TklMeSkinny

Hi All! I'm new to this thread, but I think it's great! I have been looking for some kind of running program and this looks like it will work for me very well. I actually started running every other day about 2 weeks ago. I'm doing a mile, and running over 75% of that already. But I think i'll check out where I should be with the C25K program, and maybe start over. I love to run! (actually more like jogging) Anyone know of any biathlons in the Maryland area coming up in a couple months? I've not been able to locate any on the web, and my local Rec centers dont have anything listed, either. Thanks! And keep up the good work! Tkl

jms, that's great about your trip! My Dr is the same, he said not to get any fills the month before my trip. So, I have an appt to get a fill (maybe) mid April, then my trip is late May, and my next appt is in June. I'm off to Germany and Italy! Woo Hoo! I love to travel! Take pictures!!!! And post some here! My daughter is a "GATOR" (goes to UFL) and we have a Travelin Gator Bear that we're taking to have in a lot of our photos, in place of the 'Travelin Gnome'. take care!

I picked my weight the same reason as a couple of others. I was comfortable for myself when I was at 160 before. However, my Drs goal is only 183, which surprised me. We've started to discuss a couple of times, but both he and the PA have said to just continue what i'm doing and we'll know when I'm 'right' with myself. :-) Good luck to us all!

Hi, I was banded 11/26/08 and flew in January after 1 fill. Just got back from a flight last night (weekend trip) and have now had 4 fills total. I didnt have any problems at all, but then, I also read a lot on here and spoke to my Dr.'s office before flying. The end result of the info and recommendations from all was this: Dont eat directly before the flight, dont eat a lot during the flight, and sip Water, dont gulp or drink fast, during the flight. These are all pretty common sense and logical suggestions. If you want to really see what is happening to your band when your fly, take a half full bottle of water with you on a flight. You'll see it get very full and hard to open when you reach 'cruising altitude'. Then open it and leave it until you descend and land. It will collapse in on itself somewhat. The same thing, or very similar, happens to your band as it's fulled with liquid, also. The soreness that some feel is the tenderness of your esophagus where the band is placed first being squeezed a bit, then the squeezing letting up. Please do not take this as replacing calling your Dr. if you are concerned or if the soreness/tenderness is or becomes severe. I'm a frequent traveler (as many trips as 40 a year sometimes) so this was a major concern for me. I've followed the rules/recommendations from my Dr. both trips and as I stated i've had no problem. I have a trip to Germany and Italy coming up in a few weeks, and was extremely concerned because of the length of the flights. I've be flying about 14 hrs each way. So now I know that if i'm careful and aware it will be ok! One other thing for those getting ready to fly: If you are flying on a carrier that will provide a meal, you can request low calorie/low carb/low fat meals before hand. Even if you are going to buy one of theirs, contact the airline and let them know your nutritional requirements. Don't wait until you get on board to ask, they probably will not have what you want or need. Also, take Protein bars or snack bars to nibble rather than the crackers, etc, that they provide. I hope this helped! And Happy Travels to all!

Hi Catherine, We were just discussing this on another thread, too! LOL I donated quite a lot in Jan/Feb to Goodwill. I've got some other items that i'm going to try to sell on eBay in the next week or so. Tkl

Way cool! I donated 17 suits in February (I work in an office) and now I have about 6 - 7 more suits to go the same way. There was a clothing swap at my Surgeons office over the holidays, but I wasnt able to make it. Anyone know of a clothing swap coming up in the near future in Maryland? Hmm, or, maybe i'll list them on eBay, like you did! LOL

Danah, the idea of sneaking in a Protein Shake is definitely something you should do. Many, if not most or all, of us have done that before going someplace where there will be food and it definitely does help. You can also put a shake on ice and make it last a bit longer, but it might Water it down too much for you. Good luck to you and enjoy your family dinner! Tkl

EbonyRose, You Go Girl! I know you can do it! Jewels, I Love Walmart now, too! But i've also found that the Goodwill can sometimes have good deals, and, as I don't wear them long, or wear them out, like I used to it's a better bet. Happy Spring Everyone!

Mine is the scale and calorie counting and just starting running!

Hi! New weight as of today: 204! Yeah!

Jewels! Havent talked to you in a while, but that is such great news! You are doing fantastic! We were banded on the same day! I'd like to share my news, too! I have had both an SV and a NSV this weekend! SV: I've been plateaued at 206 for over a month! Found out I was not getting enough calories (averaged about 900 a day) so I increased my calories to 1100 by adding a protein bar snack in the afternoon, AND i starting running in prep for a biathlon and i've dropped 2 lbs in 3 days! Whoo Hoooo!!!!!! NSV: I went shopping today for something to wear to a White Coat Ceremony for my daughter next weekend. When I started my lapband journey I was buying 22's, and sometimes a 20. Today I tried on and bought a comfortable size 14! And not a 14W, just a regular 14! OMG! I started crying, too, in the fitting room! Sorry to blabber on, but it's hard to find someone who actually understands what these NSVs mean, except on here! And my next support group isnt for 2 weeks! LOL Take care, and Hugs to you Jewels, and all! Rhonda

My Dr. told me to expect some pain in the shoulder. It's from the gas used during the surgery. It has a tendency to move upward. Best therapy to get rid of it faster is walking. The walking helps it to move out of your system faster. And a heating pad worked to releave the discomfort, but didnt get rid of the gas.

Woo Hoo! Count me in! Put me down for 10 lbs!!!! That will put me down below 200, FINALLY!!!

I know what you mean. Im fine with canned tuna fish, but cant eat steamed or grilled fish of any kind. And i just found out this past weekend that i definitely can not eat rice. But steak, ground beef, chicken, theyre all fine. Good luck to you! Youre doing great! Tkl

Hi! Please update my weight to 206. Thank you! :-)

Well, I get up at 4:30am every day (long commute!) so I have a protein shake on my way in to work and use that and some water or Crystal Light to take my vitamins while on the way. Then, about 7:00am I have 2 turkey sausage patties (about 1 oz each) and one scrambled egg. Sometimes 2 when i'm really hungry like today! then nothing but water and Crystal Light until 12:30pm when I have lunch. Usually a sandwich sans bread. I always order a ham or turkey sandwich with lots of veggies. It's good lean meat and tastes great, too! I toss the bread though. (I tried to order a sandwich with no bread once! Wish i'd have had a video cam I would have won AFV for sure!!!) Then an Atkins protein snack bar while driving home about 4pm. Dinner is about 6:30 - 7:00 and is always only meat and veggies. I do tend to eat the meat first, but by habit, not design. When I total up the calories for the day it's normally about 700 - 800 total for everything. Sometimes pushing 900 but not normally. Now i'm wondering if what everyone is saying is my problem. I've plateaued and don't know why, but it might be because i'm not getting enough! I'm going to try the Tbs of peanut butter in the evening and see if that helps! Any other suggestions would be appreciated! I'm only 6 lbs away from my 200 goal and it's the slowest, most frustrating 6 lbs so far!!!!

Hi all, It's really good to see that there's a lot of support both ways to this issue. I'll put my own 2 cents worth in here to say that even though I have some doubts as to the validity of the original post, i'm not saying I don't believe, but there are some questionable points in it. However, as this has never happened to me, I can not truly say I would have done it any differently if it is legitimate. Having said that, it has actually made me think about being cautious, not just in a non-US country, but here at home, also. No country is exempt from certain times or areas that seem to attract a certain menace or 'bad influence'. I don't think that one act means no one should ever go to Mexico again for this surgery. However, when you go for the surgery or for a fill, make sure your'e safe. Talk with the staff before you go and see if they offer transportation, or can recommend a safe transportation, to and from your appointment. Additionally, for those traveling to any non-US location, here is information provided by the Dept of State relating to travel warnings: Link to warnings for specific locations, listed by country: Current Travel Warnings Link to Country Specific information, whether there is a warning or not: Country Specific Information Link to Mexico Travel Alert from Feb of 2009, but still current today: MIG: Mexico Travel Alert Good luck to all of us, whether we have our appts in the US or outside the US! Be Safe! Be Happy! And Fulfill All Your Goals!!!!

Well, it was Not a so good morning or lunch time, so i did go in and have an unfill. She put in 1 cc last friday, and took out 1/2 cc today. i feel better already! I hope it stays this way! I still feel the restriction but at least i dont feel 'constricted'. Thanks! i'm glad you're doing better, too!

WannaB, i'm glad you went in. I had my 4th fill last Friday, Feb 20th, and i've been in the same boat, havent been able to keep anything but very thin liquids down, and they go very slowly. But last night i was able to eat some of a grilled chicken salad, and was not hungry at all after that! So maybe i'm ok. But that's the first meal i've been able to keep down since my fill. So, if I do OK today, i'm not going in. But if it happens again i'm going straight to my Dr. I'm glad that yours is better now. Amazing what such a small amount of liquid can do! Good Luck! Rhonda

I know when I was deciding whether to have the surgery or not, I didnt tell anyone except my husband because I wanted this to be totall my decision, and my failure or my success. So far, it's been little failures and major successes and i'm very glad I had the procedure. But after the surgery, I too wasnt sure if I should or even wanted to tell anyone. Then about 6 wks after my surgery a good friend at work caught me in the lunch room and asked me outright if I was ok. She said she knew i'd been out for a while with surgery, and now I appeared to be losing weight. She assured me I looked great because of it, but she and a couple of other of my friends were afraid to ask, because they were afraid to find out why I was losing weight. She told me they thought I had was really sick, maybe even cancer, and didn't want to talk about it. She was so relieved that I was ok and losing weight by choice and design and not because I was sick! So, i'm glad that I told them. But it's a very personal decision. I've become very open at work about it now, and answer any and all questions that come up. There were a lot the first few days, but now not so many. In fact, people at work are very supportive! Good luck to everyone! Rhonda

Hi all! I've had 3 fills and i'm up to 5.6 cc in my 10 cc band now. Start was 3cc in 10cc band 1st fill 1 cc 2nd fill 1 cc 3rd fill .6 cc After this 3rd fill, for the first 5-6 days or so I lost everything at least once daily. But, i've narrowed it down to I was taking too large of bites, and not chewing them enough. I go tomorrow for my next appt and 4th fill, hoping to go to 6.6, but we'll see. I've always learned from my own experiences rather than someone elses. My Hubby says that means i'm hard-headed and stubborn! (boy did he hit that one on the nose!) But honestly, I can tell i'm almost at my sweet spot! I've lost 41 lbs since my surgery on 11/26/08, and I feel great! Good Luck to us all!

You are doing fantastic! Keep up the good work!

I have a question, also, to place here for those that want to reply. I see sometimes that people talk about the inches they've lost. (and yes, i'm tracking mine, also). I dont know if there's a standard way to do this or if every site just makes up their own. My question is: What areas of your body are you measuring? For the site that I found, I measure: *neck *chest *waist *hips *bicep *wrist *thigh Some sites even have the lower arm and calf. Thanks!

Wow! I dont think that Dr. will have many self pays! My Dr. only charges $11,500 for the whole thing: his fee and the hospital, everything except anesthesia which came separtely for something around $900 i think it was. I've never heard of a lap band being over $15,000 total, but as my insurance covered mine, too, I didnt really do much looking. But I must say i'm shocked at those costs!!!

cool! i never heard of blending PB with a chocolate shake! Guess whats for breakfast tomorrow! I prefer the Atkins Advantage shakes. I buy them online, so i get the Mocha Latte and Caramel ones, and they also have a bit of coffee in them.