ALuv82

Thanks for the info. The way the nurse described it, I thought he was only going to put in, like, 0.5 ccs. If he put as much in mine as he did in yours it's not surprising that I still have a lot of restriction. I haven't been too worried because I haven't PBed or anything yet and I haven't really felt "stuck" just that pressure feeling in my chest when I eat. But it is a little annoying and makes me not want to eat. I'm just afraid I'm not getting in enough calories and my body is going to go into starvation mode. I'm back to the gym and exercising a lot to try and keep my metabolism up and I definitely haven't stalled on the weight loss yet. I'll probably just sweat it out for a few weeks as long as I dont' start PBing or getting stuck and see what they say when I go in fo rmy first fill.

I actually had dysmenseria (technical term for a screwed up period) BEFORE my surgery. Fat can actually secrete estrogen and mess up your cycle. I went 6 months one time without getting my period, then when I started exercising and eating right it finally came. On the other side of things, eating too little can mess up your cycle as well. When your body is not getting enough nutrients, one of the first things it stops giving energy to is reproduction since it is not a part of your physiology that is necessary for life. Immediately after surgery we are eating very small amts and not getting in enough Protein. It's not surprising that your period would be late. Of course if you have had sex anytime since your last period I would still highly recommend a pregnancy check since that can't be completely ruled out.

Hey! I was wondering if any of you out there who were banded by Dr. Geiss know how much saline he preps the band with during surgery. I'm 3 weeks out now and still feel really tight and I was curious to know how much saline is in my band right now.

I mostly tend to feel like I'm just up and up ignored at parties. Not only am I not hit on, but I don't get talked to that much as a friend either. I think it's because of my own insecurity in social situations. That's pretty much why I hardly ever go out anymore. I've become completely introverted and dont' put myself out there anymore. There are a lot of areas of my life where I'm secure, but socially is not one of them. I can't wait to be able to go out and enjoy myself and not feel like I'm somewhere I'm not wanted.

I'm not sure of the exact amt. but the nurse said that he basically just takes the air out and puts a little Fluid in to test it with. Doesn't sound like he uses too much. I meant to ask at my first post-op appt but forgot. I have my 1st support group meeting tonight so maybe someone there will know. Yesterday felt like the tightest day yet. I didn't even eat 600cals. and yeah, I was a little hungry at times, but I didn't want to eat because it was too uncomfortable. I think I'll see how the other people in my post-op group are doing since they've all had the same Dr. as me and therefore similar fill amts ect. If this is normal for people banded by my doc I'll give it some more time, if not I'll call the office tomorrow and find out.

So I finally got a chance to sit down and watch my DVRed episode of The Biggest Loser finale. I have to say, for a show that promotes losing weight and getting in shape, they make you sit in front of the TV for an awfully long time to find out who won. That aside, those contestants are damn motivational. Seriously, Mike lost over 200 lbs in 6 months, and that 64 year old guy who won the at home prize lost nearly as much and he was only on the Ranch for 2 weeks. If these guys can do it without surgery, surely I can be as successful with the help of my new, super, duper band. Personally, I wanted Tara to win. I think because I related the most to her. Sure, she’s a little younger than me, but only by 4 years. We’re still both in our twenties—the prime of our lives. She’s my height and was close to my weight when she started out—her just under 300lbs and me just over. She never fell below the dreaded yellow line and she won challenge after challenge. She was truly a force to be reckoned with. I hope that I can be half as successful as she has been. And speaking of the challenges, I come to the real point of this blog. By week 11, the remaining contestants were all confronted with a true test of how far they’d come in less than 3 months—they ran a half-marathon. Then, 2 months later they were faced with a doubly difficult challenge—a full marathon. Every remaining player completed a full 26.2 miles, even Ron—the 54 year old father with a multitude of health problems. If they can accomplish such a feat, in such a short time, I certainly can as well. And so I will. I have set a goal for myself. We all look for those NSVs that keep us motivated, and so I am setting myself a NSG—non scale goal. I am going to run a half marathon. A little bit of research on my part has informed me that there is one in Queens on September 20th and another in the Hamptons on September 26th. I will be at one of those two races and I will make it to the finish line.

Famotidine isn't similar to Pepcid--it actually IS Pepcid, so if it worked before, you can certainly try it again. Although I'm not sure why it would help since it's an antacid and the acid shouldn't prevent you from getting food down. It's a pretty benign drug though, so it doesn't hurt to give it a shot. To me it sounds more like you're too tight, although you've already been to your Dr. and I'm sure he would have known if that was the case.

I was just banded by Dr. Geiss over at Syosset 3 weeks ago. I was very comfortable with him. He does only the band and he's in the OR 3x a week doing on average 5 patients a day. He's done more bands than anyone else on the east coast. He knows what he's doing. My PCP recommended a Dr. at Mather whose name I forget but my insurance didn't use him. I've also heard very good things about Dr. Brathwaite in Patchogue and Dr. Gabriel at St. Catherines of Sienna.

So I just finished watching the Biggesst Loser Finale. I''m highly impressed by what those contestants have accomplished. One the the things that amazes me the most is that less than 6 months after they began their journey, the 4 last contestants all completed a MARATHON. That's just crazy talk. Well, if they can do it, so can I. So I've set myself an NSG--a non-scale goal. Well, I hope to one day run a marathon, but I'm going to set another goal first and work my way up. I want to run a half marathon. I've done some research and there is one in Queens on 9/20/09 and one in East Hampton on 9/26/09. I was wondering if anyone in the area wants to be ambitious and set this goal with me. It'd be nice to have some people to run with. Let me know if anyone's up the challenge.

Well I'm only 3 weeks out and I stil have a ton of restriction so I haven't gone through this bandster hell yet, but from what I've read it's completely normal to feel really hungry after a few weeks until you start getting fills. A lot of people who have posted here have not lost or even gained weight during this period. It doesn't soudn like you're doing anything wrong. Just keep sticking with it and the weight will come off eventually.

Keep up the good work. You've made it so far already I know you won't give in now. And in three days you'll have your new smaller stomach and you want want to eat for a few weeks. I'm 3 weeks out now and I can't even consume all the mushies the nutritionist reccommended to me. It will get easier. Just stick with it.

So I finally got a chance to sit down and watch my DVRed episode of The Biggest Loser finale. I have to say, for a show that promotes losing weight and getting in shape, they make you sit in front of the TV for an awfully long time to find out who won. That aside, those contestants are damn motivational. Seriously, Mike lost over 200 lbs in 6 months, and that 64 year old guy who won the at home prize lost nearly as much and he was only on the Ranch for 2 weeks. If these guys can do it without surgery, surely I can be as successful with the help of my new, super, duper band. Personally, I wanted Tara to win. I think because I related the most to her. Sure, she’s a little younger than me, but only by 4 years. We’re still both in our twenties—the prime of our lives. She’s my height and was close to my weight when she started out—her just under 300lbs and me just over. She never fell below the dreaded yellow line and she won challenge after challenge. She was truly a force to be reckoned with. I hope that I can be half as successful as she has been. And speaking of the challenges, I come to the real point of this blog. By week 11, the remaining contestants were all confronted with a true test of how far they’d come in less than 3 months—they ran a half-marathon. Then, 2 months later they were faced with a doubly difficult challenge—a full marathon. Every remaining player completed a full 26.2 miles, even Ron—the 54 year old father with a multitude of health problems. If they can accomplish such a feat, in such a short time, I certainly can as well. And so I will. I have set a goal for myself. We all look for those NSVs that keep us motivated, and so I am setting myself a NSG—non scale goal. I am going to run a half marathon. A little bit of research on my part has informed me that there is one in Queens on September 20th and another in the Hamptons on September 26th. I will be at one of those two races and I will make it to the finish line.

Well, it’s official; I’m in band land. I went to the hospital yesterday, around 2PM (I was the last of the five surgeries Dr. G did yesterday). After checking in, I was taken to the surgery waiting room which was filled with cookies and the not-so-faint aroma of brewing coffee. Now, I don’t drink coffee too frequently, but man did that stuff smell good. Isn’t hospital coffee supposed to be bad? Anyhow, I went to the bathroom and then noticed there was a computer with internet access in the room. I sat down and promptly signed on to give you all an update but as soon as I typed in my username and password, the nurse came for me. She handed me a gown, a garment bag and some wipes and directed me to the bathroom to change. I was instructed to take off all my clothing, jewelry, hair pins, etc., wipe my abdomen thoroughly with the wipes, and the put the gown on, open to the back. After I finished changing I went into the prep room where the nurse took my weight. According to that scale I was 297.7. That scale is a little off from my scale at home which told me I was 303 that morning, but I definitely like the Dr.’s scale better. If that’s compatible with the scale at the gym, it means I lost 15.7# on the pre-op diet alone. Although I have a feeling that my bathroom scale is more compatible to the gym scale, that would still mean I lost 10.4# in a week. Pretty nice, huh? Anyhow, the nurse proceeded to ask me a ton of health history questions that I’d already answered twelve hundred times in the last week. Next she hooked me up to an IV in my left hand with lactated ringers solution and an IV antibiotic drip of Cefazolin. I was given an injection of Lovenox in my stomach to prevent clot formation. Around this time Dr. G popped his head in to say hi. Once I was done getting prepped, my parents were brought in to sit with me while I waited for my surgery. The anesthesiologist popped by as well and asked me a bunch of the same questions about my history again. Finally just before 3PM, it was time. I was given an injection of some “happy juice” to relax me. I forget the exact name of the medication, but it’s in the valium family. I was told that after the injection I might not remember anything, but this didn’t turn out to be the case. I remember being rolled into the OR. Some good song was playing, though I can’t remember which one and I started singing along as I sometimes have a tendency to do. I remember the nurse joking with me asking how I new it was karaoke day at the hospital. I was moved from the gurney to the operating table and strapped on. It was, of course, as soon as my arms were strapped down that I got an itch on my nose. The nurse kindly scratched it for me before placing the mask over my face and telling me to take deep breaths. I could hear stuff around me and I was crying. I heard someone jokingly tell me I was making them sad, but I couldn’t stop. I could feel myself being wheeled out of the room towards recovery and I tried to open my eyes and focus on what was going on around me. I knew where I was and what was happening and I wasn’t sad or frightened and while it hurt, the pain was hardly unbearable, but still I wouldn’t stop crying. After a little while my eyes were able to focus better and my tears calmed down. I could see the clock across from me and it was 4:30 pm. My mouth was completely parched and the pain was definitely there. The guy who was with me in the recovery room asked me to rate my pain on a scale of 1-10. I told him I was a 6, and he gave me a nice shot of some happy, happy pain meds into my catheter. This brought me down to a 4 so he gave me one more shot and got me down to about a 2, which was nice. He also gave me some ice chips which were just about the best thing in the world by that time. At this point I was awake enough and they brought my parents in to see me. We talked for a little while and I realized I felt like I had to go to the bathroom. It wasn’t until I voiced this concern out loud that I found out I had a Foley catheter in, so apparently I didn’t have to go after all. After a little time spent with my parents, my sister and grandparents showed up. My sister brought me a nice care package with a couple of magazines and some beauty products—and best of all a pin wheel. I haven’t had a pin wheel since I was like, 11. It was purple and silver and not only was it fun to blow on, but it helped me take deep breaths which was good for me. At around 6:30 the pulmonologist showed up to check me out (Dr. G had been by sometime earlier, though I can’t remember when so it must have been shortly after surgery when I was still all doozey-bots) My family left and the pulmonologist checked me out. He told me that someone would be by later in the evening to set up my CPAP for me, but I didn’t have to use it if I didn’t want to. Instead they could give me a nasal cannula with oxygen as long as I didn’t have any problems over night. He also showed me how to use a device called an incentive spirometer to help me take good deep breaths. I was actually feeling pretty good although the pain was starting to come back so I got a shot of Demerol in my arm. Once the doctor was gone I got up and walked a few laps around the unit. I passed by the rooms of some of the other patients and I have to say, I was definitely recovering much better than any of the others. One of the other patients was a girl a little younger than me and she asked me what my trick was for recovering so well. I’m not sure I had one but I think maybe the fact that I worked out regularly before this helped me have more energy, plus the extra muscle mass I had because of it probably helped me metabolize the anesthesia better. After about 5 laps around the wing I sat down in a chair in my room for a little while and tried to read the Self magazine my sister gave me. Just before 8PM I took a couple more laps around the ward then settled into bed to watch House and One Tree Hill. After that I dozed for a while and at around midnight they came to take out my Foley catheter and I was able to put on some real pajamas. They had me walk some more and then I got to go to sleep. In the morning they came down and took us one by one to radiology for our post-op video esophagram. I had to drink a couple of sips of barium which shows up bright white on an x-ray. They used fluoroscopy (a real time video x-ray) to watch the barium go down my esophagus into my new stomach pouch and then through the band into the rest of my stomach. The point of this was to check the placement of the band and to make sure it wasn’t too tight. As it turns out Dr. G. does put a little bit of saline in the bands to begin with, but if the esophagram showed it was too tight they would have had to take some out. Everything must have been good with my esophagram because I got a few more meds and a platter of water and fruit ice. The dietician came by and gave me a brief review of the post-op diet plan I’m going to have to follow and instructed me on how slow I was supposed to eat and drink. The fruit ice went down without a problem and I was discharged around 11AM. And now I’m back home and sharing the experience with you guys. I feel alright so far. My belly definitely hurts, especially in the area where the port is. Dr. G placed my port on the left just below my rib cage. I have a few pictures up of my battle scars, and I labeled one of them so you could see where all the incisions were and where the port lies. And that’s about it. It’s done now. There’s no turning back, only moving forward. Today’s the first day of the rest of my life and I plan on making the most out of it.

Okay, here's the summary of a journal article that reviewed data from studies that compared the "medium" term effectivness of the two procedures. For those of you who don't speak medical-ese like me, here's what it says-- In the short term (1 year out a 2 years out) there is a higher percentage of loss of extra weight (67 vs 42% and 67 vs 53% respecitvely--notice that the bypass number remains the same while the band number continues to increase) however from 3-7 years out the numbers are comparable. at 8 years (probably the longest out any band studies go) the percentage of extra weight lost is 59% in the band, At 10 years out the percent of extra weight lost is 52%. Basically, it takes longer to lose the weight with the band but it tends to stay off more than it does with the bypass.

That's funny--my doctor said that while the studies comparing the long term effectiveness between the two procedures are still fairly new since the band hasn't been around as long, that iit looks as though the band is more effective 5 years or more out. He says it's because people who have the bypass tend to rely on the surgery to lose weight--their bodies stop absorbing nutrients so they lose weight no matter what. Eventually their bodies adapt and learn how to be more efficient. However, since the band forces you to learn behavior modification there is a better long term success rate. Also, the band has so many more complications and is irreversible. It can't be adjusted like the band can. The only reason I could see for going for the bypass is if someone has already been unsuccessful with the band or if they are so heavy it is life threatening and they need to lose weight much moe rapidly. Also, it seems that people with diabetes who have the bypass can often stop or greatly reduce their medications almost immediately, so if you have severe diabetes that might be another reason to opt for the bypass.

Man I love mushies. My protein shakes were tolerable, but this is definitely better. Right now I’m perfectly fine with my new diet. The portions (2 oz protein, 1 oz carb 6 times a day) are more than adequate for me. I’m still feeling plenty of restriction and sometimes I’m not even eating my entire meals. I do feel hunger, usually if I haven’t eaten in 3 hours or more, but otherwise I’m fine. I’m thrilled with my progress so far but I’m waiting on this bandster hell I hear about to hit. The way I feel right now, I can’t imagine it happening to me, although I know it’s still early and it might. I had my first follow up with Dr. G on Tuesday, 1 day after I started mushies, so I was able to discuss how my body is reacting to the beginning of this new stage in my diet. I do sometimes feel that pressure in my chest but it’s been less often as the week has gone by. He said that’s fine, but that I should try and slow down my eating. Of course I feel like I’m eating really slowly already—I usually take anywhere from 15-20 minutes to eat my designated portions. Since my post op instructions said to aim for 5 minutes per ounce of protein/carb, 15 minutes is the right time frame. But I guess my body just needs even more time right now. I also explained that even when I felt “full” up in my chest area, I still could feel my tummy rumbling—like I could tell the difference between my pouch and the rest of my stomach which was still empty. He said that the mushies shouldn’t necessarily fill me up at this stage and that it was fine that I was feeling that way. I think it might have just been psychological though. I’m not really having problems with that anymore. Even more exciting than the fact that I am not hungry physically, is how little head hunger I’ve been suffering from. I can only think of 1 day, the first week after surgery when I had really bad head hunger. Otherwise I’ve been OK. Sure, I’ll see commercial with some yummy looking food, or see what someone else is eating and I’ll want it, but it’s not the same as it was before. Just yesterday the people at my office went on a Friendly’s run for ice cream sundaes. I was able to sit with them while they were eating it and not have any problems. Sure, they looked nice and tasty, but that was it. It’s almost how I’ve always imagined it must feel to be a “normal” person without an eating disorder—to see food and to want it a little, but not to be consumed with that desire. To be able to say no and move on without this obsessive nagging in my head reminding me of how good it will taste and how much I want it. Okay, I’m seriously tearing up right now because I’m so happy about this. Anyhow, Dr. G explained that because the band presses on the Vagus nerve—a nerve which runs directly to your brain and has effects on hunger and satiety—that there is actually a neurological component to the band as well that will often make patients want to eat less. I’m thinking this is my favorite part of the band so far. And last but not least, I got clearance to go back to the gym. When I had my appointment Tuesday, I had my gym bag packed and in the car with me so I could go straight there after I got the okay. Dr. G said I was allowed to do very light lifting and cardio, but warned me not to do the cardio machines on an incline or with too much resistance. He doesn’t want me grunting and groaning and getting my intra-abdominal pressure up yet because he said that it can make the band go from being arranged in a 2 o’clock to7 o’clock direction to a 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock direction which will screw me up. So I headed to the gym and got on the elliptical—no incline or resistance. I tried to go slow which was the hardest part since I very carefully selected my gym music to be songs that motivate me to work out hard. Since I had to hold back I tried to make up for it in length and did a full hour. I skipped Wed, and Thurs as I work 12 hour days and spend most of that on my feet, but I headed back today and repeated my work out from Tues. It felt great. Plus I think it stimulated my weight loss again. I slowed down last week on the last week of fluids but the weight seems to be melting off again now that I’m on mushies and exercising. I think my metabolism just needed a boost. I’m so happy with how everything is going so far. I'm feeling good and I'm down 26.4 pounds. This band kicks ass. Dr. G was pleased with my progress as well. I also met with my psychiatrist today—the one who cleared me for surgery—and he also says it seems like I’m doing great. So basically everything is great. I truly and completely believe that I made the right decision getting my band and that I’m going to be so successful with this. It’s a great feeling to have. Alright, I’m tearing up again it’s time for me to get my ass up and go get a tissue. Hasta la vista, amigos.

Man I love mushies. My protein shakes were tolerable, but this is definitely better. Right now I’m perfectly fine with my new diet. The portions (2 oz protein, 1 oz carb 6 times a day) are more than adequate for me. I’m still feeling plenty of restriction and sometimes I’m not even eating my entire meals. I do feel hunger, usually if I haven’t eaten in 3 hours or more, but otherwise I’m fine. I’m thrilled with my progress so far but I’m waiting on this bandster hell I hear about to hit. The way I feel right now, I can’t imagine it happening to me, although I know it’s still early and it might. I had my first follow up with Dr. G on Tuesday, 1 day after I started mushies, so I was able to discuss how my body is reacting to the beginning of this new stage in my diet. I do sometimes feel that pressure in my chest but it’s been less often as the week has gone by. He said that’s fine, but that I should try and slow down my eating. Of course I feel like I’m eating really slowly already—I usually take anywhere from 15-20 minutes to eat my designated portions. Since my post op instructions said to aim for 5 minutes per ounce of protein/carb, 15 minutes is the right time frame. But I guess my body just needs even more time right now. I also explained that even when I felt “full” up in my chest area, I still could feel my tummy rumbling—like I could tell the difference between my pouch and the rest of my stomach which was still empty. He said that the mushies shouldn’t necessarily fill me up at this stage and that it was fine that I was feeling that way. I think it might have just been psychological though. I’m not really having problems with that anymore. Even more exciting than the fact that I am not hungry physically, is how little head hunger I’ve been suffering from. I can only think of 1 day, the first week after surgery when I had really bad head hunger. Otherwise I’ve been OK. Sure, I’ll see commercial with some yummy looking food, or see what someone else is eating and I’ll want it, but it’s not the same as it was before. Just yesterday the people at my office went on a Friendly’s run for ice cream sundaes. I was able to sit with them while they were eating it and not have any problems. Sure, they looked nice and tasty, but that was it. It’s almost how I’ve always imagined it must feel to be a “normal” person without an eating disorder—to see food and to want it a little, but not to be consumed with that desire. To be able to say no and move on without this obsessive nagging in my head reminding me of how good it will taste and how much I want it. Okay, I’m seriously tearing up right now because I’m so happy about this. Anyhow, Dr. G explained that because the band presses on the Vagus nerve—a nerve which runs directly to your brain and has effects on hunger and satiety—that there is actually a neurological component to the band as well that will often make patients want to eat less. I’m thinking this is my favorite part of the band so far. And last but not least, I got clearance to go back to the gym. When I had my appointment Tuesday, I had my gym bag packed and in the car with me so I could go straight there after I got the okay. Dr. G said I was allowed to do very light lifting and cardio, but warned me not to do the cardio machines on an incline or with too much resistance. He doesn’t want me grunting and groaning and getting my intra-abdominal pressure up yet because he said that it can make the band go from being arranged in a 2 o’clock to7 o’clock direction to a 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock direction which will screw me up. So I headed to the gym and got on the elliptical—no incline or resistance. I tried to go slow which was the hardest part since I very carefully selected my gym music to be songs that motivate me to work out hard. Since I had to hold back I tried to make up for it in length and did a full hour. I skipped Wed, and Thurs as I work 12 hour days and spend most of that on my feet, but I headed back today and repeated my work out from Tues. It felt great. Plus I think it stimulated my weight loss again. I slowed down last week on the last week of fluids but the weight seems to be melting off again now that I’m on mushies and exercising. I think my metabolism just needed a boost. I’m so happy with how everything is going so far. I'm feeling good and I'm down 26.4 pounds. This band kicks ass. Dr. G was pleased with my progress as well. I also met with my psychiatrist today—the one who cleared me for surgery—and he also says it seems like I’m doing great. So basically everything is great. I truly and completely believe that I made the right decision getting my band and that I’m going to be so successful with this. It’s a great feeling to have. Alright, I’m tearing up again it’s time for me to get my ass up and go get a tissue. Hasta la vista, amigos.

Thanks for the post. Some interesting thoughts to ponder. I hope the shoe thing turns out to be true for me too. I'm a size 11 and finding decent shoes in my size is almost as hard as finding decent clothes in my size. If I could just shrink my foot down 1 size shoe shopping would be such a pleasure. As for the journaling--well I've been blogging a couple of times a week. I definitely want to chronicle this entire experience, for myself as well as to hopefully help others who might be going through it later on.

It's completely reasonable to have doubts. The band is not fool-proof. It's not a magic pill. It's a tool. And after we've spent our entire lives "failing" diet after diet it's natural to wonder if we will fail at this too. But that is not the mind set we should have. I know that those thoughts are there in me, but right now I BELIEVE truly and wholy, that this will work for me. I BELIEVE I will be a success and that I will reach my goals and live a healthy, happy, skinny life. That doesn't negate the fact that I have fears and doubts. My belief in myself and my band does not wipe away the questions I have about my ability to reach my goals. But it is stronger than that doubt and that is what I KNOW will make me successful this time.

Had my 2 week post op appt on Tues and the doc gave me the go ahead to return to the gym. He told me very light lifting only and I could do cardio but not to use any incline/resistance. I went straight from my doc's to the gym and did 60 mins on the elipiitcal on resitance/incline 1/1. Went again today. Didn't go Wed or Thurs since I worked 12 hour days and I have a job that keeps me on my feet all the time. I'm definitely happy to be back at the gym. I missed it there.

I've been pretty good but I can't say I was 100%. 2 times while still on liquids I had runny scrammbled eggs. I was a little worried so I chewed, took the worlds tiniest bites and ate super slowly. It took me about 45 minutes to eat them both times. I also went to the diner once for lunch with people from work and ordered matzo ball Soup for the brouth and ate a little of the matzo. Then Itook my mother out for Mother's Day which was the last day of the liquid diet and I started mushies then--1 meal early. I've been true to the mushie diet so far though. I've been on that since Mon (well, Sun night technically) So far the mushy food is still satisfying to me. Although I think that my surgeon/nutritionist's definition of mushy is pretty wide. I can have thin sliced deli meat, ground turkey or beef, soft cheese. I never really thought of that stuff as mushy before. I have just over 1 week of that left. As of now I'm not suffering from hunger at all, except occasionly right before I'm due for a meal anyhow. Obviously it's best to follow your surgeon/nutritionist's diet plan but after a life time of bad habits it's hard not to slip up a little. It sounds like you're back to following the plan. Just take it one meal at a time.

Down 10.5 since the start of the challenge. 24.5 more to go to reach my goal. :grouphug: Bunny Banster's July 4th Challenge Bunny's name ------ Bunny's target loss --- Bunny's start weight --- Current date --- Bunny's Current weight --- Bunny's target July 4 weight PharmaGirl -------------- 20lb --------------------- 276lb ---------------- 11 May --------------------- 278lb -------------------- 256lb NY Lady ----------------- 20lb --------------------- 253lb ---------------- 11 May --------------------- 250lb -------------------- 233lb lingling ------------------ 20lb --------------------- 279.6lb --------------- 1 May --------------------- 279.6lb ----------------- 259.6lb JayTee562 --------------- 20lb --------------------- 272lb ----------------- 7 May --------------------- 269lb -------------------- 252lb MrsMitch ---------------- 25lb --------------------- 242lb ------------------ 1 May --------------------- 242lb -------------------- 217lb ALuv82------------------ 35lb ---------------------- 297.5lb --------------- 15 May --------------------- 287lbs ------------------- 262.5lb Band_Groupie ----------- 15lb ---------------------- 218 lbs -------------- 7 May --------------------- 216lbs -------------------- 203lbs kaner ------------------- 20lb ----------------------- 275lb --------------- 1 May --------------------- 275lb ---------------------- 255lb scoobydoo -------------- 25lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ? TerriLynne -------------- 15lb ----------------------- 296lb --------------- 1 May --------------------- 292lb ---------------------- 281lb hopeful41411 ----------- 18lb ----------------------- 260.8lb -------------- 1 May -------------------- 260.8lb -------------------- 242.8lb IsabellaP84 ------------- 20lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ? hannahj914 ------------- 20lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ? JWL08 ------------------ 18lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ? Abbie-pie --------------- 30lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? -------------------------- ? poconomom -------------20lb ----------------------- 212lb --------------- 8 May --------------------- 204lb --------------------- 192lb myturn2bhappy --------- 30lb ---------------------- 288lb ---------------- 1 May --------------------- 288lb --------------------- 258lb DM Chef ---------------- 20lb ---------------------- ? -------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? ------------------------- ? FutureSize10 ------------ 25lb ---------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? ------------------------- ? doodlebug11 ------------ 20lb ---------------------- 207lb --------------- 1 May ---------------------- 209lb-------------------- 187lb tcbgirl ------------------- 15lb ---------------------- 202.8lb ------------- 1 May --------------------- 202.8lb --------------------187.8lb twinmamma1130 -------- 20lb ---------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? ------------------------- ? mi_illusion_st ----------- 15lb --------------------- 211.6lb ---------------- 1 May --------------------- 211.6lb----------------- 196.6lb Babygirl_68 -------------- 20lb ---------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May --------------------- ? ------------------------- ? kittygirl ------------------ 22lb --------------------- 203lb ------------------ 1 May ---------------------- 203lb ------------------- 181lb jukeBox81782 ----------- 40lb ---------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May ---------------------- ? ------------------------- ? Losing for me ----------- 20lb ---------------------- 189lb ---------------- 1 May ---------------------- 189lb --------------------169lb early -------------------- 15lb ---------------------- 202lb ------------------- 1 May --------------------- 202lb -------------------- 187lb lapband-AP-redo -------- 20lb ----------------------- ? ------------------- 1 May ---------------------- ? ------------------------- ? pottergirl----------------- 20lb----------------------- 280lb ---------------- 1 May---------------------- 280lb -------------------- 260lb shakia90 ---------------- 20lb ----------------------- 285lb ---------------- 1 May --------------------- 285lb -------------------- 265lb txdj --------------------- 20lb------------------------ 205lb ---------------- 7 May --------------------- 195lb --------------------185lb ThinWithin -------------- 27.4lb --------------------- 297.4lb -------------- 8 May --------------------- 297.4lb ------------------ 270lb help1977 ----------------20lb----------------------- 251.8lb ---------------- 1 May -------------------- 248.2lb ------------------- 231.8lb vcatalina1 -------------- 20lb------------------------ 255lb ------------------1 May -------------------- 240lb --------------------- 220lb Auddie ----------------- 20lb------------------------ ? -----------------------1 May ------------------- ? --------------------------? lapbandgirl2009 -------- 25lb ---------------------- 259lb ------------------- 1 May ------------------- 259lb --------------------- 234lb swkrp ------------------ 20lb ---------------------- 219lb ------------------- 1 May ------------------- 199lb --------------------- 234lb Shellynnrn --------------20lb ---------------------- 260lb--------------------1 May ------------------- 260lb-----------------------240lb kath17268 -------------15lb ----------------------- 236lb--------------------1 May ------------------- 232lb ------------------------ 221lb knighmo -------------- 25lb --------------------- 298lb -------------------- 4 May-------------------- 298lb ------------------- 273lb jannyboo -------------- 29lb -------------------- 219lb ---------------------1 May ------------------- 219lb ------------------- 190lb lilith ------------------ 20lb -------------------- 249lb---------------------6 May ------------------- 249lb ------------------- 229lb

Ooh, I'm gonna start weighing in with you guys here. I'm 287 today. Was 313.4 before the pre-op diet (which I started 4/20) for a total of 26.4 lbs. I think it's 6 pounds for the week but I can't remember for sure what my exact number was last Fri. I think starting mushies and getting back to the gym helped me out. My metabolism needed a boost. I fear my body was going into starvation mode.

Week two has been an eventful one—though sad to say, not on the scale. In fact, the scale didn’t move at all for 5 days. Luckily it started up again and I’ve lost 3 pounds in the last 2 days. Now, I know I need to get out of this pesky habit of weighing myself everyday. I certainly can’t expect to keep up the rate of loss I have for the weeks pre and post op, but it’s hard not to expect big changes when you’re eating 600 Calories a day. Anyhow, I’m down a total of 24 pounds in 3 weeks and still going in the right direction plus you can already see a change in the way I look—especially in my face—so I’m pretty happy with that. But what else has been happening in the week since my last blog? Well, for starters I went back to work. My first day back was Wednesday. Now normally I work a 4 day work week which means I work 12 hour days during the week. That meant 12 hours Wednesday and 12 hours Thursday. Luckily Friday is my day off, though I did have to work a 6 hour shift yesterday. It actually wasn’t too bad. We were pretty dead on Wednesday so I got to do nothing most of the day, and Thursday wasn’t particularly hectic either. Of course I’m told it was a zoo all last week, but of course that’s what happens every time one of the doctors is off. My biggest concern has been evenings. For night hours there’s only me, one assistant and one receptionist so it’s harder for me to go without lifting. I definitely feel bad when a big dog comes in and I have to just stand there and watch while my assistant and the client do all the hard work (well, physically hard anyway). But, I’ve been managing. One day soon I’ll get to stop feeling like an invalid and start lifting things again. Saturday was more hectic but I have lots of help and the assistant who was assigned to me was a big, manly man who works out everyday. It made me feel less bad about not participating in the physical labor part of the job. Tomorrow starts my first full week, but I’m pretty much feeling back to my normal self, so I’m not too worried about it. Other news pertaining to my work—right before I left someone managed to abandon their dog in our waiting room. We’re not sure how they got the pup in there without anyone seeing, but low and behold, there she was. She’s a cute little schnoodle (poodle/schnauzer.) The poor thing was completely matted with fur, covered in fleas and emaciated. She also had some mammary masses. Well despite the sorry state she was in (or perhaps partly because of it—I am a vet after all) I decided to keep her. While I was off, the other doctors took care of her for me. They cleaned her teeth and biopsied the masses (we almost had surgery on the same day :biggrin:). Luckily the masses were benign—no breast cancer for my little pooch. She still needs to be spayed and she’s still very weak and has a bad hip, but she could be a lot worse off right now. I’ve decided to name her Maddie (which kind of sounds like “matt-y” which is what she was when she came to us.) I brought her home on Thursday night and she’s been attached to my hip ever since, although today she spent a little time with my parents. My other dog is tolerating her well, but you can tell she’s jealous. Oh well, she’ll get used to her eventually. So how’s the post op diet going, you ask? Well tomorrow I’m scheduled to start mushies—yay! Though I must admit that I’ve been a bad girl and taken a couple of liberties this week with the liquid diet. I had scrambled eggs twice, though they were really runny and it took me about 45 minutes to finish them. I also ate a few tiny bites of matzo ball out of the soup I got for lunch one day. I didn’t have any problems with that or the eggs. Tonight however, I took my mother out for Mother’s Day and decided to move on to mushies—for real—one meal early. Bad me, I know. I had ~1 tablespoonful of chicken salad and ~2 tablespoonfuls of my father’s chopped steak. I also had some chicken broth with a couple of bites of matzo ball. It took me a long time to get it down as I was taking exceptionally small bites and chewing like crazy. I was still feeling a little hungry in my stomach but I started to feel a little bit of pressure in my esophagus so I stopped before I had the last little bit of chopped steak (my nutritionist through my surgeon recommends 2 oz (~4 tbsp) of protein and 1 oz of carbs per mushie meal for a total of 6 meals a day so I was just about on target.) I don’t think it was stuck, though I haven’t experienced that yet so I don’t know for sure. But I didn’t feel like regurgitating and didn’t start sliming up or anything. It’s pretty much settled now. Anyhoo—Tuesday is my first post-op check up. I’m excited. I hope I get clearance to go back to the gym, at least for cardio, plus I’d like to get permission to swim/bathe—then I can follow up my work-out with a soak in the hot tub. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Or maybe I just need to get a life.