neverB4

Support grp meets at lexington Hospital in Lexington SC...come join us!!

KiKi....I laughed when I read your note. Because last night we took the boys out to neighborhood grill after their BB game....I ordered a hamburger with "lettuce, tomatoe, onions and mustard" thinking they would load it up. I'm allowed for one meal a day, 4oz meat and 2 breads so I knew it would be fine. HA! They brought me a very chargrilled patty (at least they left the 4oz in middle unburned-teehee), with 2 quater sized pcs of lettuce, no tomatoe and a tsp of chopped onions...oh, all on a 3days old dry bun!!! Needless to say, my longtime craving for a good hamburger...well, my good Lord knew what He was doing for me!!! I will also say, it cured that craving for a while to come-LOL!!!

YEA D!!!!!! I can say I can actually imagine how you feel..LOL!!!!! KUDOS to you with blessings!!!!! I'm 3wks into my 6wk pre-op protein shake diet. I've lost 16lbs so far and this morning was the 1st morning...in a long time...that I was able to tread fast and normal down my stairs for my cup of coffee!!!! No squat bends to loosen up my knees!!! See what we have to look forward to???? Can't wait!!!!!!

You're mom's having gastric by-pass soon? I see this a wonderful time for you both to start supporting each other. This will also help you with your loss. A new beginning for both of you...how exciting!!!!! I would grab your mom, throw away those doughnuts together, clean out rest of cabinets...grab your purses and go grocery shopping. I wouldn't even make a list, but you two could go and spedn time together just looking at all the new "healthy" stuff that's on the shelves, stock up on the good stuff (things that will last until after surgery)...oh, and get some pampering stuff meaning to include new measuring cups, gas-x strips, stool softeneners, lotions. Make the best time of this to help you BOTH to get started and concentrated on this new walk of life!!! I send many blessings your way, and welcome to the LB forums!!!!

Faith is what will get you thru. It got you this far, right?? Once you get on the CL for afew days, your body will begin to refuse certain smells. Choc chip cookies and melted cheese make me really nauseous!! Again, faith!

dbowers, those do sound like good choices. It's hard for me to offer help for pre-surgery diets because my doc has a strict one. Anything outside of mine, I feel like I'm telling you to cheat...if that makes any sense!! But from doing WW for so long, that's what I would go for if no pre-op diet guidance. God bless!!!

Trell, glad to hear you're doing great!! May God continue to heal.

Erika, I will be remembering you too in my prayers. You're not alone here. I myself have to fight the devil's attacks on a daily matter. It's him who gives us our doubts, discouragement and the desire for that "bad" food when we're down. ANYTHING he sees as a weak spot in our faith and distrust in God, he will use. He attacks us Christians more than unbelievers because he already knows the Lord is above him and he will never be. I knew he would attack my spiritual walk with my Lord, but never realized until lately that he's been using my weight for most of it!!! God will prevail, won't He!!! PTL!!!!!!!

Same here and will do around May 5th!

In order to accomplish difficult tasks, we have to be motivated, right? But what kind of motivation? Selfish ones or ones that please God? What type of motivation is right for a Christian? 2 Corinthians 5:9. Our goal should be to please God. Romans 12:1. We should give our bodies to God as living sacrifices. Phil. 1:20. And that God should be magnified in our bodies. I have to pray often for forgiveness of my pride. Too often I get hung up on..."can't wait to lose weight to look good, be treated better, to prove I can do it to non-supporters" because my pride can also cause the Lord to oppose me (James 4:6). I pray for humbleness daily. I want God's grace by glorifying Him, not by glorifying myself. And when you find yourself in a rute one bad day, remember, it's God who can pull you out, not yourself. So take time to glorify Him no matter how mudded down you feel!! Oh, and remember, take the time to listen to His voice as well.

They meet 1st weds of each month, 6p-8p at the Lexington Med Ctr auditorium. In the blding where the seminar was.

Wow, livn4jesus, I would say that's a great reason for the surgery delay!!! PTL!!!!!

oohhhh, AMSDERB...txs for the cinnabun idea one!!! Those are my FAVE sweets...now I can still have them...going to wally-world right now so I'll pick up some butter flavoring!!! txs again.......

Kelli, do you go to the supprot groups? I missed the last one but plan on going May 7th. I would really like to meet you in person! Brenda Sealy

I honestly think it goes with what type of pre-op teaching you get in the first place. I went for a 5hr class just to meet with the surgeon's nurse and nutritionist. And I've also joined in one support grp so far. Here is what they're telling us...Yes, the LB is a tool but you CAN cheat it out. I'm being told that you have to work it YOURSELF to get it to work for you later down the road. Both nurse and nutritionist are saying it will take anywhere from 6mos to even a yr before you can truely rely on your band to work for you...the "sweet spot". This is why I have to follow this strict post-op regime...... phase one: clear liqs 1 wk post-op. This includes ONLY 1-2ozs at a time. At least 40gms of protien each day. phase two: full liqs 2wks. I now begin 2oz for brkfst, lunch and dinner. 40-60 gms of Protein each day. No Snacks...just liqs between meals. phase three: soft diet 3wks. Still only 2ozs (1/4 cup) for brkfst, lunch, dinner. Same Proteins. after: this is life maintenance diet...2-4ozs per meal. After a yr or two, you can increase up to a cup of food per meal. Still...NO drinking with meals 30-45mins before or after. I can eat all things but the bad stuff (fried, greasy foods, sweets. etc.) I'm a registered nurse so it is knowledge that yea, you may have a band to constrict your stomach a little...BUT, you can still stretch out that little pouch left on top of that band. I read on this forum (other threads) that people are already eating 1-2cups of food just only 3 days after banding, yet they seem surprised they can!!! They're questioning "why" since they now have the lap-band. Well, dahhhhh...... Again, I feel it boils down to what type of education they got beforehand...but all body functions are the same. Just as with gastric by-passes...you can always stretch that tummy more. Which is what you WILL do if you don't limit yourself post-op. hence, the reason you can cheat yourself out of the LB purpose. My post-op diet seems really strict compared to what I'm reading on forums and hearing in the chat rooms. But since I will have to work my band first until I reach my sweet spot, I'm glad my surgeon is this strict!! I'm looking at my band as my tool to keep me from overeating...EVENTUALLY. So until then, the Lord has given me strength and the knowledge to know I will have to work my hardest for up to a year after my banding to get the results.

Jeremiah 33:3 "Call on me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not."

I'm self pay too in SC and my bill was just under 14k. This includes all pre and post-op services ( to include a leg DVT study), surgeon fees, anesthesia, hosp fees, radiology, pharmacy, 4wk nutritionist follow-up and my 1st four fills up to 12mos.

Here's a place no one's mentioned yet...lexignton, SC (right outside of Columbia).

Susan, our Lord will truely bless you for giving Him your faith thru all of this. Now, I wonder what He has in store for you this next week that He knew you woudln't be able to do for Him if the surgery happened? That's always the exciting part of it too, huh?? God's amazing in all His ways!!! Sanks, I'm glad the Holy Spirit drew you to this thread. He's always there for us when we allow Him to be, to draw us nearere to our Father. Allow Him to speak to your heart and you will be just fine and will have the "peace that passes all understanding"!! Talkinjack...we're still waiting to hear from you! I pray all is well with you.

I really enjoy Tony Evans. i always have to stay in my car to finish listening to him!

Gen, thank you for your kind words on my Bible devotion thread. I will keep you in my prayers for your arthritis. You've have done so great with your weight loss. I don't want this to be a discouraging time for you. Ps 107:19-20!!! God speed on your recovery. Susan, may the Lord give you comfort and guide all hands laid upon you this Friday. Look forward to hearing from you Saturday. God bless!!! Morgan, WELCOME!!!! Your words where "ditto" for me too. I've struggled with same feelings since a yr ago. I too am at peace with my decision because I've given my success from this to the hands of our Lord. With this peace, I also know I will have to accept any discouragement from Him when I meet him face-toface that glorious day!! Thank you all for this site. It's my top one to read every day for encouragement. Then I check into my SC state one and the May bandsters. Other than that, I don't spend time on others much. It's a beautiful day here, I pray all of you have one as well!!

My mom called me last night. She is beginning to get excited for me now that a couple of her co-workers are sharing positive info on it with her. She was surprised that it's a common-knowledge thing and a highly sought consideration!!

2bemeagain, keep your spirits up and your heart guarded from the devil. I have come to realize my desire for the taste of food is a weak spot he can use against me!! Knowing this, when I get the urge, I pray for God's defeat of him!!! Monica, welcome!! So glad you found this thread. You can't help but feel the peace within each written one,unlike the others on this site!!

i'm may 13 too!!!

Hi all! My name is Brenda and I live in Lexington, SC. I just truned 40 yesterday so the LB is my b-day present!!! I'm self-pay so guess it will also be my Mother's day present too-HA!! I'm married of 15yrs to a wonderful man, 4yrs younger. He's a true supporter. We have 2 children, Rachel, 13 and Carter, 11. I will be banded May 13th by Dr. Antonetti thru SC Bariatric Center here in Lexington. I seriously got to deciding this route a yr ago but was hoping I could do without it. My history...well, you look at my 6mos old pics of me trying to walk and you would see how big I was then. I remember having to wear boy's Levi jeans in waist size 36 back in 5th grade. Then got excited when Sears started selling "plus-size" clothes for young ladies. No more blacking out the size tag on the Levi's!! Although I had to submit to wearing Holly Hobbie dresses...all from Sears. I carried my wgt on thru life. Guess I weighed 185'ish around 14-15yrs old. I was already in size 20 at age 18. I pretty much stayed within 230-250 up til now. My highest was 283 before the birth of my son due to depression (living with in-laws at the time-ha!) I always lost 30lbs during my pregnancies so that was fine until in 2003. I decided to try Weight Watchers for the 1st time. I lost down to 188 by 2004. But that lasted what?? about 5mos? Long enough for me to wear my first ever pair of knee-high boots during the Winter. Right now I'm 5'6" at 245. I still have those boots...plan on wearing them again this coming winter---whoa-hooo!!!! Good luck to all us May bandsters!! what an exciting time for us.