LeighaMason

I can jump rope for 5 min! I can't believe how strong I am getting with this program, only 10 workouts left. When I went to the shoe store the guy said I should stop my cross training and just train for the half marathon that I am going to do but I just can't stand to quit anything so I will finish this and then train for the half and then after the half I will start the intermediate cross training program. Here is what I was suppose to do: Jump rope for 5 minutes, then run/walk with purpose for 5 minutes. Repeat for 30 minutes. Here is what I did: Rode my bike to the park 1 mile Jumped rope for a total of 15 min. Ran for a total of 15 min 1.2 miles. Rode my bike home. I didn't go until about 8 am so it was already hot, boy I will be glad when fall gets here.

Even though this is a few months old I would like to say, I got banded for vanity reasons only. I was perfectly healthy but obese. I was tired of being fat. Why should the band be reserved for "health reasons only"? Why should you wait until you are sick or morbidly obese before you seek intervention? And finding a surgeon who will do low BMI is not difficult.

If you are looking for something to monitor the portion size of the food you eat, while you monitor the type of food that you put in your mouth then lap band is what you are looking for. If you are looking for something that will stop you from eating junk food, it wont help. Sweets and carbs go through the band like its not even there. A common theme for people who are disappointed with the band is "I thought I was going to eat the same, just less of it, and lose all my weight." (This is a generalization and doesn't apply to everyone who is disappointed with the band, but I see it a lot.)

Here is how I made it through the pre and post op diets. "I can do it today, I don't know what will happen tomorrow but for today I can follow this diet!" One time I was riding my motorcycle and a cold front came through. I was about 30 miles from home and it was 40 degrees. I had ridden that road many times so I knew the road and that is how I got myself home. "I can make it to the next stop sign, then I will see if I can go on." When I got to the next stop sign, I would make another deal. "OK I can make it to the next turn and then I will see if I can go on." One step at a time. I day, 1 hour, 1 meal. Break it up into manageable parts. Good luck! Your stronger than you think.

I think your band is too tight, and you have been given unrealistic expectations about what to eat to feel full. "I was told no more than an egg amount of food"-- Nobody would be full on that, if so you could just eat 3 boiled eggs a day. I eat a 3-4 oz piece of chicken (a piece the size of my palm), 1/2 cup of veggies and 1/4 cup of starch. "Basically no matter how slow or how much i chew my food. i ALWAYS have discomfort." I was like this as well and had .2 cc removed and I can now eat without pain. The funny thing is I had mine removed because I was at goal and I wanted to be able to eat more so I could stop losing weight, but now I can eat without pain and I am eating less calories. For example, before I would start the day with a Protein shake because that is all I could get down and then a yogurt around 10:30 which is a total of 250 calories for both and 19g of sugar but now I have a piece of whole wheat bread with a fried egg and that is only 180 calories and 5.4g of sugar and I am full for 3 hours. So the calories aren't much different but the rate which my body processes it is so much better. I don't have insurance either so I am with you on the cost of maintenance, but if you can get another .2 or .3 cc removed I think you could do better. Nobody can keep a positive attitude when eating is torture.

Because you wont need as much follow up care, fills etc., you might consider traveling to a surgeon who specializes in the sleeve if you decide to go that way. I would want someone who had done several hundred before mine. That is how I picked my band Dr, by experience.

Your pic is great! That is why I want to do the races for the pics and the finishers medals!

The lap band website says "You have/experienced an intraoperative gastric injury, such as a gastric perforation at or near the location of the intended band placement." I would look into the gastric sleeve, if I ever have to have my band removed that is my backup plan.

Lots of people who are banded suffer from depression. Depression is not listed as a reason you cant be banded on the official lap band website.

Ravyn-- When I started exercising hard I gained 2 pounds the first week, but I kept at it and on the third week my body went OK, I get it now and started losing. Keep up the exercise it will help! Plus I find that when I am exercising that it helps me eat better, for instance, if I do my cross training in the morning I burn 400 calories, if my mouth starts wanting an ice cream later that day my brain tells me, if you eat that ice cream it will wipe out your effort for this morning and I will usually skip it. When I was first banded I was not losing and I told my husband "I am doing everything right and I am not losing" and he told me "Um, no your not." Then I started journaling and it really helped me see exactly what was happening. I was then able to fix my eating one thing at a time. I would eat something and then when I put it into the computer, I would go "Holy crap! I had no idea that was so bad!" and then I would eliminate that from my foods. So instead of trying to change my whole way of doing things at once, I fixed one thing a week. On Sundays I would sit down and decide "What can I do next week better than I did this week?" My motto is getting banded is a process not an event, it takes a while to work through the process and getting mad and frustrated is part of it to. Don't give up, keep trying, no one is destined to be fat. Get you fills no matter what. Seek the answers, look for your own path, its there, I promise.

I can not go all day on 3 meals, so when I was trying to lose I had 3 meals of up to 250 calories each and 2-150 calorie (or less) planned Snacks. The snacks had to have 1g of Protein for every 10 calories. (I am assuming that you are seeking info for the time after you are off of liquids and mushies.)

I gained weight before my first fill too, without the vacation or RV! Don't worry, just let your band heal and when you come home and start getting fills it will get better.

Yes, I felt that way, sometimes it took so long to eat that I would get bored and quit even though I was still hungry. I decided to stop losing weight and I went yesterday and had some fill removed and I can eat better now. So maybe you would feel better if you looked at it as a temporary condition.

And even though I couldn't eat bread, I could eat these if they were toasted!

Do all boobies go to heaven? Cause then I might get to see mine again........

I think thats a wonderful idea. I drive just 2 hours for a fill and that is hard enough.

I tried to limit my food to 1 cup at a time, but I had to eat more than 3 times a day. I probably ate 4 or 5 times a day then. Just try and keep what you do eat as diet friendly as possible, grilled chicken, sautéed veggies, salad, etc. It will get better, I promise!

Great pep talk! Way to get your inner drill Sergeant to kick your mind back in gear!

I eat Chobani Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and lots of tuna to get my protein. Have you tried Unjury chicken soup flavor protein powder? It tastes like warm chicken broth to me. You can get a sample pack to try it would at least get you through the days after a fill.

Monday night I rode with my husband to Dallas (2 hours away), spent the night in a hotel, had surgery Tuesday at 8 am, was on my way home by 11 am, rode 2 hours in the truck and felt fine, used the pain medicine that night to get to sleep, rested on Wednesday and went back to work on Thursday.

Shad-- Let us know if you find anything out, I haven't heard of it. Karen-- Its good to hear from you, sorry about your car troubles this week! Stacie-- WOW on the sliming in public. I went to Dallas yesterday and had .2 removed from my band. I told Rob I would quit losing and then lost 2 pounds in 10 days. So I guess I am going to have to eat more. I had a piece of toast with an egg on it this morning, that is the first bread I have eaten in months. :biggrin: I also went to get fitted for some running shoes at a store that only sells running equipment. I had to try on shoes and then run in them while they looked at my feet to see which ones helped keep my feet lined up the best. Plus I bought an $11 pair of socks that are suppose to help my high arches when I run. Rob has given me hell about them every since.

You are my hero!

For those of you paying close attention, yep I skipped day 15! On Tuesday I was suppose to get up and work out and I just laid in bed and didn't do it, I told myself I will go tomorrow. HA! I didn't go Wednesday either! Major case of lazy ass. Oh well. Here was what I was suppose to do: As many rounds as you can do for 30 minutes: 8 push ups 10 sit ups Jump rope for 3 minutes Here is what I did: Lay in bed. :biggrin: OK so on to day 16, here is what I was suppose to do: 20 seconds "on", 10 seconds "off" for 8 rounds. 1 minute rest between 8 round sets: Push ups Squats Sit ups Tuck jumps Here is what I did: Rode my bike to the park .96 mile I can do 12 push ups and squats in 20 seconds but only 10 sit ups and 10 tuck jumps So a total of 12 rounds. 144 push ups 144 squats 120 sit ups 120 tuck jumps Rode home. I feel pretty good today. I went yesterday and got fitted at a real running shoe store in Dallas for a new pair of shoes and I am hopeful that they are going to help with my heel spur pain. Plus, while I was in Dallas I had .2 of a cc taken out of my band. I had told my husband that I would stop losing weight and then promptly lost 2 pounds in 10 days so I need to be able to eat more since I don't want to cut down on exercising. So this morning I had an egg on a piece of toast! I haven't had bread in months.

Maybe what she meant was that you can only lose 20% with diet alone, I found that to lose 100% of what I wanted I had to exercise, hard. I have lost 100% of my excess weight and that equals to 30% of my total body weight. I have seen posts by people who started at a higher BMI that lost 50%+ of their starting body weight. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine here on LBT, Bob has lost 40% of his body weight.

Yea I lost another pound, the funny thing is when I told my husband that I would quit losing because I was in a size 4, I dropped 2 pounds in 10 days so yesterday I went to Dallas and had .2 of fill removed from my band, so I can eat more. But I cant make myself change my ticker goal, it feels like cheating because I said my goal was 130 and it would be unfair to change it to something else. I know that is a silly way to think but I cant help it. I am not trying to lose the extra 3, just trying to become stronger and have more endurance. I also got fitted at a real running store for a new pair of running shoes. They said that because of my high arches and the fact that I rolled my feet inward I needed special shoes. The were not any more expensive, as a matter of fact they were $20 less than the last pair I had, I am hoping they help keep my feet from hurting.