Cangel76

Last time I posted was on Thursday of last week, talking about seeing my Doctor. Some back story for those who don't know I got a single incision procedure done to my belly button. Well, on Thursday my doctor cleaned it and said everything looked great. Well Friday my belly buttonw as tender, I assumed it was from cleaning until Saturday morning I had a red streak going down my belly button. It was hot to the touch so off to the ER I went. To my doctors credit, he came in on his day off to see me at the hospital. He reopened the incision (yes I was awake for this and he just used local anethisia on the site) and I held my belly button open as he cut away. He then packed it and said if it didn't start looking better that I had to go back in for surgery. That he wanted me to go back to the ER on Sunday to get the bandage changed again. So Sunday I went and he came in again to do the job. Then on Monday I saw him, I feel like I should have a frequent flyer card or something. Besides the double antibiotics I am on and feeling nauseous from that, I feel really good. Besides the fact that I am starving and have been wanting comfort foods. Last night I made Home made Pizza for the kids and noodles. Not protein enriched foods huh? I forgave myself and I am still loosing weight somehow even though I am not portioning my foods by the cup fulls. I am eating every two to three hours. I hate starving but I am still loosing weight. I get to go to the gym and walk on the treadmill at least. So a bump in my road! I will survive and I am glad it is a small bump.

It depends on the individual. The main thing my doctor said is that 1-2lbs a week is met. So the first two to three weeks is the greatest weight loss and then after that it slows to 1-2 lbs a week. That means only 4-8lbs a week. That isn't a heck of a lot but it is something. So you figure if you have to loose 80lbs, at the least you will need 20 months to complete that goal. At the best, 10 months. Hope this helps you out. Sounds like you are doing great.

I just have to agree with everyone. 600-800 calories is probably too low body goes into starvation mode Also if you started at the gym muscle weighs more then fat Get Water, water, water Doing this, make sure you are getting enough Protein or you will start getting sick. You can start loosing your hair and get gall stones. Weight loss after the first two to three weeks should drop off a great deal, 1-2lbs a week. Some have more then that, others less. In two weeks I lost 10lbs and the doctor said that was great, so 22 in three weeks, none of that preop is awesome.

When you have an initial consult with the doctor they will work the details out with you and the office managers will know all the details of what your insurance covers and what they need for documentation. Good luck!

Just want to say, everyone seems to be doing awesome. Some are losing faster than others but that is normal. Just focus on yourself and congrats to everyone else and your victories.

Deb how has your weight loss been two weeks out?

As much as you want to, don't sleep all day. Get up and walk, walk, walk or else you will have gas pain for a very long time. As far as drinking, keep a bottle near you and just do it. I mean it is either that or back in the hospital. That is how I made myself drink. I thought, "do I want to end up back in the hospital, hooked up to IVS because I am not drinking enough or do I want to stay home. I also numbered my bottles of Water, I had 2 because the other liquid came from Protein shakes. What I did with that is I had to finish bottle one by noon. Protein shake am, water between, then the next protein shake, etc. I also had a protein mix that was fruit flavored I would do with my water just to boost protein when needed. Good luck!

Doctor had emergancy surgery so my appointment ended up really late. I lost ten pound since surgery which they said is awesome. I am doing well, they are proud of me and one of the girls didn't recognize me. I said, "I didn't loose that much weight yet. She reminded me that since October 21, 1010 I have lost 19lbs and I should be proud. I am now on a regular diet and will get my first fill on December 2, 2010.

I started the process six months ago with a nutritionist. June2010, 234 Oct 21, 2010 226 Nov 2, 2010 217.9 Nov 18, 2010 207.8 My doctor put me on solids and wanted to do my first fill next week but it's Thanksgiving so I will have to wait until December 2, 2010. Overall I am quite happy with that. I told them I usually weight myself in the morning so she said, "oh so you are about 205," Love it. So happy.... That being said, I can eat again!

I think you both need help. It sounds to me like this marriage has perhaps been desolving for a while. Here is something I want you to think about.... I am the child of a mother who had just one or two glasses of wine a night. If you are to the point of falling down drunk, that is an alcoholic. If you can not live with alcohol and you are refusing to quit because you like it too much, you are on your way to becoming an alcoholic. I think you personally need to evaluate your personal issues. I think your husband needs to evaluate his personal issues. Heck we all have them, we all need to grow up. Compromise and learning each other. Wasn't he a smart ass before this point? Is this new? If my husband did that I would laugh. Thing is I sometimes take things too seriously and he tries to remind me that life isn't that serious. To have fun with it. Your marriage is in trouble it has nothing to do with the weight loss.

Thinking of all of you that have been banded and will be banded. sending you lots of luck and healing energy. The surgery is the easy part. The first few weeks before fill can be difficult. Lots of gentle hugs, you'll be tender for about a week and remember, walk, walk, walk, walk, the first two days are hard, the next three are a medium level, you will get tired easily and then after that you can do pretty good. Follow your lifting restrictions to the best of your ability. Good luck.

I think this is a great idea. I think we all need as much positive as we can get. It amazes me how everyone so quickly focuses on the negative. I am thrilled that I got this done, still no fill, super hungry, but I know that this is all just a miniscule moment in a long term future of health and longevity. Yes, I am thrilled, frustrated at times but thrilled.

It is funny, going through this process I was totally okay with not loosing quickly. I understood that everyone looses at their own rate and that it is a journey, I need to make adjustments based on my body. Then you get here and you are like, "Why the heck is the scale jumping around all over the freaking place." I have resorted back to a protein shake during the day to increase my protein and to get myself back on track. I am starving and was eating a packet of Cream of Wheat and that is something my body does not like. That is one thing I am learning very quickly, carbs do nothing for me but put on weight. So no more mashed potatoes and bread. I need the fiber though so will talk to the doctor today about fiber supplements. I am nervous about seeing the doctor today, what if there scales make it look even worse. Sigh, it will get better and my doctor will be thrilled that I am honest and self aware enough to know what I am doing wrong. I WANT TO GO TO THE GYM! That is all.

Well next time you see her snacking on something you should smack it out of her hand and say, "you shouldn't be eating that." Just saying

My joy, putting on my size 20 pants and having room. Had to buy a new bra because the one I had the cup size was too big, now that was sad, seriously, not that large to begin with. Here is one for you, being able to see my toes. My fat is dropping down, but, this is going to sound weird, my lower stomach is smaller. I am smaller in the upper torso and my face, everyone notices it, I feel awesome when they do, I just want to prance around. LOL

Have I told you all that I love you! LOL I love that I can ask this question and get sooo many variant on answers. Honestly, if I had the extra money, I don't know that much would stop me. I try to live a life free of vanity, envy and greed, but sometimes, you just want to look as good naked as you do clothed. LOL

I have to loose about 100lbs all together. 80 or so left. So I see some people here say they didn't need plastic surgery, that they just exercised. So some questions for everyone. 1. Skins elasticity decreases with age, do you think that causes the skin to not bounce back as quickly? 2. Do you think that there is a way to avoid going under the knife? 3. Do you believe that if you loose too fast the skin has a harder time going back to normal? 4. Has anyone had to loose a 100lbs and not have to have surgery? I don't know if I would want surgery, with a little one, the recovery time being a bit, I don't know. How badly do I need to have that skin gone? Won't the perfect body become my obsession rather than my health? I am just curious how other people view this. I got the lap band for my health 1st, then second, yes, we all want to fit into smaller and cuter clothes. If we denied that we would be lying to ourselves and others, that is a perk to loosing the weight. I LOVED my breasts but even as a teen I was a C cup and hoping to hold that but that, honestly would be the first thing I would probably want fixed. Again though, vanity and I can NOT afford vanity. LOL I guess if I was single I would view it as a neccessity. In some moments I am like, "man I need to win the lotto," but then I just feel vain. Like, I shouldn't even consider such an option. Just wondering what people think and experiences.

I had a similar experinece to annieM. I had the lady who did the swallow test the day after surgery say to me, "but you don't look big enough for the lap band." How big do you have to be? I am 5' tall and 234lbs, I am carrying an extra me, should I carry to extra mes or wait until all of my vitals are all over the place. Right now I have good blood pressure, cholesterol is good, the only thing off is my hypothyroid (that won't change) and my PCOS, which will get better with weight loss. So in the end, I had to do this for me. I was fat, I feel under the Morbidly Obese catagory. Funny story, even my doctor called me skinny. LOL I know I am not skinny but I am not like some who come up to this point when it is really late in their weight loss struggles. I am 34 and I have tried everything, this was what I needed to do for ME and my family. I wish you the best of luck.

I seriously want to bang my head against the wall. I am waiting for the gym membership paper to go through so I can join. It is a process because the lady who handles it is busy on a project. The weather hasn't been very nice here so walking any great distance is not happening. The more I sit around the more I want to eat things like Pumpkin Pie. I am going to be making myself a bunch of sugar free snacks to have in the house. Truth is I am still in that soooo hungry phase. I seem to be loosing weight every other day at this point. I hope my doctor isn't too disappointed in me for not loosing a ton of weight. I am trying to keep my body filled with high protein foods. This is why I made more Chili, I just throw it in the food processor before I warm it up. My bowels are still super messed up and will talk to the Doctor about that tomorrow. I am super exhausted and think I need to start counting calories just as much as I need to start focusing on proteins. Seriously, exhausted. I WANT TO GO TO THE GYM!!!! That is all.

This site is a support site. So people come to complain just as much as people come to acknowledge their results. I think this is super important to understand that this site, like any other community is going to have those who agree and disagree. There is going to be positive and negative commentary on the band. As far as food addiction, there is an emotional aspect to that as well and people need to learn to deal with that emotional connection to food. As well as the fast food life style. I can see how lack of nutrients can become a problem, same with lack of fluids. I imagine once I get my fill, trying to balance out when I can eat and making sure I get enough Protein in me is going to be a challenge at first, but like any new thing it gets easier.

One of the HUGE things my Doctor stressed is that everyone looses differently. Some people actually need more calories to loose or their body goes into starvation mode. I am not loosing that quickly either. The large ticker move is because my ticker goes from my starting weight and includes six months of very slow pre op loss with the nutritionist.

I don't know where you live but we have some places around here that have a sliding scale. Not sure if that would help. I think he is most likely feeling insecure with your weight loss and him being overweight. Make sure he realizes that you love him no matter what and do your best to sit down and talk as much as possible. See what the real problem is.

I see the doctor on Thursday and though the weight loss I have had is not drastic it is weight loss. I think part of that is becaue I am hungry and I haven't started exercising yet. I am supposed to be on mushy foods but I am just chewing the crud out of most foods and blending up things like my Chili. Which is more like a pile of meat because I make it super thick. 4oz of my chili is about 23 grams of protein, I even have it as a snack. LOL I have paperwork to do and such for school and regular crap around the house. I am 205 on the scale today, I am hoping by thanksgiving to be down to Onederland. Time to hit the gym

I have talked to a lot of people that didn't even need surgery for the flab because of their age. The younger you are and the slower you loose weight the better chance you give your skin a chance to bounce back. The older you are the less chance you are going to have to have that skin bounce back. You also have to do leg and arm exercises.

Tomorrow is two weeks out, I am so excited to be two weeks out, one more week of mushy foods. Go me! My scale this morning said 205.5 but I will not consider that my weight until I am at it for a while. I am sitting here watching my husband play with his CPap machine and I am thankful that I might get real sleep sooner or later. Besides that, things are good. I actually don't have much to talk about.