suzbuni

So, I haven't posted in a while. I am crazy busy with Nursing school, and would normally blame it on that. ( I really should be studying right now) But I think I need to look deeper inside to the truth. I had nothing to report. I was BUMMED. I was at a stand still for a month or so. I lost 40 pounds in first two months then nothing for almost 2 more. Hovering at 212 forever. I had my 3rd fill a few weeks ago again and it has start to come off again, Slowly, but still going downward. I'm at 203 now, teasingly close to under 200, for the last week or two. So I was a bit down that nothing was happening. I want to be under 200 so bad. I am so stressed with school and kids and life. I was stressing over not lossing more recently. Stressing over the scale, I not suppose to get on everyday, and really not suppose get on every few hours, just to check...the numbers were not being nice to me. Then I got some great news today. New numbers that were dropping... So this morning, I had a doctors appointment, I only wrote my doctor's name in my calander so when i showed up for my annual physical with my 8 year old in tow, after we just had breakfast, they were surprised, but saw me anyway, just need to go back for blood work now. I thought it was an appointment for my blood pressure screening for my hypertension-I been going every few months to recheck see if more medication was needed or if it was still working ok at controlling my Blood Pressure. I started on Blood pressure meds only this past fall. Prior to this my blood pressure was alway low. My blood pressue shot up the day after my 41st birthday. : 164/94. I was really scared. I had chest pain and could feel my heart beating out of my chest- ended up in ER and they kept me over night.- no heart attack- just the starft of hypertension. After a lot of tests they put me on blood pressure mediacitons to lower my BP to a normal level. So when My doctor started me on meds, in september I was 256 pounds and had a average BP of 150/85. I was all ready in the process of getting my preop stuff for my lapband surgery completed. I was scared, I waited too long to get a hold of my weight and I wasn't going to be around for my kids whe they got older if I kept on this heavy path. Today I saw my primary care doctor for the first time since my surgery. He was very excited over how well I was doing, my BP was 124/70, my EKG was normal, my weight was 53 pounds lighter. SInce I didn't know I was having a full physical today I ate breakfast, so I going back in a few weeks to recheck my BP after being off medications, and do my blood panel. I am so excited to be off my Blood Pressure medication. So remember, just because the scale is not moving in the right direction all the time, doesn't mean you not getting healthier everyday. Let look at our non scale victories: I was banded the Dec 16 2011. In four mouths I have gone down 53 pounds, am now free of BP medications, my four year old can get on my back for piggyback ride and his little legs fit around to front, I wearing a size 14 not a size 22 anymore, ( I actually got a pair of 12's on, they were on and zipped but it really wasn't pretty.- I bought them of course- they with fit better soon enough!), and my feet got smaller, had to go down a size. who knew my feet were fat too? I can shop at victoria secrets now. So celebrate they little things in your life that are really HUGE. STOP getting so upset if we stall in our scale numbers, it happens to everyone. Usually at about 3 -4 months from what I have notices and been told from others who gone throught it all ready. It normal. Your body is going through some big changes and sometime needs to take a break and caught up on the inside to how your looking on the outisde, and vice versa, before it starts lossing again. So don't stress. These non scale successes are what it all about!!!! ( You of course know I will so be posting when I get under 200, however long it takes-still a big milestone for me) What non scale victory do you have to share? Here's my other new one...my husband's can't accidently put on my jeans...too small now, His are too big for me.

Thanks ladies. Armymom2012, that is awesome. Your BP is great. Good luck to you too! Pink dahlia, my husband said the same thing, only he added " don't worry I will still love you if you lose you boobs too" I have gone from DDD to D. I think he getting scaried.

Congratulations on your prior success, it shows you what you can do! Also on your sweet little boy, they grow so fast. My third munchkin was a bit of a surprise too. Had strep and was on antibiodics, BC didn't works so good then. He is almost 4 now. I just got banded on Dec 19th and I am down just over 45 pounds. It has slowed down a lot but still coming off. Had my second fill last week. So welcome back and good luck. We are here if you need us. Suzi

I did the same ting only I was driving and my son didn't want his cheeseburger. so use to eating what they wont, here was a perfectly untouched cheeseburger. Took two bites. feel odd. then for some crazy reason took two more. Thought I was going to die and tried to wash it down. Even worse. Finally coughed it up into my hand on the PA turnpike. Not my best momment. Yesturday, after haivng my first fill last week, was talked into going to an new asian buffet by my kids. No wise. I was somewhat good. Mostly because I got stuck on my first bite of meat. had to wait a good fifteen mintues to try to eat anything else. End up eating the kids unwanted items again. Have to get over the "don't waste food" monolog going on in my brain. Still only ate about 1/2 a plate of food, more then I should have, felt ill afterward too. The kids did ate really well and more then made up for the fact that I didn't eat my $10 worth. But don't think we will be doing that again.

So, I was suppose to get my first fill last week. I was on the way to the doctor's office when they called to say he was stuck in surgery and posponed until this week. I was bummed. I was getting hungry, had no restriction and didn't feel full after my small meals. I was still doing well I am down 41 pounds as of this morning. I haven't lost any for a few weeks. This morning after having a egg for breakfast I went off to my surgeon's office. Their computers were on the fritz. Nothing was working. I was worried they were going to cancel again. The office was full and it was slow process to get into exam room. It is amazing how much we rely on computers to get through the day. My surgeon was in good spirits despite the craziness in the office. He numbed me upo a bit and put in 3 1/2 cc into my port. No pain at all. I had to drink some water then wait a few minutes. All was good and I got to go. On liquids for 2 days and then he told me to come back next week if fill wasn't restricting enough. So far so good. Suzie

Ok last week I bought Just Dance 3 for xbox after read about it here.. Had a blast! THe kids loved it. So now need to fight the 3 year old for a turn. My 9 yr old was cover in sweat when they were done. SO Cool. My daughter(7yr old) said I looked like a fluffy hamster dancing... not sure what that means. Son said- "Mom you really can't dance can you? just follow the screen". Gonna do without kids next time. But is a great workout for whole family. Plus we get a laugh or two. Kids are pretty good dancers, who knew. Need to practice so i can be on same level.

woohoo!!! way to go. Enjoy your new you!

I can relate to your family gatherings. Mine are the same. Lucky for me my sister had WLS in September and the rest of our family is very supportive. So we are all getting fit together. Except my mom, who still cooks with a pound of butter at a time. If she has less then 6 pounds of butter in the house she gets worried. I was raised to cook for the large masses- from 3 people to 20 -seem to make the same amount of food. We all aways had at least 3 different desserts to choose from and appetizers. We do alway have salad and veggies. I haven't been to mom's since surgery so that will be a big test when we go up.

So after a bit of a stall in weight loss, I hit a milestone today. I am now down a total of 40 pounds from my start weight. The last two pounds took their sweet time comng off but today I was so excited when I got off the scale I was jumping up and down -naked, in my dining room. Thank god my kids were still asleep. Now only 80 lbs more to go. I am third of the way to my goal and I'm use over a month post op. This week I made some discoveries I want to share: First- If I'm going have any money left to buy nice clothes by the time I reach my goal weight I need need to figure out how to get clothing now for my change body that doesn't break the bank but I still feel good in. I bought a pair of size 18 jeans two weeks ago-$25 on sale - too big now. All my other jeans too big to wear out of house cause if I move around too much they fall down, or they look too frumpy because too big. So...I found a new second hand store that had just open near by a friend of mine took me too on Wednesday. It was nicer then most and had some really nice clothing for cheap. I got three pairs of designer jeans-one still had original price tag of $65 -size 16, all for under $20 TOTAL! - They were really tight on Wednesday, had to lie down to get zipped, but not so bad today. I actually got them on and up while standing up with no problem. Second- Oikos Key Lime Greek Yogurt-If you crumble up a small bit of graham cracker on top, It tastes very much like a Real Key Lime Pie. 11 grams of protein and 150 calories. I felt like I was being so bad but I wasn't. Third- When I was putting makeup, to go to meeting at kids new school, on this morning I noticed I had cheek bones again!!! So cool. I actually skipped to my friends car in my new not too tight jeans. Take care everyone.

Mags, Thanks for the idea. I like the baby food container idea for protein powder. I actually got an battery oped blender for my locker. I get my first fill on Feb 8th. I will let you know how it goes before you go the next day. I can't wait, I doing ok too, but willpower is not all it crack up to be sometimes. Mostly evenings, get hungry, I go hide in my room when kids start to snack. Would like to get the help from the band if I can. Suzie

Thanks for the positive feedback. It is funny how close I feel to all my Banded friends online here. My 40 pound lose started on Dec 4th on my preop liquid diet. I lose 20 pound prior to surgery on Dec 19th. Then the next 20 came after surgery in the last 5 weeks. It came off fast at first then almost total stopped for a couple weeks before last 4 came off. I was going to gym or walking on track at least 4 times a week til last 2 weeks. Then I just been cleaning out my house like a mad woman before nursing school starts back up this monday. I got rid of 10 bags of clothes(not all mine- kids too) and three trips to dump to clean out kids rooms. Laundry non stop. so even though I wasn't at gym, I kept moving all day. I have at least 2 protein shakes a day and/or a greek yogurt. That gives me about 45-55grams of my day's protein. I am really scared about not get all my protein in, so I have either one at breakfast and one at dinner, lunch or as a snack. I make either unjury or click in the morning. Sometimes with a bannana or strawberries blended in. I actually keep two cases of premade shakes in my car. I have muscle milk light(100 cal) and GNC lean shakes. I hardest thing before being banded was eating on the go. Running here are there for kids and getting fast food, so I have my shakes in the car and never have to worry that I am starving and need to crap so I don't go crazy. If I don't have my mornng protein shake I have an egg or baby cheese omlet. I have soup/ and small salad for lunch. I have been going out a lot the last couple weeks, since I have off and I was trying to catch up with friends. I just put the side items or 2/3 of meal in a to go box before I start. Or just order off appetizer menu. For example Thrusday I went to Japanese Hibachi for lunch with my girlfriends. I was really nervous, they serve it with a salad, which I ate and about 2 cups of fried rice and 1/2 cup of veggies. I got scallops and shrimp. I was afraid anything else would be to hard to swallow. I actually got stuck in the first two bites!! I was bummed, I think it was the veggies, to hard. I had two spoonfuls of rice- so it could have been that too. Not sure. I just sat there for about 5-10 minutes til it passed. After I then only ate the scallops and a shrimp. I packed up all the rice and veggies for my kids for dinner. Dinner I made a lot of soups, and mealballs or fish. Chicken can be ify. Can't always get it down. Steak not so easy either. I tried pasta for first time this past weekend. Just a bit or two. Mostly I just eat the meal sauce. I made fish last night. Tonight I had an egg for dinner, I went to egg farm with kids this morning and got a load of fresh eggs. So I had one for dinner. yummy fresh. So that's me. That's what I do. Good luck, don't worry if scale doesn't move for a while it likes to pause for a more dramatic effect sometimes I think. Ok I have rambled on enough. Take care. Suzie

woohoo!! way to go. that is awesome.

Hang in there. I went a few weeks without a loss and then it started again.

So it's been just over a month since my Band surgery. I'm down to 218. That's 17 pounds since surgery. For a total of 38 since start of my journey. I have been stalled for the last week or so since last blog at 220 and finally start to slide down this past weekend. No real change in what I was doing just had a pause in weight lost. I DID fit into a pair of size 16 jeans, on the 11th. I couldn't breath, but they were on for a few minutes. By this weekend I was wearing those 16's and breathing just fine. Had to go to a Boyscout event with my son this Saturday and saw a few parents I had hadn't seen in a few weeks. One mom came up and said, " Well hello Skinny! You look great" I had some real tough time this past week. Tuesday night my daughter comes in to kitchen while I starting dinner and says on of the scariest things I ever heard from a 7 year old. " Mommy, my heart hurts". So after listening to her chest, her rapid heart beat and taking her pulses, ran her to ER, than followed up with a cardiologist friday. She told him it happens all the time, especially after gym class...Great sweetie. She is now on a heart monitor for next month, all other test came back normal. Hopefully we will know more if we can catch something on the monitor. Thursday I had to put my baby cat to sleep. She was almost 18 years old and on her way to kidney failure. Poor little Roo. Then I had to tell the kids, not easy. All of this stress, and I stay on track and lost a pound. I have been in the past an emotional eater. I would have made a chocolate cake to morn the cat or grabbed some crap to eat at hospital, while waiting in ER all night in past. So even though it was stressful , it was a good indicator of my progress mentally. I don't get a fill til mid Feb. I start back to school for Spring term of Nursing school next Monday. I am very exicited to start back up and to not look like the stay puff marshmellow man in my uniform now. I still have a long journery to go to a healther BMI and me, But I know I can do it and I' on my way.

How was work today?

Good luck.

Way to go!!! I got My butt into a 16 and was shocked. I had just bought a pair of jeans 18 the week before. I scale hadn't changed but a pound or two back and forth but the 16's I bought for next month fit. They were tight at begining of last week and zipped right up by Friday morning.14 seems so far way for me- It's been forever since I own a 14. I can't wait for that day. You are awesome! What a great feeling. Keep up the great work.

Try Click protein- they have vanilla latte and Mocha flavored, with skim milk- tastes like a iced latte. 15 grams protein. Also Greek Yogurt has like 17 grams of protein, I add a little splenda and some sugar free jam- can also put in blender with skim milk and make a smoothie. Another thing to try are sugarfree syrups like they use in coffee shops. My sister sent me a case of 6 different flavors for christmas( she had WLS in september) I add a little vanilla, or carmal to the protein shakes and it hides the preotein taste a little more. Some of the soup flavors are better then the sweet protein powder in the begining I found too. good luck!

Yeah that's about right. I had the same thing happen. About two weeks out, swelling starts to go down, pain going away, hunger coming on strong. I could eat with out restriction, still had hunger, and didn't know what to do. I drink more protein shakes at -2 a day and tried to keep busy. Willpower is needed at this time. stock up on sugar free pudding and popcicles. Greek yogurt helped too. Some days are harder than others. Good Luck you can do it!

Glad you are doing so well. Good Luck.

Yes I heard all the same comments and even more. One of my best friends tried to talk me out of surgery. When, she realized I wasn't changing my mind she said. " well, what am I going to do, I'm not big enough for surgery. How am I suppose to keep up?" She was scared I would be skinny and she would still be over weight.( not by very much). She is good now, but as the weight is dropping off and her is staying the same, I can tell she is not pleased with herself. When I go to the gym and she says. "you need to take me with you, why did you go without me? I need to get in shape!" I replied- I DID call you and ask if you wanted to go, remember? So she said next time make me go. haha. Most of my friends and family have been really supportive. I know it not easy change for some people. It changes their own self preceptions. My sister had WLS in september. Ironically we both had set up our first appointments with the surgeons the same timeframe but didn't know the other sister was doing it. She called me and told be she was thinking about having WLS, and I laughed and told her my appointment with doctor was in two days. She had allready been seeing a nutriutionist for over a year so she got approved and had surgery done within a month of that call. I just had mine done last month. It worked out great because she was there for me when my turn came around. Let me know what worked and didn't work for her. She has always been the heavier the sister. And I have to be honest, It stung a little inside,when she first told me her weight was under mine. So I kind of understand how that feels. But I was am happy for her and how healthy she was becoming. I'm her biggest fan and she is my greatest support! We send photos back and forth and text our new weights to each other. Last time I took a picture of me standing on scale - I had dropped to 218(from 256 highest)lbs. she wrote back. PLEASE , now that you lost all this weight,treat yourself to a pedicure before you send another photo like that. Scary toes!

ok, Unjury - only on line. If you order it arrives like the next day, two at most so far for me. I didn't get a catheter, just emptied my bladder before surgery. Yes Heprin shots while in hospital for preventions of blood clots, but not once I left, nurse gave. I did stay over night. Don't hurt at all- super small needle. Some one did post that they had a stomach flu right after banded and wasn't fun. I haven't vomitted yet, since banded on 12/19. Really afaird to to be honest. Hope those answers helped. suzi