Bandista

i don't believe in the starvation mode thing like I used to, although, of course, my body was well prepared for famine. Plenty of fat stores! Well, with the band I've finally tapped into storage and gotten the weight off -- I figure that's the whole idea. And I don't count calories now -- I just listen to my body.

Hi there, twenty down -- way to go! I obsessed over my first fill. It was all so much quicker and easier than I thought it would be! We chatted then I laid down with my arms overhead. Surgeon located the port, announced a little pinch then as I was wondering when the fill would happen he was giving me an arm to sit up. It was done! I demonstrated that I could drink a glass of water. Next week a repetition of same. Every one is different but I ultimately needed several to get to my green zone. Best wishes!

Hi there and congratulations to you -- very exciting! Even though I didn't take pain medication I had issues with constipation and had to address that around day four or five. My digestion took a while to even out after the surgery, to adjust to my new eating regime, etc. So much less in terms of bulk! Good luck to you I these coming weeks as you go through the stages and get to know your band. I am so happy to have this thing!

Hi there and congratulations! Those first few days I alternated napping and little spurts of walking -- pretty sure the walking is what kicks the body into healing mode, releasing any trapped gas and letting everything go back into the right place. Take good care of yourself -- and pat yourself on the back. You have taken a giant step in choosing yourself and your healthy future. Way to go!

You're wasting away! "Well, that would be a waste!" Catching on.........

@@Debbie3sons happy, happy birthday! Thank you for being your wonderful self. I am so glad you're here and that you've been here for all of us. Best wishes for a wonderful year ahead!

I am very private and, like you, I live in a small community. I don't have a public face, though -- that is tough. Anyway, I'm at the point where people are really noticing. I say things like, "thanks, I'm working really hard." I have also added things like, "I go up and down" -- that seems to knock people off their balance a bit. Shuts them up. Not that I'm ever going up again! But it somehow diffuses the discussion.

@@laurenella82 check out Vionics......I have a thing for shoes, too, but need an orthotic footbed. We live in marvellous times.......I have clogs, sandals (snazzy ones!) and I have my eye on a pair of their boots. My dream outfit? Being acceptable on the beach, not embarrassed in my bathing suit. I already looks great (did I say that?) in a dress. That was a big goal for me.

Have fun with those kids -- you rock! And yes, motivation indeed. I am so much happier being a "normal" size now but given the arthritis, etc. I doubt I would have been able to get out of there either. And I work out! Keep that sense of humor. And keep the image -- it will help you resist temptation.

Relax, you're doing beautifully. Keep all your appointments for fill assessment, keep increasing the exercise, keep patting yourself on the back for choosing yourself and your healthy future. Post band and pre-correct fill can be hard to navigate. Be tenacious! You will get this! And don't forget to pay attention to how your pants are fitting. That was a big one for me. Scale wasn't bidging sometimes and that's right when I'd need a new size. Down from 18 to 10 in exact same brand. And 65+ pounds. It's like its not happening and then BOOM!

The decision to have weight loss surgery is an act of choosing yourself and your healthy future. You are worth doing whatever needs to be done, that's the way I looked at it. And that change in thinking along with the changes in my relationship with food have made me so much happier. Apparently I could not do it without surgery. So glad I opted in.

Me, too, on the inhaling -- I did practicing on the clock one bite one minute. Hardest thing was putting the utensil down. Didn't want to let my weapon go, lol. I still have to be mindful but it is easier with time. New habits finally.

Hi there and congratulations on having the surgery in the rear view mirror. You are doing great! I could eat that much in cottage cheese, too, and you know what? Your body probably needed that. Don't worry! When your band is adjusted properly (remember, this is the whole idea of an adjutable lapband procedure) it will feel very differently. Take it easy, thank yourself -- you've done an amazing thing.

What a great picture!! No, I don't think leftovers will be a problem........

Shel! Nothing to offer here but love and support. I do have two friends with new heart valves and both started with similar....(neither are WLS patients). Keep us posted as to what's going on -- vagus is fascinating and I have a feeling the medical community as we know it has little info here, on the verge of so much. Very interesting data re: aFib after eating and with beta-blockers or no -- some one is looking for this info! Please keep us posted. There are amazing advances in heart science now. Meanwhile, let calm prevail. Keep exercising. You are amazing and it's all unfolding. Courage (you have that, my fierce LB friend!)......

Mavic (autocorrects as Magic!) congratulations -- very exciting. On the pre-op I was happy to drop some pounds knowing for the first time I wouldn't be gaining back again. And don't have a food funeral because eventually you will be able to have the foods you love again -- you'll just be able to make really good choices about them and be satisfied with very little. Adhere to your surgeon's plan and you will do really well. Good luck with all! During pre-op I started a walking routine and I'm really glad I did that as it gave me something to step into right after surgery. I didn't want to but I did it anyway. The walking helped kick my body into healing mode. And shedding. Be patient with the process and pat yourself on the back for choosing yourself and your healthy future. Best wishes.

@@Homecie I started wearing Sole brand inserts in whatever shoes I am wearing -- what a huge difference that support makes. You take out the inserts from the sneakers and put these in -- they lift up the arch in just the right way. Even still the sneakers themselves have to be replaced at intervals as the foam goes hard and no longer offers the cushioned support. The Sole orthotic inserts are just as good if not better than custom ones I got though a podiatrist and now podiatrists are just telling people to go get Soles. I also have Vionics shoes which have a built-in footbed with an orthopedic arch. I wore Birkenstocks for years, too, and need this footbed now. They have clogs, sandals, etc. Warning -- very comfortable and a little addictive. Have fun!

Yes! Here's to that. Being able to enjoy those spoonfuls without saying, "oh well, I may as well go for it" -- that's what the band has done for me.

@@Miss Mac you are doing beautifully! Like you I had another number in mind for my one year out, but now I think I am happy to be right where I am. Yes, there's still work ahead -- immediate goal is twenty more down then I'll see what's what -- but I like it that I didn't make it too hard for myself. I came from being very restrictive, always on a diet or about to be on one -- and so if it's taking me a little more time than I thought to reach goal (whatever that is!) then so be it. The accomplishments in how I think now are what are really amazing. The scale can't really tell that story very well. Also I am at the limit of what I can handle in terms of people commenting on how much I've lost. Maybe best for me to spread out the remaining a bit more. And keep increasing the exercise to reclaim my health and vitality. Here's to us -- we are doing it! And congratulations on your (almost) one year!

Hi there -- ran away for the holiday and had to leave a day early to get ahead of a major snowstorm. Over a foot at home, eek. Having a lot of joint pain and happy to find Voltaren over the counter here in Canada. My co-pay in the US is $40 so normally I'm stingy with it. Pain, travel, stress and cold weather have made it difficult for me to eat. Enjoyed a cappuccino and a cookie this afternoon after not being able to eat my lunch. Husband and son always happy to help with that problem. goimg to a jazz club tonight and will try some steak or other dense protein. Nice to be away from home, eldercare issues, work, etc. Hope every one had a nice thanksgiving. Like all of you here, I'm grateful for this site and our mutual support -- and I'm grateful for this Banders thread where I don't have to defend my choice or read a lot of nonsense. It works for me -- that's what matters.

Sorry, that's November 3013 --iPad won't let me go back and edit. Don't want the newbies thinking they can lose 65 overnight, lol.

Hi B-52 you have been an inspiration to me since I started noodling around on the forum in June of 2013. I had my surgery November 2014 and if any one would have told me I could turn into an exercise fanatic I would have laughed in their face. I already exercised -- years and years -- just not enough. It's you and Catfish who got me over that hump. I wasn't going hard enough to seriously burn or to feel the endorphin rush. Now I do and I love it. But do I want to talk myself out of exercising? Hell, yes -- I'm still a lazy slob underneath it all. But there's a lot less "all" that I'm underneath. Sometimes exercise is really hard. I can have a whole pity party about joint pain, etc. I worry I'll have to have a hip replacement and blah, blah, blah. But what can I do? I can SHOW UP and exercise. I can make each day better by having worked out. Do I fail myself sometimes? Well, whatever. Each new day is a new day to SHOW UP and exercise.

Surprised in the ER with IV steroids as a result of really bad poison ivy -- packed it on like a science experiment gone wrong. By the time I tapered off the oral medication I had gained twenty pounds. Started seeing an alternative practitioner after that to try to rebalance and just got more screwed up from there. Another thirty pounds yo-yo style, then another ten and another. Ended up about 100 heavier. There was a pregnancy in there (not to term) and I'm sure hormones played a role. Plus I became an emotional eater. Life was stressful and food was my solace. I tried everything under the sun and am so grateful for WLS. I feel "normal" again. After years of feeling betrayed by my body I am in sync once more. That feels really good.

On this day last year I was at the hospital for my lap-band procedure. I knew it was a big decision, but at the time I really had no idea what the impact would be on my life as a whole. There have been so many positive outcomes. The weight loss is great, of course, and that was my main goal in getting the surgery, but it turns out that even more important than that is a powerful sense of returning to myself. Choosing weight loss surgery enabled me to show up for myself and my life in ways I didn't anticipate. I would have said that I was happy enough before, fulfilled, etc., but the contrast to how I feel now tells me that I had no idea what I was missing. Having my appetite dimmed has allowed me to escape from dieter's prison. All that brain chatter about food is gone and what a relief it is not to be beating myself up. The on/off mentality was really doing a number on me, and I am tremendously grateful to be out from under that spell. I am not perfect and I don't need to be. The band does it's job and mostly I do mine. I choose not to count calories because that puts me back into dieter's mentality and that's not a good place for me. I still really enjoy food preparation and eating, but my portions are so much smaller than before. My "rules" for myself (and we are all different) are to eat when I'm hungry and not eat if I'm not hungry. The first one took some work. I didn't even know what hunger was because I was always tamping down every feeling that came along with some form of food. It was a process for me to learn to listen to my body's signals and respond appropriately. Generally I am not hungry until mid-morning or so, and now I welcome that feeling. It turns out that hunger isn't my enemy after all. And my body isn't either. For a number of years I felt that my body had betrayed me. No matter how hard I worked, I could not seem to get in sync for weight loss and health. The band somehow buckled me back together with my body and that sense of wholeness is very welcome. Here are pictures taken a year apart. I have gone from a size 18 to a size 10 in the very same brand of blue jeans (Lee Long) and I am down from the 2X and 1X tops into larges and mediums. I know that I could have lost more weight in this year, but I am committed to a healthy process and this big chunk off in one year is about all I can handle in terms of the compliments I'm receiving everywhere I go. My goal now is to work on the next twenty pounds and see what that feels like when I get there. I'm not in a big hurry because my main focus is on exercise and toning. I am building muscle -- having a strong, capable body feels wonderful and I am doing what I can to take care of it. Thank you for your camaraderie, your humor, compassion and support. It's been wonderful to be part of an on-line community, something I had never experienced before, and I am very grateful for my weight loss friends. Here's to us -- we are doing it!

Me three! I am so happy but don't want to become complacent. The renewed relationship with food and with my body is wonderful but I am not satisfied with where I am -- time to chip away at the next twenty. We know how to do this. Thanks for the reminder about the liquid reboot. I'd rather consider that first before going back for another fill, which I think I need. So, taking steps! Keep us posted on your progress. And Onederland!