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Awesome! Best wishes for your health, hope you get better soon.

Happy daylight savings everyone! I've been looking forward since the new year. My activity levels and e we use go way up when it is light out when I get home from work. I'm already exercising at night now, looking to kick it up a notch this summer.

I don't know if you should even worry about the Water weight. Make sure to drink plenty of water every day as that helps keep you hydrated and will reduce water retention especially as you exercise and sweat. As you are exercising you will also be building muscle, that may also be having impact on your weight as it is heavier than fat. You do want to gain the muscle though as it increases metabolism and will help you loose weight faster in the long run. Best of luck!

I like this idea! How about pounding the chicken thin, maybe even crusting it lightly with cornmeal.. got my thinking cap on!

Great job! Any tips for the guys? Workout food etc. I'm hitting a plateau and looking to change things up 6 months post surgery.

My doctor was ok with Diet green tea (I use Arizona brand) sipping that helped a lot. I was still cranky for the first 2-3 days though.

Every doctor has their own rules, you should follow what your doctor says. My doctor wants me to have clear liquids for 2 hours and soft food the rest of the day with the solids the next day. This is the protocol I am given even when I got an unfill. He also says it takes a couple of days before your band shows the full effect of the fill/unfill, because of the swelling. I have noticed that anytime I vomit, I have to stay on liquids/soft food for a day or so or I just keep making it worse. I too have problems with eggs, especially scrambled. Best of luck!

I still eat chocolate, I go out and buy backing chips bags of guittard milk chocolate. I eat it one chip at a time and let it melt in my mouth. Helps me get over my cravings with a few small pieces usually 1/4 serving (one serving is 28 pcs). Way better control than when I was eating bars or candies.

One thing I am reading is that when you are just tight enough, the band gets you feeling full with a little food and then keeps you from getting hungry. If you get to the point that you are waiting a minute between swallows and are chewing really well with the band being just tight enough, the weight will fall off. I am currently hovering close to the green zone and I will tell you that the lack of hunger is an amazing feeling. I was too tight for the last 2 weeks of December and while I was not getting hungry, the staying on liquids and PBing was not fun, did loose 9 lbs in the two weeks though. I find that if I am eating when hungry, taking in Protein and zero calorie fluids and exercising for an hour at least 2-3 days a week, I will loose weight rapidly. Keep getting regular band fills, if you are too tight ask the doctor to take a little Fluid out and go slow with the fills as your eating style and your body need to adjust to the fill. If you manage to take in your protein and drink fluids you will loose weight. Best of luck!

Looks great! Congratulations.

I found the Fage Greek Fat Free yogurt to have the lowest Carbs and calories with the highest protein content of them all.

No doubt, I am adjusting to this new way of eating. I have lost weight before and put it back on and then some so for true long term weight loss I do recommend the band.

I have twin two year old boys and my job is very demanding of time so I hear ya. Yes the $3000 counts towards the $8000 maximum. Try the pre band diet, loose some weight that will help a lot regardless. The first 20 pounds made a big difference to my back pain, cholesterol etc. If you can swing it, do the band, if you can't, do some of the stuff that bandsters do - 64+ oz of calorie free fluids a day 60+ gms of protein Low fat low carb food No refined starch or sugars. Keep logs. Read on the forum regularly for ideas and motivation...

It has to be medically necessary for them to cover it regardless. It should be considered necessary in your case. You will have to pay the 20% up to the annual out of pocket maximum. Make sure that the surgeon and his team including the internal medicine, psych, dietitian are in-network. Also ensure that both the hospital and the anesthesiologist are in-network as well. Lets say your in-network out of pocket maximum for the year is $5000. No matter what, you should not have to pay more than that including the deductible and the co-payment as long as you stay in network. If money is a big issue, plan on doing this in the same year as some other big medical expenses to offset the cost. You could look at the pre-surgery diets that people talk about on this forum. If you work at it you should loose some weight on it. A loss of 20-30 lbs will get your cholesterol under control. If you exercise it would help as well. It will all be good preparation for getting the band as you have to control what you eat and exercise when you have the band. Although the band does make it easier to eat less as it suppresses hunger and can restrict food you eat. Start by pretending you have the band and go from there.

Yes, I have Anthem Blue Cross and with them you either need a BMI > 40or have BMI > 35 (? not sure about the exact number here) and have co-morbidities like high cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes or sleep Apnea. For obese persons, there is a good chance of having Sleep Apnea so if needed you could test for that. I would suggest planning so most of the pre and post surgery is done in one year to maximize deductible and benefits. The cost is not insignificant but I planned it when my family was already close to the deductible and with my BMI > 40 and with the co-morbidities it was a quick approval with no pre-approval weight loss required. My total out of pocket ended up being about $1200.

Realize that you are not supposed to stuff the pouch, my doctor told me the pouch can hold no more than one ounce of food at a time. This does not mean you can only eat one ounce at a meal. The food is constantly moving past the band, about a small bite every minute. Chew well and eat slowly, pausing 1 minute after you swallow well chewed food. You may be able to eat more or less than one cup but you are expected to stop eating once your hunger is satisfied. My doctor expects me to eat half a cup of Protein first followed by half a cup of veggies. If I am still hungry, I can have a quarter to half cup carbs. The green zone comes when you can eat comfortably without getting stuck and do not feel hungry between meals.