Karina150

Just checking in with my fellow March 2013 Banders and wondering how everyone is doing 2 years later.....

Personally, I don't think you need to tell him yet. It's too early in the relationship to share those personal things. For me, I haven't even told family members and friends and it's been 2 years! They ask if I have had surgery or what have I been doing to loose the weight and I say, "I had a life style change." Too many people think that WLS is the "easy way out" and I couldn't disagree more as it is a truly a life style change for every day living. I do not want to explain myself to them or feel like they are watching everything I eat with the "She had surgery. Can she eat that?" Your dating partner might feel uncomfortable as you go out to eat if he knew as well since it is early in the relationship. See how it goes at first and your will know if you should share or not. I have shared my experiences with some family and friends whom it felt right to disclose this journey with.

2 years since surgery (98 lbs loss) and I would recommend go for a walk to get things moving in the right direction. It is very uncomfortable I know and I find that adding more into my system such as anti-acids or something else just adds to the discomfort. I hope this helps!

I agree with Pink Dahlia...eat the good stuff first (protein) and then if you still have the craving have a little of the "fun foods". It will take time for your thought process to catch up to your physical changes. One thing for me is that once I started having my previous foods give me a hard time (getting stuck, feeling uncomfortable, or not making my scale move in the right direction), I slowly changed eating those goodies. Don't get me wrong, I still love Peanut M&Ms and have NO problem getting them down but I can definitely tell when I get on the scale that they don't help me. One motivator for me is when I see no weight loss at the doctor's visit and I can hear another patient with "5 lbs loss" or something similar. But I also realize that I have my own path and I will lose what I have gained in my own time. As long as I don't gain, I am pleased with myself and I know that I am learning what is working for my body. This is a slow process and everyone is on their own speed. I found that Pinterest helps to keep new ideas in my head for eating low carb items like cauliflower mashed "potatoes". Great ideas to be found on there so check that out if you haven't yet. I also try to use MyFitnessPal to keep track of food intake and get motivated by others posts.

My Dr. recommended Solotron Chewable that you can get from GNC. I have wild berry and they are pretty tasty!

Better to go see the doctor with a 10 lb gain than 20 or 30 or more! The best thing is that you want to start again and know where to go to make that happen. Humans have set backs and being realistic is knowing when to move forward and make changes for the best!

Congratulations! A nice Christmas gift to you! I agree with Kll724 with walking around as much as possible. I ate bean-o to help with the air pockets too. I hated the clear liquid phase but I made the Japanese Onion Soup and it was a life saver for me! I also love and still drink every week Isopure Grape or FruitPunch Protein drink. Your liquid phase will be over soon enough so don't get frustrated with and know that good things are coming like smaller clothes!

LOVE IT!!! I do it too because I can now as well! It's the little things in life that really make a big difference! I think you need a different desk! LOL!

I do not regret doing this surgery at all. I did go through the emotional crying spells during the first month as I couldn't eat like I did before. I realized how much our society is focused on food and I had to adjust to it. I still have to adjust to it as I can't eat bread, I have to eat VERY slowly and with small bites, and sometimes it is painful because I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing. I have to be very aware of my eating when I am with friends as I tend to not realize my bite size and things get stuck and I am in pain. Very few people know I had surgery so I have to remain calm and excuse myself from the table. BUT, there is something so rewarding that I can not put into words about going clothes shopping now! Looking in the mirror is wonderful! I can actually run on my treadmill now where once I could barely walk. I am going to an amusement park with my family on Thursday and for the first time I am super excited because I know I will fit in the rides! I can go on the rides with my children instead of standing on the sidelines pretending that it doesn't bother me. This surgery is a life style change but it was also a life style change without it as I couldn't do the simple things: cross my legs; be physically active without breathing real heavy; having a variety of clothes to choose from; not fitting in standard size chairs or worrying that it may break (sometimes it did too), and most importantly, feeling good about myself. I had surgery in March 2013 and have lost 58 lbs. I could have lost more if I worked even harder and pushed myself harder, but I am happy with my progress and more forward every day knowing that I am never going back to my old ways with the help of my lap band. This is a tool to help with weight loss and one does need to be mentally prepared to deal with the commitment. I do get frustrated like this evening when my family was having an awesome holiday dinner with so many of my favorites and I could barely eat it. When I did take a bite of something I shouldn't have, I paid the price and had that horrible feeling of being stuck. It is my partnership with my lap band reminding me to not do that and stay the course of reaching my goal weight. Is it frustrating, yes! But when I am on that roller coaster on Thursday, it will be soooo worth it! This forum is very helpful and looking at the posts above, sounds like there is some more reading that may help you out with this new journey…. Much success to you!

That's a good cry! Congrats! It truly is the simple things that we see the success for all the hard work and commitment!

What ideas can anyone share in regards to replacing my two favorite meals: Pizza and Mac/Cheese? What items do you substitute but still feel satisfied?

Wonderful!!!! You are doing awesome!!!!

Great post because I thought it was just me not drinking enough. I find the timing of drinking difficult: 30 minutes before or after a meal. It's just hard to get water in especially if you are in the education field as using the bathroom is very limited!

You have to do what is best for you and hopefully she will come back around. Keep your focus and everything will work out for the best. Hugs!

The first week in April is always cause for celebration as I celebrate my birthday! This year, I celebrate a little lighter than last year. Last year, 300 lbs was the number that I stepped on the scale to find along with turning 40. Wasn't real happy with that but figured, I could lose the weight if I wanted to. As the months went by, I wasn't gaining or losing....at least not pounds. I was losing though. I was losing my sense of self. Last August, while attending a funeral service, I sat down on a folding chair during a very quiet and sober moment, and BLAM!!! The chair collapsed right under me. It scared the whole room who thought there were spirits in the room! No. Just an obese lady who was so embarrassed and crying inside. This all happened in front of my 9 year old son too. To reward my embarrassment, I went to Friendly's after that ceremony and drowned my sorrows in a Reese's Pieces 5 scoop sundae which by the way is over 1,000 calories. I promised myself with the last lick of the spoon that "tomorrow, I will begin to lose weight so this never happens again." I actually went to my doctor to get a Lap band Surgeon’s name in August so I could get some control of my world. With the referral in my hand, I was ready. Now here comes October. How much weight have I lost since that embarrassing day in August you may ask? Zero. Did I go to the doctor with the referral? No. Life is busy. I didn’t have time as the school year began and time went by quickly. While attending a Halloween gathering, I sit down on chair that has arm rests. It is a squeeze but I can do it and I certainly don’t want to sit on the white folding chairs! As I sit there, laughing along to conversations and getting ready to grab a plate to eat, CRACK!!! BANG!!! The right armrest on chair I am sitting in is now on the floor. I am MORTIFIED!!! My son, being 9, states in a matter of fact tone, “Again!? That’s the 2nd chair you broke!” I felt like the world stopped, the pumpkins turned, and the ghosts and goblins turned red with embarrassment for me. I didn’t know what to say, where to go, or how to feel. I left the house as quickly as I could. I walked up the street, out of sight from anyone who could see, and cried so hard and with such heartache in my soul wishing I could just be like a ghost and disappear. My husband found me. Didn’t say a word for a while and tried to coax me back into the house as dinner was being served. Dinner? Really? Food? Never again, I thought! I am not touching it! And I didn’t for the rest of the evening. Despite my stomach growling like crazy, I didn’t touch a thing. I just wanted to go home, but I knew I couldn’t as the Halloween activities were just getting underway. Where was that Ghost costume for me to put on so I could vanish was all I kept thinking. As I returned to the dreadful sight of the broken chair, I was comforted with comments like “they are old chairs” and “that has happened before.” Perhaps, but it happened to me. The 300 lb mom. Not the 140 lb mom over there. Or the toddler who is jumping off of it. Come Christmas time 2012 and now it’s time for the family photos to be sent out to family and friends. Needless to say, I hated all of the pictures I took as my face looked like the Kool-Aid man! BIG! I can only crop a photo so much before I have literally cropped my face in ½! I ended up using a photo that wasn’t flattering at all and just thought, deal with it and mailed out the holiday cards. January 1, 2013, my insurance changes and along with that is coverage for Lap Band surgery. New year! New Opportunities! I got an updated referral, went to the doctor on January 11, and decided this was it! Just get it done and make changes! I did what I had to do with lab work and pre-surgery evaluations. I received a surgery date of March 4, 2013. In February about 2 weeks before surgery, my family and I went on our Family trip to Florida and naturally went to DisneyWorld. As I stood in line for Space Mountain, I had that horrible pit feeling in my stomach as I watched people get into the seats, pull their lap bar towards them, and smile with delight for the ride. Those were the “thin” people. What about me? Am I going to fit? When I sit down, will the lap bar pull towards me? Will the ride controls say to me in front of others, “I am sorry, ma’am, but you can’t ride this attraction.” Will I be able to get out of the seat? Will I get stuck and someone will have to pull me out? Such horrible things think about as you go back and forth through the line waiting your turn. I had one little thought in my head that gave me hope: This will be the LAST time you will ever have to worry about this again as you have surgery in 2 weeks! Still, I was worried about the here and now. I couldn’t imagine embarrassing my son for a 3rd time, nor could I imagine what he would say although he apologized a thousand times over the October candidness. I did fit in the ride at Space Mountain (Thank you Walt Disney!) and went 5 times after that which made me feel “normal.” So March 4, 2013 arrives, surgery is successful, and a month later, I am down 23 pounds. This birthday, there was no chocolate cake or mom’s homemade lasagna or alcoholic drinks to raise my glass to another year. Instead, it was a Tilapia fish dinner and one Milano chocolate cookie. Mom gave me a gift card to buy new clothes as my pants look quite “dumpy” right now. No one except my immediate family knew I had surgery so the three comments this past week from co-workers such as “Are you losing weight?”, “You are looking good”, and “Keep up the good work” couldn’t have been wrapped up into a better birthday box. I have a long way to go. 130 lbs still to be exact but it will happen as this past year was turning point for me. I read recently “Do something your future self with thank you for.” I just know that when my next birthday rolls around in 2014, I will reread this blog and smile knowing that I took care of my future me. No more broken chairs, no more worries of fitting in rides, and no more “I will diet tomorrow.” Today is the day. Every day I am dieting and eating healthier. There are no breaks with a Lap Band. It is a commitment to a better me and I have to make it happen………To Future self: We got this girl! :wub:

Since I work about 12+ hours a day, I am always grateful for assistance with the housework. I was quite thrilled the other day to come home to find out that my mother completed two loads of wash for me. However, it quickly turned to dread when I discovered that my black dress pants that I wear to work were put into the dryer. Now, let me fill you in a little bit about my dress pants. We usually have a battle in the morning with zipping them up. I lay on the bed, wiggle around, and feel the pain throb on my finger as I try to get that zipper up. I would NEVER put them in the dryer as the heat from the dryer is not my friend! So I had to break down and wiggle my butt into Spanx and thought I had won the battle with my pants. Well...sort of... It was still a challenge. This is what I usually deal with and what I have been dealing with for quite some time. I was banded on March 4, took 2 weeks off from work, and during the first week back at work, I avoided my black pants since I was still sore in my stomach area. So here it is...Friday, March 30, and I have run out of options for clothing. There in my closet, looking ever so quiet (and a bit afraid of the battle that may ensue) are my black pants. Ugh! I am going to hate this beginning to a Friday morning I thought to myself. Well, here it goes. I decided not to go with the Spanx as sometimes it is not all that comfortable for sitting too long and I knew I had a meeting to attend that day. Obviously, I had been weighing myself since March 4 and thought, hmmmm... let's see if 20 pounds has made a difference in my world. (I have 130 more to lose...not real sure if 20 really made difference yet.) I put both legs in those pants, pulled them up, and got ready for the wrestling match on the bed. Much to my surprise, they zipped. I don't mean just zipped up....I mean they zipped without a 10 minute worm dance on my bed! I was thrilled! Beyond thrilled! These pants haven't seen a dryer for quite sometime so I just know it was thrilled too! No one at work has noticed the weight loss and I really don't expect anyone to notice until I buy new clothes and lose around 40 lbs. But my pants and I knew better that particular day. We were winning together! As I shut off the light in my bedroom, I thought I heard a small voice say, "I'm next" from the pair of pants (Size 16) that I wore several years ago when I lost 70 lbs. Yes...my friend...you are next! Just stay in that drawer a little bit longer. I am working on getting you out and about as soon as I can...and I promise we won't have a battle!

Congratulations March LapBanders! We made it until the end of the month!!! How is everyone doing? Adjusting okay? Are you happy with your decision thus far? On Monday it will be 4 weeks since I was banded and down 20 lbs. Now I have to get moving with the exercise goals so I can wake up some muscles that have been asleep for quite sometime. I am happy with my decision and almost regret not doing it sooner. However, I am on the right track and surrounded by fellow banders like you to make this journey a little more enjoyable! Happy March to you all and we are off to April! Hugs!!! :wub:

You can't add people via the app. You have to go online. I found this out when I actually logged onto the site. Hope this helps!

3-4-13 will now be my lucky numbers since that is the day I got banded. Now on day 3 and I am hungry like crazy but have lost weight already which is a nice incentive as I drink another clear liquid. (Blah!). In any case, I am happy to be here surrounded by all of your ideas and suggestions. I know we can make it through with fellow banders standing by us! (Cue music by Andy Grammer: Keep Your Head Up!)

Started the month at 300. Ending the month at 280.

My current stage is the mush super soft foods. Cream soups, farina, pudding, etc. I actually can't wait to have a salad! I have had a few foods that weren't on the list this week but all has been well. I have been listening to my body and figuring out the new signals to listen to. Monday will be 4 weeks post surgery so I can move into another stage of more solids. How are things with you?

Thank you for all the feedback and ideas! Some really new things for me to try and I Am looking forward to trying them!

Didn't check in last week. ???ž But here is my update today: 282. March 23