Trav

wouldn't your boyfriend get mad? lol

5lbs to go before I reach the first 50 mark. Lots of stomach growlings, gas, and wondering if I'll ever have real food again. 1 cracked wisdom tooth...(well I think it's cracked, it hurts to chew anything on it.) No dizziness... ...lots of cravings... still doesn't 'feel' like I've lost a lot, but i seem to feel better.

You also have to remember if you're walking more, you're also building muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. So if your muscle increase is at the same rate or slightly below your fat loss, you're going to either stay the same weight, or gain weight. Don't worry about this. Eventually you will lose more fat, and your muscles can only grow so much, without weight training.

sliming, i.e. pre-barfing, i.e. your body attempting to regurgitate the stuck food. It's not like the usual variety of vomit, but a slime.

I've also found that you can take Campbell's version of Basil Tomato and dust the top of the soup with onion, garlic, and oregano powder (probably could ues oregano flakes, but that's all I had atm)...then stir it all up and cook it, and it's quite good as well.

Pasta also breaks down quickly... ...if you guys will think back before we all got banded. Remember how you could fill up on pasta, and then 30min or an hour later, it feels like someone punched you in the stomach in one spot. That's the structure of the pasta breaking down, and collapsing...before it gets thru your system, so your stomach responds by making you feel hungry in that one spot where it collapsed, but because it's a localized area, and not over the whole of your stomach, you interpret that feeling as pain. Soft foods are generally a no-no...but there's no harm in eating them as a "reward" food. Say once a week. The thing about dieting and calorie management, you can't just restrict yourself and that's it...(unless you have the type of personality that supports that)...eventually you'll snap and binge, and then you're screwed. All things in moderation, including moderation.

Now for a guy's perspective. I'm not speaking for myself, just guys in general. 1. 99% of all guys are visual. 2. of those, most are also very tactile. 3. A large percentage of both groups are also very unrealistic. 4. Almost all of those are more concerned about the here and now, instead of what was, or will be. That being said, so are a lot of women. In either case, some don't understand. "Why can't you just not eat as much"...it's not that simple. You get things under control, then something happens, stress, depression, what have you...or it's something physical (like you stretched your stomach out early in life, or have adhesions in your abdominal cavity)...whatever the reason...there's a reason. There was an article in the latest People magazine about young athletes who bulked up in high school, and it affected them later in life....I would fall in that category and I played TWO sports at the same time...so I got a double dose. Ignorant people will probably give you a cold shoulder about it. I'm lucky, my family, friends, and coworkers have been very supportive about it. "Oh you got a surgery? You're a weak individual"...it takes more strength to admit you need help, imo. Hell I'm 36, and I've been single most of my adult life, with an occasional girlfriend here and there, but never lasting more than a year or two at most. I'm not so much worried about what they'll think, but whether I can even find someone this late in life, who has the same ideals as to what a relationship should be. Let alone someone who isn't jaded and bitter, and bring a lot of extra baggage to the relationship....it just doesn't happen much past 30.....sometimes I think I'd be better off going to Russia, Ukraine, or somewhere where the ratio of men to women is vastly in the men's favor and trying to find someone...because the first time I hear, "All you mean are *ssholes" I hang up the phone and I rarely call back, because I don't need that kind of negativity. I want a happy, and loving home, not a "partner" who's still bitter about how she was treated by other men, so I get to be punished for other people's crimes.....been there, done that. No thanks.

Have to give 2 thumbs up on the Progresso tomato soups. Basil tomato, and Hearty Tomato. They don't taste like Campell's..(campells taste like crap, imo) To jazz is up a little...about a 1/4 each of onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano. Tastes pretty great.

...but if you were a guy, you wouldn't get attention from the other guys...unless you lived in the right neighborhoods. ;-)

cheese broccoli is good, you can blend up the chunks with a hand blender. mushroom tastes like a canned mushroom. (avoid it, imo) progresso Basil Tomato is good, is close to marinara... trying a couple others over the next few days. 5 more days till I can have some REAL FOOD

Vincento and Daniel are two excellent people to have take care of your needs, they're very professional and friendly.

also, choose those diet meals that are low in carbs. (there are a lot of them that have a buttload of carbs, but are low in calories.) Carbs make the liver big, or keep it large if it's big. The doctor will need room to work, so choose vegetables and proteins, and all the major diet meal producers have selections that are nothing but vegetables and meat. BE SURE TO READ THE LABEL.

bear in mind, that if you have a high protein diet, protein is very hard on your kidneys. You don't want to develop ketoacidosis. (ketones are really harsh chemicals)...so be absolutely sure you drink a good amount of water. When I went to Burning Man, they had a newspaper called "Piss Clear" (camping in a 120º desert you really need to keep hydrated.)...so bearing that in mind, check your urine, and if it's not clear, drink more water...otherwise you're beating the hell out of your kidneys.

yeah, I think I just hit it, I've floated between 286-289 for the past couple days. I started losing very fast, but tapered off real quick after I started on soup. I'm so looking forward to real food next week But yeah, it's normal. When I did Atkins, I lost 25lbs first 3 days, then about 2 weeks it slowed way down, and then picked back up. I think it's our body's revolting and saying "NO, I'm not going to lose anymore"...but then metabolic respiration wins out. Oh, and try yourself on some liquid vitamins or something. (they taste like crap...but easy to swallow) Keep at it.

I went right back to work. Took about 2 extra days off, so basically went back 6 days after surgery.

Naso-Gastric tubes are used for: stomach decompression, feeding, and meds. If they don't scope you, they run the risk of damaging your pouch.

It's really hard to make someone understand unless they walk in our shoes. Putting on clothes, not knowing if they'll fit or not. Waking up one morning, late for work, and your last pair of pants that fit, don't. Hurting having people stare Having people make comments that you can barely hear, but you know they said them. Having to not ride a rollercoaster, because the bar won't go down far enough. Not being able to do the things everyone else does. Being completely unhappy with yourself. hating people because they're thin and you're not. hating yourself because somehow your life got out of control. always feeling like an outsider constantly wishing your life were different. Wishing people would see you for you, and not the ponderous bulk you've become. the list goes on and on....but the main motivation is to get back our lives, and to live happy and healthy.

I'm gonna go as Hellboy next year, if I can find the time (and the latex) to build my costume.

lol I told 'em I'd fix 'em for ya. :-P

1.I am on medicaid and medicare Can Medicaid and medicare Pay if I have the Lap Band surgery? Depends on your plan. 2. What do I have to expect before Lap Band Surgery? Fear of the unknown. Anxiety. Mild shock. (you can't believe you're really doing this). Hunger. Guilt. Wondering if you can really say goodbye to your old way of life. Depending on your pre-op diet, liquids and lots of them. (going in one end and coming out the other, pretty much the same way.) 3. Do you Spend the Night in the Hospital After Lap Band Surgery? You probably should. Mine was out-patient. (I was ready to go a few hours after surgery). On a scale of 1-10, my pain was maybe a 2 at best. (and I'm not talking pain threshold here, which I do have a fairly high tolerance when I focus on it.)...I'm talking next to no pain, more discomfort than anything. 4. What do I have to expect after Lap Band Surgery? Adjusting to your new life. Improved attitude. Clothes shopping. 5. Do you get sick a lot from Lap Band Surgery? I have yet to get sick. Physically, don't use your band as a crutch, but as a tool. Listen to it. Medically, your digestive system makes up 70% of your bacterial infection defenses. Be sure to replenish the "good bacteria" with some active culture yogurt, or that acidiferous <spelling> stuff. 6. Can you return to work the Next day after Lap Band Surgery? I probably could have, but I'd have been pretty worthless. Give it a week, minimum. You'll thank yourself.

Well here's what I'm doing.... Before I go into this, let me pre-face this by saying, before I gained weight: I was playing hockey and football at the same time, in a cold climate. So I was pretty muscular out of high school. (1990). I kinda maintained my weight, but gained a lil' from 90-92, (from around 175-210). 93, I got back down to 185, then in 95, worked for Ohio Bell, was pretty active (climbing telephone poles), too a desk job in 96. Shot up to 345 in 98. Lost 125lbs on Atkins over 2 years. Got up to 265. Dropped back down to 220, got up then 2006-2008, gained 100lbs. That being said, I never lost my muscle mass, so that's probably a good majority of my ability to burn calories. Now, as far as what I do. I have a 32oz insulated mug, that I keep iced, and have something in it. Free choice liquids: Water Gatoraide Juice (1st week, apple and grape juice) (2nd week, apple, grape, "Cranenergy", V8 splash) (DIET DRINKS SPARINGLY, and where I can, get Splenda instead of aspartame, or Stavita Stevia, or an alcohol based sugar substitute....aspartame blocks your brain's ability to receive the "full" signals, and also leeches calcium from your bones, It's bad for you, and I've been just as guilty as anyone else in consuming it.) 1st week meals: chicken, beef bullion cubes 2nd week: 3.1oz drinkable yogurt+bullion, or 8oz yogurt 3rd week: TBD Today was the first night I had soup, I just couldn't take it anymore. I was going to do the full 2nd week of full liquids (minus soup), but I broke down and had Cheese Cream of Broccoli. (used a hand immersion blender to liquefy the broccoli, rather than strain it out). It was probably thicker than I should've eaten it, but I could technically still drink it, so I ate it. Ate the whole can, (slowly), without any ill effects, so I'm thinking I should get a fill just as soon as I can after the 6 weeks, if I'm losing this quickly, and no longer feeling much restriction. (granted, I know I will not be under restriction until I get a fill, but I do know that you still have to be careful as if you were filled, in order to avoid stretching your pouch. As I've really consumed nothing but liquids, i don't see how I could've stretched out. I may simply be healing and losing weight, thus increasing the size of the opening. I no longer "fill up" on water, so I'm taking that as a good sign. So the essentials: Muscle burns fat. (I have a good base of muscle) Reduced caloric intake (I think I'm 4-500 tops). as little carbs as possible. (hard to do and have energy on liquids) reduced sodium intake. You *do* need iodine, but having nothing but iodized salt all the time isn't healthy. Sea salt or kosher salt is good to throw into the mix. Staying active. I don't exercise, but I have a job where I'm on my feet all day. I went back to work 6 days post-op (I couldn've went back 4 days, but I wanted to be lazy) When you feel hungry, drink some water or some juice. stick to your 3 meals a day as best as you can. Other than that, I really don't think I'm doing anything special. I'm not even taking chromium picolinate.

Harry, we know this, but what does that have to do with the "no alcohol" conversation? (Not being critical, I'm just curious as to your point.)

are you friends single? hahaha. (j/k) I didn't go out for halloween, I had to work. (went back to work 6 days post-op)

NO MORE VODKA....(at least till you get on full food.)...yeah technically you "can" drink....but in all honesty, doesn't it make sense to let your body heal completely. Look at it this way, the money you spent on your band, is worth not drinking for 3 weeks, what would happen if you drank and threw up a lot before you were completely healed. You may not have any ill-effects now, but 2-4 years down the road, do you really want your band to slip? Don't risk it. Wait till you're on food...and then take it easy

well there's not many places where you can get a whole outfit for less than $10, and it still be somewhat nice. Jeans, it's kinda touch and go. Shirts, can be had as low as 50¢ Nice dresses $5-20....now sometimes things will be over-priced (relatively speaking)...and sometimes you can find things that are worth a fortune, and get 'em for $2.