TheDissh

Another week down ... But for whatever reason I had a hard time with cravings ?
 
.... Stop... Rewind...
 
During my recent fill... The PA suggested I go down to 1200 calories a day to jump start my metabolism and go on a liquid diet for a week or two :/ Well I was pretty good, but the last few days I feel like a bear !!! I have been cravings the worst things like chocolate and greasy stuff But I refuse to eat fast food ... So to get my "grease fix", I fried an egg in Pam ...but lost control twice this week and had 2 peanut butter cups (1 pkg) and a small bag of M&Ms. Ugh !!! I'm also having issues with soup.... I never realized how much sodium they have :/ If I personally have soup once a day, I'm going to balloon up. So, I've decided to cut down on soup.
 
On the bright side of things ... I'm down another 2 lbs. I felt it should have been more ...but I'll take it.
Also, I am actually get full on smaller amounts of food.
 
Goals:
 
Hit the dance studio 4 x a week
Drink more water
And decide if I need a fiber supplement for the plumbing lol

Another week down ... But for whatever reason I had a hard time with cravings ?
 
.... Stop... Rewind...
 
During my recent fill... The PA suggested I go down to 1200 calories a day to jump start my metabolism and go on a liquid diet for a week or two :/ Well I was pretty good, but the last few days I feel like a bear !!! I have been cravings the worst things like chocolate and greasy stuff But I refuse to eat fast food ... So to get my "grease fix", I fried an egg in Pam ...but lost control twice this week and had 2 peanut butter cups (1 pkg) and a small bag of M&Ms. Ugh !!! I'm also having issues with soup.... I never realized how much sodium they have :/ If I personally have soup once a day, I'm going to balloon up. So, I've decided to cut down on soup.
 
On the bright side of things ... I'm down another 2 lbs. I felt it should have been more ...but I'll take it.
Also, I am actually get full on smaller amounts of food.
 
Goals:
 
Hit the dance studio 4 x a week
Drink more water
And decide if I need a fiber supplement for the plumbing lol

Well I am checking in a day early ... But I just had to share that I had a really good experience with my fill today.
 
Last night I couldn't sleep... I just keep ting thinking ... "Please god, I did this surgery for a reason and give me the strength to get over my fill experience". What a difference three years makes. My doctor no longer does fills at his office, but instead are now done at the hospital. Once I got there, I talked with the staff and expressed my anxiety. They assured me everything would be okay, and even offered to hold my hand during the procedure. Well I met a female PA and she was very kind and went over my history. She said my chart was very confusing, and needed to pull the fluid from my band, but would add 1cc. Before i knew it, she did the procedure in one shot. I was shocked :0 As it turns out I have a 12cc band with 7cc's of fluid, but with the 1cc added, I am sporting 8cc's. She suggested I stay on a liquid diet for two days and that I should think about staying on it for two weeks to jump start my weight loss. Then she said I need to reduce my calories to 1200 a day, and only use protein drinks as a meal substitute. I think I can handle the 1200 calories, but two weeks of liquids might take me over the edge. LoL
 
I hope sharing this helps someone else in my shoes
 
Remember ... this is a journey .... And there will be ups and downs... But we have each other for support

Another week down...
 
Well I finally called my doctor this week after getting my approval letter for a fill. Its so strange ... I'm excited, but so nervous at the same time Its been three years since my last fill... and if you read my profile ... you know why this is a little nerve racking. I scheduled my appointment for Thursday afternoon, but I hope this will be a better experience
 
On the bright side this week... I am down another 3 lbs.. but I really had to work for it. I really enjoy zumba and hip hop ... with the aid of my sweat belt. I worked out three times this week. I would like to increase it ... pending everyday life crisises.
 
Things I still need to work on:
 
- drinking more water
- increase protein
- less carbs
- monitor sodium (makes me balloon up)
 
Thought for the week ...
Rather than aiming for being perfect, just aim to be little bit better today than you were yesterday.

Okay ...
 
2 weeks in ... And it's been all me. The first week wasn't too bad ... But week two was a little harder. I really paid attention to my food ...and myfitnesspal is a good tool. I am trying to stay around 1500 calories, but noticed I'm not always getting in all my protein, so I need to pay a little more attention to that. On the upside, hula hooping is my quick workout while watching t.v. I do cheat and wear a neoprene waist band for extra sweating lol. I know some may think I should go lower than 1500 calories, but if I get my fitness on, I get to have more calories for the day. Also, I don't want to deprive myself, because if I do, I become a binge queen.
 
Plus for the week... Got my letter to get a fill...and down another lbs !!!
 
Log...fitness...and self love !!!! Who's with me ?

Okay ...
 
2 weeks in ... And it's been all me. The first week wasn't too bad ... But week two was a little harder. I really paid attention to my food ...and myfitnesspal is a good tool. I am trying to stay around 1500 calories, but noticed I'm not always getting in all my protein, so I need to pay a little more attention to that. On the upside, hula hooping is my quick workout while watching t.v. I do cheat and wear a neoprene waist band for extra sweating lol. I know some may think I should go lower than 1500 calories, but if I get my fitness on, I get to have more calories for the day. Also, I don't want to deprive myself, because if I do, I become a binge queen.
 
Plus for the week... Got my letter to get a fill...and down another lbs !!!
 
Log...fitness...and self love !!!! Who's with me ?

Okay ...
 
2 weeks in ... And it's been all me. The first week wasn't too bad ... But week two was a little harder. I really paid attention to my food ...and myfitnesspal is a good tool. I am trying to stay around 1500 calories, but noticed I'm not always getting in all my protein, so I need to pay a little more attention to that. On the upside, hula hooping is my quick workout while watching t.v. I do cheat and wear a neoprene waist band for extra sweating lol. I know some may think I should go lower than 1500 calories, but if I get my fitness on, I get to have more calories for the day. Also, I don't want to deprive myself, because if I do, I become a binge queen.
 
Plus for the week... Got my letter to get a fill...and down another lbs !!!
 
Log...fitness...and self love !!!! Who's with me ?

Morning
 
Well I got to see my primary care physician this morning and she was good with me starting my fills again. Now I just have to wait for the approval in the mail from Cigna. I just hope my surgeon will be as kind as my primary care physician.
 
Notes to self
 
- log anything that touches my lips
- dance at least three times a week
- finish reading "Before and After"
- check in with my band buddies
- don't beat myself up if I screw up
 
Plus side ... Down 3 more lbs

Morning
 
Well I got to see my primary care physician this morning and she was good with me starting my fills again. Now I just have to wait for the approval in the mail from Cigna. I just hope my surgeon will be as kind as my primary care physician.
 
Notes to self
 
- log anything that touches my lips
- dance at least three times a week
- finish reading "Before and After"
- check in with my band buddies
- don't beat myself up if I screw up
 
Plus side ... Down 3 more lbs

So when I started my blog, I promised to be open and honest about as much as I possibly can with progress with the band. I want my blog to be a place where newbies or those going in for their diet visits to get some honest info. No scare tactics, no BS.
 
So I have read the boards and forums but I have never seen anyone say step by step what it is like to get a fill. Today I went for my first fill and this is step by step how it happened.
 
First I had a meeting with my dietitian. I had tons of questions for her today. I was upset that I had seemed to stall out on my weightloss. She said in fact I had lost more weight that I was unaware of. She also explained with the amount of exercise I have been doing, I am building muscle even though I am only doing cardio right now. So she explained the muscle will weigh more than the fat and eventually I will start to lose again. She told me to calm down and stop wigging out. My husband and I have decided I should not use the scale anymore at home to weigh myself. It drives me nuts and is obviously not accurate. I just bought a new one and it still drives me bonkers. I absolutely love my dietitian. She was very patient with me today. She explained in detail how the fill helps. I was confused as to why the fill is supposed to help when I am already only getting about 800 cals a day. However, I also have the plication. Because I was unfilled sometimes I would eat just a tiny bit too much. By the time the food got to the plicated part of my stomach I would be uncomfortable but just a little. She explained to me the nerves that tell us we are full are at the top of our stomachs. The goal is for my band to put gentle pressure on my stomach so that the nerves are triggered easier to tell me I am full. That was I will not over eat with that one more tiny bite that sends me into discomfort.
 
After I spoke with her it was time to get the fill.
 
First the nurse took me back to the fill room, had me lay down and looked for my port with the ultra sound machine. Once the port was located, she then put iodine on the port location.
 
Once I was prepped and ready the doctor came in. Now, my doctor is the kind of doctor who is very friendly and chatty. At the same time he is a no bullshit kind of guy. If you are messing up he is going to tell you. So he comes in chatting away and I am immediately put at ease. He numbs the port site with lidocaine. Honestly this was the worst part with a tiny burning sting. I have had kids.. this aint nothin... so they say.
 
Once the port area is numb, Dr. DeBarros then put the needle for the saline into the port. The nurse helped me stand up and handed me a cup of water. Dr. D told me to drink the water while he was doing the fill. He was looking for the point where the water would back up. So the funny part was because I am used to sipping he kept telling me to drink faster. So about the third time he said that I stopped and said.. You are not supposed to do that on the band, Dr. D. He just laughed and said, "I didn't say stop." Now all of this took about 5-10 minutes start to finish.
 
They he asked me about my exercise and was surprised I am already up to 45 minutes a day. He said I was doing great. My diet for the next few days is to move up each stage one day at a time. Today is clear liquids, tomorrow fulls, Sunday will be mushy and then i can work my way up. My next fill appt is set for March 22. If I do not feel like I need one I will just go in for a check up and talk to the dietitian. I am so happy that I get to go visit the office once a month. I cannot imagine having a procedure where you see the doctor once and that is it. I am supremely grateful that my surgeon's office has a full staff that answers my questions and can give me the education I need to succeed on this journey.