Shinyhappymommy

I'm 3 for 3 on exercising this week so far. Monday I ran two miles at the gym, Tuesday full T-tapp for 50 min, today I took the whole family (3 kids, dh and me) on a bike ride/walk/stroller ride for two miles. The kids' had sore bottoms from riding their bikes and my husband was surprised at the quick pace I wanted to keep. I guess he thought we were going for a leisurely stroll. Nope, let's go, Hon! 2 miles, baby. It was fun.

Good luck, St. Louis Gal! I hope it’s just a too tight band and an easy fix. Let us know how things go once you get your tests done.

My exercise has become so much harder since I haven't been running regularly. I realized at 7 pm that I hadn't exercised today. I am proud of myself for getting dressed in my workout stuff and going to the gym. Ugh. It was hard. I walked (briskly) for 2 miles and then did about .5 mile on the elliptical. (I don't get that thing.) Barely broke a sweat, but felt pretty good about doing it. How are you guys doing?

This is a marathon, not a sprint. You're a good chunk of the way there. I can't imagine going through something as big as a divorce and still worrying about my weight loss. You have a lot going and I know if it were me, without the band I would have gained during such a stressful time. You have lost this year, maybe not as fast as you would like, but hey, it's progress! Hang in there and keep on going. This is for the rest of our lives. One year down, many more to go! You can do it.

RSG, Yay for the fill! I hope it works wonders for you. After several months of very small losses, 1-3 pounds, I am at 7 for this month so far and it's because I got a fill finally. It's just part of the game of having the band. Sometimes I almost don't want to have restriction because I want to do it like so many others in my life have to who aren't banded. But that's silly, why not use this tool I have had surgically implanted in me? That's what I'm doing and I'm glad to say it's working. As far as eating and drinking, just don't have any drink available while eating. I know it sounds simple, but if I sit down to eat and don't have a beverage, I'm not going to drink. I actually usually drink right before I eat so I'm not thirsty during the meal or directly thereafter. You will feel full much faster without the drinking, I'm sure of it. Good luck, you can do it!

163 pounds in one year is a huge accomplishment! I would love to hear more about your journey and how this process has been for you. Have you kept a blog at all? Congratulations, that's fabulous.

Thank you Rhapsody and Tapshoes for sharing those thoughts. I'm glad to know both of you and plan on keeping in touch for a long time to come.

I typed out a really long post on this thread a couple of days ago. I'm not sure why it didn't post. :tt2: Oh well. I got my x-ray done and the chiropractor said everything looked fine and that I can resume training. Tell that to my hip. I did the two mile run last Saturday and again on Monday and by Tuesday my hip was really bothering me. So instead of walking like I had been planning, I went to the local hotel and exercised in the pool. I haven't swam for exercise before, so that was a new experience. I did all I could think of to get my heart rate up. I ended up being in the pool for 30-40 minutes. I didn't keep exact track. So my plan is to run two miles once a week, and walk on the other days where I used to run. My hip was fine after one run, so we'll see if it can handle that. I'm also going to try reading and incorporating the Chi Running principles, but it's not an instant fix, so that will take a while. In the meantime I'll keep doing T-tapp on the days I'm not running/walking. I just can't let myself get out of the habit of exercising because of this injury.

I hit the 100 pounds lost mark this morning. 203! I wasn't sure it was even going to happen by Christmas, so I'm very excited! What an amazing journey.

I have hit my one year mark, so I'll post some pictures. I feel like I post so often on this thread, so please forgive me if you're tired of my pictures. :rose: I found a new before shot, so that's different at least. I'm down 104 pounds from my before shot. before December 2007--303 pounds, After, February 2009--199 pounds.

Also wanted to add these head-shots for comparison. Before is November 2007, 3 months pre-op and the after is February 2009.

Here is a link to some one-year photos of myself. I hope this works: Picasa Web Albums - Melissa - One year pict...

My husband has been applying for the next position in his career path within the same company, just in a different location. He has applied pretty much all over the country and will continue to do so until something pans out. So basically we'll move wherever the job takes us at this point.

Anna, There's a great difference in your face shots. Nice. My surgeon actually works at P/SL, so that's convenient. I see Dr. Matthew Metz and his partner Dr. Brown are in the Professional Plaza East of P/SL. Here's their website: Denver Bariatric Surgery | Colorado Bariatric Surgery Institute I had surgery done by someone else who moved, but I've been very pleased with Dr. Metz for the follow up. He is very good at fills, usually I only get one stick. The first time he filled me after my port had detached I think he stuck me twice because it moved unexpectedly. He successfully filled me last time with the port being detached with just one poke. I was very nervous to get filled the first time he did it because I have this huge fear of being overfilled. I hadn't had a fill in several months and was nervous to mess things up. He was very understanding and he let me do my first fill under flouro so we could make sure it wasn't overfilled. All subsequent fills have been without flouro. Anyway, I really like their office. They have a panel of nutritionists you can meet with in conjunction with your fill. I have loved Lindsay who I've seen twice. She's very down to earth and helpful. I believe that Dr. Brown has even more experience and has even been featured in some Discovery Health programs. So either way, I think you'd be pleased with them. Good luck!

Anna, I can totally relate to meeting knew people and them not knowing the old, fat you. We hope to move as well at some point and I've thought about that a lot. I can give you surgeon recommendations if you're coming to Denver and you are still looking for a surgeon there.

I didn't do any exercise on Thursday or Friday. But, today I went running for the first time in a week and a half. I did 2 miles on the treadmill. I was honestly surprised that I could still do it, with no trouble. I had this fear that since I had taken a break, I'd have to start again from scratch almost! That wasn't the case thankfully. So far my hip feels fine. I'm going to keep my distances down in hopes that it will stay fine. I need to go in Monday for my x-ray.

I'm going to post this entry I wrote for my blog. Enjoy! I’m finally getting around to writing my review of this last year. My anniversary, or bandiversary as some like to call it was last Sunday, almost a week ago. I have had a lot of thoughts about writing this, but for some reason haven’t felt ready to write it. I think in part because it’s such a personal thing for me, and such a huge thing, that it’s hard to put into words what a difference this year has made in my life. How can words do any justice to how grateful I am and how different I feel? However, I have to try, because I want to share this. One year ago I was so scared. I was having a life-changing surgery. Firstly I was scared of dying in surgery. I cried and told my husband that if “something happened” I was sorry and that I never meant for that to happen. Thankfully the surgery went off without a hitch. Secondly, I was scared of not succeeding. I was scared of not being able to stick to the new lifestyle and scared of failing. I started keeping a blog mainly to see for myself any progress I was making. I wanted to share it with my family and very close friends to begin with, but nobody else for a while. As I started really seeing success and seeing that success continue I felt more and more confident and increasingly strong. Before too long I was ready to share my blog publicly. I was (and still am) amazed at the response I get from those who read. I’ve had so many kind and supportive comments as well as people who find my journey inspiring for their own lives. I had never anticipated that and I’m thrilled that my struggles have in any way been able to benefit others. Now, a year later, I’m 103 pounds lighter. All within 12 months, I’ve seen my weight be in the 300s, 200s and now the top of the 100s. How cool is that? I’ve gone from wearing a 30/32 to almost being able to wear a size 14. I’m more comfortable in a 16 still, but things are a little loose. I’m so happy with my looks right now. I don’t mind having my picture taken and being seen by people I haven’t seen in a while. It’s actually really fun! I have become a strong and dare I say, athletic person, which is a surprise to me. I have become a runner, even running 6 miles at my longest distance so far. This is incredible to me. I’m working out some hip problems right now, but even today I was able to run 2 miles on the treadmill without it being a huge deal. This is amazing! I will continue to pursue this running journey, because it is so empowering. I have regained so much of the confidence and exuberance that had been buried underneath all that weight for so many years. I no longer dread going to social gatherings, or running into people. I’m just so happy with where I am. Doing things is easier, period. Kneeling on the floor, getting in and out of the car, shopping, walking, standing, bending, all of it is so much easier without that extra 100 pounds weighing me down. I have a little ways left before I’m finished with the weight-loss part of this remaking of myself. I know I can do it and I’m not scared that I am not going to be able to keep the weight off. I have used this Lapband as a tool, not a magic fix. I have worked hard, using the tool to make the work easier, but I have worked very hard. Because of that, I know that I will continue to work hard and take my health and the state of my fitness seriously. It’s not something that will take care of itself. It will be something I have to be vigilant about for the rest of my life, which thanks to this journey will be healthier and longer. I am so blessed. I am so thankful.

I did the full t-tapp workout today again. Woo hoo!

It's not silly. It's a legitimate concern. I have lost most of my breast tissue. I started off as a 44 H. 104 pounds later I'm a 36 D. If I'm not wearing a bra, I'm pretty much flat chested. I love not having such big breasts anymore. It was such a hindrance. I couldn't fold my arms, I couldn't sit close to a table. It just was a constant bother. Now I feel normal. I don't mind the deflated breast-thing because a bra fixes the problem enough for me. I was looking at the Victoria's Secret website and there are so many choices in the Very Sexy bra category. Is there a specific one you recommend?

Oh, Jamie, I'm so sorry! I can't imagine the pain you must be going through. Know that we are feeling your pain with you and my prayers will be with you. I don't know if you believe in God or not, but I know that He strengthens me when such overwhelming things happen. I pray that you feel that strength. Please take care of yourself during this difficult time. You are important to many people. (((hugs)))) Melissa

That's a bummer, tapshoes. I hope the unfill gets you to a perfect spot. Oh, and Happy Birthday!

I'm reporting in my exercise done for today! I did a full T-tapp workout (50 minutes) while my toddler was napping. Yay for getting it done! My book came today so I'll have to see what words of wisdom are found inside about running injury free. I was going to get my x-ray on my hip done today but after the standard "Could you possibly be pregnant?" question I decided I'd rather wait until after I get my period this month to make sure I'm not. So I'll go in sometime next week probably.

Aww, thanks, Rhapsody. I miss running too. Today should have been a running day, so I went and walked my two miles on the treadmill. My dd was still not done with her basketball class so I did a couple more miles on the stationary bike. It said I only burned 60 calories on the bike for those two miles. Of course I wasn't going very fast and the resistance was pretty low. It just seems that the treadmill-workout burns way more calories, even walking. Here's the website for Chi Running. The author of it is Danny Dreyer. I ordered the book elsewhere, amazon.com, I think. Maybe it will come tomorrow.

I too love chocolate. I was watching a show yesterday with my hubby and that commercial for Hershey's chocolate came on where the whole scene is liquid chocolate and the people are chocolate, etc. I told him, "That doesn't help me one bit!" I love chocolate. I ate way too much pre-band. Lots of sweet milk chocolate, Hershey's Kisses, Symphony bars, etc. But I have had to change that. I have limited my portions hugely, and what I do eat is dark chocolate. I actually eat some chocolate pretty much every day. I limit myself to a couple of small pieces and make sure it's 60% cacao or greater. I've got some amazing 70% Lindt chocolate in my cupboard right now. I've read up on dark chocolate and how to make sure you're getting one that is actually beneficial to your health and that one fits the bill pretty well. My personality is such that if I completely deprive myself of something it will backfire and I'll only crave it all the more. I'm amazed that I'm able to eat chocolate in small and reasonable amounts. This doesn't mean that I don't think about chocolate a whole lot more than I allow myself to eat it, but it's a big step for me. I also agree that this is a rough time of year for those plagued by chocolate lust! I don't crave the Cadbury eggs, but the Cadbury Mini-eggs are hard to resist. I'll have to make sure they don't come into the house.

Irene, so sorry for that news. I guess it is what it is and hopefully you can adapt and move forward. I haven't run since last Wednesday. In fact, I don't think I've exercised at all, really. Ick. I am going to go walking on the treadmill today while my dd is playing basketball at the gym. I'm waiting for my Chi Running book to try their technique of running before I begin again.