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Its official I'm one month out. I stepped on the scale. I am under 300 pounds for the first time in 8 years!!! i was 299. I lost 51 pounds in one month. Of course I live in the gym. Feels good! I have been having a hard time keeping down solids. I still have to revert to my liquid diet a lot. Much love to all my fellow sleevers. Also the Place where I got my sleeve done has asked me to be in some commercials for them. They have just recently started doing the sleeve a year ago they had in the past really pushed the lap band. So I don't know I haven't told but a couple of people about the my sleeve so I don't know. Anyways I can't believe I am under 300 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! F@%# Yeah

i have been going back and forth on rather i was gonna blog this today, but i must own up to my failures as well as my successes. well i am going in for a fill today. i got on the scale and it has been slowly creeping up. today it said 210!!! i had gotten to 202..that was from february till now. to some that may seem like not a lot, but mentallu to see that second number as a 1 and not a zero just sent me into a mental place i dont need to be. i just cant believe i let it go this far. i take full responsibility for my weight gain. yes i still was in the gym but my eating habits have become less than desirable..ok let me not sugar coat it..i was down right wrong. now i know i need a fill, but i found myself in the past few weeks thinking..it didnt matter what i ate cuz i was gettn a fill and i would just get back on track then. this is the same thinking that held me captive at a size20!! now my 12's still fit, but i know it's only a matter of time before that changes. i think i blogged this to show myself that even though i am one year post op i still have some mental changing to do when it comes to my weight loss journey. i thought that one year out it would be a walk in the park. i long for the day that i dont have to make a conscience effort to always think about what i am eating for the day. i long for the day that my weight is not always on my mind..but i dont think that day will ever come. so i've come to accept that my way of life is to be constantly aware of my weight and food intake. jennifer

Well, I finally got the call yesterday, that I have been waiting on. The insurance approved my surgery, and I have my consult with the surgeon on July 9. I am very excited, cant wait.I went to my lap band consultation on June 6. Got my ekg and pulmonary test. They told me how to eat and what I can expect. The next day I called my Dr and got him to call me in some chantix. My last cigarette was June 15 at 8:30 pm. I highly recommend chantix. After a week of taking it I barely had any desire to smoke. At the consultation I weighed in at 244. I immediatley started to incorporate the mechanics of eating like they described to me. Most of the time I eat that way and it is fine. There is still that little part of me that knows I can, so I occasionally cheat, telling myself I wont do it after I get my band. I am now down to 236. I really hope my journey continues to be so positive. I am very excited, and just cant wait till the surgery. Wish my luck and keep me in your prayers.

Hello my lovelies! This week is my 'Celebration Week', so drink up you groupies, and keep the party going all week! - My Birthday (I'll be 53). - Our 30th Wedding Anniversary (we'll be leaving for London in less than two weeks…Cheers!). - and…drum roll please…My Third Bandiversary!!! I can hardly believe it's been three years! It seems like just yesterday that I was getting banded, and yet it also seems like I'm now the same person I always felt like inside...only happier. I'm swamped getting packed, so I won't repeat myself, but here are some thoughts I had on the past year HERE I just wanted to stop in for the big party (get your hugs here) and to tell you thank you all for your continued support and friendship! Pics- a pair of pants I found in the back of my closet (too small on me when I got banded)...excuse the pre-shower scary face. See you all in a few weeks! -BG (lap Band Groupie)

So sorry to hear about your Kitty! I understand how you feel, been there... many times. Its heartbreaking, my pets are family too. And for you with surgery stress it is such bad timing. But keep thinking about her... right now she needs you.. maybe to do something that hurts you but will help her... Believe me I have gone to major lengths to save and try to 'cure" alot of mine over the years, but I always promised them I would look after them and sometimes looking after means letting them have peace. Its a hard decision but its the most important and really sometimes its the best for them, yes we suffer after they are gone, but they are painfree and I picture them up there lazing around on the clouds with all their friends that went first. My heart is with you in this sad time

All things happen for a reason. It is good you will have time to concentrate on you.

Believe or not I go to a support group where we all have different wls surgeries and we all like each other and get along nobody is better or less than the next one. It does happen but you have to look for it. Some gastric people seem to think they are better because their surgery was more complicated than the band. Who cares, I say come back here whenever you want everyone needs support and I don't think you will find that many judgemental people here. I will alway be happy to talk to you just PM me!! Good luck on your journey, Remember God never closes a door with out opening another one for you . . .maybe this is what is right for you!!

Day 151: Too Normal This morning I weighed in at 185.2lbs and then I walked into my closet and stared at the emptiness. My closet is EMPTY. I literally cannot wear anything I was wearing five months ago. Well, at least not unless I'm going for the baggy look. I'm so surprised that I've stuck with it. I'm still doing all my protein, getting in all my fluids, taking my vitamins, and exercise is just a part of my life now. But my name is Miss Fickle, I'm known to grow tired of doing the same thing within a matter of weeks or months. I'm just amazed. I've been able to change my habits. Seriously change them. I still worry about the day I let my guard down, but I can't imagine it right now. I do not crave popcorn when I go to theaters, I feel *sick* after just a few tastes of my friend's ice cream (a splurge for me) -- and I'm not sad about it. Real food has never tasted so good to me. And the *fake* foods just do nothing for me now. I have a few bites of pasta, and I'm not jazzed about it like I used to be. Funny thing, I love the smell of the pasta cooking. Some days, I just don't know how I got here. It seems like just yesterday I was waking up from my surgery. It was just last Christmas I was huffing and puffing on my brother's stairs. I have gotten out of the habit of journaling. Not happy about that, but it's been nice to have a break. I got to the point I had almost every meal memorized, so I just stopped. I'd like to get back into it, I know I will. But so long as I'm still losing, I'm not too worried about it. I keep to what I know, only deviating for a bite here and there of special things on rare occasions. It's nice to feel normal again. To not worry when a friend wants to go out, to not panic when I'm going to be gone all day and need to pack snacks. I look at my scars and wonder if it was just a dream? Now, I just need to sell some of these clothes that are taking up all the space in my guest closet before my mom comes to visit!!

I started biotin a little bit before surgery. A week before surgery I had to go off all vitamins & minerals. I started the biotin as soon as I thought I could swallow the pill at home. If you drink any pop (diet or regular) or coffee quit now! Quit before you have to go on the pre-op diet. I can only tell you things that made things easier on me. I brought one of those soft cuddly comfy throw blankets from Target (mine was brown, one side was soft and comfy and the other side was fluffy). I had it freshly washed and it smelled like home (Downy). It was my comfort in the hospital, I cuddled with it in the chair and it made me happy. I went into the surgery smiling and humming. Made my nurses hum, even hummed my favorite little theme song to my doctor and anesthesiologists and nurses. It made everyone smile and lighten up and I was told I was one of the most positive people going into surgery and I woke up positive. I found a decaff tea that was refreshing to bring to the hospital plus I bought my own artificial sweetener (truvia). I tried several decaff teas (after quitting coffee). Bigelow Peppermint Tea fit the bill with truvia. It literally calmed my tummy and felt better than water at first and even though it went from warm to cold, it tasted good cold. Hospitals normally serve hot tea with generic artificial sweetener in a coffee cup. It's not appetizing it smells like coffee though it's hot water. I probably have mentioned this 100 times since surgery in posts. This was my saving grace. Bring Cottonelle or Charmaigne Box of wet wipes. After surgery your privates feel nasty (after getting the catheter out). It's a little harder to urinate on your own. Wiping yourself is a little hard because your tummy is swollen, but getting some of the orange stuff off you makes you feel cleaner. I also kept a brush on my table, because it was such a comfort to brush my hair because it became a birds nest. When you go for your walk around the ward, bring along one of those mouth stick wipes because if you talk while you walk, your mouth will dry up on you so fast, especially if you are given the anti-nausea patch and anti-nausea shots. You will be most likely be receiving shots in your belly every so often for blood clots. I wasn't prepared for this, nor was I prepared for a drain. Ask the doctor if you are getting one. The ted hose they use and compression thing I was afraid of but it actually didn't hurt and was comforting, I was nervous about those. If the ted hose starts rolling down and hurting, makes sure you get someone to fix it. I made sure I kept my mouth sticks, water and peppermint tea and spirometer and I brought my own Kleenex (Vicks) type to the hospital. Those I made sure were close to me. When I would wake up during the night I would make sure I used the spirometer. I am prone to pneumonia and I used it OFTEN. I would take my big brown blanket and ball it up with a pillow and then cough. I still use it and it's 19 days out. My hardest part of surgery (I was in the hospital 5 days) was the leak test. I had an allergic reaction to the Gastrique used and it was really hard on me. My face, neck and chest turned a bright red and I got dizzy and sick. Most people just feel sick from their first drink being something like that. Things I did not use. I didn't use my kindle, didn't change clothes once (all the iv's getting any real pj's on there is no way.) I did have a pair crocs that I used to walk in, which was more stable to me than wearing their socks. When I came home getting in and out of bed was not easy for me, and I spent a lot of time sleeping in the lazy boy. I walked as much as I could and I started spacing it out 20 minutes walking through the kitchen, living room and dining room 3 times a day. I had the drain for 9 days and the last few days it started bugging me. Getting it out, was not comfortable but there was HUGE relief getting it out. I could finally actually breathe again. Realize that no two people heal alike. There are people that sound as though they have surgery and go home and are out walking miles in the first week. You may have had previous abdominal surgeries and have more scar tissue, you may have never had one and aren't used to it and take it harder. Everyone recovers differently and don't compare your experience to others because it's unneeded frustration. Try to remain positive, even when the going gets tough. I had only questioned my decision when I had the reaction to the gastrique, and then when my drain got infected (I have lupus), they were fleeting. I have tried to stay positive otherwise and it's done me well. I have a brain tumor, and I suffer from Lupus, I had diabetes and sleep apnea, and I suffer from raynauds and severe migraines and I have a lot of things that could contribute to me not staying positive. I had complications during my surgery which were pretty severe and still I would do it all over again. I will be 49 in August, which is how old my Great Grandmother Died due to obesity, and I am built just like her. Good Luck to you and stay positive, keep a fun song in your head that day, be it a theme song - like Brick House, or whatever current music you like. Mine was the Theme from Sanford & Son and old TV show that I loved as a little girl. The music is happy & funky and to remember the look on my surgeons face or remember the nurses trying to hum it or my husband and son humming it as I was being wheeled out still makes me giggle