BabyGotBack

That is great advice!!! Thanks! I need to find my pedometer and do the same thing to. I have been so lazy this summer!!!:faint: I am doing more protein though.

Hello!! This is a great place to come and get info!!! Welcome!! Audree

Yeah, I wish I could have lost all my weight by now, but at least I know it is gone forever!! I guess that is why I don't post everyday either because if I am at a plateau or gaining and losing the same few pounds, I don't feel like I am making progress. But, I still come to get support. I think I need another very small fill. I should be losing. I know that I need to exercise and I will probably start to lose again when I do. Thanks for responding to me!!! I post and sometimes no one responds so I don't feel like I am part of the loop anymore. I know it has to do with me being gone for a few months, but I hope to get a group of people to be accountable again. Oh well!!! Take care!!! Audree

Sorry to hear about your fall Sunshine!! You look AMAZING!!!!! I will also say a little prayer for your surgury and recovery!! God Bless! Audree

I am a lower bmi'er so I think that is why I have only lost 25 pounds in 6 months. And I lost it more in the beginning. I have been yo y oing and at plateau for months. I did get a 3rd fill and am at 3 cc's in a 4 cc band. I have lost a what I had gained. I have 20 more pounds to go. I think I have to start exercising regularly.

Hey guys!!! How are you all doing? Regarding the spaghett squash, you buy one and bake it in the oven. You pull out the meaty part of the squash and pour spaghetti sauce over it. I also like to get cottage cheese and pour warm spaghetti sauce over it with meatballs.

UGGGG!!!! I had my first and only, so far anyway, PB on fish and it was gross. I only "threw up" once though and slime was coming up and I spit it out. I haven't had much problems being tight. I do eat less maybe about 1200-1400 calories a day. It still seems like a lot of food to me, but when I think back on how much I used to eat... It is a big difference in portions and amounts. I remember going on 1200 a day calorie diets and DYING!!! I would like to get another small fill. I have not been getting stuck. I did lose another pound, putting me back at my all time low while banded, 164. I had hit 164 before but then yo yo'd to 169 for a few months. If I do continue to lose, I will keep this fill until I don't lose anymore. I am also going to buy my QuickSlim30 again. I used it at the beginning of being banded and lost my weight then. When I stopped using it, I stopped losing. So, I am going to be buying it again in a few weeks. How are you all doing??? And... I still need to exercise regularly. I have been doing it here and there... but not enough. Thank God school starts Sept 5.

What level of fill do you have right now? I have 3 cc in a 4 cc band and I think I need a tad more. I guess the true test will be the scale but I don't weigh in too much, maybe once a week. I know I need to start working out to get my body into the fat burning mode.

Sounds like you are doing really well!! Just make sure you stick to the banster rules. I didn't for a while and didn't lose. I am still trying to make myself stick with it, protein first, then veggies, then maybe some carb. Also staying away from ice cream and stuff like that.

Good to meet ya!!! I also had my surgery and go for my fills to Dr. Ortiz. Aren't they all te bomb!!! I had my 3rd fill about a month or so ago,3 cc's in a 4 cc band. I think I need another one though!! Make sure you chew your fish really well. I had my first pb on fish and it was nasty!!!:faint:

Hey Bandiva!!!! It is always so nice to hear from you!!! I have been yo yoing for so long. I am back to 165. I need to get my butt exercising to lose the rest of this weight!!! I am really watching what I eat though. I think I may need a little bit more of a fill. I am back to being able to eat pretty good, but I do get stuck if I don't chew. The only exception seems to be at night, I am wide open!!! How are you doing???? Talking to you always feels like I am talking to an old friend. Audree

Sorry I have not been on so much guys! Yes you can eat shrimp and chicken. If you go to the beginning of this thread, I posted everything there is to know about South Beach. I always end up back to it because it is the only way of eating where I don't feel deprived and on a diet. I am doing it again!!!!!

Where are all the lower bmiers?????????????

I have been doing good. How are you all doing? I am still maintaining, should have lost some more by now, but was craving some things I should have not and was eating them too!:faint: But, I am back to eating the way that works best for me which is South Beach and stocked up on my favorite goodies. I went from being stuck on my meals, to being on the looser side then to my first PB yesterday. GROSS!!!! I am taking it easy today also. It is soooo hot here in CA. It was actually up to 107!!!!

Hey guys! I haven't been on as much in the last week or so! So much going on!!! I started a new part time job and just having the kids home for the summer throws me off so much.. I am maintaining my weight, no loss. I go from getting stuck to being able to eat. Today I had my first official PB and it was gross!!!! It hurt so bad until the stuff came out. I just kept to liquids for the rest of the day and had some watermelon in the evening. I am doing the South Beach diet but my cravings before TOM were so bad I ate off the plan, hence no weight loss!!!!! SUCKS!!!!! I need to get my butt back to exercising, but until my kids go back to school, I don't see it happening. How are you all doing??? Audree

I was also banded by Dr. Ortiz. I paid $8500. I also bought his book Lapband for Life and it was really good. He has done over 4000 lapbands on his own and did 4000 with the doctor he learned under (what I was told by his patiend coordinator). He has trained a lot of doctors in the US also. My experience was A++++++ I

How are you all doing? The posters and the lurkers out there!!! Stop by and tell me how you are doing? I am doing good. I was tighter, now I am not getting stuck anymore like I was with the fist bite syndrome. I am eating about 1000-1400 calories a day. I am feeling good. Still have not began TOM and wondering if losing 5+ pounds in 2 weeks would affect that. I know that I have heard that losing a chunck of weight can affect your menstrual cycle. Has that happened to anyone else? But, I am watching my portions, eating proteins first and veggies 2nd, so basically doing the South Beach Diet again. I am feeling very good eating this way, as always. I have figured out why I haven't started exercising yet. I have been going through a lot of major life changes. I think I can only take 1 thing at a time in regards to changing myself. Exercise is the next thing on my list!!!

Just wanted to check in! I have been doing good. I was on the tight side, now I am looser, not getting stuck anymore. I haven't started TOM yet so I have not weighed in again. I am eating about 1000-1400 calories a day. I have still not began exercising yet. I am such an all or nothing type of person. I don't do something unless I am going to do it all the way. I also think because I have been integrating so many major life changes. You can only do one at a time. Exercise is next!!!! Audree

You look awesome!!!! Congrats!!! Audree

Sounds like good advice. Now I just have to get off my butt!!! Thanks!!! Audree

I was afraid of the same thing! They had me do the "toast test" right after the fill to see if I was too tight so they could unfill if needed. They have me drink Water then eat a 2 pieces of toast. Then they check me under fleuro again to see how it is going. The are so through at OCC. Then he likes you to hang around town for the day if you can so if you are too tight, you can come back and get a slight unfill. It is best to sneak up on a fill then get overfilled.

Sula: You sound like I was. I definitely needed another fill. I wasn't losing until now. Sunshine2: Congrats!!!! You are doing so good! I just need to figure out what I need to do to motivate myself now to start exercising. Sherilynn: Congrats on the 5 pound loss!!!

Thanks JulieNYC!!!! That was an awesome explanation!!!! I am also like you, that I can eat anything. There has been no food that I could not eat, but I guess I am in a totally different ball game now. But chips were the thing I could eat too well.:faint: I think I am a little more restricted since it is a day or so before my period. I always tend to retain water around this time, like 3-4 pounds. I am actually enjoying where I am, I am not pushing things so I am not stretching the pouch. I think another part of my problem is that I have NEVER taken small bites and chewed well. Since I never really have had restriction, I take MONSTER bites and don't chew well. Normally, pre band I don't like to really chew and swallow my food with chunks in it. I never put my fork down and just keep on shoveling the food in. So, now I am learning that I have to take smaller bites and wait some between. But thank God I don't PB. I think I get stuck and then have the pain because I take another bite and keep on swallowing what is in my mouth after I feel stuck.

I actually don't see how I am right now as a problem. I am very content with my restriction. If I don't have some type of "stop" built in, I can't stop eating. I would rather be this way and get what I paid for. I haven't pb'd since this fill. Getting stuck isn't too fun, but it passes and usually takes my appetite away. I would love to stay exactly this way until all my weight is gone and then at the end be just a tad looser, but not much. I am enjoying not being hungry and not being able to eat a lot, just like after surgery. It gives me an awesome feeling of control over my battle with food and hunger. I hated being a slave to being sooooo hungry and dieting!!!:faint:

Hello January Bandsters! Today I had a protein shake for breakfast and lunch. A little bowl of garbanzos and cheese for a snack at 4 pm. About 30 ounces of crystal light. 2 Tbls. of my liquid vitamin I also weighed in at 164!!!!!! 5 pounds lost since my last fill 2 weeks ago!!! Sula: It sounds like you and I are experiencing the same type of thing. I was told it was called "first bite syndrome". But for me, it is about 5-6 bites. Chewing more careful and waiting a little between bites helped me today. Sunshine: You definitely need another fill! I was just like that for the last 3 months. I could eat anything I wanted as much as I wanted with no restriction. I couldn't even tell my band was there. rms78645: I felt like that too, but didn't pb, I just held it and waited for it to go down. Felt awful though!!!