riley4183

I'm having a weird sensation . . . I ate 1/2 cup of eggbeaters for breakfast, and now almost an hour later I am slowly feeling more full than when I finished eating the eggs! Weird. You girls with restriction, do you get this?

Dudette Tamra, I TOTALLY go to iHop! There is one a mile away from me and my boys love to go. You can get eggs (or eggbeaters) or an omlette, ask for the potatoes on a separate plate and give them away at your table! I never did like pancakes so iHop goodies don't really tempt me - except the crepes, those tempt me! But the good feeling of sitting there smiling, after I have eaten only what's on my diet, drinking my decaf and watching my hoover boys polish off everything is SO much better than eating syrup :-)

I lost 15% of my body weight prior to surgery by following Kaiser's 1200 cal per day pre-op diet. No liquid diet whatsoever, and protein shakes are not allowed - even post-op. I have photos of my liver during surgery; it was as flat as a pancake! I did cut the carbs out of the 1200 calorie diet pre-op, which is what really shrunk my liver along with the weight loss.

Good morning girls, Well I finally got to start eating again! 4:30 yesterday on the DOT I was not waiting a second longer! I was at a party and ate party food ans had zero problems. No issues at all, I am still not feeling ANY restriction. Bot being on clear liquids for 2 days sure does drop a couple of pounds tho! I am so close to 100 lbs. I can just taste it . . . . Tine if you are not sure you need a fill, you probably don't need one! I think you are at your sweet spot! You can always email him if you suddenly lose restriction again and he'll get you in @ Richmond. I bet you are good until the September Pinole appt.

OK here's my day: B- SF soy latte & 6 girl scout cookies - I know I know! They are gone now! L - diet cranberry pomegranate juice (5 cals) D - vegetable soup broth, SF jello S - vegetable soup broth, diet juice I don't think I'm going to worry too much about the GS cookies! I already weigh less tonight than I did this morning, how often does THAT happen? Nicole he gave me the numby stuff like he always does, you know he says "pinch," but I never felt a pinch, then I REALLY felt it when he put the fill needle in! It wasn't really painful or anything, more like it feels EEEWWWWW Oh and I had a SUPER good visit with Robin, I had faxed her my food log the day before and she thought that was SO COOL we had a really good talk! She was not impressed with the snack pack pudding the or with the 250 calories worth of pine nuts, we talked a lot about how food manufaxturers put fat & salt or fat & sugar togethernin specific ratios that, when eaten, set off synapsis in the brain and you really CAN'T stop eating until you are stuffed, and the only way to avoid it is to prepare you own food . . .it was very interesting! I really like Robin. Missed Liz today though, she's not there Fridays I guess!

Hi ladies!!! Got my fill, yay . . . . I was down 11 lbs. since my last fill 6 weeks ago, Dr. Baggs was pretty darned happy about that! So he gave me another .5cc today (he saysnit's 5 total now) and says he will give me .5 again at our next group fill which is September 24 @ 9:30 in Pinole - I told him I would only do Pinole if my girls were there, he said OK let's get you back on schedule with them!! I know it takes a week for me to really feel restriction froma fill, but I don't have water funneling or ANYthing. And I am STARVING!!! OMG I am hungry. It's hard to get a fill at 4:30 cause you have to do 6 hours before with o nly clearns and then 24 after with only clears - its a long draned time!! I am really hoping this one gives me the same kind of restriction that the last one did a week after. We shall see! They are pretty happy with my weight loss so far . . . and I am THRILLED with it! Awk, I am too weak to type from lack of food, LOL! I am going to go strain more soup, my son eats the noodles & vegies and he will NOT let me have anything. He came in to my fill with me and Dr. Baggs was showing him how huge the fill needle is (boys!), Dan is NOT impressed with that but when he watched him fill me he said he is really talented . . really knows exactly what he is doing. Well duh! Oh and I did not get numb, and I really REALLY felt that sucker! I am like, "oh boy, I am really really feeling that," and he is like (as he is continuing to find my port with the needle), "ok remind me next time to give you a lot of numby stuff" and then he wa done already, so what the heck? It didn't hurt THAT bad. More soup! I guess I should not have finished off those girls scout cookies this morning, huh? MAJOR sugar/carb withdrawel here, I'm doin' it cold turkey! And I have a 6 mile walk @ 8 in the morning, and our monthly support group meeting 10-12 . . . . . and a pedicure @ 1, then shopping for SIZE 12s!!

I got my 4 miles in before work this morning, happy about that! But I gained a pound overnight - my eat-more-weigh-less theory didn't work out so good this time, LOL! Right now I am purging files from one of my offices for a couple of hours so I'll be off the board - back on about 10:30. Have a happy Friday morning meantime!!

Hi Chica, yes it will! The test will definately be positive for nicotine if you are stilly relying on the patch or gum when you take it. Minimum of 3 days for nicotine to clear the body. But they don't do the nic test until right before your surgery, so you will be long done with all forms of nic by then!

190 again this morning . . sigh. I was down another pound and a half a couple of days ago! But I get another fill today so I'll be losing again soon :-) Happy Friday all!

LOL Nicole, I wish! Only exercised a little over 700 calories off today . . . . it was just a happy, ,last-chance food day because I am planning on getting some real restriction tomorrow!! Woo-hoo! So you are right, I AM excited and with only clear liquids after 10am I will probably get less than 500 a day in tomorrow and the next day . . . so it will all even out, may even work to my advantage!! Goodnight ladies . . .

I ate bread at a social gathering with 3 bosses, 1 co-worker and 1 Supervisor's Aide, so high stress and I still put down 2 pieces of bread and a piece of pizza!! I NEED A FILL! OK I remembered some more stuff I ate today on my feeding frenzy, I am up to 1,981 calories and 151 grams net carbs!!! Still . . .I look at what one could choose at a fast food restaurant and they could easily eat that many calories in a single meal, so . . .at least I ate pretty healthy food! And it's not like I ate a whole package of girl scout cookies. And the pizza, it was tomato and goat cheese pizza, it was 1/6th of a appetizer-sized one and I didn't even eat all of that. Calorie count still gave me an "A" for the day for my food choices! OK now I am justifying myself, I need to just give myself a break, make some herbal tea and go to bed with my book! What do you want to bet I lose tomorrow because I ate so many calories today? Weird . . .

Tamra I am so proud of you! You are totally excercising your resistence muscle :-) Go girl! I wish I was, I excercied my giving-in muscle all day, and it got easier and easier! It started with the pickled okra (swear), then the girl scout cookies, then 2 hersheys miniatures, then after work 2 slices of bread (apparently I CAN eat bread, at least right before a fill!) AND a slice of pizza, and a bunch of swiss and parmesan, not to mention the microbrew! Just one of these. . . . all in all, 1800 calories and 125 net carbs (I limit myself to 40 net carbs a day)!!! Oh my! Totally last-supper syndrome, I get my fill tomorrow and I think I may be tight then like Pam and Tina and not be able to pig out, so I did it all today! Trouble is, now I am going to be REALLY HUNGRY and jonesing for carbs all day tomorrow, my fill is not until 4:30 so i will be on clear liquids only from 10 am tomorrow until 4:30 on Saturday! And starving because I ate all of these carbs today! This one's gonna hurt ladies. . . .

I had to lose 30 per Dr. Baggs, but I lost 43 . . .my PCP said he wanted me to lose 15% of my body weight before surgery, so that was the goal I set for myself (42.75 lbs., as I started at 285) The more you lose the easier surgery is, I had a super-easy experience & recovery. But the only thing that we know for SURE is that we are all different!!! And the docs know that . . so they say to count on requiring a 10% loss, it may be a little more and it may be a little less. Apparently one of the reasons that Heather has to lose so much is because she has not had children yet(!)? Only the surgeon knows for sure . . . .

Sound advice, Jes. And Chica, CONGRATS on the quitting smoking!!! That alone shows your committment to a new and healthier life. I smoked for 15 years until June 15, 2006, so I know all too well!!! I don't even know you and already I'm super-proud of you!!! Richmond orientation is held on Wednesdays, so you probably have an overview class locally on that Friday . . . . I think that's a new requirement now, Tamra can fill you in on it . . . but no worries, you are ON YOUR WEIGH! (get it? Way? Weigh? LOL) Don't lose weight before orientation!

Holy cow, 11 people! Doesn't anyone WORK anymore?? LOL Hey Chica, stick with us & go to the suport groups, and you;ll be thru in no time! I had orientation 11/4/08 with Nicole and had my surgery 2/23/09, so it took me 3 1/2 months, during which I lost 43 lbs! I am 5 1/2 months out from surgery now and as you can see I have lost almost 100 lbs. in 9 monthIt's a great pprogram but you HAVE TO work at it, it's not easy! Stick with us though and we won't let you fail :-) Tubby no help with insurance here hun, sorry! We are all Kaiser patients, everything is covered by Kaiser :-) Just had 4 girl scout cookies, can you tell I already faxed Robin my food log? LOL!!!

Ya know I don't burp when I pb either - I don't know why it is called productive burping! In fact my "soft stop" is a burp, or sometimes a hiccup although the hiccup usually comes later . . . when it's only 1 hiccup it means stop though! Funny how we have to learn these new signs of "full"

A "slider" food is one that is slippery enough to slide through the band - ice cream, for example. They defeat the purpose of the band because they do not stay in the pouch & do not make you feel full. PBd means she "productive burped" - that's when the food sitting above the band comes back up (NOT the same as throwing up - this stuff have not been in the stomach yet, it's just in the pouch), either because there is something lodged ("stuck") in the band's small opening, or because one has eaten too much for the pouch to hold! Some people never do PB, some just "slime" which is when the esopuogus is trying to get the food down by restricting/loosening and producing LOTS of ropy saliva, but the saliva can't get past the bacn so it comes back into your mouth and you have to keep spitting . . . . so lovely! Good morning Maria!!!

Mini-rant this morning: I am supposed to go out after work with the boss and one of the Supervisors' Aides, so I am looking through my closet trying to find something cute to wear to work today that I can also go out after in - you know, good clothes but not a suit dress. Well there isn't much left hanging in my closet, but I pulled out what few things I still have and - NOTHING!!! Nothing fits; stuff I was wearing a month ago is baggy and ugly now. I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!! I mean, I have jeans and casual clothes and all, I get that kind of stuff from the clothing exchange (although nothing smaller than a 14, which is what I need now), but ZIPPO in the way of professional-looking clothes. So I am wearing pants with an adjustable waist (butt is baggy, but they stay up!) and a blouse that absolutely hangs off of me. How lame is that . . . . . . . but how nice to have this problem! Good morning ladies :-)

For the first time Candra, really?? You were one of us months ago!! But I know exactly what you mean - I can't believe the poor people that have to get banded and go through everything without the kind of support that we enjoy -no make that, that we depend on! Pam - TOO funny, the stirrup doctor ! Gotta tell ya tho, the visual is a little disturbing, LOL! I hope the bear hugs come after the stirrups!! I ate more today than I have since I started this process - and my son still stopped me twice. Once when I wanted to buy "him" a brownie at starbucks, so I could have "just a bite" - he's like, NO. NO BROWNIE. DOWN MOTHER. I should have walked/jogged more today (only 7.5 miles) but I had to dye my hair roots and wax my lip and shave my legs and, you know, be a girl! Being single I put that stuff off for too long sometimes. My PCP told me no jogging too, he said people of "our age" need less impact. They say that power-walking burns just as many calories and is 90x easier on feet legs and joints. I really only jog (and I didn't start until I was under 220) to to get my miles in faster! I can definately work up a sweat (but not nearly as high a heart rate) power-walking and pumping my arms good. If you can walk a 15-minute mile you are getting the best lo-impact aerobic exercise you can get without being on a gym machine. My PCP recommends a spin class - YUCKO! Although if I lived closer and we all could be in the same class, that would be a blast!! But I still need my morning walk . . . I'm hooked . . . . ~sigh~

Oh Candra Tina is right, totally start listening to the CD now! You can download it for your ipod here for free Healthy Living To Go Audio Library it's the one called "successful surgery". my son says it's hypnosis cause I would get SO relaxed when I listened to it! But me right to sleep too, even in surgery :-)

Candra, the pre-op class is called Rny but it is for both. I totally paniced about that! Then 1/2 the class was lap-band, yay! Lets pick a Saturday or a Sunday for the Petaluma walk, and we'll make sure Liz gets an invite! I am gone in Oregon the 22nd and 23rd, but other than that I'm good! I have monthly soppurt group 2nd saturday, you guys have it in sacto when? The 3rd saturday? How about Saturday August 29th? Santa Rosa marathon is Aug 30th, I am signed up for 1/2 marathon then . . . . or Sat. Sept. 5? If we figure it out by Friday am I can tell Liz when I go down there Friday PM.

Tamra, that's too bad! Dr. Zimmerman totally helped me realize that I WAS ready, she was great therapy for me! But I am SOOO glad you have Dr. Baggs - we just love him! He is SO positive and supportive, you WILL suceed, and he'll tell you that! It's not "if" with him, it's "when." And what does it tell you when the support staff like him? That says a LOT to me. YAY! Now turn on your afterburners, girl!! Get your excercise on!!!

YAY! That's a whole month! I started at 285 too, and had to lose 30 which is the highest I've heard of him giving anyone . . . . and when I met with him I was there, that was on a Friday and he was so happy about it he walked me over and got me anappt. with Liz for the next working day (Monday). So you may be there already when you meet with him! Yay, yay, yay. Plus of COURSE yu have to tell him you are part of our "gang," we are very motivated and he KNOWS we will be successful! I am SO glad you got him :-) :-) :-) Are they making you a psych appt. in the meantime? You should get them to do that . . . .

YAY! Lingling!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!

BUT. You should know before you change that it is doubtful that another surgeon will change your pre-surgery goal weight that Dr. Fisher gave you - it is reasonable and I'm sure based in physical reasons. If it was 70 lbs or 90 lbs they might change it, but 35 ain't unreasonable. I had to lose 30, even for Dr. Baggs. So if THAT is really why you want to change, it's not worth it. If it's cause you feel uncomfortable with him, which you've expressed, then for Pete's sake change! You need to feel 100% comfortable with your lap-band surgeon :-)