sandradee0124

Great self-awareness and heartwarming post. Every day I pray for my fellow bandsters. We are all, in our own way, going through something. Many of us find our way through the issues. I pray you do as well.

What amazing pictures! Bikini! Yeah You!! You look fantastic and I love your blog.......

Laying in bed is good for the soul! Besides you have done so fantastic! Your pircutres are really awesome. My mom lives in Plano. Its amazing how much you are doing with the relentless heat! Bread? What's bread? LOL. Have a good weekend!!!

I ran in to the exact same situation when I started working out. I could only eat about 800-1000 cals/day and I didn't lose any weight for about 2 weeks. Added 2 small snacks (protein bars or shakes), upped it to about 1000-1200 and started back on the 2lb per week loss trail. I think people call it starvation mode? Your body holds calories because your metabolism shuts down thinking it is starving -- too many calories expended against those taken in. Good luck! By the way, you are doing FANTASTIC!!!

If you can tolerate bread, there is a bagel thin out there by orrowheat now. healthy. put a cooked egg white, piece of turkey bacon on it (toast it). add 1 slice low fat cheese and wrap it in a paper towel, microwave 20 seconds to get it to stick together. Great protein breakfast.

The Nectar tastes good. There are protein shots (Walmart) that are ok, and if you chase them with water or vitamin water you are ok. I can't stand the texture of powder mixed with milk or water. I did the slim fast low carb with a couple fresh strawberries, 1/2 a banana, honey, vanilla (not much of any), blended with some ice. I didn't taste anything but cold and some fruit. Greek yogurt is very smooth, goes down like a shake and has a lot of protein as well. Make sure you have vitamins, fiber, calcium or whatever you might take in either chewable or liquid form. Good luck! Way to be prepared........ :-).

Sandy's Bandy. When I'm eating with friends that know, they are like "is SB giving you fits?". Fits is so operative! :-)

Oh, I'm so glad it went well! And you seem to have gotten a lot of input during the appointment, which is great. Your "Allergan" reminded me of something. The doctor showed me pictures of my surgery (he has 8 in the file). One is very clearly showing the band with the Allergan stamped in big letters on the top. I wonder -- does x ray show that? LOL. Nice advertisement there!

My surgeon was specific -- the "shakes" were meal replacement with high protein, not just protein. They recommended Optifast and Slim Fast Low Carb for that reason. Honestly, I didn't see a lot of differences in the other vitamins and I take Bariatric Advantage vitamins so it probably wouldn't have mattered. Protein and taste.........

I'm glad you are having fun! I can't wait to hear about the tea party! That sounds so fantastic! I commented to someone yesterday that McDonald's stock went down the day I was banded. I drive by daily and sometimes think about mcnuggets or a fry or two. If you can digest it -- go for it! I can't imagine sitting at a table watching someone eat fries. Take care of you and your granddaughter! Have a blessed evening.........

Not good. If you are chewing and eating the way you should be (slow and steady), I'd definitely get in there for a little unfill, or at least consult. I was warned the last time I was in -- throwing up is VERY BAD for the band, not to mention your health! Good luck, take care!

But you are approved, and you have all your pre-work done. The biggest hurdles of all are over! You've done a lot of work and now you can enjoy school and have something major to look forward to :-).

Thank you for the info! Bugg Baby will be on my purchase list next month. I wanted to wait until I had a plateau to use it (kind of like as an incentive or something) and (knock on my head) I haven't really hit that yet. I'm so glad you are having fun with jazzercize! Have a great day!

Observations with a smile........ - a regular towel wraps around me without a major gap! - my friend gave me two pairs of pants with tags that were too big for her and they fit! I have clothes to wear!! - I did 1000 situps on the ball (over a 90 minute period). Might not be able to move tomorrow, but got them done - Someone at the gym said I looked "smaller". LOL - I found a pair of cute capris in the back of the closet (pays to clear it out lol) that I probably wore 5 years ago. I have them on today!! This is the last time they will work. I guess I must have been about 240 then? I'm about 230 now so that's reasonable. My bottom half is shrinking much faster than the top half (arms mostly) with the exception of..... Bad thing (but oh so typical!). My bras are huge! My poor boobies are already non-existent. That is just not right! LOL. Have a great day everybody

Try the lap banders remedy: gas x strips, water, walking. I've even put the heating pad on my gut and it seemed to help. You can do this. You have several days. Get rest, try to relax and try the "remedy". Best of luck to you :-)

I won't use the term I'm thinking -- we've been there lol. Good for you! I had issues again tonight so I'm just going to say "way to go, I wish I was you" and leave it at that. :-)

I was reading your post and thinking that its almost as if the surgery and the mental/emotional changes created by that have put you in a green zone all by itself! I am so happy for you!

Just one woman's opinion -- I can't wrap myself around the word cheating with this band. Cheating to me is doing something underhanded or against rules or ethics to benefit you, yourself. Past diets and cheating -- if we cheated anyone and hurt anyone it was us! But those first couple weeks without chewing seem like hell. I remember sucking on an olive for the taste because I couldn't deal with slim fast anymore. My vote? no cheating involved. It didn't hurt you or anyone else and it satisfied the craving. You are doing fantastic. Give yourself a high 5 for all that you are doing.

Take a deep breath and give yourself awhile. Next week it could go the other way....... You are doing great, take it easy on you and it will be all good :-)

I think insurance requires a psych eval so they make it part of the process? At least that is what I've seen. A good eval would determine if there is any post-surgical support follow up required. Mine was about 20 questions with standard responses. Took 15 mins and was kind of funny actually. All the responses required were yes or no. I wonder what would have happened if I said none of the above? LOL.

Check you out! Nice results and great news. Throw a little of your jazzercize energy my way, please! And now that you've lived with Jax for awhile are you recommending him? (Or a brother). :-)

Big hugs and prayers are going your way! I am so so sorry to hear about your loss and your brother. Hoping he is recovering. Stay strong, best wishes.

I tried it first at the gym in a free class. I couldn't keep up so well (ok at all), but I moved the whole time and never stopped smiling. It felt really good. Then I saw the infomercials and ordered the CDs. Figure this will be a good way to learn the moves and get some exercise and have fun. I'm with you all -- excited!!!

I was banded the same day you were and my high weight the same as yours. I knew going into this that my struggles with metabolism would contribute to my success. I can eat a lot or a little and how much I exercise, what I eat, and how much I sleep are big factors into weight loss. I participate in a weekly support group meeting associated with my surgeon's office. The first week our homework was to write down our motivation for having surgery and losing weight. We made copies of this and posted it where we could see it often. I don't have a problem with eating. However, if I don't get 45-60 minutes of hard exercise 4-5 times a week I don't lose weight. I had to totally change my lifestyle to get up at 3:00am, drive an hour and meet a workout buddy close to work for that exercise. It sucks some days, but I do it twice a week. In addition, I gave up weekly massages to pay for a personal trainer I meet with once a week and he kicks my B&&& into gear. Give yourself credit for all you have done. Then take it to the next step and find the motivation to get walking, swimming, whatever. Start with twice a week. If you see results it will motivate you further to kick it up. I wish you the very best............

I commend you for pushing through the hurdles. Thank goodness you called! Good luck with the surgery and with making your dreams come true. You'll do it!