Betsyjane

I'm a Spivak baby and have never been micromanaged. He was sweet before and during surgery and go for fills when I need them..so far by the Surgicenter and not by Spivak directly, although I could ask for him to do them. The support group is not required, but I have gone. The pre-op and post-op diets are the most lenient I've heard. Not sure where the micro-management comment came from....

I don't agree with the Dr. There is no way to know in advance how much of a fill you will need to hit your sweet spot. People are different. Don't shoot for a particular number. Shoot for getting fills when you need them. Pouch stretching can happen for a variety of reasons, often including trying to live with too much restriction.....in which case you may eat perfectly, but food doesn't move through quickly enough and it expands the pouch while it is waiting. Dr: Are you band? Are you a lap band Dr? If so, where? The best you can do is the best you can do. If you could have controlled yourself without restriction you wouldn't have needed to be banded! All you can do now is pretend to live as a bandster with restriction whenever you can, and don't kick yourself about it. If it's possible to push to get a fill earlier, do it! You can try all the usual tricks, and some may help...keep a Water bottle with you all the time, make sure you only have good food in the fridge, start food journal, do your exercise. Think of this more as a time to be practicing parts of your new lifestyle, and not so much as a time for weight loss. Do what oyu can to be patient and know that the wieght comes off with the fills......

EGD? I've never been to Jade Palace, but I'm game. I like buffets.....I can get one bite of lots of things.... If any of you get bored next week, come on over. This is so much fun with all these dogs. Wear old clothes and prepare to be happily mauled. We're having a great time.

I started out with those yummy chocolate calciums...Viactin. But the calories and the binge potential stopped me in my tracks. I need to go to another calcium supplement....but I figure in the meantime, I get some from both my shakes and my multivitamin.

Well, as we all know, the consequences of eating or not eating don't always show up on the scale right away. You may still stabilize your weight with your pigging out.....

Kind of behind Petco in Humble. There's a shopping center and a huge Chinese place. Across the street from Big Lots. Does that make sense?

What about the Asian buffet is that is in the shopping center with the health food store? Would you rather get out of Humble and reduce the risk of being seen? I'm game for La Villa...

Vitamins? I started with Flintstones. Graduated to Solotron from GNC...nice lemon lime flavor but expensive. Now I do Chewable Centrum Silver. I often just throw one in my shake in the blender and fagetaboudit.

Waiddaminute! Let's remember that complications with the band are rare, but they don't appear to be when you read this site. People having problems need support, so they post more. People cruising along are out living life and not posting as much. So the impression can be that there are lots of problems. Believe me, the band wouldn't be so popular if it were fragile! I have made mistakes and changed my ways. I have dilated my pouch and gotten back on track. I have refluxed and stopped eating at night and corrected it. I have had plateaus. I have self blamed. I have cheated. I have ducked out of exercise at times. I am human. But I have lost weight and not regained it, and I have enjoyed (mostly) this new journey and all the learning. And me and mu band have become best friends. Neither one of us is perfect, and we are each sometimes unpredictable. But all you can do is all you can do, and that's good enough.

Tom, what a Hoot! Did you ever in your life imagine that you'd think you were pigging out when others say you're eating so little???? Or having to concentrate on eating 3x as much as you were used to???? You're speaking a foreign language! It's a new day! PS: Do you sell your goat cheese? I used to milk my Nigerian Dwarfs, but they and I retired......and I miss that good cheese.

MY COMMITMENT Here's my latest challenge......I am backsliding and I AM going to tackle this TODAY! Mornings are great. Noons are great. Evenings are not great. If I eat out, I am fine! If I eat at home, I eat too much, too often. So I know it has to be the triggers at home. I have not been being diligent, and I'm guessing it's because I have been ill...which makes no sense and is no excuse. As of today, I re-commit to NOT eating in front of the TV and if the urge arises, I will stand up to watch a show...and exercise if need be, rather than sit and eat. I will NOT eat anyplace other than the dining room table with no TV on.

I'm pretty sure I can come Monday. We are building toward a holiday, so we get gobs more dog campers everyday. Assuming things are down to a dull roar, I'll be there. It all depends on... Pucci, Annie, Ginger, Jilly, McKinley, Ali, Sandy, Loper, elwood, torrey, misty, bacchus, micky, and bella!

I find that I can't sit in front of the TV at night if I'm in a snacking mood! If I really want to watch a show, I do it standing up and stretching or lifting weights or ANYTHING but sitting and eating! TV is a big trigger for me. So is my computer! I was drinking Slim Fast Carb Control, but I've switched to EAS Carb Control. Lots of protien considering it's only around 100 calories. I'm really restricted in the morning, so I have one blended with fresh fruit, ice, frozen fruit, whey powder for extra protien, my daily chewable Vitamin, flax seed oil, and Benefiber. That gets me up around 230 calories and gives me usually my only fruit of the day. It doesn't seem to raise my blood sugar, so I don't crave later. Later in the day, if I crave chocolate, I can always have another EAS shake, blended with ice or straight, for only 100 calories. At lunch I'm usually still pretty restricted so I have chili, gumbo, something mostly Protein with a "slider". I know I shouldn't technically have wet food and let it slide on through, but I'm really restricted, so it just helps me get some calories down. I stay full until around 4. Then the stuggle begins. If I eat out at night I'm fine! meat and a vege or salad....I get through just the right amount and I'm full! So....it's the triggers at home that get me. I'm thinking I need to be sure to isolate my eating to exactly one spot in the house, one time, no distractions, and fight to build that habit. Anyway, that's where I am with things....

I'm in the middle of a bout of lupus brought on by my having compressed a couple of disks in my back. When it rains it pours. Ah, it's all temporary. I do miss my exercise program though.... Who ever thought I'd say that! I have fallen in love with Tony Horton's Half Hour DVDs. I've been buying on ebay and they are great! They keep my attention and I can actually do them and get a real workout.

Even if you have to start with ALL hard to eat protein and later add in some veges, that will help. I also have found that if I'm hungry, a few nuts will get me that full feeling agin quickly. How soon ater a meal are you drinking liquids? I found that I started feeling less full the sooner I drank water, so I've had to wait 90 minutes after a meal to drink. Also, I don't think you are filled correctly yet.....it shouldn't be such a struggle. Don't kick yourself....keep in close touch with your doctor and support folks.

Hi Karen. Sounds like you've been through the ringer and emerged with your good attitude intact! Congrats! I'm at a plateau but happy with the weight loss to date. I don't believe I've even had a plateau that wasn't followed by a weight gain. This is pretty cool!

I am so sorry about your dogs. It's like having family missing and shot. Glad you were able to spot the wound!

I'm with you! I'm motivated. I stalled out I think for lack of exercise with my back and I'm easing back in to the gym and will do Tai Chi when it sarts up again.

Find a support group! It helped me to meet with people who had been through the same thing. And that cost per fill seems pretty outrageous. For that money you can take a vacation here in the States and get your fill! Good luck with your search for aftercare. And don't worry! If the band was so delicate that early mistakes would ruin it, almost none of us would still have a band. Without restriction, goof ups are not unusual.

Lana-Did you sign up for Spivak's group for the Susan B Komen race? I'm thinking about it. Depends on my back.....

Paula---I felt no restriction until my 3rd fill. I was unable to eat like a bandster until then. I am fine, happy, and no longer feeling that horrible self blame that we all click into so easily. My advice? Pretend to be a bandster whenever you can, practicing the skills you will someday be able to use when you feel restriction. And begin to say goodbye to self blame. If we could have done it without the band working, we would have!

I thought I would hate buffets, but I love them....I get to put one bite of all sorts of things on my plate. It's just perfect. And I think how much I used to be able to pile on a buffet plate.....

I had the same experience. In fact, it still sometimes gets the better of me and I overeat. My restriction is HUGE for breakfast and lunch, but it I get the urge at dinner, I can eat a lot. Not like I used to, but relatively a lot. Or I'll forget and buy a lot of groceries or cook a lot of food, and it goes to waste, but not to Waist!

I finished the Ali book. It was OK.... I wanted it to be meatier...but it's a good overview for folks who want to know more about the band and about obesity. Fortunately for her, she was just simply never hungry again, lost her weight, and life goes on...... I however, am a backslider! A backslider I tell you! I expect from now on I'll be 3 pounds off 2 pounds back....unless I find a way to get my act together. Some days are good. Most days are a wash..... But it's better than not having my band!

Soooo...I went to Tai Chi at the May Center last night. I was the only one there. The couple that teach it are wonderful! They said class is winding down for the summer(no kidding), and they are going to start a beginners class beginning JULY 5 at 7. I think that's the way to go. Start fresh! I think they will be superb teachers..... No need to sign up. Just show up.