outgrown and was saving for when I lost my weight again. I was so happy, some of those are a little baggy on me but I think I can maybe get a month of wear out of them. I had to tell my hubby that his favorite lingerie has to go and he just calmly replied that he would just crawl into it with me...wasn't expecting that one...made me laugh.... here's to happy closet cleaning!!:rolleyes2::bye:
littlebsue

littlebsue

3
Blog 96577
 

Newly Banded Needs Help!

I was banded on July 7th and I am miserable. I don't know what to do. I have the support from my family and friends for whatever I need, but they don't understand or know what to say. Especially on days like today where I get to the point that I'm so upset I can't stop crying. I guess my main issue is the fact that I'm so hungry all the time. If anyone knows anything about the "twilight" series, i feel like the Cullens; living on tofu to keep me strong but never satisfied. I've been reading a lot of blogs on here and am confused because my surgeon told me that there is nothing in my band right now; that my first fill is 4 weeks after surgery. I'm confused, because it seems like everyone else has fluid in their band right after surgery. I have my old appetite but am forced to stay on a post op diet which consists of applesauce, protein shakes, yogurt, and broth. This is "BANDING HELL" as one person posted. I know it will get better and I'm trying to stay active but when everyone is eating actual food and I can't, it's making me nuts. Not to mention that I'm not having carbs or sugar or fat for that matter, my body hates me. You would think with a diet like this I would have lost some weight already. NOPE! Please please please, any advice or stories on post op hell and how it will get better would be much appreciated!
southernb116

southernb116

7
Blog 90427
 

Is this me?

As promised, I have attached a new avatar photo my husband took today. I am so shocked at how different I look already.   We had a late lunch with friends today and they were very complimentary about my weight loss. Everyone says I look like I am losing, but I couldn't really see it until we compared some photos today. Yahoo! I will have a new photo taken every month to track my journey.   I am so excited and happy about the small changes I am already experiencing. The top I am wearing in this photo is a 2X - I have been wearing 3X and 4X tops for the longest time. I can't wait to report that I am in an AL and able to shop in a regular store. As much as I always liked The Avenue and Lane Bryant, I don't ever want to have to shop there again.   I want to wear some cute clothes for a change. I am so tired of old lady over-size garments. Aren't you? Why can't someone make some cute things for larger women? Just because we are larger, doesn't mean we don't want to wear the same clothing normal-sized women wear. I am not talking about mini-skirts, short-shorts or crop tops. But everyday tops and jeans would be nice.:rolleyes2:   Hope you like my new photo. Have a great weekend.
Bklynike

Bklynike

9
Blog 96827
 

Turning Over a New Leaf, contd....

07/17/2010   I received the "Lap Band Companion" book in the mail yesterday afternoon and have already read ALL of it, as well as re-reading other parts of it. I have decided to "pretend" I have either already been approved by Cigna for the surgery, or that I am post banding, which means I am trying to measure food, chew 30 times, not consume water 30 mins to 1 hr. before meals, etc. Hopefully, I can shape my own behavior so that WHEN I am approved (how's THAT for optimism?), I will be that much farther along. More later...
higgikd1

higgikd1

2

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