MeredithMcFee

I had my 1st fill on March 8th and realized I cannot eat steamed chicken {Chinese} but can eat the broccoli. Go figure.

Kudo's Justdoit! It's a nice sound, 30lbs lost! Keep it going. I love my fitness pal and Fit Bit. They definitely keep me real by journaling the food as well as seeing my daily activity. Prior to surgery and having the Fit Bit, I would put things that needed to go down the hall or upstairs in one place until I was ready to go, now, I don't accumulate them, when I see something needs to go in their proper places, I just do it and see the steps I take on my Fit Bit soar! It's just not a pedometer which I've had in the past, it's fun to see the graphs, badges, reports and all the wonderful progress on this journey. Did I forget to mention how much I enjoy this site? The only site I go on for lap band advice and encouragement by all!

Thanks for the info, Cyndie, re: Macy's. L.B. has been my "go to" store for jeans for the past 5 years and forget there are other stores to shop. :-) Something that I am looking forward to re-programming my mind to in the future. A wise woman taught me year's ago that no body is perfect and most women can not just buy clothes off a rack, especially slacks, jeans, pants... and have them perfectly fit our bodies thin or heavy. Because I was blessed with a bodacious booty and thighs, and a small waist, I typically have to have my slacks tailored so I have no gaps in the back or don't have to wear a belt if I don't care to. The reason why I liked the Right Fit {blue} at Lane Bryant. I agree, L.B. is definitely not cheap! I can't wait to go shopping at Marshall's, TJ Maxx, Target etc. where the clothes are cheaper the more I lose.

Congrats Cyndie, I'm right behind you. Had my NSV last Friday night. Had to break down and get a pair of jeans as my size 18 from Lane Bryant were just too big. Went to a consignment shop 1st but no luck. Found a great pair of Seven jeans at Lane Bryant in size 16! I typically have to buy the Right Fit so I don't have to pay a tailor but I broke the bank and went for the Seven jeans as they fit just right. When I get down to a size 14W, I'll put the money out for a tailor to take them in and get more wear out of them. I wore them yesterday and I felt like a million bucks!

Speaking of hardboiled eggs, I take the yoke out and put a teaspoon of hummus [any and all kinds from Trader Joe's} in the cavity. Great for breakfast. I can only eat half and save the other half for a late afternoon snack.

Thank you Jaydee for educating me on this. I greatly appreciate it.

Think I missed something here as I'm seeing some posts {Jaydee} and others' mention we can't take ibuprofen. My doctor never mentioned this. Why not? I've been taking advil and or tylenol a few times a week for knee pain.

I had my fat girl devil sitting on my shoulder Friday night but my thinner Angel knocked her off her pedestal. A slight fight took place, but I resisted. My DH had his lapband surgery Friday and we were in the hospital around 10am. I didn't get home until close to 7pm seeing him up in his room and settled in for the night. Friday's were always our pizza nights and and drink or two. Since my routine was totally off all day, although I was good, the old self wanted to be rewarded. Pizza and a drink.... hmmm, Decided to stop at my old haunt, Lane Bryant {yes, I swore I would never go again and plan on cutting my card up soon} but I needed a pr of jeans as my old ones were falling off me. NSV for sure. Bought some cute cropped pants and tops too. On the half hr ride home, decided having the tuna salad I had in fridge and salad to go with it. Passed my favorite pizza place and passed up on the drink which would ultimately have the munchies..... After spending money on new thinner clothes, why sabotage myself? The moral of the story.... I lost another pound the next morning when I woke up! Phew! Dodged that bullet, but know there will be many more to come. Keeping strong.

Erica, wishing you a speedy recovery. You'll be back to feeling good in no time.

Welcome aboard Colleen. This is a great support group filled with so much information and positive re-enforcement here. One of our own here, Jean McMillan wrote a book called Bandwagon which you can find on the ads here. It's a great "bible" if you will, to have on hand before, during and after having the lapband. I would highly suggest you buy it as there's so much information in it that we all can relate to. Good luck on your journey.

Congrats to you Jason. Happy Birthday. That's awesome for a birthday present. I got my 1st fill on my birthday last week and that was a great gift.

Hi Elizabeth, not sure what time your appt is today. I had mine done on Thursday evening. They took me to the x-ray dept. stood me up on the fluoro table, he stuck me in the port, added saline, checked it on the fluoro and realized he put in a little too much, took some out, checked it again, of course, while I drank some barium. That was it. 24 hrs of liquids. I did feel some restriction for the first time but from what I'm hearing, it's due to the procedure and being a little swollen {?}. Other then that, nothing more. I feel good. I'm sure you'll do fine. Congrats on your great loss.

There are days after a good workout{hour of cardio and weights} I feel I need more then just a protein shake, my breakfast consists of a chocolate shake made with skim plus milk, a tablespoon of peanut butter and a half of a very small bananna with crushed ice blended. I mentioned this to my nutritionist and she was fine with it. I don't do it every day but it's a nice treat as the FF milk, bananna & PB adds calories. Only when my FitBit tells me I've gone over the amount of my daily intake, I'll do it. :-)

Happy Birthday. My birthay was Thursday and I turned 57. Decided to do the surgery a few months back so I can hopefully enjoy the next 30+ years with more energy. As other's have said, I am tired of being tired. I am tired of sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else having fun and I'm tired of food always my priority in life. With this tool,this website, I am hoping to learn to Eat to live, and no longer living to EAT! It's a new year and hopefully a new me!

I love my FitBit! I only found out about it from being on this wonderful site. It keeps me real, I never journaled my food before lap band and I think the FitBit encourages me to do it as it offers so many features to help us lose weight. It's typically sold for $99.00 on Amazon, Fit Bit.com and Best Buy but I just looked at Amazon and they have them on sale for under $95.00 for a short time only. Although it's just a few dollars, it's a save. Many of us got on the bandwagon, if you will, around the same time after someone mentioning here and we all love it! Nicki823: That's great that you're getting ready before your surgery. All I could think about at that time was what foods, or shall I say liquids I should have on hand. Pollywog: Seeing your ticker tape, you obviously are doing something to keep the "sun" going down on your daisies. :-) Good luck!

Ironically, I'm 6 weeks out this Friday. My first fill is this Thursday which is my birthday. I contemplated rescheduling it for next week but decided to not to. I'm thinking of it as my gift to myself. I don't want to make any more excuses to go out for a birthday dinner and order one of my favorite meals, Mac&Cheese with Lobster before I'm restricted. I've made too many excuses in the past. Happy Birthday to you Shap

Do you have a Barnes & Nobles nearby or county library?. I go to B&N and take a table, bring my laptop or just read a book. You don't even have to buy anything at the coffee shop there. Bring water, a snack, etc. and bring a book or magazine and relax. We have a county library close by that also encourages people to come in, have a cup of tea or coffee, and relax on one of their comfy couches and chairs. Cell phones off, peace and quiet and come out regenerated.Same goes for movie theaters if it's during the day. Matinee's are pretty reasonable, I think. Of course, taking a walk in a nearby park, boardwalk, etc. Put on a pair of sneakers, Ipod, and take a nice walk in a nearby mall. Good luck.

Allison kudos to you for your weight loss and a great idea from you and other's here re: thrift shops while we go through this ever evolving transformation. Having said that, I think I have a "treasure trove" of clothes in all different sizes in the back of my closet, my attic, and who knows where else. :-) I might have to spend some time rummaging through and sizing them accordingly as I slowly melt down in sizes. I, too, have a goal set for spring to see a hair sylist/colorist for a new "do". Back to the thrift shop, I can't wait to drop off my larger sizes for someone who can use them and make room in my closet for my thinner clothes.

I thought the same thing when I originally quoted your post. Let's keep it going {down.down, down} and share our next few week accomplishments or as they say here, NSV's.

A friend of mine shared this with some friends and myself back in November as she has a hair loss problem. She was taking the 500mcg daily for some time. I decided to do it as I have thyroid issues and noticed my hair falling out {prior to surgery}. I went to the drug store and found Biotin 5000mcg and decided on buying that. Of course, the old mentalitiy, whether it be eating or anything, bigger is better. I've been using it up until the last two weeks or so as I've noticed my hair drying out. I'm not sure if it's from the biotin because my Dr switched me from one anti-depressant med to Cymbalta around the same time I started with Biotin. I'm actually doing a process of elimination to see if it's one or the other, or perhaps the two together. Who knows. But I will say, I did notice an improvement in my hair in thickness even after having the surgery in late January.

Same applies here. My husband is scheduled for mid March too. He's getting excited and making sure he does everything right for his pre-op liquid diet next week. I had mine 5 weeks ago and am so happy I did. Like you, and many of us who have had the surger,y had tried over and over on so many different diets over the years and finally said, "enough"! I am learning alot about my bad habits from the past and working on changing them day by day. The band is a tool, not a panacea or miracle. You have to work with it and it will work with and for you. Listen to your doctors & nutritionist as they are the professionals. Having said that, this is an awesome place to ask, find and get answers to many of your questions. Good luck to you and hope to see you on more oftne.

So happy to read this. I too was banded the same day you were. I very rarely wear my robe but I put it on the other day, and noticed the same thing as you Littlerlou. I wake up in the morning and the swelling in my stomach area has gone down as well as some inches, I presume. I know I have a ways to go, but so far, the little changes, as you say, add up to bigger ones if we stay on track and do what we're supposed to do. Getting on this site during preop, reading posts from people who were nearing their 6 week PO, I couldn't wait. Well, I'm here now and it'll only get better if I continue to do what I'm doing. I love the feeling and seeing a change in the new me.

Great topic here. I'm 5 weeks out PO and although I'm close to losing 20lbs, I can see it in my clothes big time since I'm working out at home. I don't like going to gyms either. I have a library of VHS tapes, yes, I said VHS tapes, as I've used them over the years and got lots of great workouts with them. Now I'm into the DVD's and love Leslie Sansone's Walk away the Pounds. I'm stuck at the 3 mile mark of her 5 mile DVD and hoping to move onto the 4th mile one of these days. I try to do it 3-4 times a week, alternating with the treadmill. I like the treadmill as I have a good playlist of music on my Ipod to keep me going but for some reason, Leslie seems to be winning hands down these past 2 weeks as she gets all aspects of your body in motion where the treadmill is limited. Thanks again Violet for reminding me that I had this particular tape, I mean DVD, as the original 4 mile one I was using wasn't cutting it.

Thank you all for your input and advice on this subject. When asking the question I was asking with my former mind, prior to lapband surgery. A snack, with all those calories, carbs? You all helped to bring me back to reality here. A protein bar would replace a meal, not a snack. :-) Thank your "readytogoforit" for reminding me about the amount of carbs we can eat. I'm 5 weeks out and still re-programming my mind to the outside world of WLS. When going out on errands and such, I make sure I have a protein drink in the car with me but now that I am a week away from being filled, I am looking for something more then just liquid to drink. Although the drink is my first choice, I don't want to be stuck out there in fastfood land without one or the other. Since the pre-op diet, I've noticed I've driven by many a fastfood eatery and never once felt a need to get into the drive-in line an I don't want to start now.

I'm now starting to look for protein bars to have on hand when I'm out and about. My DH brought home Pure Protein bars from Costco today. Calories are 180, total fat 4.5g, Carbs 17g, Protein 20g Is this ok?