NormaRae

Absolutely not to the sweets and soft drinks. Why would I have this surgery and not follow the guide lines as closely as possible? I did allow myself a couple of small Christmas cookies at a Christmas party and on Christmas eve but Christmas is over and those were my Christmas rewards for being a good girl!

OK...I'll bite. What is the "magic bullet"?

I think the no fruit for 3 months has to do with higher carbs. Those little clementines are great. Do you tolerate them ok?

I had my second fill on 12/5/08. It doesn't seem much different than before. Maybe I am close to the sweet spot. Even though I feel like I could eat more than I do, I am contented before I finish most of my meals so I stop eating. I did have one small incident when I was eating too fast. The food just would not go down. It does not pay to hurry when we are eating. Officially my plan calls for no fruit until 3 months out. That is several weeks yet. I have been eating a quarter of an apple chopped up in my salad. That seems to satisfy my need for crunch. I tolerate it just fine and it does not seem to have slowed the progress.

Hi everyone, How is everyone handling all the cookies and candies that folks are bringing to the office and at the Holiday parties. I decided to allow myself 2 or 3 small cookies per day. I was afraid if I didn't, I would really pig out. I hope I don't regret my decision. Hurry Christmas, hurry fast! I want the temptations to go away!

Yikes! I guess I am at a plateau. I have not lost anything in a week! I have been eating the same way and even begun exercising at last. Ok, I did eat a little bit too much turkey on Thanksgiving but I was not extravagant at all and this is a week later. I know plateaus happen and I need to keep on keeping on, but...:thumbup: Com'on already! I get a fill on 12/10 so I hope to be past the plateau by then. :cursing:

Hey everyone...I got to meet Cynde at our support group meeting tonight. She is just as sweet in person as she is on line. This is great. I appreciate all of you and am thankful that we are on this journey together.

Hey! Two pounds lost is something to be proud of! I don't blame you for wanting to post it. It looks like you will have to create a new ticker. Sorry, the process worked for me. Perhaps I did not explain it clearly enough. I am verbally challenged at times.

I am a bit nervous about Thanksgiving too. :thumbup: I bet most of us are. I am trying to prepare myself for what I will allow myself to eat. I plan to stay busy and concentrate on serving and picking up and visiting with my guests. I have had one fill of 3cc but I know I am ready for another. Thank goodness that will happen prior to Christmas. I am still losing but more slowly but I am really working hard at not eating all I would like to eat. I am not so sure of holding on to that for Thanksgiving (pig-out) day. Please, if anyone has some Thanksgiving day strategy, share it with us.

Click on your ticker in one of your posted messages. That will bring you to a place where you can type in the password you saved for your ticker and then allow you to change the information. HINT...you will have to enter your password two times before it actually works so don't get frustrated when it does not work at first.

Don't worry, you are still one of us. It's hard to leave us once you join. Best wishes to you. Too me the hardest part so far is the weeks leading up to the procedure...it's the mental thing...wondering about the things we will experience...the unknown.

good question about the fill. i was expecting mine to be about 6 weeks and it was short of 3 weeks. it has not been a problem but i may have a 2nd fill before 6 weeks. doc said to call him if i felt like i need another fill before the scheduled date of 1/14/09.

My doc is Dr. Lahmann but I understand that both doctors are in the operating room for all surgeries. Wow...we get twice the expertize. I am doing well and hoping to find a walking buddy. We could meet at the mall and be mall walkers. Let me know if you and anyone you know of might be wanting to start a program of some kind. So far my exercise is strolling WalMart.

To add a photo to your messages go to your profile and select the option of editing your photo. That will walk you through uploading a photo from your computer. I hope it all works well for you. I will watch for your pic and ticker.

To create a ticker go to Graphical Tickers and Trackers: Weight Loss, Trying To Conceive, Pregnancy... and follow the instructions. After you have created the ticker you want highlight the BBcode they show. Then copy that. Next go to edit your signature on the www.lapbandtalk.com site. Then paste the BBcode into the signature box. That should do it. Then you can edit the ticker just by clicking on the ticker from within any of your messages.

my plan does not allow breads and potatoes and starchy things until I have lost 70% of my weight...maybe it was 75%. It isn't because I may not tolerate it. It is because the carbs are not good for losing weight. I am suppose to fill up on protein. Plans sure do vary a lot!

3 weeks after my band I saw the doc. I told him I was afraid the band had slipped because I could not feel any restriction any more. He said no, it's just that the swelling from surgery was gone. He also said that fear of the band slipping was one of the primary things he hears from patients and that actually slipping is very rare. I think we all go through some thoughts of slippage and some of the other possible problems. Don't worry, be happy!

My surgery was on 10/14. I had a post-op visit on 11/05 which was an educational group meeting on what we should be eating. Then we went to the doc's office to weigh in and have him see how we are doing. I was scheduled to have a fill on 11/14 but he decided to do it then and there. I think that was good because I did not have time to worry about it. It was totally painless. I was so pleasantly surprised. My fill was for 3cc. I can tell some difference. My next fill is scheduled for 1/14 but the doc said I may want to have it sooner and just call and schedule the fill when I am ready. This keeps getting easier. I just hope I don't get complacent about it, that could get me into trouble. I can not seem to motivate myself to exercise. I would love to find an exercise buddy. Anyone in the Joliet, IL area looking for an exercise buddy?

Cyndy, I am so sorry that happened to you. Some people don't think beyond themselves. That waitress was just trying to build herself up. Besides that, most of us had have lost that much weight and more on our own but we don't keep it off. You (we) have chosen a method that has proven to have long term success but it still requires a lot of effort on our part. Be proud of all you have done. Your future is bright and you will maintain your lose so much easier than the waitress. Obviously your daughter is proud of what you have done so far. You are blessed with a wonderful family.

I will have my first fill on 11/14. How long does that take? It will be at the hospital. I need to work later that day so I am wondering if you feel ok after as well as how long it takes. Although I am following the prescribed diet, I find that I am not feeling full as I did the first couple of weeks. Is that normal?

Ok all you October 08 folks. Many of you have lost 20 pounds or more by now. Have your friends and family and co-workers noticed? I hope so...it feels so good to get their support. Maybe we can inspire others to try this. What do you think?

Thanks Ronda, I will try my local bookstore tomorrow.

WoW Ronda, You stated the situation very well! When I gained weight during surgery my doc said it takes week to ten days for the weight to settle down. I bet by Monday you will be seeing about the correct weight. I am down a total of 19 pounds since 10-1-08. That's a month today. I feel way better already. My husband was walking behind me and mentioned my...ahh fanny...is smaller. YES! What cook book did you buy that you liked for bariatric surgical patients?