Bandista

Way to go! So happy for you and this new chapter in your life. That's some excellent exercise you're getting in.......

That's good news, B-52!

For some reason it takes me several days for a fill to settle in. I have had several fills but my surgeon doesn't share the amoun -- knows I'd obsess, lol. Just keep doing what you're doing, really really noticing whether you're hungry and when, how long, etc. And practice chewing really well. Eating slowly and no sliders. You'll get this thing!

Way to go recognizing red zone -- I had to have a teeny unfill at one point. This is the upside of the adjustable LapBand -- we can get it where it's right for us individually.

I have to ask for paper tape......

I'd call for an appointment to assess -- that's what they are there for! I have a cold rights is, too, and that mucous makes a big difference. Ugh, can't wait to be clear again. Time to go make some ginger tea.

Hi there, you're doing great! Keep going to the gym -- for me, exercise has been really important. I had to pretend to like it for a long time then suddenly one day I actually found I wanted to exercise for real. Really? Me? Yup. Make that commitment to yourself. Hang out with healthy people and don't get tempted by Christmas goodies. In a way we all have Christmas every day in our society -- it's one sugary event after the other. I remind myself when I'm reaching for something out of habit, "oh, that's right -- I don't do that anymore."

My surgeon's goal was for me to be satisfied with a tennis ball sized portion (his lingo) and not hungry again for 4-5 hours. I'd have one but not the other. I am a person who needed several fills. It took time but in hindsight I really needed the staged approach in order to learn how to slow down and chew really well. Love my band! The links in my signature below helped me understand how it all works -- those and being here on the forum. Good luck -- you're doing great!

Great you will have a second person with you -- exciting time and nerve-wracking. We've all been there! It helped me to start a notebook -- I'd write down questions, lists, tips -- and a calendar for all the appointments. It's Project You. Way to go!

Hi there, way to go! The walking really helped me -- best wishes for this new chapter in your life. Yippee!

@@Kindle keep it coming! Brought back memories of extremely stressful pre-surgery weigh-ins because my insurance company had one requirement only: BMI of 40. I was nearly 250 but at my height not fat enough for WLS unless I carried hand weights in my pockets, which I did. The stress got me up to 252 on my own, lol.

Get organic, whatever you do. I'm envious because to me peanut butter is one of the last remaining things I can't have too easily accessible. Makes me think of a thread on here last year, "peanut butter is the devil" -- still makes me laugh.

@@Terry Poperszky hope that floor is done now -- you made me laugh! Sending best wishes your way.

Candy sale, lol. Come on Mum, really? Meanwhile, so glad you got out and had some fun -- and kicking off the holiday season with a good friend, yippee! At this time of year I feel everything ramping up around me and I know I have to work extra hard to stay grounded. Now that I don't anchor myself with food anymore this means more exercise, more breathing, more straight-talking in my head and to others. Clarity is not always popular but the payoff later is great. I feel like I'm sifting out what doesn't belong in my life anymore. Letting go.

Congratulations! And it will zoom by, you'll see. You are on your way..... Here's to an amazing 2015!

Whole grain mustard is pretty amazing in itself -- I cut up an onion or two, add lots of mustard (got to get the good stuff, no additives!) and chicken. Bakes or grills beautifully. Also French style cooking with stock (broth) is very easy. Sauté the chicken or meat on both sides, add veggies and stock, simmer a long time to cook the stock down. Makes a lovely sauce and the protein is very tender.

@@Jim1967 how an you leave NH when we're having this lovely weather, lol! Have a blast in FL. So happy for you. And a picture is worth a thousand words. You are amazing.

So happy for you, Lula -- you are on your way!

Arlene's Closet, lol.

sorry I can't edit above from my iPad......bad back of book, lol! Sloppy typing.

I was glad I upped my exercise pre-surgery -- I didn't want to, lol, but I did it and was so glad. It gave me something to step right into after surgery, kicked my body into healing and shedding mode, helped with recovery and helped me lose weight. Also I was very excited and the walking -- a bit further each time -- helped me burn off some of that excess nervous energy. Keeping a journal helped me. I had so much info to track -- all those appointments, etc.! I wrote down ideas and tips I picked up here or in literature, wrote down how I was feeling, made lists for all I needed to do, my goals (fun to revisit those). I'd take my journal with me to appointments and make notes. I also had a friend take my measurements and they are in the bad back of that book. On the advice of some ine here in rote myself a letter to be opened when I get to goal. It's in my jewelry box. I called my insurance company and learned what their requirements were -- I only had one from them: BMI a of 40, no wiggle room on co-morbidities. Then I called back and asked again because I was so paranoid. Or rather because I wanted this so badly and didn't want anything to get in my way. Need all the i's dotted and t's crossed. There are a lot of hoops and I was frustrated at times but now a year later I hardly recall that. I'm just so happy.

Hi Hill, I was a volume eater -- great big salads, lots of veggies, etc. And my digestion really changed post-surgery. Took me a little while to get into the right mode for me. I have chia seeds in my yogurt and sometimes chew up a few prunes. Other people use a fiber like Benefiber, etc. Different things work for different people so you have to find what's good for your body. I also drink aloe 1/2 cup in a 32 ounce glass jar of water with a splash of unsweetened cranberry. It's my comfort drink and I have a couples of bottles a day -- the aloe is probably helping a lot. Good luck -- you'll figure this out. Digestion is so important.......

I benefitted from seeing a therapist while I was going through the research stage and then getting surgery. Discontinued after a while but boy was it helpful for me to have that third party objective person to help me break down specific behaviors related to overeating. I had worked so hard before on this kind of thing but this time the brutal self-honesty it takes to admit a problem big enough for surgery -- wow. No victim talk, indeed (love that above, whoever that was). I went from yes, I eat to tamp down my feelings to very, very spefic ways I was doing it -- this was tedious and I was a bit resistant. But the therapist got me to really spell it out. E.G. (Now past tense, thankfully): I'm in the car, behind the wheel, on my way to an appointment, I'm stressed, I want food, I stop for a treat and chooses one thing an naughty....because? And how does it taste? Um, don't even know, just had to do it. We'd go back and it turns out there was a lot of dialogue in that brain chatter. I deserve something......for me, a lot of my anxiety eating connected back to being worthy. Getting WLS was such a major leap -- choosing myself, giving myself this gift -- I think it plugged me back into something that had short circuited long ago. Sometimes I still have a bell go off in my head that sends me looking for food or thinking about it in that way -- I recognize it, smile and relax because I don't do that anymore.

Lisa, I'm not much on roast turkey either. Or chicken. I still roast a chicken once a week for old times' sake, but I have about a bite and am done. Chicken thighs cooked French style with stock and veggies work very well for me and if I use turkey burger I add stock to that at the end as well -- breaks down any texture that might be an issue for me. I used to love a great big roast chicken leg but not anymore.

Liz, so happy for you and yours -- what a wonderful time of year for an announcement like that. I see in your near future the purchase of many teeny tiny outfits -- yours and baby clothes, lol. Just Watch Me, nice dress! I wish I had a back of the closet but I am a shedder -- nothing to bring out from the vault anymore. I have one dress right now. Wore it to a concert this fall and out to a jazz club in Montreal last week and now I will wear it to a holiday bash on Saturday. I think I need another dress! But I really want to drop another chunk...... Have a good Thursday, every one. I have a slight cold with major PITA cough so not sleeping good well and the cough medication is keeping the band tight. In the old days I was a person who ate even more when sick -- self-comfort, I suppose. Feed a cold, feed a fever, feed everything. Now I'm happy with my pot of tea.