SpecialK

My hair stylist and multiple people told me that BIOTIN - 2000 mcg/day is very helpful and I'm taking it now faithfully. Do your own research to see if you think its right for you. I found a good brand at CVS/Walgreens but I am betting you can find it lots of places. Since I started taking it, I have beautiful long nails!

To fill or not to fill -- good question. I think I'm going to ask for a small fill when I see my doctor Tuesday a.m. That would be my 4th fill and the reason I'm asking for it is I definitely can eat about anything (steak, 1/2 a bagel) as long as I eat it slow, small bites. I am controlled on the volume I eat - that part surprises me still because I was always a volume eater, but I'm not staying full long enough and I'm definitely following band rules about not drinking to wash the food down and out of my stomach pouch. We'll see what he says but I'm just trying whatever I can each day to hang in here. Thanks for sharing your experiences on this.

Good idea Tess to remind each of us how far we've come. I started us out on the existing thread.... go over there and add your celebration stats on! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f114/weight-loss-date-65520/index3.html

I saw where we had a request to help bolster all of our emotional energy, Celebrate our successes and give us a motivation energy shot in the arm by adding up and sharing where we are at our 6 months out time frame. Please copy the previous post and add your info to it at the bottom so we keep adding on and don't lose anybody. I'll try to keep an eye on this thread to keep it going. Congratulations to all! Here we go.....:thumbup::smile::smile::smile: -- 6 smilies for 6 months! SpecialK Banded 3/17/08 Current Loss 9/7/08 --> 53.9 lbs.

Niki - yes I will take an extra suit as I'm doing water aerobics twice a week and it would be appreciated. I finally broke down and ordered one online too as my other one from the summer was worn out and too big -- a good problem!

Its interesting sometimes how a sermon sometimes hits me right between the eyes that it was totally for me so I thought I'd pass this along. For those who aren't religious it still has a great motivational meaning. 1. Attitude - You have to take the mindset that you have to be in it ("the race") to win it, no sitting on the sidelines or wishing you were finding success. You have to take the view that you are in it for the long haul, it isn't a sprint and you absolutely cannot give up. 2. Aim - Stay focused, you must have a goal and the more you set yourself a goal and keep your eyes on it, the more likely you are to achieve it. Also, staying focused in your race means staying in your lane, running straight and true, following the rules, not cutting corners. 3. Action - Knowing that I have to actively participate in this and give it my all, knowing I have to discipline my body. Know I cannot "coast" or start skipping workouts or eating things that aren't on my action plan. Remembering you don't win without discipline. Don't give up! P.S. For those who would like it only, 1 Cor 9: 24-27 was his reference.

Hi Pataskala, here is the link over to the N E 1 Banded at Mt. Carmel thread where there are several of Dr. Choban's patients: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f56/n-e-1-been-banded-mt-carmel-col-oh-31225/index81.html

Thinner Me -- Good to hear you are home and doing well. Patty -- Wishing you all the best tomorrow. Dr. Price is an excellent surgeon so I know you are in good hands.

Thinner Me -- are you home yet? Hope to hear how you are doing! Keep those liquids going, sip sip sip!

Yes, I'm proud of how much I've lost but still have a long way to go and its amazing to me too when people say I can see it in your face and neck especially... but I can see it in the clothes for sure... On the issue of not spending alot of money while we are losing I totally support this and have some advice for all -- find your local thrift shop, Goodwill, and plus size consignment stores and check often. They even have end of the month clearances, senior discount days, etc. and its wonderful. Good name brand clothing at incredible prices. I bought a blouse for work yesterday for $1.50 that was from a favorite plus size store I always shopped at called Catherine's, and the blouse was beautiful and would have cost me at least $30 on sale at that plus size store. I found a pair of jeans and a pair of nice work pants for $3.59 each. I have had similar luck in consignment stores, getting three pairs of work pants for about $12 - nice quality pants, no flaws in them. So, this is how I plan to survive getting through over 180 total pounds to lose while still wearing nice clothes that accent my weight loss and not try to hide under my old extra size things. It is still very hard mentally to reach for a smaller size after so many years looking at the largest size they had. Just to give you a real laugh for a Sunday a.m., the jeans I bought were a little snug and I had to lay on my bed to zip them up all the way...ha ha.... but I know in just a few weeks, they will be fine and I'll be glad I bought them as a 'stretch' goal to fit into.

Love your userid -- that was a nickname of mine when I was young and loved the Chatty Cathy doll! Welcome and be sure to check out your Arizona section unser USA Local groups and I bet you'll find lots of folks right there in your backyard that are bandsters!

Since so many of us post about thinning or losing hair during weight loss I wanted to let you know I did talk again with my hair stylist I've gone to for years and she has very positively recommended Biotin for hair - I was taking 1000 mcg and she said I could go as high as 2000 mcg a day. I'll let you know if I am seeing a difference but she said she has another client that has had lapband and its definitely helping. I think I can already tell that its helping in my fingernails - they're all getting long and strong!

I started taking B12 and can't tell yet if its helping but I'll let you know. I take Viactiv Calcium chewable - chocolate flavored and I take it in the evening and the other vitamins in the morning as I was told to take the calcium separate. Today was so weird on food - I went thru a Taco Bell drive thru and got a couple crunchy tacos and a side order of beans and after 1 taco and about 2 bites of the second one, I was so full I couldn't believe it. I hate to admit it but I could down two or three tacos and add a burito on top in the old days. What a change. After about 3 hours I ate the rest of my lunch once I got home and reheated the beans and just ate the inside of the taco and thru the shell away.

Charlie (aka Fenton), we miss you! Wishing everyone a great holiday weekend. John Forsythe aka Charlie.bmp

I capitalized Honesty in my original post to encourage all of you to post the good, the bad, the ugly, whatever you are honestly feeling because you certainly are not alone in your feelings - there is someone out there who can relate to you and I was encouraging all to say what they need support with.

Okay, I saw this thread for "Hallow-Lean" to give myself a weight loss challenge and I signed up to kick my own butt in gear from Labor Day to Halloween. Anybody else game? Click on the link and add it there. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/hallo...40/index2.html :thumbup::smile2:

Okay, I saw this thread for "Hallow-Lean" to give myself a weight loss challenge and I signed up to kick my own butt in gear from Labor Day to Halloween. Anybody else game? Click on the link and add it there. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/hallow-lean-challenge-74140/index2.html :smile2:

I'm in too. I really would like to get my own butt into losing faster although I'm happy with my progress. Name______Start Weight____Current Weight____Goal________Lbs lost *****:crying:************************:eek:************:smile2: **********:crying:*** ahsem2bme..........244............244............225............0 aJoneen............223............223............213............0 Aphrodite1984......208............208............190............0 Caramia71..........208............208............195............0 georgiagirl........245............245............230............0 HeatherO...........155............155............140............0 Jazzyywan..........322............255............190............0 Jodi_620...........196............196............177............0 Leslie2Lose........224............224............209............0 livn4thm...........235............235............210............0 Long2bthin.........248............248............230............0 Luu2008............203............203............183............0 Mamanmidwife.......299............299............285............0 mominlv13..........299.8..........299.8..........275............0 Tess...............304............304............280............0 Ariel .............199............199............180............0 wowox7.............195............195............170............0 WyominGirl.........327............327............312............0 SpecialK...........348............294............280............0

Has anyone noticed being more tired than they wish? I am trying to get a solid 7 hours of sleep and I just keep wanting more sleep. I have started this week taking some B12 vitamins to see if that helps with my energy level. It could just be a cumulative effect of stress from work, the funeral and weight loss but I was curious how others are doing on energy level. I see Dr. Miller next week for a checkup and I'm going to mention it to him. I think I'm getting enough protein in but I'll have to get more diligent again with using my online food tracker. I got off track with that once the personal life turned upside down a couple weeks ago. Thanks. P.S. I'm praying for you ThinnerMe! Hope you'll be home from the hospital soon. (I think I remember that RNY is about 2.5-3 days in the hospital versus the overnight for lapband).

To those struggling, I value HONESTY here -- where you are at is what is true for you. I'm not too proud to say I will go and get counseling if I feel I need it if I get to plateaus where I'm doubting my decision. At almost 6 months now, I definitely am not carrying around 'barf bags' nor am I tracking where every restroom is just in case. I agree that its a dangerous mindset to get comfortable with the idea of PBing if you overdo things.

Tess415 - you need to update your signature line to say 60 lbs now gone according to your ticker. Congratulations, I'm hoping to get to that number by end of September maybe.

I'm here too just hanging out and trying to mentally get back in the game again also. Pretty slammed at work from having been off last week but I'm just trying to take it a day at a time. Fenton, I was actually thinking of posting an "Amnesty for Fenton" sign to say its okay to come back out of lurking mode and we'll stop beating up on ya for not having a fill. It really is your body, your band, and your decision. Just know we are all pulling for you as you have been for us.

ThinnerMe - I'm thinking of you and will say a prayer for your successful surgery tomorow.

Juli - I just realized you changed your avatar to a new picture of you in a cap and gown... from your MBA graduation girl??? Congratulations.

AHA Heart Walk update - I feel like a jerk about this but I set the alarm, got up and drove to downtown Columbus all set to do the walk, allowing myself plenty of time to get to COSI by 8:30 because they wanted to take a company photo of all the walkers from my company.... well I got stuck in a huge traffic jam and didn't even make it to area behind COSI until after 9 am and then the parking was full and they were putting us way out in a grass field by the railroad tracks, boarded up houses, and it didn't really look all that safe so I went right on by and went to my Mom's house. I'll do my walk tomorrow here at home to keep honest that I will walk but it was a zoo down there. I don't know if they thought they were going to have that big of a crowd but it was terrible, no police to direct traffic or whatever. Anyway, I still raised over $300 in donations so that's still a positive thing.