robbynnoel

((((((((((((((((((((Hugs))))))))))))))))))))) I typically lose hair when I lower my calorie intake (big time) so this was a concern of mine as well. My original doctor (I just switched to the OCC) gave me a document about hair loss. It said to expect hair loss for the first three to six months and not to go forward with color treatments/perms or anything that might damage the hair further. It also said to take regular supplements in addition to a product GNC has something special for women's hair (I've been meaning to pick up) and have 80 grams of protein a day. I haven't "lost" an unusual amount hair "yet" but I also didn't have my surgery so I'm probably not the best to say if his instructions work. I didn't want to tell my colorist about my procedure but his document left me with no choice. She was understanding and before what we thought was going to be my surgery date, she took my hair to a neutral color that would hide the grey in case I begin to lose hair and I don't feel comfortable with color treatments. xo I'd love to hear what others have heard.

Hugs everyone...I remembered a few more...it's just over 70 now. I'm sure the rest will come to me tonight. Feel free to add on. I know we can get to 100. Unfortunately, even after following all of the rules, sometimes it takes our bodies time to catch up with our progress. Ignore negative scale results "if" You've had a stressful day You've had a stressful few days You haven't been physically feeling well You haven't been drinking enough water You haven't been eating enough food You haven't been sleeping well You have been sleeping too much You have just joined a gym You've just started using your gym membership You have been working with a personal trainer You're receiving compliments You are not using a consistant scale You are not using your scale in a consistant location You used a salt shaker at breakfast before weighing You didn't have a BM on weigh day You haven't had a BM in a few days You just took a shower and you're still wet You just washed your hair and it's still wet You're listening to your doctor You're listening to your personal trainer You weighed yourself an hour ago You weighed yourself 2 hours ago You weighed yourself 3 hours ago You weighed yourself 4 hours ago You weighed yourself 5 hours ago You weighed yourself 6 hours ago You weighed yourself 7 hours ago You weighed yourself 8 hours ago You weighed yourself 9 hours ago You weighed yourself 10 hours ago You weighed yourself 11 hours ago You weighed yourself 12 hours ago You weighed yourself 13 hours ago You weighed yourself 14 hours ago You weighed yourself 15 hours ago You weighed yourself 16 hours ago You weighed yourself 17 hours ago You weighed yourself 18 hours ago You weighed yourself 19 hours ago You weighed yourself 20 hours ago You weighed yourself 21 hours ago You weighed yourself 22 hours ago You weighed yourself 23 hours ago You are not weighing at a consistant time of day You are not wearing consistant clothing You are weighing with shoes and normally you don't You are weighing prior to your TOM You are weighing during your TOM You've already weighed yourself today You are weighed yesterday You weighed the day before yesterday You weighed three days before You weighed four days before You weighed five days before You weighed six days before You consumed a meal prior to weighing You consumed water prior to weighing You consumed liquid prior to weighing You exercised more than usual You forgot to take your regular medications You consumed a meal with more sodium than you normally do 24 hours prior You consumed a meal with more sodium that you normally would 2 days prior You consumed a meal with more sodium that you normally would 3 days prior Your clothes are lose You're losing inches You're wearing heavier jewlery than usual You're wearing heavier hair products than usual You're losing body fat You are able to wear smaller items in your closet you weren't able to wear a month ago You're jeans fit comfortably You've been following your program Your food diary numbers are correct

The surgery center issued a check (not cash...lol) before I was discharged. They let me know they only charged me "half" of their normal fees for the anesthesia so the refund was minus that. My doctor still has his $7500 deposit. I talked to his nurse on Friday and she said he will issue me a full refund minus no fees.

I love love love these photos. You've done excellent work. My transition isn't as exciting as yours but I may post a few photos anyway. I love your kitchen. Your kitchen actually looks like the kitchen I should have chosen for my home. Where were these photos 4 months ago! lol

It was a very very very strange and stressful day. I am so glad I found this website and called the OCC.

Okay, there is more to the story of last Wednesday I haven't shared yet. Prior to entering the OR, there was drama drama drama. My surgery was scheduled at 7 am and I was asked to arrive at the hospital at 6 am. My husband and I only lived about5 45 minutes from the surgery location but we decided it would be best to spend the night at my brother-in-law's instead since he's only about 10 minutes away. The alarm goes off at 5 am. My brother-in-law has two small children so my husband and I tip toed around the house in the dark (try doing that in an unfamiliar place) and got into the car around 5:45 am. I left my purse, drivers license, credit card, debit card, checkbook, car keys, moisturizer blah blah blah (you get the idea) at home in San Francisco...because the doctors notes said to bring no valueables and I'm a rule follower. We check the address a few times. Turns out the "surgery center" was at the back entrance of a bank... (yea...not a typo...a bank) We get to the parking lot and I turn to my husband (we were self pay) and ask him if he has the checkbook. He smiles and says no but neither of us are terribly worried about it. We had already given my doctor $7500 in the form of a a check so we honestly didn't give it another thought. So I get ready and prepped for surgery. Final pregnacy test...etc. And they prepare the IV...all of a sudden (I've been there about an hour) a nurse walks in and tells me there has been a "snaffooo". She said they only took cash payments and we owed them payment in full. I explained to her that my husband and I left our check book at home...blah blah blah and she said that they wouldn't take a check, but there was a bank across the street so we could give them cash. She also said that she had already called my doctor and since they were doing "no other surgeries" that day they moved mine back to 10 am so my husband could go home and handle the banking. She said I could sit there prepped and nap until he returned. Then I told her I had to go with him because if they needed "cash" I was the only one who could write on that particular account so I'd have to go to the bank with him. She said they absolutely wouldn't take a check so yep, I'd have to go home. Can you imagine, so my husband and I are driving about an hour each way (it's my own fault I know for not bringing my "valueables") and then waiting for the bank to open and then going back to the surgery center, being prepped again. So you can imagine my shock when I woke up and found out they didn't perform the surgery. lol It's all so comical now. I think I even joked with my husband as we were driving home that it was obvious the surgery would be a success because the drama of the day was over. Another reason I switched to the OCC. It was just a comedy of errors and to top it off, I got a call from the surgery center today (original doctor) to find out how I was doing after my surgery. Then I had to tell her that I didn't have the surgery..."Why not"...she asked. Ahhhhhhhh I'm so glad I switched doctors, I wish I didn't have to wait another 2 months for the surgery but it's for the best. That I know.

I wrote one of these a few years ago with over 100 reasons...but I can't find it, so I've started a new one...please feel free to add anything I've missed. Ignore the scale if You are not weighing at a consistant time of day You are not wearing consistant clothing You are weighing with shoes and normally you don't You are weighing prior to your TOM You are weighing during your TOM You are weighed yesterday You weighed the day before yesterday You weighed three days before You weighed four days before You weighed five days before You weighed six days before You consumed a meal prior to weighing You consumed water prior to weighing You consumed liquid prior to weighing You exercised more than usual You forgot to take your regular medications You consumed a meal with more sodium than you normally do 24 hours prior You consumed a meal with more sodium that you normally would 2 days prior You consumed a meal with more sodium that you normally would 3 days prior Your clothes are lose You're losing inches You're wearing heavier jewlery than usual You're wearing heavier hair products than usual You're losing body fat You are able to wear smaller items in your closet you weren't able to wear a month ago You're jeans fit comfortably You've been following your program Your food diary numbers are correct

((((((((((((((((Misty))))))))))))))))))) Thank you so much for posting about your journey this year. You look awesome!

((((((((((((((Dana)))))))))))))) Yumm. I'll have to check that out.

((((((((((((((((((nazish)))))))))))))))))) Hugs to you. I used to be a weight loss consultant for a nationally known vendor and if I was your consultant I'd tell you to ignore the scale. I need to find a document is wrote a few years ago. It was called "100 reasons to ignore the scale"...trust me there are hundreds of reasons your scale may not reflect your progress. The only numbers that matter are the ones you put in your food diary. If you're following the program your doctor gave you the way it was designed, the scale WILL catch up to you. I promise. For giggles, I'll give you an example. I had a client, an adolesent client as a matter of fact who had about 100 lbs to lose. I met her about half way through her journey. She came in, weighed, didn't lose, I think she may have gone up a pound. It was obvious she wasn't worried about the scale and I could tell by her journal she was following the program the way it was designed so when she left I took a good look at her file. She had a definate pattern. Her pattern was, she'd lose weight the first and second week of the month, gain the third and flat line the fourth. Frustrating? Well not really when you consider she'd lose 7 to 10 lbs the first two weeks of the month. I looked into my own pattern recently because I was getting frustrated and I found my body has a pattern as well. My pattern is week one, drop big, week two, gain 3 lbs back (almost always 3), week three lose 1 to 3 of the 3 lbs I gained, week four flat line. I figured mine is based on my cycle. The moment my cycle is over if I'm following program I'll lose a big chunk, and then as the month goes on (always about 15 days before my cycle begins again) I'll begin to pick up water. Hang in there. Give yourself a big pat on the back for sticking with program and when the scale catches up, it will catch up big time. Trust me. xo

((((((((((((((((Katy))))))))))))))))) I loved your post. I'm so excited you've joined the century club and I can't wait to join you!

((((((((((((((((Elaine))))))))))))))))) Your gallbladder surgery is next Friday, correct? You'll be in our thoughts. Please let us know how everything goes. xo

I will be the first to post my May surgery date! My surgery will be on May 22, 2009 at the OCC. I'm so excited.

(((((((((((((((I love this site)))))))))))))))) I wish I would have met you all years ago. Thank you for the pre op weight loss compliment. In the past, I can get into the "grove" but eventually I lose my thunder. The last time I lost my thunder was in July of 08. I lost 90 lbs and then my mother died. (I miss my mom so much.) In my grief I gained about 20 lbs and then I just didn't care anymore. Sigh. So 50 lbs later I knew I had to do something. I know I have the will power to follow for a time but I need the band for the skill power (and this site) to keep me motivated and going. I haven't been under 200 lbs since 1996. Part of me thinks it's a fear of attention (and not being invisible in a crowd) because I've been as low as 200.2 in the past few years. I know I need to work on my social fears big time in addition to the band to pull this off, but I honestly believe that with the help of the band, I'm going to do it this time. Plus live a longer life. Thank you all so much.

Yip Yip Yip I have an OCC surgery date. I feel so much better about my decision. Before I switched doctors I was really nervous about the surgery, but after talking to the OCC doctor I feel so much better. I know I'm in good hands.

(((((((((((((((((((((Hugs)))))))))))))))))))))))) Enjoy your trip and I'm so excited you are getting banded! I can't wait to hear how things go.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((Hugs)))))))))))))))))))))))))) I'm so proud of you. I can relate to what you are saying about friends saying if you can do pre op then why do the surgery. I am faced with the same thing. I usually respond that unless I was under a doctor's care, I wouldn't be directed to only have liquids or 3 shakes a day, and the only reason I am under a doctor's care is because I'm scheduled for lapband. I think will power can only take us so far, and then it takes skill power...that's when we need the lapband. I bet we've all followed diets to the letter days, weeks, months at a time, but it's months down the line when something changes in our mind set... At least it does for me...maybe I get too confident, and I roll back some of the changes and then I get discouraged because I hit a long plateau or worse yet, I begin to gain...then it doesn't seem to matter how much I've lost, I eventually lose all desire to follow any program and then I'm worse than where I was then I started. That's why I chose lapband. I know it's the tool that will help me when I get to that point. xo

Is the Lucerna where most people stay? How did you like the Real Del Rio?

((((((((((((((Lindsay))))))))))))))) It's wonderful to hear you are feeling better!

((((((((((((((((Carrie))))))))))))))))) Hugs. I couldn't agree with you more. What a fab fab fab post. Thank you! I needed to see this today.

Silly question I'm sure. I haven't been to Mexico for ages. When I was last there everyone said "Don't drink the water." "Don't let them put ice in your drink." I assume everything is different now...or is it still better to bring bottled water?

((((((((((((((((((((Fabi)))))))))))))))))))))))) I'm so excited for you!

Thank you everyone. I'm feeling much better. I think I'm going to change doctors and go with Dr. Ortiz as well.

(((((((((((((((AshleyMarie))))))))))))))))))) Hugs to you. I can't answer your questions because I haven't had surgery yet either. I just wanted to let you know I'll be thinking about you and I can't wait to hear how things go.

((((((((((((((((((Tibbie)))))))))))))))))) I'm so excited for you.