JulieNYC

Hi Lisa, I live in Manhattan and go to the NYU meeting that is on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 6 pm. It doesn't sound like you could get downtown by that time though. I don't know of any meetings that start after 7 pm. I think that might cause you more problems than the location (there are 10 or more meetings in NYC that I know about, but they all start early evening). LBT is a great online resource though. If you're looking for even more support traffic, you might check out some of the Yahoo Groups on banding as well (Bandsters and SmartBandsters both get a lot of traffic). Good luck,

4-3: JenRN - 263/257/238/150 - 25 total 4-3: jenn28 - 282/265/229/165 - 53 total 4-3: Picardy3 - 298/300/257.5/150 - 42.5 total 4-3: tipper - 300/290/259/165 - 41 total 4-4: Sugar1 - 311/289/231/150 - 80 total 4-4: Dak – 255/251/205/150 – 50 total 4-4: Angels - 264/255/235/? - 29 total 4-4: Harpseal Al - 327/295/220 - 34 total 4-5: Boo - 208/203/173/132 - 35 total 4-5: siestaqh - 180+/177/136/110 - 44 total 4-6: Disneynut - 290/287/260/125 - 27 total 4-7: Guysis - 234/185/134 - 49 total 4-10: JulieNYC - 358/258/180 - 100 total 4-11: Vickie1177 - 320/297/267/137 - 53 total 4-11: tellymelly - 240/235/184/135 - 55 total 4-11: Fel0816 - 307/284/265/to get under 200 - 42 total 4-11: dsrjrr - 231/230/210/130 - 21 total 4:11: truckinmama - 262/234/160 - 28 total 4-13: Nursekathy2u - 358/356/335/175 - 23 total 4-13: NJgirl - 248/230/206/140 - 42 total 4-13: Miper70 - 217.5/196/145 - 21.5 total 4-17: Amourette - 22.5 total 4-17: Jeepergurrl - 242/207/140 - 35 total 4-17: MelAnne - 245/207/150 - 38 total 4-18: Danaclark2 - 270/260.5/245/150 - 25 total 4-18: LapBandit - 392/369/347/336/324/308/298/278 - 114 total 4-20: Omamoon - 220/211.5/188/130 - 32 total 4-20: KimInMD - 288/288/236/156 - 52 total 4-21: Yoda - 273/257/221/150 - 52 total 4-21: kristielynn - 310/302/248/150 - 62 total 4-22: alisonb - 286/270/176 - 16 total 4-24: Eficka - 125/117/104/69 - 21 kgs/46.2 lbs. total 4-24: Ceparano - 255/270.5/220/170 - 50.5 total 4-24: Kat - 289/281/224/165 - 65 total 4-24: hlj25950 - 262/257/225/160 - 37 total 4-25: momof2boys - 270/266/237/145 - 33 total 4-26: Bostongurl - 264/244/197/145 - 67 total 4-27: tinaj - 226/221/210/150 - 15 total 4-27: lookingout - 185/178/165/101 - 20 total 4-27: flowergoddesstn - 214/204/190/130 - 24 total 4-27: Dimples0323 - 284/284/241/145 - 43 total 4-28: Susan4794 - 283/267/243.5/140 - 39.5 total 4-28: bluehill - 333/258/140 - 75 total 4-28: Irish Girl - 225/214/170/135 - 55 total 4-28: MomofSixKids - 240/238/205/150 - 35 total

Name...............Christmas…...To Go A1ikou...............240...............XX Aza.....................299..............XX BPM..................230...............XX candy444...........299................23 Elisabeth.............275................22 Ericsmom...........250................XX Indianlight...........280.................22 Josette................340................25 JulieNYC............235.................23 Koala.................275.................24 Ladydi................270 ................33 LapBandit...........250.................28 Libra...................270.................18 Mariguita.............290................XX NatesMommy.....275................XX Waterlily1072.....275................24

Onederland is wondeful! Way to go! I love your "Kissn Boys & Makin em cry" line. I might borrow that one in a few lbs. Congrats on the man as well. If he loves you, he'll still love you thin. No worries.

Sheri Lynn, I'm sorry you were treater poorly. You'd think people in the bariatric field would know how to treat bariatric patients with respect and consideration. Do what you can to put this behind you. Seeing her was a step to getting your band and that step is behind you. If it were me, I wouldn't rush out to find a replacement nutritionist. I have one available to me at my doctor's office, but I haven't felt that I've needed to meet with her since my surgery. I did have one or two questions that I emailed her, but the answers didn't differ from what I read here. If you find, down the road, that you'd like post-op follow up with a nutritionist, you can always consult one then. Until then, just focus on getting banded. You'll do great!

The weirdest thing happens to me when I PB (which is rare, but it happened yesterday so it's on my mind). My face is completely red for about 48 hours. If I look closely, it looks like I've burst hundreds of little blood vessels. My PBs are very mild and infrequent. The red face is by far the worst part of it. It's definitely noticeable (and I'm not even particularly fair skinned). I can wear makeup and it completely goes away in 2-3 days, so I'm not concerned, per se, but I wonder what that's all about. Does this happen to anyone else?

OK gang, we can't give up yet! We still have FIFTEEN exercise days in October. Plenty of time to meet the challenge, even if we've only exercised a couple of times this month! I just got some interesting news from my Dad, the plastic surgeon. He says he'll do a tummy tuck on me at 180 lbs. I'm changing jobs May 1st, which means if I can get to 180 in April, I can actually get the 3 weeks off for recovery that I need. So I'm going to BUST A MOVE on this exercise challenge. I want to be DONE with this phase! Come on 180! I signed up for 3 X week training sessions at the gym and at 230 I'm going to start running. WOOOHOO, let's go!

Name...............Christmas…...To Go A1ikou...............240...............XX Aza.....................299..............XX BPM..................230...............XX candy444...........299................23 Elisabeth.............275................22 Ericsmom...........250................XX Indianlight...........280.................22 Josette................340................25 JulieNYC............235.................25 Koala.................275.................24 Ladydi................270 ................33 LapBandit...........250.................28 Libra...................270.................18 Mariguita.............290................XX NatesMommy.....275................XX Waterlily1072.....275................24

Oh Kat, I'm so thankful that your husband is home with you and is doing better. That is just wonderful. I'm also thankful you're using your treadmill at home and are on track with the challenge. You rock! Betty, I am thinking positive thoughts for your son's surgery. He's going to sail through and will feel so much better once he's recovered. I have a close guy friend who had a valve replacement at 25 and they told him it would only last about 15 years, but that they would replace it again when he needed it. Heart surgery is never routine but it sounds like your son is getting the best of care and we're all thinking about you and praying for you. I have been a SLACKER. After an excellent first week of October, I took most of last week off both from diet and exercise. The scale hasn't punished me too hard (thank you scale-gods) and I am back on track today. I've got to push hard to get to my holiday goal and I've found my motivation again, at least for today!

I wore a 6 1/2-7 consistently until I was above 250. I maxed out at an 8W. Now I'm in a 7 1/2 regular and am interested to see if they'll shrink further or if this is it.

You ROCK Boo! Way to go. I'd love more info on the brand of sports bra you've found to be helpful. I find that when I run (one minute at a time -- I'm a little behind you in cardio strenght!), I have to hold the tail of my t-shirt to keep the girls from taking flight.

I have tears in my eyes too. I'm just so happy for you! I think I'm going to plan a trip to Six Flags for my 199 present (when I get there). Thanks for checking in with us.

Oh Kat, that's just horrible. We're all thinking of you and praying for your husband's recovery. Please let us know if there's anything we can do. That's not a platitude. Seriously -- what can we do?

Well, today was NOT my best exercise day, but it counts anyway. I DRAGGED myself to the gym and all I could force myself to do was walk on the treadmill for 35 minutes. The end. Believe me, I never would have gone at all without the challenge. I guess there's that at least. Maybe I'll be more up for it tomorrow.

Hail? WOW. I think I've only seen hail once or twice in my life. I remember thinking it was the freakiest thing ever, mostly because it was summer yet there was falling ice. I'm glad you're safe and not too damaged from the storm. I forgot to tell you all my wacky NSV from last night with the trainer. She made me do these crazy pushups. Anyway, between sets, I was able to sit back on my heels (imagine going froma kneeling position to sitting back so your read is touching your heels). This is a completely natural position for many people, but I hadn't been able to do it in years because my calves and thighs were too big for my rear and ankles to actually meet. YEA!

That's a wonderful list, Pinky, keep up the good work. Here's to 4 more months and a whole new list of NSVs.

You're going to do great guysis. Good for you for realizing what's gotten off track and correcting it quickly. Way to go. Ceparano, congrats on the 5 lbs and congrats even more on the inches lost last month! I worked out with my trainer tonight for the first time in a couple of weeks (work's been nuts). I forgot what a difference working out with my trainer as opposed to by myself makes! I should go back to twice a week with her. If it weren't so darned expensive.... Anyway, 6 sessions down, 11 to go. We're off for Columbus Day on Monday, so I bet I get to 9 before I need a break for a day or two! Take care all.

That's WONDERFUL! Congratulations to you and your family. I'm with the rest -- post a picture when you can!

I think this thread is particularly important for those pre-bandsters who are hesitant about getting banded because they fear needing a revision surgery at some point in the future. That was definitely me, pre-band. I was ok with succombing to surgery one time, but for whatever reason, thinking that I might have to have a second surgery at some point kept me from committing to getting banded. At some point (and I certainly feel this way post-band) I realized that surgery -- even if it has to be done more than once -- is just one day and a few days of recovery. It's NOTHING compared to staying 300+ lbs for a lifetime (and a shorter lifetime, to boot). Let's see, so I stay 300+ lbs the rest of my life and my life is cut short by 20 years and the quality of the years I get is not maximized, or I get the band and live a long healthy life, but POSSIBLY for 3 days for a revision surgery and recovery if needed. Check, please.

Consider getting a can of unjury Protein powder and mixing that with milk and fruit I want to say my Unjury was about $20 and a container would definitely last me 2 weeks if I were mixing it with milk, so overall, a pretty cheap diet and much better tasting than Optifast. Good luck!

I'm with Heather. If they're not going to be supportive, you can always tell them later but you can't un-tell them. You're doing the right thing and you know you are, so just tell them you're going on a mini-vacation with your sister then worry about what to tell them later when they notice your weight loss. You're going to do great!

jgandg, This is the toughest time to be a bandster. You've just had major surgery and you feel like you deserve to be losing a ton of weight, but you just plain don't have any help until you get your fills. This time is for healing. Please don't forget that. If you can stick to a low calorie diet, you will lose and that will be great, but if you can't, just be sure to stick to the consistency of foods your doctor requires during this period and worry about losing lbs later when you have a fill. If it makes you feel any better, I didn't lose ANY weight during the 3-6 week post-op period (once I left liquids and before I got a fill). That said, I'm just shy of 6 months post-op and just shy of 100 lbs down. I tell you that because you shouldn't worry. This IS going to work, you just need to pass the next few weeks and then be diligent about getting to a proper restriction level. Best of luck!

Name...............Christmas…...To Go A1ikou...............240...............XX Aza.....................299..............XX BPM..................230...............XX candy444..........299................23 Elisabeth...........275................22 Ericsmom.........250.................XX Indianlight........280.................22 Josette...............340................31 JulieNYC..........235................29 LapBandit.........250.................28 Libra.................270................23.8 Mariguita..........290................XX NatesMommy...275................XX Waterlily1072...275................24

j.s. I have an intense relationship with my beloved elliptical machine. The first time I got on it, I could only do about 10 minutes and my feet fell asleep and I felt generally like I was going to keel over. This was pre-WLS for me -- I'd been working out for a while before surgery. Anyway, my stamina grew quickly and I was able to do about 40 minutes on level 3 within a month or so. I didn't really get much past that until I dropped some weight. Now I can do 60 minutes on level 10, though I usually only do 40, then switch it up with the treadmill or another cardio machine for 15-20 minutes. Or sometimes I just do the elliptical and go home. Point being, you'll build enough stamina to do a full cardio workout before you know it. Hang in there! * I thought I should add that my machine goes to level 25. Some only go to 10 and I didn't want you get the wrong impression of my meager fitness!

I think it's widely discussed, but I've never seen any medical data on it. I don't personally believe it's true for me. I do think this may be one of those things that may be true for some people's bodies and not true for others (hence the wide debate). My nutritionist said in her experience (my surgeon has done more than 4000 bands and she sees all current patients) the most successful female bandsters eat about 800 cals/day during the weight loss phase and about 1000-1200 lifelong. That was shocking to me, but in my personal experience, she's been right so far. _______________ Starting Over, again, passing on the formula my nutritionist gave me, she said you need 0.36 grams of Protein for every lb of IDEAL body weight. So I'm 5'2 and my alleged "ideal" body weight is no more than 130 (haha). So I need to eat 47 grams per day. She told me to aim for 50.