leatha_g

I'm not, but my daughter is a veterinarian.. I mean vegetarian. She lives on Beans, tofu and seafood, I think. I think eggs is another form of Protein she uses alot. I've seen some vegetarians on some of the yahoo boards, but I've also seen some who reverted back to eating meat like you. As a matter of fact, there is a specific board for vegetarian bandsters. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Vegetarianbandsters/ Maybe that will help!

Thank you Nancy, for such kind words. Looks like you're heading that direction too! We're all just a bunch of losers!! Yippee!:banana :Bunny :banana :Bunny :banana :Bunny

Welcome Sandy!!! Glad to have you here! Feel free to snoop around, lots of info and experience here! Leatha

Yes, Vera is heading for the 170's woohoo, you go girl!! I don't think I ever weighed 170anything. I went straight from being a little vixen to 'a whole lotta rosie'. lol. But, I can't wait to see how it feels on the way down. Way to go Vera! PS. I don't think that's hijacking - It's all about being close to goal or maybe realizing the possibility?

LOL, thanks for the laughs, ladies. Sue, you are hysterical! I really feel like I'm only halfway there, weight-wise and that ain't so bad. One pound at a time, one pound at a time. Hugs to you all.. Leatha

New Hope wrote: Wow, Leatha, do you realize how close you are to your goal? Way to go, girl! __________________ marie 229/190/?? 5' 3", 50 y.o. 1st fill 8/1/04 1cc Dr. Spivak, 5/26/04 Reach for the stars and LIVE LIFE !!! **************************************************** Marie, It's funny that you should say that. I was just sitting here thinking to myself - 183, WOW! Dare I think that I am anywhere close to finishing? I don't really have a goal, persay. Before I gained all my weight at 19-20, I weighed anywhere from 118 to 124. I thought I was fat then! lol. Dr. Wetter says my goal should be 159 and I think that's because the statistics say we'll not lose 100% of our weight. I say 159 is still too heavy for my frame, although I'll sure take it if it's as far as I can go. Dr. Veninga says 140, I think. I'll sure take that too. This has been an interesting ride to me, because in my mind, I am scared to death to ever think I will not be fat. I don't know if I'm scared of the world I'll have to face without the insulation or the 'me' I'll have to face. I'm sure that I need to find myself a counselor who can help me navigate through this dark and scary place. I haven't up until now because being on the road and keeping appointments just isn't possible. I wished I knew what my future held, so I could make some of those appointments. It brings tears to my eyes to think of where I have been and where I seem to be going. Honestly, I know I have worked hard this past year, but not nearly like some. I must have done something right to have lost 67lbs. I must have! But, I have days where I think I'm totally sabotaging my whole journey and I wonder what it is inside of me that I am so afraid of. This past 6-7 years has been one big scary monster for me. I have had every stressor known to man (divorce, fire, new job, moves, health issues, empty nest - need i say more?) and yet, here I sit, somehow stronger and so much better in so many ways. How could this possibly be? What happens at the end of this line? Yes, just today I have acknowledged that I may actually make it to the finish line, or maybe I'm already there? I am, after all, still alive and still determined albeit slow. One thing is for certain.. I am no quitter! Thank you for noticing..you are always so Up and positive. I appreciate that in you.

It's tough isn't it? This is part of the reason for my slow weight loss. I work in a hospital environment with a traveling team. We sort of move in with our users for a few weeks and help get ready for a mainframe conversion and train them how to use the system. So, part of our job is to become familiar with them and make friends. One of my team members who in no way wants to address her own obesity constantly buys bags and bags of candies, chips, Cookies, nuts etc and surrounds herself with them. It's very hard not to fall into that abyss since I'm the sugar addict that I am. At one point I even had to ask our boss if we could just give the stuff to the users but have them lock it up in a cabinet somewhere. lol, But, it's not them that's doing it, it's one of us! One particular weekend. The one that was the end of all ends, I went home and had gained 8lbs over a one week period. My cholesterol had risen to 306 and I was on the verge of a heart attack big time. To make matters worse. We travel as a team, so we all ride in one car. When we leave work, it's part of our ritual to go to some nice restaurant and have dinner. I've gotten the dinner part down. I order appetizers or share with someone else. No more platter sized portions for me! Problem is, once we've done dinner, dessert is required because we go to so many places that we have to compare the Desserts from one place to the next. UGHHHHHHHHH. Yep. I fall into that one too and I hate myself for it! I'm getting better. I have actually said NO the past few trips and also shared with another team member, so it's baby steps. But, there are definitely booby traps everywhere I go. :think In the end, it's still all up to me, I know. Progress, not perfection..

LOL Our Jello, your jelly should be fine on your liquid diet. We have pre-made packs in the stores as well which come in sugar free. However, even those that are not sugar free would still be a good choice on the liquid phase. Our jelly, your jam is usually much sweeter and we spread it on bread too. I think you do lurrrrvee jello. lol I say make you some and have it. I don't see why you couldn't.

Thanks Betty! Maybe I'll try tracking my food for a few days again to see where my fats fall. Since I'm really not 'dieting', I tend to lean more toward the anesthesia and surgery stress of late. Could be a combination of several things, I'm sure! Thanks, Leatha Who weighs 183 this morning!

Woohoo! Is that not the coolest?? lol I'm celebrating 183 this morning myself! Doin the 180-s dance with you!! :banana :banana :banana :banana :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny

My physician's pre op paperwork did say no eating popcorn due to it's fibrous nature and the chance of it getting stuck in your stoma. I really think, further on, with tight restriction, this could become a problem. Being the rebel that I am, I have, however, eaten popcorn on several occasions when I go to the movies. Again, I think most of the literature and diets these folks pick come straight from the gastric bypass experience. While not encouraging large amounts of buttered popcorn, I do think it would have to be an individual call. Either way, go especially slow if you don't know how your band might react to it. Welcome Max's Mom!!! Glad to have you on the boards. Feel free to spend time searching the archives. Lots of great info and experience to be found! Leatha

I believe they call it jam.

Welcome Jemigirl!!

Cigna PPO approved me in less than a week after. I'm sure you've thought this through, but it concerns me that you'll be changing insurances AFTER your banding. Any new insurance may surely refuse to pay for any subsequent expenses since they did not pay for the surgery. Good luck!

Cigna PPO approved me in less than a week after. I'm sure you've thought this through, but it concerns me that you'll be changing insurances AFTER your banding. Any new insurance may surely refuse to pay for any subsequent expenses since they did not pay for the surgery.

Cigna PPO approved me in less than a week after. I'm sure you've thought this through, but it concerns me that you'll be changing insurances AFTER your banding. Any new insurance may surely refuse to pay for any subsequent expenses since they did not pay for the surgery.

Cigna PPO approved me in less than a week after. I'm sure you've thought this through, but it concerns me that you'll be changing insurances AFTER your banding. Any new insurance may surely refuse to pay for any subsequent expenses since they did not pay for the surgery.

I use Instacure everyday, however - I've had TWO surgeries in the past 8 weeks and sadly, my scalp seems extra dry, my hair seems to be falling out worse than it ever did before. I hate to take in too much Protein, however. I may have to look into some sort of hair repair or something. I'll consult my hairdresser. I'm really not happy about this.

From Texas here, but welcome to the board anyway!! Feel free to browse through the files. There's loads of experience and support here! Leatha

Yes. Because he was cramped up in an army tank for hours on end. That was very sad. He was the picture of health. Tragedy knows no address.

For me, it means I have not 'dieted' to the point of depriving myself of things I enjoy, including occasional sweets or carbs. If that means I lost 50 lbs in a year as opposed to 100, then so be it. I'm 44 years old, I've been fat since I was 20. I'm not apt to be in any beauty contest or wearing a bikini anytime soon, so there is no hurry to reach 100lbs lost. As long as I am regaining my health and heading in the right direction. It's all good! Whether that's a mistake or not? Nope. It was a conscious decision for me. I don't think it will matter 10 yrs or 50 yrs from now whether I lost 50 or 100 lbs in a year. Either way, God willing, I may still be around to talk about it. If I hadn't chosen the band, I most certainly would not have been.

That's exactly how I feel about it. I think for most of us, it's pretty common. All I know is that I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Welcome to the group! Sounds like you're doing great!!

Yes. I take coumadin , which I hate to take. I have it checked very often to make sure it's at the right levels. (Twice this week since surgery.) I did have a vena cava filter put in at the time of my first banding last year. Such a relief to have that secondary precaution! For me to have any kind of surgery or extensive dental work, I have to stop my coumadin at least 5 days in advance, then I have to give myself shots of Lovenox for those days in the interim and until I begin my coumadin and get it back to a therapeutic level. No emergency surgery for me, unless it absolutely IS an emergency. Then, I've learned they can give me shots of Vitamin K to thicken the blood. It sucks and I hate it. However, I begged off of it after the first DVT and wound up with a PE 6 months later. During this time, I was also on Hormone Replacement Patches which they made me take off immediately. That proved almost harder to get over than the DVT! 2001 was a year of hell for me. I've spent the 3 yrs in between trying to get back to something close to what I was before all this began.

Amen! Thank you so much for saying this! I could not agree more. Leatha

Yes! Once you have had a clot, the valves in the arteries have been damaged and it's almost inevitable that you'll have another. The artery walls themselves are affected as well. Then, sometimes a person has certain qualities in their blood which causes it to be 'sticky' or too thick. I've had all kinds of tests for hereditary factors or certain syndromes because I have systemic lupus and my father's side of the family have a terrible history of clots. They tell me I probably do have some sort of disorder, but it has yet to be named. I guess we could call it the 'lethal' syndrome. lol (but not cause it's funny.)