LindaD

I am still doing low-carb. Not EXTREME Atkins-induction low-carb. If my daily carb intake is 100, I'm happy. That's where I like it. If it goes up to 150, that's still OK - but no more than that. In my new reality, I can do a lot with 150g of carb a day. Most days I'm at 100. I don't worry about or count fat grams and thus it's pretty easy to get my Protein in. :w00t:

Still at 195. The holiday weekend took me up to 198 but I managed to get it back down to status quo (where I was before the holiday). So hopefully I'll have a couple good weeks where I go down more and then I can do the same thing I did at Thanksgiving for Christmas (indulge a little, go up a little, come right back down...)

Hi everyone! How is it going? I slowed down - Halloween didn't help (ahem!) but I got my 3rd fill last week and now I REALLY feel restricted! Not to the point where I can't eat, but definitely more than I've had for the past few months. It could be that elusive sweet spot. Anyway, the scale is starting to move for me again - I hit 198 this morning.

I'm trying to find the right balance too. And what I've learned is that it's not just about 'how much' but also about WHAT you are eating. I want to eat in such a way that I feel satisfied for a few hours after. I don't do well when I eat too little and then am prowling around looking for food 2 hours later. When I have the right sized meal of the right kind of food, it really holds me over and that's my goal. When I start feeling full, I stop. Nowadays, eating is like cooking bacon - even when you take the heat off, it still progresses a little further. So if I don't stop at the first sign of being 'satisfied', I'll regret it. If I eat to fullness, then I'll feel discomfort in a short amount of time. I don't eat like a bird, though. I still have a small meal. THAT holds me over and that's what I'm looking for.

Good for you! I think that the pre-op and post op periods did help me figure myself out a little more. And once you understand or realize the issue, it's easier to address it. Good luck!

Best of luck!! I'm sure many or most of us faced fears and doubts. It's part of the process. If you do a search on this board about "regrets", you'll find that most people have no regrets. Or, at least, the biggest regret I've read here is "I wish I would have done it sooner." LOL No regrets here. I was banded at the end of May and I'm still on a high from it. I feel SO much better, the weight is coming off. Surgery went fine, recovery wasn't rough, and I still feel like I can eat the things I love - just a lot less of them. I don't feel deprived or anything. I'm very happy with my decision (and had been on the fence about it for 5 years prior). I hope you are here in June giving someone else encouragement based upon your own happy story.

Yes, higher Protein means higher fat, in general, because many of our major protein sources also have fat. But in the absence of carbs (or with restricted carb intake), the fat doesn't make you fat. Many low-carb people lose a lot of weight while eating diets that have way more fat than the typical person would accept. In fact, many surgeons require severely restricted carb diets as the way to shrink the liver. There are some good threads on this topic around the board - use the search function and you'll get to read a lot of info about it, even if you don't get a ton of responses to this post. Good luck!

I think I managed 10 minutes the first time and my legs were like wet noodles and I needed help walking. LOL Now I do an hour with the crossramp up at 20 (top level) for 45 minutes of that and could do another hour if I needed/wanted to. It's just about building up endurance. Keep trying - you'll get there!

Congrats!! I know people who have gone through pregnancy with their band and it was all just fine. Good luck to you!!

Hi and welcome!! You might want to find the "month" forum for your month of surgery - there may be more activity and talk between people who are in a similar place in their journey in that forum. Congrats on your weight loss and your life-changing decision!

Every morning, every night, and at the gym too. I know, it's too much. But I don't think I'm obsessing... I mean, I don't get down if it's up a bit, it doesn't knock me off course or ruin my mood or anything. It's just a tool that keeps me tracking. I have many tools now, the scale is only one of them. In my past, I have found that when I'm NOT weighing in, there is a reason - it's because I'm avoiding it, seeing the number. It's because I know the number will be going UP. So for ME, personally, avoiding it is a problem - or rather, indicative of a problem. I also recognize that it's normal for weight to fluctuate. So, as I'm officially logging my weight loss progress, I'm always sticking with the lowest number. For example, I was 198.6 the morning of Halloween. Now, I imbibed a bit over the next few days and that number went up. But I didn't change my ticker nor did I get discouraged. I just kept on doing what I do and eventually the scale again read what I had been at. Today, I was at 198 even. If I'm up a bit tomorrow, oh well - I won't change my ticker. I just keep the lowest number I've seen and continue working to get below that. It makes my graph a nice journey downward (but in reality, it would probably be more zig-zaggy. LOL)

I was starving too after surgery. I mean, I had fasted (clear, no-cal liquids) for a week prior. My body was just screaming for something to eat. I called my surgeons office and they OK'd me to do oyster crackers. I was instructed to basically let them dissolve before swallowing. I was so thankful to have that permission. I'd call and ask if I were you - can't hurt, right? Good luck!

My procedure was on a Friday so I took that day, of course. And Monday I was still taking pain meds and sleepy - very sleepy - so I took off that day. Tuesday, I worked from home. I could have gone in but I wanted to be close to home just in case I was still sleepy or needed something. But I went back to work on Wednesday - no problems. I was fine. In retrospect, I would have been fine on Tuesday had I gone to the office. My job is really sedentary too. I think for me, it was stopping the pain meds that made it possible to really focus on work. If I was still taking them, I have a feeling I would have been drowsy and it wouldn't have gone as well.

Having the band (since May 29th) has helped me physically but it has also helped me mentally - it has given me hope where no hope has been able to grow for a very long time. This weight issue - it is physical and mental. It's not just a behavior issue ("If you wanted to lose weight badly enough, you would. You're just making excuses. Just put down the food and exercise more.") Having an approach that helps with the physical AND mental side of it is huge - no pun intended. And it's given me hope and motivation and belief in my self. I don't know how to assess how much the "physical" part is helping as compared to that - the hope/belief part. But I'd say they're both pretty darn important. For too many years, I tried to solve this problem in my head, and I would berate myself every time I failed, only compounding the issue. Now here I am, I've lost over 80 pounds (still have a ways to go!) and I *KNOW* I can do it - I know I'm not just a lazy glutton. I am willing to put the work in and make the effort. I just needed some help. Good luck. By the way, don't blame it all on your weight. You can stand up RIGHT NOW and not let yourself be treated badly. I don't think your friends sound all that wonderful given the way they appear to use you. Weight loss surgery and losing weight will not solve those sorts of issues. Regardless of what the scale says, you can stand up for yourself immediately and assert yourself to the world - "I am worthy of respect. I will not be treated like a second class citizen." If you're not getting the right treatment from people, then you need to demand it from them. They may not treat you that way because of your weight - they are probably treating you that way simply because you allow it.

I don't consider it cheating at all. Think of it this way.... If I had to walk a tight rope, many feet over the ground, I would likely fail. I'd fall, I'd not succeed at getting to the other side. If, however, I was given some tools - a safety net that meant when I fell, I would bounce back more easily, and maybe a weighted balance bar that I could carry while I crossed the rope.... well, is that cheating? It's HELPING - no doubt. The band is definitely helping me. It is making it easier to be successful than it was before I had it. But I still have to make the right choices in eating and I still have to exercise a tremendous amount. Would this person who thinks it is cheating begrudge the tightrope walker her net and balance-bar?? While I might be hurt by comments coming from someone who I cared what she thought, still, in the end I would know she was wrong. And I would want to ask --- why does it MATTER whether it's "the hard way" or not (yes, I know - that's a whole different debate whether this is the easy way or what). Ultimately, the goal is to achieve a more healthy weight. If someone chooses to do it "the hard way" and never succeeds, they have not done themselves any favors. If someone chooses to use surgery or medication (which may be considered "the easy way" by some) and they DO succeed, well - there you go. Given the goal/objective... I would rather achieve it by cheating (in her view) than not achieve it at all. It's a legitimate approach. It's not cheating in that it's not come by dishonestly, it makes no one a victim, and the only risk is on the person who chooses it (and I assume these individuals measure the risk of action against the risk of inaction). I'd probably work up a pretty righteous indignation toward her. I'd want to let it pass and then try to educate her so she can adjust her perspective. And if that doesn't work, then I'd roll my eyes and write her view off altogether.

Good luck!!!

Holy moly - a 6 pound loss is awesome!!!

I get plenty of fat and Protein (I'm a low-carb girl) so I know it wasn't a shortage of those things for me. Another cause is rapid hormonal changes. I think that's what my deal was. I've adjusted, the weight loss is slowing, and my body is settling into its new reality and that's why I think the loss has stopped. But regardless of the cause - I'm just happy to be done with it. LOL

I just posted these on the big before/after thread, but I thought I'd post them in our May thread too. Today, I broke through the 200 barrier so I thought I'd Celebrate by posting some pics... (this one is actually from Sept. so maybe 5 or 6 pounds ago...) And from February of 2009, not all that long ago:

Not taking anything, but my hair loss has finally stopped on its own... it was just a temporary issue (which I've faced before because I went through this after giving birth to my daughter and I was also losing weight quickly then...)

Well, my fellow bandsters... today was a big day for me. Check it out: I broke through!!!

Sounds like many of us May Bandsters are still going strong! My weight loss has slowed down but still going in the right direction. I saw 201.6 this morning so I'm REALLY close to breaking into onederland. I can't wait!! Another 15 pounds after that, and my BMI will move out of the obese category. I'm pretty in love with my band, too. I'm also working my ass off, literally. LOL

Amazon had the GoWearFit for considerably less than the GWF site.

I did elliptical and treadmill for the first several weeks after surgery. I think I was at like 6 weeks when I started adding the weight circuit back in. I do an hour of cardio - usually the elliptical or the adaptive motion trainer (the one where you can set your stride). Then I do floor exercises and the circuit. On Saturdays, I spend 2 1/2 to 3 hours in the gym. I try to go 2 other nights a week for about 90 minutes. If I can't make the gym, then I use my treadmill at home. My goal is 6-7 hours of working out a week.

I had my procedure on a Friday so I took that day off, naturally. I was playing it by ear after that. I half worked from home on Monday but I rested a lot. I worked from home all day on Tuesday (I had an all day workshop meeting - was supposed to have traveled to it, but due to my surgery I attended by phone). On Wednesday, I was back at the office. Felt fine. I have an office job though - not very high demand physically.