barngal2003

So here it is, a tuesday night. I'm getting ready for bed, but I'm frustrated....with just about everything in my life. My boyfriend is in town and I love him, I know that, but I'm beginning to question is I'm IN love with him anymore.....? He's my best friend, but he's sooo agrivating! When he says he's coming to see me, I'd really rather tell him to keep his butt at home, but I know I can't do that to him. He's been pretty much fantastic to me, but we are soo different! Why am I feeling this way? What's wrong with me? We've dated for 3 years now and talked about marriage, and now ...I'm home, for good, love being here, love my Dad, after all the problems with my sisters and their men I sit here and wonder if I even want to get married....? Why is life so complicated??? :toetap05: My Dad's out of town with his girlfriend, and of course everything around here goes to crap. All of a sudden we're getting snow and ice, our cows are knocking down fences, my uncle (God bless his heart, but he's lost his mind and needs to retire) is about like asking a 3 year old to do stuff around a farm....My friend Lauren called, her mom and hubby got into another fight. This time the cops got called, and he got taken to jail. The judge told her mom that it was her fault he hit her, HER FAULT!? WTF? Because she threatened to break his cell phone if he came any closer to her, boy did he, he got so close his fist touched her face! :confused: So not only am I dealing with the usual crap from my sisters, not having a job and bills piling up, I've been sick, my boyfriend is driving me crazy, my dad's out of town and everything is going to crap on the farm, my friend's mom was beaten by her husband, and yet, all I want is to lose weight.......Which while sick apparently now viruses kill my appetite, so I apparently stalled my weight loss because I couldn't make myself eat near enough during the day. I'm down 28 pounds, right at 300 pounds now, and dieing to get under it! But haven't had the time or energy since I've been sick to really exercise. figures. I feel like I'm running and running, and doing all that I can for everyone else but it's never enough. Why am I second guessing my boyfriend? Why do I feel like everything is hopeless in life? To top it all off, I really want to take a little vacation in march or july but I don't know if I'll be able to because of money, but yet my cousins apparently have money to blow and go gamble like every weekend....What's wrong with me? Why is it bothering me what they do? Are all of my questions just me being an unusually worrysome form of myself or is this part of that rollercoaster that's part of having the band? I just feel frustrated and angry right now, and I'm not sure why. I've lost 28 pounds, and I hope to go have another fill soon....so we'll see. Maybe this will just go away.

I've been curious as to what other doctors have been telling their patients to see where my diet differs from others. Apparently it differs quite a bit! It's the same basic concept but tweaked I suppose. Thanks for posting this, you've cured my curiousity!! My diet is to get in 60 g of protein per day, 48-60 oz of water, and keep my fat intake less than 5 g of fat per serving and my sugar intake less than 10 g of fat per serving. That's it! I also read your other entry that talks about how easy things are right now, and I'm right there with you! Now that I've gotten the hang of it, it's easy! Which it will get harder but, for the time being I'm just going to enjoy it. Thanks for the posts again! And keep up the good work on your loss!

It's hard to believe that I am now 6 weeks out from surgery and down 25 pounds...I'd love to celebrate more at the moment but unfortunately I'm stuck in bed sick. What's different this time than before surgery and getting sick, is I find myself worrying more about what I take in. I made sure to get sugar-free cough syrup and cough drops, I'm trying to be especially careful about what I eat, although keeping my protein intake up. My sister suggested that since nothing else is seeming to work to keep my cough under control to try some whiskey and sugar to make a syrup like in "olden" days...is it bad that I refuse to try it for the empty calories? :cheatfree: I just really don't want to see the scale go up. I may not be able to exercise right now, but doesnt mean I can pig out either. Actually truth be told my hunger has all but vanished. Sadly I don't think it's because I've found my sweet spot but instead because I'm sick. As for the weightloss that I've had, I don't think anyone can really tell but, that's ok, as long as the scale keeps going down, eventually people will notice. My jeans are less tight, my boobs may be a little smaller, and my face a little thinner, but that's probably it. I'm not going to let it get me down, just want to keep trucking it, more like get better and get out of bed!! It's funny though the little changes that I've been going through...anything to keep the scale from going the other way (UP)....Oh well guess I'll go to bed now, attempt to get some rest.

It's hard to believe that I am now 6 weeks out from surgery and down 25 pounds...I'd love to celebrate more at the moment but unfortunately I'm stuck in bed sick. What's different this time than before surgery and getting sick, is I find myself worrying more about what I take in. I made sure to get sugar-free cough syrup and cough drops, I'm trying to be especially careful about what I eat, although keeping my protein intake up. My sister suggested that since nothing else is seeming to work to keep my cough under control to try some whiskey and sugar to make a syrup like in "olden" days...is it bad that I refuse to try it for the empty calories? :blushing: I just really don't want to see the scale go up. I may not be able to exercise right now, but doesnt mean I can pig out either. Actually truth be told my hunger has all but vanished. Sadly I don't think it's because I've found my sweet spot but instead because I'm sick. As for the weightloss that I've had, I don't think anyone can really tell but, that's ok, as long as the scale keeps going down, eventually people will notice. My jeans are less tight, my boobs may be a little smaller, and my face a little thinner, but that's probably it. I'm not going to let it get me down, just want to keep trucking it, more like get better and get out of bed!! It's funny though the little changes that I've been going through...anything to keep the scale from going the other way (UP)....Oh well guess I'll go to bed now, attempt to get some rest.

So as of today, I'm down 24 lbs. Which is great don't get me wrong. :Banane37: But, it's such a slow process, and of course I woke up yesterday sick! :cheatfree: AHHK! So, who wants to workout when they feel like crud? I've layed around all day and done almost nothing, same yesterday, even though I made myself get up and do some cleaning both days, a little taebo yesterday (although that made breathing next to impossible so I couldn't do much) and tonight just some little strength training exercises; no real stressors though. :Banane37: I know I'm eatting less....I don't know the calorie count because my dietician told me to worry more about what I ate at this point, like keeping my fat intake down and my sugar intake low as well and of course get the protein in.....so I have been. I have yet to intentionally break my diet! :cheatfree: (my sister did trick me the other night with mac and cheese, of all things she put sugar in it!!! ) Which makes me feel really good but I just fear each time I step on the scales that my weight is going to go up and not down. I can handle the scale not moving, but to go up right now, even though I know that sometimes you're body will retain some before allowing a decent loss, like go up a 1/2 pound...but I feel like I'm not doing anything! It's like this is too easy, and it can't possibly work....???? That just like every other diet I've been on, my weight loss is going to plateau and then stop and I'll gain it all back and more, and after paying all this money, and going through this surgery I just don't think I could handle it. It's like dangling a piece of bacon infront of a dog who hasn't eatten in 2 weeks...ya know? I feel like it's taunting me, even though how could it be? I control it! It's my tool, the only thing standing in my way right now, is me...even though I'm trying..hard. I'm glad to be down 24 pounds, but I feel like I need another fill, ya know? It's not tight enough I'm still snacking a little and definitely eatting more than what they want me to at meals.:iagree: So what do I do? Right now I don't have the money to go join the gym like I know I need to, I don't have a job, I'm basically just a babysitter, receptionist, farm manager for my family farm which don't get me wrong, I love working on the farm, and so far the pay is good! lol Dad let's me live rent free, buys groceries and pays my bills, but he's strapped for money and I guess with everything going on, I just need to step back and take a deep breath and keep trucking it....here's a kicker, which I guess I should expect, but even though I've lost 24 lbs and most of the times before when I've lost that much you could tell at least a little, this time no one can see it. I feel a small difference in my jeans, maybe a small difference in my face, but otherwise, nothing. Where'd the weight fall off at? Oh well.....hopefully as I just keep plugging away at it, I'll feel better and hopefully soon get another fill.

So as of today, I'm down 24 lbs. Which is great don't get me wrong. :thumbup: But, it's such a slow process, and of course I woke up yesterday sick! :thumbup: AHHK! So, who wants to workout when they feel like crud? I've layed around all day and done almost nothing, same yesterday, even though I made myself get up and do some cleaning both days, a little taebo yesterday (although that made breathing next to impossible so I couldn't do much) and tonight just some little strength training exercises; no real stressors though. :eek: I know I'm eatting less....I don't know the calorie count because my dietician told me to worry more about what I ate at this point, like keeping my fat intake down and my sugar intake low as well and of course get the protein in.....so I have been. I have yet to intentionally break my diet! :blushing: (my sister did trick me the other night with mac and cheese, of all things she put sugar in it!!! :mad:) Which makes me feel really good but I just fear each time I step on the scales that my weight is going to go up and not down. I can handle the scale not moving, but to go up right now, even though I know that sometimes you're body will retain some before allowing a decent loss, like go up a 1/2 pound...but I feel like I'm not doing anything! It's like this is too easy, and it can't possibly work....???? That just like every other diet I've been on, my weight loss is going to plateau and then stop and I'll gain it all back and more, and after paying all this money, and going through this surgery I just don't think I could handle it. It's like dangling a piece of bacon infront of a dog who hasn't eatten in 2 weeks...ya know? I feel like it's taunting me, even though how could it be? I control it! It's my tool, the only thing standing in my way right now, is me...even though I'm trying..hard. I'm glad to be down 24 pounds, but I feel like I need another fill, ya know? It's not tight enough I'm still snacking a little and definitely eatting more than what they want me to at meals.:heart: So what do I do? Right now I don't have the money to go join the gym like I know I need to, I don't have a job, I'm basically just a babysitter, receptionist, farm manager for my family farm which don't get me wrong, I love working on the farm, and so far the pay is good! lol Dad let's me live rent free, buys groceries and pays my bills, but he's strapped for money and I guess with everything going on, I just need to step back and take a deep breath and keep trucking it....here's a kicker, which I guess I should expect, but even though I've lost 24 lbs and most of the times before when I've lost that much you could tell at least a little, this time no one can see it. I feel a small difference in my jeans, maybe a small difference in my face, but otherwise, nothing. Where'd the weight fall off at? Oh well.....hopefully as I just keep plugging away at it, I'll feel better and hopefully soon get another fill.

I got my first fill yesterday. Only 3cc in my 10 cc band. It's a start. Apparently I am also getting in too much protein and have been told to back it off a little. I'm supposed to be getting a minimum of 60 g per day, and I've been getting like 105 g a day. I get hungry and I eat low-fat, low-sugar, high protein food...but my dietician said that I can damage my kidneys by getting too much protein. Today I tried to get in less, and I only had 1 snack today, and I still got in 73 g of protein.....apparently I've gotten too good at getting it in?? Hope all is well with everyone else!

Today I went for my post-op appointment. It's been about 5 weeks since surgery and I'm feeling great, aside from hunger. I figured that he wouldn't do a fill today, because all of the paper work says so, but for whatever reason, they did one. It really wasn't bad. My sister said it looked horrible, but honestly, with no numbing agent or anything it was a breeze! :thumbup: Sadly they only put in 3cc to my 10cc band. While that's a start and maybe it'll help some, so far tonight it hasn't. At dinner, I still didn't feel satisfied until I'd eatten almost as much as I used to, and the goal is supposed to be 1/2 cup per meal, boy do I have a long way to go! I know it could take awhile to hit my "sweet spot" or the "green zone" but you can't blame me for being a little anxious after years of empty promises of weight loss and then finally getting it, ya know? I know I need to be patient and I'll get there, but I really just don't want to regain any of the weight I've lost since surgery....Right now I'm scheduled to go back for another fill in 4 weeks, but if this fill really doesn't do anything, I may call and see if I can go back in 2 weeks instead, because initially that's what they wanted to do, but because I'm a self-pay patient they were trying to make it easier I suppose on my wallet...Oh well, nothing to do but wait and see, and while I'm waiting eat right, exercise and attempt to find a job! :wink2::ohmy: :frown:

Today I went for my post-op appointment. It's been about 5 weeks since surgery and I'm feeling great, aside from hunger. I figured that he wouldn't do a fill today, because all of the paper work says so, but for whatever reason, they did one. It really wasn't bad. My sister said it looked horrible, but honestly, with no numbing agent or anything it was a breeze! :thumbup: Sadly they only put in 3cc to my 10cc band. While that's a start and maybe it'll help some, so far tonight it hasn't. :thumbup: At dinner, I still didn't feel satisfied until I'd eatten almost as much as I used to, and the goal is supposed to be 1/2 cup per meal, boy do I have a long way to go! I know it could take awhile to hit my "sweet spot" or the "green zone" but you can't blame me for being a little anxious after years of empty promises of weight loss and then finally getting it, ya know? I know I need to be patient and I'll get there, but I really just don't want to regain any of the weight I've lost since surgery....Right now I'm scheduled to go back for another fill in 4 weeks, but if this fill really doesn't do anything, I may call and see if I can go back in 2 weeks instead, because initially that's what they wanted to do, but because I'm a self-pay patient they were trying to make it easier I suppose on my wallet...Oh well, nothing to do but wait and see, and while I'm waiting eat right, exercise and attempt to find a job! :thumbup::eek: :tongue:

So here I am down 21 lbs!...and yet no real differences. I know it's because I have a lot to lose, but geez it'd be nice. I mean as far as inches go you can tell a difference, I've lost 2 inches off of everything around my torso which is great, and there are small differences in my jeans. But, the other night my Dad and I went to take our new church directory photo and wow, I was appauled at myself. I had grown my hair out to just below my shoulders and pulled it half back or whatever, and in the picture I had a moon face!!!! :frown: I mean really! I haven't had a chunky face picture like that since I was in ohhhhhhh 2nd grade! All I could think was, well good thing I'm down 20 at this point because I would have hated to see it at my heaviest!!! :ohmy: I was really agrivated, I mean I know I'm obese and so forth and it will come off now that I have my tool to do it, but it was just kind of a shocker that even though I was down 20 lbs my face doesn't look any smaller. So because my hair was getting on my nerves and after the awful picture, I had my hair cut last night, it's a meg ryan doo from city of angels. I like it, it's cute, of course my dad's joke afterwards became, "Looks good, I wonder how much weight that took off!?" Really dad??? I know he didn't mean anything by it, but it did get to me. For those who may be looking to shake up their exercise routine my neice Ashleigh and I have been doing some fun stuff. Afterall exercise doesn't have to be boring. :wink2: While of course I do wii fit, we've been bowling and not just leisurely bowling, get 2 lanes and kinda add a little competition to it, friendly of course, we've done taebo and pilates and...and this is a real fun one, we got these cardio dance dvds. One is from Dance with the Stars and the other is a hip hop one, and it was a lot of fun! Learning those dance moves and doing it full out, made me feel good about myself, and got my heart rate way up there! Honestly, if you like dancing and having a good time, just go buy one of these cheap dvds from wal-mart and try it. :thumbup: Anyway, maybe I'll be able to tell that I've lost weight more when I hit 30 lbs. I'm just taking it 1 day at a time, and 1 lb at a time. And hey slow and steady will win the race.

So here I am down 21 lbs!...and yet no real differences. I know it's because I have a lot to lose, but geez it'd be nice. I mean as far as inches go you can tell a difference, I've lost 2 inches off of everything around my torso which is great, and there are small differences in my jeans. But, the other night my Dad and I went to take our new church directory photo and wow, I was appauled at myself. I had grown my hair out to just below my shoulders and pulled it half back or whatever, and in the picture I had a moon face!!!! :frown: I mean really! I haven't had a chunky face picture like that since I was in ohhhhhhh 2nd grade! :thumbup: All I could think was, well good thing I'm down 20 at this point because I would have hated to see it at my heaviest!!! :tt1: I was really agrivated, I mean I know I'm obese and so forth and it will come off now that I have my tool to do it, but it was just kind of a shocker that even though I was down 20 lbs my face doesn't look any smaller. So because my hair was getting on my nerves and after the awful picture, I had my hair cut last night, it's a meg ryan doo from city of angels. I like it, it's cute, of course my dad's joke afterwards became, "Looks good, I wonder how much weight that took off!?" Really dad??? I know he didn't mean anything by it, but it did get to me. For those who may be looking to shake up their exercise routine my neice Ashleigh and I have been doing some fun stuff. Afterall exercise doesn't have to be boring. :mad: While of course I do wii fit, we've been bowling and not just leisurely bowling, get 2 lanes and kinda add a little competition to it, friendly of course, we've done taebo and pilates and...and this is a real fun one, we got these cardio dance dvds. One is from Dance with the Stars and the other is a hip hop one, and it was a lot of fun! Learning those dance moves and doing it full out, made me feel good about myself, and got my heart rate way up there! Honestly, if you like dancing and having a good time, just go buy one of these cheap dvds from wal-mart and try it. :cursing: Anyway, maybe I'll be able to tell that I've lost weight more when I hit 30 lbs. I'm just taking it 1 day at a time, and 1 lb at a time. And hey slow and steady will win the race.

Try not to think of the things you're giving up as the price for being thin. More importantly (although as a fellow bandster I completely understand the desire to be thin part) you'll be more healthy. Congrats on quiting smoking! And as for the alcohol, give it till you heal, I'm still in the healing stage myself, but if you can tolerate it, why not have a cocktail or glass of wine once in a blue moon? However, I was presented the opportunity this past weekend and ya know, I really didn't want it, I'm losing now and I know that if I did have even a little liquor or wine, it's still a lot of empty calories. Again, try not to think about what you can no longer do, but think about what you will be able to do once you lose the weight! It's a great motivator, and also, maybe try reading the Beck Diet Solution. I read on one of the forums on here that it's a must read for helping get your mind in order to lose weight, and honestly, it is really great. It helps with the temptations and sabotaging thoughts. Even though you have a great support system, you've already found that right now they can't 100% support you. Even though they love you, and want to see you succeed, they don't fully understand the step you're taking. The actual surgery isn't bad, isn't a huge step, it's the fact that you are willing to change your entire lifestyle to be healthy and happy. They warn you that this can be an emotional rollercoaster as you lose the weight, so hang tight, immediately befor my surgery I was a basket case because I felt like no one understood and they weren't supporting me enough, but now I'm losing and feeling better and the little support that I get is working just fine. And remember, while you may feel completely alone, and you may feel like you are doing this all by yourself, you're not, there are thousands of people on this site that have gone through and are going through the exact same thing, I'm glad you joined. The site has helped me and I'm sure it'll help you.

So I'm about 3 weeks out from surgery and life's going great I suppose. As far as the weightloss goes, slow and steady wins the race! I won't complain being down 19 pounds in roughly 3 weeks..but the rest of my life is hectic and tiring. Exercise is coming easy since I live on a farm, I just push a little harder and at the end of the day goof off to some wii fit. (Which I have a lot of fun doin, by the way! :tounge_smile:) While the incisions don't look bad, one is right where my bra sits and it frequently gets a little irritated and itches....Hopefully it won't hinder the healing by much. Also, I can feel my port!! :thumbup: It's so creepy to feel something hard like the port under my skin! lol I've found that I have more energy, I'm sleeping better at night and I like it! However, and I guess it's normal, I'm eatting more than I was a few days post op, I assume that because I've lost weight, I have shrunk some of the visceral fat around my stomach and have loosened the band and just need a fill, I really hope that it's not that I've jumped back into doing work too fast and have made the band slip. :w00t: But otherwise, I'm enjoying it, now that the pain is gone, it's nice to notice that I've lost a minimum of 2 inches all over my torso, and that my jeans are fitting a little more loosely.......I could get used to this. :thumbup:

So I'm about 3 weeks out from surgery and life's going great I suppose. As far as the weightloss goes, slow and steady wins the race! I won't complain being down 19 pounds in roughly 3 weeks..but the rest of my life is hectic and tiring. Exercise is coming easy since I live on a farm, I just push a little harder and at the end of the day goof off to some wii fit. (Which I have a lot of fun doin, by the way! :thumbdown:) While the incisions don't look bad, one is right where my bra sits and it frequently gets a little irritated and itches....Hopefully it won't hinder the healing by much. Also, I can feel my port!! :redface: It's so creepy to feel something hard like the port under my skin! lol I've found that I have more energy, I'm sleeping better at night and I like it! However, and I guess it's normal, I'm eatting more than I was a few days post op, I assume that because I've lost weight, I have shrunk some of the visceral fat around my stomach and have loosened the band and just need a fill, I really hope that it's not that I've jumped back into doing work too fast and have made the band slip. :thumbup: But otherwise, I'm enjoying it, now that the pain is gone, it's nice to notice that I've lost a minimum of 2 inches all over my torso, and that my jeans are fitting a little more loosely.......I could get used to this. :cursing:

Hi Angel, as far as what I do to get in my protein, if you're in the pureed stage or phase II then you can have oatmeal or cream of wheat, if you make the cream of wheat a little more liquidy then it would work for the liquids stage. But I add 2 tablespoons of non-fat dried milk to it and that gives an extra 5 grams of protein. Also, I have had trouble finding palatable protein shakes, they advertise these things like they taste amazing, but they really don't! I have found that there are 2 shakes I can tolerate, although I do like chocolate, but they come in vanilla and other flavors. One is the EAS Advantage protein shake, sold in grocery stores, gives 17 g of protein and tastes suprisingly good. The other is the Low Carb Diet Slim Fast shake, it gives 20 grams of protein and is also low in sugar and fat. It gets easier to get the protein in once you figure out where you can find it. Eat some beefaroni pureed, the consistency isn't great, but it packs some good protein, as well as beans and chilis which will give you some good taste and a change from the soups. I hope some of this helps!

Is it bad that I don't know how many days out I am from surgery? I mean I'm pretty sure it's like 3 weeks, and I go for my post-op next week on the 22nd. :thumbup: I can't wait, I really hope he schedules my first fill, because I can tell that I don't have near the restriction that I should. :thumbup: I mean, at first I had some, not a whole whole lot, but a good amount, and now I feel like I could go back to my old eatting happits even though I refuse to. Also I've been picking up on the exercising. Doing a minimum of 20 minutes a day, and almost every day. I've lost a total of 18 pounds since the day before surgery, so I think I'm doing pretty good, but fearing that I've plateaued. I've found that I really enjoy the Atkins advantage bars and the EAS protein shakes. Getting in the 60 g of protein a day is getting easier little by little, so is the water. I just really hope that I can get a fill and continue to lose weight. Also, as a side note, apparently right now the joke that people ask me, is, "so have you wasted away to nothing yet!?" Oy....:tounge_smile:

Is it bad that I don't know how many days out I am from surgery? I mean I'm pretty sure it's like 3 weeks, and I go for my post-op next week on the 22nd. :cool2: I can't wait, I really hope he schedules my first fill, because I can tell that I don't have near the restriction that I should. :smile: I mean, at first I had some, not a whole whole lot, but a good amount, and now I feel like I could go back to my old eatting happits even though I refuse to. Also I've been picking up on the exercising. Doing a minimum of 20 minutes a day, and almost every day. I've lost a total of 18 pounds since the day before surgery, so I think I'm doing pretty good, but fearing that I've plateaued. I've found that I really enjoy the Atkins advantage bars and the EAS protein shakes. Getting in the 60 g of protein a day is getting easier little by little, so is the water. I just really hope that I can get a fill and continue to lose weight. Also, as a side note, apparently right now the joke that people ask me, is, "so have you wasted away to nothing yet!?" Oy....

Agreed completely. All of us have a long way to go on our journeys, but we all need to remember that it's the little victories that will get us through to the end result. Keep up the good work! It'll come off!

I'm just over 2 weeks out from surgery and I'm feeling really good. I'm down 16 pounds from where I was the day before my cleanse, and the soreness is all but gone. I still get little twinges of pain in the port area if I twist wrong or if one of my little chihuahuas steps on it playing, but otherwise all is well. I'm working hard to get my protein and water in during the day, and I'm picking up my exercising. It's just been slow because I've had to take this week to move out of my college apartment back home, which was good exercise because I had almost no help. Anyway, I had hoped that the weight would come off a little easier, but it hasn't. At least I'm down 16 lbs, I mean I have to celebrate the little things right? I knew this was going to be a big undertaking and not a cop out to lose the weight, so if I can just stick with it, it'll be ok, besides I haven't even had my first fill yet! Anyway, hopefully my 3rd week out I will see another pound or so come off, I'm going to check into joining a gym this week, a curves and see because I know I need to be doing some cardio and strength training, not just walking and wii fit, although I have to say the wii fit hula hoop can get you sweating if you get into it, same with dance dance revolution (ddr)! I did that the other night with my neice and it was a quite nice little workout. Anyway, I just need to take it step by step and eventually the weight will come off....:confused:

I'm just over 2 weeks out from surgery and I'm feeling really good. I'm down 16 pounds from where I was the day before my cleanse, and the soreness is all but gone. I still get little twinges of pain in the port area if I twist wrong or if one of my little chihuahuas steps on it playing, but otherwise all is well. I'm working hard to get my protein and water in during the day, and I'm picking up my exercising. It's just been slow because I've had to take this week to move out of my college apartment back home, which was good exercise because I had almost no help. Anyway, I had hoped that the weight would come off a little easier, but it hasn't. At least I'm down 16 lbs, I mean I have to celebrate the little things right? I knew this was going to be a big undertaking and not a cop out to lose the weight, so if I can just stick with it, it'll be ok, besides I haven't even had my first fill yet! Anyway, hopefully my 3rd week out I will see another pound or so come off, I'm going to check into joining a gym this week, a curves and see because I know I need to be doing some cardio and strength training, not just walking and wii fit, although I have to say the wii fit hula hoop can get you sweating if you get into it, same with dance dance revolution (ddr)! I did that the other night with my neice and it was a quite nice little workout. Anyway, I just need to take it step by step and eventually the weight will come off....:thumbup:

Thank you so much Joann for the reassurance, I'm not sure why I'm feeling this way right now. But I really appreciate the support, and yes I will and am doing all of those things.

Hi Sue, I know I don't want to have problems, but what little I have ventured on to, that are mushy have gone down fine. I'm being very careful. I'm also sticking VERY strictly to the diet part, the actual guidelines of what to eat, and I'm now down 16 lbs, but I can't help but feel like I'm not doing enough......I've been exercising Seriously, I've been doing as much as I can without lifting over 15 lbs, I've had to be moving out of my apartment at school by myself basically so I've gotten a lot of exercise from it, but do you all feel that you aren't doing anything? Or aren't enough? I'm already in the back of my mind thinking, this isn't going to work, I'm not doing it right, I'm going to fail...anyone else experiencing that?

Just wanted to say hi to everyone. Had my surgery on the 19th, I'm a little over a week recovered, and I'm down 14 pounds and 2 inches off of my hips! I'm struggling though, I only had to stay on clear liquids for 1 day but my surgeon wants me to stay on pureed or blenderized foods till I go back to see him on Jan 22nd! I feel I'm ready to move on to mushy foods, but I really want to stick with the program I just hate having to put everything through the blender! I'm doing well sticking to it otherwise, although I don't think I'm getting quite enough protein in each day, I'm going to pick up some protein powder and powdered nonfat milk, anyone else having to stay on phase 2 for so long? Anywho, just wanted to say hi, and good luck to all those who are still preparing for surgery!

So I'm down to 4 days till surgery and I am sooo excited! My school work has fallen into place and now I'm officially graduated and having my surgery and I'm just so long over due for things to fall into place just once! I've noticed however, that I've become a lot more sensitive to little things people may say, even if I know they're ridiculous, like my sister tonight. She tells me on the phone that while she's ready for friday as well, she just wants it to be over, that she's apprehensive. I take it as she doesn't want me to have it, that she feels I don't need it. Which is ridiculous because she's supported my decision for the surgery since day one! I called her back and questioned her, and just about cried in the process because I want her continued support....Of course she told me I was crazy and I admitted that after thinking about it a little more she's right, the only thing she's apprehensive about is the fact that it's a surgery and it comes with the risks that all surgeries come with. I over reacted and I can't explain why, other than I guess I'm just getting close to my surgery date.....I'm just soo ready for it! Tomorrow I have my last final, EVER!!! And I'm taking a present to my mentor and lab professor and friend, then off to pack and load up and go home! Wednesday, I plan to do my post-op shopping and eat some sushi and mexican food, then ready to do the cleanse on thursday and friday is the day! Here we go!! It's like the rollercoaster is at the top of the hill, I'm peering over and ready to fly down it!!! WHOO!!!!! :biggrin::biggrin: