Bandista

Congratulations, Wendy! So happy for you. It really does suddenly click into place, doesn't it? I'm feeling really happy with my band and life in general. Can't wait to hit Onderland, too. On the horizon!

Congratulations on your weight loss -- you are doing great!

Hi there, I'm with you on artificial sweeteners and just how unnecessarily sweet everything is now. Sugars of all kinds in everything, along with other crap we don't need to put in our bodies. Amazing there is not more of an outcry about GMOs in this country -- so many others, even China, have restrictions but it seems like we are just determined to let big industry poison us. In England the MacDonald''s fries have three ingredients. In the US, 17 ingredients! As for Vitamins, I use the Vitamin Shoppe on-line to look for what I need. They have lots and lots of brands. You can search on organic, etc. Good luck to you!

What a great synopsis! So happy for you -- very exciting to just be living, isn't it? And off the dieting Merry-go-round. I also opted out of dieting when I got my band. It never worked for me but making healthy food choices in small amounts sure does. I love the idea that our bodies know what to do, that you are still slowly shedding. Best wishes to you for a great spring/summer!

Well then, this is the NYC meetup venue? You guys are cracking me up.

I love olive oil and I have been known to use a little butter here and there (I'm a cook!). I do like the zero percent yogurts, especially the 100 calorie Greek yogurts out there. I don't do artificial sweeteners or fillers, I eat real food. I am struggling with how to get fish oils in as I need them for arthritis pain, but cannot tolerate gel caps now,

Loved reading your blog and you are doing beautifully! Way to go. As you say, "my how the time flies." You are rocking this -- can't wait to see you at four and six months out!

I am happy to report that I still love food, just in much smaller amounts and at appropriate intervals. I like it that I can have a small amount of something and really enjoy it now, because I'm not focused on more, more, more.

Yippee! So happy for you, and look at you in Onederland! Way to go......very inspiring, I'm right behind you, sister.

Four great exercise days in a row -- yesterday a one-hour walk at the lake with a friend and her dog who sets a very brisk pace, almost running. Weight is coming off; I'm so happy! Still trying to figure out a bike. My husband put together a mountain bike for me, good ladies' saddle, somewhat upright handlebars, but I feel like I want a really upright old-fashioned kind of bike, that the leaning over isn't comfortable. Have wrist/hand issues, so there's that. Goals for this summer: get bike and start Zumba, and what the heck I'll go swimming, too! Now for the snow to melt.....

WOWIE-ZOWIE! You look great!

Put those medical professionals to work -- this is not okay! Hope you feel better soon. Some people never need a fill but those are mostly patients who had Plication. And some surgeons prime the band so there is some fill already. Maybe your band was primed? Best wishes and let us know how you're doing!

I'd get in to see the doctor ASAP -- gallbladder can present in the back. Hope you feel better soon!

I'm thinking about doing a Zumba class and asked a friend who takes it what it's like, etc. This friend is not heavy or thin. I know she loves food, cooking, etc., but she's not coming from a place of food and body issues. So when I asked her, somewhat glibly, if I would be the fattest person in the class she was shocked. "We don't look at each other like that," she said. "We don't judge." I felt like such a jerk! Guess I need to stop walking into a room and noticing people's sizes, which of course is because I have felt so judged for my weight over the years. Eeeek!

Oh, Gruiz, I can't tell what kind of surgery you had -- I don't know anything about the sleeve and how that works. For the band it's chew, chew, chew and sometimes chicken is too tough. My band signals me (pain in solar plexus) if it's not liking what I'm eating -- those radar blips keep me from keeping going and getting stuck.

Hi Verna, sounds like you're on your way! Sometimes a fill doesn't "take" immediately -- it may settle in and you'll feel it when you are back eating again. Then you'll get used to that and know whether you need another or not. My doctor is of the small frequent fills school of thought and it took me six to get to where I am now, happily in the green zone and shedding. I think you're right about the bruising and pain. I was bruised for a long time and every time I got a fill I bruised again but once I was really healed from the surgery it didn't hurt. Good luck to you, and 17 pounds in two months is fantastic.

Hi there and congratulations to you!

Hi Chrissy, I had a hernia repair at the same time, too. Had probably been bothering me for a long time and I didn't even know it! Good luck with everything. I kept thinking how the discomfort wasn't as bad as other things, like dentistry, lol. And I'm convinced the walking is the best possible thing to kick the body into healing mode, release any trapped gas, etc. Plus I was just so delighted with my decision that the recovery wasn't bad at all -- I am so happy with my banded life!

Hi Arby, good for you getting to the gym and working off some of that stress. Sometimes it feels like compounding interest the way high-stress events arrive one after the next. I find breathing really helps. Sometimes I take a minute behind the steering wheel to do a few intentional deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth. And humor is good, when you can find that place of being able to laugh at the absurdity of things. Best wishes to you -- and hey, it's spring, even here in NH. This was such a long hard winter but it's over!

I love ginger tea -- we drink it hot or as an iced tea. When people come over they go nuts for it! Wondering if you could be experiencing dairy intolerance or something else not agreeing with you in the shake you're using. Can you check in with the doctor/nutritionist -- that's what they are there for and they want you to feel well. Congratulations on your upcoming surgery!

Hi Chrissy, congratulations! And best wishes for a speedy recovery. You are right, 2014 is your year. Mine, too -- so happy I made this decision!

Also some people can only tolerate dark meat poultry....

I am wondering what I'll be when I'm "healthy" and I think I'll just have to wait and see.

Push through! Love that phrase (yours). And know that in this world of on-line communication there are so many opportunities for misunderstanding. Know that we are all here with you. You are going to rock this -- your fierceness is a great quality. You are choosing yourself and that is a very powerful thing!

Keep at it! You'll know when you are there.