SuzanneG

KelinTX - OMG how amazing. Congratulations! I wish I had kept my outfit from that day. I totally forgot to keep my largest. Great job everyone. Pat yourselves on the back, you totally deserve it!

There are cubicle exercises you can do. Here are some great tips. Exercise at Your Desk The first page would only work if you have a private office, or a relaxed enough work environment for it not to be an issue, but the following pages have some quiet, low-key exercises you can do while sitting at your desk.

The biggest change is that you get drunk, really easy! I can drink two glasses of wine and be HAMMERED. No lie. I find it funny now, I'm such a cheap date. LOL Of course you can't drink anything with carbination, so for me, I like margaritas and wine mostly. Jello shots go down pretty easy. On a more serious side. My doc said no alchohol in the first 6 months. I didn't exactly stick to that. But the thing you have to be careful of, beside the obvious empty calories is to be mindful of how incredibly easy it is to get sloppy drunk. You do NOT want to throw up with a new band. Actually, you don't want to throw up with an old band if you can help it. I haven't drank enough for that to happen, but then again, I'm 43. I have a 21 year old daughter, so I know that you are likely in a position to be around drinking a lot. Just be very cautious of how much you are drinking and pay close attention to your body. Also have a friend promise to cut you off if you seem overly tipsy on just one or two drinks.

For me, Weight Watchers was the best of the diets out there and I was able to lose on it, but never more than 25 pounds and never more than 6 months before I reached a point where I couldn't do it anymore.

I have a very similar issue as you. I get up at 4am and drive 82 miles each way to work. I get home at almost 7pm, so there is very little time to cook, eat, wind down, and get to bed. Working out during the day isn't an option either as I don't have enough break time to workout, cool down, shower, put back on my professional clothes and redo hair and makeup. You didn't say what kind of building you work in. I work on the 10th floor of my building. I figured that every step was a step closer to my health so initially I decided that every time I walked to the ladies room, I would walk a lap around my floor. Then as I started losing more weight, I added the steps. I walk all the way down and back up 10 flights of steps anywhere from 2 to 6 times a day. Now I've added 10 pushups when I get to the bottom, I turn around and lean on the 3rd step up and do 10 pushups, then head back up. When I get back to the top, I still take my lap around the floor so I can catch my breath and then back to my desk. It takes surprisingly little extra time to do this and I find it's not hard to fit it into my day at all. I'm seeing the rewards for sure. My butt had flattened out and now it's round again and my legs feel strong and have visible muscles in them. For me the key is to try to put extra steps into my day wherever I can.

Congratulations. It's so amazing isn't it? I couldn't wait to step on the scales to see what they would read next. Seeing the weight loss should help you resist eating things you shouldn't! Congrats on your weight loss!!!!! Keep up the good work!

How did your appointment go? Was the new doc what you were hoping for?

Oh yeah. Sausage? I couldn't eat that now. That stuck feeling is the food not wanting to go through the band. If it gets bad enough, it'll come back up and that is something you definitely don't want to do while you are still healing. Once, when I was on liquids, I chewed up chips and spit them back out, I was so desperate to crunch something and taste something salty. LOL You just have to grit through the liquid stage and then it gets so much easier.

The letters are on their way to you now. Best of luck to you!

Thanks Luluc! You are one of my favorite LBTers for inspiration!

My sister was dead set against me getting the band. She lost weight with diet and exercise and manages to keep it off for the most part, although she could stand to lose 10-20 pounds. Anyway, once she saw that I was really loosing good she became an advocate. She even went so far as to recommend it to her overweight friends when they would confide in her about their weight problems. Do what's right for you. For me the advantage that the band gave me was that I was not always fighting that insatiable hunger. What a difference a day makes.... Best of luck to you.

cprocotor, I'm so happy that they found your heart condition in time to treat it. Now with the band, you will improve the health of your heart even more. Hang in there, the best is yet to come.

At 5'4.5" and 225 I was in a size 20 pant and 2x shirts. I've lost 71.5 pounds and at 154 pounds, I'm in a loose size 10 and size MEDIUM shirts. (I am still trying to wrap my mind around this! I bought some new ones recently and bought larges and had to take them all back for Med!) I'm going this weekend to try on 8's! I have been putting that off because I was sure they wouldn't fit, but a coworker finally said "Get some new clothes, those are too big!" I agree with the others, try them on, you'll likely be pleasantly surprised. Congrats on your weight loss everyone!

If you don't get good news by tomorrow, plan your appeal. Call your insurance company find out exactly what the problem is and appeal. I filed an appeal that included 2 letters from me, 1 medical and 1 emotional impact of my weight, plus I asked each of my doctors for letters of support, my GYN, GP, gastrointerologist, podiatrist, and of course the bariatric surgeon. The appeal was approved. If you would like sample letters, I'd be happy to send you mine, just PM me your email address. Good luck to you!

I would def find a new PCP. She sounds like an ass. I find I don't care for women doctors as a rule. I used to have a female PCP and after trying every diet there was, as well as pills, she wanted me to try the pills again. I told her that they were making me so mean that I was going to end up in divorce court if I took them again and besides they didn't work for me. She said "would you rather be FAT?". That did it for me, I switched doctors that day. I love my new PCP and he's very pleased with my progress. By the way, my bariatric team has a woman NP and I love her!

Insurance companies aren't in business to help us, they are in business to make money. You are right that they sound like they just don't want to pay. Most insurance companies require a BMI of 40+ which you have, plus you have co-morbidities. Keep pushing them, if they deny you -- appeal! You'll get there.

Oh yeah, I have federal BC/BS. My BMI was 35.1 when I first attempted to get approved. I was denied, then appealed. By the time I sent that in, I had gained up to 36.7. Appeal was approved. I'll tell you more about that if you need to appeal, but I'm sure you'll do fine.

I'm with Dr. Brengman. Shroeder has done one of my fills and was in the room during my surgery. They are a great group! You'll do fine. If you want to chat offline, just PM your email address and I'll email you seperate. You are going to LOVE Shroeder and Brengman.

Onederland is when someone gets their weight into the 100's. Congrats Banded08! Pat yourself on the back and get out there and buy yourself something new! You deserve it! :sad_smile:

Are you waiting 30 mins between your last drink and your meal? I don't have a hard time with drinking while eating, but I too like to drink before and after I eat. If the problem is only when you eat out, tell them you don't want a drink and insist they don't leave one in front of you. It is OK to have a sip of Water after you eat, just not to drink any measurable amount. For me, I chew gum to moisten my mouth after I eat. I have seen on here where many folks say their doctor's don't allow gum. I can't imagine doing this without it. I use it when my mouth is bored, when I'm thirsty and can't drink, when I'm sleepy and need to stay awake. I love gum and have no less than 4 different varieties on my desk at any given time. LOL

My Dear LBT Friends, I'm sorry to report that you are in Bandster Hell. This too shall pass. The addition of solid food will help, but you won't truely be rid of the hunger until you have restriction. Hang in there! Help is on the way..... And pat yourselves on the back for taking this step for your health!

My doc told me that if you can eat bread, you are too lose. Get a fill. You can't fight feeling hungry all the time, that's why we couldn't diet on our own, isn't? If you could do that, you wouldn't have needed the band. Get a fill.

There are lots of self pays, but I'm not one of them. If you don't get approved, appeal, I did and it worked. Don't give up without a fight. So you're in Richmond? Who's your doctor?

So sorry you had to go through that. I was worried about something like that myself, but everything went perfect. I can't say enough nice things about Dr. Brengman. The man is my hero, that's all there is to it!

I hear ya. I could never get more than 25 pounds off at a time and that usually took me forever. I hope your doc takes your progress into consideration. You are losing after all. If not, is there another doctor in your area? Mine didn't require pre-op weight loss, but he did require a liver shrinking diet for 2 weeks. I lost 11 pounds on that one. Keep plugging away at it, it's so worth it! I'll be cheering for you!!!