LindaV

Hello Everyone, Today, September 15th, is my 42 birthday and the official end of my September Challenge. I started at 276 and originally wanted to lose 61 pounds and be at 255. I changed my goal to 250 a few weeks ago just before my weight loss stalled! Anyway, I am happy to report that this morning I weighed 253!!!!!! I lost 62 pounds! Woohoo! Even though I didn't make it to 250, I am thrilled!!!!!!!!!!!!! As soon as I figure out how to post some pictures, I will get them up. It will be interesting to compare my before and after pictures. I havn't actually seen any yet. I am definately in for the 20 lb Turkey Take-Off! My goal is 233.

I get the instant chocolate flavored kind and when I was on liquids and mushies I added a scoop of chocolate protein powder when I mixed it up and it was delicious the next day. When I can't eat much or when I need extra protein I still resort to this food.

Thanks for the great ideas everyone! One trick I have used to get in some extra Protein is to mix a scoop of chocolate protein powder in when I make ff/sf instant pudding mix. I can't even tell it's there and I would much rather eat pudding than drink a Protein shake. Another way I get extra protein in is to add cottage cheese to things. You can add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cottage cheese to most meals that have a gravy base and hardly taste it (although I like it) and again, you get up to 14 grams of extra protein. I use sparkpeople.com to track my food intake and exercise. It's a great website which is completely free and I have found it a little easier to use than fitday. I also print out the reports when I see my nutritionist and she helps me tweak my diet if it needs it. I stop losing weight if I consistently eat less than 1200 calories a day and I start to lose muscle if I eat less than 80 grams of protein a day (I do Water aerobics 4-5 days a week). I pay out of pocket to see a nutritionist but I think it is well worth the money. I probably won't see one the rest of my life, but for now, while I'm still learning to live with my band, I am finding the visits to be invaluable.

Wow, Penni! I'm sure that was a difficult decision. I have appreciated your diligent duty as moderator for the past several months that I have been at LBT! Thank you for you time and sacrifice!

Hey Zena, Wecome to LBT! I was in your shoes in February (had never heard of Lap Band). Now here I am 7 months later, banded for 4 months and 60 pounds gone for good. This is a great website to get informed about the lap band. Keep researching and good luck!

I get in between 90-100 grams of protein a day so I don't think that's my problem either. Protein intake is definately a good place to start when you start losing though.

Faybie - That is a great article and way to estimate pouch size. I'm sure most bandster, like gb patients, worry about pouch size.

I am just over 4 months out and have just started to lose hair in the last few weeks. I probably lose between 15-30 strands of hair everytime I shower. I honestly would rather be bald and healthy than have a full head of hair and be fat and unhealthy!

I stepped on the scale very tenatively this morning and...guess what???? I LOST 1.5 POUNDS! Go figure! I would love to do a Thanksgiving Challenge! I'm in for -20 pounds! I'll officially start on Friday when my September Challenge ends.

Hey All, I'm back from Portland where my husband did indeed take me to see the musical Wicked. I absoutely loved it! It was an interesting weekend eating-wise. I basicall decided I was going to have a junk food fest all weekend and I did eat a lot of junk but I also found I craved more healthy food than usual. At our first stop at a food mart, I knew I was going to get some junk food and I stood there for 10 minutes because I couldn't make up my mind. I finally decided on an ice cream sandwich and some Hostess hoho's and that was all of the really bad stuff I ate all weekend. I did have fast food a couple of times but that was where we stopped and while I didn't order salads, I didn't order the worst stuff on the menu either. I am dreading getting on the scale tomorrow and have definately give up all delusions of reaching my September Challenge goal by Friday but I had a good weekend and feel like I got the cravings for some really unhealthy stuff out of my system and I am ready to get back to Water aerobics and tracking my calories tomorrow. Drews - I love the new avatar! Marci - I know what the Mason's are. I just didn't realize that's what you were refering too. Thanks for the clarification.

Marci - What exactly is a "cult" function? I've never heard of one. I'll have to read your answer when I get back. For now, I'm off to Portland! I found out we're going to see the musical Wicked which is what I was secretly hoping for. My family just can't keep secrets from me.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Drews--You look fantastic! And so young! I had a much different "you" pictured because of your avatar. I like the real you much better than the one I imagined! You need a new avatar girl!

and confesses! I have managed to gain 2 pounds over the last 2 days. I'm not sure how that is possible since I have barely eaten over 1400 calories each day! Anyway...I'm fessing up! I am no longer -60 (damn!!!!). I'm back to -58 and heading to Portland for the weekend where I am sure I will be sorely tempted by restaurant food. I really want to be at 250 by my b-day next Friday but it is looking more and more like I won't make it. :tired At this point, I would be happy with my original September Challenge goal which was 255 (which I saw for a brief 12 hours or so). I'm such a perfectionist--I hate failure! I guess it's really not failure--I have worked really hard to get to where I am. Oh by the way, I had a MAJOR NSV yesterday. I bought some jeans for our trip (I havn't worn jeans in probably 15 years) and wore them to a friends house last night. I was amazed at everyone's response as soon as I walked in the door. People were absoutely gushing about how much weight I have lost. I guess there is something to be said for wearing tighter fitting clothes. I have always been more comfortable in really loose fitting clothes because then people can't tell how fat I really am underneath. Another plus was the fact that I got them at Walmart. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on clothes that will only fit me for a month or two. The jeans were only about $15. I'm glad I'll be able to shop cheaply until I get down to my goal. I hate feeling like I'm wasting money. Good luck everyone with the last week of the challenge!

Wow, it's great to see how everyone is doing! I actually hit my original September Challenge this morning! Yep, it's official have now lost 60 pounds! :eek: I have 5 more to go by my birthday on the 15th. My DH is taking me to Portland for a surprise b-day present (I'm guessing a musical) so I'm not sure I will lose another 5 pounds by next Friday but, either way, I'm thrilled! Talk to ya soon!

I am so sad about what has transpired here over the last few weeks! I will really miss a couple of the members who were banned. I know 3Loves will genuinely be missed on this thread in particular. I am thankful to have a place to come to get away from all the crap and just be honest w/o fear of being judged. For that I thank you all. Except for the couple of LBT members who I know personally, you guys know me more than most. This is where I post the most. Part of me wants to just join the exodus and leave LBT but the other part of me knows that I have made friends here and have received much needed support here. I'm still a little on the fence about this decision. For now, I'm staying to see how things go. Thanks for listening, my friends.

Hey Heather, Thanks for taking on the GFGC! Somehow my updated stats for last week didn't make it to this thread so here they are: LindaV - H 315/ J 299/ G 170/ C 258 (-56 lbs total) It's ok if you don't update them till next week when I post my weekly update. Could you put me on the honors page then too? Thanks again!

My doctor will do fills every 2 weeks until proper restriction is reached. He tends to do more conservative fills because he would rather his patients come back again in 2 weeks rather than come back sooner because they are over-filled. I should mention that he does not do fills under fluro. Once a good level of restriction is reached the next fill is different for every individual depending on how quickly their restriction diminishes.

I have kept my mouth shut (at least publically) so far, but I must say that I agree with Funny! I was not around a year ago for the BigChix stuff but I was around a few months ago when the whole Delarla/Photonut stuff began. Even Susan admitted publically back then that she went a little overboard--she also apologized publically! What did she do this time? A couple of her PM's were made public for which she again publically apologized. These PMs could not even compare to the mean-spirited, vengeful and degrading posts by the other members involved in this. So she defended herself while still taking the higher road and not sinking to the level of those attacking and accusing her. She said "Put up or shut up" No one ever did "put up." I wonder why? What I saw was her being "stalked" and acused of many things that the accusers were in fact guilty of themselves. I can say something many of you cannot! I know Susan personally! We share meals together, walk together and have a couple of other groups in common. I know for a fact that Susan is a generous, kind-hearted, and giving person! She hates what all of this has done to LBT! I am not mad at Alex or the MODs--I know this has been a very difficult time for them! This just seems so unfair that I had to vent a little publically!

It's great to hear that!

DeAnn - That stinks! Good luck finding your doctor. I'm sure you will be able to once he gets set up again. Is a provider for your insurance? Maybe you could get some help there! Anyway, I'm looking forward to meeting you next month!

Hey Montanadana, Welcome to LBT neighbor!

I don't think I'm too tight. In fact, I think I have the restriction that a lot of bandsters long for but it is a little more than I like. I work best with the band when I can take bigger bites and eat a little more than most but not the HUGE amounts I used to eat. I lose best eating between 1400-1600 calories/day with a fairly high amount of Protein and I am finding that difficult right now. I could seriously eat about 600 calories w/o being hungry right now which I know my body would not react well to. I like restriction because that's how the band works. Just not this much restriction. But I made the decision to get banded and I have no regrets! Being really restricted sometimes just goes with the territory. I feel like I have been really lucky to be able to eat like a fairly normal person for the last few months and see the weight loss I've seen. Now I will have to eat like a real bandster for a few weeks till things loosten up. I can live with that! It's what I was prepared to do for the rest of my life--so what's a few weeks!

I think I would just go in the bathroom and jump, flap your arms or whatever you need to do! I ate fish for lunch today and it took me over an hour to get 2 oz down and I was uncomfortable after a couple of bites each time. I guess hard Proteins are going to be a challenge for a while but, damn, the other stuff doesn't have as much Protein and has a lot more calories. I forgot. Were you one of the ones who had a recent fill, Stitchy?

Dawg - I'm sure you wouldn't complain if your wife looked like that!

I thought you were quitting your job to pursue the slumber party thing full-time. Otherwise I agree with everyone else. You only have so much of your money and time to go around.