scorpiolady

Let us know how your first fill went for you!

Welcome back Gotta!

I'm a slow loser as well but just think of it as part of my journey. I keep my focus on the goal and know I'll get there. It is hard not to compare yourself to others but I would follow your doc's order and not give up. Turtle Power!!

Great success! Glad you came back and gave up and update. I'm inspired!

Yes others in the group seem to have gone silent. I do hope they are all doing well and just lurking in the shadows. Seems like ppl are viewing the posts and just choose not to share. That's ok too. Maybe our posts help them as well. There was a time when I would weigh myself everyday and then I just decided to stop. Wasn't easy but my mood for the day was based on a number. Ended up more often depressed because it didn't seem to matter how hard I tried, the scale wouldn't budge. Now I swing between daily weigh ins and waiting a few days before I step on. Seems to help and I try very hard to Celebrate even the smallest loss. Since my surgery I've had a lot of time to think about my own self image. I've lost almost 30 lbs and not one person other than my sisters (who are aware I had WLS) have noticed. I've had to question why this bothers me. Am I more concerned with how others see me, or is my own self image more important. Have I not lost enough for it to even be noticeable? The questions and self doubt can consume me if I let them. I did this for me, not for others and how they see me. I want to feel good in my own skin. Move around without the burden of 50 extra pounds dragging me down. No one but me felt that. They may have seen it, but they didn't feel it. I haven't shared my surgery with hardly anyone, thank goodness. I'm pretty sure they would be watch and waiting for drastic results Silently judging me in the process. As you know I'm a hair stylist so I work with people everyday. I may only see my clients once every 6 weeks but many times during the year. We share and over time bond with our clients. I found it amazing how the over weight clients seemed to bond with me. We had something in common. On the other hand, my skinny minnies would avoid taking to me about things like their diet or exercise programs feeling like I couldn't relate. Sadly, I can relate to both sides as I wasn't always this heavy. It will be funny to see how this shifts as my body changes. I'll be the same person I am now, but I know I will be treated differently by both groups. I won't even start about the whole dating scene. That's a whole layer cake of dysfunction. Sadly, our society sees heavier people as being weak which is anything but true. We are each determined in our own ways, far stronger than we give ourselves credit for and should be proud of our smallest accomplishment. Yep, I'm proud of my loss but perhaps I need to focus not on what the numbers are but on who I am becoming in this process. I think we will all grow differently on this journey but I feel each of us with transform not only physically but mentally as well. It will be enlightening to watch and share. Ok, maybe too much coffee this morning and too much alone time to reflect and ramble. Time for Julz to shut down her mind and move into her day. Back to your regularly scheduled program cheerio my friends, j~

I was banded by Dr, Ortiz and had a great experience. I go back to him for fills and have not had any problems. They will help you with lodging and made the whole experience with the effort. Feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions. Best of luck!

Number 1 - I don't believe it's a bad idea to share not only our victories but our frustrations. Nothing wrong with whining if that's what your feeling. Isn't this a support site? A site for others to learn about what to expect? I wish I had known before surgery that is was going to be a slow process and the weight didn't just fall off for some of us. Yes, I read it was a tool but I too expected the scale to move a little quicker than it is. I may only lose a half a lb. a week while I see others are losing 3 to 5 lbs. Frustrating to say the least. I really thought I would be done like 40 lbs by now. I was banded in Mexico so things are a little different for me. I can't get a fill as often as others for various reasons. One of which is my Doc isn't around the corner. Secondly, my doc does things a little differently than most. He only wants to do 3 or 4 fills in a life time. My first fill was May 21st and they want me to wait at least 2 months before they will see me again. My first fill was only like 3 cc's and I feel very little restrictions. If I take my time, I can eat just as much as I did before surgery in one setting. This isn't what I was hoping for. I know the band is only a tool, but shouldn't I feel sick if I eat that much? Sometimes I too wonder if what I did was worth it. My next fill better be a bit more aggressive as it's not an easy trip to make. On the positive side, I am losing. SLOWLY, but it is happening. I've gone up and down on the scale with a pound or two but overall the bottom line is I'm down each week. Not what I had hoped for but I'll take it. It shows when I fudge on my diet which usually gets me back on track. Have to stay away from the Cookies and candy. I know in my heart that I have to stick with it and in the long run it will pay off. I got myself fat and I WILL get this weight off. I just need to be patient. Hope my sharing helps you as much as your sharing helps me. hugs j~

Spiritual Meaning of a Turtle: Take your time in your pursuits. Trust in Mother Earth. You will have what you need. I'm starting to really love turles

I want to see one of these turtle beads! I'm still SLOWLY losing. S L O W L Y............ BUT I'm not going to get too depressed about it. Figure it probably the best way to take off weight anyway, right?

I had some pain for a while after my surgery. Usually stress around the port area. Now the only time I even feel it is when I pick up something too heavy or when I push on it. Hope this helps.

If he actually notices the scars you could just say "oh I had some minor surgery," which is true. Leave it at that unless he ask you more. I was told once when raising my children to answer their questions as honestly as you can without adding more information than they were really interested in or mature enough to handle. This is pretty much how I handle most people now. If they need or want to know, they will ask. If not, there is no reason to feed them more information. Same holds true for you. If you want more details about him or his life, wouldn't you ask? Good luck!

Having those experiences certainly makes you look at food differently. I LOVE pasta but I sure don't crave it anymore. nom nom nom

He is pretty awesome and cute too! I'm in Phx and going down there for a fill really wasn't a big deal either. Also, they only hope to do 2 or 3 fills in a life time so your not looking at making monthly trips. I'll shoot you my personal email in case you have questions. j~

Dr Ortiz is 5k. Offers the same hotel and transporation. They made everything really easy. Where do you live?

I was also banded by Dr. Ortiz and have been back for my first fill as well. Love the personal attention I got from the staff and can't say enough about my whole experience. I was able to ask my patient consultant all sorts of questions prior to my surgery too. Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any direct questions. I'd be happy to help. Julie

Hi! I'm Julie and looking to change my life on April 2nd. Yep, that would be my surgery date. I'm a single mother of sometimes adult children. Own a very small salon in central Phoenix and have never worked so hard to make so little Just kidding, life is what I make it and it's awesome! This growing up has been a process and I feel like I have control over everything in my life but my weight. I've struggled my whole life with eating and bouncing up and down on the scale. More often it's UP! I feel like I've done it all... weight watchers, HCG, calorie counting, Atkins, and even the cabbage diet. Ya I lose, but when I get back to normal eating (No, one cannot live on Cabbage Soup), the weight slowly comes back on and adds a few extra pounds for good measure. So here I am! This is me, getting real with myself and sharing my journey. Hope to connect with you soon, j~

Please feel free to add me to Myfitnesspal.com. I'm julzinariz I really should be tracking my food intake too. j~ < turtle

Welcome to the group New! Sounds like your doing great. Keep up the good work! You'll find lots of support in this group. However, things have been a bit quiet lately. I'm sure many are busy with summer vacations and so on, but it's a great group for support. Great job on those 33 lbs. That's awesome. j~

Still feeling like a turtle here but I'm moving forward. Lost another 1/2 lbs this last week which put me just below 190, FINALLY! If anyone is wondering where I've been lately... I've been in the process of moving into my own little place. First time in my life I've lived completely alone so its been a little strange. I've always had my babies at home with me but now it's just me. Good thing about this is I can really focus on eating healthy and not be concerned about what the family eats. Needless to say, my kids are on a different diet than I should be on. Went shopping yesterday and purchased all healthy foods. Between that and my protein shakes it should be easier now to stay on course. Do turtle walk? Is that the proper term for a racing turtle? If it is, this turtle is on a steady but slow drive to the finish line. Hope everyone else is focused and doing well. j~

One of the main reasons I decided on being banded was I knew myself well enough to know I wouldn't be able to deny myself certain foods for the rest of my life. Portion control and my lack of will power of certain foods is why I got as big as I did. Yes, I want to eat ice cream and cheese cake, but I don't need to eat the whole 1/2 gallon. So I dont deny myself a little bite of those goodies. About the only thing I've completely gotten away from is breads. Don't want to get "stuck" with bread. It just sounds horrible. Dont be too hard on yourself. Remember we're in this for a lifetime. j~

I haven't eaten hardly any bread. Maybe a bite or two at most. Looking at bread just scares me. Let's talk about fills. I know I keep thinking the more restriction I have the faster the weight will drop. HOWEVER, what happens when your band is "full" and you need to lose? What do they do then? What if there is no room left in your band to play with? My goal is to lose the weight and maintain it for a life time. Too many fills could be a bad thing.

I'm not losing a ton of weight either. More like .5 lb at a time. Somewhat frustrating when I see everyone else dropping 3 to 5 lbs a week, but I had this thought just this week. I'm not gaining!!! Before being banded I would diet like a mad dog, lose a lb or two a week and then put on 5 lb. the following week. What a cycle to struggle with. Now, I'm losing slow, but not putting it back on. This is HUGE for me. So I'll take my .5 loss and just keep putting those ounces behind me. TURTLE POWER!

From Phx but don't know a Larry White. Good luck, j~

I've had some experiences with having to "urp" up when I ate too much. It's painful and I felt much better after I got rid of the unwanted food. It feels like the food is stuck in my esophagus and won't go down. My eyes start to water, burping starts, and I literally want to get rid of it. I definitely know when I've eaten too much or not chewed my food properly. I've learned that I can't really eat any type of pasta, which sorta sucks. HOWEVER, eating too much pasta is probably one of the reasons I ended up as heavy as I was. Another thing I've noticed is when I eat too fast, I get a bad case of the hiccups. I take this as a sign to slow down or stop eating. The signs are there, I just need to learn what they are and listen to my body.

GOOD MORNING!!! << yes I'm shouting! Trying to wake up the room. Hope everyone out in Springerville is doing awesome and staying focused! It's going to be a great week, I can feel it in my bones. I'm busy working and painting a house I'm in the process of buying. Which is quite a job when it's 112 here. Yes, that's pretty dang hot. As far as weight loss? I've decided I'm just going to be one of the turtles that only loses one OUNCE at a time. I'm ok with that as long as it's a loss. How about you? What's rockin in your world?