gowalking

Consider yourself lucky LI Lady. That's a pretty good pre-op diet. Lot's of banders were on all liquids. I was able to have a small salad and some veggies every day along with the broth and Protein drinks. These two weeks will be challenging but just remember to follow the doctor's orders and you'll do great!

Hang in there countrysweet. I was supposed to be banded in October of last year, and was delayed three months because the hospital was damaged so badly during Hurricane Sandy. Talk about disappointment! But there was nothing I could do about it and now nearly a year later, the three month delay made virtually no difference.

Big doings today for me. I was on the subway twice. I haven't been on the subway in three years. Between the crowds and the stairs, I stopped a long time ago and stayed above ground. But anyone who knows Manhattan, knows that this time of the year especially, the streets are almost totally gridlocked and if you want to get anywhere quickly, you have to take the subway. I gave it a shot and did great even with the crowds. I still have the cane so I got a seat and people let me get out even when the train was full. And I walked up two flights when I got to my stop. Wasn't winded at all. The last time I did those stairs, I thought I'd pass out because I was huffing and puffing so bad. Today was a good day.

Reuben Studdard shouldn't be talking at all about taking the easy way out with WLS. He could use a little intervention himself. The politician Wendy was talking about is Chris Christie..the governor of New Jersey. He used the same surgeon as I did....and no...I've never seen him sitting in the waiting room for a fill...LOL! Anyway, I haven't seen any recent pics of him and it's true..the pics I have seen don't show a huge difference between Christie's before and after shots, but if he is struggling...it just goes to show you that anyone, public or private, can find WLS challenging.

Good luck and see you on the 'other side'.

It stopped here in the city Lisa so you may luck out on the commute home.

Oh sure...I know where you are. Yes...wear a new dress. It will make you feel wonderful. I'm heading out soon as well, but unlike you, I'm heading out into a winter wonderland. The snow is coming down pretty hard right now. And I'm sure my cousin who is from Boynton and up here visiting is having a great time seeing snow for the first time in years.

I posted last week about how spectacularly my life has changed in the year since being banded. I even mentioned that I hoped newbies were reading it to help inspire them. Just as you have gotten your life back B-52, so have I. Sometimes I fear folks will think I'm bragging, but your comments here are confirming how important it is to post positive stories so I will continue to do so. There are others out there with terrible joint pain and limited mobility, same as me a year ago. Today, with the weight loss and subsequent hip replacement surgery, full mobility is within my reach and I said on my post that I feel reborn and I'll say it here. This band saved my life. In fact I'll do what you said and shout it from the rooftop...THIS BAND SAVED MY LIFE!!! Have a great day everyone...it's snowing here in NYC to beat the band right now and I have to go out in it. I'd rather just watch it from my living room, but we must do what we must do...

Wonderful post! Congrats on all your successes.

I go to my aunt and uncle in Sunrise, and of course, I go to Sawgrass to shop. My late in-laws lived in Tamarac and then moved to Lauderhill...in a development not far from University and Commercial. Good luck on your interview!

Hi Ilene: Nope...I think you were correctly responding to lulu. She's the newbie who started this thread..I just posted to let her know I was also banded at NYU. And your explanation of why pizza can be a problem is spot on. How's the weather in Fort Lauderdale? My folks are in Aventura.

You are in bandster hell. That is the time period between the surgery and some feeling of restriction. This is when you just have to tough it out and diet until the fills start to work. Just be aware that feeling full no longer exists for you or any of us. Your goal is to feel satiety...which basically is that you eat till you are not hungry...which is not the same as being full. In time and with correct restriction, you should get to that point and then hopefully, you will 'get it'. Good luck and try not to be discouraged...you are very new to the process still.

Not just cashiers Bandista. My folks are very close to a former employee of my dad's who's Jamaican. Us kids call him 'the good son' because he calls my dad more than my brother does..lol. Anyway...Carl comes to visit my folks fairly often as his folks are also in Florida and sometimes my mom and dad take his son for an afternoon so Carl and his wife can have some couple time. My folks are white, and Marcel is brown. My mom says she gets funny looks plenty..especially from her neighbors. If anyone she knows questions her, she just says, 'this is my grandson Marcel. Everyone says he looks just like me.' It works every time...

Hi yoyo. I think you hear different things because folks follow different 'plans' or 'rules' and go with what works for them. I can't really figure what a cup of food is so for me, it's much easier to work a WW type of plan which is the 3 oz. Protein, 1/2 cup veggies, 1/4 cup carbs for dinner. Breakfast is sometimes eggs, but mostly cream of wheat or oatmeal...1 packet. Lunch often is a half a tuna sandwich or some other type of half sandwich...grilled cheese is another favorite of mine (no butter...use PAM) or hummus with a WW pita or wrap. I enter everything I eat into myfitnesspal and stay at around 1,100 calories. Find what works for you and you'll be just fine. Good luck!

Good luck with the interview Terry!

OK, ready for this?? I hate motorcycles...always have. I think they're dangerous and was thrilled when my boys eventually sold their bikes off. I know that folks who ride love the feeling..it's just that I personally don't like 'em. Having said that however, my physical therapist rides a bike and even after he took a spill and broke his wrist recently, he still rides and tells me how much he loves it. Well...at PT last week, I was able to get on one of the weight machines backwards in order to work on strengthening exercises on my back. This is the first time since the hip surgery that I could get my leg up and around the seat fairly easily. Sanjay was silently watching me and then quietly said, 'That was spectacular. If it's the last thing I do, I'm gonna get you on my bike and we're going for a ride.' I still doubt I'll do it. Imagine me on a motorcycle in Manhattan...aagghh! You take your life in your hands just crossing the street, much less sharing the road with cars, taxi's, trucks, and NYC buses. But...just to know that I can get on a bike is miraculous to me.

Hey lellow! miss you since the chat room got taken over by the sleevers.

I'm seeing alot of posts from folks with January surgery dates and I can't help but think about how I was a newbie this time a year ago. I joined this site just shy of a year ago and read lots and lots of posts because I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was scared to death of what the future would hold...whether or not I would be able to live successfully as a banded person...and mostly...would this work when nothing else did. A year ago I was morbidly obese, on blood pressure medication for years, and most importantly, in constant pain from arthritis in my knees. I was told by my doctor that I was not a good candidate for knee replacement and after seeing the report of my MRI, I knew I needed a new knee. I was risking not being able to walk and that was so scary that I decided WLS was what I needed to do. Mind you...I didn't want to do this...I needed to do this. So I was not in a great place psychologically but again...I had no choice. Fast forward almost one year and I have lost 100 pounds. It turns out that my hips were worse than my knees and I had to have both of them replaced. I was fortunate enough to have lost the weight fast enough to plan the surgery six months after being banded. I had the surgery in early October and am starting to see the progress. I am dealing now with post op pain and soreness and not the crippling pain that had me bedridden for two weeks before the surgery and on pain meds round the clock. I am walking much better, I can go up and down stairs better, I have more stamina and strength and my future as an able bodied person is right in front of me. I can reach out and touch it and I truly feel reborn. For those of you just starting out, please know that this can be you a year from now. You can post your own success stories and hope to inspire others and I am doing now. Oh....and as an aside, I'm off the BP meds and have seen all the other successes we've all dreamed about. I no longer fear airplane seats, restaurant booths, theater seats (oh how narrow they are in the old theaters in NYC), and chairs with arms. I can sit on the bus or the train and not have to worry about the fear in other people's eyes when they think I'm going to try to squeeze into the seat next to them. No one stares at me anymore. I'm not embarrassed by my cane anymore. I always thought people were judging me...a fat woman with a cane...yeah, look what she did to herself. Now no one thinks that. If anything, they see me as I am. Someone who is likely recuperating from some type of procedure. I know this because unfortunately, people are kinder. They notice and let me pass, or tell me to take my time. Such was not the case a year ago. But...I digress. This post is not about that...there are lots of other posts about society and how the overweight are treated. This post is to let all you scared and unsure folks out there know that you can do this. I have all the confidence in the world in all of you and am looking forward to hearing wonderful things. For those of you struggling...newbies and vets alike, stick with this site. The folks here will help and support you no matter what. Have a great day everyone. I'm off to the Y to do some biking before the snow starts. Bless you all!!

Well...I can finally post here. I got on the scale this morning...as I do every Sunday morning and it said 166.8. That means officially I am 100.2 pounds down from my pre-banded weight a year ago. I have a goal on my ticker of 150 lbs. based on my doctor's suggestion but I have no intention of changing how I am eating and will let the scale stop wherever it naturally does. If I lose more and go below 150, great. If I never lose another pound, still great. I met my goal already. I'm able to buy clothes in stores other than Avenue. I'm in misses sizes and not plus sizes. I lost enough weight to have my hip replacement surgery and am still healing but in a much better place as far as pain and mobility. I can see progress every day in terms of my mobility and it is like being reborn. I look normal now and no one stares at the fat woman anymore. I want to send my thanks to the band for helping me to get to this point, and also to send my thanks to the folks on this site for providing the inspiration and support I needed and still need to succeed in this journey.

Welcome Lulu. I was also banded at NYU and my surgeon was Fielding's wife...Dr. Ren. I will echo what others have said. This is a great site and you will find lots of support here. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions per the surgical group or the hospital.

oh sweetheart...you've just started. first of all, ten pounds is amazing. second...you will have stalls, weight gains, plateaus, etc. just focus on following your doc's protocol, which it sounds like you are doing, and the weight will come off. Remember...you didn't gain it overnight, and you won't lose it that way either. I bet that three months from now, you'll have a nice weight loss and maybe even be in smaller sizes.

If you are being compliant and not losing weight, you absolutely must discuss this with the doctor and nutritionist..and you should have told the nurse she presumed wrong. Root cause, shmoot cause. That's for folks who are not changing their eating habits. Again, if you are following the protocol and not losing, get the help you deserve. Good luck.

oh yeah....the changes are very obvious. Great job so far!

Please don't set yourself up for failure. There is no average weight loss and 13 days post op might find you with a weight gain due to swelling, fluids, etc. Just take this journey to wherever it leads you and know that as long as you follow your doctor's guidelines, you should do well. Good luck!

Oh Seela...I spotted your post and even though I'm a bandster, I so feel the same way you do. I also see an old woman looking back at me in the mirror. She has lines around her mouth, bags under her eyes, and a horrible turkey neck. The saggy skin everywhere else, I can hide under clothes but the face....how can you hide that? It's so bad (in my head at least) that I've started seeing a professional to talk about it. I haven't been this small in 15 years so when I look in the mirror, I have no idea who this 'normal sized' old woman is. I had cataract surgery recently and these brand new eyes were horrified at first at what they saw. Heck...the first thing I did was run to the drug store and buy concealer...LOL. But seriously...I so get what you are saying. All I can suggest is that you try to remember what I keep telling myself. Looking like this is still much better than the weight I used to carry around with me.