greyhoundmom

hi there, i think i'm officially stuck at 40lbs down. i get that painful stuck feeling a lot - don't PB tho (just slime). had it today at lunch and barely ate anything. i just went on a cruise and didn't gain which to me is a successful cruise! the band didn't let me get too carried away with food there. have another tirp coming up - this time for work. i'm a little worried about that one because i won't have as much choice about what to eat (food brought in for us, etc.). after the work trip, i should be able to hunker down and get the scale going down - i'm up'g my exercise to 45 minutes as that seems to budge it some but i'm doing 30 minutes consistently - not 45 (cardio). hang in there! this lull can be maddening but it has to pick up soon! ps stephanie do you see a nutritionist?

hi there, i don't have either - a bracelet or a card from the surgeon. i wrote my own note and put it in my wallet on the back of my surgeon's business card. i think it's a good idea to get a more informational card or the bracelet. i was just on a cruise and i was wondering what would happen if something happened to me - if the onboard dr's would know about the band. i'm sure they would but i did wonder. some people who went thru the program that i did, did get cards for their wallets and i saw one - it was very detailed about the band and what limitations it causes. they didn't have any more - i should call and ask about that! good question!

hi everyone! allie, i went thru some counseling for trust issues (to handle betrayal by a few friends over the years). finally, it was that AND my dog that pulled me out of it mostly. but i still find myself hanging back with women friends. takes time i guess. my best friend who was killed would definately still be my best girl friend now if she were alive. we were best friends for 12 years. i still have her with me in spirit and her young daughter and i talk sometimes (she lives in another state). it makes me feel better knowing her daughter is here on this earth - part of her. sorry about your betrayals - it's hard to take isn't it? welcome katies! sounds like we've all had something to break our trust in our lives to get thru. strike, hope you have a good shopping day tomorrow! i too can't wait to get into the VS store. i don't know if i'm ready yet size-wise. but i haven't looked there in years! hi apples! and where is cathychatts? ok, i did mostly well today with the thanksgiving feast of goodies BUT i did get stuck on turkey tonight. thankfully on a small bit of leftovers and not earlier at my sister's house where i thought i made smart choices and paced myself! not sure why a small bit got me but it was white meat and must have been too dry. i slimed and it really hurt. i put applesauce on it but that didn't matter. oh well. we did go to the gym this morning and i'm proud of that! wouldn't have done that last year that's for sure. threw out a pie we had here after my husband and i agreed we didn't want more tomorrow. hate to waste the food but had to get it out of here. hope you all had an 'uneventful' day with your bands! i am thankful that i am well past surgery now when last year at this time i was uncomfortable and upset not knowing when or if i'd have surgery. i feel stronger, smaller, healthier and NORMAL for a change. anyone else feel that - just plain 'normal'? i feel good moving around - just walking - feeling my muscles move and all. i feel like a normal person now - not an invisible one. not slim/trim yet but at least normal. weird observation i guess - but true. take care!

Allie, i am so with you about opening up to people after being hurt miserably. i try to live in the present now but i still find i back off from people. have to work on that. my husband is my best friend and my best girl friend was murdered (i'm not kidding). i would love to have some woman friends again but seem to back away after a short time. i think it will just take time and awareness! i go up 2-3 lbs which i completely refuse to believe based on my eating and exercising. and it comes off and then goes down a little more. i think it's Fluid fluctuations based on what types of foods i eat and my cycles. i don't worry about it - or update my ticker - unless it gets over 3. then i exercise harder and it seems to come down again. it seems whenever i sweat a lot, my body heats up, burns more calories and the scale goes down. that is definately incentive to exercise! that said, i've been stuck at 40 lbs down for 1 month. that includes a cruise where i didn't gain or lose(which i think is awesome actually! anyone who's been on a cruise knows about the food issue!). i'm writing down what i eat again so i can see it in black and white and i'm pushing for 3 45 minute workouts a week - cardio - and 2 weights workouts (less intense). i want 40 more to come off before my 1 year band-iversary in june! happy thanksgiving everyone! enjoy what you can eat and don't worry about what you can't. it doesn't matter anymore. it's history.

hello everyone! you sound like you are all keeping a good attitude and working hard at this! kizzie, i just flew to san juan (from NH) for a cruise and boy did the band get tight! i was sick the next day - 1st day on the ship - all afternoon - i thought it was sea sickness but i'm not sure. i felt better the rest of the week and had a great time! and the band saved me from gaining weight! i think i got that 'full painful feeling' (but no sliming really) with every single thing i tried to eat. the food was so varied and i tried to stick to things that 'should' work. it was hard but i was glad for the band or i would have had way more to eat! i relied on peanut m&m's - no kidding - to make sure i had energy because i wasn't eating much on some meals because of the band and the food choices i made made me 'feel stuck'. we exercised A LOT and that helped. i had too many carbs tho - like bread sticks and potatoes but i am only up 2 lbs and i am pretty sure that is fluid because i'm all puffy. thanks for sharing your food plans long and allie! i am eating more than you. my next fill is next monday (before thanksgiving!). i can't eat much at meals - about what you are - but i'm snacking more than you are. i'm exercising 4-5 times a week and have bumped up 2 days to 45 minutes of cardio. i FEEL wonderful physically - i feel very strong and i can really feel my muscles working but i'm still WAY too big. we had to really walk fast thru the philly airport on the way out and the way back and i felt great! i was so surprised - i've had to do that before and sweated like crazy and was miserable. not this time! we hiked on st. john and other than being incredibly HOT i felt very good. i was so happy. i have a long way to go tho. need to get losing again. i want to lose 40 more lbs by june 10th (my band-aversary). i'm stuck at 40 down (not counting the 2 i've gone up because i just don't believe it!). take care all! oh, has anyone else noticed they now get motion / sea sickness since getting the band? i think that is happening to me- happened on a docked boat in july and then last monday on the cruise - not sure if it was that but i suspect it might be. i've never been sea sick before the band! bye for now, gotta work - 1st day back. bleck.

hi, i have found what CathyChatts has found - that i have to be very vigilant about what i eat and keep up the exercise. i have also found (and learned from others) that until you get the right adjustment - until you can eat the right (small) amount for your body - the weight doesn't come off. i have had 4 fills and 1 tiny unfill (due to a week of acid reflux) and i feel a lot of restriction - the most i've had yet except for right after surgery when there was swelling. i find i get into trouble with Snacks. meals are fine for me because of restriction. i try to stick to the 100 calorie snack packs so i know exactly what i'm eating. or if i have Soup for a meal - if it's not low fat - i find i am eating too much of it because it goes down so well- not much restriction for that. i'm not going up on the scale but not going down all that much right now. i think i need another tiny fill. before surgery i was extremely insulin resistent and could not lose weight at all. i know i'm still fighting that but i'm encouraged by reading that this surgery can improve this condition by 70%. i find if i have Protein shakes 2-3 times a day i do lose but i read that i shouldn't do that - not the 'right' use of the band. solid foods are best to get the most of the restriction feeling. i suggest the book 'laproscopic adjustable gastric banding' by Jessi H. Ahroni. it has excellent info on how to make the best of the band. it is on amazon. this does work - under the right conditions - seems to take a while for some of us to find the right conditions. i just started gettign 'wls' magazine (weight loss surgery) - it's mostly for bypass but there is some stuff on banding. i have found a lot of good information in there. hope this helps!

hi there, www.gnc.com (or the local store if you have one nearby) has some great fish oil chews! they aren't just for kids. they are all 'omgega-3 soft chews' and they taste like a starburst candy! you take 1 per day. it melts in your mouth - very soft - won't get stuck. i just take a few bites of it - rather than chew it all at once - and that's it! they are very good!

congratulations Long! 76 is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i just hit 40 and it feels like a milestone. ways to go but feels good to say 40 lbs down! the last fill seems to be much more restrictive for me - fill #4.

Hi there, anyone have recipies they'd like to share? or general suggestions for meals that you find work well with your band? i've been making baked boneless chicken thighs with a low fat or fat free cream of something soup (like cream of chicken, or cream of mushroom, or cream of broccoli) and a can of green beans or frozen spinach. all in one pan baked in the oven at 375 for about 40 minutes. it's usually a whole package of thighs, so i have a LOT of leftovers even if my husband eats some. once in a while i add long grain rice but only if i'm really hungry - as i try to avoid the extra carbs. i find this is moist enough and the chicken is tender (chicken breasts seem to get too dry for me) and almost always, i can eat less than i think - because for some reason my band likes to tell me i'm full on this one! hope you have some suggestions that you'd like to share!

hi all! this sounds like a great way to keep motivated to move! i have an ipod shuffle - not sure it would work with that. but maybe my 40 lb present (just hit that today!) could be an ipod upgrade... hmmm. i am going on a cruise in 3 weeks. i might start the challenge when i get back. i'm sure that sensor in my shoe would set something off at the airport! i'll geton that site and read more about how it works. it'll be a good way to keep going thru the cold winter! thanks for this info Huggie!

hi this fill #4 and then small unfill seem to be doing the trick! i can eat less then before (2 cups to about 1 cup) and i feel full for a long time (even if i want to eat something else- no room). i hit 40 lbs down today! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was stuck for about 2 months. '4th times a charm' - maybe for me? the right 'fill' level really seems to make a huge difference, so if you aren't there yet - hang in there. and eating solid foods where the band stops you (makes you feel very full or pain if you go a little too far) works much much better than soups and mushy stuff. bye for now, happy weekend!

hi! great ideas! thanks! i make chili a lot. different kinds. but i don't like it spicy. 1lb ground lean beef or ground turkey (tho i don't like that one as much) 1 jar mild salsa (chichi's or whatever) after adding the jar to the mix, fill it with Water once and add that 1 can kidney Beans mushrooms onions 1 packet mild chili mix (any of them) 1 can (4-6 oz or so) chopped green chilis (they are mild) either crock pot on high for 4 hours or cook per instructions on the chili mix package - on the stove. if on the stove, i brown the meat first. it's great to make 'white chicken chili' too with ground chicken, 1 can white beans, no salsa just water and the 'white bean chili mix' from the store and the other stuff (mushrooms, onions, green chilis). i seem to make it a little different each time. usually i put fat free sour cream on top when i eat it. and the only fast food i eat is wendy's chili - small. it hits the spot when i'm out and about!

hi Huggie Bear, what is the challenge exactly? do you commit to a number of miles in a time frame, then track it on nikeplus.com? that sounds like fun! good way to keep me getting on the treadmill!

hi Lynn, and all! Lynn i was banded on 6/10 - just after you! i have lost 38 including pre-op weight loss from 5/1/08 on. the last 2 months have been very slow. i guess until we get the fill that puts us at the 'sweet spot' - the ideal fill to lose weight - we will struggle. we have to keep doing the best we can until we get the right 'fit' for our bodies. hang in there! i did have a small unfill yesterday. the last fill (a week ago) was too tight. mostly the problem was heart burn and acid reflux(not vomiting). i noticed i went from 2 cups of food at a time to 1 cup of food -which was really good - but the acid was not good. don't know what i can eat with this tiny unfill until i get of fluids again around friday. we'll see. this is some process! some of us are losing pretty well and some of us are stuck and just not there - YET! i'm not exercising much right now - because of the reflux - gets worse when i breath deeply. hoping to get back to it the end of this week. that will help. bye for now!

hi all, update on the 4th fill i had monday. got acid reflux and i can hear 'gurgling' when i drink. thought it was not too much of a deal until last night at midnight i took a tylenol for hip pain that was keeping me awake. and it got stuck! 1 tylenol! i slimed and had pain for about 5 minutes then i felt it 'pop' thru my band into my stomach. so.. having a small unfill monday and staying on fluids this weekend. it was such a small fill too - because she thought i was pretty close to the 'sweet spot'. either my stomach swelled or this is just too much Fluid in there for me. weird. acid reflux is giving me chest pain all over the place but i've had that before so i think it's just that. taking prevacid until i have my appointment monday. i must have gone past the sweet spot - need to back up a little! i didn't lose anything between fill 3 and 4. so i was hoping to get more restriction. not this much tho i guess. and this last fill - was a hard one. she had to stick me 2 times and the fluid did not want to come out (they pull out what's in there to measure it then push it back in with more to do the fill). i asked, is everything ok because it took so much longer than usual! it was ok. but i guess my stomach wasn't too happy with it after all. glad for Protein shakes and very mushy food! tho someone told me today 'you look like you've been thru the ringer'. so i guess i look a bit worn out! hope you are all doing ok. this is not easy but it is better to know the tool is there and will work with me when i work with it! v.s pre-surgery and having no success with weight loss at all -feeling hopeless.

hi kizzie, and all! hang in there kizzie! with all that travel, you are bound to be having food choice problems! i find when i'm in a routine, i do much better (i.e. work day v.s. day off). i can't recommend this book (below) highly enough - there is a nice section of questons 'do you need a fill?, do you need an attitude adjustment? do you need an exercise adjustment?'. i look back at it all the time. are the pb's from eating too fast, not chewing well, eating dry food (sushi would definately cause me a problem!)? v.s. having too much Fluid in your band? there is definately a mental component here - to learn how to use the band and to then practice what we learn. it is not easy. i too have opted for high calorie, easy to eat Soups sometimes. that seems to be my problem area. here's the book link on amazon: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Laparoscopic-Adjustable-Gastric-Banding-Achieving/dp/0595311148/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223398212&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding: Achieving Permanent Weight Loss with Minimally Invasive Surgery: Jessie H. Ahroni Ph.D. A. R. N. P.: Books[/ame] i have it on my desk and look at it when i need help or just a refresher on what i should be doing! congrats on your shopping trip to old navy!! i had my 4th fill yesterday - not sure yet how it's going other than it's good with liquids! bye for now!

outstanding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! congratulations Long!

thanks for the encouragement TX DIVA! i had a pretty good day today after all - food wise and exercise wise. a great treadmill work out (almost rode my bike outside but it started to rain). the non-scale victories sure do pile up and must be appreciated especially when the scale isn't moving! the scale, i hope some day i don't care about that anymore or not much! have a great weekend!

hi all, i'm so frustrated today! i'm not losing anything. i'm being pretty good -not perfect - being human i guess - but really my food choices are very good and so is my exercise. 4th fill is next wednesday. i don't think i've lost anything in the past month since fill #3 (net, went down 2.5 but seem to have gone back up 2.5). this after having a wonderful dr's appt last night! off 3 medications, they used the regular size bp cuff - not the fat arm one! and my bp was 120/70 - excellent (it had been creeping up). my dr (who is a nut) even put in my record 'i feel bad for her that she has to buy new clothes' - he's kidding of course! i've gone down 3 pants sizes. and yet, that scale frustrated me so much this morning! i should use this as motivation today to be closer to perfect! i know many of you can relate. my band-mate (who had the surgery the same day as me) told me she is measuring her food now - i usually eye-ball it - i think i'll get out the measuring cups! hope you have good 'band' day today! nice fall day here, so i am going to get out on my bike - pedal off some frustration! oh and walk my grey of course! bye!

hi! i have not had this experience so far - thankfully - BUT will heed your advice and get napkins into my car today! i have had the 'oh gosh, did i chew that enough' feeling and have 'slimed' but so far that's it. great advice, thanks! sorry you've had that yucky experience!

hi Amanda and CathyChatts, i'm with you - slow loser too. i've had 3 fills too. last month i lost about 3 lbs and while that is discouraging to me i have to remember it took me 8 months to lose 6 lbs the year before surgery! i tend to avoid 'bad for me' foods pretty well BUT sometimes chowder or other creamy Soups, which go down easy but have tons of calories, get me when i eat out. i have the 100 calorie pack Snacks so at least i know how much i'm eating but i've stopped writing down what i eat and i think that helped (oh, i already had a Protein shake, don't need another one, that type of reminding). so i'm going to do that again. hang in there! 4th could be a charm for us!

hi allie and all! i've been a bit discouraged too. i think i'm having too many crackers as a snack during the day. i'm down 37.5 lbs and am really glad about that! but i am hovering around the same # on the scale and even with exercise (added the hill program on the treadmill with jogging between each hill), i can't seem to get it to go down. i get really full and it lasts for hours but it still seems i can eat too much still - have had 3 fills. so looking forward to #4 coming up in 2 weeks. this process take such patience! that's what i say to myself, patience, keep doing what you think is right and have patience. i just ordered the core rythms dvd's (the basics) because it seems like fun - dancing as another way to exercise! good luck everyone, sounds like some of us are having very consistent weight loss and some of us get stuck then go down and get stuck then go down. it's strange. but better than before that's for sure!! donated all my size 26, 24, and 22 clothes. THAT felt really good! happy weekend!

hi everyone! congrats allie at hitting 50!! that is GREAT! and Cathy, you made it to onederland and size 16!!! YEAH for you guys! rj, i have a fill this wednesday - i'm a bit nervous in that that last one - the 2nd one -felt like i was being stabbed! not sure why, the first one felt like nothing! i need it - can eat more than before and my weight is somewhat stuck at 35 lbs down. we'll see how it goes! i am a ways from onederland myself and can't wait to get there! been exercising and having fun with that for the most part. not looking forward to liquids after the fill BUT usually i do lose a lb or 2 or 3 from that so that'll be good! happy september everyone! i'm so GLAD the surgery and recovery is behind us and all that anxiety and anticipation is done! and i thank God everyday for this chance to solve this problem - finally!!!!!!!!!!!!