general_antiope

Smarty, I'm having the same issue. 3.5 years of banding and I've lost almost 100 lbs out of 150 I need to lose. Every day I get up with a plan, and I"m good on the plan until dinner. Most of my issue is the conscious eating...I'm so tired at the end of the day I eat easy foods in front of the TV. That long list of questions has helped a lot. I'm going to recommit and see how not eating the easy foods, and watch how I do. Keep trying. :embaressed_smile:

HAAAAYYYY!!!!!!!! I might actually be more excited than you are!!! I can't BELIEVE it's happening so soon - after the denial!! Finally I have a friend locally to "band" with ahaha :wink2: Band bonding galore. OMG i am so psyched. Every time I see you now I'm bringing my camera. Lots of before, during and after pics for both of us!! {{{{{{{{{{HUG}}}}}}}}}}}}}

I'm kind of a medical buff and I read up on all the scientific data behind it. The doctor who spearheads it - his father, also a doctor, started off like 80 years ago or whatever doing research to see if there was a correlation between certain blood types and diseases. Guess what. There is. It's just increased risk factor, and lifestyle / eating habits have such a huge impact on it, they started looking at whether certain foods contributed to the risk factors. Guess what. They do! For example - I'm a blood type A. Most people with this blood type are apple shaped and carry fat around their belly. Check. Most people with this blood type don't tolerate red meat well - store it as fat - have allergic reactions in mucus membranes - feel tired and run down. Check check check check. Blood type Os live on red meat, burn it as fuel, feel run down WITHOUT it. My O Friends swear they could never give up meat, whereas once I tried it, I felt a million times better. I'm not all hardcore on it, but the few things I have tried have been right in line with what they said, in terms of my reaction to food, and how I feel. Being an A means I'm more agrarian (farmerish) and my diet should be mostly vegetarian with Beans, fish and SOME chicken/turkey for Protein...lots of grains, certain grains tho...and let me tell you. Eating a piece of white or wheat toast, and eating a piece of sprouted wheat toast are two COMPLETELY different experiences. There is such a noticeable difference in my bloating. Rice Pasta vs regular or wheat pasta, same thing. Rice is great for me (Hallelujah!!! CARBS!!!) and rice pasta is freaking delicious, I don't even see a difference. Anyway. It's worth looking into. Since I was aiming for vegetarian on the band anyway, this was right in line with what I should be eating. The Blood Type Diet :: Peter D'Adamo

rharriet - LOL. YAY!! It's nice to meet another tortoise. Who, I might add, DOES win the race at the end. What's your trigger? Lately, I seem to be doing AWESOME during the day but at night I'm not paying attention while I'm eating and eating WAY too much. I'm also picking bad food. I totally meant to get a chicken salad from Boston Market and I ended up with a chicken pot pie. UGH. ANd to top it off, despite my band being tight, I ate the entire thing. Yeah, it took an hour, I was watching Steve Audubato on TV. Tonight I am going to go to the gym and come home with a Protein shake - period. Ugh I feel so bloated and disappointed in myself. Ah well. We can try again today! I never eat like this with other people - only alone. I need a boyfriend!!!!

Whey Protein is good in drinks and smoothies...like after the gym I'll get some crushed berries, juice, whey protein, Water or milk, and blend that sucker up. You need to get protein in your body during weight loss! You can also just mix it with milk and it's a protein shake/smoothie...

Oooh!!! Macaroni and cheese is my gateway food! If I eat it, I go off my diet in a big way. I'm going to try this...but with rice pasta, rice protein and soy cheese instead. Thanks for the inspiration!!

This is such a shot in the dark, but after getting banded I started reading the Blood Type diet which has me going more vegetarian. I figured since the band tended to reduce meat consumption I would try it...eliminating red meat changed my body drastically!! It was great. So I'm kind of following it when I can. My biggest challenge is getting rid of dairy. I can have mild stuff like goat's cheese, mozz, ricotta, cottage cheese...and I've been investigating alternatives in soy products which has been kinda fun. Can't believe how GOOD my body feels when i'm eating 100% Blood Type Friendly foods. No wheat, no flour...but I can do rice Pasta, rice flour, even some spelt. Opening up a whole new culinary world! Curious to know if anyone else is working with the BTD and their band.

I'm a cheese and mashed potato freak. Carbs all the way. I love my mother's Shepherd's pie but tried doing it 100% vegetarian and it was unbelievably good!! 2 heads cauliflower (1 would do, but again i needed the illusion of mashed potatoes) 1 pkg Smart Ground soy "beef" 1/2 pkg lipton Soup savory herb mix 1 yellow onion, diced 1/2 pkg Soya Kaas mild cheddar cheese (dairy free alternative)<--- by the way, this is the best non dairy cheese on the market. i've tried tons, they sucked. This is delicious AND melts properly! Whole Foods has it. 1 can tomato soup 1 - 2 cups veggies - I used roasted carrots, anything fresh or frozen 3 - 5 TBSP butter/margarine little bit of milk, optional salt, pepper I had tons of carrots leftover from juicing so I cut them up with some EVOO and salt and pepper and roasted them for 20 minutes. You can use canned green Beans, corn, peas, anything you want to use up. Once I made this with Steamfresh southwest corn...mmm!!! Those spices were great. Cup up and boil the cauliflower til mushy. Mash it like potatoes with butter, salt and pepper. I used a little bit of milk to make them creamy but they hold Water well, I didn't need it. With some EVOO, brown the diced onion then throw in the meat alternative. After about 10 minutes, I added in some Savory Herb recipe soup mix I had left over. Only needed about 1/2 a packet. Chuck the tomato sauce and whatever veggies you want into the skillet. If they are fresh or raw veggies, cook them first - frozen is already cooked so those can just get dumped in and heated. **NOTE: If you are using frozen veggies, you don't need to add water to the mixture, but if you're using pre-cooked veggies, keep an eye on the mix and add a little water as needed so it doesn't get too thick. In a casserole dish, dump in the meat and veggie mix, layer with slices of the Soya cheddar cheese, then spread the cauliflower on top. Sprinkle the top with some sea salt/fresh ground pepper and bake for about 30 minutes at 350. The cheese does take a bit longer to melt than regular cheese, so keep checking it. This recipe was so incredibly good!! Spices make all the difference with meatless meats. :shades_smile: It's also very band friendly with tons of Protein and vegetables. Just gotta be careful with the butter and cheese. enjoy!

You posting bunnies!!! 114 pages?!?! OK I didn't have the time to read through it all but I did catch one conversation I wanted to drop my 2 cents on...whether a guy who rejects you when you're overweight is worth revisiting when thin. Of course your feelings would be hurt to be ignored when heavy...but when I look at pics of me (Which I don't, I find it painful) at my heaviest, I think: I was so miserable, screaming and lonely inside my skin, abused my body ... I was in no mental state for a relationship anyway. I don't blame them for not being attracted to me. The face I look at now has been the one I've seen all my life; the face I saw in heavy pictures was never me. Now people say I'm pretty or whatever, and I'm like THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU PEOPLE lol :shades_smile: But I was in the grip of an addiction back then. So I don't hold any anger or wounded feelings about it. And bless you girls for trying eharmony...I tried it twice and had the most hilarious dates that I need to write about. I'm done with online dating. /sigh. Figure if I don't have a life enough to meet more people "outside" in the world, I don't have any business trying to date. But I'm starting to wonder about it again. Heh. Could use a spring fling! Nothing like falling in love when the weather turns warm...

Dr. Ren is one of the leading surgeons for the Lap Band system - she's based at NYU in Manhattan. I decided to commit to the travel part of follow ups for the rest of my life because she IS truly the best, in my opinion. I've read her medical papers on how she improved the surgery to eliminate some side effects completely. When I sat with her, I asked her flat out how many people under her care died from the surgery, or complications of the surgery. At the time, which was three years ago, she said she lost two patients. Out of I think about 2,500 at the time. Those were incredible odds and I loved how frank she was with me. She is supportive, caring, and has even responded to my emails. The fills are about $100 a pop. Worth it. Even with the driving to get there. I tried to get fill docs in PA but they would not see me since I wasn't one of their patients...I was very disappointed in 3 Philly area hospitals for turning me away. Oh well - when I went to see Dr. Ren I was a million times glad over and over I was with her, anyway. Give them a call if you're interested - NYU Thin For Life kate

Holy COW! I mean! Not cow!!! You're gorgeous, woman! I'm so happy for you. Soooo happy. Now onto living, right? You are such an inspiration for me to get to my goal and do the surgery. I cannot wait to join you girls in the flatlands! Boobs fleshy, tummy flat, not the other way around which is what I have now!!! lol :shades_smile: kate

Hi all! I wanted to share a couple of awesome foods I'm eating at the moment, staring down my last 48 lbs. I'm one of those people who feels ridiculously deprived if I can only eat one food at a sitting. I need variety or else, I've noticed over the last 3 years of band life, I will go right out and eat something bad. Anyway I decided to eat teensy portions of a lot of things to help keep my brain interested in healthy food (other than chick fil a nuggets). This week I went to Trader Joe's and got the following: - Gardenburger Tomato/Basil (10g protein/patty) - Savory Thin Mini Crackers - THESE are AWESOME. Rice and sesame Protein, no whey, flour, wheat...which make me bloat...You would have to eat 36 of them (36 quarters) to get to 130 calories and 2g of fat!! - Red pepper hummus - Butternut Squash Soup (low fat) - Applesauce - Walnut halves So given my desire for variety and not wasting money and food, I'm using the above foods in various combinations depending on what I feel like at lunch time. I can barely finish the gardenburger...my fill is ridiculously tight...but I am determined to keep my protein up, as when I dropped 100 lbs last year I also lost hair because of my poor eating habits. Not so much that you'd notice, but I was freaked out seeing hair on my clothes. I also drink chocolate soy shakes at night. FINALLY found a recipe that I love....Chocolate Soy protein power, light soy milk or Water to thin it out, 1/2 banana, if I'm low on protein for the day I'll throw organic Peanut Butter in there. Considering I'm barely eating 200 calories at lunch, I need the calories at dinner, which is where I tend to be hungriest. I've dropped 9 lbs in 1.5 weeks. So far these are keeping my hunger at bay!

The first doctor came very highly recommended as a plastic surgeon, he does very well for himself in the "Main Line" which is french for old money around the Philly area. I met with him twice and was disappointed not only in his before and afters but also his bedside manner. Now, geniuses don't have to be all friendly and extroverted, but I just got a discordant vibe from him. Like a robot. Plus he'd never done ANY weight loss patients, and no idea what my port would end up looking like and had no suggestions. The other lady completely turned me off. She wasn't just cold, she was rude to me. She actually reprimanded me for not losing all the weight, and to "lay off the cookies" and that I might need a lower body lift because "when you balloon out to a beach ball shape there's bound to be flappy skin in the back." I almost killed her. Like I don't have enough fledgling self esteem! Sure, maybe I was oversensitive, but her bedside manner was extremely condescending. She said "I can't give you ANY kind of waist, you know." Just so negative!!! I may look to NYC where my band was done. I'm SURE they have great PSes up there

Amy you are GORGEOUS! I am so proud of your whole journey, and then being brave enough to share! Although I AM going to pick a bone with you about taking a picture of bending over with your skin....great, I never thought to look at my belly like that...and of course I did....and of course I was horrified...OH GOD I WANT PS!! :grouphug:

Karey - Lots of great advice here with your friend issue. I would just add that 20 years is a good reason to be plain and honest with someone, but 20 years is not a reason to stay in a toxic relationship. She deserves the courtesy of being given a chance to correct her behavior, but if she doesn't, you've outgrown each other. You have evolved past her by simply getting the lapband. You can tell by her reaction to just that. She's hurt, feeling abandoned, envious, and trapped in her - as you put it - inadequacy. She's being selfish, and that is no reason for you to beat yourself up over it :grouphug: /hugs And I hope your band settles down. Ugh I dread taking pills, I was horrible with them BEFORE the band :eek: Maybe you can smash them in some water-thinned applesauce and eat them that way?

Kelly I have the same plans as you - 48 lbs to go and plans for PS anywhere from September to December. I am really saving my PTO at work for it - I thought 2 weeks was plenty...plus I COULD work from home if I needed to...how much recovery time are you anticipating? I've been to 2 area PS just to see their experience with weight loss and learn more...they were very disappointing...but I'll be watching your progress Kelly!! :grouphug: kate

SJ - the most important part of the band is the followup. Seriously. If not for my monthly trips to Dr. Ren in my first year I would not have lost the weight I did!! You know, it takes a while to detox from the reality of being obese. When I would go for follow ups, I would have that "Weight Watchers Anxiety." You know what I'm talking about - wearing the lightest clothes possible, crash dieting the day before, hoping and praying you're not judged cause maybe you only lost 4 lbs in a month. You know I got lectured - and I mean LECTURED - for losing too much weight? The nurse at Dr. Ren's told me if I didn't slow down he was gonna unfill me :huh2: That was a first. I pranced. I liked not being lectured for eating too much. It's just *such* a different world. It's hard to describe. Instead, even if I lost a little, I'd be sitting there nervous, feeling like I'm failing everyone, failing myself...and when they weighed me and talked to me, they just wanted to know if I was hungry. Sometimes I'd say yeah, but I don't know if its PMS or not. They'd tighten me and fix it. Can you eat more than a cup of food without Water in 20 minutes? Yes. OK you're getting tightened. They just cared about me, they cared about the band working properly. My favorite thing about Dr. Ren is that she thinks of obesity as a disease, like alcoholism with as much genetic roots as social and behavioral roots. Not many doctors see it that way. And god! Wait til you get The Magic Fill. My first four months on the band I was still fighting hunger, able to eat a whole burger and fries meal from Wendy's, despite monthly fills. I was totally resigned to this taking forever. Other people were dropping like crazy, but my fat stubbornly clung to me like barnacles on a sunken ship. I was actually depressed at this point, thinking I made this huge change and dammit, it didn't WORK. As usual. Then in April I got this fill. I was on liquids for two days...typical deal. Feeling like it was useless, the third day I popped a small piece of a Cinnabon in my mouth. I mean, small. Maybe pea sized. Well, I didn't chew so well and had my first regurgitation. I thought I was going to die. It's actually funny now. There I was, alone in the house, panicking and pacing around frantically crying because something hurt in my chest - the pastry was stuck, oh THIS is what they've been talking about, that golf ball feeling...THIS SUCKS!...I'm gonna DIE I'm gonna DIEEEE...and I jumped, raised my arms, did everything I could not to barf it up...and I did anyway. it was incredibly unpleasant, mostly because I didn't know HOW to regurgitate properly if something was stuck and it turned into full scale vomiting, with the lower stomach. Painful, forceful. But then it was over, and I settled down. I slunk to the kitchen and made some hot tea and next thing I knew, it was seven hours later and I realized with a start I had not eaten all day. {{{NEWS FLASH: KATE FORGOT ABOUT FOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER}}} The hunger WAS completely gone. Gone. Not nausea, but very close to it, where you're just turned off by ANYthing. Holy crap! I kept thinking, "Is this what skinny people feel like ALL THE TIME!?!?!?" No wonder they thought I had weak willpower. It was so SIMPLE to forget about food - or if I was forced to eat, choose something like broth or a small 1/2 cup of tuna fish. Then I cried again, laughing and dancing with the lightest joy because this was the Magic Fill my mentor had told me about that I never believed...and couldn't comprehend. Four months after surgery, I was finally in the zone. Accidentally. That's when the weight loss really began...I lost 80 lbs over the next 6 months. Just remember...it is a process. I know you're sick of the weight. I know you want it to be over already...but it's coming. There's nothing like feeling in control for the first time in your life :cool2: NOTHING. Maybe on one of your fills we'll hike up to Dr. Ren's together, if I need one too. I just got mine done so I'm good for at least a month or so.

queene - welcome! there is just *so* much information out there that there's no way to give you a run down. The info sessions will outline all of it for you. Good luck! kate

Hey Vicki! I'm re-joining the world of the banded - although new to this site, not new to the band :huh2: My advice is to surrounded yourself with people who support you, and look to yourself for decisions, not anyone else! This is your life and your body, you know what to do! hugs kate

I wasn't sure about telling anyone, but for me, I had had enough of secrecy revolving about my food and my weight. it was kind of liberating, even when some people gave me That Look for getting surgery.

I have no problem mentioning it if we're going to dinner. I am more distressed by the constant henpecking by the waitstaff - "Is everything ok? Did you not like the meal?" rather than the person I'm with. Like missy said - if they don't like it, they can KMA. They're not the right person for me. The guy i'm looking for will think me brave and motivated and successful for doing what was necessary to save my life.

Hi guys! I was banded 11/26/2004 by Dr. Christine Ren at NYU. I dropped 100 lbs and then promptly dropped another 250 in the form of my ex husband :cool2: My weight loss stalled as I moved out, changed careers, and began my life over again. Net gain was 12 lbs from my lowest post op. I've been hovering at 202 - 208 for the past 1.5 years, and with the divorce final and a promotion, my life is as bright as its ever been and I am not willing to remain a statistic of people who DIDN'T lost 100% of their excess body weight. I have been trying my hardest on my own to lose the rest of the weight, but I can't seem to get back into that "band mindset" where food ISN'T a friend but something to keep you alive. I don't know how I fell out of it, I do still have restriction, but I'm making poor choices. I now go to the gym regularly - but my hunger has kicked up big time, at night, where it never was before. I tried to stick to Protein shakes at night, but I feel like I am having the same relationship issues with food that I did pre-surgery. And being 202 lbs as a 32 year old single woman is just not acceptable! I finally decided I would wait to buy a house or do ANYthing until I completed this journey. I paid too much money, lost far too much in the past few years to stay at 50 lbs overweight. I want plastic surgery for my already stretched skin, I want to be done with this. I have thought about my situation and my food addiction and my weight loss, and decided several key things were missing. 1. I had no support on this band journey from other bandsters. That was a mistake. Since I was in Philly and my doc in NY, I could not attend support groups. I asked my doc for emails of local banded folks but they couldn't provide it. And my life was in turmoil anyway, so I didn't push beyond that. 2. I was 2 years out and not needing monthly/quarterly visits so my motivation had also waned. 3. I really was hungrier, and able to eat bread, chicken, and basically anything I wanted. So I decided to go back to the beginning and start all over again. I have to lose 50 lbs. I went back to Dr. Ren last week, got a fill and WOW!!! I completely forgot what the fills feel like! Holy cow. That tightness, the INSTANT loss of interest in food. I swear this thing is magical. I bounced the whole way home. She was so enthusiastic and inspirational, I forgot too how much I loved my Doctor's bedside manner. We are going to kick fat's a$$! Anyway, so with the fill I am monitoring myself and looking for internet AND local support :party: I live in Chester County, PA. Please feel free to email me anytime. I love helping others, too. That's my story. Sorry it's a novel, but I've been alone way too long! These plastic surgery stories and whole band community are doing me a world of good. I can't wait to be the AFTER picture :huh2: kate

Hey jetdeck! You're the first person I've met in my area with the band :huh2: I live in Exton. I got banded by Dr Ren 3 years ago, dropped about 100 lbs and got stuck there. never had any support groups around, and other doctors are completely unfriendly towards me in the Phila area to even do an adjustment. I just decided it's time to kick the last 50 lbs out and called around creation to get a local doc...my band is great, no complications except I have been eating Cookies and crap and not losing - but they won't take me. I went back to Dr. Ren and you know what? I'm sticking with her. She's just amazing, isn't she? So inspirational. And motivational. I got my fill last week and BOOM lost 8 lbs :cool2: Can't wait to get to the end. It would be great to know someone locally - I feel completely isolated! Tell me about your band! kate

I am really getting annoyed by my constant coldness now! I've been banded for 3.5 years and have been cold since weeks after my surgery. I've had my thyroid checked twice and they say it's totally fine. There definitely has to be something chemical that happens either with where the band is physically placed (hey, it makes hunger magically disappear with no food in your belly, surely it can do other things) or any number of things. It's hard to shake people's hands - I am either dry and cold or clammy and cold no matter the weather. My apartment and office have to stay really toasty for me to have normal hands. Very aggravating!