fire&spice

Hi Jennifer, we "chatted" a bit last night...I'm here if ya need some "local" support as well take care...your gonna do great!

I couldn't figure it out either, or how to upload my ticker correctly :-(

Hi... My dietician advised me not to have it because of possible erosion problems going forward :party:...I've heard from other bandsters that they were warned that the caffine could cause hunger only ...so, I have a teeny cup of "cafe olae" (sp?), a week, (1/2 cup coffee, 1/2 cup milk) and that works for me...I suppose 2 of them a week couldn't hurt either. Because I worry about the erosion thing, I hadn't had coffee for 1 mo pre and 3 months post band but have to admit...I like my caffine and am glad to just have a lil'bit. Hope that helps, f&s

Yay! That's great...good luck with everything & once you can, chew, chew, chew!

Look @ my stats below...I was super frustrated for months too, but on 12/31 found restriction and am now down more & more every week! "Don't give up"...even though I hated when people said this to me before 12/31! You can do this! You are a winner for going through with the surgery...now your body and band need to begin communicating and work as a team...your mind and attitude must be their fan club! You'll soon be posting wonder stories of your own!

Good Luck Chaval! I have Blue Cross & Blue Shield Ins. & they approved in less than a week...call your Ins. Co directly (member svcs. dept.) and ask if your bariatric claim has yet been submitted and reviewed. Call weekly if you have to. It doesn't hurt to be proactive. Keep us posted!!! f&s :biggrin:

Hi there... Sorry for this delayed response...was unable to come on the site over the past week... Thanks for advising nawlinzlay of my band info, hmarko :ohmy: I am doing ok with the Treadclimber, took a few days off from that too though, last week. I am using 5lb free weights too (3x a wk)...I need to find some good moves to do for my upper arms...any "flab killer" moves suggested? My restriction is still good...I haven't had any negative reactions other than a couple self inflicted "stuck" feelings from not taking super small bites & not chewing enough :biggrin:...I'm learning Take care, f&s

Hi Heidi Welcome :biggrin: I'm fairly new to this site & am liking it lots so far...very informational & the people across the forum are very nice. What type of band do you have?

timmmers, Sounds like it did the trick for you, thats great. It's good that you mentioned that it gave your band a rest and also that it's not to be done regularly...looks like you're doing awesome since your band date! Congrats!

hi red, i hope you begin to feel comfortable consistant restriction soon. i don't know about you, but i don't remember my surgeon and his staff ever mentioning something like, "you know that with this Realize Band, many patients may not lose any weight for up to several months, if they do not have upwards of 7+ cc's in their bands to promote restriction, yada, yada, yada." if i heard that before surgery, i may had looked into getting the Lap band or bypass...if anything else, i would have at least been better prepared and not have felt like such a failure over a course of 3+ months! anyway, from being on this site & reading a gazillion posts, i see that it is super common not to always feel restriction in the beginning months...that hopefully eases the minds of those who have not yet found restriction. good luck to you and keep reading and posting...let me know when your "true" restriction sets in, k? :thumbup:

thx Anita, that spreadsheet is great.

had my surgery 9/23...i'm just on my way now to really losing...like 7 lbs in past week alone :-) hope it continues!!! how is everyone else from Sept doing?

Hi everyone, I'm just starting my "true" exercise plan today, as I am finally motivated to do so...I'm going to to my Treadclimber. I hope I can stick to a routine going forward.

fire&spice ("mommy, Mommy, Mommy"...i forget my real name) 9/23/09

when you feel restriction, comfortable restriction, you'll know it...it's hard for me to describe personally, but I just knew when my sweet spot wasn't reached & totally knew w/in 3 days after my last fill, that my sweet spot had been found. restriction & comfy fullness is wonderful!!! hope everyone does great on their journey

Thanks all :biggrin: I'm just starting to exercise today too, on my Treadclimber that has been a pretty useful clothes attendant for the last couple years. I'm going to try starting with the "true" 30 min/4x a week @ 2-3 mph, in addition to my lil walks here & there with the kids...i'm hoping that this'll be the trick for me to speed things up & keep me on the losing track. I had a teeny mug'o coffee this AM...yum Can anyone recommend a Thread/Social Group here that works like WW, where it's posters/members check in often & compare their experiences for weight loss support?...I tried the MA Support Thread & joined Banded Moms, but I like to chat & share/compare a bit more frequently, in order to stay on top of my game, etc. f&s

lol, thx again...I'm still getting used to this site & what to click on & how to set things up, like my ticker, etc. the plan looks very do-able...if anything it's there to get us all back on track from time to time if we need it...I like that. have a good weekend

I will have my hubby make this tomorrow (today), it sounds yummy...thanks for sharing ...ok, I'm going back to bed, my lil one is now sound asleep in my lap... "nite"...("mornin")

I stocked up on Protein this last shopping trip...chicken, tuna, eggs, cheese, stuff for chilli, and Protein shakes. are there any high protein Snacks that anyone can recommend? how'bout high protein sweets?...I make vital wheat gluten flour walnut Cookies with Equal and Splenda Brown sugar...they are pretty yummy... Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat GLUTEN Flour serving size:1/4 cup (3/4 cup used for batch of cookies) 23 grams protein per serving of flour 6 grams carbs per serving of flour blend flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 cup walnuts, 1 egg, unsweet applesauce or 1/4 cup butter, 8 pkts Equal & some Splenda brown sugar to taste & bake @ 350 for 10 minutes...

it is a personal journey that's for sure...i just started feeling restriction and i am soooooooooo happy now...hope it lasts

thx for the info crzy... i just started feeling restriction, but had been eating kinda badly post surgery, i wonder if i should do it...just do liquids, then mushies, then Proteins like eggs & cheese...a couple days of each of the 3 stages post surgery? where would I find the specific guidelines to follow to do it?

what is this 5 day pouch test?

mmmmmmmmmmmm, sounds so yummy...I want one in the AM! so, caffinated coffee is ok to have? I gave it up prior to my band on the advice of my dietician...she scared me into thinking that coffee would cause my band to erode

I got my Realize in Sept, I didn't think I liked it until I got my most recent fill...now I'm a happy go lucky gal!

Any other Sept Bandsters?...I'd love to know how ur doing & what you're experiences have been to date...share please :tt1: