btrieger

Don't judge yourself or your goal based on what is posted here! The people that lost a lot of weight are proud to tell you how much they lost and post it. While the others are either not as proud or perhaps a little ashamed. Haven't you noticed the lack of failure stories here when you know there are many? I plan to be one of the proud ones and hopefully you will be too!

If the doctor is not honest with the insurance company, what makes you think he will be any more honest with you. Good luck!

The amount of weight you lose corresponds with the number of calories you burn minus the calories you consume. It is simple math. If you are consuming 14,000 calories a week and only burning 20,000 then you are going to only lose 1 - 2 pounds a week. To speed up the process you're either going to have to burn more; consume less or both. I use the bodybugg to tell me how many calories I am burning and chart everything I eat to know what I am consuming.

Have you considered replacing the ice cream with frozen yogurt? It has only a fraction of the saturated fat. I can't tell the difference but a few people don't think it taste as good as ice cream.

Get a Bodybugg! It measures your calorie output and you enter everything you eat into the web page. It calculate the difference for you. It is working great for me and I am not even banded yet. I am eating about 2,000 calories a day and burning about 4,000 by just walking an hour a day. I am dropping 3 to 4 pounds a week. Counting how many calories I was eating never made sense because I had no clear idea of how many I was burning. Besides that, the Bodybugg is a gadget and as men, we love gadgets. :thumbup:

Also, the doctor will want you to document how many calories you are eating every day and that is easy if you are already entering them for the Bodybugg.

Check out the Bodybugg. It is working wonders for me. I've dropped 37 pounds in 2 months just making sure I burn 1500 more calories than I consume. The Bodybugg tells you what you are burning and you enter what you are eating on their site to calculate how you consume. I honestly have not been hungry. I basically am eating all of the same stuff but have cut portions by about 25% and am walking for about an hour a day at a comfortable pace.

I've lost 37 pounds in the last 2 months and have not been banded yet or gone crazy with diet and exercise. I started at 365 and could probably have dropped close to 100 by now if I worked my butt off and dieted. It all depends on how much you weigh, what gender you are, what type of food you eat and a few other variables. The heaviest people on "The Biggest Loser" drop 60+ pounds in a month and it doesn't seem to be hurting them. In perusing these boards for a couple of months I've calculated the average loss here is 2 lbs a week. That is also what my surgeon said the average was. So, I am guessing the 2 lbs thing is probably for real.

If you found a doctor that will perform it if you are under 500, have you considered trying to lose 50 pounds? If you are fairly active then you may just need to alter your diet slightly. You can eat the same thing, just cut the portions by 25% and see what happens.

Bodybugg's are not sold in stores. You get them from 24 Hour Fitness or BODYBUGG :: WELCOME. I haven't heard of a coupon.

What exercise requirement? I am halfway through my 3 months. Shell and Thunder, are you sure you don't have sleep apnea? That will get you approved.

You get 6 months free with the Bodybugg. After that it is $79.95 for 12 more months or $49.95 for 6.

Meet with the Lapband surgeon and his office will be happy to schedule some of the required stuff for you. The 6 months doesn't start until then, so give them a call soon. Where are you located? You can get some great referals here.

I purposely left that part out. The pots; pans and dishes sit in my sink afterwards for a week :thumbup:

I weigh myself every day and hate myself for doing it. The mornings that I lose a pound or 2 are great but hardly make up for the mornings that I gain a pound or two. Those days are ruined the minute I step on the scale and I am miserable. Thankfully, there ar more losses than gains these days.

The original post is a year and a half old. I wonder how Laura made out.

You don't have to be a "good" cook to make something as simple as chili. Actually, most meals are simple with a little practice and take less than an hour. Give it a shot and let us know how it works out. I'm no organic food nut but if a food contains things I can't pronounce then I try to steer clear of it. :thumbup: Also, if you may find that you enjoy cooking. It can become a hobby and take the place of a bad habit you are trying to give up or take your mind off of the stresses of the day.

It is processed food and you are much better off making your own. You don't have to be a chef and this way you will know exactly what goes into it. Here's a real simple one: Tasty Turkey Chili Recipe

ABSOLUTELY! and I have never complained about it and never will. Management actually show sympathy (perhaps pity) for us because they know we either can't find good fitting, comfortable clothing or it is expensive. I believe the same goes for footwear. I wear sneakers every day because my feet hurt from carrying this extra weight and I haven't had a complaint in 15 or so years. If any of my "fit" coworkers tried it, they would be pulled aside immediately.

I got my Bodybugg last month and it works wonders. I'll be down 100 pounds by the time I get banded. We've all counted calories and wondered what we were doing wrong when the weight wasn't coming off as fast as we thought it should. That is because counting how many calories you consume is basically useless unless you know how many you are burning. The Bodybugg tells you how many calories you are burning and you enter everything you've eaten online. It does the math for you. It's great!!

I looked at by-pass, then the sleeve, then lap band. I decided on the band because I can always have it removed later if it don't work out. The sleeve is still considered experimental by some insurance companies and they won't pay for it. It is permanent whereas the band is not. You have to take a bunch of vitamins for the rest of your life. It is a personal choice and there is plenty of material on the web to do the right research. http://www.sleeveguide.com

Ladies, we DO NOT read minds. If you want to know if we noticed something, ask us :Yawn:

Dawn, Useful forums have people with multiple viewpoints. Not everyone is satisfied with the lapband and I want to hear from those folks as well as those preaching about how great lapband is. After all, this is not happyaboutlapbandtalk.com. Headhunter is coming across extremely arrogant and rude but he is entitled to his opinion and some of us actually want to hear both sides.

Don't have a defeatist attitude. You can do it! You've said how many calories you plan on eating but what about how many you are going to burn? To lose 15 lbs in 25 days, you need to burn about 1800 calories more than you eat each day. It's definitely doable. If you cheat a little on the diet just exercise that much more that day. Don't be upset with yourself if you miss by a few pounds. They probably want to just see that you have the motivation and made the effort.

Kristi, Deciding to have the surgery and carry through with it is a huge step and takes a lot of courage. Your mom is proud of you for being brave and finding ways to tell the world how brave you are. Tell her you appreciate her concern but would be happy if she'd settle down a bit.