freelance frog

I'm only about 8 days ahead of you on my band, and won't have my first fill until tomorrow. I can eat just about anything.. but not a lot of it.. right now I'm eating about half of what I ate pre-band in terms of volume. That may be because I'm forcing myself to eat a LOT slower than I used to.. but I definitely can't eat a lot at a time. My doctor only had me eating mushies for a few days and then told me to advance my diet.. he said that I would know soon enough if there was something I couldn't eat, and he was right. I've had food get stuck from eating too fast, but nothing that has made me throw up yet.. just hurt like hell until it went down. I'm pretty sure all this is about to change starting tomorrow when I go get "tightened up" as my brother calls it! lol For me the key seems to be eating sloooow!

YAY YOU!! I'm very excited and happy for you.. almost there girlie!!

Wishing you tons of luck with your endeavor! When is your daughter getting married? I'm guessing she would be proud of you regardless, but I think its wonderful to have that as a goal!

Congrats on starting over! How exciting for you!!

PRE surgery a 100 calorie snack pack was just enough to piss me off!! Thankfully now I don't crave those sweets, but I know that crap like that can sneak up on you before you know it. Hang in there, and I'm proud of you for not beating yourself up about it.. dust yourself off and remember tomorrow is another day!

39 pounds is FABULOUS!! GO YOU! Congratulations!

I can see changes in myself already.. but I have to realllllly look for them. I'm only one month post op, and I've lost quite a few inches already, but other people apparently see it way easier than I see it myself. I just decided to believe them LOL. I can completely relate to your words.. it's difficult to get past that mental image that we have had of ourselves for so long. On the flip side of it, it took me a lot longer to see my fat self than it did for everyone else too. It's sad to admit that, but it's true.. I told myself for so long that I didn't look as heavy as I was, that when i finally did get honest with myself, it was a harsh day in the neighborhood. And that's when my self esteem started to go too.. It's some sort of self protective mechanism that we employ I suppose, I don't know, but I do know that I will have to work on that every single day in order to completely regain my self confidence and become totally healthy ~ not just my body, but my mind too. Hang in there!! One day you will just wake up and look in mirror and say OMG you are beautiful, where have you been hiding for so long?!! It will happen, I know it!! HUGS!

One month out from surgery today and I feel great! Seems like enough changes have taken place in the month for it to have been three months lol, but time has certainly flown by. I weigh 24 pounds less, and in my mind, that's just not a lot considering that the first 17 came off in a matter of days. I moped about that for a few days, until I realized that my body has been busy shedding inches! I don't know about you, but I'll take inches over pounds any day. The photo at the top of this blog represents the volume difference in muscle and fat that are the exact same weight. It helped me to put it all into perspective! As I said in a previous blog, I've been able to fit into saved pants that were way too small a month ago... and yesterday I got out the last pair of those "too small" jeans that I'd saved as my initial goal clothes and wore them to work! They were the very first pair of expensive jeans I'd bought for myself in my adult life, and I quickly outgrew them as the evil Prednisone piled on the pounds. The last time I tried them on I couldn't get them all the way UP, so needless to say, I'm a pretty happy camper today! When I look in the mirror I see much less belly than I did even a few days ago... not so much less butt, but I'm pretty excited to see less of anything. Size wise, the jeans I wore at surgery time were a 22. The pair I wore to work yesterday are 18! BIG HUGE SMILE! I've experienced several "stuck" episodes with both tortillas and meat. I realized very quickly that this was due to eating that first bite too fast, and too big. I'm getting much better at eating slowly, and taken twice the time to eat than anyone I've eaten with in the past week. I crave protein. More specifically, I crave steak. This isn't a bad thing to crave I guess.. could get a little expensive though. I haven't drank a carbonated beverage since 2 days before my surgery. I can't say that I don't crave that Pepsi anymore, because at times I'd still love to feel that burn, but the feeling passes quickly, and I really don't struggle with being tempted to give in to it. It's more a fleeting thought, and it feels great not to have to fight off now that I think about it. I drink a lot of unsweetened ice tea and water. I'm officially an exercise hater. If I ever get to the point where I can't WAIT to go to the gym I may just die of shock. I know, that if I can get a handle on my eating, I can certainly get a handle on exercise, and I have faith that it will happen.... one of these days. I am the queen of coming up with excuses. Perhaps I need an eliptical trainer or treadmill next to my bed... I do feel a little more motivated lately at the recent loss of inches, but I haven't noticed myself rushing off to the gym yet today! All in all it's been a really awesome month for me. I'm shrinking!! My other butt is getting closer, oh yeah, I can feel it! http://www.myotherbutt.blogspot.com

Hello! Yeah, that would be a long way to travel for fills and follow ups! Congrats on your surgery~ it's always nice to meet a fellow Nebraskan!

Okay.. how was day 2? Any casualties? hehe! I'm rooting for you from the Nebraska prairie.. sending you all of the strong will power vibes I can muster! Hang in there!

Congratulations! Your life is about to change for the better! Good luck tomorrow!

I'm only writing today about a 'Non Scale Victory" that needs shared! It was such a fabulous way to begin my Friday, and I've been excited about it all dang day! I got up, showered and was scrounging around for something to wear... sounds like a normal day for me for sure. It was supposed to be really nice weather today, and I definitely wanted to wear capri jeans. I have a few pairs that fit fine. I also have a drawer that has a few pairs that haven't fit for three years. I decided to torture myself just a little by pulling out my favorite pair of too small capris just so I could see how close I'm getting to wearing them. I needed some motivation. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, pulled them on... wait.... they went on.... all the way on... WOOT! I opened one eye and looked at myself in the mirror.. HOT DAMN! Okay.. they went on without any kind of struggle, but I was pretty sure they wouldn't button and zip. Much to my great joy, they buttoned, zipped, and when I finally let my breath out (I didn't realize I was still holding it until I let it go hehehe) they fit! THEY FIT!! I bought those adorable Hydraulic capris three years ago right after I first got sick. Two weeks later I started taking prednisone and gained 60 pounds in 2 months time and they haven't fit since. I was very sad.. I love them, which is why I've kept them around all this time I guess. They sure are cute! And they looked great today if I do say so myself! I took those pants out the night before my surgery and decided that they were going to be my first goal. I wanted to be able to wear them when I went to the beach in June. I am absolutely overjoyed that they fit already! I can tell you with utmost certainty (even though I haven't weighed myself in several days) that I haven't lost those 60 prednisone pounds.. not even close. I haven't even lost 30 pounds yet, I know it. But I've lost a lot of inches somehow... and I almost needed to breathe into a paperbag this morning due to hyperventilation/over-excitement!! Anyhoo, I had to share. I'm motivated~~ oh so motivated! Thank you for jumping for joy for me, because I know you are (mentally, right?) hehe! Just writing about it tonight I'm all giddy again! GO ME! Thanks for stopping by! http://www.myotherbutt.blogspot.com

Thin and crispy crust pizza works for me! I can't eat very much of it (can't eat very much of anything really lol) but it works for a pizza fix if you need one! Good luck on your pre-op liquids! REMEMBER ~ It's WORTH IT!!

I know.. how are we supposed to keep up?! Trust me though, this is a "problem" I LOVE having! I'll probably be good will hunting for summer stuff so I don't have to buy a lot of new! Congratties on your too big pants!

LOL, yep! My other name for prednisone is "The devil's Tic Tacs"!

Yes! Prednisone makes you hungry. It sucks! Fight the urge to eat my friend lol! It can make you feel ravenous! I wish I knew some magical thing to help you with it.. but prednisone is part of the reason I ended up getting to my lap band surgery in the first place. Breathing is good.. and prednisone will definitely help you with that in a case of bronchitis. I feel for you! Hang in there!

It's human nature to be hard on yourself. Just keep trying to focus on the positive things.. do your clothes fit you differently? There must be some changes that you can focus on to carry you through the tough times. I bet by the time you hit 50 pounds lost you will be able to see a difference, and that's less than 20 pounds away! You knew this wasn't going to be easy! BUT it IS going to be worth it! Hang in there!! Hugs!

Thank you! It's nice to have buddies along the way. I was thinking I might actually be able to make it to Friday on the scale thing.. but I have to go to the doctor this afternoon for a sinus infection.. and I KNOW they will weigh me. (with my clothes on, which will make it worse.. I wore as few clothes as possible today ~ HEY every pound and ounce counts! LOL) Good luck to you as well.. thanks for reading my rambles!

I'm three weeks post-op today, and I think I'm getting the hang of it.. slowly, but surely! I can say with utmost certainty today that I love my lap band. At three weeks out I am down just a smidge over 22 pounds as of two days ago. The biggest bulk of that came off in the first week, so the rest has very slowly melted away. But today, when I look in the mirror, I can see changes! I thought it would take longer for that. I've also been hearing lots of comments from people who have noticed little things as well. Oh yes, I still have a long way to go to get to my other butt.. however, seeing small changes, and noticing a difference in my clothes is very motivational for me! I've had some issues with food that have been purely psychological. For instance, when ordering food at a restaurant I still want to order a lot. My eyes are definitely still way bigger than my stomach. So this past week I've been working on that, and it feels good to get a grip on it. Today my mom and I shared a sandwich, and I could only eat half of my half. I'm learning that a huge part of my battle previously was mental. I have issues with needing to drink when I eat.. something I've been warned against.. but I just can't shake the desire to do it. It's what I'll probably be working on for quite awhile. I think before, I felt that if I washed the food down I could eat more. And truthfully that's probably what still drives my desire to drink at my meals, although the other thing I used to do is drink soda with my meals and that honestly DID produce the belches that always made a little more room for more food! I don't drink soda anymore, so it's a little different. I'm fully understanding how necessary it is to be psychologically sound before attempting to change your lifestyle the way mine has changed. So much of obesity is psychological, and I was never willing to look at it that way before. I did get a lot of walking exercise this week, but not as much as I should have. I sucked at exercise this week actually. The gas pains are gone for the most part now.. and I really don't have a good excuse other than I'm tired. The weather promises to provide some excellent walking conditions through the rest of the week and into the weekend though, so I have big plans to do it! I NEED to swim. Tomorrow morning my plan is to swim for 45 minutes before work. My doctor told me that my port site would hurt when I was losing weight. He said its because the port is in the muscle, and as that changes due to weight loss (or something probably a little more scientific but that's close) it would hurt. So now, whenever the port hurts (because it isn't every day) I get a big grin on my face and think to myself that I am losing.. and the scale seems to concur! That's just a little tidbit for those of you reading this who may have the same issue from time to time. Instead of saying "Crap that hurts!" I say "Hot damn I'm losing weight!" hehe. I haven't weighed in two days.. I'm getting much better at waiting, and finding that it's much less disappointing when I don't step on that damn scale every single morning. Again.. a psychological thing. I will try to make it til Friday.. not promising anything! Until then.. I'm off in search of my other butt, and I know I'm getting closer!! Thanks for stopping by! http://www.myotherbutt.blogspot.com

Congrats on your weight loss so far Judy! The "stuck" incident could have been a whole lot worse, I know. It really did make me slow down and think. Thanks for reading my rambling. :huggie:

TGIF! Today was hard. Actually, today was easy, too easy, and that made it hard. Are you confused yet? Good! Me too! Today I realized that it's getting easier to eat, and it's time to start being super careful about what goes in my mouth. I knew it would happen at some point before my first fill. Dr. Holloway even warned me. I hoped it would be a little bit closer to my first fill date, but it's now. Bleh! What this means to me, is that right now it would be very easy to cheat my band. I've always known it was definitely possible to do, but for the first two weeks my band felt so tight that I had no interest in making myself uncomfortable by eating very much at all. It's time to be very vigilant and I'm up for the challenge. After all, I have a beach goal to work on! I simply HAVE to buy a new swimming suit before the last week in June. Period. I also had my first "omg it's stuck" incident this morning. One would think that an incident like that would scare me away from eating anything else for the rest of the day.. and it did make me slow down... a LOT. It did not, however, make me overly concerned about what I needed to be eating. That didn't happen until later this afternoon when I realized that there truly haven't been any foods that I simply can't eat right now, although obviously tortillas are going to give me a little hell since that's what got stuck this morning. So, while I'm still not eating even close to what I used to be able to eat, it occurred to me that the quality of the food I can eat needs to be much, much better, or I'm going to find myself screwed! Tomorrow I will start keeping a food journal, and my plan is to attempt a version of the WW points system that works out to the number of calories that I need to adhere to. I'm also going out of town tomorrow for a quick trip to a much larger town, with much more fabulous restaurants in it where I will be tempted beyond belief to eat delicious food that can't be found at home. Thank goodness it's only an overnight trip or I could be in trouble! For those of you who don't understand the whole banding concept I will tell you that it's not as easy as just getting a band put in and losing weight without trying. It's entirely possible to "eat around the band"! It's pretty easy to cheat if you so choose. To make the band work for you you have to work hard. You still have to diet, you still have to exercise, and you still need to remain extremely conscious of the quality of food that you put in your body. In case anyone wondered, it's definitely not the easy way out. The band is simply a tool to remind me when I've had enough, and until I get my "sweet spot" fill (which could take a few months) I will have to be pretty careful. It's not that the band isn't already working. It is. But I'm not feeling optimal restriction yet and I guess I'm just feeling overly cautious. So, that's all I've got besides the fact that my scale hasn't budged in two days and I haven't abused it yet! That's something.. right?! Thanks for stopping by! http://www.myotherbutt.blogspot.com

Two weeks! Again, it's mostly flown by. This week was interesting for a few reasons. Per my doctor's instructions I advanced my diet. This means that basically I got to try eating anything I wanted to. I was very surprised at his recommendation to do this, because before my surgery I was told this wouldn't happen until week three, and in the hundreds of lap band stories I've read it seems that more than half of the bandsters didn't get to eat whatever they wanted to until six weeks post op. But my doctor is a smart man! I did quite well with his recommendation, and I've learned a LOT this week about eating. I haven't tried steak yet. I probably won't for a week or so, just because I've had issues with other meat. No big issues really, but I definitely have to take my time with it and chew, chew, chew. I have had a few things "stick" as they were on their way down... nothing to the point of getting stuck for hours though, and while it was uncomfortable, there wasn't much pain involved. I called it a gentle reminder to slow my happy butt down, and it worked! I've found that there are a few things that don't go down like you would think they would. Yogurt is the prime example here. For whatever reason, I can only eat a teaspoon or two of it, and that's it.. I don't know if it's because I only eat it in the morning, and that's when my band feels the tightest, or if it's simply going to be a "trouble food" like my good friend Tricia warned me! I have to say that I feel pretty great about eating after this week. I'm able to at least try whatever I want.. and that's very happy news for me. I've been able to partake in some of my most favorite foods this week, and I'm getting the taste that I was worried about never enjoying again, and am only able to eat a very small portion of it, which is of course very different for me, but it feels great! I had issues with my scale this week. It wouldn't budge for five days straight! My scale shows pounds, and ounces. Even the ounces stayed the same for those five days. I was bummed out!! I verbally attacked the scale for at least three out of those five days, but it wouldn't budge. Finally, yesterday morning it gave up 2.3 pounds putting me at 19.7 pounds in two weeks. Very nice, I'll take it! I finally made it to the gym yesterday for the first time! I navigated my way around the circuit room and did the treadmill. My doctor told me as soon as the steri strips came off of my incisions I'd be okay to swim, and they're off now, and looking very good. So, I swam for only about 15 minutes.. which was hardly worth the time it took to change into my suit, but it did feel good to get in the water for a bit. I'm going to walk this afternoon, and go back to the gym tomorrow. I'm starting to think about doing a class at the gym as well.. I'm wondering how I'd hold up in Zumba! It looks and sounds so fun, but I KNOW those girls get a hell of a work out! I can see myself stumbling around in there, sweat pouring off of my body and looking like something the cat drug in by the time it's over... maybe I should re-think that... I think I'll be okay now if my scale doesn't budge much.. losing those first 17 pounds so quickly really spoiled me. It's really awesome to step on there and not see a GAIN if nothing else! I haven't weighed myself today, and maybe I won't. (who am I kidding?!) I do have one little NSV (non scale victory) to share.. I haven't noticed much difference in the way my clothes fit yet, even with almost 20 pounds down the tubes. But yesterday I did accidentally put one of my smaller t-shirts in my gym bag. When I unfolded it to put it on I thought "Oh damn it, I grabbed the wrong one" but I was pleasantly surprised when it fit very nicely, and didn't hug those fat rolls on my belly! Sweet! I'm hoping for a few more of those little victories in the next few weeks! Countdown til the beach is... 60 days!! Woooo Hoooo! And actually a few days before that before my plane leaves! Sixty days til I'm lounging on the white sugar sands of Gulf Shores.. a full week of girl time with some of the best women I know! Right now, in this chilly, rainy spring weather in Nebraska nothing sounds more inviting than that beach for so many reasons!! Okay, signing off to see what week three brings~ I'll be back in-between now and then if anything exciting happens! Thanks for stopping by! http://www.myotherbutt.blogspot.com

Welcome to bandland! Like someone else mentioned, just keep moving.. the gas will subside in a few days!

Your light headedness can be an after-affect of anesthesia. Still probably a good idea to let your doctor know how you're feeling, and ask if there is anything they want you to do about it. Be patient... I bet ya next week will be much better! hang in there!

Good luck on your journey! It's wonderful that you have the support of your husband~ you will need it! I can't imagine not having the support of the people living in my household.. it would be difficult for sure! How exciting!! Keep us posted.. it can take awhile to get through all of the insurance red tape! Your sense of humor will be a wonderful asset!!