Melissannde

Mine isn't due for renewal until 2013, but might have to have it done sooner.. I look very little like my picture since -180 lbs. I've talked to others who've had problems because they changed so much.. Police & Airport Security didn't want to accept the ID.

An even more calorie economical drink would be Syntrax nectar. 90 calories, 0 carbs, and 23 grams of Protein. Anything above 25 grams is probably a waste of protein as our bodies cannot process more at one time. Syntrax can be ordered through netrition.com or their site, si03.com. If you've never tried Syntrax before, they used to have an awesome deal on sample packs.. you got 14 different flavors for 14$. But you must write to Syntrax and ask about samples. Don't recall the email addie, I got it from somewhere on their site. The sample menu is not bad, but I notice it says things like "tuna or sardines", "piece of chicken".. those are vague amounts. Are you weighing or measuring your food? For best results I suggest doing so. You don't have to be fancy, I use an old scale I bought years ago to help me estimate postage costs when I was selling things on eBay. It's not the most accurate in the world, but does the job just fine. If your doctor didn't specify how much to eat, you might want to call and ask or ask the nutritionist. My doctor says 3oz of protein and 1/2 cup veggies. We are allowed more veggies (provided no butter or other high calorie sauce) if still hungry. If you can't weigh/measure for some reason.. protein should be about the size of a deck of cards, veggies about the size of a tennis ball. If the funds are available, consider purchasing a HR Monitor or something like a fitbit or bodymedia or bodybugg. Consumer reports just recently did a very short article/evaluation of Heart Rate Monitors. I have a Polar FT-7 that works pretty well for me. I can now tell if I've been active enough during the day or if I need to "kick it up a notch". One last point.. the scale is not the end all and be all of our weight loss. Sometimes what the BMI tables say we should weigh is just not realistic. The BMI is not adjusted for sex, age or level of fitness. If I was going by the BMI, I should weigh a maximum of 149 .. I would look SICK at that weight. I am 53, and am 5' 5". My primary goal is to be near where you are now.. in the 170's. Once I reach there, then I will consider setting a lower one. That bring to mind another tool or way to approach this: set very small, very attainable goals. Work on losing 3, 4 or 5lbs (whatever seems attainable). When you get there, have a non-food celebration (manicure? movie without kids? buy yourself something pretty?) and then set your next mini-goal. I have a weekly goal set up at stickk.com. Cute site where you can make a wager with yourself, it can be monetary or not as you please. I was talking to a trainer yesterday about scales and numbers and he was telling me that it's not so much weight that matters, but inches. He said when he starts training someone, that he tells them to go and buy an item of clothing 2 sizes too small. At the end of training, the item should fit. May I suggest you take your measurements today (before exercising.. activity makes our bodies swell some) and take notes of time of day, weight and what you are wearing. In a month repeat the process. I'll bet you will have lost inches even if you haven't lost weight. Also view this blog. She's not a bandster, but look at what changes she's made.. and her weight is still the same (or just about): http://www.sparkpeop...blog_id=3926473 The 2 lbs you say you have gained may be anything from too much sodium, the scale in a different place, your cycle, different clothing.. any number of variables. 2 lbs is not to worry about. If you were to see my weight loss plotted on a graph, it looks like rick-rack.. a downward sloping rick-rack, but rick-rack none the less. Hang in there!! Hope this helps,

Call your surgeon in the AM and ask if you can have immodium. Yes, diarrhea or very loose stools are not uncommon while on liquids. Please consult your doc before taking any medication or changing your diet

Amanda, I totally understand you being shy or feeling like everyone will stare at you. But believe me, the people at the gym are not there to judge, they're there to work on their own issues. I only started going to my gym when it started raining so much that my dogs refused to go for a walk (and truthfully I didn't want to walk in the rain either). I paid for a weeks membership at a time.. and just used the treadmill. After I had been going for a few weeks, one of the trainers started talking to me and offered to show me some things to help me. And it bloomed from there, I worked with her off and on for nearly a year before she decided to go into business for herself. I'd still use her if she was closer, but since her new site is a 20+ mile drive.. I'm dealing with local folks instead.. but I miss her. In fact, we became such good friends that a few of us who had worked with her for a while went to her house for lunch last week!! Had a great time. She even did lettuce wraps for me cause she knew bread is an issue for me. So sweet. Trainers by nature are usually "people persons", they have to be good at interpersonal communications and at being sensitive if they're going to be in this line of work for very long. One other thing that you might ask when you're interviewing trainers is whether they have any experience with working with the obese or formerly obese. I was at a WLS conference not too long ago and one of the speakers was a trainer who specialized in working with Obese people.. those who had had WLS and those who had not. She said there are techniques/exercises that are less likely to put strain on our joints, and yet still get good results. You go girl.. don't let fear stop you! You can do this!!

Not a breast cancer, but an endometrial cancer survivor. I chose banding for the exact same reason.. if cancer should ever return I didn't want to have to deal with malabsorption during treatment. My best wishes to you and everyone who's fighting this nasty beast.

Honk, I don't know what restriction is.. I eat my 3oz & 1/2 cup of veggies and stop (most of the time.. not perfect). Couple of things to consider, 1) people who start at a larger weight will lose faster, esp. in the beginning. 2) 1 lb a week is a nice steady pace. I know it's frustrating not to lose faster. When my weight loss slowed last May, I started getting frustrated. I had to start taking monthly measurements to keep myself encouraged. In fact, I talked to a professional trainer yesterday and he was telling me, it's not necessarily about the number on the scale.. it's also on how things fit. He said when he started working with someone he encourages them to go out and buy one or two items of clothing 2 sizes too small.. by the time he's through working with them, they should fit. If you're doing the same thing all the time, you may need to change things up a bit. Our bodies become accustomed to routine in everything.. sleeping, food, exercise. Change the amount of calories you eat. I had to up mine recently to get the loss started again. Change what you do for exercise, or increase intensity if you can. This might also be inspirational. A blog over at sparkpeople.. the blogger isn't a bandster, but you can see the changes in her body from exercise, but VERY little weight change: http://www.sparkpeop...blog_id=3926473

At the risk of being considered a this was in the "shrink yourself" newsletter recently. It's referring to making yourself exercise, but could be extrapolated to any type of motivation.You're on track with #2, asking for an accountability buddy. Some simple tips that you can use to tame your rebellious self and exercise more are: setting small goals, enlisting a buddy, and not waiting until you feel like exercising. 1. Set Small Goals - You can commit to five minutes of exercise a day or one exercise session a week. Only when you've met that goal for a few weeks should you add more. This leads to a feeling of success instead of failure. 2. Enlist a Buddy - Making a date to exercise with a friend can make a huge difference. You help each other stay accountable and it's more fun. 3. Don't Wait Till You Feel Like It-You may never feel like exercising so it's better to just put it on a calendar and do it like any other necessary responsibility. http://www.shrinkyou...om/join_now.asp

When I was first banded we had girl scout thin mints in the freezer. The boxes would sometimes fall out when I was looking for veggies to cook.. I'd throw them back in and tell them "get thee behind me Satan" LOL

I eat Bob's Red Mill Oatmeal with 1/4 of an apple cut up into it almost every morning. I have no issues with constipation because of this. Yes, add more veggies and fresh fruits to your diet. Hope you feel better soon.

If you advanced your diet on your own, please contact your doctor and talk to them about it. It might be ok, and then again, they may have very good reasons for you to stay on their plan. We don't know your health history, but your surgeon does (or should). I agree that what you're eating doesn't sound too awful, but I was on soft solids at your point, not grilled chicken. Pretty standard for our weight to bounce around a bit as we change our eating. Make sure you're getting at least 64oz of Water (or other very low calorie fluids ~ I aim for 10 calories or less per 16oz~) a day and up your activity a bit from what you're accustomed to doing. When I graph my weight loss over time, it is not a solid slope downward, but somewhat of a rick-rack effect. But it is overall a downward slope. Keep on keeping on.. it will work if you follow most of the guidelines most of the time.

Mine has varied from 4lbs a week at the beginning (after getting back on regular food.. during the immediate post-op phase I didn't lose hardly any at all) to 1 lb or less a week. When I look at the weight loss over time in a graph, it's all down hill, but sometimes the slope is steeper than others. From Jan. 1 to Jan 31st of this year I went from 213 to 201. 12 lbs in 28 days (not counting the days I weighed on either side) is 3lbs a week. Pretty awesome for this far out, but I started a bootcamp program on the 17th, so that's probably the reason.

DaVinci makes a sugar free peanut butter syrup. I use it in my coffee along with the sugar free chocolate.. tastes like drinking a reeses cup.

Not everyone thinks caffeine is dehydrating.. at least not in "normal" amounts. I'd tend to believe Mayo Clinic (link follows) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661cad=rja

I use a polar HR monitor. Mine is the FT-7. consumer reports just did a short review of HR monitors, you might can look it up online. I find that the online calculators aren't very accurate. YMMV

Yes, I still had lots of discomfort or pain at 2 & 3 weeks out. I remember commenting to my husband that I had new empathy for people with chronic pain disorder. I spent a lot of time in bed or in the recliner, sitting upright hurt! Hang in there, it will eventually get better. I have very little band related pain these days.

I've never had so much of an unfill, but I did have a tiny one back last spring. I pushed through the increased hunger with lots of fluids. Best wishes to you.

Sounds pretty good. Suggest substituting PLAIN (not flavored) low or no fat greek yogurt for the FF sour cream. Tastes almost the same and more protein.

I live in a small town where prices are MUCH better. The trainer I used to use was $25 a session or I could buy a package of 5 sessions for $100.00 Occassionally they'd have specials of 6 sessions for 100.00. I only did personal training once a week, but I also attended classes at my gym the other 5 days a week. The trainer was to help me focus on specific areas and to help me learn to use the machines in the weight room. 2 days a week might be enough, if you continue to do other stuff (cardio) on your own.. or take a class that is cardio in nature.. ie: spin/rpm, zumba, step. My gym has trainers. You want someone who has some kind of certification. I don't know a lot about how trainers are certified, but the one I was using (she's recently retired.. ) had certification from The Cooper Institute. http://www.cooperinstitute.org/index.cfm

Hang in there with the Body Pump, it does get easier. The current release is pretty intense. If you're just starting working with weights, make sure you're not attempting too much weight too fast. Also the trainers at my gym say not to do weights more often than every other day. UNLESS you are only doing one part of the body one day and another the next. With BP you're doing the whole body, so you need at least a day off between classes. If you're having muscle cramps, make sure you're getting plenty of Water and Calcium. I try to drink a quart of Powerade ZERO as well as my 2 quarts of water a day when I'm pumping. If it's just soreness, keep going to class and talk to the instructor. They may have some suggestions. As to what I do? I started after surgery by only walking my dog. Started with small distances and worked up to walking 2 miles a day. Rains came, my dog hates walking in the rain.. so I went to a gym to use their treadmill. Luckily this gym was very flexible on membership.. can pay by day, week, month, whatever works for you. I eventually got brave enough to try some classes. Now, almost 2 years from banding, I take: Yoga/Pilates (combined class); Body Pump, RPM (similar to SPIN.. stationary bike class to music), Step (similar to Body Combat, but not a Les Mills product), Zumba and am currently doing a 11 week boot camp on top of my regular workouts. When I'm not doing boot camp, I often hire a trainer for once a week workouts. I'm still over 200 in weight, but I don't look it because I'm getting toned while losing. I can't lift as much weight as some others due to joint issues, I also can't do all of the moves in Zumba.. again.. joint issues. I do what I can and reap the rewards.

Not sure, mine started working pretty much immediately. I did have to use someone's filters, there's a link to some filters here: http://adblockplus.org/en/ This short video is helpful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNvb2SjVjjI

get an ad blocker and you won't see the ads. I have adblock plus for firefox. works great.

I was terribly out of shape when I was banded. All I did for exercise after I felt good enough to do something ( I was a slow recoverer ) was walk. My schnauzer and I walked every day.. and each day I'd go just a few steps further. I eventually got to where we were walking a mile or two every day. Did that for 7 months (and lost 100lbs ) until the rains drove me to the gym b/c my dog hates walking in the rain. You don't have to do traditional exercise either.. it can be ballroom dancing, square dancing, bike riding, hanging clothes on the line, cleaning house.. as long as you're moving MORE than you used to move.. it counts. I even sometimes unload the silverware from the dishwasher one fork at a time, so I get extra walking in.

I think I'd call my Gyn. It may be nothing but stress and adjustment from surgery, but then again, some of those symptoms, taken together, sound a bit worrisome.

Good post Cleo's Mom. This is actually about how I went about things pre-op and post-op (once past the healing phase). I was not put on a pre-op diet so I wasn't weaned off the white carbs.. I did it slowly and it wasn't difficult because I was gentle with myself. I didn't use exactly the things you list, but close enough.

www.bariatriceating.com http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/bariatricrecipes http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/ (RNYer but her stuff should work for us too) http://www.bandfriendlyrecipes.com/ www.cookinglight.com caloriecount.about.com That should get you started. I just look for recipes for whatever I want to cook and make changes to make them higher Protein, lower carb, lower fat. works for me .