Doddie63

congratulations. What a great success story.

Wow you are looking happy. How do you stay away from the food?

I am so against "exercising to the extreme". You can cause tremendous damage to your joints that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes is around 170 calories and vigerously walking doesn't expend that much more,but it does extends the joints putting a lot of stress of them. I would suggest you exercise moderately and reduce the type of food you are eating. Many of us overfill our bands and can only eat mushies stuff which tends to be on the bad side of the food charts such as ice cream, milkshakes, etc. As for what type of exercise, I went to the community gym and was assessed by their counsellors. They have me going to aqua fit for one hour each day. I have no stress on my joints but expend more energy than I would on dry land. Hardest part was getting into a bathing suit at 303 lbs. LOL My point being, pick an exercise you will maintan. Doddie

andreerichards: You have cause to celebrate. You are really isolated and I wonder how you are getting support in your community. Is there a WL group meeting you go to or do you get your support from the internet? Doddie

Thanks Denise I will go there and take a looksee. You certainly seem to be doing very well with only 10 lbs to go. How has the weight been coming off in these final lbs? Doddie

You have to find out your problem first. Are you too restricted so you are eating "easy mushie" foods that carry more calories and you can consume more, or do you not have enough fill to control your consumption. Exercise MUST be something you like to do or you are setting yourself up for failure. Say to your self "Just for today, I will do....." then do it. Don't pick something hard to do. Start off at a pace you can maintain. I am borrowing a saying from AA, that is "Just for today I will do....". The saying works for me as I go to aqua fit classes. I like aqua fit but to get out into the morning cold is difficult to I always use the above phrase to get me going. It may work for you.

Hi I was banded Feb. 01/07. on Jan. 1 pre op I was 303 and on todays date I am 250. My average weight loss has been .85 lbs per week whether I exercise or not. I feel under pressure because I am not loosing the required 2 lbs per week but just can't seem to improve without getting a fill. I am not an exercise fan so know that I would never sustain an exercise program over time so try to balance my food intake with a bit of exercise. It is frustrating to exercise for 30 minutes on the treadmill and use only 170 calories so I say to myself why bother. Does anyone have any ideas how to motivate oneself over a long term.

sherrylynn: You sound like you have the right attitude and resilience to succeed. With the band there is no doubt. I can't wait until I hear the words "I am in the oneunder club". Go Gal, Go. Doddie

well said fousilly. there is no quarantee we will have future care if our doctors leave, retire, etc. All we can hope for is the MSA in each province make it a general office visit. Some doctors are trying, but the various Colleges are procrastinating on their decisions. So any newbies out there, take an established clinic and let the new one makes its reputation on someone else. Doddie

sherrylynn. Congratulations on your weight loss. I can empathize with your desire to loose the weight and am cheering you all the way. I smile when you say you are 46. You are so young and what a wonderful life you will have when you reach goal. Good work. PS: I am 63 and not counting. Doddie

I take my shoes off and I carry a pair of fold up cloth slippers to put on at all times. If I know I am going to visit someone, I carry my shoes that I intend to wear in the house. I am thinking of a party and my dressup shoes. Hate to be in a gorgeous dress (when I reach goal) and walk around in bare feet. What do others do? Doddie

went back to CIBO and did not find any reference to the doctor we all appear to be thinking about. The surgeon is a female doctor trained in the US. So I wouldn't worry about that but I would be concerned about her track record and how if I was research a clinic would find that out? Any ideas for newbies researching. Doddie

Oh! that is a surprise. When I change my weight, I just input my information and that is all I do? Love the way you are tracking your weight loss. Very original. Doddie

Sent you a private e mail with her last name. Jill (at TLBC) works part time or at least she was when I met her last Feb. She is very busy now with 12 long distance patients she is helping with nutrion and support. I don't think the CIBO Jill is ours as I just spoke to our Jill Tues.

Try drinking a bit of warm water just before you breakfast. That usually relaxes the stomach muscles. It is usually the way for most bandster. The other thing is are your bites too large and are you chewing them to "mush" before swallowing. Too large a bite and the natural swallowing takes place before he food is broken down. If you are feeling pain by all means contact the clinic and go down 1/2 cc for awhile until you get your eating down. I have been trying to retrain myself to chew properly so have kept my fill level at 5 ccs in a Midband and am not in a hurry to have it tighter. After all, I have the rest of my life, don't you.

I love this site. My link is the Canada link. What I would love to see is for you to make your own "ticker" section. I find going to another webpage and trying to transfer it to my profile and signature really awkward. Unless of course maybe Ticker factory has a patent.

TLBC only has the one doctor at this time, but I am sure they are activley looking for one. I agree with the comments above that I would steer people to either the TLBC or the SWLC basedon my knowledge. As I have no knowledge of the new clinic, I will reserve my opinion. Their doctor at the moment is a physician from Sask. but I don't know of her background.

excellent article. Should be reqired reading for all bandsters. I really don't know why we find ourselves in the position of "explaining" about the band. Sometimes I think it is the person asking the question that doesn't want an obese person to succeed. In reality, they just are interested in what the band is and their questions are insensitive but I don't think they set out to be mean. I answer these people with "yes, I have the tool to help me loose weight but more importantly, it is going to help me keep it off. I find taking off weight easy it is the keeping off that is the problem. The band will do that for me". Works for me.

competition grows in the laproscopic band world. CIBO has now opened in Toronto with a TLBC ex employee Doddie

The site looks professional. Will have to see how it holds up to scrutiny. Doddie

Nisrine! interesting. What is the name of the clinic Doddie

Glad to hear things are working out OK for the both of you. I am feeling very rejunevated this morning. Jill called from the TLBC and we discussed a further fill and nutrition. She told me she has 12 out of province patients now. It is such a wonderful support offered by the Clinic. I feel so alone as I cope with learning to live with the band. To find the right balance, etc and Jill calling once a month takes all that away. I write this in case someone is reading this link and is not aware of TLBC attempts to keep in touch with out of province patients. Doddie

Hi: I was born and raisedin SK but now live in BC. Before deciding on Mexico, ask yourself this question. What will I do for my after care? Fills (in my view) are more important than the actual surgery. Where will you get filled and defilled? Some Canadian Clinics will not take patients that have gone outside of the country and only treat their own patients. Also, with the border difficulties where will you get emergency treatment if the band slips and it needs replacing. Travel Health Insurance in the future. Can you afford to pay up front hospital coverage. Some insurance co. only reimburse and don't forget their clause "any pre existing condition". they won't pay if they can avoid it. So my point to all is "consider staying in Canada" even if it costs a bit more. You get the free support after. I went to the TLBC in Toronto (Dr Yau introduced the band to Canada) and I get free support including replacing the band if it leaks or slips. The support offered by the clinic such as a dietician is free. A Bandster above said they went to Dr. Cobourne excellent, I went to Dr. Yau excellent and there are a number of clinics in Alberta. Hope I have given you some food for thought. Doddie

Good to hear your news Peaches. I sure hope it turns out OK. When do you go back to have the saline tested? Doddie

Ah, Green. I feel for you. Yes that is one of the complications we are aware of when we make the decision but all hope we won't be one of the statistics. I sure hope the band has not slipped and you don't require surgery but if it is necessary then I guess you have very little choice. Do you have any idea how the band may have slipped. Your experience may help the rest of us. Doddie.