marivan

I have found this to be really helpful in kicking those times when you just can't get back on track. I find that the first day of Protein drinks is pretty easy, as I am so sick of food and don't get that hungry now. Good luck and let us know how you get on! The kick of seeing the pounds go as well as tightening up your pouch is worth it. Mary

Hi Unshackled. I read your profile, and you should be proud that you have lost what you have so far. Take heart that you are still going in the positive direction. As many have said, the band is a tool to help us when will power can't. But we still need that a bit. Does your hospital not have any after care programs to support you? It sounds like you need some pep talks and help in moving forward. It's a New Year again, and often a time that feels like a clean slate. Don't promise yourself anything but that you will eat healthily and make an effort to use your Wii at least three days a week to start. Once you get it as a habit, you won't want to stop. I would also find a support group in your area to make yourself more accountable. Maybe the hospital, or a separate group that has formed. It's worth a try. They could give you some ideas of how they cope. I know when I get down I come on these forums and read other people's stories and ideas, and I get a renewed surge to succeed. Don't compare yourself, but do your best. Take care and post again! Mary

Hello fellow slow losers. I haven't posted for ages, but I'm happy that you are all still working towards your goals. I went on my trip to Scotland and not only did I not gain weight, but for some unexplained reason came home 7 pounds lighter. I was amazed, but know that I didn't eat any more than normal. I think part of it was the portions that my in laws were eating and putting on my plate! They must have thought I had gotten some bug or something, as I left food (a lot) at every meal. Managed to catch a bad cold at the end of the holiday too and ended up home sick for two weeks. Turned out it was pneumonia. That helped me lose a few more pounds. I have to say that it has been two years November since I got my band and I used to be really upset at the slowing of the weight loss, but I am so happy with how I am doing, and the progress I have made that I am not stressed about it any longer. I have a little more than 10 pounds before I reach that magic number of 200 pounds, and then seven more when I've lost 100. There was a time when I would be depressed to be so close and so far, but I'm not really worried. I know now that I will get there, and the when will take care of itself. I was on a seven month plateau this year and in the past I would have given up and started eating crap and then gained back all of what I have lost. I just stopped weighing myself for a while and when I finally got on the scale again I thought I had gained weight and realised that I lost six pounds and was in another number group! (I mean I said 227!!! oh shit. then I realised that I was 234 last time I looked) I'm thrilled now that I am wearing clothes in 18 in most shops. XL in some still, but they aren't "fat lady" shops. And recently I went to a midnight madness sale with my husband to buy a warm winter coat. The one I wanted only had one in my size and it was red. I thought "darn, not any black or brown ones" My husband said "try on the red one" and I did and you know what, colour suits me! I have had so many compliments about this coat. It's just a down jacket, but I think it is such a change for me to be wearing colours that it makes me look and feel so much better! I hope any slow losers can get some hope that it does happen, and we just put one foot in front of the other and we will eventually get to the end of our journey. We just have to keep walking. Happy New Year everyone! Mary

Good luck Sharon, I found it a great help. It gave my weight loss a boost, it made my pouch smaller and it helped me see the destructive way that I was sabotaging myself. Let us know how you get on! Mary

Hi lasonyadj, If you get the opportunity to get a new band, as it sounds like the current one isn't working that well for you, then I'd certainly go for it! And many people have said that the band is just a tool, one like the counselling etc that we should all go through. All of us that got the lap band wouldn't have gone through with this if we could lose weight any other way, so if you still need help, I say get it. It's taken me a long time, but I am slowly but surely modifying my habits and thinking and eating and moving more like a thin person. Even though I'm no where near where I need to be yet. You sound like you are doing all the right things, if you can get that support from your surgeon, that is great and will surely help. The main thing is to keep all of the good things you are doing up, the wieght has to come off eventually. Good luck and let us know what happens!

I know what you mean, I think there are a few of us that just can't understand why the weight doesn't come off with all the exercise and healthier eating we are doing. I'm going to a doctor (not my lap band clinic) and he doesn't believe that I am not mindlessly eating, and therefore eating a lot more than I am aware of eating. I can't convince him otherwise. In fact, I've gotten to the point where I actually forget to eat and a lot of the time am completely not interested in eating. I think it proves that we are all different and our bodies have their own ideas about the weight we should be. (But 225 is not where I want to be!) I've tried drinking tons more Water, eating more Protein in the form of Beans etc at every meal. Adding Omega 3 fat to my daily menu. None of it has made any difference. My body will lose about a pound a month if I'm lucky. After seven months of a plateau, I finally took off 10 pounds over three months, but it has slowed right down again. I'm concentrating on keeping up with my weight lifting, exercise and eating as healthy as I can one day at a time. I do believe that the weight will have to come off eventually! At least I surely hope so. I'm impressed with the running. I am starting to add running to my walking routine, but I can't run for more than a minute at a time. Mary

Hi lasonyadj, I was referring to you. You are about half way, aren't you? You know, I was just talking to someone about that magical number 200. I've heard more people get stuck there. And I'm sure it isn't a physical thing, but a mental one. Do you weigh yourself often? I think that if you made a pledge to yourself that you would do your best to eat healthy and exercise (if you do already, then carry on) but not worry about the scale for a month, then you may find that some weight started to come off. I know that it can ruin my eating well if I feel I've had a really good week, yet the scale shows a gain or no change at all. And that could be for so many reasons, like Water retention, my period coming up, more muscle. Nothing to do with what I ate. So I now weigh myself every couple of weeks and even if it doesn't show any change I don't worry about it. I didn't lose any weight for over 7 months. I was so discouraged, but people who don't know I have the band or even that I am actively trying to lose weight were suddenly telling me how great I looked, even though I weighed no less than last time they saw me. But I think that my body did shift the weight around. I've now lost 10 further pounds, but can suddenly wear size 18 and shop in normal shops! We don't all lose as fast for whatever reason, but if you feel you are doing what you should, then just keep it up and you will be rewarded eventually. If you aren't, then do all those things that everyone else mentioned. Record your food, try to exercise etc etc. Good luck, you are doing great and you are pretty much half way there! That's a glass full! Mary

You look like you are so close to your goal though! M

I agree that the idea of 100 pounds is so daunting. At first that is what I was doing and as I was losing so slowly I felt like I was walking on a treadmill and not getting anywhere. But as someone posted, it is good just to take small steps. Like stop one bad habit first, and then add something else. And now I have seen the 20's and I am aiming to see the 10's. Going whole hog to 199 is just too big mentally. My slightly larger goal is to be 193 which will be my 100 mark lost, and also the first time I've ever weighed less than my husband! (when I was in my 170s he was thinner too!). Glad you posted, it likely got us all thinking too! "A journey starts with a single step".

If you don't like the idea of walking yet, or you are still too heavy for it to be comfortable, I started with a simple weight lifting routine, just 3 lb weights and it only took me 20 minutes three days a week. Once I had done that and saw improvement in a month, I upped the weights and then started to think that maybe walking on my treadmill wouldn't be so bad. Now I'm lifting 10lb weights (after two years), can see the definition in my arms and stomach (under my still large stomach) and am starting to run and walk every day. I only run for a minute and then go back to walking, but I'm sure eventually I will up that too. I got a video called Strong Women Stay Young, created by a woman called Miriam Webster. The weights help you strengthen your arms and legs enough for it not to hurt or tire you so much when you want to start to walk more. good luck, I'm glad all the people that posted didn't offend you. Sometimes we all need a kick up the backside! Mary

Hi Hope, That is funny, I'm going to have to remember that one. And it is so true. I have been shopping a few times since then to get some other clothes that fit for our holiday (leave on Saturday), and I must have tried on ten pairs of jeans in one store. One pair was actually great, right length and high enough of a waist and not bell bottoms (that seems to be the style at the moment). But the 18s were quite snug, so I ended up getting a pair that were a bit too long in a 20. Well, now I've worn them two days and I'm swimming in them! I'm tempted to go back tomorrow and see if the 18s are still there. I can't take back the 20s as I washed them before I wore them. But yes, I walk into shops and have absolutely no idea what size I am. It doesn't help that the sizing is so different from store to store. I went into a Zellers store last Friday as a friend had recommended Fruit of the Loom as a nice type of underwear. They were all in packets so I couldn't tell what the sizes meant in reality. So I bought two packs of six and brought them home and when I opened the first one I burst out laughing. They were bigger than the pairs that I started with two years ago! I carefully folded them up and re-sealed the pack. I had to go somewhere I could actually look at underwear and try to judge whether they'd fit. Aw, it's a fun dilemma though. I've managed to not buy any clothes for the past two years. I even wore my winter coat last year even though it was way too big. I got a few comments (kind ones) but with a sweater it was fine. I may actually try to get one more year out of it. Silly to buy a winter coat this year only to hopefully need another smaller one next year. But I've found some lovely stuff and I'm looking forward to strutting my stuff for the next two weeks in my new duds!:mad: Take care! Mary

Hi Dolphin, You must have a really sensitive stomach for you to be swollen still in the morning. She is right, you should do liquids for a few days to settle it down. Warm drinks should help too. I also would recommend taking arnica if you have a health store near by. It is a homeopathic remedy that is good for trauma. Emotional or physical. It helps with healing of bruises as it has an anti-inflammatory effect. I find it helps when I have fallen or given myself a good bash.:thumbup: What surgery did you have? (forgive me for being ignorant) It isn't the band surgery? You will do fine. In fact, it may be good for you while you are letting your stomach heal and rest to also make a point for two weeks or so, not to look at the scale. I really find that if I get on the scale when I feel thinner and know I've done well, that if it registers no change or heaven forbid, a gain, that it ruins my day, my resolve and is counter productive. Yet I am thinner in inches. Also, I'm convinced that our brains do have something to do with that magical 199. I remember years ago having a plateau and I was at 202 and hovering for a month. I just could not break that 200 mark. And I've heard it so many times on these forums. It can't be any physical number for our bodies, as we've invented the weight system. So it is definitely psychological. And my seven month plateau this time was a weight that I have never gotten by in my gazillion diets I've been on. Co-incidence? I think not. I'd say this is a perfect time to try the 5 day pouch test since you can't really eat too much anyway, and that is bound to kick start your resolve and weight loss. I wouldn't recommend an unfill unless you really don't get further than drinking coffee. I just don't think your fill level is ever quite the same again. Just my two cents worth, but a lot of us on this part of the forum know how you feel, we've all been there. But I still say we aren't in a competition and be proud of what you've done so far. And what is on the scale is definitely not the whole picture. Also, if there isn't any physical reason that you can't exercise, you should really try to start. I say walking or the best is a few simple weight training moves. Helps the metabolism, makes you stronger and gives you energy to move onto other things! Plus good for us dieters as it counteracts against our bone loss. Keep that chin up and give yourself a break. You are doing just fine. M

Thanks Doddie, You've been a big help in my being happy with the achievements that I've had, rather than upset while comparing myself to others. We turtles end up winning our own race in the end. You are doing pretty good yourself, I see. Well done to you too! I'll let you all know how I get on with my airplane, and the wedding. take care, Mary

I don't even want to think about my skin! I'm just pleased with the loss I've had so far. And I wanted to share my NSV of this weekend. It is a first for me. I went with my DH to buy a suit for an upcoming wedding. After we did that (and a lot poorer) I asked him if he'd come to the local "fat lady store" with me and see if there was anything I could find for my outfit. We went in and walked around and it was just so depressing. Everything was either grunge outfits (trying to capture the youth market) or for the over 60 set. And anything in between had big bows, big patterns or was just plain ugly. I suggested we try the Reitman's store that was across the parking lot. It said they had some "Plus Sizes". I walked in and asked to see what they had in suit jackets for a wedding. She showed me a lovely jacket and asked me my size. I said I wasn't sure, what did they have? They had 22, 20 and 18. I said "I'll try the 22". The woman said, "oh dear, that will be far too large for you, try the 18" I laughed and said I'd meet her in the middle at 20. Well, it was too big! I tried on the 18 and it was perfect. I felt brave enough to ask to see some dress pants, we went through the same routine and I ended up with a great fitting pair in 18. I CAN SHOP IN NORMAL STORES AGAIN!!! For the first time in almost 20 years. I was so happy, my husband said I looked great in my outfit and I will be comfortable in my size 18 suit in Scotland at the end of the month. His family haven't seen me for a couple of years, and I was 293 then. I'm now 226 and I feel like I weigh 150. I had to share. I've been on this plateau for seven months. I've lost only 10 more pounds since it started to come off again, but this is proof that our bodies are shifting that weight around and we are getting thinner. Thanks for listening, and keep up your hard work everyone. We are getting there! Mary

As far as I understand it, yes! If you are hacking up until you get rid of whatever you ate that was too big to go to your stomach then that is BPing. And you are losing whatever is in the pouch, in order to finally get rid of that blockage. What happens is, we don't realise it, but we keep swallowing saliva and it ends up filling up our pouch until there is too much in there. Sometimes we are lucky and the blockage passes, but I find that once I've had something blocking the entry to my "main" stomach, there is nothing for it until I've hacked it all up again. My husband could just not get his head around it but then I explained it to him that he should imagine my stomach like a funnel. The top part is my new pouch and the small part is the opening to the stomach. If I was to pour something like Soup down and a carrot gets stuck, if more liquid keeps going in (like saliva), eventually the funnel will overflow. The only thing for it is to get everything out and try to get rid of that carrot. Sometimes the weight of the rest of the liquid will help that carrot go through, but more often we have to be sick. I am now aware too though that I do burp more while I am eating. I hope that it isn't too loud, but it is my way of knowing whether things are going down okay. Also, I do believe that air has to move between the pouch and the stomach, the same as with a funnel. May we all not do any pbing if we can help it! M

That's it, productive burping. It's a polite way of saying we are sick and lose the food that is still in our pouch and whatever may be blocking the entry to the stomach! M

Hi Melis, I know exactly how you feel. I only told maybe five or six close friends (one friend told her whole family, which I wasn't pleased about, but they don't really know me or say anything) and I am so glad because I was worried about any sorts of judgements. Like you, I certainly didn't think it would still be such a struggle. But in a way, it is has proven to me that I wasn't lying, I wasn't telling others fibs when I said I couldn't understand why I wasn't losing weight when I was doing everything right. Because here I have a tool that doesn't allow me to eat large portions, I am not eating "slider" foods or junk to get around the band and the weight is taking it's own sweet time coming off. I was on a plateau for seven months and then just recently lost ten pounds in a matter of weeks and now it has stopped there again. Meanwhile I keep exercising and improving, and compete only against myself. Isn't it wonderful after all these years to know that all those doctors, friends and family who blamed you for being lazy or greedy weren't right like you knew they weren't? I've had a doctor say to me "No one came out of Belsen fat". What a terrible thing to say. But you know, I'll bet that even in a concentration camp, some people got thin a lot slower than the others. Perhaps were even thought to be eating more than their share. My Mother has always been very large and she even spent a summer in a hospital and I don't recall that she lost much of it then. We have our genes to thank for this. Keep happy with how you are doing and if anyone makes comments say you are happy with your progress, it is what your body seems to want. Take care, M

Hi all, luv2teech7, When I had my operation, the pain from the results of severe constipation was worse than the pain from the lap band put in! I couldn't sit properly for days. So benefibre is my friend if I up my protein. Melis, what luv2teech7 says is spot on. I was really disappointed and depressed at times when I would get on the scale and see either no improvement or a gain. I just couldn't understand it. However I am happy with what I've accomplished now too, even though I have lost "only" 66 pounds since November 07. I am now at 227 from my all time high of 293, this is the lowest I can remember being for over fourteen years. I'm turning 50 next month and it isn't the horrible depressing thing I thought it would be, or would have been at 300lbs. And I can see the 100's just a bit in the distance! I'm not measuring my progress in my own achievements, other than the scale. More and more of my clothes are now given away. I too started at a slow walk on the treadmill and now have tripled my speed and even run for small sprints. I started at 3lb weights and I'm now lifting 10. My goal is to eventually get to 170. But even with the amount you've gotten off, you are far better off than you were. My husband says to me. "you've always had trouble losing weight, and who knows how those other people were eating before they got their band. Maybe this is the first time they've ever really restricted their intake, and that's why you are losing slowly still. It's just your makeup" And he's right. I had to stop going to some forums as it was making me feel bad about myself watching other get to goal so quickly, while bragging that they ate a lot, but still lost 4 lbs a week! If you feel you can eat too much, go get another small fill. If you have had experience with PBing (productive burping) then you may be at the right level. I had 5 fills before I got where I am. And as you lose weight outside, you also lose weight around your stomach inside, which loosens the band. Good luck and feel free to moan and bitch. We are all here to help each other. M

Hi luv2teech7, You are right, it is all a journey. I am terrible at a) remembering to measure myself and :biggrin: doing it properly or valuing the data. But I know when I am on a long plateau it is amazing that people comment on how much I have lost since they saw me last when I've maybe lost 5 pounds. That's a testament to how we lose the fat in more subtle ways that numbers on a scale. And although I would have loved to have lost my 120 in a year or at least the first hundred, I feel that I am learning eating and exercise habits that will keep me my goal size when I do reach it. All good suggestions and we will all reach our own finish lines. Mary

Wow Michelle, You are so close to that magic number of 200! I can't wait to get there. Slow and steady eventually wins the race. Mary

Some of us just lose much slower. And it is nice to know that we know that we are doing the right things, and I'm content that it will come off eventually. It would have been nice for it to come off a lot faster, but to be honest, no one will ever think I had weight loss surgery! There's a bonus! Mary:cool2:

Hi Alyssa, I was banded in Nov of 07 and I thought that I would be skinny by now. I'm finally more than half way, but it has been slow. I have just started losing again after a seven month plateau. So I know how frustrating it is. First, I found this site called, Five Day Pouch Test, it is for bariatric patients who have had a bypass, but I have found that it helps me if I'm eating too much or have gotten stuck. It helps shrink that little pouch we have left. It also gets you to start eating more Protein,which is what we need. Take the benefibre for sure if you go on this five day diet. A lot of protein will bind you. I always lose at least four or five pounds on this and it isn't hard. Also, I've been told that although I may not be hungry, eat five small meals a day. One could be a few nuts and some fruit or a yogurt, it should always have some protein in it. This helps our metabolism not slow down as others have mentioned. I think sometimes we don't eat enough. And I stopped drinking Protein drinks. I was using them as a crutch and they aren't real food. I now have oatmeal with some nuts for protein in the morning, and I have no problem eating that. And try to start doing some simple weight lifting. I started doing a program that took 20 minutes and didn't even make me sweaty, called Strong Women Stay Young. She's changed the program slightly, but I started doing the seven weight moves three times a week at a low weight and I'm up to ten pounds now (from 3) and I'm sure that it has helped me look thinner even when I wasn't losing, but it has given me the start of some great arms and shoulders. My stomach will be better when I can see more of what's under the flab! :scared2: I also started walking on the treadmill at a pace I could cope with and now I am started to run for 30 second intervals. It isn't much, but it is getting me to push myself out of my comfort zone even for a minute! Keep up the work you are doing. I can't tell you how I felt when I stepped on the scale and saw the 20's! I actually looked and saw 229 and cursed, because I thought I was at 239, I've been in the 30's for so long. When I realised that I was below another milestone, I was doing a happy dance for sure!:tt1: My next goal is the teens. We are all here trying to help each other. Mary

Lana, You look great! I'm not sure how much you lost, as you still have that same t-shirt on, so it's hiding a lot of space! :scared2: Space is good. I am wearing some of the same t-shirts now that I was wearing when I started, they still fit, but they are much longer now! I agree that looking at the scale and focusing on that is what gets me down too, but I'm happy with how I've done so far. I'm starting finally to lose again after a seven month plateau. Don't know why, but my body is finally letting me lose again, and I've lost about 10 more pounds in the last month or so. Thank heavens. Just keep on with your healthy eating and exercise at a level you can and it will eventually come off. I was talking to my Mother the other day and I asked her what her Mother had died from, as I knew that she was never really well, but I didn't know what from. Apparently she had a bad thyroid and your thyroid affects so many things. That was interesting from a health history point of view. Keep happy! Mary

I hear where you are coming from. This is a great time for you to show your kids by example too, that you should take care of your body. Plus they will be getting older and won't like if they are teased if they start to put on weight because of the food they eat. I used to wish that I had been born to parents that were fitness "freaks". I was born to parents (well my Mother really, and Mother's have the most influence) who ate stodgy food, didn't exercise and I got my earlier ideas from her. It wasn't until I moved out of the house that I started to eat better and exercise. Any you are doing great the way you've started with your exercise. I don't know how they haven't killed anyone on The Biggest Loser, having those people who are close to, or sometimes over 300 pounds running up hills! It is better to push yourself to your own limit. At first that won't be much, and water aerobics are great for that reason, uses muscles but is easier on our bodies if we are heavy. I started to get bigger from puberty and if I could go back in time, I would have learned to love myself then, as I ended up thinking I was ugly before I gained all the weight, and comforted myself with lots of junk and big portions. We'll get there in the end. I'm only going to have this trainer once a week, and have her give me a routine to do the other days. That will motivate me. It's $45 for the hour and I figured I was worth that much. As long as we keep our goals in mind and don't give up, we'll get there eventually.

Hi SanDiego, The 5 Day Pouch Test was a really good idea and I have done that a couple of times when I've felt that I was stuck. Its at Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test. They aren't selling anything, which is rare and nice for a change, they are just trying to help people that have had any kind of bariatric surgery. It's a simple five day plan and they explain each part. I found that it was good for me when I know that I am slipping from the healthy foods that I should be eating and also find that I'm able to eat more than I should be. It is mainly protein, so you are back to what they said when we first got our bands, and it helps shrink that small stomach we have above the band. It's like a nice kick start. I usually lose weight on it. I also exercise a lot and notice that I'm getting more tones despite the scale not really moving. But the strange thing is that just recently people are coming up to me and telling me that I am melting away. When I was 24 I lost 100 pounds in a year. And I had a plateau for over two months at the 200 point. But I stuck to it and eventually the weight started to fall off again by 2 or 3 pounds a week. I was thinking about this recently and it occurred to me that perhaps as I have yoyo dieted since losing that weight (which is longer than the 24 years that I had been alive at that point - I'm now 49) that maybe this is exactly the same, only I am plateauing for longer because of my age, the length of time I've been on this treadmill of diets, and soon my body will adjust and start to allow me to lose the weight. Because I do suddenly feel that the weight is shifting and I will finally start to lose again. I'm really excited about going to the personal trainer. You have your show the Biggest Loser, and in Canada we have a few shows called Last five pound Boot Camp, Bulging Bridges and my favourite X-Weighted. And I see what motivation it is having someone tell you what to do to get fit. So I hope to report that I'm starting to lose weight again! Whoo hoo!