BetsyB

My 4-year-old shepherd-Lab mix, Truman, is my personal trainer. He requires at LEAST an hour of brisk walking each day---usually 4 mph or so, at this point. (As I lose, we move farther and faster.) He vastly prefers twice a day, and we do that most days. I am currently babying an injury, but when I'm able, I also do alternate days of weight-lifting at the gym. If you're going to be doing 4-5 days at the gym, be sure to let your muscles rest for a day between weight workouts.

I agree that it sounds as though you need a fill. But I also think it's time to examine what you're eating. Just because you can eat as much as your partner doesn't mean you should. Yes, it's difficult to lose before appropriate restriction is achieved. But it is possible. Why not make good use of the time? Research how others who've had success eat--and make some changes.

I don't think the health care bill will affect this sort of thing, but I could be mistaken. Can she take it up with HR at her place of employment? When they renew the policies, they can opt to make changes to the policy. Some employers are willing to do this if there is demand from employees.

I'm a straight-and-narrow bandster. Doing things my way placed me in the position of requiring bariatric surgery. I have no reason to believe it would serve me any better now that the band is in place. I eat the way my doctor recommends. I exercise each and every day---at least once. Whether I want to or not. Motivation and enthusiasm don't even play in. Like any other job I have to do, if I have an off day, I just put one foot in front of the other until I get done what needs to be done. The rewards are FAR greater than most jobs I do--which tends to feed enthusiasm. But really, I generally don't feel in the least bit deprived. I feel incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity to become healthier and happier in my own skin.

Denise--etouffee! My favorite! I'm glad you had a good time. Did Butters join you for camping? I am pages and pages behind in responding to everyone...barring unforeseen catastrophes, I will get caught up today! I saw under 200 for ....oh, three seconds this morning. I ran to get a camera to take a picture of 199.6---and when I hopped back on the scale it was 200.4. Oh, well--it will show up again soon. More later when I can appropriately respond to everyone--have a great day!

I find it to be incredibly user-unfriendly---so much so that I still use fitday.com (even though my surgeon does access the Realize site).

I make the Dutch chocolate with almond milk--but the rest with Water. Except Pom Razz, which is best made with Crystal Light lemonade, IMO. (It totally changes the flavor, and is now one of my favorites.) ETA: I forgot to add that the cinnamon capp flavor is great mixed with coffee--either cold or hot. If you do it with hot coffee, be sure to temper the Protein first so that it doesn't turn in to a clumpy mess. To temper it, mix it with a little tepid water to make a paste. Let it sit a couple of minutes while you heat up your liquid. When your liquid is "halfway hot," add an ounce or so to the protein paste--stirring vigorously and constantly as you pour. When your liquid is all the way warmed, add it to the protein--again stirring really vigorously as you pour.

I know it seems nuts, but even a quarter cc can be as much fill as you can tolerate at one time. If he's using fluoro, he's gauging how things move through the band, and accounting for probable/possible swelling that may occur later today/tomorrow. Better to take it slowly and avoid the necessity of unfills than push too hard and wind up going backwards for a while. Congrats on being almost there!

My metabolism is totally whacked out, too. And the band has been a godsend. Truly.

I enjoyed it--I also enjoyed her earlier show, Fat Actress. But I'm still not buying the weight she's willing to 'fess up to. I wish she were honest about that. Particularly since her plan is to market weight loss products!

(((Hugs))) I'm sorry you're having difficulty.

I would've joined you. Starting weight be damned I feel REALLY strongly about this--even though I have excellent insurance. Having worked in a county health system in a major metropolitan area really changed my whole world view, I think. I can't tell you how happy I am that all Americans will have care. I simply can't wrap my brain around the opposition--I simply cannot fathom why it would not be a priority for all.

Even unfilled, the band forms a "noose" around the upper portion of the stomach. There is still a pouch. Your stomach capacity remains limited, but your gastric emptying rate is near normal--much like bandster hell. Only, well--you're allowed to eat. My banded friend has had SOME of his restriction "lifted," but has not unfilled completely. This permits him room to up calories for maintenance purposes, but puts the brakes on so that he does not regain what he has lost. Most of us have had great success LOSING weight in our lives--with or without the band. MAINTENANCE is where the recidivism kicks in. My doctor doesn't empty the band for maintaining patients--he fine-tunes it so that people can eat appropriately to maintain. Often, no unfill is necessary--loss just tapers off when the body reaches the right weight. Other times, loss continues beyond what is desirable--or the patient wants a bit more leeway---and a slight unfill is done. I don't know about you, but I regard the band as a tool for weight maintenance even more than as a tool for loss. I do not plan on unfilling unless I have to for health purposes.

Fun is a good thing. Really. We're all in this to learn how to live with not just our bands, but ourselves. I understand the fear of returning to old habits---but let me ask you this: did the band affect how you were able to indulge? I bet you found that you were more mindful---and that your band "enforced" some constraints, as well. And that's just what it's supposed to do! A weekend with some beer---back to the routine on Monday. Good things. The Japanese have a couple of sayings related to 8/10 of a whole. One of them is "hara hachibun." It means, basically, "eat until you're 8/10 full." This is a good one for bandsters--if we stop when we're still comfortable, we don't wind up being bonked over the head with that sudden, accidental, "Whoops, too much!" feeling. The other is about eating properly 8/10 of the time. If we all just did this---made sure that at least 8/10 of the time, we gave our bodies just what they needed and nothing more---we still have room for indulgence and still stay on track, in terms of weight loss.

I measure out my food--and take tiny bites. I don't tend to pause terribly long before bites until I pass the halfway point of my measured food. Then, I really do start to pause after each bite to feel how I feel....it helps me gauge when to stop.

First of all, congrats on your new band! It's not uncommon for a little weight to return when solid food is reintroduced. Some of this is purely mechanical--there is just MORE stuff in your intestine when you hop on the scale. In terms of when you'll see "real loss," it depends. A lot of people focus on healing at first, and do not really restrict (more than the band forces) their intake until they achieve good restriction. Others of us are more stringent about limiting our intake (yes, dieting) right off the bat...and see losses sooner. Either way, you'll lose. It's easy to have buyer's remorse early in the game, when you're starving and the stupid scale tells lies about what you've gained. But with a little time, you'll start seeing the results. It's well worth the wait!

While I'm really glad mine does use fluoroscopy, Drasan, I don't think you need to be overly concerned that your doctor does not use it. A skilled doctor can help you gauge your "tightness" while you're in the office--with or without fluoro. The tricky part comes after--because until you get to know what your body does after a fill, not even the doctor who uses fluoro 100% of the time can predict with certainty whether you'll experience swelling, etc. Even my brilliant doctor with his fluoro can only see what he sees when I'm in his office. What happens later is anyone's guess! I can pretty much guarantee you that your doctor, even if he does not routinely use fluoro, has the ability to do so if a real need arises. If you're otherwise comfortable with him, I wouldn't stress about this.

Unless you changed your eating habits considerably, chances are, the gain isn't "real." That is, you did not gain a pound of body fat. Human body weight fluctuates. Many things influence it--hormones, stress (this, too, is hormonal), hydration status, how much bulk there is in the intestine at weigh-in time....and on and on and on. The scale helps us gauge the changes in our bodies, but really, it just gives a snapshot of one particular moment in time---and that picture can be distorted by factors that are not related to what is really going on, in terms of fat loss. Take a deep breath, keep doing what you're doing, and the scale will cooperate--sometimes! (Other times, it will be putzy, and you'll see stupid, senseless gains. You'll learn to put them in perspective and keep on keeping on.)

A lot of diagrams show the stomach sort of hanging below the band. In the body, it's a more lateral arrangement---sideways instead of up-down. Also, position of organs really changes a LOT depending on position, contents, and so on....I really wouldn't stress. There is a HUGE range of normal. Everyone's insides fit in that space a little differently. As you lose weight, things will change even more. You've heard of visceral fat, right? That's the stuff surrounding our organs. As that is lost, things will shift. (Also, our risks of obesity-related diseases will plummet.)

If he was part of a group, he may have been legally prevented from telling his patients of his impending departure and new location. (Staff are also not allowed to reveal the information.) This is engineered so that the clinic retains the patients (and therefore their money), at least for a period of time before they locate--and follow--the doctor who left. I wouldn't be too upset with the doctor him/herself. S/he very likely would very much have preferred to tell ALL his/her patients where s/he'd be. (The other alternative is that s/he was dismissed with cause--in which case, you might be safer with one of the doctors at the practice you're currently using. You can check the doctor's licensure status at your state's professional registration website.)

I agree with your stance and am very pleased it passed in the House. It's time that our nation re-prioritize.

Human body weight fluctuates. If you're going to weigh daily, you really need to prepare yourself for swings from 1-5 pounds. Quite often, gains are completely unrelated to what we put in our mouths. They do NOT reflect a gain of body fat.

I shuddered, too---until I was hungry, post-op, and realized that ground beef = ground beef, whether pureed or not. Pureed Protein doesn't look appetizing, but it tastes fine. bariatriceating.com has LOTS of good recipes, but I didn't really have much interest in following recipes 3 days postop, so I just usually threw chicken or beef or whatever in the Magic Bullet with whatever seasoning sounded good at the moment.

Your day is almost here! Good luck--you will do wonderfully! I know I haven't regretted the decision to go forward for even a split-second.

I'm glad you're being tested---measuring your sodium will tell the doctor whether you're dehydrated. Dehydration is the number one cause of nausea/vomiting after any procedure. I'm sorry you've had such a rough time. Part of your discomfort is normal post op stuff (which tends to last a couple of weeks for many), but it sounds like yours has been greatly compounded. You will feel better soon---truly. And Hummingbird's right--there's lots of support here.