jena

I'm so glad the second fill was the charm for you! I've got the VG band as well and I'm wondering if my first fill will have any noticeable difference. How much did they put in the first time? I had pretty good restriction for about 4-6 weeks after getting the band, but now it's like nothing is there. I need that first fill!! Jena

I went to get new shoes yesterday and measured my foot and low and behold, I'm down from a 10 to a 9!! Maybe by the time I lose all of my weight I'll be wearing a size 5 shoe and dress! hahahahah j/k! Jena

Flying always makes me bloat. Especially the longer flights. It's from sitting and not moving around much. Your blood isn't circulating as it normally would and causes water to settle in your hands and feet. If you have to do long flights, here are my tips. Drink only water and lots of it. No soda, no alcohol. Get up and walk around every 30-60 minutes. Yeah, it's not so easy to walk around on a plane, but get up and walk down to where the flight attendants are and have a little chat with them then go back to your seat. If it's a really long flight, wear compression socks to keep the fluid from settling in your legs. Now that you're home, drink lots of water, walk around to get your blood circulating. The extra fluid will go away in a day or two and you'll be down a couple of pounds. Good luck! Jena

You must be so proud of him. He was a hero and I am so thankful that he dedicated his life to serving in the Armed Forces. God bless you and your family through this difficult time. Jena

I am so sorry Jim. Was your son a soldier? When you are ready, I think we would all love for you to tell us about your son. You and your family are in my prayers. Jena

30? Are you talking to ME? Ha! Just like Cathy said, just keep on doing what you are doing and the weight will come off.

I'm not going shirtless until I have a boob job.

I was banded May 8 and I had lost 25 pounds before surgery and I've lost 15 since. It's a struggle now more than ever because I could use a fill, but I'm not scheduled until Aug. 6. I wanted to go back to the OCC for my first two fills just to make sure everything is okay. I stay the same for a week, lose 4 or 5 pounds, gain 2 or 3 back, lose 5, gain a few back, lose 5...you get the idea. I quit weighing every day to relieve some on the stress. My techniques for losing weight without being frustrated is to not weigh every day, stick to low fat, eat lot's of fiber and make sure I "go" every day, switch to whole grain bread items, and eat Lean Cuisines on a regular basis. I'm 50, so a little older than you! Jena

There's a lot of things you can do! Grill your meats of course, but have you thought of kabobs? Thread chunks of chicken and veggies on a skewer and grill. Make the dip with plain non-fat yogurt instead of sour cream. You can hardly notice the difference and I bet your guests won't know either. It's also great on baked potatoes! I like to use the dry ranch dressing mix with the yogurt. Make a fruit salad (we call it ambrosia in the south) by cutting up fresh oranges, apples with the skin on, bananas and throw in a few chopped pecans and some grated coconut. How about Strawberry Shortcake? Angel food cake is very low in calories and has no fat! Serve slices with fresh strawberries and a little light cool whip or low fat frozen strawberry yogurt. Yum!! Have you ever used Dreamfields pasta? If you haven't, check it out. It's awesome!! Use the twists and make a pasta salad using chopped onions, green & red peppers, mushrooms, garlic, yellow squash or whatever veggies you like. Add low fat Italian dressing and sprinkle low fat Parmesan cheese on last. http://www.dreamfieldsfoods.com/ Instead of potato chips try the baked pita chips. Serve them with bean dip and/or salsa. How about a Southwest bean salad? All you need is a big bowl, a can of black beans, a can of red beans, salsa, low fat or fat free shredded cheddar cheese, chopped bell pepper, onions and garlic and a small bag of frozen corn. (You can use canned but I like the frozen better) Drain the beans, put beans in the bowl, add the veggies and corn and stir. Add some salsa and mix until everything is coated. Add the cheese last and toss. Keep it in the fridge and serve cold. The measurements of the ingredients are adjustable to what you like best. I like mine heaver on the corn than beans. Make German potato salad instead of mayo based potato salad. Use Canadian bacon or ham instead of bacon and use a tablespoon or two of olive oil instead of bacon fat for the dressing. You could make banana pudding by using the low fat vanilla pudding and topping with lite coolwhip. Vanilla wafers aren't too bad calorie wise. If you don't tell the guests they will never suspect!

From reading here it seems like the first fill just doesn't do it. I wonder if it's because the first fill is sort of a test fill, just to get you used to it. I don't know, but I scheduled my first fill for Aug. 6th an my second one 4 weeks later. Jena

We're all pulling for you girl! Many of us know what it's like to be an overweight teen and I can tell you honestly that I wish this surgery had been around when I was 16. I would have had it done, even if I had to get a job and pay for it myself. Let your mom and dad know how hard it is for you everyday. Not just health wise, but socially. They have to understand that. Also make sure they know that your internal organs won't be cut and that the band is completely reversible. Keep us posted on your progress with your parents. We all care about you. Jena

Beer? Heck, if I'm going to have bubbles and empty calories, give me CHAMPAIGN!!

FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!! What a difference around your middle! Lucky girl. BTW, I am sooooooo jealous of you legs.

Will that sounds like fun! Count me in!

It's actually cheaper for me to fly back to Tijuana have the fill there, spend the night and come back than it is to have it done here!!! I live in Atlanta, very close to the Roswell place. Jena

How's it going for you Cedartown?

Late last year I purchased the pc version of fitday. I think it was something like $20. I never really got around to using it. I finally decided to crank it up to get a good picture of what I'm eating and why I keep stalling. Well, let me tell you, I can see some adjustments that I need to make. First of all, I've been eating more calories than I realized. Not only that, I'm eating a lot more fat than I should be! Now that I can see these things, I can make better choices. I don't know if any of you have the pc version (as opposed to the free web version) but it is amazing. There is a place for you to journal every day, keep your measurements, your daily food intake, and your exercise and set goals. Then you get all of these graphs and charts that analyze everything. I set a goal of 9 pounds lost by July 16 and it tells me how many calories I can eat each day to lose 9 pounds by that date. You are supposed to weigh every 4 days and it plots a graph for you to make your goal. I have had to put many of my food items nutritional values in it because I want them to be exact. I forgot that the Special K20 water has 50 calories and if you have 2 or 3 a day, that's an extra 100-150 calories! It's such a good source of protein and fiber with no fat that I'll continue to drink them. So, I'm going to start keeping track of everything and hopefully I'll meet my 9 pound loss by July 16. I'm going to meet my sister at Disney World for her professional convention that my friend Bill has dubbed "The Sugar Convention." Hee! My sister has a specialty Wedding Cake bakery. anyone wanting to join me in using Fitday? Fitday.com online is free and I would love it if I had some "fitday buddies" There are some other similar programs out there and if you are using one of those, feel free to join! Jena

Isn't Cedartown having his fill soon? Maybe we can do it then if he's willing.

Great replies everyone! I'm going to get a reputation as the "poopie queen", haha, because I always say "Make sure to eat your fiber so you can get regular!" Right now you should be getting 30g of fiber to ensure you go poopy every day. That's not easy for anyone to do, and especially hard when you are eating less food. My suggestions in getting the fiber is K20 water, 5g protein and 5g fiber, Fiber One fat free yogurt with 3g protein and 5g fiber. There are also fiber supplements, Benefiber makes chewable wild berry tablets with calcium that have 2g of fiber each. There are also other brands of chewable fruit flavored tablets that are great. They all seem to have 2g of fiber each. When you are regular, it pulls more excess water out of your body and helps reduce bloating. After 3 weeks on liquids, you probably need to get your bowels going again. Try to do it with fiber for a few days before you take a laxitive. HTH, Jena

Thanks to you lisal and Pammie for posting those. Amazing! I can't wait for the day when I can have my plastic surgery done. Jena

I know our goal is to eat 3 meals a day and nothing more. I'm experiencing the same thing you are, especially at night. What I'm trying today is this. I ate a grilled hamburger with a whole grain English muffin for the bun. After eating that, I wasn't hungry any more. However, I decided to top it off with a yogurt. A Fiber Fit yogurt that has 3g of protein and 5g of fiber. It's a small cup and they have some great flavors like Key Lime. (yum!) What I'm hoping is that the extra protein and fiber will keep me full longer. It's only about a 3oz. cup, so it's a small container and easy to eat after a meal if you're not stuffed. Oh! I almost forgot, I drank a bottle of K20 protein water about 45 minutes before dinner, so that's another 5g protein and 5g of fiber. I hope it works! Jena

I told once I had made up my mind and there was no going back. I've been thinking about doing the band ever since it was approved here in the States, but I wasn't ready until now. After that, there was no changing my mind and I wouldn't allow people to try and talk me out of it. I heard "Why don't you just do it on your own? You were so successful on WW and Atkins, why don't you just do that again?" UHHHHHHH, I was so successful that I've put all the weight back on! Duh! One time a coworker I'm close to who is thin and muscular and very athletic was ragging about doing it on my own and she just wouldn't stop. When she finally took a breath I said "Spoken like someone who has never had a weight problem in their life." She got it. She apologized about trying to tell me what I should do when she has no idea how it is to be fat all your life. Now she's one of my biggest supporters. Okay, so here's my comeback for that insensitive woman... "I love having the band and I made the decision so that I wouldn't have to look like you the rest of my life. What's the next question..." Jena

I'm sorry I missed it. My friend that I always have Sunday breakfast with has been out of town taking care of her ill mother-in-law came back unexpectedly yesterday so we were able to meet for breakfast! Maybe we can do it again sometime. We don't necessarily need a fill to get together do we? And Will can pick me up, I live just off 85 and Old Peachtree.

I didn't have it done at the OCC, but I had it done here by my dentist. It didn't take long, it didn't hurt, some people say their teeth are a little sensitive after it's done for a few days, but I didn't have that problem. I believe it cost $300. Keep in mind that if you have any crowns, bonding, bridges or natural colored fillings that Zoom whitening will NOT change the color of them, so you don't want your teeth to be lightened more than the color of the crowns etc. If you do it, when you get back to the states I would recommend that you go to your dentist and be fitted for the flexible molds of your teeth that you fill with whitening gel so you can keep them white. Otherwise they just start to yellow again, especially if you drink lots of coffee, tea or soda or smoke. HTH, Jena

I was looking on amazon.com last night and saw a couple of good cookbooks for people after surgery. Go there and search on "lap band" and they will come up. If you want to try before you buy, see if your library has one of them. I think I'm going to order one myself so I can get some variety in my life. I'm still eating lean cuisine's and yogurt and things like that and I really need to start eating real food and get off of the prepackaged food. Jena