TracyC

My bland response when asked if I'm losing weight is "I'm working hard at it". I give very little away in a normal conversation. I do have family members that could benefit from WLS and had any of them asked how I was doing it, I would have to answer truthfully and spill about the Band. With them, I would tell of the band in hopes that it could help them. I don't preach about it but I would willingly share with someone I felt was being truly honest and interested in being successful. For a general aquaintance, I watch what I eat and have started exercising. Right or wrong, I'm not far enough along in this process to be a LabBand poster child.

Congratulations on your decision to go forward. With respect to the job, I told my boss, that I was having a medical procedure. No more detail then that. And since he assumed it was female related, he didn't ask anymore questions. That worked for me.

I've lost 40 between the pre op and surgery. My "father in-law" makes comments all the time. For the most part, they are a bit uncomfortable as he is constantly saying in front of his son, that pretty soon I'll be a skinny mini and will need to go get a guy who isn't so fat. It makes things uncomfortable for me, I have no intention of leaving my man. I am happy the way things are. The best compliment I've ever received was from my five year old son. I have found that with the 40 lbs gone, I put makeup on more than ever before, I want people to look at me. (How vain.) Anyways, I put on my makeup in the morning and he didn't notice. When I got home from work, my son told me I had pretty painted eyes. He was so innocent. Ten minutes later he told me to take it off. It was so cute. I couldn't help but laugh and give him a huge hug.

Thanks for the inspiration.

I miss fresh bread, the gourmet selection at the bakery. All the fancy ones you can't buy prewrapped. (Three cheese, garlic and herb, pane bread) I walk by the bakery just to smell the fresh bread now. I'm only 3 months post-op so trying bread scares me to death. I'm not ready to push that envelope yet. I did have a flour tortilla wrap yesterday for lunch and it was delicious. I had to remind myself to chew and eat very slowly but the taste was amazing. Silly how a normal flour tortilla took on such a significant taste for me.

Down 1 to 173. Phew, back in the right direction.

Congrats to you all. Truly inspirational.

I too love the Special K shakes. I'm not a huge fan of the chocolate but love the strawberry. Just recently I picked up Protein for Her from Vitamin World. I do a scoop of that, 20 g protein with 8 oz skim/1% milk, mix well then add a special K shake to it to give it better flavor and a bit more body. It tastes great. And breakfast ends up being 1/2 my protein for the day.

Congratulations. I too went through my closet and it was wonderful to be able to get rid of so many clothes. Now I look forward to shopping. No more tears for me walking out of a store totally disgusted with myself. I now look forward to trying on clothes. It just might be a new addiction for me.

I have had two fills so far and have not felt any restriction. I am waiting, none too paitently, for my third fill on March 7th. I try to stick with good food choices and to follow the rules of bite size, speed and portion control. It is so hard to be "good" when everything feels like it always did. Restriction would certainly help keep myself in line. So far my 'tool' isn't powered up. Can't wait until it is. Good luck.

My doctor said to keep the Proteins between 60-70 grams and the nutritionist said calories should be about 1200. Right now I'm more focused on getting the right number of proteins in than I am on calorie counting. I use My Fitness Pal so even if I'm over, I at least know where I am and what I need to change to fall into the right levels of everything. Best of luck.

Bad habit I need to conquer: I still let my emotions dictate what and how I eat. It has never helped before and it sure isn't helping now. I need to get this under control, I can't be an emotional eater and be successful.

Cheers, as I raise my glass to you. Thank you for your post. While not normally an emotional person, this one really hit home.

Congratulations!! That is awesome. Am I right in thinking you are in the green zone?

So not happy with this check in. Up one from last week. I just don't get it. Eating better, exercising a lot more and still not seeing the results. Very frustrating. Come on March 7th, I see another fill in my future.

This is an awesome thread. Thank you for starting it. Why am I fat? There are so many reasons, a lot of them already mentioned. I grew up being told I was big boned. Obesity runs in the family, every one of my Aunts and Uncles on my Mom's side are obese. My father is obese. I was handed so many excuses over the years and I ate them up. It was so much easier to blame genetics for my problems than look at myself. It didn't help that we grew up being told to "finish what is on your plate and eat it all or no dessert". As I grew older, I ate based on my emotions. Didn't matter what emotion, I just ate. I married my highschool sweetheart, a very thin man. When I would try to diet I would shop twice, once for "diet" food and another for "regular" food. Then came the problem of fertility. The meds helped pack on 30 pounds. It was never ending. After getting a divorce, I was eating all the wrong things at the wrong time. I finally found myself in a good situation and ended up pregnant. Guess I didn't have fertility issues after all. On to the next chapter, baby weight, I didn't bounce back like I'd hoped, of course not eating properly or excercising had a lot to do with that. But I never looked too hard at my habits. Certainly not hard enough to see what was right in front of me. Now while I still battle portion control issues (no restriction yet) I eat much healthier and finally feel that I can take control of how I look and ultimately how I feel both inside and out.

My first goal was to lose 25 lbs. I've always been able to lose 20, only to gain that plus back again. I needed to know I could get past that evil mark I did it. Diagnosed with diabetes in July and started watching what I ate, lost 9 before meeting my Lap Band doctor. Pre surgery (insurance requirement) another 15, I did that and was banded on November 18th. Since July, I've lost a total of 40lbs. Still waiting for that 'sweet spot' but doing so much better with portion control. AND even better, I've gone down 4 clothing sizes.

NSV's are wonderful. Congrats on yours and keep up the good work.

I was very selective at first. I was banded on November 18, 2011 and walking into surgery, my parents and boyfriend were the only ones I'd shared with. I was optimistic about the band and new in my heart I was making the right choice for me. The position I didn't want to get into was defending my decision to anyone. It was my choice to make and one I didn't make lightly. I researched for a long time before finalizing my plans. That all being said, I live in a two family home with my "father in-law" downstairs. I was worried he might think I was sick. We have dinner together a couple times a week so he would notice a huge difference in my eating habits. Added to that, Thanksgiving was the following week and I was on liquids. My boyfriend was the one to tell him. After being asked for my reasons, we were able to move on. When he understood that I was concerned with the sleep apnea, diabetes and other weight related health issues, he was very understanding. I want to be around for my 5 year old son. That was my biggest reason for making this decision. A decision I would make again. I don't regret having the lap band surgery, I just wonder why I didn't try this sooner. My last comment would be, it's ok to be upset at him for saying something, but did you ask him why he told her? Perhaps he needed someone (from outside the situation) to talk to about what you would be dealing with and going through. Maybe he had concerns he was afraid of sharing with you. Just a thought. Best of luck in your future success.

Name, real or screen~Tracy Goal weight for Febuary 29th~165 Weight on Febuary 1st~174 Age~39 Dietary goal for Febuary~Increase protein intake Exercise goal for Febuary~Zumba 2 days a week, treadmill at home 3 days Personal goal for Febuary~Stay focused on this goal and stay happy Date banded~11/18/11 Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~14/38 Do you have any Valentines day plans (How do you plan to handle Valentines dinner)~ To enjoy the company of my favorite man and my sons. Regardless of the dinner plans, I know I will enjoy them but stay on track.

NSV for me was being able to go clothes shopping and actually buy something without getting depressed or crying because I felt so bad about myself. On the contrary, I was exstatic to be able to fit into the Misses section instead of Plus Size. The scale wasn't relating the change and I was getting down on myself. But having to try on a smaller size instead of the other way around, just made my day. I couldn't stop smiling. What a great feeling. The other one would be when the nurse at my primary care physicians office told me they would need to get a new picture for my file since I look nothing like the one they have.

To stateofzen, Thank you. I'm not sure how I forgot myself but you reminded me. Not one of us would be in the situation we are in if it weren't for our bad habits, food or otherwise. And like most of us, it takes something unsettling (diabets diagnosis and other health complications) to make us wake up and realize what we have to do for ourselves. I would like to join you in wishing her the best. I dfinitely spoke out of turn.

The comments on here have moved me emotionally. The strength it takes to not only make this decision but to also be successful at it is applauded for all of you. Thank you for the inspiration.

My first fill was nearly painless. You don't feel the band filling. My doc used a numbing spray first, but I don't even think that was necessary. It felt like getting a shot, no more then that.

I'm in the same situation you are. I had surgery on Nov. 18th, first fill on Jan. 4th and called for another appointment for Jan. 23 for another fill. I was very careful after the first fill to decrease my portions and eat slowly only to be hungry two hours later. It feels like I'm eating all day long which isn't an option at work. So I'm eating more at each meal. Not making any progress there. I know people will say it is just a tool, but right now, I feel like my tool isn't working properly. I want to be able to eat, like I'm supposed to, and not be physically hungry two hours later. I guess we are in the middle of band hell. Grr. I'm ready to come out on the other side.