JanetC

LOL, I missed this thread... congrats on your new job... and congrats on quitting! Heh. At least you found a cool place to shop! :confused:

We were doing all protein drinks for breakfast. Our nutritionist asked us to switch to Snicker's Marathon meal replacement bars. She said they were the best she'd found calorie for protein gram. We buy 'em at Walmart by the box. I highly recommend the caramel nut rush (20g protein). The other one (26g) is too dry.

Congrats Gurly!! You look awesome!! And the smile, woohooo!!

I'm changing my vote to the 6th for Straw, heh. So that makes the 20th & the 6th tied. :confused: Though the 6th is NEXT WEEK! Augh! That's quick!

I appear to be in a posting mood this morning. I was reading the "Gone for Good" thread. They're having a challenge... would anyone be interested in a Feb Bandster challenge? Say for the month of May? I was thinking a modified GfG challenge... you earn points for stuff you can control. Something like... 1 point / day for taking your multi-vitamin 1 point / day for taking your calcium 1 point / day for food journaling 1 point / day for hitting your food goals (g of Protein, no carbs, etc, your personal goals) 1 point / 8 oz of Water drunk 1 point / min of exercise What else can we award points for? We could have "earned" points that we award as a group. Something like 10 points weekly for most supportive, 10 points weekly for most positive, 10 points weekly for most improved, 10 points weekly for most inspirational? Would you want points for weight loss too? And/or inches? And changes in BMI? I'm not as fired up about those points, because I can't choose to lose weight... but I can choose to drink some more water. I like getting gold stars! :confused: Would there need to be a reward? A pic to put in your sig? Something bigger? The reward of knowing you won? What do you think? Anyone interested? I'll write up something "official" if we're going for it.

Was a blast, though I hate long tables & noise! I want to be able to hear everyone!! People are not allowed to have conversations without me! :confused: Thank for taking the pics, Randy! Can't wait for next time!

Wow, Chunk! 20 pounds to go!! That's awesome!

Heh, I had mood swings & panic attacks galore during the pre-op diet. And post-op I had buyer's remorse in a big way... but at 10 weeks out now, I'm thrilled & would do it again in a heatbeat. Ok, yeah, I'm still angry about the modifications to my diet, but I'm working through it and REALLY want to be happy to be eating less. I have some control issues, lol. For the liquid period, variety helps... and always have something ready to drink quickly. And then focus on getting through it... it's something that just has to be endured. You DO make it to the other side, though, and it's worth it!! Congrats on your date!!

Roberta, I think you mean Isopure Zero Carb (by Nature's Best). Vitamin Shoppe or GNC carry them (my GNC doesn't, pft!). You can also get them online at www.bariatriceating.com, but shipping is prohibitive. They are clear, so I used them extensively post-op. They taste, um, like kool-aid with that awful Protein aftertaste, but you get used to it. My favorites are the Blue Raspberry, Icy Orange & pineapple Orange banana. They're about $3 a bottle, 20 oz, 40g protein, 160 calories (nothing but protein).

For those that don't read many threads, I really found this one interesting. It's in the "Living without the band" forum, though banded folks chimed in too. I really like the idea of pushing through the weight loss phase & then settling in for maintenance. That whole idea of, "it's easier to maintain then change". http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=17126 Let's get the losing part over with & get on with living!

Welcome back, Michele!! (( Hugs!! )) I'm glad you get your laptop back soon! On your weight loss... Let's analyze stuff -- it's what I do! LOL. 1. Are you taking your Vitamin supplement? 2. Are you taking a Calcium supplement? 3. Are you getting in at least 64 oz of Water? 4. Approx how much Protein do you get daily? 5. How tall are you? 6. What is your lifestyle on average? Sedentary? Semi-active? Active? 7. Do you exericse? If so, what kind & how often & for how long? 8. What's your fill level / size of band? 9. Take a food journal today... write down everything that crosses your lips & post it so we can get an idea of how many calories you're eating. When I'm not losing like I want (which is pretty much every day, lol) I look at these questions. It's possible that you're eating something that has more calories then you know. It's also possible that you're eating too few calories & your body's in starvation mode. It's something we have to try to avoid during this journey. Starvation mode for the body can brought on by several factors: 1. Too little water: "There's no water, conserve what we have in the fat cells!" 2. Too little protein: "We're starving for fuel, so conserve the stored fat cells, we may need them!" 3. Too little calcium: high protein diets make your body steal calcium from your bones... if it gets too bad, it'll start conserving 4. Too few overall calories: "It must be a drought/famine, conserve!" Without you taking a metabolism test we won't really know if you're in starvation mode, but it's something to look at. Help us help you!! (If you don't mind all the advice, lol.)

Welcome to LBT! And congrats on picking a surgeon! It depends on the doctor for wait time... the smallest I've heard of is 7-10 days from seminar to surgery. Most doctors require some form of pre-op testing or consultations: psychologist, nutritionist, physical therapist, upper GI and/or endoscopy, etc. That varies from doctor to doctor & the time between appointments of course varies as well. And some doctors have a pre-op diet for a number of days -- ours was 14. Good luck! Hope it all goes smoothly for you!

PB = productive burp... it can't be explained, it has to be experienced. Basically, you take a bite & it's too much. It can't get through the stoma into the lower stomach... so it has to come back up. So you "throw up"... except it's not like vomiting, though some call it that. It's more like a baby spitting up. It's a big burp or hiccup that contains food. And the food isn't really even digested, since it never made it to the lower stomach. It sounds gross & disturbing, but other then the first time, it's really not too traumatic. I've learned to deal with it discreetly. And my trick to not have it is: 1. TINY bites 2. Chew to goo 3. Wait for 30-60 seconds with my mouth empty between bites 4. Stop ANYTIME I have mild chest pain (pain behind the sternum -- which becomes a "golf-ball" feeling if you take another bite) 5. DON'T push it... this is where I get into trouble. I can't convince myself I'm full, lol. I'm working on it!

Pam, read this thread for more explanation of PBs. It's not really like choking. After your first time, it's not really even scary. That first time, everything is new, so you kind of freak out. But it becomes just a part of banded life... when you PB you know you did something wrong. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=17215&highlight=PB+definition I didn't know about holding your breath, though... gonna give it a try! It would be a lot easier then the other remedies we talk about! Oh, and Pam, the port doesn't actually stick outside of our skin... it's sutured to the stomach muscle... deep inside your abdominal wall. You can feel it as you get skinnier & some people can see it, sorta... if they look in the right place & stand at the right angle. But really, you have to know where to look. I can feel mine, but only if I'm feeling both sides... then I can tell the difference. If Mikey (my hubby) stands up & tilts to the right while leaning forward, lol, I can feel his. If your port ends up being visible in your opinion after you lose weight, port-revision surgery is possible to get a lower profile port (one that lays flatter or is stitched in deeper). Keep asking questions! You're doing great!

Oh my goodness, Becky!! Your diet sounds DELICIOUS!!! I love all the Indian food you describe -- I've never had most of it, but YUM!! Congrats on the sweet spot! Hope it stays for you! They do say that after a while & some weight loss that it'll change... but enjoy it while it lasts!! That's awesome!!

Heh, stretch every 5 minutes that you're filing Tammy! Don't make your back hurt too much! (Uh oh, lol, what have I started! ) And good job on avoiding the chocolate! I've been good too! (But without the temptation, lol, you're stronger then I am!)

Hey Pam, I'll try to answer your question: I'm pretty sure LaMadam had hers removed & has maintained / continued to lose. GeezerSue had hers removed & was revised to a DS (Duodenal Switch -- sp). A few others were revised to other WLS, I think... and we have a clump that lost their bands from Nov to now & are in the healing stages. It's not a given that you'll lose your band... or that if you do lose it it'll be in 1 week, or 18 months, or 2 years. It happens to some... it doesn't happen to others, no rhyme or reason. Not following the rules may lead to issues... but following the rules doesn't guarantee you won't have issues. It's not fair, but it is life with the band. It's a personal choice to take a chance on the band: 2-3% do have issues and it could be you. And if you're the one with the issues you then have to decide what other options you have... healing & getting rebanded or trying another WLS or going back to the "old" style of weight loss or just living with it. I'm personally really new to my band (10 weeks) & am really glad to have it. I'm going to use it each & every day I'm blessed with it & pray that I keep it a long, long time. If I lose it, I'll follow in Penni's footsteps & fight the good fight! We'll support you no matter what decision you make, Pam! Ask tons of questions & don't decide until you're sure you know the options / risks of every option available. Hope this helped...

Pause for 20-30 min... then go back at it! 20 min should be long enough for the first few sips of broth to make it through... assuming they're in the upper stomach. Glad you got rid of the hungries for the moment!

Welcome to LBT!! I'm glad you've got support on your journey! Ask tons of questions!!

Welcome to both of you!! (I missed this post back in Feb, heh.) Hope your recoveries are moving right along!

Welcome to LBT & congrats on your LCD!! Keep it up!

LOL, (( DonnaB!! )) You so made me laugh! The clumsiness THIS time was me being forgetful / silly / stupid. I'm re-covering our chairs... and hadn't screwed it onto the frame, lol. I was setting something down & forgot about the seat & LEANED ON IT!!!! The entire thing went crashing down... ouch! I caught myself with my wrist (ouch!) & managed to hit the chair in several places -- contusions up the wazoo (well actually, on both arms & both legs & feet, lol). No idea how I managed to hit so many things all at one time! I may have dyed my hair over & over, lol, but I was born blonde!

Ouch! I'm so glad you got to keep most of your fill! And I'm glad you didn't wait too long to get it taken care of! Scary stuff!

LOL, not the GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!!!! Throw 'em away! Or make your friend / neighbor / kid / boss / dog eat 'em! I'm not surprised you gave in this weekend... you've been having a lot of stress! Maybe up your exercise a little to give you a different outlet? (I've never done that, lol, but I hear other people say it. ) Or a massage or hottub or manicure... man, they sound heavenly! I'm glad you made it to your appointment... 48 hours? AUGH!! I'm going to be a nervous wreck by the time you get your results! Thanks for keeping us in the loop! (( Hugs!!! )) Drink lots of Water today!

My biggest piece of advice is to ALWAYS have something in your hand. You'll be SO sick of liquids, but find something that sounds the least unappetizing & make sure you have it next to you at all times -- a glass of Water, a cup of tea, a popsicle, Jello, whatever. Focus on the fact that it's a SHORT period of time & that you're healing... scare yourself into obeying. You'll make it through!! It seems like forever when you're going through it, though, so find a band buddy or 2 on here that are getting banded about the same time... you can moan to each other! Good luck & congrats!