LeighaMason

Technically you don't qualify for the band, but that doesn't mean you cant find a surgeon who will do it. The FDA says 40 BMI or 35 BMI with co-morbidities but I was banded at 32. That being said, I am going to caution you that since you only have 30 pounds or so to lose, when I got down to the last 15 I quit losing with diet alone and had to exercise the rest off. What I have seen on these boards is diet alone only gets you down to about a BMI of 25-27 and if you want to go lower you have to burn the fat off with very vigorous exercise. So the band would (probably) only help you about 15 pounds or so, so it might not be worth spending the money.

I have decided to stop losing weight so here are my before and after pics.

Jack your tape measure is a liar, there is no way that you have lost that much and not lost size somewhere. Can you see the difference in the pictures? Will you post some so we can see too? Are you measuring yourself or is someone doing it for you? BTW: Your doing fabulous! (And sorry I am in the men's room, I just can't help myself sometimes.)

The heat wave finally broke here in East Texas, today it was a lovely 77 degrees with only 45% humidity when I went to work out. You would not believe the difference 10 degrees makes. Here is what I was suppose to do: Today you will be doing the following: 30 push ups 30 sit ups 30 squats 30 body rows Run/walk with purpose for 15 minutes Here is what I did: Got up late, sat around drinking coffee too long. Rode my bike to the park 1.59 miles 30 push ups (without stopping!) 30 sit ups (20 without stopping) 30 squats (20 without stopping) 30 body rows (5 at a time:mad:) 12 min run .98 miles (I had to get back home to get ready for work) Rode my bike home. Only 9 days left in my cross training I will finish just in time to do this: http://www.runthejailbreak.com/ its on my 41st birthday.

On my last fill, I thought they had punched a hole in my band cause I felt less restriction, then 10 days later, BAM, sweet spot! It will get better, I promise, your through the worst part. ETA: Be very careful when you go back to foods, you haven't had any practice eating with restriction and cut everything into super small pieces and just eat one at a time, you also have to eat so slow it seems crazy and chew,chew, chew!

Don't give up! Look up btrieger, he lost right at 100 before surgery and has lost more since. He will be happy to forward a plan he put together to lose the weight. Send him a private message and see what he did. There is an answer, just keep looking.

When I read your post I got a visual of a person who was riding on your back, then you shrugged him off and he fell to the ground, then ran up behind you and jumped back on. Boy does that give me a visual image to my dieting past. I think the band helps keep that person from jumping back on. Good luck in your process and welcome to LBT.

I love the word "fortnightly" I wish we used it here. The heat has finally broken, this morning when I worked out is was a lovely 77 degrees with only 45% humidity. Its amazing what a difference 10 degrees makes. However, I would like to have some of your rain if you could send it this way we are having a slight drought. I am doing well and maintaining my weight within 2 pounds. Its kind of strange because I have increased my portion sizes and loosened my band so my brain is having to readjust to eating more. When I put food on my plate my brain tells me "That's too much!". I have had to go back to measuring so I can learn my new portion sizes, again. I want to say "I am thinking of you" to Astra's, I know she probably doesn't feel like posting but if she is reading or if someone is reading to her, we are thinking of you. Let us know how you are when you feel like it.

I like it!

I have some encouragement for you, I was banded in Oct 09, and I thought that if I could get to 150 pounds and size 10 I would be happy, but I have always been overly ambitious and I set my goal at 130. I had used diet pills and Adkins to get down to the mid 130's before but I was still a size 10. Well I am now at 133, I went clothes shopping at 135 and I was scared to try on a size 6 because I would be disappointed if they didn't fit, and they were too big, I ended up buying a size 4! So I decided not to lose the last 5 pounds and maintain at 135 or so. Following the band diet and exercising has brought me back to the size I was when I was 20. Of course there is flabby skin involved now but at least it isn't filled with fat. So the moral of my story is 130 is doable! Find an exercise that you enjoy and follow your eating requirements. Your already 30% of the way there!

Bob, Tell us too!

I know a guy who had a tummy tuck and was not going to tell anyone. He took 2 weeks off but when he came back to work, he still couldn't stand upright and it was obvious he was in pain when he had to sit or stand. Seeing him 2 weeks later, I seriously doubt he could have worked after 2 days.

1) Do you have a pressure cooker? They break down the fibers in the meat better. or 2) Cook the chuck roast in the crock pot the day before you want it, put the whole thing in the fridge to cool, remove the hardened fat from the surface and then reheat in the crock pot to serve. (Works best if your Crockpot has a removable pan)

There is a lot to be said for learning to do most of the work yourself and not counting on the band to do it all. I bet once you have restriction combined with what you have learned you will do really well.

This exact thing happened to me in April. I have lots of scar tissue around my port so they had to push hard, the nurse even broke a needle (it pushed back into the syringe) and had to xray me and then start over. After the fill I had no restriction, but I didn't know until I got home. Because I am 2 hours away I had to schedule a time 2 weeks later that I could get off work to go back and have them remove all my fill and check for leaks. The day before I was going to go back, my restriction magically returned and I was at the perfect spot for 4 months! You might wait a couple of weeks before you have them check it. The nurse told me that if she had removed all my fill to check she couldn't put it all back in because I really swell during fills and emptying the band and refilling it is traumatic on the stomach. Good luck, I hope it turns out the same way for you.

It depends on how tight my band is and what I am about to eat. If my band is tight (sweet spot) and I drink right after eating it causes me pain. Also if I am about to eat something that will swell and I drink right before eating it, it swells up and creates the slime. If my band is semi loose like I have it now, I can drink right before and right after eating, I might could drink while eating but I am scared of the pain so I am not willing to try! To me not drinking right before/ during/ or right after eating is to avoid the pain and has no effect on my hunger or how long I stay full.

Are you located where you have other options for a fill, such as a fill center or another Dr's office? If so, I would pay a visit to your current Dr and demand a .2 or .3 fill instead of .5. If you are refused, inform your Dr that you intend to schedule a fill somewhere else and if they still do not cooperate, go through with it. My last few fills were all under .5, my sweet spot, where I lost the last of my weight was at 5.7. I would have never found it going back and forth from 5.5 to 6.

I have one more question to add to Plain's. Are you weighing your meat and using a measuring cup to measure your veggies and starches? I know there is an answer to your problem here somewhere.

If you find your patience, see if your boobies are there, if they are check and see if my patience and boobies are there too and tell them to come home, I miss them!

It would suck much worse if your band got infected and had to be removed shortly after putting it in. Error on the side of caution. I would make sure I was 100% beforehand.

Astrasmom-- I am so glad to hear from you, I was thinking about you this morning. We are all pulling for you! Catherine-- I remember first seeing your pics when I signed up on this site, I used you for inspiration! Thanks for the complement! Cindy-- 100! Wow! Now that is doing something! KCG-- I hope the hungry monster backs off soon. Sometimes I have found that I am just hungry for a while and then it goes away. Dodge-- 136!?! In 10 months, that has to be a record.

Find a Dr who gives fills under Floro and get to the proper restriction. How much is in your band now?

How much was your last fill? Maybe you need just a little taken out. I just had .2 cc taken out because I am at my size goal and I need to eat more. However, the tricky thing is after my unfill I can now eat denser food and I stay full longer and so I am eating less calories and a better combination of fats/carbs/proteins. Before my unfill I could only do liquid in the morning so I would have a Protein shake and then be hungry around 10:30 and have a yogurt and be hungry again at 12. Now I can have a piece of 100% whole grain bread and an egg and I am full until lunch. (Its 1:30 now and I am just sitting down to eat) So Breakfast before was 250 calories, 3g fat 11%, 24g carb (19g sugar) 39%, 31g protein 50% Now breakfast 180 calories, 8g fat 36%, 21.4g carb (5.4g sugar) 43%, 10.g protein 21% If you can not eat lean meat and veggies you are too tight. And now for the bad news, you may not can lose any more with diet, you may have to burn the rest off with super intense exercise. I got to a point where the only way I was losing was to run a 5K, three times a week. The last 20% is a real pain in the butt!

Hey Toni, Do you do any volunteer work? If you are interested in meeting unselfish guys that might be the thing for you. Most cities have a web site or organization that lists volunteering opportunities.