I just found out my surgery will be in July (granted my pre-op testing goes okay) SOOOOOOOOO

Here's a thread for everyone getting banded in July 07!

Does anyone have any good ideas for a neat name we could call ourselves?

Yup, Peaches--you and I are roomies! I'm looking forward to that, and I feel much better knowing that you have ear plugs--just don't forget to bring 'em along! I am going for another sleep apnea test in May to see if I still need the #!_~ machine. I'm thinking not, but we'll see.

So I went out and bought a sports bra and some work out clothes. Nothing fancy--went to my fav store--TJ Maxx! Maybe I'll turn into a Gym rat yet!

Yup, Peaches--you and I are roomies! I'm looking forward to that, and I feel much better knowing that you have ear plugs--just don't forget to bring 'em along! I am going for another sleep apnea test in May to see if I still need the #!_~ machine. I'm thinking not, but we'll see.

So I went out and bought a sports bra and some work out clothes. Nothing fancy--went to my fav store--TJ Maxx! Maybe I'll turn into a Gym rat yet!

And Lane Bryant, Target, oooh Macy's I am NOT a real shopper, but I think that with the U.S. stores and all the selection, I just might have to make a small exception!

Linda, I am a non-smoker are you??? Plus, I do like a 'social drink' or two

Jackie, its crazy but we do it! My cupboards are full to the brim LoL Its almost like we cant binge eat so we binge shop. haha Hopefully we can get over this.... I was re reading your post from last night and I wanted to ask you, has your daughter ever thought of getting the lapband? I know you said she is only 16 but that she struggles with her weight. I am 27 now (just had my bday) so I was 26 when I got the band and kept thinking wow I wish I could have done this when I was younger. I think it would have changed the way I thought about food and made it a lot easier down the road. For example our crazy food habbits with how we cook and shop would have never been developed if we had our band before we did our own cooking or shopping. Just a thought. I know banding in young kids is still a little contrivertial (sp?) but.... from what I have read on here there are a lot of younger kids getting banded and they seem really happy. What are everyone elses thoughts on this? I think im the youngest here? and I WISH i could have done this a long long time ago. Hope everyone has a good day!! (See Janet I'm trying to post even though im super sick at home) LoL

Kristin-yes we are doing what we need to do for the band. Right now our insurance will not pay for anyone under 18 and they have that supervised diet. Courtney (my DD) has been going to our family doc every month for this past year doing the supervised. Blue Cross Blue Shield made it so that you have to do a supervised for 3 years now. Well we talked with our family doc and I asked if we could be doing that and get that out of the way while she is this age so that when she is 18 IF she still needs/wants the band she would be set up and the option would be there and he said yes. Courtney has always been a bigger kid once she hit about 2nd grade. Before that she was very fine and petite. We are doing some couseling with it for her and she tries to watch but we all know how hard that is. It is hard for her with me lossing. She has lost some in a month and then regained......same as all of us. We tried like hell to get her into that study they were doing on teens in the US and inamed was doing the band for free for them but we couldn't get her in. The closest was Chicago but when we found that out it was to late and they were full. We would have traveled to Chicago no problem. She is a very happy go lucky person for the most part and very good in school (A & B honorole since she started school) and she gets very frustrated but I keep telling her 'hang on kid. If this is what you really want we will get you there.' I told her in a way she is very fortunate compared to others because she sees how hard I have to work at the loss even with the band so she will go into this is 100% knowledge of all the do's/ don't and can'ts/wont's. She will have had a front row seat to seeing the whole thing.

ok I got this in an email and wanted to post it here for all of you. Something to think about.

ABOUTDRINKINGWater

The following will probably amaze and startle you.

One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University study.

Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen.

Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day?

Peaches--Non-smoker, social-drinker: That'd be me! A little 'bout me: I'm a nurse, the first half of my life was in obstetrics--delivered 10 babies myself including my nephew, but for the last 20 or so years I've been involved in nursing/medical assisting education in one way or another. I'm married;4 kids all soon to be college graduates. First grandchild (Son #1) and second dauther-in-law (Son #3) due in August. I enjoy shopping and watching home improvement shows on TV. I have a thing for Palm trees (even have one tattoed on my ankle) and anything else that evoks feelings associated with warm and sunny places. My ancestors were dutch, sweedish, and german, and I'd say that their legacy to me is a pretty strong sense of moral and spiritual values. Like many of us, I've been fat since I was 7, dieted too many times to count, and struggled with depression related to family and self esteem issues. I have a lot of friends, but no "best friend" and I spend my empty nest time volunteering for the Salvation Army Free Clinic where I also am a preceptor for nursing students. I also mentor female inmates. My current mentee is giving me a run for my money as she was just back in jail on a probation violation. In fact I have to call her now as she left a message on my cell phone that she is out. I wonder where she plans to spend the night. . .

Jackie.. that is great to know you guys are taking all the steps for her now. The age 18 thing seems strange to me, it seems your parents should be able to give you permission. But then I guess they are also dealing with crazy parents too... You know I heard about the bcbs 3 year diet. That is crazy!!! When I was getting my last fill I heard the receptionist telling someone over the phone. I guess I slipped in right before they made the change. Thank god!!! Well anyways... its good to know that you guys are taking all the steps for her. I was overweight in hs and like I said I would love to go back and do it over being a size 6 or even an 8 (what hs students would consider fat probably)! LoL But hey... I wouldnt be the person I am today if anything was to be different. haha...

How is everyone elses Saturday night?

MISERABLE AND TOO TIGHT! I said I would be okay being on liquids for 3 weeks, but I am not. I can't even eat beans right now. Jello hurts! I can still get liquids down so I am not in danger of dehydrating, but I am tired of the pain everytime I try to eat. Evenings are alright and I can seem to get some food down then, but nothing wants to go down before about 7 pm. So now I am going to have to drive back. Should have just taken my docs advice and had the unfill right then and there, but I was stubborn. This is the first week of the new trimester and I am already missing 1 day for a conference that I am going to so I don't want to miss any more. I am going to try and make some chili and then puree it so that I have something besides protein drinks for breakfast and lunch. Even yogurt hurts a bit going down so I don't know if the chili will work or not.

HELP PLEASE!!! I have not been on here forever, but do continue to read the posts. I am in trouble. For some reason the past month I have lost control of my brain and will power. With the band I cannot eat but about a cup of food, but after a hour or so I start looking for something to snack on. I usually choose a small box of raisins or a slim fast bar, but I eat it. And then an hour or two later I do it again. With my job I eat breakfast at 7:00 and drive an hour to work and I don't go to lunch until 1:30 or 2:00. This month I have gained 4 pounds! I am just sick with myself. Please someone give me some ideas to shock myself and my system back into the proper strenght to fight myself. You are always to inspirational. Any ideas will be appreciated. Patti

Good afternoon everyone. Just checking in again. Been a pretty busy but GOOD weekend. Went to get DD prom dress fitted yesterday and then we went shopping AGAIN!!! LOL We had a lot of fun. We all got our nails done and ate a great lunch at AppleBees and I even behaved and ordered a half grilled chicken salad and then couldn't finish all of that. EXCELLENT DAY!!! I was bushed when we got home at 6pm and then DH says what are we going to do tonight? I said you seriously still want to go do something. (he stayed home yesterday) He said 'yeah you said when you got home we were going to go do something.' I said 'not going to no bar and we just went to the movie last night so now what?" He said I don't know what do you want to do? I suggested going to the casino about 1 1/2 hours away because we have never been to that one. Called my mom and her boyfriend and asked them to go and away we went again!!! I put a $10 in the dollar machine and played 3 times at $3 a pop and on the last spin I won $1386.00. Had to go find hubby and tell him because I was so freakin excited!!! I said ok we will play off the $50 that we brought each but no more. We both played with the rest of our start money and we ended up bring $1765.00 home. Not bad huh? We have decided that when the kids go to their Chicago trip in April we will go somewhere and maybe stay in a hotel because our anniversary will be the following week after the kids get home. I told him 'no casino honey. Now this was a fluke and if we take all our winning and go back we will loss it. HAHA

Got home about 1am and I was so jacked up about the winnings that I done my deep cleaning of the house this morning about 2am. Now today is mine for whatever I choose.

Anyway just had to check in and tell you all my news. We are heading to the gym and to tan so I gotta get. TTYAL Hope you are all having an excellent weekend.

From Janet: Brandy - I bet you can now get a two piece - at 144 - you go girl... I haven't tried on suits yet - I have one or 2 that might fit - but after a few more tanning sessions I may venture into that section at the stores.

Well, I could except that my port is extremely visible. The scarring healed and faded very well, but my port is prominent under the skin and would look odd with a bikini. So, I doubt I'll ever wear a two piece swimsuit in public.

Everyone is doing well. I've been doing good as far as weight, but this last week I've been getting stuck and vomiting an awful lot. Twice yesterday in fact. The third fill was on Feb 8th, so not sure why it's tightened up now....

Hope everyone has a good week!

Hi, Gang,

Quiet day here today. Hope everyone had a great weekend. Enjoyable visit with Janet yesterday. DH cooked us a great dinner!! Now looking forward to seeing her, and some of you, in July at the Mall of America July #7s Bandiversary Getaway! That should be fun!

Researching hotels on Expedia today. I came up with some options, but wondering if we have specific needs/wants. Noticed a lot of the hotels are Non-Smoking! Not good for Janet. And not too many have a restaruant/bar/lounge and we may want that for evening... unless we have a "party room". Most seem to have indoor pools/hot tubs/exercise rooms. Many have continental breakfast, some have full breakfast included. Often the "continental" breakfast includes Cereal, yogurt, bagels, fruit, though... not necessarily coffee and danish/donuts.

I've also been researching travel... about figured out that Amtrak may be as cheap as driving. DH will probably come with me as we will go on to Buffalo to see family. So, with the stop in Minneapolis, Amtrak will be cheaper than flying, even if we upgrade to a "roomette".

I'm getting excited about this!! Can you tell???

:party::tt2:

HELP PLEASE!!! I have not been on here forever, but do continue to read the posts. I am in trouble. For some reason the past month I have lost control of my brain and will power. With the band I cannot eat but about a cup of food, but after a hour or so I start looking for something to snack on. I usually choose a small box of raisins or a slim fast bar, but I eat it. And then an hour or two later I do it again. With my job I eat breakfast at 7:00 and drive an hour to work and I don't go to lunch until 1:30 or 2:00. This month I have gained 4 pounds! I am just sick with myself. Please someone give me some ideas to shock myself and my system back into the proper strenght to fight myself. You are always to inspirational. Any ideas will be appreciated. Patti

Patti,

As we all know so well, the battle is all in our heads!! You just have to decide to take control. Develop some techniques for coping with the temptation. Something you can do when the temptation comes, to put your mind on something else besides snacking. I definitely would find a way to have a healthy snack between that 7 a.m. breakfast and the 1:30-2:00 pm lunch. That's way too long between bandster meals! Your snacking later in the day may be triggered by feeling deprived earlier in the day. Can you have a small yogurt, cottage cheese, something around 10:30-11:00 to get you through to lunch. Something I use if I'm going a long time between meals is beef Jerky. One ounce of beef jerky is about 80 calories. That's something that doesn't have to be refrigerated. You can get some of those little zip lock snack size bags and measure out an ounce of beef jerky and throw it in your purse for mid morning.

This is a journey that requires discipline and that's something most of us have never had! I read on another site that whether we "cheat" or we remain "on plan".... a decision we have to make... is it easier to cope with "depriving" ourselves of all those things we want to eat... or "depriving" ourselves of the healthy body we're striving for?????

When you say you are eating a cup of food... what types of things are you eating? Are you concentrating on lean Protein... fish, etc.? I have about 4 oz of meat/fish, and usually steamed veggies. tonight... about 1/2 cup of macaroni/tuna salad, but normally not much starch in my diet at all. I have a small eggbeaters omelet with a little skim mozarella & shrimp or scallops for breakfast just about every morning. Fits on a saucer... and no toast, etc. Just the omelet. that's about 7:30 a.m. then around noon, usually a small salad... sorry to be redundant, but usually with shrimp or tuna again!! I like my seafood!! dinner, 4 oz meat/fish & veggies. For Snacks we buy lowest calorie chips & crackers we can find.. low fat potato chips (olestra doesn't bother me), or try to find baked tortilla chips. Mid afternoon snack I will have chips or crackers... weighed out... if it says 1 oz chips for 130 calories, I have 1/2 oz and 1-2 Tbsp of salsa or chip dip. with chips and crackers, I usually have half the amount it says for one serving. That way I can have the dip or salsa, too and keep the calorie count down because I'll tell you quite honestly that I'm sipping a small glass of merlot with it~~! In the evening I sometimes have 1/4 cup of cottage cheese, low fat, with 1/2 of one of those little individual cups of mixed fruit or sugar free applesauce sprinkled with a little cinnamon. and that's pretty much my life. If I'm tempted to munch and can't live without having something, my bag of beef jerky is within reach. So.... that's my life where food is concerned. We DO go out to eat sometimes... you HAVE to make healthy choices even if it means you're sitting there eating salad while everyone else is having mashed potatoes and gravy and you want some too!!! If I start to feel really deprived, my DH is always willing to let me have one bite and that satisfies me. And Desserts.... the now famous "Phyl's THREE BITE rule"!! Sometimes it's only one bite, but no more than THREE.

The other thing that's really important.... exercise. Are you getting any?? I'm doing Water aerobics 5 mornings a week. We're snowbirds and in a nice warm climate for the winter (well NOT today, but usually it's nice and warm!!), but we head home in two weeks, so I'm getting my head ready for that. I have to find another way to exercise when we get there and I don't have my nice warm pools available! I'm going to try weight machines at our condo, and maybe see if I can do some treadmill time... bad knees!! AND, I'm going to get the knees evaluated next month, too, so maybe I can get back on my feet more.

We're here for you, Patti. Please feel free to share your struggles as well as your triumphs!! We're all in this together! We gain strength from one another.

Hugs!

HELP PLEASE!!! I have not been on here forever, but do continue to read the posts. I am in trouble. For some reason the past month I have lost control of my brain and will power. With the band I cannot eat but about a cup of food, but after a hour or so I start looking for something to snack on. I usually choose a small box of raisins or a slim fast bar, but I eat it. And then an hour or two later I do it again. With my job I eat breakfast at 7:00 and drive an hour to work and I don't go to lunch until 1:30 or 2:00. This month I have gained 4 pounds! I am just sick with myself. Please someone give me some ideas to shock myself and my system back into the proper strenght to fight myself. You are always to inspirational. Any ideas will be appreciated. Patti

Phyl said it and I am going to second it... YOU have to take charge of your life and your body. I think you have taken the first step. Now it is a matter of taking it one day at a time. If you keep at it and keep doing what you know is right to do, I do believe it gets easier. Right now my eating habits are so ingrained in my brain that I am having a tough time changing them to go into maintenance so this is something you can do. Believe me if I can change my terrible eating ways, I think you can too. Now we have the band and we can use that to help us. My doc told me that simply by letting the band cut down our portions we can lose 25 pounds in a year...to get the rest off we have to change our lifestyles. Like you I have a job that doesn't allow me to eat except at certain times. However, like Phyl said you are probably going to need to eat a snack half way between breakfast and lunch. Below I included my schedule that I followed during the last trimester. I have to change it now because my schedule changed but this is what I have been doing for the last three months and I have had incredible success. One thing that I did when I was craving foods was to chew on gum or drink. Since we can't eat and drink together it made me not eat. By the way...how much liquid are you getting each day? If you are eating every hour or so I am assuming that you are not getting enough or you are eating and drinking at the same time, which could be a reason that you are not staying full. Also, when you are snacking, are you actually hungry or is it head hunger?

(Posted this on my August board, but thought it might help you!)

So before attempting to go to maintenance I ate about 1000 calories per day. I ate at 6:30, 10:30, 2:30 and 6:30 only. Nothing in between except Water

Breakfast : Dannon light and fit vanilla yogurt (60 cal) and 1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean Cereal (70 cal) OR

Sausage and egg Lean pocket (140 cal)OR

Egg Patty (get them at walmart) (60 cal) and Jimmy Dean turkey sausage (~130)

Lunch (10:30): Ground chicken meatloaf with low carb ketchup OR

S&W Pinto Beans in Chipotle chili sauce (90 cal), lettuce, 1 taco shell (50 cal) and salsa OR

Crustless pizza (~200 cal)

Snack (2:30) Pure Protein Bar (190 cal) OR 100 calorie popcorn OR both!

dinner (6:30) I usually eat anything for dinner as long as it is made with chicken and veggies.

*spaghetti with very few noodles

*noodle less lasagne

*tuna casserole with white beans instead of noodles

*crab cakes

*stir fry

*fish and veggies

*chili

I am an atkins girl so carbs to me are a no-no. Still learning that they aren't all bad, but they still scare me! I eat a lot of the same thing and now I am trying to figure out how to eat to get enough calories (doc wants me at 1500) and not turn back to crap foods. I eat a lot of tomatoes! If you want any recipes let me know, I can do my best to send them to you.

Hi Patti. You've already gotten the best advice there is, so all I can do is to tell you that you have the power to make this happen. It was good to read Phyl's and Karri's posts because I messed up today and I have to get my act together. It really is all about head work, Patti. We talk about our food demons--we all have them--and how they keep trying sneaky ways to make us think that we have to eat. You have to stand up to them again, and again, and again, but the more often you do it, the less they will bug you. Like me, you will mess up once in a while, but then you pick yourself up and get right back to work. It does no good to berate yourself about it. Let go of it and start fresh. Make a commitment with me right now: I am an intelligent, healthy, sane woman. Today, I will make rational, reasonable decisions about food.

I am not meant to have a fill. Last night I could eat after 7...tonight...NOPE!:mad2: I had beans and chicken tortilla soup last night...Tonight: the broth from the soup still kind of hurt going down (though I think it was because I had already irritated my tummy with the beans!). Water, juice and protein drinks go down just fine. Anything else feels like I am swallowing an elephant. SIGH! I know that I said I would be okay being on soups for three weeks, but I lied!:tt2: I will call tomorrow and schedule an unfill for 1 week from tomorrow. That is spring break and I was going to the other side of the mountains to visit friends anyways, I will just take a 3 hour detour to the doctors. Thank goodness I don't have to pay for these fills and unfills. Fortunately I am not physically hungry...just mentally not satisfied. Like my mommy I can't just eat 1/4 cup of food and feel like I am done! I am perfectly satisfied at 3/4 to 1 cup of food, but lower than that and this former fat girl feels like she got the short end of the stick:thumbdown:. Oh by the way...popcorn goes down at any time of the day! Go figure. That was one of the foods that they told me I would most likely not be able to eat ever again. Too bad it isn't protein fortified. I could just eat 15 bags of my 100 calorie popcorn to get to my daily calorie goal.:cool:

Well I got back from the gym about an hour ago and I need to take a shower and hit the sack.