OH Juli

Sandy- I didn't have the exact same thing happen, but I went in for a fill and was told I didn't need one because I was losing weight so well with out it. I felt like I was being punished for being good. It's very disappointing to see everyone on here talking about their fills, ect and not really be able to relate. But this is an individual journey and we do what we can, right? I don't know what the port surgery might be like. But I've seen other posts where the people said it wasn't too bad. And it looks like you are going gang busters with your weight loss, don't lose momentum. We can check in with each other and see how things are going fill less (Phyllis) over the next few weeks. OH Juli

Momlambert-You are amazing! What an astounding time you are having right now. Good for you for keeping food in its place. Yanken-Salsa Rhythems class? Oh that sounds like fine. I'm sure your hips don't lie.... Denise-What cha' going to do about the foaming? Are you dealing or going for an unfill? Sophie248-I'm fill less for at least the next four weeks myself. I'm trying to keep my head down and follow the bandster rules. Is your scale moving? Catch you all later! I :love: love this board too. OH Juli

Fantastic NSV! Fantastic Scale victory as well. You're rocking!

You said you will probably always have to track your food. I was told by my nutritionist I would have to as well. That didn't sit well with me. But when I looked at it from the point of view, "If I want to be successful and tracking is what I need to do then tracking it is." I've seen it over and over again in different studies. That is the one thing they say that makes a difference. good luck OH Juli

Okay, so I'm going to kick your butt. You asked for it. Write down all the food you ate yesterday in Sparkpeople so you can go oi! You'll have a measure of what a really bad day can be. And yeah you could stretch out your pouch if you eat too much food. So be careful! Certainly you'll be hungrier if you exercise. Eat more. Eat about an hour before you work out and eat when you are finished working out. But keep it bandster appropriate. Protein drinks aren't the answer. Eat solid protein and some veggies. Punishing yourself with protein drinks is just going to make you rebel even further. The goal is to lose weight not to torture yourself. Stop making excuses and keep yourself accountable to yourself about what you are sticking in your mouth and why. OH -sending positive vibes and encouragment- Juli

Denise, Tammy and TCTX- You all are great. Tammy- Thanks for the outrage on my behalf. Trust me I've been outraged too...but it is what it is and who knows, it might be for the best. I'm really going to monitor just how hungry I am and the amount of food I am eating so to really know what's working here, me or the damn band. There is restriction simply due to the band. I've PBed....we'll see. I know there are a few people who have lost over 100 with out a fill. I don't see that being me, but alas, we can't tell the future can we? Enough about that. Denise-I love your little picture. We could be sisters. I know my little pic isn't that flattering but our hair and glasses, when I wear them, are similar. As are our stats. And you are rocking with the weight loss.

TCTx You are so sweet. He did say that he'd give me a fill if I insisted. But he said why use the tool if I didn't need to? Save it for when I do need it. He was really very compassionate about how the news affected me. But frankly, his point is valid. He told me to go to my message board and call him all kinds of names. Which was funny. Also, apparently he was talking about me with a new patient that saw him shortly after my visit. She's a woman I met on the Ohio board and we knew we were both seeing him today. Anyway, he was telling her about expectations with the band, but he'd just seen a woman who is blowing his statistics away. She asked if her name was "Juli" and he said yes! Isn't that cute?! Or is that a HEPPA violation? :cry Thanks for being outraged on my account. I'm mellowing into the decision.

I went and saw my surgeon at 9am this morning and because I am a, "Rock Star" (his words, not mine) and losing weight and exercising so well I don't need a fill. @&*%$#! Or so I thought when I was crying like a baby in his office. He really took the time to explain to me that I am a rare bandster, like 1 in 10 who gets the eating and exercise thing with out the negative reinforcement of tight restriction. I said, it feels like I am being punished for being good. I do believe I pouted and kicked his chair too. He said he would give me 1cc if I really wanted it, but it might make be nausiated which then might keep me from eating, which then would make me too weak to want to exercise and we don't want that now do we? I'm keeping it clean because this is a public forum, but I can and do swear often. And I want to now. Good thing I had scheduled with my therapist for a noon. Between leaving his office and go to her office I went for a bike ride to not be left alone with a house full of food. So yeah! :straight Anyway, I blurt out the info to her and she says, "you're a scheduled kind of person and things need to happen when you expect them or you get out of sorts. But Wow, 'Rock Star', isn't it cool that tool is there to use when you really need it?" @&*%$#! I'm still grumbling. But true enough, I'm scheduled again in 4 weeks. If I don't lose 10 pounds between here and there I'll get a fill. Why is it that I should feel proud and in stead I feel cheated? Thanks for listening the the extended whine. OH :loco: Juli

What makes you think you can't? How about walk/run a 5K? I've actually looked at the running clubs in Columbus and looked at schedules. I want to run so bad. My poor little knees say wait, PLEASE just get some weight off first! Really, I think I'd be super hard pressed to get to it by fall, but this time next year I'll be doing it. "Cross my heart, and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye," promise. And how well I know about being a Diva, when (not if) I do it, I'll turn the picture of me crossing the finish line into a life-sized, cut-out and stick it next to my office door. "yeah, that's me running my first 5K, don't my legs look strong?" I already strut my 264 pound self around like I'm something. I'd be impossible!

TammyJ and Afrykanvyolet You running/jogging women rock! I'm adding bits of running to my time on the tredmill too. Not 5 whole minutes...WOW..but maybe by fall we can be running 5Ks! OH Juli

My5grlz- I'm glad it resonated with you. Thanks for letting me know. Looks like you're exercising your tail off! Way to Go! OH Juli

It's my opinion they want you to diet for 6 months or wait for 6 months to see if you are serious about the surgery or not. Many people want quick fixes and want their insurance to pay for it. It's a weed out factor. Lose or gain, they don't care. I didn't lose a pound during my 6 months. After that, and a few more months I decided I didn't have any excuses for not taking my health serously and I started slow. I started tracking my food on fitday.com and worked on what I could. I'll say it again, it is worth all the hoops, just to really get a hold of this eating monkey that was/and still is a bit hanging around my neck. Kendra- You've got a great attitude. Nice to meet you as well. OH Juli

Hi Ohio people. I was banded nearly two months ago at OSU in Columbus by Dr. Makami. I get my first fill on Monday and I've very psyched. I did have to do 6 mos of doctor supervised dieting...I had many hoops to jump through...it took 14 months from initial consult to surgery. I changed doctors at one point too. BUT IT IS SO WORTH IT! You can see on the side I'm 39, single mom to one 5 year old, work full-time and go to school full-time. Life is crazy but fantastic. OH Juli

Hi.Be worried, it's natural. However, I'm only two months out and I don't get a fill until Monday, I'm doing very well. I don't have pictures of my scars, but there are 5 all together. Four tiny ones, like 1cm each or less, that are like a diamond pattern. One sits under my bra right in the middle its match is just above my belly button. The other two are across from each other half way down. The port scare IS the biggest, that would be the 5th, it's about an inch long, on the left next to one of the small ones. A picture is worth one thousand words. You'll find other people's pictures. Don't worry about your scars. A smaller tummy with a few scars is better than a big tummy without any. OH Juli

Hey Marchies- The scale is finally MOVING. I'm hoping to drop just one more itty bitty pound before Monday. I'm down 49 today and Monday I get a fill. For whatever reason I like the idea of losing 50 pounds before my first fill. We will see. Yesterday after dinner and again this morning my daughter and I got out on our bike and a half as we call it and went for rides. Yesterday we bought matching helmets. I've got flowers on my helmet because plain silver or black "is not cool, Mamma". Oh let flowers and swirly dresses be cool for a very long time. Soon she'll be wrapped in black and half covered. I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Peace OH Juli

My doctor said 8 weeks. I was banded March 8th, I get my first fill May 7th. When I got the date, I pooh pooed, and was told that the was date PERIOD. So that's the date. Monday. The last two weeks have been challenging with out much weight loss but the last few days it's clicked in again. OH Juli

awe shucks. Pep talks are what this board is for, right? I know you all support me when I'm frustrated, mad, sad...

TCTX- Use only one scale, at roughly the same time of day. And don't give it too much permission to impact how you feel about yourself. Really, this is hard. I know I put too much into what the scales says. I too let it impact my feelings about how I feel about myself. But here's what I'm mentaly rehersing: "There is no turning back. This surgery means no giving up. EVER. If there are bad days where I eat too many calories or don't excercise how I planned then the next day I will dig a little deeper and do better. The scale is only one measure of my progress it doesn't tell me if I have a spring in my step or if my knees don't hurt. It doesn't measure if my pants fit differently. It doesn't pick up my all smiles attitude or how I walk with my shoulders square and pass the candy isle with out a thought in grocery. Those are just numbers that my describe my weight at this but they do not define who I am." Trust that if you do the work you will succeed. As for buying clothing if you really feel like you've gained, then put your mind toward eating better and moving more for a few days then go shopping. You are more than a number, you are more than a number, we are more than numbers, we are more than numbers........ OH:Banane09:Juli That's a dancin' banana with "love you" hand in ASL.

Happy Weekend y'all. I just made my TO DO list and whew, I need to come back to work on Tuesday just to get a rest! -Monday is my first fill! I'm taking the day off to get more stuff done too. I just recieved a trailer half bike to attach to my bike to ride tandem with my 5 year old daughter, Zoe. Yesterday I put it together while she was at her other house (with my EX) today she will see it for the first time! WooHOO! No doubt we'll be out riding every day this weekend. Zoe is a high energy kid. I see extreme sports in her future. She is fearless too. Anyway I feel like I am just now able to wear her out instead of the other way around. And truly, this is me reaching a very important goal. To be able to "play" with my kid is a giant motivator. Actually, she is a giant motivator for much of what I'm doing with this life. I'm in school full-time, while working full-time, so I can better provide for her and me. I'm losing weight so I can be around to watch her grow and be an involved parent. And so when I get done with the BS and MBA in August of 2009 I'll be more employable. Fat bias sucks but it's a reality. I'll shut up now....But yeah, I've got this written document call the "Strategic Plan of Juli's Life 2005-2009" and I am meeting all the bench marks I set up. There's a Gantt chart too. You might call me a dork, but I call me a goal setting and achieving woman. OH (shutting up now) Juli

Tammyj- I'm sorry to hear about your loss. My sympathies are with you and your family. Enjoy your folks while you are with them. Vegas will be there later, along with Wayne Newton. They call it an adjustable band so saline can go in AND come out as needed. You are smart to have some removed. AfrykanV- I'm growing my hair out, and I've become a clip/comb if you can stick it in your hair nut. I'm going to have to scrounge up the kind of shop you're talking about.

I notice thickchickTEXAS, you have a band name, "simply bueautiful". Now this sound dumb, but do you have a musical band named that, or have you named your band, on your stomach that? I've seen where people have named thier bands. Back while I was waiting for my procedure I thought about what I might name mine. Considering I don't have a fill and I don't much notice it's there, hence it doesn't have much of a personality, I hadn't really thought about it. Anyone, anyone? Anyone out there named thier bands? If so what's its name?

Afrykanvyolet- I'm such a drugstore makeup JUNKIE. I just went and bought two new lipsticks!

Hey Marchies! I did my second day of abs absolutley due to the challenge and I want to say, "OUCH". But when my waist is tiny, I'll be sending Tammyj a dozen roses for kicking me in the pants. :whip: Tammyj, there is a year's worth of weight loss and some plastic surgery before that happens, so don't fill the vase just yet. Now if only the scale would move...... OH Juli

Afrykanvyolet My favorite people are Taurusies or is that Tauri? I love you bull headed people! A fill is a great gift. You don't need cake to Celebrate another awesome year on this planet! Being here and reveling in the wonderous fantasticness that is you is what birthdays are all about. I just wanted to say KUDOS for keeping the sugar monster at bay. You're my hero. I don't give it too frequently, but I do still eat a cookie here or a fudge bar there. I account for them in my calories, but I wish I had the strength to just never eat them! You CAN lose 20 by August! Especially now that you are going to be doing Water aerobics! OH Juli

Nikki- Good for you for catching yourself before you eat the piles of food. We all know the tricks, drinking Water etc. but don't forget them now. Try to stay strong it will get better. June isn't that far away if the mean doctor won't give you a fill sooner. You'll make it! OH Juli