flowers

Im not sure which ONE item you are looking for. There are portein shots which you can buy from GNC or health food stores. You can buy canned protein drinks, some have more protein than others, thats what Iv been using this time. Previous diets, I made my own protein shakes. I have a whole bunch of SF syrups which I add with a handfull of berries. I have chocolate, carmel, peach, cherry, raspberry, and others. If Im not using chocolate powder in my magic bullet I add flavors. I dont do vanilla. Be sure to read the can, usually the cheaper brands have less grams of protein for the same calories, so you probably have to pay a little more if you are mixing your own.

Iv done it all. I dont think I over ate, but got the lapband after being back and forth about it because I decided it would be kinda like training wheels, there for if I fell off my diet. I was supposed to have a 3rd fill today and cancelled. Im not sure I need to get so tight I have trouble eating foods and taking pills at this point. Right now I am making good food choices and walking about 4 miles a day, so Im losing without any help that I can tell from my lapband. I was a sweet eater with insulin problems and gained from eating wrong, not from eating large meals. I think a lot depends on your own eating habits, it doesnt help much if you are a grazer, stuff mostly goes right thru the lapband I hear. I will go in and get tighter eventually, just dont need it right now I think, but if I had waited to get the lapband when I needed it, by then I wouldnt have qualified. Doing liquids after getting the bands gave me a start to losing too, I was having trouble starting on my own. I want to be thin again, not just under 200 lbs, so I have a long ways to go. I lost 9 lbs before surgery, and now down almost 40 more lbs, the slow way, but losing steadily, just not fast. Right now Im eating regular food. If everyone wants a sub, I share it, if they get BBQ I share it. Once I have another fill, I doubt I can eat bread or subs or a lot of foods. I have a teensy bit of resistance now and not keen on the fill when something is close to getting tight. Surgery is a drastic step. I was self pay, and did it, and not sure its the right answer for me. I can see where your cousin is coming from, but mentally it helps, because I know I can fall back on it.

I tried the Alli 3 times last week, with no effect. Nadda. Im thinking its because I have cut out so much of the fat in my diet, there isnt enough fat left for the Alli to work on.

I havent noticed any hair loss. Must be due to something in the diet some are having that it makes your hair come out? I must not have changed whatever it is they changed?

My BMI was about what yours is now (depending how how they measure my height it can be cranked up I found). I went to Juarez because I live in Texas, so it was more convenient for me for $6,500. I ran into two sisters at my fill doctor who paid $6,000 each, so the price you are mentioning seems awfully high for Mexico. There are tons of good Mexican surgeons for $7K or less. You said including airfare, which you should be able to get a better rate if you shop around perhaps. I went to Mexico by myself as well. You can do it. I was never scared and they picked me up at the airport in El Paso, so they drove me to the hospital the day of surgery. Its good to do your research, but dont overcomplicate things.

I spent the next day flying home, crossed the border, that took hours, then waited 3 hours for my flight, then a crowded flight, then I had to find my car, had trouble finding the shuttle, and stopped by the grocery store on the way home about 10 pm to buy some broth. I had surgery late the day before. I think that was pushing it, I was really really tired by the time I made it home. Depends on your job how tired you will feel. I would say its optimistic to work the rest of the week for 8 hours a day, you are going to be tired. I also had a little bit of gas, but not too bad and it hurt to bend over and tie my shoes.

I think the three things that are crucial for me are 1, exercise, 2, cutting carbs and sugar 3, cutting down snacking. Iv had a few setbacks, a heat rash that spread and spread until I had to go see a dermatologist and lost a month not walking or exercising. A cruise set me back and other cruises planned, so Im not going to set any weight loss records. Lost the weight before and pushed and pushed, but then like you I got tired of "dieting" and ate all the fried and sugary foods I wanted and gained it back very very fast. This time Im doing it slow but sure. Im not depriving myself like I did before, just being better about some foods and making sure I walk/jog, which I just got back to a week ago. I do have some treats still, if my family has a sub, I do too, but not every day and I might skip Breakfast if I do. My ticker doesnt reflect the weight I lost pre surgery, only the weight Iv lost since the surgery. At least Im finally back in Onederland. Iv lost the easy weight, now Im just doing 10 lbs at a time. I try and just concentrate on the ten pounds Im working on, so I dont get discouraged.

I lost 80 lbs on nutrisystem and I too was shocked at the wrinkles and saggy skin. Gained it back, finally ready to shed it again. Yes, you dont even realize how its going to affect you. I got a pretty formal dress to wear formal night on a cruise and have never worn it. My neck is wrinkled and my arms are horrible and it never occured to me that I needed to cover up all that skin in a dress to feel like I looked good. I probably (sadly) will never wear that beautiful dress. Last time I got down to close to 150 lbs, I plan on getting all the way to 120 lbs and staying there for my health this time.

My sister had broken her wrist and they made her come in the day before and check in, seems to be standard with some hospitals. They claim its to save them from problems the day of the surgery. It wasnt even elective surgery, they dont really care how far you live, not their problem I guess. Since you already paid for your band, can you just walk away from them and do it on your own? Start looking for another fill doctor, unless fills are included free for a year or some deal like that. I have free fills for a year, but its about 12 hours each way, so I found a fill doctor closer to home, it would cost me the amount of my fill to get there and back and a hotel room for sure. I called everyone in my area and it wasnt easy to find someone who takes mexican patients, but I found someone. Im driving 5 hours round trip now, so look around, you might find someone for fills and ditch the folks who arent helping.

I have 5 scars too, thought Id only have 3 so surprised not only how many I had but how long they are. My port scar is about 4 to 5 inchs long. Mine were all bandaged when I came home, not open like yours and I dont think mine were red like that, but I had stiches all along them and left the stitches in for 2 weeks. It turned out they started to get red bumps and should have come out after 1 week, they forgot to tell me. Mine were small little red bumps that got worse, not red all around them like yours.

As I mentioned I dont have any insurance, and those Rehab places start at $125 a day here, to $145, to share a room, double if you want a room by yourself. If I broke a bone and had to do surgery, thats one thing but for elective surgery, that sure an expensive way to mend. I think it would be cheaper if you could hire someone to come in a few hours a day? I dont have any easy answers though, so Im just saying "sometime in the future", this is what Id like to do. Im just concentrating now on losing the weight and adding distance to my daily walking. I figure it will take at least a year to get to thin where I want to be and another year for my skin to tighten up a little I hope before I have to decide. I hear the clinics in Mexico you can stay with them the first two weeks, so that helps.

I knew a couple of ladies who their ladies were sagging, they said they were 32DDD, lol. One also had a tummy tuck. They said their plastic surgeons wanted them to wait a year for stuff to settle and some skin would firm up a little and to make sure they kept the weight off. Maybe with lapband the surgeons dont have the same fear you wouldnt gain some back? Is that why they said they would do you next spring? I think I will need my whole body tucked and plucked. I hear its painfull and long recovery and dont have anyone who can take care of me. I broke my shoulder last christmas and just getting help to change my socks was iffy with my parents being older and my mom totally engrossed in my dad's problems and my sister is a special learner. My fear is I dont know how I will be able to recover without help. But its so far down the line, too early to worry about it. Im finally more solidly below that darn 200 lbs mark. I still cant believe I let myself get back over it. Im swearing to myself never again.

Congrats Fanny, I had forgotten about this thread, until I got your post via email. I guess technically I made it too. Iv been seeing glimpses of the needle just under the 200 mark off and on for the last week, but would like to see my weight constantly under 200 before I claim it, but finally, Im seeing it too :wink2:

I worry about that too, even in clothes. In shorts you can see my saggy skin in my thighs and my neck and arms. I see plastic surgery in my future and even then, I will have remnants of cottage cheese that will always be there, as I understand it. I lost 80 lbs on nutrisystem and gained it all back, didnt think I looked better after I lost the weight and got all saggy. This time, Im just going to plan on doing something about it, in spite of the cost. I was also self pay for the band, and determined to get this done. I do agree with you that saggy skin is a issue, especially as we age and our skin doesnt go back like it once did.

I was banded within about 10 days of you and in the 34 lbs down range as well. So, if you are behind then I am too!!! My fills havent kicked in yet, two tiny fills which havent done a thing for my appetite. So, maybe if I get another fill Ill "get it" but so far it just seems like a regular diet to me and its tough. Im being so good and walking every day and getting to where I feel like you do, when the scales dont drop day after day, I get down. I hope you can start getting fills soon and they help. Ill be pulling for ya. Just stick to it. Its gotta keep moving the scales down eventually.

I had the laughing cow lite cheese by the time I was where you are, but I was allowed mushy food. Its a very soft cheese, the lite is 35 calories for 1 oz. Its spreadable, but I just eat it how it is. We were allowed it on nutrisystem because the fat content is low and its meets the Protein requirements.

I would say that its clear your metabolism slows down after the big M. I didnt have a serious weight loss until then, now I do. You are less active probably than you were in your 20s and 30s. It takes a lot fewer calories to maintain your weight, and if you dont cut down from what you used to eat, your weight will balloon. Im sure after I went thru the big M, which I did early by age 40, it got harder and harder not to gain faster and faster. Im 58, sounds like I am older than most here. I talked to someone who had a band and was age 67 before I got banded and I remember not being very impressed with her weight loss either. I know Im not eating junk food and walking pretty much every day at least 2 miles, more Im sure. I was up to about 4 miles when I walked twice a day but developed a heat rash. My skin isnt going back into place at all, Im sagging. Belly fat and the girls are rubbing aginst my chest causing the rash. No doubt in my mind this was easier when I was younger. I see plastic surgery in my future and even then I wouldnt look how Id like from the cottage cheese. Im really upset with myself about putting the weight on. I used to have a figure that turned heads. Im really sick about how I looked last time I lost this weight and how bad I looked. Im sure that had to do with regaining it, thought I didnt look any better at a lower weight than I did with saggy boobs and skin at the lower weight.

Me too. I try to get a lower gi cereal with whole grains or flax. Im still eating subs with my family, but sometimes the bread does get a little stuck and I have to wait to finish my sandwich. Iv only had two fills. I have a feeling bread will get more stuck if I have another fill, trying to decide about getting another fill for that reason.

I keep thinking, ok this is it, after this I wouldnt be able to eat bread from what I read here.... then I still can. OK after this, one last meal before my fill, then I wouldnt be able to, ok next fill. So far I can still eat anything lol. (unfortunately). It will be some time before your fills are tight enough, more than likely, before you will have to be giving up some type of food, and then they claim you wouldnt be hungry so wouldnt miss it.

The only surgery Id had before was when I was about age 5 I had my tonsils out, so I dont remember it very well. I did walk and walk and worried that the weight of the bag might have been too much but the doctor said it was fine. Just make sure your bag is less than 30 lbs. and they do tell you to walk walk walk after surgery to get rid of the gas. As far as food tasting bad afterwards, I cant say that was true for me, I was hungry and nothing tasted bad to me. Not sure why surgery would make food taste revolting, maybe others can relate to that.

I made the mistake of paying to reschedule my flight to come home the next day after late afternoon surgery, did not stay the extra day in the hotel. They were going to the airport, so I went hoping to bump up to a earlier flight, didnt happen, so I sat there for another 4 hours, exhausted and hungry and nothing in the airport I could eat or drink except Water. They made me take off my shoes, and getting them back on was no cinch, and twice I dropped paper on the floor I had to ask a stranger to help me pick up. I only brought a shoulder bag, should have brought something on wheels. I had trouble finding the shuttle for my car later that night and walked back and forth 3 times between the parking garage and the airport before I found a way to get down to where I needed to be ... finally. It wasnt easy. Stay the extra night, even if you feel ok the next day, you need to rest. I tend to bite off more than I can chew too often. I have to laugh, got on the plane finally and saw a seat in the front row. duuh, didnt notice the lady by the window was everybit as big as me, or bigger, boy was that a tight fit, sat there with my elbows hugging myself all the way home. Once I sat down and realized it was a problem, I was too embarrassed to get back up and find another seat further back. It can be done, hahhahahahaha, but you might have to put forth a little extra effort. Have all the food you need ready when you come home. duuh on me again, I had to stop at krogers on the way home for broth.

The fill doctor I went to wouldnt give you a fill until you are past 5 weeks. She only is in that location every other Saturday and she had a wedding and then I had a cruise, so it was another 6 weeks before I could go back for a 2nd fill when the first was worthless. I just got my 2nd fill sept 27th, and I was banded July 9th. The 4 weeks I was talking about was the first four weeks until I was allowed to eat regular food again. I think I cheated by a few days, couldnt stand it any longer.

Im not sure of course, but it doesnt look like you are getting enough calories, you dont want your metabolism to drop. Grab one or two protein snacks, a egg fried in pam or a FF hot dog, or something like that. I drop when I do a day of salmon. Im planning another one for next Tuesday. I have extra calories but its only fish for the rest of the day after breakfast. It almost always jump starts my weight loss when I feel like Im stalling out.

I might just as well not had a fill. I drove 5 hours and cost me $200 and the fill doctor didnt believe me that I had a 10 cc band, because I couldnt take 3 cc's so she backed it off and I still had no restriction. I sure know how dissapointed you feel. I was so looking forward to some restriction to see how it felt and to have the band start helping me, instead of it being all will power. Iv had two now, and barely restricted. I guess we have to be patient. Congrats on losing 58 lbs. Awesome job. I havent lost enough that anyone has even noticed.

You are doing better than me, I came out of the recovery room asking when was dinner. The next day I could have gnawed my arm off and had to walk by a Mexican place in the airport that I KNOW I could have eaten easily. Did you have a prefill?? Otherwise unless you have swelling from the surgery you shouldnt be feeling any restriction. Thats why they call this bandster he11. You CAN eat but are letting your stomach heal. I thought that 4 weeks after surgery would never end.