Holly Dolly

wow Brenda, you are a rock star!!!

HI Beach333 and welcome to the forums! I was banded on 2-4-11, so we will share our anniversary date! Good luck to you. I wish you the best of luck, I can not believe that has year has gone by so quickly!

I'm down 83 pounds in 12 months, so I averaged 6.9 pounds per month. Today I go for my 1 year check up and I am soooo excited to be getting a fill today!

woo hoo!

I eat pizza no problem. In the beginning I would make them alot with these really thin pita breads. I would put it in the toaster oven and it got pretty crispy. I would top with sauce, cheese and some low fat turkey pepperoni.

Honestly, I think I enjoy my food more now than I did before the band. Now, I have to take my time in between bites and not just wolf it down in 5 minutes! My brother had the surgery more than a year before me and my sister in law and I would talk about how we loved food too much to limit ourselves to such small portions. But after all is said and done I couldn't be happier. I thought I was going to miss bread so much, and honestly I don't. And I actually don't have a problem eating bread at all. Just that now I choose not to eat it, or atleast not very often! I still eat potatos, I measure 1/4 cup and I'm good. I still eat baked potatoes, just now the size of a golf ball. I still eat what I make for my family for dinner so my meals haven't changed that much from before. Presurgery my meal was 75% carbs, and now my dinner is 25% carbs and minimal for lunch and rarely at breakfast. I am truely amazed that I love feeling better about myself now than my love of food before.

Ok, so you have been a member going on 6 years! Just bite the bullet and do it! It took me a year for me to decide to do it. My mom offered to pay for it for me. just had to want it bad enough for myself. What is it that is stopping you from going for it? The cost of my surgery was $13,900. That included the first 3 months of fills and 6 months of seeing the psycholgist and nutritionist. Where are you located? I live in southern Calif and I LOVE my doctor! I know that money is a factor on why many people go to Mexico. I thank my lucky stars for the greatest give my mom could have given me. But I contribute a huge part of my success to the support that I get from my support group through Dr Oliak's office. I just got back from a support meeting now and afterwards had dinner with one of my lapband friends. For that reason alone, I am happy that I stuck by home for my surgery.

Wow, 6 to 7 weeks of liquids? Why so long? I had my post opt visit at 12 days and I was dying. She gave me permission to start soft food that day. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!

Good luck! It is exciting, and even as much so a year later for me! It was amazing how fast this first year has gone for me. Come 2013 you will be saying the same thing! Best wishes for a successful journey!

How funny! I just checked mine myself and thought the same thing! I see stretch marks but had to look real close to see my scars! It's all good!

Good for you!

woo hoo! So excited for you!

I'm right there with you! I am just at 1 year, have 6.5 in my 10 cc band. I go in tomorrow and can't wait for a fill. I ate breakfast at 8:10 and my stomach was growling at 10:45, so I just had a piece of string cheese. I only feel restriction if I am starving and take a first couple big bites, then is when I feel it going down slow.

Sharilo, I am a big fan of soup! I do notice if I have it for dinner that my scale doesn't go down as much the next day. I try and not have it the day before my dr appt. When I get my fill, I go straight to Panera and buy myself 2 bowls of soup, 1 for lunch and the other one for dinner! Good luck to you this week. I go in tomorrow and can not wait! I haven't had a fill since late September.

Not sure if the regular soup will have enough protein in it. I did buy some high protein soup from my dr's office, but it wasn't very good!

breakfast- 1 CarbMaster yogurt , 1/2 c Kashi cereal Lunch- broccoli chesse soup from Subway, 4 crackers dinner- 1 cup salad, 2 oz hamburger seasoned with taco sauce, 1 ounce cheese, 2 T light sour cream, 1 tostado shell broken up and salsa poured all on top!

If you still feel the pressure, I wouldn't do it. I know in the beginning I would want to eat again, but I lived and learned and wouldn't do it.

I understand the wanting to hit an even 50! My last visit I wanted to hit an even 80 and I was 79 down. So close! I took off my rings, necklace, wore some light clothes too, what the heck! When I told the dr I was having an apple for a snack she recommended that I switch it out for a piece of string cheese. But It already looks like you get a ton of protein. I get in about 60 a day. I don't count my carbs though, but I don't eat that many, atleast not that many coming from starches or breads. Maybe look up the 5 day pouch test and do that. One friend lost 9, and the other was down 5 on day 4 this week and I haven't talked to her since she completed. Good luck, I hope you make it for your weighin! PS....you did make your appt for first thing in the moring, and before you eat anything?!!!! I always do, but my next weighin is at 11:20, can't hold out that long without any food!

own it and move on......Of course I have had them. Today is a new day!

If it's in the lower back could be your kidneys. I'd get it checked out soon.

Thanks for sharing Allison, I love to read stories like yours! Congrats on coming up on 100 pounds! I think I may shoot for that as well! what have I got to lose????? Um, 17 more pounds!

Everyone is gonna eat something they shouldn't at one point. As long as it doesn't happen all the time. The good thing though is I only can eat a little of something bad, like chips, instead of the bag I was used to! Today is a new day.

It's a 5 day plan to see if you pouch is working and jump start the weightloss again. Here is the link. http://5daypouchtest.com

I LOVE not sleeping with my cpap now! It never bothered me, was used to it from day 1. I think what was waking me up at night was feeling the hose pull when I would flip over in my sleep. Now my husband does not miss the sound of air coming out when I would lay on my side.

Don't beat yourself up! Just get back to the program that was working for you before. Good luck!