MistyD65

Great job tutornmom! Here's to your 2nd goal! Heartfire, I'm right there with you. I haven't even written down my weights for the past two weeks on my calendar. I had put on about 2 pounds I think. Like you, I've been eating crap, and not because I'm hungry. It's simply because I want to eat. I did have a stressful week last week, because we had to put our 12 year old cat to sleep on Monday. I sure some of my eating was a form of comfort. I do have to say though, even when I do "binge" it's not the same as pre-band. It's more likely to be little nibbles of several things rather than a whole lot of anything. I was really feeling out of control at the end of last week, but I'm doing better now. I think some of it was hormonal, too. I'm hoping to have a happy scale day on Friday. Even being where I was the last time I weighed in would be good!

The next one is Wednesday 10/14 at 6:30pm at the meeting room next to Dr. Bonnor's office. November's meeting is on 11/11 and December's is on 12/16. Hope to see you there!

The monthly support group will be on Tuesday, June 9 at 6pm in the conference room by Dr. Bonnor's office. Our usual leader, Beth Cisneros, will not be there, but she has arranged for Dr. James F. Boynton, a plastic surgeon, to speak with us. January Rington, Dr. Bonnor's office coordinator, will also be there. So bring your questions and be ready to learn a lot! These support groups are so helpful! Make plans to attend. RSVP by calling 281-579-5638 Dr. Boynton's web site: http://www.boyntonmd.com/

Yes, I plan to be there. I RSVP'd with January on Friday. Last month was the first meeting I've missed since I had my surgery. I really enjoy them. I look forward to seeing you there!

Wow, you are getting your first fill just 3 weeks after your surgery? That seems quick, but maybe he's changed things since I had my surgery. It's natural to be a little scared, especially if you don't know what to expect. But you'll be fine! First of all, you should not have anything to eat or drink for at least 8 hours prior to your fill. They told me to be NPO after midnight, but if you are getting your fill after lunch, that is kind of a long time to wait. At my fill appointment we talked about what I had been eating, including the amount of food I could eat at any one time. We also talked about how long it generally was before I felt hungry again, as well as any other issues or thoughts I had about my progress. The more self-aware you are about your eating habits and your hunger, the better. For the fill, I lay back on the exam table, he swabbed some kind of anesthetic around my port area, then he pressed on my abdomen to feel the port. I didn't even feel the needle go in. Unfortunately, my port is tilted so he had to do some probing around. I could feel it, but it did not hurt, if you know what I mean. Once he accessed the port, it took no time at all to add the saline. If my port had not been tilted, it would have been even quicker. He removed the needle, stuck a bandaid on me and I was up and out the door. For my second fill, which was about 6 months later (I didn't feel liked I needed one til then, but everyone is different) I don't recall him using the anesthetic, so I felt a slight sting when he inserted the needle, but it wasn't bad. And no, he doesn't use any kind of imaging (sonogram, fluoroscopy), he goes by feel. And it's worked well for me! You will be fine!

Great job last week Tutornmom! You too Heartfire! Even with going to a Greek Festival last night and eating some yummy stuff, I posted a loss this week! Last week: 221.2 This week: 219.8 Finally out of the 220s!!!! Loss of 1.4 lbs. 4.8 lost since beginning of challenge, 5.8 to go to challenge goal.

Way to go Heartfire! Keep it up! Hi everyone! I never got back with my results last week, but they were pretty bad. In fact, from the time I went out of town last week up til about Wednesday, I was a chow-hound. I think a lot of it was hormonal and I just didn't feel like fighting it. I also did not step foot into Curves all week - I feel like a slug. At one point I was actually up 4 pounds from my last weigh-in on the 11th, but I got on the scale today and had lost 3 of the 4. So, that puts me at 1 pound up from my last report on 9/11, which I'll take! (especially since it is TOM) In a nutshell: Last weigh-in 9/11 220.2 Today 221.2 Gain of 1 pound Next week will be MUCH better!

It's not unusual for the stoma to experience some swelling after a fill. Did you do liquids for a day or two after the fill to allow your stomach to recover? It's possible that if you were swollen, had a PB, then continued to PB, that the swelling has not been allowed to go down. If you haven't already done so, try a day or two of liquids to let your poor stomach rest and recover. If that doesn't help, or you have already tried that with no success, then definitely get back to your doctor. Pain with every meal is NOT normal.

Welcome to the challenge! I've added you to the spreadsheet. I haven't weighed yet this week. I ended up going out of town yesterday and had too much high fat/high sodium food. Gonna try a liquid detox tomorrow, then I'll hop on the scale.

Way to go Tutornmom! Hope your restriction eases up a bit, but enjoy the extra weight loss. :thumbdown: Welcome Padanelle! We're glad to have you aboard!

Last week: 222.2 This week: 220.2 Loss of 2 pounds! 6.2 to go to goal!

Sorry I never got back with info. There was not a support group on Tuesday 9/8, but there is one scheduled for Wednesday 9/16 from 6:30-7:30pm at Dr. Bonnor's office. Here's the info for this one, and the schedule for the rest of the year: Texas Endosurgery Associates September Weight Loss Support Group Please join us for this month's support group meeting to be held on Wednesday, September 16th 6:30pm-7:30pm at Texas Endosurgery Associates Conference Room 21720 Kingsland Blvd., Suite 303A, Katy 77450 (Facilitator: Beth Cisneros, MA Counseling) RSVP 281.579.5638 This is a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with others who have been through or will be going through weight loss surgery. We would love for you to join us! (This is a free meeting for patients of Texas Endosurgery Associates.) Future Meeting Dates: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Wednesday, December 16, 2009 www.texasendosurg.com

Great job Heartfire! You are well on your way!

Yay, finally a loss! Last week 224.8 This week 222.2 A loss of 2.6 pounds, but since I put on .2 last week, it's actually 2.4 towards my goal of a loss of 10.6. 8.2 to go! I'm not sure what the difference was this week, but I'll bet it was the yard work I did, in addition to my Curves workouts. I was also able to cut my evening nibbling waaaay back. I can do this!!

Welcome tutornmom! And you can call it whatever you like, I don't mind. :biggrin: I've added you to the spreadsheet. Shall I put you down for a goal of 11 pounds lost?

Congratulations on getting your surgery date! Support group usually meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 6pm, but there was some talk last month about changing the time. I just checked Dr. Bonnor's website and I see that they don't have any listed after August. I'll call tomorrow and see what's up, then let you know here.

Definitely make sure you already have a local or nearby doctor who will take over your aftercare. That is vital. Don't wait to get home after your surgery and hope you can find someone who will accept you. The band isn't a "fix it and forget it" plan. The aftercare is what helps your success. Some people require a number of fills and even unfills before they find the right amount of restriction to make the band work the way it is intended. If you have trouble getting to a doctor for these, or are reluctant to go due to price or some other obstacle, your experience is going to be frustrating and you may have trouble being successful. You should also look into support groups in your area. Those can be so helpful, especially early in your journey.

Do you have Jack in the Box restaurants there? Their grilled chicken strips are really good - moist and flavorful. 4 strips have 180 calories and 37g of protein.

I love the South Beach Living High Protein Cereal Bars in Cinnamon Raisin. They have 140 calories, 10 g of protein and 3 g of fiber. I haven't really tried frozen/prepared meals. They have ungodly amounts of sodium in them. I'm don't generally have to eat on the run, but I am prone to making poor choices if I'm hungry and there is nothing quick to eat. One thing I do is prepare things ahead of time and portion them up. A recipe that has gotten passed around here a lot, that I love, is chicken or tuna salad made with the Tostitos Spinach Dip. To a 13 oz can of chicken I add 3 or 4 tbsp of the dip (depending on how moist you like it), and Splenda-sweetened sweet pickle relish to taste. I get 4 1/2 cup servings from this. I go ahead and portion it out into the little 1/2 cup storage containers. That way I just have to grab one and some crackers (also already portioned out into snack-size bags) and I'm ready to eat.

Congratulations on all your victories, both on the scale and off! Here's to the start of a second year that will be just as full of success.:frown:

Hang in there gals! I was up .2 today, but it's TOM, so I'm not stressing over it too much. I'm really thinking I need to step up my exercise. I was going to Curves 5 times a week, but have slid back to 4 and sometimes only 3 times a week. That's about 1000 calories a week I'm not burning. I also think I should add something new - a Pilates class or something. I'd really like to focus on my core. So, that's my plan for the immediate future. Keep up the great work everyone! We WILL reach our goals!:w00t:

Welcome aboard Michelle and liquidbluegal! I think lots of us are in need of a little extra push. I lost 60 pounds in the first 6 months and 20 pounds in the second 6. I really want to do MUCH better in the next 6.

That's a great idea! It worked fine for me. I think you just have to have a Google account to be able to access it. So for each week we enter the loss for that week? I wonder if it should have dates rather than week numbers? For those of us who start now, it's 10 weeks til Halloween. Come on everyone, join us! If you can't access the spreadsheet, post your info here and we'll add it. Or maybe we should post in both places. I'm easy

Oh yeah, I guess I should post my info! 8/22 Start: 224.6 10/31 Halloween Goal:214 -10.6 lbs Onederland is in sight, for the first time in over 20 years!!

First name, middle initial, birth year. Exotic, right?