Bandista

Hey Bandista.. can i just say one word for your troubles.... "IPAD"... lol sorry so not a fan of apple and all the hype that company generates.. i feel like we should just chant we are Borg you will be assimilated.... I totally agree, and I have an iMac - lol! I switched from a PC three years ago, and now run a virtual PC on the Mac to run my business (accounting). I do have to say that I've never gotten a virus, spyware or malware, but when this computer dies, I'm going back to a PC. Even if I have to replace the PC every three years, it's still so much cheaper than getting another Mac. I always say……Apple people are drinking some sort of Kool-Aid. Their products aren't crap, but they certainly don't fulfill all the hype. And now, with Steve Jobs out of the picture, it will be interesting to see if they keep up. Just MHO. I love my iPad -- please love me anyway. Shall I confess to having Apple TV and an iPhone? Love my Apple products but who the hell cares what you use?

Hi Susan, I can't tell from your profile -- have you been banded?

OMG so funny. Icy One, you are hilarious -- thank you from the bottom of my 52 year old heart. Hell, I'm just getting started!

You are ushering in the right satiety.....great we can work with our medical professionals to get the adjustment that's right for us individually......you are getting there!

I am so new at all this but I want to offer support. I've been reading so many posts the last six months or so. What about the five day pouch test? I think the liquids for two weeks might really help your band and tell you more about what's going on. Let us know how you're doing!

Hi Wigg, you are nearly there! I am less than a month out and so happy I did this. My weight is going down but there are also all sorts of other ways that I am feeling so happy -- did not anticipate this getting out of food jail feeling. The release. I highly recommend exercise -- for me it started with walking that night in the hospital and I have not stopped. Now I'm amazing myself, truly. Who is this person? Well I started out dragging an IV pole up and down the hallway and then continuing at home around the driving circle. A year ago I could never have done this but now I'm a real exerciser. I'm pretty sure that is what helped me heal so fast -- that and not doing narcotic pain medication. Now it's helping me she'd. Good luck to you. Keep us posted!

I hear you, Band Sister. Still don't have this figured out. Drinking Smooth Move tea is helping (by Celestial Seasonings -- sold in our regular grocery store in the Wild Harvest section) but I don't want to have to rely on laxative tea. I am less than a month out and I think I'm still adjusting. Have had beets, steamed -- good food for me even though no protein. Tricky, this one! Not having much food by comparison. Colon is wondering what the heck is going on. Well, we are getting thin, that's what. I have Milk of Mag but yuck. And too violent. I will be watching this thread for sure!

Hi there, ports are placed in different places so we don't know. I can feel mine just above and to the lest of my belly button. I am three and a half weeks and for me walking has helped with everything -- it kicked my body into healing mode to begin with and now we are shedding. Love this! Even ten minutes walking a few times a day and you are there. Best wishes!

How exciting! A new baby and a whole new chapter in your life. So happy for you. I think you will want some help, particularly for picking up or if the baby is one who needs to be walked around a lot. You can do the cuddling and sleeping part with the baby and maybe some one can do the rest for a bit? Walking is great if some one can get the baby into a stroller for you and out again. Talk to your doctor about the incisions and lifting, just to be on the safe side. Best wishes -- you're almost there!

I'm taking Biotin as a preventative measure......don't know what the scientific studies show but I figure it can't hurt. I noticed in another thread that a dermatologist can give advice and I think there are some special shampoos out there. Also I have read that the hair comes back so if it does happen don't panic.

Sounds like everything is moving along nicely! Congratulations on your hard work getting to this place. What a way to start 2014! Fingers crossed for a quick and positive response. I had a five month wait. Really dragged at times but in the end I was glad for that time to prepare mentally. I'm really glad I upped my exercise so after I was banded I could move right into that mode. Something switched in my head and now I actually want to exercise. The band did that for me -- I never had the willpower before. Good luck to you -- you will be there soon!

Desk jobs can be so hard on the body. How about getting up and out for ten minutes? No one will even miss you. Walk for ten minutes and when you have that down as a daily practice add another ten. If you have four of these breaks a day you will be a 40 minute a day walker. It really does add up. So good for managing stress and increased activity may be just what you need. Some one already mentioned My Fitness Pal. I like plugging in my exercise, though I don't pay attention to the increase in calories MFP assigns for exercise. It's a great way to track food intake as well. I am sometimes surprised by how those calories add up. Good luck to you -- glad you're here on the forum.

Hi there and welcome! Congratulations on your success -- very inspiring for those of us just starting out.

Surgery 11/5/2013 -- I started at 248 and lost 10 pre-op diet, down 11 more since. Current weight 227 with a goal of 148 (will see when I get down there what feels right).

Friday check-in 227. This is my first month banded -- down 11 pounds. Met my exercise goal and have really become a walker, an every single day kind of walker. There was only one day in this time period that I didn't do it, so I'm very proud of that. It's helping me in every way. And I got the twinkly lights up so our little cottage in the woods is not so dark now as we approach Solstice. Lisa, thank you for organizing this challenge. It really helped me and was fun!

So happy for you -- we are on our way to good health and happiness!

I'm a private person and only wanted a few people to know -- spouse (a blabber mouth so I had to drill him in the need for secrecy), a handful of very close friends. There are a couple I wish I hadn't told. I didn't want to tell my parents as they are elderly and my mother has been obsessed with my weight loss -- she's handed me every diet book on the market for twenty+ years. It turned out I had a hernia repair when band was installed so we ended up telling my parents and others that's what was up, and why, by the way, I have to eat very small meals.

Great post, Sandy! Love the idea of being resolute now, at the beginning of winter and the holiday season. I'm going to come up with my own little list -- yours is very inspiring. Up with the protein and hydration, down with obsessing over the scale.

Hi there, not In your neck of the woods but want to say that your voice is one I've missed during this web forum change-up -- so glad to see you again!

Hi there and welcome! Thanks for your great intro post. I am 52, banded 11/05. Very happy with this decision. It's not just the weight loss but also the mental/emotional improvement. I feel greet, am exercising and just so happy. Good luck to you -- glad you're here on the forum.

Hi there, banded 11/05, not even a month yet -- cannot believe how happy I am with this decision!

I'm definitely happier and more balanced. Maybe it's because the food I'm putting into my body is good food in such smaller amounts than in the old days and my body doesn't have to work so hard. My head is clearer -- I'm not foggy and tired. I'm making good decisions. It's such a relief not to be preoccupied with food choices -- all that chatter is gone and the dialogue of what I should or should not have is turned down. I look forward to eliminating it completely! And my body is overjoyed with all the increased exercise. This is new for me -- the serotonin I've always heard about is finally noticeable for me. I think I was stopping just short before, that I didn't have the oomph to take it further. So, more oomph for sure. I am also noticing that I'm less shy and I think my self-esteem is getting better. In getting the band I really chose myself and gave myself this gift of health and happiness. I'm not putting myself last anymore, or putting myself down in funny little ways. This has been happening since I made the decision last June and even though I've been banded such a short time it's like a switch got thrown. I am taking better care of myself in other ways than food and exercise, too, giving myself room to spread my wings. My creative life is starting to soar. Thanks for starting this thread. I'm very grateful to all of you for being there for the ups and downs. It really helps me to write out my thoughts -- connecting here reinforces the decision I've made and keeps me in the right frame of mind. This was a very nice way to begin Thanksgiving morning! Best wishes every one for a lovely day.

I will be exercising on Thanksgiving morning -- definitely a first for me! Instead of major food prep, I made sure to organize a good workout for tomorrow so I don't miss a day on Turkey Day. Then we'll have our feast, which for me will just be a tad of everything. I'm not dreading it, but I'm also not the least bit obssessed with the food part of the holiday. More worried about getting my work-out in. For me, this is a complete turnaround and a very happy mode to be in. Thank you, Band!

Try not to overdo -- even though you probably feel great now still need to go easy with any bending or lifting that might pull at incision sites. Congratulations on being a week out -- I am just two weeks ahead of you (11/5). So happy!

Congratulations! Best wishes for a speedy recovery. The walking was really great for me......three weeks out now and so happy with my decision! I did have a stuck episode, too, even though I was determined not to ever have it happen. Too much, too fast. Steamed beets I was really craving and a little bit of tuna. But went at those beets in my old shovel-like way. Got the hiccups for twenty minutes then threw up. I am really working on slow eating and small portions. Had been measuring heretofore but had a visit with my nutritionist who said I shouldn't be wedded to the half cup measure. I was eating about two half cups of food at a time, for a cup. Probably just exceeded the limit of my pouch as I can't eyeball very yet, or it was just that I ate way too fast. You are going to do fine!