MamaMichelle

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I get the Michalina's Chicken and Spinach Fettichini Alfredo for $1.00 at Food4Less here in Vegas, I can only eat the chicken (well maybe I could eat the noodles I never really tried)... I just pick out the chicken in the yummy sauce which is 1/3 of the meal, perfect bandster portion and since they are only $1.00 I don't feel bad about not eating the whole thing! I eat maybe 1 or 2 a week and have been pretty steadily losing so I guess they are ok!

Way to go M-C, glad to see your fill is doing it's job!!

I haven't told anyone, and I am pretty southern (born in GA raised in TX) but all of our family is back in Dallas so they haven't seen me since I've lost my weight, but they know I am losing... I plan to tell my mom and dad after the Oprah show re-airs on Aug 11th (going to have them Tivo it since I will be telling them over the phone that way they have some visiual clue to what the band is) I have a few friends in Vegas but no one close enough that I feel comfortable enough sharing with them, I have told a few semi-strangers, my zumba teacher and 2 of my clients (all of them are overweight) but that is about it... I see overweight people and think to myself I should tell them there is a way to change, but then I think if someone told me that back at 247 I would have been pretty pissed so I stay silent.

On Big Brother All-Stars, they actually peeled the Big Brother label off and revealed that it is Bill Pearl's High Protein Oatmeal. You can buy it at the link below. http://www.billpearl.com/product.asp?i=2670 You know you want some Kimmie... lol

I remember this passage about Splenda from the "Skinny Bitch" book: "Because we're having so much fun, let's bash the s$#& out of Splenda, one of the newer sweetners. Splenda is made by chlorinating sugar, changing its molecular structure. The finished product is called sucralose. The makers of this poison tout its lack of calories and claim it's safe for diabetics. The FDA calls sucralose 98 percent pure. The other 2 percent contains small amounts of heavy metals, methanol, and arsenic. Well, gee, at least it doesn't have calories. So what if it has a little arsenic? Sucralose has been found to cause diarrhea; organ, genetic, immune system, and reproductive damage; swelling of the liver and kidneys; and a decrease in fetal body weight. What a splendid product! According to Dr. Joseph Mercola in Consumer Research magazine's article 'The Potential Dangers of Sucralose,' 'There is no clear-cut evidence that sugar substitutes are useful in weight reduction. On the contrary, there is some evidence that these substances may stimulate appetite.'"

I think if they are being evasive, then it wouldn't hurt to contact a few other loan companies... Someone on here had a similar problem and on the 3rd or 4th company finally found someone willing to work with her!

Water aerobics is a great workout!! What’s great about working out in the pool is the water acts as resistance So you’re actually exercising twice as hard without feeling it. You're also not sweating so that's always nice!

Every doctor has their own set of guidelines for both the pre-op diet and post-op diet... With Dr. Ortiz the pre-op most of us choose is 2 slimfasts and a lean cuisine for 2 weeks prior to surgery then it is full liquids for 3 weeks after sugery...

Way to go sweetie, I can see that your face is already much slimmer and I love the new haircut too... You are transforming all over babe!!

You are right Amber but I think that is exactly what the US needs, every year people get fatter and fatter... I think drastic measures need to be taken and something like this nationwide may be the wakeup call we need!

First off Hello and Welcome, we are a warm and friendly group of current and future bandsters here to support each other!! Most of us here on this forum were banded by one of the best lap-band drs in the world- Dr. Ariel Ortiz in Tijuana Mexico and pretty much everyone was up shopping the next day with very minimal pain... Some people didn't even spend the night in the hospital!! the PB (productive burp) only happens when you don't follow the new rules the band is there to enforce, meaning eating too much, eating to fast or not chewing food well enough... There is a learning curve but if you follow those rules then you minimize the risk of the painful PB's.

I get great filet mignon at Costco here and eat it at least once a week, it is my favorite meal!!

You can buy it at walmart but the cost is $169 http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7755581

Sorry to hear about your bad PB- dry chicken is a bandster's enemy! So microwaving chicken is a big no-no because microwaves work by boiling out the water in food, so any mositure in the chicken will be gone making it harder to chew and more likely to get stuck!

Lol I think that is one of the he few exercise gimics that I haven't bought in the past.... Kittycat just got one so she's the one you should ask about that!!

I have something similar the "Bally Ped a Bike" that I got for $5 at Big Lots one day (another failed workout peice of equipment) mine was not very sturdy but I used it with my arms and felt pretty good. Oh and This is the Leg Magic:

Sorry for all the trouble, I'm sure it will all get worked out. I will say that when I mailed my payment in I did send it to a US address, Dr. Ortiz does actually live in San Diego so maybe he runs the costs through the US side of the office for tax purposes!

Barb is right, though you can still get fill (or unfill) it's just more painful becuase you have to go through the muscle and using fluro is reccomended because it is so deep! Tee- Here's a post on how to add a ticker: http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?showtopic=5317

What a great feeling it must be to open a whole new world of fashion for yourself!!

Glad you figured out how to get the pics uploaded, next time use the info from the larger pics, like this: Anyways you look GREAT!!! I can really see the changes... Way to go!

I hate sweet n low too, my first choice is ALWAYS Equal...

Carrie- please don't beat yourself up.. There are many people on this board who would give their left leg to weigh 184 (I know I would have 6 months ago) when you have such a low starting weight (yes 192 is low in my book) the weight isn't going to come off as fast as someone who started at 250lbs! I mean you only have 40lbs to go before your reach your GOAL so if you only lose 5lbs a MONTH starting in Aug you will reach you will reach your goal within your first year of banding which most people aren't able to do. So while it sucks to see the scale bouncing up and down just remember that the best thing you can do for yourself is think postively and follow the bandster rules, even if you can eat bread and pizza and cheeseburgers DON'T!! You're just going to end up feeling worse, instead eat healthy get your protien and water in and try to exercise if you can!! YOU CAN DO IT!

An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial and usually irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the intention of baiting other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.

I like this anology: Putting the band between your stomach and esopagus is like a glass blower "pinching" an hourglass in the middle of a glass. The size of the space within the "pinch" is adjusted by adding a fill to your band, the more fill you get the smaller the space inside the pinch. The food you eat is like the "sand" that is able to pass through the pinch... If your don't chew well enough (if the sand is too big) it won't pass through the band. When your band is filled correctly the food you eat will stack upon itself on top of the band (like sand in the top of an hourglass) till the food stacks high enough that your body signals that you are full. Again depending on the size of your "pinch" combined with the size of the sand (your chewed up food) derermines the flow of food from the esopagus into the stomach. Once you lose that full feeling it means that the food has passed through the band into your stomach where the nerves in your stomach tell you body again that you are still full... once the food has been digested and left your stomach you get that feeling of being hungry again. So if you're not feeling full with the food you are eating your choices are eating more to keep that feeling of fullness in your stomach or getting another fill so that food stays above the pinch so you feel fuller longer.