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rainbow_runner

LAP-BAND Patients
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    34
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About rainbow_runner

  • Rank
    Advanced Member
  • Birthday 05/22/1953
  1. Happy 60th Birthday rainbow_runner!

  2. Happy 59th Birthday rainbow_runner!

  3. rainbow_runner

    It's just not working. Any ideas why not?

    Hi - are you also drinking plenty of Water and exercising? I think the water thing is very much part of the formula for success with low carb. I often drink more than 100 oz of water a day (usually with crystal lite). The only exercise I do is walking for 45-60 minutes a day. My carbs average 35-40 a day. It's interesting that you say you've never eaten a lot of carbs - maybe you're just one of those people for whom low carb eating just isn't critical for weight loss and instead should be concentrating on lower fat.
  4. rainbow_runner

    Protein to speed weight loss????

    I never seem to have any trouble getting 80+g of protein per day and use no supplements or shakes, and keep my carbs at 40 or less, which has totally eliminated any cravings. I usually eat about 900-1000 cals a day, starting with a soft boiled egg for breakfast, lunch is usually tuna, chicken or deli ham for lunch with some spinach or other greens, and dinner is grilled chicken or sometimes steak or salmon, also grilled, along with some veg. I sometimes snack on 2% cottage cheese or deli ham & cheese (regular, sliced, havarti or whatever's in the store). Once in a while I eat cottage cheese mixed with berries, a tiny bit of stevia for sweetness, and 2 tsp. of ground flax - tastes like strawberry cheesecake! I'm down 36 lbs in 9 wks. I also walk 50-60 minutes 5-6 times a week, but otherwise have a very sedentary desk job.
  5. rainbow_runner

    Is it really worth it?

    So, Itsforlife, today is March 25... presuming you had your surgery yesterday? Let us know how you're doing! I was banded Feb 18 and had my first fill March 18. I have restriction but will go for another fill in late May. I have not had any difficulties at all - no BP, no sliming, no reflux, nuthin. I am eating 800-900 cals a day and rarely feel hunger. Last I looked I was down 26 lbs since my consult on Jan. 22, but I have vowed to only weigh myself once a month, so don't know (and almost don't care) what I've lost. I only know that I AM losing (I can feel it in my clothes), I am eating more healthfully than I have in decades, and have the hope and confidence to change my life once and for all. Is it worth it?? YES! I am self-pay and would do it again in a heartbeat. I wish you every success in what's to come!
  6. rainbow_runner

    Let's be honest....please!

    Your intro says it all ... "Let's be honest... please!". Before you have any other surgery you DO need to be honest - with yourself. As an emotional eater, unless you can wrap your head around the fact that in order to lose weight you are going to have to eat properly and exercise no matter WHAT surgery you have, you are never going to succeed. I know people who have had RNY and some of them have gained a great deal of weight back after losing because they could not overcome their emotional response to food and found ways to circumvent their smaller pouches by eating and drinking high-calorie foods like ice cream and chocolate. If you are not willing to make the lifestyle changes necessary for this surgery, or any other surgery, to work, you will never succeed. Before spending money on another surgery like the sleeve it would be beneficial to see a counsellor about your food addiction so you can wrap your head around and commit to the steps necessary to be healthy once and for all. I really wish you all the best.
  7. rainbow_runner

    How many carbs/day is enough or to low

    Hey LLL! That's an awesome job! I'm the same - once I get into low carb, I have no cravings at all. I had my first fill last Thursday and am still feeling my way through things. I feel restriction, but not sure if it's because of agitation from the fill or not. In any case, food is the last thing on my mind (YAY!). I use CalorieKing religiously to track my food, and according to that I am averaging about 41g of carbs and 79g of protein. I have done Atkins very successfully in the past and always stayed under 40g of carbs. Your ratio sounds good - certainly whatever you're doing is working great for you - congrats!
  8. rainbow_runner

    Numbing medication with fills

    Had my first fill yesterday, done by a nurse at the clinic where my surgery was done. No numbing med. I actually had to ask "is that IT?" when she pulled the needle out. The teeny needle prick felt exactly like when I have blood drawn in my arm. Today I can't even see where the needle went in. She added 1.5cc for a total of 5 cc in a 14cc band. I was ravenously hungry last night but today I am feeling good restriction, and hoping that lasts for a while. Bottom line, when you've got someone who knows what they're doing with that saline needle, you should not need any numbing.
  9. rainbow_runner

    thinking......

    If you don't want to be asking yourself these same questions 20 or 30 years from now, then the answer is simple. How many people on this forum have said "if I'd only done this sooner"?? Probably close to all of them, especially those over 40 who have been obese all their lives (like me). You've made a decision to have this life-altering surgery. Presumably you've done your homework. Time to stop doubting yourself and instead expend that energy thinking about how you are going to make it work for you.
  10. rlynn - you clearly don't want advice. You want to put on boxing gloves and punch somebody. And from the sounds of it, that's the way you approach everything in life. Attitude is everything, and yours is not now and clearly was not before surgery, the right attitude. I feel sad that you wasted your money - but that's the key. YOU have wasted it, and you are wasting this very real and precious opportunity to change your life once and for all. YOU are the only one who can make this band work. Without YOU, the band is just an expensive plastic belt around your stomach. Talk of lawsuits is pretty extreme. Before paying for a lawyer (and if you've got money for a lawyer, you surely must have money for a fill or two), carefully read the pre-surgery paperwork your surgeon had you sign. I'm sure there's fine print in there somewhere that will negate any litigious action you're considering.
  11. rainbow_runner

    is anyone NOT weighing themselves?

    I avoid the "devastation" by only weighing once a week. I'm going for my first fill tomorrow and thereafter have determined I will only get weighed once a month. I think weighing yourself every day is emotional suicide (at least it is for me). There are so many factors that affect what you weigh including Fluid intake/output/retention and whether you've had a BM or not. I have friends who get their knickers in a knot when they step on the scale every day and report that "they've gained a pound" or "they've lost a pound". Totally meaningless, since the next morning they might see exactly the opposite. Really, what's the point?? It's just a means of torturing yourself for absolutely no good reason. I revel every day in this decision I've made to be banded and am looking forward to being able to eat well and be healthy & happy for the rest of my life (what's left of it - at almost 57 I wish I'd done this years ago!). While the number on the scale is, ultimately, important, it's truly not my reason for getting up in the morning. When I'm not obsessed with that number on the scale, I'm much happier and more focussed on the job that lies ahead of me - eating well and learning to live a brand new lifestyle.
  12. rainbow_runner

    Victoria, BC Canada Support Group?

    Hi Su. Yeah, I'm not surprised nobody at Dr. Amson's office got back to you. Their office admin is a mess - in fact it's one of the reasons I gave up on having gastric bypass. All worked out in the end, though - I am deliriously happy with my band and soooo glad I didn't go the RNY route, even if I did have to pay for the band myself. Worth every penny! In any case, it's possible that the support group offered specifically for Dr. Amson's patients might not accept patients who have had lapband or bypass done by another doctor (Amson only does RNY). However, there have got to be other, more generic bariatric support groups in your area, and it's just a matter of finding them. Hopefully if you can reach someone at Amson's office they can give you some info on that. Are you aware that there is a bariatric conference going on in Victoria the weekend of March 27-28? First of its kind on the island, apparently. It's called Beyond Bariatrics, I think, and anyone who's had any kind of bariatric surgery can go. Registration fee is $120 and includes dinner Saturday night. I'm attending. Google "beyond bariatrics victoria" and you'll find the link.
  13. rainbow_runner

    Do You miss food?

    Before surgery (Feb 18/10) I was to the point that I had begun to actually HATE food. It controlled my life and practically my every waking moment. I was sick and tired of always wanting to eat whether I was hungry or not and trying to figure out WHAT I wanted to eat and WHY. Well, I never did figure it all out. Instead, I got banded. Now my days are no longer spent obsessing about food. I am a devotee of Calorie King and faithfully log every single thing I put in my mouth every day, along with whatever exercise I'm doing (usually walking). Some days I think my dedication to logging my food intake has taken the place of my obsession with food itself. I am also a staunch advocate of low carb living, and I'll tell ya - nothing kills sugar cravings like a low carb diet. I'm convinced that's why I no longer want the chips, ice cream, pies and fries that I used to salivate over. You know, you don't have to give up your favourite foods forever - know that eventually, once you've reached your goal (or even before, if you can handle it), you can re-introduce small amounts of your favourite naughty foods back into your diet if you want to. However, that's a slippery slope for most people who have been morbidly obese... I know I'll never have another bag of chips in my house because, like the ad says, I can't eat just one. Best of luck to you - and please don't let yourself get depressed - TALK to somebody!
  14. rainbow_runner

    Victoria, BC Canada Support Group?

    Hiya - I'm up-island just north of Nanaimo and was banded in Everett, WA in Feb. I attend a WLS support group in Nanaimo (gastric bypass as well as lapband) that welcomes everyone, no matter where they had their surgery done. I'm surprised that there are support groups in Victoria that exclude WLS patients simply because they didn't get their surgery done there. Have you actually contacted any groups to enquire? Dr. Amson's office would likely have a full listing of all the groups in your area, and I'm sure they'd welcome you. In the group I attend in Nanaimo there are more RNY patients than bandsters, but our numbers are growing, and support is support, no matter what kind of surgery you've had. Good luck!
  15. I was banded Feb 18 (2 weeks ago) and experienced exactly the same sensation. If it's any consolation, two weeks on and I am now belching like a trooper, LOL. Relax, what you're experiencing is normal - it just feels like nothing you've ever experienced before. It will quickly get a lot better. I'm back to eating regular food and feeling normal hunger, although still satisfied with a lot less than I used to. I still expect that to change over the next couple of weeks before my first fill - expecting that as my stomach continues to heal I'll be able to eat more than I am now - which is not good - which is why a fill is going to be needed. So just rest and try not to dwell on your symptoms. It'll all be worth it in the end!

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