mylynn1377

It's good to know that there are options besides creamy shakes. Not that I mind the chocolate, vanilla, strawberry but it gets old after a bit. I can't wait until after surgery so I can see if I still tolerate those kind of shakes. If not then I at least know where to go to get a fruit flavored alternative.

My Ed gets me when I'm eating something that I like. I can go without and if I'm really not hungry then I may have a small bowl of cereal or oatmeal, maybe some toast. My problem is when I am hungry and I find myself with a plate of food that I truly enjoy, then I can put away more food than a hungry trucker. I've had friends be with me for days on end and say that they truly didn't understand why I was so overweight, because I didn't do this at every meal. But I did do it a few times a week, or I would make a pan of fudgy brownies and eat half the pan in one day, complete with a large glass of milk. Ed gets me when I feel crappy and I want to carb out, when I'm having a bad day and I want a giant cheeseburger with onion rings and a shake, or I have to leave the house really early in hurry and so it's easier to get McDonald's drive thru breakfast and my poison is a McGriddle at 450 calories per. That's when he gets me. So I have avoided McDonald's, I refuse to buy brownie mix, and I use a decent size plate at dinner and I make myself sit there for about 10-15 minutes after I get done with the first plate to make sure that I want more because I'm hungry or just because I like the taste of the food. I am trying my best to be aware and in the moment when I make a food choice so that I can ask myself if I really want it, or is it convenient, soothing a problem, or does it just taste good? So far it seems to be helping and everyday it gets better.

Super great job, being in the zone sir and congrats on the weight loss so far! While I am not banded yet and still in WLS limbo for the moment I am trying hard every day to control my obsession for baked goods. Fast food, greasy food, doesn't appeal to me anymore and I find myself evaluating every food choice to see if it's worth the work to eat it. But what still gets me is baked goods. Not even candy appeals. Iced coffees, no way. But you slap some cake, cookies, brownies, etc in front of me and yeah I'll eat it. So to combat this my fiance comes up with the plan that if I want the whatever I have to prove that I earned it that day, I have to add 15 minutes of exercise the next day or that day, and I have to take 3/4 of the recommended serving size so I eat less calories than listed. This is my evaluation tool and more often then not I don't want the extra hassle to have it. If I am willing to do the work for it then I really want it and its not just because it's there. So far its working out well for me, but I can't wait until my insurance comes to a decision so I know what tool I get to use to help me with this!

It seems like in most self pay cases the doctors will do a small unfil if you have a problem and usually not charge you for it. So just call the doctor and tell them what's going on. Restriction and not being able to eat are two different things.

I'm so sorry Shelley...sucks when the monkey's throw wrenches and mess up the plan that you had in your head. As much as I hate it and don't want to do it the monkey's have wrenched me so bad that I'm gonna have to go and get bypass instead of the lovely band that I wanted. I can finance a band or college and have insurance pay for the bypass so that looks like the way I'm gonna have to go....I'm gonna lurk around here at LBT though. RNY board is kind of depressing.

Is there any other method of financing that you guys could try? Maybe some credit card or check with the different places that you might go through for surgery and see what financing they offer?

Thanks to both of you ladies. This is why I want to hang around here regardless of the surgery I get. You are all such wonderful and supportive people!

Yeah a friend of mine just pinned a recipe for dark chocolate cupcakes dipped in peanut butter and cover with a hard shell of chocolate. I was like what the heck is that? Can a dessert actually make you gain weight if you look at it because I felt the pounds pouring on while I was drooling over the picture. Man skinny people sometimes...

It's a wonderful thing to finally do something for yourself isn't it? Especially when the motivation behind it is that it also benefits others. That's why I am in the process of getting banded. I want to loose weight for me with the added benefit of being healthy for my kids. I know the first time I can actually play with them at the park will be amazing..I can't wait!

I unfortunately have the gross boobs and I can blame that squarely on my children. So I am already planning ahead to after surgery and loosing weight I will be getting a tummy tuck and they will fix the boobs. My fiancee is super ok with that expense because he remembers what I looked like in high school with the waist length blond hair and the impressive rack. Which is good because he's going to be paying for them!

Yay Jim!!!!! Super happy dance for you!!!

With Gastric Bypass and the Sleeve you can actually re-stretch your stomach and gain back weight if you're not careful. I have two friends that got each procedure, lost all kinds of weight in the first year and gained back at least half if not all of it by the 3 yr mark. I would say though that the sleeve seems like the way to go if your gonna revise because at least they aren't playing with your intestines, although cutting off a chunk of my stomach doesn't sound like much fun either. I would say that as far as less invasive surgery and recovery time you would be better off having them fix the band, but in the end it is a very personal choice and I wish you luck!

Congrats on the weight loss and the new found love of biking. I am looking forward to rediscovering my love of being outside, it's going slowly though!

Good luck with that. Can't say that I'm looking forward to two weeks of preop diet but I am sure looking forward to the operation. So I wish you all the luck in the world!

Well I ate my 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce with lean ground turkey, added 1/2 cup of 1% cottage cheese and ok'd myself to have 1 piece of bread, no cheese. And I'm good. I even talked to my trigger/friend and we both felt a lot better. She felt bad that just her calling me sent me into a food spiral. She actually called to tell me that she is a sucky friend and I am free to punch her in the face lol if I need to. So one less anxiety-ridden situation in my life! And I dealt with it without resorting to cheese or half a pan of brownies....

I bet you Jim that your wife is the President of your Fan Club and wants to know if you're having problems. As for the rest lets break this down:

You could have gotten bypass but remind yourself..why didn't you? Did you not want someone mucking about in your insides playing with your intestines, cause that is a big turn off for me...ewww. One giant reason that I don't want the bypass.

Next have you done a mental inventory of everything you are eating and drinking..everything. Even if you just took a bite of something cooking on the stove, a cracker you picked up and popped in your mouth without thinking. Is your sodium up..cause if your sodium is up but your not compensated with fluid then you will not move a scale. This is worse for women but it can seriously derail a scale for guys too.

Next...tell them (not literally) to bite you! All those people, and I have found some of this out already BEFORE being banded, feel like they have some stake in your weight loss, some of them are jealous, some of them may be tuly rooting for you. You have to figure out which and prioritize them. The people in your corner keep em, the ones that are jealous or just like drama you can use as motivation. So after you get unstuck and loose more weight you can say...yeah Ive lost such and such, lap band is slower than many other surgeries so you don't have digestive problems and loose skin, etc.

And you can always come here and rant and we will all mentally tell those people to bite us too!

hey mylynn

hate to say it but it sounds as if your (friend) is a smidge with the green eyed monster in just about all areas of your life.

you are trying to improve YOU. you are doing it. right this moment you are getting closer and closer to being who you want to be.

pity her if you must but do not let her control your mind/heart in making your life better. you are fighting for you. you are winning. dont stop.

Thanks carolinagirl it's pretty much what my parents, my fiancee's parents, my future sister-in-law, and my fiancee have told me. It's a hard habit to break though, as I've been doing this dance with her for 15 years. It always seems that when I am really low is when she is there to swoop in and rescue me, but when things go well for me she seems to distance herself.

Once upon a time loosing was easy for me, I had just never really made an effort and the idea of never eating some things again was so daunting that I gave up. Now after 2 kids, quitting smoking, severe postpartum depression and a thyroid that gave up the ghost, I think I'm ok with not eating a Big Mac ever again as long as my butt is smaller! I just can't stand the way I feel anymore and I would like to even loose 50 lbs. I am determined to do what I need to do, the exercise part well I will have to work up to that but I think I'll get there eventually.

Congrats on the loss so far, that is super awesome! I'm pre-op and decided to start watching my eating, so far I'm doing pretty good. The protein shakes actually help me because days when I don't care or can't seem to drum up the energy to cook something usually left me at a fast food restaurant but now I pop a can and go about my business. I am however pretty resistant to exercise. Last year I joined a gym with my Mom and I was stoked. I kept pushing myself and I built up stamina and felt better but....no weight loss. Oh I know I tightened up and lost inches but I wanted that scale to move! So I think this time around I am going to get my eating under control first and work up to exercise. That way I can see results first before I start putting on muscle and keep myself motivated.