NancySmiles

I know this is NOT what you wanna hear...but according to the Dietitian, it takes a good YEAR to at least get on the road to changing our eating habits. Look how long it took us to perfect them....they can't and they won't go away in a few months. Look how AWESOME you've all done!!! 172 pounds!!! Holy cow...that is 2 small people!!! Just get back on the wagon and continue where you left off!!! WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!!

WOO HOO!!! Leatha!!! you go girl!!!

Corgi - you are on your way to a whole new life.....Good luck for the 18th and always! My thoughts and prayers are with you.... Greg - If your daughter is anything like you....She is already ahead of the game!!! Full of p--- and vinegar!!! She can do nothing short of beating this thing!!! La_Madam - I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like going through what you've been through......I only know that God does not give you any more than you can handle......Hang in there.......you will come though this......

I had the same reaction......Ricotta and Peanut Butter??? Wow....whoda thunk??? Gonna have to try it now!

I wish I had known that the surgery was the EASIEST part of the whole lap band experience......I had an idea that it might be....Dietitian said it is STILL a change of lifestyle....but untill you go through it.....and it's a few months down the road.....you don't belive it......It's always been eaasier to lose weight...than to keep it off!! So why would we think this would be different??? But we have more of a chance to KEEP it off with the band than without......so here we are.....it's STILL the best thing I have ever done for myself!!! Kimalicious - I know what you mean about "It's a Tool"........

Greg - This sounds just like you. Beautiful on the inside and out. You’re a VERY rare breed of man. To find a man with all your talents, personality, emotion, conviction, sensitivity, compassion, intelligence, spirituality, and sense of humor all rolled up into one person is VERY rare indeed. I am proud to have you as my friend. Don’t ever change a hair on your head….yeah that one right there in the middle. :-) Huggssssssssssssssss. Nancy Kathy - I know exactly how you feel. My Mom passed away 5 years ago. While she was in the hospital the whole year before she died, I would visit her and she would usually be sleeping. I would stand there and watch her sleep, and wait for her to wake up. When she woke up, she always said "Here you are, my guardian angel" or just sometimes "my angel". There isn't a day that goes by that I don't pick up the phone to call her. She's my own special angel in heaven now, watching over me, and always will be. Paula - My sentiments exactly! I have been on the intrnet for 11 years, since the very beginning of AOL and Prodigy, etc. Believe it or not, I still keep in touch and talk to several of the friends I have made from the net. It's awesome! A group of us used to meet every morning online after taking the kids to school and it was likehaving coffee with the girls (and guys). There are a few I have spoken to for the entire 11 years. It's unbelieveable. Take care all of you.....HUGGGGGGGGGGGSSSSSS Nancy*

Please add to this list the website links for your surgeon's, hospital's, lap band support group, Michigan lap band groups, etc. There are so many out there and we can get an ongoing list started which would help us all tremendously! Help keep the list growing. TIA!!! www.macombbariatrics.com (St. John Hospital - Office in St. Clair Shores) http://12.42.224.190/frontpage/lap_band_surgery.htm (Port Huron Hospital) WWW.MidsouthBariatrics.com (Memphis, Tennessee)

YOU??? Trouble??? Nooooooooo!!! Not you!!! My usual screen name is NautyNnce, which I chose at Christmas time (my FAVORITE holiday) about 6 years ago. Just like the song, making a list, checking it twice.......yada yada.....But as the months went by....people kept calling me Nauty Nancy.....so I suppose it could work both ways since Nancy IS my name! So I guess it could work BOTH ways....but what commotion I caused in chat rooms!!! Can never keep up with all the messages.....it really was an innocent choice.....believe it or not! But when I had the lap band surgery on 9/24/04 and got on the PC a month before to gather more info.....I wanted a new image....maybe not a new image...but a positive one....so I chose NancySmiles. It's both a happy & sad story. I chose it mainly because my Dad always called me "Nancy with the Laughing Face"....after the Sinatra song...and because I am ALWAYS smiling....at least most of the time anyway.....When he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's almost 10 years ago, he used to remember my name that way....and when I would come to visit I would say, "it's me, Dad, Nancy with the Laughing Face." And he woudl say, oh yeah...I knew that.... Well, as the years went on and his disease progressed, even more quickly after my Mom passed away 5 yrs ago, he would say it less and less....I knew I had lost him (mentally) forever when he stopped knowing who I am. So when I chose my name for ANY websites having to do with Lap Band surgery, I started using the name NancySmiles....as a personal tribute to my Dad (who is still living, but in very late stages now), and also because I do smile...all the time, thinking of the good memories I have of my Dad and also because of the new healthy life I have now.....with my band and all the friends I have made because of it....especially all of you! soooooooooo................NancySmiles............forever!!!

Same problem here, even more so!! My throid numbers are out of whack and can be a part of the problem too besides the Protein thing.....! The coal tar thing makes sense! When I started taking the thyroid medicine 30 years ago, the doc prescribed this shampoo and stuff to put on my hair at night that had coal tar in it. So you may be onto something there! Thanks for the ideas! N*

Do you know what my husband used to say every time I would start another diet...??? His exact words were "So how long is it going to take you to gain it back this time???" Talk about not even wanting to try at all!!! After several disappointments....I would keep it to myself whenever I started back at WW or any other diet....But that really defeats us too...because then the only support we have is ourselves and the members at the meetings....but better that we have the support of people who are for us rather than against us. I used to think maybe he was using reverse psychology on me so that I would try my darnedest to prove him wrong....but he wasn't...he just had no clue what a diet was all about or what it was like to be overweight!!! He has been 170 pounds - 5'10" since the day we got married, his family is all thin, mine is all heavy, etc etc.....so i had to look elsewhere for support....or within myself! You probably ask what makes this time different? Well, it's cuz I have this tool....and I know my chances of keeping the weight off are excellent...and I am determined!!! One of the main reasons why I had the surgery in the first place was because about 1.5 yrs ago I had a stroke....8/14/03, the day of the big BLACKOUT. I walked up 2 flights of stairs and was short of breath, and I could not straighten out my left side. I knew EXACTLY what was happening as I had worked in hospitals and in the ER for several years and knew the signs. Luckily the symptoms lasted only a minute or two. But it made a very big impact in what I would need to do. I needed to lose weight so that it would never happen again....it scared the living daylights out of me....!!! scared me too that I might never see my kids again, or my grandkids (when I have them), or my husband and the rest of my family. I wasn't even 50 yet!!! That was the last straw!!! So begun my Quest to have weight loss surgery, and I am so glad I decided on the lap band! ANd you must follow up! Your doctor is the one who can help you get through this. The office staff is there for you...for your support....they are your friends....and understand what you are going through. Anyway....I don't mean to rattle on...but you have to remember WHY you had the surgery in the first place. You have to think of what was/is important to you. In the end, it was YOUR decision.....it was what YOU had to do to get yoru life back!!! And don;t let anyone make you feel the least bit bad or guilty for doing that! I am not sure how old you are....but I am so glad you didn't wait till you were almost 50 to do something about it! YOU are finally in control of food....it's not in control of you anymore!!! Good Luck!!! N*

This post is just minutes after yours....must be fate! I had the same problem when I found out my surgery date. I had already made up my mind that the only person at work I would tell would be my boss....I didn't want her to think it was some kind of debilitating or heart surgery. Also, for the same reason as yours.....well-wishers who unintentionally sabotage our weight loss...and lead us to the path of gaining it back again. I could lose weight.....but keeping it off was impossible...because people would say how nice I looked and how thin I looked...so I figured...if I looked that good I didn't need to follow the diet anymore! End of success! So I know exactly what you are going through. I had my surgery on 9/24/04 and just about a month ago started telling others about my surgery. I have lost almost 70 pounds and now that people are asking "how'd you do it"? I have to be honest and tell them...have to give credit to the band and me! I tell them exactly how I did it....with the help of this great tool. We all have been told over and over that the band is NOT a "magic cure"....that it will still take OUR hard work and a definite change of lifestyle. It's a "TOOL" to help us lose the weight and keep it off. You need to face the scale, for yourself. You need the accountability, and the Dietitian is there to help you if you have a problem with your diet. The surgery, I feel, is the easiest part of the whole process!!! It's the follow up and support that is VERY IMPORTANT afterwards!!! This is what helps you get used to your new lifestyle. You can only tell people about the surgery when you have come to terms with your success first. I was not ready.....not right away....but now I am a speaker at the Lap Band Seminars at our hospital and I am not afraid or ashamed or embarrassed at all to tell everyone that I lost the weight with the help of the lap band. There are always those who will say, why couldn't you do it on your own? But they don't understand, because they have never tried. Having the surgery is the BEST thing I have done for myself in my life!!! There is nobody that can convince me otherwise. It will take time; but you will see the changes in yourself, in the mirror, and gain your self-confidence back. It didn't take us overnight to gain the weight....so it won't happen overnight that we get used to the wonderful changes in us!!! I've been fat all my life....so it will take a while for me to think of myself as otherwise! I can bet in a few months you will be your surgeon's best advocate!!! Bring out that scale....or go to the doctor's office to get weighed....just only do it once a week or every two weeks, so you are not checking all the time. Hang in there....you'll start to recognize that the person you are seeing in the mirror is YOU....inside and out!!! Take care, Nancy* huggggggggsssss

Penni!!! That is awesome!!! Every inch DOES count!! Just ask the guys!!! Take that any way you want!!! LOL Hope I don't get into trouble for that one! But then my middle name is TROUBLE! Way to go!!! Nancy* :Bunny

With the Lap Band surgery becoming more and more widespread (no pun intended) there have been more cookbooks being published with easy recipes and menu ideas for post-lap-band patients. One in particular that I love is "Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery": Over 140 Delicious Low-Fat, High-Protein Recipes to Enjoy in the Weeks, Months and Years after Surgery -- by Patt Levine, et al; Paperback. It's awesome! Not only does she have great recipes; but each recipe's directions are broken down by lap band stages, gastric bypass, etc. This is not an advert for the book; but only my opinion. Another I came across which is also a great choice is "Exodus from Obesity: The Guide to Long-Term Success After Weight Loss Surgery" by Paula F. Peck. - Tips for preventing binge eating when hunger returns. - Skills for dining out at restaurants, salad bars and parties. - Identification of the triggers that set off out-of-control eating. Also, for pre-band AND post-band patients Weight Loss Surgery For Dummies® (For Dummies S.) by Marina S. Kurian, Barbara Thompson, Brain K. Davidson answers all the typical questions, along with giving meal ideas. Anyway, these three are excellent sources, along with all the websites aout there. Just type in weight loss surgery, weight loss surgery recipes, etc in Google, Mozilla, Ask Jeeves, Yahoo, or any search engine you use to get a multitude of ideas!!! If you have any books, websites, recipes, or ideas to share, please post here! Variety is what we need and these will definitely help! Thanks!!! Nancy

PS "Before and After: Living and Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery" by Susan Maria Leach is another great book. Also, have to add that the Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies book does not come out till May, 2005; but you can pre-order it on Amazon.com or any other book site.

Hey !!! Me too!!! Nice to meet all of you and Congrats!!! There are some terrific weight losses here!!! I hope all of you know about the FIRST ANNUAL MICHIGAN BANDSTOCK 2005 event !!! It's on June 25, 2005 in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The website should be up and running next week with more details at www.bandstock.net and we would love to see all of you there! We hope to make it a successful first lap band event for Michigan! A couple of us at Eastside Surgical Specialists Lap Band Support Group were discussing the possibility of visiting other support group meetings, swapping speakers, etc. and wondered what you all think of that idea? If you would, please post the dates and times of your support group meetings and seminars so that maybe we can visit. I just started a new thread in the MICHIGAN section about Lap Band Support Groups in MI. It would be a great opportunity to commpare ideas and thoughts and listen to others' experiences. I, for one, would be interested. If you prefer not to post it publicly, please feel free to email me. Thanks! Nancy*

CONGRATULATIONS SCOTTY!!! You're on your way to a whole new happy healthy life!!! I think your mum should be very happy for you. She is probably a typical Mom who would be worried about ANY kind of surgery her child would have! I know I would be, from a simple tooth extraction to anything else they might need. I think the ONLY thing she would be a bit miffed about is not being there to support you....but she may surprise you and be there for you now to help you through your journey. You know her better than anyone does...but I hope it goes well. Think positive....she may surprise you! Nancy* PS I have a very close friend in Scotland, she is also a Nancy, and if all Scottish folks are like her, your mum will be happy for you. Scots are a great bunch of people! My husband's family is Scottish, so I am only Scottish by "injection" ; but have learned alot about them and about Scotland, and it's all good!!

PS I also eat out of boredom...I think it's a habit we've all developed over the years...and we are definitely NOT alone! It's a proven fact, at least in my case, that I can be on the computer for hours on end, sometimes 5-6 at a time if I have lots to do and will do nothing but drink Water. But the second I get in front of the TV, I need something to munch on!!! HONEST!!! And it's not even that I am hungry...just a habit! Needless to say, I don;t watch much TV, unless it's a special or a favorite; but have to have my big jug o' water with me or I am in big trouble!!! :rolleyes

Check out the food JOURNAL THREAD....I just discovered it yesterday and it's AWESOME!!! Will keep you full of ideas of what others are eating, and keep you honest if youpost your own journals. Check it out....it WILL help!!! There are also cookbooks coming out that I have seen. One in particular that I love is " Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery": Over 140 Delicious Low-Fat, High-Protein recipes to Enjoy in the Weeks, Months and Years after Surgery -- by Patt Levine, et al. Not an advert...just being honest....As the lap band surgery gets more popular, there are more books being published on the subject! Hope this helps! N*

Geez Greg!!! I think it's a "DAD" thing....they all do that to their kids....until they get wise to you!!! ROFLMAO!!!

EXACTLY Paula!!! That's exactly how it sounds!!! Mostly when I get restriction though. Also heard that the hiccups are caused by the restriction. Guess it's like a verbal warning sign......N*

I have heard/read from GRT139 that your band IS tighter in the mornings!!! You might want to look for his thread. Just go to his ID. So yes...it WILL pass...in a couple hours after you wake up. N*

you need to just cut and paste the "URL" portion of the ticker to your signature for it to show up.

DeLarla - I hear ya about the 1 feline and 2 canines!!! I thought since I was eating way less than before they would stop begging!!! But they still seem to love my fat free cheese and oatmeal with wheat germ and flaxseed.....!!! Does this mean they are desperate or are they creatures of habit just like us???

Yikes!!! That would kick in the chocolate cravings even more !!! At least for me it would!

No unusually crazy diets.....just been on every one you can think of! Greg's experience - OMG - reminds me of the time I was driving home with a pizza, rushing to get home before it got cold. Ended up being stopped for speeding. Cold again.... Come to think of it, it might have been you, Greg, that was drooling all over my speeding ticket at the window of my car!!! C'mon, fess up, it was you wasn't it???!!! I've lost sooooooo many pounds in my lifetime....but they've always managed to find me again!!!