CaGottaBand

The office is in an oppressive state today. It’s that time of the year, budgets are on the table and belts are being tightened. It’s a necessary step in the corporate culture, there is a certain amount of housekeeping that needs to be done. Going through the cupboards taking inventory of the stock on the shelves as we head into the winter months. They are known for being the lean months of the year, where resources tend to be scarce and harder to find.
In our world of fast food and instant gratification, our resources are all but scarce we can travel out our door to the nearest corner store and find just about all we need to last us through a long winter. We no longer need to squirrel away or pack our pantry’s full of food.< /p>
The mood is sullen here in the office as everyone fears they are going to be the Thanksgiving turkey and their heads might be next on the chopping block. It’s a worrisome thought for many to be sure, but it had me thinking of ways I too have been making similar changes in my personal life.
Over the last few months I have been cleaning out my house. Early on I cleaned out the cupboards and got rid of all the junk that found its way into the dark cavernous corners of my closets. I lightened the load on the can goods that were over full of sodium and tend to only bloat us while providing little nutrition.
I created a space with a set of clear plastic drawers where we could see what good foods were available and what foods we needed to replace after consuming. Recently I have begun taking an inventory of all my clothing, and finding that I need to tighten my belt literally!
It’s that time of year to take stock in what you have, what you need and what you can donate or share with others who might be in need and what you can just let go of all together.
For me I’m happy to say I am able to donate some clothes, coats and shoes, even as I need to purchase replacements I can do so sparingly as I continue to tighten my belt. With the help of a few new and old friends, and some loved ones I have been able to create a strategic network of people to surround myself with who are there to help me and provide the support that I need to be successful in reaching my goals. Together we are strong and with each of our individual strengths we are able to lift each other up as needed and sustain each other in the goals they have set.
Today with all the instant fixes we have it’s easy to let things that no longer serve pile up and weigh us down and I realize there is no time like the present to clean out under your desk, under your bed, in your drawers, closets, cupboards and minds. Take the time to clear out the cobwebs, dust off the things that work but may have been forgotten and put them back in service or pass them forward. Discard the things that are broken or no longer fit into your life and over all lighten the load.
As oppressive as the mood around me has been this morning I am feeling lighter quite literally, and as I look back over the last nearly 6 months I see the changes that my husband and I have made and continue to make in our lives. As the holiday’s approach I am thinking of all that I am grateful for, and all that I still want out of life. Putting it all into perspective, and looking forward to plotting our next steps. We are leaner then we were a year ago, we are lightening up and tightening our belts tying up our sneakers and ready to hit the ground running!
As this holiday season approaches, what are you doing to lighten up? What are you grateful for? And what are your plans for the future?

Hi, its funny, i spent...probably hours on LBT before my surgery reading everything i could to educate myself and then continued to be a constant reader for about 3 months after the surgery. It's funny how much less time I spend on the computer now that I have more energy, I am often curios how everyone is doing and plan on peeking in but never seem to have the time...that's a good thing in a way because i'm busy and living! but the past few days I've made time to visit LBT again and remembered why I enjoy this site, and how encouraged I always am by it.
I don't want to be one of the people that only pop in to complain and give others a bad impression of the band and then leaves only to pop in moths later to complain again, instead I want to tell some of the newbies how it can be frustrating sometimes in a good way,,,
First let me say I have lost 78 lbs. in 6-7 months! but it seems like every new big # is a challenge for example I kinda went through a plateau for about a month, frustrating but also new it would happen. now i've started losing again, steady, consistent...I am happy!!!! okay so now I'm approaching 199 I will be in onederland, everyday i'm losing ounces not always pounds but always ounces okay so a few days ago I hit 200.6 maybe tomorrow I tell myself, the next day 200.2 okay definently tomorrow, the next morning 200.0...Really, okay, okay this happens often it's okay ( I really don't freak out if i don't lose any thing for a week or two, but i am sooo excited about being in the 1 hundreds again) It's okay I say, tomorrow will be the day. this morning I wake up excitedly weigh in...yep 200.0.
I am frustrated, It's great... I know any day (or week) I will get up and cross that threshold into the ones but today is not it, what a great journey this has been...any body want to know if this is worth it? anybody want to know if LBT will help you? and does anyone want to know whether or not I'm happy even if I get up tomorrow and the scale reads 200.0 again?
YES...Yes...and Yes
my band has become my friend and I love it...I hope you all love yours too!

Need more info. When was your surgery?

Haven't had a fill...but I would say you need some removed. Sounds like you may be too tight.

So yesterday I am on the treadmill doing WK9/Day3 of the 10K program and my ipad that I am watching keeps wanting to fall off of the treadmill. I have never had this problem, ever! But I just could not get the thing to say up there and I couldn't figure out why. Anyway - I am about 1 min from the half way point and it finally falls, hits the treadmill belt and shoots like a rocket between my legs. So I have to stop the treadmill and pick my ipad up. Some of you may read this and think "ok - whats the big deal", right?
But for me mentally it was a huge deal. I tried to get back on, but mentally I just couldn't get back into it. My time was now messed up since I technically didn't run the full 10mins stretch and I was going to have to redo wk9/day3. I know it seems a bit extreme, but I am a perfectionist and this is the way my mind works. I tried to reason with myself that I knew I could do it, I had done it twice before during wk9/day1 & 2, but to me that felt like cheating. That the 19mins that I had done was a waist. I finally gave up and left the gym and I was so mad and upset with myself....until.
It finally hit me on the way home. I had just ran 19mins! That in itself was an accomplishment, hell a workout even! Nine weeks ago I couldn't run 3mins. My running mishap and not being able to finish didn't define me! The fact that I had just ran 19mins should be what defines me.
I guess my point is that I think sometimes we are so busy being hard on our-selves that we don't take the time to appreciate and even Celebrate our accomplishments! That instead of finding things to use as our reason to quit or give up we need to look for reasons to keep going! Celebrate even the small stuff. The positive is there we just need to look for it sometimes.

I'm Curious...I have been reading many posts lately from people stating how much weight they have been loosing prior to having their surgery.....how succesful and proud of themselves they are...
One person reported how much weight they have lost, how much they love to go to the gym, and stated that food has no control over them.....they are in control!!!
Another poster was bragging...and rightfully so, how they have lost over 70 lbs so far, prior to getting their surgery date...and there have been many others.
I'm curious, if people are that successful and motivated, why go through something as drastic as surgery???
For me, it was a last resort, I could not loose weight on my own or take control over my eating. I even screwed up and failed at my required 6 month Dr. supervised diet...I think if I had lost 70 lbs on my pre-op diet, my Insurance co. would have said...... "See? You CAN do it...you don't need surgery..."
So WLS was not a reward for me for doing do well, it was a last resort because I was such a failure....a glutton and food slob....with one foot in the grave. I had no other alternative. Believe me, if I didn't need it I would not put up with something wrapped around my stomach, connected to something that sticks out like a large tumor on my belly....and the scars...and the fears of complications in the future.....no sir...it was not something I liked doing, and would not have if I had any choice....but I had no alternative.
...
I wonder, if people do so well without surgery, what are they hoping to achieve with surgery??? What would their expectations be? What are the hoping for in addition to what they are already achieving on their own ??
I wish I never had to resort to surgery...I wish I had the motivation and self control to do it on my own, sadly I did not...
But yet, every day there are posts with people stating how great they are doing pre-op....
In the back of my mind I'm thinking that one's success is determined by how much in a need you are for solution? How desperate you are? Literally Life or Death? Enough to fully commit through the good and bad to get it at all costs? Literally (for me) it was Do or Die ???
May be nothing...just something on my mind...all I do know is, I would not have gone through all this if I did not need it....and if I did not need it, how committed would I have been to sacrifice and succed? And if I did not show some level of commitment and need, would my PCP even refer me in the first place? Would I have passed the Physc. Eval? Would my Surgeon agree to do the procedure and take me on as a patient????
So when I read posts about people loosing 70lbs + without surgery, and stating they have complete control over food, I have to ask myself WHY??? Why are you here??? Why alter you digestive system with surgery???
It's 4:30 am and I just ranting along with my morning coffee before I go to the gym when they open at 5....

I felt great the next day. I very minor pain and little discomfort. And I've never gone through the ravenous hunger that some people speak of.
County yourself as one of the lucky ones

I felt great the next day. I very minor pain and little discomfort. And I've never gone through the ravenous hunger that some people speak of.
County yourself as one of the lucky ones

You can also try Aquafor lotion. Helps ease the friction of skin on skin contact.

Haha one said that bigger people caused the price of food to increase....after I saw that I really saw how ignorant those comments really are. So people wanna talk about bigger people but also want to talk down about them when they try to do right....excuse my language but if a person doesn't agree with my decision they can kiss my big and soon to be not as big ass. That's just my opinion. Lol but I do wish we could have a bit of privacy on this kind of website but it's like Facebook, employers use it before hiring someone. No privacy on the internet anywhere.

I had a Heart Attack about 6 years ago, followed by cardiac Surgery.....pretty serious stuff, many of my peers, ex-classmates, are no longer with us....
I have friends in the same boat as I...some go to the gym everyday, others take it easy and try not to get over worked or stressed....
And I have developed my lifestyle since then.....
Is it my place to tell the active Cardiac Patients they better slow it down or they can do themselves some harm?... OR is it my place to tell the inactive ones to get out there and do some cardio on the treadmill?
Either way, the answer is OF COURSE NOT! Their lives is none of my business....I couldn't show my face at their funerals and face their families if I did...either way...but on the internet people have anonymity and no consequences.....
So what can I do? Not much, except share what I do, and what my Dr. has told ME what I should or not do......NOT be a self appointed expert telling people what they can or cannot do....or how it all works and how it does not work....
I'm not sure what's worse...the people telling other people what to do? or the sheep that blindly follow.....
For me it's simple...I use the "Ignore" feature.....

It depends on what you use it for.
The article states:
"The researchers tested the apps to see which of them incorporated 20 behavioral strategies from the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), steps commonly touted by physicians to help their patients lose weight and control their diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
Of the 20 DPP strategies, goal-setting for weight loss and diet were most commonly included in the mobile apps, with 93.3 percent of apps having weight loss goal-setting features and 90 percent having diet goal-setting features. The third most common strategy was calorie balance (meaning users could compare the calories they ate to the calories they spent) with 86.7 percent of the apps having this feature. But beyond those three, it was hit or miss when it came to including any of the other 17 DPP strategies."
We're band patients using the apps strictly for tracking- not dietary advice or support. That's what our surgeons and nutritionists are for. We (mostly) don't let the apps dictate how many calories we're allowed either because that is also the job of doctor or nutritionist.
For the reason and way Lap Band patients use tracking apps, this study doesn't really apply because we do get all the 20 DPP strategies from our medical staff and aren't looking for the app to replace it.
Just like our bands, the apps are just another tool at our disposal.

want a positive....here is one...you just had a major surgery that will give you better health and a chance to live a longer life....(healthier than what you are now)...you wanted this surgery and now you have it..id tell you what my ole man told me on my pre op but i am afraid id start getting hate mail again LOL........allow your body to heal, rest, take your pain meds, take immodium ad.....this was major surgery, not a hair appt..........in 6 months time you will be on here telling you felt just like they are....right this very moment.....give it a chance....and the people that responded to your thread, care also......that is another positive for you. smile okay?

I think you may be related to my sister!
I just bough the EAS Lean 15 from Walmart. $19.97 for 25 servings and it's pretty tasty!

WellWellw Well let's just get it straight. Obamacare was Romneycare and passed by the congress with more republican votes when it was **** Mitt Romneys idea. For those who think that people should not have insurance then something is wrong. There is absolutely nothing wrong with people being able to purchase health insurance because frankly I am tired of my home taxes going to local hospitals to pay for these damn people who need their drugs and take up valuable beds in the ER and never pay their bill. Say what you want but if you didn't have health insurance you would be glad to have it. Most people do not research they only talk from blogs they have read. Go to the government website and see what it offers. I am sure if your children or parents had no insurance you would be glad they could get it.

I am lazy as well and take them together

I am lazy as well and take them together

Go to your profile. Click "Edit Profile" on the right hand side. Then click "Signature" on the left. It then says something about Tickers on that screen.
Hope that helps.

Anyone who tells another person what they can or cannot do is being negative, IMO....
The best people can do is share their own experiences, good and bad and let the accept or reject it....

I use my treadmill every morning. I watch all my trashy reality programs that my husband refuses to watch with me at night. It makes the time fly by and I actually look forward to exercising.

I use my treadmill every morning. I watch all my trashy reality programs that my husband refuses to watch with me at night. It makes the time fly by and I actually look forward to exercising.

I use my treadmill every morning. I watch all my trashy reality programs that my husband refuses to watch with me at night. It makes the time fly by and I actually look forward to exercising.

When starting to exercise the thing to focus on is building a habit. Ignore anybody (including yourself) who says it's not worth exercising if you can't workout for at least X minutes. I started with 5 minutes of walking post surgery. 5 minutes was easy I could do that just walking around my house before getting in the shower. I did that for 5 days.
Then I walked 6 minutes for 6 days. That was easy it was just an extra minute.
The 7 minutes for 7 days.
I now run over 2 miles in the morning I've been running 28 minutes every morning for the last 24 days. In 4 more days I'll set my goal to be 29 minutes for the next 29 days. It's easy to add just 1 more minute especially if you pace how quickly you ramp up.
In the past my problem was it was easy to convince myself I don't have time for a 30 minute workout but by focusing on the habit my schedule has just naturally shifted a little but at a time. My showers are quicker, I get dressed faster, and I wake up just a few minutes earlier than I did a year ago.

I use my treadmill every morning. I watch all my trashy reality programs that my husband refuses to watch with me at night. It makes the time fly by and I actually look forward to exercising.

I use my treadmill every morning. I watch all my trashy reality programs that my husband refuses to watch with me at night. It makes the time fly by and I actually look forward to exercising.