shortgal

Hi everyone, Shortgal is alive and well. I have settled into a good place, not as low a weight as I should be or want to be, but it's ok. I am still walking and I'm confident that is the reason I am still down 50 pounds from my highest weight. I gain a bit and then work at getting it off, like a normal person. I use a smartphone app called "Lose it" to track my calories when I need to take off a few pounds. It even scans the barcode on packaged food and automatically enters the calories. I have found new healthy foods to try like quinoa and I love fruit. My biggest challenge is sugar, I still like my Desserts. I try to opt for sorbet instead of ice cream, so still trying to make small changes in eating. I am consistent with walking, with weather being my one obstacle, too hot or too cold and my walking suffers, but I am still racking up the mileage. Good to see you all posting on here, cannot believe it is almost five years. I am now a grandmother to two. My grandaughter is 2.5 and my grandson is almost a year old. Gotta stay healthy for them.

Hey Bandpal! Just happened to see your post! First I want to say you look great. I admire your determination to make all these great changes in your life. I cannot give you band advice, but as someone who fought exercise tooth and nail her whole life I can tell you what a difference walking has made for me. Without my walking i would have most likely had to convert to another WLS and I would miss out on all the great benefits walking gives me. Increased stamina, cardiac benefits and generally I just feel better about myself. I can sometimes suffer from S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disease) and the benefit of the added sunlight from being outside has really improved that as well. They're are still many times that I would rather NOT go for a walk but I can say every time I do go, I always feel better later. My walking journey actually began on a vacation in Italy. We would drive to little "walled" villages and you needed a special permit to drive inside the city walls, whihc we did not have, so we parked outside and walked. For protection, these villages were always placed on hills (so they could see the enemy coming). We walked a lot!!! And this vacation was BEFORE I had my band, so I carried a lot of extra pounds up those hills. We ate and drank a lot on that vacation and yet when I got home I had not gained any weight!!! It was the walking! When I got home, I started walking on a walking/jogging path near me. The first few times, I didn't get in much more than 1.5 miles. Slowly, I made it my goal to get a little farther until I could complete the whole 3.5 miles. then I walked a little faster and then I starting repeating a section to bring it up to five miles. So my advice is continue on your path of healthy eating and add walking or jogging to your routine! No special equipment needed except a good pair of walking/running shoes. Good Luck Bandpal.

Hey who made that tree fall? Hi Ladies, Just checking in and saw this thread. Shortgal is fine and surviving withour her band. I know, I have trouble believing it, too. Of course sometimes it's hard, but overall it's ok. I am still overweight, but there was no way I was ever going to be "normal weight" at my age and height even with a working band, so it's ok. I'm still close to what I weighed when the band came out 175. I look better and I feel better. I am still walking, weather permitting, which has been the thing I thing saved me. Also from dieting before and after the band, I learned to eat differently and I make better choices now, MOST of the time. I have become a grandmother!!! My daughter gave birth to a baby girl in March. She wasn;t due until June,(like right around now) so the baby was a micro preemie at 1.5 pounds! But after 13 weeks in the NICU, she came home and is 5 pounds now. It was great to read about how you're all doing.

the Dr. said it eroded. I say HE screwed up. I never had restriction and the band was filled a lot. He never did an x-ray or flouroscopy until I had issues. Doesn;t matter. I read my answer to the original poster and since my response in Feb. I realize I am still eating the way I advised her to and still maintaining my weight. Actually, I think i eat more now than ever. At least I don;t feel deprived very often. I walk as often as the weather allows. With or without your band, you'lll do much better overall if you start doing something for exercise. For me that is walking. I like it ( most times) and even when I don;t want to go, I know I feel better after I do. Good luck with your journey on losing weight.

Marie, First, congratulations on your marriage. I'm sorry about the stress you've been going through and the problems with your band. I have been living without my band for 1.5 years now and I know how hard it is, but it is possible to at least maintain your weight without gaining more and I would probably start there. Some of the changes I have made living without my band is to substitute one food for a lower calorie option. Check out the book, " Eat this, Not that" for ideas. I substitute lower calorie Cereal and look for ones that have the most Fiber. Use non fat milk ( which I measure) and I always measure out the serving of cereal. Lunch: Cafe Steamers by Healthy Choice followed by a piece of fruit. or Tuna (packed in Water, not oil, but drained) and always use Whole Wheat bread or whole wheat pita pockets. I use a limited amount of mayo as I prefer my tuna on the dry side anyway. Snacks are often low calorie rice cakes with sugar free jelly and in the winter have the snack with a cup of hot coffee or tea which helps fill me up. I also have canned peaches or pears ( the lite sugar type) on hand for a snack. Anything that is a "trigger" food must be kept out of the house completely. Cravings: Get the donut, but share it with someone or get two munchkins. Always buy the smallest size of any "bad" food you eat. Example: at the movies, I like Twizzlers but the package is too big at the movies, so I buy the small pack at the drug store and bring it in my purse. If I want popcorn, I pop a 100 calorie snack bag and carry a bigger purse! I no longer keep bags of pretzels or boxes of crackers etc in the house but always have apples, pears or oranges available. Steam a few small (like fingerling size or the small red ones) potatoes with dinner instead of having a whole potato. Make only what you need to eat at that meal, avoid having leftovers b/c you will go back for seconds. Always have one or two vegetables with dinner prepared in a healthy way. My last piece of advice is to walk, if you can or whenever you can. Park farther away at the mall or work. TAke the stairs when you can or invest in a pedometer ( they are not expensive) to keep track of how many steps you take in one day. Make it a game to walk more steps each day until you get as close to 10,000 steps a day as you can. I would concentrate on maintaining first b/c trying to lose is hard and will add more stress and that can add to weight gain which will only stress you even more! I make plenty of mistakes and eat things I shouldn't but I try really hard to get right back on track and not let that day turn into a week. I wish you well and I hope some of my suggestions work for you. Perhaps they will help you until you can get more fill back in your band.

I LOVE it! I am going to use that photo in my head as a visualization on days I struggle with cravings. I will just picture myself as Wonderwoman that no cookie can conquer! Thanks Bandpal, you're the best!

Aw shucks, thanks! I still obsess about all the things "wrong" with my body but I do notice how many things are much improved! It's great to check in on the November group even though only a few seem to check in anymore, glad you did! Keep up the good work, it's so good to see your success and happiness with the new "half" you.

That's great that your maintaining Bandpal, if you were still losing you might disappear completely! Congrats on being HALF the man you used to be!

Jill, Don't be so hard on yourself! I used to believe that if I just had a working band, then this whole weight thing would be a breeze and I wouldn't struggle so much, but you know, I see lots of banded people AND gastric bypass people that still struggle. I guess for some of us, food will always be an issue. Little things I've learned: A cup of coffee in the afternoon can get me through late afternoon until dinner time. An apple fills me for an hour. Treats (sweets) need to be occasional, not everyday. I look for the best choice when several items are presented in front of me. (Ok, at least most of the time, I do). I splurge once in awhile, mostly if I've walked a lot over that week to offset it. All this effort and I am still overweight, but I am way better off than I was a few years ago, so I'll take it! And in MHO 158 is not fat, but I totally understand that you want to be back to the lowest you've been. I have four pounds to get back to my lowest (which is definitely higher than 158) and it's like pulling teeth to get there!!! Hopefully when the weather gets better and I start walking regularly, that will happen! Good Luck to us both.

Wish I liked the treadmill, have a really nice one, but I get bored so fast on it. I should be as disciplined with food as I am with Christmas decorations, b/c they are always down and away by New Year's day, exception is the wreath on my door, which is due to come down this weekend. That's the trick Janet, limit how many days we celebrate and get right back on track.

My strategy this year for the holidays was NOT to let the holiday become a whole month, but rather just a few days. That makes a big difference. If I want a few holiday treats, I back off the wine and go with a diet drink or water. I really believe this is what "naturally thin" people do, but we just never noticed the subtle changes they make. Like I said it will always be a struggle and if I expect it to be hard, then there are no surprises. Desdemona: Howdy neighbor!

Yeah, I still check a few threads ON LBT every now and then. Holidays are tough for everyone, band or no band. Plenty of times, I know for sure I have head hunger and not "real" hunger. I'm working on my "head" for sure. All people with addictions can slide back into it, so I try to be vigilant. I'm a binge type. I can be good for a long time and then boom, I hit a binge. Then I have to work hard to get it off. Still way harder to get it off, than keep it off, so I remind myself of that. Luckily, I love the walking and miss it when I can't go, so I don't worry about losing the momentum of it. Thanks for saying Hi and glad you're doing well.

Hi Janet!!! I'm doing very well. Can't lose any more weight without the help of a band or other restriction method, but I am maintaining and I'll take that! Most of the year (winter's tough here in CT) I walk, a LOT. 3.5 to 5 miles at a time and at least four times a week, sometimes more if the weather cooperates and that has made a big difference in helping me maintain. It will always be a struggle, but I see even with a band many people have the same struggle, so I guess I have to accept that it will always be hard work.

Hi Everyone! I wanted to update you on my status since losing my band after having it only eight months. It's been almost 1.5 years since losing my band. I am holding steady on my weight. I admit, it's not easy and sometimes is a bigger struggle than other times. My walking has been a tremendous help both for maintaining my weight and my mental health. It has also helped shape my body and I find I have a real waistline now! I wish I had lost more weight before losing the band, but not sure I would be able to maintain that lower weight anyway without the help of a band or some restrictive surgery. I still have a big fear of gaining the weight back and if I need to at some point I will consider another surgical option. Oh and I am happy to announce I am going to be a grandmother!!! My daughter is expecting a girl in June. Hope all the November Nymphs are well.

Glad the second time was the charm!

You look great Shalee! Total transformation. Have all the issues from the tummy tuck been fixed or resolved? I remember you had some problems with healing.

I've chosen an "OLD" thread in the hopes of reaching as many November people as possible. I have come upon a web site called "WISH UPON A HERO" after seeing it featured on a news show. People in need ask for a wish and people can grant the wish. Now many of these wishes can be frivilous and some are just plain NOT going to get granted. I mean no one is going to pay off someone's mortgage!LOL! BUT many of these people just need some clothes for their kids or for themselves and some have simple requests such as grocery coupons, that can be mailed to them. Right now there are many wishes for Easter gifts for their children. As you can imagine many of these people are in areas that were hit hard by the economy or natural disasters, so they are spread all over the U.S. If any of you can spare a few mins. to look over the site, you can also do an advanced search and look for people in your own state, that might be easier and save on possible shipping costs. Of course some of the people can be scammers, so please be cautious with any donations of cash and the site does "certify" some people with wishes. They are designated with a red star next to their name and you can do a search of only "certified" members. If you have old clothes (you outgrew from your weight loss) or clothes your children have outgrown, many of these people would be grateful to receive them. You can also register with "Freecycle.org" where people give away good items instead of filling a landfill with them and perhaps you can pass a free item from Freecycle to a person in need. I feel bad for many of these people who cannot afford food for their families and hope this messages reachs some people on the forum that might want to help a few needy people in the state you live. My husband and I recently granted a wish for a military family that needed gas money to visit family out of state. Thanks for reading this Nymphs and if you're able to help someone, thanks for that.

Bandpal: I KNEW you'd make it to goal. I agree a small unfill once you reach goal makes sense and not risk being too tight and having your band slip. You can increase your food intake a bit for maintenance and that might help avoid the feeling of a need to binge. Cindy: So glad you found your dress! What color? We'll be expecting photos for sure. Wendy: Looks like you'll be at goal before this Summer challenge ends, good for you! For me, I'm struggling a bit now, I make mostly good food choices but snacking a bit too much and my walking suffered with this terrible weather we had here in New England this year, so I'm up about five pounds. Weather is breaking so I've had a few good 3.5 mile walks, hopefully the frequency of those walks can increase now and I can lose those five pounds. I know I become much more active in general in good weather! Good Luck in the challenge Nymphs!

Bandpal, You're close enough to goal to be a winner already, in my book! It's just a matter of a little time and you'll be there, the exact date of it all happening is not really significant. Great job! It's interesting to see how different everyone's lapband journey has been.

I would NEVER want to bet against you Bandpal! Hope you make it.

Bandpal: THAT analogy cracked me up!

I am so sad to hear this news. Kendra was a member of our November 2007 group of bandsters (the November Nymphs) and I feel so fortunate to have known her. Kendra shared stories of her daughters weddings to me, as I had an upcoming wedding for my son, which finally took place last Sept. I'm sorry that all our prayers and "Boot Kicking the cancer" could not save her. My sincere condolences to her family.

What you should ask for is a "PPI", which is a "proton pump inhibitor" or an acid reducer. Your pharmacy "chemist" should know what that is. Here in the US, some are OTC (over the counter) some are still prsecription strength ( like Aciphex, which I used to take). I know your health care system is different there in AU, but this is some of the problems we will face in the US if we change over to a national health care system, we all might be waiting too long to get tests that would we get within days here. I watch this thread, but don;t post often, I hope you get help soon Katy.

It's gotten worse the older I get! Can't wait for spring or at least March!

Shalee, Good to hear you are finally feeling better and able to enjoy that flat tummy! I think we all overindulged over the holidays, I know I did ( can you say godiva? LOL) but I did manage to stay within a couple pounds. Wendy and Linda, We are not going to get into this height thing, are we? Because when it comes to short, I will win, but I know all too well how it affects our sizes. I am at 175 today and I wear a size sixteen. Now that could be a 12 or 14 if I had a tummy tuck, because I get a bigger size to fit the belly fat. Oh well, it's better than it was 14 months ago. Without my band, I am kind of surprised that holding my weight has not been that big a struggle, some days are harder than others but I think my body likes this weight. I wish it liked 20 pounds less, better!!!! But then I'd need all new clothes again. I have not been very motivated to lose more weight. I think I am tired of it and just want a rest from counting calories. Winter doesn't help either, I just want to hibernate, so I'm not moving much. Looking forward to spring! Name........Start......Current......Goal......To Go CindyG......................190....................190.............175 ................15 Momto1plus1..............178...................176.............159.... ...........17 Shortgal......................176...................175..............168...............7 Shalee04...............178...............178..........168...........10