Holly Dolly

We offer carecredit at my dentist office. You should have been given your card # on the reply to print out. We don't have much success in getting a higher credit limit for patients. They base that off of your credit scores I believe. When we fill out the online application for patients we put in a dollar amount for the credit limit. The terms of the loans they offer vary. It just depends which ones your dr will accept. We only allow 12 months interest free. If we offered the 18 or 24 months plan then the percentage we have to give to Carecredit goes up substantially. So if you haven't found a dr yet, make sure they accept Carecredit and which monthly interest free plan they accept if going that route.

how exciting for you Cazzy! Can't wait to see updated pics!

You had me at cupcakes..........

woo hoo, congrats to you!

great idea! My friend shared this recipe on facebook but it was made into patties and fried with some pam. I think the muffin idea is much better!

woot, woot!!!

Missy, I am excited for you! I really want my arms done and was planning on it for next year. But now the more I look at them I may have it done this year.....depending on how good Uncle Sam is to me!

Even though I now log my food on myfitnesspal, I still love my journal. I have all my weekly weighins logged, all my dr appt weights and fills and have put various milestone pics and even tags from my size 4 pants!

I've been banded for 2 years and I don't consider myself to be part of some miserable club. I have been successful, but the band isn't so black and white with me. Following the rules isn't a struggle at all, finding a perfect balance in getting to a sweet spot has been. I think you are fortunate that you have found that balance. Believe me, it's not from lack of trying to get my fills right. I am self pay, $150 each pop and have made many a visits to my dr trying to find it. They have told me I am just one of those ones that wont have hunger fully controlled for 4 hours. But better to not be tight and cause any problems down the line that would result in having the band out. So as for me, I am listening to my dr and dealing with the hunger. I realize that it's better to just accept this, sometimes I may whine about it, but I couldn't be any happier with my choice in getting the band.

I found out that GNC now carries Quest Bars, I only saw them online before. They actually are pretty filling. I bought the brownie and didn't care too much for it, I could really taste the artificial sweetener in it. I really liked the cheesecake bar and it is sweetened with stevia.

63 pounds is a great job in a year. Think of how much you could possibly be weighing if you didn't have the surgery!

woot, woot!!!

I would hope by now you can! I was allowed at that point. I just started eating Quest bars, really like them. A few of the flavors do not have artificial sweetners, which is what I prefer.

MsMaui, why do they want the food to move out of the stomach faster?

If you haven't lost anything in 4 months, you need to look at what your intake is each day. If you are following Atkins and eating any high fat meats, you can gain weight. You need to make sure your calories in are less than what you are putting out. I weigh and measure everything I eat and keep track on myfitnesspal.com.

Feb 15th??? When did your dr give the ok to start eating food?

When I was first banded I would have Breakfast on my couch watching the morning news and keep my eye on the cable box clock. Also if I ate in the car driving into work, I would take a bite and wait for the next minute to roll over on my car's clock. Same thing for lunch at work, take a bite and wait for a minute to pass on the computer. My dr's office always said you should eat at the table but that's what worked for me. And your brother is right. If I order something other than an a la carte item, I portion off what I should be eating.

nothing to what I was used to from before!!! I rarely feel full, and usually only after drinking a lot of water.That was one thing that was hard to get used to, prior to the lapband I would eat my dinner until I was stuffed, and then some!

Hope that unfill will do the trick!

woot, woot!

You will be happy to have those pics later! I didn't have many before pics of myself. The one in my profile pic is the one that my dr took right before my surgery. It took me a long time to ask for it because I knew how bad it looked too!

I kept one pair of jeans, just for comparison 's sake!

Are you able to get out before your hubby leaves for work in the morning and you have to get the kids up? I am out the door at 5:20 am, run to a friends house and then we walk 3 miles. It kills me to wake up that early but my fitbit motivates me to aim for 15,000 steps a day.

A lot of times when I feel like eating in the evening I will have a hot cup of tea. Another thing I had a lot of when I was first starting out was a CarbMaster yogurt from Ralphs/Krogers grocery. I like them because they are only 60 calories and 8 grams of protein. I also like sugarfree puddings.

don't give up! One month is nothing, you need to give your body time to heal. Your band isn't even functioning to its full potential. When I was losing slow in the beginning and would get mad, had to keep reminding myself how much more I would prob weigh had I not had the surgery. Give it time.