Band_Groupie

Oooo! Sounds good; I love honey/mustard anything. I'm not a cook, but I do like experimenting...and I need a replacement for Ranch dressing/dip (my fav before banding). I'll let you know... Thanks! -BG

Enjoy those pockets (I'd be putting my hands in them all day long!)! Size 18 from a 26-28 is an amazing change! I had on my old size 20's to hike in (I'm in a 'new' 16) at the GC and I had to pick through all my photos to share because I had the same problem (we're built the same...I have thunder thighs)...my crotch was down to my knees LOL! Wear those new jeans proudly!! -BG

I'm also glad you're telling your doc. I'd suggest you try contacting your Psych as well as they can help you through why it's happening and deal with the food issues. We all have food issues or we wouldn't have ended up fat. Hang in there and get the help you need now. -BG

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Getting a date is a big event! Whoot! -BG

I can go a couple of days also, but I'm not constipated (ummm...comes out normally). Just because I'm eating so much less. If you're constipated try adding more fiber to your diet (I do add Benefiber to my oatmeal every morning). Also, the biggest thing is your water intake...you might need to up it even more than the required amount...and make sure it's spaced over the day evenly. Good luck! -BG

Good post...I wish the band came with an extra hand that would smack food out of your hand LOL! I can even eat a hamburger, but I only eat 1/2. You're doing great! -BG

*Post Deleted for Lap Band Book

I'll have to ditto what Jenn said...I don't want to lecture on something after the fact, but for anyone else reading I'm wondering why you didn't go to your doc sooner both for the vomiting and the continued reflux? I'm sure they told you that those are both, individually even, signs of a band that is too tight. I've had a small amount of reflux just a few times and usually when I've eaten or drank a large amount of water right before bedtime and even those few times worried me. I'm glad they've found out what's wrong and now they can hopefully fix it for you. Congratulations on the WL and best wishes! -BG

Inspiring post...you're living your destiny now GF and you did it all (with a little help from your band)! Your WL is amazing! Those few bites we get are so much better when they taste good aren't they (wish I liked to cook). You're an inspiration and a great support to us all! -BG

Try foods that are already mushy...applesauce, FF refried beans with some cheese/salsa, cottage cheese, greek yogurt w/SF preserves, creamy soups, etc.

Hmmm...I've seen several couples on here that did so well and it was great for them to go through this together. I'm assuming he would need to stay above the 40 BMI for the entire 6 mo. as that's what most insurance require (for a chuckle and advice on that read here on LBT 11/10/08 I peed my pants! - LAP-BAND®). 2 comorbidites might just happen if you already suspect sleep apnea (I'm sure you know he should be checked for this regardless...I had a neighbor who died of this). Many people here don't realize they have the start of diabetes or bad cholesterol until they get their bloodwork done (or hypertension like me). I get that it might be hard to have him 'not' lose weight while you're trying to lose...if you're allowed to (keep in mind most docs/insurance expect you NOT to be able to lose much during the 6 months). He'll do what's right for him and it's something you really have to be ready for...so in his own time, right. Sorry, I'm babbling now, just trying to think through the options with you. Good luck on your journey. -BG

Sounds like a great plan! -BG

First, get a list of the PCP's from your insurance co. Then call the insurance person at you bariatric surgeon's office and ask them for some suggestions of PCP's on your list. They see who is easy to work with/does a good job with the letters needed, etc. all the time. Good luck! -BG

Maybe you could talk DH into going along for the whole six month ride with you and then he can decide also (he's got nothing to lose but weight and he's planning to do that anyway, right?)? If not, at least you've got his support and you'll be a great example to him if he decides later to do it. I think being yo-yoers can make us even more successful at this; like you said, we already know how to be committed to WL. You're going to do great! May these next 6 months go quickly for you! -BG

To finish my vacation adventures (sorry for my acrophobic ‘safety’ issues in the last blog LOL)…. After driving out the East gate of the Grand Canyon, we stopped in Cameron for lunch. We headed down to Sedona with side trips to the Wupatki Indian ruins (we decided we’re not ‘ruins’ people after stopping at several as we thought they all looked the same) and then to Sunset Crater; an old volcano (we both loved the lava fields…my geologist DH was in heaven). We also stopped at the overlook in Oak Creek Canyon to get a great view of the switchback road we’d be driving down and the cliffs. We checked into our hotel, grabbed a glass of wine and walked to the edge of the mesa the hotel is on where we sat on a rock to watch the sunset overlooking the red rocks of West Sedona and then to dinner. We were up at dawn to watch the sunrise and hiked around the base of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. Got some breakfast and then we decided (well, I picked two and let DH chose) to do a harder hike (labeled ‘Moderate’ instead of ‘Easy’); and he picked Doe Mountain. I thought it would be OK, since the hike was only a mile and a half up about 500’ to the top of a mesa and then several miles around the mesa top…and heck, I’d just done so great hiking into the Grand Canyon and all (what I didn’t know then…). We arrived at the trailhead and signed in (in case you disappear from the face of the Earth they know where to start looking for your body). We saw some others on their way up and passed a few on their way down. The trail was steep switchbacks on one side of the mesa and was a pretty good, but skinny path. I was doing OK until about 1/3 of the way up and then as I followed DH the trail seemed to deteriorate. We were suddenly on a VERY narrow path, but we could still follow it, with the cliff on the side and then it got even worse…we were ducking under bushes and near the top we were climbing straight up rock faces and trying to wedge our fingers and toes into the crevices so we could climb. About this time I’m cursing the Red Rock Ranger station for labeling this a ‘Moderate’ hike…and screaming ‘If they call this ‘Moderate’ what the heck do they call ‘Hard’? I about need some ropes and carabineers to get up these rocks as it is! This is supposed to be HIKING! NOT rock climbing!!!’ Well, I made it up the last steep section with DH bracing me at points and then up the last rock ‘chute’ to the top of the mesa. The plants here were very spaced out with wide areas between them. We followed the ‘trail’, which quickly disappeared, but it was no problem as the instructions said it circled the edge of the mesa, so we just stayed near the edge. We got to the edge overlooking Sedona and sat for a snack/water and to take some photos. About that time I had to ‘go’, badly…so I found the tallest ‘bush’ I could to crawl under (about 4’ tall) and had DH be the lookout…we hadn’t seen anybody since the beginning of the trail. Sure enough here comes a helicopter! I scrambled to finish as DH said he was told to lookout for hikers, not helicopters…smarta$$. Off we went to circle the edge back to the trailhead. There was no path to be found, but we knew we’d find the trailhead down if we just stayed on the edge. After another hour and it looked like only ½ the mesa circled to us, we ran into the lady we had seen going up the trail before we’d started. She was completely lost and had been circling the mesa for a long time. After some discussion on not being able to see our parking lot/cars from where we were and our experience from where we’d just been, we decided to forgo the other ½ of the mesa’s edge and cut across it to take a peek on the other side (she was an experienced hiker from Colorado). We were joking along to each other about how we were glad we’d signed in below…perhaps a helicopter would come by before dark…could we spell ‘HELP’ with rocks…etc, etc. Another ½ hour picking through some thicker brush and getting stabbed by cactus plants and we came to the other side. We saw the cars far below and set out along the edge to where we thought the trailhead would be. I swallowed my pride and discussed how much more difficult I’d thought the trail up was (wondering how I was going to get down all those rock faces) and to my surprise she complained as well and described the same problems coming up. Soon we saw another couple and after calling to them, to our relief they were at the top of the trailhead (they had just gone a short way onto the mesa and returned the same way…thank goodness someone had some sense). DH and I then realized it would have taken us several hours more to get here if we had circled the entire mesa…it was MUCH larger than we thought and the top loop could not have included the entire mesa. We started down the path with our new group and we weren’t 2 minutes down the second switchback when I knew we were walking much further West than we’d been on the way up (I could tell from looking at our cars far below). Just as I thought that the lost Coloradoan said the same thing! Suddenly, we were all describing our rock climbing on the way up and the other couple was laughing at us…apparently, the three of us had gotten off the normal trail! They thought they’d seen the point where we’d made a wrong turn on the way up because they’d almost done the same thing. Well let me tell you, we were laughing the whole way down…it was a much longer trip on the way down then the route we’d taken, but at least I was walking and not climbing! I should have known better than to let DH lead…he’s got a terrible sense of direction, and like any man, he’d never admit he was lost or ask for directions. We were happy to cross our names off the sign-in as we returned and I parted from our company with ‘Thank-you.’ and ‘Happy Trails!’ as they laughed. We cleaned up back at the hotel where DH and I used tweezers to get out the small cactus needles and he even had one huge one that was about 4” into his thigh…that’ll teach him not to ask for a women’s help! We drove up to Oak Creek Canyon for our last trail that afternoon. It’s its own microclimate of lush foliage and tall pines along a creek in the middle of that desert. It was a cool, tranquil FLAT hike…just what we needed. We said goodbye to the red rocks of Sedona and to Arizona as we woke to our first rain (made it easier to part) the next morning for our flight home. It’s a beautiful place. Pics 1- Sunset Crater lava field 2- Bell Rock 3- On top of Doe Mountain Mesa 4- Oak Creek Canyon 5- " " "

To finish my vacation adventures (sorry for my acrophobic ‘safety’ issues in the last blog LOL)…. After driving out the East gate of the Grand Canyon, we stopped in Cameron for lunch. We headed down to Sedona with side trips to the Wupatki Indian ruins (we decided we’re not ‘ruins’ people after stopping at several as we thought they all looked the same) and then to Sunset Crater; an old volcano (we both loved the lava fields…my geologist DH was in heaven). We also stopped at the overlook in Oak Creek Canyon to get a great view of the switchback road we’d be driving down and the cliffs. We checked into our hotel, grabbed a glass of wine and walked to the edge of the mesa the hotel is on where we sat on a rock to watch the sunset overlooking the red rocks of West Sedona and then to dinner. We were up at dawn to watch the sunrise and hiked around the base of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. Got some breakfast and then we decided (well, I picked two and let DH chose) to do a harder hike (labeled ‘Moderate’ instead of ‘Easy’); and he picked Doe Mountain. I thought it would be OK, since the hike was only a mile and a half up about 500’ to the top of a mesa and then several miles around the mesa top…and heck, I’d just done so great hiking into the Grand Canyon and all (what I didn’t know then…). We arrived at the trailhead and signed in (in case you disappear from the face of the Earth they know where to start looking for your body). We saw some others on their way up and passed a few on their way down. The trail was steep switchbacks on one side of the mesa and was a pretty good, but skinny path. I was doing OK until about 1/3 of the way up and then as I followed DH the trail seemed to deteriorate. We were suddenly on a VERY narrow path, but we could still follow it, with the cliff on the side and then it got even worse…we were ducking under bushes and near the top we were climbing straight up rock faces and trying to wedge our fingers and toes into the crevices so we could climb. About this time I’m cursing the Red Rock Ranger station for labeling this a ‘Moderate’ hike…and screaming ‘If they call this ‘Moderate’ what the heck do they call ‘Hard’? I about need some ropes and carabineers to get up these rocks as it is! This is supposed to be HIKING! NOT rock climbing!!!’ Well, I made it up the last steep section with DH bracing me at points and then up the last rock ‘chute’ to the top of the mesa. The plants here were very spaced out with wide areas between them. We followed the ‘trail’, which quickly disappeared, but it was no problem as the instructions said it circled the edge of the mesa, so we just stayed near the edge. We got to the edge overlooking Sedona and sat for a snack/water and to take some photos. About that time I had to ‘go’, badly…so I found the tallest ‘bush’ I could to crawl under (about 4’ tall) and had DH be the lookout…we hadn’t seen anybody since the beginning of the trail. Sure enough here comes a helicopter! I scrambled to finish as DH said he was told to lookout for hikers, not helicopters…smarta$$. Off we went to circle the edge back to the trailhead. There was no path to be found, but we knew we’d find the trailhead down if we just stayed on the edge. After another hour and it looked like only ½ the mesa circled to us, we ran into the lady we had seen going up the trail before we’d started. She was completely lost and had been circling the mesa for a long time. After some discussion on not being able to see our parking lot/cars from where we were and our experience from where we’d just been, we decided to forgo the other ½ of the mesa’s edge and cut across it to take a peek on the other side (she was an experienced hiker from Colorado). We were joking along to each other about how we were glad we’d signed in below…perhaps a helicopter would come by before dark…could we spell ‘HELP’ with rocks…etc, etc. Another ½ hour picking through some thicker brush and getting stabbed by cactus plants and we came to the other side. We saw the cars far below and set out along the edge to where we thought the trailhead would be. I swallowed my pride and discussed how much more difficult I’d thought the trail up was (wondering how I was going to get down all those rock faces) and to my surprise she complained as well and described the same problems coming up. Soon we saw another couple and after calling to them, to our relief they were at the top of the trailhead (they had just gone a short way onto the mesa and returned the same way…thank goodness someone had some sense). DH and I then realized it would have taken us several hours more to get here if we had circled the entire mesa…it was MUCH larger than we thought and the top loop could not have included the entire mesa. We started down the path with our new group and we weren’t 2 minutes down the second switchback when I knew we were walking much further West than we’d been on the way up (I could tell from looking at our cars far below). Just as I thought that the lost Coloradoan said the same thing! Suddenly, we were all describing our rock climbing on the way up and the other couple was laughing at us…apparently, the three of us had gotten off the normal trail! They thought they’d seen the point where we’d made a wrong turn on the way up because they’d almost done the same thing. Well let me tell you, we were laughing the whole way down…it was a much longer trip on the way down then the route we’d taken, but at least I was walking and not climbing! I should have known better than to let DH lead…he’s got a terrible sense of direction, and like any man, he’d never admit he was lost or ask for directions. We were happy to cross our names off the sign-in as we returned and I parted from our company with ‘Thank-you.’ and ‘Happy Trails!’ as they laughed. We cleaned up back at the hotel where DH and I used tweezers to get out the small cactus needles and he even had one huge one that was about 4” into his thigh…that’ll teach him not to ask for a women’s help! We drove up to Oak Creek Canyon for our last trail that afternoon. It’s its own microclimate of lush foliage and tall pines along a creek in the middle of that desert. It was a cool, tranquil FLAT hike…just what we needed. We said goodbye to the red rocks of Sedona and to Arizona as we woke to our first rain (made it easier to part) the next morning for our flight home. It’s a beautiful place. Pics 1- Sunset Crater lava field 2- Bell Rock 3- On top of Doe Mountain Mesa 4- Oak Creek Canyon 5- " " "

To finish my vacation adventures (sorry for my acrophobic ‘safety’ issues in the last blog LOL)…. After driving out the East gate of the Grand Canyon, we stopped in Cameron for lunch. We headed down to Sedona with side trips to the Wupatki Indian ruins (we decided we’re not ‘ruins’ people after stopping at several as we thought they all looked the same) and then to Sunset Crater; an old volcano (we both loved the lava fields…my geologist DH was in heaven). We also stopped at the overlook in Oak Creek Canyon to get a great view of the switchback road we’d be driving down and the cliffs. We checked into our hotel, grabbed a glass of wine and walked to the edge of the mesa the hotel is on where we sat on a rock to watch the sunset overlooking the red rocks of West Sedona and then to dinner. We were up at dawn to watch the sunrise and hiked around the base of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. Got some breakfast and then we decided (well, I picked two and let DH chose) to do a harder hike (labeled ‘Moderate’ instead of ‘Easy’); and he picked Doe Mountain. I thought it would be OK, since the hike was only a mile and a half up about 500’ to the top of a mesa and then several miles around the mesa top…and heck, I’d just done so great hiking into the Grand Canyon and all (what I didn’t know then…). We arrived at the trailhead and signed in (in case you disappear from the face of the Earth they know where to start looking for your body). We saw some others on their way up and passed a few on their way down. The trail was steep switchbacks on one side of the mesa and was a pretty good, but skinny path. I was doing OK until about 1/3 of the way up and then as I followed DH the trail seemed to deteriorate. We were suddenly on a VERY narrow path, but we could still follow it, with the cliff on the side and then it got even worse…we were ducking under bushes and near the top we were climbing straight up rock faces and trying to wedge our fingers and toes into the crevices so we could climb. About this time I’m cursing the Red Rock Ranger station for labeling this a ‘Moderate’ hike…and screaming ‘If they call this ‘Moderate’ what the heck do they call ‘Hard’? I about need some ropes and carabineers to get up these rocks as it is! This is supposed to be HIKING! NOT rock climbing!!!’ Well, I made it up the last steep section with DH bracing me at points and then up the last rock ‘chute’ to the top of the mesa. The plants here were very spaced out with wide areas between them. We followed the ‘trail’, which quickly disappeared, but it was no problem as the instructions said it circled the edge of the mesa, so we just stayed near the edge. We got to the edge overlooking Sedona and sat for a snack/water and to take some photos. About that time I had to ‘go’, badly…so I found the tallest ‘bush’ I could to crawl under (about 4’ tall) and had DH be the lookout…we hadn’t seen anybody since the beginning of the trail. Sure enough here comes a helicopter! I scrambled to finish as DH said he was told to lookout for hikers, not helicopters…smarta$$. Off we went to circle the edge back to the trailhead. There was no path to be found, but we knew we’d find the trailhead down if we just stayed on the edge. After another hour and it looked like only ½ the mesa circled to us, we ran into the lady we had seen going up the trail before we’d started. She was completely lost and had been circling the mesa for a long time. After some discussion on not being able to see our parking lot/cars from where we were and our experience from where we’d just been, we decided to forgo the other ½ of the mesa’s edge and cut across it to take a peek on the other side (she was an experienced hiker from Colorado). We were joking along to each other about how we were glad we’d signed in below…perhaps a helicopter would come by before dark…could we spell ‘HELP’ with rocks…etc, etc. Another ½ hour picking through some thicker brush and getting stabbed by cactus plants and we came to the other side. We saw the cars far below and set out along the edge to where we thought the trailhead would be. I swallowed my pride and discussed how much more difficult I’d thought the trail up was (wondering how I was going to get down all those rock faces) and to my surprise she complained as well and described the same problems coming up. Soon we saw another couple and after calling to them, to our relief they were at the top of the trailhead (they had just gone a short way onto the mesa and returned the same way…thank goodness someone had some sense). DH and I then realized it would have taken us several hours more to get here if we had circled the entire mesa…it was MUCH larger than we thought and the top loop could not have included the entire mesa. We started down the path with our new group and we weren’t 2 minutes down the second switchback when I knew we were walking much further West than we’d been on the way up (I could tell from looking at our cars far below). Just as I thought that the lost Coloradoan said the same thing! Suddenly, we were all describing our rock climbing on the way up and the other couple was laughing at us…apparently, the three of us had gotten off the normal trail! They thought they’d seen the point where we’d made a wrong turn on the way up because they’d almost done the same thing. Well let me tell you, we were laughing the whole way down…it was a much longer trip on the way down then the route we’d taken, but at least I was walking and not climbing! I should have known better than to let DH lead…he’s got a terrible sense of direction, and like any man, he’d never admit he was lost of ask for directions. We were happy to cross our names off the sign-in as we returned and I parted from our company with ‘Thank-you.’ and ‘Happy Trails!’ as they laughed. We cleaned up back at the hotel where DH and I used tweezers to get out the small cactus needles and he even had one huge one that was about 4” into his thigh…that’ll teach him not to ask for a women’s help! We drove up to Oak Creek Canyon for our last trail that afternoon. It’s its own microclimate of lush foliage and tall pines along a creek in the middle of that desert. It was a cool, tranquil FLAT hike…just what we needed. We said goodbye to the red rocks of Sedona and to Arizona as we woke to our first rain (made it easier to part) the next morning for our flight home. It’s a beautiful place.

To finish my vacation adventures (sorry for my acrophobic ‘safety’ issues in the last blog LOL)…. After driving out the East gate of the Grand Canyon, we stopped in Cameron for lunch. We headed down to Sedona with side trips to the Wupatki Indian ruins (we decided we’re not ‘ruins’ people after stopping at several as we thought they all looked the same) and then to Sunset Crater; an old volcano (we both loved the lava fields…my geologist DH was in heaven). We also stopped at the overlook in Oak Creek Canyon to get a great view of the switchback road we’d be driving down and the cliffs. We checked into our hotel, grabbed a glass of wine and walked to the edge of the mesa the hotel is on where we sat on a rock to watch the sunset overlooking the red rocks of West Sedona and then to dinner. We were up at dawn to watch the sunrise and hiked around the base of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. Got some breakfast and then we decided (well, I picked two and let DH chose) to do a harder hike (labeled ‘Moderate’ instead of ‘Easy’); and he picked Doe Mountain. I thought it would be OK, since the hike was only a mile and a half up about 500’ to the top of a mesa and then several miles around the mesa top…and heck, I’d just done so great hiking into the Grand Canyon and all (what I didn’t know then…). We arrived at the trailhead and signed in (in case you disappear from the face of the Earth they know where to start looking for your body). We saw some others on their way up and passed a few on their way down. The trail was steep switchbacks on one side of the mesa and was a pretty good, but skinny path. I was doing OK until about 1/3 of the way up and then as I followed DH the trail seemed to deteriorate. We were suddenly on a VERY narrow path, but we could still follow it, with the cliff on the side and then it got even worse…we were ducking under bushes and near the top we were climbing straight up rock faces and trying to wedge our fingers and toes into the crevices so we could climb. About this time I’m cursing the Red Rock Ranger station for labeling this a ‘Moderate’ hike…and screaming ‘If they call this ‘Moderate’ what the heck do they call ‘Hard’? I about need some ropes and carabineers to get up these rocks as it is! This is supposed to be HIKING! NOT rock climbing!!!’ Well, I made it up the last steep section with DH bracing me at points and then up the last rock ‘chute’ to the top of the mesa. The plants here were very spaced out with wide areas between them. We followed the ‘trail’, which quickly disappeared, but it was no problem as the instructions said it circled the edge of the mesa, so we just stayed near the edge. We got to the edge overlooking Sedona and sat for a snack/water and to take some photos. About that time I had to ‘go’, badly…so I found the tallest ‘bush’ I could to crawl under (about 4’ tall) and had DH be the lookout…we hadn’t seen anybody since the beginning of the trail. Sure enough here comes a helicopter! I scrambled to finish as DH said he was told to lookout for hikers, not helicopters…smarta$$. Off we went to circle the edge back to the trailhead. There was no path to be found, but we knew we’d find the trailhead down if we just stayed on the edge. After another hour and it looked like only ½ the mesa circled to us, we ran into the lady we had seen going up the trail before we’d started. She was completely lost and had been circling the mesa for a long time. After some discussion on not being able to see our parking lot/cars from where we were and our experience from where we’d just been, we decided to forgo the other ½ of the mesa’s edge and cut across it to take a peek on the other side (she was an experienced hiker from Colorado). We were joking along to each other about how we were glad we’d signed in below…perhaps a helicopter would come by before dark…could we spell ‘HELP’ with rocks…etc, etc. Another ½ hour picking through some thicker brush and getting stabbed by cactus plants and we came to the other side. We saw the cars far below and set out along the edge to where we thought the trailhead would be. I swallowed my pride and discussed how much more difficult I’d thought the trail up was (wondering how I was going to get down all those rock faces) and to my surprise she complained as well and described the same problems coming up. Soon we saw another couple and after calling to them, to our relief they were at the top of the trailhead (they had just gone a short way onto the mesa and returned the same way…thank goodness someone had some sense). DH and I then realized it would have taken us several hours more to get here if we had circled the entire mesa…it was MUCH larger than we thought and the top loop could not have included the entire mesa. We started down the path with our new group and we weren’t 2 minutes down the second switchback when I knew we were walking much further West than we’d been on the way up (I could tell from looking at our cars far below). Just as I thought that the lost Coloradoan said the same thing! Suddenly, we were all describing our rock climbing on the way up and the other couple was laughing at us…apparently, the three of us had gotten off the normal trail! They thought they’d seen the point where we’d made a wrong turn on the way up because they’d almost done the same thing. Well let me tell you, we were laughing the whole way down…it was a much longer trip on the way down then the route we’d taken, but at least I was walking and not climbing! I should have known better than to let DH lead…he’s got a terrible sense of direction, and like any man, he’d never admit he was lost of ask for directions. We were happy to cross our names off the sign-in as we returned and I parted from our company with ‘Thank-you.’ and ‘Happy Trails!’ as they laughed. We cleaned up back at the hotel where DH and I used tweezers to get out the small cactus needles and he even had one huge one that was about 4” into his thigh…that’ll teach him not to ask for a women’s help! We drove up to Oak Creek Canyon for our last trail that afternoon. It’s its own microclimate of lush foliage and tall pines along a creek in the middle of that desert. It was a cool, tranquil FLAT hike…just what we needed. We said goodbye to the red rocks of Sedona and to Arizona as we woke to our first rain (made it easier to part) the next morning for our flight home. It’s a beautiful place.

granny- I've got the same story (yo-yoer). I'm really believing now that this is just the tool I need to KEEP it off! I hit 60# gone last month (I've lost 50 before, several times, but never 60!). And here's the best part...I'm NOT hungry!!! I don't know about you, but to lose the weight before I was usually starving, or eating things I couldn't stay on the rest of my life. Welcome to LBT. You'll feel better each day. Keep getting those fills and Bandster Hell WILL end (before restriction). -BG

"start looking"? Not sure what you mean, but your first step is your insurance company. Ask them for a copy of your bariatric policy (some can direct you on how to print it online even). Look it over and make sure you qualify and ask questions of your company so you'll know what your % and deductible is for the year will be (if you can get all your pre-op visits, testing, and the surgery in in the same 'insurance year' it will help with expenses as you'll reach the max deductible.) Your next step will be to make an appointment with your PCP (if you need to for insurance, ie. I had to do a 6 mo. PCP supervised diet). You'll also want to call (several, if you can) bariatric docs and go to one of their (usually monthly) seminars (I attended 3 before selecting and the term 'Center of Excellence' is a rating that means something in their field). While you're waiting for appointments, keep reading here and asking questions. Put together a list of questions to ask at the seminar. Hope that helps. Welcome to LBT and best wishes! -BG

Hang in there...each day will get better (and a heating pad helps too). Remember to walk, walk, walk as that gets the gas moving out. CONGRATULATIONS! ...and welcome to LBT! -BG

Oooow! I sometimes think these little things come along just to make us appreciate our band even more. Hang in there, and keep that protein high so you don't get so hungry! You're doing great! -BG

Yes, it stays in forever...and yes, you'll be eating smaller portions for life. As you get close to your goal weight your weight loss usually slows way down so when you reach goal you'll be eating a tiny bit more, but just enough so you're not continuing to lose, but maintain. In other words you'll be eating like a skinny person to stay skinny! Best wishes in starting your journey and keep asking those questions! Welcome to LBT! -BG

Eat it all the time; with the SF preserves, SF syrups, as a dip, sour cream, with nuts, seeds, and with cereal topping...love it with Kashi go lean.

Thanks Apples (and look at your WL- Century Club!!! Awesome)...Yeah, about this time last year I was scarfing Halloween candy and could hardly gain a pound! Insurance grrr :thumbup: