Prize: One lucky, randomly selected, winner will receive
a Wellesse "Basket of Health from Wellesse
We are happy to announce the winners of our Banded Living/Wellesse GiveAway Contest:

 I hope all of you enjoy your products and we’d sure love to have your reviews of the products at www.bandedliving.com

We’re running a give-away contest to introduce you all to Wellesse liquid vitamins, minerals and supplements.

Most of us have been told by our surgeons that after weight loss surgery it is essential to take certain vitamin and mineral supplements, either because we have had a procedure that inhibits absorption of them, or we just don’t get enough of them in the food we eat.

Many of us have trouble taking pills, especially giant size pills like multi vitamins and calcium.  Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to get everything in a good tasting liquid form that is easily absorbed by our bodies regardless of the type of weight loss surgery we have had?

Wellesse offers over 20 years of product excellence to ensure their quality liquid supplements are the solution to help you achieve your daily nutritional goals that are critical before & after surgery.

Wellesse supplements are:

• Fast absorbing & bio-available
• Great tasting, easy to take
• Small daily doses

Prizes:   

One (1) Wellesse “Basket of Health” containing:

• 16oz bottle each of all 9 Wellesse products –

1. Glucosamine,
2. Calcium,
3. Vitamin D,
4. Digestive Health,
5. Aloe,
6. B Complex,
7. B12 (this is a 2 oz. bottle),
8. Iron, &
9. Multivitamin,

• Stainless steel Wellesse water bottle,
• $25 gift card,
• Insulated lunch bag,
• Pen,
• The book “The Vitamin D Solution” by Dr. Holick

In addition to this fabulous gift we will also give away:

Three(3) additional gifts of Sample Packs (2 ounce samples that you can fly with) which contain:

• Calcium,
• Iron,
• Multivitamin
• B-12

On the road again…. The familiar tune is playing in my head.  I’m a seasoned traveler, one who traveled a lot after surgery.  I’ve blogged many times about traveling with my lap band, but it’s been a while.  I’m going to be traveling a lot for business again, and that means I need to dust off my own strategies, and have a plan.  I’m going back to reading my old blogs to get ideas, and build my confidence.  I’ve done this before, many times.  Heck, I commuted cross-country for over a year; I traveled to Europe from CA five weeks after surgery; I know how to do this, yet I’m still nervous.  Time to take my own advice…

I know that for me success starts with having a plan so that I don’t get caught without what I need to work my tool.  For me there’s no need to reinvent the wheel, so I’m going back to reading old blogs about traveling to refresh my memory, and get in the right mindset.  Here’s the list of articles and blogs I referred to:

•  Lap Band Tips – Airline Travel With My Lap Band (planning for a long-flight and what to take)
• I Always Have a Plan to Maintain My Weight Loss, Especially When I Travel, 9/27/2009 (protein drinks on airplanes and being assertive instead of being embarrassed)
• Lapbanded on Vacation – Having Fun at an All Inclusive Without Gaining Weight (it’s all about choices and having a plan; tips from an all-inclusive vacation; this will be a really helpful reminder for this trip; going to print out this blog and take it with me!)
• Traveling With My Lap Band – Some Tips For Continued Success (Sandi’s tips for traveling filled with some great ideas; I’m going to print this one too!)

my hotel room staple - ice, water, water bottle, protein powder, fresh fruit, baby carrot

I called the hotel I’m staying it to make sure they have a gym (I didn’t have a choice about where to stay).  The good news is they have a gym and it’s 24 hour access – I don’t need to ask them to open it early for me.  Time to take out those travel size containers, and Ziploc bags.  There are a few new tips I’m adding to my list for air travel:

• Bring an empty water bottle – preferably one with a large mouth for mixing protein drinks; saves a lot of money on bottled water throughout the trip.  I now fill it at a water fountain right after I get through security,
• Take protein powder and any other powders out of luggage and put them in a bin at the security checkpoint – or TSA may need to go through your luggage.

So armed with Ziploc bags, protein powder, my water bottle, workout clothes, baby carrots, workout music and most importantly a plan, here I go, on the road again.

Here we go again.  We’re deep into the eating season.  Navigating the holidays is actually getting harder for me, now that I’m in my sixth year since lap band surgery.  It’s easier to slack off this far out since WLS so this year I’ve decided that I need to do just the opposite.

I wound up hosting Thanksgiving, which was a gift for me.  Turkey is always a good protein option, but since I was hosting, I was also able to prepare the weight loss friendly sides I like: baked acorn squash (splenda instead of brown sugar on mine), butternut squash (from a WW recipe I found), broccoli with just a little bit of olive oil and tons of garlic.  Feeling in control, it was relatively easy to just taste a spoonful of the other sides that I really wanted to sample:  stuffing, my homemade cranberry sauce which is a family tradition (I think I would be tarred and feathered if I didn’t make it).  I also started online journaling for the first time.  I always journaled with pen and paper, but I tried myfitnesspal.com and I’m hooked. It has an app that’s easy to use on my blackberry after I had all my staple foods in my diary.  So leftover turkey, my husband’s homemade turkey soup and journaling both food and exercise got me through the beginning of the holiday season. (My fitnesspal tracks both calories in and calories out – exercise which motivated me to also step up my cardio too!)

So now I’m on a roll.  I haven’t worked with a trainer in years, so I got my rear in gear, found a good trainer and a good deal, and started training again.  It feels good, yes I’m sore but it’s a good sore.  I want my arms back, and I’m sore in the right places….

Onto a plan for holiday cooking.  I have a lot of control over what I am eating through Chanukah and Christmas Eve (we celebrate both), before we head off to Nana and Pappa’s house on Christmas Day.  That gives me plenty of time to be get into a good holiday groove.  So I’m looking to some of my favorite sources for recipes.

With Chef Dave at the 2011 NorthWest Weight Loss Conference

My first stop is Chef Dave.  I’ve been fortunate to meet Chef Dave twice during my WLS journey.  He’s is a long-term successful WLS patient and a classically trained Chef.  His books are filled with great, tasty easy to prepare recipes that everyone in my family can love.  We will soon be featuring his recipes on BandedLiving and WeightLossSurgeryLiving.  I am planning on using his advice to how to perfectly prepare beef or pork tenderloin from his December newsletter.

Next stop is Hungry Girl.  I thank hungry girl for putting pasta back in my life with recipes for tofu shirataki noodles.  Low calorie pasta dishes are a go-to meal for me now when I’m trying to put together a satisfying low-cal meal.  The only problem is that my 12 year old daughter has now decided that she likes everything I make for MYSELF when I prepare them.  I recently posted HG Salutes: the World’s Best Pasta Swap on our LapbandedLiving facebook page .  I’m also going to paying close attention to the HG’s Holiday Survival Guide.

It I don’t find everything I’m looking for, I’d be off to CookingLight and Weight Watcher’s for more ideas.

So there’s my plan:

• Get through Thanksgiving without falling off the wagon (check)
• Find a trainer (check)
• Journal through January 8, at least
• Try some new WLS friendly recipes
• Manage stress by doing as much holiday shopping as I can online (thank you amazon)
• Cook at home as much as possible, and make it fun!
• Plan to go shopping for clothes the week after December 26 Enjoy!

What’s your plan to get through the rest of the holidays?

I’m in my sixth year since my lap band surgery.  It’s late October; here in New England the Spookfests and haunted hayrides abound, the leaves are turning a full array of beautiful hues, the days are getting shorter, there is a new chill in the air and that means the holiday eating season is upon us.  In years past, I’ve blogged about Halloween challenges including the emotional turmoil of being an obese child in a Halloween costume.  This year as Halloween approaches, I realize that it is less of a big deal for me.  The key for me is planning.  For the first time that I can remember, we didn’t wait until the last minute to get the kid’s costumes.  The only thing that I’ve put off to the last minute is buying Halloween candy.

Planning is my theme for kicking off the holiday season this year.  There is a reason Sandi and I focused on planning as one of the Lessons of Successful Lap Band patients.  Planning keeps me on track and gives me a sense of comfort, calm and control.  Planning helps keep my hand out of the candy bowl!

This week I scoured the internet for tips to stay on track during Halloween.  I found a few articles with great tips and treat ideas.  Here are a few that really rang true to me:

• 10 Tricks to Avoid the Halloween Treats from Sparkpeople
• 10 Tips to Avoid Halloween Candy Temptations from WebMD
• Halloween Eats: No Tricks, Just Treats from eDiets
• The Diet Detective: 10 Halloween Tricks and Treats

Some of my favorite tips from these articles can work well for me throughout the holiday season:

• Wait until the last minute to buy treats
• Donate, or giveaway the treats after the holiday (AKA, get as much as possible out of the house)
• Don’t go trick-or-treating hungry (or to a party, or…)
• Chew gum (not appropriate for some WLS patients)
• Substitute health(ier) and low(er) calorie choices (good for me and helps teach my kids about choices)
• Celebrate with activities that are not just about eating – carve a pumpkin, decorate, sing, get physical!
• Decide what to splurge on and make it conscious
• One day, or one meal, or one treat doesn’t have to start a bad cycle. 

Just taking the time to write the blog is part of my planning, and part of being accountable.  What’s your plan to get through the holiday season?  Please share your tips and treats.

My daughter and I were flipping channels and ended up watching a girl’s movie (AKA chick flick) on the Lifetime Movie Network.  It turns out that this movie was the story of three friends struggling with their weight, their self-esteem and a whole host of issues familiar to those of us who’ve struggled with obesity. I was surprised when my daughter put down her book to watch with me. As the story unfolds, the women made a pact to support each other on a journey to weight loss.  One of the women was gaining struggling as the other two were losing weight.  She started researching weigh loss surgery,  considered gastric bypass surgery, then decided on lap band surgery – much to my surprise.  To keep this in context the story about her lap band surgery was just a tiny part of this movie, but it did get my daughter and I talking about my surgery.

My daughter is now 12, but she was only 6 when I had surgery.  I asked her if she remembered me before surgery.  She said that she remembered me being bigger, that she remembered seeing me exercising one day and had that image of me “bigger”. Leave it to my daughter, to use the least offensive term she could find – “bigger”.  I asked if she remembered that she took my before picture, the morning of August 16, 2006, the morning of my weight loss surgery.  She said she knows she took that picture because I always remind her, but doesn’t really remember taking it.  She didn’t understand about the surgery at the time.  She thinks it’s kind of cool that the picture she took is all over the bandedliving.com, and in my book, and on my blog, and that if you google me and lap band surgery, that picture that she took will probably come up.

I didn’t explain my surgery to my children back in 2006.  They were too young and I didn’t want to scare them; I also didn’t want them talking about my surgery, my well-guarded secret at the time, to their friends. But, since Sandi and I decided to go public with our stories, write a book, and build the bandedliving.com community, my public lap band journey is part of who we are. 

I talk a lot about my lap band support team, who to tell, and who not to tell.  I’m reminded that my support team continues to change and evolve over time.  I’m learning, once again, that support comes in many forms – friends, family, my on-line family and bandedliving.com, and even a TV movie!

Here I am – 5 years post lap band surgery.  I have my routines.  I have my life, but sometimes I find myself bored with my food choices, which for me can be a dangerous place.  Sometimes I need to change it up, or find a few new staples to add to my list of lap band friendly food and recipes. 

Sandi, my lap band mentor, my friend, and co-founder of bandedliving.com came to Boston and stayed with me last week.  Each time we are together it’s a little like weight loss surgery bootcamp.  I find I follow the rules a little more closely because I have someone to do it with; extra camaraderie and support to help me get back to basics.  We did a grocery store run together.  Sandi had read an article in one of my magazines about chocolate Greek yogurt, so we searched the yogurt aisle for chocolate greek yogurt but had no luck.  Sandi is a chocolate lover.  Like my husband Sandi likes deep, rich, dark chocolate.  When it’s comes to chocolate, I’m more of a creamy, sweet milk chocolate kind of girl.  Just writing these descriptions make feel like I’m breaking some rules.

The next day we were still talking about the chocolate yogurt, so I had an idea.  Let’s make our own chocolate yogurt.  I took out my husband’s unsweetened cocoa from Trader Joe’s (20 cal/tablespoon), fat free Greek yogurt and some splenda  (recipe and technique below.)  It turns out that we made a deep, rich, creamy, decadent chocolate dessert/snack that is low in calories and high in protein. 

Decadent Chocolate Treat Ingredients

Ingredients

• ½ cup Greek yogurt (Kirkland)  (60 cal; 10 g protein)
• 1 T Trader Joes unsweetened cocoa powder  (20 cal; 1 g protein)
• Splenda to taste  (0 cal)
• Splash pure vanilla extract  (0 cal)
• Optional   ¼ cup fresh or frozen berries  (15 – 20 cal)

Measure yogurt and empty into bowl.  Add cocoa powder gradually, a bit at a time stirring vigorously.  ( I found the cocoa mixed well this way).  Add splenda to taste (probably 1 – 2 teaspoons) and stir.  If you choose, mix in or top with fresh or frozen berries.  Serve in a dessert bowl and savor a decadent chocolate treat with 11 grams of protein and 80 – 100 calories.

This recipe satisfied Sandi’s sweet tooth – a lover of dark, rich chocolate.  After tasting Sandi’s, I created a version for myself a sweeter milkier chocolate; I used about half of the cocoa powder and more splenda, then I folder in frozen mixed berries.   

This is definitely one of my new staples.  For me it’s a perfect solution for nighttime when I’m inevitably craving ice cream.  Satisfying my desire for something decadent (head hunger), while given my body protein to fend off physical hunger is the perfect solution for an evening snack.  Let me know if you try it.

“Mom, will you go running with me?” is the question my daughter asked me.

This week marks 5 years and one month since I first had lap band surgery.  My 11 year old daughter just started middle school and chose cross-country as her fall sport.  Unlike me, she has legs like a gazelle and is built for running.  She came home excited and invigorated from her first practice. This weekend my daughter gave me what felt like the mother of all NSV’s, she didn’t think twice about asking if I’d start running with her; she sees me as a fit mom, someone who prioritizes exercise, who takes care of her health, someone she wouldn’t be embarrassed to run with.  Who? Me? Run with you?

OMG!  Her simple request shocked me back to reality like a bucket of ice water pouring over my head.  My daughter gave me an amazing, much needed gift: “Mom, will you go running with me?”  The last year of my banded living journey has been hard.  I’m struggling to get my weight firmly back in my target range; there are lots of reasons for the struggle, some hormonal (to borrow a phrase from a member of our bandedliving community who periodically writes a column about food and recipes – I now have the metabolism of a “lobotomized tree slug”), some in my head, some in my choices about how hard I work my tool.  My daughter yanked me back to reality. If I hadn’t chosen to have lap band surgery 61 months ago, I think the chances of my daughter asking me to run with her would have been about zero.  It’s highly unlikely that I’d be struggling with 10 or 15 pounds; it would be more like 100 or 150, or even more.  I need to remember that this journey is not a straight line; it probably never will be for me.  It’s a journey to grow from, savor, struggle with, and learn from.  It’s about my health and my quality of life, so much more than it is about the number on the scale.

My Daughter

Alexis asked if I would run with her while were sitting in my car getting gas, on a beautiful Saturday morning on the way home from buying her new running shoes.  I took her to be fitted in a local store in our town center.  We have a great store; the people working there are pros; they are runners.  Shopping for good running shoes proved to be one of those “mommy moments,” one that I will relish forever.  My daughter truly appreciated the expertise, the passion, the time they spent with her to find the right pair of shoes, and the camaraderie of the sport.  I loved observing her take in the experience through all her senses.  I also couldn’t help thinking about how I fit in the store, amongst the athletes, that a few months ago I had bought shoes and a cardio monitor there for myself, that I wasn’t embarrassed by my size, that I was treated with respect.

Will I run with my daughter?  I’ve never been a runner, but I will try.  I told my daughter I‘d give it a shot. I have great cardio endurance, but I’m not sure my joints can handle it.  She knows that we are built differently; I am more flexible; it drives her nuts that at 50 I can still do a split and her long limbs aren’t as flexible as mine, and probably never will be.  Her response, “…if you can’t run, will you bike with me while I run?”  What a great idea, yes, my precious daughter, I’ll be out there with you; if running hurts, I will bike the trails with you while you run cross-country.

61 months (but who’s counting) after lap band surgery, at the age of 50, I have a strong, fit, healthy body; I can participate in life with my daughter.  We share a lifestyle that includes a passion for fitness.  That’s a measure of my long-term lap band success that can’t be measured on a scale.  Once again, I’m reminded why we call it Banded LIVING.

My lap band has been pretty loose for some time now – in the yellow zone, even before my recent unfill.  It’s been hard and I’ve had some weight gain – not enough to concern my doctors since my health is great, but more than enough to concern me.  That’s especially hard for someone like me who always wants to be the “A” student, who mentors others and wants to be the perfect role model.  Well, note to self.  Role models aren’t perfect!

Today I went for a fill to try to get back into the green zone; the place where maintaining my weight is so much easier.  As I sat in the waiting room, I found myself texting Sandi this message “waiting for fill.  Nervous and excited.  Why do I feel like a newbie right now?”  Her answer to me, knowing me as well as she does, was “because you HOPE…”

As usual, Sandi was spot on.  I hope this fill will put me firmly back in the green zone, the place where maintaining my weight is relatively easy when I work my tool and follow the lessons I teach others about how to use this tool.  So now I wait to see how this fill works out for me, just like someone newly banded. 

At bit of background for those of you who haven’t been following my blog regularly – I moved to the east coast three years ago, away from the comfort of my surgical practice, the surgeon, Dr. Billy, who I’ve come to know and trust.  Since I travel, I’ve been able to see him periodically, but now that I am traveling less frequently to the west coast, I’ve had to finally find a practice close to home – or at least not 4000 miles away (LOL).  After asking around, I’ve found a surgeon, with a practice focused on patient success and aftercare, a doctor who I have a lot of confidence in to help me on my continued journey.  Even at 5 years out, I am reminded that this is a lifelong journey.  So this morning I had my second fill with my new surgeon, here in MA.  I am excited and nervous and hopeful that I will be back in the green zone!

So the waiting begins.  Just like when I was newly banded.  It will take a few days, maybe a week or more for me to be able to assess where I am.  The difference for me I guess is that I know what the green zone feels like.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

I recently posed this question on our lapbandliving facebook page:  “Pick just one word to describe what success with WLS means to you?”   

 I posed the question to myself, and forced myself to pick the first word that came to mind; it wasn’t hard for me at all to pick just one word.  For me that word is FREEDOM.  I feel like I am finally free from the burdens of obesity, free emotionally, free physically.  Yes, FREEDOM describes what success with weight loss surgery means to me.   

I didn’t realize how inspired I would be by the answers coming in on Facebook, and then on our forums at bandedliving.com.  Each time I received an email notification about a new comment I got excited, motivated, and inspired.  Here are the words people chose:   

• LIFE (3)

• HEALTH

• EVERYTHING

• GLORIOUS

• SMALLER

• FREEDOM (5)

• COMFORTABLE

• REBIRTH

• ENERGY

• HAPPINESS (2)

• FUTURE

• ACCOMPLISHEMENT (2)

• COMMITMENT

• HOPE (2)

• PEACE

• ENLIGHTENING

• JOY

 When I first started thinking about weight loss surgery I was confused, frightened and embarrassed for having to resort to surgery.  That’s a pretty stark contrast to how I feel today.  How about you – what one word would you pick to describe what success with WLS means to you?   

We often talk about lap band fills, but this week I had and unfill. I realized that I am still learning how my lap band works and how to listen to what my adjustable gastric band and my body are telling me.

For me, one of the greatest features of my chosen weight loss surgery is that my lap band is adjustable.  I’ve always been amazed at how just a few drops of saline  can make the difference between whether I am hungry, and feel like I’m on a diet, white knuckling it, struggling to find willpower, or comfortable and satiated with a small meal.

Over the years, my surgeon and I have learned that I am very sensitive to a very small amount of fluid.  I’ve come into my surgeon’s office frustrated and ravenous and by adding a bit of fluid to my lap band access port, I’ve been able to find that comfortable place, where I don’t feel like I’m on a diet; instead I feel like a person with a normal appetite.  What a difference a little saline can make!

About three years ago I was too tight; it was a pretty black and white case of being too tight. Trying to eat was painful; I kept trying and became irritated to the point that it was difficult to even take in clear fluids – pretty scary.  I had an un-fill, and was more than relieved to be able to eat, and drink again.  But like most people I was afraid of that unfill, afraid that I would be hungry again, afraid that it would be too easy to eat too much, afraid that I would gain weight.  I guess I’ve learned that fills and unfills come with the territory and it is my responsibility to listen to my body and seek to understand whether I am too loose, too tight or just right (also known as the “green zone”).

Over the course of the last month, as I am coming up on my five year lap bandiversary, I’d been having heartburn, coughing at night, and feeling like I have a lump in my throat.  This has been anything but a clear case of being too tight for me however because my band feels pretty loose; I am  able to eat larger portions including plenty of fresh fruits and raw vegetables, yet I had symptoms that suggest I might need an unfill.  My doctor ordered an esophogram.  I was relieved when he told me that my band was in perfect position, and that I had no dilation; everything looked good.  After going back and forth we decided on a small unfill to help with the symptoms.  I knew in my head that it was the right thing, but I was desperately afraid of losing satiety.  Last week I had a small un-fill.  I was scared that after the un-fill I would be ravenous; but I’m happy to report that it wasn’t the case.  As a matter of fact since removing some fluid from my band my symptoms have resolved and I actually feel like I have a greater sense of satiety than I did last week.

I put my unfill to the test the morning after having fluid removed.  I had promised to take my kids to breakfast the morning after my unfill (poor planning on my part).  I was afraid that I would want to eat everything in sight.  As my kids ordered their crepes, I ordered an egg white omelet, made with cooking spray, and veggies, no cheese, with lettuce, and sliced tomatoes on the side instead of toast and potatoes.  I enjoyed my omelet, enjoyed my kids, but worried about how long it would be until I was hungry again.  I’m happy to report that after that breakfast I was not hungry for another 4.5 hours.  I’ve been doing really well all week since the unfill.  Wooohoo!  

I guess the moral of this story is that I’m still learning how to use my lap band tool.  I’m still learning to listen to what my band and my body are telling me.  I’m still learning about fills, unfills and the “green zone”.  I also understand that as long as I have this gift of satiety, I am able to make choices to use my tool to maintain a normal healthy weight. I’m still learning that maintaining my weight is not about having a “hard stop,” about how much I can eat, but about making good choices and feeling satisfied.

How do you define the green zone?