JustDoIt130

WONDERFUL!

I have been using food to alleviate stress- even though I know it doesn't really work, I will feel bad (physically and emotionally), should try other things. Bottom line is, this is a tool and you have to still make choices- and the band isn't around our head or emotions. So, I backslide, and then I pick myself up, dust myself off and start over- but still from a MUCH better place than where I would have been pre-band. So, please don't judge. No one is perfect, if I were I wouldn't have needed a band. I still will eat slider foods, I still will go through good times and not good times- but my band will be there to help when I choose to use it (which I do choose more often than not). And I have found that I don't go as "crazy" as I did pre-band- I can't! The band won't let me. It's a learning process, a mental process, and a marathon, not a sprint. I am NOT trying to justify eating poorly, etc- I know it's MY choice, no one is making me eat badly. I know B-52 says he CAN'T eat badly, but I still can- ice cream is my nemisis, and it's a total slider food, though I can't eat nearly what I used to. Perhaps my band isn't tight enough (though I think it is, it's the slider foods that I should be avoiding anyways that will go down even with a tight band). Each time I backslide, I learn something- one of my favorite LOL movies is "what about Bob" with Bill Murray. I'm baby stepping it SO I agree in theory with you, but you liken it to being an alcoholic- which I agree with- but unlike alcohol, you can't live with out food, so it's harder to just avoid. I hope I'm expressing myself here- I guess the point to this post is I'm not perfect, but my band helps me even when I'm not perfect, and as I go on this journey I learn new things all the time and I just- to quote my favorite Disney movie- Keep moving forward. Nicki

Sigh, I'm tired of my "head hunger" and dumbness, LOL. I got to 199.8- and now back up to 202ish- eating my crappy foods and not logging. Karen, what did the plastic surgeon say??? I wish I could just have someone lop off all the flab, LOL. It's a journey, a marathon- not a sprint. Right????? Nicki

LOL Chrissy about licking the frosting off! I think some of mine is psychosomatic- like, I'm so close to "under 200 lbs" ya know? My 2 year anniversary was Sunday- I actually had to go back to the beginning of this thread to remember. I do have the size 5x sweatpants I wore to the hospital still- I keep them as a reminder. Now, I wasn't wearing 5x, I was actually in a 4x, but bought them "baggy" ha ha. So crazy. Thanks to Otaknam's great advice I called my doc and requested my medical records. I won't have insurance until March, so I can do a little looking and see which of the practices he said would take us on as patients I want to try- and which my insurance will take. If they cover it at all, I don't know! Insuance is such a labrynth. I'm back to logging, etc, I wonder if it's a ttotm thing- I'm HUNGRY!!!!! But powering through. Everyone have a great day! Nicki

So guess what? I'd had some email problems and finally got to view a message from my doc, and he's closing up his practice! So now I have to switch. Otaknam, isn't that what happened to you? I'm in a good spot I think with my band, and had only seen him twice last year anyways- but it's funny, I saw him right before Christmas and he didn't mention a thing- and the email came on January 8, so he had to have known! Oh well. I fell face first into some chocolate this past weekend, so we'll see how this week wid goes, but I'm keeping on! It was a hard weekend overall, so I'm just going to pick myself up, dust myself off and start all over again! Nicki

Also, and this is just what happened to me- could it be a mental thing since you're so close to the under 200 range? I self sabotaged my way back up the scale last year when I got to 203. Had to recommit, start using my fitness pal again and really have a stern talk with myself . I lost the regain and hit 199.8 this week (it was a 34 lb regain, too!). So it can be done, and you're doing well. Also, is it near ttotm? Sometimes, with being irregular with an IUD, it sneaks up on me and I' RAVENOUS for a day or two, then Aunt Flo shows up and it all makes sense. YMMV, good luck! Nicki

See, I don't have that bored with food thing, and maybe never will- I know ymmv. I have eaten til I'm full and paid a price in super uncomfortableness (in the case with a slider food) to super stuck (ick). But just recently (and I've been banded for 2 years this month) I get a soft signal that I feel stuffy- like, my sinuses and nose stuff up. I stop eating and the feeling goes away. Weird, but I think others have this too. I've had it since my last fill in December. I don't know if maybe I still need adjusting since I do feel like eating if I haven't eaten in awhile, but I feel like I'm in my sweet spot as far as restriction- have to eat small bites, and chew, and really can't eat anywhere near what I used to. I also never ever ever drink with my meals, that's a recipe for stuck disaster! Nicki Oh, and I keep wanting to mention that B-52, you must have been a teenager when you went to Vietnam! You look way too young for that War!

Otaknam, I'm jealous, plastic surgery!! I'm pretty sure DH won't be on board for that, lol. Do let us know the process and everything! Ladybandido, thanks for the run down. It reinforces that I need to add strength training in. I have Pilates dvds I can do, but have always wanted to try the reformers. My big news-199.8!!!!! Just dipping my toe in, but it's feeling good! Have a great day!! Nicki

also something like crystal light, etc. And really, I think things like popsicles, etc can be "regular", as in, not sugar free- you won't be getting a lot of calories, and you do need some! I ate a lot of fruit -type pops, they were good- especially when I just couldn't bear one more cup of broth!!! Do you have a Protein shake you like for when you can be on full liquids? It's good to have that handy. I know doctor's vary on how long on each type of liquid, so you may be well up and about before you get to that stage. I had a sedentary desk job, had my surgery on a Thursday and was back to work on Monday, with DH carrying my laptop in. Just do walk walk walk, also rest when you need it!!! Yay for you! You'll be so happy (around day 8 when you finally feel semi- normal again and aren't wondering what the h-e- double hockey sticks you were thinking!). Nicki

Grr, the scale keeps saying 200.6, 200.8. Jerk! LOL. I have a brownie sitting on my desk from a potluck my nursing students were having- which I am now throwing out. There, I squished it first so I wouldn't change my mind!! LOL. I'm so close, don't want to sabotage myself! Though the trigger food that shall not be named is calling to me every night from the grocery store (as I have none at the house, of course). Every time I get this close I sabotage myself, so I'm actively thinking about NOT doing that this time! Lady B- I truly appreciate you keeping me in your prayers. I think of you and of all of us in the group often- Otaknam, Kymie, Nicole, Chrissy- and wonder about people. What is your eating looking like now, so close to goal? I wonder about that- like, how many calories are you eating, are you exercising and what are you doing- just because I know things slow down, and I already eat more than 1000 calories a day! Chrissy- I'll bet it's the fruit juice for sure, they have a lot of acid in them! I love that skirt, but can't wait to not be able to wear it anymore, LOL. Do any of you use a heart rate monitor when you work out? I'd like one that would give an accurate calorie count during aerobic and weight training exercising. I need to get back into working out! Have a great day everyone! Nicki

lkmoney- if you didn't have enough fills to get to the "green zone" then you wouldn't have succeeded. Go back to the doc and get filled appropriately and give yourself a fighting chance! Nicki

I have to chime in, though, and say the best time to exercise is whenever you can actually do it! I like to workout in the morning as I "get it over with" and feel self-righteous the rest of the day, LOL. But with a schedule change I had to work out in the evenings for awhile and I just felt like it was good to get it in any time of day! I agree with B-52 (as usual, he's a smart guy) about how you replenish, and about drinking lots of Water. A high Protein shake is a great way to get in the protein and be smart about feeding your body. I believe the recommendation as far as exercise is at least 30 minutes 5 times a week. so maybe add something else in on the days you're not doing c25k. Strength training is also something that you should add in, it helps so many things- toning, fat burning, bone strength, etc. Nicki

Hi Candace- here's the truism to life- there will ALWAYS be SOMETHING. Always. Relationships, money, family, illness, death, stress, etc. And for so long we turned to food for comfort and - love- and it worked for the moment, but it doesn't last so you need that next food fix and then, of course, you need bigger and bigger clothes. And you get unhealthy and unhappy. So YAY FOR YOU for doing something about it! Now, you need to make a list of what you can do besides eat. AND you need to remember you're not perfect and you can start over. I had a major backslide for ~almost~ a year due to diving back into my biggest trigger food (like Voldemort, it is a name I dare not speak, LOL). BUT, I pulled my head out of my a$$ and got back in the saddle, lost the re-gain and am back down the scale. SO, you can make this work, think of alternatives to eating, brush your teeth, chew gum, make a deal with yourself that if you don't pig out then you can get a manicure, etc. And if you're not logging your food, may I suggest doing so? It's so very helpful. You are doing GREAT, don't let someone who obviously doesn't love you for you, no matter the size, stop you from being the happiest and healthiest you can be!!! And that's my $.02. Nicki

I just started watching that- I too, as Carolina Girl says, look at it like- wow, that could have been me if I had kept on going. I applaud them for having the surgery- and empathize with the struggles. One I watched, the woman was having trouble with her DH, and I could relate (though mine is not nearly as bad as hers was!). Definitely a cautionary tale- I know one I saw had a band, and they removed it and revised to a gastric bypass- the doc made a comment about how she didnt' use that tool (the band) or something.

Hi there, back again but this time I didn't backslide! I started back to logging, etc in August of 2013- after a dang regain- and with a little slipping around the holidays I am now at 201! yay! So I've lost 35 lbs since August 2013, and 83 lbs since being banded in 2012. I got a fill right before Christmas, and am pretty tight, but not too tight. I did have a stuck episode a week or so ago, but that was from eating way too fast and not chewing. Wow, yah, 2 years! I can't remember the date, I'll have to go back to the beginning of this thread! Seriously, this is awesome- I will have more time to post, started a new job that I love, soon I'll have a new phone that I can get the new app on, and guess what? I went to the Goodwill to get some new work clothes, and ALL of the pants I bought were size 18! It has been more than 9 years since I wore an 18!!!! Yay!!!! LadyB- you're dedicated, and I'm so excited for you to reach your goal!!! That is so great, I'm so proud of you!!! Kymie- glad your test was good and that everything is good! Just think- we CAN always start over, we CAN make the band work for us, and I don't know about you, but for me, I'm pretty sure that I'd just keep gainig weight instead of losingif I hadn't had the surgery. Chrissy- Hey there! I'm almost not able to wear that pleated black skirt you sent me, when I finally do give it up I'll find it a great home. I will check in more, off to do some more work! Nicki

oh my heck, it's all new! Well, I found all y'all! i'm headed in the right direction, from 234 in August of this year to 203.5 as of yesterday. Yay! My goal is to be below 200 lbs by the end of the year. We also got LOTS of pets all at once- a puppy (well, 7 months old and 130 lbs!!) and 2 cats. And we'll get another puppy- this time a puppy puppy- in March if all goes well, The dogs are Anatolian Shepherds. They're great dogs- very very smart. So now my goal is to weigh less than the dog! Full grown he'll approach 200 lbs, so it should be doable, LOL. I am logging EVERYTHING on MFP (right, mfp pal Chrissy?). It totally keeps me on track. And I'm planning on 2 ice cream binges a year, once in February and one in August. Then I have something to look forward to, LOL, and can be good the rest of the year. Zumba and some dog walking- I could definitely up the exercise, but so far so good. I'll try to be on here more! Nicki oh, and I'm putting it out to the universe and for all of you to think good thoughts for a job change that hopefully will happen!!! Like Nicole, it would make a world of difference to me!

I remember after the first couple days I was so hungry i could "eat a whole zebra," to quote the Lion King, LOL. But I stuck to it, and as the other posters said learned to go slowly! THere's many things going on- not just the placement of the band, but the after affects of surgery generally. On day 8 I remember thinking, wow, I feel great! Not so much before that. Do take it easy, but walk as much as possible and remember it WILL get better.

hi everyone! It's been crazy at work this past week, and not going to get better for a couple weeks, and I totally forgot to check in yesterday. Doing okay, lost another half pound last week. Everything on track, getting exercise in. Went to zumba yesterday and boy am I feeling it today in my hips, which is great cause I sure need it there! Hi LadyB, yes, I know it's still frustrating when the scale refuses to move. But now you have so much less to lose . Everyone post away, how is everyone? Otaknam, Sue, Chrissy, etc? Have a great day today! Nicki

Hi everyone! Lady B- just keep on doing the right things- remember, you dont' have nearly as much weight and fat to lose as you did before. You'er doing great! I weigh around what you weighed when you started. I painted dd's room yesterday, cleaned it all out, and moved some beds arounds. I'm hurting today! LOL. But it looks good. She's 8 and went from pink to green. It was a lot of exercise! Lots of projects going on here. Everyone have a great day today! Nicki

Keep it up Chrissy, the scale will move eventually! And you are down more than 100 lbs, I wish I hadn't stalled myself out, I was down over 80 lbs! And now I have to fight my way back down. At least you're not gaining, that is a victory in and of itself!!! Nicki

Hi everyone, a good WID, down another 2 lbs! And that was after a lot of sodium (soy sauce) with dinner yesterday . I had a TOUGH workday yesterday, so I went home, ate dinner and vegged out. I was in bed by 9:30, probably asleep by 9:35, LOL. Just wanted to post my success! Everyone have a great day, and Just do it! Nicki

Hi everyone! Chrissy- I too love everyone posting again! It helps me, it truly does. LadyB- hopefully it's just a change in the weather or something easy to fix and not band related! I know DH gets all freaked out if I have any tummy issues. Eas- I'd love a tummytuck, and as you can see from my user name 130 is my goal- I'd settle happily for 135, LOL! That'd be a 151 lb loss. Certainly possible. Lady B is right about the reconstructive surgery forum, that's where to look for good info or to post a thread. I'm still tracking tracking tracking on MFP. WID tomorrow, I should see a couple lbs I hope. Slow and steady wins the race! Nicki

Hi Karen! GOod to see you again. Back surgery? What for? LOL, I wish I were scared to be too small, I shot myself in the foot for almost a year and am still in the 220's. But oh well, that's one great thing about the band, you can always start again! Keep up with all of us, it does help! Sue- yes, they are pretty, aren't they? We live in NC, so it's hot and humid. But there are breeders here, so I guess they do okay in the heat. They are originally from Turkey, so maybe used to the heat? I am a cat person, for sure. I like dogs okay, but LOVE cats, lol. DD is out of the house. She got the last of her stuff today. DH is insisting on changing the locks- well, I am doing it as he is not at all handy. So I got the back door on just fine, then painted the front door again and let it dry and went to put on the knobs, and couldn't get it on. So I returned it, but they would have been different keys, so DH went and exchanged it for the same code, even though they're the re-keying kind, which I told him but he apparently didn't listen. So he brought the new one home, and I couldn't get one of the screws out, and neither could dh. SO he's at Lowe's returninig it again. I was hoping to be in bed by now, but oh well. I also cleaned dd's bathroom- it was super gross. Like, I worked on it for an hour and I'm not quite done. And it's like 4x4 feet. So much stuff to do, we'll be filling up our trash and taking tons of stuff to goodwill!! So the cleaning was my exercise. zumba tomorrow. Chrissy, where are you? Nicole? hello???? Post, peeps! Nicki

Hi everyone! We got a kitten (well, a year old) yesterday- his name is Dave Meowthews. He's super cute, the kids love him, and he's very mellow! DH went to look at puppies yesterday, but didn't click with the breeder. So there's one he does like about 2 hours away, and maybe in a few months we'll have puppies to choose from (Anatolian Shepherds). DH surprised me with the cat thing, I love cats but they can make him wheezy, so we'd held off. But he picked out this one- Dave is a big grey tabby. Anyway, did well with food. No zumba yesterday, as they were refinishing the floors at the Y, so I mowed the lawn and did a whole bunch of house cleaning. DD is moving out today, she did find a place, and it seems like a good situation. Hoping to keep moving down the scale! LadyB- glad you're home! Now you can get back to normal- however normal that is, right? LOL Sue- glad you're cleared! 4 weeks will fly by. Sounds like your surgery was a total success. Everyone have a great day! Nicki

Hi everyone- WID and down another 1.5 lbs, so slow and steady and in the right direction! But I was looking back on my weight loss history- and I was down to 202 last October. SO I don't think I can lose 24 lbs in 2 months, but who cares. My goal is to be below 200 lbs by the end of the year. I think that's totally doable- about 24 lbs in 16 or so weeks. And it will make me extra careful during the holidays, which was the start of my downfall last year. sue- I will look for that, I think that might go down way better than hamburger! Still tracking, still doing well, getting my haircut today, it's all good! Nicki