armymom2012

Sorry I haven't updated lately. My son finally came back from Afganistan and between that, his wedding and my classes I have been swamped, but all is good. I have lost 62# and I feel so much better than I have in a very long time. Believe it or not the hardest thing for me was this past weekend, I had a yard sale and finally sold all my old fat clothes, in between clothes and stuff I just held onto because of my years of fluctuating weight. I was always afraid to get rid of it, because I may have to get back into it one day and didn't realize it was just preventing me from getting serious about my weight loss. But all the old is gone now and I have had a blast shopping for new clothes this past week. I even bought me a pair of skinny jeans:) Still trying to get used to wearing clothes that don't hide my shape, but it's getting so much easier now to embrace the new me. I still have around 30-35 # to lose but right now I am just enjoying the new me OH, and I even wore a dress at my sons wedding for the first time in 7 years since my own wedding. That felt awesome:) I'll update pics later when I get the chance.

I used Maderma after a C-section and you can't see my scar at all. I am now using it for lap band scars, so far it looks pretty good:)

I was thinking the same thing "Lose 100" Although it sucks when you go out to a nice dinner you have been looking forward to and you can't eat it. It has been a day to day thing lately, but I'm getting closer to my goal.

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Hello Mike Glad to see that you are doing this for your health. I started at 39 BMI, which many may think that isn't much, but 5 months later I am now 54# down and off of all my BP and cholesterol medications and I am no longer considered Pre Diabetic. That is also my biggest reason for having the surgery done. I would do it all over again. Stick with the forum and you will get a lot of great advice and ideas on how to stay on track from people who know what this is like. It is so easy to fall off the wagon from pure boredom with this type of diet routine if you can't find ways to keep it interesting. But if you do, get up and try it again. You have nothing but weight to lose:) Good Luck to You.

I have noticed that since it has been getting really hot this summer, that I can not eat the foods I normally can on a cooler day, especially towards the end of the day. One day, I can eat chicken fine, the next, I may get a bite or two down, then it gets stuck. I'm pretty sure this has something to do with the heat, but would like to hear if this has happened to anyone else. I really haven't had much of an issue with many types of food options so far, except bread and sometimes beef and my band is only at 5cc's.

I have Tricare Prime Insurance. There was no supervised program or waiting periond, but Tricare tends to be slow sending referals out and sifting through all the paperwork. From start to finish prior to surgery, It took them almost 5 months to get all the approvals, tests etc completed. I actually had to push them to get it done or I might still be waiting.lol

I didn't meet the BMI or weight requirements either, but because of atleast 2 co-mobilities, I was approved for surgery. I'm not sure what else besided Diabetes you have or if your insurance would take under consideration, but I was approved because I was Insuline resistant, high blood pressure/ cholesterol and joint issues. I had my surgery in January this year and have lost 50# so far, plus now I am off my cholesterol meds and one of my blood pressure meds. Wish you all the luck.

I usually don'y eat more than a cup per meal, but my doctor say that I should actually be at 2/3 to 3/4 cup per meal, not a full cup. That just seems like so little food, even for a Bariatric patient.

Thanks everyone. It has been 4 days since my fill and so far I can tell a bit of a difference. I have been able to wait around 4 hours until my next meal, instead of the usual 2-3hrs. "Honk", I understand what your saying and yes, I do choose healthier options. I haven't had anything fried since before my surgery, my daily diets cokes have been replaced by bottled water and honestly I no longer crave it, which is a good thing:) But when I have no restrictions to my band, it makes it easier to eat more than what you are suppose to be able to eat. When I have a good fill, I get warning signs that tell me to stop. I know that we should be able to do that on our own, but sometimes you just need a little voice in the background to remind you not to go there. That voice so far has been partly my conscious and the other part my band. It's all a learning process I know, we didn't get to where we are by eating healthy and now we just have to learn to re-program ourselves to eat differently now, so we don't go back. And to be honest, it really is re-programming considering we grew up being tought about the 4 food groups. Now I eat my protein first and if there is any room left I eat my veggies, no bread and we eve have to watch out on our fruit choices. We no longer go by the basic food groups, like others go by. That takes some time getting used to. My friends that are skinny are amazed at what our portion sizes are supposed to be, Jen told me she even had a hard time wrapping that one around her brain.lol and she is 110# soaking wet and eats pretty much what she wants to. So when we go out for dinner together, it's usually Suchi night:) that way I don't get to watch her eat all my favorite foods I miss.lol Good luck to you all.

Thanks you guys:)

Today I just had a small fill. For the last 3 weeks I have not lost any weight and have felt like I could eat just about anything. Hopefully this one will get me through the summer, because this needle thing has not yet gotten any easier. I'm such a big baby I guess.lol I am so close to being at 50# loss, what a time to plateau out. hmmm . I am just hoping for another 20 more before Sept 8 when my son gets married. Other than that, life is good

It took me until my 3rd fill to keep me from feeling the crave all the time. I am at 5cc's right now. Most of the time I am full for about 3-4 hours, just depends on how much protein I get of the morning. Plus the heat outside seems to make my band feel tighter as well. Just portion your food out, eat your protein first and go from there. Unless I do that, it's really hard for me to know I am doing everything right and helps me determine if I need another fill or not. Good luck to you.

I agree with 2muchfun. If you force yourself to avoid certain types of foods because you are afraid of gaining, you will never truly understand the process and eventiually boredom will set in like it has for many of us here in the past. Isn't that why most of us failed at diets before surgery? The only time I am forcing myself to stay on liquids or mushy's is right before and after a fill or maybe a day if I have a really bad stuck epasode. Other than that, I like food too much to give it up out of fear. So far with the right portions and excercise and good food choices I have lost 47 #'s in 4 months. This may not seem like alot to some, but we did not opt for Gastric Bypass which would have been faster. We chose a diet that requires us to make healthy choices, which means we have to work a little harder sometimes. Don't think for a second I haven't cheated along the way. It happens. You just have to move on and start again. Hope this helps put it into perspective.