isaviolinist

I just started seeing a therapist for binge eating disorder. Its such a hard thing to recover from. I'm starting to learn that beating myself up never works. So try not to be too hard on yourself and just like you said, get back on track tomorrow! Also, congrats on losing 90 pounds so far!! Amazing and you should feel great about it

Congrats! You should feel so good about it! I bet you feel so much better too!

I don't live near you but I'm always there to help if you just need someone to talk to about working out, bounce ideas off of,etc. I also sometimes need motivation to workout and I'm always thinking of different work out ideas to keep it interesting. Feel free to send me a message if you feel like it!

I lost 3 pounds from last week. Earlier in the week I was down to 203.2 but I think it was a false low, and so yesterday I was at 205.8 which is what I logged in the spreadsheet. When I got to 203.2 last Thursday or Friday, I felt like I was really looking forward to putting a -5 or -6 on the spreadsheet on Monday, but I'm trying to be fine with the -3. I'm out so I can't check the spreadsheet but I hope it didn't get erased I wish there was a way to prevent that - it seems to happen regularly.

I have thoughts like that as well. I would never in my wildest dreams go up to someone and say it, but I certainly think it. My thought process is kind of "Wow, I totally know what its like to be there and to feel hopeless about my weight...that ill always be fat. Hopefully they'll figure something out - whether its surgery or diet and exercise or therapy...I just hope they find a way to get through it". But as the above poster said, I wouldn't ever say it. Btw, we were banded around the same time

I've been having some food issues lately too - just cant seem to control myself. We should try to not beat ourselves up about it. I think when we beat ourselves up it makes it worse. Yay for getting back on track!

I know that it REALLY varies from person to person, but I lost 14 pounds in the first month after surgery. I had lost 20 pounds prior to surgery on a 3 week liquid preop diet.

Nice!! Congrats! Thats such a great feeling Last night I put on a dress that I had ordered in July. When I got it it was SO tight that it just looked unacceptable...I could barely zip it up. Now its borderline too big. I'm going to Hawaii in a week and a half and I think I'm going to try and get one wear out of it, but then that will probably be the end of it Congrats on the NSV!

I have thought about an eventual revision after I get to my goal with the band (I'm not having complications with my band, but the thought of having a foreign object in me forever makes me nervous...plus I really dislike getting adjustments). I won't do it until I get to goal (unless there is some problem before then). I would probably revise to sleeve (or plication once there is more research on it). I don't like the idea of malabsorption and I'm also not sure how that would work with getting pregnant (would you be able to absorb enough nutrients for both you and a baby? not sure...). Dumping syndrome doesn't sound that fun to me. If I had to do it tomorrow, I'd probably go with the sleeve.

Oh thats cool - I had no idea! Definitely good to know if we don't like something that we buy. I don't eat meat, but my fiance does and they have USDA Prime and USDA Choice there. So instead of buying meat at whole foods (which is the same USDA Choice that they have at Costco) I'll just buy it for him at Costco. I know they also have some organic meat too which is great. And I get my Fiber gummies there now too. I probably won't cancel my Sam's membership yet because in my hometown, there isn't a Costco, just a Sam's (which is why were members there, as are my parents). But if Costco ever comes to town, I'm sure we'll also cancel our Sam's membership (my parents also like Costco much better).

I just looked up the nutrition facts for Olive Garden out of sheer curiosity and it looks like if you get the Apricot Chicken lunch portion theres only 280 calories which is very reasonable! If you can eat half of the Chicken scampi lunch portion, it would be about 370 calories it looks like. Some of the soups also like relatively low cal (if you wanted to do soup and salad or something).

Congrats!! Get lots of rest today! You're going to do great! Come back and update us when you can

I'm not having the exact same issues as you but I did regain 50 pounds and then re lose it in the past couple of months. It was a real downer when I started re losing as I had to face the fact that I had regained so much weight. But I believe it was a learning experience for me and has made me even stronger in my resolve to lose. It can be that way for you too. While it stinks that you're having band issues (which you should continue to address with your doc), start doing something to get yourself back on track today. Start exercising or logging your food or cutting back on the high calorie foods. Take a walk! I love walking - you burn calories and it doesn't even feel like exercise. If it's too cold outside, it's a great time to walk laps in the mall with all of the holiday displays up. I'm here to help if you need a hand or some advice/motivation to get yourself back on track. The hardest part was restarting my exercise, logging, healthy eating etc. But once you start, it becomes part of your routine and gets easier!

Hey Dave, yep they sell the Premier Protein at Costco - its actually the reason why I joined, primarily. We've belonged to Sam's Club for ages which is where I was getting Muscle Milk but then I found out about Premier Protein from someone on LBT and the nutrition facts are just so much better, so I decided to try it out. I ordered the first case online, really liked it, and then decided to join costco where the cases are cheaper than online and I don't need to pay the 15-20 dollars shipping every time. Anyways, I really LOVE it. Its chocolate, but its not quite as sweet as MM. I really do like the taste and I love that most of the carbs are Fiber, which I need. And on a separate note, I really like Costco. We're still members at Sam's Club but I think Costco has higher quality items. Definitely glad we joined!

I track calories pretty anally. I use a combination of calorie tracking and measuring/weighing. 3/2 would never work for me as I do have Snacks at night (Im working on controlling this better through therapy, but its hard) and so if I'm going to have them, I'll at least stop when I run out of calories (the band doesn't help me with the snacks). I also don't eat Breakfast. My first meal is at noon and its a Protein shake because I generally can't eat much that early in the day. So I would have to fit 3 actual meals in starting at noon with 3/2 which I probably wouldn't be able to do. When I don't track calories and just wing it, I go WAY overboard since its easy for me to not think about what I eat when I dont track it. I don't specifically do low carb or anything but when I eat non-grain protein my carbs are usually not crazy high (under 50 a day or so maybe? Sometimes snacks make it higher...Im not overly focused on it but I do try to eat quality carbs/grains) and I usually eat anywhere between 70-100g of protein a day. I do 2 hours of cardio and cross training 6 days a week and some light exercise (walking or 30 minutes on the elliptical) on the 7th day, just to give my body a little break. When I'm really on track and following my plan for calories (850-950 a day), I lose an average of 3.5-3.9 pounds a week. Obviously that will probably change the more weight that I lose as you burn fewer calories during the day the lighter you are, but so far I'm happy with the way its going. I have heard that 3/2 (or at least not eating at night) can boost metabolism. If I start having problems with metabolism or just being tired, I may try to not eat at night (although right now, even if I wake up at 6AM and don't go to sleep until 11 or midnight, I still have trouble falling asleep). As I get a handle on my food addiction, that may become a reality (I would love to be able to really CHOOSE to not to eat, instead of feeling panicked and like I NEED to eat). Interesting thread.

The timeline depends on so many different things including surgeon, office/program, insurance type, how booked up your surgeon is, how fast you can get in for preop testing, etc. I was banded at a "BCBS Bariatric Center of Excellence" so it didn't take anytime for me to get approved. My surgeon had a relationship with BCBS so the approval was almost automatic. I can't remember all of the preop tests/appointments but there were a lot, including 2 sleep studies, dietician, psych, pulmonary/lung, anesthesia, ultrasound, upper gi, group nutrition session, etc. There may have been a few others, but I can't remember now, but as I said, the amount and type of testing varies with each doctor/program. I went to an intro seminar at the end of April I think and had surgery mid-June. So a little less than 2 months? My surgery was also postponed for a week (long story...it was originally scheduled for June 11 2009). I probably could've done it faster but I was in grad school and needed to wait until I graduated to have the surgery. I started my preop diet right after graduation basically. Luckily, you've already taken care of the 6 month diet which some insurance company's require. So that will knock a big chunk of time off of your "wait time".

Congrats on your 2nd bandiversary and your awesome success!! 113 pounds is amazing! Definitely inspirational

Isn't having energy and endurance at the gym the greatest thing? I love it too. Congrats on that awesome NSV!

I joined a fitness center in September which helps me monitor my fat loss vs. muscle loss (every 6 weeks they do a body composition where they take skin folds to determine my body fat percentage, how much fat mass I've lost, how much muscle mass I've lost, etc). Its inevitable that you'll lose some muscle mass as you lose weight because your body doesn't need to maintain all that muscle mass to function. But if you work out and monitor it with a trainer (or some kind of fitness practitioner), they can help you design a plan to maximize your muscle gain (although you'll lose some) and fat loss.

I used to drink Unjury for the first month or two postop, but now I drink Premier Protein shakes (160 calories, 5g carbs (3g of fiber), 30g protein). I drink one for lunch around noon. I still think the taste is good in Unjury shakes but I really like the taste of the Premier Protein (until I started drinking these I also drank Muscle Milk which I also liked the taste of). I think, even more than the taste, its just the convenience of being able to grab the shake out of the fridge and not mess around with blenders and things. Plus I don't need to order it online - I can go to costco and just pick up a case.

I was going everyday but it was difficult and sometimes it was really hard. So I started eating fiber gummies (4 a day approx) and it has REALLY helped. I don't really have problems with BMs lately. 4 days seems long. Maybe try adding fiber (or a supplement lime the gummies) to your diet? With all the focus on protein, sometimes bandsters don't get enough fiber.

You have a great attitude! Stick to your preop instructions and you'll do great the preop diet was not that fun, but I used the weightloss to motivate me to stick with it. Congrats on your upcoming surgery - you're going to do great!

I LOVE bariatric eating. When I can't decide what I want to make for dinner, its my goto website for recipes. I also love reading all the blogs that I follow. Its great hearing the experiences of others.

Glad you found LBT! I've found that it's such a great tool for keeping me accountable (along with blogging and logging all my food). So stick around - this site can be a great tool to aid you in your journey with your band and to better health. Congrats on your upcoming surgery! It'll be here before you know it.

Congrats on your surgery! Glad you are feeling better:) stick around LBT. It's a great resource. Welcome!