My name's Jessica. I was banded in 10/06 by the fabulous Dr Aviv Ben-Meir at St Vincent Charity Hospital Center for Bariatric Surgery in Cleveland, Ohio.

I'm here for support...which I should've been looking for um, around the time i had surgery? But nobody ever said I did things in the right order, lol. I still have about 80 pounds to go, and i'm having problems staying motivated...

HI Jessica, welcome to LBT! You have come to the right place for support and tough love if needed! I love it here! I hope you find everything you need. If you ever need help ask me! :drool:

Hugs

Brandy

Hi Jessica. I used to live in the Falls when I went to U of Akron. Welcome! This is a great place to come for support and to get your questions answered.

hi jessica! welcome!!

i live in mayfield heights but being self pay, St. Vincent was too expensive for me so I had my surgery done in Cincinnati April 2008.

i have a problem with motivation too... there always seems to be a "reason" not to exercise, right? lol

HI Jessica, welcome to LBT! You have come to the right place for support and tough love if needed! I love it here! I hope you find everything you need. If you ever need help ask me! :thumbup:

Hugs

Brandy

you should write a book for me, and let me know exactly what you did, because we had the same start weight...and you're at what my goal is!

any tips/pointers would be so appreciated!

hi jessica! welcome!!

i live in mayfield heights but being self pay, St. Vincent was too expensive for me so I had my surgery done in Cincinnati April 2008.

i have a problem with motivation too... there always seems to be a "reason" not to exercise, right? lol

I went to St Vincents because they had the lowest out of pocket for program fees (my health insurance covered 100%). Both hospitals in Akron had $1000+ in program fees.

My biggest problem with motivation is my lack of support, and I know zero people in real life who have bands. I have a bunch of friends who have had bypass, and a woman i work with had the DS done when I was banded. It's been tough to not get discouraged.

I am the queen of excuses for exercise, lol. Hopefully we can both get on the right track, right???

you should write a book for me, and let me know exactly what you did, because we had the same start weight...and you're at what my goal is!

any tips/pointers would be so appreciated!

Well this is how I did it....

I eat between 800-1300 calories per day. I religious about what goes into my mouth, I know the calories of everything. I track it on www.myfoodpyramid.gov

It is a free goverment site that not only gives calorie content but also nutrition. I eat 6 small tiny meals, I portion out everything. I exercise 1.5 hours a day at 4 am to get my metabolism running. I switch between cardio and weights most times.

I do give in to "bad foods" when I can no longer stand it, such as my TOM. I have learned that I can eat anything with self control! :thumbup:

Hope that helps you! Best wishes on your journey!