Hi. I'm checking it out 'over here.' I've been on another site (OH) and I'm having a really hard time with the "my WLS is better than yours" thing going on over there. I really need a support group, and my local LB group only meets once a month and they stay restricted to certain topics. The online group thing has worked really well for me because it's there when I need it, and specific to the lap band.
I was banded June of last year and have lost 70lbs. I'm still pretty far from goal, but I'm really getting the hang of the band and feel well on my way! I actually don't even know what my "goal" weight is! I would rather have a goal size of a 12/14, or even a 10. I've been obese my entire adult life and really don't know where I'm comfortable as far as weight as size goes... I figure I'll just keep loosing until I'm happy with it and not fixate on a number but on what feels good.
My biggest hurdles so far have been realizing how important it is to get regular fills... getting and staying at good restriction. I've also had a lot of realizations about what food is to me and what it feels like to be "not hungry" instead of stuffed full. I loved that feeling, and I'm learning that not only will I never feel that again, but that it's a good thing that I don't strive to feel Thanksgiving stuffed anymore. I didn't realize that feeling that way was not what satiety was.
Now I have great restriction and I'm actually struggling with "what does hungry feel like?" I will go too long without eating, then have a headache and be a raving maniac! I'm trying to get into the 'habit' of eating regularly, going so far as setting my alarm for meal times. This has just been in the last 10 days or so, since my last fill. I think once I get used to what I have to do to get the right nutrition in, I'll be really doing well. I can't eat hardly anything in the morning, but by afternoon and evening I can have a 1/2- 1 cup of chicken salad and be 'full' without any trouble getting it all down.
So that's me...
