ElfiePoo

HB...my husband's nickname for me from the day we met has been "Elf" only he addresses everything to me as W.L. Elf...as in 'World's Largest'...which I will still be at 130 pounds. It'd have to be one large leaf for me to 'lounge' on. You know what...the really horrible before pics make the 'after' pics look even better! I've always had a thing about posting my picture but finally realized that if someone isn't going to like me...or think less of me...because of what I look like...stuff 'em. When we went to Disney, I even put on a swimsuit and went to the pool...saggy elephant thighs and all. .

Congratulations! I think the NSV moments are the best. Even though my scale has been going up and down like a rollercoaster, my body has been reshaping and I'm wearing sizes I haven't worn in 20 years! .

Betsy, Is it the significant weight loss...or how fast you lose it? .

Roxy, Is it possible you don't have enough fill? .

My doctor didn't say anything, but I start most mornings out with either a cup of decaf coffee with half and half or a cup of decaf tea. Lately I've been doing the decaf tea with 1/4 tsp of cinnamon in it. My morning glucose levels tend to be high and the cinnamon helps knock them down to size. .

Congratulations! .

From my date of surgery right up to my overfill I had trouble with any form of eggs. After my unfill and now 2ccs later (.75cc lower than my overfill), I have no problem with eggs. Go figure. I'm scheduled for another 'tweak' of a fill tomorrow, so we'll see after that. .

I don't know if this is going to work, but thought since I'm now down at the same weight as I was in September when the 'new' picture was taken, that I'd post my before and 'in progress' pic. The pic on the left is me at 330 (which I have *never* showed to anyone before). The one on the right is me at 225. Still have a long way to go but I'm still thrilled at the 'lesser' me! I wish I had one standing, but I still love this one because I can see the loss of weight in my face, neck, legs and arms...not to mention the width of my torso! I'm posting this on my refrigerator as motivation. .

Good morning, bandsters. Well it was until I read a post from a 'troll' who apparently is paranoid and thinks I have nothing better to do than follow her around and disagree with her. On the bright side of the morning, my new diet seems to be working. In 5 days I've lost 6 pounds. Now *that* is more like it! This is the type of loss I used to get on Atkins, but for some reason wasn't working this time. After hanging around on some Optimal Diet lists though, I now understand why. Did you know that if you eat too much protein, it can create the same problem carbs do...increased blood glucose levels? Not necessarily a problem for everyone, but can be for diabetics. So now I not only am watching my daily carbs, I'm watching my daily protein. In the space of 5 days, not only have I lost 6 pounds, but I'm now only taking my Lantus in the morning. I've had to discontinue my insulin at meals because my blood sugars are running around 100! Amazing! .

Christie: Zipline? You're more courageous than I am. Rollercoasters are about my limit. Have fun! The boots are a great NSV moment, but a bit of bummer...unless you enjoy the excuse to buy a new pair. Bobbie: Good to see you again! Sorry to hear about the 15 pounds, but glad to hear about the jobs! Melody .

Pointless.

Just curious why you all feel the need for a Medic-alert bracelet for the band? .

Think about it...a drumstick and a couple spoonfuls of vegies. My husband's family has never been overweight and they eat more than that at a meal. If they only ate a drumstick and a couple spoonfuls of vegies, they'd be looking for more food 2.5 hours later too. I've known for decades that eating every 2.5 hours (6 meals) is better than 3 meals. I was so glad when the diabetic 'experts' finally came to the same conclusion so I could quit fighting with my doctors. You can either divide your daily calories up evenly between those 6 meals, or just have a healthy snack in between your main meals -- hard boiled egg, an ounce or 2 of hard cheese, Protein drink, etc.

Getting stuck does not mean adequate restriction. It just means that (a) you didn't take a small enough bite, or (:eek: you didn't chew well enough, or © you took a drink with your meal, or (d) you ate something that may be a problem with your band just because it's too dry/wrong texture/too clumping/yada yada, and I could go on. .

Payday is next week and I think I'm going to surprise my son with the Kinect for his Xbox. I bought a Wii last year and have been hugely disappointed in it since it doesn't care whether you're moving correctly. Plus I keep falling off that blasted little board you have to stand on. Do I assume right that the Kinect doesn't require you to stand on a little board? I soooo want the "You can Dance" and "Zumba" with the Kinect. Keep us updated on how you like it (or what you don't like about it)! .

My clinic doesn't have a preop diet and he's done the band on people weighing over 400 pounds. Can't hurt to lose some excess bloat pre-surgery though. I don't know how a doctor could turn a patient away since there's no way of knowing how much they've cheated. We all lose at different rates of speed. For example, I once went on an Optifast liquid diet of 800 calories for a month and lost *nothing*. I'm not encouraging you to not do the pre-surgery diet. You will feel much better if you're not bloated going into surgery. .

Another doctor who doesn't know how to use the band. First of all, I lost 70 pounds in 3 months...without any loss of hair. There are many reasons your hair could be falling out. Second, fills are not determined by how much or how little we lose. They're given based on whether or not we're hungry. I know some say you should be able to go 5 hours between meals without being hungry...which I think is true if you go low carb (carbs cause cravings and blood sugar swings that make you feel as if you are hungry). If you're not hungry, great...if you are, then you most likely need a fill...or maybe just a mid meal 'mini-meal' (hard boiled egg, an ounce or 2 of cheese) just to stabilize the blood sugars. .

Erin, Don't overwhelm yourself with trying to make major changes. Put aside the issue of exercise right now and get your eating under control. The best thing you can do is to make sure you eat *something*. Don't skip meals. You're more likely to grab the bad things, and eat too many of them, when you've waited too long to eat. Have handy things in your refrigerator - cheese, hard boiled eggs, ready made salads. I create individual zip lock baggies for diced celery, sliced radishes, green peppers and other low carb salad veggies so I can just put my baby spinach in a bowl, toss on whatever vegies I want with about an ounce of cheese and some homemade italian or blue cheese dressing. If you must pick something up at a fast food place like Wendy's, order a burger with cheese and without a bun. You don't need the carbs in the bun...they'll just feed your carb craving and leave you wanting more. You can do this...just takes a bit of preplanning. :frown: .

Ok...up another freakin' pound this morning *but* I am not giving up damn it! A number of people I know...who used to be successful on Atkins in the past, but are finding that as they age, and as they have become more insulin resistant...have had great success on the Optimal Health diet created by J. Kwiasniewski (sp?) which has been around for 40+ years. It's still a low carb diet, but promotes the idea that excess protein will also cause blood sugar spikes (won't go into their explanation of the chemistry). Makes sense to me since I've noticed that, despite no carbs in a meal, my blood sugar increases drastically after the meal...something it did not do in the past when I was on Atkins. So this diet is higher in fat, lower in protein but still low carb (around 30-40 for my body). Based on how many calories in a gram of protein, fat and carb, looks like my daily calorie requirements will be around 1300. Pretty controversial due to the higher fat, but the medical establishment finds most things 'controversial' that are outside their myopic view. Lower calorie diets have *never* worked for me in the past...which is not to say they might not now, but I'm going to give the Optimal Health diet a try for a month and see what happens. Onward and upward...oops...I mean downward. Melody

Thanks Betsy. I have actually begun something new and I'll put it in the bandsters thread rather than derail this one. Right now it's going to be trial and error to find what will work with the body I have now (insulin resistant *and* middle aged). ;-p Melody

It's been a *long* year for me. I went back and looked at my notes and realized I lost 33 pounds on my own before surgery and a year after surgery, I'm now up 2 pounds from that...despite eating a fraction of what I used to eat and eating better than I used to. So a month ago I got super serious and started logging everything I ate through FitDay.com...1200 calories, low carb, walked 2.5 miles the first week and by the 4th week worked my way up to 3.5 miles...brisk walk. As of today I weigh a couple pounds higher than I did at the beginning of the month. My regular doctor says that due to my age and insulin resistance, it will 'take time'. A month of eating right and exercise and I gain weight? How much 'time' do I need? My bariatric people asked me if I want to do a bypass...which makes me think they don't believe me when I show them my food log and tell them I'm walking 3.5 miles a day. Hell, if someone told me they were eating 1200 calories, low carb, a day and walking 3.5 miles and actually gained weight, I'd probably figure they were lying too. So...and sorry for the rant...no it's not going well. On the good side, I do have restriction and may actually have been at my sweet spot for the last month since I can eat about 3-4 oz of Protein and 3/4-1 cup of vegies and I'm content to my next meal. I may have to find a new doctor in the next month since I actually had to push her to do some hormone tests and thyroid test (beyond the traditional T4) to see if there's a problem there that may be causing the lack of weight loss. Her reaction gave me the impression that she also thinks I'm 'lying' about my eating and exercise. As I said...very frustrating. .

ok...not the same as Medical Weight Loss. 500 calories and just Protein? That's not much food at all as protein is high in calories. .

Is it the same as "Medical Weight Loss"? I went on it a few years back. Seems to be controlled calorie (worked out to be between 1100-1200), low carb and low fat...but not "OMG I'm dying here" *low*. It was ok. .

Call your doctor. If there's still Fluid in your band, you should have some taken out. You shouldn't have any difficulty drinking liquids. .

My doctor had no rules other than to be mindful of the fact that it does contain lots of hidden carbs (depending on your choice of drink), many times will give you the munchies the next day, etc. I have to be honest that I didn't pay much attention to what he said (cuz I don't drink) so these are just the high points that I remember. .