My name is Helen and I was banded on 10/5/2008. I have lost about 45lbs. pre and post surgery. I am having some challenges and would love to find someone local or national that I can either talk with or email.

I am a divorced 43 year old interior designer with no children. I have my own business and I am addicted to reality shows, fashion ( shopping, not so much anymore since the economy is so down) books, politics and traveling.

I have tried losing weight on my own for most of my life and finally made the decision to get banded. I am gratefull that the procedure has gone so well overall even with the few glitches I have had. I have about 100 lbs to go for my goal weight and I am hoping that by this time next year, I will be close.

I strongly believe that having the support or a fellow bandster to go through the process of the banding and the weight loss is one of the key ingredients to success and have not found anyone yet.

I would love to hear from anyone interested in finding a buddy or another person to mentor.

Helen:rolleyes2:

Hi Helen,

As you can see I'm not to far away from you in O.C. But yes, I agree the support is huge in success and understanding all the changes in food, energy, attitude etc. I was banded on 9/3 and have lost a total of 27lbs:mad2:.. it's been hard loosing slow. I have had 2 fills and still really don't feel any restriction. I can still eat and too much :Dancing_sorry: My hardest thing has been eating slowly and chew, chew, chew... But I'm trying. I can honestly say I have only had two bad days:eek:.. and they were completely my fault. Trying to mix it up on my foods also. Thank God for eggs :Dancing_wub: Just try and exercise at least 3 days a week... I bought a treadmill recently. You have a great attitude and I know you will do well. Stay in touch and we'll share our journey.

Regards,

MartiXLardy

So glad to see two other ladies from CA. I'm from Sacramento and I was banded 11/4. My experiences are similar to yours, but I've only lost about 10 pounds. I'm not scheduled for a fill till 1/16!!! I'm gonna try and get in earlier. I'm sure I need one. Doc said tp visualize an egg and that s/b all I'll be able to eat. Wrong. I can eat a lot more than an egg. But I'm eating healthier, 3 meals a day, two snacks. Scrambled egg whites, and a little salsa is tasting great!!!

Also for snacks, I've been buying the individual fruit cups, no sugar, also tastes great cold. Let's see, also fudgcicles, (Sp) only 40 calories and a treat.

Somebody asked if you can feel port. If I press in at the port site about an inch, you can feel the hardness of the port. Not uncomfortable.

Surgery experience was not nearly as bad a I was reading about on line. I guess some people like to share horror stories. I was feeling discomfort due to abdominal soreness, but I won't even call it pain. More of muscle soreness.

Take care. KathrynAG

Hi KathrynAG,

Good to hear from you. 10lbs. is great for being banded less than a month! I would not worry too much about getting a fill just yet. If you are banded less than a month, your body really needs time to heal. I like eating the Kozy Tapioca pudding with splenda, 90 calories. Also the Healthy Choice single serving Soups are pretty good.

I just visited my dietician because I was worried about not losing enough weight even though I am only eating about 1000 calories a day. She and I went over my list of foods and we realized that I was taking in too much salt from the food I was eating and I was retaining Water. She told me to limit my intake of salt to 1000 mgs per day.

Keep in touch.

Hi Helen, I'm wynn. I live in Yuma, but I was banded in san diego and i go there once a month for fills and/or to see my doctor. I had surgery on 9/8/08, and I've lost 53 pounds. I'm losing somewhat slowly, though I'm still completely satisfied with it.

Since my surgery, I have made a complete turn around in how i look at food. I'm making good food choices, and I'm cooking more and more so I can be sure of what ingredients go into my food. I still have two kids at home, and I like the fact that I'm teaching them, by example to eat healthy.

I have had some bad days with vomiting. All of which are absolutely operator error. If I wait too long to eat, and I'm overly hungry I have a hard time staying focused on the eat slow and take small bites rules. I'm getting better as time goes on.

I think the one thing I can say is that planning has been the most help for me. If I stay prepared, then I don't have to resort to just eating whatever I can find when I'm hungry.