Bella Luna

I live in Astoria. Are you still hosting a support group?

How did your appt go and how did you find a counselor who understands food issues?

Zumba was my first type of workout with this weight loss journey. I was totally out of shape, but I did what I could, I was actually able to do most of it. 40 pounds down and I feel I can participate 100%. You should just try it; you'll probably find that you love it and it is easy to make it low impact.

Where in Oregon do you live? I found an excellent lady to do my fills. She works in both Eugene and Portland. I was using my surgeon's office for fills but became impatient about how slow they were. They would just randomly decide how much to fill. Plus they charged $225 per fill. This lady uses a technique to listen to how long it takes for water to pass through the band in order to determine how much of a fill to give. Plus she only charges $180. If I had continued with my surgeon's office I would have gone several more times, waiting several more months for restriction, and paid a lot more. Her name is Dr Kelly Fitzpatrick, www.gastricbands.com. I haven't tried Fill Centers. Since both have good reviews, go with who ever is closer and costs less.

Wow, pretty cool! How much have you lost and how long did it take? Keep up the excellent work!!!

I have good restriction, but I can still eat a six inch sub (at least with chicken salad, I think the turkey would probably be ok too).

So I've been banded for 6 months and thought I had a good restriction, but I could totally eat a full hamburger or a full meal at any restaurant, not that I (often) do. Am I not at a sweet spot afterall?

That is what I had too. I still ended up having to pay about $3000 because the anesthesiologist wasn't a preferred provider. I think my mom paid $7500 for the plication in Mexico. Remember to consider the cost of fills. They can add up fast.

It's good to "meet" you. How has your progress been? Are you liking your band? Good restriction makes a huge difference. I didn't have any until this last month.

Thanks for the tip. I think I'll try to Fletcherize.

Wow! That is big! I was thinking I was looking pretty good and then saw some pictures of myself and realized how much more I have to go. One of these days I'll be where you are! Good job!

Congrats! You should feel good, you are doing awesome!

It really does feel great. I weighed in again today and still saw that beautiful #1. It's just great knowing that never again will I ever weigh over 200 pounds!

I was banded 11-10-10 and have only lost 25 pounds since then, but I'm excited about that loss. You have me beat by nearly double in less time. But remember, this is not a race. I basically think people should just expect NOT to loose until you're about 6 months out. Until you get good restriction, expect that you're just doing any old diet like before you were banded. Then, when you do loose anything the first 6 months you will be proud of the success. I think you may have built up your expectations too high. I don't want to sound depressing, but gaining more realistic expectations will definitely change your attitude. This probably isn't what you wanted to hear. But I would rather loose very slowly with long plateaus then to become discouraged, eat junk and then loose nothing. It's all about perspective. I hope this brings you some hope!

Woo hoo! I'm proud of you!