Great2BThin

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I think I figured out my trigger after reading your response. DH & DS went fishing for the day and possibly the weekend. I've been home alone, bored and thinking of food too much. I went shopping and out to lunch to occupy myself and felt "I deserved a treat'. DUH!! I hope it boosts my loss with the uptake in calories wouldnt' that be sweet. Now that I have identified it, I will be on the look out for the boredom eating or loneliness eating tomorrow!

Monday. I've been hungry a lot lately and finding out I can eat about anything. Well........I went into this 'last supper before my fill mode'. How stupid is that? My sisters called and asked if I wanted to meet them for lunch, we went to this mom and pop place that has awesome fried chicken so I got that. On the bright side I do have some restriction and could only eat one thigh about about 4 french fries, and I gave my Texas toast and gravy away. then I had to stop at Walmart for something for my new bike. right at the checkout were snack size bags of Fritos, my number one red light food, so I bought one, ate the whole thing then I read the label and that little bag was considered 4 servings!!!! OMG!! That's 600 calories, mind you I've been averaging 700-800. I'm over 1000 for the day. Then tonight I got more chicken this time nuggets from Chik Fil A. Just goes to prove, that the body is willing but the mind is weak! I just entered everything into my daily plate and it's not that horrible considering what I used to do, but is 1400 calories for the day. This stops tonight, tomorrow I will be a good little bander! I wish those dang Fritos didn't go down so easy! Glad I rode my bike this morning and burned some of those calories. About the Optima and Optifast, sorry haven't heard of either one. Only had to do 2 days of clears before surgery. But many dr.s are different I'm finding out.

I can't believe what I've done today. I get my first fill on Monday. I've been hungry a lot lately and finding out I can eat about anything. Well........I went into this 'last supper before my fill mode'. How stupid is that? My sisters called and asked if I wanted to meet them for lunch, we went to this mom and pop place that has awesome fried chicken so I got that. On the bright side I do have some restriction and could only eat one thigh about about 4 french fries, and I gave my Texas toast and gravy away. then I had to stop at Walmart for something for my new bike. right at the checkout were snack size bags of Fritos, my number one red light food, so I bought one, ate the whole thing then I read the label and that little bag was considered 4 servings!!!! OMG!! That's 600 calories, mind you I've been averaging 700-800. I'm over 1000 for the day. Then tonight I got more chicken this time nuggets from Chik Fil A. Just goes to prove, that the body is willing but the mind is weak! I just entered everything into my daily plate and it's not that horrible considering what I used to do, but is 1400 calories for the day. This stops tonight, tomorrow I will be a good little bander! I wish those dang Fritos didn't go down so easy! Glad I rode my bike this morning and burned some of those calories.

Denver, boring? Oh my goodness! But I guess different strokes for different folks. I wasn't born here,but grew up here til my early 20's when we got transferred away, after living in 6 states and travelling to all 50 except a few southeastern ones,(and yes that includes Vancover, WA LOL) there's no place I'd rather be. WE finally got to move back after 25 yrs away and I am staying put. Maybe you'll see something you like after your fill. :biggrin2: But what makes a big difference is all my family is here too. Good luck on your fill. Will you always come back here for your fills?

Boulder is closer to Denver, but Parker is quite a bit south, that's probably why it seems further than you thought. The weather today is perfect! Low 80's no humidity and not a cloud in the sky. Yesterday however it was 98 or something. We have little humidity generally so though that's still hot, it's nothing like 90's in FL. I'm doing great with my band. I get my first fill on Monday and I need it. The past few days have been difficult with hunger and wanting to eat more and the wrong things. I wondered on the cruise too, and then thought there's more to cruising than just enjoying the food. I am supposed to go with friends on one in the Carribean come spring, so I will find out. But I think the fact that maybe I can wear a bathing suit will out weigh the gorging out on the food! I did enjoy my all you can drink soda card on the cruise though and then gave it up cold turkey. I miss it sometimes, especially on a hot summer day!

Hi gals, Hope you love our beautiful state when you come visit for surgery. I started this thread a few months ago looking for info on all 4 surgeons. I ended up going with Dr. Snyder so not sure how soon Dr. K has you come back for fills but generally it's about 6 weeks if that helps. Also, thought I'd let you know Parker is about an hour with no traffic from Boulder. I may be coming to your state in a few weeks, my mom lives near Leesburg FL. Oh and I went on an Alaskan cruise right before my surgery too!!

Weirdest for me? I bought a bike! I got my last bike when I was 13 or 14 yrs old. And haven't ridden one in 25+ yrs. I felt really rusty getting on last night for the first time, but just got home from my first practice run. rode about 20 min. I have some stamina and endurance to build up that's for sure. Think the gear shifter thingie a bob needs adjusting to as it clanks and clicks a lot when shifting. DH said he'd look at it tomorrow.

I just hit 40!!! That includes 10 lbs I lost since deciding to be banded and going through the research phase, seminars, etc. 30 since my first visit with surgeon (no preop diet). OOPS, just realized I posted in May. I considered myself a Mayflower for the longest time, til my surgery got changed from May 29th to June 5th. But I've continued reading here as you guys were a few weeks ahead in the process than me. So can I be a part time May flower?

Well first you have to have a Nintendo Wii video game counsel and a Wii is a more or less interactive video game, for example one game is bowling and as you 'throw the ball' with your remote the pins on the screen fall down. The Wii Fit is an addition to the Wii, it has a balance board to it. When you stand on this board it registers your weight, BMI, acts as a step for step aerobics, can do yoga, strength training etc. It's a lot of fun. We've come along way from the Pong game of my teen years! LOL As for the pouch test, I believe it is to more or less get back on track, not sure though. And someone else asked what PB is, I know it stands for productive burp. I've not had it happen yet so don't know how to describe it exactly but it's when you over fill your pouch and what you just ate comes back up more or less, I think. Well I am off to go ride my new bike!!!!!!!!!!!! Wish me luck!! I am going alone, DH wanted me to ride more with him last night and I just need to get comfortable on a bike again after 25+ yrs and sortta wanted to do that alone.

Lizalee, the study my surgeon showed (he performs both procedures so I wouldn't think would have a bias) showed that after 2 or 3 years both procedures were equal in weight loss, bypass had a quicker loss in the beginning. And I thought then later on the band was more effective as you could always keep restriction, bypasses often stretch it back out. But not sure on that second part. Anyway I never heard that bypass was 'forever' vs the band. Personally I think either procedure is fine and whatever is going to work best for a person is the best one. Though there are a lot of bias' out there about one vs the other.

Good evening. Well.....I got my bike today!!! I opted for a cheaper one at Walmart, it's still a Schwinn and very much like the one I liked at Costco, but I wanted to be sure I liked it and would use it a lot before I invested too much money. My son works there and even bought it for me, good thing as he busted up his old bike we had here. DH & I were going to ride together but now we are back down to one bike. He may still get one though, he told me to check some garage sales even tomorrow. Well I sure need that fill on Monday. Either that or I am having real head hunger issues or a combination of both. I ate 1 1/2 cookies today!! GRRR I don't even care that much for them. It's taking more to get me full and I find myself thinking of food all the time. I have hardly given it a second thought til now. Not sure what's going on. I hope the fill helps. I heard from a friend today who had bypass surgery last Nov. she had said she'd never do a band because you lose faster with bypass and didn't want anything foriegn in her body. She's down 64 lbs and hasn't lost for 10 weeks and is beginning to eat 'normally' already. I'm down 40, banded only 5 weeks and can get a fill as I can eat 'normallly' so it just reinforced that I did choose the right surgery for myself. She has started working out and going to support groups so I hope we can encourage each other on.

I GOT A BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's the same one TxDiva said she got a Schwinn Sidewinder at Walmart. DS works there and even got it for me so it would be cheaper on his discount. So while I was loving him for the moment, he came home, we got it all adjusted and DH and I rode around the block a few times, then DS gets on his (that my husband uses as he hasn't used it in years) and broke it! GRRRRR I got it so we could ride together and DH has no bike. Hopefully he can get it fixed, something to do with the gear assembly but we'll see. But oh boy did I feel like a clutz on the thing, I have some work ahead of me. I had a 10 speed years ago and hated all the gears and now this one has 21. For some reason I have always been afraid of changing gears (and that's what DS did on his and it messed up). It is supposed to be a cooler day tomorrow so I am going to give 'er a whirl. This bike was so similar to the one at Costco (both Schwinns even) but about $100 cheaper am sure the Costco one was a little better quality but this is fine for me for now. If I become and expert cycler I can always get a good bike then.

Orea, good luck tomorrow. I hope everything goes well and you get your surgery scheduled soon. Dianne, yahoo a date!!!! It'll be here before you know it, though right now probably seems an eternity away. Joann, what is the file review stage? Good luck getting your date! Well tonight I went to an open house at my daughters place of employment, oh the food they had!! I did okay though, I'd get something, take a bite and hand it off to hubby. I would tell him don't load your plate too much as you are getting most of mine too! I got out another outfit from my closet that I wore last summer, one of the only ones that fit, and it's too big!! I wore it today anyway but after I launder it, it goes in the too big bag. I have many smaller clothes that fit now to wear something that size!!

I have United Healthcare too, but I had to do self pay, they wouldn't budge. Mine was an exclusion of bariatric surgery. Had no choice in insurance either it is the only company that DH's job offers.

I got across the tight rope, first try, but haven't since! :thumbs_down: I got my Wii fit for my 50th bday in May. My son had preordered one at a video game store. He works at Walmart but he can't put anything on hold for himself there. A friend of our's wants one and he'll call me and tell me they are there, then she heads to Walmart and they are gone that fast. I've not done it for a few weeks as I was afraid to do much post op. I did do the body tests though and I like how it tells me I might be losing too fast and it's worried about my health!! Too bad I can't tell it I had surgery. :thumbup:

Happy Birthday Stephanie!! What a great bday gift to give yourself, the band!! You are one decade behind me, I turned 50 at the same time as my band! I considered it my gift to myself, for the rest of my years to be quality ones!

I had some of those injections, mine was called Synvisc and it was made from rooster combs. A series of 3 injections one week apart. It's been 2 weeks since the last injection and I still have pain but guess it's not as bad as I used to take 6 to 8 ibuprofens a day and now take none (good thing since I had lap band surgery since then). I am hopeful after reading your post I'll get more relief as time goes along. Then at 6 mos I can get more injections. MY left knee is bone on bone, and right is not far behind he said but the right rarely hurts.

It probably is a company exclusion. I have United Healthcare and I read on here all the time how they paid for folks surgery. However, they wouldn't pay a dime for mine, and it's because my husbands company put an exclusion on any bariatric surgery. When that's the case there's not much you can do, maybe appeal through your HR dept. By the time you paid legal fees, it would probably cover the surgery. However there is a website I see mentioned a lot on here but don't know the exact address, if you search around you'll probably find it. Something like obesity law or like that.

You should be okay, unless you are flying on Southwest Airlines. they seem to have the biggest issue with making what they call POS "person of size" buy an extra seat. Recently there's been a few threads on here about folks having issues with them (there's one in the Considering Dr. Kirchshenbaum thread under Doctors and hospitals and another in the Rants and RAves section or just search Southwest Airlines on here). I do remember seeing news stories about this with Southwest as well. I used to work for United and never did we do this. Although I was humiliated once to have to ask for a seat belt extender. And I had the exit row more leg room but the arm rest generally does go up) well once the flight attendant saw I needed the extender she kicked me out of the exit row as you can't use an extender in that row. I was so humiliated as it was a full flight and she had to ask all these folks to switch seats around to accomodate me.

Oh good, glad we are okay!! :biggrin2: I think my surgeon makes us follow a low carb diet which is probably the reason for his potato ban, the high carbs in it. I am following his guidelines to the T right now (well the nuggets and fries weren't on it but he allows one cheat or 10% off plan per week and that was my cheat) so when I go in for my first fill I know just how this is going to work for me etc.

Forgot to mention in my previous post: There's been lots of chat on here about Big Medicine. I see there's an episode on tonight on Discovery Health. I think it's an old episode, but I haven't seen them all and looks like from the previews I hadn't seen this one.

Well I shouldn't have fries either, that's why it was my one cheat of the week. I only could eat 5 though as I felt that pressure in my chest that said you are full don't eat anymore. I didn't like the shakes much either. I mostly went for the Isopure clear protein drinks. But even before I didn't like milk shakes, etc. I got a Wii Fit too,haven't been on it in a week or two, should get on so it could tell me I'm losing weight! Sometimes I do that balance test and I'm older and one day it said I was 34!! That was cool. Think it depends on if the one leg test is in there as I can't stand on one leg much it hurts my knee too much. Since you said we were similar weights with similar to lose, are you tall too??? I'm 5'9 and am the shortone in the family. LOL

Since you took the time to educate me on the nutrition info on potatoes (which I didn't need), I can only assume that my post saying I couldn't have potatoes offended you. For that I am sorry. That wasn't my intent. I have discovered from reading the messages here on this website that many dr.s have many different dietary guidelines. Some make you follow a 2 week liquid preop diet some don't for example. I was just saying I didn't get to have potatoes on the nutrtion guidelines my surgeon goes by. I have never eaten that many potatoes but when my husband had one the other night I sortta missed it. But then again I also missed the huge glob of butter on it too. Sorry if I came across as food police, that wasn't my intent, I know the nutrition info on potatoes and where to find it if not.

Thanks Greyhope for the visuals of how much 40 lbs is, because right now I still have trouble seeing I've lost it. Did just have some progress pics taken though to compare, need to get those out of the camera. I am doing the bike at the gym and that seat doesn't hurt too bad. This one on my son's bike hurt more in the front and I also think it's from leaning over so far to the handle bars, when i get my bike it's gonna be one you don't have to lean so far on. They called it a comfort bike for women. Sounded good to me!

I hit 40 today!!!! YAHOO!!! Baked potato sounds so good. My dr/hospital says no potatoes, and nothing 'white'. I wasn't much of a starchy person before but just tell me I can't have something and I want 'em!! LOL I did have about 5 french fries today though. And that was all I wanted.