freelance frog

<br><br>Thank you! And yes, finding new bones is so much fun! LOL, it's something I never would have thought of before I had this surgery! <img class="bbc_emoticon" alt="" src="http://cdn.lapbandtalk.com/public/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif"><br>

<br><br>You have to celebrate the little things along the way.. it's a must! If you wait until you've done enough.. you may never feel you've arrived at that point! By celebrating along the way you can look back and see more clearly just how far you've come! <br>

<br><br><br>Best of luck to you! Try to have a strong positive attitude going into your surgery it makes all the difference in the world! If you ever have questions or need encouragement, please contact me. I'm a great cheerleader!! lol<br>

Once a month!

That may be a little bit of restriction you're feeling.. but not necessarily the green zone. An ideal "fill" level should be just tight enough to let you gradually lose weight. That means you should still be able to eat enough to get the nutrients that you need, while still reducing the overall amount you can actually eat. When you're in the green zone you won't be hungry between meals, You're still having good weight loss, you've got good portion control, and you feel satisfied. According to my doctor, sometimes adjustments are necessary to keep you in that zone.... especially because as we lose fat.. the fat pad where our ports are located will cause the band to loosen up for awhile. I'm in my green zone now, but have to have tiny little fills to stay there if that makes sense?! Hope that helps.

so your total goal was about 111 pounds? And you will have done that in what? 8 months or so? That's great? Can't wait to see photos of your weight loss.. I hope you'll share!

I passed the 5 month mark and didn't have a chance to get a blog done until today.. so I'm at 5 months and 6 days! Hmmm what's that.. around 21 weeks? I don't know.. I kind of lost count, but what I do know is this: I'm down 73 pounds, and I'm down more than 10 numbers in sizes! TEN NUMBERS... well, more than ten numbers actually, if you count the last pair of jeans I bought! (insert big ol grin here!) I guess honestly, that's only 5 to 6 sizes since sizes tend to jump by 2 numbers, but I think it's absolutely amazing!! I've been enjoying this journey so much lately, even though Ive come to the sad realization this week that eating isn't really a very pleasant experience for me anymore. This kind of makes me sad, and extremely grateful at the very same time. Weird, I know. My last fill was last week, and boy is it tight right now. But I loosen up quite a bit as I drop inches, and I know it won't last forever. I've had to adopt some little tips and tricks to make eating easier these past few days. My band is way tighter in the morning than in the evening. I have to drink something hot to even be able to eat anything at all, and even liquids are a tight squeeze when I first drink them each day. But eventually things loosen up a little, and I can eat... sort of. I now know what it means to have to eat verrrry slowly! I'm talking super small bites, and 5-10 minutes in between each bite right now... thus, not such a pleasant eating experience. Everyone in my family is done WAY before I am, and it's about impossible to go out to eat anywhere and actually enjoy a meal, unless I just sit there and talk, not eat. BUT, I still have the best luck with meat. I can still eat steak.. not very much, but I can eat it. Hamburger doesn't like me as much for whatever reason, and forget chicken. I don't care how moist and tender it is, it hates me... or my band hates it, whichever way that goes. And another surprising thing.. I absolutely can NOT eat mashed potatoes. They get stuck every stinkin time, even if they have lots of gravy on them. (Insert big ol sad face here!!) I LOVE mashed potatoes.. and you would think that would be something I'd have to be leery of, since for most people mashed taters are sliders.. (they slide right on through) but not me. Ahh well, it's a good thing probably.. if they slid right on through I'd probably eat them three times a day. I can't do any carbonation at all.. it feels weird and unpleasant. I haven't drank a soda in almost 6 months, and don't miss it, however I attempted to drink an AMP energy drink today and it about choked me. It's surely a good thing that I love water and iced tea! I've been having issues with lemonade lately too.. not sure what's up with that.. the weirdest things seem to get "stuck" for me. I've reached ONEDERLAND and I couldn't be more thrilled about it! That's my "Scale Victory" and now for some "Non Scale Victories" for the week:: The "girls" are shrinking slowly, but surely.. my tank bras are getting too big, and that's awesome! I can easily wear a size XL top down from a 3X and sometimes 4X. That's progress! If my top half would catch up with my bottom half in the downward spiral I'd be in good shape, but I'm not complaining, it's happening and I can see it. My shoulders are so pretty! LOL I used to HATE my shoulders. They looked so fat and ugly to me, and now I just love them. I have tons more energy than I remember having in years. I jog up and down my stairs several times a day and don't end up laying on my bed or the floor as my lungs beg for mercy! I take up so much less space these days too.. weird... in my clothes.. in my car... on my furniture... My daughter in law pulls my pants out of the dryer now and just says "wow" every time. There really is a huge difference. Yeah.. things are diminishing and I just love it! I've lost close to 40 inches over my entire body. My other butt is emerging too~ it's taking shape a little better. I was thinking it was going to be on the flat side after all of this, but now I'm not so sure. I'm seeing differences there almost daily. Exercise is helping I think. So that's my report for now.. I'm hoping that by the time Christmas gets here I need a lot of new clothes!! I already do, actually, but I'm hoping a lot of new smalllllller clothes! I'm getting greedy now aren't I? I can't help it, I'm seeing this weight melt away, and I have so much hope now that it's not going to take forever to get to my ideal weight. I was willing to settle for 20 or 30 pounds over the "ideal" when I first started... but not anymore! I now know I can do this! And that's such a great feeling! Thanks for stopping by! Follow me at http://www.myotherbutt.blogspot.com

AMEN!! I concur with every single thing you said!

Proud of you too!! Your attitude will take you very far on this journey!

OH! I can so relate! For me the number is 202.4 up to 203.8! Back and forth all week long.. actually, it's been a week and a half! Soooo close, and sooo frustrating LOL! Hang in there girlie.. I'm cheering for you from the Nebraska prairie!!

Luck!

You're beautiful! It's nice to get reacquainted with the camera isn't it?

YAY!! :bananajump:

Today is the first day of the rest of your life!! Good luck and welcome to Band Land!

You can find lots of great advice on this website. You haven't said what your diet has actually been, so maybe if you post what you've been doing you will get opinions and advice about what you can change or try to make your band work better for you. I'm not sure how much 8 kilos is... but sometimes it takes awhile, and weight loss can be very slow. You are losing! That is a good thing! You are a pretty girl.. and I'm excited for the day you will be able to see that for yourself! Hang in there ~ the lapband is a wonderful tool for you to have on board and if you work hard, it will work for you!! It's definitely not something that will work for you if you do nothing to help it, but I'm sure you know that already. I hope you'll be able to find a doctor who will start helping you reach your goals!

You inspire me!! Love your pic you look so happy and SKINNY!

AMAZING!! You're looking SO good!!

Somewhere just over 130 days into my journey I am down a little over 60 pounds, more inches than I have counted in awhile, about 4 pants sizes, and at least 2 top sizes. There's the overview! My band is working exactly how it's supposed to still! I can't help but be impressed by that! I don't have tons of stuff to write today, so I think I will just let a photo speak for me. You can see my BEFORE photos on my blog under the PHOTOS tab... And this, is me taken on Saturday morning... just a progress photo. Still got a long way to go, but I love seeing changes! <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XGHygPla3P4/TlU0SSQpf5I/AAAAAAAAAHU/x66U9SV1FHg/s1600/me+again.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> And that's all I've got today! The journey so far has been so much more than worth it! Thanks for stopping by! Follow me at http://www.myotherbutt.blogspot.com

Dude!! Everyone is different! I agree, there are people who eat crazy food and don't lose weight and wonder why, but there are others who do everything right and STILL do not lose weight the way you have. I'm one of the lucky ones.. I've lost 60 pounds in 4 months so far, and tons of inches, and I look fabulous if I do say so myself.. and I have been extremely lax on dieting. Other than bread and chicken, I eat whatever I want. I can't eat much of it, granted, but I eat it. I also haven't touched a drop of soda since a week before my surgery. Every single person who does this surgery has a different story to tell. Some folks need a reality check, but I think you do too. I think you should stop worrying so much about what everyone else is doing, and concentrate on YOU!! You're doing great.. but I've got to tell you.. it would suck bad if I had to take a scale with me to a restaurant if I wanted to eat dinner out... but hey, it obviously works for you, and that's awesome. My point is, who cares? WE all get different advice from our doctors and dietitians. I was told to eat sauces and gravy on the meat that will otherwise get stuck. Did you know package gravy is quite low calorie? Check it out. Perhaps you're just trying to be a cheerleader, and that's awesome. But don't forget that there are people out there who even if they followed your plan exactly would still not lose weight the way you have, so keep that in mind along with the fact that you're probably causing major anxiety on those folks who aren't having the same kind of luck you are. Just sayin...

I told everyone lol. I post my blog on facebook, and get lots of feedback from it.. It definitely gives me more accountability! I haven't gotten a single person with the cajones to give me flack about it yet..

I can't eat most bread anymore, unless it's toasted. I also have a hard time with chicken unless it has gravy or some kind of sauce on it. Otherwise, I can eat just about anything I want.. just have to be sure pieces of meat are small and chewed really well. My band is like jennifer1 in that it's kind of fickle.. some days I will have a harder time with something that goes down with no problem the next day. It's weird.. and it's what keeps me cautious of everything that I do eat. Getting stuck is a very unpleasant experience for me!

HOORAY!! That's an awesome update!

4 months after lap band surgery, and life is GOOD. Actually, life is better than good! But I've been so bad! I have every excuse in the book, (I'll just say that up front!) But I haven't been to the gym in almost three weeks! STILL I have managed to continue losing weight, and eating great, and I'm thinking that when "fill day" comes next week I probably won't be needing one. But I do have a week to go, so maybe I shouldn't be so sure. At any rate.. I have a lot of wonderful news to share this week.. I'll try not to let this get too long. First off the list.. my son's wedding was FABULOUS! Lots of work, lots of company, lots of craziness, but worth every second! I had the privilege of photographing the event, and I'm so grateful for that! It was definitely a different perspective... I could have opted to sit it out and watch from a normal 'mother of the groom' perspective, but I had a lot of fun where I'm most comfortable: behind the lens! Second off the list: I completed "Lab Rat Days" in Denver yesterday with excellent reports! I got away from there with my "medication free" status in tact, but possibly not for long. I did have a Defibrillator interrogation today and I might be looking at some kind of anti-arrhythmia medication later this month, but nothing is certain.. I will update on that later. I'm continuing to fill up bags with "too big" items, and that's still as fun as it was from the first pair of pants that went in! I'll admit that's not very motivating as far as getting me to the gym. I think it would be easier if I stopped losing weight while I was thinking up excuses not to go!! I will go back tomorrow.. I'm sure of it. (Laughing outloud!) I really am ready to return. Gosh it's easy to stay away though, and I just don't know if I will ever be one of those people who gets addicted to exercise.. I won't hold my breath waiting for it, that's a promise! I did promise myself that once the wedding was done, and all of my company left I'd get back into my routine, and I can't be breaking that promise now can I? Last big news... "HOUSTON, WE HAVE A COLLARBONE!" Yep.. it's there.. just as I suspected! (Laughing out loud again!) I've been waiting for it to show.. I missed it! I'm weird.. I know it! Okay, perhaps I didn't miss it. Honestly, I didn't even realize it was missing until someone else discovered theirs after losing a lot of weight! But once I realized it was hiding, I was pretty excited to see mine again! And today, I can see it! Sweet huh?! Closing in on 60 pounds gone~ and Onederland is just around the corner! Thanks for stopping by! Follow me @: http://www.myotherbutt.blogspot.com

We're MUCH better than food!! Hang in there!

I hope your surgery went well, and that you aren't sad today, but happy to be on your way to a new life! Check in soon and let us know how you're doing!