Hey all.

So there's a bunch of us in this group, all split up into our different banding days. I was thinking that it might be a good idea to have one master thread as we move through the month, in which all of us could post as we go, from the pioneers going on March 1st to the finalists on March 31st.

I'd love to talk about our anticipation and any worries as we approach our banding date, for people to talk about exactly what happened from the moment they walked into the hospital door until the second they walked out, about how recovery is going, about weight loss and plateaus, about non-scale victories and challenges.

I was thinking that if we all contribute to one thread, it'll form a more substantial channel for information and support. At the moment, I was thinking that we might be too spread out into individual date, and that a central thread would be a really good backbone for the group, in addition to the date-specific threads.

What do you think?

Fenton

Fenton,

English guys are handsome.

Sharona, I never heard of a greek yogurt. What is it and who makes it. Thanks

my word on Greek Yogurt - I love it. It is a bit thicker than regular ygurt and has a little bit of a different texture. I find it in the regular yogurt section at the groery store. What is nice is it has almost double the Protein content of typical yogurt products. I enjoy the blueberry and vanilla OSIO brand there is also a brand called Faz.. I think that is it. It is a bit costly as compared to othes, but well worth it, I try to stock up if it goes on sale..

Thanks Lynn

I"m definitely doing to get some.

Does anyone else have a 15cc band. That's what the doctor says I have but I don't see anyone else with one.

Edited February 10, 200917 yr by Bandana

Found this little chart while reading some other material on the band.....simplistic, but a good basic guide as to whether or not you might need and adjustment.

I've been kind of stressed out the last few days and my band has become a sphincter......sure takes away the possibility of stress eating, which is nice.....

I love Greek yogurt, too - denser, richer than normal. I get the Trader Joe's Fat-free (or maybe Lo-Fat, I do not know) yogurt; I get the honey flavour, add some fruit preserves and a sprinkle of granola, et voila - dessert! It works out to about 160 or so calories, with, I think, 14 g of protein.

Hi everyone! I just talked to a coworkers wife... she got a lapband yesterday:) She is pretty sore, but did well...:wub:ahhh brought back some memories!!!!! Way back to the beginning of the whole process.

Well guys, its almost our one year bandiversary, and I am challenging all of you to a last chance workout before we each hit our one year mark!!!!! Let's step it up and put a few more impressive pounds behind us for our first year totals!!!!!!! Just like the show Biggest Loser!! They do those last chance workouts... we still have a few more weeks!!!!! Lets hop to it!!!!!!

:thumbup:

Or Jonathan can release THE CLAW out on us!!!!!!

Sounds like a good idea Tess!

Thanks for the challenge Tess, I need all of the motivation that I can get! I fully hoped to be 100 pounds down by the time I hit my Bandiversary, but alas, that dream seems to be lost. But I am dedicated to getting as close as I possibly can, 90 pounds down maybe? I accept the challenge, and will work my butt off to see how close I can get!

I posted this question in the weekly weigh in post, but just to make sure that everyone can weigh in (ha) with a response, I will repost it here:

Yay to me for avoiding The Claw for yet another week! Quick question tho......is anyone else losing unevenly? I am wearing a 22 shirt, and an 18 pant. I looked at myself in the mirror yesterday, and I looked like a Ms. Potato Head with the wrong parts, lol! Sooo thick on the top, and slender on the bottom. Ugh, the trials never end! Any hints on how to bring my top half in line with my bottom half? I do mostly cardio, but I do try to tone as much as possible, since I am deathly afraid of excess skin. Any advice is appreciated!

Edited February 11, 200917 yr by BrandNewLisa

I pretty much wear a size 16 both top and bottem but my belly is still pretty big. I think my face and shoulders took pretty thin and my legs are not too bad.

Harley, that is the chart my MD has in their office. Those are the guidelines they use.

Sorry to hear about the stress. It makes my band very tight too.

Christine

I will always be bigger on top than on bottom. I have big boobs. I am in a 16 (loose, could probably go to a 14) bottom and a 18 top.

Christine

BrandNewLisa -- I'll swap with you... just kidding. I'm at the size 18/20 on the top and 22/24 on the bottom... I always thought I was Apple shaped and now I'm Pear shaped! Still not lacking in the top though just seeing the middle going down and down so I can buton things without gaps... sorry guys if that is TMI!

With all the cardio type exercise I'm doing, my butt and legs are shrinking above the knees -- I almost didn't recognize my own legs and I can feel the air and space between them in my pants legs but alas I too fight the bigger belly thing. Anybody have really muscular lower legs due to having carried so much weight around for years? I'm hoping my calves will go down in size as the weight I carry keeps decreasing. I figure they've been bench pressing 300 lbs for awhile so they need time to decrease muscle mass.

I found myself a new In Front of the TV exercise to fit in while watching TV if I haven't made it to the gym. I have a Step Bench that is about 4 feet long and 12-18" wide and about 3-4" off the ground and I do step ups and step offs of this bench for about 15 minutes at a time and it really gets my heart going and my bodybugg detected this jumped my calorie burn up so that is going to stay there and Im going to try to get in extra steps and calorie burn doing this daily now even if I did make it to the gym. Pretty low impact on the knees which is something I needed. I figured if I got tired, I could sit and rest and then do another 10 minutes or whatever.

size wise not sure if I am lopsided or not, top 14/16 or large, almost a medium

bottom, 12, it could be a 10 maybe an 8, if not for the excess flab!!!

Just totally excited about my new body. I can hardly believe it looks this way, for so long it was just a big, round, fat blob. Pushing to lose another 5-10 by bandaversary, but having a rough go at it. Stable at same weight for almost 6 weeks.. Exercise on a somewhat regular basis..

I just got good news, my DH got his lapband surgery date and it's almost identical to mine from a year ago. He will get his band on St. Patrick's Day, March 17 and I had mine last year on March 19. He's excited and so am I, having us both banded I'm sure will help keep me on track!

Hi Thin2bme, My DH is also starting the journey for lap band. He is going for his consult on 03/09/09. He has had his nutrician assessment and is going for the behavioral assessment tomorrow. So I am hoping for a fast approval for him. He has already been in contact with our insurance approval lady with Anthem BCBS. She seems to be extra supportive since I had gone through the procedure and am having great success. I am glad my DH is excited. I think that will help to keep him motivated.

Katie K.