luigismama

Yes, it sounds like you're way too tight. If you're having trouble getting water down you are probably on your way to dehydration as well. You can still lose weight and get a little saline taken out of your band. Please take care of yourself and let us know how you make out.

First of all, congrats on your amazing weight loss! I completely agree with you that the mental ramifications of this journey are much more difficult than the physical. I'm a little over halfway to my goal, and I have a flabby tummy, flappy batwing arms, droopy boobs, and I'm still not used to people (mostly men) paying more attention to me. But I still struggle every day to make healthy food choices, make my health a priority, make time for exercise and activity, and not want to give up when I have a bad day. This is one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself, and I would do it again in a heartbeat, but no one could have prepared me for how much I relied on food for EVERYTHING in my life- comfort, celebration, sadness, anger, loneliness, stress, etc. Until I had the band I had no awareness I would eat food just because I didn't want to waste it! I make sure to take care of my mental health in all this as well as my physical health- get massage, acupuncture, mediate, and journal. This site helps me get back on track, laugh, commiserate, and know that I'm not alone.

I use my friends' Wii Fit, and it's been SO much fun. My husband heard me talk about it so much he asked if I wanted one for my birthday next month. I LOVE the balance games and the hula hooping. I haven't tried the aerobics, but I thought the yoga was very interesting because it forces you to really balance between the two feet which you can't necessarily feel on your own. I just got Jillian Michaels's workout DVD and haven't tried it yet since our DVD player just broke :party: Cross your fingers that I get one for my birthday! And the weight was dead-on. I am now obese and halfway between morbidly obese and overweight- woo hoo!

Kris, I was on the same side maybe a couple of rows behind you! I am willing to try these meetings out for a few more times, and next time I'll be sure to look for you there. I looked around my kitchen and realized a lot of crap food that is easy to get down snuck its way into my life again. Can't do that anymore :party: How is your journey going? How is everyone else doing?

bohica, we DO have the same taste in music!! Me Against the Music- Indian remix O Saya and Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire Let's Get it Started- Black Eyed Peas (somewhere in the beginning) Around the World- Daft Punk Sexy Back- JT Milkshake- Kelis Hey Ya- Outkast Maria remix- Ricky Martin Filthy/Gorgeous- Scissor Sisters That's Not My Name- Ting Tings It's Not Right But It's OK- Whitney Houston dance remix I want to get some Rihanna tonight!

So Watelu had surgery today- YAY! Hope it went well. For those who are interested in knowing how the support group meeting went, it was...interesting. If you were a pre-op patient you got really nothing out of it in my opinion. We met afterwards, just the practice manager and post-op patients. She heard feedback and people's opinions, and the meetings are going to be run differently starting in March. The first part of the meeting is going to be post-op issues with a limited number of pre-op patients attending so they can hear about some of the issues people can have. Then the last half will be the presentation, speaker, or whatever. There was talk of starting a mentoring program pairing interested pre-op and post-op patients, but I'm not sure where that ended up. I passed along the Baystate info from KMartin for a couple of people who wanted to look elsewhere for support. I'm willing to give this new format a try, but I need to make sure I'm getting something out of this. Can't wait to hear what other people thought or other support groups tried!

Thanks for the info, Crystal and KMartin! I'll plan on being at the 2/23 meeting for PVSA. Maybe KMartin and those who choose to join her at Baystate can report back to us here what you thought of the post-op group. Then maybe we can start a real discussion about whether to form our own group, petition PVSA to go back to the original format, or go to the Baystate one. Basically, this is for US to get the support WE need dealing with and living with the lapband- we shouldn't feel obligated to stick with PVSA's format if it doesn't work for us. Switching topics- I had my first cold with the lapband since June, and boy, did I have fun on that first day! My band was so tight that I couldn't even get cold medicine down. Thankfully, hot tea, and some low-sodium chicken noodle soup got me back to normal. For those who are wondering how many fills it takes, I had 4 before I felt like I had proper restriction, but everyone is different. Now I need ot commit to exercise and cutting the crap I let sneak back into my diet out. That's why I need post-op support pals!!

I was going to ask what people thought of the meeting. I thought it was on Tuesday, so I showed up a day late! I was disappointed to hear that they were combining the meetings in the first place. I'd like to go to the next one- anyone know when it is? If it's as much of a bust as you guys said it is I think we can petition the office to separate them again. And if not, what's to stop us from creating our own post-op support group? We could meet at a coffee shop, rotate through people's houses, or maybe someone has an office space or meeting place we can use.

If you do a search on iPod I think there was a post several months ago where a bunch of people shared their playlists. Generally, I like anything with a good beat and a quick tempo to keep me motivated: Beyonce Rihanna Britney Spears The Ting Tings Kanye West Justin Timberlake Arctic Monkeys Black Eyed Peas Madonna

Yes, the 4oz. ones are excellent- I think I have Glad-Ware. I also have 1c ones from OXO and 1.2c from Rubbermaid. I can't eat 1c of food, but sometimes I can eat 3/4c so I underfill them. I also got some pretty silver spoons and forks at TJ Maxx. I think they are supposed to be demitasse spoons and shrimp forks, but I feel like an adult using them. Good luck!

Yes, the last couple of weeks have been my biggest challenge yet. I am indulging in many sweets and not exercising regularly. I am pretty much at optimal fill, so I can't eat too much of anything. I've actually lost weight and broken through my plateau. I want to keep this momentum up, so I gave away all the cookies I made and I'm going to the gym tomorrow- in a snowstorm. Although I'm a little disappointed in my choices lately I know I'm doing MUCH better than I ever did without the band. We'll get through this holiday season and maybe even lose weight for the first time!!

Congratulations! That's excellent news. You obviously worked really hard and will continue to hace success. Thank you for sharing your good news and insipring the rest of us to keep it up.

Thank you so much for your post. This was exactly what I needed to read tonight, and it inspired me to post for the first time in weeks. I've lost almost 50 pounds and 2.5 sizes, and now I'm struggling with a plateau. They're natural and everyone has them, but I had no idea that Cookies and brownies would go down so easily- I thought I only had to worry about ice cream! I don't have optimal fill yet- I get another one on Monday, so I can still eat 1-1.5 cups of food at a time. This is the point in my former weight loss efforts (not that I ever lost this much before at once) when I would sabotage myself and gain it all back plus some. I'd feel good about my weight loss, relax my standards, and start the slippery chocolate-coated slope backward. Thankfully, with the band, I can't binge nearly as much as I used to be able to. I know I have to get support around how I use food to self-soothe beyond visiting these boards and going to the once-a-month support group at which I can never get a word in edgewise. But, I've managed to stay the same weight give or take a couple of pounds, and now I have an exercise buddy. We've stepped up our workouts from 30 minutes 2x a week to 45 minutes 3x a week. I also go to an aqua aerobics class 2x a week, so I'm hoping the increased exercise and fill will help me get to 50+ pounds by the end of the year. I've also started thinking about what I want to do when I get to my goal weight. This is a journey, and we'll all get there. Maybe I'll be sidetracked by sweets from time to time or get out of the rhythm with exercise, but I did this to succeed, not just to try. Instead of having the ice cream I want right now, I'll have a small glass of milk and go to bed...with a little more Protein in my body!