Lillyanne_M

Is it happening at "that time" of the month? I always get tight when I'm retaining water- which is usually around that time- but not always. If I go a little crazy with the carbs I retain water then too and have noticed I have been tight. The next time it happens, you might want to try going back to protein drinks for the day (or two) and see if you start shedding some water and things loosen up. Like Jay said, warm liquids help too- I always have to have something warm in the mornings when I'm tight before I can eat. I hope this helps.

I am always tight when I am retaining water- especially during my period- and I know alcohol commonly causes water retention. That would be my assumption if it happened to me anyway. It should resolve itself in a day or two.

They don't get it, sigh. BUT YOU ARE FANTASTIC!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!! I'm so proud of you!

Graham crackers, marshmallows, fruit juice and bananas?? I'm sorry, these foods should not be included on a Lap-band diet, and most likely any bariatric surgeon would agree. Most bandsters are told not to eat any refined carbs or high sugar fruits for a reason. MANY bandsters are sugar addicts, but once they get through the sugar-detox they can stay off sugar pretty easily. These recipes could undo all of that progress and cause a relapse. In reply to the gentleman who said we need simple carbs after a workout, I say they are not necessary. I drink a very low carb Protein powder shake after my workouts (without Cookies and candy in them) and am doing just fine. Even if that were the case, not everyone drinking shakes has just had a strenuous workout. This is not advice any bandster should follow.

Hi all, Well I did it. I had surgery on Friday – upper arm lift, liposuction under my chin and tightening of my neck muscles. The first couple of days were pretty painful, but I’m feeling pretty good now. Or rather, I look worse than I feel. The incisions on my arms go all the way down to my elbow, but I’m happy with the size of my arms now. Judging from how my other surgery scars (LAP-BAND® and c-section) have healed, I think the scars on my arms will be barely noticeable after a year or so. Also, my surgeon did a great job putting the incision where you can’t see it unless I lift my arms straight up. My neck still hurts and is swollen and the damned sharpie marks won’t come off! If it wasn’t for that, I’d have no problem going out in public. Maybe next week. :tongue2: I feel pretty good about it, all in all. I’m planning to wait a few months and then do the upper and lower body lift too. Now that's going to hurt:scared2:

Ok - Surgeon #1 is a great guy. Many, many reviews from WLS patients who adore him, great references, great before and after photos, great staff. Very sweet and sensitive. Mr. Perfect. Surgery would be about $40,000 for 3 procedures. The Bentley of plastic surgeons. Surgeon # 2 is also a nice guy. Very straightforward and realistic. Good, friendly staff. Not as experienced with WLS patients as the first guy, but a good all-around plastic surgeon with lots of general experience. Can't find much about him on the web, no reviews, but no complaints either ( I checked). Surgery would be about $25,000 and he would do it in 2 procedures, not 3. The Honda of plastic surgeons. Both were recommended by my LAP-BAND® surgeon. I'm not really a Bentley kind of girl. I would be if I were really rich, but, sigh, that's not the case. This is a no-brainer for my husband. What do you think? :mad:

Hi all - quick check in. Going to see the 2nd plastic surgeon today. I can't find any patient reviews anywhere on the web about him, but he was recommended by my bariatric surgeon, so I guess he must be ok. Wish me luck! :thumbdown:

Thanks :thumbup: I thought about it, but my band is kind of on a very fine line between almost no restriction and way too much. I don't PB more than once a week, but it sure sucks when I do! Sliming is the worst. My problem is that even though the band keeps me from eating too much at one meal, it doesn't keep me from eating a bunch of small meals throughout the day, which is where the calories come from. I'm doing good now- I'm staying at or below 1000 cal a day and I think I'll get to goal before the end of the year (fingers crossed!) What happened with your first band?

22 months post-op and doing pretty good. I still have 30 pounds to go. I did have to have my port sewn back down because it came loose and flipped, but no problems with the band itself. I am at maximum restriction, meaning as full as i can get and still eat. I can't eat anything solid before about 11 am, and then I still have to be careful at lunch. By dinnertime, I'm fine, but there are things I can't eat at all, including: -any beef unless it's ground or super super tender like fillet mignon -plain chicken breast - bread, unless it's toasted and in the later part of the day - I usually stick to whole wheat crackers if I want something like that. -pasta - sometimes gets stuck, sometimes not (I usually just avoid it) -rice sometimes yes, sometimes no (ditto) Also, I'm really tight in the week before my monthlies, so I have to watch it then, too. Sometimes it really sucks - especially when I have to hop up and run to the bathroom to PB in the middle of a meal - but if this is what I have to do to be thinner, I'll do it.

Also, one thing that's worked really well for me is to give up sugar completely. I don't get those terrible carbohydrate afternoon cravings anymore. It took 4 or 5 days of withdrawal, nervousness, crankiness and bad cravings, but once I got past that, it was so much better. I just always felt a little out of control with the sugar thing.

I was stuck for 7 months! I'd gain and lose the same 4-5 pounds. I have about 30 lbs to goal, so that's really frustrating. Finally I decided to go back to Weight Watchers and record absolutely EVERYTHING I eat. Also, I did a one week full liquids diet to jump start me. The scale has started to move again and I'm doing really well. :tongue2:

Just got back from seeing the plastic surgeon. I absolutely loved him! He said I'm a good candidate for everything I want to get done and I'm excited to schedule the first surgery (it's going to take 3). I was in a great mood until I talked to my husband. He pooped all over my parade by insisting I get another consultation. This is a man who literally won't buy a toaster unless he researches it online and checks out Consumer Reports. I'm not kidding. So, now I have to see at least one more surgeon, even though I don't want to and it's a big pain in the a** and I have to get someone to watch the kids and drive all the way down to Hollywood again and get naked in front of him and blah blah blah. I was so excited and now I'm bummed.:biggrin:

Welcome Katie!!! Good luck - WW is a really great combo with the band. If you journal absolutely everything you eat, you can't NOT lose. Well ladies, I officially made it from OBESE to just OVERWEIGHT this morning. I almost cried. My BMI is 29.9. OMG I just don't know how to feel :biggrin: I've been overweight my whole life and obese since middle school, I guess. I was in Walgreens yesterday and two employees were talking about, a "heavyset girl". In the past, I would automatically assume they meant me, even though they probably didn't. I realized yesterday that I actually didn't think they were talking about me. It's hard to explain. It's like a complete mind-shift. I'm not the "fat friend" anymore. At least in my own head I'm not :smile: Going to see a plastic surgeon today at 1:30. My stomach is doing flip flops! :biggrin:

Hockeyson, all surgeons are different, but I think 2 or 3 years is a long time- more so than most doctors would say. Mine said it's fine to do it now, even though I'm only a year and a half out. It took so long for most of the weight to come off that I'm confident it's stable. The plastic surgeon thinks so too. When you're at a point where you are comfortable with the idea of doing it, have another conversation with your lap-band doc and see what the plastic surgeon has to say as well. Good luck!

Has anyone been to Dr. Shuster in Hollywood, FL for plastic surgery? Happy? Results? Thanks!

BTW, I have an appointment for a consultation with a plastic surgeon on Friday. It took a while for me to get up the nerve to call. I'm nervous - so wish me luck!!!! :tt1:

Hey all, I've been doing full liquids lately and I've made up a really good, easy, filling Soup for 2 points: 1/2 cup fat free refried Beans 1/2 cup chicken broth 1 tbsp salsa (or more, if you like, since it's 0 points) 1/4 tsp chili powder 1/4 tsp ground cumin Whisk in a pot until hot. Super good! I also add a tbsp or 2 of light sour cream, which makes it 2.5 or 3 points.

For those of your using the WW E-tools, there's a group of bandsters on the WW message boards you can join. I joined today and I'm only the 3rd person in the group. It's called "Life After Lap Band" Weight Watchers Community Beta Group

Hi I weighed in at WW Saturday and I've lost a whopping 8.6 pounds in 8 weeks!!! So frustrating. I want to get to 150 before I go see a plastic surgeon and I've been stuck at nearly the same weight for over 6 months. Anyway, I just decided to do a full liquids diet until I get to 150. It worked like crazy right after my surgery, so I can do it again for a month I guess. I want to do the surgery before the end of the year so my husband can use some his vacation to take care of the kids while I recover. I started the liquids on Thursday and already I'm down to a new low weight of 165. :tongue2: Only 15 more pounds to go!!!!! w00t!!!!

"I lost the material where is shows how to calculate your daily points allotment? Can someone post the calculation? " If you give me your height/weight and your activity level, I can look it up the WW e-tools. "I need to find healthy, lunch box friendly foods/snacks. It's a small satellite campus, so there is not a student lounge w/a microwave. Everything will have to survive the Southern heat in my car. Ice packs only last so long when the heat index outside of the car is 106* :crying:" Boiled eggs in the shell are a good source of Protein and they won't spoil. Also, you could pack hummus and veggies in pita bread. Or cheese and veggie sandwiches on whole wheat without the mayo. Also, I LOVE cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches Especially good on pumpernickel. You could use low fat cream cheese too. If you have a problem with bread, you can use whole wheat crackers. I can't eat bread until my band loosens up in the evening, so for lunch, I put ham and low fat cheese on Ak-Mak whole wheat crackers. I love them. Also, you could get some milk boxes (the kind that don't need to be refrigerated) and take some Cereal (like raisin bran with lots of fiber) in a zip loc container and have cold cereal for lunch. I do that because sometimes I'm still pretty tight by lunchtime and cereal with milk is easier to get down. Hope that helps!

Good Girl!! That Target popcorn is a killer. :ohmy: Why don't we do this? Let's all make a promise to journal every day for a week. No matter what. Even if you don't want to admit you ate a whole box of graham crackers sitting on the floor in the pantry after everyone else was asleep! Ahem. Not that I ever did that. :w00t: So, I propose a food journal challenge. Anyone up for that? Starting tomorrow! If the week works out well, we'll challenge ourselves to another week.

Yes, the less you weigh, the less food you get. Mostly my problem is that I don't do my food journal consistently. journaling = weight loss not journaling = no weight loss It's so simple but I'm having a tremendously hard time with it. The good news is that I'm off sugar again, so I'm not snacking as much. Sugar highs and lows during the day just kill me. I'm a serious sugar addict so I just had to quit cold turkey. It took 3 days this past weekend for the cravings to stop, but it seems like it's under control now.