riley4183

Good morning everyone! Maria there is no need for liquids - esp. clears - before surgery. YOU NEED YOUR NUTRIENTS!! You will have days and days after surgery where you will not be able to get any protein, so don't prolong that by doing clears now. THAT SAID - I did liquids (not clears, but fulls - proteins but not carbs) for 2 days before because I was freaked about my liver being too big! So I understand . . but it really isn't necessary and I could have saved myself the trouble. If I had to do it again though, I would probably to the same thing. Kaiser SF puts their heavier patients on liquid before surgery, some for as long as 2 weeks. Tamra, what a good idea! It doesn't sound crazy at all - I need visual reminders, too. And about all the diets that we tried before and failed at - and we DID fail, ultimately, or we would not be here - forget it! We were all professional dieters, and we have to unlearn everything that we thought we knew about losing weight. Seriously! That was the most important thing that I learned at orientation - to forget everything that I thought I knew about dieting. The 1200 DOES WORK! You may have to tweak it for your personal dislikes or problem foods, but really, try to stick with it as best you can. I think us post-band girls will agree that we don't lose as well when we go below 1200 calories a day - many of us lost faster on the 1200 that we do now! Not as easy as now, but it was faster for me. Of course I had a lot more to lose then, so I guess it's all relative Donna the shark is my main eHarmony photo now! I also put up a disclaimer that my sense of humor is rather twisted, and some would call it downright warped. What do you think? Too much? I "loosened my standards" (said I would accept matches who smoked & were trying to quit, and also a broader "range' geographically) and got a new bunch of matches now. Unfortunately, some of the guys that I THOUGHT i was communicating with, were not even subscribers! So unless they sign up and pay for the service - a 3 month minimum at like $40 a month - they do not even get to read my questions. What a crock! They use that to try and get people who have taken the profile and "free trial" to join the club! They aslo sent me a match whose membership had expired at the end of September - said so right in his profile. Can you believe that?? Grrr! This better be worth it :tt2: OK going to go walk now that the temp is above 40. My AWS day off, need to clean but exercise is more attractive :biggrin:

Those little brats! I love them :biggrin:

Tina that is one of the books that we got material out of for my head hunger class! Yes, stop and press pause - dealy and sitract - I want to get bracelets made up that say, D.I.E.T. - in the WWJD tradition, but DIET stands for "Do I eat that/this"? Donna! great pics, thank you so much!!

I think I am going to max out at 5.5cc's - I am going in again in 1 month for another .25cc and that should be the last of it. I have been going back and forth between 172ish and 176ish, when I get over 176 I have restriction again - band won't let me gain too much - but when I get down to 172 I have zero restriction and I'm running on willpower - and it's HARD. I am 174 again today and felt my band this morning but not since then. Still . . . . I am logging why I am eating and how hungry I am, and I'm not eating because I'm hungry - I'm eating because I want to or I have some insane primal urge to - all head hunger. ITS HARD

Where is everbody . . . . .

Oh eggs and pesto - have you ever fried the egg in pesto sauce?? OMG!!! I could eat that for all 3 meals!! Here's another super high-protein breakfast recipe, the bacon bits are soy not meat and it's 112 calories, 18 g protein, 2 fat and <4 carbs. I actually like it better cold for lunch: Makes 6 servings Ingredients 2 cups chopped spinach (I use frozen, nuke it then squeeze it dry) 1 1/2 cups eggbeaters 1 1/2 cups lowfat cottage cheese 3/4 cup reduced fat cheddar 1 1/2 tablespoons bacos bits DirectionsShred cheese. Mix everything together and pour into sprayed baking dish. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes Read more: Cheesy Lowfat Meat-Free Frittata Recipe - Calorie Count

Tina, what the heck? Robin wants you to eat flesh?!?! Totally unbelievable! Are you not getting enough protein? Girlfriend! Yikes! What are you going to do?? I added fish back - went pescatarian, I guess, tho with my shellfish allergy it seems a waste to even say that. But I'm eating fish once a day, although I prefer it to come from a can(!) Fish is a good band food, does not gets stuck fills you up fast and stays in the pouch a long time. But I know you, and it will ruin you to eat flesh! Arggg!! What is going on with Robin telling you that?

Forgive my long post. Disclaimer: the following is what I have found works for me, and for most of my band groupies. Your experience may vary! :-) I did not believe in a sweet spot either - until I got there at 5 cc's (4 fills). It is very common to not feel restriction - although you do have some, as Jachut points out - until after 3 or 4 fills. We are all different. But for me, "the sweet spot" is not at all what I expected. I expected to actually be content to eat 1/4 cups portions, to laugh and say "no thanks, I'm just stuffed!" at offers of cakes and chocolates, while the sun shone, upbeat music played, and birds sang in the background. In my dreams, it was going to be so easy! But in reality - not so much!! The good part - at my sweet spot, I actually feel less "restriction," i.e. I do not get "stuck" anymore because the band is now tight enough for the food to sit above it rather than to get lodged partway through. I get full very quickly if I eat the right foods, and stay that way for hours - as long as I don't get "bored," I honestly don't even think about food until about 4 hours after a meal. As long as a quit eating IMMEDIATELY when my pouch becomes full - including, somethimes, not swallowing the bite that's in my mouth -I have no issues with PBing or anything. So I feel it less, but I also think about food less, and I am rarely physically hungry. Even though I am very close to goal now, I still manage to lose without going hungry. That's the good part. The "bad" part for me - and I stress, this is for me - is that my new "full" does not satisfy me emotionally. I realize - after getting a lot of help for my head hunger issues - that I have always sought that lower-belly "full" as comfort, and I don't get that any more. I got depressed when this happened! I still crave that "full" - a feeling that many obese folks have, and normally-weighted people do not. I can "cheat" by eating foods in the wrong order - for example, salad with dressing first - it goes through the band - and then fill my upper pouch with Protein, but that is defeating the whole purpose of the band. So my issues are caused not by my band, but by my head. It's something I'll work on for a long long time! I totally agree with Erin Marie's answer - it's hard work, and it's forever. For me the sweet spot ebbs and wanes, albeit slowly - like Jachut said, it changes as I lose. I have a great surgeon who keeps me at the right place with lots of little fills, but it's a balancing act. I have never been "too full" and never needed an unfill, and I never want to be there. I also burn about 800 calories a day in exercise, so while I'm eating more than many of my banded friends, I'm still burning off more than I take in so I'm still losing. Reliance on the band to make you lose weight is of course not an option, but you should not feel like nothing has changed, either. The band is only one part of one "leg" of this program. The legs are nutrition, exercise, and support. You can't achieve the balance that you need to be successful if you don't have all 3 legs. The band aids you in the nutrition area because it decreases how much volume you take in - but you are still responsible for getting the right nutrition within that volume, so the band is only a part of it. The exercise leg includes cardio and strength, and is necessary for the mental part of this journey as well. And the support part is necessary because this can be very frustrating, very hard, and we can want to give up! We need accountability, support, a push, a kick, and a shoulder to cry on. We need to Celebrate one another's successes. I am a support group junkie - I belong to 4 of them(!) - and it's the third key to my success. I encourage you to keep coming on here, and to seek out face-to-face support in your area - it can make all the difference. I love my band and truly feel that it is the best thing that I have ever done for myself. It is exactly what I needed to help me do the rest of the things that I needed to do to lose. And the band won't let me gain the weight back, as long as I keep up with the accountability and support - and that's the easy part. Best of luck!

hahahaha . . . too busy hiding under a bridge!!!! You girls SLAY me . . . but I think poor Pami almost had a heart attack!! Next time you will be RUTB (rolling under that bridge) and I will be LMAO!!! LOL Good pics Heather - what a pretty walk!!! Donna, where's my shark pic? And that nasty pirate, LOL!!!

Why of course! Monique, you SO crack me up girl! I like my little card too, even though I've never used it . . . we got the packets of info - including the temp. card and the form to send in for the "hard" card - at our first group fill, either from Robin or Liz . . . . anyways, if you didn't get the card and you want one, go to Lapband.com - LAP-BAND it is both a "let them order smaller portions" card, and an emergency ID card with a tie-in to an online emergency info system at lapbandcentral.com/er - specifically, it has emergency unfill instructions. Donna! I can't wait for you to post those pics from yesterday, you too Heather!! They are dropping like flies off my eHarmony list - need new pics of me having fun!! Or being eaten by a shark, I dunno . . . need to find a mand who can tolerate my sense of humor, NOT an easy task!

Hi Lee! Bridge, uh yeah . . .SOME of our girls - I'm not pointing fingers, you know who you are! - hid under the bridge supports, where it's all dark and creepy, and when the rest of us came around under the bridge they jumped out and scared us to pieces!!! Pre-op diet & low-carb - yes. It is important to get used to the serving sizes in the 1200 pre-op diet, so you really need to stick to it as well you can with regard to proteins and vegies. But Robin won't be upset if you cut out the starchy carbs, and you will be less hungry. I have wheat sensitivity so I never did the breads, and I KNOW that "1/2 of a small baked potato" for me would quickly turn into 2 baked potatoes with 5 tbs of butter and salt, so I stayed away from them too - a trigger food for me for sure. At first I tried to replace the carb servings with protein servings, but it was just too much food! So I pretty much followed the plan, replacing milk with soy and just not doing the carbs (I still ate fruit in the AMs) and I lost FAST - 43 lbs (over the holidays!) in 2.5 months. The problem with just doing Atkins is that it doesn't limit you portion sizes or snacking, which you HAVE TO get used to doing before surgery - so you can modify the 1200 to cut out "cheap" carbs and your trigger foods, but stick to the portion sizes - that's important.

Congrats Pat!!!!!

OMG Nicole, you skinny thang!!!! And Aud's hair is so LONG!! She is starting to look more and more like you - BEAUTIFUL, that is!!!!! great, great pics - thanks for posting!

Very well said Heather! I agree 1000% :-)

Howdy-ho all! Happy friday eve :-) Pat - the need to come back all of the time for fills is, to my (somewhat feeble) mind, one of the BEST reasons to get a band vs. RNY. The surgery itself is the easy part: the work comes after. When you have to go for a fill every 4-6 weeks - like you do with Dr. Baggs - you have a whole nuther level of accountability that RNYers don't get close to. I was banded at the end of February. I have been back 6 more times (5 of them for fills and nutrition counseling!) since then, and am going again in another 5 weeks. I AM ACCOUNTABLE. I have to spend an hour with Robin, and we are going to be reviewing my food logs - super! I guess I'd better do them then, huh! And of course we will be reviewing my weight - gee I guess I'd better work on that too then, huh? It is a built-in "I can't fail with all of this support" system, and you know me - it is about support support support!!! Besides, you always lose weight after a fill - so you have that to look forward to - and it allows your doc to totally customize your WLS for you!! I mean come on, I am getting .25 cc fills now, and he gives me one every time I ask. Yeah it is a 1-hour drive down there, but so what? It is SO SO SO worth it! Come with me to my next fill appointment and you can watch - it is NOTHING - and I love having this port because it means that I won't gain the weight back! No RNYer can say that :-) Michelle, Sherry, Susan and I were all in the head hunger class that just ended last night, and will be bringing the curriculum to the Tuesday night group, so you will get it for sure! Bonnie is doing another session that starts in January, and a bunch of us are signing up for that one as well. I think it is going to be on Tuesday nights for 1.5 hours. I need the class to last like 16 weeks instead of 4 weeks, so I am just going to keep taking it! You will LOVE Bonnie too :-) K I am @ work so I'd better go look like it! TTFN

I was 285 at orientation and Dr. Baggs gave me a surgery goal of 255 - but I was already below that when I saw him :-) Jes can you post the directions to the dock for Saturday again for Lee? And hey while you are at it, how about from the north bay for me & Pat? GOODNESS I can't wait to see you all! I need my fix!!! NICOLE!!! I miss you sooooo bad girl - Auds too!!! Just got my next fill appt. for the same day Jes had hers booked, but hers got moved up so I;m alone :-( I probably got her Robin-slot, LOL . . I can't wait to have Robin to myself for an hour, we have so much to cover! I am learning all kinds of stuff in my head hunger class that Robin has been alluding to for the last year! Cool, cool stuff. Gotta go check my ebay and my eHarmony :-)

Oh I love gay bars, totally safe to go dancing there! I have lots of gay friends too. Meeting one of them after work today, but at a brewpub - where he knows to keep me on task with my eating! A dear friend for 20 years and he lives a couple of hours away so I jump at the chance to see him when he's down here :-) I have been going to the gym almost every day, I get there by 5 am and do 20 minutes of HARD "cardio" range treadmill (like, at the highest incline it will do - the uphill butt-buster theory!) after warm-up, get my peak HR up at about 170. Then I do 20 minutes of random bike while I read a book (I have to put it down to get through the highest hills) where my HR stays in the "fat-burning" range of 110 to 130. Then I do a little weight lifting but I need to do a lot more! I got a coupon for a free 90-minute personal trainer session so I need to do that before the end of the month when it expires. Get my hair cut and dyed and my upper lip waxed this afternoon, I am so excited!! it's the little things ain't it? Happy Monday everyone!

Pat where are you kiddo? We have to coordinate with these ladies for Saturday . . . . I can't WAIT to have you meet them all! :-)

Hellooooo . . .Jes? Donna? Maria? Are any of you really on here? It's so quiet it's SPOOKY, and Halloweeny's over!!

Sore! OMG I can hardly walk now . . .I overdid it ladies! I walked a nice easy 6.2 miles yesterday, then like an IDiot, I ran the majority of my 5K race this morning!! Ow, ow, ow. I have not run at ALL since Tahoe 2 months ago, and of course I got caught up running at the beginning of the race, before I knew it the 1-mile marker had gone by and I was feeling fine, so I alternated between jogging and speed-walking and finished in 40:15! My goal was to finish in 45:00 so I rocked that run but OWOWOWOW!! Jes says hot bath and tequila will relax me :w00t: my poor muscles deserve it! BUT . . . . not today. Watching the NASCAR race instead :wink2: Christine, thanks for posting I missed you! Can't WAIT to see the tummy and the ultrasound! This is so exciting :-)

Candra, Ash Spanx girls! I need some sort of garment that's a thong in the back and a compression garment all the way across the lower front, to hold in the lovely pannus! Do you think they make something like that?? Maybe rubber would do it, LOL JEEZ I am getting sicker with every passing year :-) WHERE IS OUR NICOLE, has anyone heard from her lately? We started orientation together one year ago this week . . . . And Christine . . .where are you, hot mama? I want to hear how our little band baby is doing!! Our local Race to End Hunger run is tomorrow, to benefit the Redwood Empire Food Bank. I am just going to run/walk the 5K - my silly knee is troubling me again. I managed to get 7 miles in today though, good thing since I never got to the gym this morning and won't tomorrow either! Going to go read . . no going out tonight cause I need to get rest b4 the race tomorrow! See yous all in a bit :-)

Babysista! I know that exact same wagon. Sometimes I'm driving it, and sometimes I'm lying under its wheels. We all have bad days - jump girl, we'll catch you and pull you up onto the buckboard!:w00t:

Oaklander - Goal weight per "the book" = BMI < 25 - so for 5' 4', 59 yr old female your goal with a loss of 100% of your excess weight would be 145 - that is a BMI of 24.9 and considered your highest healthy weight. Again - that's "by the book" and your real healthy weight might be 15-20 lbs on either side of that. I hope that helps! I don't think I will hit my goal weight until I get some excess skin cut off, if I ever can afford that - it adds probably 6-7 lbs.

Ha! Candra, you and Jes help me write it & we can call it "Bandahol"

GOODness girls, stop with the alcohol! I had a bad expericne dontcha know, I am off the stuff! Too Teeny for drinkies now :-) But LOVING wearing size 10s!!!!! It's so worth it. Surgeons and gas . . . . gosh. Here is my "IMHO" rundown on what each excels at. I think Baggs and Fisher do the best squeezing gas out. Fisher is toughest on initial weight loss - Baggs second toughest - but Fisher I hear is best on making scars pretty except he makes an extra incisoion so there is one more TINY scar. Baggs good on all accounts, very positive and informative, leaves very small scars, and most agressive out of them all with fills, first one at 6 weeks and the next 4 or 5 with 4-6 weeks between each - he does smaller fills more often. Dr. Parks the very nicest, kindest, most reassuring person on earth but not so great on squeezing gas out and seems like she has more bruising (I have a lot of friends who have had her, not just you guys!), and she believes in less fills, waiting longer until 1st fill, and bigger amounts in every fill! Dr. Im I don't know much about, Pam is the only one I know who had him but he's a sweetie!