Livingthe Dream

Reading this thread just makes my blood boil. I am not going to gain weight so you feel good about giving me another fill and I am not going to exercise 6 hours a day to keep losing just so you don't have to do your job. I was a self pay customer so I do have the option of finding another doctor if that is called for but I assume most don't have that option. My doctor has been great (Dr. Kershinbaum) and I asked him during the first fill If I was to lose alot of weight will that affect my fill amounts and he said no. Now If I was to drop 30 pounds in 4 weeks I am sure he would not do it but that is not the case. My goal is to lose weight with or without the band but I am depending on the band to "help out" and REALLY leaning on the band to keep it in check once I hit goal. I paid 10k for this surgery so to not gain it back and that is my plan.

I was banded on Dec 18th, first fill on Jan 15th 2008 and I am now down 30 pounds. I have been eating healthy and working out like I didn't have the assistance of the band. I wanted to make sure that I didn't "wait for band" and get that healthy lifestyle going now. My master plan right now is at some point to hit a wall and hopefully have the band to help me along by hitting the sweet spot at the right time. It is very hard to wish for just 2 pounds a week but I do understand that Is healthy weight loss average. As far as my first fill goes I like to provide information to folks that i haven't seen posted before. Let me tell you the Fill needle is not any WIDER that a regular shot needle but damn if it is not alot longer. When I saw that needle I thought I was going to pass out. My fill was 5cc's in a 10cc band and I have a little restriction that happens mainly in the morning and then almost nothing at night. My idea of the perfect fill would be enough room in my stomach to allow me to eat what the food manufacturer considers a normal serving, you know like 3 crackers or two cashew nuts. All jokes aside I do now eat a cup of food at a time and then go back if I am hungry which I usually am but I refuse to take an entire box of chips or candy and plop down in front of the tube like the old days.

The reason I went with surgery is that I did not want to be like my parents. I have seen and heard them struggle with their weight for 30 years. For 30 years I have seen Diet Caffeine free coke in the refrigerator and the weight watchers books laying around the house. I am 35 and I am tired of talking about the diets that didn't work. My long time doctor told me he would not write a letter recommending the surgery because I was 8 pounds below BMI requirements. I realized then that I could get the lapband surgery now or a heart bypass surgery later so I made my choice. I am controlling my own destiny and letting my kids grow up without all the tears and struggles.

Like TarHeel and Bham I was also banded on Dec 18th but in 2007. I find it very encouraging that you were able to drop 100 pounds and I am very happy to see your success. I have about 50 pounds left and I am ready for the challenge. I had my first fill last week and although I have little restriction I do feel enough to keep me from blowing my diet out of the Water with a 1500 calorie meal but I don't get a real feeling of fullness on a small cup of food.

6'3 Male weighing 255 pounds. Today was the best calorie burn I have ever had with the body bugg and I wanted to challenge someone out there to beat me. Maybe you are running a marathon sometime soon or a stay home mom that works all day long taking care of the family. Either way post your biggest numbers here and lets encourage each other to use this bugg as intended. So please post your biggest records like most steps in a day or most calories burned. I would be interested in hearing what exercises caused the "spikes" on your chart. Maybe you are doing some awesome daily routine that I could add to my day. Thanks This link is created strictly for stats and facts. It would be helpful to post if you are a guy or girl since the calorie burn record should consider that fact. I am a guy so I am curious to see what the ladies post and their big numbers. My activities for the day were picking up hundreds of branches from a recent ice storm, coaching basketball this morning and punching on a speed bag while jamming out to REO speedwagon and I walked for a little while. :smile:

You know that is encouraging to hear and I do feel some restriction. I think it is half restriction and half fear because I do not want to challenge the band and PB. I started this journey at 279 pounds and I weighed in this morning at 249.5 so I am happy with the results. Each time I get on that scale and see a loss I just get amped up and eat better and work out longer. I want to go shirt less on the beach in the summer so I have to keep moving. My goal chart says that I should hit my goal in July so we will see.

This was my first fill and we basically stair stepped up to 5cc's. I felt nothing at 3 or 4 cc's and I cant afford to "try it out" for a month and keep making trips which thankfully Dr. K did not do that to me. We both agreed at where we stopped with the fill but I totally understand these people now that take .2 cc's out and it feels completely different because the band was so sensitive. I guess in my mind I pictured each fill being worth a certain amount of pounds lost, like I would lose 10 pounds or so and then go get another fill and keep working it. I will lose another 10 pounds but it will be more will power than lapband. I have always told the doctor that I can get my weight down on my own I just need help keeping it off and we are about to see if I can truly do that. At some point everything will come together where my weight meets my band and I settle in for a long happy life.

Well I am a little bummed this evening because I had my first fill yesterday and today I feel very little difference. I can sometimes feel the food hitting the stomach but it quickly goes away and I feel hungry. I know that it cam takes numerous fills and the good doctor spent 20 minutes getting me dialed in where I felt restriction but no luck. I felt the sips of water hit the stomach and based on my feedback he added the fill but I admit after about the 5th adjustment I wasn't sure what I was feeling down there. I have 5cc in a 10 cc band so at least it shouldn't take to many more trips to Denver to get it lined out.

The bugg will track your calories and you don't have to do anything. I wear it while I sleep and when I look at my calories online at the web site I can tell when I get up and go the bathroom or go down stairs in the middle of the night to check the door or something. It graphs out the entire day so I know that when I played volleyball on Thursday I burned 750 calories during my game and so on. Now you can log your food on this same web site and see when you are getting close to eating more than you are burning or if you are in a negative number=losing weight. There is another option instead of food logging, you put your weight in each week so it can track your progress and your goals. Since you put your weight in it can estimate your calorie intake since it knows that 3500 calories equals 1 pound.

I would disagree. How do you know how much to eat each day? Do you try and eat 1200 calories a day no matter what your activity level is? The first two days I had the bodybugg I burned 2900 calories one day and 4200 calories the next day. If you would have asked me to guess what I burned in those two days I would have guessed abut the same. That is the big deal with the bugg it takes the guess work out of it. Here is a fact, 3500 calories equals one pound of fat. So at the end of the week are you +3500 or -3500.

Discrimination is everywhere and even obese people discriminate against less obese people. I have friends that are large BMI like 50 BMI plus and they got the surgery first and once I saw the results I mentioned I might research it with a 33 BMI on a very tall frame. You would have thought that I told them I was getting breast implants on my back with the facial expressions I got. I understand where they are coming from since I hold my fat on my chest and stomach but the scoffs were hurtful. That is why I have never been to a seminar because I don't want to be looked at like a vain freak that when I walk down the aisle to find my seat, No Thanks. I am assuming that most of the good people on this post are women and I would agree that there is discrimination against overweight people but even more when you are a lady than a man. My dad is over weight and wears a suit to work every day and people get out of his way because he looks like he owns the place. The perception is different I think but maybe that is just my view. I am not saying that it is fair but that is my perception.

There seems to be two major types of people out there that get the band. There is one type that has never been active or at least not real active since grade school, doesn't play sports and hopes the lap band will help them get to goal. I think these people get to 50%-60% percent of their goal and then realize that it will take more. Then there is the group that considers themselves "athletes" that somehow got trapped in a obese body and use the lapband to spring board them back into shape. I know this doesn't cover everyone but that has been my experience. I have friends at work that have had the surgery done and after about 60 pounds of weight loss they just level out and you almost forget that they ever had the band. They just don't have the lifestyle to get any lower and finally give up. I have spent hundreds of dollars on gear in the last two months to help me get in shape besides the cost of a lapband. My wife looks at me like I am crazy but the gear I buy is not the traditional crap like weights and a treadmill. ( I do have both of those from past failed attempts) I bought a long board which is like a skateboard but much longer and more stable. It is like I am cruising down the road on a surf board. I bought a speed bag like the boxers use and that gives an awesome work out and cost 40.00 bucks from Academy sports. It takes about two weeks to really learn but is fun and can be done to music, if you like to dance you will probably like doing it. I joined a basketball church league and have played 5 games so far this season and do you know how many points I have scored? NONE, I don't shoot I just rebound and pass to my team and each game I burn like 750 calories running back and forth and my team just loves my effort and they don't notice the lack of offense. The last bit advice I will give to anyone that is fighting the exercise or being active part is to please go buy yourself a bodybugg. The bugg will tell you exactly how many calories you are burning so you know what you can eat. This way if you are going to cheat yourself you will know it before you ever get on the scale.

Im sorry MissTlynn I quoted the wrong comments. I have had good results with my band and I dont even have a fill yet. I bought a bodybugg and have taken which has taken the guess work out of my weight flux week to week and I am very happy with my decision.

From one Okie to another you cant beat Dr Kirshenbaum in Colorado. He charges a flat $9,950 and you never receive one bill in the mail or any other charges. You can do a search on him and find hundreds of customers just on this web site. You can get a airline ticket from OKC to Colorado for $185.00 and he is board certified and most importantly in the good ole USA. I debated the Mexico doctors and I am glad I went this route. I didn't really care either way but right before they put me under I did have a sense of ease with my decision. I was in a large 5 star hospital outside Denver and felt safe. To be fair though to everyone that has used Mexican doctors if I only had $7500 and that was it I would make the same decision and get it done.

That was the first time I ever hit 20k in steps but that was a goal and I just put two workout routines together to get it done. 10,000 steps is 4 miles and I walked that out at lunch. I can walk a 15 minute mile with the Ipod so that is not to bad. Then I play basketball for the other 10k in steps. When I got home last night I was so sore and was 500 steps short so I walked around the kitchen and the minute I hit the 20K I was in the chair with ice on the knees. That is why I like the bugg because I am confident that I am on the good side of the calorie count. I am like you on the coach sessions. I pretty much knew it all by the time I got a call. I dont like to food logging and the nutrition recommendations would be cool if the days menu was not full of APEX supplements. What a joke but the rest is useful.

I finally hit 20,000 steps in one day. I cant walk now but I did hit 20,000 steps regardless.

Hi Destiny, that is great news can you tell us what size band you have (10cc?) and how many CC's they put in for the first fill? I know everyone is different I am just curious to see the numbers.

I have a fill on Jan 15th and I am debating the idea of trying to go snowboarding after my appointment. Anyone hit the slopes after seeing the good doctor.

Thanks Kary, the first week I used it I thought it was broken. What really confused me was that the minute I put it on it had a large calorie number on the watch right off the bat. For example, 1800 calories burned after 20 minutes of wearing it. I found out later it estimated work load up to that point for the day or that is what the support folks told me. I still didn't believe her but after running a few calculators that just estimate based on weight and height it was pretty close. The main reason that i didn't believe it was because I thought there was no way that i was eating 4000+ calories in a single day but I sure was doing that and gaining weight.

Calorie burn I assume is the reason that the trainers don't want you to hang on but more importantly it is to develop core muscles. The muscles in the core are used for stability/balance and if you can do so safely you should try to do it with no hands. It is the same reason that free weights are better for you than machine weights. Free weights force you to balance the weight as you lift it and machine weights are on a track which makes it easier to lift because less muscles are being used. If you go to a Gym and watch the really big muscle guys lift weights You will notice that they do squats with some serious weight. They do 2 or 3 sets and then for what seems no reason they put on a weight belt and do one last set. The weight belt is to secure their core muscles and they only use it when they are doing huge weight or going for a personal record. When I asked why they told me that they need core muscle training and would be weak if they used the belt every time. Sorry for the long rant

I had a BMI of 33 and was banded on Dec 18th. I have lost 28 pounds since my surgery and I am losing weight every week. I didnt lose any weight pre OP but lost 10 pounds post OP liquid diet and have been losing ever since. One bit of advice I would give all low BMI bandsters it to get a bodybugg or something like it. The bugg is a device you wear on arm and it will track how many calories you burn in 24 hours. It will do ALOT more but the main thing to know is how many calories do you burn baseline. (Doing Nothing in 24 hours). Then you can check that number against your diet and raise and lower your calorie intake. I am all for tracking food but what do you compare that number too. The crazy thing is that I have burned 2800 calories in a day and also burned 4500 calories in a day and it wasnt like I ran a marathon on the big calorie day. My point is that you can have a drastic calorie change in numbers and not really notice it. Sorry for rambling just excited...

I find it hard to be to critical of this site because it has been a blessing for me and I appreciate the effort that goes on behind the scenes to manage this effort. I also appreciate not getting spammed and pop ups on every time I visit so thank you. The only issue I have as a newbie is that there are some threads that are hundreds and hundreds of pages long. It seems that these longer threads have lost the original focus and have turned into chat rooms. Don't get me wrong not everything I post is a factual Gem but when you are told as a newbie to read a thread that is laced with hundreds of "I love my bug" and "got my bug today YeeHaw" it gets tiresome.

Banded on DEC 18th and unlike most docs my doc puts the port right in the middle top of my belly and not on the side. I didnt even know that so when I called in and asked if it was the band I felt he told me what I felt was the port. I thought at first that it was my stomach expanding and getting super tight and I freaked out thinking I was stretching the pouch. Anyway it feels like a hard plate the size of a nickel above my stomach and I swear mine makes my skin pooch out a little.

Stef you can call me LD for short I am just happy to be called anything. I am going to shoot you a PM as requested so we can get started. I will start checking on this thread once a day and report my numbers.

Hey Guys, I would like to join your thread and look forward to seeing results in 2008. I had a option of doing my surgery before or after the holidays and I thought why would I wait. I am 16 days post op and feeling great. I average 10,000 steps a day which is about 3 miles of walking around doing this and that. Today I walked 40 minutes on a treadmill while watching 30 Rock on my laptop. (Netflix is great) and then I did 25 minutes on a speed bag that I bought from the Academy. I burn about 3200 calories a day with this routine and hope to add weight training back into the mix once I get cleared after my first fill. Here is what I use to motivate: Bodybugg Netflix- Download shows to my laptop so I can watch on the treadmill. Lapband- No fill yet but the restrictive diet has helped Boxing- This is so much fun and I can work a speed bag like a real boxer even though I have never stepped in the ring and would never attempt it. I am 6'3 male that weighs 257 pounds. I plan to use the "book of muscle" to take me to the next level and I practice the Abs diet cookbook for eating. I am just one walking info commercial but that is my routing so far.