ALuv82

I've been pretty good but I can't say I was 100%. 2 times while still on liquids I had runny scrammbled eggs. I was a little worried so I chewed, took the worlds tiniest bites and ate super slowly. It took me about 45 minutes to eat them both times. I also went to the diner once for lunch with people from work and ordered matzo ball Soup for the brouth and ate a little of the matzo. Then Itook my mother out for Mother's Day which was the last day of the liquid diet and I started mushies then--1 meal early. I've been true to the mushie diet so far though. I've been on that since Mon (well, Sun night technically) So far the mushy food is still satisfying to me. Although I think that my surgeon/nutritionist's definition of mushy is pretty wide. I can have thin sliced deli meat, ground turkey or beef, soft cheese. I never really thought of that stuff as mushy before. I have just over 1 week of that left. As of now I'm not suffering from hunger at all, except occasionly right before I'm due for a meal anyhow.

Obviously it's best to follow your surgeon/nutritionist's diet plan but after a life time of bad habits it's hard not to slip up a little. It sounds like you're back to following the plan. Just take it one meal at a time.

Down 10.5 since the start of the challenge. 24.5 more to go to reach my goal.

:grouphug: Bunny Banster's July 4th Challenge

Bunny's name ------ Bunny's target loss --- Bunny's start weight --- Current date --- Bunny's Current weight --- Bunny's target July 4 weight

PharmaGirl -------------- 20lb --------------------- 276lb ---------------- 11 May --------------------- 278lb -------------------- 256lb

NY Lady ----------------- 20lb --------------------- 253lb ---------------- 11 May --------------------- 250lb -------------------- 233lb

lingling ------------------ 20lb --------------------- 279.6lb --------------- 1 May --------------------- 279.6lb ----------------- 259.6lb

JayTee562 --------------- 20lb --------------------- 272lb ----------------- 7 May --------------------- 269lb -------------------- 252lb

MrsMitch ---------------- 25lb --------------------- 242lb ------------------ 1 May --------------------- 242lb -------------------- 217lb

ALuv82------------------ 35lb ---------------------- 297.5lb --------------- 15 May --------------------- 287lbs ------------------- 262.5lb

Band_Groupie ----------- 15lb ---------------------- 218 lbs -------------- 7 May --------------------- 216lbs -------------------- 203lbs

kaner ------------------- 20lb ----------------------- 275lb --------------- 1 May --------------------- 275lb ---------------------- 255lb

scoobydoo -------------- 25lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

TerriLynne -------------- 15lb ----------------------- 296lb --------------- 1 May --------------------- 292lb ---------------------- 281lb

hopeful41411 ----------- 18lb ----------------------- 260.8lb -------------- 1 May -------------------- 260.8lb -------------------- 242.8lb

IsabellaP84 ------------- 20lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

hannahj914 ------------- 20lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

JWL08 ------------------ 18lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

Abbie-pie --------------- 30lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

poconomom -------------20lb ----------------------- 212lb --------------- 8 May --------------------- 204lb --------------------- 192lb

myturn2bhappy --------- 30lb ---------------------- 288lb ---------------- 1 May --------------------- 288lb --------------------- 258lb

DM Chef ---------------- 20lb ---------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? ------------------------- ?

FutureSize10 ------------ 25lb ---------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? ------------------------- ?

doodlebug11 ------------ 20lb ---------------------- 207lb --------------- 1 May ---------------------- 209lb-------------------- 187lb

tcbgirl ------------------- 15lb ---------------------- 202.8lb ------------- 1 May --------------------- 202.8lb --------------------187.8lb

twinmamma1130 -------- 20lb ---------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? ------------------------- ?

mi_illusion_st ----------- 15lb --------------------- 211.6lb ---------------- 1 May --------------------- 211.6lb----------------- 196.6lb

Babygirl_68 -------------- 20lb ---------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? ------------------------- ?

kittygirl ------------------ 22lb --------------------- 203lb ------------------ 1 May ---------------------- 203lb ------------------- 181lb

jukeBox81782 ----------- 40lb ---------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May ---------------------- ? ------------------------- ?

Losing for me ----------- 20lb ---------------------- 189lb ---------------- 1 May ---------------------- 189lb --------------------169lb

early -------------------- 15lb ---------------------- 202lb ------------------- 1 May --------------------- 202lb -------------------- 187lb

lapband-AP-redo -------- 20lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May ---------------------- ? ------------------------- ?

pottergirl----------------- 20lb----------------------- 280lb ---------------- 1 May---------------------- 280lb -------------------- 260lb

shakia90 ---------------- 20lb ----------------------- 285lb ---------------- 1 May --------------------- 285lb -------------------- 265lb

txdj --------------------- 20lb------------------------ 205lb ---------------- 7 May --------------------- 195lb --------------------185lb

ThinWithin -------------- 27.4lb --------------------- 297.4lb -------------- 8 May --------------------- 297.4lb ------------------ 270lb

help1977 ----------------20lb----------------------- 251.8lb ---------------- 1 May -------------------- 248.2lb ------------------- 231.8lb

vcatalina1 -------------- 20lb------------------------ 255lb ------------------1 May -------------------- 240lb --------------------- 220lb

Auddie ----------------- 20lb------------------------ ? -----------------------1 May ------------------- ? --------------------------?

lapbandgirl2009 -------- 25lb ---------------------- 259lb ------------------- 1 May ------------------- 259lb --------------------- 234lb

swkrp ------------------ 20lb ---------------------- 219lb ------------------- 1 May ------------------- 199lb --------------------- 234lb

Shellynnrn --------------20lb ---------------------- 260lb--------------------1 May ------------------- 260lb-----------------------240lb

kath17268 -------------15lb ----------------------- 236lb--------------------1 May ------------------- 232lb ------------------------ 221lb

knighmo -------------- 25lb --------------------- 298lb -------------------- 4 May-------------------- 298lb ------------------- 273lb

jannyboo -------------- 29lb -------------------- 219lb ---------------------1 May ------------------- 219lb ------------------- 190lb

lilith ------------------ 20lb -------------------- 249lb---------------------6 May ------------------- 249lb ------------------- 229lb

Ooh, I'm gonna start weighing in with you guys here. I'm 287 today. Was 313.4 before the pre-op diet (which I started 4/20) for a total of 26.4 lbs. I think it's 6 pounds for the week but I can't remember for sure what my exact number was last Fri.

I think starting mushies and getting back to the gym helped me out. My metabolism needed a boost. I fear my body was going into starvation mode.

It's strange because right after surgery I was still losing really fast. lost 10# before during my 1 week pre-op diet, 10# During the 6 adys post-op and then bam! I haven't lost anything in the week since. It's a bit of a bummer to me as well. I understand some people not losing before their fill because they have no restriction, but I still ahve great restriction and am on liquids only consuming about 500-600cals per day. I think the problem is that my body is actually going into starvation mode. I know I shouldn't get my expectations up too hight but it's hard not to expect to lose weight when you're hardly eating anything.

Hi guys. Just got banded by Dr. G last week. So far I'm doing good. Still very sore around my port site. I have to admit that I gave in to temptation today and ate something non-liquid even though I'm only a week out. I had an egg but I made it really runny and took about 40 minutes to get it down. I didn't have any problems tolerating it but it wasn't nearly good as I expected. My heads back in the game now though and it's back to full liquids for 1 more week.

My doc will use both but only of someone really insists on the Realize. his default is the Lap-band. He feels they're just made better. He showed me both of them and just looking at them I could see the difference. The inflatable part on the realize didn't look as sturdy to me at all. But he will use it as will a lot of other docs so it must still be a good choice. He just felt that the lap-band was a better one and I could see why.

I'll remind you. And I'll try and catch the show as well. Sounds interesting.

Here wer go...My first weight loss challenge since being banded. I decided to be a rebel and set m sights high. I raised my goal from 30 to 35#

:thumbup: Bunny Banster's July 4th Challenge

Bunny's name ------ Bunny's target loss --- Bunny's start weight --- Current date --- Bunny's Current weight --- Bunny's target July 4 weight

PharmaGirl ----------------- 20lb --------------------- 276lb ---------------- 1 May --------------------- 276lb ---------------------- 256lb

NY Lady -------------------- 20lb --------------------- 253lb ---------------- 1 May --------------------- 253lb ---------------------- 233lb

Lingling--------------------- 20lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

JayTee---------------------- 20lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

MrsMitch -------------------- 20lb -------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

ALuv82---------------------- 35lb ------------------ 297.5 -------------------- 1 May ------------------- 297.5 ------------------------ 262.5

Band_Groupie -------------- 15lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

Kaner ----------------------- 20lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

Scoobydoo ------------------ 25lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

TerriLynne ------------------ 15lb --------------------- 296 -------------------- 1 May --------------------- 296 -------------------------- 281

Hopeful41411 --------------- 18lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

IsabellaP84 ----------------- 20lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

Hannah Jay ----------------- 20lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

JWL08 ---------------------- 18lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

Abbie-pie ------------------- 30lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

Poconomom -----------------20lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

myturn2Bhappy ------------- 30lb --------------------288 ------------------ 1 May --------------------288--------------------258

DMChef --------------------- 20lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

FutureSize10 ---------------- 25lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

Doodlebug11 ---------------- 20lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

tcbgirl ----------------------- 15lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

twinmamma1130 ------------ 20lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

mi_illusion_st ----------------15lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

kittygirl --------------------- 22lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

JukeBox81782 -------------- 40lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

Losing for me -------------- 20lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

Early ----------------------- 15lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

labbandgirl2009 ------------ 25lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ?

Pottergirl------------------- 20lb--------------------- 280lb ----------------- 30 April------------------- 280lb ------------------- 260lb

shakia90 ------------------ 20lb --------------------- ? ---------------------1 May --------------------- ? --------------------------- ?

txdj ----------------------- 20lb---------------------- ? ---------------------1 May --------------------- ? --------------------------- ?

ThinWithin ------------------20lb---------------------- ? ---------------------1 May --------------------- ? --------------------------- ?

Help1977-----------------20lb----------------------251.8-------------------1 May----------------------251.8-------------------231.8

Hi ,

I was banded on 4/23/2009 on 4/27/2009 i walked around my complex for 30mins. Yesterday i did the treandmill for about 50mins at 2.8-2.5 speed. I had been working out 5x a week before the band and could do the treandmill at 4.2 but now i can even make it to 3.0. I had some major back pain after the treandmill so i will do walking arround the complex. The walking helped me pass the gass the whole night last night and i am lossing! 12lbs since surgery 60 prior!

I was only banded Monday, so so far I haven't done too much. My street goes in a circle and one lap is just under 3/4 of a mile. I walked in once lsat night and twice so far today. Before surgery I worked out at the gym with a trainer 2x/week plus tried to do cardio at least 1 additional time. I hope to get back to that soon. They told me after my 2 week check up I could probably get back to the gym for cardio but I couldn't start lifting for 4-6 weeks.

Hi ALuv82, nice to meet someone who was banded the same day as me and also lives in New York. I'm also glad to hear that you are doing well so far. I was only in the hospital overnight...came home on Tuesday morning. I don't think the weight on the scale is Water weight since I haven't had that much water in the last few days. I find it very difficult to get down the 6-8 cups of water that is recommended daily. I'm working on it though. Logically, I know I haven't gained 4 pounds since I was weighed at the hospital (I was 281 on surgery day) but its still frustrating to see it on my home scale.

Today I am really feeling the "port pain" that everyone mentions. I wasn't really sure where the port was after surgery but I know now.

I'm not too worried about not being that interested in food just yet...I wish I could stay this way!

The water weight isn't from drinking water, it's from IV fluids in the hospital. I understand your frustration though.

Where did you get banded? I was banded by Dr. Geiss in Syosset.

I was banded on Monday...today is the most painful by far. I think it might be because I kept rolling onto my stomach while sleeping. Not hungry at all which I am relieved about since I was constantly hungry during the 2-week pre-op phase...just trying my best to stay hydrated. I'm not walking as much as I should be...gas pain hasn't been too bad.

I honestly can't believe that this goal I've been trying to acheive for 5 years has finally been reached. Now looking forward to getting through liquid and mushy phases and starting to lose weight in earnest!

Speaking of weight...I haven't eaten a single thing in 4 days and my caloric intake has easily been less than 400 cals a day and yet scale shows I've gained weight. What gives?

I'm glad to hear things are going well so far. I was also banded Monday. I'm doing pretty good but I'm rpetty sore around my port which gave me trouble tring to sleep last night. There is some gas pain but it's minimal. I am also not interested in food at all. The nurse told me I could start full liquids the first day I woke up in my own bed which was today, but the dietician who spoke to me before discharge yesterday said 24-48 hours on Clear Liquids, which means today or tomorrow. I'm not quite feeling up to full liquids yet. I had to force myself to eat my Italian ice this morning. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel more up to putting stuff in my stomach.

As for not losing any weight the last couple of days, how long were you in the hospital for? I was over night and got at least a few liters of fluids during that time which could add some weight. I also noticed some differences between different scales I was on. The scale at the hospital was more than 5 pounds less than my scale at home.

I wouldn't worry about it took much. The weight will come back off in no time.

Hey guys! I finally got my band yesterday. Everything went pretty smoothly. In fact, the Dr. said I did "perfectly." My surgeon has everyone spend one night in hospital. He banded 4 other patients yesterday and it looked like I had the easiest immediate recovery of all of them. I hope the rest o my recovery period goes as smoothly. I'm feeling a little blah today. Tired, and my incisions and port site hurt. But I was able to walk my dog almost 3/4 of a mile, so I can't be doing too badly. If any of you out there are interested, I wrote an in depth blog entry on exactly what the whole experince was like from getting to the hospital yesterday until I left today. I know everyone's experiences are different and each surgeon does it a little differently but might be helpful to those of you who are yet to be banded so you have an idea of what willl happen.

Hope all of you who are banded are doing well and good luck to those of you still waiting.

-Lauren

I was only banded yesterday but I'm still in quite a bit of pain. I am considering myself lucky; 4 other patients were banded by my surgeon yesterday and I was doing the best of any of them in the hosp. I was able to walk almost 3/4 of a mile today, albeit very slowly. But I can't see myself off the pain pills by tomorrow. I hope I'm as lucky as you've been, but if not, I'm still happy with where I am.

So I had my surgery yesterday. Everything went well. In fact, the doctor told my parents it went "perfectly." Recovery wasn't too bad either, once I got over the crying thing I was doing as I woke up. I was walking laps around the unit less than 2 hours after I finished surgery and I'm sure I could have done it sooner, if I didn't have a bunch of visitors. I wrote a detailed blog about the experince if there are any April bandsters left out there still to be banded and the want to read it, or even if you've already been banded and just want to compare experiences.

I've been in bed since I got home this afternoon, so I think it's time to take the doggy for a short walk. Hope everyone's doing well with their new bands.

-Lauren

Hey. I'm sorry to hear about your scare, but it wounds like everything is going to be alright. That's a relief. Here's wishing you feel better soon.

-Lauren

Well the nutritionist that my surgeon uses told me to use the Medi-fast shakes you order online so I just got those and figured I'll have to sweat it out if I don't like it.

I have to disagree however with whoever it was who said that getting Protein in isn'tt hat big of a deal right now. Yes, out bodies have plenty of nutrients to utilize already but not matter how much you way your body can NOT synthasize Protein. If you don't get enough all it can do it break down the protein already in our body (ie muscle). I would much rather be breaking down fat at this point and the more mucle I have the easier that is to do. So make sure whatever you choose has plenty of protein in it.

Maybe I'm being overly ambitious here since everyone else seems to be sticking to 20# but I'm gonna go out on a limb.

Bunny Bandster's July 4th Challenge

Bunny's name ------ Bunny's target loss --- Bunny's start weight --- Current date --- Bunny's Current weight --- Bunny's target July 4 weight

PharmaGirl ----------------- 20lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ?-------------------------- ?

NYLady --------------------- 20lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May ----------------------? ------------------------- ?

Lingling---------------------20lb (9kg)----------------?-----------------------1 May ----------------------?------------------------?

JayTee---------------------20lb ----------------?-----------------------1 May ----------------------?------------------------?

MrsMitch ----------------- 20lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ?-------------------------- ?

ALuv82----------------- 30lb --------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ?-------------------------- ?

I wouldn't say I'm having second thoughts, but I am starting to freak-out a bit. I'm not so much scared about the surgery as I am about how m life is going to change after and whether or not I'll be able to pull it off.

Hey! You're getting banded the same days as me. I also have a pre-op diet but it's only for 1 week, not two. I definitely get what you mean by emotions being all over the place. It's very exciting but defniitely nerve-wracking too. :thumbup:

Technically speaking predinisone does not make you gain weight. It is a stress hormone that actually causes your body to redistribute fat from your limbs to your belly area. This happens because it's preparing your body long term for fight or flight--skinnier limbs makes it easier to run. Steroids such as prednisone will actually have a net fat burning effect. HOWEVER, as stated above, it significantly increases your hunger and your thirst. It's medicinally induced stress eating to the max. You will probably be drinking a ton and peeing a ton. You may retain a bit of Water. A lot of it depends on your does. I wouldn't worry too much about it. In the long term 10 days of steroids isn't going to have a big impact.

Hey everyone. I'm getting banded by Dr. G April 27th--3 weeks from tomorrow. I'm super excited. I'm also really nervous because I've never had anesthesia before. Anyhow, just wanted to introduce myself. I'm sure I'll be seeing some of you in the monthly support meetings.

Hey everyone. I'm having my surgery April 27th. I see a lot of people have to do their pre-op diets for 2 weeks but mine is only for 1 week. That means I have 2 more weeks of "pre" pre-op dieting to go. I haven't really made any changes yet but I do want to start pre-paring myself for some of the behavioral changes I'm going to have to make. For those of you who have been banded already, what did ou do prior to surgery to prepare yourself for the changes to come? What do you wish you'd better prepared yourself for? I know one major thing I'm going to have to work on in the next couple of weeks is weaning myself off diet soda. Any other advice?

Hey. I've had my surgery date for a couple weeks now but I've been waiting on official approval from the insurance company and now I have it. April 27th is my big day. I'm really excited but really nervous too. I've never been on the recieving end of anesthesia before. Still, I can't wait to get started on the path to a new me.

Hey guys. I'm on my way to getting banded. I don't have a date yet, still have to finish all my Dr.'s appts/consults, but hopefully I'll be able to set the date soon.

I've got a question for all of you who have been banded already. Where did your surgeon put your port? Can you tell it's there when you feel the area over it? Can anybody actually see theirs? My Dr.'s PA was telling me that in some people they can actually see it a little after they've lost a lot of weight. I know that's better than lots of fat, but it still kind of weirds me out.

Also, I know it's not the same, but my mother has a pace maker and she said sometimes it bothers her when she lies on it or moves a certain way. Has anyone had anything like that with their port?

Hi KC. Through my research I know of a few good surgeons on LI so I'd be happy to give my advice. Originally my PCP had highly reccomended Dr. Ahmad at Mather Hospital in Port Jeff. I was going to try and use him but unfortunately he wasn't covered by my insurance. So I called up my insurance company and had them give me a list of names in the area that took my insurance, that's probably a good way to start. Then I cross referenced those names with my research. Dr. Gabriel from St. Catherine's of Sienna in Smithtown is supposed to be very good as well. Dr. Braithwaite in Patchogue is also very good. The last two however I had to wait a while to get appointments and in that time I went to see Dr. Geiss out in Syosset. He's a little far from me but I liked him a lot at our initial consult and he's very experienced. He's done almost 3000 lap-band procedures which is more than anyone else in the North East.

So anyhow, I would recommend checking out any of those Dr.'s depending on where on LI you are and who accepts your insurance. Good luck and let me know if I can help anymore, although I'm not much further along than you are right now.