YorkieMommy

GOOD JOB, JULIE!!!!!!!! I'm so proud of you!

I think she's referring to during the pre-op session when Dr. Miranda gave you a goal weight, if anyone has made that. Dr. Miranda told me the day before surgery to get down to a healthy weight, which was the goal she set for me, and then said to worry about looking like a Barbie after I'm healthy first. haha

Make sure you are drinking lots of water. Having a cup of milk helps me feel not so hungry, you could try that. Just stick to the plan, DON'T GIVE IN TO SOLIDS!!!! You can do it!!!

We have 3 plans to choose from. We just pick one based on how far out we are able to start pre-op. A lot of people do the 2 week option. 3 weeks before surgery: atkins 2 weeks before surgery: protein shake for breakfast, protein shake for lunch, lean cuisine for dinner 1 week before surgery: protein shakes for all three meals

Here's some financing options listed on the OCC site. http://www.obesitycontrolcenter.com/surgery_finance.php I just accepted the max amount on student loans for a couple of quarters and used the refund money to get the surgery. The shoulder situation does go away. Mine was almost more in the neck region and felt like when you get a pinched nerve. More annoying than painful. I'm 24 and so glad that I did it! It's funny because for the last 5 years every time I would lose and gain back weight I would joke around with family and say, "Next time I'm getting lapband." Then it turned out that I actually did it. I don't know how to say this without offending some of the more mature members of the forum, but I think it's so awesome when we are able to do this at a younger age because we will have so much of our lives to live ahead of us! It's all so exciting!

:lb12: > SO sorry!!! I hope you get to feeling better soon. You are such a strong person, you can do this.

Welcome! I'm not vegetarian, but can let you know that it's really important to get in a lot of protein each day. So, you'll just have to get creative on where your protein comes from. Most things I have read say to have 60 grams of protein a day, but after 20 grams at once the body doesn't absorb it. If you find a protein packed shake/liquid that has more than 20 grams, just split it up through out the day and all will be well. The shoulder pain comes from gas. When they do the surgery they squirt some gas in there to help give them more room to do the surgery. The gas heads north apparently to try to escape so that causes the shoulder pain because that's where it all builds up. How that "escapes" through the digestive system, I have no idea. That part doesn't make sense to me, haha. If you wanted to get it done while in school you could totally do it. I had my surgery about 2 weeks before summer quarter for my graduate program (final summer, had to defend thesis and all that). I didn't feel any different, other than them teasing me because I was on liquids for the first week of school. So, if you get really anxious, just wanted you to know it's an easy surgery so you could get it done during a break between quarters if you wanted. My sister-in-law and I had surgery on a Wednesday and were back at work Monday. They have weight loss surgery loans too, if the immediate cash is an issue. Just wanted to let you know, just in case. Think of where you would be a year from now if you got the surgery sooner! While you are waiting on getting the surgery you could start checking out where you'd like to get fills done. It's nice to have someone within a 3 hour drive or so.

I love the advanced step aerobics and the soccer!

Remember that this amount it to maintain, so if you want to lose 1 pound deduct 3500 calories per week (500 per day). But yeah, it is fun to experiment and see what happens! Mine says to eat 2100 calories a day so since Monday I've been having 1600 calories AND working out and I've lost 1.5 pounds. I'll take it! haha!

Here's another site that might help. http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm The calorie calculators depend on the formula that they use to ESTIMATE how many calories you need to maintain. Notice that the article states that 1000 calories or more below maintence puts your body into starvation mode which usually results in yo-yo dieting. And of course, we are all different, have different metabolisms and everything, this is just a guide for all of us that are nearly 300 pounds and don't understand why we aren't losing on only 1200 calories a day. And as we lose weight we have to come back and check the calculator because as we keep getting smaller and older we will need fewer calories. Hope this helps make sense! I posted the calorie calculator after so many people were posting they were at a plateau and other people told them they experienced the same thing until they added in more calories. Also it's important to point out where the calories are coming from. 300 calories of chicken breast doesn't react the same as 300 calories of mint milano cookies. Again, disclaimer, just for estimating purposes to help us all try to understand our bodies better.

Poor girl! My only discomfort was the slight ab twist to be able to reach to wipe, haha. I just held my port area with one hand and wiped with the other (how embarassing). It kind of feels like when you try to do too many sit-ups, the abs feel weak from the port being sewn to the abs. It only lasted about a week or so.

Good plan! You can do it!!!! Just take it one day at a time. Try to have a plan for when you do get hungry and can't eat.... it's hard, but plan a craft, game, or walk so when it hits you'll know what to do.

This is to maintain. So getting in 1200 calories is 500 less than what is needed for you so with just eating alone that would be 500*7=3500 calories a week which is a loss of one pound per week.

http://www.apexfitness.com/html/tools/fit_calc/metab/ Just seeing some posts about people not getting enough calories. This link takes you to a calculator that lets you know your resting metabolic rate. I've been experimenting with slight reductions by eating less and exercising. Seems to be working. I think most of us are used to the "crappy starving feeling means you're losing weight" and it doesn't quite work so well. I included a poll because most of us say we eat around 1000 a day, thought it might be insightful to see how much this calculator says we really need and then set appropriate calorie reduction needs. Hopefully, increasing calories helps other people too. REMEMBER: THE CALCULATOR GIVES YOU THE CALORIES YOU NEED TO MAINTAIN. Reduce calories and increase exercise to create a deficit of no more than 1000 calories per day. Beyond 1000 calorie deficit your body may go into starvation mode and hold on to everything. It's an estimate. Choose healthy calories and still follow band rules. Have fun experimenting!

I eat something every 2-3 hours, but not very much. Like a 1/4 cup of cashews is plenty! I can wait until the 4 hour mark, but I'll be hungry and eat too fast and PB. If I eat little bits every few hours I'm fine. Since doing this the last couple of weeks I haven't PB'd.

You need to tell them you are taking diet pills. They have caused complications in surgery. Somebody else told their surgeon they were taking diet pills and they had to reschedule it to get the diet pills out of their system.

Thanks for replying, I'm so glad I finally understand after 10 weeks.

I think I finally understand what the band will do for me. It's like an insurance policy. I will always have to count my calories and exercise... but when I feel like giving up and eating everything in sight, it's physically impossible. So instead of gaining 5 pounds and sabatoging my efforts so far, the band is my insurance policy and I'll only be able to do so much damage.... like staying the same weight or maybe gaining 1 pound. So I think instead of the up and down I'll start to see more of a down or steady weight. Then when I'm mentally ready again to get back in the game I haven't lost too much ground. I hope this makes sense! It finally makes sense to me!!! Everybody always posts it's a "tool" and that didn't mean much to me, but thinking of it as an insurance policy seems to help me understand. Anyway, just wanted to share my "aha" moment.

1. Tucker Goliath: Yorkshire Terrior born Dec 2006 2. Tate David: Yorkshire Terrior born June 2007 3. Peter Rabbit: Mini-rex white with brown spots rabbit 4. Ella Bunny: rabbit with chinchilla patterned fur

I've been doing some crafts, like card making, when I'm bored. Or playing the Wii.

I - incorporate exercise into your daily routine

Sorry you had a bad experience! Where I go they have me lift my head and one leg do the fills while lying flat. It's pretty cool, it makes the port VERY obvious. They use shorter needles so they bring it right up to the surface. Did this doc have you do anything like that? Maybe YOU could teach HIM that trick. They also numb the surface of the skin because I'm such a baby, haha. Maybe these are things to introduce to the fill doc you went to, or things to look for in finding a new doc.

At my last fill they had me lay flat. Then lift my legs and head at the same time and that flexes the abs to make the port closer to the surface. If I put my hand just under the biggest incision I can feel it go up and down as I lift my head and legs. Sounds silly, but is interesting. haha

I found the cutest silverware! I found them at the Le Gourmet Kitchen Outlet for $1.48 a piece. I'm pretty sure they are for Hors D'Oeuvres. They had other ones without the plastic crystal-like handles, but I thought they were pretty so I went with these ones. I put them next to a bill so you could get an idea of their size. Just wanted to share so you can keep an eye out for them if you're interested!

Wii Fit!!! It keeps track of my progress and gets me off the couch!