hollyberries

Hey Guys! Haven't had much time to get on but have been praying for you. Just wanted to give you an update; I had my postop appt today and I was so pleased with it. My doctor was very happy with my progress. I saw Dr. Lautz on 8/23/07 for my consult appt and weighed 358lbs. I saw him on 10/25/07 for my preop appt and was at 346lbs. Today, I weighed in at 317lbs. He did a double take and said, "My you have lost about 30lbs. How are you feeling?" I told him that I felt great and that he did a great job. I also told him about the fact, I am having trouble eating Breakfast, he relieve me and said it is quite common with Bandsters. I also told him about my left shoulder pain, we explained that sometimes the band will hit or sit on a nerve that will cause the pain and that it is common among bandsters. It may go away with time or weightloss. I was relieved as it has been really annoying lately. It just comes out of the blue and I cannot even pinpoint when or why it happens. He also asked how my appetite was and am I hungry. I said, "That when I am hungry I just eat and am usually satsified." He explained that I may be having some restriction with the band even though it is empty. I am not sure why but I will take it because I know that I will difficult times. My first fill was scheduled for 1/3/08. Yikes, I hope that I can make it that long without fill. On a separate note, my son Brandon will be having a rather large surgery as part of correcting a Bi-lateral Cleft Lip & Palate birth defect. His surgery is 1/8/08. Please pray that God's hand will be with the surgeon. Brandon is a trooper and God really goes with him and he does remarkable in recovery. However, he gets more apprehensive now as he gets older. They will actually be building a gum line for him as he does not have one (bone graft). They have to take bone cells from his hip to do it and they say the pain in the hip is what is usually the issue. Sorry for ranting but I consider you all friends in Jesus. I just needed a good chat as I was so excited. Lord, you have bound this group together and I pray that you will bless each and everyone of us. Lord, go with us each day that we may live each day to glorify you. Lord, help us to reach one person with your love. Amen!

Hey everyone! I had surgery on 11/6/07 and had my post-op appt today (delay due to Thanksgiving). My Doc was very pleased with my progress thus far. We even double took with the amount of weight that I lost. I weighed 358 on 8/23/07 (consult appt) and 346 on 10/26/07 (pre-op appt) and 317 11/29/07 (post-op appt). Which means I lost about 30lbs since 10/25/07. He asked how I was doing with hunger and I said that I am satisfied when I eat that I have not had much hunger and only when I have not eaten in a long time and that when I do I eat I am fine. I asked about the shoulder pain. He indicated that it was common because the band may be sitting on a nerve that causes it. It may go away with time and weight loss. He asked how my diet was and I explained that I was following it to the "T". He explained that he thought that I had a small amount of restriction from just the band because I was not overly hungry. He scheduled my first fill for 1/3/08 (5 weeks away). Uggh! Hope I will make it. I hope that I do not get to hungry from now until then; we will see. I left the appt very uplifted and he did say that I was starting off real good and to keep it up. I am already seeing the weightloss slow down; which is what I wanted to happen as I do not want to lose to quickly. I want time for the skin to handle it. I was also told I can't circuit train with weights for 6 more weeks. I can do the treadmill but now lifting weights. I was a little bummed but I understand the time needed to heal. Sorry for ranting I was just excited about the visit. Cindy

Lord, today is a new day and we give thanks for each new day that is given. Help us today to live for you and let our light shine to all that we encounter. Help us Lord to look past ourselves and see people in need. We commit our day and lives into your hand. Have a great day everyone!

Lord, today is a new day and we give thanks for each new day that is given. Help us today to live your you and let our light shine to all that we encounter. Help us Lord to look past ourselves and see people in need. We commit our day and lives into your hand. Have a great day everyone!

It is hard to believe that I have made it 19 days. It has been alot easier than I had ever thought. I survived the 2 week Pre-op diet which I thought was going to be hard and turned out to be easier that expected. The surgery went very smooth. The only thing that I thought was hard was recovery. I thought I was superwoman and started to do more than I could and my body told me that I was not ready. I started on Stage 3 of the diet the day before Thanksgiving; so I had something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving..."That I could eat real food". So far the diet has been easy to follow, I find that I am a little more hungry but I can just eat something small and no more than 1 cup of food. I feel satisfied. I do know that this is the homeymoon period and that things will change. I see my surgeon on Thursday for my post-op and I hope that he will be pleased with my 40 pound loss since my pre-surgical visit in August. I lost 24lbs prior to surgery and have lost 16lbs since surgery. I am pleased with the weightloss so far. "For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you...." Lord, I can do all things through you. You have given me this Lapband as a tool to overcome my addiction to food. Please help to me to use this tool to help me. Help me today. I pray for all Bandsters that struggle..help them too.

It is hard to believe that I have made it 19 days. It has been alot easier than I had ever thought. I survived the 2 week Pre-op diet which I thought was going to be hard and turned out to be easier that expected. The surgery went very smooth. The only thing that I thought was hard was recovery. I thought I was superwoman and started to do more than I could and my body told me that I was not ready. I started on Stage 3 of the diet the day before Thanksgiving; so I had something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving..."That I could eat real food". So far the diet has been easy to follow, I find that I am a little more hungry but I can just eat something small and no more than 1 cup of food. I feel satisfied. I do know that this is the homeymoon period and that things will change. I see my surgeon on Thursday for my post-op and I hope that he will be pleased with my 40 pound loss since my pre-surgical visit in August. I lost 24lbs prior to surgery and have lost 16lbs since surgery. I am pleased with the weightloss so far. "For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you...." Lord, I can do all things through you. You have given me this Lapband as a tool to overcome my addiction to food. Please help to me to use this tool to help me. Help me today. I pray for all Bandsters that struggle..help them too.

I too, lost 4lbs...in the past I would gained 4lbs so a loss is bonus for me.

Cagstorm, Cute... But...Go Patriots...Future AFC Champs and Super Bowl Champs

Cute... But...Go Patriots...Future AFC Champs and Super Bowl Champs

My prayer is the everyone was able to overcome yesterday. We are overcomers through the Jesus Christ. Scripture of the Day: Romans 8:28-30 (The Message) "God knew what He was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of His Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him. After God made that decision of what His children should be like, He followed it up by calling His people by name, He set them on a solid basis with Himself. And then, after getting them established, He stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what He had begun." Lord, you know the very hairs on our head, you called us by name. How then can we not put our trust in you to help us. Thank you that you set us on a solid basis with you and through you can do anything. Be with all my "Bandster" friends today and help them through whatever struggles they may have to endure today. God bless everyone! I haven't seen much action on this thread...where is everyone?

Best wishes for a quick safe surgery. See you on the other side.

Chrisann- We have alot in common. I am turning 40 in January and also am very healthy. My starting weight was 358 (doc's office) and 354 (my scale). I had a physical after I made my surgical appt. just to get clearence from my physician. She was all for it and ran every test known to man to ensure that I was very healthy. The test results proved that there was nothing wrong with me. So when I went to Dr. Lautz he looked in my file and said, "Well, looks like you want to have the Lapband.". I said, "Yes, that I was healthy as a horse but just freakin fat". To this he chuckled and said, "You are a perfect canidate for the Lapband and that I would do very well with it." He didn't even push torwards Gastric Bypass; which I would not do anyway. This surgery is to get me to have 40 more healthy years..why not get it taken care of before we have other issues late in life. I like my new friend the Band; we are still in the honeymoon stage; so we will see when it gets a bit harder. Best Wishes.

This is day 2 on Mushies (stage 3). I had the day pretty much planned out. Today was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I ate according to plan has much as possible. I ate: Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs Lunch: 2 oz white turkey breast, 2 tsp. turkey gravy, 1/4 cup of squash and 1/4 cup sweet potato and a small spoonful of cranberry sauce. Snack: a few bites of pumpkin pie Dinner: 4 oz white turkey breast, 4 tsp. turkey gravy, 1/4 cup of squash and 1/4 cup of sweet potato. I needed more turkey because I was hungry and needed more Protein. I felt pretty satisfied except at dinner time because I waited to long to eat. Hope you all did great today.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Scripture of the Day: Isaiah 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." NIV For all who are struggling with this one meal, I pray. Lord, you see our weaknesses, you see how hard we struggle but we take the scripture for today and apply it to our hearts. Thank you for strengthening us when we are weak. I love the words to this song and thought it might be a good song for today in particular. Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart Give thanks with a grateful heart Give thanks to the holy one Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ His Son Now let the weak say I am strong Let poor say I am rich Because of what the Lord has done for us. Give Thanks! God Bless everyone have a wonderful day. Cindy

I just started mushies today so I am going to find tomorrow a pleasure. I plan on 2 oz of turkey, 1/2 cup of sweet potato, 1/2 cup butternut squash and a splash of gravy 1tbsp. I am trying to follow the Stage 2 Diet to the "T". I will also save my fruit for a little pumpkin pie filling with a little of whip cream. I will look forward to the left overs. I agree, that I will need to take it slow as to ensure that my stomach does not get upset. Today it has been a little unsettled with its new foods. I also found I was a little more hungry today than I had noticed in the last 2 weeks. It must be the fact that I had 2x the Protein with the Protein shakes during the liquid stage of the plan and now it is much lower. I will need to add some unjury to my food to get enough in. Good luck everyone! Cindy

I think that the quiet support is what you are talking about. The one that says, I am with you even if you failed before. I am with you if this is what you want to do. I am with you no matter what. I had a reverse situation, I was very apprehensive to mention to my husband that I wanted to have the Lapband and one night I got up the nerves to tell him and he was very supportive. He did say that he could not support me if I chose to have Gastric Bypass because he felt it was to risky. I had never given Gastric Bypass a thought. Give her sometime and she will come around and for now if you need support stick on this board and you will get it. Best wishes in your endeavours. Cindy

I am a small business owner of a Country Gift store in Southeastern Massachusetts. I left the corporate world 5 years ago to do this (making a pretty penny, too) and have not looked back. I have more time for family and am getting ready to launch a new store in January '08.

I was praying in the middle of night (I couldn't sleep, the stomach was upset a little) for this thread and all you Christian Bandsters. In my prayer, I felt lead to come on each day and pray for us. If you don't mind. Scripture for the day: Romans 5:1 (The Message) "By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us-set us right with him, we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus." Dear Jesus, we have faith in you to help us to do what is right in all aspects of our life; including overcoming our addiction to food. Thank you for the tool (the Band) for aiding us in the accomplishment. Thank you that we have it all together because of you. Help us today to focus on you and what your purpose is for our lives. Amen. Have a wonderful day everyone and know that you are prayered for (in the middle of the night no less). Cindy

Gadgetlady- I actually homeschool my boys (14,13 & 10). It's nice to see another banded homeschooler. Best wishes, Cindy

Not much action on this thread today...Where are all you Christian Bandsters. Have a great night and God Bless.

Glad to see things are going good for you. You will feel great shortly and the losing will keep you very motivated. I am 2 weeks out and feel great.

I just can't wait until tomorrow when I can go to mushies. I am having a hard time getting these darn protein shakes down. However, like the fact that I have lost 13lbs. in two weeks. No complaints but I am not sure what tomorrow will bring but I cannot image being able to eat alot since my appetite has not come back like a roaring lion YET! I assume the lion will show up at sometime...

Count me in.. Name...........Chall. Start Wt........Current......Chall. Goal...........To Go Hollyberries............317....................317 .............299..................18

I lead worship in my church and yesterday prior to worship, I asked everyone to tell what they are thankful for. So I think that we should continue with what Wombat712 started. What are you thankful for? I am thankful for my salvation, for my family & friends, for my business and now for this wonderful lapband that will finally aid as a tool in my ability to lose weight and gain control over food. Tag your it! "Jesus, as we enter Thanksgiving week help each and everyone of us who struggle with food to have control over our ability to make good choices. If it is particularly harder for some than others I ask you to provide strength for the weary. May we remember that you are the reason we Celebrate Thanksgiving. We give thanks for all that you have given us." Amen

Ditto...Jfran. What planet is he living on? At least, we admit we have a problem and try to fix it. If we could just hang a bag around our neck with the disgusting smell in it we would not have had surgery to accomplish our goal. What an idiot.