demsvmejm

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Spent all weekend re-modeling DH shop office. My back is killing me today, not to mention the back of my legs from bending over painting. My band has been so weird the last week. I'm not sure I should use the word tight. But no matter how slow I eat and how much I chew, it all keeps getting stuck. Stuck to the point of sliming and abnormally uncomfortable pain between my breasts. I have never PB'ed. When I drink, I can feel it go all the way down adn I can feel it sit there. Is my esphogus swollen perhaps? I think I should take it easy and just do liquids the rest of today. So get this...........I bid and won a pair of roller skates on E-bay. I paid through Paypal. The seller e-mailed me and said I owe her another $10.00 because the shipping was so high. UH, I don't think so! I explained to her you cannot list an item, quote shipping in the listing and have the auction close and THEN change the price and demand more money. momlambert....Congrats on the new baby! Hey Tammy & Juli! Sophie...yes, I have crackers too! The kids love em, but so do I!

Gray, Gray go away! Come again another day! Hang in there Juli. You have an incredible attitude, keep pushing on! I'm trying to emulate your biking committment. I usually have 5:40am-6:20am to exercise. Today I rode around the trail and after I dropped the kids off at daycare I parked the van at home and biked to work. And back home to get my van again on my lunch. Totaled 9.9 miles. Yippee! It's sunny & dry here in Northern Michigan. Sure wish it would rain.

Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday! I just hate being stuck in the office while it's so beautiful outside. Perhaps a quick dinner for the kids and then we'll hit the bike trail tonight. I'll try to install the new bike odometer I got in the mail yesterday.

Spoke to the billing clerk 7/16 about how much fills cost (my 1st 3 months were covered under the cost of surgery) I said I was wondering since BC/BS of MI doesn't cover them.......she said "yes they do" We kinda argued back and forth for a minute and she wrote down the CPT code for me S2083 Adjustment of gastric band diameter. She said BCBS covers every time, all I pay is my $10.00 office co-pay. This code is new as of July 2007 according to my BC/BS of Michigan policy. It falls under the Obesity Surgery catagory.

purplemonkey...You are such an inspiration! The gym 6 days a week? where do you find the time? The only local gym doesn't open until 6am and it just doesn't fit into my schedule. DH leaves for work at 6:30 so I'd have no one to watch the kids. Same with the evening, he doesn't get home til 8+pm and I work 9-5. Right now I get up at 5:30 and bike or treadmill. It sounds like you are making healthy food choices and that's great! Usually on the weekends I don't make the best choices, but I also try and stay around 1300 calories. Cleaning the plate thing is so hard to adjust to. I still find myself reaching for the last bite off the kids plates then I try to remind myself those are not "free" calories cuz it all adds up. Just purchased an odometer/speedometer for my bike. Gozmos like that help me to keep things in check. I love my pedometer and wear it every day from morning til night. I'm always pushing to get around 11000 steps in per day. Does this sound desperate & dorky..........putting an ad in the paper for a walking/biking buddy?

I was told by the billing supervisor at my Dr. on monday that there IS a CPT code for lapband fills.....she uses S2083 and says BCBS of MI pays every time, all I pay is my $10.00 office visit co-pay! This was news to me, Since I joined this site everyone keeps saying there isn't a CPT code for this. Just an F.Y.I.

Had an appointment on Monday. Was talking to the billing girl about my LB /hospital bill. I had 3 months of Dr. visits and fills covered with the cost of my surgery in March, and Mon started my regular billing. I asked how much they were charging for fills since there is not a CPT code for it. She said "yes there is." I use S 2083 as a fill code and BCBS of MI pays every time, all you have to pay is your $10.00 office visit co-pay. Was anyone aware of this code? I looked it up online but is is showing invalid on the CPT look-up site. As long as BCBS pays, I guess I won't worry about it.

Janine I get the Nestea unsweetened iced tea right out of the fountain, not squishie form.....once I hit the wrong button and got raspberry iced tea...sooo sweet and syrupie and thick, yuck. Welcome back to all the Marchies we haven't spoke to in a while! Head hunger stinks! I had to chuckle Mon when the Dr. asked me if I was hungry and if that is why I only lost 4 lbs. uh, NO. One of the reason's I'm overweight is because I eat when I'm NOT hungry, like it was some new thing he'd never heard of. Anyway, I'm being sarcastic. I have been giving into head hunger more than I'd like. I just need to keep busy and fill up my time with non-food related things.

Bkfst Pure Protein Bar lunch 1/4 C tuna salad made w/light miracle whip & onions 1/2 crust of whole wheat bread 18 Soy Crisps watermelon & cantalope dinner...I'll probably finish off the tuna salad (1/2 C) broccoli w/ butter have nothing else planned, that's when I get in trouble! Daytime Snack Slimfast High Protein vanilla shake NItetime snack popcorn

Hey, if I want to post some pics, do I need to put them in photo bucket then attach the url?

gonna have to try the slushies at 7/11!! Haven't seen them yet in MI, I usually get the unsweetened iced tea. Thanks for the tip Tammy! Denise, well DD will be home Thurs night......the team from "while you were out" didn't show up! Damn! , so DH and I have been working our butts off trying to get this room done. So, instead of hitting the bike trail this am, I got up at 5:30 a.m. and put another coat of paint on the walls and desk. I have curtains to sew, another coat of pain on everything, carpet to steam clean, did I mention I work 9-5? Another late night! Congrads to all with NSV's It feels great to have victories, no matter how small, they will all add up soon.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Haven't exercised since Fri. Will be busy while DD & DS are with g'ma We're doing our own version of "While you were out!" and are re-painting her bedroom and ceiling with new matching curtains and bedding. Saw Dr. today. Down 4 lbs from 6 weeks ago. He didn't give me a fill. I told him the lack of weight loss was me, not the band. I'm not using my "tool" to it's full potential dammit! But to keep it all in perspective, I'm down 39 lbs from December, 2006. Getting up at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow to hit the bike trail..... who's with me????????

Love everyone's improvement stories! **Completely off my blood pressure medication **Can jog longer w/o stopping, exercise is all around easier Things that have happened, things ppl have said regarding my weight loss: While boating last summer, DH would be on the right driving and I'd have to be on the left for proper weight distribution. Last weekend my son (50 lbs) and I were on the left.....yes, the boat was tipping to the right! I've never weighed 50 lb less than my DH! My son was snuggling on my lap and said " mumma, where did your pillows (breasts) go?" Shopping in the misses section, not the plus size any longer. New panties and bras!

Lemon Blueberry Muffins 2 cups biscuit/baking mix, reduced fat (bisquick) 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar, divided 1/4 cup egg substitute (egg beaters) 1 cup fat free sour cream 1 cup fresh blueberries 2 tsp. grated lemon peel 1. Preheat oven to 400 2. In large bowl, combine baking mix and 1/2 c sugar 3. Whisk the egg & sour cream together, then stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. 4. Fold in blueberries. 5. Fill greased (I use pam) or paper-lined muffin cups 1/2 full. 6. Combine lemon peel & remaining 2 tbsp sugar and sprinkle over the batter. 7. bake for 20-25 minutes Per Muffin: Calories: 176 Carbs: 26 Protein: 4 Fat: 6 Fiber: 1 ***This recipe origionally called for a real egg and reduced fat sour cream, I have substituted....so the grams of fat is less than 6***

Tracy....it looks as if you've lost around 40 lbs since surgery WAY TO GO! I posted a really good Lemon Blueberry Muffin recipe on the FOOD forum (if I eat sloooowwww, I can have these) Very figure friendly if you crave something sweet

BBQ Pork Skillet 4 top loin pork chops 1/4 C. low-fat Italian dressing 1/4 C. BBQ sauce 1 tsp. chili powder brown pork chops on one side over med-high heat; turn and add remaining ingredients to pan, stirring to blend; cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes.... Serving size 1 pork chop Calories: 180 Fat 7 Protein 25 YUM

I can't do bread, buns, tortilla shells, cake, muffins. I can sometimes do a piece of ww toast if it's really toasty and hard. Wheat thins, rice cakes, soy crisps all go down well.

Good Morning Everyone! It's Friday! Woo-Hoo! I did really good yesterday. I recorded everything I put in my mouth on fitday and came to 1320 calories. I even recorded my 1 bite of peanut butter cookie I had after I gave blood. My kids will be camping with grandparents from Sat until Thurs night....I don't know what I'm gonna do with myself! Lots of exercising I hope.... (I'm hoping to get a lot of "exercising" from DH since the kids will be gone!) wink wink And getting ready for my garage sale on the 20th. I have soooo many clothes to sell. Wish I had time I'd list them on e-bay, but that is time consuming. Come on over!....I've got size 16-18-1x! Just kidding, I don't think anyone wants to travel to Northern MI. NIKKI............Here are the 10 LB rules I was talking about yesterday: 10 Important Rules: 1. Eat only 3 small meals a day. 2. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly (approximately 15-20 times a bite) 3. Stop eating as soon as you feel full. 4. Do not drink while you are eating. 5. Do not eat between meals. 6. Eat only good quality food. 7. Avoid fibrous foods. 8. Drink enough fluids during the day. 9. Drink only low-calorie liquids. 10. Exercise at least 30 minutes a day. I don't know about you, but if I followed all these rules since March I probably would have been at goal a week ago! Some of them seem a little impossible in my opinion. gotta run for now!

Okay, okay.....I'll get my big a$$ in gear! I've been tracking my food and activities on fitday and boy have I been packing in the calories. A bite here and a bite there adds up I have not, however, eaten over 2000 per day and I wanna keep it that way. So far today.....267 calories & 25 protein. Gonna be good at lunch! Thanks for the support gals!

A new grandson! Congratulations momlambert. Kinda makes me weepy. I have a 10 yr old and my "baby" is 5. Sometimes when I see an infant I do get the baby blues for another. But then reality sets in, getting too old, husband was fixed, and I realize things are just great with the two I have. I'm officially very dissappointed with myself. I cannot stop eating! I'm going to ask for a fill on Monday. My weight has been crazy since my last appointment in June. Lost 2 lbs....gain 1 lb..gain .5...lose 2 lbs...and on and on! As of today I have gained 2.5 lbs since June 4th. I guess I'm ashamed to see the Dr. The money and time I've spent on this LB and I feel as if I've already failed. Yes, I'm down 30 lbs total and 3 pants sizes but I don't feel like I have my eating under control. And I still have 35 to go. Today I'm going to following the 10 band rules and get my head screwed on straight!

momlambert shoulder pain is constantly with me. My Dr. dismisses my complaints and looks at me like i'm crazy, obviously no other LB patients he sees has this problem. I have them now and I haven't eaten anything since bkfst. Tylenol seems to take the edge off. carol Sometimes I get tired of exercising by myself also. So I bought a CD walkman so I can either play a CD or listen to the radio. I have a little pouch on a belt around my waist to put it in. I even use it on my bike and it is amazing how it makes the time fly! Last night I listened to Elton John's greatest hits and the next thing I knew it was 45 minutes later. I was sweating like a pig 3.5 MPH at a 3.5 incline on treadmill, I was kicking a$$! Just give walking a try, you'd be surprised how it will boost your energy level. I did extra yesterday just to burn off some damn cherry walnut bars I purchased from the fruit market, along with broccoli, hummus (YUM-O) green beans and blueberries. gotta run for now!

Here's my LB timeline: I saw my PCP in November 2006 and spoke to him then about the LB. The following week I attended the seminar at Munson. Saw Dr. Featherstone in December for 1st visit along with nutritionist. I was ordered to have a pulmonary (breathing) test, complete blood work. Saw the psycharist in January. Back to primary Dr. in February for an EKG, found a heart murmer so off for a full blown stress test. Had surgery in March. I don't think things normally take this long. Dr. Featherstone said he wouldn't do the surgery until I was "smoke free" for 2-3 months before surgery and I wanted to make sure that happened. Good luck to all of you future bandsters!

I seem to like the Wellbutrin XL WAY better than the Cymbalta. I was on Cymbalta for 3 years. I just couldn't take the "sexual" side-effects any longer. Another reason I switched was I was using the nicotine patch to try and quit smoking and that mixed with the Cymbalta made me certifiably insane! I was ready to check myself into the local inpatient mental hospital. Of course I only found out it was the combination of the two that caused that reaction after the fact. Just one persons opinion and experience.

josiebies... I kinda agree. Sometimes I guess I just post to get things off my chest like it's my journal for all to see! When I do ask a question I expect someone to give a response. I suppose I'm just as guilty. I read the post of others, think to myself "that's great, good for them etc" and go on to the next one. And sometimes I feel as if I'm babbling on and on and ppl might get bored. Have a great rest of the day!

Banded March 14th. 2 fills/2cc in 4cc band. Yes, I have restriction. I also have a snacking problem...a handful here and a bite there are easy to do and I don't feel full. When I sit down for a meal I can eat about 1- 1 1/2 cups of food.