jen_1381

Change is scary to everyone, husbands especially! Their instant thought is - my wife is going to get skinny and hot, and find someone better than me. My husband didn't have the ideal reaction but he was supportive through it all. I just sat him down and explained that although he loves me no matter what size I am (I was 243 lbs), I am the one who has to live in my body. I explained that I'm uncomfortable in my own skin, and that I'm holding myself back from experiencing life because I feel I'm too big to do a lot of things. I assured him that I didn't want to get down too low - I set my goal at 160 and I will see how I feel then. I'm tall, and built lean, so I think anything below 140 may be too slim for me (my sister is built the same, and is about 145 and she looks too skinny to me). We sat down and made goals along with my weight loss. When I get to 190 lbs, we'll go sky diving (the weight limit for women is 200 lbs). When I get to my goal, he promised me a completely new wardrobe. We're going to Vegas in September and I promised him that if I was at 185 I would go on the scary rides. I made him part of my journey...by setting goals and rewards for us together, he felt more involved and less like this was my decision and so be it.

"Fixing" things can be addicting. Once you get one thing in check, you find something else that could be better/different. My mom has this issue, and when I was doing the psych eval pre-op, the therapist picked up that I had a problem with self-esteem and body image. She warned that when I get to goal I may really struggle with realizing how I look, and also encouraged me to come back when I'm near my goal just to check in. Being unhappy with your appearance is a huge struggle, and it doesn't stop just because you're not overweight anymore. It's a mental thing. I bet what you see in the mirror is FAR different than what others see.

I feel ya there - I have to remind myself every morning that I step on the scale that losing 0.6 lbs it better than gaining 0.6 lbs. I still don't see any change in my body like others do. Maybe after I make it to half of my goal I will feel differently but right know I'm still at the bottom of the steep hill!!

Oh and Jim - GREAT job on the weight loss!! You're rocking at this! I bet 47 lbs in 10 weeks feels amazing!!

I would definitely check with your surgeon since each is different, but I'm taking a liquid multi, liquid Vit D and liquid Vit B12. I opted for the liquid so I could start it sooner, I was vitamin deficient before surgery and needed the extra.

I wasn't prepared to have any part of my stomach removed. Every persons situation is different; I won't be having children, I had about 80 lbs to lose and no certain timeline to lose it in, and I needed to be back to work ASAP so opted for the less invasive Lap Band. My surgeon favored the sleeve, especially since my insurance would cover all three (band, sleeve, bypass). He didn't think I was a candidate for bypass since my BMI was just barely above qualifying. I just explained my reasons to him and he honored that. I felt ready for the "bandster" lifestyle though. I was, and am, completely committed to my new way of living. My surgeon had reservations with the band because he said the last 10 patients he saw, 2 were doing exceptional, 5 were right on track, and 3 were not losing at all. It all comes down to patients choice on whether they follow the rules or not. I use his optimism as encouragement. I want to prove that I can be successful with the band, and so far I'm going above and beyond the typical expectations. My surgeon considers "success" if you can lose 1 lb every 7-10 days, and I'm averaging 6 lbs a week, BUT, I'm working my butt off (literally) to get there. Maybe sit down and weigh out the pro's and con's of each. Making a list always helps me Good luck which ever route you chose!

I got my first fill at 4 weeks. Every surgeon seems to have their own routine. If you're doubting the timing, ask your doctor. I'm sure he has logic behind it. Maybe he just does a small fill? My first fill was 3 cc's. I go in every four weeks for another fill until I hit the ellusive Green Zone. My surgeon prefers to fill the first few months regardless of progress - I expressed at my first fill that I was scared he may not do it because I was steadily losing weight, but the loss was all diet-controlled; I still felt hungry between meals but didn't indulge.

I think people on this forum may be the only ones excited to be "overweight". By that, I mean, my BMI has put me in the "obese" category for so long - I'm just over 1 point from being "overweight". I'm so happy right now, I set a goal to be at 205.0 by my next fill on July 16th and today I was 205.2. So close! Plus, I still have 12 days until my fill. I hit a plateau last week for about 6 days, and I started feeling those old feelings of "I'm never going to hit my goal, I'm just going to gain it all back, why can't I do this" but my husband just kept reassuring me that people hit plateaus and just be patient. About 4 days ago I started losing again. I've been in a good rhythm and have been losing 1/2 lb - 1 lb a day. How? I'm logging every single morsel I put in my mouth. I'm focused on protein first, then veggies and fruit. I'm drinking 80-120 ml of water a day. I'm taking all of my vitamins in the morning and making sure I get enough sleep. Most importantly, I'm exercising every day. I wear my FitBit and strive to hit my 10,000 steps and 15 flights of stairs a day. I either jog 2-4 miles outside, hit the treadmill and elliptical at home, or do the UFC Trainer with Kinect. My dream is to start some sort of kickboxing/MMA class when I get to my goal weight. I knew that lap band surgery would be a journey, a long one, and I wouldn't expect results too fast, but I've been pleasently suprised by the way my body is responding. I'm 6 weeks out and have lost 38 lbs. It feels SO good to be headed in the right direction. I'm going on vacation to Vegas in September and would love to be down to 180 lbs by then. Just have to keep up the hard work.

I had a reduction a few weeks after I turned 18 (I'm 28 now). It was one of the best things I ever did for myself. I went from a DD to a full C. I had been a DD for about 3 years and had bad upper back and neck pain. I do not regret my decision at all, even though I did experience a lot of changes afterwards (numbness still in spots, loss of sensation as well as my scars not healing very well). One thing that I have noticed though is now that I'm losing weight, my boobs seemed to take the first loss. My bras are too big now, which is crazy because I used to worry about bras being too small! I don't mind, it's keeping me porportionate - but my husband did say "Remember - I didn't sign up for that!!" He was kidding of course, but he noticed the shrinking!

I did the same thing Saturday - went on a 4 mile jog and at the end, realized that I left it on my dresser when I was changing! I really wanted credit for all of those steps!!

I'm only down 15% since surgery May 18th, but I'm so grateful I'm down instead of up 15%!! After a week long plateau I finally broke through yesterday.

Paleo (and please, correct me if I'm wrong, my chiropractor advised me on this!) is basically the "caveman" diet. You eat foods that come from the ground, trees, or animal...basically anything that was available to the cavemen and women before Safeway existed I like the philosophy because everything you eat would be more "pure"....not altered by chemicals. I've thought about trying it strictly, but have just been doing protein/fruit/veggies with each meal and it's working great so far.

I wish I had info for you, but I myself am interested in a low profile port once I reach my goal weight. I still have about 50 lbs to lose and my port already protrudes. Granted, it was nice when I had my fill, easy to locate, but I really don't want it to be more visible than it is now.

I've done Insanity and I loved it! Okay...I hated it. Well - I hated it right up until the minute I would start, seriously dislike it during, then afterwards I LOVED it. The way you feel after doing a workout is amazing. I found it to be fun, and Sean T is easy on the eyes I haven't done it since I've been banded, but I did it last year. I'm going to start it again soon.

I'm right there with you, Toddy. I've had so many laparoscopic and laparotomy surgeries, my stomach looks like a road map of scars! When my surgeon was explaining the 5 incisions for lap band, he asked if I would be okay with scars on my abdomen. I laughed, and assured him that this stomach will never be bikini-ready!

I'm a right sided sleeper, and my surgeon only puts them on the right side, so I've slept on mine since day 1. Mine is on the right side about an inch below my ribs. I would wake up sore for the first week or so. I'm 5 1/2 weeks out, and am doing full abdominal exercises with no pain. My port does stick out though...once I get closer to goal I might check into a port revision (I've heard they have a lower profile one?) because I'm still about 50 lbs from goal and I can see the port now. I'm the only one that notices it though

I also get a little "miffed" when I hear how much better I look. I didn't think I was that bad before!

I love that you also feel that you eat to live, not live to eat anymore. I am the same exact way. I started out just telling myself - I only need food for fuel for my body. If it's not lean protein, veggies, or fruiy my body doesn't need it. I've told myself this a thousand times. When I'm grocery shopping or browsing the fridge for dinner, I only look for those three categories. But just two months ago, a hamburger and fries was AMAZING. Now it doesn't even sound appealing. I kind of feel sorry for people I see eating garbage food because they have to work SO hard to burn it off. Life is so refreshing now. I wake up every day excited and fall asleep satisfied, knowing my day was successful.

I am in love with my FitBit! I got it last night and immediately put it on. I wore it today at work and realized how much work I have to do!! Getting in 10,000 steps a day is no easy task when you're stuck at a desk most of the day. What type of work do you do that you get the opportunity to travel to Japan?

Also - as far as diet aftewards - they will start you out in the recovery area drinking liquids but you need to be alert first. With the throat/body being relaxed you run the possibility of choking and aspirating. They usually suggest soft foods for the rest of the day, or at least a few hours after.

For an EGD (esophagogastroduednoscopy) you will be put under sedation so no, you can't drive yourself and you probably will not want to go back to work. The sedation will make you tired for the rest of the day. Basically, once you check into the hospital or outpatient center, they will start an IV lock in your hand (which is where you get the sedation). They will take you into the endoscopy lab, you'll meet with the gastroenterologist that you're working with, and they will give you some medication through the IV to make you sleep. You will most likely not remember any part of the procedure. Once you're sedated, they'll (most likely) put a bite block in your mouth so you don't bite down on the scope and pass the scope (which is literally no bigger around than a pencil) down your throat, through your esophagus, and into your stomach. After the procedure, they'll wheel you back to the "recovery" area, and you'll take about 30 mins to an hour to wake up and feel "normal" again. That being said, you'll be groggy the rest of the day. They'll advise against driving or anything that involves quick reactions. You shouldn't have any pain whatsoever. (I've had one done, but also worked in an endoscopy lab for 5+ years)

Yes! It tracks calories you burn basically just by being awake and upright also! Just check your calorie count before you start, then after. Or, you can enter it into the app and the app will count it for you. Manually entering it, based on my height and weight, for 1 hour would burn 397 calories.

I just make sure I take good Vitamins. Also remember that anesthesia comes out through your hair. (I know it sounds funny, but just like they can detect narcotics in your hair follicles, same with anesthesia drugs.) I worked in outpatient surgery for about 5 years, and we even had a few surgeons that would tell their female patients not to color their hair for at least 4 weeks after anesthesia. I'm about 6 weeks out and haven't had any hair loss, and also just colored my hair with no adverse affects!

I just bought a new scale off of Amazon and I am SO excited for it to come! All of the reviews mentioned how accurate and consistant it was. My scale now is good, it does weight, body fat, and hydration percentage, but it's not very consistant. My new scale should be here today. Even though the numbers don't quite say what I want them to, it's still very exciting.

Pre-Op I didn't have to do a diet per my surgeon (he typically always does, but my BMI was right at 35 so he said it wasn't necessary, only voluntary) but I went ahead and did Protein Shakes for Breakfast and lunch, then salad for dinner. Post-Op, I had two days of liquids only (water or Protein drink), two weeks of full liquid, two weeks of puree, two weeks of soft/moist, and now I'm at my first day of "regular" food. I found the soft/moist step the most challenging for food choices.