jukebox81782

hello all! it's been a REALLY long time since i've been online here to check in. i'm glad to see so many people are doing SO well and most have even met their goals! <3 i will be celebrating my one year on the 14th -- one week away!! i'm trying SUPER hard to lose at least nine more pounds in that week because then i will have lost 160 in a year, which is what my mother lost in a year with her gastric bypass. i still have about 25% of my journey left, and i'm already looking into reconstructive surgeries... any thoughts? jess

that's the guy who i heard about alright! he's who i'd LIKE to do my surgery... i still have 100-150 lbs to go before i get to that phase. he has an office near me in beverly hills... i don't know if i'll need ALL that surgery, but it's definitely something i'm thinking about... :sad:

hello all! i'm glad to see that everyone is doing so well. i'm so excited to report that i've hit the -100lbs mark (from my highest weight). it's hard to believe that just six months ago, i was 100 pounds heavier. being an over 50 BMI from the start, i'm only about 1/2 done with my weight-loss journey, but it's nice to know that by this time next year (hopefully), i'll be at my goal weight. has anyone been looking into plastic surgery? i found this famous plastic surgeon who's cultivated this surgery called the "total body lift." basically in one fell swoop he will give a medial thigh lift, butt lift, tummy tuck, and breast lift. i feel like i've become obsessed with planning my future plastic surgeries, so my newly thin body will be something i'm not embarrassed about... i know it's hard to tell what our bodies will look like once we reach goal, and i hope my skin will not be too saggy because of my age and the fact that i'm working out like crazy (cardio 5x a week and working with a personal trainer for toning), but this is something that's really been affecting me... what about y'all?

so, i was kind of starting to come down on myself regarding the speed of my weight loss. i'd set this goal for myself to try and lose 100 pounds by the four month mark. i know now that that is most likely not going to happen because as of three months, i'd only lost 54 (post-op). i remember my surgeon telling me that most successful lapbanders lose about 50% of their excess weight in the first year...so i did some number crunching, and it turns out that 54 pounds is 24% of my excess weight, so when i look at it from a different perspective, i've been losing about twice as fast as some successful lapband patients (on average). remember all: DON'T GET DOWN ON YOURSELVES for non-scale victories...just take a look at it from a different perspective. :thumbup:

hello all! i'm glad to see that everyone is still posting and doing well. i haven't really checked in since the 3-month mark, but it's been a little over five months, and i've hit some amazing milestones. *i've officially entered 2-dom (and i'm so stoked to be there) *i've lost 85lbs since banding, which means i'm only 15 pounds away from having lost 100! *i'm down to a size 18/20 from a size 26 i'm so happy to see everyone's success here! one thing i'm starting to freak out about is the "skin" issue. i notice problem areas for sure (lower tummy, upper thighs, and upper arms), so i'm switching from heavy cardio/light weight training to medium cardio/super heavy weight training. hAhA! i've always been an "overboard" kinda gal, and i'm going to take the muscle building seriously as i do NOT want to look like a deflated balloon!! i'll be going home for christmas this year, and most of my friends haven't seen me since pre-op...i've been keeping my body-shots via internet only on lbt.com, so people have been begging to see the progress, but i won't show it via myspace or facebook...they're gonna have to wait three more months!! :tongue2:)

well, i had an ineresting fifth fill appointment. my doctor told me that the liquid diet i've been on for about three weeks might actually been slowing down my progress (which made me SUPER happy because my progress has been pretty great I think, so if it can get faster, that'd be so awesome!!). he explained that the band is not only supposed to trick the person into feeling full, it also tricks the mind into thinking the body is full...meaning that when i'm doing a liquid diet, i never feel the fullness, and my mind never feels the fullness, so my body will reject the weight loss because it feels like it's being denied food. (this all sounded much more intelligent when the doctor was explaining it). bottom line: he said that when you feel full because you've eaten food, your mind thinks you're full and communicates to your metabolism that it's getting all the food that it needs, so your metabolism stays strong and doesn't shut down because it thinks it's being starved (which is why "diets" don't work). does this make sense? at any rate, i'm going back to eating after my two-day fill recovery. i'm excited!! everyone is doing so great!! four months done and feeling fab!!

hello all... i was just wondering if anyone ever feels like they never really feel "full." i don't know. perhaps the first problem is that i never really "eat." i tend to mostly drink smoothies and protein shakes (which SUCKS), but when i do finally try to eat something, it's like i don't have any problems. i feel like i can eat pretty much what i want and as much as i want (when i choose to eat). i've had FOUR fills!! i think i'm going to tell my surgeon that i want to be filled too much this next time, so i can understand how it's supposed to feel if it's too much. it's not that i want to have the pain and puking, but i feel like what i'm doing and the weight loss i've had has nothing to do with the damn band at all and everything to do with me just finally beind disciplined about my diet and exercise. it's like... why did i go through this to begin with?! URGH!! is anyone else going through this? what did you do??

well, it'll officially be three months for me on the 14th, and so far, i'm down sixty pounds (53 from the date of surgery). i just finished my third week of hardcore dieting and working out. i go to the gym for cardio 3-4 times per week (i'll walk/jog for about 20-30 minutes for cardio), and i meet with my trainer once a week for weight/resistance training. i've been keeping my caloric intake down to under 1000 calories per day and am sure to get at least 60 grams of Protein daily. so far, i've only thrown up once. it was all because of a slice of pizza that i ate too fast...damn pizza! other than that, i've been very careful to chew chew chew!! hahah!! i rarely feel hungry. things don't really taste or smell the same to me, so i mostly eat just because i know i have to. i try to get at least 64oz of Water, but i need to work on this more, and i need to be sure to have my Vitamin shakes regularly... other than that...i'm stoked!! i've set my goal to hit 100lbs down by my birthday--august 17th. everyone keeps telling me that i won't be able to do it, but i'm going to do everything in my power to prove them wrong!!

i have "first bite syndrome," so after the first two-three bites i take, it feels like i'm being stabbed in my side and upper back. i have to wait for it to pass, then i can continue eating with no problems. lately, however, i've just lost the urge to eat at all. yesterday i had six pieces of sushi and that was because my aunt forced me to eat something. i don't even feel hungry ever. has anyone else been feeling this way? like they just don't even want to eat?

thanks! with inspirational mentors like yourself online here, i know i can do it, too!! all the best with your upcoming knee operation. i wish you a speedy recovery!! :smile:

i've lost 40 pounds since being banded six weeks ago, and people are telling me that they can see that i'm losing. people at work tell me everyday. i still don't see it. i think it's because i've been at different levels of obesity since childhood, so i only see myself as fat and that's it...hahah! i don't see the different levels of the weight coming off. i noticed that i was starting to drop weight by the way my clothes fit after about a month, and that was at a 24lb loss. it's weird. i have SO MUCH weight to lose. i feel like i'm going to have to buy new wardrobes in like a bunch of stages. how did that work for people? did you wear the clothes until they were hanging off of you, or did you set, like, new wardrobe goals. for example: i'm wearing size 24 clothes, but i could fit into a 22 now, but i'm not going to buy new clothes until i hit a 16...? is that too drastic? like how weird will i look as a size 16 wearing size 24 pants? hahahah! OH THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN!!

hello all! i'm so happy there is a group for us 50+ BMIers who opt for the band vs. the bypass. :smile:) everyone here who's at 100+ pounds lost are super-inspirational to me, and i'm very happy to know that i'm almost half way to the 100+ pounds lost club (and i've only been banded six weeks!). i have a question though...it seems like those of us with so much weight to lose tend to lose pretty steadily at first (i may be wrong in this assumption, but it's the case with me and most of the people with a lot less to lose who've been banded when i've been banded seem to be losing much more slowly). my question is this: does the weight loss tend to taper off and slow once you hit a certain mark? is there a trend for this? i imagine that'd be the case, and it scares me to think that i could get sososoclose to my goal and then really struggle to make the ultimate goal happen... any thoughts or words of encouragement?

i've been experiencing what they call "first bite syndrome." it's awful. after one or two bites of anything i eat, it feels like something is stuck in me, and get goosepimples on my arms, my mouth starts to Water, and it feels like i'm getting stabbed in my back/left side of my body. i have to raise my hands over my head and breathe really deeply for a few minutes until it passes. my doctor told me that try drinking something warm right before you eat to help calm the stomach muscles before eating... weirdness. i've slimed a total of three times since being banded, and i was seriously about to puke one of the three times but stopped it. puking is NOT fun...i feel bad for those who end up puking. a friend of mine who's banded throws up at least once a day. it's scary!!

hello all... it's been two weeks since i posted. i had my second fill today. it's funny. there is more imaginary pain than actual pain, i'm noticing. the only part that hurts is when the surgeon has to find the port by poking around, and the slight sting of the numbing needle, but once that's done, i feel nothing but still cringe the whole time. hahah. i was super shocked to find out when i weighed in today that i'd lost nine pounds in the two weeks since my last weigh-in. i have NOT been following any type of diet plan at all lately. i have been eating a lot of bad foods, and i was in vegas all last week partying w/my family... i haven't been to the gym in weeks...my trainer is PISSED at me. i'm super excited because to me, this means that if i actually buckle down on the diet and hit the gym regularly i will (hopefully) see more drastic results. :smile:)

i decided long ago to only weigh in when i visit my doctor. i mean, i'm someone who would weigh herself like twice a friggin day. it's not healthy! women especially have fluctuating weight on a daily basis--Water retention, menstral bloating, clothing/accessories, etc. another thing i try to keep in mind is that it took me 26 years to get as big as i did. i can't take 26 years of careless eating and lack of exercise off of my body quickly. it's going to take time. and at the rate i've set for myself...31 pounds in 31 days...aka a pound a day...is not bad considering most people lose about a pound or two a week. ) WE WILL DO THIS!! Slowly but surely...WE WILL DO THIS!!

well, the fill went well. i can honestly say that the most painful part was first exposing my fat stomach (gross), second, the poking around with the fingers to find the port, and third the local numbing needle. after those three, i felt nothing. so, he stuck the fill-needle in the port, and sat me up (wonderfully comfortable mechanical chair) with the needle in me, put in 2cc of saline, and had me take some sips of water. i didn't really feel what i think i was going to feel...then i took a final sip and felt the air come up and the burpies, and felt satisfied with the 2cc. i'm on liquids until saturday, then mushies for a few days, then normal foods. i'll be returning for my second fill in exactly two weeks. all in all, pretty painless and i'm excited to find my "sweet spot."

my first fill appointment is tomorrow at 3:30PM...i'm so ready, and i'll log in and write all about it when i'm done. )

I've tried really hard to be good, but I will confess that I've gone off of the diet I've planned for myself several times. The important thing I tell myself when I've been "bad" is that I'm not eating as much of the bad things as I would've pre-op, and I'm making better choices when I do choose to go off the path to righteousness. ) For example, I went to a buffet at a casino last weekend, but I took a 1/4 of the portions of everything that I would've normally taken. I ate very slow with small bites, and I didn't have seconds or thirds. It's a new way of living/eating...not a DIET for the rest of my life. We shouldn't deprive ourselves... that's how I look at it. We're all doing GREAT!!

1. No drinking 30 min. before meals 2. No drinking 60 min. after meals 3. Must drink 64 oz. per day 4. Protein 60-80 grams per day 5. Total meal size 1/2 to 3/4 cups per meal 6. No Snacks between meals 7. As little calories as possible per day? 8. No heavy/thick breads that'll swell in the pouch; no stringy veggies, i.e. celery; no fruits with seeds, i.e. certain oranges, watermelon; no caffeine; no popcorn--which is the hardest for me because I LOVE POPCORN!

you are not a failure. you're not. losing weight is not easy even with a lap band. everyone will tell you this, so please never think you are a failure. even if you were losing the "normal" 1-2 lbs a week you'd be at around 36-72 lbs lost, so you are not far from that--remember that. this is what i did: try writing down everything you put into your mouth everyday...don't change your habits, just write it down. then, for the next week, try to just leave about 25% of everything you would've eaten on the plate. then, the next week, leave 50%. If you're still feeling hungry, go back to the 25% out. It's a balance. Remember, this is not a diet. It's a new way of eating, thinking, and living your life. There's no need to "start over" if you overeat...you're human! Good luck!! ;o)

hello! i'm so sorry to hear about this happening to you. are you getting plenty of protein? my doctor told me to get at least 80grams daily.

wellllll...i went to RENO this weekend, and i must admit that although i tried very hard to eat smart, i know that i went over my 800-1000 calories/day limit that i've set for myself. saturday was not bad, but today was bad--very very bad. all i have to say is that i start back at the gym with my trainer tomorrow, and i will have a very low-calorie week this week... it's SO difficult when traveling, though, and i have to go on a business trip to new mexico from the 7th thru the 10th...i'll do my best, though. urgh!