Watch Me Shrink

Real beauty is from the inside! No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted! Mayby we should look to each other like God does… look to the heart instead to the outside appearence… more

Incredible video about the relationship between a father and son…. and God’s relationship with us. more

I’ve never been a big fan of humus because the ones I tried were so plain and boring. Recently a friend gave me a bite of her hummus and pita snack and it was so good I was inspired to make my own. Looking on the internet I found that humus is really HEALTHY and special note for us bandsters: it’s high in PROTEIN!
8g protein per 1/2 c. Hummus
3g protein per 1/2 wholewheat pita

I watched videos, read hummus blogs and scoured the internet for the perfect red pepper hummus recipe. I didn’t find it. I ended up using this recipe from You Tube and just added a jar of roasted red pepper and used a little less Tahini (sesame seed paste, I found in the Oriental foods section at our local store). It turned out pretty good, especially for a first try. What I like best about Hummus is that I can experiment with all kinds of variations. Next I’m going to try roasted tomato and feta. YUM!

I have had so much going on in this first year with my band, mostly regular life. We moved to the coast, have a new puppy, got a new job, starting a new business on the side and with four kids in the house (9-18) even daily life has it’s challenges.

In the past my health and diet were always on the back burner to everything else going on in life. Plus, I used food as a reward (ice cream at the end of a hard day), an escape (dinner out at a nice restaurant with hubby– pasta, steak, yum!) and to just cope with feelings (busy my fingers and mouth eating chips while watching a good show). All very bad habits and coping mechanisms. With my band, even on busy and stressful days I HAD to stop and think what I was eating, how I was eating it and was limited in how much I could eat.

I had a couple of set backs. In my eagerness to lose weight fast, like many of my fellow August 07 bandsters, I rushed my fills and had to get unfills twice. The problem is that it can be hard to tell when I’m in the office if the fill is too much, especially with being so new to the band. The first one wasn’t too big of a deal. The tightness feeling that I sometimes have after a fill didn’t go away and I was only able to eat liquid and mush. The band was too tight and I just needed a small unfill.

The second one was much more serious. I thought the fill went well and was on liquids for two days, mush for a few after that and went to chewing chicken a veg really well. About a week or so after the fill I ate chicken, maybe didn’t chew well enough, and had a major PB. After the PB the symptoms didn’t go away and I wasn’t able to swallow my own saliva! So, the next morning we rushed to my Dr (2.5 hours away) for an unfill. In a case like that they would normally completely unfill but I begged that they only take half and they did, thank God!

After the swelling went down I started to FEEL my stomach again. I was H-U-N-G-R-Y! I hadn’t felt that feeling in a while. How annoying. Needless to say I gained a bit of my weight back before getting in for the refill.

I went in for another refill yesterday and finally have my restriction back. I actually relish the soft foods, tiny amounts and tight feeling. It was so hard after surgery but now I feel comfortable with it.

I was feeling disappointed that I gained some of my weight back after the unfill and haven’t lost nearly as much as many of my fellow bandsters. Then I realized having my band is for life. This is only my first year and I’m still learning. I didn’t gain all this weight in one year and it’s not good for it to all come off in one year. So, this is me: Bandster for life and learning!

This personal video testimonial of TwistedBarbie’s Lap Band Weight Loss brought tears to my eyes. Watch and enjoy!

This post was written by Jessica, our 18 year old daughter. It tells how she explained my lap band to her 8 year old sister.

The Lap Band is changing lives and families all around the world. The Bandsters that have the Lap Band realize the big step they are taking but their kids might have a harder time understanding what exactly a Lap Band does. This is how I helped to explain the Lap Band to my little sister and how our family coined the phrase “Mommy’s Zip Tie”.

The best way to explain to your kids is by comparing your Lap band to a Zip tie. Most kids know what a zip tie is, but if not then I would suggest getting a zip tie so you can explain– kids learn wonderfully through visuals they can relate to. Tell your child that you needed help getting healthy so you went to the Doctor and got this zip tie on your tummy. What the zip tie does is goes around your stomach and squeezes it to make it smaller.

If you have a zip tie you can give a little demonstration. You need a zip tie and a loosely inflated plastic bag. You want it to have enough air in it that it has some shape but not enough that it will pop when you put on the zip tie. (If that were to happen your child is likely to end up more afraid and confused than before. Oops!) Tell them that a smaller tummy helps you to eat less and get into better shape. Explain that when you are in a better shape you will be able to do more things with them and you will be happier.

Kids understand more than you think and will be happy for you. My kids have been so supportive and happy for me. They make me very proud.

Brandy’s starting weight was 320 lbs. Current weight is 165 lbs.

That’s a total weight loss of 155 lbs! Congratulations, Brandy!

How did you come to the conclusion that the lap band was right for you?
Brandy: I decided that I had to do something and researched the R En Y. I decided it was not right for me, well because I just don’t like commitments. I was concerned what if the Dr. made the pouch too big or too small? I choose the band because I felt I had the most control.

What kind of insurance did you have or were you a self-pay patient?
Brandy: I am the wife of a Disabled Veteran and have ChampVA insurance.