JerseyJan

hi Everyone! I Have Been Off Of Work For 3 Weeks. I Teach In The School System So We Have A Very Long Vacation This Summer. Tomorrow I Begin The Summer Session For Special Needs Children. I Have To Get Up Early Now Ugh! Lol...have To Get Up At 6 Or 6:30am The Latest. Work Begins At 8:15am And Goes Until 12:45pm. It Will Be Nice To Get A Paycheck Again. Makes It A Little Hard To Enjoy Your Summer When You Don't Get Paid!today My Family And I Went To My Dh's Cousins House For A Barbecue. There Were So Many Kids And They Were So Good. I Prepared Ahead Of Time As To What I Was Going To Eat At The Barbecue. Instead Of Eating The Hamburgers And Hot Dogs They Were Serving I Brought 2 Morning Star Tomato Basil And Mozzarella Veggie Burgers. They Are 110 Calories Each. I Didn't Eat The Bread And Had salad With It. I Felt Good About What I Was Eating And Helped Me Feel In Control. I Wasn't At Anyones Mercy As To What I Was Going To Eat. I Planned Ahead Of Time Just In Case There Was Something I Couldn't Eat Or Let's Say Didn't Want To Eat . I Also Brought My Own Dessert And Extra Water Bottles Just In Case They Didn't Have It. Do Most People Bring Things For Themselves To Parties Or Barbecues Just In Case They Don't Have Anything To Eat Where They Go? i Also Am Still Exercising Religiously. However, I Still Have Not Broke My Plateau. I Go For My 2nd Fill On July 19th And I Do Feel I Could Use It. I Have Been Toying With 2lbs Up And 2lbs Down. I Upped The Exercise Just About 1 Month Ago And Did Lose A Few Pounds But It Was The Few That Go Up Or Go Down. So I Really Am Not Counting That. I Have Added Weights To My Training As Well This Week. I Know It Will Break Soon But It Is Getting A Big Frustrating. Anyway, It Felt Good To See All My Cousins. They Had Not Seen Me Since I Lost The Weight From Having The Surgery. They Said I Looked Really Good. I Looked Healthy Too. In Fact, I Feel Healthy . I Got All My Blood Work From My Phsycial I Had 2 Weeks Ago. It Was Said That My A1c Was 5.9 Which Is Great. Anything Under 6 Means There Is No Sign Of Diabetes Or That It Is Under Control. I Have Been Off The Diabetic Medicine Since The Day Before Surgery So It Really Felt Good To Read That My Report Was So Good. My Cholestrol Overall Was 161 And The Good Cholestrol Was Good And Bad Was Really Good Too! I Am Not Anemic Anymore Too. If I Had To Do The Band Again I Would Do It In A Heart Beat Because It Has Helped Me To Become Healthy Again....anyway, I Have To Get Ready For Work For Tomorrow....hope You All Had A Great Weekend! Hi Eilene Hope You Are Doing Great! today Is The Best Day Of The Rest Of My Life!!! prebanded:340lbs day Of Surgery: 299.4lbs Dec. 21,2005 current Weight: 250lbs Total 90lbs Down...... first Mini Goal.....239 2nd Mini Goal......229 3rd Mini Goal.....219 4th Mini Goal....209 5th Mini Goal ....199 (that Will Be A Biggy For Me) 6th Mini Goal....189 7th Mini Goal...179 8th Mini Goal...169 9th Mini Goal..159 10th Mini Goal....155 (goal Doctor Wants Me To Be At!) i Have To Remember To Take It One Day At A Time!! A Good Thing To Always Remember!!what Do You Think??

Hi Everyone! It's Been A Few Weeks Since I Have Posted Anything But I Have Been Reading How Great People Are Doing! You All Should Be So Proud Of All The Steps You Have Made To Help Accomplish What You Started Out To Do. My Hardest Thing With Weight Loss Was That I Was Not Able To Move.. To Do Exercise...because I Was Always In So Much Pain. When I Got Banded I Had Kept Off 40lbs Of The 60lbs I Had Lost On The Jenny Craig Program But It Took Me 1 1/2 Yrs To Do That. I Was On About 10 Medications For All My Problems. I Was Banded On Dec. 21, 2005 And I Vowed To Myself After I Had This Done That I Was Going To Exercise And Make It Part Of My Life No Matter What. 3 Weeks Post-op I Began My Exercise Journey. I Began It Hackensack University Medical Center Where They Have A Rehab Program For People That Have Gone Through Bariatric Surgery. I Was Going 2 Times Week And It Really Helped Me Get Stronger Physically And Mentally! When I Say Mentally I Mean It Helped Me Keep Focused With My New Way Of Life. It Is So Important To Keep Talking To Yourself And Telling Yourself To Keep It Up. Pat Yourself On The Back. Anyway, I Have Lost 50lbs Since I Was Banded And When I Add The 40 I Lost Prebanded I Am 90lbs Down From Where I Was 2 1/2 Ago. Plus, I Am A Much Healthier Person. I Had My Blood Tests Taken 2 Weeks Ago For My Phsycial. My Cholestrol Is Now Normal At 161 And The Other Numbers For Good Cholestrol And Bad Cholestrol Are All Within Normal Limits. My Exercising Helped My Bad Cholestrol Get Good Again!! My Diet And Exercise Helped It Tremendously. I Stopped My Medication The Day Before My Surgery And Never Looked Back. I Was Also Type 2 Diabetic And I Stopped My Medication The Day Before Surgery And Again Have Never Looked Back. I Had My A1c Taken (which Is An Average Of Your Blood Sugars Over A 3 Month Period) I Am Happy To Say It Was 5.9!! Anything Less Than 6 Is Considered Normal. My Doctor Wrote To Me In A Letter That There Is No Signs Of The Diabetes. Of Course, I Do Consider My Self A Diabetic But The Thing Is I Am Controlling It All Now With Diet And Exercise. I Couldn't Be Happier. I Still Have Almost 100 More Lbs To Lose And I Am Very Determined To Get There. Another Good Thing Is I Joined A Gym Very Close To My Home. Now I Can Go Everyday Is I Want To. Right Now I Go About 4 To 5 Days Per Week. I Do Right Now Cardio For About An Hour. I Am Into The Eleyptical Machine And Today I Did A Total Hour On That At Level 3!! Wow! It Felt Awesome To Be Able To Do That For That Long And Still Feel Good To Do Things. I Also Have Arthritis Pretty Bad And Fibromaylgia. I Have Herniated Discs On My Left Side Of My Neck, Torn Cartliedge In My Right Knee And Stenosis In My Lower Back. For Years, I Have Been Wearing A Brace On My Left Leg For My Ankle Support Since I Also Have Torn Tendons In My Left Ankle. However, Since I Have Lost Alot Of Weight I Find I Don't Have To Wear The Brace As Much As I Use To. I Use It If I Am Going To Walk A Very Long Distance. However, I Don't Have The Pain That I Use To Have And A Blood Test Showed That My Sedimentation Rate Actually Went Down To 100 From Being As High As 130. Sedimentation Rate Blood Tests Shows When There Is Inflammation In The Body And I Can't Say My Weight Loss Is Making It Better But I Know It Can't Hurt. All In All, I Just Want To Say, I Am A Person Who Had A Lot Of Physical Issues And Still Has Them For The Most Part But With Determination And Doing It The Smart Way..(building Yourself Up To An Hour 4 To 5 Times Per Week) Will Help You Achieve Your Goals!! I Went To Get A New Pair Of Shorts Today And I Am Proud To Say That I Was Able To Fit Into A Size 20 And An 18/20 For Shorts When Last Summer I Was In 28's!! I Am Forever Grateful I Was Able To Get The Lap Band Operation. It Helped Me Realize I Can Do This...lose This Weight And To Be Able To Move Again...yes Exercise!! Exercising Is Addictive But In A Good Way! It Can Only Help You!just Remember To Keep Challenging Yourself...little Steps At A Time...it Really Helped Me With The Eleyptical Machine. The First Time I Was On It For 30 Seconds, Then 1 Minute And Then 1 1/2 Minutes. After That 3rd Time I Said To My Instructor That I Can't Do That Machine. I Was So Out Of Breath And Red In The Face. He Let Me Not Do It For 1 1/2 Weeks And Then He Said...janice...it's Time To Do It Again!! I Looked At Him And Said Ok But I'm Not Happy About It...lol...then I Did It For 3 Minutes And I Didn't Feel As Bad....and That Is How I Kept Doing It...adding A Few Minutes On At A Time Until Where I Got To Today....6o Minutes!! So Keep On Challenging Yourself!!!! Ok, I Know I Have Written Alot But I Haven't Written In Weeks ! Lol..hope You All Have A Very Happy And Healthy Holiday!! Time For Fireworks!! Today Is The Best Day Of The Rest Of My Life!!! Prebanded: 340lbs Dec. 13, 2003 (short Time I Was A Size 30) Banded: 299.4lbs Dec. 21, 2006 Present Weight: 250lbs July 3, 2006 Clothing Size: Went From Size 28 To Size 18/20 My Goal Weight Is: 155lbs....95lbs More To Go!!

HI EVERYONE! THANKS FOR THE VERY NICE WELCOME. EILEEN... I HOPE YOUR COLD IS GETTING BETTER. IT WAS GOOD HEARING FROM YOU. TODAY WAS A VERY CHALLENGING DAY SINCE I HAD MY COUSIN'S WEDDING TO GO TO. THERE WAS SO MUCH food ALL OVER THE PLACE. THE SMORGASBOARD WAS TOTALLY AWESOME. THERE WAS ALOT OF FOOD BUT I FELT I HAD TOTAL CONTROL OVER IT THERE. I HAD A FEW LITTLE PIECES OF cheese AND SOME FRUIT AND 1 BABY LAMBCHOP THAT I ATE VERY SLOWLY. I DIDN'T WANT TO GET ANY PROBLEMS WITH HAVING MY FOOD GO DOWN. THAT ONLY HAPPENS TO ME WHEN I AM RUSHING. IT'S REALLY ONLY HAPPENED 2 TIMES SINCE I HAD SURGERY IN DECEMBER WHICH I AM THANKFUL FOR. I HAVE ONLY HAD ONE FILL SINCE MY SURGERY. I AM HAVING ANOTHER ONE IN JULY. GETTING BACK TO THE WEDDING ...LOL.. THEY HAD 3 CHOICES WHICH WAS EITHER BEEF, SALMON OR HERBED chicken. I PICKED THE CHICKEN BUT COULDN'T EAT THAT MUCH OF IT SINCE IT WAS A LITTLE DRY FOR ME. IT TASTED GOOD BUT I DIDN'T WANT ANYTHING TO GET STUCK. I PROBABLY ONLY HAD ABOUT 2 OUNCES OF IT. I HAD MY HUBBYS MASHED POTATOES IN- STEAD OF THE RICE THEY GAVE ME AND SOME ASPARAGUS. THE Desserts WERE CONTROLLED TOO SINCE THEY GAVE EVERYONE 3 LITTLE PASTRIES...ONE I TASTED AND DIDN'T LIKE SO THAT WAS GOOD LOL....THE OTHER ONE I ATE THE CREAM FILLING AND MY FAVORITE THING WAS THE chocolate DIPPED strawberry. THE WEDDING CAKE WAS ALSO GIVEN OUT. I JUST HAD ONE TASTE OF IT. IT FELT GOOD I DIDN'T FEEL I HAD TO SIT THERE AND FEEL I HAD TO EAT IT ALL. I USE TO BE LIKE THAT BEFORE I HAD SURGERY. I WOULD EAT EVEN IF I WASN'T HUNGRY. BUT FOR THE MOST PART I DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE. FOR ME THAT IS A VERY BIG BREAKTHROUGH. I WAS ALSO A VERY BIG FOOD PICKER. I'D MAKE SOMETHING AND TASTE IT. BY THE TIME IT WAS TIME TO EAT I WOULD REALLY NOT BE HUNGRY BUT I WOULD EAT ANYWAY. IT'S HARD TO BREAK A HABIT THAT WAS LIFELONG BUT I DO FEEL IF YOU KEEP PRACTICING IT THEN YOU WILL EVENTUALLY GET TO THAT GOAL. I THINK I READ SOMEWHERE THAT IT TAKES 30 TO 45 DAYS TO GET INTO A NEW HABIT. FOR ME IT WAS BEING ABLE TO RESIST TO PICK AT FOOD. ALSO, EVEN EXERCISING MORE OFTEN IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON NOW TOO. SO FAR I FEEL LIKE IT IS WORKING. I ACTUALLY FEEL GUILTY IF I DON'T GO FOR MY HALF HOUR TO 45 MINUTE CARDIO WORKOUT AT THE GYM. EVERYDAY I SAY TO MYSELF I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR THIS SECOND CHANCE TO MAKE MYSELF GET HEALTHIER. I NOT ONLY LOOK SO MUCH BETTER WHERE I DON'T CRINGE WHEN I LOOK IN THE MIRROR BUT THE BEST THING OF ALL IS THAT I AM SO MUCH HEALTHIER. SO I WOULD SAY I HAVE A HEALTHY GLOW ABOUT ME NOW. I TELL PEOPLE THAT YOU DON'T REALIZE HOW BAD YOU FELT UNTIL YOU START FEELING GREAT!! DOES ANYONE FEEL LIKE THAT AS WELL?? ALL IN ALL I WOULD SAY IT WAS A REALLY GOOD DAY!! THIS WEEK I HAVE ALOT OF CHALLENGES COMING UP SINCE IT IS THE LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL. A PICNIC ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY, GRADUATION FOR MY SON WHO IS MOVING UP FROM 8TH GRADE ON WEDNESDAY. I ALSO HAVE TO GO MY COUSIN'S ON TUESDAY NIGHT FOR A CONDOLENCE CALL. MY COUSIN'S HUBBY PASSED ON THIS WEEK FROM PANCREATIC CANCER. HE WAS 80 YRS YOUNG AND WAS ALWAYS A VIBRANT PERSON AND ON THE GO! ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON....THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL IS THURSDAY AND THERE WILL BE LOTS OF PARTIES. FOR ME IT WILL BE A LITTLE SAD SINCE I PROBABLY WILL BE MOVING ON THE MIDDLE SCHOOL WITH THE CHILD I HAVE BEEN SHADOWING THE LAST 3 YRS. I WANT TO MAKE HIS TRANSITION A GOOD ONE AND AT THE SAME TIME I HAVE MET ALOT OF PEOPLE AT THIS SCHOOL THAT I LOVE WORKING WITH. NOT SURE HOW IT WILL BE AND I AM NOT BIG ON CHANGES. IT'S STRESSFUL FOR ME BUT I HAVE TO LOOK AT IT AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. OK, IT'S LATE NOW AND I HAVE WORK IN THE MORNING BUT IT WILL BE A RELAXING DAY WITH MOVING UP REHEARSAL IN THE AM. THE PICNIC IN THE PM. THE TEACHERS ARE PLAYING AGAINST THE STUDENTS BASEBALL. IT SHOULD BE A FUN DAY ALL IN ALL. HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE!!! WHAT DOES EVERYONE DO WHEN THEY ARE SURROUNDED BY ALOT OF FOOD AT A PARTY? TALK TO YOU ALL LATERRRRRRRRR!! HERE'S A LITTLE SAYING I ONCE READ ON A HALLMARK CARD...I REALLY LOVE IT!! IT REALLY IS A VERY INSPIRING PHRASE. I AM NOT AFRAID OF TOMORROW FOR I HAVE SEEN YESTERDAY AND I LOVE TODAY!! MAY ALL YOUR TOMORROWS BE BEAUTIFUL!! TAKE CARE!! Jan:)

hi Everyone! It Has Been Quite Awhile Since I Was On These Boards. I Do Miss Coming Here And Will Make Every Effort To Get Here More Often. Some Of You May Know Me As Jan0421 But Now I Am Jerseyjan! Lol...since I Had My Surgery On Dec. 21, 2005 I Have Lost 50lbs. It Hasn't Been All Smooth Sailing But For The Most Part It Has Been A Hell Of Alot Better Than If I Never Did The Surgery! I Needed To Do More Exercise And Recently I Just Joined A Gym And Now Exercising About 3 To 4 Times A Week Instead Of Just 2 To 3 Times Per Week. I Can See That It Is Starting To Make A Big Difference Because The Dial On That Scale Is Now Going Down Again! I Was Wondering If Anyone Knows Of A Support Group That Meets Either Once A Week Or Twice A Week In The Bergen County Area? Hackensack Hospital Only Does Their Support Group Once A Month. I Feel I Could Use More. Any Tips On That ?? Hope Someone Can Help Me With That Information. Wishing You All A Very Good Rest Of Your Weekend!