shellyj

pre-op weight lost: 25 pounds day of surgery weight: 325 1 year post weight: 222 total fills: 10+++ total fill amount: 3.4 ever been filled to tight? not even close! ever vomited when restricted? how was it? never vomited. i have pb'd probably 10 times. any complications? i had problems getting restriction, the fill Fluid was getting stuck in the port and not traveling to the band. it was fixed without surgery. do you think your to tight? to loose or just right? i would say to loose by just a smidge. i have to super diligent about the WAY i eat because if eat out of order i can eat quite a bit more than when i eat my protien first. longest plateau? 1 month how often do you exercise? i dont have a regular exercise program i am just more active. MUCH more active!

YOU LOOK GREAT!!! i love how you took the pics in the same posistion on the couch! your pics are proof of what the band and some hard work can do! ((hugs))

thanks everyone for all your info! i think it will be helpful for new bandsters to see waht they might expect in a year! mine is coming on the 18th! michelle

COME ON YOU GUYS!!!! check in and lets see how far we have come in a year!

Anne ((((((hugs))))))) good luck girl! soon this will be a distant memory. i have been busy at work to but so glad i checked the board today for this great news! you will be in my thoughts. michelle

the 30th is the only day that works for me. i'll be at the beach till sunday night. i would love to have get together with everyone if the 30th will work for ya'll. lisa...come but in any time! michelle

i got out the same day. went in at 6 am left at 5 pm clear liquids 1 week full liquids 1 week mushies 1 week soft foods 1 week jenn and tricia i work over by the airport on murfreesboro rd. maybe one day we could all have lunch or dinner! michelle

hey penni! i would love to get together while your down. i will be out of town the 25-29 but depending on when you leave i would love to meet you monday the 30th! i live about 25 minutes from clarksville. let me know if that works for you. anytime monday is good. i'll be home sunday night sometime.

hey jen and tricia...fellow tennesseans! jen, i was banded with dr morton too. i had a great experience with the hospital and the dr. good luck on your surgery and welcome to the group! i have 3 kids all dogs. tricia! i am with you GO TITANS!!!!! (sorry jen!)

great description thats exactly what its like for me to. i hate it so much it keeps me in line with chewing! i fear the PB and hope its your last too! michelle

i eat and LOVE spicy foods! when you get to mushies you can have refried beans or black beans with sourcream and a smidge of cheese and blended salsa. if you have bad gas pains (from surgery) the first 2 weeks you may want to wait on adding the beans as it will make you gassy all over again. michelle

YIPPEEEEEE DONALI!!!! i had the same thing happen the first 6-7 months of banding. i wasnt losing very much at all and the times i was on plateaus was the time i would get the "your really losing now" comments. i cant wait for you boyfriend to see you in those jeans!!! oh and i say screw the bra i wish i had your boobs!!!! YOU LOOK GREAT!!!!!! :banana

and what a pretty pic it is! but dang girl your down another 30 since this pic! congrats on all your success with the band

lol thanks ladies. once i got restriction it made staying on the bandwagon so much easier! my main challenge comes when i dont plan out my meals. i LOVE my band!

he he janie its funny because the secret to my success has been: follow the rules of banding! the ONLY thing extra i do is omit certain veggies, limit my fruits to once a week and eat only Low Carb bread, Pasta, wraps, chocolate and icecream. BUT only 2-3 times a week

oh yeah dont drink with meals for atleast an hour! it helps you keep that FULL feeling! michelle

thanks marie! what does your average day's food consist of? i eat Protein, protein, protein. i used to eat an egg everyday for Breakfast. today i had stir fry steak and broccoli 1/2 cup, lunch today i had 4 hotwings. dinner who knows. last night it was the stirfry 1/2 cup Do you weigh, measure your food? . no not daily. now after a fill for a week i do measure 1/2 cup incremints because i dont trust the eyeballing. when i notice i am getting that full feeling i stop for 5 minutes to see if i am full or just didnt chew well enough. If exercise, what type and how often do you try to do? i dont do a formal exercise program. i am SO much more active though. i do all kinds of yardwork. i have been on my parents eliptical trainer some, walking, swimming would you mind posting some of your hard-earned lessons on "living with the band"? DONT OVER EAT!! if this is a problem MEASURE your food until you can eyeball it. chew slowly and take SMALL bites ESPECIALLY the first few bites this is a big one! dont let yourself get HUNGRY i eat my 3 meals hungry or not because when i do get physically hungry i want to eat RIGHT THEN and will pick something that isnt that healthy because i did plan ahead What was your beginning weight, current weight, height, co-morbidities (if any)? beginning weight 350. i lost 25 pre-op so day of surgery i was 325. today i am 228. height 5'-9". co morbs- i have heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis all in my family. i was having dizzy lightheaded spells and chest pains. my health was giving me anxiety and panic attacks How long have you been banded? 11.5 months Any band-related problems? i had problems getting restriction. i went 7 months with minimal restriction. i could still eat 2 cups of food. it ended up getting fixed without surgery. Please share anything you've learned that you feel is beneficial. i have done a low carb diet to 'work' my tool. i asked my dr and he said it was great he wished all his patients would do it because it makes you lose much faster. what i have learned is that it doesnt matter WHAT type of plan you do as long as you are happy with it and accepting of the rate of loss it will give you. some people do non-diets they just eat healthy...thats great but you must be accepting that you will slower some people diet- as long as its a healthy one and dr/nutrionalist approved then great! its a great way to work your tool some people eat anything all day and no matter what it is. this is not using your tool.

hey i thought it would be fun to see how far we have all came in the past year! i am going to wait till the 18th my surgery date to respond so hopefully i can loose a few more! if you have progress pics... ATTACH THEM!!! pre-op weight lost: day of surgery weight: 1 year post weight: total fills: total fill amount: ever been filled to tight? ever vomited when restricted? how was it? any complications? do you think your to tight? to loose or just right? longest plateau? how often do you exercise?

Hello August bandsters!!! lets check in and see how we are all doing! i am starting a new thread because this one is already LONG! heres a link to the new thread http://lapbandtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2698 michelle

OHHH alexandra!!!! look GREAT!!! and i'm sure you FEEL great!!! we are all so proud of you! you continually offer support and great advice. thank you! thank you! thank you! i hope you are as big of a loser this next year as you were last year!!! ((((hugs))))))

anyway i hope you can see how frustrated and upset i was from the lack of restriction. for the past 4 months i have not eaten that way. when you PHYSICALLY cant eat another bite without PB'ing it will keep you from overeating. i know how hard this is for you...all i can say is hang in there! just do the best YOU can do until the fill. dont beat yourself up your tool isnt working properly yet... and no matter how you slice it you are still smaller than you were before banding if you have been banded a year and lost 40 and lose 30 each year for the next 2 years that would put you at 130 CAN YOU SAY GOAL!! you are a 'lightweight' and that in itself makes you lose a little slower. keep looking at the big picture! michelle

(((((((((((hugs)))))))))))) when i was not restricted these were some of my journal entries: 12-4-03 I HAVE HAD A REALLY HARD TIME TRYING TO STAY ON TRACK. IT IS EASIER WHEN YOU CANT EAT BUT A TINY AMOUNT. YOU DON'T OBSESS ABOUT food. NOW ITS ALL I THINK ABOUT!!! I NEED TO BREAK THIS CYCLE. I NEED SOME RESTRICTION!!! I WONT REACH MY GOAL OF 275 BY CHRISTMAS. MAYBE BY MY BIRTHDAY? IT IS FRUSTRATING TO SEE PEOPLE LOSE HUGE CHUNKS WITH BYPASS WHILE I AM STRUGGLING IT JUST SEEMS AS LONG AS I AM ABLE TO EAT HUGE AMOUNTS OF FOOD I DO. AS LONG AS I CHEW WELL I CAN EAT TILL THE COWS COME HOME. WELL NOT WITH THE CORRECTION ADJUSTMENT BUT I CAN STILL EAT WAY MORE THAN A 1/2 CUP MORE LIKE 2 CUPS...NO FOOD BACKING UP, NO PB, NO GOLF BALL PRESSURE, JUST ME GORGING MYSELF 1-23-04 SOOOOO i had my swallow study yesterday and i was told my band is fine. it has not slipped and my pouch is not stretched. so what gives??? my dr's PA (physicians assistant) told me just stop eating at a half cup. well hello if i could do that i wouldn't have gotten to 350 lbs. i told her why don't we do lunch one day so you can see me eat!!!! I AM NOT BAND BASHING HERE. I LOVE MY BAND. WITHOUT IT I WOULD HAVE GAINED BACK ALL MY WEIGHT PLUS SOME. IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM TO BE WORKING FOR ME AS DESCRIBED. 2-23-04i don't know what happened to me today. i had 2 scrambled eggs for Breakfast 32 oz Water lunch- i had to go run an errand so i decided to pick up a can of chicken breast meat. well they had the 12.5 oz can on sale so i bought that thinking I'd be able to eat that for the next FEW days... i ate the whole can in 30 minutes. then you would think i would have stopped but i had brought a salad for lunch originally so i decided to 'pick at it'. ITS ALL GONE TOO. so here i sit stuffed from the bottom stoma up to the top. i feel absolutely HORRID. NAUSEATED. GROSS. my salad was a spinach salad so not only am i FULL but those natural fibers are making me bloated to boot. i know partly why ate that...i guess i wanted to 'test' my band. i have 4.1 cc's in a 4.0 band and still no FUCKING restriction (that was for you Jonathan) unless i eat solid meats. i have been to my dr too many times, had the swallow study and was assured everything's fine' well if it was I WOULD NOT PHYSICALLY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO EAT ALL OF THAT!!!!! i just know for sure that i will have REALLY WORK my band along with dieting until my insurance changes and the band is covered again. Unless i want to sue my dr i don't have any other options. i knew this before i have known it since Jan 1. i just made a PIG of myself today. well thanks for letting me vent. i know for 100% sure that i never want this feeling (stuffed pig) again. michelle on a good note i didn't have hardly any carbs in my food and was Protein first but my god a days worth in one sitting... i ended up FINALLY getting restriction month 7 of banding heres a post 2-3 months AFTER getting restriction and losing 40-50 pounds... June 19, 2004 weight 236!!! still doing the atkins diet till i reach 199.9999 do i miss food? no i eat all the things i love. i only eat things that are 'treats' now when they are PERFECT before i would eat a 2 day old donut that wasn't even the flavor i liked. now i haven't had a krispy creme in MONTHS but i will have one and when i do it will be from the K.K. shop when the hot light is on and i will enjoy that sucker!

lol i dont feel guilty either i am just ready to get beyondd this phase!! the past month i have been endulging A LOT! i think thats why i am craving carbs because i have been eating them so much! when i stick to low carb the cravings are VERY mild. no regrets though. that penis cake was finger licking good!

if you guys will send me a pizza, Cookies OR cake i'll join in your reindeer games!!! i have been having wicked cravings today!

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!! its no wonder your daughter is smiling so big!!!! size does matter! *************** i'll be good now!