heartfire

I've lost 40lbs since I started the process in March. Almost 15lbs since surgery. Stats below if you want to look.

This is such a beautiful story. If not for the loving decision by our own birthmother to keep her baby alive and make an adoption plan, we wouldn't have become parents after 18 years of marriage! Our beautiful baby is now a beautiful 2 year old with a mind of her own!

UGH! Not feeling so good right now. Came home starving (first mistake), had some leftover chicken enchilada casserole (yumm!), then got into an open bag of chips (second mistake). Instead of taking a few chips and putting the bag away (third mistake), I wanted to see what Giada was cooking on TV and took the bag with me (fourth mistake). Next thing I know, I'm sitting on the couch, with an empty bag of chips (fifth mistake)! Now, I don't look at food as good or bad foods, I look at the choices and I made several bad choices. Having a few chips once in awhile isn't a bad thing. Taking the bag to the living-room and sitting on the couch with it, IS!! I'm now not feeling so good. Over-full and irritated! I've been making good choices and feeling pretty good about things and working on how I make choices and what I eat. I don't even eat chips that often anymore! Granted, they had a couple of grams of Protein, so I guess a couple of good things came from this. I got a dozen grams of protein in with all the servings I had AND I learned that I MUST be more conscious of what I'm doing when it comes to food. Anyway, I'm moving on now. Just needed to put it out there! Thanks!

I got it off of this site. Just do a search for it. It's the title of the thread. I still have some in the freezer and I'll finish it off this week. Sooo good!!

Last week: 196 This week: 195.5 Total Loss: .5 I'm thrilled. I was just hoping to come out the same since I've been bloated all week and was actually looking at a 1/2lb gain. Not much in the exercise department. Having a hard time with that one. Heading out of town this afternoon to go to my mom's. Taking my DD with me. Leaving DH at home. He'll enjoy that! Have a great weekend everyone!

First of all, Kaiser is not full of a bunch of jacknuts. Second, you ARE fully qualified by your BMI alone and your dietitian doesn't know what she is talking about. Third, your PCP works for you and if you want her to refer you to the seminar to get going, then ask her to have her nurse schedule you. I was banded by Kaiser North on August 25th, a full 6 months before I even thought I might start to expect a surgery date. Every single person I have dealt with throughout the entire system has been most helpful and kind. I've even been educating those along the way who had no idea Kaiser was even banding or what it entailed (the band). I understand you're angry. BUT to lump all of Kaiser together in one pot is a bit much. It IS a long process. It's meant to be in order to weed out those who aren't serious and thinking they're in for a "quick fix." Kaiser fully pays for the entire surgery. The only money I've put out are the seminar/class fee ($100) and my co-pays for my appts. and surgery (all of $15 for each, including the surgery!). Kaiser had another problem in that as soon as it was discovered by the general population that they were paying in full for the surgery, they had a TON of people jumping on the Kaiser bandwagon to get surgery. They've since made some changes, one is that you now have to be a Kaiser member for a year before they'll even talk to you about it, second is the classes and appts and diet you have to do before surgery. The ONLY people who determine if you ware qualified for surgery are the Bariatric Surgeons themselves (although the pysch does determine if you're mentally fit for surgery). They look at your file and go from there. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have about the process. I went through the Fresno program so I'm most familiar with that one. But please, ask away! And DON'T GIVE UP!!! Jump through your hoops, see whom you have to see and do what you need to do in order to go through the system. Best wishes!!

Like a couple of others, I've only told a few people. I feel I have a WONDERFUL support system in my DH and my mom and the few friends that I told. I've not told my dad or sister or the rest of my family and don't plan on it. My DH insisted on telling his folks b/c he felt they should know in case something happened during surgery and they've been very supportive as well but I would have preferred them not to know. I'm also a very private person and don't feel every one should know our business. I'm more of an "only need to know basis" type of person. Another, minor reason for not telling the world is that I don't want the constant scrutiny of what I'm eating, how much and what I have or haven't lost, or how fast. That happened on WW and I will NOT go through that again. I was constantly defending what I was eating, how much of it and being asked how much I'd lost. It was nuts! Telling the world or not telling the world, telling only a few or not telling any one is fine. It's up to the person going through the process. You need to do what is best for YOU and only you! I am reading into your post (and I'm not sure I'm taking it right, so bear with me!) that you feel by telling no one or only a few people that there is no support system. If I'm correct, I just want to let you know that my best support system are the few who know about the surgery and support me 100%. Telling everyone (for me) would just be fluff and possible negativity and I don't need that in my life. Thanks for your post! Have a beautiful day! And best wishes on your upcoming surgery!

Thanks for the info. I actually started taking [a different brand] just before surgery. I was just taking it initially to get my intestines back on track after having a ummm, diarrhea episode (sorry!). Then I figured after surgery, I should go back on them to ensure intestinal health after all the liquids, surgical fluids and meds. I didn't know that being on them could help with intestinal illnesses. My biggest fear now is getting the stomach flu! I'll be getting a flu shot again this year too.

I'm looking forward to my next fill too. I'm hungry. I'm looking at a gain this week probably. Slight, about 1/2 a pound but still not the direction I want to go! Last night I played Bunco with the girls and of course there is candy on all the tables. I had some lovely gummy worms and some sort of gummy candy corn and they both were WONDERFUL! I can't remember the last time I had candy. I know remember why I had to stop buying it! I didn't make my self sick and I didn't go overboard but I did have more than "I" felt I should. I managed to stay away from the apple pie for dessert by just leaving. I had to get home to relieve my sitter so that worked out! Are you finding there's more "head stuff" than you thought there would be? I am. Not in an emotional sense per se but more of just a can't resist it kind of thing. Anyway.

You don't need to explain anything, to anyone! IF anyone notices, and I seriously doubt they will, I'd just say you're fine with what you have and you'll go back later if you want more. If you're losing weight, and you're working hard at it, why can't cutting back on the portions at t-day be any different than any other day? No one needs to know about your band if you don't want them to know. Don't stress on the food stuff, focus on the family stuff. Have a beautiful day!

Both of your stories made me smile (and I REALLY needed that!). Congratulations to both of you. And how COOL!!! Keep up the great work!

That all makes total sense. Part of what I don't like about the "rabidness" is that it sometimes makes moms feel bad, for their choices or for something that was out of their hands. Same as the "sides" for working moms and sahms. I don't understand why we are so sure we're "right" that we make other women feel bad or question decisions that they made at the time that was the best for them and their families. I guess that's more where I'm coming from. I am ALL for education and awareness and getting the medical community educated in helping new moms, not hindering them but not when it comes at the price of a mom questioning her decisions constantly and causing guilt. We've got enough guilt that we heap upon our own heads (my own weekend was UGLY!), we don't need it coming from outside sources and from our own sisterhood. Anyway, those are my thoughts. :biggrin: Oh and by "rabidness" I mean the more ugly, in your face, you're wrong and I'm right, nastiness. I'm all for being super supportive of a cause, just be decent about it. Just wanted to clarify! And I wanted to add that I think this has been a great discussion!

Jacqui, sometimes I feel like I'm stalking you! I almost always agree with what you say! LOL! quote - "I think you need a healthy dose of self belief and confidence in your own decisions in this game." - quote My surgeon wants full, 100% Protein, nothing else, for the first 3 months. After that it drops about 5% every 3 months til you're a year out. That doesn't seem healthy to me AT ALL. I mostly eat protein and if it's going to be some time between meals and I'm hungry, I'll have a small, all protein, snack to get me through (which is against the rules!). BUT I've already added back veggies and a little bit of fruit. We get a box of organics from a local farm every week and it about made me crazy to fix all this wonderful, healthy, fabulous tasting veggies for my family and not have some myself. After my six weeks of programed diet, I started adding it back in. I'm so much happier and probably healthier! Sheesh! I thought I was a rule follower but it's looking more and more like I'm a rule breaker! Oh and I'm still drinking w/my meals. I haven't noticed a difference, for me, so I still do it.

I agree. Even as an adoptive mom, I would have loved to breastfeed. That wasn't possible in MY case. Some can. We found out about our daughter 2 weeks before her birth, so I didn't have enough time to prepare. They need to switch her formula! The poor child is going to be malnourished if she's throwing up that much! There are alternative formulas on the market that are great. DD did great on formula. I didn't have to warm it (she hated it warmed) and almost NEVER spit up. We'd mix a batch in the AM and fill bottles as needed. Did the playtex insert things and that was nice and easy. She's rarely sick and it's always mild, when her friends are sick as dogs (having been breasfed babies). I know all of us have our own experiences and our kids will be sick or not, no matter how or what they were fed. The formulas these days are really good, though not equivalent to breastmilk, are close with all the nutrients, etc. DD's never had an ear infection, major illness or anything. AND she's almost 2 1/2! Now when she gets to preschool, whole 'nother story! LOL! I do dislike the 'rabidness' of some of the people of the breastfeeding coalition. Some of us just can't. If I'd had a bio-kid it's not guaranteed that I'd been able to breastfeed. The women in my family have a history of not being able to, either at all, for very long, or very well. I totally agree with breastfeeding IF you can BUT you shouldn't be made to feel bad if you can't or won't.

Oh and I'm almost 8 weeks out from surgery and have noticed an increase in the amount of hair coming out. I started losing weight in March for my insurance classes and am at 40lbs total lost now, so the hair coming out now makes some sense after reading the article above. What's going to happen in a few months scars me if it's already coming out quite a bit now!! :w00t:

I get Biotin in lozenge form from my local health food store. We don't have any of the big-name stores in town (closest is an hour away). I end up chewing them up! Anyway, they are out there in different forms, may just have to look for it.

I voted for covering up but more as a modesty thing than anything else. I don't have a problem with what some have said about no cover but you really couldn't see anything either. I think we've lost a lot of modesty in this age. It's not anything against breast-feeding in public. I'd have done it if I could have. BUT I have seen women "whip it out" for all to see and that to me is where the problem comes in. I also don't agree with all the "breast" advertising, or the "bare it all" in the movies. I also don't agree with young women wearing see through tops with NO undergarments, in public either. (In the mall, hanging for all to see through her gauzy top. DH and I about fell over! And we're not really prudes!) I don't need to see others' body parts or their intimate moments in public either. I'm pretty old-fashioned in my beliefs, I guess.

Awww, thanks y'all! I appreciate it! I really didn't expect to get any posts. I just needed to post what had happened and get it out there and off my chest, ya know? I am moving on. The whole week turned out to be difficult, food-wise. Waiting too long before eating then eating too fast and too much and getting WAY over-full. BUT I know what the problems were and I just plain need to slow it ALL down. I am promising myself that this next week will be better. I've learned some good lessons and now I just need to implement them. Thanks again for all the support! I love this board! :smile:

Last week: 196.3 This week: 196 Wkly loss: 3 ounces! Yep! That's THREE OUNCES! LOL!! Before surgery, that would have ticked me off. I had a rough week though and I know what I did wrong. One was the chips that I posted about earlier in the week. More often that not this week I was rushed for lunches and dinners and was eating WAY too fast and WAY too much and getting over-stuffed. My goal this week is to slow it down. If it looks like I'm going to be rushed, then maybe just eat some Peanut Butter and have a meal later when I can go slower. Another thing that kept happening was I would be STARVING and then being rushed... it was a bad combination. I also feel bloated. Yuck! Oh and NO exercise this week either. So, I know what I need to do differently and I'm going to work on that this week. I'll take the 3 ounces though! It marks a total of 40lbs since I started this process with the classes in March! I also had to drag out some smaller bras from my drawer (from a 42 to 38!) and I'm wearing smaller shorts that I haven't worn in almost 5 years! Very exciting! Have a beautiful day everyone!!

Katie, I'm so sorry that you're having such a hard time right now. I'm VERY glad that you recognize that you need help and are taking steps to get that help. Good for you!! Lots of prayers and hugs are headed your way. Hang in there and get better. Take care and come back as soon as you can!

Well, it's over! I was a little nervous b/c I truly didn't know what to expect. I mean, I've read others' stories but until you experience it yourself, you just don't know. It also seems my surgeon tends to do things a little differently too, so I had NO CLUE what might happen today. For once he was happy with me (he hasn't been thrilled the last 2 appts.). I've lost 12lbs in the 6 weeks since surgery (I weighed 198 on their scale) and I'm healing well. He added 1.5ccs. He had given me 1.5 at surgery and since I had such good restriction for the first 5 weeks, (I just started getting more hungry this last week) he decided that another 1.5 should be fine for now. Fill itself went well. I don't like needles in general and I really don't like this one in particular. Damn thing hurts! Couldn't react though b/c my 2yr old was with me! Felt fine, could swallow Water, etc. By the time I got back to the car, I was feeling sick. For a good hour, I felt sick and just "off." Almost like soon after surgery again. He is totally AGAINST Protein shakes now that I'm on foods. Told me to eat normal but slower to make sure everything was fine. If I was having some problems, go back to soft foods. So, a few hours later, feeling better and since it'd been like 5 hours since I'd last eaten, ate a few bites of something. About 10 minutes later, not feeling so good. Nauseous and stomach just NOT happy. Nothing happened but as I'm driving down the road, I'm looking for places I can pull off if I have too! So not interested in food tonight. Gas is back with a vengeance (I don't understand that part!). I'm going to go AGAINST dr's orders and I'm having a shake for breakfast! I don't care! I don't think I can face eating something in the morning. I'm rarely that interested in food in the AM as it is. Tomorrow, I'm pretty sure it'll be the same! I'll see how it goes at lunch. It may be another shake. We'll see. I'll see him again in 4 weeks and we'll go from there. Anyway, that's my story! LOL!

That's a wonderful story, Heather! I can understand her giving up. After tons of testing, procedures, and lots of money, we decided to adopt and now have a wonderful daughter! She's 2 now and I can't imagine her not being a part of our lives. We were married 18 years when we brought our daughter home from the hospital (we'll be celebrating our 21st next month!) after never thinking we'd be parents. I'm now 40 and DH is 44, since we both have issues, I'd be knocked over by a feather if I came up pregnant now! LOL! I am on Depo shots though to stop my cycle (so very DONE with that!). If I remember right, you're preggers now. How are things going? Is that the reason for the un-fill? How far along are you? I'm excited for you! I love that part of this journey with the band is that some of us who've had trouble and/or couldn't get pregnant before, are able to do so now! It's so exciting!! Take care!

Congratulations Apples!!!! That is so amazing! I'm hoping to be down like you are in a year! Such an inspiration!! I am so happy for you!!

LOL! Bryan! I think that ALL of us have body parts we haven't seen in awhile! LOL!

Oh Marie. I'm so sorry. Thank God you ARE here to post! Thanks for letting us know what's going on. Hang in there. I hope you heal quickly. Please keep posting to let us know how you're doing. I'm so glad you got looked at in time! Take care.