Lindsay

I find the comments above interesting. I have a gut feeling, if you stuck with between 1200-1400 cal's a day, you's lose weight. If you tink about how many EXTRA cal's you need to take in to 1 lb, that would still keep you much lower than you're used to having on a regular, consistent basis. With that being said, as my band is right now, on the tight side, I take in an avg of about 800 cals. There ARE days when I know I need more to keep going. I have a very physical job, and I'm moving all day long ... on my slower days, 800 calories is fine. I wouldn't worry about a caloric intake goal. Just amke sure the majority of your calories are coming from PROTEIN, and not carbohydrates and SUGARS (which are hidden in most pre-packaged foods). Just starting a food journal can be quite telling, and it takes a good few weeks to get the hang of it, without it taking up a lot of your time! It does get a lot easier, and before you know it, you'll be accurately 'guessing' calories you're taking in, and you'll just know.

this will be hard to track down. Esp as the procedure hasn't even been FDA approved yet.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if exercise/cardio, specifically would increase the lung capacity, as well?

Yes It does stick out. And yes, the majority of the time you can see it .. but apparently it looks like one of my abs. .. otherwise, it's just a bump, that I'm proud of. I never thought I'd get this size. So I don't care

anything/everything is just fine! (speaking from personal experience!) I do feel some discomfort with specific core exercises, when my ribs rub against my port .. but I just don't do what bothers it!

And you will. With focus. And consistency

To gain weight, you'd have to be taking in more calories than your body is using up .. Please post a food journal, as this usually gives a very clear indication on where changes can be made. Have you had your body fat and/or measurements taken? This is much clearer indication of progress than a # on a scale. It sounds like you're very confused, and unfocused .. lifting, cardio, yoga, pilates, spinning ... What sort of recommendations has your 'trainer' given you in terms of days on/off, and cardio?

It took me a good year for me to figure my band out. I had very little, to NO weight loss for the first 12-15 months! Until I completely re-vamped my lifestyle: eating & exercise. The restriction in my band has little to do with it, as even with more restriction, it's easy (and quite possible) to cheat the band. So maybe many of you are expecting something isn't quite there.

Lisa, you nailed that one on the head!! If only there was some sort of shot, pill or medicine we could take ... if onlyyyyy

When you haven't had food in days ... and you're restricted to only CLEAR LIQUIDS, the pickin' is slim, i tell ya! You'll be drinking Apple Juice, and it will taste like the nectar of the gods! LOL! I was never big enough to require a seat belt extender, but just being cramped in the planes ... Wah wah wah .. me being tired, my boyfriend being cranky .. blah blah blah It was more of the emotional aspect of it -- than the physical! I can't recall being in pain at all. No post-op pain at all. Maybe a bit gassy, but honestly, as long as you've got your GasEx strips, or whatever your choice is, you'll be fine! Walking around helps A LOT with it too, so even on the plane, when I got gas pains, I'd just walk the length of the plane and back again, and I'd feel a bit better. In Toronto, there was no way I could get the lap band covered under any form of insurance, or such. And the cost is 30k. I'd much rather pay out of pocket, which seemed like pennies, including the flight down to Tijuana. Even with the cost of each fill, it was still worth it. The only difference, is the lack of follow up care: the majority of people who aren't successful with the band, have little to no idea about the diet/food/exercise aspect. While this forum is an incredible support, it often isn't enough for some people. The only difference, would be trying to find fills in Toronto, which is impossible now. The couple of lapband centres have caught on to what 'us' Canadians are doing, and will no longer touch a mexican band. Thank god, I was one of the last ones they accepted at one of the clinics here, so I made it under the radar. Otherwise, I'd probably be driving to NYC to the Univ Hospital there, to get my fills, and paying at least $300usd JUST for a single fill. I'm not even sure if they're accepting 'international' bands anymore. I know there's been quite the clamp down on it, for liability reasons, and of course, financial. Back to the plane experience: The stop over was terrible because I was tired. And cranky .. and there was a lot of walking. Really had nothing to do with any sort of pain! I don't remember feeling any pain. Just so tired. and anxious. I never felt any pain during my post op. That is one thing I can recall! I was just so nervous I'd screw something up PS. I drove from Toronto, to Buffalo, to get a flight out of there ... so I was flying back into Buffalo. Buffalo>chicago>san diego and back again.

To all of those who fell off the forum after posting in this thread: http://www.occforum.com/index.php?showtopic=10750&st=0 I'd love to hear how you're doing. ----------------- HCG weight-loss products are fraudulent, FDA says Source

I did have a couple hour stopover in Chicago, which didn't help at all. Probably made me feel worse, as my boyfriend was hungry, so he got a Big Mac and the worlds' biggest coke at McDonalds .. and I just watched him eat it. I couldn't find ANYTHING 'clear' at the airport, and by this point, I was completely tired of apple juice, and wasn't sure I was allowed *that* much apple juice! I was completely paranoid! A the Chicago airport, the terminals were really far apart, so there was a lot of walking (or running, b/c we were late, in our case!) from one end of the airport to the other. I was just really uncomfortable because the planes were small, and I was big. And I was paranoid about my surgery spot. I thought my guts were going to fall out or something .. LOL. And I was hungry, tired, cranky .. you know, the typical I waited the suggested 1 extra day in Tijuana, and to be honest, I was ready to go home. Sticking around longer wouldn't have made a difference. I was just really scared to eat, drink ... scared I was going to ruin my new stomach, and such.

I don't really eat my veggies because I like them. I eat them because I have to. cauliflower asparagus lettuce green beans cucumber cabbage. lots of it. a bit of roots veggies: carrots, parsnips .. All low GI choices.

I had the lapband, and I traveled 11 hours on plane. It was hell, I can not lie. I was so uncomfortable ... and it wasn't just the gassy feeling. It was the being stuck, and not being able to move feeling. Achey. Blah. If anything, bring crystal light packs, and bouillon cubes, you can add to hot water. There will be NOTHING at the airport, nor on board you can eat or drink. PS. I told them I had just had surgery, and I got boarded first ... so do take advantage of that!

IMHO, you're eating not nearly enough whole foods. Almost everything you're listing is prepackaged, pre-made ... I'd definitely focus on HIGH protein, for your energy source; not carbohydrates. And nothing pre-packaged. You'd be shocked at the amounts of nitrates you're consuming in a day. Very scary. I had a quick look at your food choices, and taking out little things like mango first thing in the morning will make a difference. Too high in sugar, and not needed for AM. But really, that's really getting into details, and I could do that for everything I see listed. Go with he basics for now... Without knowing your current bodyfat & weight, nor height, I would keep these #'s in mind and to aim for: your protein should be at least 150g/day Fats <90g/day Sodium <900g/day <<I just a few days were you're in the 3-4k's Hope this helps a bit. But i think if you really clean up your food choices, you'll see some changes. Also, your workouts. Explain.

.. i'm in Toronto. PM me.

I know I thought my port had moved once I had gotten down to around 165lbs, but it just turned out, as things tightened up, my port seemed to sit in a different spot than it did before: higher up than i remember. I remember the first time I could actually FEEL the top of my port, I freaked out. As I lost more weight,, I realized i could put my arms up above my head, and I could/can see the actual indentations of the port. The majority of the time (unless i'm really bloated or gained a few pounds) you can really see it sticking out of me. Through my skin, it looks like a little UFO - the thicker side closer to my body, the injection site (the top of the port) is smaller. It's very obvious. And if I'm wearing light fitted tops, you can see a the port bump. As your body fat drops, this will happen; it also depends on 'how deep' your port was placed. There are a few people in here that have chosen to get there port re-located, deeper, to avoid it rubbing against their ribs. It's really annoying for me, but I don't want to have surgery .. so I just have to remember to sit up super straight, or it does rub against my ribs and really hurts. I also can't sleep on my left side in bed, as my port sticks out and will rub against my mattress unless I've stuffed a pillow under my side.

Why are you talking to the staff at the clinic? Ask the doctors there?

I'm in a few different things, and I've never had problems. If you can't swallow a pill, I'd have to say your band is too tight!

foam isn't good. you're too tight. not a big deal - just for a slight unfill. You're rather go in for baby fills, than get a monster one, and suffer through it!

try drinking something hot/warm prior ... like a full up of tea or coffee. that should help open things up for the time being.