jetti

Just dropping in to say HI and see how everyone is doing? Kat where are those pics of your new self?? all you ladies getting new trim tummies are making me jealous! :-)

thanks salsa its comforting to see that I am not the only one. My doctor never even suggested a fill in my 3 post op visits and at the last one he said it was up to me and just to call when I wanted one. well that was 5 months ago and I still havent called. I hoping I can continue on this path for many more months

I am a about 6 1/2 months out and have yet to have a fill but I do have proper restriction and I was wondering if there is anyone else here that has been able to do this without a fill. There are alot of threads about fills and how many people have but I cant find a thread about not having a fill. I tried to go to a support group meeting to see if anyone there is in the same boat as me but not only was everyone 2 plus years out of surgery but I was the ONLY banded person there!! everyone else had gastric bypass so it really wasnt the support I was looking for. I keep wondering how long I can go without a fill so I was hoping to find someone that has been banded longer then me that has not had a fill yet but I would love to talk with anyone who has gone without a fill even if just 2 months. thanks! :confused2:

Mariem I have BCBS of NJ and all plans and states are different but I didnt need 5 years of weigh ins. I did need 6 months of a doctor supervised diet which I would suggest you start now. I started mine before I even picked my surgeon because I knew it was a requirement. I also didnt have any "proof" of having tried various diets, pills and gym memberships. I would call them as soon as your insurance switches over but my advise would be to start the 6 months now. good luck

Congrats on the NSV!!!

most doctors wait 6 weeks before giving a fill. your doctor most likely told you "it depends" because if your weight loss is going good, youre feeling good and youre not getting the hungry feeling then he/she may not give you a fill. Everyone is different when it comes to fills so listen to your body and dont get a fill just because you think you have to.

slimm2be I started walking VERY slowly on the tread about a week and a half out to get myself going. It was to cold to walk outside so I started slow on the tread and just worked my way up in minutes and speed. I didnt start doing anything to fast or long until I felt ready which was about 3-4 weeks out. I would do 30 minutes at a time at a medium speed and set a goal for myself. when I first started it took me 25 minutes to do a mile and I wanted to do it in 20. I finally hit that goal and was able to do it in 19. I then started going to the gym and really working after my 6 week check up when I got the OK from my doc. I have come to really enjoy working out and I REALLY enjoy the results!

thin I think I gained about 3-5 pounds when I moved to mushie/solid food but it came right back off without a problem so dont worry you will be fine. Your body will adjust to the additional calories and since you will probably begin to move around move so you will work the calories off! Great job on the 18lbs

this is my daily menu in case anyone else was interested... 8am - Glass of orange juice 9:15am - 1 hardboiled egg 11:30am - slim fast low carb shake 1:30pm - 4 oz of tuna made with reduced fat mayo (I think its reduced fat or light) or a small salad with grilled chicken 4:30pm - banana or 100 calorie snack pack 6pm - 4oz of tuna or a small salad with grilled chicken (it would be healthier if i didnt use creamy italian dressing and put croutons on it but im not going to stop :-) or whatever was made for dinner in my house but a small portion 9pm - After the gym I will occasionally have a piece of fruit or a few pretzels as im getting myself ready for the next day and throughout the day I am drinking lots of Water mix with store brand crystal light lemonade mix this is generally my menu monday through friday. my weekends are a little different but not really bad. I do go out to eat at least once a week and I eat whatever I want but not all of what is on my plate of course. a thing I learned to do when I go out to eat is either share a plate with someone or have the server box up half the meal before it even comes out. I dont deny myself anything but I do think about it before I eat it. I have chocolate a few times a week - I LOVE IT!!! the one thing I noticed is that I dont crave fast food and junk food like chips and cake like i use too. that feeling is just gone.

slimm2be how are you doing with the hunger? do you find yourself feeling hungry or are you satisfied with what you are eating?

Kate when I first got banded there was a pair of jeans that had been hanging in my closet for years that I wanted to be able to wear again. well about 2 months after surgery I tried them on and THEY FIT but not only did they fit they were too big. so I didnt get to wear them again but that is just fine with me. I was banded in Nov 07 and I set a goal of being able to wear this black dress on my vacation in july 08 that I wore on vacation in 03 and I am very happy to report that I get to buy a new black dress because that one is too big!!! I love clothing goals but I do hate when I miss the chance to wear the item I was looking forward to wearing. but it is much better to not be able to wear it because its too big not too small.

Happy Friday! so I went to my first ever support group meeting last night because I thought it would be good to get to talk to fellow banders. well there was only 5 people there and I was the only banded person everyone else has gastric bypass and they were all out over 2 years. They did have a nutritionist there which was good and everyone was shocked at my results for being just over 6 months out but I was overall not really happy with the meeting. I think im going to try and go to the one help at the doctors office next week...maybe there will be more people there since this one was held at a hotel. we were talking about what we eat and I stated that I dont have problems eating anything and there isnt anything that I cant eat - rice, Pasta, bread and all that yummy stuff - the nutritionist asked how much I have lost and when I told her 61 pounds without a fill her face showed shock! She was like "if you had told me 20 pounds then I would have had a talk with you about what your eating but you found what works for you and your doing great" they were all also surprise that I workout but I dont think I would be were I am right now without working out so im sticking to it. well that was my experience and it wasnt bad but not really what I was looking for. have a great day all!!!

I agree with you Barbara I did gain a few pounds when I started on mushie food but it came back off in no time. Its just your body adjusting as you are healing

glad you got it because i wouldnt know how you could look for it

Slimm2be I sent you a PM with my menu

thanks marineliebe its the first time in my life that the hardwork is paying off!

good luck PB!

only 2 of my coworkers know that I had the band but since i bring my lunch to work everyday everone is able to see the small portions that I eat so when they say I look good I just tell them I eat less - which they see - and I work out 5 days a week.

slimm2be Im not taking any pills or diet aids. my calorie intake daily is most likely around 1400 I actually dont really count my calories. I make sure my portions are small so that I dont over eat out of habit but other then that I dont pay that much attention to what im eating. I dont eat fast food or junk food but I do still eat chocolate a few times a week but nothing like before I was banded. And if I want some cake or a cookie I allow myself to have it but not everyday. I try to hold out for special occasions like birthdays or a night out on the town. I feel very lucky that I have gotten this far and still have not needed a fill. I was thinking of getting a fill a few weeks ago but when i really thought about it I realized that I dont need one yet. I felt "not normal" because I dont have a fill. But I would rather wait until my weightloss slows down to get one.

YAY for you Kat!! wishing you a speedy recovery

steve the first step that I took was find out what the insurance requirements are. mine required 6 months of a doctor supervised diet that I did with my PCP. during that time I went to a few different seminars for lapband surgeons trying to find the right one for me. by the time I found one that I was comfortable with my 6 months was basically up. At the end of that 6 months and before I had my initial consult with the surgeon that I picked I also completed my nutrition and psych evaluation appointments and lab work that was required by the surgeon. Doing those things early put me in a great spot when I finally went to see the surgeon because I had all of the requirements already completed, I saw the surgeon on 10/19 and was banded on 11/6! good luck to you!

Pix you are an inspiration to many!! hugs to you!

I admire not only our troops but all of the men and women who are friends, family and loved ones of our troops. I know what it is like to know and love a soldier and cant even imagine if he was my husband or even son. you ladies are truly amazing!

apples2 - hugs to you and your son pix - hugs to you and your husband I started tearing up reading this thread and had to compose myself because I am at work. Our soldiers are truly heros and I wish them all the strength and courage! I have an ex who was/is in the military and we lost contact for awhile and I worried all the time if he was ok. I now know that he is fine. God bless all of our troops and there loved ones!

good luck to all of you going to seminars tomorrow. I actually went to 3 different seminars so to check different surgeons and all the seminars were different. the last one I went to was the most informative. they pass around a band, hand people there that they had performed surgery on, had a great Q & A session plus much more. Needless to say I chose the surgeon that help the last seminar!