Road Queen

1. Bread - not a big bread eater; hard rolls or toast periodically 2. Pasta - whole wheat pasta 3. Pop - over ice when I'm out of the country 4. Tortillas - hard shells 5. salad - I hate lettuce but I eat raw vegetables with hummus, spinach, 6. Steak - yes 7. Roast - yes 8. Cereal - haven't tried 9. Hamburger - the meat 10. pizza - haven't tried 11. Apples - yuck 12. chips - yes 13. cheese - yes 14. Shrimp - yes 15. Pop corn - yes - way too often 16. pretzels - yes Fast foods - chicken strips, popcorn shrimp, tacos, cheddar-bratwurst (well chewed)

I have only recently been able to handle salads. (4 1/2 months out) I drink my margaritas on the rocks Hiccups can be a sign that you are full - I always got them at first and it really helped me to recognize when I was full.

1 and 2) for many of us, we don't have restriction without a fill so you will get hungry and probably will be able to eat anything. I could still eat anything after my first fill. With my second I become more restricted. As I'm losing, I'm less restricted now and can eat more things again. You are still in the healing process and may gain some back. That will go away but your body needs to heal now. Eat if you are hungry and try and make good choices. I remember at week 3 posting continually because my port itched like mad. We all heal differently. Give it time. 3) You will have many plateaus. Your loss during the healing stage is a blessing. I considered my band without a fill to be 'on vacation' and it wasn't ready to start working. Even after you have fills, your weight will fluctuate and you will have plateaus. I know this site keeps me sane and I appreciate everyone's infoo too.

Congratulations on the loss!!

I have a glass of red wine about 3-4 nights a week. At social functions I have 2. I am going to France in November and will surely be tasting their wines daily. Beer works for me some days and others its uncomfortable. I do find it easier to drink when its been poured over ice and/or mixed with tomato or clamato juice. Margaritas work for me as long as they aren't overly sweet. Probably means they have more tequila than mix...

Sorry you had to go through that. Glad everything got fixed. Celeste

I'm being more faithful in walking than posting. 27-Sep 60minutes 28-Sep 70 29-Sep 65 30-Sep 70 1-Oct 60 2-Oct 50 3-Oct 70 4-Oct 60 5-Oct 60 6-Oct 50 8-Oct 90 9-Oct 60 10-Oct 70 11-Oct 0 12-Oct 60 13-Oct 40

Brunswick22, don't feel bad. Remember that you are adjusting to a new life too. when you get restriction, it will be easier to accomodate your new life. I was banded on May 25. On July 3 I went to Africa - with no fill (down 19 pounds at that time). I was happy because my clothes fit. I had to eat what was availablein Liberia and probably drank more than I should! I considered it a victory that I only gained a couple of pounds. I got my first fill when I got back and still had no restriction so I continued to overindulge.And managed to get back to the 19 pound loss. Then I got my 2nd fill in August. Since then I have lost 15 pounds. Now that doesn't sound like alot but my clothes have gone down 3 sizes. I think that I didn't lose in July because my body was adapting. Now I feel in sync. Don't beat up on yourself for a few bad days. I had a month of them - only 5 weeks after surgery. You will turn this around. That's why the band is wonderful. Good luck and keep us updated. Celeste

You are doing awesome. Keeping such a great attitude and putting things in perspective reminds all of us to be thankful too. Thanks for posting and keep us updated. Good luck with your weight loss. Celeste

You must be excited. My cousin gave me her bandster rules in April and I started applying them- 2 weeks before I even met with the surgeon's office. That helped me lose some weight before I got there - small bites, chew each bite 25 plus times, stop when you feel full (okay that one didn't work)... Congratulations!!! Celeste

Lisa, sorry you have to go through this. I will never eat a mozarella stick now (please keep reminding me of this!!!). Can you ask your dr office to call you if they have a cancellation? I'm going to remember to thank my wonderful dr because he always finds time to fit me in for anything. Good luck and keep us updated. Celeste

Good morning everyone in Mn, you guys have been busy lately. I'm from ND but since we are almost neighbors, I always watch this area too. Super Daddy - nice to have a guy close by who has been banded. I'm meeting with a male friend in SD in November that is considering the band. If there are any male issues I should know, please pm me. Cloeymn36 - I agree with everyone. Your nutritionist is talking bypass amounts not banded. My nutritionist is still learning about band life so this site helps me alot because sometimes I need disagree with her advice. I feel like a commercial but last night I had sole stuffed with shrimp stuffing and about 1/2 c of vegetables. I wasn't overly full and ended up eating about 2 cups of popcorn later. My body must have needed it because I'm down another 1.2 pounds this morning. You will learn to work with your body and your band. For me, that's a weird concept because I was always looking at my relationship with food first. Glad to see so many Mn people here. Celeste

Great pictures. You are looking awesome. I usually try and get to Disney every few years - might try Disney Paris next month. Its a wonderful place to escape from reality. It sounds like your weight loss is making a wonderful difference in your life. Congratulations. Celeste

Glad to hear you are better. I started exercising Sept 18 and my weight loss has increased a little but I'm dropping inches. My pants fit one week and the next are getting too long and the week after are starting to look too big. You will see results soon. Keep us updated. Celeste

And Happy Bandiversary!!

Glad to hear everything went well. Hope you enjoyed pvr. Sorry about the ill feeling after surgery. Keep us updated. Celeste

I like the hair and the picture is awesome. I'm so into fall colors right now so I would have a little brown and reddish brown put in on top - like about a half dozen foils of each per side. Ask your hairdresser.

under chest 36 waist 36.5 hips 44 weight 179.8 (I had to post this weight because I"m finally into the 179s)))

Jodi - sorry you are going through this on top of everything else. I bet the stress is causing extra band issues. As far as frozen dinners, try some lean cuisines. I had a turkey and broccoli last week that was pretty good and a turkey with spinach something that was good too. The turkey has a thin gravy so its easy to get down. Just think of how awesome this experience will be when you interview for jobs and they ask you to describe how you handle stressful situations!! Good luck. Celeste

The last time I had anesthesia I was so sick that I dreaded it for surgery. I was also dreading the hospital - I freak in hospitals - so I got my surgeon to agree I could go home the same day if I felt okay. I had surgery at 9, woke uparound noon, did the barium swallow at 2, ate at 5 and went home at 6. I was tired that day. My mother had me shopping at Walmartat 5 the next morning. Needless to say, I did take a nap that afternoon. I am a wimp and thought this was pretty easy. Good luck and keep us updated. Celeste

I wore a big long loose gauze dress with a tank top (a bra, panties, and a pant style big slip) -coming home I just wore the dress tank and slip (rolled down).

Just want to let everyone know how much I am thankful for LBT and all of the posts. I don't think I would have the results I have without it. When I get bummed out about losing slow, I read someone else's thread about slow results, or getting back on track, or getting motivated again and it kicks me in the rear. Thanks for being here and thanks for LBT. Celeste

My sister and I were overweight for a number of years. She gained during pregnancies and continued to put on weight. I started gaining when I lived with a skinny man who had to eat constantly to keep on his weight. My dad's side of the family is huge. In fact my grandmother was last weighed at the grain elevator - to get a scale that could weigh her. My sister had bypass in May 2003. Since I didn't weigh as much as she did, I researched bypass and the band and didn't do anything about it. I knew I wanted the band over bypass but wasn't motivated enough to do anything more. In June 2003 my dad was told his days were limited because he had 5 blocked arteries, his diabetes was worse, bad valve, another aortic aneyrism, etc. He eventually ended up in dialysis and passed away in May 2004. Knowing his problems were caused by his weight gave me an incentive to lose when he was sick. Watching all the things my little sister could do during that time made me jealous - and when I say little I mean 4'10 and 88 pounds. And I will never be that small but just losing 30 pounds has made a difference - besides I'm tall 5'4. The reason I detailed so much of this is that I think your sister may change her mind over time. Let her work through this mental process on her own but be there for support.

Joelle, I'm sure I could swap stories with your parents. (and I'm probably their age). When I was in grade school, every home in town with school children was designated as a snow home for the school kids that rode the bus. Instead of letting school out early or cancelling, they kept all the kids in town to overnight at their snow home at any sign of bad weather. It was always neat to cook hotdogs and popcorn over the fireplace the first time electricity went out but after a day it got old... Ah, those weren't the good old days...Celeste

Our early year blizzard is over. DeLarla, you would have loved this one. Blizzards this time of year are cool because they can be nasty but you know they won't be real cold and will melt. Blizzards in January when the wind chill is 80 below zero and means days without electricity and heat and months before the snow melts are not fun. Alatina, are you out there? I saw Langdon got 15 inches of snow. This must be a treat for a Texan. Hope you are well and stayed warm - do you have electricity and heat yet? Anyone else want to come enjoy a storm - plan for January - those are better. Celeste