Tinaree

Very helpful

I'm about four months post op. Down 47 pound. About 40 to go.

My NSV!! for the first time ever, today when I went shopping at Kohl's, I didn't have to set foot in the plus size section!! WOOO HOOO XL things actually fit. Happy dance! One step closer to my goal of medium!

Ok then , maybe some celery with just a smear of Peanut Butter or popcorn , no butter if you can handle those things , or you can try a Protein Bar , I sometimes do the Atkins candy , most of them are ok , but again every thing in moderation , I hope this may have helped , also I have found I love melons & fruit to snack on with a few almonds , the fruit , melons & nuts are natural so for me Iike that.

So when I started my weight loss journey almost 2 1/2 yrs. ago my bmi was @52.5 now today it is 39.9 :D

Mine comes from when I was little. My name is Tina Marie. My brother couldn't say his M's very well, so it turned into Tinaree.

Thanks so much! Very enlightening

Same thing happened to me. I wasn't eating enough. As soon as I started eating more I felt so much better and no more dizziness.

Newbies often wonder: "What will I tell...", "What will______think if they knew?" From day 1 there was no hiding my decision to get the band. I was fat, sick and tired...what the hell did I care what somebody else thought about me doing something to make myself healthier? I started with my family and yeah, I got a lot of "you don't need that..." "you could die...." "the complications..." BLAH BLAH BLAH, SHUDDUP ALREADY, I'M LIVING THIS LIFE, NOT YOU! Then I told my friends, coworkers, boss, nail technician, the hoochie cussing our her baby daddy while I'm behind them in Walmart. the bank teller...like I said, AIN'T NO SHAME IN MY GAME! My mindset was that they can accept it and support me or be against it and step off. It didn't matter, I had living to do and nobody else to do it for me BUT ME.
The end result: "Guuuuurrrrrllllll, your body is BANGIN'", "Damn, you look good", "Let me put some rocks in your pocket so you don't blow away", "I won't hug you too tight, I'm scared to break you", "You say your insurance covered that?" "How long was recovery", "What was your out-of-pocket", "Did it hurt", "I want to get it done, too".
See 7 out of the 16 people who were DEAD SET AGAINST the surgery have either gotten WLS or are in the process (4 bands, 2 sleeves, 1 gastric). Three others are trying to convince their loved ones that they should have it done, 4 are now my biggest fans and the other two are still @$$holes who don't want to admit they were wrong about it...I quit fooling with them a long time ago anyway. I just hear how green their FAT FACES get when they hear I'm wearing a size 3/4 and I'm having a clothing "take-away" at my house to which THEY AREN'T INVITED!
Don't be ashamed. You could be the inspiration someone else needs to change their lives for the better as well.

In the end, to lose weight you need to consume less calories than you need. If I behave the weight practically falls off, when I give in to eat bad food I do stall out. Sometimes there's a loss on the scale and sometimes there's a gain.
You will feel better the healthier you eat. Greasy fried foods make me sick (tastes yummy but I feel terrible once they go down). If you don't eat enough Protein, you might lose a lot of your hair. Once you get in the groove, you'll learn that food really is just fuel for your body. Certain fuel makes you feel better and others may make you feel worse. Just think about your health though. The right foods will hep you stay satisfied longer too helping you to eat less. Carbs, at least for me, makes me want to eat more.

I have a membership and it's close by and my family is very supportive. But I'm scared to walk into the place. I think I may make an appointment with a trainer and have them work out a fitness plan for me. Since I don't really know what to do or how to get started. My husband and I walk every evening. And my daughter and I go for bike rides which I haven't done in seven years. I was banded on May 9th. I'm down 33 pounds. Size 18 clothes. Was a 22. I've been trying to psych myself up for my first gym visit and I'm scared to death.

We'll I did it... I made the phone call and I'm getting set up with a personal trainer. Yay me! I'm going to suck it up and get in there and do it. Because I CAN do it. I was so proud of myself for just making the phone call that I walked four miles tonight. Thanks everyone! You guys rock!

Thanks so much for the encouragement. I love this site and visit daily. You've all given me the boost that I needed, and I'm calling today. I'll keep you all posted.
Tinaree

We'll I did it... I made the phone call and I'm getting set up with a personal trainer. Yay me! I'm going to suck it up and get in there and do it. Because I CAN do it. I was so proud of myself for just making the phone call that I walked four miles tonight. Thanks everyone! You guys rock!

We'll I did it... I made the phone call and I'm getting set up with a personal trainer. Yay me! I'm going to suck it up and get in there and do it. Because I CAN do it. I was so proud of myself for just making the phone call that I walked four miles tonight. Thanks everyone! You guys rock!

Thanks so much for the encouragement. I love this site and visit daily. You've all given me the boost that I needed, and I'm calling today. I'll keep you all posted.
Tinaree

We'll I did it... I made the phone call and I'm getting set up with a personal trainer. Yay me! I'm going to suck it up and get in there and do it. Because I CAN do it. I was so proud of myself for just making the phone call that I walked four miles tonight. Thanks everyone! You guys rock!

I have a membership and it's close by and my family is very supportive. But I'm scared to walk into the place. I think I may make an appointment with a trainer and have them work out a fitness plan for me. Since I don't really know what to do or how to get started. My husband and I walk every evening. And my daughter and I go for bike rides which I haven't done in seven years. I was banded on May 9th. I'm down 33 pounds. Size 18 clothes. Was a 22. I've been trying to psych myself up for my first gym visit and I'm scared to death.

I have a membership and it's close by and my family is very supportive. But I'm scared to walk into the place. I think I may make an appointment with a trainer and have them work out a fitness plan for me. Since I don't really know what to do or how to get started. My husband and I walk every evening. And my daughter and I go for bike rides which I haven't done in seven years. I was banded on May 9th. I'm down 33 pounds. Size 18 clothes. Was a 22. I've been trying to psych myself up for my first gym visit and I'm scared to death.

I had often told myself during my journey that even if I were to ever possibly hit goal I would never post a success story. Maybe I was being modest or perhaps just really hard on myself or…just not able to forgive myself for ever letting my weight get out of control as it had. I guess a lot of it no matter how you sum it up is really just embarrassment.
Well I had a change of heart. That change of heart came because I can remember so vividly the feeling of the hopelessness and despair. At times I felt I was knocking on deaths door and that there was nothing I could do about it. So I am writing this tonight in hopes that if I can help just one person even if only one tiny bit then it is my responsibility to do so. I believe in paying it forward and giving back. If it wasn’t for the people before me that helped me then where would I be? It would be irresponsible for me not to do the same. You are not alone and there are people out there, really good decent people who can help you but YOU have to want it and at some point you need to swallow your pride and ask for the help. Help will not come to you. YOU have to seek it out.
I have told my story several times and you can read it on my profile. I lost 170lbs doing Atkins between 2003 and 2004. I went from 393 to 220 and felt great…and then I got sloppy and let my guard down and weight started packing on. I went from 220 to 488 in 8 years’ time.
At 488lbs doing day to day activities was quite a chore. My knees were taking a beating carrying so much weight on a 5’6 inch frame. I developed arthritis and serious sleep apnea. Walking from the parking lot to my office was a real task and that was even with the use of an elevator. I had to sit out in the car and have my Wife do the grocery shopping because I couldn’t last more than 10 minutes on my feet. I had to sit and fold laundry sitting in a chair. This list could go on and on about the limited mobility. My amazing Wife stood by me and encouraged me to make a change but we both knew until I was ready to commit to change it would not happen. I am not sure how many other women out there would have put up with what she did. My weight affected us both physically and mentally. I did not feel like much of husband at times and I am sure there were plenty of times she felt more like a caregiver than a wife at times although she never said so or complained.
Something had to give and it finally did and in September 2011 with my wife at my side I attended a local seminar for WLS. We listened to the Doctor discuss all the surgical options available at the time and being new and somewhat naïve we decided Lapband was the way to go. It was reversible and probably the least invasive of all procedures. I signed up for a one on one consult with the Surgeon that night. October 2011 I met with the Doctor and told him I ready to make a life change. He told me he wanted to see me lose 24lbs and work on shrinking the liver. Insurance required me to do a 6 month monitored diet so instead of losing 24lbs preop I lost 38lbs. My Surgeon was impressed and after completing all the preop requirements I finally got a surgery date of April 16, 2012. I weighed in on surgery morning at 450lbs on the button.
So there I was April 17th and getting discharged from the hospital and all that went through my mind is why the hell did I do this? There was no way it would work and I will be known as the fat guy who couldn’t lose weight with WLS.
As much as you research and prepare for this new life it seems at some point you say OK well I had the surgery why is the weight not coming off?? This is so frustrating!!! Well apparently I had never heard of bandster hell. Bandster hell is that time from when you have the surgery to the time you actually get the necessary fills to get the need restriction to control your portions. Some very few people are lucky they have the surgery and automatically get that restriction. Not me, it took me 6 months. 6 months of frustration.
Probably one of the most difficult pieces for me to learn was patience. Lack of patience made this road even longer. I stepped on the scale almost daily these last 2.5 years waiting on a large drop in numbers that never happened. How on earth could you possibly see a large drop if you’re stepping on the scale daily? Do yourself a favor and don’t do it. To this day I still step on it daily but now it is about accountability not so much weight loss.
Always look for other measures to success. We call them Non Scale Victories or NSV’s. Losing weight is not just about numbers. For a while I was buying new clothes every other month because I was shrinking so fast. I went from a size 62 waist to a 34. I went from squeezing into theater seats to have padded space on each side.
I could go on and on here rambling about all sorts of stuff weight and band related. If you’ve read this far then thank you and thank you to those who helped me get here. I would like to especially thanks @@Alex Brecher without him I wouldn’t have a home here and I perhaps would’ve remained lost.
If anyone has any questions or comments or just need someone to talk to don't hesitate to message me regardless how personal you think your question may be.
My name is Jim and I am junk food addict. I have lost 300lbs and the lapband saved my life. 2yrs and 8 months 488 to 188.
Peace!!

Banded for almost 4 weeks now. I had the same experience. Laying on your back for a long time, especially in the hospital bed, can cause nerves to get pinched. I developed a pinched nerve that made my whole upper left thigh go numb with burning sensations under the skin. It would wake me up and I would just be in pain in my leg until I got off my back. Try sleeping with a pillow under your knees if you sleep on your back or if you sleep on your side put the pillow between your knees. That helped me a lot.
Hope you find some relief soon! Good luck!

So, this is an appropriate topic for the rants section... I went through a phase of feeling exactly what you expressed and then I realized WHY people don't search. It isn't laziness it is because they don't recognize that what they are going through applies to pretty much EVERYONE! It is a very personal emotional experience and people want to get a very personal and specific reply - since according to them, in the emotional state at that moment, they feel that they are the first and only person to ever deal with such angst/issue/question and it must be answered directly to them.
I remember that when I was trying muster the courage to revise from the band to the sleeve. I was pretty beaten down - I mean i really felt like I had failed and was a hopeless case. It was alot of direct info from Tiffikyns in particular that helped me process and work through my feelings. I happen to know that she cut and pasted info but at the time, her replies to ME felt very personal... like i was the only failure who might take a chance on the sleeve... this crazy "new" thing I had never heard of. That was the first glimmer of "believing" that this might work.
So, I cope by not reading or responding to the repetitive topics. I figure there are less burned out people than me to answer them - excited to share their knowledge! For a long time, I made an effort to reply to nearly every band to sleeve forum post... but I don't even do that anymore as there are others who do.

My guess is this could be from several things -- lying in the hospital bed could have caused some nerve pain; possible blood clot cutting off circulation ...
Call your doctor just to be safe!
Ginger

I wad going to guess blood clot as well. I would call the dr for sure to be safe. Good luck!

I had the same thing but in my right thigh. I called my Drs office and the nurse on call said its a very common thing to experience due to some electric current that they use during surgery while it being on your thigh. After I spoke with them I checked and I saw that they shaved that area. So I guess he was right. Today being banded for 1 week , The numbness has gone YAY Good luck