BlooEyez

Congrats on your fill and RESTRICTION!! Now the journey really begins!

NKOTB are coming back to LA for a 2nd show on November 26th ... I might go again =)

Hi SWEETMAMA_OF4 ~

Congrats on your recent banding! How are you doing so far??

To get the weight off, I was very strict with myself in those first few months after banding ... I had a routine and I stuck to it. I ate 3 small meals, 2 small snacks inbetween and most importantly, I made sure to get in all my water everyday. Before banding, my drink of choice was soda ... I absolutely despised water but knew going into this I had to train myself to like it and like ALOT of it! So to make sure I got in all my "required" fluids I drank a 16oz. bottle of water between each meal/snack so by the end of the day I had at least 4 bottles down. Of course, to make it taste better I added the little packets of Crystal Light and such but definitely getting in all of your fluids is most important.

As you may know, it takes 3-5 small fills to get to your "sweet spot" and start losing ... well, I'm a bit impatient (and somewhat stubborn according to my husband ... but what does he know!) so anyway I started following a low carb diet after banding to help speed up the process. Some people don't "agree" with that and it may not work for everyone, but it works for me. I have never in my life liked vegetables (the ones that are actually good for you) so my typical meal doesn't consist of a protein followed by a vegetable then a "good" carb as most doctors would suggest. My diet consists of mainly protein and just a few carbs. I occasionally have a salad but like I said, occasionally. When the weight slows down and I start to plateau, I switch my routine a bit to kickstart the loss again and I do that by either increasing/decreasing my calorie intake or just increasing my carbs. We're all different, what works for me may not work for you and vice versa and of course you should follow the post-op plan that your doctor has suggested, I'm just telling you what has worked for me. In addition to my "strict" routine, I was also walking 1 mile each evening. I bought an elliptical machine too but I've since decided it's evil and so now it collects dust in my garage, LOL ...

Best of luck to you on this wonderful Lap Band journey ... it has definitely changed my life for the better and I hope the same for you. Keep in touch!

Parmesan Meatballs

1.5 lbs Ground Beef

3/4 C Shredded Parmesan Cheese

2 Eggs

1 tsp Dried Parsley

Dash of Pepper

2-3 T Butter

15oz Can of Tomato Sauce

1 Clove Garlic

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

1/4 tsp Basil

1/8 tsp Oregano

Combine beef, cheese, eggs, parsley & pepper until well mixed then shape into meatballs. Melt butter in a large skillet and cook until all sides are browned. Place browned meatballs in the crock pot or a casserole dish suitable for the oven.

Combine the tomato sauce, garlic, onion powder, basil & oregano. Pour over the meatballs, stirring gently to coat.

Turn crock pot on low for 1-4 hours OR bake, uncovered in an oven at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

**I make them in the crock pot and although the recipe says 1-4 hours, I let them cook on low for 6-7 hours ... they turn out really tender and oh so yummy!**

Hello AussieLapBand ~

Thanks so much for your kind words ... Congrats on your upcoming surgery! I look forward to sharing the journey with you so keep in touch! =)

Hey lilbit08 ~

I can understand your feelings about being afraid of vomiting, but after you're banded you sort of learn your own limitations and you'll be able (most times) to prevent the vomiting before it even happens. Most people vomit because they've either taken too big of a bite and didn't chew well or they've eaten too fast. I know it all sounds so difficult and like it would be such a pain in the rear to train yourself to eat a certain way (I remember that is how I felt as I was researching the band) but trust me, you'll learn and adapt to the new way of eating and you'll know when you've reached your limit and most times will be able to avoid the vomiting.

As far as insurance, I wish you luck with that! I do not have insurance myself and was self-pay ... I had my surgery down in Mexico.

Keep in touch and feel free to ask if you have any questions!

Hey lilbit08 ~

Thank you so much for the compliment!! =)

I had the same feelings when I was in my research stage, but I can tell you that getting banded has changed my life for the better. Not just the physical aspect of it, but mentally too. I spent many years severely depressed, in seclusion, hiding myself from the world because I was so ashamed of what I had allowed myself to become. The band has given me my life back and I would definitely recommend it to anyone! In addition to researching the procedure itself, make sure to research doctors too ... If you have any questions, feel free to ask me! Best of luck to you!

Hi momof5! Thanks for the sweet comment ...

You look WONDERFUL in your pic! Don't let that 10lbs get you down. Sorry you had to have a complete unfill, I can't imagine having to go through that.

I pretty much stick to a low carb / high protein diet so my snacks usually consist of some type of protein such as beef jerky or pork rinds. I've recently discovered hummus though and for a few days now I've had some hummus spread on triscuits and 5-6 of them filled me up.

Thanks again for the compliment ... Best of luck to you!

Hi tamana ~ I found the different flavored pork rinds at Winco. They are under the brand name "Mac's" (macssnacks.com) and are quite good!! I've always loved pork rinds, especially the spicy picante flavored ones but since banding, I've found the picante flavored ones were a little difficult to eat because as they would sit in the pouch waiting to go down, it burned like heck! These ones made by Mac's, even the Jalapeno & Cheddar flavor, aren't spicy at all.

Congrats on your 45 lbs lost so far! What size is your band and how many fills have you had?

Hi tamana ~ I went to that site yesterday (after I sent it to you) and it wasn't very helpful ... sorry! I was looking to see if I could buy them online but their site doesn't sell directly, they didn't even show all the different flavors. I'm still looking though, there has to be some site out there that sells them ...

What part of California are you in? I am in SoCali (in the Inland Empire)

As far as my band journey ... I'd have to say the first 6 months or so were a breeze. I was a tad bit frustrated in the very first month after banding, I had only lost like 15 lbs while everyone else was losing way more but then the loss started picking up. I was very strict with myself. I planned my meals out, I bought a food scale to weigh my foods so I know EXACTLY what's going in and I keep track of my daily intake at thedailyplate.com ... I've kept to mainly a high protein / low carb diet since banding. Of course I've had my off days, and there was a period of time that I slipped back into old habits (like buying a package of cookies and eating the ENTIRE package in 1 day!) but after that incident I said to myself "what the heck are you doing??" and I realized I needed a fill and needed to get back on the "bandwagon" ... My weightloss started slowing down back in February, they say the closer you get to goal, the slower the loss will be.

I have a 4cc band with 2.6cc filled ... I often say my band has a mind of it's own as some days I can eat certain foods (or too much) and the next day I can't eat anything. I know stress can affect the band, when I'm stressed my band tightens up.

If you feel you can eat too much, I'd definitely talk to the doc and see if perhaps you could use a slight fill ... even 1/2 of a cc can make a huge difference! =)

I emailed them today too, asking if there was a website I could buy them from because I don't know if Winco is going to start carrying them on a regular basis or not ... when I went back today to buy more, there were only a few bags left and they were stuffed in a box way up high above the chips & crackers aisle. I hate it when I find something I really like and then it vanishes as quickly as I found it.

My calories ... well currently I am trying to stay around or below 1000. I say currently because whenever I get to a plateau, I change my routine a bit to keep the loss going. Sometimes I bump up my calorie intake to 1200 ... as far as carbs, I like to keep them at 30g or less but there are days I go overboard (like today I had 50g) ... We're all different though, some people do well by just counting calories and some people do best with low carb (thats me!) so you just need to find what works for you.

Lucky you to be getting a flat tummy soon! I don't foresee myself having any PS in the near future and will have to live with my "extras" for awhile. What bugs me the most are my "bat wings" ... ugh!

Thanks for the sweet comments though, this has been such an amazing journey ... going into it, although I had my hopes higher than I ever had with any diet, I guess a small part of me thought I might fail at this too. As weird as it sounds, when I look in the mirror I still see the fat girl and when I see pics of myself I can't help but stare and think "is that really me??" ... I guess my brain hasn't caught up with the new bod yet!

Anyhow, hope you are having a great weekend and I look forward to seeing your post-op new tummy pics!

You are very welcome!

The term "self-pay" means that you pay for the surgery out of pocket, no insurance involved.

Have a great weekend!

Hey Froggi ~ I LOVE beef jerky! I buy the "Old Fashioned" beef jerky made by Tillamook ... It seems to be the most tender that I could find and goes down easily. If you can't find it in your local store, you can get it on their website here ~~> TCS Jerky

Congrats on your upcoming surgery and best of luck to you on your Lap Band journey! =)

Fall / Winter is my favorite time of the year too! Unfortunately the season changes aren't too noticeable here in SoCali ...

So whats the latest with you? Do you have a surgery date yet?

Hey girl ~ Thanks for the sweet comment! I have a 4cc band, I've had 4 fills for a total of 2.6cc. Plateaus suck ... sorry to hear you're going through one right now. What I always do is change my routine just a little and then the loss picks up again. As far as the profile ... just find a background (or picture) that you like and upload it into an album then you can modify or edit your profile to include that background. Hope that makes sense ... ?

Have a great weekend! =)