Bandista

Yippee! Oh how I remember the waiting. You are getting there!

Hey there, you are doing beautifully! Say thank you to yourself -- you are doing it. 44 pounds is great and you are committed to your health. Big changes are happening but sometimes it's hard for us to see them when we are too close. Be gentle with yourself, celebrate the successes and give it all time. Best wishes!

Yippee! Great news -- so happy for you. You are doing beautifully and now it will be so much easier.

Challenge, cool! I am on day three so I guess that means a bump up to thirty seconds. I am feeling this already.......

@RJ'S/beginning I hope you are recovering well!

The Onion has a hilarious piece about this: http://www.theonion.com/articles/mom-spends-beach-vacation-assuming-all-household-d,33431/ The band can be fickle, that's for sure. I think stress is a big factor, hormones, allergies, etc. I hope things settle down for you as you get back in sync with your life at home.

@@BigGirlPanties thanks for this. I am really trying to get back into Yoga, too. I have OA and trouble with my wrists and hands. So much Yoga seems to be about the wrists that I steered away, but I realize I just need to know how to accommodate that. On another thread I am so excited to find out about planking and some one tipped me off about the Dolphin Pose. Also, here's a bit of western medicine ridiculousness for you. The rheumotologist I went to advised against yoga. Apparently there's a theory floating around that children who were hyperflexible who have arthritis as an adult have excessive joint movement and shouldn't encourage that. So let the joints freeze up instead? What doctor in their right mind would tell a fifty-something year old obese woman not to exercise? @@Pookeyism -- what you said is beautiful and so true: "as long as you have breath you can have Yoga...."

Hi there, I'm glad you're feeling better and enjoying that recliner. Very happy you were able to spend the night in the hospital -- we really do have to advocate for ourselves sometimes. The walking can't be emphasized enough. I think it really helped kick my body into healing mode. I found I needed to get up to pee a lot and since I was up anyway that's when I did laps around the driving circle or even just up and down the hall. This will help everything go back into place and with the releasing of any trapped gas. I really enjoyed my Popsicles during this time, and I'm a tea drinker so I had a lot of warm tea. As others have said, each day is better. If you are taking narcotic pain medication be sure that any constipation issues are addressed. And know that a few months out you won't even really be able to recall this discomfort. Sending best wishes your way!

Me, too -- I had never heard of Plication when I was researching my surgery and would have considered that (I think). There are Plication Banders and also a few Plication-only people. Interesting! One guy is participating in a study about Plication. I wish I could remember who that is -- Canadian?

Dolphin Pose! Wow -- thanks so much. I am looking at the "how to" right now. I miss being able to do Downward Dog, etc. This hand/wrist thing is such a deterrent for yoga and now that I'm thinner I really want to be able to stretch like I used to. Love that feeling.

Hi there @@bajagal101 -- you will find lots of good company here. I am 52 and was banded last November. So very happy with the surgery and all the changes in my life. Have you had your surgery yet? I joined this forum in June and felt very prepared for everything when I finally got my surgery date. I read so many posts and asked a lot of questions. People are very supportive and happy to share information. If there was anything negative I just skipped right over it -- power of positive thinking! I wish California could get some of this rain we are having here on the east coast; geesh. Sending best wishes your way...........

Congratulations on your upcoming surgery date! So natural to have jitters beforehand. What you say about weight holding you back really resonates with me. I don't think I had any idea just how far that had gone for me -- the low self-esteem, less energy, self-consciousness about my weight and everything else. I wish this had been available to me sooner in my life (I am twice your age). Meanwhile, banded life is great. I have loved dropping weight of course, but I wasn't really prepared for how much confidence I have now. I think that has to do not only with my physique being trimmer but the thinking and obsessing about food all the time was wearing me down. So wonderful to have the appetite monster off my back and all that chatter gone. My life is so much simpler and I am so much happier. And happy to report that I still love food, just in small amounts at appropriate intervals. Best wishes to you -- glad you found the forum. It's a great place to get ideas and information. I learned more here than I did from my hospital.

@InfiniteButterfly this seems so much less stress on other joints -- the forearms take the brunt. I am so happy to discover this (arthritis, eeek). @@SillyAuntDi do it now -- twenty seconds! Don't even need sneakers or fitness clothes, though high heels may need to come off. Still, I can picture doing this almost anywhere. OMG, I am going to become a planking freak. I can feel it. Now to feel the muscles in my abdominal region. That would be good!

I love flax seeds and chia seeds! Flax has such a nice nutty flavor. It needs to be ground in order to get the full benefit, whereas Chia does not. I mix Chia seeds into my Greek yogurt to thicken it up so it's not a slider food. The band works through esophageal squeezes up to the brain that will signal satiety, so it's good to have something to chew. I also add a few walnuts and gluten-free Cereal flakes, etc. for this reason. And for another six grams of Protein I also put some collagen in (very low in calories). I'm a bander so not sure about sleeves and seeds -- be sure to check on this as chia does indeed get gelatinous and swell up. Here's a great piece comparing the two -- Superseed Throwdown: http://www.easy-vegetarian-diet.com/chia-seeds-vs-flaxseeds.html#.U8Z6ZKhvtNY

You did it! And that is one lucky guy to have you in his life. Enjoy every moment of Onederland -- you deserve it! I really hovered at that gate, too, and what a wonderful feeling to have it happen all of the sudden. Yippee!

I just wrote a check for my first 5K. It's in September and I am ridiculously excited. I will probably be walking much of it and that's fine with me (there are other walkers) but just the whole idea of being able to participate in something like this has me walking on air. I keep thinking, who is this woman who wakes up planning exercise instead of thinking about food? It's me! The new healthy me. So happy! Oh, and I got a bicycle. We are putting a basket on it now. It's one of those upright old-lady style bikes and I love it.

Me, too -- I have definitely experienced this. Keeping at it has been key to me. My fills are small but frequent. I've had seven and I'm a November bander. Every surgeon has their own approach. I have felt "there" only to return three weeks later. My tip-off is feeling restrictive, diet-y, etc. I am not on a diet so if I'm feeling like that I know something is up. Dieting did not work for me -- well, obviously.

Raspberry ketones, anyone? And I don't even have a TV!

Congratulations -- so happy for you. The green zone is where it's at, for sure. Here's to health!

Hi there and congratulations on your surgery date. I had a hiatal hernia and wonder if that repair is part of why I feel so great -- who knows? I love my band, that's for sure. Good luck on your pre-op. I loved it that when I lost weight on the pre-op it was weight I knew would not be coming back. For the first time. It's going great and you're going to do beautifully, too!

50 pounds down is amazing -- way to go! I think about what would have happened to me over the long cold winter we had if I had not had my band. Fifty is great. Pat yourself in the back and figure out where you want to go from here. It's not a race, it's a lifestyle. You are doing great!

Best wishes -- you will do beautifully!

So happy not to be counting any of this......

Five years and one fill? One thing about the green zone is all of the sudden it's all so easy.....I hope you are getting there. Best wishes for all!

I read the title and thought, "this was me." Best wishes to you -- keep that enthusiasm. You are going to do beautifully.........