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This journey has so far had many surprises and mostly all great experiences. From the people I meet to the friends around me that are all so supportive. It is definitely a journey. I believe my children are learning from this too. They see the good I am doing for myself and I know that they are happy for me. I think they like the idea I am taking care of myself now that they are a little older. They like to see me do things for me. I am so glad to be where I am at this point in my life....life is good! p.s. the above Title "Fitting in" is because I had a very supportive friend give me a pair of pajamas for Christmas that were wayyyyy to small,( she said she bought them really small so I could work toward fitting into them) but now I'm" fitting in" them just fine! Thanks Peggy!

Seems as though my fills are always the week before TOM and then the scale is stuck for a week and a half. So I had my second fill last wed. and today I still way 240 even thought I have been eating right and exercising 4x a week. I am full time back in the gym and have started to work my core again. I guess I should just be patient, but it is frustrating. I am anxious to see if the .7 CC i got last week will move me to my sweet spot!

*Hmmm* Where do I start?? (FYI:This is my 1st blog *nervous* lol) WLS siminar 3/5/12 I joined this website about a month ago after my first consult with my surgeon.On 3/29/12 I was so hyped to finally get the ball rolling because I am so excited to start my new life!! When he asked what surgery I was interested in I was so proud to say the lapband because I watched alot of youtube videos and joined the lapband website and was so set on that. Then he suggested that I should look into the sleeve. I was so shocked because I wasnt expecting that suggestion. So he told me I had a long ways until I had to make a final decision.He didnt pressure me whatsoever,He just wanted to me to look at this other option. So I went home and started to do more resarch on this sleeve. Fast forward to today....I WANT THIS SLEEVE SO BADLY!!!!!! lol.Im so happy he opened up this idea of the sleeve.I never looked too much into the negatives of the band. Im also looking into the negatives of the sleeve.Yes Im worried about leaks. Yes I am still a little nervous that 85% will be cut off but the longevity in the success of the sleeve has overpowred the worries that I have..I cant deal with the band with all the fills/unfills.And because im 24 he said in my lifetime Im going to have to get the band replaced( For exapmle if I had implants.The silocone has to be replaced). I dont want to have to deal with that down the road.Plus what if my insurance 20yrs down the line doesnt cover it??Ill b so screwed. I hope to only have to go under the knife once. Whats left to be done This month has been jammmed packed with so many appointments!! I have labs and my psyc eval tom and hopefully thatll be it. On Monday I had a sleep test done but of course they said itll take two weeks to find out if I have it. Hopefully I dont havr it.Plus thatll delay the surgery too. :-/ .Im really hoping to be sleeved by june bc I have a bday in july and would hate to have to spend it in the hosp or on a liquid diet .But if it happens that way so be it. Getting super prepared Omgee Ive been so hype abt preparing for this surgery.I havent even submitted it to my insurance yet.lol.I brought the wls cookbook for dummies.Ive been buying sample packs of differnt kinds of protien shakes/broths. I brought weights,a sauna suit,n a pair size 6 jeans I hope to wear one day.lol.Im just losing patience until I get this date.lol Ok lemme wrap this up.lol....It feels good to finally get enough courage to write a blog on this site.Now im ready to make friends,comment on other blogs,the whole 9.lol. Thanks for reading guys.

Well im on my month seven of lap band. I have to say that so far i have had my bad times my good times and my blah times. Mainly the times that have been bad have really been my own fault. Like when i don't go to the bathroom for four days and i get built up gas all in my stomach well that's my fault and i have learned that i have to keep up with things like that. Well that is what i am going through this week and let me tell you it hurts and its not fun and i couldn't even go to work today because i couldn't get off the toilet. Now i know lots will not understand this but not all laxatives are the same. And never before lap band have i had to take any kind of a laxative. But with the band comes new things lol. So i took one Monday and nothing so yesterday i took a new one and holly cow! Never again will i listen when the bottle says you can take three at a time! But on the bright side and yes there is always a bright side today i want to eat again where as for the past four day i haven't really wanted to eat anything in fact i know this is bad but the only things that i have really eaten in the last four days has been about four crackers a day. That's what happens when you don't go to the bathroom. But enough about that, This is what i would really like to talk about today and yes im sure it may piss off some but really i don't care, someone needs to say it right? This is what i hear the most and some how it really hits a nerve with me. Its when people say well so and so had it done and they lost a few pounds but they weight more now. OR i read this ALLOT " im sick of lap band i don't weight any less and i hate it im getting the sleeve." OK no normally i would feel sorry of the person but when i start asking questions like well how many times did you have it filled? And they say oh well just once or twice then i stopped going, it kinda makes me what to say well then its your own damn fault and maybe you should have spent the money some place else. And i understand that the sleeve seems to work for lots of people don't get me wrong there but again you have to work with that just like you do with the band!!!!! I know that getting stuck isn't the funnest part of the band and in fact it SUCKS but if you eat what you know that you can and you do what your supposed to do then i don't see the problem! As far as restriction go well i have it but then again i have been fill every month since i had this done minus two because i didn't need it. Its like i told my friend that just had this done last month, Its not easy and at times it sucks but when you start to look awesome and people start to tell you how good you look you want to keep going even though sometimes it sucks. I told her that you have to get your fills and that you have to still watch how much your eating because at times your head can lie to you when your stomach is saying stop and I told her my all time very Favorite line " The band doesn't fail people, people fail the band" which means you would with the band you do what your supposed to and you will loose the weight! I mean really if so many people fail with the band then why is there still so many that get it done. Here is another thing, you have to have a want to. You have to want to loose the weight because if not your just spinning your wheels. I have herd to many people so well i have had the band for three months and i haven't lost that much well it didn't take you three months to gain it all so why would it take only three months to loose it all????????? I have been told that at times i can be harsh and yes i know very well that i can but really don't keep complaining about something when your not willing to work for what you want! i can walk up to 15 miles now could i do that the first day UH NO i could barely do one and i didn't get up to that until about my third month after surgery but i am out there everyday. When i first got on the bike i could barley do a 10 min incline run now i am up to 45 mins and you know what i can do it and i can keep going because i have to want to! I have 20 more pounds to go until i can say that i am the same weight as i was in high school i was 175 and no i wasn't fat. but any ways all im say is that your cant complain about the band unless you have worked every where possible with the band to loose the weight. Hate it or not that's how i feel! TO everyone working hard to get to your goals keep it up and there is a light at the end of the tunnel for everyone!

So my journey started over ten years ago. Thats when I decided I need WLS, over the years I gained more and more wieght. Countless diets and atempts to lose wait failed. And with no means to afford WLS. I even tried to purchase Insurance to have WLS but to my surprise you cant buy Insurance if your Obese. I am a Barber by trade and one day I seen an ad for Insurance for Barbers no questions asked if you joined this association for barbers. I joined and was able to purchase Kaiser Ins. They truley are a blessing they got me on the right track. My first doctors app. was on Nov 8. 2011. I had many issues I wieghted in at 458, much to my surprise. Anyway they signed my up for options program that last 12 weeks long, taught me how to calorie count and got me on right track. I have lost 63 pounds pre-op. My surgery is scheduled for tomarrow April 20 at 1pm at Kaiser West La. I am not scared maybe a bit nervous but definatley ready. Today i have to be on a liquid diet, lucky i think because I hear the horror stories about 2 week pre-op diets. So tomarrow is my big date i am so ready to start my new life , with the instructions I have receaved and this tool I am ready to jump in head first. I will keep you all posted. I am gonna start blogging more often , because i found it very conforting to hear from other people that going threw this journey.

My how time flies. I think this is week 6 for me! I'm dealing with a few hiccups but overall I'm doing very well. I've been stalled for about 2 weeks now. It has a lot to do with my gallbladder issues and I'm going to see the surgeon about it tomorrow. Now here is the kicker. I gained like half an inch on my arms and chest while stuck at 237 but I had to remind myself that it will pass. PLUS I've been working out like crazy and lifting weights so OF COURSE I'm gaining inches of muscle! I just wonder will it sabatoge this golden window everytone speaks of the first 6 months being for weight loss. Back to the gallbladder. I don't want to go into the appointment like "I told you so" but I did ask him to take it out with my sleeve and he told me it was not neccesary because most patients don't have issues. I should have insisted on it, but you live and you learn. It really does lower my respect of his opinion. I swear sometimes I feel like I know more about this surgery than him or my NUT..... On a good note, my confidence is through the roof. It's such an eye opening to feel good about myself and realize just how much I turned down chances to hang out or try different things when I was 40 pounds heavier. I've been running, playing basketball, going to bootcamp classes on campus, and tonight I'm going to a Zumba class. I can get through an hour or dancing without realizing how much time has gone by. I'm making plans this summer to go rafting and hiking with friends. My energy level is through the roof! I'm no longer living, I'm finally Alive! Since the scale isn't moving, I'm motivating myself by trying to claim as many NSVs as possible. 1. All of my labs are...normal? What is that word? Normal. I don't remember the last time I had normal labs.<--- Wow! 2. I painted my toes. I was even able to rest my knee as I painted! <----That is EPIC! 3. I can cross my legs. I do it without even realizing it now. <---I've NEVER been able to cross my legs comfortably. 4. i went to a international festival and bought a bracelet. It fits!. <----- I couldn't buy normal jewelry for the past 5 years without some kind of extender. Thank you for reading. I hope each one of you has a wonderful rest of the week!

Our church has a Food Bank that is open once a month. As the Director of the Food Bank, it's my responsibility to ensure there is enough food to provide several day's worth of meals for those who come in. Normally, we are able to receive food from a non-profit organization that provides about 50% of our food for free, however, this month, they were booked solid and were not able to assist. So i spent all day yesterday out shopping for food, and putting it in the Food Bank. Thankfully, I had a friend who went with me to help. What i wasn't really paying attention to was how very little I ate, and also how many pounds of food that I handled. Putting food in the cart, placing it on the check-out belt, then sacking it, then taking it to the truck, then taking it out of the truck, and then carrying into the Food Bank, then placing it on the shelves. It is such a tremendous blessing to be able to be involved in this ministry, that I just wasn't really paying a lot of attention to what I was doing physically, as well as the amount of food I was consuming. For my food yesterday, my intake was a cup of coffee, a slim-fast shake, a few bites of refried beans, a few bites of chicken fajita meat, and that was it!! I don't know why I didn't think more abut eating. I just wasn't hungry, and I was having such a great time being able to purchase food for those in need, that I just didn't THINK! So when I got up this morning, I felt really bad. No energy, sore and achy. I decided to step on the scale, and I had lost 1.2lbs since yesterday! I don't think it's a good idea to lose that much in one day - and I would strongly recommend that no one else do it. I can tell you that it sure as heck doesn't feel good. Even though today is my 4 week "Surgiversary", I have learned that I'm not as far along the healing journey as I thought I was. I am not invincible (although some days I feel it), and that I need to pay closer attention to what I'm doing, and what I'm eating. Lesson Learned!

Just a quick blog.....I went to see my Dr. today and I'm down 28.5 pounds since my very first visit (January 5th). I can't believe it....I've been banded since 2/21 and I had my second fill today which was half a cc (my first fill was last month and was 2cc). I'm so happy!!!!! I wish I had done this years ago!

I had my lapband procedure on April 11, 2012, I have to say was not expecting to feel that much pain when I woke up in recovery that I actually needed morphine. Since that day I really have feelings of regret is this really worth the pain, soreness, and unability to pick up my 2 year old. But it is done and I am already down 6 pounds which is kind of the brighter side to feeling regret of this decision. While I know it will all be worth it in the end I just seems like such a long haul right now. I have been handling this liquid diet pretty good but now I am just starving and I want to eat everything in sight. Im so sick of crystal light, jello, ices, and broth. Does anyone have any suggestions on mixing this diet up to get me through my last few days?? I know the proper thing to do is follow this diet, I am really scared to go off and eat something I am not supposed to but I dont know how to handle it anymore. Right now im at the point where I put food in my mouth just to taste it I chew it up and spit it ( I know its nasty but it satisfys the taste). My family sits down for dinner and Im italian the typical sunday dinner spread was put out, and Im smelling this food seeing I wanted to rip out this damn band and eat everything in sight lol!!!!

Ok folks- I'm going to expose my inner nerd a little here, so don't go telling anyone that I'm not as cool as all that, ok? I finally broke the 300 lb. barrier and am soooo excited to be in the 200s again. Ok, I'm only at 296, but that counts. So as I lift my eyes to look across the span of the next 100 lbs, I'm feeling a little like Frodo when he and Sam finally get into Mordor and look across to Mount Doom. (After all the spider trauma, of course;) ) All they see is a vast wasteland filled with threatening foes waiting to take them down. But, on the other side....Frodo knows that freedom from the burden chained around his neck awaits. I know the freedom from this weight is coming. It just looks so daunting right now. Such a loooooong.....rocky....journey. But I'm ready. I know it's not magic, and it's going to take hard work. But when I get there, the relief will be soooooooo SWEET!!!!! I can't wait to cast it into the fire!! Nerd moment over. Carry on.