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April is finally here! Good luck to all the April Bandsters! Your time has come! I will be thinking and praying for you! Looking forward to hearing from you on the other side! Glenda

Don't give up Girl! You can do this. About a month before my surgery I was trying to wrap my head around this thing, so I wrote a very embarrassing two page letter to myself. It is all the negative things that I need to remember of why I got banded. I always heard that if you put your thoughts on paper it helps, also when I get down I can pull it out of hiding to reread it to "keep it green" Personally I'm not going to all this trouble to give up easy. I knew this thing was going to be more mental then anything. That is why I'm on this site, to get that support from my peers ( other lap band patients) Hang on, Fight for yourself, You can do it!!!!!

I too have been thinking about this question since I saw this thread the other day. First off, I have already met many of the milestones when I dropped 70ish pounds. I was banded 4/3/2009. Then I became complacent. When I think back, I think I became complacent because I was getting uncomfortable with the attention. My head started playing games with me... I was still seeing the same person that I was before weightless. I know where I strayed and have since renewed my efforts to lose my remaining weight. Things I have enjoyed from losing the weight are seeing my collar bone, smaller clothes, smaller shoes, no sprained ankles every week, getting out of bed and not having to sit on the side and ease down so my knees and ankles didn't pop and walking many 5ks for charities just to name a few. Things I look forward to still doing, I would like to go kyacking. (my family doesn't think I can do it) I want to do a tough Mudder race, I would like to be in single digit clothing, and I would really love to learn how to ride a horse. The last time I tried that, the saddle BROKE as I was getting in with step stool and all. I was mortified..... They tried to comfort me but WOW!!! Such an imbarrassing moment. I have so many dreams and ideas now that I never thought were even possible. as a big person some things are just off limits... I'm sure I will continue to think about this post and may post my goals on the bathroom mirror as a constant reminder. Thank you for bringing this question to the table. Really brings it home as to why we wanted to have the surgery anyway...besides the health benefits of course. :-) I am so glad that I found this site!

Emotional eating is what put me in touch with the lapband. I still find myself having a moment. It is not as bad and I believe the more weight I loose it will become my past....Everyday I try to stay focused on me being better and not my problem....I'm trying to adopt the old saying..No one will help you, if you can't help youself!!!!!. That even include weightloss! We all are Superstars!*

Pilates reformer has given me the lean pipes & legs i have dreamed off. I do 2 classes a week for an hour.

I know early on when I was first banded, and generally after a fill, I would feel what I thought was being in the GREEN ZONE, but it would be brief, and would come and go. It was not until 6-7 months did the feeling become permanent to where it started to become a common lifestyle. I too PB'd quite frequently in the beginning, because I had to learn new eating habits and breaking the old habits were tough to do. Not to mention letting go of certain foods. This is a the chart showing the characteristics of the "Green Zone" / / /

Ice cream is liquid, right? I think we so often do these things because our powers of rationalization are so very strong. "I haven't been able to eat for days, I need the calories. Plus I've been hurting so bad, a little ice cream treat will be so great!" "The cold of the ice cream will help any swelling." Big thing is, you have recognized it, and are addressing it. WAY TO GO! Most of us are self-medicating food addicts to one degree or another. You are worth the effort to eat right and make good choices. A little treat once in a while is fine. Just be sure you are aware it IS a treat.

I haven't taken any pain meds today and I'm feeling tons better! I think it was the pain meds that did me in. I have had anesthesia before and have had no problems from it. The elixir just got to me I guess. Now if I can just get the gas pains to subside, I will be doing great!

WOW!!!!! such a great post.... i want to get my groove back. I want to feel good about myself again I want to wear cute clothes again. I want to not have a muffin top. I want to no longer feel FAT but fell FABULOUS.....

I found these ideas online. I thought I'd share! *Toast a muffin, spread Laughing Cow cheese on it, add some lettuce, a tomato slice, and a couple slices of turkey bacon for a low point BLT. *put it in a bowl and get it nice and soft. Add in a tiny bit of brown sugar splenda and mix. Spread it on an english muffin or a bagel...It’s like sweetened cream cheese. *Put it in a bowl and add some chopped broccoli thats room temp and season to taste. Spread it on boneless skinless chicken breast that have been flattened. Roll up to resemble chicken cordon blu. seanson chicken and bake OR you roll in egg beaters and crushed garlic melba toast and bake for crispy baked chicken with broccoli and cheese filling..YUMMMYYYYY *steam cauliflower in microwave with small amount of ff chicken broth and garlic salt and pepper. Then add the lcl (flavored is great) and kind of mush it up. It is awesome for 1 point! *sliced open chicken breasts and stuffed them with mushrooms, spinach, and a wedge of garlic & herb laughing cow cheese. * Low-Fat Alfredo Sauce 12 Wedges Laughing Cow Light Cheese 2 Cups Skim Milk 2 Tablespoons Butter Bud Granules 1/4 Cup Kraft Reduced Fat Parmesan Style Grated Topping 1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients and cook over medium low heat until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Serve immediately. Serves: 9 (1/3 cup each) Per Serving: 85 Calories; 3g Fat (39.4% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 16mg Cholesterol; 471mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 0 Non-Fat Milk; 0 Other Carbohydrates. Points: 2 *Crab Dip a few wedges of light laughing cow cheese mayo (i use the low fat kind) lemon juice garlic, pepper, salt articokes diced up onion parmasan cheese mix all together, scoop mixture into muffin tins, and sprinkle parmasan cheese on top, pop into 350 oven until tops are browned. *Cauliflower Cheese Soup 14 oz. fat free chicken broth 1 head of cauliflower, split into rough pieces 1/4 cup of minced onion or shallots 2 or 3 wedges of Laughing Cow cheese or 2 or 3 TBSP of low fat cream cheese 1 or 2 cups of fat free milk salt and pepper to taste Sauté onion in a Pam sprayed pot. When soft, add cauliflower chunks and broth. Simmer until cauliflower is soft. Remove from heat and in batches, blend in food processor with fat free milk and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. *Stuffed Mushrooms Serving Size : 16 3 cup mushrooms 12 wedges Laughing Cow Cheese — Light – Garlic & Herb flavored 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Chop stems. Unwrap cheeses and place in microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute to soften. Combine crumbs, mushroom stems and cheese. Take spoonfuls and fill mushroom caps. Place mushroom caps filling side up on ungreased cookie sheet. Cook 20 minutes at 400 degrees Farenheit or until stuffing is lightly browned on top. Let cool, then serve. Mushrooms will be juicy. Source: WW Boards / Poster Unknown Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 55 Calories; 3g Fat (52.9% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 11mg Cholesterol; 287mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Vegetable; 0 Fat.