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So, I just had my "oh, crap!" this is really happening moment. I have been so busy watching what I eat and making sure I exercise that I kinda hadn't noticed the changes in my body much. So, as proof that I have lost a whopping 44 pounds to date, I offer the following attachments. The Earth Day festival was April 08 and the tailgating party was this weekend. Man, I'm kinda hot!

Hello all - new to the thread and I was so happy to find it! I first heard about Couch to 5k on this site and now have several friends involved. I start week 4 tomorrow and I LOVE RUNNING! I never thought I could actually run, but it's super invigorating. I do have a question for those of you who have been doing this longer. On the C25K, I'm doing my program 3 times a week (Tues, Thurs, Sat). And, I'm loosing weight at a good pace (2-3 pounds a week). But, I'm loosing it so fast, I'm getting a bit "flabby". Will it hurt my training for the 5k if I do some toning exercises on my "days off"? I'm thinking sit ups and leg lifts - nothing aerobic. If you can share your thoughts or how you did, that would be AWESOME! Thanks!

So, over the long weekend I did my first closet clean out - woo hoo! There were 2 bags of clothes that no longer fit me. I'm just over 40 pounds lost in 2 months since I started my liquid diet. So, I'm stoked! I am also doing the couch to 5k program and week 3 is kicking my ass! But, it feels good. Now, I get impatient from sitting at my desk all day cuz I want to be out and about. How cool is that? Also, I'm proud to report that my long-time nemesis of the playground slide is nicer now. My ass fits on it and by next month I'm sure I'll have no problem sliding down it smoothly - HAHA On another note, I'll also be filing divorce papers (hopefully next week). I read in a magazine that WLS doesn't change you. But, it does make a good marriage better and a bad marriage worse. Too true.

Buck - I agree. The band does not do it for you. I am always amazed by posts I read like "I can eat anything - I have no restriction!" Why are you trying to eat anything? I just got my first fill yesterday so I've had little "restriction" but I've kept to tuna, chicken, etc and kept my portions small and also started exercising. For those of you out there researching, this is not the "easy way out". It still required a lot of work on your part. I also feel a healthy sense of fear is helpful - LOL. Buck - what is that tat? Good reward for yourself tho. I have one I need covered. Maybe when I hit the 200 mark!

I live in Dallas and was so excited the conference is going to be here in October. Who all is going? I'd love to meet you guys! Here is more info: 2008 LAP-BAND CONFERENCE

What I did was take my goal weight at one year post op then divided it to see what # I should be at each month in order to get to my first year's goal. I am going to weigh myself each month and if I hit the goal, I get a "prize". The first few are small like $25 of work out clothes, new make up, etc. The bigger ones are like laser hair removal and lasik eye surgery is the final reward. I tried to make sure they are all supporting my weight loss or something specifically for ME!

Ok, so I have been a little scared about feeling just like you feel in this post. I am only about a month out from surgery - so I still have a ways to go. But, a few things: If you lost friends just because you lost weight then maybe they were never really good friends to begin with. Skinny people with no self esteem have fat friends to make them feel better. Sad, but true. If you were not happy with your "inner self" when you were over weight then of course you're not going to be happy now. The band isn't a cure all to make you happier - this is why they put most of us through a psych eval. It's not a fix all - just a tool to help you reach a goal. Keep in mind that those co-workers really do mean well. I'm starting to get a bit tired of it myself. But, they know it's something important to you and guess it's something you might be happy to talk about. Be honest, or stop answering. My answer has become "Oh, not sure. Haven't weighed myself lately." It's true, I only do that once every two weeks! And, finally (excuse the psych 101 here) you are the only one that can make yourself happy. If you are waiting for someone else to do it you'll never have it. Time for introsepction - what do you really want? What is going to make you happy? Only you know that. But, you have friends here who are always willing to give some "tough love" advice!

Take heart. It does get better. I'm 3 weeks out today and was finally able to take my 2 year old to the park last night. I was totally exhausted when I got home. But, it's my attempt at reincorporating exercise. One day you'll do something "normal" and go "wow, I just did that"!

CONGRATS! That is amazine news. I can't wait to say that. What do you think has helped you most along the way?

So, I'm about 3 weeks post op and feeling much better. The first week after the surgery was tough, but I'm very happy with the band overall. I've lost 28 pounds including the pounds I lost on the pre-op liquid diet. I am eating mushy foods now and trying to keep it "natural" like kiwi, bananas, etc. And, I've found a new love in avocado! I am feeling really good and now I know it's time to start implementing an exercise program. The only thing I'm having trouble with is getting in all of my calories. My doctor said to be getting 1400 calories a day and I think the closest I've gotten is around 900. I don't want to eat empty calories. But I'm having a hard time finding high calorie, low sugar foods. Any suggestions?

Wow. Up until the last minute I thought I was going to change my mind or surely SOMETHING would happen that would not allow me to get banded. But, everything went smoothly and now I am home and banded. I am not in too much pain. It's been about 5 hours since my last dose of liquid codene and I really don't feel like I need more yet. Doing about 1/4 of chicken broth and a lot of ice chips. GasX strips and walking about every hour also seem to be helping. I guess the OnQ is also working wonders since I am just a little sore. How did all the other July 16th bandsters make out? Good luck to everyone else scheduled for July - if you have any questions please feel free to ask!

I am still on mushies and was told to get 90 grams of protein a day and limit to 1400 calories.

I used to take Celebrex a long time ago and it was for inflamation. I wonder if that's the same? After surgery I got liquid vicodin (hydrocodone is the generic). You may want to give your doc a call and ask for it.

It took about 8 business days for me to get my letter from UHC after I found out I was approved - I was calling every day! My doctor's office actually called UHC and had them fax over something or took something over the phone in order to schedule me before they had the letter. You may ask them if they'll do that for you.

That's funny. I thought I was the only one dreaming about food. The night before my surgery it was eggs, bacon and toast - a lot of toast. After the surgery though, it's been like I ate something and spit it out because I wasn't supposed to be eating yet. Funny how the mind works when it's at rest.

I am also on all liquids and I'll be one week postop tomorrow. Getting the protein shakes in is definitely important for me. And, drinking water. On my full liquid diet I'm allowed sugar free pudding and fat free yogurt. Those help.

I got banded on 7-16 and am experiencing the same thing but I am hungry. Still on my post-op liquid diet. I am having protein shakes about every 3 hours and still have tummy growling. I think it is a hunger response but you may feel differently now about what hungry feels like. Now that I do actually wait for my stomach to growl I think about how often I ate before when I wasn't even hungry.

I agree about the scale. I don't have one in my house and I only get my weight at the doctor. I don't want to go crazy and weigh myself every day. Besides, if you only get an update once a month then it seems like more loss. Hehe.

I had my surgery on the 16th also. I am also having trouble breathing - more when I lay down. On Friday morning I couldn't breath or swallow very well and when I drank water I thought I would vomit. So I had to go in for an unfill already! My standard AP band holds 10 cc's and my doc had left in 3.4 during surgery and took it ALL out. But at this point I don't care - drinking is possible and breathing easier. I'm glad I'm not the only one having trouble breathing. Today I have really started to regret getting the band but I guess I'll reserve that for 2-3 weeks and see how I am doing then. But, you're right it doesn't seem soon enough.

Centrum has an over the counter liquid and also chewable tablets.

Congrats! My surgery went well also. I am also hungry today. All my post op stuff said liquid diet for 2-3 days but my doc said I could have a protein shake if I was really hungry so I may be hitting that soon. Let me know how you progress. I had a little bit of a panic moment when I got home yesterday like "Oh, CRAP I really did it!" Now what? Anyway I some times can't believe I really went thru with it. But I'm glad I did.