JazzyJude

Good point on gaining when starting exercising...I really forgot about that and was wondering if I was retaining water or what. I know I shouldn't really worry about my weight loss too much, since it will be 6 weeks out from surgery tomorrow. Come January 8 will be my 3 months out from surgery and will really concentrate on more hard core exercises. Right now, I am focusing on portion control, protein intake, and calories, as well with mild exercising. Why am I rushing myself? i'm not really but it's because I am hearing all the successes and suggestions from everyone as they progress! It's is AWESOME to see and hear all this and it keeps me going forward ~ you are all inspirationals! THANK YOU!

Dr. Luke...you really look good. In fact, your beard makes you look very distinguishing (well, to me you do ~ HA!). Would you care to share your success with meal planning and what kind of exercises you have been doing? We've a few new men recently banded and I am sure they would love to hear some of your adventurous journey! Awesome job and keep up the good work!

Oh yummy! That sounds good Cathy! Let me know how you fair after your soup stage! I am curious if this helps you...G'luck! Also, I know you are doing exercises inside, can you try walking your block for about 15 minutes and see if that may make a difference too?

Hi Laurie, Before my surgery on Oct 8 at OCC, I had veen listening to everyone here on the forum to remember to sip, sip, sip and WALK, WALK, WALK! I practically chanted this all the time! LOL One of the reason why I didn't have too much gas pains is because I was to have my surgery on Oct 9, but Dr. Ortiz "had time for one more surgery" and guess what? ~ I was there and was chosen! So, I never got my "last supper" the night before surgery like 99% of you all had. So, I had no food in my stomach for over 2 days because I was doing just protein shakes for all meals to lose more weight before weighing in. After surgery, within 15 minutes, I had started walking up and down the hallways with my 'patient pal IV pole'. I did this just about every 1-1/2 hrs until 4 am...because I didn't want to hurt like some bandsters had from the gas bubbles. Walking around jiggle them around and I didn't have that too many gas pains after I came home. I used (2) gas x strips at a time and it seemed to have worked out fine for me. The key to getting rid of gas pains/bubbles is to WALK, WALK, and WALK it out. Also, drink plenty of liquids. AND, when you drink, do not inhale air while drinking. Breathe through your nose while you are pretty much 'pouring' your liquids from your lips. I know this sounds kind of weird, but you will have less air inside you to try to burp or fart it out of ya! LOL Watch your food intake, strawberries, I was told, creates air inside you and the little 'seeds' can stay in your colon longer than you care for. Don't want to build up too much pollups either. So, WALK my dear friend!

Hi there and WELCOME to Bandland! You will not regret this for one moment! I was banded on Oct 8, so I am still a new one learning but grasping all of the bandster's suggestions real quick! Keep a journal of things to assist you for future reference. I still do when I feel as though I am in a rut or plateau. Change some foods around, or increase my exercises, things like that. Yes, Cathy is one of several bandsters who've helped me get started too. Everyone here on the forum, at one point or another have assisted me in getting started and still are. Keep us posted on your progress and really, ask away, we are here for each other!

DRATS! I am having my first fill on Sat, Nov 22, before you arrive. I pray all will go OK for you Amber!

Hi inny... OK, I am so like a ninny cause I don't like soggy or mushy food. But what you did doesn't sound too bad! Seriously, what does it really taste. Be honest. Can you make it 'drier' so it doesn't seems so mushy? Would this work? I, too, want another source of breakfast protein.

AWESOME Amanda! I would love to read it. Tracking is good if it helps you. Like I said, don't get too stressed out...they will take you in for surgery as long as you show you are really trying to lose the weight. Also, losing the weight will help decrease the fatty tissues around your liver and Dr. O will decide what band size to use on you. Good Luck!

Labella ~ thanks for your post. It would give me a more options to choose from.

EXCELLENT post Cathy! I am printing this for my binder... BURN, Baby, BURN!!!

Amanda hun...STOP obsessing yourself with the calorie counting and weight scaling. This can cause you to stress out more and you will not stay focus. DO THIS...remember how you felt when you finally hear about the lapband and you set your surgery date ~ that beaming, excited feeling and? You NEED to get that feeling back! Keep a journal sweetheart. This is what I had done and STILL DO. It helps me get to where I am suppose to be and do. I bought me one of those 3-hole tear-away, lined, paper pads from Target and I write down what I eat, my exercises I am doing, my small, reachable, goals I want to reach, and my feelings for the day. At the end of the day, if I had a "good" day, I would put a STAR on the upper right hand corner and put it in my 2" binder for "future reference". When I think I am not doing good, I refer back to the days I "felt good". with the starred pages, and re-read what my day was like then and copycat what I ate and did that day and re-evaluated my current day's journal to make it better, to continue my road to success - it really works. If you haven't drank all your water, make (8) small circles, on the right hand side, by your food diary, and as you drink one full glass, color in a circle. You have to do this one day at a time babe. It doesn't happen all at once. It takes time and energy. YOU CAN DO THIS AMANDA! This may seem elementary or childish to you to do - but if this is what it takes to stay on course and focus ahead to be successful, then it's worth it a try. TRUST ME, you will have both bad and good days. Staying positive and focused helps me be motivated to go forward. Hope this helps!

Hi kiddo... It seems as though you may being one or two things: - eating too fast - not chewing your food up before swallowi It's tough at school and also, with you eating a hamburger, maybe the 'hamburger bun' is not agreeing with you anymore. Try not eating breads, as this either gets too 'dry' and wanting to drink something to get it down or it gets to 'doughy' and is stuck, while trying to continue to eat. The other thing is corn. It is not suggested to eat corn, peas or carrots because it has a tendency to 'pile up' in bulk, therefore having a difficult time going through your pouch. The key here is to eat in smaller portion size. Also, if you are stressing out, this would make your opening smaller and tighter and if you are trying to hurry and eat your lunch, forget it. You will PB or slime. If you know you are going to eat fast, choose wisly on your food choice to make it easier on your new stomach pouch. Instead of eating the whole hamburger, maybe eat just one half and take your time eating it and chewing it thoroughly. Do take the risk of overdoing this to cause damage to your band or your pouch. Focus and rethink of why you have the band and go forward in a positive way. YOU CAN DO THIS! Keep us posted on how you are doing - Good Luck!

Awesome Leah! You are heading in the right direction and so glad you are here on the forum for your new adventure to begin. Now comes the time to view the posts and really get prepared for the upcoming journey...you will do great! You are young and strong and so very proud of your decision. DO NOT EVER LOSE YOUR FOCUS! Keep a journal of your food intake, your feelings, exercises, your small, reachable, goals to accomplish and BE POSITIVE and MOTIVATED. You can do this and we are all here to help you and ourselves! Keep us posted on how you are doing.

Mona! Thanks for sharing this. This is inspiring to all of us and for you to see it is even more special! I am very happy for you...keep up the good work kiddo...soon enough, you will be wearing 18's! HOO RAH!

TY Tara! Yes, I think so too! LOL...I was going to say the exact same thing about Dr O's coffee cup! He just loves his cuppa when he goes around to each patient before surgery and chat. Too funny! Personally I thought he was put on the "back burner" as he was away from the 'panel' of drs. I feel as though he should have been up front with the intent to be noticed and gave him extra time to talk more. Hopefully, the next time will be better...

Thank you Jann! I have to admit, it gets easier each day I walk. I get sooo poopped out when I get home and then after an hour gone by, I want to do more! I am just so jazz about this whole thing...so weird! OK, it seems as though I need to browse through all of her videos and pick and choose. I noticed you have quite a selection of hers from your previous post above. HOO RAH...WALK ON!

WTG Jann! That is just AWESOME! Goodness me, you are inspiring me to really tread on more! Yesterday I did 19,689 and today did 19,893. I was close! Also, this is only walking steps I've planned and not the normal, everday walking. I am sure if I added those, I would have gone over 20K both days. Going to have to find some kind of arm exercises because I don't want to have muscle bird legs and heavy flappy wings!!! WALK ON!!

Donna ~ you are almost there soon-to-be Bandster! Congrats on your preop lost! YAY! That is what we are ALL here for...to support one another, both new and old. Like you, I wanted everything to go as planned and it did and still is. Being banded and coming to this forum and reading and posting is making my journey a successful one. I, too, am so grateful for everyone's help, without you all, I wouldn't be where I am now. See you on the other side!! ((HUGS!))

ValleyGirl ~ don't stress out babe. You are in good hands with OCC. As Margaret said, you will be taken care of the moment you get out of the airport and back to the airport. You will not get out of the van until you reach OCC. After surgery, you will be back in the van and delivered to Hotel Lucerna and back to the airport. My hubby and I walked across the street to get popsicles (oh this was a must!) from the liquor store, and as Margaret said, yes, crossing the street was really something but that is because of the "Glorietta" (which is where you have 4 roads coming to a round centered intersection, ALL going at the same time. HA! It's really funny to watch from our room balcony. All the cars stopped when we crossed at the crosswalk...no big deal, just a lot of cars, that's all. BUT, at NO time did I ever felt threatened where I was taken, to or fro from the border, OCC, or the hotel. Also, don't make TJ an "outsider" for violence. It is ALL OVER THE WORLD! Like anything/everywhere else, there will always be some kind of violence going on and you just need to be aware and on alert with your surroundings. But don't get paranoid and wait for violence to happen, it's not healthy. Rest assure that you will be taken care of sweetheart! And, if I hadn't been banded yet, hearing of this recent violence, I will still go to my scheduled surgery. Think positive and focus for the reason why you are getting this surgery. Hope this helps calm you down...((HUGS!))...Jude ^,,^

Hi Amanda! Oh...the date is getting closer! YAY! Dr. Miranda put me on the Diet 2 option plan, two weeks prior to surgery, which I've lost 13 lbs! Here is what I had: (8 oz Water) Breakfast - protein shake (8 oz Water) *10am - (1) Metamucil capsule for curbing your hunger feeling, per Dr. Miranda (8 oz Water) Lunch - protein shake (8 oz Water) *3pm - (1) Metamucil capsule for curbing your hunger feeling, per Dr. Miranda (8 oz Water) Dinner - I used deli luncheon meat slices (Turkey or Chicken from Buddig or Hillshire) and a small salad with hard boiled egg (no yolk) and about 1 oz of cheddar cheese with the sprayed salad dressings Dr. Miranda suggested, from Wishbone. (8 oz Water) Snack, if I wanted one, was either sugar-free Jell-O or pudding. In addition, I did aerobic excercises in the morning before going to work and at night, at home, every day. Dr. Miranda did say I could have diet soda pop, but I didn't want to continue this because after surgery, until 6 months post op, you cannot have soda pop at all. I didn't need the "temptation" and went "cold turkey" and just cut it completely. I started immediately with the protein water, Crystal Light, and tea...and this helped me a lot to think healthier in what I was drinking. I hope this helps you!

Awesome Amy!!! That is truly an accomplishment and should be very proud of yourself!! You are inspiring me too!

Hi Tanya! Look at you go with your weight loss! HOO RAH!! You go girl! OK...I have been using the new Whey Protein Bullets from the GNC stores or Cara had posted on another post (So why is protein pushed so much after surgery?) a wholesale website for the same items and this is the price I paid at GNC on sale. These "bullets" looks like a tube and has 4 fruity flavors and each bullet has 42grams. It has the consistency of thicken Jell-O. But I don't use the whole thing at once. I mix half in my water, same flavored Gatorade, or Cyrstal Light 'to go' packs. I do one in the morning and one in the early afternoon. Here's their webiste: http://www.gnc.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatI...rotein&sr=1 I, myself, you AmazeRX protein shakes. They are 4 flavors, choc, strawberry, vanilla, and mocha. I mix choc and strawberry and yummy!. It's 17grams per shake. To me, they taste like milk shakes with NO chalk, gritty or aftertaste. Go to http://www.amazerx.com to check this out. I believe I might have said this info in the same post as Cara's info. There are so many protein shakes out there...everyone has different taste buds. One would like, where the other doesn't. Hope this helps...

Welcome Amanda! You won't regret your decision at all! Keep focusing forward and be prepared for a wonderful journey of your new life with the band!

EXCELLENT post Mindy...this information goes in my binder for sure!

Hi Taz, OK...like Dana says, Maderma is the other med. It's a small gel tube and apply a THIN layer and it dries within a minute. It's cool and has a nice "fresh" scent. Starting today, I am going to use both the Vit E and Maderma, alternately, through out the day. You can use Maderma 3 - 4 times a day. So, in between I will use the Vit E. Hope this helps you!