J_BandRanger

such a small fill amount sounds like a waste of trip to me???? (just my opinion)...by my 3rd fill, i was up to 10.75cc. my doc himself actually did my second fill and put in 5cc which he did say was " a lot" at once but i was fine. maybe talk to your doc about getting more (much more) at your next fill? be sure its not a money making tactic (my insurance pays per fill, not per amount...so the Doc really would have racked up had i had to go like 20 times to get to 10.75 instead of just 3!!)

great post! excellent progress on your part!!! i'm sharing in your tears! i love the part where the sales girl basically told you "go away!" LOL!

OMGoodness!!! (LOL!)

Someone told me that the food you consume while on vacation has ZERO calories!!! Is this true?? ....... of course not!! LOL! but it made for a great vacation! I just got back from Puerto Rico.... i started off trying to "eat right" and log everything in my food diary but it was close to impossible!!! most of the food wasnt "American" and couldnt be found in my reference chart...I didnt have internet access and i didnt have enough time in the day to log stuff! I got stuck twice while out to eat... i guess i didnt chew my meat properly? maybe b/c i was so hungry by the time the food arrived? I definitely did NOT over-eat anything!! my band was tight and my pouch is super small!!! but i can NOT say that WHAT i ate was "good"!! I discovered this wonderful italian eatery w/homemade ice cream and gelato!!! Mmmmmm.... then there was the capaccino w/cool whip, the tostones, the arroz con pollo, dulces...........blah*blah*blah*** I did get in a good amount of "exercize" ~ we walked a lot and i played in the waves.... my "new" clothes (the old ones that I can fit back into) still fit -for now (I know the "damage" doesnt always show up for a week or two) I got right back on my treadmill this morning and had a good workout!! My eatting is now back on track....So I feel good PS - I REALLY did miss this site! I missed reading about all of your highs & lows. It will take me a few days to catch up on all your blogs but I'm glad to be back!!!

thanks guys!!! this site is so wonderful!! @HEALTHY111... thank goodness that place is not in the continental US!!! i really fell in love with it!!! I even bought a T-Shirt! LOL! @Bklnike... if i coulda' figured out how to rob a bank, I would have stayed in PR longer!! LOL!!!

glad to hear you breeeeezed through your first fill! my surgery date I was 238....now I'm down to 221.... and i have dropped down to a size 16 (some 14s) due to the inches I've lost & muscles I've gained! We can do this!!!!

My insurance paid for my surgery but i am the one who went through the ordeal (of the surgery)!!! so why on earth would i try to "cheat"??!!! insane!!! I'd be cheating myself! my doc gets paid either way - if i'm fat or skinny! DUH! is all i can say!! I mean a "slip up" here or there a cave-in to a craving is one thing, but down right setting out to cheat es LOCO!!!!

southern tea!!! oooh girl!!! you giving up a "mouthful"!! LOL!

hey - no fair!! i dont get a "pop"!!! ha! ha! congrats on the 17 pounds!! any excuse to shop will do!! LOL! i said i was going to wait but i got some pretty, new bras the other day. I'm wearing red one right now!

great advise!! thank you!

Ø This is from a lack of protein in your diet. It is common after WLS. I am supposed to have 60-85 grams of protein a day, minimum! Ø Try drinking Isopure (GNC) ….and/or having a protein shake – mix the powder w/ice instead of water and you will have a thick, tasty shake (add 1 pkg of Splenda if you need it sweeter)…and/or try Met RX’s Pure Protein Bars (6 pack @ Target) or “Pure Protein” bar – chocolate is really good! (6 pack @ Target)..and/or Met RX’s “Pure Protein Shots” – grape or cherry @ Target or Sam’s (Test tube looking containers)…and/or Myoplex (Sam’s, Walmart or Target) premixed “juice box” looking containers. ..there’s another bar that I get in a 12 pack/variety at Sam’s …it’s just called “Protein” by Premier Nutrition (it’s a little higher in calories than the other bars, so I tend to use them sparingly or as a meal replacement – very filling). Ø If you are at the “food stage”, then always eat your protein first, in case you get full. Ø This is just what I did…if you have any doubts, check w/your Doc/nutritionist.

what a great story! :-)

when i went to the doc'd yesterday (ear infection) i weighed 5 pounds less. i'm glad to loose 5 rather than gain it. i'm glad to see the scale move down at all!! but after being able to fit back into all those smaller clothes this week, i really thought I was down much more. i have been exercizing 5 days a week, 1 hour per day... my restriction is good ( 3 fills, 10.75 cc's total)...my eatting has been very good... i guess i've lost inches and fat but gained muscle....we all know "muscle takes up less room than fat" (it doesnt actually weigh less) i found a good explanation & anology on another site: "Muscle is more dense than fat, thus it takes up less space than an equal amount of fat. A good analogy is comparing a pound of lead(muscle) to a pound of feathers (fat). The pound of lead would be a small brick and the pound of feathers would be equal to a pillow or two. " well, that would certainly explain why my clothes fit better!! but i just want that scale to DROP!!!! :thumbup:

Yesterday at the food area of a conference that I was attending, I spotted one of those Hershey's Strawberry Shortcake bars in the freezer… (the vanilla ice cream on a stick covered w/tan and pink crumbles....you know? so good!) I grabbed it (telling myself "no! no!") I walked away with it like I had an illegal drug! I start unwrapping it, slowly. I only got a corner of the paper off and noticed that it had obviously melted at some point and refroze (is that a word?) I still tasted a nibble (didn’t taste too bad...but "no! no!" my little band said!) I tasted another small nibble - hand to mouth:tongue_smilie:... I never did put the pop to my mouth. I never did unwrap it completely. I looked around for the nearest garbage...Shucks, that one was for "paper only"!!! The other for "bottles only"! Where was the one for "things I'm not supposed to eat?" !!! Now I did feel like I was doing something illegal!!! Suppose someone spotted me throwing away a 'perfectly good ice cream', still wrapped no less!!?? :bored:Finally I found a trash can labeled "waste" and this was indeed a “waste”! So I discreetly chucked it in and got away from that area as fast as I could!!! Too funny:lol:

if you can still eat anything, and a lot of it, then it sounds like you havent reached your sweet spot. until you have proper restriction, the band is not "working", you're just dieting...and if we were "good" at dieting, we wouldnt have gotten banded, right? i have 10.75 in my band (3 fills)...maybe you need more fills?

WOW! you can do Zumba? I havent even tried that! Just figured i would never make it through....maybe i will try?? thnx for thr encouragement!! congrats on the 14 pounds!!

EXCELLENT success!! Way to go! THNX for sharing!

Hi Chelsea (and Cathy) you've come to the right place for suppport and answers!!! WELCOME!!

I am happpy about the 5!! trust me! i guess the mind is just a powerful tool b/c i had convinced myself that b/c i could fit into all those clothes, I had lost like "oooodles" of pounds! LOL! the anology w/the pillow and the brick really helped me to put things into perspective and understand then i realized that its only been like 2 weeks since i last weighed**...for some reason i thought it was a month?!! all i'm supossed to loose is 2 pounds a week---->> so i'm doing GREAT!! ** I was confused about the time frame b/c i lost my BlackBerry and EVERYTHING including dates, times, amounts, etc was logged into that calendar!! so i really lost track of time and events!!!

the new photo looks great! what a big difference! I tried to put an avetar picture up but this site wont upload any of my photos!!!???? that's why i'm stuck w/the little "burping frog"!!!!

yes, that time after surgery and before you hit your "sweet spot" is HELL!!! you are right! that time is for internal healing and also, new habit forming...that's why you are "not allowed" to eat 'normal' food even though your band is wide open. yes, your hunger IS real!!!! I filled up on mashed potatoes (homemade)and mashed beans and babyfood and tomato soup (Tomato Basil by Pregressive is very tasty!) !!! and cottage cheese!!! Humus added to stuff for flavor and protein. I had a lot of Rita's SF Italian Icees. I did not count calories/carbs/sodium, etc (dont know if that's bad or good, just saying what i did) I did not dwell on weightloss during that time b/c i just needed energy from food to keep going. It WILL get better!!! It takes about 3-5 mouths, maybe 3-5 fills before you hit your sweet spot. So, the band doesnt "start working" until then...right now, for you, its all "mental"... IT WILL GET BETTER!!

isnt cleaning out the closet fun!!?? my poor hubby hasnt seen me in any lingerie in YEARS!! but all my "small nighties" are still sitting there waiting for me to return! your husband is funny! that indeed was an unexpected answer! thumbs up to him!!!

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