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Well I'll have you all know, I was in bed, found a comfy spot to lay in (hard to do these days with 5 incisions) and all but asleep when I keep feeling this nagging sensation for not writing my blog tonight. One of the main reasons I started this blog was to give me something to be accountable for. If I had to blog once a week (at least) and update whomever reads this on my progress then I would be less likely to cheat or fall of the band wagon...ha ha, you get my joke? So I drug my butt out of bed, fired up the computer and now here I am. It is hard to believe that it was only a week ago today that I was having my very first surgery and that at this time last week I was in a drug induced stupor off in dream land. I've read many postings on the LBT website I am a member of for fellow lap banders, that many people had a "what have I done," moment. I can honestly say as hungry as I have been over the past week, I have never had that moment. I am very excited that I can honestly say I've had the surgery and I am on the path of weight loss. Yes I know it will be a lot of hard work with controlling my diet and exercising but I am really looking forward to it. And I think having the lap band will be the perfect tool to help me reach my goals. I am just ready to be off restriction for diet and exercise so I can come up with my "real" world plan. I have been looking at the class schedules at 24 Hour Fitness coming up with a plan for which classes I am going to take when. I would ideally like to do at least 2 classes a week of weight training and cardio at least 5 times a week. Once I can start going to these classes and working out I know that it will become second nature and of course seeing the results will be extra motivation to keep going too. Right now I am on the second week of my post op diet which consists of my protein shakes and thicker soups such as tomato soup. Last week was just pure broth which was harder than I thought it would be. I had read that a lot of people were not hungry the days following surgery. Well this fat girl wasn't one of those lucky ones. Staying awake long enough last week to sip my water and protein shakes was tough since the pain meds knocked me out pretty good, however when I was awake I was definitely hungry. And since I was only drinking liquids which go right through my band I had a very limited window of that "full" feeling. I do enjoy that only about a cup of liquid makes me "full." I am also working out my plan for when I can return to normal food in about 2 more weeks. There is a place here in Houston and also Dallas called My Fit Foods, (www.myfitfoods.com) I have had their meals on several occasions. They are low fat, high protein meals that are aimed at people who are as I call "label aware," and looking for fast but yummy healthy food options. Only down side is that they are on the other side of town, but I can trek over there on Sunday's and prepare for the week. They have several options, low carb, gluten free, etc. I plan on getting their small portion, which is 3 oz of protein for my lunches. I am one of those people that if I have to prepare a lot in advance I will eventually stop doing it. Or I will wait until I am ravenously hungry and be miserable. They are pretty affordable ranging from $6-$8 a meal which is cheaper than eating out somewhere and I believe the portions are small enough that I wont be wasting a lot of food. They have a lot of chicken, fish, and turkey options which will be nice. I still plan on having a protein shake for breakfast and just protein and veggies for dinner. I would update you on my scale progress, but I have refused to get on the damn thing since Saturday. I was very frustrated that after having weight loss surgery (WLS) that from the time I went in the operating room until I came out I managed to find 6 lbs. I know that this is from the fluids and bloating my body has gone through from surgery. But it was a little frustrating. My nurse practitioner told me this was normal and that I would see results soon. She also pointed out that I was losing visceral fat and that my clothes probably fit better. At this point I wasn't wearing much but yoga pants and t-shirts so I wouldn't know. Saturday I got dressed and my tightest pair of jean shorts fit considerably better, even were a little loose. And I was able to comfortably wear a shirt I hadn't worn in 2 years. It wasn't too tight anywhere and managed to cover what I wanted it to. So small victories. I had said I would weigh on Tuesdays but I think I am going to push that to Wednesday or Thursdays. I'll let you all know. My surgeon's office also has a support group once a month, I am not really sure what to expect from it, but I believe I will go. Any tips and advice from people going through this with me might be helpful. That will be this Wednesday. I would be lying to say that I am not scared **** less that I will not lose any weight. Although I have bitched and complained a fair amount, I have managed to stick to my diet so I know that I will lose the weight. I also think I have an outline for success with my food and exercise plans. I just have to be patient (gasp!) and let my body work its magic. I cannot fail! My mini goal is to see -20 lbs by my post-op appointment on 10/9. I managed to get to work today and I will say it was odd to be back there, I kinda enjoyed being off for a week. I was so worried that the world would end without me for a week but they all survived. I had my shake for breakfast and managed to drink some water. About 10:00 a.m. I started feeling really tired and out of it and my incisions were starting to really bother me. I didn't take my pain meds because I didn't want to fall asleep at my desk, so I was only taking Advil. I made it until about 12:30 before I threw in the towel and packed it in and went home. When I got home I did notice I was really pale and my cheeks were flushed. So tomorrow I will be taking a half dose of pain meds about 9:00 to see if that doesn't help me make it the entire day. So anyways, this is a long ramble and I do need to get to sleep. Big party at work tomorrow with lots of vendors and customers so I have to be on my game. Maybe the pain meds will help drown my anxiety about not being successful with a weight loss. Until tomorrow, Amanda

I'm so sorry that happened to you. Some people can be so cruel. Just look at it that you are taking steps to change and that lady probably won't ever change her sad sorry self. From looking at your photo, you look like a beautiful lady..keep smiling and don't let that experience get you down.

Seminar July 5th Surgeons office visit August 24th Nutrition class August 27th Psych Evaluation August 30th Insurance request submitted September 10th Approved September 17th! I really didn't think this day would come. So many personal hurtles and worries about insurance. Im estatic! I really look forward to starting my new life which won't revolve around food. It's going to be hard, so hard, but it will be so worth it. I just hope and pray I make it through surgery <3.

I'm printing this post out and going to put it on my mirrors so that I see it every single day.

Hi Everyone: I agree, we all have our embarrassing, sorrow, depressing moments that we tend to hold on to. Atleast you are doing something about it. I once had a neighbor call me out to fight her by saying "Come over here you fat b*tch!" I responded "Honey I can fix fat, you can't fix ugly!" She had a fit and wanted to jump off her porch but her friends didn't let her but at the same time they were laughing. I later found out she was really ill in the hospital and nearly passed away. I wasn't happy about that but Karma is a byatch. The crazy part is that she was heavier than me. People see what they want to see. You are beautiful. Your child loves you, I'm sure you have people supporting you, if not we all are. Keep your chin up Lady. God created you and He loves you just the way you are, you are special in this world to more people than you think ;o)

wow...you let her walk away....just kidding....I know exactly how you feel.......judged by the shell is a pretty demeaning thing.......I had a guy once stop his car in front of my house to watch me garden in my front lawn....he told his wife that he would not even go outside if he looked like me.....and why can't I just lose it.....it made him sick to see me....and yet he stopped his car to watch me.....2 years later he came to my house...he was just a shell of a man...he had gotten very sick and now wanted to ask me to forgive him....I explained to him that what he did would be with me the rest of my life and that he humiliated me.....I asked why he thought he had a right to do that.......he said he never forgot the look on my face when he did that.......he told me that no one understands his illness and it made him more understanding of others....I told him that is good for you..but the damage was done...and that he was in danger of passing on his prejudice to his kids........I am sorry I did not let him off the hook............what these people do is disgusting behavior for human beings......... Being heavy is not for the faint of heart.................all of us have stories that tear at our hearts....I am just so sorry that you didn't punch her in the face........ People in here know that your a human being and a lovely one at that......don't let them bring you to the point where you don't move forward with your life.........you deserve to be you no matter what others say......feed on what she did in a positive way and move on.....your among friends here...

Congratulations I remember how excited I was when I got that phone call. Good luck girl. I just had my surgery almost 2 weeks ago now. I am still in the early stages but I just know that this was the best decision I could have ever made for myself.

So I was hungry at lunch time and had to run some errands so I went to my fave chinese lunch place to get an order to go. I ordered their chicken salad lunch which also comes with 3 potstickers. The salad is big so I usually end up eating only about 1/2 and saving the rest for dinner or the next day. The chicken is also shredded white meat so it's not breaded and fried and the dressing is really light. Overall it's not bad at all and heck - Lord knows I could do worse. So I order it to go and they put my order inside a container inside a bag tied up so that it doesn't spill. Anyway - I get back to work and I open it and ta da... it is some oily stir fried noodle dish with beef. A huge container of it. I took about 3 bites (literally) and gave the rest to a co-worker. No potstickers either. Sigh. I took it as a sign not to deviate from my diet! Ha! On a positive note, I called the restaurant and they refunded my purchase (turned out they swapped my order with another customer). The downside is I have no lunch. Maybe the GVS gods are trying to tell me something... STAY ON TRACK For the first time, I feel antsy today. I feel so close, but still things left to do before I can schedule my surgery date. Next Monday I have my first NUT appt. and the following Monday I have my psych eval. I keep telling myself I did get the first available appt. when I called. And it was only 3 weeks later (now 2 weeks away) so things are still moving really fast. I will have done everything necessary start to finish within only 30 days. BUT - it's hard not to be anxious. I want this so badly. I hate hurry up and wait mode. 14 days until I can schedule my 2nd appt. with the surgeon to get my surgery date.