MeredithMcFee

Kim, welcome to our group. The January bandsters are a great group of people. We're all supportive and encouraging of one another. Even when we beat ourselves up for one reason or another, you can always count on someone saying a kind word or two to get us back on track on this life time journey of getting healthy. I was banded a day later then you in NJ. My surgeon seems to be more conservative then the other's here. He believes doing fills 6 weeks apart and even then he makes the decision if you need it or not. So far, I've had one fill am scheduled for my follow up appt 2.5 weeks. Losing 23lbs is great! Everyone loses differently for different reasons. If you're exercising, perhaps you're losing more in inches. I know that's the way it works for me. I don't allow the scale to control me. As long as I feel good in my clothes, that works for me. Good luck to you.

Chrissylu: funny you should mention steamed. That's what I had a problem with. I was ordering Chinese steamed chicken and broccoli before being filled. No problem. Always ate it even prior to surgery. The same week I was filled I ordered it and took a small bite, chewed and chewed until it was basically mush, and couldn't eat it either. Like other's on here have said, there is no rhyme or reason with the restrictions. One day it might not go down but the next day it does! I always enjoyed having chicken for dinner as there were so many variations of recipe's one can make. Plus, I always bought the chicken breasts from Costco that were so easy to just thaw out before dinner if I forgot to take it out earlier. Bummer......Good luck with the steamed chicken.

I'm amazed how most of you have lots of "fill" in your band. My doc put 3cc's in, then after seeing it through x-ray, he took out a .5 out. I forgot to ask what band size I have but will the next time I go back. Like I said in my post above, I didn't notice much of a restriction after first fill until a few days ago and had some PB episode's which was exactly 3 weeks from my fill. Who knows. Chrissy Lu: Chicken is no longer my friend either. For now anyway.

Sounds like we're all on the right path of getting healthy as well as thinner, if not totally on the scale at least NSV's. My doctor ony does fills every 6 weeks from what I'm being told. And if he feels you don't need it at your 6 week interval, he won't do it. My 2nd fill or shall I say my next visit is 4/19. So far, I'm doing well. Actually, it's been 3 weeks since my first fill and the past week, I've noticed a lot more restriction then initially. I don't think the band was working for me as much as my head was working for me the first 3 weeks which I'm not complaining. However, since Friday, I've had some episode's of being stuck on food I hadn't been stuck with even days before. Saturday afternoon, I had a major craving for Dunkin Donuts coffee roll. It was my TOM although I had a hysterectomy 20yrs ago, I still get the "phantom" urges of sweets during this time most months. I decided not to fight it and treat myself to it. I took one small bite, chewed real good and felt just a little feeling of something, then another and then a 3rd bite and I was so uncomfortable for a good 40 minutes. "Someone" was trying to tell me something, and I didn't listen. I came home and threw that donut in the garbage as fast as I could! I did eat some turkey chili for dinner that night and had no problem. Yesterday morning, I ate egg white scrambled eggs and took one bite and had that same feeling of restriction and stopped eating them. Waited a bit, and tried it again and did fine. Perhaps I was swollen from the day before, I don't know. So far, today, I did fine but learning something new everyday. Still loving my band and how it's helping me to stay true to myself. Erica & NJ2NC: Kudo's on getting into smaller sizes. I think most of us have lost enough weight where people are actually noticing it and saying something which helps our psyche and self esteem. It also helps to start wearing smaller size clothes and a little more form fitting which makes it more noticeable. Keep up the good work and love all your support.

Sounds like after 2+ months, our bodies/mind are finally catching up with one another and rebelling. Just think, for most of us, we've averaged a good 25+lbs lost in such little time. If we were on WW or Jenny or any other diet, I highly doubt we could lose this much weight in that little time. When I was on my own dieting, whether it be WW or some other diet, I would make it for the week and totally lose interest. I'm 9 weeks out and love seeing the changes in my body and my mind, having so much more energy and enjoying the fact I no longer hide out in my house. We're all doing great with all what we have to work with. The newness of the surgery has warn off for the most part, our daily lives continue with our families, work, stress, etc. Sometimes in life we have bad times, which we sometimes need to appreciate the good times, the same goes for plateaus. I enjoy coming on here daily as it keeps me real, and I can always find wonderful positive support from all my Janyary Bandsters and those who have gone before us and after. It's a journey for life.

Working for a professional ophthamology practice for 20 years gave me insight, no pun here, to ever evolving medical procedures that were attacked on TV news shows, magazines, etc. You will always find someone who has a bad reaction, experience, etc to something they've had. When the RK {correct myopia with a blade which I had done BTW} became popular here in the early 90's, Laser resurfacing {diminishing wrinkles} Lasik {correcting myopia with a lazer} and EVEN Botox which was originally used to relax twitches in the eye area, we always had to wait for the onslaught of naysayers' to die down and educate the community with real percentages {as Shoshanna has succintly done above}. From what I read and researched before having this procedure I was extremely comfortable with my choice in the lapband as well as with my surgeon and his staff. Having said that, my cousin had this procedure back when it was in the early studies and she has never had a problem and has kept her weight loss of 100lbs down since then. I'm still a "newbie" as I'm 9 weeks out today and so far, I've not had any problems. I am loving this tool and how it's teaching me to eat to live, not live to eat.

Breakfast Deviled eggs made with Trader Joe's hummus {your choice of flavor} Or make a egg white egg salad. In place of the mayo, use Trader Joe's horseradish hummus. Had this for a late Breakfast after a good workout. Delish! Lunch: Tuna fish with lettuce and onions Dinner: still working on that one.... Trader Joe's turkey Meatballs & veggie dessert: Jello sugar free creme brulee pudding

I had a BMI of 37.9 prior to surgery. Aside from having arthritic knees, I have no co-morbidities. I have Horizon BS of NJ and they approved it. It all depends on what your employer's coverage allows. However, we're seeing more and more insurance companies covering the lapband surgeries as they can save money in the long run as long. Wishing you good luck and they approve of your sugery.

I got the cheese sauce and used it in with Hormel's fat freeTurkey Chili. It wasn't too bad but I used it later with something else, I can't recall, and it just wasn't that great. It was a temporary fix but not for long term. If I want melted cheese, I use Borden's fat free cheddar slices.

I liked it too! The only thing I didn't like was the fact you had to drink it lukewarm, no higher the 120-30 degrees. {basically lukewarm} I like my food hot for the most part, especially soups. The reason being for the low temp is due to weakening the protein. Like waterchik said, it saved me actually postop. I always put fresh chopped parsley in it to give it a little more taste.

Justdoit, sorry to hear of your husband's medical issues, hope he's on the mend. Re: full sugar pudding, have you tried Jello's sugar free rice pudding creme brulee or the caramel pudding yet? It's only 70 cals. It's soooo good and one would never know it has no sugar. I put cinnamon on top for an added boost of flavor. It's so good.

So far I can eat shrimp and lobster. When I mentioned it to my nutritionist, she was surprised as she's heard many of us can't. I was eating steamed chicken & blended broccoli from Chinese takeout before my first fill and did fine. After the fill, no more chicken, no matter how much I chewed. So for now, it's steamed shrimp & broccoli. I had lobster the night before my first fill as it was my birthday the day of my fill. That went down with no problem but I haven't had it since so I'm hoping it won't be a problem now. It's not like I eat it every week. It's a treat.

Congrats to you ValAnn! It's so good to see our Jan group continue on our journey with positive results from the band. Today is my 2 mth bandiversary and I'm down 26lbs which I'm very pleased about and have lost a decent amount of inches. It's definitely a work in progress and always will be and that's ok with me. My Dr is very conservative when it comes to fills. I don't know the size of my band however, 6 weeks PO he filled only 2.5cc's.He initially filled it to 3cc's but then after viewing the fluoro, he felt it was too much. His treatment plan is every 6 weeks, but that doesn't mean he will fill you if he feels it's not req'd. So far for me, I've been fine. I'm using my head as well as using my band to help me in my last ditch effort to loose the pounds and keep them off.

Thanks Brandi, I guess I better get on it and sign up for it too.

I had my thyroid removed due to Thyroid Ca back in 2004 and I'm also on replacement meds. When thinking of doing this surgery I wasn't sure if I would be able to lose weight but so far, {8 weeks ago had surgery I'm losing at a nice pace and am in my late 50's. I mix up my exercise from powerwalking, jogging and walking on treadmill and doing the Leslie Sansone video workouts as well as lifting hand weights. Perhaps you need to lower your calorie intake and up your exercise. Having said that, the good thing is you seem to be stabilizing, not going up more then the 3-4 lbs. I would die to be in a size 10. Right now I'm between a 16 & 18 and my weight is in my hips, butt and thighs with a smaller top. It's all relative isn't? Good luck to you

I probaby can too but won't allow myself. I make sure I always have protein in my meals as protein is also known for holding your appetite hours longer. My DH and I went out to dinner the other night { his 1st week PO from having his lapband surgery} to one of our favorite family places. I typically order a crock of their french onion soup and a 10 oz cheddar burger with fries and use to eat everything and sometimes even had dessert! I ordered the soup and the cheddar burger without bun or fries. I ate the soup and was full. The burger came and I had two little bites and took the rest home for lunch and dinner yesterday. I'm sure I was always full after having the crock of soup beforehand but my mindset was set to eat everything!

I typically use the powder protein and add water, not milk, #1. I but the other pre-made one's that I'll grab when I know I'm going to be out for a few hours and I get hungry. I sometimes just eat a hardboiled egg with some hummus for breakfast. Sometimes I can only eat a half one, and save the other half for my mid morning snack. I have a few teaspoons of tuna fish with REAL Mayo {there are just some things that I will not compromise on} with a few wheat thin crackers from Trader Joe's or Nabisco. Dinner might be a cup or so of Hormel Turkey chili. Since having my first fill I no longer can eat steamed chicken from the Chinese restaurant which I enjoyed. However, like steamed shrimp and broccoli in it's place. I then have another powdered protein drink at night which has 27 gms of protein for one scoop. And drink lots of water. So far, so good for me.

You're not dumb, it's a whole new learning experience on here. It's a great website www.fitnesspal.com that many of us are on here. It keeps track of food, weight, journaling, calories, activities, etc. For me, I've find it's fun and keeps me REAL. I love to see the daily progress when I enter the information. Look it up and check it out.

I've been using the Fitness Pal since surgery in late January. Like Corilinn, I never journaled food for any diet over the years. Did it maybe a few days then found it to be a bother. For some reason, I have been faithful journaling my food and love all the tools Fitness Pal offers us. I have modified the calorie intake to 800 cals a day. When I exercise, typically every other day in the gym, I will eat more calories. On the alternate days I'm less active, although my FitBit tells me I've been active, I try to eat between 800-900 calories a day. So far it's been working for me. Sorry to hear that a few of you here don't have the support from your nutrionist. I've shared a few things with my nutritionist who works in conjunction with the WLS center I go to, and she was fine with it. Yes, I too, put a Tblsp of natural peanut butter and a half of a small bananna in my protein chocolate shake after a good workout. Yes, I have a cup of coffe every morning. And yes, I eat hummus everyday with a hardboiled egg, wheat thins or celery. Of course, it's all in moderation. But it's a hell of a lot better then what & how much I was eating prior to the surgery. And being 100% more active to boot!

Shanda, you are too funny. I feel the same way about my BFF, the fitbit. I finally found it in the pocket of my robe where I left it before taking my shower but forgot I left it in there. Yeah! The Fitbit is my world. My DH doesn't understand the extent of my love for the fitbit as he mentioned to me this morning. He bought one but it's still in the package with the receipt. Don't think he's going to get into it. It's like music to me. I lived near the ocean and would powerwalk the boardwalk for exercise with my cassette and earphones. Once I forgot to check the batteries and half way through my walk to Thriller, it died on me. I was paralyzed! I couldn't do the walk without my music and had to walk home without finishing. Never again did I do that. Like my music, I was lost without my fitbit last night. I know, a little dramatic but you get the point. Thank you for the advise on the on the premium feature. Might have to look into that.

Kymie, that's a great feeling isn't it? I too have in network docs, hospital, anes. etc and have zero balance. I like the way you think re: showing the ins co.s' your proving to them that they did the right thing by you. Whether we pay out of pocket or ins pays, I think everyone on this website for the most part are on the right path of changing our way of thinking, eating and becoming more active. I know I couldn't do it without all your ideas, and support.

I should of clairfied my question. I have the fitbit,{ or shall I say, did have, but think I lost it this afternoon and am very upset about} and love it but was wondering if it was worth the extra money to buy the premium feature. Skkcs, you have it and use the trainer feature? I love everything about the fitbit but wasn't sure if I should go and buy the premium feature for the year. Hoping I find my fitbit,{ my BFF} in the laundry basket when I do the laundry in the a.m.

Just wondering if anyone bought FitBit's Premium plan and if so, do you like it?

I was diagnosed with ADD about 15 yrs ago in my early 40's.I never took any medications, however, for me, I think it was more a matter of self esteem,or lack thereof, and not beating myself up. Understanding it, and going on as best I could. I have my moments of not focusing but I have to agree with Wineguyd, you overcome many obstacleswhen making the choice to have lap band surgery. Being healthy, active and feeling good about one's self, is focus enough. Good luck. You will do fine as long as you go into this being dedicated and using lap band as a tool.

perhaps because there's vinegar in mustard. Who knows....