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I never thought I would find that question so offensive. I am guilty of asking such a question when I was younger to my own Sister. I do believe people have no malicious intent when they ask such a question but yet it can come off so offensive. My Wife and I have tried for three years to get pregnant with no luck. We both went through extensive testing and seen numerous specialists. It was determined I was the problem. I was not producing viable sperm. I under went Surgery last February to determine if I had a blockage and to see if they could extract viable samples to be used in conjunction with IVF. They got a little and we had it frozen until such a time we could move forward with the IVF. We were warned by both my Doctor and My Wife's that we should be prepared for back up options such as a donor as they had little to work with. My wife and I decided donor was not something we wanted. If we could not have them biologically then maybe we would consider possible adoption down the road. My surgery was in February of 2012 and the IVF cycle was in May. Even though we were told the odds were not favorable but yet possible we had very high hopes and less than 24 hours later after the IVF cycle our world came crashing to a halt as we were notified it didn't work. We both cried for two days and I personally took it harder than I expected I ever would. I guess part of it is because even though I did nothing wrong I felt like I failed us both. Now 8 months later we talk about it less but the memories are fresh. I still blame myself and haven't really moved on. This past weekend we were visiting my Wife's cousin who has 16 month old twins who we simply adore and love to spend time with. My Wife posted the below picture on facebook which lead to a lot of "When are you going to have babies of your own?" Naturally, it is our own fault for posting the picture but I cannot help but be annoyed. One of the people who asked is an Aunt who does not have kids herself due to medical complications. One would think she would've been more tactful. Next time you consider asking someone when they are going to have kids take a moment to consider that there maybe more to the story and that it could be a sensitive subject!! I guess this is my payback for asking my Sister and Brother in law many years ago. I am however a proud Uncle of a 22 and 15 year old!

And Im down 128.2 pounds.Weighed in at 168.8 pounds today.Only 4 pounds from my dr's goal.Not too bad if I might say so myself...lol Am still all over the place with the eating at the moment trying to find my "normal" again but plodding along which still seems to work for me. I will start exercising.Ok,I dont even believe myself anymore.But I should,I know.Still playing squash twice a week though. Have revised my goal for myself to 154 pounds.70kg's or maybe 69.8 will be even better...lol.I might take my time getting there though or then I might just decide to seriously low carb for 4 weeks and drop all of it in a month (lost 14.6 pounds from mid November to mid December and 6 from Mid Dec till now) I can be done but is it important to do it so fast at this point?I am going to wait with PS till sometime later this year so there is no rush now. Things I need to work on. 1. Exercise 2.water.I dont drink water.I drink tea with milk.Lots and lots of it.I need to drink water. 3.vitamins.I need to have my labs done and take my multi every day with the extra vit A and C Ok,thats it for now.

Little behind updating but i made it to my one month post op check up last week and i wanted a bigger number but I've lost 33lbs which after i stopped and thought about how many people lose 33 lbs in 1 months! so now i'm proud of my loss. My left thigh is still numb and slightly painful but he said in 6 months that should get better. This month i'm going to focus on my walking and i will pull a big number at my next check up in march! I'm great full for my supportive people i have. I return to work Monday after being gone 6 weeks so i'm dragging my feet there. I'm going to go in with a positive attitude and see how they react. most were jealous that i was getting time off for a surgery they found unnecessary. So i may just be walking back in to the lions den or i may not but what ever it is i will have my head held high! I'm 33lbs slimmer

You hear and see a lot on this site " just because you can eat more doesn't mean you should". Frankly this is the case if you have the band or not. We all got here because we could and did and we "just this onced" more than once. Most of us have doctors who gave us very specific orders as to how much we are to eat at a time. My doctor said a cup. Have I ever eaten more than that at a meal- yes, alot more- no, should I have - no. I got use to eating a lot at one sitting pre-band. I was never much of a snacker / crap eater, but I was a big eater at meal time. I could eat with the big boys, which was why I became a big girl. In my obese mind food was good and more was better. Now that I have the band food still taste good, really good, but I know that I MUST stop at a cup. Why must I stop, 1- My band has made my stomach about the size of a golf ball (that ain't big) 2- I DO NOT want to stretch it or damage my band 3- I really do want to loose weight. So while I could likely eat a lot even now post-banded I do not "want" to. (There is that word again- WANT) There are times, especially at family events, that I find myself helping my plate like I use to eat and I have to go whoa- not gonna happen. It's hard to lose the mantality of being a big eater at times. There are some banders on here who say there band reminds them or prevents them from eating "bad" foods or to much. Well, my band doesn't. What does my band do? It helps me eat slower and stay satisfied longer with less. I do get stuck on occassion, but that is normally because I tried to eat to fast or didn't chew well enough. My job as the band user is to listen to my body and if I am not hungry DON'T EAT. When I do eat, eat things that are good for me (protein, veggies, fruits) and keep my portion sizes down. I do not need to eat a gallons worth of food, my body only needs a cup. It isn't always easy to do our part, the band is there willing and able to help, but we (I) must do my part. Each time I eat when I'm not hungry, eat more than I should, or eat "crap" foods I imagine my band sitting there hanging in shame. The band will not, can not help me if I choose to go against it. So next time I think well just a little more or just this once I will remind myself that those thoughts is what got me to the place where I needed the band.

So today is day 8 and as of yesterday im down 7 pounds. Who would of thought It. In the beginning of my journey I didn't think the me losing weight was a reality but as I read each and one of the post on year yall give me hope. Received a phone call today for the doctors and the moved my time from 1 p.m to 3 p.m. and it just clicked in my head. That this is becoming a reality I'm changing my life for the better. Well just wanted to share what was on my mind. Hope everyone have a good day.

I haven't updated my blog in a few days. I worked out on Friday and was finally able to get my heart rate low enough to burn fat. Granted I only rode the bike for an hour, but hey it's better than me doing high cardio and only being able to do 30 minutes without my muscles feeling like they're not even in my legs. I headed back to college on Sunday. It took me forever to unpack, but I was left all alone on what I should make for dinner. I didn't feel like going through the whole process of making chili or defrosting chicken or fish. So I went to one of my quick food options: Barber Foods Chicken Cordon Bleu. 250 calories for a 5oz piece (a little high in fat) only 11 carbs and 24 grams of protein! http://www.barberfoods.com/Our-Products/Category-One/chicken-cordon-bleu.aspx I popped that in the oven for about 35 minutes and bam! a fast meal ready to go when I was unpacking. Perfect portion size. Unfortunately, at the time I misread the label and thought it was 4oz and I tried to eat the whole thing. It was only in the last few bites where I could feel it come back up. It's weird, I don't get nauseous or feel like I need to throw up, it just keeps rising in my esophagus but never gets high enough for me to help get it out. Even gagging myself doesn't do anything. So I don't know. After last night's episode of having that feeling of food rising, I realized I need to measure my food. I just have to do it. I've eaten a whole cup of chili before with no issues, and then I was forcing myself to fill my mug only half way for about 4oz instead just because I knew I was supposed to do 1/4 cup servings but I was doing 1/2. I felt like I was eating too much or maybe forcing myself with only a bite or two too much and having that rising feeling. This is why it's important to measure, so you don't over eat. I was just eyeballing it, BUT NO MORE! I made tuna fish to bring for lunch in between class and I packed a baby wedge of cheese that had 6g of protein. I had a few bites of the tuna late last night while making it so there was less for today. I ate the tuna for lunch and half the cheese wedge. My internship didn't start today, so I found that out after I went in. I went back up to my room, waited a bit and drank a muscle milk light and the other half of the cheese wedge. I later ate 4 crackers with 2tb of peanut butter. After my last class, I made myself some ground beef with taco kit seasoning. I got out my 1/2 cup measuring scoop and put the meat on a little plate and sprinkled it with cheese and salsa. I started eating and I was getting these weird pains. So I was only able to eat half (or in this case 1/4 cup of food) without feeling too full. I think the 1/4 thing was right. My eyes are still bigger than my tiny stomach. I'm adjusting and learning. I'm only going into my second week of soft foods. I'm eating the rest of the beef in 2 hours or so. I'm trying to get in all my protein because I'm still not losing weight even though I thought my stall was over. Then part of me was wondering, by not measuring my chili and other foods, was I getting too many calories? Or I could I not be getting enough? It could also be the spices causing me pain. I'm just not sure. The other thing is that I don't own a scale at school. So I won't be keeping track of my weight loss. I have a doctor's appt on the 25th so I'll find out if I lost any weight then. I'm also going to start exercising at my school's gym on Wednesday. They're open til 10 or 11 and my school's gym is PACKED. I peer into it every time I'm on the shuttle and there's barely any equipment open. I figure going later is better because not a lot of people want to work out late at night. I'm a night owl so I don't care as much. I think my best work out days will be Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. I don't party or go out on the weekends (not like I can drink now hahaha), so I'm hoping the gym will be barren in the evenings. Here's to hoping!

So this past weekend I have been dealing with the hunger monster. I have a serious sweet tooth but I have come to find out that when I eat sweets my band burns like someone poured hot acid on it. Which is a good thing, I guess. So now I have to find a way to nurture my sweet tooth without causing, what I am assuming, damage to my band. I have managed to kick soda, alcohol and cigarettes so giving up sweets should be easy right? Well....I am not sure if I would call it easy but I would defiantly say it will be a journey but in the end the victory will be well worth it. So the solution? On Saturday I found a Facebook ad for no or low carb and no sugar bread and sweets. I know they tell us not to eat bread because it can expand in our stomach, which would be awful for the band. Julian Bakery makes many breads and sweets with no sugar and no or little carbs. The ingredients are simple, Ingredients: Purified water, oat fiber, erythritol, egg whites, inulin, almond meal, modified corn starch, cocoa (processed with alkali), olive oil, xanthan gum, guar gum, leavening (monocalcium phosphate, baking soda), natural flavors. These are the ingredients for the chocolate brownies I purchased. The company lists the following on their site: ThinSlim Foods low carb, low fat, and low calorie brownies. http://www.julianbakery.com/ Each brownie is only 45 calories, 2g net carbs, 0 diet count,2 diet count plus, has 8g of fiber and 6g of protein. These brownies are sweetened with erythritol instead of maltitol or splenda so there is no aftertaste and no GI distress. These brownies have been designed so that they won’t cause any blood sugar spike in diabetics – a true low carb food. All our products come with two guarantees: 100% guaranteed not to raise blood glucose. 100% Taste Guarantee – applicable for 1 item of each product/flavor per customer. So of course I had to try these. Once they come in I will let you know if it was worth my $11.00. Although I have been finding ways to moderate my favorite treats I am going to challenge myself this week before my brownies come, I invite you all to join my challenge. For this week try finding a replacement for your old bad habits and post them. If you love ice cream try freezing greek yogurt. If you enjoy Starbucks caramel frappuccino, try the coffee frap with skim milk and a pump of sugar free caramel. Either way try something new, small changes can make a bigger impact on your weight loss goals we just need to make them one step at a time. I look forward to your posts.

Hi all. Well I had my surgery two days ago. I came home last night. I feel so much better today than I did on the day of surgery. I hope it continues to improve at this rate. Right now I am still on clear liquids. Monday I can start full liquids. It seems like I have taken very little in but yet I am not dehydrated. Two ounces of jello and a sugar free popsicle. Also water and some juice. I want to be so careful not to develop a leak. Right now sometimes I get a gurgly feeling when I drink. Do we always have this or is that something that subsides with time?