Bandster Brad

Hi, I haven't had a beer, a slurpee (something that really meant a lot to me), VOS, Pelligrino, Perrier, diet coke, rootbeer, sprite, tab, or any other carbonated anything, since I was banded 9 months ago in May. At first, I thought it would be horrible. You know what? I don't miss it. Not at all. And for me, its so hard to stay around a 1200 - 1500 calorie diet (as compared to perhaps the 4,000 to 6,000 calories I used to consume) that I'm not about to waste my calories on liquids which, ultimately have little or no real nutrional value. Conclusion - It's weird not to have a beer. Particularly not to have a Kirin or Sapporo with my sushi. Actually, I can't even have sushi anymore, due to the rice getting stuck. But I can now eat two small orders of sashimi, come in under 200 calories, get all of that heart-healthy Omega three fatty acide, actually taste the food, be so full that I am sated for many hours, and continue losing weight. Is giving up a beer really that important, as compared to staying on the downward spiral of wrecking your life by drowning in fat? By giving up the beer and sweet carbonated drinks, it makes room for things that are better for you. Like life-giving green tea, calcium-containing milk and clear, pure, Water. It feels so much better to have at least this part of my life under control. Good luck to you! Brad

A vanguard band holds 10 CC's. With the tubing, the estimated maximum fill is 13 cc's. Hope that helps.

Thank goodness! My uncle died of stomach cancer in Oregon last July. It was so awful. All I could do was keep quiet, and hope that this outcome did not befall you. Hallelujah!

"I do all the laundry, including delicates that I hand wash, and home dry cleaning. I cook all the meals except for the occasional Sunday breakfast. I do the dishes. I do the grocery shopping (only fitting, since I do the cooking). I do all the finances (she hates handling numbers). I do all the home repair and improvement (I have been remodeling the house 1 room at a time... master bedroom is next). I run the vacuum every other day. I do the yard work, planting etc. (I have a service cut the grass, but I do everything else). I pick up my daugher from daycare everyday, and do her homework with her What does she do... we have a lady who cleans the house for her... she drops my daughter off every morning at daycare... she takes out the trash on Sunday nights... and sometimes I do that." What the ???@#@^*@#&@??? :faint: ...sounds like walking up hill both ways... in chest high snow! Anything we can do for our wives is definately worth it! :clap2:

My Dr. (fill nurse, actually) has always been totally supportive and cooperative in getting me a fill when we think I need it. Whether its twice in two weeks, or once a month, or months apart, it seems like when I think I need one and go in, she listens, and we quickly come to agreement and then I get it. A couple of times I asked for it to be too tight, and as a result, I couldn't pass the "drink some water test" successfully, so she would just take a little out. No fuss, no muss, no suggestions that I was bad, or not worthy. Just two people working together to try to get a patient to success. Its been a great experience! And as you can see from my sig line - as of today, I have had 12 fills (all of them free) so they really walk the talk. And I am achieving almost exactly the anticipated average of 1.5 pounds per week of weight loss!

Hi, this is my sentiment about "normalcy" - yes, you get to where you feel normal, because this becomes your new norm. Probably the only thing that will ever be not normal, is this: YOU CANNOT CHUG Water, or anything else, for that matter. So, those days of playing football, or whatever, then grabbing a bottle of water and chugging it down are gone forever. You become a sipper, not a chugger. No big loss there. If you DO chug something, it will essentially just squirt back in your throat about 5 seconds later and you realize there is no point at all to it, and that you might as well just be kind to your band. I also noticed that when everything is settled down, and the band is about ready to be re-tightened, everything goes through, and there is little chance of getting plugged or PB-ing. So in those times, its as normal as could be. Then you trudge back down to the doc, and get another fill, and it takes you a couple of weeks to adjust to the newly tightened band, and to refamiliarize yourself with how to eat, even more prudently. And then the weight continues to fall, and you feel like a million bucks. In my most frustrated times, I have remarked to my family in self pity "I think I wrecked my ability to eat" - and then it occurs to me what a blessing it is, because my previous ability to eat abundantly is what put me here. I am so thankful for this band. Good luck! :rockon:

Date Banded: May 12, 2005 Country: USA Doctor: Dr. Layton O. Alldredge Erodoed: Y/N NO If Eroded Date Removed: Not Eroded Comments: Excellent Doctor and after-care. Great progress, averaging 1.5 pounds per week, exactly as expected.

Wow, congratulations! Never expect that I will see it, but I can appreciate it from a distance! Best, Brad

Veegates, Seeglinde! Vas ist Loos mit seer? Do you know the name of the company that manufactures your band? I want to look them up and see if I can invest some money in them before it catches on like wildfire! Do they have a web site?! Danke Shein, Brad (sorry for my bad spelling in Deutsche)

Unless there was some unforseen medical necessity, why in the hell would I have the thing removed that has saved my life? The poll on this site where the question is asked "are you happy with your band, etc.?" as I recall, indicated something like 88% of the people were happy with it. This is the best thing I have ever known. It isn't a magic bullet, but it does make permanent weight loss possible, with a lot of work, as far as my admittedly limited experience shows. I just hope I can keep this miraculous device with me for the rest of my life. If that turns out not to be the case, I will be indeed sorrowful to lose such a wonderful and powerful friend. To those who have been unfortunate enough to have to remove their band due to erosion, my feelings go out to you. What a terrible fate, in particular, after the pain you had to go through to begin this path. But nonetheless, the vast majority of everyone on this site, and others who I am aware of, along with the published reports indicate overall safety and efficacy. I'm sticking with it!

I am a retired former CEO in the midst of an earnout, trying to figure out what to do once we get bored. In the mean time, it provides lots of time for family, entertainment, and personal growth.

We men are so weird as a result of the maladaptive behavior we employ to accomodate all the needs, wants and desires of our wive's as a means of creating a harmonious familial relationship. That's my theory. Sure glad she puts up with me, though!

Hi Susan, while on the subject of bacon - this is what I have learned, and I am delighted by it: We have bacon once a week, generally on the weekends. We go to the local natural food store, and buy the thick cut, organic, no additives, no preservatives bacon. One pound yields only about 8 slices. Me, my wife, and two little ones each eat two pieces of it. This assures I can savor it and not overdo it, since there isn't enough of it to pig out on. What I noticed is that a couple of pieces of bacon coupled with a bowl of oatmeal is totally satisfying, filling, and it stays with me for hours, since the bacon has a lot of protein and fat. And when you look at the calories of this mini-feast, its not really that bad. I have noticed a little weight loss the next day each time I have tried this, and have never gained the next day because of it. So what's wrong with taking a little pleasure, once in a while, in small doses? I think it works. Maybe it helps reset that caloric restriction thermostat! :rockon: Its hard to believe there was a day that I used to eat a pound of bacon to myself, and want for more. :eyebrows: Glad those days are over. Any other bacon afficionados out there? Best, Brad

What does bumping mean? - Blissfully ignorant

Trim Spa is crap. Great ads, though. Bands actually work. Hey, we need a spokesmodel!!!

5 hours a week of Shotokan karate, :boxing:and 33 minutes a day on my Precor eliptical. Makes me feel like a hundred dollars! :flame: Princess N' the P. Judging by the photos you post on this site once in a while, it looks like Pilates is just the thing for a power-body building super hero like you! Rock on!

How about "Phil?" (fill) :target: (I really crack myself up) sorry it may not be funny to anyone else! :crazy:

I updated my will and told everyone individually that I loved them, and would be waiting for them on the other side if something happened. I know that in retrospect it all sounds a little overdramatic, :violin:and I guess it was. But I was scared. I wasn't unscared until I awoke following surgery and said "so this is it? have I been banded yet?" The hard part is the first week of recovery. This is due to the anesthesia and later, the narcotic pain meds. After that, life just gets better. I am so thankful for my band. See you in bandland!

Hi, I have flown an average of once a week since being banded, and during that time, I have had 11 fills. I have yet to have a problem due to the altitude change of the plane taking off and landing. However, I was extremely tight after going from the mountains and then spending a week on the ocean. It was just tighter than it should be. It was nice to simply not be able to participate in those hyper-fattening buffets on the cruise ship. Good luck to you, as I know we all react differently.

This is the primary reason I have never posted a picture with my face on it, and I would never use my real name or family member names. I was on another site, (the yahoo bandster site) and googled my name, and it came up. I tried to do everything I could to get the site to delete the posts (they don't have the delete feature of this site) and they refused. I instantly terminated my account to the site, in order to avoid further damage. Its too bad there is no privacy available on this wonderful facilitator and exchange of ideas that we call the internet.

It's sometimes hard to know if each of us are really eating right. The band does a great job of controlling portions, but sometimes, don't you wonder if you are really maintaining the correct caloric intake and mix of protein/fats/carbs in order to lose weight? Since I wonder all the time, this is my first try at creating a poll. I would like to know how you, my fellow bandsters actually eat. Perhaps we can all get an idea of how we can do better ourselves! Here are my poll questions - In order to normalize the data, it would be mathematically easier to understand if answered only by people that have been banded over 30 days; answers should be based on daily values, and it should use your estimates for the last 90 days average. This will help people anticipating getting banded have an idea of what to expect. If this makes sense, we could do some other ones for the rest of our peers in their various stages! THANK YOU!

Hi Banded for Life! - since you have the same experience as I do, perhaps the following will be interesting. Do you have any favorite "healthy treats" like I did, which might be causing this? I realized that sometimes when I go up or plateau for two or three days it may be related to salt. There is this excellent canned Soup by Progresso, where you can eat the whole contents of say, chicken noodle soup, and only get 200 calories total. Its quick, and very filling for something fast, and if you have to snack, it seemed like a good choice. However, last week, I read the salt content. It was shocking! 80% of the RDA of salt in that one little can. So I am thinking that perhaps the reason we have bad scale days and then sudden weight loss is that it takes about 3-4 days for all that salt to fall out of our blood serum. Result - that soup is off my list! Vines - I don't even know what a chi-square is! You sound waaaay more analytical than I am. If you want to try to do some regression analysis on this, please do and share it with us! Trying to quickly post this poll was an exercise in frustation, since it was extremely limited. I figure they are good for our general interest, and also for non-scientific assessments. Other than that, this site doesn't have good enough tools, and no one's paying us enough to design a really good poll. But the new smiley library is pretty awesome. :flypig:

Ya, I've noticed that girls half my age look at me funny, then they come up and talk to me. Fun and embarrassing to flirt, but since I am so happily married, its purely innocent!

Hi, I have a PRECOR elliptical and it rocks

Hi, I have a PRECOR elliptical and it rocks