marz88

Welcome Calanne! Congrats Ousooner! I too rode on rides for the first time at our state fair over Labor Day. What a thrill! I'm on vacation from work for the week and found myself up early and walking my normal walk before noon, usually I walk in the evenings. Tonight I'm starting yogalates (yoga and pilates). I bought a video some months ago but haven't done them yet, I needed to get a theraband. Anyone else out there doing much for toning? Especially you Ousooner? With your fabulous weight loss, what are you doing to tone?

Rock On Drewslou!!!

Just checking in, I haven't been here for a few weeks and I'm feeling guilty. ousooner-You are an inspiration to all of us! Keep it up! I keep all of you in my prayers, we all have struggles whether it's with our personal life, spiritual life or our weight! Keep your heart and mind focused on what is really important. ...This too shall pass. When I got my last fill on 9/18, I felt a bit more restriction but last week, WHOA! I had my first puke, and that is certainly something I was hoping to avoid altogether and I hope to never repeat it. It is kinda weird, I have more restriction now than I did right after the fill. My birthday is in about a month and I'm hoping to give myself a birthday present of a trip to ONE-DERLAND. I have to get my driver's license renewed and it would be so cool to put a ONE-DERLAND weight on it since it hasn't been there since it was first issued to me when I was 16!

I have a 12cc vg band and I am filled to 8cc. It took about 3-4 days after that fill (which I think is weird) to gain the restriction which I'm loving right now. Breads are a big "pain", seriously. And no more spaghetti either. I try to stay off the scale during the week, I check it only on Mondays (okay, so maybe I cheat a time or two during the week) and don't consider any other weight as a gain or loss. Only that which is recorded on Mondays! Although I have restriction from my fill on the 18th, I haven't lost any weight. Hopefully it will come. I notice that I sometimes lose weight 5lbs at a time. Nothing for a long time, then as Kato said, badabing, badaboom, it comes off.

WOW!!! Drewslou you look fabulous! I can hardly wait to be in a 16. My bottom size hasn't but one size, even after 50 lbs. Arggg... My fill from a week ago took a few days to kick in. On Saturday, I tried to eat a spaghetti salad and thought I was going to lose it. Boy did it hurt. Then today I had one bite of a donut and knew that was enough. So I guess Pasta and breads are on their way out of my vocabulary. It is so good to finally have some restriction!! Yeah!! I haven't vomitted but I have felt that bit of slime that has been talked about. I didn't much care for that, I'd like to not have that happen again.

Yeah! Drewslou, I am so excited for you to get going again. I find myself frustrated when I don't think I have the restriction I should. I can't imagine what you have been through! There have been times in the past few months that I felt like I didn't have a band at all! Good Luck!

I work at a department store(not in the clothing area mind you). I have had to beat myself away from the clearance sales!!! Not knowing what size I will be in next spring/summer has kept me from buying anything but the desire to browse is still there. Even after 50 pounds, I have only lost 1 pant size. I have gone from a 3x to a 1x in tops which makes me feel good. I am down to about nothing for clothes now. A few bottoms and a few more tops. I can hardly wait to shop because I "have to"!!! What a great excuse. Do any of you have clothing exchanges in your area? There has been talk of one here but I don't think there is really much of a demand. I think that if you just donate your clothes to Goodwill or perhaps even a "Rape/Domestic Abuse" program, it would be greatly appreciated. I know you don't find many larger sized clothes at second hand stores and I have a co-worker who left everything (except the clothes on her body) behind when she got out of an abusive relationship. Programs designed to help people like her love the donations.

Hey Marci Give my congrats to the new couple! I'm a Bridal Specialist with a department store and so weddings thrill me!

Try cutting out the carbs. That seemed to help me with some of the gas. It didn't take it all away, but at least when I wake up in the morning now and roll over, I don't blow the roof off the house! I don't know anything about the hair loss, that could be related more to stress or change in lifestyle more than diet, most banded people don't have that problem because they still get the proper nutrition. Anyone else out there had hair loss?

According to the Golden Rules, you are suppose to eat 3-4oz (that's 1/2C and you know that some of that is going to pass through the band into the lower part of the stomach, so 1C is probably more like it. Ha ha ha rofl!!! And stop when you feel full. But I have rarely felt full! I thought I was probably the only one who could still eat like a glutton. And you guys are right, 2-3 cups is less than I would have normally eaten. So, today I went for my 4th fill. (I only lost 8lbs in six weeks, that was depressing). I was given another full cc which brings me to 8cc in a 12cc band. The thought of maxing out on fills scares me. I figured that I'd feel a little more restriction but I don't. I have another 5 weeks before my next fill. I might be able to get in a little earlier if it isn't working for me. So we'll see how things go this week and I have to pull myself out of my pity party and quit the comfort foods. And thanks to everyone for your input and advice.

Congrats to everyone who had a success this week. Looking back, lots of us did! I go for another fill early tomorrow, I hope to get some restriction where I haven't had any before. I didn't lose as much in the last 6 weeks(since my last fill) as I would have liked to. I have been having minor pain if I eat bread and I tried lettuce for the first time Friday and, wow, that was a bad experience! I was sure it was coming back up. But if I eat the right things, chew real well, I can still eat like a glutton. Can anyone else still eat a large quantity of food? (Like 2-3+ cups) I'm hoping that will change with this next fill.

Way to go everyone on accepting the Turkey Take Off challenge! It will be worth it! And mind you, Mr 3 Loaves, a 15 lb turkey is pretty good size too! If I make the goal, I'll be 5 lbs over my half way goal...Oh, I'm so excited now. And Janey, I love the Turkey ticker!

Yeah! LindaV!!! Sometimes it doesn't make sense the way our bodies shed the weight. You can be so good and nothing comes off, then you rebel and you lose it like a hunger strike participant! Anyhow, congrats! And good for you for taking the next 20 lbs challenge. I think we should name it the '20LB TURKEY TAKE OFF'. Some of us will probably be cooking a 20lb bird and wouldn't it be fun to look at that beautiful bird and know that you lost it?!

A new goal would be great! I think another 20 by Thanksgiving would be great. We all have slowed down a bit in our loses and that would give us 10+ weeks to lose it. Whatda think? We can do it!

Yeah! I made my last 2 pounds for my Sept challenge and an extra one for good measure! I am now 1 pound away from 50 total. I sure hope it comes off this week. I'm trying to do high protein and staying away from the carbs (a friend who had duodenal switch surgery told me that carbs make you have gas, and I have noticed a big decrease since I cut back). Hope everyone has a great week, do what you know you should and it will be a reward in itself!

Hi everyone, I've not been keeping up on the tread and just read everything that has been posted since Sept 1. I am 2 lbs from my Sept challenge (next week is deadline for me) and seem to be stuck! Ugh! I think it comes off 5 lbs at a time and the last 5 came off my boobs I'm sure. I did have a great NSV last weekend. I went on my first carnival ride in over 12 years! The man loading people onto the ride didn't even look at me like I wouldn't fit, the harness went over my head and locked down on me with room to spare. It was the funnest ride I've had in like, forever! Keep up the great work everyone, I wish we had updates from everyone who was chatting in April/May. Maybe they will find their way back.

Hi everyone I have been pretty down because of the scales not moving. But there is something to be said for staying the course. I went for over a week with no loss. UGH! Then I got on the scale today and I'm down 5 lbs! YEAH! That gives me just 2 lbs for my Sept challenge. I can hardly believe the way my clothes "don't fit" anymore. But I refuse to buy new summer clothes since it will only be a few more weeks and our dress code at work changes to pant/skirt from the casual capri.

Hi Kato A little note on why your band is bigger. My band is also bigger, a 12cc capacity. From what I could gather on the net, it all has to do with your BMI before surgery, the thickness of your stomach wall and where you carry your weight. My BMI was 49 and I carry all my weight around my middle. Yeah, I look like a potato on toothpick legs! It doesn't really matter what the size is, the fills are usually of the same percentage as those with a smaller band. When my friend got her first fill of 1.5cc in a 5cc band, I got a 4cc fill in my 12cc band.

Hey everyone! I'm like a lot of you out there, not really staying in touch. But I have to share my week with you...I finally hit the 40lb mark this week and have had to dig to find old clothes that fit. What a wonderful thing to do. My pants size isn't moving as fast as I would like but I heard from someone that you gain weight from bottom up and lose weight from the top down. I totally believe it. I have dropped from a 3x shirt to an XL but I'm only down from a 26/28 to a 24 pant. Anyway, it's coming off and I'm only 6 lbs from my Sept challenge. I went for my 3rd fill on Monday and I am now up to 7cc in a 12cc band. I was at 5cc for over a month and really struggled because I could eat anything and as much as I wanted. When the doc's nurse asked me how much it took to fill me up, I replied that I haven't been full. She gave me an additional 2cc and then had me sit up and gave me 3 more and a cup of Water to drink. My chest hurt when I swallowed so she took the extra 3 out and I'm thinking it is just perfect for now. I haven't ever pb'd or even had heartburn. So far since Monday, I have been a bit afraid to eat but everything has gone down okay, but I certainly feel the restriction now. And I must say, I can tell when I need to slow down and not eat too fast. Congrats to everyone who has cleaned their closet recently. I find it interesting that we have all hung onto our "skinny" clothes til they are out of style! It's like we all knew that someday we'd need those clothes. And praise God we do need them! Keep up the good work everyone!!!

FLUCTUATION!!! UGH!!! I know exactly what everyone is talking about, and it is so frustrating! I was losing even without restriction (I've had 2 fills for a total of 5cc in a 12cc band). Then last week I lost nothing. I am attributing it to the fact that my band is still not helping me. I have nothing but my own self-control and exercise helping me lose the weight. My doctor is far enough away so I can't just make an appointment for a fill anytime I need to. So I still have 2 weeks to go before my next fill. I am trying harder this week knowing I'll be out of town on vacation next week and every pound I can lose will make my vacation more comfortable. I am sure once we all hit that SWEET SPOT with our bands we'll be losing regularly again. But it takes time to reach that point and patience will be the key. Hang in there everyone!

Congrats Hippo's Hope! I bought a new pair of capri pants last week and have had a hard time wearing them, not because they don't fit but because I'm not used to buying clothes that DO fit and fit well and comfortable!!! I am getting tired of baggy pants. My shirts will probably fit a while longer since I carry most of my weight around my middle. But I can hardly stand the bagginess of my bottoms, if it wasn't for the drawstring waist in most of my pants, they'd fall off! (Can you believe I'm complaining about BIG clothes?) I better shut my mouth and keep my lips smiling, what a wonderful thing to have a problem with!

It is so good to hear of everyone's loses! I only walk for my exercise. I hadn't missed a day of walking in over a month, until the 4th! I had 30-40 people at my house for a cookout and neighborhood blowup! So I didn't walk but...On Monday I walked over 3 miles and last night I got my friend to walk with me another 3! My walk consists of 2 railroad overpasses and loose dogs chasing my dog. So I figure I made up for my day off. It is paying off in loose clothing!

Congrats Drewslou! I have been overweight all my life and have never, and I mean never had a regular cycle! How I got pregnant with my first child was luck and it took 5 years to have the second. Since then I maybe have a period once every 3-4 months. The gyno has preached at me for years to lose weight and it would straighten out but I obviously haven't. So I can understand being somewhat excited, feeling like a girl again! I hope I have that happen in the near future. It's amazing at what extra weight does to mess up our bodies!

I'm in too! I'm up for the September/20 pounds challenge. I've lost 28 since my pre-op (15 since surgery on 5/18). I'm dying for restriction! It has been hard since my first fill on the 19th, thinking I'd have some restriction and I can still eat whatever I want and more than I should.

Hey Angela I feel your frustration, I too have almost plateaued. I was banded on the 18th of May and lost 13lbs in the first 2 weeks. Boy was I excited, then I went in for my first fill on the 19th of June and thought I'd finally have some restrictions, but I don't! UGH!!! I went to work after having my fill and ate just a 1/2 c of macaroni salad because it was available and I had just 20 min to eat it. Then for supper, I thought I'd at least have something telling me I was full. I ended up eating 2 pieces of pizza minus the crust. I didn't want to fill up on the bread so I ate the best part of the first one and never felt "full". So I started on the second one and got to the crust before I even felt "satisfied". So I too am doing everything on self control. I have never pb'd or had any slime as many out there have, not that I'm wanting to either. I also found out when I got my fill that my band will hold 12cc. My fill was 4cc. I go back on the 3rd for another fill. I know they want to do the fills gradually but I feel like I have the zeal for doing this now and that I'm wasting time, I don't want to get discouraged. I have been faithful about walking at least 30 minutes every day for over 3 weeks. So in a sense I know I'm doing what I'm suppose to be doing but it is hard to gauge success when it's measured by pounds and I'm not seeing the scale go down. I know I'll just have to hang in there and be patient, everyone who has gone before me tells me that the restrictions will come soon enough. Sorry this is so long but it does feel good to vent a bit.