minidriver

Jaime, Dee was incredibly eloquent in what she posted about food addiction, and I just want to second what she had to say. I also do much better when I stick to a very strict regimen. If I'm not careful, I would live on ice cream and potato chips. So I plan my meals every single day and make sure that I'm fully aware of everything going in my mouth. Even at that, I lose really slooooowwww (as we all know!). You started out with a BMI very similar to mine. In the long run, of course, it's good that we have less to lose. But we are going to lose at a lower rate than people who have more to lose. That's just the way it is. So if you compare your rate of weight loss with other people, you're just gonna' make yourself feel bad. I think it took me about 3 months to lose 20 lbs (give or take) and I know I was discouraged as hell. But here I am at 7 months and I'm closing in on being 2/3 of the way to my goal weight. Yes, it's been slow and sometimes I get really discouraged, but I'm getting there. It's finally beginning to show and I'm feeling lots better and it's all been worth it. So just hang in there. It's gonna happen. Try to find an "eating plan" you can stick with (lower carbs or whatever) and try to find something you can do for movement. Do you like to dance? See if DH will take you out dancing. Oh yeah. And remember that the people on here are the BEST support group on earth and you can ALWAYS come here for a pat on the shoulder or a kick in the ass.

Dorky One!! You look gorgeous! How are things? Did DH find a new job? Is your port still holding fluid?

Hey Deb! How did your fill go? Can you tell a difference?

Oh Yay! I'm glad you were able to see Deb. Yes, I'm arriving around 3 in the afternoon, so plenty early for a RR meeting. I'm so excited to see you guys. Hope it works out.

I weigh everyday too. My poor hubby always holds his breath while I"m weighing in the morning cuz he knows how much it affects my mood. When I'm stuck for awhile I get pretty crabby, but when I'm losing I'm in such a good mood. Congrats, Lotza, on breaking that plateau. Hey, miss dee, did you get to see deboregon yesterday?

Hello loverly ladies. I am coming to a conference in Denver April 1-5 and just made an appointment for a fill Thursday, April 2 at 10. I am going to fly in Wednesday afternoon and spend the night at a La Quinta near the Aurora Town Center (??) and then go my fill in the AM then take a cab downtown for the conference. I'm wondering if we can plan a get-together the evening of the 1st. Anyone, anyone???

Well, Dr. K. does a long evaluation with you over the phone and asks lots of health info. I think that it is VERY important that you are totally upfront with him about any health issues. An alternative would be to go to your primary care physician and have a physical and be cleared for surgery (that's what I chose to do). I was also a little nervous about the lack of testing but after doing a little research I realized that many of the tests that you see other people having are due to insurance regulations more than anything else. As for spending the night in a hospital . . .I believe that this is normally done as an outpatient surgery, so I don't think it's too unusual. Some places may keep you overnight, but I know that all of our local bariatric surgery places do this as outpatient. I have had a number of surgeries in my life, and this one was one of the easiest. I was fine staying at the hotel with my sweet husband taking care of me. Let us know if you have any other questions. Obviously it takes a bit of a leap of faith to travel somewhere to an unknown doctor and have this done. I think you can see from this thread, however, that we all adore Dr. K. and are very happy with our choice. Good luck to you!!

Hell-to-the-yeah! My DH just views it as a "threesome". Hee hee.

Hey! I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one who finds "together" use great. I think it's the best of all worlds.

dee, can you get me the guy's address? I can come over there kick his sorry ass. did you say your original goal weight was 138??????? Okay, mine is 140 and you're like a half a foot taller than me and have a larger frame. Goodness gracious, girlfriend, You'd look like a freakin' clothes hanger at 138. So, ummm, I'm thinking that 170 is a fantabulous weight for you.

Now, miss dee. Let's be logical about this. You're a nurse and you know that it's physiologically impossible to gain 6 lbs of fat overnight. So it is only water and it will go away. I know it sucks, but it's temporary weight and it isn't a reflection AT ALL of how hard you've been working. Think how excited you'll be when you LOSE 6 lbs tomorrow or the next day, yes? {{hugs}}

Hmmm, Easter would be good. I could maybe lose 12 more lbs by then and be close to 160. Of course I am going to Mexico in two weeks and staying at an all-inclusive. I wonder how much I can manage to gain?? OH!!! I meant to tell you guys. I bought a small electric ice cream maker and made frozen yogurt with greek yogurt and splenda. It was fantastic. So, for all you ice cream junkies (I know you're out there!) give it a try!!

Yay for another fill! It really does make a difference. And I just want to say, as a member of the slow and steady club, it really does happen. It might not happen as quickly as you'd like, but it happens. Just hang in there, and remember that we're all pullin' for you.

I gotta' say, it's lots of fun. And for such a good cause! Last year we raised over $16000 for our local Rape Recovery Center! Not bad for a small college, ya know?

ROTFL!! Okay, I gotta' go get ready to get up on stage in front of 1000+ people and talk about my vagina. Yeah.

hee hee! You're such a naughty naughty miss dee. Seriously, though, I don't really care which way we do it. So if you feel strongly about a longer one, that's fine. Shorter, longer, I'm up for whatever. Okay, that sounded naughty too.

I think 4 weeks at a time is fine. Thanks for volunteering to be the record keeper.

I have a super goofy idea for a challenge. We could do St. Paddy's day but call it Ain't Fatty's day. Hee hee. Dumb, I know.

Woohoo!!! I lost 2.9 pounds this week. My new fill has been amazing! For example - yesterday I had my steel-cut oats about 8:30 in the morning. Then I had some meetings and such and didn't even think about food again until about 2:30 when I had some yogurt, a few slices of lunch meat and a half slice of cheese. I did my performance last night and was perfectly fine waiting to eat until I got home at eleven. I ate some 60 calorie progresso soup and some yogurt and was perfectly full. This is so awesome! It makes me realize how the band is supposed to actually work!!

Hello lapband ladies. Just a drive by to say "hi" and give my love to one and all. Every year our school puts on a production of "The Vagina Monologues" and I am always in it. This year there is a new piece featuring three transgendered women. It's a very moving piece, but even more powerful are the conversations I have had with these three women during the course of our production. We all talk a lot on here about the person who is lost inside of our outer shell. I was thinking about these women and how hard it must be to have your outer self be so COMPLETELY different from who you are inside, in the most fundamental of ways. And, of course, to have no place in society, no legal rights, an abysmal chance at finding love, etc. I know that we are often treated very poorly because of our weight. I can't imagine how tough it must be to have people actually hate you, sometimes violently, for simply being who you are. So . . . just feeling kind of close to all my women friends right now and wanting to remind us all to stick together and love one another (and ourselves) and be compassionate to everyone and never forget who we are inside. Love you guys.

Good idea to get another fill. That is what they're for! I'm really happy I went ahead and got another one. You may want to keep trak of your measurements. I was shocked to see that I was still losing inches even though I wasn't losing pounds.

Wow, Lap. That's a great pic!! Umm, I'm not anywhere close to a 9. More like a 16. I still have a long ways to go if I'm ever gonna be a 9!

Thanks Miss dee. Here's a cool thing . . . I didn't even take pics or measurements last month cuz I didn't really lose any weight in December and didn't lose a ton in January either. But I was looking at my pics from the beginning of December and I looked noticeably bigger than I do now. So I took my measurements and I've actually lost two inches from my breasts, waist, and hips since then. That's waayyy more than I usually lose over a two month period. It made me so happy!!!

THanks! I feel soooo much better. It's amazing.

Hello lap band ladies! I just took my 7 month pics and wanted to post some before and in-progress shots. Remember to click the pics to enlarge them.