determination

I know what you are talking about. Sometimes it happens to me and I am not sure what I have done, but the screen is totally different. Try going out of it again and re-logging on. But you are not going crazy and it is not your computer.

Glad to see that you are getting the restriction, finally. It was nice meeting you! Anne

You will be so amazed when this is over! Everything goes so smooth, just like everyone here has said. I am like the canadianbandster. I do not remember anything!!!!!Not even the otter pop. LOL And to put getting a fill to rest, so that you don't need to be nervous. I just had my first fill Feb. 11th and it was a breeze. I must have a high pain level because I did not feel anything. Good luck to you on your surgery. Anne

I did continue to lose weight after the solids. I really did stick to what Dr. Miranda told me, that was 1/2 cup of protein, 1/4 cup of veggies or fruit and if you are still hungry, 1/4 cup of carbs. I do not count calories I do it strictly by measurement. Since my surgery on Dec. 15th I have lost 20lbs. When I did write down my calories just out of curiosity, I found that I was eating 800-900 calories. If I eat more than that I get great pains in my chest. I am assuming that that is my new stomach telling me that I need to stop eating. Yes there are days when I want to eat everything, but that is when your will power has to come in. Because it has nothing to do with being hungry. It is more that I am addicted to food. Food will always be around it is just that we have to realize that we are not being deprived. We can take a small taste of something, just don't eat the whole thing. I will be having my first fill Feb. 11th, that is 8 1/2 weeks since my surgery and I desperately need more help. I don't want to set myself up for a fall by saying all of this. It is hard! A lot harder than I thought it would be. I keep reading all of the posts by long time losers and are encouraged by their comments, I just want to follow in their footsteps. Check out Lisal and Bigali's comments on the other topic about the weight flying off. They both are great and have lost a extreme amount of weight. I really appreciate it when these gals contribute to us beginners. Thank you Lisal and Bigali

Glad you came through all of the nerves and worries. It is so amazing after you have it done at how good you feel isn't it? Wow! you did a great job on your pre-op. That mindset will surely help you out the rest of the way. Congratulations.

I am pretty sure that doinitagann and I are definitely going to meet. If not we will probably be on the afternoon shuttle together. I so wish that there were others from here that were going to be there at the same time. Kristy, we need to get together and schedule fills at the same date. We should start a scheduling calendar so that at least a few of us would be able to meet each other when we are getting fills. It may be kind of hard to meet anyone getting banded just because of the later time of the fills. Anne

I am flying out the same day also. We may be on the same shuttle back to the airport. I think I depart at 4:10pm. I will look at my itinerary closer and let you know. Anne

Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is so fun to read something that we can all start relating to or have already experienced it. I am just at the beginning of experiencing some of the things you have written. You haven't written in awhile. Glad to see your post. Congrats on another 6 pouunds also. Anne

I have been banded but have had no fills yet. I drink over 64oz. of water everyday. I am like you, I actually crave water. Anne

I haven't even had a fill yet, (not until Feb. 11th) and I have found out the hard way that ground elk or beef and salmon do not go down well, or may I say they do not go down. I am beginning to wonder what it will be like after my first fill.

How exciting! I can't believe that it took less than a year. So encouraging to hear for us new to the band. Do you have any tips or an example of the type of meal you would eat? I would sure appreciate any examples that you are willing to share. Please do not feel that you have to put down anything fancy. What would be a spur of the moment type of meal? Anyway, congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anne

Where is Northwest Fills located?

I am flying in from Eastern Oregon, I arrive at the airport at 9:30am. What time are you flying in? Does that coincide with your arrival?

I was alone also. Everyone is very friendly as you can see by all of the comments. I was lucky. I never had the gas pains or anything. My flight coming home was fine. I never felt any discomfort at all, and that included having to almost run to one of my gates. Congratulations and chin up.

Thanks for the information!!!! I will have to keep a look out for it. I love cereals.

Like Jazzy Jude, I also had soup 1/2 cup at a time (maybe I learned it from her). I really enjoyed the drinkable yogurt in the morning, but again I kept it to 1/2 of a cup. The only thing that I had (other than water) was 8oz. of a protein shake. I really like Crytal Lite in the little packages for a bottle of water. It really helps the water to go down a lot easier. Peach & Sunburst Orange are my favorites. But instead of mixing it like they say. I use a 32oz bottle of water to one packet of the Crystal Lite. Someone also mentioned puddings, Dr. Miranda told me no on those along with jello. She also asked me to stay away from the Vitamin Water and the Special K water. She actually drew a frowning face below her list of things that she did not want me to have. But from what I understand after reading everyone's posts on here, is that we all seem to have come away with different variations of the food list. She did a lot of writing on mine so that is what I have stuck to. Good Luck, I just know it seems that we can never learn enough about this whole procedure. (At least for me) :-h

Thank you Dolittle for answering that question concerning the port. I have been curious over exactly the answers that you gave. Even though I am a long way from having a LBL, it is in my future and I was wondering what would happen with the port.

Hi, I like you prefer homemade soups. I am 4 1/2 weeks post-op. During the creamy stage I made my own soups and just strained them like you said. The reason they tell you not to use a blender is because of all of the air that it whips into the food. But if you are straining it, I don't see why that should be a problem. Hey by the way, congratulations on your banding. And when it comes to the ticker, it took me several tries. If you go back to a few conversations, Chad has a post on how to do the ticker. Are you going to "Tickerfactory.com" That was the one that I was able to get to work for me. Good Luck! :-h

Way to go! May I follow in your footsteps. One of the things that I read the most here for us newbies, is wanting to know what you eat or ate daily. When you get up for example, what do you eat or drink? etc. I would really appreciate it. Thanks Anne

Cindy, I called ahead and asked about my flight. I arrive in San Diego at 9:30 and my appt is at 10:30. My departure is at 4:10 and they said that that was perfect. Call or fax the clinic and they will let you know. At least they did me. Anne

First of all, Lucy I am terribly sorry for your loss of your 2 babies. There are no other words to say. And WOW what a great achievement in your weight loss. It helps us that are new to actually see the reality of how this band works and what a lifetime of commitment we are facing. If you do have any tips or suggestions to help us please let us know. Anne

I just scheduled for my first fill - February 11th. Gloria told me that with my fill it would be $100 (with floroscopy) and with the transportation from the airport and back would be an additional $99.00. So $199.00 total. Also she emailed me and told me to fast 2 hours before the fill. Hope that helps some.

Thank you all so much! I do hope they have fish for that would be the perfect choice. Do any of you remember the show "Million Dollar Man"? Well I think of myself as the $8000.00 stomach. LOL That definitely keeps me on track. Have a great evening. And you know you are right. They have all seen me lose and gain multiple times, so this won't come as a surprise to them that I am dieting again. That was an excellant point to make. Anne

Great for you! Until you are banded you feel like you are on the outside looking in. Well, now you are in!!!! Take it easy. Don't forget to dilute your juices if you order some.

Hi, What I found out on the pre-op diet was a lot information that I gleaned from others on this board. One thing that I took their advice on was making sure that my protein drink had a lot of protein in it. If you live close to a Costco, there is a brand "EAS". This is a powder for making your protein drinks. It has 27gr of protein in one 8oz. drink. And also the chocolate is really good! Dr. Miranda really approved of this one. I also did the lean cuisines for the evening meal. I was suppose to lose 13lbs pre-op and ended losing a lot more than that. Drink lots of water also. I dilute my 32oz bottle of water with 1 packet of crystal lite. That way it is not so strong, but yet refreshing. You are so close to surgery. I am excited for you. I am only 4 weeks post-op myself. This is such a great place to go for questions and encouragement. Anne