Linnipoo

Well I'm glad YOU checked in, anyway! I had so much fun in TJ with ya'll! I keep trying to get my mom to come along for my fill in Feb, so I can show her all the coolness I got to experience, but so far I'm not making much progress. (I think she thinks she'll get kidnapped or something) Let me know how your weighing goes! Remember, it's always best to weigh yourself just after you've awakened and used the restroom, but before you've had anything to eat or drink. And the closer you can come to naked, the better, because clothes DO weigh poundage and you don't want to leave that stuff up to guess work. and Happy New Year!

I too was led to believe that when I arrived in TJ, there would be this burning hell-hole with bodies hanging from lamp posts and men with burlap sacks waiting around every corner. My experience was quite the opposite. It was pretty freakin awesome. I thoroughly enjoyed my Tijuana adventure! I went to the OCC this December all by myself. I even came a day early so I could get my shop on. I took a cab called by the Marriott to Revolucion Ave and arranged for the same cab to pick me up at a predetermined time and place. I wore any old work-a-day stuff I might wear to Wal Mart. Everywhere I went, I looked purposeful, focused, thereby not inviting anyone to think I was easy prey. I didn't make eye contact with street vendors or anyone with whom I didn't have business. I didn't enter sketchy places or streets and kept myself in full public view whenever possible. I didn't flash cash and I didn't drink. I also made it a point to be back at the hotel before dark. After banding, some new bandsters and I shared a mini-van cab to Rosarito beach and back, with the same kind of pre-arranged pick up. We got some great post surgery beach walking in, I highly recommend it! I haven't experienced hardly any of the discomfort I was expecting and I think it's because of the huge amount of foot time I put in. If you keep your ducks in a row and make sensible choices, you'll be just fine. Oh, and tip your drivers and your bell boys, $2-5 is customary. 50 cents is insulting to all service people everywhere. Don't think it's cool just because everything is supposed to be cheaper in Mexico. (I'm a conversationalist and boy howdy you should hear some of these guys' "Amercian Tourista" stories.) This shouldn't have to be said, but during my extended stay I saw some behavior from touristas that made me embarrassed to be American. Treat everyone you meet like a real PERSON. And don't try to use their lingo *at all* unless you are extremely good at the local dialect. It comes across as mocking to them. If you speak in English in a way that acknowledges and respects that they had to learn it for YOUR convenience (looking a little apologetic and helpless doesn't hurt,) they will appreciate your awareness of that fact and treat you like real people. And we all like to be treated like real people, don't we? You should have a fabulous time! Oh... but maybe invest in some of those packets of toilet seat covers. Not to be icky, just functional, but... While I thought I was choosing good places to use facilities, I am now sporting an... irritation... on my hindquarters. Just sayin'.

Hi there! 2009 seems like a bad year for pretty much everyone I've spoken to. So to start off the new year, I wanted to focus on the positive. For everyone who has had weight loss success (whether you've lost 15 or 100 so far!) I invite you to share with us the things that you feel like you are doing right (or did right at any given stage of banding!) This is a great opportunity for people enjoy their success, help others achieve their goals, and earn some good karma points Thanks in advance! Lindsay D

Hey folks! Sound off and stay in touch! How are you doing so far??

Thanks everyone for the support! I'm still really hungry, complete with tummy rumbles, but I feel a little better about it now that I've seen my first post-banding weight loss. 5 lbs since Dec 28th! I'm really active, so that probably has a lot to do with it. I've been going non stop since I woke up from surgery. After tonight, I think I'll try out that whole "rest" thing Thanks!

Ok, So does anyone else remember being hungry immediately after banding? Like really really cold-burning emptiness and tummy rumbling HUNGRY? I feel the restriction, I do. But I also feel the same, like I said, cold yet burning bubbling sensation in my stomach that I always get when I go too long without eating. I'm bad, bad hungry. Today I've had a few bottles of water, some broth, 2 popsicles (one was Leche b/c we were out shopping and it was the closest I could do to "not pulpy") and 2 cups of hot tea. The tea just a moment ago and I'm so hungry I'm kind of shaky and the rumbling won't stop. I thought the point of this whole surgery was to make me not (or at least less) hungry? It says so in all the paperwork. Why am I full of holes and starving? At this rate, I don't know how long I will be able to keep to rules I had every intention of following. This hunger will eventually drive me crazy and I'm afraid I'll break down and challenge the band, possibly even causing damage or slippage or pouch enlargement. I don't want that to happen. And it won't if I can just kick this maddening hunger and stop listening to my stomach growl. Someone please tell me if you've experienced this and did it go away? Thanks!! Lindsay

Thanks! Turns out I was all freaked out for nothing. I weighed in at the OCC at 230! And that was after takinf (a small) part in the christmas noms and enjoying a bit of the local noms (no alcohol or flour tortillas) I was super thrilled that I could keep the ten off through the holidays! Thanks for your support!

I'll be in TJ from the 26th to the 30th. I had booked an extra day because I was planning a day to shop and have a mini vacation with my mom. Her plans changed, though so I'll be minus a traveling companion. I would love to have a shopping buddy or three! Is anyone else going to be in town?

I'm scheduled with Dr. Ortiz Dec 28th. I'm not nervous about the procedure, but I AM nervous about whether I'll be allowed to have it! I've based all of my info (including application weight) on what my scale at home says. It said 240, and now it says 230, actually maybe even a little less. So when Dr. Miranda called, she said I had just two more pounds to lose and I'd be good to go. I felt good about how things were progressing. But now I'm facing scary new questions: 1. Is it possible for me to actually LOSE weight over Christmas? 2. The bathroom scale at my mom's house says I weigh 235. Did I magically gain weight on the drive over (no food stops) or is her scale just different from mine? Which one is off? If I went to the OCC this very minute, what would their scale say? My pants are looser, in fact, I can take them off without unbuttoning them. But will that be enough evidence? What if I weighed more than 240 all along? What if they don't believe I've lost enough (or anything!) and they move my surgery back? I can't afford to just throw my money away on plane tickets for a surgery that didn't happen. I've been living on two protein and light soy milk drinks a day and maybe a lean cuisine for a few weeks now. I KNOW I've lost weight and I know I've been a "good girl," even avoiding departmental holiday luncheons and showing up to Christmas parties only after the food has been eaten up. I hate eggnog and haven't had more than one alcoholic drink per shindig, and always a light one. I feel totally prepared. But what if their scale says I'm not??? I don't know which scales to believe, or even what my true starting weight might have been! And and and and .... CHRISTMAS! I'm a little freaked out, as I'm sure you can tell Advice? Experiences? Pretty Please??

Hey! Our stats are really similar. We should compare notes a lot I'm 30, 5'4, starting weight of 240. I'm getting banded on Dec 28th. Luckily, Lindsay

I'm getting banded on December 28th as well! Lindsay (so new I don't have a ticker yet!)