sara31

Old Navy has their jeans for $16 a pair - I am in an 18 in theirs when I wear a 20 in Lane Bryant - their jeans run big. Here is the link for those: Clothes for women, men, kids and baby | Old Navy Then Walmart has tees that fit well in Danskin. They run small (I wear between a 14-16 in the top). I had to buy a 3X in this tee for it to fit correctly, but it looks good and is cheap! Walmart.com: Danskin Now - Women's Plus Dri-More Cap-Sleeve V-Neck Tee: Women's Plus Also Old Navy's cardigans run big - I have been wearing the XL in size and it fits great. I missed what size you were at, but if you are in the size 20 range, definitely check out Old Navy.

My pre-op paperwork said they would not do the surgery if I had shaved before surgery. They said it was because they wanted to minimize all risks of staph infections. That scared me so bad that I didn't shave anything for a week before surgery LOL! I apologized for my hairy legs and told them why and they laughed with me

I am pretty newly banded. I had the same problem but only when I tried to start the pre-op diet myself. I guess I self sabotaged. Once the dr. gave me the "official" orders to drink two shakes a day and one lean cuisine at night I stuck to it. I was paranoid that my liver would be fatty and too thick to do the surgery so it scared me straight! It's been pretty much the same since. I am too scared to do something off plan because I don't want to mess anything up. It's amazing what five holes and a piece of plastic can do to your mind! It just existing makes me stick to it. I did have one episode where I didn't chew shrimp well and guess what - that scared me right back to making sure I chewed well enough. It will happen again I am sure, but yeah, thats what makes me stick to it!

I have Tricare Standard and have had no issues, but I met all the requirements (40 BMI and 2 co-morbidities). Overall I have only paid about $800 out of pocket.

I had an episode two nights ago with my first "stuck" issue. However mine differs in that it happened about an hour and a half after I had eaten. I had laid down and gone to sleep when this major pain woke me up. Its exactly like how everyone has described their stuck episodes (sliming, hurting bad in the chest, tons of saliva, body thinking about vomiting). Most everything I have ever read though explains it happening as soon as something gets stuck, while they are still eating at the table or whatever. Have any of you had it happen a while after you ate? It was boiled shrimp by the way (scared of them now!)

Everyone seems to be doing pretty good! I am at 4 weeks out tomorrow and last night was my first "stuck" episode. Let me tell you IT HURT! My face and chest were flushed real bad and I was in pain. I got on here to see what some of the remedies were - tried them all and when that didn't work I just got in the shower and got the water as hot as I could. That help distract the pain. I was finally able to lay down and go back to sleep. It was crazy - the sliming they described, kinda like when you have a runny nose and it runs down the back of the throat but your nose isn't runny at all. Then the sliming part was crazy - I felt like a dog who tried to eat a toad! I haven't had ANY problems and was getting pretty confident in eating what I wanted (no bad stuff or bread / rice / peanut butter / pasta / raw vegetables) But these shrimp, man they did me in. They were just plain boiled shrimp. I guess even if you try to chew them up well they still didn't set well with me. I'm still sore this morning. I'm timid to eat anything! Anyone else have an episode with NO restriction?

Same as above, I use Ricotta but you can prob do the blender thing with the cottage cheese - I take a good scoop of part skim ricotta and half a can of pumpkin in my bullet blender with two packs of splenda - it is AWESOME. Tastes like a cross between pumpkin mousse and cheesecake.

Whew girl you have more energy than I do! I just hit the clearance at Old Navy - got a pair of jeans, two pairs of yoga pants, a cardigan, a hoodie, a tank top, a t-shirt, a pair of sandals, pair of dress shoes and three pairs of underwear for $43! Love Old Navy! I do share your clothing anguish!

My gym is a good mixture too. Maybe say something to them first, like ask a question before class starts - "Have you done this class before?" I usually do that when I first start a class so that it breaks the ice with my neighbors, then after you go a few times you end up knowing a lot of the regulars. Some of my biggest supporters at the gym are some of the skinnies! I joined a 4 week boot camp program at the gym and made some GREAT friends. They are super supportive (but yet all super fit). Sometimes it just takes opening up first. Remember you are there to get fit and be a skinny too! You can do it

Good luck! You will be ok, just remember to breathe

I got it at Walmart, near the other Tylenol. It threw me off because of the bottle, it looks just like the Tylenol cold medicine (like the night time cherry cool burst medicine).

I am 15 days out of surgery as of today. My nutritionist and my surgeon did NOT want me to get lap band. They really wanted me to do RNY, but I refused for personal reasons. He ended up doing the lap band for me with warnings that I would not lose as fast. He said more than once "I don't want to say I told you so", he even told my mom the same thing when he came out of surgery to tell her how I was doing. Fast forward two weeks. I was in a group of 8 people after going through our follow up meetings - out of all 8 I was the only one to have lap band. I saw their weights and their losses - One person was 294 and lost 28 lbs - One person was 327 and lost 23 lbs - One person was 322 and lost 22 lbs - I started at 262 and lost 23 lbs. After I met with him, he said "wow I can tell you have been compliant, and you will be one of the ones that is successful." I knew / know that in my heart I can do it (no one else can tell you that), but I think you should look inside yourself to see if it is something YOU can do. Do you have the willpower to really work hard and listen to the doctor's instructions (no cheating?) Will you exercise? Do it for you, no one else. I am so glad I did, simply because I have lost just as much as those RNY patients have (through today) and I will continue to WORK at helping my tool work.

Good thread! I was banded 9/15 Ups: -Seeing the fat rolls slowly smoothing out -Being able to cross my legs better -Being able to get into Old Navy 18's & 20's -Watching the scale move down down down (lowest I have been since '04) -Appreciating what I am able to eat (today is my first day of soft foods!) Downs: -Clothing is starting to look bad (too big) - bad "down" to have right? -Accidentally drinking a gulp that is too big (hurts - oops!) -Being scared to eat real food (I am right now eating my first food in two weeks for lunch) -I am chewing it to DEATH! -Back pain from having to take it easy (I'm walking 1-2 miles a day, but I was used to doing more vigorous exercise the exercise kept my back muscles in check. The back pain is the worst. - Not being able to chug Water after working out - I'm thirsty DANGIT! - burping!

I am getting banded 9/15/10 - I haven't seen a thread started to gather us September '10 bandsters together - check in, let's talk!

va_viv - I thought the SAME thing. I am just 14 days out of banding but I am DYING to get back to doing some training other than walking simply because I DO NOT want to lose muscle! I did a 4 week boot camp program before surgery and now that I know that I can do it, I want to. I feel so weak though - I know its because I am only allowed protein drinks so far (that should change tomorrow, YAY). I am just so ready to get rid of this weak feeling. I started back walking about a week out of surgery and this week I bumped up to about 2 miles. I am just ready to be cleared for something, anything! No muscle loss for me if I can help it!

I will be two days into the mushy stage when I have to go out of town this weekend. That being said, I have no idea what to eat. I can take protein shakes with me, but that should be a supplement at this point I think. I will also have a birthday party to go to - where they will most likely serve chips and sandwiches and of course birthday cake (not getting close to that one). What would you eat in a situation like that? I know can go to restaurants and have soups / refried beans from taco bell stuff like that - but that seems like slider stuff and that I should be eating something else? Help?

OH! Good to know! I just don't want to do bad right off the bat, but it just seemed so limited.

I was watching MADE on Mtv the other day and the kid wanted to be a bodybuilder. The trainer had the kid eating Sweet potato baby food in addition to his lean chicken. I don't know what was special about the sweet potato in particular but I thought that was interesting.

I remember being 13-14 and staring at the fat camp ads in the back of my seventeen magazines just wishing my parents had the money to send me. I realize now that even if I had succeeded, I would be going back home to the same food environment I was in before. At least as an adult I control my own environment.

I had surgery a week ago today and have a question. I started out drinking out of medicine cups for the first couple days and then I switched to just sipping my drinks. Does water go right through the band when you are sipping or does it gather in the band then go down? I am assuming that it goes right through? How about protein shakes? Do they do the "backed up drain effect"? I am scared to drink too much at once but I am still trying to get my 50g of protein and 64 oz of liquid down.

Oh I have seen those! I will grab some. Thanks for the tip!

I totally agree. The portion control is so exciting to me because I could eat so much before. I just read on another thread where a lady made a fake lasagna by just layering FF Ricotta, low fat Mozzerella and spaghetti sauce. It sounds SO good. But dont people have problems with melted cheese?

Where did you find the 2 oz shots? Do they taste ok? I am glad I am not the only one worried! I feel like I am being overly cautious. Like I see lots of people eating mashed potatoes, etc but I do not think thats healthy to eat starches like that. I think I will stick with vegetable soups and such, well blended of course. Plus shakes.