transforming jlaroux

thank you! I think I'll get some cottage cheese and give that a try. I'm not at my green zone yet and have a fill scheduled, so maybe then the greek yogurt will stay put! lol

The reason you have to increase your Water is because it helps to burn fat, maintain your feeling of fullness, and it actually increases your metabolism. Lean Protein helps with feeling full and it gives your body the fuel it needs to keep going. you can do this! Talk to your doctor and your nutritionist. My mindset during the early weeks (between my first two fills and prior to my first fill was to maintain. If I could maintain, and not gain, I was happy. don't give up! keep going, you're body has lost a lot of weight, so maybe this is it readjusting itself. or Maybe you're not eating enough calories and your body is going into starvation mode? You could try upping your calories a bit, continue to exercise, increase your water and protein and see what happens. Sorry this is so disjointed, I'm just thinking andi its coming out of my fingers!

weighing in at 260! I lost my 50 pounds!!!!!! No to crash through to 60 pounds!!!! woohoo

so, something strange happened this morning. I logged on to my hospitals web forum to find a private message from my mentor fro mthe clinic. She's been wonderful to me. she was one of the first people I reached out to at the office who was walking the same journey as I am. Today the message was her asking for my help because I have surpassed her weight loss! OMG that was totally unexpected! Just wanted to share.

I had the exact same experience. Your stomach swells from the fill and then as it goes back to normal, you feel hunger again. your not at your sweet spot/green zone yet. this is the most likely culprit!

remember, you probably don't have any fluid in your band yet. this is a time for healing. you may not feel any restriction, and therefore can eat the way you could pre-band. Take this time and allow your tummy to heal. It does get better, I promise!

after you get to your green zone. you have to have enough restriction. the first 6 weeks are a time for healing, then you start to get fills, find your green zone and start losing. Many people have several fills before they start feeling restircition. I myself didn't really start losing consistently until my 3rd fill. I lost immediately after surgery from being swollen and just concentrated on maintaining that loss until I started getting filled.

i know you say you are in the Green zone, but when was your last fill? Maybe you need a little tweak to jump start things?

[Thanks for doing this! Last month was my first challenge and it really helped me be accountable! Me Too! I'm so glad I found it!!!

What size is your band? If you only have 4cc there is a lot of room before you get to 7cc (3 cc's to be exact, ) So why won't they put in 1 cc at a time? you could get to 6 and have perfect restriction! If your doc won't help, I would suggest a second opinion. I believe doctors need to listen to their patients more, and trust that if a patient is saying something, then that's the facts! Good luck, and keep us posted!

just be gentle on yourself. You're tummy needs time to heal. walk, walk, walk! It helps with the gas, I promise! just follow your doctors orders and be patient. you can do it! And feel free to post, we've all been there! DOnt Be SHY

congratulations! and best of luck to you! you'll be great!

Name, real or screen~ Jenn (jlaroux) Age~38 Weight on October 1st~ 262 Goal Weight for October 29th~ 252 Exercise Goal for October~ walk 2 times a week Dietary Goal for October~ protein 1st, veggies second and make better choices Personal Goal for October~ to keep a positive attitude at work during these layoffs Date Banded~5/24/11 Total Weight Loss Since Banding~ 37 pounds (ticker includes pre-op loss.)

My doctor allowed for 2 cups of veggies a day along with the liquids, so i think you are okay, as long as you didin't slather it in butter or dressing (lol)

I am pretty open about who knows. I'm proud of my band. I'm proud that I chose to take control over my life. BUT last night I encountered my first negative response. I was told" Oh you took the cheater diet"! Un freeking believable. I felt my bloodpressure rise! So, I can totally relate to EVERYTHING you are saying. So if having a tool makes me a cheater, than so be it! Apparently,. that makes weight watchers a cheater diet too, because there tool is counting points, and Jenny Craig, yup,... another tool. Prepared foods. how about the liquid shake diets, oh yeah, another TOOL! shakes! oh, and going to the gym, yet another f****ing tool! All that equipment. Why is it that everyone thinks this is easy????????? Oh, and the woman who had the audacity to say this to me, yeah, she was overweight and complaning that she can't lose weight! Ironic.

you're still pretty early in your journey. I went through the same thing, and I'm sure most other bandsters did also. You probably didn't have a fill during surgery, so your stomach was able to heal. Thats what the first 5-6 weeks is for, healing only! Then you got a fill, but it's probably not much, so you're still going to feel little to no restriction. chances are, you won't have much restriction for quite a while- maybe after your 3rd fill you'll start to feel some, but it could take a while. be patient. you will get restriction and will lose 1-2 pounds a week. It does happen, you just need to get to the green zone, or sweet spot. So, during bandster hell, keep tracking, avoid carbs, start doing some kind of exercise (even incidental exercise- take the stairs to your floor, park farther away in the lot, etc) and relax. AND.. congratulations on being taken off of your meds! That's fabulous.

so glad your feeling better!

congratulations!!!! thats fabulous

so, thanks for setting this challenge up! I have been accountable this month, and feel like I owe a lot to this challenge. Cant wait til next month and to see what I can do!! woohoo. I'm gonna shatter that 50 pound mark next month!

down 2 pounds to 262! ONLY @ pounds to 50 pounds gone, forever!!!! OMG I cannot believe it!!!! This is an amazing feeling of accomplishment! Exercise has been limited because I hurt my knee being totally over-agressive! oh well, there is always next month to meet my exercise goal.

your stomach is still swollen. be patient, this is the hardest part. It gets better. you also probably don't have a fill, so expect that you will be hungry. I was directed to take a sip of something every 5 minutes during waking hours in those first few days. Maybe that would help, so your drinking very slowly and consistently.

There is no time like the present! If you wait until after the holidays, then you're only facing the spring and summer holidays! Live for the moment, dont waste the time because the holidays are always going to be there, every single year!

Okay, so this weekend I decided to try on a formal pencil dress. they didn't have my size, so I tried on one size smaller. Guess what! It fit!!!!!!! I didn't even need to unzip it! I just slipped it right on. I was just window shopping, so I didn't buy it, but I might go back and get it because I have a wedding to go to in 2 weeks. The second one was that I was sitting at a restaurant eating, and thought to myself, " gee, I think my stomach is shrinking!" LMAO!!!!

Non-scale Victory and thanks!

yup. and because of it, our hospital started a bandster group quarterly. I was so happy! A room, filled with about 10 other bandsters. That's where I felt supported. There is a lot of valuable information at the support groups, but that doesn't make it any easier. I have often felt like the fairhaired step child. Allign yourself with the other bandsters in the room, and take everything with a grain of salt. We go through much of the same things that the others do, they just forget about us sometimes. However, it has made me all the more resilient! our group gives out blue ribbons at 75 pounds lost. RNY and Sleeves get it within 3-5 months of surgery. I want mine, and I will prove them wrong that bandsters dont get that far. And I have every intention of doing it within the first year of surgery. My advise to you: stick with it. get what you can from it, and talk to your administrators. see if you can get them to start a small group. there have got to be more bandsters at their practice.