JustWatchMe

I wrapped a regular towel around my body this week. It was wonderful. Not having to use those giant bath sheets will certainly save room in the washing machine.

Took a sick day today because I was in too much pain to return to work after my minor surgery Friday. Took my pain pills, slept some, read a book, let my mom cook me lunch, walked my dog. Had a doctor appointment with my PCP whom I haven't seen since June. "Hi there, Skinny!" Made my day. My cholesterol is normal without meds. Yay! He was very happy with my weight loss progress. It was easy to stay on my food plan today. 1060 calories. Some good stuff in the fridge for the coming week too. Two kinds of chicken and a pot of chili. I'm feeling better and will return to work tomorrow. Back to the stairs for exercise.

Congratulations !!

Hey, you're here and you're back to wanting it again! That's the start you need. Don't ever give up on yourself. The difference for all of us here is that even though we've tried and failed before, we now know that we have a wonderful tool that is just waiting to be used properly again. That and a supportive community of fellow travelers who know the deal. That and a doctor and a NUT who want your success. All that makes it different and a bump in the road. Stay connected here, keep posting, use the tools, and before you know it, that old enthusiasm will be back. Glad you posted. We all have ups and downs but the only failure is giving up. You got this!

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gorgeous!

Never give up on yourself!! Good for you for facing this. You can stop potential damage and get right to losing the weight right now. Consider the last few months a poor choice and a detour, but today is when it turns around. Call and make an appointment. Get in to see the doc and NUT asap. If you have Protein shakes sure, use them. No need to starve yourself. Replace a lousy food choice like fast fried food with a Protein shake today. Eat some lean protein at every meal first. Don't drink with your meal or for half an hour afterward. Your band needs to be checked out and you may get a strict menu from your doc, but listen to him or her and chalk it up to experience. Here's one thing I will say. When I was nineteen I thought I was indestructible. I abused my body and overate. I smoked. I never exercised. I became obese in my twenties and because I was always able to get up and do it again the next day I thought nothing of it. Well all the years of obesity and bad choices left me with shot knees, back disc problems, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, chronic bronchitis in winter, infertility, hemorrhoids, migraines and half a dozen prescription medicines and half a dozen OTC medicines just to get through each day. At 53 I got my LapBand. As you and I know, it doesn't do the work for us. But as you don't know yet BUT I DO, once you really commit to the banded lifestyle, it gets easier and the band does help you stick to good eating. Once you stick to good eating, the weight starts coming off. Once the weight starts coming off, you feel better. Once you feel better, you start to make other changes, like moving more. Once you move more, the weight comes off faster. Once the weight comes off faster, your self confidence increases. Once your self confidence increases, you begin to believe you are worth it. And once you believe you are worth it, you've made a lasting change. You can do this. You don't need to waste your twenties and thirties and forties. You have a LapBand and a supportive community here and a doc and a NUT who all want you to succeed. Take this step today and save your life. You are worth it. We will help.

I lost like crazy the first 7 months and then it came to a crawl. I have always used MyFitnessPal and have logged all my food and drink. I know I've added lots of calories and started to eat more carby foods than before. I was also weighing myself every day and once I wasn't losing quickly, that habit made me depressed. So first I went to weighing weekly. I also tried the 5:2 intermittent fast diet for awhile and that helped me start to lose again. I'm back to three meals a day every day now, but since weight loss is so slow, I know I need to add exercise. I hate exercise. I've been avoiding walking because it's been zero temps here in Chicago. So I added walking stairs at work. I walk the stairwell down to the basement and back up to the second floor for a total of twelve flights of stairs. Sounds like no big deal, but for me it's a big change. Little by little I am trying to make healthy changes. I know if I take a few favorite foods out of my meal plan and replace them with lean protein I can lose more. I have cut way down on some of the worst ones, like Thai panang noodle curry, and movie popcorn. I also had to face the fact that weekend wine was derailing my caloric goals. So it's all about choices. I'm trying not to fall into the all or nothing mentality that always led me to giving up before. I'll have my band forever. I'm losing weight and I have fifty more to go, but I will get there. Habits are hard to change but they can be changed. I'm back to losing slowly, but losing. It's progress. Hope this helps.

Congratulations !!!

Before surgery, never. Denial denial denial. After surgery, daily. I was euphoric when I was losing a pound a day. Then it started to depress me when I'd bounce or stay the same. So for the past several months I've weighed weekly. This is much better for my psyche. That's just me.

This post spoke to me. For me, the rawness and vulnerability I feel without being able to turn to food for comfort is sometimes almost unbearable. Excess food was the way I coped and kept my life going. It's not in my arsenal today. I'm divorcing and I'm so fearful, but I found that I just can't and won't return to the food. As a matter of fact, giving up the food was what I needed to do before I had the strength to leave my husband. I go to OA and CODA now, and it helps me tremendously. I knew I'd have a monumental change in personality and confidence after giving up the food. Yes, I am more scared than ever. But going through these trials without excess food is slowly building my new courageous muscles. The LapBand will help me keep my appetite under control and the weight from returning if I am vigilant. Everything else is up to me. But I needed to make that change so badly. My life was like a walking death. I believe these trials will be behind me one day, and I will be able to live with joy in a healthy body. I refuse to accept less.

Increase exercise somehow. So far I've added steps at work. Walking up and down flights at work every few hours. I'm up to 12 flights a day.

I am super lazy when it comes to exercise. I am too frickin cold to walk outside in this weather. So this month I started to walk the stairwell at work. I aim for 12 flights a day. Six up and six down. I work on the second floor so I walk down to the basement, back up, back down, take a bathroom breather, then back up to my desk. And repeat a couple of hours later. And then again before I go home. So far this is pretty doable. I don't feel like such a slug.

Never ever ever give up on yourself. Yes. See a new doc and start fresh. Your life is worth saving!!! Use this board as support. Good luck!

I only had a couple of sips of caffeinated coffee Saturday. Decided not to risk caffeine withdrawal again. I spent the day in bed sleeping. Ate almost nothing. Today I'm feeling better and the headache is gone. Out for brunch with my best friend for her birthday and then a lazy afternoon of watching old movies.

Well after three days of eating almost nothing due to my surgery, I've lost a whole pound and a half. Hey I'll take it. Going out for brunch with my bestie today for her birthday followed by watching old movies at her house. I'm still sore and tired, so we're taking it easy. I slept on and off Saturday after no sleep Friday which left me with a migraine. Today I feel better.

So glad to read these updates !!!

Ugh. I was up every hour last night and have a rotten headache today. So tempted to have a cup of caffeinated coffee to knock it out, but I've been caffeine free for about a month. Tylenol ain't doing it. Maybe one cup.

I can be much tighter after a day of liquids. I can eat more in the evening than in the morning. It does fluctuate a lot.

@@Sharon1964, you nailed it. I can relate to many aspects of your post. So much of this battle is fought between the ears. I was very afraid of failure too. I've lost my excess weight before only to regain it. I, too, had to get away from a very toxic person in my life. Many WLS patients benefit from counseling as this process unfolds. We are complex creatures. New issues will continue to bubble up as the weight comes off. Best wishes to you. Thanks for your post.

Ah, living life. Ain't it grand? ????

Welcome. There are many successful banders here. You've decided to live your best life, and that's just the beginning. Yes, it's work. Yes, it's a somewhat slower weight loss than RNY or sleeve. So what. It is right for you. You're gonna rock your band, and then you're on your way to achieving all your dreams. Keep posting. Banders here are very helpful!!

And shop at Goodwill while you're losing. Cheap and enjoyable.

Such tremendous successes in this thread. Kudos to all of you. Body perception is a real issue with WLS patients. We're losing the equivalent of whole persons. Suggestions. Tape an old fat full body picture on your mirror or inside your closet where you will see it each day. Every two weeks pull out that cell phone and do a selfie. Full body. hair done, makeup on, form fitting clothes. Print it out, even on crappy computer paper. You're the only one looking at it anyway. Tape it next to the old photo. Do this every two weeks with a fresh new picture. Look at yourself, your whole clothed body, the way others do. Set a cell phone calendar reminder to "update your sensational selfie". I lost weight in 1988. 130 pounds over 18 months. No cell phones then. The only way to do a selfie was to go to Woolworth's photo booth. I did this every couple of months and put the head shots in a little album. I found that album this summer. Omg. I vividly remember staring at those photos each time, trying to see what others saw. It helped. It really did. Then I met my husband, got married at 156 pounds, gained 11 on my honeymoon and another 150 on top of that over the next 23 years. But that's another story. Lol.