Kimmy in MD

Hi Aaron...Welcome too! I am originally from Michigan as well. Spent my summers on Harsen's Island. You familiar with it? Best of Luck with your band.

This morning on ABC News they had a segment about dieting....what's new with that right? Well they said that The American Heart Association did a 2 year study on the weight loss results of people on a low fat diet and people on a low carb diet and the results were overwhelming that you lose more weight on a LOW CARB diet than on the low fat diet. They also said that surprisingly enough, cholesterol is not increased with the LOW CARB diet. I guess they suspected it would be. So what does this mean to us??? Well it means that if you (myself included) are not losing weight, you should examine your food journal (you know that thing that is helpful to keep when you are dieting) to see how many carbs you are consuming. Carbs include fruits, vegetables, popsicles but also POTATOES (mashed, with or without gravy, fried, baked, chips), PASTA, Tortillas (as in used to make quesadillas), RICE (even brown) I am sure we all have read "Atkins" or "South Beach" but these books/plans would probably be helpful to review if you are trying to LOSE weight. I personally am going to really try and follow Atkins and get into the sweet ketosis. I think between ketosis and this band, I can WIN over FAT! If you are lucky enough to be planning your first meal after your liquid phase, maybe you should consider fish or steak as an option.

Am I the only one stepping? I know Ramona is off getting her fill but who else is stepping with me.? I am at 10,412 and getting ready to head out the door for another 2 miles where I catch my bus. That will be another 4000 steps. Come on, Catch me!!

Sylvia, So glad you took my post as it was meant. After I posted, I was worried it might seem trite to some. But go ahead, dream about what if you succeed instead of worrying about what if you fail. Much better way to spend your time. Just do as your supposed to, eat right and move. The rest will happen and soon you won't be dreaming about weight loss you will be LIVING IT!! Best wishes Kim

But Sylvia, What if you succeed?

I finished yesterday at 15,189 and it is 12:09 PM on Wednesday and I am at 9577 so far for the day. Come on, let's see a bunch of people who went over 10k post at the end of today!

Ramona let us know how the fill goes. I am anxious to hear your thoughts about it. I am very happy with mine and the restriction I have at this point. PS Glad to hear about your sister!! PSS Way to go on the steps!!!

Way to go Ramona! I finished yesterday at 14,925 and today 7/15 I am at 14,726. Come on keep stepping!

It is 3:39 PM and I am at 13,167 for the day so far. Hope others are stepping out and up! Kim

This morning I was watching the Weekend Today show and they had a piece about a girl who had started a website called www.freekibble.com . When you click on the website and answer the trivia questions, it generates free dog food for animal shelters. Thought it might be something the animal lovers would like to check out. Kim

I am just curious is anyone has tried other weight loss plans since getting banded? Since we all agree the band is a great tool for appetite control, I wonder if other programs like Weight Watches, Jenny Craig, Nutri-System would be good for helping to learn portion control and providing on going motivational support. Heck, we all know the other programs work. We have all previously lost TONS of weight on them, only to gain it back. The difference this time is supposed to be the band will continue to help us control our appetite and NOT gain it back. I am not doing this, but was just wondering if anyone was. I think it might be a good idea, especially if you are struggling. Kim

I only did 7520 yesterday! I promise by Wednesday of next week I will be back on my 10,000 step path. How did everyone else do. KEEP STEPPIN!!

Hi Julie, I use Fitday.com. LOVE IT! I think I am going to order the pc version, supposed to be awesome. It is like $20, but the online version is free. Kim

I am only at 2810 for the day so far, but it was a conscious choice so not feeling too guilty! About being too tight. I was thinking the same thing, but since you swell some after a fill, I think I will follow the docs orders and stay on clear liquids for 5 days and then go to the creamy soup stage for 5 days and then if after that I can't start eating solids again, I will see her for an unfill. I am really not worried about drinking too much liquid and stretching the pouch, more worried about dehydration from not drinking enough. I just had a 8 oz, water based, raspberry protein smoothie for lunch and it went down great, so that is a good sign (I know that is not clear!) Have a great afternoon! Kim

WOW Ramona!! 21,000+ steps! Totally AWESOME!!! I got to 11,202 yesterday. So I was pretty happy. I did not walk into the office today, so I will be struggling to hit 10k today. But since my fill I have not eaten. I am actually struggling with liquids, so I am going to do as the doc suggested and go to clear liquids until Sunday. Gosh I hope I can do it! Mostly drinking tea and water. Will make sure to drink Special K protein water today. Yesterday I PBed soup (about 4 spoonfuls at lunch, and about 5 spoonfuls at dinner) and slimfast (about 4 swallows). Good News is the scale has moved 2 lbs downward again and I am not hungry so I am still extremely motivated. GET TO STEPPIN EVERYONE!!! Kim

On Wednesday, The Washington Post, had an article about this also. I so have to make this a better habit!!

Good Morning!! It is 9:40 AM and I am at 6211 so far. Not sure I will do so good with my steps the next few days as I am back on liquids and not eating enough. On another note...Dawn, don't be discouraged, getting 7900 steps on your first day with the pedometer is pretty darn good. It took me a while to figure out how much "extra" walking I had to do in addition to my routine daily activity to hit 10k steps. You will get there soon! Good Luck Kim

Mona, You know what who cares what the scale says. CLEARLY your body is smaller or the pants wouldn't be bigger! Its like right after surgery, and I got on the scale and I was down like almost 15 lbs, but my clothes sure didn't feel like I was down 15 lbs. Then over the next 2-3 weeks, my clothes started getting looser and soon I was wearing a size smaller and then another size smaller, but the scale didn't drop much more, only another 5 lbs. It was like my body was catching up to what the scale said. That is the only way I can think to describe it. my size was catching up to the scale.

Ramona, The office was easy to find, right off 15. She didn't have any trouble finding my port. It was not where I thought it would be at all and it was quite tender to her touch. She said often there will be air or fluid around the port, mine had fluid around it. She did not indicate it was an issue or problem. My stomach is really misshapen around my incision and she said it is because I am still swollen and have quite a bit of fluid in there still. All this time I thought the bulge was the band. She told me the band is way towards the back and not in the front at all. I am glad about this, because it makes me think eventually the bulge will go away as the fluid moves/goes. She cleaned the port area like 3 times with the benadine (spelling?). She raved about how much she likes the way the "Mexicans" do the surgeries. Said they are very consistent and reliable about the port placement. She said that many times the American docs just put the port right under the incision whichs makes it difficult to do the fills because you have to go through so much scar tissue to get to the port. I asked her about the results she sees with the band and she said for the most part it is good, but there are people who sabotage the band by drinking cake batter and shakes. She also talked about "flushing". I guess that is when you drink lots of water to make food pass through, especially if you have eaten large quantities. That is about it. Kim

not sure what was going on, but I know she was with another patient. For privacy issues, not much was discussed, but she apologized and when I was leaving the receptionist also apologized and said it was unusual for that to happen. Kim

Mona, I am scheduled for 8/13 @ 1:00, see if you can get around that time. Would love to meet up and slurp soup! Kim

First fill today with Dr. Susan Brinkley in Frederick Maryland. My Thoughts: She was great. Took time to talk to me and get to know me. As she did exam she told me I should see a dermatoligist about a mole on my stomach. To me this shows she is caring and looking out for us in more ways. She got my port on the first stick and put in 1.5 cc. At the beginning of the appointment, she took my measurements (arms, thigh, hips, waist and bust) and a sort of before pic for my file. This was good, especially since I hadn't bothered to do any of that myself and it was not done in Mexico. We talked about her banding experience. She lost 85 lbs with the band. She doesn't seem to be in this for the money but for a genuine desire to help others with their weight issues. We talked a little about how some American Docs want to do annual band tests, which she said was BS and just a way to generate income. She basically said, it the band is working and it is not broke, why test. Just run the risk of damaging it or something. She was very concerned about nutrition and vitamins. Wanted to know if I was taking them, and if I was taking a B complex vitamin too. She said she really encourages me to start a B complex if I wasn't because it would help the most to eliminate carb cravings. She also spoke about biotin, which has been mentioned plenty of times on this board. Finally, she takes the time to see what medications you are taking and if any of them will have an affect on the bands performance. I take birth control pills and she wanted to know if it was a "tri-phasil" pill. She suggested I get on a "mono-phasil" as the fluctuating progesterin in the pill does affect your body and may affect the band performance. I said, I could just go off the pill and she said, that kind of defeats it too because our bodies naturally fluctuate in progesterin during the monthly cycles we experience too. A final interesting fact she brought up, which I had never heard before. If you weigh more than 200 lbs, you have to be careful which pill you take because the protection is drastically decreased. She said over 200 lbs and you need a 150 dose pill. The only bad part of this experience is that I had to wait almost 2 hours in her office. The first hour was my own fault because I arrived early. I was hoping she would be able to take me sooner, but the other hour was her fault and I was not happy about this. I did nap in the waiting room on the couch though. All in all a good experience and I have already scheduled for my next fill in August. She said I should cancel if I feel I don't need it. Kim

Thanks for all the well wishes! It is 7:09 PM EST and I am at 14,098 steps for today. I am beat and going to bed! Not sure I should post this here, but I am going to anyway. I had my first fill. She put 1.5 in. Now here is the kicker, she wants me on clear liquids for 5 days and then "mechanical" liquids for another 5 days. Mechanical = creamy soup stage. I haven't seen anyone else have to go back to this. Guys, I just don't know if I can do it again, especially the clear liquids. I know I can't, I already stopped and had cream of crab soup (DELICOUS by the way) on the way home. I hadn't eaten since 7:00 PM last night and I was freaking starving, especially after all my stepping before noon today! This ruined my whole dinner. This morning when I went out to my car the tomato fairy (ok it was just a neighbor) had visited and left a bag of fresh home grown tomatoes on my windshield. I was planning on eating fresh tomatoes for dinner, with home grown lettuce. How disappointing. I have sent the tomatoes back because I don't want them to go to waste as I get through these next 10 days. I sent over my fresh lettuce too, and some bagged and some fruit. I had been stocking up on fresh, healthy stuff! Ok, enough whining. Sorry bout that Kim

Quick update, I am at 11,833 and it is just 11:00 AM....yay me!! The car was not stolen (whew!!) it was "courtesy" moved because I parked where I shouldn't have during rush hour. This courtesy cost me $100!! The best news, I won't miss my fill. The car has been retrieved and I am leaving at noon for my fill. YAYYYYY!!!

Good Morning! Great step day yesterday Mona Camille. It is 9:22 AM and I am at 10,203 so far for today. Ok, so here is the really good news... I went out to feed the parking meter and my car is gone. I am really hoping it was towed and not stolen. Why didn't I park in the GARAGE???? I may get more steps in than I planned if I have to walk far to get it. Have a great day! Dang I hope this doesn't make me miss my fill!!!