Kymbethin

I can't believe it, I wrote an entire three or four paragraph blog yesterday, and when I submitted it, it was nothing there! I tried to hit the back button on my browser thinking it would recover, but nothing! Oh well...I was just sharing and pouring my heart on my emotional upheavals with life with my new BanDiva <===she has a name! Day 5 of my journey and I feel fair, decent, nothing extra, but still happy with my choice. Today was the first day that I actually experienced some hunger pangs, the first day that I actually had a desire for food. That combined with a headache did not make me a happy camper. I did blend a delicious smoothie with frozen strawberries, a scoop of vanilla protein powder and 4 oz of sugar free lemonade. It really tasted like a cheat treat, but well within the liquid diet protocol. I was able to drink about half of it and I was as full as a tick! Full but not satisfied! What's up with that? I guess I had the desire for real food. So After about 2 hours I popped a jar of "2nd food turkey and veggies baby food" added a lil' seasoning and nooked in the microwave for about 30 seconds. I never knew baby food could taste so good, it actually hit the spot! Subsequently, I had to lie down, I felt weird like the food had to digest or go through the band I don't know, it was weird! But I felt a somewhat better after about 30 minutes or so. I think things feel a little tight because of the swelling in addition to the 4cc's of fluid that I have as a newly banded patient. I did go all day without the "narcs" (hydrocodone). So my pain level is becoming more tolerable, I worked for a few hours at a women's expo today, and I'll work a full day tomorrow, I hope it doesn't wipe me out too much! I'm so happy that I have this forum to express my thoughts and share and read stories of all of you who are going through this journey too! Best wishes and kisses! Kym

Congrats Jen! The best advice I can offer for getting up and down is a great strong hand of another person there with you and making sure that as you get up exhale simultaneously, it does ease the pain a little. I'm finally at the point where I can get up on my own, but there is still quite a bit of discomfort, healing in progress!

Mandy, The quickest advice I can give you as a certified personal trainer, is focus on cardio, your legs (quads, hams, gluts) are the biggest muscles in your body, when you increase your cardio your muscles will automatically react to the caloric burn. The best exercises are: Stairmaster - the great thing about this machine is that you can move at a slower pace and receive the same effect as working out like a maniac. You can use a setting of >5 for great results in small increments like 10 minutes at a time. Spin Class - the opposite end of the spectrum from the stairmaster, but you will yield FANTASTIC results! You can burn up to about 800 calories during an hour long class! Interval Run/walking on a treadmill - warm up for 5 minutes, sprint for one minute, incline walk for 2 or 3 minutes (or as long as you can without holding on to the bar), then repeat, do this for 30 minutes a few times a week and you will see amazing results. :Banane43:Jump roping is great too, but it takes a lot of endurance, work your way up to jump roping for at least 2 to 3 minutes a time with a 30 sec break in between (with active rest like crunches, walking in place or anything that will keep your heart rate elevated). Your body is an amazing machine and what has happened is that it has adapted to the elliptical, change up your routine to create muscle confusion and you will get the results you desire! Good Luck!

I live in a suburb outside of Dallas, TX. I too have been researching the band for quite sometimes. I stayed in denial thinking that I could REALLY do it and STICK to it on my own the organic way. Life continued to show me that I really needed help. My life is full (5 kiddos, full time work, master's program and soon law school), and although I have all of the education (I'm also a certified personal trainer) and years of experience, I'm tired of fighting this fight of going up and down and gaining more back each time. I just look forward to the cruise control of maintaining my weight or continually going down in the scale. I wear a size 16/18 and I want to be a...ready? 4 to 6. I'm short though, I'm only 5'3 so I think that size would be ideal for me. I'll never be skinny, because I have quite a bit of muscle tone except for my baby housing unit in the center. I haven't been focusing on the liquid diet at all! I don't really feel that bad because when I went to have my procedure done for the EGD three nurses told me not to worry, that my liver size should be fine. So I've been having my farewell meals with all of my favorite foods this week (with Mexican being my #1 lover :-) The only person that knows about my upcoming surgery are my parents and my partner I just told my co-workers that I was having a hiatal hernia repaired (which is partly true). I look forward to being a walking billboard so that I can begin training clients again, I love doing it for the joy more than the money (even though the extra cash will help). So I see the surgery as an investment, that I will definitely get a return on! I'm a great trainer, and I know how to show OTHERS how to get some strong results. Thanks for "friending" me!

That's great Dave, congratulations!! I can only imagine how great you feel, I'm looking forward to my surgery day which is only six days away...I look forward to reading about all of your great success!

Thank you Jennifer, I actually feel pretty good...we'll definitely have to stay in touch! Are you super excited too?! Where are you from, what are your goals?

The great news for me is that although I did cheat a lil I've lost 19 pounds since the 1st! I'm gonna try to stay as diligent as possible, thanks for the support. My requirement is 2 shakes and one meal per day (low fat, no starchy carbs).

Thank you ladies...how do I get one of those lil tickers? So cute!

So as I lay on my living room sofa and reflect on today, I am excited that I am one step closer to the first day of the rest of my life. I had my EGD scope performed today through the True Results Center in Dallas. I must say I was overwhelmed with a lot of emotions that consisted of excitement and a little anxiety. For those of you who are not familiar with the EGD scope and what it has to do with the Lap Band procedure its a test performed to see if there is a Hiatal Hernia present before placing the Lap Band. There are two major benefits of this test, one is that if the hiatal hernia is present it MUST be repaired during the time of surgery. Another great benefit is that the insurance will cover this procedure at 100% and therefore absorb some of the costs of the Lap Band itself. My insurance provider only covered 50% of the cost and the stipulation is that I have to wait eight months before I can actually have the surgery. So I decided to go the hernia band route to "bypass" the waiting period and be on my way to success sooner! The procedure went seamless! I registered and asked the nurse a lot of questions, mostly on subject matter that I read on this site. My biggest concern was that I told her that I hadn't been following the liquid diet to the T, she said that it was okay because the concern is more for the heavier patients. It put my mind at ease a little. So after I got undressed I stepped on the scale and I got even more excited. I weighed myself on Sunday May 1st and I was at my heaviest at 243 (but that was with loading days for HCG). Today I officially weighed 224 :Dancing_wub:, so I'll continue to take one day at a time and hopefully be in the teens by my surgery day which is next Wednesday the 18th. Anyway, after all of the preliminaries (IV, fingerstick, etc.) the nurses wheeled me back to the OR sprayed some numbing agent in the back of my throat, the anesthesiologist gave me the sleepy drug :sleep2: and the next thing I know I was in recovery. It was so quick! The doc came in and said that I did require a small repair, and I sipped some water, went to pee, put my clothes on and was on my way out the door! Since I've been home I have experienced a lil gas pain in my left shoulder and a lil tenderness inside, I'm sure its from the scope. So I popped a pain pill and some gas X and I slept most of the rainy evening. As the time draws closer I keep thinking in mind that I'm getting ready to be the best of who I am already, a b®and new me!

Hi to All of the Experienced Bansters! I am scheduled to have surgery on May 18th (and I am uber excited)! However, I am going through my separation/mourning with my beloved favorite meals! Because of this I have not been sticking to my pre-op diet food (or lack thereof). Will this hurt me? Did anyone else not follow the diet to the T? I wonder if I will have to push my surgery back date because of this. I need some advice from those that gone through what I'm going through. I'm currently trying to give myself a jumpstart by taking HCG injections, but I haven't officially "stuck" to this either. Thanks in advance for the input

My surgery is scheduled for May 18th...

I am overwhelmed with excitement, anxiety and thoughts of my upcoming surgery on May 18th. I look so forward to putting the weight behind me so that I can truly live as my authentic self. I've struggled with this weight my entire adult life and like many others here, I've yo-yo'd from 20-60lbs going up and down, and I must say it has been exhausting. I am anticipating the times where my weight is stable and I have one size in my closet, and most importantly, not ever having to try another diet fad again! The biggest struggle for me is that I've been in the fitness expert for years, I've owned and published a health and fitness magazine and I'm a certified personal training. So with this said, I've been in my own way to reach my true pinnacle of success. I look forward to connecting with the other members on this site, while I mentally prepare and travel this journey, thanks in advance for the support and confidence I will need to succeed.