mommykristie

Wonderful video! Congrats on your success!

I chose not to keep it a secret. My reason was that so many people that I work with struggle with their weight, even those who are"skinny" work to maintain it. So I thought I would be open and answer all of the questions, figuring that not only was I widening my support system, but maybe help someone along the way. I have been very fortunate, I work with four different schools and have not had one negative or unsupportive comment during this whole experience. It actually has been the opposite, I have gotten many supportive cheers for my accomplishments so far. Even a few of my "skinnier" friends, have started exercising again with me. I went so far as to post a monthly update with comparison photos on my Facebook account. I think each person has to know what they are comfortable dealing with and how much information you are willing to share about the journey.

I am just as guilty as the next about feeling chained to the scale sometimes. I know that I am a slow and steady wins the race type of weight loss patient. I exercise at least 5x a week to help things along, record my food journal, watch portion sizes, don't drink my calories, etc. Sooooo...when the scale slows down, it is frustrating to see just ounces when I want pounds. However, a few weeks ago I decided to go get a few new outfits to reward myself for working so hard.I was so pumped!! No more plus size! For the first time in over 13 years, I didn't have to pay $2 extra!!! As exciting as that was, I also picked up a few clearance fitness tops and shorts that I found on clearance. There was a couple that were 12/14 tops that I went ahead and got even though I couldn't wear them yet. A girl can't pass up a good deal! Well, today I decided to try it them on before my workout! Success!!! In just that short time, even though the scale didn't show much of a change, my body definitely has!!! WooWoo!!!!Since March I have dropped from a 24 pants to a 16/18 and my tops from 22 to a 12/14! Such a great feeling!!!!

One thing that my trainer as well as my nutritionist pointed out is that after you have a workout, make sure you get a little bit of protein ( shake , bar, etc) within the hour after exercising. It helps with weight loss and muscle repair. I have found out that I slow down on the scale when I don't get enough calories in to compensate for the amount of exercise. I log in all of my food and try to stay under 1000 a day; however, if I have an extremely strenuous workout, then I will add an extra protein bar. This seems to help keep the loss consistent, even if it is slower than I would like. Instead of the scale, try to focus on the loss of inches.

Hang in there! It gets easier each day Walk, walk, and walk some more. Make sure you take your prescribed pain meds on time before you start to feel bad. If you wait till you hurt, it will take twice as long to subside. Good luck!

One thing to consider is to call your surgeon's office if you feel like you need to move to the next phase. You might be surprised. When my husband was banded, he was getting tired of the liquids, so he called the office for permission to move ahead to mushies two days early. Permission granted! Also, remember that each nutritionist, surgeon , etc. have different rules, recommendations, etc. It is always best to consult them before making any changes. This forum is wonderful for support, motivation, and advice; however.... YOUR lapband staff is the only one that knows your own personal situation.

It will get better. The walking will help you more than anything. The more that you can get out and about, the quicker the recovery

B-52! So glad to see you posting again! I was wondering where you have been. You always have such great advice!!!

I was at an event that only had canned soft drinks ( no water...go figure), so I tried my old favorite dr pepper. After a couple of sips, I just threw it away. The taste is not the same!! YUK!!!! I no longer like how they taste. So definitely a good thing!

Don't give up! This time will pass. The head hunger for me was the worst part of bandster hell. It wasn't that I was really hungry, just a creature of habit. Try to keep yourself busy, go for a walk, clean something, etc. Anything to avoid snacking! Good luck!

I have had social drinks on occasion from about 2 months out. It has not affected me , but I always record it into my food diary because of the high calorie content. I had a margarita last night without the salt ....no problem!

Although my dr and nutritionist and trainer all say don't weigh but once a week, I still do. For me it is an accountability issue. If I see that the scale isn't moving for a few days, that gives me the opportunity to check out my food diary and see if there needs to be some tweaking.

Did the doctor use the xray machine to try to locate it? I know that my dr always does this rather than trying to just feel for the port.

Good luck! If you are dealing with a WLS surgeon that has lots of experience, the good news is that they will more likely be able to tell you before you leave exactly what your out of pocket costs will be with your particular insurance. Since they deal with insurance on a daily basis, they usually can tell you down to the penny how much is covered, what is covered, what hoops you will have to go through, etc. I hope you have a wonderful consult and are able to get all of your questions answered.

My doctor said that it is not uncommon for people ( esp if you have no restriction) to gain a few pounds during a vacation time. Human nature is to relax and not watch our portion sizes, etc and slip into bad habits when we are away from our routine. His advice was while on vacation try to still make appropriate choices to keep the gain to a min. Then upon return from vacation, buckle back down!

What is your doctor's reasoning for removing it rather than removing the saline and starting over? Just curious.

Congrats sharonk and bravo! You both are about to embark on a life changing experience! I wish you both the best.

My personal trainer has me doing lots of arm workouts on the machines (curls, triceps, biceps, any other kind of ceps ) As far as the belly, she has me do lots of crunches, side to side crunches, planks, leg lifts, etc. She varies them each time so that I am working on different ab muscles each time. Who knew that trying to hold your legs up while holding your abs tight for 30 sec would be so hard! LOL!!!

I was banded a little over 100 days ago on March 15th. So far, I have had two fills. The first one at my 6 weeks appt. On my May visit, decided no fill. Just had my second fill last week.

I have been so busy lately, that I forgot to Celebrate entering ONEDERLAND this week! Down to 197.4!! :D :D Next stop= to move from obese to just overweight!

It could also be scar tissue. I have a large area about the same size. I had assumed it was my port since it was right above my large incision. It turns out that my port was actually below my incision! What I was feeling was simply scar tissue.

Congrats! The first step on your new journey! Best of luck!

It is approved for BMI of 30 or more now; however, most insurance will not pay unless you have a 35 BMI with two or more comorbidities or else 40 with no comorbidity. Also, you must have had this BMI for 3-5 years. For example, if you had a 30 in 2010, a 38 in 2011 and a 42 in 2012, you probably wouldn't qualify to have the insurance cover it. There are several people on here who are self -payers who could point you in the right direction.

Congrats!! I am signed up for the Warrior Dash in October! Can't wait!!My personal trainer is working me HARD trying to get me ready for it. Mission: to complete the race alive!! LOL!

Most everyone has to go on some type of liver shrink diet before the surgery, so maybe that is what they are having you do. Every surgeon is different in their approach to this, some require a percent loss, some strictly liquids, some low carb, etc. The main thing is to shrink the liver so that it will make it easier to complete your surgery successfully. Good luck!!