flowers

The father on the brown team had by-pass surgery to lose weight and still gained. They showed his stomach on the MRI machine and said it was the size of a egg and still he managed to gain, "WLS is not a panacea" (edited to add the doctor said this, not me).

I just hit my half way mark too, was 177 lbs this morning. I wanted to wait until I saw it again tomorrow before I changed my ticker. Congrats to us, we both are exactly half way.

When I did Nutrisystem, a fairly young gal, 20ish, weighed over 500 lbs I believe and tried out for this show. Even though she was in good health, they told her to lose 100 - 200 lbs and come back, they didnt take really heavy women because of the risk. She was so upset and sad to be told she was too large to be accepted for a show called "The Biggest Loser". My heart went out to her. I see the show is doing some large men and women and I'm glad. Everyone needs help losing and I would think those who are larger, even more so.

Hi neighbor. Im in Richardson, right next to Plano. Just for a comparison. I paid $6500 and there is a very good doctor at Medical City that charges $150 per fill for those banded in the U.S. but $250 for Mexico bandees I could have gone to. I choose Dr. Stephanie in Tyler. She charges $200, but uses fluro and a barium swallow for each fill, but then there is gas to drive both ways added in. Iv had 3 fills @ $200 added to the $6500 plus plane fare to El Paso on SW which would have been around $200, but I came home instead of staying their their hotel, and it cost about another $100 to change my airfare last minute. I was meet at the airport and driven to the hospital in Juarez about 20 minutes over the border and back to the airport. I could have schedeled sooner, but it was cheaper to purchase airfare 2 weeks in advance, we actually pushed the date back by a week. I could have scheduled as fast as you did. It is true, if you are paying extra for fills you need to add that into the cost. Dr. Stephanie says Im as tight as she will make me. I had to talk her into keeping in a .5 cc fill last time so I doubt I will go back for another fill anytime soon. Ill probably haven one more fill before my first year is up. My doctor would have done free fills as well, but I decided its too far to go to get them. I had a IV for pain for 24 hours and at least 5 nurses around all the time, and only 3 patients on the floor. If I wanted help tying my shoe, they did it, whatever I needed.

If you are self pay, I would suggest going to Mexico. That's what a lot of us did. They keep you at least an extra night, instead of doing it as a outpatient and treat you like royalty. If you have it done in the U.S. there will be lots of extra charges and just more red tape. I decided and used one of the sites I googled and had it done within about 3 weeks of my decision. My surgery date was July 9th, 2008, good luck. There is a long thread how to pick a doctor in Mexico, but there are lots of good ones, first pick which city you want to go to. Im in Texas, so Juarez, thru El Paso was the obvious choice.

I always dropped about 2 pounds suddenly on every fill. I tell myself it's not the fill itself, I could probably do the same thing by not eating for 24 hour, just having one protein shake for the entire day I sip on off an on. I usually dont feel like eating right after the fill, and only allowed black coffee when I wake up and its a 5 hour round trip to my fill doctor. I think you will drop with the fill, I did each time. I thought Id never get below 200 either, that was a hard weight to break below, then 80 was another one I stuck at, been in this 2 lb range for about 3 weeks too. I also plan a day of baked salmon when I get stuck, I nibble on all day. The extra protein in salmon works for me. Or I have a shake for lunch which seems to work well for me. I up the protein to get out of a stall. I can eat a pound or so of salmon in a day which is obviously 1500 - 1700 calories, but it jumps my weight loss within 48 hours every time. I lost 9 lbs pre surgery, so I started in the 240s. You can break out of this stall too, just keep pushing the protein.

I dont carry weight well. I'v been asked numerous times by complete strangers when the baby was due when I was around 150 lbs, then I got too fat I guess to ask. One person was next to me in the produce section, never saw them before, who out of the blue asked when I was due. I do have a belly, typical of folks who are insulin resitant/pre diabetic. I just try and tell myself they thought they were being friendly.

Im about at 6 months out, 55 pounds lost. Cant remember exactly where I was 2 months ago. Banded July 9th.

HD Gloria I feel so bad for you. I was self pay, but Im sure its been an expense, in spite of not working properly for ya. Try muscle milk to let the band rest for a while or some easy to drink liquid Protein instead of the junk. You dont need to have all these problems, everyone's fear.

I have tried Alli off and on and it just isnt working. Maybe Im not eating as much fat?? ... but nadda. I thought it would at least help with constipation (sorry). My problem is sugary foods, like candy, Cookies, stuff that doesnt have that much fat, but it does have sugar. Alli only helps if you eat fat. It will not help at all for candy or chocolates, my downfall. I still have a unopened bottle of Alli here, havent kept using it much since it doesnt seem to have any effect with what Im currently eating. Iv had prescription Alli which seemed much stronger. Is the Alli they sell over the counter just weaker?

I slipped up and sure felt it. I didnt think that the white grape juice they sell as liquor free bubbly would be the same as soda pop. Drank some during christmas dinner, boy did I feel it. Hopefully that wasnt enough to cause a permanent problem, but Im sure others have slipped up, either by accident or just couldnt say no. Hopefully no damage to your band OP. Just make sure you dont do it any more, you dont want to ruin your band over such a small thing. Drink some coffee or tea? they both have caffeine.

I copied the link into the white space on my profile. Saved the site where the ticker is saved. I just log into the site I have bookmarked and update it when I lose, and it automatically updates over here or anywhere you have the ticker. I dont feel like I have a sweet spot either, but oh well. It is what it is, Im determined to lose this weight this time and keep it off. My fill doctor says I am tighter than she likes us to be, I talked her into keeping it that tight, but I too can eat anything. It may be head hunger. When I want to eat, its not healthy food. Nothing is going to stop you from eating junk food except will power.

Deb A, I have to say I hoped for and expected more help from my band than Im getting. I lost over 80 lbs with nutrisystem, so obviously I can lose if I diet and dont eat any sweets. Guess what?? You still have to exercise daily and not eat the foods you want or only have a bite of them same as any diet. Will it help your hunger?? Yes, I suppose it does, but when it comes to snacking or bad foods, its a diet to me. If I quit exercising then I dont lose hardly anything, same as the above poster, who is losing so slow because she isnt exericising. They asked me at a seminar I went to if losing only half my excess weight would be acceptable and of course I said no. I was the only one who still decided they wanted the lapband when they keep emphasizing that is the average. There are a lot of folks who dont post here who gain on the lapband. One was at our seminar. She gained 20 lbs and got diabetes and was having it removed and bypass. Just be aware that you will be on a diet and if you dont exercise, results will be slow coming and its calories in and calories out. The band will just help your willpower slightly, but not the "oh I know that will taste good" or "head hunger". I really feel like I have been battling my way thru christmas to get the scales to consistently show below 180. Been bouncing around these pounds too long and doing a bit of cheating. It is cheating if you are eating key lime pie, and chocolate chip Cookies same as any diet to me. I am allowing more cheating this diet than when I did nutrisystem where I lost really fast and gained it all back really fast. I dont want to feel so deprived so doing this slower so I dont just wake up one day and say I cant do this any more. Hopefully when I hit that day, the band will keep me from gaining it all back so fast. We have all been on too many diets. I just couldnt do one more diet without some help I decided. I was self pay for the lapband and each fill is $200 - $250. ($250 near me, $200 if I drive 5 hours). I would do it again, because I need it mentally. It took the surgery to get me to losing again, just couldnt start one more diet. We have all probably been there, done that. Hit a wall.

Iv had 3 fills. The only food I feel that too much restriction problem is fruits. Dates hit me hard yesterday, but fresh pinneapple, eating cantelope too fast. Pretty much any fruit. I can eat pizza, subs anything else but fruit.

I still am not sure this was the answer for me. Im a nibbler and gained the weight from eating junk food, not from overeating. I am filled as tight as the fill doctor says she can fill me and it doesnt really help. I feel like it's still mostly will power. For others who do eat large meals at one time this may be their answer. Im losing and walking every day now, it did get me started. Im age 58 and the surgery was not too bad. I decided to come home a day early and went to Mexico to have it done by myself. Many places do the surgery as on a outpatient basis, so you know its not that much surgery wise. I did have a little gas, but its all gone now. Im in the DFW TX area, and I drive to Tyler to get my fills. She does fills every other weekend in Tyler or College Station. Iv had 3 fills so far. Dont be too scared of the surgery.

I bookmarked my ticker where it suggested to bookmark it. Then I click on favorites to bring it back up, sign in with my pin and change the date and weight and it automatically changes on here or whever you have it posted.

I bought the one you see in the tv info ad. It has something in it that makes you dependent on it after a while. I wound up having to go to a specialty doctor to prescribe something so I could do without the ingrediant in the product. He said it was bad for you, dont believe the advertising. Cost me a few hundred for a couple of months supply which I still have and then cost me to go see the doctor and get the prescription a few hundred more to fix the damage done. (I have no insurance, so had to pay cash). dont do it.

Iv had pizza and sub sandwiches. No one has ever told me not to. I do watch how many carbs I consume so I lose faster, but I have some. Pizza I know its hard to stop at one piece. I have had 3 fills and supposedly tight, but I can eat anything except fruit has the most trouble.

I'm with you. Why would I tell anyone I have a band. I would be so embarrassed to go around town showing that card. I tell very few people. None of their business.

The post above yours has the link in it. Just click on it. Personally, I went to Mexico, self pay. Im in Texas so I went thru El Paso, easier than getting to other places. They met me at the airport and drove me acros the border and the hospital is very close.

I had sugar withdrawals. I was used to eating candy and Snacks that I stopped all the sudden when I was banded. Could this be what you feel like?? Headachy I remember for sure. I went thru sugar withdrawal for about 2 weeks.

You might still be ok, dont cry. My doctor only required 3 days of liquids and then 1 month of mushys. It is hard, we all know that. Just get back on the band wagon. You dont have a fill yet, so you dont have any restriction. Thats why its called bandster's hell until you get to proper restriction.

Im walking over 3 miles a day usually. I lost 9 lbs preband to add to what it shows on my ticker. I walk at a good pace. Took me 6 months to lose this much though. Havent been dieting, eating the same way as before I got the band mostly.

A low gi diet is foods that are basically labeled, red, yellow and green. Red foods, dont eat, yellow watch it, moderation once in a while and green means you can have them. 100 = sugar, its a measure of how fast you can digest foods I believe. berries, stonefruits, good, figs are high gi. whole grains are better than instant rice. Instant rice is the worst rice, like 87, but it also depends on how its cooked and how long. If you boil whole grain rice 20 minutes its lower gi, most of the starch is removed. the only potatoes semi ok, are new potatoes, very small, boiled, no baked potatoes which have much more starch. the lowest gi food is yogurt, that is artifically sweetened or unsweetened believe it or not, high Protein, about 57 value gi, the lower the better for you. I got the books on how to eat low gi free from my library. It works better for me than low calorie or low fat.

When I did nutrisystem they allowed about 1200 low gi calories a day. Watched things like sugar and carbs though and I walk. Some days I have up to 1500 if its something like baked fish. I lose on baked fish and dont count calories those days, allow myself to eat extra. If you cut below 1000 calories you will drop your metabolism and then you will have to always eat less to lose the same amount, so I dont cut below 1000.