shortgal

There are lots of people who don't eat meat but are still healthy. Eggs can be soft and have protein, some cereals have protein ( like Kashi Go Lean) and you could supplement with a protein drink or a protein bar. Getting 20 mins of outside direct sunlight can help supplement vitamin D and they do have iron pills you can take. But I agree with the other poster maybe you need a small unfill so healthy food is easier to get down. Ask your Dr. about it and the nuttritionist should be able to offer healthy food suggestions.

That's gotta feel great Wendy, not being sick, but fitting into the jeans! I am struggling to get back on track, as we had a box of godiva's that up until last night were unopened and now they are gone. Ouch! That's gonna hurt when I get on the scale. It's so cold that I am hibernating and just not getting out and moving. I need Spring to get here soon so i get out of the house and now more snow is predicted tomorrow. At the minimum, I will just try to maintain until better weather and my walking return! Hope you're on the path to recovery, as least you have smaller jeans to show for your misery of being sick!

I guess the christmas cupcakes won! I have had a bad cold and have been following the old adage "feed a cold, starve a fever" much too literally. I also have been "sitting" way too much. Name............Start........Current........Goal.......To Go CindyG......................190.........................190.................175.....................15 Momto1plus1...............178.......................178......................159.................19 Shortgal.......................176.......................176.....................168.................8

I actually saw my goal weight of 168 for like ONE day in Dec. Then the holidays came and a run in with a box of cupcakes!!! Well, you get the idea. Anyway, I will weigh myself tomorrow and join the new challenge. Winter is a tough time for me. I hate the cold weather and do not get my walking in, so it has to be a lot of food control for me, not easy without a band, but I'll do my best. I always consider it a win for me if I just stay the same!

I understand, no the band is not a magic cure and it doesn;t work for everyone. I hope you get some results once you get the right fill. Good Luck to you.

It sounds like you had a complication of a blood clot. Later your band got too tight and you had an unfill. I don't see a reason why your Dr. can't slowly start to fill your band again to help you lose weight again, as you started to lose weight in the beginning. The band is a process of getting it filled to the right spot for each person. The band does not work for everyone ( I'm one of them) but it sounds like maybe you've stopped trying to let the band help you. What does your Dr. suggest at this point? Has he/she suggested you start getting fills again since you were unfilled in November? I'm sorry you had these problems but maybe all is not lost yet?

Flowers, Walking is exactly what I have been doing to maintain my weight loss. I walk either 3.5 or a five mile route. The weather is slowing down how often I go right now, but some months in the past I have walked over 85 miles for the one month. It's takes that to just maintain for me. That's why I doubt I will lose much more, but I am ok with that, as long as I don't start going back up. If I could give up sweets, I wouldn't have gotten a band in the first place.LOL! The less we weigh, the less we can eat to lose more weight and the weight loss slows significantly, so as our BMI gets lower we generally lose much slower. The last few years before the band, I ate much less than I did when I gained the weight, but menopause hit and I was unable to lose very much as I got older and less active, that's why I got the band. I mostly stick with my November group of band friends. It's not that I don't feel welcome on other threads, while I read this one, I don't often post since I lost my band. I have less in common without having a band and it's just different trying to lose more without one. I'm sure you will figure it all out on what to wear and bring with you, the important thing is to have fun and enjoy yourself and not stress about having the perfect oufit, but one you feel pretty and comfortable in. Not gaining is very difficult when vacationing, boy do I know that! It usually takes me a month to get back down after a vacation. I always wonder how I could gain five pounds in a week but it can take me a month to lose that amount! Been nice chatting with you! I'll be watching this thread for your posts as you return from each cruise.

Flowers, You're BMI is lower than mine. I'm a shortie and still very much overweight but happy with the smaller me. I had my band only eight months with very little restriction and then the band had to be removed. I lost about 45 pounds after surgery and I'm down 60 from my highest weight. On my short frame, that is several sizes down, but I still wear a fairly large ( but regular size). Without my band I am not optimistic about losing more weight but so far I have been able to maintain what I lost. Just staying at the same weight will be enough for me to handle now. I need petites which are a cut a bit smaller than regular sizes and can wear 14 to 16 depending on the fabric, cut, name brand etc. I am slightly smaller in the shoulder and waist and a little bigger in the belly, hips, thighs, but not a big difference between the top and bottom half, which does make shopping easier. If I had a tummy tuck, I would be down a pants size easily. At first, I found buying new clothes was hard. I didn't even know where to look if I wasn't buying plus size and found it all stressful. I am quickly getting much better at it now! LOL! You have six months to lose some more weight and that always makes the search for clothes easier!

Enjoy the christmas party, you are sure to get many compliments, remember you've earned them all! Hope the wound gets better soon.

Flowers, If you're 5'7" ( you lucky devil) then the regular Eddie Bauer size would be perfect. They also have a cute yellow sundress that was available ( don;t know what sizes are left). I have it and wear it with a light sweater to cover my arms ( so many places have a/c I need it anyway). The fact that so many dresses are sleeveless is very frustrating to me. I've seen the QM2 in Newport for the fireworks there. One of the local fishing fleets does a fireworks cruise and we were anchored right next to the QM2. Magnificent ship! People dress more casually on cruises than the old cruising days ( my first cruise was in like 1965 and I was about 12 or 13 then, I guess) but you're right some ships are just dressier than others and the length and places the ship are going figures into how dressy it is. Another catalog for nice packable clothing is "Travel Smith" lots of easy to pack knits. Have a ball!

Hi Flowers, I read this thread but don't post much. Wanted to respond to your clothing dilemna. Eddie Bauer has several dresses on sale right now. I ordered two of them. Both are knits ( which can be very forgiving with 10 pounds either way unlike other material). Both were $40 each. One is black and has a wrap/cross over style v neck top with three quarter sleeves. Comes in both petite and regular sizes ( not sure which you need). Black is always in style. Dress it up with jewelry, which you can use at anysize and maybe a cute new pair of shoes. You might also want to check some online site like Lands End and Talbots online in their "overstock" or "outlet" section. I find lots of bargains this way. Like jeans at talbots for $23.99. Many times they have both summer and winter clothing available in the "outlet" or "overstock" section. A pair of nice black slacks and you can change the top ( or add a sweater) and different accessories for a new look. For a dressy night, one of those fancy wrap, blouses with the portrait collar and rhinestone buckle in white or pink would look beautiful with black pants. Don't know if you wear capris for daytime, but a pair of white ones and then several different sweaters or blouses would also work with cute sandals. Ebay has lots of cute purses to help change the look. Stagger the sizes of the purses and you can nest them inside each other for packing. I bought a black and white toile purse from ebay and I have another black cloth one with small green palm trees on it, that I got in Charleston, S.C. I always compliments on them. Your cruise on the QM2 sounds great. I would love to go on that ship. Where does that cruise go? You'll have a wonderful trip.

Shalee, You look great. How are you feeling now after your tummy tuck? I read some of your PS thread and it sounded like you had a tough time. Hope things are better now. I'll bet you're thrilled with the results. Scarecrow, Nice job. I bet you went down many sizes especially in the waist! Keep posting everyone. It's so much fun to see you.

Bon Voyage back to Israel, Bandpal. Thanks for sharing your trip "home" with us.

How did I miss this thread? You all look fabulous! What amazing transformations! I love how happy everyone looks in the after pics. Like many of you I avoided being in photos for years and now I don't mind so much. I've never considered myself very photogenic but my pics come put much better now than before. My weight has been within the same five pounds since the band was removed in Aug. Starting weight at surgery 216 ( highest weight 230) and 170 now. I can shop in the petite section of regular clothing stores now and I can walk five miles! We went to a wedding Dec 5th and I was able to dance all night. That felt good. That is a big change from a few years ago. And I too, have elephant skin on my thighs!

I've done that too, Foofy. Do the pants really look better just because they were on sale? I think it's easier to talk about the deal we got insterad of accepting the compliment. I usually say something like, "well the dress is a little tight" or "it'd look better if my arms were less flabby". Maybe the person didn't notice my arms, so why point it out? I'm working on really believing that the person really thinks I do look good, and that's it's just not something they feel they should say. Just another one of the many "head" things to work on!

Bandpal, I always enjoy reading your posts. It is so hard to see our parents that were once so strong become feeble, I guess part of the difficulty is that we know the same fate might await us, sooner than we hope. I struggle with compliments, too. I know I should say "thanks" when I get one, but I often find myself pointing out some flaw or how I have not been able to get to my desired weight. I am practicing just saying "thanks" but it's not always easy. An abundance of food is everywhere in the U.S. Easily attainable, cheap and ready to eat! Enjoy your time with your family and you do look great in your photos! I'm sure you feel great, too!

Hi Kendra, So glad you checked in with the November group. Great to hear that you are feeling well enough to work and you're being proactive in your treatment. My son's wedding is past already! It was a wonderful, fun day and I was happy with my dress ( remember what a big concern that was a year ago?). You shared your story of your daughters wedding with me. Since my band was removed in Aug. I am doing fairly well by at least maintaining what I lost. Thanks for letting us know how you are. We're thinking of you and you're always in our prayers.

I'm truly impressed with anyone that can post a weight loss this week. I've had two setbacks. The first was re-starting my hormone patch. The hot flashes were debilitating, having them all day and all night, so I caved and put on a patch and promptly gained three pounds. The patch messes with fluid retention and blood sugars ( which was why I was trying hard to avoid them). Then Thanksgiving and my b'day came! We went to Las Vegas, our daughter lives there, for the holiday and ate and drank and basically enjoyed ourselves, a lot! So I find myself with an additional three pounds to lose. So I am up six pounds! I hope I am back on track. I am watching what I eat and walked today (I did not walk while we were away). Oh yeah, and I pulled the patch off as soon as I weighed myself! Bracing myself for the return of the hot flashes! LOL!

I haven't read Shalee's PS thread this past week. I'll check it out. The lower body procedures are a tough recovery. The incisions and removal of fat go deeper and that makes recovery longer and more challenging. I'll check out her thread tomorrow. The last time had the foot problems I was heavier but I was also working all day on my feet with the wrong shoe. This time it was just me trying to help the blister that caused the problem, so I'm mad at myself about that.

I only know of one pool close to me , the community center and I hear it's kind of gross, so I don't know about that as an alternative. If the weather cooperates tomorrow, I might try a slow walk, so there is less pounding on the foot and see how it goes. It was feeling better today, but I don't want to push it too soon and makes things worse. In the meantime, I am just being very careful with food and keeping track of calories.

Sades, I know it was easy to get discouraged but you just had to be patient for the band to work. Trust me, I know how long you waited to finally get restriction and you had to be patient a long time, glad your time has finally arrived. Cindy, I had a blister on the bottom of my left foot, so to change the way my foot would strike the ground, I thought I'd get out my old orthotics and wear them in my sneakers for a day to help the blister. I had the orthotics made many years ago when I was on my feet a lot assisting surgery and ended up with plantar facsititis. After my foot got better, whihc took a long time, I stopped wearing the orthotics and haven't had problems for over 15 years. Well, the left foot has apparently changed over the years, so the orthotic must have stretched that ligament again. It can be very painful AND the worse part is, getting rid of plantar fascitis can take a long time. It was much easier to maintain my weight with the walking of course, so without it, I have to be very careful what I eat. It's hard that this is happening just before the holidays. Plus, I enjoyed the walking, so I miss it. I have an appt with the podiatrist, so we'll see if he can help. The one I went to years ago has left the area. Too bad, becasue I liked her methods of using ultrasound and steroid injections into the foot. I don't know if that stuff is still done or if this new Dr. even uses those methods. Frustrating for sure.

Name............Start........Current........Goal.......To Go CindyG...........191...........191...........178........13 Sades............186...........185...........175........11 Stephanie........175...........172...........155........18 shortgal.........173.6.........172...........168.........4 Bandpal..........172.26........171.93........150........21.93 Momto1plus1......187...........185...........174........11 lindata..........174...........174...........169........5 I've seen the scale go as low as 171 this week, so hopefully I "own" at least 172, so i'll post that. Seems I go down two pounds and back up one, so that's how I'll post my loses. I have injured my foot and have to take a break from my walking. That's not good. I have an appt with a podiatrist next week. Without my walking, I have to be VERY careful about food. :thumbup:

Thanks Steph, I wish I could sue him. Unfortunately what really went wrong is hard for patients to find out and in the US I must prove that I have been harmed physically. It's not enough that I am out $18000 big ones! I do know he should have done a barium test and didn't. I think he didn't because it would have shown something he didn't want me to know. He did an x-ray and then said we have to go back in. I should have insisted on more testing, but I am not the Doc ( altho I was suspicious) so I trusted him. It has not been too difficult to maintain my weight ( altho) I was very scared about that at first, but losing more is VERY hard and I have to work really hard for every pound. That's why my challenge goals are so tiny! Because of my height, I would have to weigh under 125 to be "normal" weight, so I guess I will settle for overweight. At my age, it's ok. I feel and look much better now so at least I got something for my $$$.

I am not quite a year yet ( Nov 28th) but it has been a crazy ride. Never reached restriction with over 9cc's in my band. Second surgery in Aug., woke up with no band. Doc says it eroded, I say bulls**t to that. If it did erode, it was because he much too much fill without doing an x-ray or barium swallow before I got to 9cc's. Lost 45 pounds in the first six months ( yes, without restriction) because I followed eating instructions, like two days of liquids after a fill. Anyway, I have maintained my weight loss by walking, a lot. So almost a year later, I am out $18,000 (I was self pay) lost 45 pounds and walk my a** off to maintain it. Surprising I feel great! I enjoy the walking. Just still a little mad about the band experience and especially the lost $$$. Amazing the different experience everyone has with the band.

Thanks Shalee, I have been following your journey on your thread. My recovery should be fairly simple, a face lift "supposedly" is fairly easy compared to the body procedures. I wish I could focus (spend the money on my thighs) first but you can't hide the face in clothes. Will you post photos on your thread? It is amazing to me to see flat tummies on everyone and how much skin and belly fat can be removed.