Caribear

I am proud to report that as of today, I am now 40 pounds down since November 11th!! I couldn't be happier!
I have had another stuck episode since my last post. It was with grilled chicken!! I'm so confused :/ That was on Saturday and I've been good so far. It's just completely random. It was around dinner time. I barely ate a quarter of my food and I ate slowly and chewed well. I guess if it happens again, I'll mention it to my doctor. It's just so hard for me to pin point what's causing the problem as I have yet to note a pattern.
Life is going so well and I'm extremely happy. Feeling really blessed. I get comments from everyone, if not on the weight I've lost, than on how much more confident I seem. I am a huge advocate of the lapband now!!

If you didn't see 'Dr. Oz' the other day, the topic was 'Can you really have an addiction to food?' I know, you're all screaming 'YES!' right along with me. It was interesting as the polls of people were pretty split as were the expert's opinions. The Nutritionist's view was that over-eating is behavioral...driven by emotions, learned behavior, and will power. OK, umm, as a yo-yo dieter now skinny b*tch I can personally tell you that anyone who has ever lost big weight dieting has WAY more will power than the average skinny b*tch...When did they ever white knuckle off 50 pounds while starving and shaking waiting for the next meal (I still wonder why I don't get the shakes now on this teeny amount of food). Anyway, the Doctor's view was that there are certain foods (four of them...at least at this point) that trigger the release of natural opiates in our brain that make us feel good and want to come back for more. I think it's a combination of both addiction and emotions.
 
One study used a medicine that is used to help heroin addicts from overdosing by blocking receptors in the brain that the heroin attaches to. They gave it to chocolate addicts and found that 'chocolate hijacks your brain chemistry, triggering the same receptors that heroin affects'. Great...I'm officially an addict. Apparently those around me knew this before I did...Here's a present I got from my SIL for Christmas this year:
 



 
You can read the Doctor's article and see the three other foods that are addictive on the Oz site HERE.
 
Come follow me on my blog HERE

So it's day five out and I' m BACK! To hell with these crying spells and pitty party! Today I've gotten up every two hours to walk, gotten all my protein in, and tried to get my water in. So I had officially decided NOT to get on the scale before my first doctors appointment..........couldnt help myself! Im down 16lbs! Super excited, but honestly Im really excited about eating more than just protein shakes, jello, broth and popsicles. I did find a trick to spicing up my protein shakes with a packet of decaf instant coffee!
 
 

Today was post op appointment after the banding ......i stepped up on the scale.......i have dropped 25 pounds since my weigh in before pre-op and surgery....and also got the ok from dr to go back to the gym....i'm so ecited i havent been in a couple months, so tonight i can get back in the pool again .....

Tomorrow will be my week bandiversary. Over this past week Ive felt good, Ive felt like crap. Ive cried, Ive laughed (while holding my stomach!) Ive RUN To the bathroom, and Ive come to this site alot. Ive walked to the end of my road and back so much that I think my neighbors think Im stalking them. Several of the recent January Bandsters said "hang in there, come day 6 or 7 you will turn the corner. Boy where they right! I feel amazing today!!!! Still having left sided pain when i breath in too deep but I can live with that.
 
At my 1ST follow up, my scale matched the doctors, so 16lbs down (11 from surgery date). It was nice to review things with the nurse educator after I saw the Dr. I keep reading over my material to make sure im on track. Today I graduated to mushies! And I have to say 1/2 c. Cottage cheese never tasted so good to chew. Im finding creative ways to get my protein in without drinking a protein drink. My yogurt was 8g protein so i added 12g protein powder giving my plain yogurt some flavor all while getting in 20g protein!
 
I think another imperative spirit lifter was seeing my co-workers today. Everyone knows i had surgery so Im not in the "fat closet". It was great having everyone tell me how great i look and how my boobs have shrunk! ( guess that was a compliment?) Lol.
 
Today was a beautiful day! Im looking forward to many many more!

Ten days! Aside from my abdomen feeling "tight" as my body heals and my incisions stinging and itching, it feels weird to think that today is only the tenth days since surgery. I have settled back into my regular, crazy routine and am adapting well to my new diet. I must say, though, that it's very nice to not have to drink broth anymore.
 
Theater - Rehearsals for "Arsenic and Old Lace" are in full swing and I am working on developing my character. Am I stern? Am I independent? Am I the one who forced my crazy, sociopathic nephew to move away? I think yes. But then again, I do believe it is charitable to put lonely old bachelors out of their misery by poisoning their wine...
 
Teeth - I have found it rather difficult to come by chewable vitamins in this country. Thus, I opted for a liquid multivitamin which, as it turns out, tastes awful. Today I had my second dose and I can assure you it will be my last. As I was taking the elevator downstairs during my break, I scrutinized myself in the mirror, as I am prone to do, and noticed that the edges of my incisors (front teeth) were rather dark. Having worked as a dental assistant in my first career, I instantly freaked out, fearing that this change in diet had somehow had adverse effects on my oral health! At the end of my break, having rationalized what could possibly be the cause of said darkening, I stuck out my tongue in the mirror and learned that it, too, was rather black. I immediately commenced to brushing my teeth and tongue with vigor (I hate - gag - brushing - gag - my tongue) and had some significant success. However, it would appear that I now need to make an appointment with the dentist to get my teeth pumiced sooner than my six month check up five months from now. Grrr. Next mission: dispose of liquid multivitamin (made in Ireland - perhaps an explanation for the notoriously poor appearance of the teeth of those in that area; apologies for the over generalization) and hunt again for a chewable.

These last few days since i had my surgery are the first few positive days ive had.. Ive begun my own diet that caters to my likes but is still 10 times less then what i used eat. I started the gym now coz the doc said im fit and ready to go and feels fantastic after it. I even went for walk on the beach with my new puppy. I have so much energy i dont no what to do with it. I still have no restriction but i know now that when i do I will be mentally and physically able to handle the dip in food. It feels good to finally feel proud of myself.
 
Nite
 
x x x

Ok... enough of being a sad sack.
 
I got through 1 week of almost carbless living and I didn't die.
 
I used my food journal everyday, which for me is the hardest part.
 
My RD gave me an 8.5x11 piece of paper to track my food and feelings. 1 sheet for each day. No way!
 
Than I moved to a homemade excel masterpiece, double sided, 4 days per sheet. Nope!
 
Now, Ive got a 3x4 Snoopy notebook. re-written it all. not charting feelings, cuz I'm not eating with my feelings. I only eat what I bring and that not very much (to work that is).
 
Now, some of you might say "Ellie, why not use your phone?". To you, I say...I don't have a Smartphone... I have a Dumbphone.

Okay since Wednesday, I have had two throwing up episodes. The first time was salad. This morning it happened again. I apologize for the TMI but I really want to know if this is the norm. I had about half an omlette, chewed and ate slowly. I started to feel uncomfortable in my chest area and next thing I knew, I was running to the bathroom. The food came up like balls and lots of slime came out too. I'm assuming this is normal. I'm a bit confused because I did what I was supposed to and I really didn't eat that much at all. Obviously, I did something wrong but I'm not sure what. Even though this part of the band is gross, it makes me super excited to know that it's working!! Also, it felt so much better after I got it out.
As an update, I was in a wedding last night. It was a lot of fun and I received lots of compliments. I hope to have pictures later. I was too busy to take any myself, but I'm sure others have some. I felt soo pretty and the dress was really flattering! This band has made me feel so much better about myself and I am grateful for that. Oh, and I also caught the bouquet for the first time ever!! And I danced my behind off (good exercise!). Anyways, I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Firstly, lapbandtalk pooped out for three days! I'm not sure what that was about, but it certainly put a kink in my plans to post on my progress daily. I thought it was just here in Kuwait, which is understandable because the government censors our internet and the internet isn't of particularly great quality to begin with, but some friends in others countries weren't able to get on either. Thus, it was not a Kuwait thing; it was a lapbandtalk thing.
 
So, to catch you up on the goings on...
 
(And in no particular order)
 
To add to the wonderful pleasures of post-op recuperation, my period decided to make an appearance. Granted, it wasn't early, it wasn't late, I just forgot it was coming. Yay!
 
I guess the most interesting thing that occurred over the past few days was the pop. Tuesday night riding home from rehearsal, my carpool chica told me I could adjust the thermostat and radio as I like. So when a horrid rappish song came on (I say rappish because it was attempting to be rap and failing miserably) I reached to turn off the radio to prevent my ears from being assailed by the (ahem) musician's attempt to modernize and secularize a classic Christmas song ("Do You Hear What I Hear") into a song about DJs. Upon reaching, I felt a pop right mid-torso followed by a spreading warmth/burning sensation. Since that evening, any time I cough, sneeze, or get up from laying down it HURTS there. I told my bandster friend C and she said it sounded like I popped one of my stitches. So I called my doctor, who wanted to know how soon I could see him. By this point I had moved beyond the worry of popped stitches and onto the worry of an incisional hernia. As it was my planning period, I rushed right across to the hospital (the convenience of working so close) and he checked me out. The good news is that nothing has popped and I have no hernia (he actually said that was highly unlikely) and apparently just angered one of my muscles and should, therefore, take it easy.
 
In the same visit, they removed my plasters (what they call bandages here). This is a celebration because I'm moving along in my healing process. But I wanted them back! The shirt I was wearing was empire waist and kept rubbing up against my incisions! It didn't hurt, but it was so annoying! When I popped into my apartment between work and grocery shopping, I practically ripped the thing from my body and swapped it out for a shirt with absolutely no waist definition whatsoever. And breathed a sigh of relief.
 
After the removal of the bandages, I was contemplating not going grocery shopping because of said material annoyance, but the changing of the shirt and the pondering of what soups might be available at the distant Lulu Hypermarket motivated me to go nonetheless. Thus, I went, without my recyclable grocery bags as I was only going for soup. Well, they had Greek yogurt. As stated in an earlier post, I'm not a huge fan of yogurt. However, I like Greek yogurt. Thus, I stocked up. Then I moved on to the produce section. I spent, no exaggeration, a half hour in the produce section. One thing Lulu's is known for is it's produce section. I had no idea. I got ingredients to make mashed parsnips, mashed turnips, creamed cauliflower, more stock, and two kinds of soup! And left Lulu's with what for me is a full cart of groceries.
 
Which brings me to my next P: pureed foods. Yes, reader, I have moved on to pureed foods. And for those of you who have been there, you know what a glorious day it is when you get to stick that emulsion mixer into a container of food and whip the crap out of it to make your own baby food. Not because pureed food has such an interesting texture (because it doesn't) but because it offers so many more flavor options than broth-jello-juice days. By the time I was halfway through my second week of clears, and though I wasn't hungry, I was craving new flavors. Like cheese. And tomato. I got home from the grocery store and immediately chopped up vegetables and picked one of my newly acquired chickens to make the stock. Then I chopped up a butternut squash and used said stock to make butternut squash soup (which is amazingly delicious) and while that was simmering I roasted a crapload of tomatoes to make creamy tomato basil soup (which is heavenly). So, while I am still not hungry and must therefore remind myself to eat, I am eating good food.
 
My final P for this post is pounds. I am apparently losing just over a pound a day. As of today's jump on the Wii Fit board I am down 15 pounds in fourteen days. If I continue at this rate, I should reach my first weight loss goal (to see a number lower that 274 - my lowest weight in nine years) some time this week. This is amazing. I told my husband (he's not really my husband; we call each other husband and wife because he played Thenardier opposite my Mme. Thenardier for "Master of the House" in the theater's sixth production of Mad Musicals) and now he wants to go on a clear liquid diet. The man is thin, but whatever floats his boat. I would post a picture, but LBT says I'm not permitted to here, so I will change my profile pic so you can see what I mean.
 
And while I'm on the topic of the theater, my wonderful friend T said to me prior to the surgery that this weight loss is going to open up so many roles for me at the theater. He knows and acknowledges my acting and singing ability and loves me dearly. However, there aren't that many roles out there for someone my size (fat). Thus, by next year's casting calls I should be equipped to beat out less talented thinner people! Coming from a director, this is awesome news. I love my band.

So Im not sure if its my type A personality or that Im a nurse thats pissing me off more. Ive never had "major" SURGERY! HOWEVER i had NO idea i would be this tired and no energy. I have vowed not to weigh myself until my Dr. Aapt. Monday. Overall feeling good, just cant wait to be "back to my crazy self!"

So I am on my last day of my first two weeks post op with my band. I started out at 256 when my journey began. I was 235.5 going into surgery and I am now 226.6( In the morning that is not in afternoon or evening or any of the other times I get on the scale like a crazy compulsive woman- I always a pound or two higher then).
 
My first gem of advise is this- stay away from the scale: Ok, it exciting seeing the weight come off, but weighing yourself 3, 4 or 12 times a day isn't going to speed it up. It will just drive you crazy. I have been back an forth at 226/228 range for last few days. I get upset if it goes up a touch here and then get crazy about.
 
So here is gem number 2: Drink your water like you should. I was trying to figure out why wasn't loosing, and realize I'm not drinking enough water. Not drinking at meals is making it very hard for me. I use to drink a glass or two with meals and a glass or two after. So now I'm actually drinking less then normally. I really need to work on that now.
 
Gem number 3: Maybe you all are smarter then me. But for some reason I thought it would be ok to schedule my dental appt one week after my lapband. So here I am only drinking liquids and I go and have a crown fitted. I had a temp crown put on two weeks before surgery and this was follow up So Dentist put crown on without numbing me totally cause was only going to be a "little sensitive" she said. The shot to roof of mouth may hurt more. Whole cow was that awful. It was like brainfree on full force. And didn't go away for a day. I had stopped my pain meds form surgery but took them the next two day for my tooth. I wish I had the shot! So dentist then tells me I may be a "little sensitive" to temputure for next 4-6 weeks and should have anything to cold or too hot.Great. So luke warm seems to work. If I have something too cold or too hot and it makes it way to back of my mouth and new crown- instant headache. So allready only on liquids, now just warmish liquids. great idea Suzi. If you need dental work done get finish well before surgery. Don't make life harder then needs to be.
 
Now I get to start mushy phase. I just made split pea soup. A lot of split pea soup. 2 1/2 galloon- it seems. I also added other beans to it to pump up the protein. It is good to be prepared so next gem of advise: Before you cook a ton of food, make sure you have enough containers to store it in. I just ran out and got a much of rubbermaid single serving containers and now have 18 cups of soup ready to go. just the size I need. Going to put some in the freezer.
 
I got thru Christmas no problem. By the time New Years eve came around,I was on my fourth week of liquids and going a little crazy. I wanted to eat everything last night. Things I don't even like, just to chew something I think. I was mostly good. But, I did sneak a couple little mini pigs in blankets, chewed, and chewed them and was surprised that they went down so easily. But I felt really guilty and bad afterwards. I found myself tasting things last night. I little nibble here and one there. I would even spit it out after trying, but it was crazy.
 
Today I total goofed up. My kids were eating lo mein, and I was making my protein shake and reached over and grabed a piece of chicken from my son's lo mein he didn't eat. It was very thinnly sliced and not breaded or anything. I popped it into my mouth without thinking. I chewed it up a bit- and swallowed. I had gotten the little pigs in blankets down no problem, night before: but not the case this time. This was my first experience with something get stuck. It was scary and I did not like it at all. I felt like I was almost choking, but I could still breath. It was a tightening of my throat and lower. I was panicky, I didn't know what to do. Still have no idea what to do. What I suppose to try to get it to go down or back up. I was so afraid that I screw up eveything. I drank some water, at first it didn't help. Kept trying to burp or cough,anything to get it loose. It took a few minutes for feeling to go away. I drank my shake once I was settle down again. Won't be doing that again any time soon.
 
Otherwise doing well, trying to walk a bit every day. Today did 65 minutes on treadmill, yesturday walk the high school track with kids for a mile. They were getting bored with it quicker than mommy.
Today I wore a pair of pants I couldn't even button morning of surgery- Not even close to closing. My husband laughs, cause my new favorite thing today was sliding these pants down over my hips and off without unbuttoning them. " Honey, look, look what I can do! Isn't that cool" He's response " yes sweetie, just don't show that off to everyone, they might not all understand like I do"
 
I go see my doctor on the 5th for first post op check up. Wish me luck. Suzi

So today I was so excited I got on the scale and it said 220.5 I my journey started at 256 so after a few days stuck at 222-224. I was down to 220 today. I was so excited I took a picture of the scale. My sister was so excited too, except text back not to take another picture of the scale until I had a pedicure. My toes were scary. So tommorow I off to get a pedicure, I had had time to get one in the last...ok I can't remember my last one, but September? Between going to Nursing school, studying, and then in October I sort of cut through my two fingers instead of pumpkin. My hand surgery actually said it was more come than one would think, slippery pumpkins. So once my fingers and tendons were sewn back together, I could drive til the week of my lapband in December. Now that my hand is working again and can see my toes again- I guess it time to go for that pedicure. I feel really good now, so far so good. I had my first post op visit on the 5th, but nofill til Feb. That was disappointing, but I'm doing ok now that kids are back in school and I have been keeping busy. Got a few things stuck. chicken, and something else I can't remember that I didn't chew enough. Not a fun feeling. I have lost 15 pounds since my surgery on Dec 19th. This week I have been going through my clothes. My friend is making me try things on so I can see them hang there and then toss into the goodwill bag. Today I actually got a pair of new jeans on ....Size 16! I got them zip and on, they were a bit tight but I was still excited. Ididn't wear them long, But it was still cool. I gladly put my 22's and 20's into the goodwill bag after that!. We dropped off all the bags at good will. I can't wait to go shopping when I get smaller. Trying not to buy too much too soon. But My pants kept falling off so I got a pair of 18 and one 16 to work towards. Now wearing my leggings and workout pants that I can adjust waist. Ok that's all for now. Good luck to all of you! Off for my pedicure! Suzi

Well, I had my first post-op appointment yesterday and all went well. Dr. Snow told me that I am healing up nicely and doing good. I mentioned that my weight loss had stopped after going on mushies and he asked how much I was eating. Told him 1/2 cup for breakfast, and same for lunch and dinner. Liquids in between. I am not hungry between meals--though I have no restriction yet. He told me I could actually be eating a little bit more than that and showed me a plate in his office that is marked with the different food groups.
 
I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and purchased 3 plates of the same size, along with a few cocktail forks....but they were out of the small spoons, so I will still be using baby spoons until they get some more in......oh well..... I am keeping a sense of humor about it. I also have a few baby plates that are sectioned too..........but I won't be using those while company is present.... haha
 
I go back in another two weeks for my first adjustment (Jan 25th), so I am pretty excited about that.
 
I really like Dr. Snow, as he seems to be interested in all aspects of how I am doing with the band--mentally/psychologically as well as physically.
 
I am really glad that I did my homework before actually having the lap-band surgery. It has made this journey so much easier so far........
 

After thinking about it for a long time, I have decided to put all of my fears and concerns down here in writing, no matter how irrational or insignificant they may be. I like to imagine that a few years down the road I will come back here and read this and think "Oh, how silly I was for being afraid of that!" So, here goes...
 
I am afraid of being one of those unfortunate ones who doesn't lose a significant amount of weight with the band.
I am afraid of dying on the table and leaving my family to pick up the pieces.
I am afraid of having too much excess skin after I lose the weight and having to battle the insurance company to have it removed.
I am afraid of the pain of post-op and recovering from surgery again.
I worry that even with the band, I will not be teaching my son to have a healthy relationship with food.
I am freaked out by the idea that I may become attractive to other men, and that I will not be able to deal with any attention that I might receive from them (that one takes a lot of bold-faced honesty to actually write down)
I worry that my band will slip or erode, and that I will have to have it removed or revised.
I am afraid that I will sabotage myself subconsciously and consistently "eat around the band."
I am afraid that my boyfriend will not know how to handle my weight loss and either leave or cheat.
I am afraid that I will have to struggle so hard to lose weight even with the band that I will give up and decide to be fat and happy vs. thin and miserable.
I am afraid that my fibromyalgia will get worse after I lose weight. (I have had several acquaintances with fibro and WLS tell me that this has happened to them)
I am afraid that my fibro will keep me from exercising and therefore cause me to gain all my weight back.
I am afraid that I will become so paranoid about gaining weight that I will become obsessive about tracking calories, and lose my joy.
I am afraid of having the surgery, losing all this weight, and still dying of a heart attack at 50.
I am afraid of being labeled as a "cheater" for having surgery instead of doing it the old fashioned way.
I am afraid of being under the magnifying glass when it comes to people who I choose to tell, and that they will constantly be watching me and waiting for me to mess up.
I am afraid of dealing with my bipolar grandmother once she finds out that I have had this done. She is super judgmental and can be very mean and thoughtless sometimes.
I am afraid that some other family members might start getting passive-aggressive when I start really losing weight, as if I were competition to them instead of just being happy for me.
I am afraid of losing my boobs. I know this is probably tmi, but they're already on the small side for my weight and I don't want to end up flat-chested.
I am afraid of losing my promise ring. It is already starting to get loose and I have only lost 10 pounds.
I am afraid of losing a bunch of weight, having my rings resized, then gaining back so much weight that they don't fit anymore.
I worry about becoming seriously depressed again after my surgery. I did with the last ones, and nobody told me beforehand that it was normal to get that way post-op.
I am afraid that I have already done too much damage to my body and that even after losing weight it won't heal.
I am afraid of being denied by my insurance company and not being able to have the surgery in the first place.
 
That's all I can think of at the moment. The rational part of me says that most of these are silly, and that the rest of them won't be as big a deal as I think they will. But in any case, I have them written down now so that I can look back at them in the future.

After thinking about it for a long time, I have decided to put all of my fears and concerns down here in writing, no matter how irrational or insignificant they may be. I like to imagine that a few years down the road I will come back here and read this and think "Oh, how silly I was for being afraid of that!" So, here goes...
 
I am afraid of being one of those unfortunate ones who doesn't lose a significant amount of weight with the band.
I am afraid of dying on the table and leaving my family to pick up the pieces.
I am afraid of having too much excess skin after I lose the weight and having to battle the insurance company to have it removed.
I am afraid of the pain of post-op and recovering from surgery again.
I worry that even with the band, I will not be teaching my son to have a healthy relationship with food.
I am freaked out by the idea that I may become attractive to other men, and that I will not be able to deal with any attention that I might receive from them (that one takes a lot of bold-faced honesty to actually write down)
I worry that my band will slip or erode, and that I will have to have it removed or revised.
I am afraid that I will sabotage myself subconsciously and consistently "eat around the band."
I am afraid that my boyfriend will not know how to handle my weight loss and either leave or cheat.
I am afraid that I will have to struggle so hard to lose weight even with the band that I will give up and decide to be fat and happy vs. thin and miserable.
I am afraid that my fibromyalgia will get worse after I lose weight. (I have had several acquaintances with fibro and WLS tell me that this has happened to them)
I am afraid that my fibro will keep me from exercising and therefore cause me to gain all my weight back.
I am afraid that I will become so paranoid about gaining weight that I will become obsessive about tracking calories, and lose my joy.
I am afraid of having the surgery, losing all this weight, and still dying of a heart attack at 50.
I am afraid of being labeled as a "cheater" for having surgery instead of doing it the old fashioned way.
I am afraid of being under the magnifying glass when it comes to people who I choose to tell, and that they will constantly be watching me and waiting for me to mess up.
I am afraid of dealing with my bipolar grandmother once she finds out that I have had this done. She is super judgmental and can be very mean and thoughtless sometimes.
I am afraid that some other family members might start getting passive-aggressive when I start really losing weight, as if I were competition to them instead of just being happy for me.
I am afraid of losing my boobs. I know this is probably tmi, but they're already on the small side for my weight and I don't want to end up flat-chested.
I am afraid of losing my promise ring. It is already starting to get loose and I have only lost 10 pounds.
I am afraid of losing a bunch of weight, having my rings resized, then gaining back so much weight that they don't fit anymore.
I worry about becoming seriously depressed again after my surgery. I did with the last ones, and nobody told me beforehand that it was normal to get that way post-op.
I am afraid that I have already done too much damage to my body and that even after losing weight it won't heal.
I am afraid of being denied by my insurance company and not being able to have the surgery in the first place.
 
That's all I can think of at the moment. The rational part of me says that most of these are silly, and that the rest of them won't be as big a deal as I think they will. But in any case, I have them written down now so that I can look back at them in the future.

Well--my pants are getting pretty loose now, but I refuse to buy new ones cause I have so much more weight to lose.
So---at least for my work pants-which are work issued ugly pants--I decided I had to break down & get a belt. So since I need a plain black leather belt, I just went to JCP & the mens dept. Well when I found the right belt size, I realized that its length was almost as tall as me!!! YIKES!! I AM NOT BUYING THAT!! My waist is almost as round as I am tall???? DENY DENY DENY!!
I hastily changed that plan & decided that I will risk a walk down a camera monitored hallway & have my pants fall to the ground to the amusement of everyone!!
Americas Funniest Home Videos here I come!! lol

I haven't blog in awhile so here it goes! I am feeling so good right now I'm doing things that I couldn't do a year ago such as I took my kids to the zoo when I was at my heaviest and seriously thought I was going to die because of the hills and it was not enjoyable for me because I couldn't hardly breath my legs hurt and I wanted to go home but I stuck it out because it wasn't about me it was about my kids I've since then I've lost a lot of weight and went back to the zoo last weekend ! Now on a mental note I've still have more weight to loose and my skinny sister in law that weighs about 120lbs was with me and I was out doing her in the walking the hills "hehehe" and I wasn't out of breath at all my legs didn't hurt and I was having a good time with my kids I think I even could of done another round lol! Its those kinds of things I look back that I couldn't do that I can now . I'm a hairdresser something I love doing I had to stop because I couldn't take being on my feet anymore since I've lost the weight I'm back to doing it again ! I'm a happier mom because I play out in the yard with my kids and run ! I'm fighting the battle of the bulge and I'm winning this war !

{DRAFT DIRECTIONS - I'll keep refining these until they are near exact - That will help folks who are new to using web applications - last updated 1/8/12 1pm pst}

This is how add the Chart to my Blog.
 
Sign up at Myfitness Pal website
 
Enter all your wt and wt loss settings via the settings link
 
Go to "Reports" Tab
 
Select "Progress", Choose a report type "Weight" , Reporting period "Last 7 days"
 
Click "View Report" button
 
Once the chart is generated, using print screen or 'snip it' in windows create an image that you can save to your desk top (remember the name! this is the image you will override each week as you see progress)
 
Log back into LBT. Create a Gallery for this new chart image.
 
By doing that you do not have to 'host' the image on a 3rd party server you can utilize the URL from the LBT gallery as a means to post the chart in your blog, forum posts etc.
 
Each week, re log into the myfitness pal site, update your stats, repeat the screencapture sets & upload the newest chart image to your gallery.

so...this is my very first blog, ever ! i don't really know what a blog consists of, but i had this terrible urge to create one and write... i guess mainly because i fell off the bandwagon. when i started this journey i was full of hope, dreams and determination. That was 5 months ago. i remember how i keept saying to myself that i had failed at every other diet, excercise promgram and i was not going to fail at this. but here i'am once again admitting that i have failed, that i am a filure! i can say this time its different. Because i am taking responsibility. in the past it was always the ''pill'' i was taking's fault, or the excercise regime was too hard, or i dint have time to exersice. but this time i take full responsability of not losing any weight. if ther is a plus that does make me feel a little good is that i have not gained any weight.
 
since my surgey in 8/11 i have lost 20lbs. I know thats great, and i felt sooo good, it was empowering to fit back into my closthes and be able to bend down and cross my legs without holding my knee !!! but i know in my ♥ i could have done so much better. I realize as i am typing that there is a deeper reason to why i cant stop eating bread and rice and fried foods and exercise regulary. ( i did undulge in those foods, but not in excess ) I am scared of the road to success, becuase it implies the posibilities of failure and quiting. i face it , its happened evertime. thats why i droped out of every activity in my life. I am scared of not succeceeding so i dont try very hard and i dont give it my all. There i said it !! how liberating. That is the truth, in my mind i keep telling myself "' why try if your going to fail in the end?" why go thru all this trouble if sooner or later your going to go back to your old ways. I am scared of giving my all, every ounce of sweat, strenght and feelings if in the end i will feel like worst of a failure. A failure for giving all that I am and still failing. Vs not giving it all and at the end i can say to myself " well atleast you didnt pour everything into this !", makes the feeling of failing less hurtful.
 
i dont know if others out there can relate. I can say that today is another day and that I am going to try again, and again. This time i am going to give it more and try to change my mentality that its going to fail. i am going to have a little more faith in me and my abilities to succeed. I am going to be positive for a change. My husband says i am a negative person, i answer by say i am realistic of the posibility or realistic of all that can go wrong. for once in my life i am going to be realistic of all that can go right and of the positives.

So, today I am feeling a bit weird. Weak. Stoned (as one of my bandster friends said). Or like I just took some antihistamines. I think this is because I did not eat nearly enough yesterday. Not just protein, but anything. I wasn't hungry. I'm not hungry today, but I'm making myself eat. Frozen fruit pop, stock with protein added, jello. The doctor even said I can do yogurt at this point but, as I'm not a huge fan I would prefer not. I also did not get enough water in yesterday, so I'm having to remind myself to drink, drink, drink. Which leads me to the letter G.
 
G stands for Gas. Yes, gas. I have gas. On surgery day, the gas was really noticeable. It made me feel like someone punched me in my gut (another G). As the days progress, the gas gets less, but it is still there nonetheless. Thus, I make a point of getting up and moving frequently. This results in some rather significant belches, followed by my utterance of another G: "That was glorious." I'm not saying this to anyone in particular, as I live alone. I'm not even saying it to my cat, who is very sad that she cannot climb up on my belly for cuddles. I simply say it because each large belch really is glorious.
 
The not so glorious end of the gas is the farting. When I feel a fart come along, I must extricate myself from my bed and go to the bathroom because, more often than not and my apologies for the TMI, the fart is accompanied by diarrhea. Granted, this could be worse. My bathroom is only a few steps from my bed and the diarrhea is not of the sort that results in an RBA (raw, burning a**hole). So, as it is right now, I am accepting of the farting.
 
Yet another end of the gas is the third G for today's installment: Gurgling. When I walk, I gurgle. When I lay, I gurgle. And when I drink, I gurgle even more. I have a veritable symphony of gurgling going on in my gullet. I should start laying some notes down on staff, that's how musical my insides have become. I am like Pooh Bear. There is a rumbly in my tumbly.
 
Tomorrow, I am hoping for less gas and more feeling like myself. But for today, I will continue my Will & Grace marathon and enjoy the cacophony of sounds emanating from my abdomen.

Okay so this week has taken a lot of adjustment for me. Although I still haven't felt restriction, I definitely am feeling SOMETHING when I'm eating. A tightness in the chest area. I've posted about this on the board, so this may be a bit repetitive to those of you who have read that. Anyways, I've decided to let it go for now. It's not painful, it's just uncomfortable. If I still feel it at my next appointment, I'll let my doctor know. For now, it's bearable and I've lost 3 pounds since Tuesday so I'm good with that! lol. As far as hunger goes...very little. I felt my stomach growl for the first time since Tuesday at 11PM last night while I was laying in bed. It was not pleasant but I just ignored it and went to sleep. Yesterday I had a SF Carnation Instant Breakfast, my refried beans recipe for lunch (about 1/2 cup) and for dinner, about an ounce of halibut which I chopped up real good and it took me about an hour to eat lol. I would think that would have been enough but I guess not!! I also want to give kudos to myfitnesspal! I am in LOVE with that app and I truley believe it's part of the reason I've lost so much weight without restriction. It helps keep me accountable for everything I put in my mouth. Also, seeing my progress is encouraging. If any of you would like to add me on there, my sn is legnarevocrednu. The picture I'm attaching is a body shot of me in my bridesmaids dress (wedding is a week from today). Again, crappy quality, but I think the dress looks well on me! I'm 35 pounds down as of today and couldn't be happier!

Ok ..So I was banded December 1, 2011 and i kept talking about how I was not hungry and able to eat only small portions, even a month after surgery......
 
Well come to find out, I had 2. (something) cc in my band ??? At the time of surgery they said that they did not put anything in my band WRONG!
 
The procedure is that once it is implanted, they put fluid in to make sure it is working properly or something then remove the fluid. BUT i guess they left some in ...
 
Anyway on yesterday they put in 1cc so now I have a little over 3cc. i drank my water and I was fine and I left. I even went home and ate a coffee mug of light low sodium vegetable soup with no problem.
 
I was SO SCARED of what i though was going to be a huge needle.... NOT
 
I layed down on the bed and she started to clean the area with an alcohol swab....At this time I ws sweating bullets and breathing like I was having another kid....i had my eyes closed tight and was biting my bottom lip so hard I think I tasted blood...
 
She said "ok, now pretend you are doing a small situp" i did it and said just tell me when you are gonna do it.....she said I did, I opened one eye and looked at her then I opened the other eye and said is that it ? She said yep, now sit up and sip this water and tell me how you feel (all while this needle thing was still in me (just in case she needed to remove some) I took a few sips and was fine, so she removed it, and told me to go back to the lobby and drink half the bottle if i did with no problems I could go. I had no problems so i left!!!
 
So all you first time fill people dont worry! Well I take that back every facility is diffrent, so I just hope you guys have people that know what the heck they are doing because True Results here in Houston is GREAT!

I enjoy reading the different entries. It so gives us all a chance to ask questions, vent, share, etc. This section has been a Godsend to me many times over the past 6 months.
 
I am realitively newly banded (August 2011), and I am very proud to say I have lost 70+ pounds to date. I want to share my best advice with those who may need it.
 
#1 find a doctor/surgeon you have confidence in - one that will take their time with you, answer all your questions, and give you the truth.
 
#2 remember that having the lapband procedure (or any WLS) is a personal choice, and no one can make it for you.
 
#3 if you decide to go ahead an have the lapband surgery done, you will need to work to make it a success. Remember, the band is not a cure all for weight loss. Along with the band comes hard word.
 
#4 you will have to follow the rules given you by your doctor.
 
#5 no matter how how you try to avoid it, you will have to exercise. No excuses will be tolerated.
 
#6 you are going to have to say good bye to the bad foods if you really want to be successful. That means saying no to chips, candy, popcorn, bread, cookies, cake, ice cream and a whole host of other foods that have caused us to become overweight.
 
#7 reconfirm your convictions.
 
#8 find family and friends who will support you throughout your journey.
 
#9 be proud if you made the decision to have wls. Anyone who says you could have done it without surgery has probably never been overweight. Me??? I was obese, I weighed 299 at my heaviest point, and decided then and there I had to do something so I would be around to dance at my granddaughter's wedding (she's only 9).
 
#10 after care is a must. I started getting fills 1 month after surgery and have received one every 2 weeks since then, 8 total. I have finally reached the green zone after 4 1/2 months.
 
Be sure to drink you water, eat your protein first, and then fiber, fuits and veggies.
 
Most of all, have faith in yourself and your decision. It took me 10 years to have wls, and I am a self-pay. It was the best money I have ever spent. I am now more than 1/2 way to my goal, and once I reach that, tummy tuck here I come.
 
I LOVE MY BAND, AND I BELIEVE YOU WILL TOO.