palmtreegirl70

I haven't had soda since March. I haven't missed it much at all until I got strep throat this week. I miss having 7-Up when I am sick! So....sugar-free kool-aid for me right now!

I was banded on 5/17. I lost 7 lbs the week after surgery, and then the scale stopped moving. It was very discouraging to me to not see the scale move for almost 6 weeks. Although I certainly got discouraged at times, I kept doing what I needed to do. Last Tuesday I had my first fill. My doctor put 5 ccs in my Realize band. WOW! I can't believe the difference in my life since that fill. I definitely know the band is there now. The scale has started moving over the past week, too! I am almost to the 50 lb mark, and I am wearing clothes that I haven't worn in 4 years. I feel stronger each day, and I am so excited to have made this decision for my health. I am feeling restriction and listening to the signals my body is sending me to stop eating. Eating is a much more thought out part of my day, and I am learning the ropes a little more each and every day. I just wanted to share my happy news with people that I know will get it. Thanks to everyone for sharing your ups and downs on this journey.

Congrats on your awesome results! As much as I am scale watching/obsessing these days, I am taking comfort in the fact that every good choice I make in terms of eating and exercising is a positive step in my journey toward better health. Just with the little weight I have lost, my blood pressure is now normal (118/74) and my cholesterol is within normal range as well. Smaller clothes are fabulous, but reclaiming my health is the best! :biggrin:

I am in the same boat that you are! My surgery was 5/17, and my first fill isn't until 7/6. I have lost 7 pounds since surgery, and all of that was the first week post-op. The scale has been stuck. I was doing so well with my eating and exercising until this weekend, and then I fell off the wagon, too. I have absolutely no restriction at this point. My doctor told me to eat until I feel full and doesn't want me measuring anything at this point. I know that I am eating a lot less than what I ate several months ago. Yesterday I was at Six Flags with my family, and I gave in to having a chicken strip and a handful of fries as I was starving! Then we went to have pizza for dinner last night, and I had some cheese pizza. I know these weren't the best food choices, but for me to only have 1 chicken strip instead of 5 and 3 small squares instead of half a pizza was a huge improvement for me. I am back on track today, and while the temptation is there to beat myself up over some poor choices yesterday, I refuse to give in to it. I am trying to keep the big picture in mind, and I know that our fills will be huge in our journey. However, my fill can't get here soon enough! :thumbup:

I was banded 5/17 and do not go for my first fill until July 6th! It can't get here fast enough! :thumbup:

I am 4 weeks post-op, and I have felt absolutely no restriction. I have been very good with my eating and exercising. I am under 1000 calories a day, and I exercise 6 days a week. I lost 7 lbs the first week after surgery, but since then the scale hasn't budged. I still have 3 more weeks until my first fill. I am so crabby right now and do not know what else I could be doing at this point. I am having all sorts of doubts about this working for me no matter how much I try to keep a positive attitude.

Betsy...what do you do to burn that many calories a day? WOW!

Thank you for this post! I am almost 4 weeks post-op, and the scale hasn't moved for 3 weeks. It has been suggested that I am not getting enough calories (roughly 800 a day). I just returned from an appointment with my PCP and she wants me to up it to 1200 calories a day. I am a little unsure what to eat to get to 1200 a day....I have no restriction right now and am afraid to eat too much. Seriously....eating has never been so hard and time consuming as it has been the past month!

I did meet with a dietician during month 3 of my 6 months. The months did have to be consecutive. I also did have to get a psychiatric evaluation as well, but I see a therapist on a regular basis so that was no big deal for me.

Hi there. I had an excellent experience with getting approval with Cigna. My insurance through my job wouldn't cover WLS, so I decided to add my husband's insurance (Cigna) as my secondary insurance. It went into effect on 1/1/10, but I was able to start my 6 month physician supervised diet in November. The insurance coorindator at my surgeon's office was fantastic throughout the process. She double checked my doctor's progress notes and followed up with me monthly. I went for my final doctor's appointment on Thursday, April 29th. They immediately sent my last set of progress notes to the surgeon's office that afternoon, and they in turn submitted it to Cigna that same day. I received approval on Tuesday, May 4th. I went for pre-op testing on the 11th and had surgery on the 17th. As long as all of your requirements are met and documented well, Cigna is extremely fast in their turn around time. Best of luck to all of you!

Day 15 of the scale not moving despite doing everything right. It is so frustrating, and some days I think I might as well go have a margarita and a big Mexican dinner if the scale isn't going to move down! :smile: 3 weeks out...how many calories a day should I be having? Am I not eating enough? I eat 3 meals a day with no snacking. I am so frustrated at this point and feel like all of my hard work is for nothing. It gets harder each day to keep a positive attitude. :thumbup:

I have been walking 2.25 miles every single day at a pretty good pace (3.4-3.6 mph), and I can't get the scale to move for anything. I lost 7 the first week after surgery and now nothing. I change the incline and the speed on the treadmill to add variety. I am sweating and know my heart rate is up where it is supposed to be. I am so very frustrated right now. I get on the scale and just want to cry. :tongue2:

I lost 23 lbs before beginning my pre-op liquid diet. I lost another 10 on the pre-op diet, and then 7 lbs since surgery on the 17th. I have no clue to how many calories I should be having a day. I am pretty much on a modified regular diet now. I have been eating 3 meals a day with no snacking, but I don't feel any restriction. The instructions say to eat until I am full, but I am afraid to eat too much. How many calories a day should I be consuming? I actually went to a band support group tonight, and it was very helpful. I am just going to continue to fight the good fight on this, and I will just push through this. At least I am eating healthy and exercising which has to be helping my health no matter what the scale says, right?

Exercise Schmexercise is right! I've been banded since 5/17, and I have been exercising my ass off every single day. My result? NADA. NOTHING. ZERO. ZILCH. That damn scale hasn't moved a pound in 2 weeks!!!! It is making me crabby!!! Congrats on doing so well since surgery!