Betsyjane

It's weird, isn't it? After my first and second fills, the barium looked great going down, but I never felt restricted..... My third fill looked exactly the same, but it worked! I never get an xray to find the port...just after with the barium....

Whenever I hit a plateau I wonder fleetingly if I should have gottne the GB. The other 99% of the time, I'd rather have the LB. I take pride in my own role in this working. It's like I would love to have done before....eating like a normal person, choosing my foods, being able to follow through with calorie goals, pushing away from the table. It makes what was impossible, just hard work. I'm proud of doing my part.

Hey bikerGirl-I got banded just before Thanksgiving...and I was giving thanks for sure. the meal looked great, but it's the first Thanksgiving in my life where I wasn't uncomfortable stuffed to the gills and gaining weight!

I wonder if Dr. Spivak will do fills on Dr. Speigal 's patients..... so far, he and his folks have been reasonable.

Pixcess-Call you doctor's office and ask to speak with the nutrtionist or get a referral to a dietitian. With your allergies, you don't want to make a mistake!

I was thinking that too. They unfill me before they fill me. They just pull the liquid out so they can see how much was in there, and then it all goes back in. I'd call back. Maybe you got a newbie.

Ok. I'll put up a blank sign. You'll be sure to find us!

Ah. A diligent bandster.....

Check with the airlines about what you can take on the plane that you don't buy at the airport. And enjoy lots of fish in China. One65: My best advice to you is DON'T compare yourself with anyone else. Everybody loses differently and at different times. I lost right after surgery due to inflammation. Then no loss. Then no loss after my first fill. then nothing after my second fill. I was kicking myself every way possible. My third fill hit the sweet spot and I am living the life of a bandster and losing. With all that, my AVERAGE loss equates to 2 pounds a week! But for most of my time, I hated looking at others' losses! Just don't do it. we're all different and we're all going through stages. Right now, you are averaging 1.6 pounds a week, believe it or not. So you are exactly right on track! You're supposed to average 1-2 pounds a week.

I have heard some people say that they get restricted during and after flying. If you get a fill, do it a few weeks before your trip so you can make sure you aren't OVER filled! (Or follow Angela's advice and go underfilled and play.....)

Denise-Are you getting in enough calories? A number of people have said that their weight loss slows with too few calories.... I would also think at this point you might be putting on muscle weight, which would be a good thing. If you're eating like that regularly, you might not need the next fill yet....but calling your Dr. and asking for advice might be the thing to do. Plateaus are a booger... I've heard of people shaking up the system by doing something outrageous, like eating Godiva chocolate... Maybe Dr. will have some ideas.

Sins. Oh brother. Morbid Obesity is so complicated.....and people generally aren't ready to give up bigotry and try to understand. It's so easy to blame the victim. I guess I really don't understand it completely, and I have it, so I don't know how others would get the concept. When our own governemnt contemplates putting warning labels on plus size clothing, you know there's alot of ignorance around. (The clothing folks must not have as good a lobby as the junk food people.)

I didn't tell anyone but hubby at first...and my PCP who reacted like an idiot. I found, though that after I got the band, I started telling a few people here and ther, but when I did, I gave a long explanation so they wouldn't be expecting the weight the melt within a month and keep asking me. You'll begin to get a comfort level with telling some folks, and a sense of who won't be stoooopid about it.

Our table will have a sign on it that says BANDSTERS. And it will be near the entry.

I just don't get it. Not knowing you, who are we to tell you to leave him? That's a huge decision, hopefully based on more that just internet info. Go see a counselor and talk it out. Weigh it carefully and then decide for yourself. If a bully has made decisions for you, it isn't going to help if we do the same thing. YOU make this decision, in your own best interests.

Aw, I think DSM-IV will make you crazy. all diagnosis and no treatment or help suggestions. There was a book about and for Borderline PD-if it's still around it was in paperback-called "I Hate You, Don't Leave Me".

muscle milk shakes, not powder. Yummmmmmm. Starting to be carried by Krogers for $6.50 for 4. GNC here just went up to $11 for 4.

I'll have to say this...Although there have been moments when I didn't know if this band was going to work, they have been very few. I'm tickled..and frankly, the continual education keeps life interesting....

I agree. I don't think I'd lose on portion control alone, although I see thqt some folks do. You know, I've been this way since childhood, now that I think about it. Rush rush rush stop. My mother said even when I was in kindergarten, I wa sin with a class of super brains (for kindergarteners). Really top top kids. I would go at 100% intensity and keep up and excel, and then stop and not even go to school for a day or 2 to recouperate, and then right back at it. I've done that all my life in lots of ways. And now with weight loss, even though I pretty much eat and exercise the same way each day...the weight drops drastically and then stops drastically. I wonder if personality or personal style correlates with the way in which weight drops......

I miss Barbara. How dare her employer take away everybody's internet time! Is anybody else still out there? where's our norhteast group? where are our Beaumont teachers? Sniff......

Me too. Smooth foods get me in trouble and are so good. I really think for me, if I don't count calories, I won't make it. I'm not obsessive...just generally round up and add. It becomes an issue for me when I'm so tight I need a slider to get the food down. then I'm tempted to cheat. I think a "diet" or "healthy eating" is going to always have to be a part of it for me, as well as portion control. But...here's my oddity of the day. I CAN'T EAT MUCH IF I SLOUCH! I CAN EAT ENOUGH SITTING STRAIGHT IN A DINING ROOM CHAIR. I CAN HARDLY EAT ANYTHING IF I'M SLOUCHING ALOT IN AN EASY CHAIR! I suppose that mechanical thing is similar to what Barbara said...being able to sometimes get stuck thing down by raising my arms over my head. I guess if I feel like I'm going to pig out, I need to go slouch and eat!

I have to be so weirdly vigilant. Example: Most days I can't do anything but drink my calories until around noon to 2PM. Today, I had a shake. Just got hungry to the point of slightly light headed, and ate (slowly) a can of tuna. a whole can. And it's only 10:30AM. that's so unusual. So now I'm up to 500 calories already today. So I need to have a light late lunch and then dinner. I'll be perfectly fine, but it's not my usual no brainer routine. I just have to keep an eye on everything. It's not as obsessive as just eating all day used to be, but I have to keep a part of me separate, as a watchdog. Oh, here's another odd one. I can't eat much if I slouch in an easy chair. I can eat enough if I sit up straight in a dining room style chair. and I can sometimes unstick a stuck thing if I hold my arms straight over my head. (Barbara taught me that one.) It's still a learning curve. For me, general calorie awaremness and counting helps. Eating healthy things helps. Portion control helps. I don't think I'd lose any weight with portion control alone or I'd be eating lots of bacon, cheese, ice cream... I doubt if I'd lose if I went to Mexican restaurants much, or if I drank alcohol. Hate to waste the calories. But I know people who do portion control and eat and drink that stuff and are doing well!

Yerah but this is more of a theoretical thing. Do you consider yourself on a diet or on portion control or both? I've heard arguments in all directions. Thanks for the congrats. i have gone so many weeks without any loss, that I must be dropping a ton and then stalling out as my pattern.

I just counted up the weeks since my surgery, and the weight lost, and I'm at an average of 2 pounds a week! I am so surprised. I thought I was slow as molasses...darn...another food reference. I'm trying to dump those! It certainly hasn't been steady...far from it, but it's nice to see the average. Ok. Here's my debate with myself. Dr. Spivak says cheese is fat and we shouldn't have it. but i see bandsters eating enchiladas and doing well. The debate is....should we eat like normal people and rely on protion control, or should we diet?

I have a cheese question. Dr Spivak says cheese is just fat and we don't need it and shouldn't want it. So I'm back to the debate again. Should we eat normal meals and do portion control, or should we diet?